Episode 117
What did I do wrong?
What did I ruin?
“Jaeheon Lee.”
“it’s okay.”
“…No, you are not okay now.”
“It’s okay.”
“I said no.”
Why is everything I touch broken?
“You can hear me”
“It’s okay.”
“….”
“…It could have been okay….”
Why is nothing going the way I think?
Why why I….
“….”
“….”
I could have done better.
“…is not it?”
* * *
Hong Gyeong-jun had once seen a person like this.
He was fiercely altruistic yet heartlessly calculating. However, because all of his heartbreak was poured out only on himself, Hong Gyeong-jun did not know what kind of person he was until the very end.
Hong Gyeong-jun thought it wouldn’t be surprising if he ended up falling into something other than the police. For example, a mafia, a broker, or a cult founder. There was something about the crooked smile and haughty gaze he always wore that made people feel intimidated. There was no one who was not afraid of him.
That’s why no one noticed that he collapsed.
‘You can’t do that.’
Even during that time, you couldn’t trust me.
‘If you take after me, the police will have one more criminal to catch.’
“….”
‘So get out.’
No,
was there anyone he trusted in the first place?
‘You should stay where you are, Gyeongjun.’
…Probably wasn’t there.
That person, who had somehow managed to survive, died one day due to some change of heart. There were no signs whatsoever, to the point where people around him were even more bewildered.
So I couldn’t be wary of this person.
“Jaeheon Lee.”
“it’s okay.”
A person who says they are okay with a face that is not okay at all.
“…No, you are not okay now.”
“It’s okay.”
“I said no.”
So, even if he lived as a tool and died as a tool, there was no way he could be wary of someone who would die willingly. Hong Gyeong-jun and Detective Hong Gyeong-jun were like that too.
I felt it instinctively. You are a person who works for good. judged objectively. There is no way this kind of person would do something evil. In the end, why should Detective Hong Gyeong-jun be wary of someone who, even at the very end, will die by putting down himself rather than others? “
I was also anxious about
being able to hear myself.”
“are you okay.”
“….”
“…It could have been okay….”
A person Hong Gyeong-jun knew also died through the same process.
I gave up and got used to it….
“….”
“….”
“…Isn’t it?”
That was the end of the person I admired.
“…Jaeheon Lee.”
Hong Gyeong-jun grabbed Lee Jae-heon’s shoulder.
Of course, Lee Jae-heon and that person were not exactly the same. Lee Jae-heon was at least a person who could despair in front of the corpse of a child, and he considered even such despair a luxury. However, Hong Gyeong-jun was able to feel the same belief in the pursuit of efficiency by sacrificing himself to the greatest extent possible.
I didn’t want to see someone like that die again.
“It becomes a problem if someone who has nothing to do with the body comes in contact with it for a long time.”
“….”
“They said there was another adult next to the victim. The person has not been found, but that makes us suspect that it was a murder. “We may crush the clues, so please leave the scene.”
Although these words seemed heartless at first glance, Hong Gyeong-jun was confident that Lee Jae-heon would come to his senses after hearing what he said. This is because these people consider ‘what is the problem’ more important than comforting and soothing words.
Lee Jae-heon, who glanced at Hong Gyeong-jun slowly, stood up.
“….”
“…I’m sorry. I called you for no reason. I was calling in the hope that he might ask about the child’s whereabouts later, but it seems to have had the opposite effect. “I apologize.”
“There’s nothing to be sorry about.”
After staring into space for a moment, he looked back at Hong Gyeong-jun and said.
“…Do you know that?”
“….”
“This child should not have died here.”
It was a tired, mechanical voice.
“…I know.”
“Thank goodness.”
Lee Jae-heon, who said that, was smiling.
“….”
It was a strangely familiar smile.
‘Did you say you felt murderous intent?’
Hong Gyeong-jun, who was dazed by the unaccustomed feeling, managed to look at reality.
Early this morning, I found out that Lee Jae-heon’s existing group was hiding and listening to the conversation between him and Kwon Yeon-hee. It was only natural that Hong Gyeong-jun was also caught in the middle of it.
Jaeheon Lee said that he was dragged away by what they called the ‘green algae monster’ and barely returned alive. He said he couldn’t remember most of what happened that night, but he was clearly affected by the monster. So, he hoped to avoid him, saying that he never knew when he might kill someone.
However, contrary to his wishes, it seemed like their group would not avoid Lee Jae-heon….
“….”
So what should I do here?
“…How about we go and rest?”
“There are people who will come this way anyway. “I will move with you.”
“That’s not bad either.”
Hong Gyeong-jun nodded.
‘It feels strange.’
What is surprisingly important when working as a detective is correct intuition, and Hong Gyeong-jun was quite talented in that area. He felt like among the survivors he had just met was the criminal he was chasing.
Of course, it was just a hunch and no clear evidence was found.
‘So you have to be more careful.’
He raised his head and looked at the approaching figure.
“Chief, are you okay?”
“are you okay.”
“…If you say so, that’s what it means.”
It was Jeong In-ho, a member of Lee Jae-heon’s group, and a man.
‘Did you say he was a doctor?’
Yesterday, while talking with Lee Jae-heon’s group, I heard that there was a doctor named Ha Seong-yoon among the team members. He said he would bring a doctor, so it was probably him.
Jeong In-ho was slightly frowning as he looked at Lee Jae-heon’s condition, and the doctor approached me as if he was not interested. He was looking at the child’s body lying behind Hong Gyeong-jun.
“I thought I would see him someday, but I never thought the first one would be a child.”
“Me too…”
He glanced at his gray-white hair and said, tapping one of his eyes.
“What happened here?”
“As expected, you are pointing that out. “I did something wrong and it ended up like this.”
“….”
There was a lot he wanted to say, but Hong Gyeong-jun quietly kept his mouth shut.
‘I’m sure those people have already figured this out.’
Although he seemed a little crazy, he trusted Lee Jae-heon’s basic judgment. Of course, it was funny how long it had been since they had met and what they had seen to make them believe it so much, but Hong Gyeong-jun himself did not notice that.
Moreover, it was a matter that fell to none other than Jeong In-ho.
“….”
“….”
…There’s no need to create trouble already.
Hong Gyeong-jun lightly bowed to the pitch-black gaze he met, and Jeong In-ho responded with a straight smile. This is the exact opposite reaction from the one where I looked at Lee Jae-heon, who was leaning against a tree and resting his forehead on me, with inexplicable eyes.
‘…It’s not normal.’
That’s how it was defined.
I felt it from the time I met him once before, but that person was not normal. He’s not as physically challenged as Lee Jae-heon, nor does he seem to have poor basic judgment, but he’s still in that state. I could only see that his personality had already been fundamentally distorted.
Moreover, Hong Gyeong-jun still remembered.
‘He was definitely wary of me.’
Even though Jung In-ho and he had never met before, they were very wary of Hong Gyeong-jun. Not only that, but it also seemed like he harbored hostility, so it was suspicious from Hong Gyeong-jun’s perspective as well.
Contrary to the image that comes to mind from the word detective, detectives usually do not wear suits. There are many people who just wear jumpers or everyday clothes when approaching a suspect pretending not to know, but such everyday clothes were dismissed as not suitable for Hong Gyeong-jun. He was a detective with a unique personality, so a careful criminal could have known his face.
Looking at him, it seems like Jeong In-ho also noticed Hong Kyung-jun’s thoughts.
“…What is the reason?”
The doctor examining the corpse opened his mouth at his muttering.
“I don’t think you’re asking me.”
“Probably not.”
“That’s a good thing.”
Hong Gyeong-jun glanced at the doctor and then immediately turned his attention back to the body. No matter how much the other party noticed his thoughts, in the end, Hong Gyeong-jun did not do anything right away, so there was no need to cause unnecessary injustice.
‘…What is the reason for not taking any action?’
Hong Kyung-jun’s suspicious gaze has been criticized by numerous suspects. Not all suspects are criminals, but Hong Gyeong-jun sees them as if they can be thrown away.
In his opinion, Jung In-ho was quite impatient. To be precise, he was patient, but I thought he would attack if he thought he was worth dealing with. Regardless of whether he was truly the culprit or not, Hong Kyung-jun’s gaze was quite irreverent.
‘I thought you would say something.’
In the end, Jeong In-ho said nothing.
The problem was that it was impossible to know whether it was a criminal or a civilian. If he had said just one word, I would have thought about it based on that, but it was a shame. He didn’t know much about the person named In-ho Jeong yet.
But one thing is certain….
“…What do you think of Jaeheon Lee?”
It was true that he was obsessed with a person named Lee Jae-heon.
It seemed closer to an attitude toward objects rather than a human-to-human affair. Should I say that it is as if I am looking at an amulet or symbol carried by a person immersed in religion? Jaeheon Lee doesn’t seem to know much about it, but from a third party’s perspective, it didn’t look very good.
“Are you talking about the manager?”
“That’s what you call me. “You’re probably not even an employee of the same company.”
“It’s the most convenient title.”
After saying that, the doctor stood up and touched his earlobe with his bloody hand.
“well. What do you think…”
A soft smile was drawn at the corner of his mouth.
“…about streetlights?”
“Street lamp?”
“It lights the way, but places without it are extremely dark. “That person has a strange and insensitive side, so everyone ends up getting hurt more than helping him.”
“Has Seong-yoon Ha also been hurt?”
“very.”
He continued speaking while staring at the corpse.
“….”
“I thought this was a pretty good path.”
Decent road.
Doctor Ha Seong-yoon seemed to regard Lee Jae-heon as a guide.
“….”
“There are signs of a fall. Judging by the large area, it seemed like he was pushed back by a strong force. “If you think about the angle… it looks like it was thrown from quite high up.”
“I heard you’re a surgeon.”
“It’s not my area of expertise, but I’m confident in it. “I have a lot of experience traveling around.”
He looked at the doctor.
“Where have you been?”
“Where bullets and corpses fly.”
“You have an outstanding spirit of service.”
“It’s kind of like that. The place I studied was a university hospital… It helped me gain a lot of experience. “It could also be seen as an occasional deviation.”
“Do you like what you are doing now?”
“….”
Ha Seong-yoon did not answer right away, but turned his gaze and made eye contact with Hong Gyeong-jun.
“…great.”
“….”
“Very good.”
At those words, Hong Gyeong-jun looked around.
In-ho Jeong continued to talk to Jae-heon Lee, who was pale, and Dr. Seong-yoon Ha was just smiling quietly. Conductor Kim Ki-jeong was leaning his head against a tree, perhaps in shock at seeing a corpse for the first time, while student Song In-myeong was observing Lee Jae-heon and his group, who had just joined the group.
And among them, the only one who could think normally was conductor Kim Ki-jeong. At least that’s what Detective Hong Gyeong-jun thought.
He rolled his eyes, avoiding the direct gaze.
“…Not bad.”
The last place I looked at was Song In-myeong, who was observing his surroundings with his chin resting.
Things were getting more and more troublesome.
