With an expression full of difficulty, Han-gyeol awkwardly smiled and gestured behind Jung-yoon.
Jung-yoon’s gaze naturally shifted backward.
“Chororok.”
The sound of coffee being sucked through a straw echoed cheerfully. Jeong-rok…
Jung-yoon, who was confused by the question, blinked his eyes with a bright expression, as Jeong-rok looked at Manager Choi with innocent, naive eyes.
At that moment, Jeong-rok reached out behind Jung-yoon’s back and, as if confirming a kill, extended his hand again.
“Detective Woo Jung-yoon, senior.”
“What does that mean! Why…!”
“I’m the team leader, so why is there a question? Detective Woo, accept it. It’s you.”
At Jeong-rok’s words, the face that had turned back to Manager Choi returned to Jeong-rok. Seeing Jung-yoon groan like a malfunctioning robot, Jeong-rok shamelessly pointed his finger.
‘Mine.’
Jung-yoon’s hand, which was extended toward him, slowly moved under Jeong-rok’s neck.
Jung-yoon’s eyes widened in shock at the scene.
Jeong-rok looked at him with a satisfied smile.
He made a “surprise” gesture with his mouth and even created a sparkling effect with both hands.
“Manager?”
Jung-yoon, who had become like someone possessed, looked resentfully at Manager Choi, who was sniffing his nose.
“Go together.”
“Ah, why are you doing this, Manager? I’m sure it was last time…!”
“Wow…! We’re really partners now, huh?”
Interrupting Jung-yoon, Jeong-rok beamed with a smile on his face, speaking in an innocent voice.
With his hands clasped together in prayer-like fashion, he raised his shoulders dramatically. Jung-yoon quickly became serious.
That damn bastard…
With clenched fists ready to throw a punch, Jung-yoon ground his teeth.
Even while cursing Jeong-rok’s face, he didn’t hesitate once.
Why did Jeong-rok have to act this way?
Jung-yoon glared at Jeong-rok with a sharp gaze, overwhelmed by emotions that had built up inside him.
Jeong-rok, who met Jung-yoon’s icy glare, quickly stood up, avoiding his gaze.
“Detective Woo, you go too.”
“…Why, Han-gyeol volunteered.”
“Well, if you’re that displeased, like Manager Moon said, you can be the team leader instead. Go or not?”
“Ugh… If something happens and I end up killing Manager Moon, you have to consider it self-defense and take it into account.”
Biting his teeth, Jung-yoon spoke boldly, glancing at Hyun-cheol, who raised the corners of his mouth in a smile.
“If you kill that bastard, I’ll put you on the special promotion list for self-defense.”
Hyun-cheol spoke with eyes that held no soul, clapping his hands to cheer on Jung-yoon.
The atmosphere was irreversible, and with no choice left, Jung-yoon grabbed his cellphone and stood up from his seat.
Jung-yoon, glaring at Jeong-rok as if he was about to pierce the back of his head, followed him.
Whenever Jeong-rok’s large back flinched with a jerky motion ahead of him, Jung-yoon gritted his teeth.
“Why are you holding your hand like that? What, are you a Christian?”
Manager Choi, who was holding the doorknob in front of the office, looked up at Jeong-rok, who had caught up with him, as though he were a crazy person.
Jeong-rok, lowering his chin and making eye contact with Manager Choi, only smiled slightly at the corners of his mouth.
With his hands still clasped together in a prayer-like gesture, he raised his shoulders and answered with an innocent expression.
“Atheist.”
“This is crazy… get your face away, you bastard.”
As the section chief, Choi, opened the door and entered, Jeongrok, who had been smiling without changing his expression, stepped back.
Jeongyun was staring at his disgusting behavior with a look of great disgust.
Slowly turning his body, Jeongrok widened the hand he had placed and slapped it with a loud sound.
“Now, what should I call Detective Woo?”
“What do you mean, what should you call me?”
Jeongyun didn’t hide his feelings and showed them clearly on his face.
Jeongrok, who had been staring at Jeongyun with his eyebrows furrowed, intertwined his hands as if in prayer and rested his chin on them.
“Honey?”
At Jeongrok’s playful words, Jung-yoon stiffened for a moment.
Then, his face turned red as his anger flared at such a trivial remark.
Jung-yoon scrunched up his rough face, glared at Jeongrok, and shouted.
“If you say one more word, I’ll really take off your rank.”
“Can a martial artist punch like that at an ordinary person?”
“Where do you see me as an ordinary person, huh? Go outside and take a look. Who do you think would be seen as a martial artist? Look at those freakish forearms…”
“Hey, you bastards! Are you not coming in? Do I need to set up the whole stage for you?”
The meaningless fight ended with the intervention of Section Chief Choi.
Jung-yoon suddenly felt an overwhelming sense of fatigue.
But there was no time to waste, so he followed Jeongrok into the room.
“About the skeleton body found recently.”
“Deokdong?”
“Yeah. That one. You guys gathered here.”
Section Chief Choi, motioning with his chin as if to close the door, immediately got to the point.
“Is it Seo Junshim?”
“Yeah, it’s his. They did a DNA comparison with his brother, and it matched. Sigh, seriously. How is this happening again?”
Section Chief Choi spoke with a calm voice as if suppressing his emotions.
His face, rubbing his forehead, looked very troubled.
All the detectives sighed, murmuring about how such a discovery could happen at this timing.
Only Jung-yoon, who had a rough understanding of the original situation, remained unaffected.
“Anyway, you two go…”
He made an uncomfortable expression as he glanced at Jeongrok.
After another long sigh, he continued.
“Joonhyuk and Han-gyeol will go over the evidence here again, so you two go to the scene, get the information, and start investigating the surroundings again.”
“Just the two of us?”
“Yeah, for now, just the two of you.”
“Not everyone, just the two of us?”
Jung-yoon raised his voice immediately at Section Chief Choi’s orders.
The whiny tone was out of place, and Section Chief Choi squinted his eyes.
Jeongrok silently watched the two without saying anything.
“If we need help, we can request it later. What’s the point of bringing everyone? Are we going to fight there? Just go with the two of you and see what’s going on.”
“But why us?”
“Because Jeongrok is the team leader. You’re going because he’s your partner. If you don’t like it, kill the team leader and switch partners.”
Section Chief Choi threw the materials on the desk and stared at Jeongrok.
“Want to switch?”
His face clearly showed his annoyance at what he considered a pointless argument.
Jung-yoon clenched his hands behind his back, frustrated that his opinion wasn’t taken into account.
“No thanks.”
There was no hesitation in his response.
Jung-yoon didn’t expect anything.
That guy seemed to enjoy tormenting him as much as catching the criminal.
He would never reject the opportunity to catch two birds with one stone.
“Go.”
Section Chief Choi slapped the desk with the file, sounding uninterested.
Jung-yoon, who had picked up Jeongrok’s things, glared at him and nodded curtly before walking away.
Jeongrok, who had been silently watching, also lowered his head without saying a word.
“Moon Jeongrok.”
As Jeongyun grabbed the doorknob to turn it, Section Chief Choi grabbed Jeongrok’s ankle from behind.
“I told you before, don’t make unnecessary trouble. I really hate cleaning up after others. It’s annoying. Don’t do it. Got it?”
“If you don’t want to deal with annoying tasks, you shouldn’t wear the armband…”
“Who wanted to wear it? It’s because of you, you bastard!”
At Jeongrok’s rebuttal, Section Chief Choi, who was clenching his teeth, looked around.
When his sharp gaze fell on the files on the desk, Jeongrok stepped back and stood next to Jung-yoon.
Jung-yoon, who was now feeling a headache, silently pressed his forehead.
“You, you bastard. Do you know how many eyes are watching you right now? If you cause unnecessary trouble and get pulled up because of me, you can count on your life going to the heavens. Jung-yoon, you listen carefully too. If this bastard, Moon Jeongrok, does anything stupid, just shoot him. I give you permission.”
“Thank you.”
“Huh, thank you? You’re thanking me for telling you to kill your partner?”
Seemingly displeased, Section Chief Choi yelled, then set the file down.
Jung-yoon ignored Jeongrok and lowered his head.
“Moon Jeongrok, never forget that you’re the team leader here. Take it out of your brain and engrave it as a tattoo if you need to. Got it?”
“Gross…”
“That bastard…!”
Jeongrok retorted as Section Chief Choi grumbled, sitting down angrily.
He waved his hand in frustration and issued a dismissal order.
“Now, go. Get lost.”
Still feeling uneasy, Section Chief Choi raised his voice even after the two left the office.
“Just do your job! Just work!”
But neither of them had the kind of personality to make promises about a future that they couldn’t confirm.
The corridor was left echoing only with Section Chief Choi’s desperate cries.
***
The heavy air was thick with the scent of grass.
Even though there was no wind, the eerie, hair-raising sound added to the blurred vision, driving the fear to its extreme.
A woman, barely covered, tied up, and her hands clasped together as if in prayer, continued to rub them nervously.
“I-I don’t know why this is happening, but… huff, I-I’ll give you money. I-I won’t report to the police. Just… just let me live… just let me live…”
The woman, seemingly terrified, stuttered as she spoke.
Her lips, dried so much in half a day that they had turned white, were bleeding.