Five minutes later, inside Fujino's apartment.
Fujino sat on the brown sofa in his bedroom, silently observing the woman in front of him—Chouno Yoko, who was currently explaining how she had recently been stalked. He couldn't help but feel speechless.
Just moments ago, Ikegawa Yuko had left, and now Chouno Yoko arrived right after.
Good grief, you two didn't arrange this together, did you?
Faced with Chouno Yoko's request, Fujino couldn't help but feel a bit troubled.
He had just accepted Ikegawa Yuko's commission to dig up dirt on Chouno Yoko.
And now Chouno Yoko had come to him, asking him to investigate whoever had been stalking her lately.
Wasn't this getting a bit too convoluted…? This was going to be tricky.
"If Detective Fujino can uncover the truth behind this, we're willing to offer 400,000 yen as commission."
Seeing Fujino's distracted expression, Chouno Yoko's manager, Yamagishi Eiichi, immediately realized what was going on and tried offering the fee for this commission.
Four hundred thousand yen?
Upon hearing that, Fujino's ears perked up.
Well, as long as he didn't disclose his client's personal information, technically this wasn't betraying anyone, right?
Besides—400,000 yen! That's sincerity if he ever saw it—heaven and earth could bear witness to that.
"So Miss Yoko, you're here to hire me to find the person who's been stalking you these past few days?"
As usual, Fujino poured a cup of black tea for Chouno Yoko.
"Mm."
Chouno Yoko nodded slightly.
"It's not just some tabloid paparazzi, is it?"
"No…"
Chouno Yoko took the tea, frowning slightly. "If it were just paparazzi, I could deal with it… But this time, it's gone way too far."
"Every time I come home, I find the furniture has been moved."
"I often get silent phone calls, and the day after the calls, photos taken of me secretly will be sent to my house."
"Just last night… someone was chasing after me like a lunatic…"
As she spoke, tears of fear welled up at the corners of her eyes. "I don't know what to do anymore. If this keeps up, I won't even be able to sleep at night…"
Fujino carefully studied Chouno Yoko's face and noticed the faint shadows under her eyes.
For an idol, lack of rest was a very serious matter—especially for someone like Chouno Yoko, who was currently at the peak of her popularity.
"What a monster…"
Fujino cursed under his breath.
But thinking back—if he wasn't mistaken, the one responsible for all of this was probably Ikegawa Yuko.
And Ikegawa Yuko had just hired him…
Crap. Turns out he was the monster here.
Cough cough!
Fujino cleared his throat to dispel the awkwardness.
Quickly changing the subject, he reasoned, "If Miss Yoko's description is accurate, I believe what you're dealing with… is probably a Sasaeng fan."
"Sasaeng fan?"
Chouno Yoko blinked in confusion. "What kind of food is that?"
"Not food, not rice. 'Fan' as in fanatic supporter."
Fujino explained, "It refers to obsessive fans who pry into the private lives of idols. We call them 'sasaeng fans'—they use stalking, hidden cameras, breaking, peeping, and other extreme methods to invade an idol's privacy."
"I've never heard of that term before…"
Chouno Yoko, sitting on the sofa listening to Fujino's explanation, tilted her head slightly with another innocent question—
She looked exactly like a little kid raising her hand in kindergarten to ask a question.