By Zephyria Even at night, the humidity was so high that it felt like walking underwater. Lee-eum and Nam-soo went out to the entertainment district to investigate the suspect. The person they were looking for was a member of an organized crime group who had severely assaulted his girlfriend a few days ago, leaving her in a coma and fleeing. Since he had turned off his cell phone and wasn’t coming home, they had no choice but to go around to the bars in the entertainment district that he frequented.
“Wow, it’s so hot and humid. Look at my sweat.”
“Want something to drink?”
“No, thanks. I’ve been drinking only water, so I just need to pee, and it’s a hassle to find a bathroom.”
Then Nam-soo looked at the tteokbokki being sold at a nearby street stall and smacked his lips. Lee-eum smiled and told him to go, then ordered tteokbokki and sundae. The ordered food came out right away, and even while eating it, they didn’t forget to check the faces of the people passing by.
“Isn’t it possible he already ran off to the countryside? This is his turf, but how can there be so few people who’ve seen him?”
“Let’s check the other side one more time, and if he’s not there, let’s go.”
The owner of the tteokbokki shop, who had been quietly listening to their conversation, subtly chimed in.
“Are you detectives?”
Lee-eum gave Nam-soo a look, telling him to stop talking. “Yes, well…” he vaguely replied, and the owner asked who they were looking for, saying he knew everyone who hung around in this area. Not expecting much, they handed him the photo, and the owner squinted and made wrinkles the size of walnuts on his chin. At his serious expression, Nam-soo and Lee-eum also became focused.
“Have you seen him before?”
The owner, who had been staring intently, nodded.
“He’s been here a few times before. I remember him clearly. Both of them were so rude.”
“Both of them?”
“There’s a Sky Billiards place in this alley. He was always with the kid who works there.”
Nam-soo frowned. They had just gone to that billiards place and showed him the photo, but he had pretended not to know him.
“By any chance, was the guy who came with him about this tall and had his hair dyed blonde?”
“That’s right. He also had a tattoo on his arm. Something flying, like a butterfly or a bee.”
Lee-eum and Nam-soo exchanged glances. They put down what they were eating, gulped down water, and quickly paid. “Thank you. Make a lot of money.” After saying goodbye, they headed to the billiards place the owner had told them about, and the part-timer they had met earlier was walking towards them from the opposite side, waving a bag, and stopped abruptly when he saw them.
“We met earlier, right? Let’s talk for a moment.”
No sooner had he finished speaking than the part-timer ran off in the opposite direction. He weaved through the crowd, but Lee-eum quickly ran and grabbed him by the scruff of his neck. “Aah! Help me! These people are trying to kidnap me!” He screamed without hesitation, causing people to stop and murmur, and Nam-soo took out his ID and waved his hand.
“Police! Please move along. And don’t take pictures.”
Then, he took the struggling man to a secluded place. As soon as they were out of sight, the man’s attitude changed and he glared fiercely.
“Hey, just because you’re a cop doesn’t mean you can drag people around, you know?”
“You know Park Seung-hwan, right? Why did you pretend not to know him earlier?”
“Who’s that?”
“Don’t play dumb. There are more than a few people who saw you two hanging around here.”
“Ha, who’s spreading that bullshit? I don’t know him at all, so get out of my way! You know this is a violation of my rights, right? I’m going to report you.”
Seeing him take out his cell phone and dial 112, Nam-soo chuckled. In the meantime, Lee-eum snatched the convenience store bag from his hand. The man, who had the bag snatched away in an instant, screamed.
“Hey! What are you doing! Why are you taking it without permission!”
When he opened the bag, there was a carton of cigarettes and a few bottles of soju. When he reached out to get it back right away, Lee-eum stopped the man and rummaged through his pockets, pulling out an e-cigarette. The man’s face darkened.
“You bought strong imported cigarettes while smoking e-cigarettes?”
“A, a customer asked me to buy them for him!”
Lee-eum smiled slyly.
“That customer, he’s at the billiards place, right?”
Deliberately staring him straight in the eye, the man subtly averted his gaze and bit his lip.
“Think carefully. Park Seung-hwan’s girlfriend was assaulted and is in the intensive care unit. The doctor says today is critical, and if she dies, Park Seung-hwan will be a murderer. I’ll explain to you now what kind of punishment you’ll receive for hiding a murderer.”
The man’s momentum subsided, and he looked back and forth between the billiards place and Lee-eum and Nam-soo. Seeing the obvious look of conflict on his face, they gave him time, and he finally opened his mouth.
“Hyung Seung-hwan didn’t do it on purpose… He said it was a mistake…”
“I’ll hear that directly from Park Seung-hwan. Where is he now?”
“……”
“Are you hiding him in the billiards place?”
The man sighed deeply and nodded. He said that there was a closed office next to the billiards place where he ate and slept, and he begged him not to tell anyone that he had told them. Lee-eum returned the bag to the man.
“Go far away and come back when we come out.”
Lee-eum headed towards the billiards place with Nam-soo. As they went up the stairs, a group of people came down, drunk and noisy. After passing them, the billiards place appeared on the second floor. Next to it was an office with a firmly closed door.
They banged on the iron door, but it was quiet. Lee-eum signaled Nam-soo to stay here and went inside the billiards place. After explaining the situation to the CEO, he opened the window and stuck his head out.
It was to check if he could get into the next office through the window, but a man was sticking his head out just like him and their eyes met. It was Park Seung-hwan.
“Hi?”
When he waved his hand, Park Seung-hwan’s face crumpled. He swore and put his foot on the window, wondering whether to jump or not. Seeing him, Lee-eum also leaned out.
“Hey, you’ll die if you do that. There are detectives below, so don’t waste your energy and let’s go.”
“I’m desperate, you fuckers! Do you think I’ll die easily! You’ll never catch me!”
After screaming, the man finally jumped down. Some people passing by nearby screamed in surprise, and the man who fell to the ground grabbed his foot and rolled around, apparently landing wrong.
“That crazy bastard.” Lee-eum swore and ran outside. The quick-witted Nam-soo went down first, found Park Seung-hwan rolling on the ground, and was looking at him with a pathetic expression.
As he was stopping people who were gathering around from turning on their cameras to film, he made eye contact with the billiards place part-timer who was watching nearby. The man ran into the billiards place as if fleeing, and Lee-eum approached Park Seung-hwan, who was rolling around in agony.
“Aah! My leg! My leg!”
It was impossible to move him, so Nam-soo sighed and called 119. A few minutes later, an ambulance arrived, and after accompanying him to the hospital and going through the procedures, it was well past midnight. Ironically, Park Seung-hwan ended up in the same hospital as the girlfriend he had assaulted.
Fortunately, the doctor said that the victim had regained consciousness and was out of danger. Thanks to that, Park Seung-hwan was spared from being a murderer. He had a fractured leg, but it wasn’t an emergency, so they put him in a cast and told him that they would schedule surgery for tomorrow morning.
“You go in. There’s no need for both of us to be here.”
“No. I want to be by Sunbae’s side.”
Lee-eum was disgusted and pushed Nam-soo away as he clung to him with his arms crossed.
“That’s gross. Stop it.”
“Gross? I’m hurt.”
Looking at Nam-soo pouting, Choi Won-joon automatically came to mind. Far from being hurt, he seemed to enjoy it whenever I was disgusted. Well, that guy had a perverted side. After chasing away the suddenly appearing Choi Won-joon from his head, he saw Nam-soo yawning repeatedly and starting to doze off with the back of his head against the wall.
Lee-eum took the opportunity to get up and head to the vending machine. He was going to wake him up with coffee and send Nam-soo back, but he saw a familiar face in the distance. When their eyes met, Jeong Dae-han approached with a welcoming expression.
“What brings you here?”
“I was catching a criminal and there was an accident. What about you?”
At the word “accident,” Jeong Dae-han looked at Lee-eum’s body with a worried expression.
“Are you okay? You’re not hurt, are you?”
“I’m fine.”
“That’s a relief.”
When Jeong Dae-han smiled, dimples appeared on his face. Then, a little kid ran over from the opposite side, calling out, “Uncle!” The kid grabbed Jeong Dae-han’s clothes and hid behind him, peeking out. When he said hello, the kid waved his tiny hand firmly. His actions were so cute that he couldn’t help but laugh.
“Who’s this?”
“My parents are watching my nephew, but he had an allergic reaction, so we came to the emergency room. Noona and my brother-in-law are both working late, so I came instead.”
“You’re a caring uncle.”
As they were talking, they heard a voice calling out, “Da-bin!” Looking back, they saw a man with graying hair looking at them. Judging by his appearance alone, it was Jeong Dae-han’s father. After politely greeting him, he was about to leave, but Jeong Dae-han called out to Lee-eum.
“Lee-eum.”
“Yeah?”
Jeong Dae-han hesitated before speaking with difficulty.
“What are you doing… on your day off?”
“Huh?”
“It’s nothing, but I got a musical ticket… and I don’t have anyone to go with… If you’re okay with it, I was wondering if we could go together…”
Jeong Dae-han had an anxious look in his eyes, like a dog waiting for its owner’s permission. After thinking for a moment, Lee-eum nodded. As soon as he heard the answer, “Okay,” the corners of Jeong Dae-han’s mouth turned up.
“I’ll contact you. Goodbye.”
After saying goodbye and walking away, he stopped halfway and turned around, and Jeong Dae-han was standing in the same spot. It was just like when they were kids, right before they parted after school, he would shyly wave his hand at him.