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Chapter 52
A strange tension filled the police station because of Jin-young’s words.
“Who around you, Yoon Jin-young, has died?”
Seong-jin, who had been treating the situation like a harmless prank moments ago, immediately grew serious at the unexpected answer from Jin-young’s mouth.
“The housekeeper who worked at our home passed away a few months ago.”
“How did she die?”
Seong-jin’s fingers moved quickly over the laptop keyboard.
“She committed suicide.”
Jin-young bit his lip tightly as he spoke.
“Suicide?”
At the word, Seong-jin’s expression slackened, and he pulled his hands away from the keyboard.
“But she was absolutely not someone who would commit suicide. Someone killed her, I’m sure of it.”
Jin-young’s face, filled with injustice, rose in a voice that seemed to demand acknowledgment, clearly expressing exactly what he felt.
“You just said it was suicide with your own mouth. How can it be murder?”
Thinking it had been a waste of time, Seong-jin relaxed his tense posture slightly.
“That… anyway, she wasn’t the type to commit suicide.”
“Do you have any evidence that it was murder?”
Even Chief Choi’s expression looked slightly deflated.
“Not exactly evidence… but she was like family to me since I was a first-year high school student. I know her well. She would never commit suicide, I swear.”
“Then, could you tell us her name?”
Chief Choi picked up a pen from the pencil holder and looked at Seong-jin.
“Her name? Ah… what was it again…?”
“You don’t remember?”
“Wait. Her surname was ‘Lee.’ I always just called her ‘ajumma’…”
Hearing that, Seong-jin and Chief Choi exchanged glances, utterly dumbfounded that someone who claimed the woman was like family didn’t even know her name after almost ten years together.
“Oh! I remember. Lee Myung-ja. That’s it.”
Jin-young suddenly slammed his hand on the desk with a triumphant expression.
“Lee Myung-ja?”
Seong-jin searched the name on his computer.
A moment later, the word “suicide” appeared clearly on the monitor.
“It shows as a simple suicide. Cause of death: carbon monoxide poisoning.”
“Anything unusual? Autopsy results?”
“Given all the circumstances, it was treated as a simple suicide, so no autopsy was done, and the case was closed.”
“Understood.”
Chief Choi returned the pen to the pencil holder and gestured to Seong-jin as if to tell him to let Jin-young leave.
“See? It’s just a simple suicide. And like I said earlier, it’s better to report this to the cyber investigation unit first.”
Receiving Chief Choi’s look, Seong-jin stood and guided Jin-young toward the door.
“She would never die like that. I’m certain whoever killed her did it.”
Jin-young struck his chest in frustration and shouted.
“Now it’s my turn! My turn! So please help me, okay? Please!”
Jin-young, overwhelmed by fear, jumped from his chair and clutched Seong-jin’s arm, screaming.
“Alright, alright. Just let go for now.”
Seong-jin tried to pry Jin-young’s hands away, but the more he did, the stronger Jin-young gripped him in his struggle for survival.
“Calm down, Yoon Jin-young. Sit down first and take a breath.”
Chief Choi tried to restrain the agitated Jin-young.
“Calm down? Do I look like I can calm down right now? I don’t even know if I’ll die today or tomorrow, and you tell me to calm down!”
Jin-young kicked his chair away and screamed at the top of his lungs.
“Are you even cops? Damn it! If I die, are you going to take responsibility? Huh? Are you responsible?”
His actions were a desperate plea, demanding that someone, anyone, believe and help him.
“Yoon Jin-young. Calm down. If you keep this up, we’ll have to arrest you for obstructing official duties.”
Seong-jin shouted as he held Jin-young’s arms.
“Obstructing official duties? Fine. Better to stay here than die outside. Go ahead. Arrest me. Arrest me.”
“Yoon Jin-young, this is your final warning. Stop now—”
Just as Chief Choi was about to take out handcuffs, the phone on Seong-jin’s desk rang loudly: ring-ring-ring.
As if on cue, all three froze, staring at the phone.
ring-ring-ring
“Why aren’t you answering that?”
Chief Choi gestured toward the phone.
“Alright, Yoon Jin-young, calm down and sit. We’ll see how we can help you. Hello?”
“Hu—hu—”
Finally, Jin-young exhaled sharply and sat down again, all attention now inexplicably fixed on Seong-jin’s phone conversation.
“Yes. Yes. Yes.”
Seong-jin’s brow furrowed more and more as he spoke on the phone.
“Suicide?”
Hearing that word, both Jin-young and Chief Choi’s expressions hardened.
“Yes. The name… please repeat it. Yes. Kim… Guk-seon.”
Bang!
“Who did you just say?”
Hearing the man’s name, Jin-young’s face went pale. He slammed the desk, stood up, and trembled.
“Yoon Jin-young, calm down. Sit.”
Chief Choi grabbed Jin-young’s trembling shoulders and guided him back to the chair.
“Why? Is it someone you know?”
Seong-jin, sensing Jin-young’s abnormal reaction, removed the phone briefly from his ear.
“He… died too.”
Jin-young’s voice shook, eyes unfocused.
“Who? Who died?”
Chief Choi stared directly at Jin-young.
“This time, it’s me. I’m going to die. I’m going to die. I will die!”
Jin-young tore at his hair, bowing his head, screaming in sheer terror of death.
“Jin-young, that won’t happen. Calm down, tell us everything in detail.”
“No! I’m going to die! I’m going to die!”
Chief Choi tried again to calm him, but the fear had already consumed Jin-young.
He was a fragile human facing death, struggling in its grip.
“Yoon Jin-young. Look up and focus. Otherwise, we can’t help you.”
Seong-jin held Jin-young’s shoulders firmly, meeting his terrified gaze.
“Here. Drink some water and calm down.”
“…The person who just committed suicide… was the man who worked at my house.”
Taking a sip of the water Chief Choi brought, Jin-young’s voice trembled as he spoke.
“What do you mean? A man who worked at your house?”
“He helped with odd jobs around our home. Garden work, repairs, and other miscellaneous tasks.”
“Can you explain in more detail?”
Seong-jin adjusted his posture after ending the call.
“He stopped working here a few years ago but had been with us since I was a child.”
“His real name is Kim Guk-seon?”
“Yes. I remember him clearly. We got along well and talked a lot. And now… suddenly suicide?”
Jin-young choked, unable to continue for a moment.
“Calm down, take your time. Just tell us everything.”
Feeling a strange premonition, Chief Choi sat down in the chair across from Jin-young, furrowing his brow.
“He would never commit suicide. Never. Why? Why? Why! Next, it’s me. It will be me… ah!”
Jin-young, trying to regain composure, again covered his face and screamed in terror.
“Jin-young, that won’t happen. Detective Kim, find out what’s going on. And Jin-young, you should go home for today. Did you come alone? If so, I can take you home.”
“I-I’m fine. I’ll call my manager.”
Jin-young took a deep breath, holding on to what little composure remained, mumbling quietly.
“Yoon Jin-young, take care. Chief, I’ll contact you later…”
Seong-jin, about to leave after tidying the laptop, froze in front of the monitor with a serious expression.
“Why aren’t you leaving?”
“Chief, look at this.”
Seong-jin urgently called Chief Choi over, staring at the monitor.
“What is it?”
Chief Choi’s expression stiffened as he looked at the screen.
The tense silence made Jin-young look up.
“What’s wrong? What is it?”
Jin-young instantly realized it concerned him and turned Seong-jin’s laptop toward himself.
[(NEW) I killed someone. And I will kill Yoon Jin-young.]
“…Again…”
The threatening message on the “Munchaeng Gallery” bulletin board made Jin-young’s face pale.
Like a magnet, his trembling hand moved the mouse cursor over the post title.
“Jin-young, don’t click it. Someone’s just trying to play a prank.”
Click.
Ignoring Seong-jin’s warning, Jin-young clicked with his shaking hand.
His focus was entirely on the monitor.
[How long do I have to see Yoon Jin-young’s disgusting face? …Today, like that person who died alone in a narrow, dirty room, he should experience that death too. Therefore…]
The new post referred to Kim Guk-seon’s suicide and threatened to kill Yoon Jin-young next.
“….”
Reading silently, Jin-young’s expression twisted—not with fear of death this time, but with rage and murderous intent.
Like a cornered rat biting the cat, his face exuded pure venom.
“Catch the bastard who posted this. Now. Immediately.”
The man who had trembled in fear moments ago now screamed at the two officers, fury replacing terror.
“Detective Kim, contact the cyber investigation unit immediately. Trace the IP of the post.”
Chief Choi’s voice quickened, sensing the seriousness of the situation.
“I’ll call right now. Hello? Detective Park? Can you check something quickly?”
Seong-jin rushed out to make the call.
“I won’t let this bastard get away.”
Jin-young, as if determined, quickly made another phone call.
“Yes, it’s me. Call Lawyer Kim and Lawyer Park immediately and have them contact me. Do exactly as I say. Don’t talk back, you bastard. Or else. Hang up.”
Despite his refined appearance, his voice on the phone was rough.
‘Not what you’d expect from that face,’ Chief Choi thought, glancing at him.
Soon, Seong-jin rushed back into the office.
“Did you find out?”
“What happened? Did you find out who it is?”
Chief Choi and Jin-young both spoke urgently, waiting for Seong-jin’s answer.
“Not yet. They said it’ll take some time. They’ll contact us as soon as they find it.”
“Not yet? How can it take this long to find something so simple?”
Jin-young glared at Seong-jin like he was incompetent, turning his head in disdain.
“Jin-young, what did you just say—”
“Enough. Stop.”
Chief Choi stopped Seong-jin from reacting to Jin-young’s temper.
He didn’t want to make things worse with an already tense Jin-young.
Then. ring-ring-ring
The phone on Seong-jin’s desk rang.
All three froze again.
“Hello? Yes. Did it come through? Yes. Then please tell me the address.”
Seong-jin grabbed a pen and note from the desk as he spoke.
“Seoul, Gangnam-gu, Apgujeong-dong 714-5? Yes, understood. Thank you. Chief, it’s confirmed. Shall we go now?”
After hanging up, Seong-jin tore the note and looked at Chief Choi.
“Alright, let’s go check it out. Jin-young, please stay seated. We’ll confirm and contact you separately.”
“….”
But Jin-young, pale as death, trembled again, as if the coin of fear had flipped back.
“Jin-young, it’s almost all under control now. Don’t worry.”
“….”
Seong-jin tried to reassure him, but Jin-young grew paler by the second.
“Jin-young, what’s wrong? What’s going on?”
Struggling, Jin-young turned to Chief Choi, his lips trembling as he spoke slowly.
“That… it’s at my house.”
