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Chapter 34
“Welcome.”
The man who was folding towels at the sauna counter greeted them cautiously when two well-built men opened the door and walked in.
“Police. We have a few questions. Are you the owner?”
Seong-jin showed his police ID and walked straight to the counter without hesitation.
Meanwhile, Chief Choi, who had followed him in, looked around the sauna.
“Yes. What is this about?”
Hearing that they were police officers, the owner became tense and looked at the two men alternately.
“Do you know Kim Seung-beom?”
“He’s a regular customer here. Why?”
Hearing the familiar name, the owner looked puzzled.
“He came here a few days ago, right?”
“Yes, I think so. But why?”
Seong-jin and Chief Choi exchanged glances and nodded lightly.
“Did Kim Seung-beom ask you to throw away a trash bag for him a few days ago?”
“A trash bag?”
The owner tilted his head as if it was the first time he had heard such a thing.
“Is that the only CCTV camera here?”
Chief Choi, who had been quietly looking around the sauna, suddenly pointed at the CCTV camera hanging above the counter.
“Yes. Why? What’s going on?”
The owner frowned slightly, feeling annoyed by their continuous questions.
“We’re investigating a case, so please cooperate.”
“A case? What case? Is it related to Kim Seung-beom?”
The owner’s irritation slowly turned into curiosity.
“I’m afraid I can’t tell you that. Could we speak with the employee who works in the men’s sauna?”
“Just a moment. Oh! There he comes.”
The owner pointed to a man walking out of the men’s bath carrying a large sack of towels.
At the same time, Seong-jin and Chief Choi turned their heads.
“Chief, that’s the man. I saw him in Kim Seung-beom’s memory.”
After confirming the man’s face, Seong-jin whispered into Chief Choi’s ear.
“Jinhyung, come here for a moment.”
“Yes.”
Hearing the owner call him, Jinhyung placed the sack of towels on the floor and walked toward the counter.
“These people are looking for you. Did you cause any trouble?”
“No. Who are you?”
“Hello. I’m Detective Kim Seong-jin.”
“A detective?”
At the word police, Jinhyung looked at Seong-jin with a surprised face.
“It’s nothing serious, so don’t worry. You saw Kim Seung-beom here a few days ago, right?”
“Yes.”
“Did he ask you to throw away a trash bag back then?”
“A trash bag?”
Seong-jin and Chief Choi swallowed nervously as they waited for the answer.
“Ah—yes. He did. But why?”
“Then where is that trash bag now?”
Seong-jin’s voice rose.
“Of course I threw it away. That was days ago.”
“Ah, damn.”
He had still hoped for a small chance.
But it was just a useless hope.
“Didn’t the trash bag smell strange? Like… the smell of blood?”
Chief Choi suddenly joined the conversation.
On the way to the sauna, Seong-jin had already told him everything that had happened in Seung-beom’s memory.
“The smell of blood?”
Jinhyung tilted his head, confused.
“Think carefully. Was there any smell? Something like blood?”
Chief Choi pressed again.
“Now that I think about it… there might have been a fishy smell… Why? Did I do something wrong?”
Jinhyung looked terrified under the questioning and kept watching their reactions.
“Did something happen to Kim Seung-beom? Why are you asking about blood and trash bags?”
The owner, who had been quietly listening, finally couldn’t hold back his curiosity.
“That’s part of the investigation. You don’t need to know.”
Chief Choi answered firmly.
“Well… I suppose so.”
The owner pouted slightly, looking displeased.
“When is the garbage collected here? Or rather—when was it collected?”
Seong-jin looked determined to search the entire dump if necessary.
“Today. It was taken away this morning.”
“Where to?”
“I don’t know that.”
Jinhyung shrugged his shoulders.
“Damn it.”
Bang—
Seong-jin slammed his fist on the counter in frustration.
“Do you have the CCTV recording from the day Kim Seung-beom came here? Could you show it to us?”
Unlike the excited Seong-jin, Chief Choi calmly pointed at the CCTV camera on the wall.
“Well… the monitor broke recently, so it’s only recording now. The monitor is quite expensive.”
The owner said awkwardly.
“How long before the recordings are deleted?”
“They’re automatically deleted after a week.”
“Then could you at least copy the file for us?”
Chief Choi handed him a USB stick.
“Chief… when did you bring that?”
Seong-jin looked surprised.
Unlike himself, who rushed into things without thinking, Chief Choi always seemed relaxed but was clearly prepared.
“Just a moment.”
The owner hurried into the office.
“Jinhyung, could you give us a statement?”
“A statement? Why me?”
Jinhyung looked uneasy as the situation seemed to be getting bigger.
“There’s nothing to worry about. Just tell us honestly what you saw and felt about Kim Seung-beom’s actions in the sauna that day.”
Chief Choi lightly placed a hand on his shoulder to reassure him.
“But this machine is quite old, so the video quality isn’t good.”
At that moment, the owner came back from the office with the USB containing the CCTV recording.
“That’s fine. Anyway, thank you for cooperating today.”
“Chief, let’s hurry to the garbage dump.”
After bowing briefly, Seong-jin and Chief Choi quickly left the sauna.
* * *
Inside the elevator going down to the underground parking lot.
“It should still be there… It has to be there. Why is this thing so slow?”
Seong-jin muttered anxiously while staring at the slowly changing numbers.
♪♬-♪
At that moment, Chief Choi’s phone rang loudly.
“Hello. Chaerin. Did you get home safely? Yes… okay.”
As he listened, Chief Choi’s expression slowly hardened.
“Alright. I’ll come there now. Don’t move.”
As soon as he hung up, Chief Choi pressed the button for the first floor.
“You’ll have to search the garbage alone.”
“What do you mean?”
[First floor.]
“I’ll explain later. If you find anything, call me immediately.”
The moment the elevator doors opened, Chief Choi ran out at full speed.
“Chief! Chief!”
* * *
Seung-beom’s face twisted painfully as he lay in the hypnosis chair.
What kind of memory is it? What is he trying so desperately to hide?
Watching his distorted face beside him, In-hye crossed her legs quietly and thought deeply.
Just then—
A message appeared on her phone.
“I came out.”
Chaerin must have learned something.
Hoping Chaerin would solve the mystery about Seung-beom, In-hye leaned closer and whispered softly.
“Now take a deep breath and relax. When I count to three, slowly open your eyes. One… two… three.”
A moment later, Seung-beom slowly relaxed his twisted face and opened his eyes slightly.
“How was it?”
In-hye asked carefully while observing his expression.
“……”
But Seung-beom said nothing.
He pressed his temple with his fingers as if his head hurt and frowned.
“Does something hurt?”
In-hye asked with concern.
“No. I feel very refreshed.”
Soon, Seung-beom smiled brightly and fixed his slightly messy hair.
“That’s good.”
Relieved by his answer, In-hye returned to the desk and began typing the medical notes into her laptop.
“Um… I didn’t say anything wrong, did I?”
Seung-beom slowly sat up from the chair and spoke cautiously.
“No.”
In-hye stopped typing and acted as if nothing had happened.
“Ah… I see. I was worried I might have said something careless.”
Relieved, Seung-beom leaned back on the sofa.
“In-hye, what would you like to eat later?”
“Huh?”
Seung-beom called her name in a soft and gentle voice, almost like he was speaking to a lover.
Startled, In-hye looked at him.
Despite the warmth in his voice, she felt a strange chill that made goosebumps run down her body.
“We agreed to have dinner together today.”
“Yes… anything is fine.”
“Why do you look so surprised? Are you afraid I might do something to the director?”
Seung-beom smiled playfully, changing the way he addressed her.
“That’s not it…”
“I’m joking. Sorry. Please finish your work.”
He slipped out of the situation like a clever snake.
“Alright. Please wait for a moment.”
While In-hye continued typing, Seung-beom looked around the director’s office.
“You must read a lot of books.”
He stopped in front of the bookshelf.
“Well, it’s part of my job.”
“Oh, my book is here too. Most people don’t know this one.”
Seung-beom proudly pulled out his own book from the shelf.
“I told you. I’m your fan. Since you’re here, could you give me an autograph?”
In-hye closed her laptop, stood up, and handed him his latest book from the desk.
“I’m honored to hear that.”
Seung-beom smiled widely and took out a fountain pen from his pocket.
The golden nib sparkled under the light.
“That’s a nice pen.”
In-hye said while looking at it with interest.
“Ah… yes… here you go.”
Seung-beom awkwardly handed her the signed book and quickly put the pen back in his inner pocket.
“Shall we go now? I’ve already made a reservation. If we leave now, the timing will be perfect.”
He picked up his jacket and urged her.
“You already made a reservation? I still have a little work left.”
In-hye forced a smile and glanced at the CCTV camera.
It was a silent signal asking someone to help her escape this situation.
“Then I’ll wait. Take your time.”
♬-♩♪
At that moment, In-hye’s phone rang.
“Hello? Ah… yes. Just a moment. Sorry, could you wait outside? It’s a consultation call.”
Covering the phone with one hand, she looked apologetically at Seung-beom.
“Alright. Take your time. I’ll wait downstairs.”
Seung-beom left the office with an excited expression like a child.
* * *
“Are you okay?”
The door of the room next to the director’s office slowly opened, and Chaerin carefully peeked inside.
“Yes. I’m okay. Thanks for calling.”
After seeing In-hye’s troubled face on the CCTV, Chaerin had immediately made the call.
At that moment—
“Chaerin, what do you mean a new witness?”
Chief Choi burst into the office, breathing heavily.
“Chief, didn’t you leave?”
“Chaerin said she found a new witness. What happened?”
Seeing In-hye’s exhausted face, he knew something was wrong.
“Not now… but there might be later.”
In-hye sighed deeply and rubbed her aching temple.
“What does that mean?”
“It’s because of Kim Seung-beom. We’ll talk about that later. Chaerin, what witness did you find?”
In-hye clearly didn’t want to talk about Seung-beom and quickly changed the topic.
“Kim Seung-beom’s fiancée’s car accident.”
“Lee Seung-hee’s accident?”
They had expected it to be related to the Hwang Jung-sik case.
But it wasn’t.
“Yes.”
“Chief, but that case was already ruled as an accident—”
“No. Kim Seung-beom caused that accident intentionally.”
Chaerin interrupted In-hye.
Her voice carried deep anger.
“It wasn’t an accident. Kim Seung-beom caused it on purpose.”
“Are you serious?”
Chief Choi’s shocked voice filled the office.
“At least that’s how it looked to me.”
“Why do you think that? What did you see in the memory?”
“He had no intention of saving his girlfriend after the accident. And that expression on his face…”
At the accident scene, Seung-beom didn’t look human.
When his fiancée was dying—
He had been smiling.
Like a demon.
“Then who is the witness you found? Someone who saw the accident?”
Excited, Chief Choi asked.
Chaerin handed him a small note.
“It’s the taxi driver who was there. His name and taxi number are written there.”
“We need to find this driver immediately. Good work.”
Chief Choi placed the note in his notebook and patted Chaerin’s shoulder.
“Chaerin, why did you go back into the memory again?”
In-hye found her behavior unusual.
“Just… a feeling.”
“A feeling? That’s what the chief always says.”
In-hye smiled.
And hearing Chaerin’s answer, the corner of Chief Choi’s mouth slightly lifted.
♬-♩♪
Just then, In-hye’s phone rang again.
“Hello? Yes. I’m about to come down… okay.”
Her voice sounded gentle, but her expression frowned as she hung up.
“Who was it? Kim Seung-beom?”
Chief Choi asked.
For a moment, In-hye said nothing.
Then her face suddenly darkened.
“What’s wrong?”
“I never gave him my personal phone number… only the hospital number on my business card.”
She looked at them slowly.
“Then… how did he get my phone number?”
Chaerin and Chief Choi’s faces darkened at the same time.
