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Chapter 60
“Where? I can’t see her.”
Chaerin craned her neck to look in the direction Seunghyun was pointing.
“There. The woman over there trying to catch a taxi.”
Seunghyun, frustrated, kept pointing across the street.
“Why is unnie here at this hour? She said in the chat earlier that she’s working late today.”
There was no reason for Jieun to be here while she should have been busy at work.
“I’m telling you, look closely. That has to be Jieun unnie.”
“You’re imagining things.”
At that moment, the woman at the crosswalk hopped into a taxi and vanished like the wind.
“Ah! She’s gone. But I think that was Jieun unnie. Look, she’s even in this photo.”
Seunghyun showed Chaerin the faint figure of the woman at the edge of the frame in a photo capturing Jin-young’s back.
“It’s too small to see clearly. You’re just mistaken. Why would unnie be here?”
Chaerin laughed skeptically, zooming in on the photo with two fingers, still unable to make out the face, and handed the phone back.
“Hmm… maybe… yeah, looks like her.”
Seunghyun zoomed and rotated the photo, tilting his head in confusion.
“Look. Unnie said she’s working late.”
He showed Chaerin the chat history with Jieun:
[Jieun unnie:
Chaerin, what are you doing?^^
Unnie’s at Jin-young’s filming site now. Isn’t it amazing? hehe
Chaerin: Really? I want to go too… ㅜㅜ I haven’t seen Jin-young in forever.
Unnie: I have to work late today, so probably finishing late.
Chaerin: Really? That’s tough.
Unnie: Can’t be helped, it’s work. ㅜㅜ And I might not pick up the phone while working. Leave a message if urgent. Have fun~♡♡
Chaerin: Okay~ unnie. Take care.^^]
“Then… I must have been mistaken.”
Seunghyun, after checking the chat, stared hard at the figure in the photo and muttered,
“Why isn’t she coming then?”
Ahead, Jin-young called back to the two trailing behind.
“Come on. Stop looking and hurry up.”
Chaerin tugged Seunghyun’s arm, forcing him to look away from the phone.
“Have you moved your place yet?”
Chief Choi, quietly walking alongside Jin-young, asked casually.
“Planning to today.”
Jin-young answered curtly.
“Where to?”
“Going to my parents’ house. They’re abroad right now.”
“So you’ll be alone?”
“No.”
“Then who will you be with? Friends? A partner?”
“Uh—there are aunties who take care of things for me.”
Jin-young sighed heavily, clearly annoyed by the questioning.
“Then text me the address later. Don’t turn off your phone. And we contact you through the number that called earlier, right? Your personal phone?”
Chief Choi meticulously checked even the smallest details, worried something might happen.
“Yes—but do I really need to tell you the address?”
“Yoon Jin-young, you came to us because you felt you were in danger. Of course you have to cooperate.”
Humans forget easily. Just a few days ago, Jin-young had been at the police station, pleading for his life, and now he was frowning as if such interference were bothersome.
“Alright. I’ll text you the address later. Relax that frown—wrinkles, you know.”
Jin-young, as if mocking Chief Choi’s stern look, tapped his forehead lightly.
“Uh—got the info on the trolls from the manager. I’ll check and get back to you.”
Chief Choi, holding back a growing irritation with a long sigh, continued.
“Yes. Check quickly. And we’ll keep monitoring the forums too. If any threatening messages come outside of the forums, let us know immediately.”
“…Yes.”
Jin-young, who had boldly argued with Chief Choi moments ago, now slumped, defeated, and trudged ahead when the topic of threats came up.
“Manic-depressive, or what?”
Chief Choi clicked his tongue at Jin-young’s unpredictable behavior and followed.
[National Forensic Service, Seoul Science Laboratory]
Seong-jin glanced at the long nameplate, then walked lightly to open the lobby doors.
“Hope they’re here.”
After passing through the spacious lobby, he climbed the stairs and headed to the end of the corridor.
Knock. Knock.
“Come in.”
A familiar voice came from inside.
“Hello, Forensic Doctor Yoon.”
Seong-jin bowed with a smile upon entering.
“Oh—Detective Kim! Sit over there.”
Jucheol peeked out from a mountain of documents on his desk, waving.
“Where exactly?”
Seong-jin asked, looking at the chaos of books and papers piled everywhere—was it a sofa or just a shelf?
“Just push stuff aside and sit anywhere,” Jucheol said nonchalantly, burying himself back into the papers.
“I’m here to get the autopsy report from Chief Kim Guk-sun,” Seong-jin explained as he cleared some documents on the sofa and glanced around the office.
Books, papers, and post-its with incomprehensible English words covered every surface. The wall, plastered with gruesome crime scene photos, barely showed any of its original color.
Every visit reminded him—this place never felt normal.
“If you’re busy, just email it,” Seong-jin offered.
“No, I have something to say in person… wait. Where did I put this…”
Jucheol rifled through the piles of papers on his desk.
“Please, do some organizing.”
Seong-jin eyed the teetering piles nervously. Why was Jucheol so meticulous at crime scenes yet seemingly careless elsewhere? He sometimes couldn’t tell which was the real Jucheol.
“This is all order within chaos. I know exactly where everything is,” Jucheol said, adjusting his glasses with a smile.
“You don’t seem to know,” Seong-jin replied, smiling at Jucheol’s innocent grin. Indeed, this contradictory side was part of his charm.
“By the way, where’s Chief Choi?”
Jucheol asked, still rummaging through papers.
“At the filming site.”
“Why the filming site?”
“Well, recently the case we’re handling… do you know Yoon Jin-young?”
Seong-jin began sifting through the surrounding documents as well.
“Ah! Here it is. Yoon Jin-young? Isn’t that the kid who’s on TV a lot lately? Very popular. What’s his connection to the case?”
Jucheol handed over the documents, surprised that Seong-jin even mentioned Jin-young.
“The victim is somewhat connected to Yoon Jin-young.”
“What kind of case? How is he connected?”
“It’s a threat case. Kind of complicated.”
Seong-jin skirted details—didn’t want Jucheol to get too curious, especially since he had shown unusual interest in Chaerin before.
“So Chief Choi went to meet Jin-young at the filming site?”
“He had something to give him, but Jin-young arrogantly said he’d come over himself. He’s really insufferable in person.”
Seong-jin bit his lip, still irritated.
“Really? Surprising. On TV he looks so innocent.”
“You know your stuff,” Jucheol replied.
“My hobby is watching TV. I don’t miss a thing. Ah—if I’d known Chief Choi was going there, I’d have asked for an autograph. Jin-young’s filming a drama with Lim Yoon-ji. I’m a huge fan of hers.”
Jucheol made a face of regret.
“Busy and interested in everything, I see.”
A female idol fan? Seong-jin couldn’t help but chuckle.
“Anyway, next time you go, be sure to contact me, okay?”
“Yes. But is Kim Guk-sun really suicide?”
Seong-jin flipped through the autopsy report, looking at Jucheol.
“Just as expected. Carbon monoxide poisoning from briquette gas. Want some coffee?”
Jucheol poured instant coffee into a paper cup.
“Yes, please. Any signs of homicide?”
Seong-jin tried to dismiss it lightly, thinking like an amateur, but Cha-nhee’s words at the shantytown kept replaying in his head.
“Here. Benzodiazepines were found in the autopsy.”
Jucheol handed the coffee to Seong-jin and gave a different answer than expected.
“What’s that?”
Seong-jin straightened up, sensing there was something serious in Jucheol’s expression from the crime scene.
“Benzodiazepines—used in sleeping pills and sedatives.”
“So he died from taking it?”
“No, not exactly. Benzodiazepines have strong sedative effects. Too much can cause hallucinations or severe suppression of the central nervous system, reducing consciousness and impairing breathing…”
“Wait. Explain it simply.”
Seong-jin gestured to stop the pharmacology lecture—he didn’t come for a class.
“In short: benzodiazepine and hypnosedative intoxication. Basically, he overdosed on sleeping pills and then died from carbon monoxide poisoning.”
Jucheol crumpled his empty cup and tossed it into the trash, emphasizing his point.
“But usually, people who commit suicide with briquette gas take a lot of sleeping pills so they don’t wake up. So overdose alone isn’t proof of homicide.”
Seong-jin leaned back, deflated that there was no “big reveal.”
“Of course. But here’s the point.”
Snap!
“The key is how he got the sleeping pill overdose.”
Jucheol snapped his fingers, staring directly at Seong-jin.
“What do you mean?”
Seong-jin’s expression shifted.
“Look at this first.”
Jucheol handed Seong-jin a document from his desk.
“This is the evidence list from the crime scene, right?”
“Notice anything unusual?”
Jucheol perched on the window sill, throwing a quiz.
“Unusual? Blankets, shoes, wallet, some cash, nothing special… oh!”
Seong-jin skimmed the list and suddenly yelled.
“Got it?”
“Nothing.”
“What? Nothing?”
“There’s no evidence of sleeping pills at all.”
Seong-jin stared, shocked.
“Exactly. How can someone who overdosed on sleeping pills have no pill bottles or even a single packet in their house?”
Jucheol crossed his arms, baffled.
“Maybe they stored it somewhere else and took it secretly?”
“I thought of that too. But checking his last six months of prescriptions, he hasn’t been to a hospital, hasn’t received any sleeping pills. I attached that in the autopsy documents. Check it yourself.”
Jucheol pointed to the papers beside Seong-jin.
“Wait… he hasn’t been to the hospital?”
Seong-jin skimmed the papers, his face hardening.
“Yeah. None.”
“But can’t you buy sleeping pills at a pharmacy?”
“Pharmacies sell sleep aids, not sleeping pills.”
“Sleep aids? That’s different?”
Seong-jin asked curiously.
“A little. Sleep aids are over-the-counter, mild drowsiness like cold medicine. Prescription sleeping pills are stronger, with more side effects, and require a doctor’s prescription.”
“So Kim Guk-sun overdosed on prescription sleeping pills?”
“Yes. The pills found in his body required a doctor’s prescription.”
“But couldn’t it have been the injection stuff? Drug injections cause similar effects—hallucinations, mental confusion, just passing out.”
(※Injection slang for illegal drugs)
Seong-jin considered all possibilities.
“No, drugs tested negative,” Jucheol shook his head.
“So these prescription pills can’t be obtained except via a hospital prescription?”
Seong-jin opened his notebook, serious.
“Nothing’s impossible if you try. Usually, people get someone else’s prescription illegally to acquire them.”
“Someone else’s prescription?”
“You can’t get large quantities from one place. So people pay multiple others to get prescriptions here and there.”
“Yeah, we need to investigate that.”
Seong-jin frowned slightly, jotting investigation notes.
“So, Dr. Yoon, you’re saying there’s probably a separate culprit in this case?”
“Probably. About 90% sure.”
Jucheol perched atop the stacked books, lightly pushing up his glasses.
