Jung Yoon naturally thought 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.
As he stepped outside, he saw parked cars.
Jeong Rok’s car, parked impolitely next to them, was also there.
Jung Yoon let out a short sigh and stepped onto the entrance stairs.
Given the car was there, he probably hadn’t gone far.
Surely he’s not inside the building, is he?
Jung Yoon’s mind instantly raced to the worst-case scenario.
He couldn’t really have gone to meet the chief…
Jung Yoon’s hurried steps, as he searched the area, caught up in complex and troubled thoughts, stopped.
Jeong Rok crumpled the empty cigarette pack with a crunch and neatly tossed it into a tall silver trash can.
Jung Yoon briefly glanced at the trash can lid, which spun several times, and breathed a sigh of relief.
After tossing the cigarette pack, Jeong Rok immediately turned back, looked up the stairs, and seemed to sense a presence, glancing back.
Their gazes met without warmth.
At that moment, three other detectives passed by Jung Yoon.
Jung Yoon, without hesitation, bowed his head.
The others also lightly bowed their heads and took out cigarettes.
Jeong Rok, watching this, frowned and twisted his lips holding the cigarette.
Jung Yoon’s expression turned nonchalant again as he looked back at Jeong Rok.
His reaction seemed completely unaffected.
Having fought with such absurd pettiness so many times, the impact had converged to zero.
Jung Yoon waited silently for Jeong Rok to finish his cigarette at his leisure.
This was because Jeong Rok seemed to be in a genuinely bad mood.
Otherwise, he would have already spouted some nonsense, thrown away his cigarette, and started making noise beside him.
But Jeong Rok was still smoking, and his profile looked quite troubled.
He didn’t acknowledge anyone who approached to greet him.
It was the same when people whispered behind his back.
Jung Yoon was slightly worried about Jeong Rok’s reputation with such an attitude.
However, fortunately, the detectives smoking nearby didn’t seem to care much about Jeong Rok’s demeanor.
In times like these, should one be thankful that his usual demeanor is disrespectful?
Jung Yoon didn’t even realize he had been admiring and evaluating Jeong Rok for quite some time.
Jeong Rok knew but let him be.
That moment finally ended after Jeong Rok tossed the finished cigarette into the trash can.
Jung Yoon, when Jeong Rok began to turn and approach him, instead turned his gaze in the opposite direction.
Only then did he realize he had been staring for too long.
Suddenly, he also thought he was handsome, and he missed him.
Since such time was rare, he took the opportunity to enjoy it freely.
Jung Yoon, belatedly fearing the aftermath, needlessly kicked the ground.
“Woo.”
“Ugh.”
Jeong Rok, who had approached without Jung Yoon noticing, draped an arm over Jung Yoon’s shoulder, almost leaning his entire body onto him as if climbing on.
Jung Yoon’s body, which had no intention of defending itself, swayed powerlessly for no apparent reason.
Jung Yoon quickly tensed his legs and hips to prevent a disaster but couldn’t stop the groan that escaped his lips.
“Jung Yoon is frail…”
At Jeong Rok’s serious tone and earnest gaze, Jung Yoon immediately frowned.
“Don’t talk nonsense.”
“I’m not trying to be funny; I’m worried. You have many uses, so I should make you exercise.”
Jeong Rok leaned his head forward, playfully grinning.
“I’m doing well on my own, thank you.”
I worried for nothing. Jung Yoon shook his head and pushed Jeong Rok away.
Jeong Rok, who fell back as if he had been waiting, unnecessarily pretended to be hurt, rubbing his chest and saying, “Ouch, ouch.”
Jung Yoon, leaving Jeong Rok behind, got into the car.
Jeong Rok continued to rub his chest in circles, then followed obediently and opened the passenger door.
Jung Yoon, who had been waiting for Jeong Rok to get in the car, buckled his seatbelt as soon as he sat down.
Jeong Rok likewise buckled his belt.
Jung Yoon, watching this intently and leaning back in his seat, opened his mouth with a sigh when Jeong Rok looked back with a brazen face.
“What’s bothering you so much?”
“Hm?”
Jeong Rok, who had been comfortably leaning back in the seat, twisted his upper body and slightly raised his eyebrows.
Jung Yoon tore his gaze away from him, started the engine, and continued.
“Something happened with Jang Chang-hyun, didn’t it?”
“Exactly why did you single out Jang Chang-hyun as a suspect?”
Jeong Rok, who had remained silent despite Jung Yoon’s continuous questions, rubbed his lips.
He seemed to be deliberating something, then clicked his tongue at Jung Yoon’s seemingly resolute face.
Hesitating for a moment longer, Jeong Rok ran his hands through his hair wildly, then met Jung Yoon’s eyes again.
“I had a dream.”
Jung Yoon, who had been mentally prepared, watching Jeong Rok hesitate uncharacteristically, felt his resolve crumble in an instant.
“…W-What did you dream?”
“A dream.”
He says it was a dream.
Jung Yoon, momentarily speechless, stared blankly at Jeong Rok. Jeong Rok, embarrassed as if he had expected such a reaction, didn’t stop elaborating and explaining his words.
“Let me tell you beforehand, my dreams are eerily accurate. They always have been…”
Jung Yoon didn’t add any other words, seeing the complicated expression on Jeong Rok’s face as he spoke. “
To be honest, his own situation was closer to fiction, so he wasn’t surprised or found it strange when someone else said something.
If I told him my story when he’s going on about dreams, would he shut up?
Jung Yoon chuckled to himself, lost in a futile thought, and nodded.
“And?”
“Will you keep a secret?”
He thought it would be nonsense anyway.
Without needing to keep it a secret, Jung Yoon planned to erase the conversation from his mind as soon as he left this spot.
His mind was oversaturated, with no room left for meaningless wordplay.
“Go ahead.”
“Back then, Jang Chang-hyun was the culprit. Chunwon, 20 years ago.”
Jung Yoon paused at the answer, mumbled like a monologue while staring at the floor.
“…You’re joking, right?”
“Do I look like I’m joking?”
His gaze, which had been fixed on the floor, twisted slightly back to Jung Yoon.
Jung Yoon tensed for a moment at his unreadable expression but then noticed a faint smirk and frowned.
“I hope it’s a joke.”
“Detective Woo, I want to grant most of your wishes, but…”
Jeong Rok clicked his tongue, as if it were a shame.
Jung Yoon, treating all of Jeong Rok’s words as light jokes, shook his head, thinking, I knew it.
“Not a joke this time.”
Jung Yoon’s arm, turning the steering wheel, paused at Jeong Rok’s low-voiced addition.
Jung Yoon was speechless, twisting and biting his lips. A chill ran down his spine.
A dream similar to the original story…
It was somehow strange. Jeong Rok, watching Jung Yoon’s face grow serious, shook his shoulder, saying he knew it and was disappointed.
“Anyway, I thought my head would explode, but thinking about it differently…”
Thinking about it differently?
Jung Yoon slowly blinked, trailing every word that came from Jeong Rok’s mouth.
Jeong Rok, swallowing a bitter laugh at Jung Yoon’s sharp eyes, which listened attentively but never let go of suspicion, leisurely rested his chin on the car window.
“Should I be happy about this, or cry because I’m screwed? I thought I’d get an answer if I smoked some cigarettes, but I went through a whole pack and still no clarity.”
The words flowing into his ears were immediately replaced by the image of Jeong Rok he had seen moments before, forming in his mind.
Then, honk, honk, a horn blared from behind.
Jung Yoon checked the side mirror, silently turned the wheel, and pulled the car out.
Jung Yoon skillfully navigated the parking lot, which was packed with cars in every available space and beyond.
No matter what Jung Yoon did, what expression he made or didn’t make, Jeong Rok continued to ramble on with inscrutable words.
“But then our Detective Woo just appeared. That’s where I got my answer.”
His playful demeanor, his light tone.
One could simply ignore all of it, yet somehow, the words Jeong Rok uttered were impossible to miss.
Jung Yoon finally turned his eyes at the word “answer.”
“How so?”
Noticing the shift in his gaze, Jeong Rok leaned against the car window, stretching his lips into a long smile.
“What’s there to worry about, with our Detective Woo right here in front of me?”
Jung Yoon, having left the main station and driven onto the road, belatedly entered the location into the navigation system.
His fingers slowed at the nonsense that followed.
His eyes, openly revealing his exasperation, turned to him.
“…What do you mean?”
“It doesn’t mean anything. It’s just literal. It means Detective Woo is here, perfectly fine, driving me around.”
Jung Yoon’s gaze now went to the steering wheel he was holding.
“I don’t know if I’m misunderstanding, but why does that sound to me like you’re saying I’ll be the only one working my ass off?”
He sharply pinpointed the question that had arisen in his mind, making a wide U-turn with the steering wheel.
“It would be quite a sight to see Detective Woo working his ass off, wouldn’t it?”
Jeong Rok muttered, focused, without even blinking.
Jung Yoon ground his teeth, looking at Jeong Rok’s dazed face, as if he was imagining something.
“You won’t have that chance.”
“Why?”
“Because if that happens, I’ll pluck out your eyes first, Team Leader.”
Premium Chapter
Login to buy access to this Chapter.