#95

Dongnamjang was located in the opposite direction from the Lucky Motel. It was somewhat remote and the exterior was shabby. I thought there must be a reason for choosing such a place and knocked on room 304. As soon as the door opened, Detective Oh pulled Tae-heun inside, glancing left and right before closing the door.

Tae-heun looked around the room. It was an old inn room with only a floor mat and no bed, and besides Detective Oh and Detective Park, there was a man in a suit who appeared to be of the same age as Detective Oh. He sat slouched, looking up at Tae-heun.

The man in the suit did not look like a detective. Nor did he resemble a tax office employee. The only remaining option was the prosecutor’s office, but it was unlikely that a prosecutor would come down to such a rural area at this hour, so he must be an investigator.

“Oh. This is…”

Detective Oh was about to introduce him when the man raised his hand to stop him.

“I’m Wolf 4. Let’s skip the formalities. There’s nothing good for either of us here.”

The man who introduced himself as Wolf 4 withdrew slightly.

“Understood.”

Tae-heun immediately turned his gaze to Detective Park.

Detective Park looked like he had been beaten up by someone. Naturally, the image of the immigration bag came to mind. Hadn’t Tae-heun just dropped him off in town yesterday, and he went straight back to Seoul?

“I’m sorry for calling you at this late hour.”

Detective Oh began with an apology.

The one holding back his anger was not Tae-heun, but Detective Park. Detective Oh’s eyes were bloodshot as he glared at Detective Park as if he were about to kill him. He looked exhausted, having not slept recently. Wolf 4 looked the same. His tired face was filled with irritation.

“Did something happen with the immigration bag?”

When Tae-heun asked, Detective Park lowered his head deeply. Detective Oh’s teeth were visibly clenched.

“Let’s sit down for now.”

Wolf 4 said bluntly, perhaps finding it uncomfortable to look up. Tae-heun took a seat closer to the door.

“Speak quickly.”

Under Detective Oh’s urging, Detective Park, with one cheek puffed out as if he were chewing candy, slowly opened his mouth.

The story was as follows. On Saturday afternoon, after Tae-heun personally dropped him off in front of the taxi company, Detective Park was looking around when he happened to run into Rose. Rose had just gotten into a taxi to go to the beauty salon and had come out to town. She recognized Detective Park first and greeted him. “Detective Park,” she said in a charming voice, and when Detective Park turned to look, a beautiful girl he had never seen before was standing there.

“I really didn’t recognize you.”

Rose, lightly made up, was much prettier than when he had seen her at the room salon and was very friendly. The woman he had never dared to hope for, being Tae-heun’s partner, was smiling brightly in front of him. It was only natural that his heart raced.

“Please buy me a cup of coffee.”

Rose said, and Detective Park agreed.

He thought it was a good thing to meet Rose. After all, in two and a half hours, the insurance company would tow his car, and once it started, he could drive it to Seoul. Thanks to that, he could save on taxi fare, making it a win-win situation.

Detective Park dragged the heavy immigration bag toward the coffee shop where Rose wanted to go.

“What’s in the bag?”

Rose showed curiosity. Who wouldn’t?

Detective Park, feeling a bit mischievous, opened the bag to show her the money. He thought that just showing a bundle wouldn’t be enough to save face, so he pulled out all seven bundles. Foolishly, he didn’t mention that there were counterfeit bills mixed in or that it was slush fund money that couldn’t be used.

“I saw the manager get out of the truck. Is that money from the manager?”

Rose directly probed. Detective Park, in a moment of impulse, shouted that it was his money. When asked where he got so much money, he couldn’t come up with a proper answer. In the end, he mentioned Tae-heun’s name and said it was a bonus he received from Manager Kim, trying to present himself as a great person. Rose’s mouth dropped open. Her eyes held admiration and affection as she looked at Detective Park.

Detective Park intended to just have coffee and part ways, but somehow they ended up moving to a bar to drink. Because he couldn’t drive after drinking, he headed to a motel to sober up.

“I really just talked. I need to sober up to go to Seoul, and it’s too late, so I need a proper place to stay.”

Detective Park explained in a faltering voice.

Who do you think I am? It was the time when room salons were in full swing. Rose wouldn’t have gone to a motel just to talk with Detective Park, giving up her daily wage. Even if that were the case, Detective Park was not the kind of person who would just send her away. Wasn’t he the one who shamelessly coveted his partner in front of Detective Oh and Tae-heun?

Still, Detective Park wasn’t completely out of his mind. He didn’t even take a shower for fear that the bag might disappear. He was adamant that nothing like that would happen, and he gave Rose 50,000 won as pocket money. Rose jumped up in surprise. She got furious, asking why he was only giving her 50,000 won when he had so much money. She demanded the money in the bag immediately. But that was money he absolutely could not give. He realized too late that he had boasted about the bonus, and now saying it was money he couldn’t use, who would believe that? Naturally, Rose did not believe him.

In an instant, Rose’s demeanor changed, and she started cursing at Detective Park before suddenly changing her attitude again. Then she made a phone call, ordering, “Sister, one cup of herbal tea here.” Detective Park was puzzled as to why she was only ordering one cup for two people, but since he didn’t particularly like herbal tea, he didn’t suspect anything.

As Rose went into the bathroom to take a shower, she asked him to receive the herbal tea for her. Detective Park replied that he would, and sprawled out on the bed. Just when he thought she was taking a long shower, there was a knock at the door. Assuming it was the herbal tea delivery, Detective Park opened the door without suspicion. However, instead of a tea girl, two burly men pushed their way in.

“Too obvious.”

Tae-heun yawned. Even a third-rate movie seemed more sincere than Detective Park’s story.

“So, you got beaten up by those guys and lost the immigration bag, is that what you’re saying?”

Detective Park nodded weakly at Tae-heun’s words.

Detective Park didn’t even have time to do anything. After being beaten up, he came to his senses only to find both the bag and Rose gone. Detective Park immediately stormed into the room salon where Rose worked. But it was unlikely she would be there. When he tried to report it to the police, it was obvious that his identity would be exposed. If he wasn’t careful, the secret operation he had worked on for over a year could go to waste, so he couldn’t act rashly. Thanks to the thorough training he received from Detective Oh.

Even after the time he should have returned had passed, Detective Oh called Detective Park. Detective Park couldn’t bring himself to say that he had his immigration bag stolen, so he just said his car had broken down and he couldn’t move. After that, although it was a bit late, he reported the matter related to the slush fund in the bag that he had heard from Tae-heun. He even lied that he was keeping the money and the ledger well, so no one pressured Detective Park. After all, it was the weekend, and everyone was in a forgiving mood after overcoming the major hurdle of a search and seizure.

From that point on, he started searching for Rose and those thugs on his own. But no matter how much Detective Park rampaged, he was just a country boy from Seoul. How could he find Rose and those gangsters when he didn’t know anyone in the area? So he pressured the madam of the room salon. She didn’t know Detective Park was a detective, but he was a detective nonetheless. A detective from South Korea. He wanted to show those who looked down on him, Rose and the thugs, a lesson. Since they weren’t in front of him, he vented his frustration on the poor madam. She couldn’t hold out for long and spilled the names. While she was out meeting the gangsters she mentioned, she called Detective Oh. That was three hours ago.

As soon as he received the call, Detective Oh contacted the prosecutor, and the prosecutor contacted the direct investigator. The two came separately to Hwangmu-eup, and just before calling Tae-heun, they gathered at the inn to hear the whole story from Detective Park.

“You fool.”

Detective Oh clicked his tongue.

“Shit.”

Tae-heun spat out a curse. Money wasn’t the issue right now. It was the bag that contained the ledger. Although it was a copy, there was no sign of Ilgwang Financial on it, but there were hundreds of account numbers and names written inside. It was something anyone would find suspicious. Even if it was encrypted, anyone in this field would easily recognize that the file was not an ordinary document. The ledger, nearly ten years’ worth, was stuffed in the immigration bag.

“Why did you call me? Did you find the bag?”

Tae-heun fanned himself. He should have opened a window; the room without air conditioning was stifling with the wind from the fan.

“Have there been any suspicious activities recently? Any suspicious people?”

Wolf 4 suddenly threw a question at Tae-heun.

“Why are you asking me? As you all know, I’ve been busy farming lately.”

Tae-heun replied while looking at Detective Oh. He shot a glance that said, “Don’t you know everything?” Detective Oh scratched near his temple and avoided eye contact.

“Does anyone know about that bag?”

Wolf 4 pressed on, undeterred.

“Who is suspecting whom right now? Did I tell you to bring the bag? Who brought it all the way here?”

Tae-heun shouted in a low voice.

“You have a history, don’t you? That’s why I’m asking.”

Wolf 4 didn’t back down and mentioned the time Tae-heun had tested them. It wasn’t the same method, but anyway, Tae-heun had once intercepted the ledger he had handed over. From Lee Seon-jae’s perspective, he couldn’t entrust his life to those who couldn’t even guard a document, so it was a test. As expected, they failed spectacularly from the start, losing the document, and it took three more months to change Lee Seon-jae’s mind.

“Please be honest.”

Wolf 4 asked again. Detective Oh and Detective Park looked at him with eager eyes. They were hoping that Tae-heun had hired Rose to test them.

“I want to say I did, but I didn’t. Detective Park, you know well, don’t you?”

Tae-heun grinned slyly. Disappointment was evident on the faces of the three men.

“Shit. Why!”

Suddenly, Wolf 4 glared at Detective Park as if he wanted to kill him and shouted.

“How can a cop like you mess things up this badly? Huh? Hey, Detective Park Dong-hee. Does this look like a joke to you? Huh?”

Normally, Detective Oh would have shouted back, but he couldn’t even make a sound. He just reddened his face and squeezed his eyes shut.

“So what’s the conclusion? Is there a solution?”

Tae-heun pressed the two detectives.

“I know the kind of guys who would do something like that in this town. I came here knowing where they are. We just need to go straight to them. And I told this madam to catch Rose too.”

Detective Oh answered confidently. Detective Park, who had put his senior in trouble, could only lower his head deeply.

“I’m sorry. I really committed a grave sin.”

Detective Park said, his voice trembling.

“Oh, you bastard. What are you crying for, you idiot?”

Detective Oh patted Detective Park’s back, feeling sorry for him, even though he deserved to be torn apart.

Wolf 4 lit a cigarette, looking pitiful. Only then did Detective Oh open the window and take out a cigarette pack from his shirt pocket, offering it to Tae-heun. As Tae-heun put the cigarette in his mouth, a lighter followed to light it.

As he smoked, he longed for a man. Every place where they had touched felt hot. He exhaled a long puff of smoke.