By Zephyria 
“I’m sorry. Can I ask you for one more day?”
Roh Seon-gyu’s shout came from over the receiver. Lee-eum held the phone away from his ear for a while. Seon-gyu threw a fit, saying he had a date that evening, but when Lee-eum offered to pay him double, Seon-gyu readily agreed to Lee-eum’s request.
After ending the call, Lee-eum rubbed his face roughly with his hands, exhausted, and replayed the video on the computer screen. He was looking at CCTV footage from nearby stores and dashcam footage from vehicles around the scene of the incident in order, but he couldn’t find any clues.
“Have some coffee while you work.”
Nam-soo set down a takeout coffee next to him and then pressed down on his shoulders.
“Get some rest. I’ll take a look.”
“No. I’ll do it. You organize the report on the Man-shik case. Team leader told me to put it on his desk by tomorrow morning.”
Nam-soo pulled his chair close to Lee-eum and stared intently at the screen. Hikers going up the mountain were captured on the dashcam footage, but none of them were carrying a large bag.
“That’s strange. It’s not like they dropped the body from the sky.”
“It would have been possible in the middle of the night. And it rained a lot a few days ago.”
“Oh, you mean that downpour? Still, wouldn’t it be hard to move it alone?”
“Maybe he wasn’t alone.”
Detective Lee Yong-bok came in as he couldn’t take his eyes off the screen.
“You’re here, Detective Lee.”
“Wow, the traffic was terrible. That’s why I hate Fridays.”
Lee Yong-bok handed over a document envelope, and Lee-eum took it and checked the contents. It was a photo of the dismembered body laid out on an autopsy table, with a flamboyant tattoo covering the back from shoulder to hip.
“It’s not chicken, it’s like they filleted him. Crazy bastard.”
Turning to the next page, there was personal information about the victim. Before he could read it, Lee Yong-bok kindly explained.
“Name Yang Taek-il. 37 years old. There was that incident at the Grace Hotel where dozens of gangsters had a knife fight, you know? Three people died, I think. Do you remember?”
“I saw it on the news.”
“After that, they expanded their power and grew in size. You can say they devoured all the entertainment establishments nearby. And with the Busan guys coming up and joining them, they’ve become a nationwide organization. This dead Yang Taek-il belongs to that group. He was mainly in charge of managing the establishments.”
“What are they saying?”
“They say they don’t know anything, but how can you know what’s in the minds of those gangster bastards? They’re experts at stabbing people in the back.”
“Where was the last signal detected?”
“They said it was at a bar, so I stopped by on the way, and they said he got drunk that day and they put him in a taxi. The taxi has been put on the wanted list. I’m going to go to his house tomorrow. But the bar madam said something strange, you know?”
“What did she say?”
“She said he was bragging that he was going to make a lot of money soon. She said he always liked to brag when he was drunk, so she didn’t think much of it.”
“I’ll stop by there. Give me the address.”
As he was receiving the address from Detective Lee, his cell phone vibrated. It was a message from Roh Seon-gyu. He had fed him, and he took a bath by himself, and he even sent a picture of the two of them together, looking friendly, so he burst out laughing.
But he couldn’t just laugh. He sent an official letter to the police station in charge of the district where Young-shik was found and even made a separate request, but he still hadn’t heard any news.
Does he not have a family…?
After thinking it over, Lee-eum organized his thoughts and shifted his gaze to the monitor. In the pitch-black darkness, his eyes shone particularly sharply as he tried to find even a small clue.
❖ ❖ ❖
“Kim Yi-eum, are you even human? You said you’d be here early, what time is it?”
“I wired the money. Check it.”
Seon-gyu checked his bank balance on his cell phone and a smile spread across his face.
“Oh, our Detective Kim. You sent so much again. You’re working hard to protect the safety of the citizens, how could I, as your friend, not help you with something like this?”
“Then you can give it back.”
“Forget it. About Young-shik. The kid’s weird.”
“Why? Does it seem like his memory is coming back?”
“Memory or whatever, as soon as he opens his eyes, he wants to go to the playground.”
“Kids like playgrounds. You don’t know because you don’t have any nephews or nieces.”
“He plays all day? With the kids?”
“Yeah.”
“Ah. Shit. I shouldn’t have kids.”
Then he packed his bag and clothes and got up from his seat.
“I’m leaving now. Ji-yeon is waiting for me.”
“Tell Ji-yeon I’m sorry. I’ll buy you a meal later.”
“What meal, you don’t even have time to come home. Take care of yourself.”
Seon-gyu waved his hand casually and left the house, and Lee-eum went into the bedroom. Young-shik was lying straight in bed, sleeping. Fortunately, he didn’t take over my spot. He took off his clothes and went into the bathroom, filled the tub with water, and stayed there for a long time. He had been taking naps at the police station, and his back and everything else ached.
Feeling refreshed, he changed into new clothes, came to the bed, and lay down quietly. As soon as he closed his eyes, sleepiness washed over him. How long had he been asleep? Feeling suffocated, Lee-eum barely opened his eyes. Wasn’t it that firm arms and legs were wrapped around him like vines? He pulled off his arms and turned around, and Young-shik was staring at him with half-open eyes and a blank expression.
“Oh… are you awake?”
His face was right in front of his, so he was uncomfortable and leaned back slightly, but he burrowed into his arms. Lee-eum flinched and looked down at the crown of the head of the man, who was a head taller than him, buried in his chest. He must have used Lee-eum’s shampoo, because it smelled similar.
“Mister… where did you go… I was scared….”
His voice was terribly low. He grabbed his shoulders and gently pushed him back, but he didn’t budge and instead hugged him even tighter. He wanted to tell him to get off him right away, what was he doing being so disgusting with another man, but considering that the other person was mentally a child, it wasn’t easy.
“Why didn’t you come yesterday, Mister?”
The man raised his head and looked up. The light shining in the darkness was languid.
“Are you a police officer, Mister? My friend said so. He said police officers are busy every day.”
“That’s right. It’s busy and hard.”
“Still, it’s cool. I want to be a police officer when I grow up.”
“……”
“Oh, right. I’m all grown up.”
He smiled, and when his sharp eyes curved, he felt like a cute, oversized dog. Lee-eum took the opportunity to try to remove Young-shik’s arms.
“Can you let go now? I don’t like being hugged.”
“Pat me….”
“Huh?”
“Pat… pat….”
Lee-eum squeezed his eyes shut and opened them, then patted his shoulder with his hand. Take back what I just said. He’s not cute, he’s disgusting. He wished that this big man would quickly find his memory and please go back home. Of course, it would be even better if there were families eagerly waiting for him.
It was quiet. He carefully removed him after he didn’t even know when he was touched slightly, and then Lee-eum took the pillow and came out. He thought it would be hard to sleep soundly if they slept together, so he went to the guest room, lay down, and tried to fall asleep.
He thought he was just closing his eyes for a moment, but when he woke up to the sound of the alarm, it was already morning. Lee-eum got up groggily and stretched his legs down from the bed, and was startled to find Young-shik sleeping curled up on the floor.
Why here….
He couldn’t help but sigh at the sight of him sleeping like a caterpillar without a blanket. He was about to wake him up, but he covered him with his blanket and quietly closed the door and came out, but just then the doorbell rang.
Who could it be from early in the morning? Curious, he checked the intercom and saw that Lee-eum’s Hyung was there. He opened the door and his Hyung came in.
“What were you doing that you opened the door so late?”
“What’s going on from the morning?”
“Let me sleep a little. I’m so sleepy.”
“Why are you sleeping here?”
“I got kicked out by Hyung-soo.”
“What? Why?”
“I got caught taking cash from her wallet.”
He said it so confidently that he thought he had misheard. He was at a loss for words. Lee-eum’s Hyung was a prosecutor and a fairly competent and respected person. The problem was that this man, who was called a cold-blooded person in the prosecutor’s office, acted like a screwball when he was outside. He said that he used all his energy when he was working, but Lee-eum couldn’t understand it at all.
“A prosecutor, of all people….”
“I didn’t mean to do it from the beginning. The wallet was there, so I opened it slightly and before I knew it,”
“That’s what thieves say as a habit. I didn’t mean to.”
His Hyung didn’t even pretend to listen and headed to the small room. Lee-eum was afraid he would wake Young-shik, so he immediately followed him.
“What is it? Did a friend come over? You didn’t tell me.”
“Not a friend, he’s just staying for a while because of circumstances.”
“But why is he here instead of in a perfectly good bed?”
His Hyung went closer and looked at Young-shik up and down and admired him. Wow, he’s got a great build. Is he an athlete? Wow, look at his arms. He could take down a cow. Lee-eum stopped his Hyung from touching him and pulled him back.
“Leave him alone and go to the master bedroom. Don’t wake him up.”
His Hyung didn’t even pretend to listen and tilted his head.
“That’s strange.”
“What is?”
“Why does he look familiar?”
Just in case, Lee-eum asked back.
“Have you seen him before?”
“No, I haven’t seen him. He looks a lot like someone I know. He’s shorter and thinner than this guy.”
“Who does he look like?”
“There’s this son of a bitch who screwed me over last year. Ah, thinking about it makes me angry again. I’m going to catch that bastard and throw him in jail someday.”
His Hyung stomped into the master bedroom, and Lee-eum, who was left alone, stared blankly at Young-shik, who was wandering in his dreams. He doesn’t seem like a bad guy…. He couldn’t imagine a bad Young-shik. Anyway, he’s sleeping so well without even moving. Lee-eum, who was watching in amazement, came out and started preparing breakfast.