Jung Yoon’s eyes narrowed as he stared at the detective, who was openly displaying hostility.
Even though the detective was young, he was a team leader and a deputy commissioner.
Such treatment was unacceptable.
Annoyance suddenly welled up inside him.
In contrast, Jeong Rok, with an indifferent expression, quickly drank his coffee and set the empty paper cup down.
Jung Yoon, whose anger had shifted to Jeong Rok, moved his gaze toward him.
Jeong Rok was crossing his arms over his thick chest, looking like he was preparing for something.
After adjusting his posture, he put his notebook down.
Only then did Jeong Rok lower his arms from his chest.
“You received the contact from the headquarters, right? I was hoping to receive some materials related to the case.”
“Yeah, well… But the records from 20 years ago are all that we’ve provided, and I believe you already received the forensic results from Seo Jun-shim. We’re still investigating other matters,”
Jung Yoon replied, sensing some oddness in the detective’s behavior.
His tone and expression indicated that the detective wasn’t happy about Jeong Rok and Jung Yoon’s visit.
Of course, it wasn’t pleasant for him to lose the case to the headquarters, but that was irrelevant to Jeong Yun and Jeong Rok.
The detective in front of them was not even someone included in the list for special promotions.
He likely wasn’t even the one who handled the investigation 20 years ago.
Was it a matter of allegiance?
Typically, officers would avoid cases that stirred up so much noise, but…
A phrase suddenly flashed through Jung Yoon’s mind.
Hyungbae gave some of the money he received from Director Park to Gwangjin and used him without hesitation.
Gwangjin didn’t mind working for him, because they were of the same kind.
He followed orders easily as long as there was money involved.
Jung Yoon’s eyes widened as he remembered.
It was a name from The Third Eye.
A corrupt police officer who worked for the money he was given.
Jung Yoon clenched his teeth.
At the sound of something cracking, Jeong Rok glanced at Jung Yoon and gulped down even the cold coffee in front of him.
Jung Yoon furrowed his brows and shot him an irritated look.
Wiping his mouth, Jeong Rok casually grinned.
“Ah, I see. In that case, you could’ve just told me we didn’t need to come.”
“No, I… I told our youngest member. I thought everything had been contacted already,” Jeong Rok responded sharply.
One of the detectives laughed lightly in response.
Jung Yoon, who looked at him with disdain, rubbed his forehead as a vein popped out, and sighed.
“Since we’re here anyway, could we get the materials related to Seo Jun-shim and the written documentation so far? We have instructions from higher up as well.”
It seemed the detective didn’t want to back down easily.
He hesitated, rubbing his neck and avoiding Jung Yoon’s request.
As the detectives exchanged glances, Jung Yoon cut in.
“If it’s troublesome, we can take the evidence with us.”
Jeong Rok silently observed the two men, who were having a silent showdown.
The detective, who was only watching, subtly glanced at Jeong Rok.
When their eyes met, Jeong Rok smiled with an amiable expression.
“Well, since I’m from ‘that’ Chief’s house…”
At Jeong Rok’s words, the detective’s face turned pale, nearly white.
The man, whose head was wrapped in a bandage, clicked his tongue as he glanced around nervously.
His displeasure was as expected.
Since Jung Yoon had no intention of backing down, he made no effort to smooth things over.
He pushed back his chair and stood up.
Just before leaving, he made eye contact with the many eyes that were focused on him and spoke.
“Then, as you say, what would be more convenient for you?”
***
~ Later ~
The two of them left the police station and returned to the village.
After parking the car in a quiet area, they began reviewing the case files they had obtained.
Jung Yoon, sitting with his back deeply leaned against the passenger seat, crossed his arms and let out a deep sigh.
“The man who was the prime suspect… the one in the white Grandeur.”
“Peach?”
“Yes, as I was going through the case report, something about the timeline kept bothering me.”
“What about it?”
Jung Yoon aggressively flipped through the case report with a sharp sound.
As he furrowed his brows in deep concentration, Jeong Rok let out a deep exhale.
“It says that a year before Han Bong-im went missing, a large quantity of peaches were purchased in the village. There were no victims associated with that purchase, though. After Han Bong-im, it was Seo Mal-sook. There was no purchase of peaches during this time. And then Seo Jun-shim went missing.”
Jung-yoon traced over the highlighted section with his finger.
He held the paper upright so that Jeong-rok could see it clearly.
Jeong-rok, who had hidden his cigarette under his arm, leaned his elbow against the driver’s side window and read the section carefully.
“The coroner’s report on the body found shows that the estimated time of death and the time the person initially went missing are not significantly different. The same goes for Seo Mal-sook. Then, it seems likely that Seo Jun-shim would be the same. However, this suspect came back to buy peaches again after Seo Jun-shim went missing, right? At 81 Beonji, Jeong Yong-gil’s house.”
Jeong-rok, with his back to the driver’s seat, stared at the moon now shining brightly and smoked his cigarette.
“But there was no victim there. Even though Jeong Yong-gil’s wife, who is similar to the victim, lives there. What’s the difference compared to the previous cases? The investigation record doesn’t show any clear differences.”
“Why didn’t he kill her?”
“It’s not that, but… it shows signs of a cooling-off period. There was enough time for the next incident. Seo Jun-shim’s body hadn’t been found yet at that time. The method of handling the body seems to have evolved. That means the killer must have gained more confidence. But then, why didn’t he commit a crime?”
Jeong-rok, who had been persistent in his questioning, extinguished his cigarette and opened the driver’s side door.
“That makes sense.”
“At that time, the wife didn’t even get questioned as a witness. The bastard who bought the peaches is the prime suspect, and even though his whereabouts are unknown, he’s the last person to have seen her.”
Jung-yoon, who had been talking rapidly like a lecture, suddenly closed his mouth.
His sharp gaze slowly shifted to Jeong-rok’s hand.
“If it’s not in the record, we can check it ourselves.”
Jung-yoon stared at Jeong-rok, who was starting the car. Looking up at him with a pointed gaze, Jeong-rok smirked and squinted his eyes as he turned to face Jung-yoon.
“Under Article 3, Paragraph 1 of the Minor Offenses Punishment Act, if you discard a cigarette butt anywhere, you’re violating the littering prohibition. Fine: 50,000 won.”
Before Jeong-rok’s gaze could change, Jung-yoon quickly added, “Per offense. Go pick up what you threw.”
***
The village hall was less than a 5-minute drive from Jeong-rok’s car.
He parked right in front of it, almost casually.
Jung-yoon was about to point out that it wasn’t a designated parking area, but decided against it.
He showed his displeasure with his expression but quietly got out of the car.
Even if the ticket was issued, whether that asshole gets one or I get one, it doesn’t matter.
As a colleague and a fellow passenger, this may be an irresponsible thought, but looking at Jeong-rok’s car, Jung-yoon didn’t really feel like getting involved.
He glanced enviously at Jeong-rok’s foreign car, which was hard to maintain on a civil servant’s salary, and shook his head.
But how could a civil servant drive such a flashy car, completely sober?
The more he looked at it, the more it felt completely different from his own partner.
Should I say it’s fortunate?
Lost in thought, Jung-yoon suddenly snapped out of it as he saw Jeong-rok quickly climbing up an alley.
He hurried to follow him, and before long, they reached the middle of the alley, in front of a green gate.
Jung-yoon, almost instinctively, pulled out his phone.
“Damhong 1-gil / 6-3 (Damhong-dong – 81)”
He compared the address on the dirty white wall with the resident list he had saved.
Since most of the heads of households shared the same surname, the range wasn’t broad.
A few lines down, he found the name of the head of the household and the family members listed for the address.
“Damhong 1-gil 6-3 (formerly Damhong-dong 81) / Head of Household: Jeong Yong-gil / Family Members: Go Ok-nam / Kim Yang-hee.”
But no matter how many times he looked at it, nothing came to mind.
It was a quick glance without really reading, and the results were unsatisfying.
Hiding his disappointment under his tongue, Jung-yoon pressed the doorbell.
“Is anyone home?”
Upon checking, he found that this couple had been married for less than a year at the time of the incident.
They had moved to this village shortly after getting married, having both worked at the same company in Seoul.
Though they were young, they had moved here to live with the mother, earning recognition as a filial couple.
While waiting for the door to open, Jung-yoon glanced over the low wall to see the inside of the house.
The first thing he noticed was a large window, tightly covered with curtains and a sturdy sliding door, almost like a hidden entrance.
As he slowly moved his eyes, he noticed a CCTV camera in the upper corner, although it was hard to tell where it was pointing.
A small red dot blinked, catching Jung-yoon’s sharp gaze.
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