Chapter 257 - Comeback (17): Can't Change the Past

An hour later, Eli arrived at Mystic Entertainment's office. She texted Mirae.

"I'm waiting downstairs," she wrote and hit the send button. Within seconds, Mirae replied.

"I'm on my way," the text said. Eli chose to wait in her car, with her headphones on to listen to music. She was debating whether to inform Dasom or not but then thought better of it. What if she disturbed him during a busy period? Or what if he left his important scheduled work for her?

Deciding that she would text him once they returned, she began to scroll down her social media feed. Everywhere she went, the Nation's Couple popped up. Even the female cops at the precinct were gossiping about them. They tried to ask Hyun Jung about his friends but he gave them an angry glare which scared the nosy women off. So they hounded Eli to get juicy details. She escaped their clutches with great difficulty.

After a while, there was a knock on her window. She looked up to see Mirae standing outside. Quickly opening the passenger door, she waited for Mirae to get in.

"So where are we going?" Mirae asked.

"Jeon Shin's daughter's house," Eli replied. "The jewelry shop was torn down after they went bankrupt. The store fell into a financial crisis after Jeon Shin died and no one else in his family had his skills. So they lost a lot of customers until they went bankrupt. The daughter sold off the store and moved away. It took me weeks to track her down through my informants."

"Does she have the client list?"

"I don't know," Eli said. "We'll find out once we get there."

"Alright," Mirae said. "But before that, can we pick up my friend from downtown? She's waiting for us."

"Sure, CEO," Eli complied. 

She revved up the engine and stepped on the peddle. Soon, they were driving off towards the downtown area. There was light traffic on the roads so it took them a little longer than usual to reach there. 

"Turn right and you'll find Corrin & Co. Law Firm," Mirae instructed. Eli turned a corner and spotted a large tower which accommodated Corrin & Co. It was the most prestigious law firm in the country. Only the top lawyers were hired and all of them had a 100% track record. Eli had dealt with their lawyers a lot and she did not particularly like the lot. The firm was notorious for winning but it did not matter to them whom they were defending or punishing. They only cared about money and prestige. For them, truth did not matter but whatever won in the court became the truth. And it was their job to win.

Mirae noticed the slight frown on Eli's face.

"You don't like Corrin & Co.," she guessed.

"Not really," Eli admitted. "They are just not the type of people I would like to associate myself with. Their tendency to win by hook or by crook is not something a cop like me would approve of."

"Well, my friend works here," Mirae shrugged. "You've met her before."

Eli was about to ask who it was but she got her answer when she saw a tall woman in her early thirties approaching them. She immediately recognized the woman.

"Han Sunye?" Eli asked. "Wasn't she Song Tamlin's lawyer?"

"Yes," Mirae replied. Sunye reached the vehicle and got into the backseat. 

"Hello Mirae," Sunye greeted with a smile.

"Hi unnie!" Mirae greeted back. "I think you know Detective Lee Eli already?"

"Yes," Sunye recalled, shaking Eli's hand. "You were one of the detectives who was handling Shun Oguri's case?"

"Yes, ma'am," Eli answered. 

"Did you find his killer?" Sunye asked.

"We're still investigating," Eli stated. There was an icy tension between the two. Mirae could feel that the women were uncomfortable around each other, perhaps due to their past run-ins and their conflicting professions.

"Detective Lee will take us to Jeon Shin's daughter's house," Mirae said, trying to diffuse the tension. "She worked hard to track down his family for us."

"Oh," Sunye said. "Thank you detective."

Eli did not reply but nodded curtly. She started the engine and they drove off once again.

"Where does she live?" Sunye asked. 

"Itaewon," Eli replied. "In an alley between the high school and hospital. After her family went bankrupt, they became impoverished. We're only going there to ask her if she has any of the old records."

"What if she doesn't have them?" Sunye demanded.

"Let's just hope for the best," Mirae said in an attempt to appease her. Even though Sunye put up a calm front, she was panicking inside. It was her only hope and if it turned out to be false, then she would be broken.

"Do you remember anything though?" Eli asked her. "About your family and how you got separated from them?"

Sunye shook her head. "Nothing really," she said. "But…"

"But what?" Mirae probed.

"There is this one memory," Sunye recounted. "It's hazy but I remember that I was being chased down the street by someone. I can't recall his face for some reason. Only thing I remember is that I was really scared. All I knew was to run as fast as I can and reach my brother somehow. But then I was run over by another car and I lost consciousness. After I woke up, I remembered my brother but no one else. The man who hit me, Kim Jaeil, took me in with his family and raised me for a few years. Until he and his family were killed in a fire."

Mirae and Eli looked at each other, at a loss for words. They did not know how to react to the series of tragedies in Sunye's life. 

"We'll find him," Eli promised her. There was a hint of pity in her voice for Sunye.

"Don't feel pity for me," Sunye said, shaking her head. "You can't change the past. I've managed to make something out of myself and I don't think those incidents should stop me from living. All I want to know is that my brother is alright. That's it."

Her request was simple. She was not dwelling over her past nor was she going to wallow in sadness. She wanted closure by finding her brother.

They were silent for the rest of the ride, each lost in their own train of thought.