Episode 466:
What kind of person was the poisonous snake that Detective Ahn remembers?
‘It was harsh, first of all.’
As you can easily guess from his nickname, he was really harsh.
Most police officers who remained in the violent crime world for a long time tended to be like that, but Viper was particularly obsessed with catching criminals without caring about his own health. It made me wonder if that was the only joy in life, but he admitted that it was actually so. I was out of my mind.
He had a strong sadistic side, and his tongue was so long that he was an expert at playing with people’s hearts in cunning ways. He cleverly navigated the boundaries between legality and illegality, and even annoyed his former class leader, who is now retired.
‘But there was a lot of affection.’
I wouldn’t say he was a good person, much less a good person, but there was something about him that made it difficult to hate him with ease. At least he was good to his people.
He was that kind of person, so when I heard that he had hanged himself, I couldn’t accept it right away. This is because I thought that even if depression and impatience were rampant on this floor, it would not be as common as poisonous snakes. If you look at his attitude towards others and the way he enjoys events, he is half human-like, but the other half is a person who shows perverse kindness.
Why are you thinking about that now?
“Detective Hong Gyeong-jun.”
“Oh, thank you.”
When I saw Hong Gyeong-jun naturally receiving ginger tea from Jae-heon Lee, I automatically became associated with him.
“…Do you know our Detective Hong?”
Lee Jae-heon nodded to Detective Ahn’s question.
“There are quite a few.”
“There were many examples. “He probably doesn’t have any malicious intent though.”
Hong Kyung-jun has always been a blind man optimized for incurring hate without any malicious intent. I apologized in advance, wondering if this chaebol man had something on his mind, but Lee Jae-heon’s reaction was beyond my imagination.
He smiled and answered.
“It was fun, so it’s okay.”
“Ah, fun…”
“Isn’t that why you took Detective Ahn with you?”
“Ah yes ah… yes.”
Detective Ahn called Captain Park in his mind.
‘I’m sorry, Captain.’
I felt like I was dry from the beginning.
‘…Isn’t this really someone who has ties to that poisonous snake guy? A distant relative or something. Somehow, an unexpected place asked me for information, and they said I had ties to a conglomerate…’ Even
though I knew it was nonsense, I couldn’t help but keep looking for a connection between Doksa and Lee Jae-heon. Considering the age difference, I wondered if there was any reason for the two to meet, but unless they were best friends, I could only think that this was genetic. Unless there is a problem with the DNA, why do they look so similar?
“Rather than that, it’s ‘our Detective Hong.’ “Our Kyeongjun, you’re being treated well at work, aren’t you?”
“I’m not the youngest anymore, but I just happened to be that way.”
“It’s definitely fun to bully people because they’re fierce.”
The conversation I had with Hong Kyung-jun was also very familiar.
‘…This is why…’
I don’t know everything else, but I thought that this was why Kyungjun didn’t cut off even though he was from a chaebol family. There is no way that Hong Gyeong-jun, who was having a hard time pretending that his partner’s death was not the case, would be able to shake off the hand of someone who looks like the reincarnation of a poisonous snake.
How heartbroken Hong Kyung-jun must have been after losing his partner in such a bad way. Even if he said he was fine, people who knew Hong Gyeong-jun well knew that he was missing a screw. It felt like the machine guy who had been so immersed in his day job that he never touched a large company had finally turned into a human again.
“How does the tea smell?”
“iced coffee.”
I nodded while touching the glass that Jaeheon Lee handed me.
“very good. “It has a very luxurious scent.”
“I wasn’t sure if you would enjoy the tea, so I served you a plain Earl Gray, and I’m glad you did.”
“Thank you for your consideration.”
Come to think of it, it’s a poisonous snake. Did that guy also like tea?…
‘…come to your senses.’
It seems like they’ve already been dried up, but they didn’t come to play, they came to work.
I don’t know what the higher-ups were thinking that led us to this interview, but the wisest thing would be to end it neatly and leave without incident.
Detective Ahn said, holding up his notebook.
“Thanks to you, I drank good tea. “If it’s okay with you, can we proceed with a reference investigation?”
“Please do so.”
“I’m sure it won’t be a pleasant memory, but I’m sorry to ask you this.”
“It doesn’t matter. Of course, I was sad because we met and exchanged greetings at the event, but I was even more surprised. “I think it was less shocking because of that.”
“okay.”
For someone who said he was sad, he looked pretty normal.
‘Maybe I’ve just developed a bias… It’s kind of strong.’
Detective Ahn barely revealed the discomfort or nervousness he felt.
He was not a quick-witted person like Hong Gyeong-jun’s intuition or Captain Park’s insight. All we can do is rely on the database built up over a long period of catching violent criminals. Therefore, the harshness that Detective Ahn felt was probably a grievance without any basis.
However, everyone seemed to admit that the man in front of them did not feel particularly human.
“Then is it true that something happened after sending Yoo Hye-in away that morning?”
“yes. “I asked if he would take me there, but he said he was fine and left alone.”
“It’s okay.”
“I was a little anxious, but I thought of course I would take a taxi. “Even if I were to walk, I was worried that something bad would happen in this area because the lights are brightly lit even late in the morning and there are a lot of people walking around.”
Lee Jae-heon, who explained the situation at the time, was so calm and neat that it seemed a little excessive for a person recalling the last images of an acquaintance who lost his life in an accident. For a moment, it occurred to me that its appearance resembled a poisonous snake in its pretense, but I consciously erased that thought as well.
“Have you talked often before?”
“I think I said it before, but no. Have you only seen it twice before? “We met for the first time at an event and then again by chance at a quiet restaurant.”
“But you took me home.”
“I understand what your suspicions are. “I’m sorry that it probably wasn’t relayed to the detectives because of my personal issues, but if there is a victim and a perpetrator between us, I am the victim.”
“What are you talking about….”
“Yoo Hye-yeon was stalking me. It was that night that I noticed it, talked about it, and contacted him to end things on a good note. “I made an effort to get him to drink with me, so I made him have a cup of tea at my house and then sent him away.”
Detective Ahn asked Lee Jae-heon back.
“Stalking?”
“I think it was captured on the aquarium’s CCTV footage, but since you don’t know anything about it, I guess it wasn’t relayed in the middle. As you know, I tend to require a little bit of management at home.”
“Ah….”
“I understand that there are other suspicions that are separate from the accident because a woman in her 20s stopped by the house of a man in his 40s, but I want to tell you that I am innocent.”
“I’m sorry if you felt bad. “I apologize.”
I belatedly remembered Captain Park’s words, telling me to just pretend to conduct an investigation.
It wasn’t easy to just pretend as I was doing it out of habit. I didn’t even want to do that. Fortunately, Jaeheon Lee didn’t seem to be in a bad mood and was smiling with the same face as before.
“You were doing your day job, it’s not something you should apologize for. it’s okay.”
“…thank you.”
Rather, you might feel a sense of discomfort from such a casual appearance.
‘He usually gives off a bad vibe, doesn’t he? Especially if they are from a large conglomerate….’
Since this was my first time interviewing someone from a conglomerate, I couldn’t help but tilt my head as if the members of the royal family were all wearing that marble-like face. What was certain was that the person in front of me, Lee Jae-heon, was definitely not the same person as rumored.
Suddenly, Detective Ahn realized something.
“….”
Why did you think Doxa and Lee Jae-heon looked alike?
“You finished your tea. “Would you like another drink?”
“Oh no. “That’s enough.”
The two felt like they were dead even though they were alive.
I wasn’t saying it was like a zombie or a jiangshi from movies. It was not likened to a vampire who was said to be alive and moving from the dead.
The body temperature seemed low, as if the spirit of the dead had entered the body of a living person. I had this thought even though I had never held the other person’s hand.
Lee Jae-heon, who was looking at Detective Ahn, turned his gaze to Hong Gyeong-jun.
“Then I guess your work is done now.”
“yes?”
“Isn’t it great to see our Detective Hong Gyeong-jun working in earnest?”
Lee Jae-heon, who came to his own conclusion, spit out sad remarks without hesitation. Detective Ahn, who realized that this was Lee Jae-heon’s signal to ‘let’s leave it at this,’ put his notebook away with a nervous expression. I was wondering what could be done by interrogating him further since he had such a solid alibi.
Hong Gyeong-jun, who confirmed Detective Ahn, naturally responded to Lee Jae-heon’s words.
“thank you.”
“Oh, you accept gold painting on your face so calmly? Do you think that your work is cool?”
“Do you need an apology?”
“It can’t be. “It meant that it was good to see people working hard.”
“Jaeheon Lee, I would especially like you to speak nicely. “I am very confused because he is someone who could make a noir movie with just one face.”
“Are you sorry for getting into trouble?”
Detective Ahn was disgusted by the giggling face.
At the same time, I was shocked when I realized my reaction. It’s been quite a while since Detective Ahn stayed in the homicide unit for the three years of Seodanggae. It meant that he was not an incompetent bastard who couldn’t even manage his facial expressions in front of civilians being investigated. And yet, he made such a blatant disgusting expression.
‘What is this? Is this true?’
The dry and cool atmosphere, as well as that strangely frivolous smile, made me doubt whether a poisonous snake had entered the body of Lee Jae-heon at this point. I think this was called possession. If you call a shaman and perform an exorcism, it may actually be an exorcism.
‘…What kind of crazy idea am I thinking?’
It was an outrageously rude thought to treat an adult man whom I had just met for the first time. Even though he had a rough personality, Detective Ahn usually never behaved this rudely. So, the fact that informal thoughts pop out like this probably means that the person in front of me overlaps with the person in my head.
Yes, Doxa and Lee Jae-heon.
“…I guess you two are close?”
Anyway, the captain had been pretending for a long time, so Detective Ahn also joined the conversation. In my mind, I felt like I had already left work.
“Kyungjun said they first met at the park.”
“Ah, we met.”
“…What do you mean by meeting is meeting?”
“What was it then? “I think Detective Hong Gyeong-jun watched me throw up.”
When Detective Ahn looked at Hong Gyeong-jun as if asking how you could do that, he waved his hand.
“I happened to see it by chance. “You looked so bad…”
“When I vomited after the dinner party, you coldly abandoned me?”
“Can it be the same as a co-worker vomiting after drinking and a citizen you just met looking sick? And Lee Jae-heon’s condition at the time was much worse than you might think…”
Lee Jae-heon called Hong Gyeong-jun.
“Detective, I also have a private life.”
“Are you feeling sick these days?”
“When you say that, it makes me sound like I’m suffering from some kind of fatal disease.”
“Sometimes it seems like that….”
“There’s nothing this guy can’t say in front of someone he’s meeting for the first time.”
Detective Ahn blinked and looked at Lee Jae-heon.
‘…He doesn’t look like that at all, but is he a bit weak?’
Although Lee Jae-heon was on the thin side, his bone structure seemed quite thick. He looks like he has muscles, as if he’s been working out, and his height is also long. He didn’t look weak at all, giving off a cool, dry look like something out of a noir movie, but I thought he might be someone who suffers from illness unexpectedly.
As I tried to control the inevitable inner intimacy that came from the poisonous snake and think about what I couldn’t say, time flew by. The police officers greeted Lee Jae-heon and stood up.
“Then I’ll just get up.”
“Thank you for your cooperation, Jaeheon Lee.”
There was nothing to call it an achievement.
This survey was a show-off from the beginning, and although Lee Jae-heon obediently responded to the survey, he did not seem serious. Anyone can see that the death of a woman named Yoo Hye-yeon was an accident, and there was no room for Lee Jae-heon to intervene in the situation. All of this was just a play.
However, even for Detective Ahn, who was not very interested in the political situation, the three letters of the name ‘Lee Jae-heon’ were clearly stuck in his head. At the very least, he was a completely different person from the rumors that Captain Park had told us.
‘Could this be the type of person who is as fascinated by stimulation as a poisonous snake…? Then, it could be that Hong Gyeong-jun is the perfect guy to bully, so he gave me the information as a light favor. Well, do you think the standard of pleasure is the same for people who were born in a wealthy family and for us commoners? If the poisonous snake had been born as a powerful person, it might have felt like this…’
I noticed it from the time I personally gave him a ride in the car, but there didn’t seem to be any employees in the house. When you watch a drama, they say there is at least one person. Lee Jae-heon personally guided us through the two-story palace-like house and led us outside. In the meantime, the boiler temperature may have risen further, and the smell of the scented candles decorated here and there in the house became stronger.
As I was leaving his house, following Jaeheon Lee.
“….”
“…? Detective Ahn?”
Detective Ahn stopped.
“Jaeheon Lee.”
Then he asked without thinking.
“Do you smell blood?”
“….”
“…Huh?”
The smell of blood?
(Continued in the next part)
