Chapter 4
"So, you're saying that the driver, knowing the victim would be here, drove at high speed and intentionally hit the victim, and then crashed the car over there to avoid getting hurt himself?"
Suspicious.
If we consider that the driver intentionally hit the victim, it makes perfect sense.
However.
"But you do know that what you just said can't be evidence that the driver intentionally hit the victim, right?"
Juwon, who had relayed Terra's suspicions to Sergeant Kim Seok-ho, nodded.
"Yes."
There is still no evidence that the driver caused the accident intentionally.
Of course, the opposite is also true.
"So, we need to check it out."
Juwon headed towards the car, and Sergeant Kim Seok-ho followed behind.
Of course, his expression wasn't pleasant.
'Here we go again.'
Clunk.
The car door closed, and the police car carrying Juwon and Sergeant Kim Seok-ho headed towards the driver's house.
[The victim is Kim Mi-yeon, 29 years old. An ordinary office worker at a small to medium-sized company.]
Inside the car heading to the driver's house.
Juwon, sitting in the passenger seat, read the case file again, and Terra summarized the key points of the case.
[Notable detail: Orphan.]
'Orphan?'
[Yes. It's mentioned in the remarks section at the very bottom of the last page of the file.]
Juwon flipped through the file to the last page and examined it.
[The victim, Kim Mi-yeon, was an orphan, and with no contact information from those around her, she was classified as an unclaimed deceased.]
At Terra's words, a sigh escaped Juwon's mouth.
[Are you upset?]
'I'm not feeling great.'
[Then, all you need to do is uncover the exact cause of Kim Mi-yeon's death.]
'Right, a traffic accident that might be a murder. We just need to uncover the truth.'
[Even the perfect crime cracks with a small flaw. What you need to do now, Juwon, is find that flaw.]
"...A flaw."
Juwon nodded.
Then,
"Huh?"
Sergeant Kim Seok-ho, who was holding the steering wheel, slightly turned his head.
"Nothing. Just thinking to myself for a moment."
"Ah, okay."
And Sergeant Kim Seok-ho's head turned back to face forward.
Juwon also shifted his gaze back to the file and said to Terra,
'Right, if this was a murder where the driver intentionally hit the victim, why?'
[There might not have been a clear reason. Like in cases of random killings.]
'Right, but it could have been resentment. A desire for revenge, or personal grudges...'
Juwon's eyes rolled as he pondered.
Then, he flipped through the files quickly and stopped at the page that listed the personal details of the victim and the perpetrator.
Victim: Kim Miyeon - Graduated from Korea University
Driver: Go Sangyeop - High school graduate
'If the driver had the intent to kill, then the two must have known each other... But with different addresses, where could they have met?'
[Are you trying to find a common ground between the two?]
'Yes.'
[I will analyze the information we have so far.]
At that moment.
Screech- The car came to a halt.
They had arrived at the driver Go Sangyeop's address.
"Ah, thank you for driving..."
"Detective."
Juwon turned his head at Detective Kim Seokho's words.
"Let's not make a big deal out of this."
"Huh?"
"Let's not waste energy on such a case. It's probably just a simple traffic accident, but if we start digging into whether the driver had intent to kill or not, and if the media gets wind of it, we'll be accused of coercive investigation or just trying to make a record, and it'll be exhausting."
"Detective, but the victim died..."
"We're just here to confirm, just to confirm."
Ignoring Juwon's words, Detective Kim Seokho opened the driver's door and got out.
Go Sangyeop's house was on the third floor of a multi-family dwelling.
Juwon and Detective Kim Seokho climbed the stairs.
At the same time, in Juwon's mind, Terra was speaking the results of the analysis.
[Based on the current data, there is no connection between the two. Their residences, upbringing, schools, workplaces. All are different.]
'Then if it really was an intentional murder, it could be a random killing.'
[Yes, random killings have been increasing rapidly recently. However, there might be a connection between the two within the information we do not have. Please consider it.]
'Okay.'
Ding dong ding dong-
Detective Kim Seokho rang the doorbell of Go Sangyeop's house.
Bang bang!
"Mr. Go Sangyeop? Are you in?"
Ding dong ding dong-
Click!
Soon after, the door opened.
"Who is it?"
A young man with unkempt hair and wearing a white tank top, apparently just woke up, was the driver Go Sangyeop.
"We're from the police."
"The police...?"
Go Sangyeop's face stiffened slightly as he looked at the police ID, then he opened the door wide.
"Ah, come in. Is this about the traffic accident?"
"Yes, thank you for your time."
The inside of Go Sangyeop's house was tidy.
A spotless kitchen, a neatly arranged living room.
Even the bedroom, visible through a slightly open gap, was the same.
A bed with neatly folded blankets, as if it were a hotel.
"Do you live alone?"
"Ah, yes."
Go Sangyeop nodded in response to Juwon's question.
As they sat down at the table, Juwon and Detective Kim Seok-ho followed behind.
“We’ll just ask a few simple questions. Thank you for making time for us on such short notice.”
“No problem, it’s my duty to cooperate.”
[He doesn’t seem suspicious at all.]
‘Right.’
Juwon glanced at Detective Kim Seok-ho, who began asking questions.
“Why were you passing near the scene on the day of the incident?”
“I had dinner alone nearby the night before. Since it’s a 24-hour popular spot, I stayed there for quite a while and was heading home around that time. Oh, of course, I didn’t drink any alcohol.”
“I see.”
Juwon and Detective Kim Seok-ho nodded, and at the same time, Juwon heard Terra’s voice.
[Right after the accident, Go Sang-yeop reported it to 119, and the police who arrived on the scene conducted a breathalyzer test, but no alcohol was detected.]
‘So it wasn’t drunk driving.’
Juwon asked, “Did you eat alone?”
“Yes, I usually prefer eating alone. I don’t have a partner.”
After hearing Go Sang-yeop’s answer, Juwon silently spoke to Terra.
‘Do we have any CCTV footage from the restaurant he mentioned? We need to confirm if he really was alone.’
[No. Since the case was classified as a traffic accident rather than a homicide, no additional evidence was collected beyond the scene of the incident.]
This time, Detective Kim Seok-ho asked, “So, you’re not working anymore?”
“I quit. After the accident I caused resulted in someone’s death, I couldn’t just go on living as if nothing happened…”
“Ah, I see.”
Detective Kim Seok-ho, who had been nodding, looked at Juwon.
His eyes were asking if there were any more questions.
Juwon opened his mouth.
“You didn’t know Kim Mi-yeon, right?”
“…Huh?”
Go Sang-yeop’s eyes widened.
“Ah… yes. I didn’t know her.”
“But you seem to know who Kim Mi-yeon is?”
“Huh?”
His eyes flustered.
Go Sang-yeop quickly spoke up.
“Ah… the victim… right?”
“Correct.”
“But why…?”
“You said you didn’t know her, but you seem to know her name exactly.”
“Ah… I didn’t remember at first, but when you asked, I guessed it must be the victim…”
At that, Detective Kim Seok-ho shot a sharp glance at Juwon.
It was a warning look, telling him not to escalate the situation further.
But Juwon didn’t heed Detective Kim’s warning.
No, he couldn’t.
The tangible truth had yet to be uncovered, and to uncover that truth, suspicion and questioning were essential.
It was necessary for the sake of the victim, and if there truly was no intent, for the sake of the perpetrator as well.
Juwon looked at Ko Sang-yeop again.
Then he asked,
"Have you ever heard of skid marks?"
"Skid marks?"
Ko Sang-yeop shook his head.
"It's a phenomenon where the tires melt and adhere to the road surface due to friction when sudden braking occurs."
"Ah..."
"They are often found at traffic accident scenes. Drivers get startled and hit the brakes hard in the moment of the accident."
"..."
"But there were no skid marks at this incident scene. It's as if they knew an accident would happen and didn't brake suddenly..."
At that moment,
"Detective."
Sergeant Kim Seok-ho interrupted Juwon and whispered softly.
"Let's stop here. If he starts raising his voice, suspecting that we're framing him as a murderer, things could get complicated..."
But then,
"No."
At Ko Sang-yeop's trembling voice, Sergeant Kim Seok-ho stopped speaking and turned his head.
"I... I didn't know... I just turned the steering wheel a bit earlier because the road was quiet, I didn't expect there to be a person there... I didn't even think to brake... It was an accident... A really unlucky accident..."
Ko Sang-yeop looked at Juwon and Sergeant Kim Seok-ho with tear-filled eyes and said,
"I'm sorry... Because of my mistake, someone's life... I'm sorry."
The perpetrator's attitude of apology and sincere remorse.
"I heard the victim has no relatives, but if any relatives do come forward, I will actively compensate... That's how I want to express my apology..."
The willingness to actively compensate the victim.
[According to the sentencing guidelines of the Republic of Korea, these are factors that can lead to a reduction in sentencing. According to the case file, the driver Ko Sang-yeop has submitted multiple letters of remorse. The court is likely to impose a fine or a suspended sentence. Of course, this is only if it was an accident.]
Juwon quietly looked at Ko Sang-yeop.
Then he suddenly got up and walked inside the house.
As expected, the living room floor was clean.
Slowly moving his steps, Juwon slightly opened the bedroom door.
"Uh... what are you doing..."
Ko Sang-yeop sat at the dining table, just watching Juwon.
With question marks in his eyes.
Creak-
The sound of the bedroom door opening.
"Hmm."
Juwon scanned the tidy bedroom with his eyes and then turned around.
He was about to return to the dining table when.
[Revising the analysis results.]
'What?'
Juwon furrowed his brow.
"What's wrong, Detective?"
Seeing Juwon's expression change, Sergeant Kim Seok-ho approached him.
Ko Sang-yeop remained motionless.
Juwon asked himself inwardly,
‘What’s this all of a sudden?’
[There was a blue handkerchief between Ko Sang-yeop’s clothes in his closet. The handkerchief was a souvenir from the ‘2030 Hiking Club.’ The victim, Kim Mi-yeon, was also a member of the same club.]
‘……Did they know each other?’
[Yes, but Ko Sang-yeop pretended not to know the victim, Kim Mi-yeon.]
‘That means he’s hiding something.’
[Correct.]
‘Then there’s a high probability it was an intentional traffic accident.’
[There’s over a 90% chance it’s not a traffic accident but a murder case.]
Detective Kim Seok-ho, who approached Juwon, glanced at the bedroom Juwon was scanning.
“What’s wrong, Inspector?”
But Juwon was only staring at Ko Sang-yeop, who was sitting at the dining table.
Then,
*Thud, thud.*
Juwon quickly walked over to Ko Sang-yeop.
“D-detective, what are you doing…?”
As Juwon approached with a stern expression, Ko Sang-yeop flinched. When Juwon got right up to his face, he smiled faintly and said,
“Can I use your bathroom?”
