#102

The man brought out some sweet rice drink. It seemed that only Detective Oh had finished his, as he handed a glass of cider to the child.

“I actually wanted to drink more cider, so this is perfect.”

The quick-witted child smiled brightly as he received the cider glass. His actions were commendable.

Suddenly, an idea flashed through Tae-heun’s mind. The man must have entrusted the mail to a reliable place. Excluding the village hall, which anyone could enter, there was only one place left. The very place that had given them the sweet rice drink. A smile spread across Tae-heun’s face.

“Excuse me, sir, have you heard that Uncle Jong-pil drank pesticide?”

At that moment, the man lowered his voice and asked.

“Who, Jong-gol?”

Detective Oh paused his sweet rice drink and asked back.

“Yes, Jong-gol. He drank pesticide in the morning and was taken to the hospital.”

“What? Why would Uncle Jong-pil drink pesticide?”

Detective Oh’s expression, which had been smiling all along, twisted in an instant.

“Ji-hye, bring me the phone.”

Detective Oh called the child.

The child hurried inside and came back with a cordless phone. Detective Oh took the phone and first called the police station. After hearing the details, he made several more calls, including to Mr. Lee’s house, piecing together the information. He investigated thoroughly, as expected of a detective.

By the time Tae-heun had eavesdropped enough to understand the situation, Detective Oh mentioned the chairman. It seemed he was calling Kwon Il-taek last. That call was taken inside.

“Father, who drank pesticide?”

The child cautiously asked the man.

“Yes.”

“Why?”

“It wasn’t intentional; it was a mistake.”

The man lied to the child.

The word “mistake” made the child feel sorry.

“They should add color to pesticides. It should taste really weird. If it has no taste, no smell, and looks like water, everyone ends up drinking it by mistake and dying. It’s all the pesticide company’s fault. They only care about making money.”

The child boldly criticized the pesticide company. The man, perhaps feeling proud of the child for speaking the truth, patted the child’s head.

“If they made pesticides like Ji-hye said, no one would get hurt.”

He sided with the child.

The child crossed her arms, adopting a rather serious expression.

“I should add paint to our pesticide.”

“Paint isn’t good for crops.”

“How bad can it be? I’ve eaten it, and so have my classmates, and nothing happened.”

“Still.”

“I’ll just add two drops. In black.”

The child looked at the man, eager to do it right away, wiggling her bottom. The man averted his gaze with a troubled expression. He looked at Tae-heun as if asking for help.

“Let’s do it when we go to Uncle Oh Dae-ho. But Ji-hye can only watch. The uncle and your father will do it.”

“That’s not fair! Let me do it too.”

“It’s dangerous.”

“It’s just mixing paint, right? Please let me join. Okay?”

The child pleaded, alternating her gaze between Tae-heun and the man.

Before they could respond, Detective Oh came back out onto the porch. He then slurped down the remaining sweet rice drink. His previously dark expression brightened. Tae-heun was curious about what he had discussed with Kwon Il-taek.

“Ah, that feels refreshing. I’m full and warm. What more could heaven be?”

Detective Oh expressed his satisfaction with his whole body. He had done everything he wanted, so it was no wonder he felt like he was in heaven.

Now it was Tae-heun’s turn to do what he wanted.

“Detective Oh, I think we have something to discuss privately.”

He spoke in a rather serious tone.

“Ah, that.”

Detective Oh acted as if he had just thought of it. The reason he had come all the way to the man’s house was that. His acting skills had improved since before.

“This place is a bit inappropriate; let’s go upstairs.”

His actions were quick for someone pretending. Detective Oh slipped his foot into the man’s slippers while watching the man and the child.

Damn it. Why is he wearing those?

Tae-heun felt offended. He frowned deeply.

The man, who could not be trusted when they met here, seemed utterly detestable when seen in the man’s house.

“Mr. Ki-beom, I’ll be back shortly.”

The man had been listening to their conversation, so he didn’t need to say anything, but he still wanted to. The man nodded silently.

Tae-heun glared at Detective Oh’s foot as he climbed the alley. He headed towards the blue-roofed house. It was nearly 8 PM, yet the surroundings were still bright. The upper house felt cool, almost chilly, compared to the man’s house.

“If it weren’t for the shaman living here, I would have bought this house long ago.”

Detective Oh lamented as he felt the breeze.

“By the way, Director, I heard you wanted to buy this house? Is that true?”

It seemed he had heard what Tae-heun had said to the real estate agent.

“Yes. I’m considering it.”

“Really? If you go to Canada, you’ll have to leave it empty for a long time. Are you okay with that? And it’s not just that a shaman lived here; someone died here. You know that, right?”

He spoke in a low voice, discreetly.

“People who are alive are scarier than those who are dead.”

“Haha, that’s true.”

Detective Oh laughed.

The only time he had feared the dead was because of the couple in that upstairs house. They had dominated Tae-heun’s dreams. He never knew when they might appear again to torment him. Perhaps he would have to carry them with him for the rest of his life. If that was his penance, he would accept it for a lifetime.

“Now, let’s get to the point. Why did you ignore my text?”

Tae-heun asked, looking down at the man’s yard.

“Well…”

Detective Oh scratched his sparse hair. After a moment of hesitation, he opened his mouth.

“It wasn’t intentional; I was instructed to do so.”

Instructed. That made him feel uneasy.

“By whom?”

“By the chief.”

A look of discomfort was evident on Detective Oh’s face.

“So, does that mean the police are stepping back from this matter?”

“Not exactly.”

Detective Oh sighed as he said this.

“The situation is a bit complicated. It’s what you might call a power struggle.”

He spoke honestly. Tae-heun looked down at Detective Oh. He had a very apologetic expression. Whether it was acting or genuine, it seemed he had nothing to hide from Tae-heun at that moment.

Responsibility disputes, power struggles. He had heard about it from his informants, but the fact that the police had acted on it weighed heavily on his mind. It was too fast, far too fast. It didn’t feel like a fight that had just started again. Perhaps this struggle had been ongoing beneath the surface throughout the past year of operations.

“Damn it, is that what you call a reason? Why sacrifice me in your fight?”

Tae-heun deliberately raised his voice, making it clear he was incredulous.

“I truly apologize.”

“Apologize? Is that all you can say? Does the prosecution know that the chief gave such an order?”

There was no way they did. Just looking at the reaction from the Wolf 4 yesterday confirmed that.

“I’ll contact them immediately.”

After saying this, Tae-heun left Detective Oh in the yard and went through the kitchen into the room. He picked up the phone on the low desk inside. He was about to call the contact person from the prosecution when Detective Oh rushed in and snatched the receiver away.

“Director, please just let this one slide. The chief was upset for a moment. He’s usually quite sensitive. But everything has been resolved now. I’m still your emergency contact.”

“How can I trust you, who ignored my distress message just because the prosecution was angry? To put it bluntly, there might not be a next time! Do you think I’m an idiot?”

Tae-heun shot back. There truly might not be a tomorrow. That message could have been his last. Detective Oh, instead of coming to save him, had obeyed orders. Detective Oh’s face twisted. Regret and remorse were evident simultaneously.

“I’m really sorry. Please let this one slide for my sake. This will never happen again, I promise. Even if the chief tells me to, I won’t listen. Please believe me, Director.”

He then rambled on about their connection from ten years ago to the present, appealing to sentiment. Tae-heun turned his head away. He stepped out of the room and stood at a place overlooking the cliff.

The cliff. It was a place where Detective Oh could push Tae-heun if he wanted to. The same went for Tae-heun.

No. The one truly standing on the edge of the cliff was not Detective Oh or those people, but Tae-heun alone. He stood at a precarious spot, exposing his back, ready to be pushed by anyone, be it the police or the prosecution.

It was time to make a cold judgment. Tae-heun pretended to huff in anger and returned to the yard through the kitchen. If a significant fight had broken out between the two powers, there was no need to take sides. There was no reason to trust either of them.

It wasn’t unexpected. It was something he had been most cautious about from the beginning. The reason they had pressured each other was precisely because they anticipated such a situation. It was a fight against difficult opponents, so he had to be prepared to lose everything.

But human emotions could not always be the same. He had charged in with the resolve to die, but no one truly wanted to die. It would have been nice if things had gone smoothly after the search and seizure, but it was evident that they were struggling. It would be a lie to say he wasn’t afraid of pressure, but what he needed to be more cautious about was not threats or pressure, but temptation. Especially if it promised unimaginable future power and wealth, anyone could waver.

The sunlight was not a rock that just a few could tackle. A complete team was necessary. Multiple powers with a single goal needed to come together to break through. It might be too early to give up hope. There was no harm in being cautious.

As far as Tae-heun knew, the prosecutor responsible for this matter was a trustworthy man. But what about Detective Oh standing over there? Could that man also be trusted? Tae-heun had always believed so. No matter how much he might act against the man, that trust remained valid.

He stared blankly into the air. Detective Oh, standing beside him, looked at Tae-heun with anxious eyes, a cigarette in his mouth.

The insects chirped loudly. Dozens of stars appeared in the now darkened sky. Down below, in the yard with the orange roof, the child was running around with the puppies. The man was watching that scene while taking clothes off the clothesline.

The man and his daughter, who had become more precious than life itself. He had to protect them. To do that, Tae-heun had to survive first.

He turned his head and looked down at Detective Oh. Detective Oh noticed Tae-heun’s gaze and met his eyes.

“I’ll trust Detective Oh one more time. You’ve done a lot for me so far, and we can’t let things go wrong over this.”

Tae-heun said with determination. Detective Oh sighed in relief.

“Thank you so much for understanding.”

“I’m sorry for getting angry without thinking. Detective Oh must have had his reasons, and I guess I got too worked up.”

Tae-heun scratched his eyebrow awkwardly.

“That’s only natural. You’ve been quite restrained. If it were me, I would have flipped the table.”

Detective Oh mimicked flipping a table, siding with Tae-heun. It felt good to have someone on his side. It was hard to believe that the dependable detective in front of him was the same man who had just been devouring beef.

Tae-heun extended his hand. Detective Oh firmly grasped Tae-heun’s hand.

The two smiled at each other.

They had become a team again.

At least on the surface, that was the case.