Chapter 28
The man’s left chest appeared red, resembling the shape of a weapon.
It was Terra’s warning to be careful.
“You’ve been doing well, haven’t you?!”
Juwon silently said “Okay” in his mind and sat down next to the man, pretending to be drunk.
At the same time, Terra’s voice continued.
[Analyzing the man’s overall condition.]
“I missed you so much that I came all the way here…”
“You crazy bastard, who the hell are you?!”
[Analysis complete. One anomaly. There’s a wound on the inner side of his right arm. It appears to be a deep cut from a small blade, likely sustained a day or two ago.]
‘A day or two ago?’
[There’s a high probability it’s related to the Jo Pal-hyuk case.]
“Hey, where are the staff?! This lunatic barged into my room, where are the…!”
Thud.
Juwon swiftly grabbed the man’s right arm.
“How did you get this wound?”
In an instant, Juwon’s expression changed.
The man, who had been staring at Juwon in disbelief—as if wondering when he had pretended to be a drunk friend—now looked utterly bewildered.
What kind of madman pretends to be drunk, barges into someone’s room, grabs their arm, and then suddenly turns serious?
This guy is completely insane.
But the man quickly regained his composure and tried to shake off Juwon’s grip, putting force into his arm.
“…What the hell? Let go!”
No matter how much strength he used, Juwon’s grip didn’t budge.
“…Hey! Let go of me!!”
This isn’t human strength.
It felt like being shackled by handcuffs, an unbreakable grip.
‘Should I just… kill him?’
A cruel thought flashed through the man’s mind for a moment, but then Juwon spoke.
“Where were you at 3 PM the day before yesterday?”
“…What?”
“I’m a police officer.”
Juwon pulled out his ID from his pocket with his other hand and placed it on the table.
The man hesitated, his face showing shock.
At the same time, Juwon’s phone buzzed.
Still holding the man’s arm with one hand, Juwon unlocked his phone.
It was a text from Officer Kim.
[I’ll read it for you. Juwon, keep an eye on the suspect’s movements.]
‘Got it, thanks.’
While Juwon held the man’s arm, Terra’s voice chimed in.
[To summarize the text, a debtor who had given money to Jo Pal-hyuk had caused a scene at a karaoke bar before. Quoting Officer Kim’s text, the staff said, “He was small but had terrifying, crazy eyes.”]
It seemed Officer Kim had identified someone who held a grudge against the victim, Jo Pal-hyuk.
The most likely suspect who stabbed Jo Pal-hyuk wasn’t a large, gangster-like figure, but someone small.
Someone who could be described as “small but with terrifying, crazy eyes.”
"That's the guy."
The description perfectly matched the man standing right in front of them.
A man with eyes filled with murderous intent, as if he could kill at any moment.
Terra continued speaking.
But then,
[The problem is…….]
Juwon interrupted.
‘Evidence.’
[That’s right. All the circumstances point to this man in front of us as the culprit, but there’s no evidence.]
Juwon’s gaze turned toward the man.
He had wounds similar to the victim, Jo Pal-hyeok, and he was the kind of guy who carried a weapon in his chest when coming to a karaoke room.
The likelihood of him being the culprit was high.
“You know Jo Pal-hyeok, right?”
“……It’s not me!”
“What do you mean it’s not you?”
The man’s actions seemed to confess everything except verbally, and Juwon’s gaze twisted.
At the same time, the man’s eyes flashed.
Feeling increasingly cornered by the pressing questions and Juwon’s relaxed demeanor, the man’s face began to contort.
Then,
“Are you trying to get yourself killed too?!”
The man suddenly shouted and, with the arm not held by Juwon, swiftly pulled out a weapon from his chest.
It was a small pair of pliers, small enough to fit in his chest.
The pointed edge of the pliers was aimed at Juwon.
But upon seeing the pliers, a faint smile appeared on Juwon’s lips.
‘Right?’
[What do you mean right…… Don’t tell me you provoked him on purpose to see the weapon?]
‘First, let’s confirm if this matches the weapon used to attack Jo Pal-hyeok.’
[……It looks over 80% similar.]
‘Okay.’
Juwon’s face still looked calm, but the man tightened his grip on the pliers and swung them.
However.
Instead of the sound of flesh being torn, the room was filled with the sound of someone falling to the floor.
Thud! Crash!
And then Juwon’s voice was heard.
“Add obstruction of justice to the charges.”
Without even a chance to make a sound, the man was instantly subdued by Juwon.
A short while later.
In the karaoke room staff lounge.
A man who, at first glance, seemed to be secretly peeking at someone else’s phone.
It was Officer Kim.
He had clearly been sweating a lot, as the side of his hair was quite damp.
“Alright, now then……”
Just then.
Whoosh!
The curtain in the lounge was slightly pushed aside, and a face suddenly popped out.
“Officer Kim.”
“Yes, yes! Should I bring more drinks……”
Startled, Officer Kim quickly hid the two phones he was holding behind his back and turned his body.
But the person who suddenly appeared was Juwon.
“Inspe… Inspector! Ah, no, you shouldn’t call me that……”
“The undercover investigation is over.”
“……Huh?”
“Go to room 12. There’s a gift for you.”
"……!"
"He confessed. He was a debtor who had given bribes, but Jo Pal-hyuk only took the bribes and didn't reduce the principal, so he did it out of anger……."
In the violent crime investigation office of Kang Joong-seo.
"But did he lose his mind? He stabbed someone and then went to a karaoke room?"
"Didn't you hear? Jo Pal-hyuk, he's dead."
"Oh my, tsk tsk. So he felt relieved and went to the karaoke room?"
Team leader Gu Jin-gu returned from the interrogation room where the guy caught at the karaoke room and the members of Team 2 were, and explained the situation.
"But is that a reason to stab someone…… No matter how hard it is, people these days……."
And so, the case of Team 2 was concluded.
Well, officially it was.
Returning to his seat, Joo-won reopened the investigation materials he had been looking at last night.
But something felt off.
What could it be…….
As Joo-won pondered, a bloodstain he had seen somewhere flashed through his mind.
The bloodstain on the water purifier in the corner of the 'Anytime Loan' office.
'Then…… what about that bloodstain?'
Terra's voice came through.
[It seems highly likely that it's the bloodstain of someone who had taken out a loan.]
Right, that place was an illegal loan shark operation run by gangsters.
A place that torments people who have no choice but to turn to illegal loans due to astronomical interest rates.
After a moment of thought, Joo-won picked up his phone.
That evening.
'Anytime Loan' office.
"If the debtor who came to the karaoke room to argue…… are you talking about that little brat?!"
"Yes……. That guy stabbed Pal-hyuk……."
"Is he insane! He dares to stab our family after borrowing money?!"
Jo Pal-hyuk passed away not long after undergoing surgery.
Perhaps because of that, even though they heard the perpetrator had been caught, the expressions of the gang members were not good.
No, they seemed even more angry that the perpetrator was an ordinary employee of a water purifier company, not a thug from another gang.
In a mood mixed with gloom and anger, the weasel spoke to the boss.
"Boss! No matter how Pal-hyuk might have been tempted for a moment, once a family, always a family, right!"
Perhaps there was some sense of loyalty.
The gang members nodded at the weasel's talk of 'family.'
Encouraged by the reaction, the weasel raised his voice.
"We can't let this slide!"
"Right! How much do they look down on us that such a dog dares to mess with our former family!"
"We need to make an example! If word gets out that our family was done in by a water purifier employee, we'll be too ashamed to show our faces anywhere!"
"Right!"
The gang members nearby chimed in.
The atmosphere was heating up.
The sorrow for Jo Pal-hyuk was turning into anger.
The boss, who was holding the ledger, also seemed swayed and did not stop the gang members, just silently watching.
Eventually, their voices merged together.
"Let's kill them all!"
"Let's show them what we're made of!"
Of course, there were also some small complaints.
"But aren't the other employees at the water purifier company innocent...?"
But that was all.
"Collective responsibility... don't you know?"
As if feeling the murderous gazes directed at him, the member who had complained widened his eyes and nodded vigorously.
"Y-yes! We can't just let them be!"
And so, the perfect atmosphere was set.
The target was the water purifier company in the next office.
The company where someone had borrowed money from Jo Pal-hyeok and swung a wrench.
The members, picking up tools one by one, moved towards the office entrance with their broad shoulders.
But just as the one leading the way reached for the doorknob, the door creaked open.
"Alright, stop."
Behind the door stood Juwon.
"...Detective!"
Zokjebi (Weasel) looked at Juwon with a happy face.
The police officer who had caught the person trying to kill their former member, so they felt grateful.
But it was only for a moment.
"...What, what's this."
Zokjebi's bright face slowly hardened.
Because of the police officers visible behind Juwon.
"..."
The hands of the members holding tools tightened.
The police officers standing behind Juwon, they weren't just one or two.
It wasn't just a team like last time.
"We're screwed..."
Someone muttered a curse quietly.
No matter how you looked at it, the police officers behind Juwon were a SWAT team.
As everyone was exhaling nervously, someone suddenly stepped out beside Juwon.
It was Team Leader Gu Jin-gu.
"Hey, why call a SWAT team to catch illegal loan sharks? You might end up with excessive suppression..."
As Team Leader Gu was scolding Juwon, he stopped speaking when he saw the members standing inside the office holding tools.
"Ahem. A mere violent crimes team won't do."
Then he muttered something only Juwon could hear and quietly stepped aside.
The gang leader then stepped forward with a frown.
"The culprit... hasn't it been revealed? What more is there to say..."
"The culprit has been revealed. But we need to take a look at your books."
"...What?"
Juwon's gaze, which had been moving around, stopped at a drawer.
A slightly open drawer.
[That's right. Let's check the safe too.]
'Okay.'
Juwon pointed to the drawer.
"There."
The SWAT team beside him nodded.
"During the suppression, no one will be able to interfere. Inspector, please come in after the suppression is over."
"Understood."
Juwon nodded slightly and stepped aside.
Then, one of the special forces members stepped forward with heavy footsteps.
Thick eyebrows and a strong impression.
The gang leader's eyes twitched.
"Listen carefully, I'm only going to say this once."
At the special forces member's words, the gang members holding tools quietly swallowed dryly.
"Put down your tools right now and lie face down on the ground."
"......"
The gang members hesitated, glancing at each other and unconsciously took steps back.
However, no one had yet put down their tools.
Then, the special forces members entered the office one by one.
"We will begin suppression now."
Clang- Clang-
One by one, the tools fell to the floor.
