Chapter 9
“Whether it’s this or that they want to know, the broadcasters are really something. Do they think detectives will just solve everything after they throw it out there like that?”
At an intersection not far from Gangjung Police Station.
Inside a car stopped at a traffic light, the middle-aged woman driving turned her head toward the passenger seat.
“Well, they’re just trying to help the victims’ families in their own way. They’re gathering tips or useful information…”
There, with an awkward smile, was Team Leader Gu Jin-gu.
“Is there a dedicated team for it?”
“For the elementary school teacher murder case they aired… probably not? Even though it’s under our jurisdiction, the cold case team is at Seoul Headquarters…”
“Exactly. The problem is that it’s under your jurisdiction. There’s an unsolved cold case, so why is the Violent Crimes Team 3 sitting around? Wasting taxpayers’ money! I’m worried about the public backlash.”
“Ah, you’re overthinking it.”
The woman in the driver’s seat was his wife.
Team Leader Gu glanced at his wife and patted her shoulder.
“Thank you so much today. The service center said they wouldn’t be able to get the car back until next week. Good thing you’re off today, honey.”
“Changing the subject, huh?”
His wife narrowed her eyes at Team Leader Gu’s playful tone and poked his stomach.
“You know we still have five more years before our youngest goes to college, right?”
“Ah, I know.”
“Then be careful not to get stabbed. If I get a call from the hospital, you’re dead by my hands.”
“Haha, got it…”
Team Leader Gu smiled awkwardly at his wife’s threatening tone.
“And if you get transferred somewhere else, you’re dead too.”
“Huh?”
His wife, glaring at him with narrowed eyes, stepped on the gas.
“This may not be Gangnam’s District 8, but it’s the next best area for sending kids to good colleges. Got it? That’s why we’re sticking it out here with this expensive jeonse loan.”
“Ah…”
“So you better hold on for dear life. I can’t do the weekend couple or goose dad thing. Absolutely not. Especially now that our oldest is in their third year of high school.”
Team Leader Gu’s gaze shifted to the right window.
The scenery outside changed rapidly.
He opened his mouth.
“Of course. I’m not cut out to be a goose dad either. I need to see my wife and our bunny-like kids every day.”
Team Leader Gu Jin-gu of Violent Crimes Team 3.
The team ranked last in performance and promotions.
While the other team members might not know it, Team Leader Gu is in a precarious position, at risk of being transferred to a remote location due to the team’s poor performance.
Letting out a small sigh, Team Leader Gu continued.
“Don’t worry. You know Chief Myeong Gyeong-hyeong. He won’t abandon us.”
Team Leader Gu’s only shield was Chief Myeong Gyeong-hyeong of Gangjung Police Station.
Chief Myeong and Team Leader Gu were hometown seniors and juniors.
Although he didn't show it, he gave another chance to the team members who had no performance and the former team leader, taking care of them a lot.
Squeak—
The car stopped.
The car had arrived in front of Gangjung Police Station before he knew it.
His wife's head turned.
"The most important thing is not to get hurt."
"Then, don't worry."
Former Team Leader Gu Jin-gu showed a bright smile.
A moment later.
Gu Jin-gu, who got out of his wife's car, walked with a drooping mouth as if he had been hurt.
As he entered Gangjung Police Station, the voice of Superintendent Myeong Geon-hyeong from last night came to his mind.
Along with the words that Joo-won was a remarkable guy, he added something.
'But as remarkable as he is, you know there's going to be a personnel reshuffle soon, right? You're in danger.'
It was a word of concern for Gu Jin-gu, who might have to pay the price for poor performance.
'I can exert some influence, but it's getting difficult now. Other team leaders are watching, and I can't keep favoring you.'
Superintendent Myeong Geon-hyeong's message was clear.
Produce results.
"Results... results... results that others can acknowledge..."
Muttering these words, Gu Jin-gu entered the office.
Various cases assigned to Team 3 flashed through his mind.
'The robbery case at Gangjung Apartment where a gold ring disappeared, the missing case of an 80-year-old man...'
But suddenly, Gu shook his head.
'The man who reported the missing gold ring last month also reported missing golf clubs, only to find them in the car trunk, and the 80-year-old Mr. Kim probably ran away because he didn't like his daughter-in-law's cooking...'
Gu scratched his head vigorously.
All cases are important, but these can be solved in a day.
They are not the kind of cases that can boost performance.
Of course, it's natural since Team 3, which has the poorest performance, usually gets the important cases assigned to Teams 1 and 2.
Thus, Team 3 naturally falls into a state where they can't produce results... it's become an endless cycle.
With a face full of worries, Gu headed towards Team 3.
"Detective Lee?"
In the corner of Team 3's office, Joo-won was standing in front of the cabinet where case files were stored.
But he seemed so focused that he didn't hear Gu's voice.
Joo-won's gaze was fixed only on the file.
"You can rest a bit and come back by lunchtime..."
Gu Jin-gu approached Joo-won.
But suddenly, his footsteps halted. Joo-won's lips were moving.
As if he was talking...
"Talking to myself... I do it too."
Shaking his head, swaying, Gu, who had been deep in thought, approached Joo-won.
And he looked at the file Joo-won was holding.
"This case..."
Only then did Joo-won's head turn.
"Team Leader?"
"Detective Lee, how did you know about this case?"
"Huh?"
The case file that Juwon was holding was the <Elementary School Teacher Murder Case>.
It was the case that had been featured on the show "I Want to Know That" a few days ago.
"Are you saying we should take this case?"
Team Leader Gu Jin-gu shook his head.
Fifteen years had already passed.
There's a reason why cases remain unsolved.
A case with no leads.
"Honestly, we did well with the Go Sang-yeop case. But this unsolved case is different. It's a case that couldn't be solved for 15 years, and all the evidence and everything else is from 15 years ago."
"Team Leader, what if we find a lead?"
"...What?"
"Honestly, I'm not looking at this case as just an opportunity, but it is a chance to make a breakthrough. At the same time, it's an opportunity to solve a case that's been cold for 15 years."
Team Leader Gu Jin-gu fell into thought.
Juwon's words were true.
The personnel transfer was imminent, and if he didn't want to be transferred to the provinces, he needed to produce results.
And if they could solve this cold case...
'Of course, the transfer would be canceled, and if things go well...'
He could even achieve a promotion he never dreamed of.
Whether it's a special promotion or a transfer to the headquarters.
If that happened, his wife would be pleased.
Team Leader Gu Jin-gu, who had been scratching his head, nodded.
"Let's start with a meeting."
"This will be our case."
Shortly after, in the violent crimes team meeting room.
As he closed the meeting room door, Team Leader Gu Jin-gu spoke.
"Some of you may have already seen it, but this is the case that was highlighted on 'I Want to Know That' a few days ago."
The members of Team 3 had gathered in the meeting room.
Including Team Leader Gu Jin-gu, there were Juwon, Detective Kim Seok-ho, and the youngest, Officer Han Geon-woo.
"Thanks to that, it's the most talked-about case right now, garnering a lot of public attention."
Detective Kim Seok-ho raised his hand.
"Isn't that an unsolved case?"
Team Leader Gu Jin-gu nodded.
At that, Detective Kim Seok-ho's face darkened.
Team Leader Gu Jin-gu continued to explain.
"The Elementary School Teacher Murder Case. It happened 15 years ago, and at the time, our station's Violent Crimes Team 1 was in charge of the case. It was a high-profile case back then too. But it ultimately remained unsolved."
Officer Han Geon-woo, who had been listening to Team Leader Gu's explanation, nodded and spoke up.
"But is it even possible? I heard that the detectives from Team 1 who handled the case back then were all veterans. Even they couldn't identify a suspect..."
"A suspect was identified."
"Really? I've never seen any news about that..."
"There was a person who was considered a strong suspect, but since they couldn't find the murder weapon or any physical evidence, they were eventually removed from the suspect list."
"So it's true that no one was officially identified..."
As Officer Han Geon-woo's voice trailed off, Team Leader Gu Jin-gu spoke up.
"We'll do our best. For the victim, no, for the victim's family."
Team Leader Gu Jin-gu's gaze briefly shifted toward Juwon.
"..."
But Juwon's expression was strange.
He seemed to be focusing on what was being said, but his brow furrowed, his lips moved, he shook his head, and he couldn't stay still.
"……I guess it's something we can trust……."
Just as Team Leader Gu Jin-gu was about to call Juwon, opening his mouth to speak.
"I object."
Sergeant Kim Seok-ho stood up.
"Huh?"
"This is a case that the media is paying attention to. I don’t know why we’re being assigned to this case, but the media will definitely focus on us handling it. You know what it means for the police to be under the media’s spotlight, right? Team Leader?"
It's all or nothing.
Either we hit the jackpot or we fail miserably.
"It’s better to stick to the cases we’re currently handling and not touch this problematic one."
"Sergeant Kim, but still……."
"Team Leader, you know how this will end, right? If we take on a high-profile case and fail to solve it, we’ll be labeled as incompetent cops or tax wasters. It’s obvious we’ll take the blame."
At Sergeant Kim Seok-ho’s words, Team Leader Gu Jin-gu fell silent.
Because he wasn’t wrong.
If we take on a case that’s under the spotlight, there will be consequences.
And given the track record of Team 3 so far, the likelihood of things turning out as Sergeant Kim said is high.
Team Leader Gu Jin-gu scratched his head.
"I understand what Sergeant Kim is saying……."
"That won’t happen."
At that moment, Juwon spoke up.
He had been silent since entering the meeting room.
Sergeant Kim Seok-ho let out a sigh and looked at Juwon.
"Give it a rest, Inspector Lee. How long are you going to keep playing cop? The Ko Sang-yeop case was just luck, think about all the other cases we’ve handled so far!"
For some reason, Sergeant Kim’s face was flushed with frustration.
"If we mess up on an unsolved case like this, we might even have to take the blame for the detectives who left the case unsolved 15 years ago!"
"Sergeant Kim."
"Just because you graduated from the police academy, does that mean you’ll be fine no matter what happens? How impressive. But for me, or even a rookie officer like Han, if things go wrong even once, our careers as cops are over. So stop being so reckless!"
"Sergeant, it’s not like that……."
"Then what is it! How are we supposed to solve a case that even the veterans of Team 1 couldn’t crack 15 years ago! A case with no evidence, no witnesses, nothing! How on earth are we supposed to solve such an unsolved case with just us……."
"I’ve identified a suspect!"
What?
Sergeant Kim Seok-ho’s voice abruptly cut off.
Finally, the meeting room fell silent.
Team Leader Gu Jin-gu and Officer Han Geon-woo also looked at Juwon in surprise.
Then, Team Leader Gu Jin-gu asked.
"Y-you said you found a lead…… So you’ve identified a suspect?"
Juwon nodded.
He then turned on his phone and showed a picture of someone.
"Do you remember this guy? Kim Gab-du, the perpetrator of a robbery case and a drug offender."
