Clandestine:The Mystery of Planes

Chapter 22- 'The White Asphodel'

A scream is heard from Taeho's side. Nari is taken aback by the scream.

"Hello? Taeho? Who was that?"

The line gets disconnected. Nari tries calling Taeho, but he doesn't answer while she and Daeun are heading to the lane behind uni.

"Tell me how Taeho looks like",Daeun says.

Nari replies,"He has this wavy brown hair, and he is tan skinned", as they are standing in the lane.

In front of them are two more lanes.

"Okay. You go that way, and I'll go this way", Daeun says, pointing.

"You have your phone with you, right?"

"Yes. I'll call you. Call me if you finď him."

"Okay."
Just as they were about to go in different lanes, they hear siren noises from one of the lane.

"I think we should go that way",Daeun says, pointing towards the lane where the sound was coming from.

"Let's go",Nari replies.
As they head into the lane, the sound of sirens become clearer. They see that there are 2 police cars and ambulance when they are near the source of the sound.

Nari's heart sinks when she sees those cars.
Her voice shakily she asks an officer who seems middle-aged ,"What is happening here?"

"A woman has been found murdered. It's a bad sight. You kids should leave",the officer says, looking at Nari and Daeun.

"It's okay. I am with the NIS. My name is Lee Nari. I have been carrying out a mission here.",Nari says, and she and Daeun show their IDs.

Nari continues, "We will see if we recognize the body. We are on a mission here."

"I am the officer in charge Park Inhwan. This way." The officer leads the way

"Any suspects?",Daeun asks the officer.

"We are having difficulty tracking things today because of the rain. We haven't recognized the woman yet."

"How did you find out about the body?",Nari asks.

"We received a call from a young boy who found the body. I think he is your age."

"Does he have wavy brown hair?",Nari asks hastily.

"Yes. Do you children know him?"

Nari lets out a sigh of relief.
"Yes, he is our classmate",she says.

"We are here",the officer says as he stops and looks at the corpse lying on the footpath with a white asphodel in her hand.

Eyes widened, Nari says, "Oh my God. This can not be happening."

"Do you recognize her?",the police officer asks.

"What's wrong, Nari? Say something,will you?",Daeun asks with her voice all tensed up.

"Her name is Yu Hwayoung. She is a lecturer at Hanjo University."

"Now that we have recognized the corpse, let's go back up", the officer says.

As they head back up, Nari is very tense. She was feeling very guilty. Who killed Mrs.Hwayoung? Why was she killed? Did those cruel people find out that she was a double agent, and so they killed her?

They reach the alley where all the police cars were there and Nari spots Taeho. Taeho looks at Nari and rushes to her. Catching her arms lightly, he says,"Someone killed Mrs.Hwayoung. Are you okay?"

Nari looks at him really angrily and shouts,"Are you crazy?...."
But when she sees that everyone is looking at them both, she lowers her voice and continues,"Are you really worried about me right now when you had an encounter with that psycho man?"

Daeun hears and says,"She is not scolding you. She is asking if you are okay."

Taeho looks at Daeun, then turns to Nari and says,"I am fine. Don't worry Nari",in an assuring tone.

"I would have killed you if something happened to you."Nari replies.

Taeho chuckles nervously. Then he asks,"Who are you?" looking at Daeun.

"She is my friend", Nari says.

"I am her only friend Ahn Daeun. Finally I get to meet you."

"Only friend?" Taeho says with a light chuckle.

"Unfortunately yes",Daeun says.
"Thanks for translating just now Daeun",Taeho says.

Taeho notices Nari being tensed. She was biting her finger, looking down at the wet road. He goes closer to her and asks,"Are you really okay?"
He could see guilt in her eyes.
He says,"You don't think that she died because of you, right?"
Nari slowly looks up and into his eyes. He could see resent and anger in her eyes. She was always hard to read. But not today. He pushes her hair back and hugs her.
In a shakily voice, she says,"I...I... promised her. I promised I would protect her."

Park Inhwan,the middle-aged officer who was also the officer in charge, walks towards Nari and says,"Miss.Lee Nari,we have found another body over there."