By Zephyria Lee-eum got up from his seat, clutching his aching stomach, and rolled around on the bed once. “Ugh, damn it.” He groaned and barely managed to sit up in an awkward posture, only for a sour taste to rise from his throat. How much did he drink yesterday, anyway? He groped for his memories and squeezed his eyes shut.
Ah, he met Choi Won-joon.
They went to a street stall and drank together until he blacked out, and he couldn’t remember anything after that. Lee-eum felt around his body to make sure he was okay, barely got off the bed, and staggered outside. But Choi Won-joon was nowhere to be seen. If things went as expected, he should be sitting on the sofa with a brazen look on his face, greeting him.
Well, of course, it would be more than welcome if he had just left. Then he frowned when he saw food on the table. As he got closer, there was inevitably a note.
【This is hangover soup from the Cheonji Hotel. Try it. I didn’t put any drugs in it, so don’t worry. See you again. -Dishrag-】
He completely forgot what he had read before because of the last word. Dishrag? What does that mean? No matter how much he thought about it, he couldn’t guess why that word came out. Jeong Nam-su had once referred to him as a dishrag or something. Could it be that I brought up that story when I was drunk?
“Ah…”
Regardless of whether you hate someone or not, there are things you can say and things you can’t. Feeling uneasy for no reason, he reached for his cell phone instead of eating. But he didn’t know what to say if he called, so he soon gave up and went into the bathroom first.
He must have drunk a lot, because he couldn’t easily come to his senses even after taking a cold shower. Lee-eum looked at the hangover soup on the table and was conflicted. He felt like his stomach would be relieved if he drank it all. But since Choi Won-joon was the one who bought it, he couldn’t bring himself to reach for it.
After hesitating, Lee-eum opened a drawer, took out a cup of ramen, poured water into it, and took it to the living room table to sit down. He turned on the TV without thinking, as a habit, and waited for the ramen to cook, when he heard the announcer’s voice on the news.
【The internet is in an uproar right now. An unexpected video was uploaded early this morning, showing the President of an entertainment agency assaulting an employee at his workplace. As you can see, he grabs him by the neck and drags him around like an animal, then slams his head with his shoe. It’s shocking, isn’t it?】
Lee-eum, who was about to eat the ramen, naturally raised his head and turned his gaze to the TV.
【Ah, that’s cruel. Who is that person?】
【Netizens are speculating that he is the son of a member of the National Assembly. There aren’t many cases where the father is a member of the National Assembly and the son is the President of an agency, so the scope is bound to narrow.】
【Has the agency responded at all?】
【No, it was uploaded in a surprise attack early in the morning, and it’s spread so much that it’s hard to deal with now, so it’s not easy to respond.】
Lee-eum opened the internet with an unbelievable expression. The news that had just come out was plastered all over the articles, and real names were already being mentioned in the comment section.
―Isn’t that Assemblyman Kim Yong-taek’s son?
―That guy has a terrible personality. How can he step on someone who’s old enough to be his father like that?
―He caused an accident before. That girl committed suicide. I remember because she was from my school.
―It’s disgusting to see him acting up, trusting in his father’s backing.
The remaining alcohol quickly wore off. What the hell is going on? Lee-eum couldn’t even get up from his seat and just blinked his eyes. He kept thinking, “What, who, why?” and then one person’s face came to mind.
He contacted him with a hopeful heart, but it went to a message saying he was in a meeting. Lee-eum tried to leave a text message, but gave up and sat there blankly, staring at the TV. In front of him, the ramen that he hadn’t even touched was swollen and bursting.
❖ ❖ ❖
“Yes, that’s right. That’s him. He’s severely alcohol-dependent, but he’s not getting any protection at all. Ah, really? When I saw him, he was in serious condition. Yes, I understand. I’ll ask you for a favor.”
Lee-eum sighed quietly after finishing the call. He had contacted the community center to ask if there was a way to help Kim Da-hyun’s father, the victim of the Kim Ji-cheol case, but they were already aware of the situation.
They said that he had refused help every time. He told them not to worry about him, that he wouldn’t cause trouble for others, and to just let him die. There was a limit to what the center could do, so all they could do was visit regularly and leave side dishes in front of his door.
Lee-eum sighed deeply after finishing the call and went into the office. The violent crimes unit was noisy as usual today. They had received a report in the morning and raided a gambling den, and with so many people, it had become a commotion. As Lee-eum sat down and tried to turn on the screen to write a report, the suspect complained about his injustice.
“Detective, I’m really innocent. I went with my friend without knowing anything. He said he was going to a greenhouse, so I thought it was a real greenhouse. I thought I was going to farm. It’s true.”
“Yes, everyone else says that too. You were picking flowers and catching the moon there, right? Now, your name.”
“It’s not true, I tell you. Please let me off just this once.”
“Tell me your name.”
“My wife will kill me if she finds out.”
Lee-eum slammed the file on the desk.
“Name!”
The man flinched and said his name in a barely audible voice. It seemed like he had heard the word “unfair” more than ten times while writing the report. He said that he was a first-time offender and would never go near it again, but gambling was as addictive as drugs, so it was hard to quit. That’s why most of the people who came once came again.
After finishing the report, Lee-eum sent the suspect to the detention center. The detention center was already crowded with people who had been dragged out of the house. Everyone was complaining, so Team Leader Oh hit the bars and yelled at them to be quiet.
He returned to his seat, and Lee Yong-bok turned on the TV with the remote control.
“Hey, is this the time to watch TV?”
“Team leader, you don’t know what’s going on. It’s a big deal right now.”
Lee Yong-bok pointed to the TV for him to watch, and with everyone’s attention focused on it, Kim Yong-taek appeared on the screen and began to give a briefing.
【What was reported in the media today is not true, and I am devastated by this situation where fabricated videos are rampant with speculation and slander. From today, I will risk everything to find the slanderous forces and reveal the injustice without a single lie. As you all know, my son Kim Ji-cheol was falsely accused a few years ago, and the court’s wise judgment at the time acquitted him. But he is still struggling with the wounds from that time. I can no longer stand by and watch the same thing happen in this situation,】
The team leader frowned and turned off the screen with the remote control.
“Anyway, he’s good at talking. You can tell he’s a member of the National Assembly.”
“He came out himself without a spokesperson? Is this a head-on breakthrough?”
“You’d think he was so clean that he was acquitted.”
“I know, right? He’s trying to hide the sky with his palm.”
“Struggling my ass. I ran into Kim Ji-cheol on the road a few days ago, and do you know how brazen he was? He almost hit someone with his car, and he told me to sue him. Right, Detective Kim?”
Everyone’s attention was focused on Lee-eum. Everyone knew that Lee-eum had been in charge of Kim Ji-cheol in his previous team, so they were reacting more strongly on purpose. When Lee-eum didn’t answer, the team leader wrapped up the situation.
“Okay, everyone, don’t worry about unnecessary things and take care of the cases you’re in charge of. Detective Lee, Detective Yoon. How far has the Shinjang-dong robbery case progressed?”
Detective Lee and Detective Yoon grabbed their notebooks and got up from their seats as soon as he finished speaking. “We were just about to go.” The other team members slipped away, and Lee-eum and Nam-soo also hurried to prepare to leave.
They came outside and were about to leave for the scene when a luxury sports car rushed into the parking lot and screeched to a halt. Lee-eum and the team members who had just come out also turned their attention to it.
A moment later, someone burst out of the driver’s seat. It didn’t take long to recognize who it was. Kim Ji-cheol was stomping towards Lee-eum, snorting like a bison.
“Hey, it was you, wasn’t it?”
As Kim Ji-cheol got closer, the other team members who were about to get into the car gathered around.
“What are you doing? Why are you causing trouble from the morning? Do you know where this is?”
Then Kim Ji-cheol looked around and sneered.
“Shut up, you cop bastards. I came here because I have something to say to Kim Yi-eum.”
Detective Lee Yong-bok got angry and tried to grab Kim Ji-cheol by the collar, but Lee-eum stopped him and pushed him away, telling him to just go. “Don’t worry about it. I’m okay.” After barely appeasing his colleagues and sending them away, Kim Ji-cheol laughed while cursing.
“Damn, I’m getting emotional? You don’t want to cause trouble for your colleagues? You’re going to die alone, is that it?”
Jeong Nam-su, who was next to him, was furious and stepped forward.
“Kim Ji-cheol. Watch your mouth, you bastard. What the hell are you doing here? Do you think the police are a joke?”
“Yeah, they’re a joke. They’re so pathetic and funny. I can’t stand the sight of you cops putting on airs, making only a few pennies. Why?”
“You little…” Nam-soo was angry and rushed at him, but Lee-eum stopped him and looked at Kim Ji-cheol with a pathetic expression.
“Kim Ji-cheol. Is it okay for you to be doing this here? Your father’s on pins and needles right now, so you should go and clean up the mess. How empty is your head that you thought of chasing me here first?”
“You son of a bitch!”
Kim Ji-cheol grabbed Lee-eum by the collar in an instant, and Lee-eum stuck out his face as if to show him and sneered.
“Hit me, you fucker. Let me get a lot of settlement money and try to make a living.”