Just like every other day, Arkhan and the others had breakfast together before heading to school.
However, the atmosphere at the dining table felt a bit tense this time.
"Where did you guys go yesterday? Why did you come home so late?" asked Sena.
"We were looking for Nero, but couldn't find him," Levan replied.
"He went to the cemetery first, then disappeared without a trace," asked Jio.
Arkhan, Sandy, and Levan exchanged glances, but Sandy finally chose to speak.
"T-there's a chance that Nero has followed Joan," Sandy said quietly.
"What are you talking about? That's not funny," said Sena, clearly not believing it.
"Unknown keeps bringing up the death of one of our alumni, so yesterday we went to that alumni's house to look for Nero. We found some of his stuff there, already burned," Arkhan explained.
Jio and Sena were understandably shocked by Arkhan's explanation. Their minds grew more restless.
*****
Arkhan walked to the back garden of the school, where he had arranged to meet Junghwan.
He arrived first and looked around. The area seemed quiet, with no one in sight. Without him noticing, someone gripped a ball tightly and hurled it at him.
"Khan!"
Luckily, Junghwan showed up and swiftly caught the basketball before it could hit Arkhan.
"Are you okay?" Junghwan asked, seeing Arkhan visibly startled.
"Y-yeah, I'm fine. Thanks," Arkhan replied.
"No problem."
Junghwan threw the ball far into the bushes.
"Nero still hasn't been found?" Junghwan asked.
Arkhan shook his head. "Not yet. The police still consider him missing."
"Hm, I'm really sorry to hear that. I hope he turns up soon," Junghwan said.
"Y-yeah… By the way, I asked to meet you here because I wanted to ask you something," Arkhan said.
"Oh yeah? What is it?" Junghwan asked.
"You said yesterday that Nero had been looking at some kind of journal. What was in it?" Arkhan asked.
"It was an investigation Nero and Joan were doing about the death of one of our alumni—Yang Jeongin. They never told you?" Junghwan replied.
"N-no. I think they wanted to handle the case just between the two of them, so they didn't tell anyone else," Arkhan said.
"Oh," Junghwan replied briefly.
Arkhan found it odd—why would Nero and Joan investigate that case in secret?
Junghwan's voice snapped Arkhan out of his thoughts.
"Khan, I gotta go. Yoshi keeps texting me," Junghwan said.
"Ah, yeah. Go ahead."
Junghwan left Arkhan alone in the garden, his mind still tangled with thoughts.
******
After school, Arkhan went to the café where Joan was last seen. He had asked Sandy and Levan to come along, but both were busy with something else.
Before entering the café, Arkhan noticed a few CCTV cameras that were damaged—likely struck by lightning. He recalled that the video sent by Unknown wasn't from CCTV footage, but recorded directly with a phone.
"Khan."
Arkhan turned as someone greeted him. It was Chris—an alumnus of the school and a friend of Jeongin.
"Ah, sorry if you've been waiting," Arkhan said.
"No worries. I was just hanging out anyway. Didn't have anything else to do," Chris replied.
"I wanted to ask you something about the late Jeongin," Arkhan said.
"What do you want to know about him?" Chris asked.
"Did Jeongin have any close relatives living in this district?" Arkhan asked.
"As far as I know, yeah, he had someone close," Chris replied.
"Do you know who?" Arkhan asked.
"Judging by how often they chatted, they were definitely close. But Jeongin never revealed their identity. I guess he was worried that the person might get targeted too," Chris said.
"Targeted?" Arkhan asked.
"Jeongin was hiding a secret. He was being followed by a mysterious person before he was found dead. The scary thing is, Jeongin once told me he knew the person following him was a hitman sent by someone," Chris said.
"O-oh… I see," Arkhan responded.
"Sorry if I scared you," Chris said, noticing Arkhan's discomfort. He figured Arkhan might be frightened by what he said about someone following Jeongin.
"N-no, it's fine. Sorry, I think I need to go. I've got something to take care of."
Arkhan said goodbye and left the café area.
Walking through the neighborhood not far from the café, Arkhan spotted a CCTV camera on one of the houses. He quickly pulled out his phone and messaged Sandy.
Arkhan
Are you done with your work?
Sandy
Yeah, why?
Arkhan
Hack the CCTV at Kenanga Residence.
Sandy
What for?
Arkhan
Joan was last seen walking back from the café. I think she passed through this neighborhood. I saw a CCTV camera on one of the houses.
Sandy
Alright, I'm on it. 👍