By Zephyria 
“Where did you find the memory chip?”
“It was dropped in the car.”
“Wow, Sunbae. Look at this bastard. He was openly planning to kill him. It’s all recorded here, from climbing onto the roof to pouring gasoline. No way out.”
Nam-soo stopped the video. Yang Mok-hyung’s face, hastily passing by and looking at the car, was clearly captured. There was no video after that. Where did he go? Did he really escape? If Choi Won-joon’s men caught him…
“What are you thinking about?”
“No, it’s nothing. How’s the victim? Still?”
“They met through an online chat, so they don’t know much about each other. Since he had nowhere to go, he said he went because he was offered a place to sleep, and when he woke up after passing out, he was trapped there. He didn’t see anyone else and said he was alone.”
“What about the tests?”
“The bloodstains and hair belonged to the victim who was there, and the bloodstains in the yard matched Yang Mok-hyung’s. It was also detected inside the house, but it was too contaminated to get any results. But, Sunbae, doesn’t it seem strange the more you think about it? If he killed his own brother, would he have bothered to go all the way to the hiking trail to dump the body? You saw the grinder at the scene, right? Frankly, he could have ground it up there and disposed of it without anyone knowing.”
That was true. Why bother taking it to a hiking trail, and in such a conspicuous place instead of burying it? The more he thought about it, the less sense it made. Was it perhaps meant as a warning to someone? Then he recalled the conversation he had with Lee Ye-sol.
【Originally, Soo-in Construction also wanted it, but it was as good as decided for Sehwa even before the selection of the construction company.】
Soo-in Construction was, in a word, a company founded by real gangsters. If things went wrong and they got rid of Yang Taek-il and Director Park to eliminate the evidence…? Then why did they only conspicuously leave Yang Taek-il’s body? Where did Director Park disappear to?
As thoughts endlessly continued, Team Leader Oh, who had been called to the chief’s office, returned. He loosened his shirt buttons as if he felt suffocated and scratched his neck vigorously. It was a habit he had whenever he was stressed.
“What’s the status of locating Yang Mok-hyung?”
“We’ve been searching all the places he might go, but he’s nowhere to be seen.”
“You bastards, then you should be searching the places he wouldn’t go. Is this the time for you to be sitting on your asses and giggling?”
Detective Lee grumbled that he had been running around all this time and was only now sitting down. The Team leader knew it all too well. It was just that he was being pressured from above, so he was taking it out on them. Everyone was wary of getting caught in the crossfire and hurried to prepare to leave.
Lee-eum and Nam-soo were also grabbing their car keys when a call came into the office.
“Yes, this is Jeong Nam-soo from Western Police Station Violent Crimes Unit 2.”
Nam-soo, who had been listening with a serious expression, took out a notepad and pen, wrote something down, and then put down the receiver and looked at the Team leader. The team members who were about to leave also sensed something was wrong and stopped.
“What is it?”
Team Leader Oh, unable to hold back, asked, and Jeong Nam-soo made a puzzled expression.
“Kim Sang-beom committed suicide in the detention center.”
The atmosphere instantly turned cold. Everyone’s face contorted. Kim Sang-beom was the one who confessed to killing Yang Taek-il. As if he had something to rely on, he had even finished a bowl of rice in the interrogation room and smoked a cigarette, telling them everything about what he had done. But suddenly, suicide?
“The body has been moved to the National Forensic Service, and an autopsy is scheduled to proceed with a warrant issued. They want us to come too.”
Detective Lee, who had been listening, interjected.
“That’s absurd. Why did he die? Because he was wronged?”
“He didn’t look wronged when he came here either.”
“Where was he found?”
“He caused a ruckus yesterday and was locked in solitary confinement, and he tore his prison uniform and hanged himself from the window. The guard was the first to find him.”
Ah, everyone sighed with various expressions. If the suspect dies, the prosecution is suspended due to lack of jurisdiction. It wasn’t surprising as it happened occasionally, but they had a sense of foreboding. But Kim Sang-beom didn’t look like he was going to die no matter how you looked at it. Well, it’s not like it’s written on his face that he’s going to die.
“Kim Yi-eum and Jeong Nam-soo go. The rest of you go find Yang Mok-hyung.”
“Yes,” everyone answered, then went outside and scattered. As he got into the car, Nam-soo fastened his seatbelt and touched his hair while looking in the mirror. Seeing that, Lee-eum subtly brought up the topic.
“Do you have someone you like at the National Forensic Service?”
“Hey, what are you talking about? I’m just checking if I look okay since I stayed up all night.”
“Who is it? That girl in the traffic division? The one with the bobbed hair?”
Nam-soo was startled and stammered. The guy who would usually brush it off shamelessly seemed genuinely flustered.
“H-How did you know?”
“Can you really hide those kinds of feelings?”
“How do you know that when you don’t even date?”
“I used to, man.”
“When?”
“A long time ago…”
Nam-soo pretended to cry, pinching the bridge of his nose as he mumbled in a small voice. Ah, so sad. What exactly does he mean by a long time ago? Lee-eum gave up on making excuses and smiled bitterly. In fact, after finding out he was an Omega, he gave up on meeting anyone. It was also a problem to reveal that he was an Omega. Because both his external and internal characteristics were close to Beta.
【That’s strange. Normally, an Omega’s supposed to get wet here.】
Choi Won-joon’s words vaguely came to mind. Since he was neither one thing nor the other, what should he call this? Should he call it strange, as he said? Besides, Lee-eum had lived as a Beta, so he had never imagined that he would have sex with a man, especially an Alpha.
As he talked with Nam-soo about various things, the car had already arrived in front of the National Forensic Service. After parking and getting out, Jeong Dae-han waved his hand under the wisteria. “Lee-eum-ah!” His voice calling out was as clear as the weather. Jeong Dae-han, who got up and approached, greeted Nam-soo, and the three of them moved inside.
While they were talking about the deceased suspect, they arrived in front of the body storage room, and the medical examiner was also outside talking to an employee. The medical examiner was a man in his 50s who always looked exhausted. It was understandable as he was working with a woefully inadequate number of staff compared to the number of bodies coming in.
“I’ll explain inside.”
As they went inside, it was chilling enough to make their hair stand on end. The medical examiner opened one of the refrigerators in the storage room and pulled it out. When he removed the white cloth, the man’s upper body was revealed. It was definitely Kim Sang-beom, whom he had seen in the interrogation room before.
“The autopsy is scheduled to proceed tomorrow morning. He tore his clothes, put them around his neck, hung them on the window, and then just sat down. You can see the strangulation mark going upwards, right? This is how it usually looks when you hang yourself from a high place. Well, I’m sure you all know that.”
Lee-eum carefully examined the minor injuries on Kim Sang-beom’s body.
“Why is it like this?”
“He must have been fighting with the inmates. Those are the marks from that time. Skin tissue was actually found under his fingernails.”
“And then he was moved to solitary confinement and died?”
The medical examiner nodded, and Lee-eum shifted his gaze from the man’s upper body to his wrist.
“There are pressure marks on his wrist.”
“I heard it was caused by the guards restraining him when he was causing a disturbance.”
All three took turns asking questions, but there were no unusual findings. With the promise that they would send the written opinion after the autopsy was completed, the three of them put the body back in the storage room and came outside. The peculiar sour smell still lingered at the tip of his nose.
“You really never know what will happen to people. He was so confident, why did he hang himself? Was there something he was wronged about?”
“Whether he hanged himself or was hanged, no one knows.”
Nam-soo frowned at Jeong Dae-han’s words. He asked with his eyes if the prosecutor thought it was a homicide. Of course, he didn’t bring it up directly. Everyone knew that it was unlikely to change easily as the circumstances clearly pointed to suicide and the media had reported him as the perpetrator.
As he did so, Nam-soo glanced at Lee-eum.
“I’m just going to the bathroom for a moment…”
Even without saying anything, Lee-eum understood and gestured for him to go. Then he quickly ran towards the traffic division, not the bathroom. Seeing that, Lee-eum burst out laughing. He was so transparent. As he was laughing, he met Jeong Dae-han’s eyes, who quickly averted his gaze.
“How’s your body? Are you okay?”
“Yeah, I’m fine. How about you?”
“Me too.”
An awkward silence flowed between the two. That day, they could have both died. If Choi Won-joon’s men hadn’t been there, they would have been found as burned corpses. But that didn’t mean he felt grateful. Since there were so many suspicious circumstances, he didn’t like any of his actions.
While he was thinking to himself, Jeong Dae-han’s fingertip touched his cheek. Startled, he looked up and saw him holding a strand of his short hair.
“It was stuck to your face…”
Ah, no wonder it had been tickling him earlier. Lee-eum stroked his cheek once and smiled awkwardly.
“Oh, we were going to meet up last time, right?”
“Huh?”
“Your friend Seon-gyu. We talked about meeting up together…”
Lee-eum recalled the conversation they had had earlier and nodded. They had said they would have a drink together. But these days, Roh Seon-gyu’s condition wasn’t good at all. It was Seon-gyu’s personal matter, so Lee-eum made an effort to skirt around it.
“Seon-gyu’s busy for the time being… Should we meet up later?”
“I don’t mind if it’s just the two of us.”
Then his ears turned slightly red. Was he hot? Looking at the sky, the sun was definitely getting hotter. He was about to ask if he was hot when Jeong Dae-han was looking at him. His gaze was as upright as his character, giving an impression of trustworthiness. Unlike someone else, he seemed like he couldn’t even tell a lie.
He didn’t know why that person came to mind again, but Lee-eum erased it from his mind and nodded.
“Then let’s eat just the two of us. How about Saturday?”