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Chapter 40
“Who is this guy, that Detective Kim—so righteous—has to go to such lengths? Who is he? Is it someone I know?”
Dong-chul leaned toward Sung-jin, curiosity written all over his face.
“Are you mocking me right now?”
“How could I mock the righteous Detective Kim? But seriously… who is it?”
“Do you read books?”
“No.”
“Then you wouldn’t know.”
Sung-jin waved his hand dismissively and smirked.
“Detective Kim, are you ignoring me? I’m still an elite here, even if I only graduated high school…”
Ding-dong.
“Wait a second.”
Sung-jin interrupted Dong-chul’s grumbling, checking his phone.
[“Leaving now.”]
“Let’s get going. Looks like it’s time.”
“You really aren’t going to tell me who it is?”
“You’ll know when you see.”
Sung-jin, receiving In-hye’s message, wiped the smile off his face and stood.
Throughout the lunch with In-hye, Seung-beom’s face never left a smile.
“Honestly, from the appetizer to dessert, everything is just to my taste. It seems you and I have similar preferences, In-hye.”
He continued to lead the conversation, doing his best to win her favor.
“I’m glad it suits your taste,”
In-hye said, but her eyes never left the phone on the table. Sung-jin had promised to notify her upon arrival, yet there had been no message even as the meal was nearly over.
“Do you have an urgent matter?”
Seung-beom set down his cup, slightly disappointed that In-hye wasn’t paying attention to him.
“I actually forgot that I have an urgent patient appointment today, and yet I arranged lunch with you. So I asked that they contact me once the patient arrives at the hospital,”
In-hye offered a plausible excuse, vaguely covering up.
“Then I should have seen you another time. I’d have said yes whenever you wanted, so it wouldn’t have mattered if it weren’t today.”
“No, the meeting with you is important too. And since I suggested we meet first, I can’t back out.”
“That’s very considerate of you… haha, hahaha.”
Seung-beom, unable to contain his delight at In-hye’s small smile and praise, beamed with joy.
Ding-dong.
A cheerful notification sounded from In-hye’s phone.
[“Arrived.”]
It was the message Sung-jin had been waiting for.
“Seung-beom, what should we do? Looks like the patient has arrived. Sorry, but I think I need to leave first.”
“Really? Then of course you should go. I’ll see you off.”
Seung-beom stood quickly, pulling out In-hye’s chair, wearing a blissful smile.
Sung-jin watched from his car as the two exited the restaurant, keeping a distance.
“See that man? That’s him. You can handle this, right?”
He gently placed his hand on Dong-chul’s shoulder in the passenger seat.
“Watch carefully. He’ll move too fast for you to notice sometimes.”
Dong-chul, confidence radiating, pushed his black cap down and opened the door, heading straight toward Seung-beom.
“Where’s the valet? Wait a moment. I’ll just get the car myself.”
As Seung-beom turned to run to the parked car, he collided with Dong-chul.
“Watch where you’re going.”
“Oh! Sorry.”
Dong-chul bowed slightly, then without looking back, quickly walked toward the alley.
“What the… that guy… ah, I’ll get it in a sec. Just wait a moment,”
Seung-beom muttered, annoyed, glaring at Dong-chul’s retreating figure. When his eyes met In-hye’s waiting in front of the restaurant, his irritation vanished and he smiled before running to the parking lot.
A moment later, Dong-chul climbed into the passenger seat beside Sung-jin, triumphant.
“Got it?”
Sung-jin’s eyes darted nervously to Dong-chul’s hands.
“Ta-da!”
Dong-chul grinned and pulled a gleaming fountain pen from his pocket, waving it in front of Sung-jin.
“Ha! Still got skills! Amazing, really amazing!”
Sung-jin genuinely clapped Dong-chul on the shoulder, thrilled.
“This is just a start. But what are you planning to do with this?”
“I’ll use it to catch that guy.”
Sung-jin carefully prepared to place the fountain pen in an evidence bag but suddenly froze.
“Oh, right. Your fingerprints. Ah—damn it.”
He realized he had made a rookie mistake, forgetting that Dong-chul’s fingerprints might have been left while retrieving the pen.
“Detective Kim. It’s me, Dong-chul. The hands of God, Dong-chul.”
Dong-chul spread his hands in front of Sung-jin, grinning.
“Ha! That clever guy,”
Sung-jin noticed the thin coat of clear nail polish covering all of Dong-chul’s fingerprints and exclaimed.
“Isn’t that guy famous? I think I’ve seen him on TV.”
“Yeah. He’s on these days, unfortunately for us.”
Sung-jin reluctantly started the car, frowning.
“Ah… what’s his name… something ‘Beom’…”
“Kim Seung-beom.”
“Oh, right. Kim Seung-beom. Poor guy who lost both his family and his fiancée, right? Then why are you going after him?”
Dong-chul looked at Sung-jin in disbelief.
“He’s a murderer.”
“….”
Dong-chul couldn’t close his mouth, shocked.
“Surprised?”
“A little.”
“You can’t know a person just by their appearance, right?”
Indeed, how many really knew the face behind Seung-beom’s mask?
“Exactly. You can’t know until you see it for yourself. Stop over there.”
Dong-chul pointed to the subway entrance.
“Thanks a lot today. You did the big part.”
Sung-jin shook hands with Dong-chul, who stepped out of the car.
“Call me anytime for something like this. Make sure you catch that bastard.”
Dong-chul, after the handshake, pointed at Seung-beom’s smiling lecture banner at the subway entrance and clenched his fist.
“I’m watching the news. That guy’s going down soon.”
“Then I’ll look forward to it. Good luck.”
Dong-chul disappeared into the subway, and Sung-jin’s gaze drifted to the car clock.
“What? Already 2:30? If we don’t hurry, we’ll be late.”
Sung-jin switched on the siren lights and slammed on the accelerator.
As he sped toward the forensic lab with Seung-beom’s fountain pen, Seung-beom, unaware his pen was gone, couldn’t stop smiling as he drove In-hye.
“You seem happy today, Seung-beom. Did something good happen?”
In-hye asked, curious.
“Being with you makes me happy, In-hye.”
Seung-beom turned his head from the wheel, looking at her with an intense gaze.
“Thank you for thinking that way.”
In-hye, feeling the weight of his gaze, turned her head naturally to the window. But Seung-beom found her action adorable and could not take his eyes off her.
“What kind of style do you like, In-hye?”
Startled by the question, In-hye turned her head slightly.
“And what about you, Seung-beom? What style do you like?”
In such awkward situations, answering with a question was the safest.
“Me? Hmm…”
He paused briefly, a faint smile on his lips.
“If it’s difficult to answer, you don’t have to.”
“I like someone like you, In-hye.”
“Someone like me?”
She shivered at hearing it from his mouth.
“Yes. You’re my ideal type, In-hye.”
‘You’re probably just thinking of your ideal prey,’ In-hye thought, biting her lip.
“What style exactly do you mean?”
She remained calm, refusing to let him dictate the conversation.
“Professional, intelligent, disciplined, and…”
Seung-beom, glowing with excitement, paused slightly.
“Beautiful.”
He turned, looking at her with a sticky, intense gaze, emphasizing the compliment.
“How embarrassing,”
In-hye said awkwardly, turning back to the window.
“Hahaha. Don’t be embarrassed. It’s the truth. From the moment I first saw you in the office, my heart raced. It was just you, like in a movie.”
Seung-beom’s face was full of excitement.
“You only saw me because I was the only one there, right?”
In-hye replied curtly.
“In-hye, you’re playful and I like that, plus your cold expression is so attractive. Honestly, you’re my perfect ideal type.”
In-hye clutched her fist quietly. Ideal type? Attractive?
Could these words really come from the man who had recently lost his fiancée and cried in front of others? She felt disgusted.
“Am I being rude right now?”
Noticing her tightening expression, Seung-beom quickly responded.
“Not at all. It’s a compliment.”
In-hye smiled faintly, letting his words slide.
At that moment…
“But could you take that compliment as a confession?”
Seung-beom looked at her seriously.
“You’re more mischievous than I thought, Seung-beom. Let’s pretend I didn’t hear that.”
In-hye decided to put the brakes on his advancing boldness, speaking firmly.
“I’m sorry if I made you uncomfortable. I was just joking lightly. I was so happy to be with you, I got carried away. If I made you uncomfortable, I apologize.”
Seung-beom looked flustered and repeatedly apologized.
“It’s fine.”
A long silence followed. In-hye’s gaze, previously fixed on the road, shifted slightly to the navigation screen.
5 km to the hospital. Estimated arrival: 10 minutes.
Had this daily route always felt this long?
She silently prayed for this suffocating time to pass quickly.
“In-hye, what do you think love is?”
Suddenly, Seung-beom asked the unexpected question.
“Love?”
“Yes. What do you think love is?”
“That’s a pretty grand question.”
“Grand?”
“Yes. There’s no word with as many definitions as love.”
She couldn’t guess his intention.
“Really? I think it’s a very simple question.”
“Simple? Then what do you think love is, Seung-beom?”
Curious, In-hye asked, wondering what this man considered love.
“Giving everything.”
Seung-beom answered succinctly.
“Why do you think that?”
“If you love, you can give everything, right? Body, heart… even your life.”
He turned his gaze toward her, staring intently.
“Ah… yes.”
But In-hye couldn’t meet his eyes.
Looking into them felt like falling into endless darkness. She kept her gaze on the navigation.
800 meters left. 1 minute to arrival.
‘Just a little longer. Just a little.’
“Love where you can give your life. That’s impressive.”
In-hye forced her lips apart and awkwardly smiled.
“Isn’t it? Truly impressive. To be able to love someone so much that you could give your life.”
“Have you ever experienced such love, Seung-beom?”
“No… I’ve received it.”
“Ah… yes.”
Seeing Seung-beom’s enigmatic smile in the rearview mirror made her heart drop.
That effortless smile seemed to speak of everything that had happened so far.
“Talking with you made the time fly. We’re already here. I wish it could’ve lasted longer.”
As In-hye’s hospital came into view, Seung-beom couldn’t hide his regret.
“Don’t go into the underground parking. Just stop on the road.”
In-hye, wanting to leave his car as quickly as possible, pointed to the street.
“Let’s go inside.”
“No need to be uncomfortable. Just stop here.”
“Wait. I’ll see you off.”
As In-hye got out, Seung-beom followed.
“You don’t have to get out. Sorry for all this. I asked to meet first, and it turned out this way.”
“No, it was a short time, but I enjoyed it.”
“I did too. Oh, and your fiancée’s accident trial is tomorrow, right? It’ll be tough, but hang in there.”
Seung-beom smiled, completely forgetting his dead fiancée. In-hye wanted to remind him that now was not the time to be smiling happily with another woman.
“How did you know? You’re so thoughtful. But really, there’s no need to worry. I’m sure I’ll be acquitted, so I’m not worried.”
“Oh… good that it doesn’t stress you.”
Yet his calm and confident demeanor startled In-hye.
“If you have time tomorrow, would you come to the trial? It should end quickly, and then we could have a meal. You didn’t even eat properly today, worrying about the patient.”
Her frown deepened at his audacity.
‘Crazy.’
No matter her profession, she could only think of him as crazy.
“Kim Seung-beom?”
At that moment, a clear female voice called his name, and both turned their heads.
