The next university they visited after Seoul National University's College of Music was Kyunghee University. The two arrived at Kyunghee University in Hanbit's car and immediately found out where the Department of Practical Music was located.
“Can you find the girl with the scar on the back of her left hand today?”
“You’ll find it. Taehyung, you said you were feeling good today.”
The two looked at each other and quietly cheered each other on, then headed to the Department of Practical Music at Kyunghee University.
Upon receiving permission and entering the Practical Music class, I saw numerous students engrossed in their own work. Vocal students sang, their voices warming up, piano students took turns playing the piano while looking at sheet music, and students from other majors were all working diligently.
Taehyung and Hanbit, who had asked for a list of students' names just like they had at Seoul National University's College of Music, divided the female students and checked if they had scars on the back of their left hands. Fortunately, none of the female students were absent that day. They looked for them one by one, but none of them had scars on their left hands. Just when they were about to despair, the last female student on Taehyung's side had a butterfly tattoo engraved on the back of her left hand, about the size of a medium-sized butterfly.Taehyung asked the female student about her tattoo.
“Why did you get this butterfly tattoo?”
“Oh, I did this because of the scar. I didn’t like the scar on the back of my hand.”
"Mr. Hanbit, this student had a scar on the back of his left hand. He got a tattoo to cover it up."
Hanbit asked the female student.
“Could you tell me how bad the scar was?”
In response to Hanbit's question, the female student said that the scar was about this long.
“What is your name? What is your major?”
“My name is Ha Ye-na. I’m majoring in practical music and vocals.”
With the teacher's permission, Taehyung and Hanbit brought Yena to another classroom. They then told her the whole story of why they were there, without hiding anything. They also revealed that the reason they were looking for the person with the scar on the back of his left hand was not because they were looking for an ordinary person, but because they were looking for the singer Seoul.Taehyung sat down facing Yena and started talking.
"Okay, Ms. Hayena. Let me tell you why we're here."
“Who did you say you were looking for?”
"Yes, that's right. The person we're looking for is Seoul, the singer famous for being a faceless singer."
Yena, who couldn't hide her surprise at the mention of singer Seoul, opened her mouth.
“You came to Seoul to find a singer...?”
"I'm Seo Han-bit, a former KBC reporter. I came here to find singer Han-bit before the Korean media, intent on uncovering the identity of the faceless singer Seoul, could. The reason we were looking for someone with a scar on the back of their left hand was because singer Seoul has a distinct scar on the back of her left hand."
“I often watch singer Seoul’s singing videos, but I don’t think he has any tattoos.”
“Ms. Hayena, when did you get that butterfly tattoo on the back of your hand?”
Yena answered Taehyung's question without hesitation.
“I couldn’t do it because of my parents’ opposition, but I finally got permission to do it about a week ago.”
Taehyung, after hearing Yena's answer, made a strange expression on his face that made it hard to read his thoughts and said:
“It’s been about a week since you uploaded a video of singer Seoul. Is it because of the butterfly tattoo?”
Yena's eyes widened at Taehyung's words and she answered in an excited voice.
"Are you really thinking I'm a singer named Seoul right now? Do you think that makes sense?"
"That makes sense. There's a lot of buzz these days about a singer visiting Seoul. Maybe he got the tattoo because he was afraid his scar would be used to identify him."
Yena, who was shocked by Taehyung's words, kicked the chair she was sitting in and stood up.
"I just got this butterfly tattoo because I really didn't like the look of the scar, and it has nothing to do with the singer Seoul."
“If you really have no connection with singer Seoul, would you please do a voice confirmation test?”
“Why do I have to do that test?”
Hanbit, who had been watching from the side to calm down Yena, who seemed a little angry, opened his mouth.
"If our words were a bit harsh, we'd like to apologize. This is because he's a detective, so we hope you'll be understanding and forgiving."
Of course, Yena couldn't hide her surprised expression at the word detective.Hanbit continued what he was about to say.
"You know, Yena, that detectives naturally use deduction to find people, right? That's why I'm speaking so bluntly, so I hope you don't take offense. There must be some reason why singer Seoul won't reveal herself. That's why we're going to find her and interview her. We'll ask her why she's keeping herself a secret, and then we'll publish an article without showing her face. Then, there won't be any more reporters glaring at her, desperate to uncover her true identity. Please help us."
Hanbit's words were full of sincerity. They weren't mere lies meant to persuade others, but words brimming with sincerity.
This wasn't even mentioned to Taehyung, but Hanbit's reason for seeking out singer Seoul was because of what she'd told Yena. Since Hanbit disliked attention, her actions weren't at all unusual.
Yena, moved by Hanbit's sincere words, decides to think about it. Yena gives Hanbit her phone number, and Hanbit gives Yena his.
“I’ll wait for your call, Yena.”
Yena, after exchanging a brief greeting, left the classroom. After Yena left, only Taehyung and Hanbit remained.
“Haa... I made a mistake, right?”
Taehyung, sitting on a chair and with his head bowed, asked Hanbit in a low voice.
"Yes. This time, Taehyung was a bit harsh. Taehyung seems like a kind and warm person, but whenever he works, his desire to solve mysteries seems to grow."
Hanbit paused for a moment and then continued speaking.
"As Taehyung knows, the detective profession is still relatively new in Korea. Since people might not be familiar with detectives in real life, having only read about them in novels, why not think about it first, organize your thoughts, and then present them in a positive light instead of just saying what you've deduced?"
Hanbit was truly profound. She always thought carefully before speaking, even the shortest words. She was always careful not to let her careless words hurt someone, afraid that her words could lead to death. So, she was always careful with her words.
Taehyung nodded slightly in response to Hanbit's sincere advice, which was thoughtful of him.
"I should do as Hanbit said. I've developed a bad habit of blurting out thoughts without thinking when I'm so absorbed in my work. Thank you, Hanbit."
Taehyung showed a pure smile, and Hanbit smiled back without realizing it.
Taehyung possessed a strangely alluring charm. While he might seem a bit intimidating when working as a detective, he possessed a rare purity in this harsh world. From his honest acceptance of Hanbit's advice, Taehyung never once considered anyone else a bad person. He possessed immense confidence in himself and was easily moved to tears by sad movies and dramas. That's how pure and good he was.