By Zephyria 
“Good morning.”
Kim Mid-eum got into the passenger seat while Choi Won-joon was waiting after parking the car in the parking lot. Last night, he said his car broke down and was being repaired, so he asked to be dropped off at the prosecutor’s office. As soon as he got in the car, Kim Mid-eum handed over a bag of sandwiches and coffee.
“Yunji’s mom told me to give it to you. You didn’t eat breakfast, did you?”
“Uh… Thanks.”
Lee-eum glanced at his Hyung. Director Lee had brought a lunch box in the morning and ate with Choi Won-joon, but he couldn’t honestly tell his Hyung. After a short conversation, as he was turning the car around, Choi Won-joon came out from the entrance in the distance. Lee-eum quickly made a left turn, and Kim Mid-eum watched his younger brother’s actions with a puzzled expression.
“What are you doing? The exit is that way.”
“Ah, I made a mistake.”
Lee-eum smiled awkwardly, and his Hyung teased him, asking if he already had dementia. Lee-eum watched Choi Won-joon’s movements. Looking in the rearview mirror, Choi Won-joon was standing and waving at them. He clearly told him that he would meet his Hyung and go together, and he told him to come out after a while… That guy is doing it on purpose…
“When will the promotion review results come out?”
Lee-eum quickly averted his gaze.
“At the end of the month.”
“Congratulations in advance. Don’t cause any more accidents until then.”
“I don’t know yet. I might fail.”
“You. You’re humble like me.”
Lee-eum subtly avoided his Hyung’s attempt to pat his head. He secretly hoped to fail the promotion review, but he couldn’t honestly tell him.
“By the way, do you keep in touch with Choi Won-joon?”
Lee-eum tensed up at the unexpected question and stared straight ahead. There were even articles saying that the two were close, so Kim Mid-eum would never believe him if he denied it. He even called and scolded him so much that day. At this point, he had no choice but to gloss over it nicely.
“After spending time with him, he’s not a bad person. There were parts I misunderstood…”
“He didn’t approach you with other intentions, did he?”
“Other intentions?”
“I was wondering if he had feelings for you beyond friendship. That guy looks suspicious no matter how I look at him.”
Lee-eum smiled awkwardly.
“No. Nothing like that…”
“Yeah. Noona said absolutely not either. But I’m really suspicious. The way that bastard acted when Noona hit him in the parking lot that time, and the fact that they went to the mountain together. There are so many things that bother me. The media is talking about best friends, but why does my gut keep telling me no?”
Anyway, he has an amazing sense of smell. Lee-eum glanced at the glove box in the passenger seat. Come to think of it, Choi Won-joon’s photo album and the letter he received from his mother were in there. He was nervous about getting caught, but he pretended to be calm.
“Don’t worry. Nothing like that is happening…”
“Okay. I’ll believe you. But if I catch you lying, you know what will happen, right?”
Kim Mid-eum clenched his fist tightly, and Lee-eum tried to maintain a smile. Yes, I know. To make matters worse, he repeated similar nagging until they arrived at the prosecutor’s office. Lee-eum remembered Noona’s words that when people get older, their Yang energy comes out of their mouths and they give a lot of advice.
After dropping off his Hyung, he headed to the police station, and it started to rain, turning into a downpour later. Due to the sudden rain, Lee-eum parked the car and ran inside without an umbrella.
After greeting his team members and sitting down, he looked for the laundered towel, but Nam-soo’s expression wasn’t good. Lee-eum dried his wet hair with a towel and nudged Nam-soo.
“Are you sick?”
Nam-soo sighed in a dying voice.
“Sunbae… Buy me a drink later…”
“A drink? Why?”
“I confessed yesterday and got rejected.”
Ah… Lee-eum looked sympathetic, and Nam-soo continued.
“I was just digging my own grave all this time. She said we’re just close colleagues. Ha, damn it. I even used an amulet…”
“……”
Lee-eum couldn’t think of anything to say right away, so he comforted Nam-soo by patting him on the shoulder. Then he fell deep in thought. Nam-soo broke up, and Choi Won-joon is about to move into my house permanently…
When you think about it, even if he cut off ties with his son, he wouldn’t have written an amulet with good feelings for a detective who was going to arrest his own child. Should I not have used the amulet in the first place? No, should I throw it away now?
As he was about to take out his wallet to find the amulet, a phone call came. Nam-soo changed his attitude as if nothing had happened and answered the phone. As the call went on, he repeated the same question several times. There’s something there?
“Oh… Really? Yes, yes. I understand. We’ll go.”
Nam-soo had a rather dazed expression after hanging up the phone.
“Why? What call was that?”
“It’s from the memorial park…”
“Memorial park?”
“Where Kim Ok-cheol is enshrined. They said Sunbae left your contact information with the manager.”
Lee-eum’s expression hardened. Kim Da-hyun’s father, Kim Ok-cheol, was concluded as a suicide, and Lee-eum performed the funeral on his behalf and enshrined him in the family tomb where his wife and daughter were buried. Then he left Lee-eum’s contact information and office number with the park.
“They said there’s a strange box in front of the grave…”
“A box? What kind of box?”
“I don’t know. The manager found it while walking around and opened it, but it’s badly decomposed…”
Team Leader Oh, who was listening to the word “decomposed,” also got up from his seat.
“Decomposed? What came out?”
Nam-soo hesitated before opening his mouth.
“I’m not sure… But it seems like it’s a finger…”
The team members, who were doing their own work, suddenly became quiet. Everyone probably had similar thoughts in their heads. Kim Ji-cheol’s severed finger. Lee-eum stood up from his seat and grabbed his keys and wallet. Nam-soo also started preparing quickly.
“Team leader, we’ll be back for a bit.”
“Okay, go. Hey, Detective Kim. If necessary, hand it over to the Southern Police Station right away. It’s not our jurisdiction, so don’t waste your energy on unnecessary things. Detective Park is already out, so it’s killing me. You know that.”
“Yes, I understand.”
Lee-eum hurried out with Nam-soo. The rain had stopped as if nothing had happened, and the sky was showing its clear face. Nam-soo grumbled that the weather was terrible and got into the car.
While talking to Nam-soo on the way to the memorial park, all sorts of thoughts ran through his head. Eventually, they arrived at their destination, and two people who appeared to be employees were waiting at the entrance.
“Hello, you’re from the Western Police Station, right?”
“Yes. Hello. Who is the person who contacted us?”
“This friend here found it, and I made the call. Your business card was left over from when you came before.”
“Where exactly did you see it?”
“Would you like to go see it now? This friend was so surprised that he threw it, and I couldn’t bring myself to open it.”
The employee who said he saw it directly looked slightly frightened. The manager led Lee-eum and Nam-soo to the place where Kim Da-hyun’s family was enshrined. After walking for a while, they reached the tomb, and the black tombstone had Kim Da-hyun and his parents’ names, their birth dates, and their death dates. Seeing that, the stuffy feeling that he had forgotten for a while came up. But before he could collect his thoughts, the employee pointed to the nearby area.
“That’s it.”
What was rolling around on the lawn was a wooden box. The outside was inlaid with mother-of-pearl, and the size was larger than an adult male’s palm, and the lid was closed. At first glance, it felt like a jewelry box used in a home. Lee-eum took out latex gloves from his inside pocket and carefully picked up the box.
As soon as he opened the lid, a terrible smell stung his nose.
“Ah, shit…”
Nam-soo, who was next to him, frowned and turned his head, and Lee-eum held his breath and carefully looked into the box. It was badly decomposed, but seeing the fingernails, it was definitely a finger. What was even more surprising was that ten fingers were arranged and fixed in the box in order.
Lee-eum closed the lid, and Nam-soo took out a large evidence collection bag and put it in. The manager was standing far away and watching with a troubled expression.
“Is it really a finger?”
“I think we’ll have to go and get it tested. Is there CCTV at the entrance here?”
“There are some in the charnel house and the office, but there aren’t any installed elsewhere…”
“For now, you two can go back first. There are a few things I need to ask and confirm. We’ll look around a little more and go.”
“Yes, well… Let’s do that.”
The manager and employee glanced back even as they walked away. They looked worried that rumors would spread. Nam-soo sighed deeply as he looked at the box in the collection bag.
“This is Kim Ji-cheol’s finger, right?”
“We’ll have to compare the DNA.”
Nam-soo shook his head.
“No. In my opinion, it’s 100%.”
“……”
“Whoever it is, they’re really vicious. Kim Ji-cheol is a bad bastard, but this guy is a complete psychopath, isn’t he? He treats the finger like a souvenir like this…”
Nam-soo shuddered, and Lee-eum stared blankly at the name written on the tombstone. If Kim Ok-cheol were alive, what kind of expression would he have made? Would he have received even a little comfort? Would he have felt relieved? In the midst of his complicated feelings, a message rang.
【Detective Kim. Let’s go on a date tonight.】
After hesitating, Lee-eum sent a reply to Choi Won-joon.
【I found Kim Ji-cheol’s finger. Why did you bring it here?】
If you’re human, you’ll feel a twinge. You’ll feel guilty. Let’s see what kind of excuse you make. An answer came right away, and Lee-eum almost threw his cell phone.
【Hing…. Do you still suspect me?ㅠㅠ】
Hing? Hinge? Ugh, that tone is so creepy. And there’s even a crying rabbit emoticon… A shock greater than when he saw the finger came over him, and Lee-eum shoved his cell phone into his pocket.