At Jung Yoon’s initially unintentional interest, Chang-hyun’s face brightened.
Chang-hyun’s eyes widened, and he pressed his upper body close to the table.
His solar plexus must have been hitting the edge of the table, making it uncomfortable, but he showed no signs of discomfort.
“Yes! Oh, really… That delivery guy, and some loser, the three of us were investigated together. We all denied it and got out quickly, but… Oh, if you look that up, it’ll all come out, won’t it?!”
Chang-hyun pointed at the monitor and pleaded.
Jung Yoon, who had been listening quietly to Chang-hyun’s story, pressed a key.
“Yes, yes! The three of us were investigated then. Not here, but where there were a lot of people outside.”
“As you said, if we look this up, it will all come out.”
“No, isn’t it stranger that you didn’t even check that before just grabbing me by the collar when you came to pick up another person?! Go look it up!”
Jang Chang-hyun’s chest rose and fell heavily.
“If today’s testimony is found to be false, you may receive a harsher punishment in a future trial.”
“Oh, come on… Then you! You who didn’t even investigate and just grabbed me by the collar first!”
“I’m not saying another word today. Huh? That’s it! It’s over!”
Having said that, Jang Chang-hyun truly didn’t say another word.
Because Jeong Rok, who Jung Yoon had expected to throw a fit, remained quiet, Jung Yoon also found it difficult to take any further action.
Ultimately, the two had no choice but to return to the office, their investigation fruitless.
The news that greeted the two, who returned without any progress, was the news they had hoped not to hear.
Han-gyeol, with a tired face, spoke even before Jung Yoon sat down.
“I checked Jang Chang-hyun’s criminal record, and as he said, most of them were robbery cases targeting empty houses. There wasn’t a single case where he injured a person.”
Jung Yoon slightly furrowed his brow.
Han-gyeol continued without stopping.
“I checked the modus operandi, and it doesn’t match the characteristics. The time of the crime and the method itself are very different.”
Jeong Rok’s usually impassive face suddenly turned cold.
He looked as if he had been shocked. But it didn’t seem to be because of Jang Chang-hyun.
While it was all conjecture, a certain intuition sharpened Jung Yoon’s senses.
“The only thing suspicious is that he was near there at the estimated time of the crime.”
Han-gyeol, who had added this while observing the two silent men, handed Jung Yoon a pre-printed document.
As Jung Yoon slowly read the handed-over paper, his face gradually darkened.
“Also, as Jang Chang-hyun said, there is a record of him being investigated along with a delivery driver and an unemployed person. But it ended with no charges.”
Han-gyeol pointed a finger towards Jung Yoon, who was concentrating on reading the documents.
Jung Yoon briefly looked up at the arm extended over the partition and nodded.
Jeong Rok, who was standing further away, had an even sterner expression.
“There’s a record of him being investigated?”
“Yes. …You really didn’t know?”
Jung Yoon, who had confirmed the date and the details of the investigation, answered instead of Han-gyeol.
Han-gyeol let out a small sigh and slumped powerlessly into his seat.
Jung Yoon pushed the received documents over to Jeong Rok’s desk.
He flipped the pages for Jeong Rok to easily see, and Jung Yoon also entered Jang Chang-hyun’s name into the police program to cross-check.
However, even after checking again directly, nothing changed.
Everything was as per his statement.
Jang Chang-hyun had never harmed anyone.
His statement about being timid was by no means negligible.
The reason was simple.
The Chunwon City case in 2005 was so brutally cruel that it defied belief, and it was too bold and unrestrained for someone timid, who couldn’t even throw a punch, to commit.
The supermarket owner was hit on the head with a blunt object and then suffered a stab wound to the right abdomen, 15cm deep and 4cm wide.
The cause of death was excessive bleeding from a wound deep enough to penetrate the aorta.
In addition, there were signs of beating.
There were even injuries that appeared to have been inflicted after death.
The medical examiner at the time shook his head, saying he had never seen such a person.
Given the apparent lack of hesitation in assault and murder, it was even asserted that the Chunwon City case was certainly not his first.
Furthermore, with no other traces left behind, it was a scene that could not be attributed to a first-time offender.
No matter how much they read about Jang Chang-hyun, they couldn’t find any matching characteristics.
“It seems we’ve been barking up the wrong tree.”
Jeong Rok, who had re-checked the documents related to Jang Chang-hyun, put the paper down.
A heavy silence descended into the office.
For a while, Jeong Rok was silent.
He was just lost in thought, his face complex, as if he found it hard to believe.
It was then that Jun-hyeok shuffled into the office.
Jung Yoon’s expression hardened.
He could infer what kind of result Jun-hyeok’s footsteps brought.
It would certainly not be a good direction for them.
Jung Yoon covered his tired face with both hands.
“Jang Chang-hyun’s alibi has been confirmed. The wholesaler even has his signature on the ledger. He’s sure he received it directly.”
Thud, Jun-hyeok slumped into his seat and reported weakly.
Han-gyeol bit his lip and glanced at Jeong Rok.
This was because Jeong Rok’s expression had subtly changed immediately after hearing Jun-hyeok’s report.
And Jung Yoon also didn’t miss that fleeting moment.
A vague expression, as if he found something strange, even if it wasn’t entirely the same as his own feeling.
For some reason, his mouth felt dry.
“Alright.”
However, Jeong Rok’s bewilderment quickly faded, preventing him from dwelling on the corresponding for long.
An unavoidable gloomy atmosphere continued.
Jeong Rok instructed his team members to investigate from the beginning again.
He also added that while they would have to release Jang Chang-hyun soon due to a lack of additional charges or solid evidence, they should keep him for now.
The three moved as Jeong Rok instructed.
And so, some more time passed.
A heavy sigh seemed to erupt, warming the office air, and then the loud sound of chair wheels rolling violently echoed in the office.
There was no time to show any emotion.
When Jung Yoon shifted his gaze at the sound, Jeong Rok had already abandoned his seat and was leaving the office.
It happened so quickly that there was no time to ask where he was going.
Jung Yoon naturally intended to follow Jeong Rok.
But then, Han-gyeol’s voice, as he gravely watched the monitor, stopped Jung Yoon in his tracks.
“Seniors, take a look at this.”
Han-gyeol’s expression, which broke the gloomy atmosphere, was even more devastated.
Jun-hyeok cursed under his breath, sensing something serious just from his expression.
Only then did Jung Yoon tear his gaze away from the door Jeong Rok had exited, approaching Han-gyeol by circling the table.
As Jun-hyeok and Jung Yoon pressed close to either side of his shoulders, Han-gyeol let out a long sigh and powerfully hit the Enter key.
[The Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency’s Cold Case Task Force, which handles unsolved cases, is currently covering the case of Mr. Kim, the owner of Haseong Supermarket, which occurred in Chunwon City in 2005…]
“W-What is this?”
The video Han-gyeol played was a live internet news broadcast.
It wasn’t a formal news report or from a newspaper, but a personal broadcast channel that had recently gained over a million subscribers by deeply covering various political and criminal cases.
“Which bastard…”
“The information is more accurate than I thought. Of course, they don’t know all the details, but there’s nothing wrong with what’s coming out of their mouth.”
“So someone leaked information.”
“I’m not supposed to be suspecting you two, am I?”
Han-gyeol, scrolling down the comments, rolled his eyes, first towards Jung Yoon then towards Jun-hyeok, and made a peculiar expression.
At his words, Jung Yoon and Jun-hyeok exchanged a brief glance over Han-gyeol’s head.
“You first, my friend.”
“No, you first, brother.”
The two, yielding their turns with meaningful smiles, finally concluded with Jun-hyeok nodding and stepping back slightly.
Thwack!
“Ah!”
Jung Yoon, who had stepped back casually with his arms crossed, chuckled silently.
This was because Jun-hyeok, who had been flailing his arms behind Han-gyeol, smacked the back of Han-gyeol’s head soundly.
Han-gyeol’s head suddenly slumped forward, and he cried out, covering the back of his head with both hands.
“Ah! This is workplace harassment!”
“This is spreading false information, and what? Try it. Go on? How dare you suspect your seniors.”
“I was just saying, just saying!”
Han-gyeol, his eyebrows furrowed in injustice, rubbed the back of his head where he’d been hit and looked back at Jung Yoon.
His eyes pleaded for help, but it wouldn’t work on Jung Yoon, who was currently on Jun-hyeok’s side.
Jung Yoon maintained the stance of a bystander with a fresh smile.
“Is there a separate article about this?”
“I didn’t see one earlier, but it seems to be circulating on social media and communities already. People are tagging it too.”
“Ah… This is going to be a headache.”
Jun-hyeok plopped his elbows on the table and clutched his head.
“Aaaargh—!”
At his groan of distress, Han-gyeol subtly pushed his laptop aside.
Han-gyeol’s hunched shoulders looked terribly pathetic, but Jung Yoon didn’t have the luxury to care for that either.
Jung Yoon quickly patted Han-gyeol’s shoulder and hastily left the conference room before his arm could be grabbed.
He looked around the cold case team’s area, confirmed that Jeong Rok’s seat was indeed empty, and gathered his belongings.
-Modus Operandi (MO) database: A database concerning the suspect’s personal details, methods of crime, etc.