I Became the Cute One in the Troubleshooter Squad

The biggest clue was a photo taken late at night inside the office building.

Using this, they could narrow down those without alibis.

Aisha’s manager, an in-house designer, an accountant, a photographer, and even a fellow idol—these five were now the primary suspects in the stalker case.

Raven turned to Bold, the manager of the office, who was watching with a serious expression, and asked,

“Hm. Are you absolutely certain that these five individuals were inside the office at the time the photo was taken?”

“Yes, I confirmed it with my own eyes. These were the only ones who had any reason to remain at the office late at night.”

“Based on your testimony, then, I’m confident. The culprit is among these five.”

With that declaration, Raven eliminated any room for doubt, nodding firmly before explaining the situation to the suspects, who had no idea why they had been called in.

He laid out the case: over the past month, Aisha had been receiving threatening messages from a malicious stalker, including death threats, photos of her back, and pictures of places she had visited.

It was a succinct summary, enough for anyone to understand the situation.

“This is outrageous….”

“Why would I do such a thing to Aisha? We’re in the same agency!”

“This is so unfair! Who would stalk whom?”

“Please, calm down. No one is accusing you outright—only that it’s a possibility….”

“Well, it’s offensive! Why would I harass Aisha?”

Alice struggled to calm the outraged suspects, who were understandably upset about being accused of stalking.

Raven, however, remained composed, speaking with a calm professionalism that refused to waver.

“There’s no guarantee that you won’t be the next target. The faster we catch the stalker, the safer you’ll all be. If you cooperate, this won’t take long. Let’s go through this one by one. Tell us where you were and what you were doing at that time.”

Raven’s unflinching demeanor seemed to help. One by one, the suspects began explaining their activities that night.

The manager claimed he had been warming himself in the break room, preparing to escort Aisha home.

The designer said she was working late in her studio, rushing to finish an album design.

The accountant stated she was fixing an earlier mistake at her desk.

The photographer said he had returned to the office briefly to retrieve some photos he needed to submit the next morning.

The fellow idol explained he had just finished practicing his singing and dancing and was about to leave.

While no one could provide proof for their activities, their reasons for being in the office seemed plausible enough.

Raven stroked his chin thoughtfully as he listened to their explanations.

“Thank you for sharing. Everyone seems to have at least some form of an alibi.”

“Hah… I’m not sure what to make of this. I can’t believe one of them could be the stalker,” Bold muttered.

Perhaps it was hard for him to believe, considering he worked closely with all of them.

But at that moment, Raven’s gaze slowly shifted toward one person—the manager.

“There’s something strange, though,” Raven began. “You, the manager, claimed you were quietly in the break room at the time, making it impossible for you to take the photo. But evidence suggests otherwise—you visited a café outside the office during that time, didn’t you?” 𝖗𝐀Ŋ𝐨ᛒĘṧ

“Ugh…! Th-that’s…”

“You managed to avoid the internal CCTV, but I suppose you didn’t anticipate the external CCTV, did you?”

Raven confidently held up a photograph, taken from an outdoor CCTV camera. It clearly showed the manager at the café.

Caught in a blatant lie, the room erupted into murmurs of shock. I, meanwhile, swallowed hard, thinking how perfect this would’ve been with some popcorn.

David stepped forward to add weight to Raven’s claim.

“I’d like to mention something as well. There was a witness who saw a red-haired man quietly following Aisha at one of the locations where a stalker photo was taken.”

“Gasp! The manager’s hair is also….”

“Bright red!”

The other suspects turned to stare at the red-haired manager, their expressions a mix of shock and suspicion.

With his alibi disproven and circumstantial evidence mounting against him, even Aisha widened her eyes in disbelief.

“M-Manager… This is a lie, right? Why… why would you…?”

“….”

“Answer me! You’re not the stalker, are you? You said we were like family!”

Aisha’s face was etched with betrayal, her heavily made-up eyes full of hurt.

As she took a step toward him, Raven stopped her, signaling that he had more to say.

“No, the manager isn’t the stalker,” Raven declared.

“Huh? What?”

“You just accused him of lying! Then how—?”

“He lacks any motive to stalk Aisha. There’s nothing he would gain from it. He was merely a tool—someone being used. Isn’t that right, Bold?”

“E-excuse me? What are you implying?” Bold stammered, beads of sweat forming on his brow.

“The stalker… is you. Am I wrong?”

A collective gasp filled the room as everyone turned to Bold in shock.

No one could believe it—the manager, the prime suspect moments ago, had been a decoy. Bold, the seemingly harmless general manager, was the real culprit.

Well, I’d known all along, but it was still fun to watch it unfold.

Bold protested vehemently, claiming there was no reason for him to do such a thing. Aisha was like family to him, so why would he hurt her?

“You say you had no reason,” Raven countered, his voice calm yet cutting, “but you did have one—getting Aisha to quit voluntarily. She’s not profitable enough for you, is she? You wanted to reduce the number of ‘maximized’ idols under your care. After all, you’ve essentially been demoted to this position.”

“Haha! What nonsense! We’re a family! I would never—this is slander! Even if you’re a fixer, you can’t just accuse innocent people! I’ll call the police—!”

“Innocent?” Raven smirked. “Then how do you explain this?”

Pulling out his device, Raven played an audio recording.

[ “Manager, what’s the issue?” ]

[ “Sigh. You’ve got to help me. The higher-ups want that girl gone—they say she’s not making enough money. Ugh, maximized? What a joke.” ]

[ “Why not just wait for her contract to expire in a year and refuse to renew it?” ]

[ “Tsk, they don’t want to wait that long. Just get it done. I’ll make it worth your while.” ]

The recording stopped, leaving a stunned silence in its wake.

The man who claimed to treat idols like family had been exposed as someone who’d stop at nothing to discard them for profit.

Even the stalking and threats had been orchestrated to avoid blame falling on the agency.

Aisha, utterly devastated, lowered her head, unable to speak.

Raven pocketed the device, his cold gaze fixed on Bold.@@novelbin@@

“It seems the one who needs to call the police is you. Any objections?”

“Th-this is fabricated!” Bold stammered.

“There’s no fabrication here. I stake my honor as a fixer on it. So, what will you stake? Your fortune? Your life?”

“D-damn it!”

It seemed Bold had intended to pin the stalker case on the manager as a scapegoat and quietly slip away. 

His face contorted into an expression of pure malice, a stark contrast to the kindly bald man I’d seen earlier that morning.

The situation had completely shifted. The stalking and death threats targeting Aisha were no longer just personal crimes but ones that could tarnish her entire agency, Codria.

As the prospect of police involvement loomed, promising inevitable judgment, Aisha, with teary eyes, hurriedly approached Raven.

“W-wait!”

“Huh?”

“Please… could you not report Bold to the police?”

Her sudden plea to protect Bold plunged the room into confusion once again.

After enduring a month of harassment, why would she suddenly speak up for him? Even the manager, who had been used as Bold’s pawn, was so shocked he began to protest.

Raven, however, paid little attention to the reactions around him and instead studied Aisha closely. Realizing her intentions weren’t driven by pity or personal comfort, he calmly asked,

“May I ask why?”

“It’s not really about Bold,” Aisha replied, wiping her tears and meeting Raven’s gaze with fiery determination. “There are idols at Codria whom I respect and admire. If we report this, they’ll end up suffering unfairly because of it. I… don’t want that to happen.”

Her resolve wasn’t rooted in anger toward Bold or regret over her betrayal. She was thinking of the innocent idols under Codria who could become collateral damage if the scandal broke.

Aisha, a remarkably kind-hearted idol despite her destructive stage persona, couldn’t bear the thought of anyone else suffering because of this.

Raven scratched his head, considering her request, then shrugged.

“Fine, do as you like. My job was to find the stalker, not to punish them.”

“Jin!” Alice protested.

“What? If the client doesn’t want it, that’s her call. Who are we to argue?”

Deciding to step back, Raven ignored Alice’s disapproval and casually withdrew.

Aisha nodded gratefully at Raven before walking toward Bold. Her footsteps were heavy, and her expression was ice-cold as she addressed him.

“Manager… no, Baldy.”

“B-Baldy?!”

“Yeah, you. Should I call you Octopus? Want me to pluck those few strands of hair left on the side of your head? Do you feel no shame for what you’ve done?”

“W-what… you…!”

Aisha’s glare was as fierce as an unleashed stallion, her rage palpable. Respect was no longer an option for someone like him.

Her aura was so intense that even as a bystander, I felt a chill down my spine, half-expecting her to pull a hammer out of her pocket and smash his head in.

“Tell the higher-ups the contract was terminated due to your mistake. If you don’t, I’ll make sure this whole thing goes public.”

“Kugh….”

“No response?!”

“I-I understand! I’ll do it!”

Bold, cowed by Aisha’s intensity, hung his head in submission, clearly realizing that crossing her any further would be a disastrous mistake.

***

Thus, the case was resolved.

Aisha terminated her idol contract on the grounds of Codria’s misconduct. She made it clear that if Bold failed to follow through, she would expose everything to the media.

For Aisha, who had dreamed of being an idol since childhood, it was a bittersweet conclusion—one that left a hollow feeling behind.

“Ugh, I really thought things would end well for once….”

“With the head manager as the culprit, staying in that agency wasn’t an option. It’s unfortunate, but it couldn’t be helped…,” David sighed.

Despite catching the stalker, the outcome—a resignation from her idol career—left an undeniably bitter aftertaste. Alice and David slumped over the café table, their spirits dampened.

Raven, sipping on a hot chocolate, merely clicked his tongue, looking unfazed.

“Why waste energy overanalyzing? We did our job. Whatever choices the client makes afterward are none of our business.”

“But still…,” Alice muttered.

“Tsk. Look at the part-timer.” Raven gestured toward me. “She’s sipping her juice like it’s no big deal, while you two grown-ups are moping. Aren’t you embarrassed in front of her?”

“…?”

Why was he dragging me into this?

And for the record, Alice is still a high schooler.

I blinked in confusion, sipping my apple mango juice while staring at Raven, who ignored my reaction and turned his attention back to the sulking duo.

“Most things in life don’t end with a happy ending. The world tends to tilt in ways people don’t want. Don’t dwell on results too much; that’s how you live without constant stress.”

“Phew… I guess you’re right,” David admitted.

“And from what I heard, Aisha isn’t planning to quit being an idol completely. She’ll probably find another chance. I can’t promise she’ll succeed, but it’s possible.”

Raven’s pragmatic words, though harsh, seemed to offer some solace. Slowly, Alice and David resumed drinking their coffees.

The table fell silent, the atmosphere calm yet reflective.

As the silence stretched, Alice, resting her chin on her hand and gazing out the window, murmured,

“Speaking of which… When is Aisha coming back? She said she’d step out to remove her makeup.”

“Well, considering how much she covers her face, it’s probably taking a while,” Raven quipped.

In truth, Aisha hadn’t left us. She was still part of our group and had gone to freshen up, deciding to remove the heavy makeup she typically wore as “Maximized Idol: Aisha.”

Then, a striking figure approached our table from within the café.

She was stunning—so breathtaking that even Alice, the Problem-Solvers’ official beauty, seemed dimmer in her presence.

The elegant woman hesitated slightly before stopping at our table. Raven looked up at her, puzzled.

“Do you need something?” he asked.

The woman smiled shyly and spoke softly.

“Um, Mr. Raven… could I make another request? There’s something I’d like your help with….”

“…Who are you?”

It was clear she was a stranger, yet she spoke as if she knew us.

Then came her reply, which left Raven and the rest of us utterly speechless.

“It’s me… Aisha.”

“Wha—?!”

“Huh?!”

“…?”

I couldn’t help but laugh silently to myself as the others gawked in shock.

This was far more entertaining than when Bold was exposed as the culprit.

Ah, so this is why people love surprises.

I learned something new today.