Twisted Madness (13)
‘I said it, right? The winner is me….’
His voice echoed in my ear not as sound but as a thought. Han Ye-seung staggered forward to the microphone. Her face was deathly pale, likely from all the mental torment. After a long pause, she finally forced the words out.
“…I stalked Park Hyeok-cheol.”
The crowd buzzed with murmurs.
“That day, at my house…. with that man….”
Lawyer Oh Dong-geun snapped the case file shut. He’d apparently decided there was no need to look at it anymore.
“I voluntarily had sex with….”
Park Hyeok-cheol grinned at me.
“…him.”
The bastard’s lips curled up to their limit.
“…And.”
As if she’d made up her mind about something, she clamped her mouth shut. Her fists clenched tight—then her head snapped up fiercely.
“…That’s everything that man’s lawyer told me to say!”
Park Hyeok-cheol’s smile shattered like glass with a crash. Shards flew everywhere. The courtroom, silent for a split second, exploded into noise and curses.
She shot to her feet.
Pointing at Oh Dong-geun, Han Ye-seung pulled out her phone from inside her clothes.
“The man sitting with the defense came to me. He offered me 100 million won. In exchange for testifying that it was consensual sex. This is the recording!”
Her finger hit play on the file. Oh Dong-geun’s low voice, which had filled the courtroom moments before, leaked out.
[Yeah. Good thinking. What’s the point of dwelling on what’s already happened? It’s all pointless. I’ll give you 50 million in cash now, and another 50 right after the trial.]
Oh Dong-geun’s mouth gaped open like a broken forklift that wouldn’t shut.
Han Ye-seung’s gaze turned to me. I nodded. The real game starts now.
* * *
Knock knock.
“Come in.”
Hong Gye-young welcomed Secretary Yang Jin-ho into the president’s office on the top floor of the Taehwa Building.
“So, any moves from Geonwoo?”
“Just as you predicted, ma’am. Geonwoo’s already on it.”
“…By ‘it,’ you mean Geonwoo’s top lawyer, Oh Dong-geun?”
“Yes. Oh’s negotiating with the victim. Everyone in this business knows he’s a dirty operator. If he’s involved, we have to assume the victim’s testimony is tainted.”
“…Hmm. Is that so?”
Hong Gye-young rested her chin on her hand, arms crossed. A faint shadow crossed her clear, lake-like eyes.
“…Right now, Taehwa is number one in the domestic market, no question. But our chronic weaknesses are engines and electronics. Geonwoo specializes in exactly those areas.”
She stared at her empty teacup, then her red lips parted again.
“That’s why we—the top company—pay royalties to Geonwoo and borrow their tech. In simple terms, we’re a half-assed number one. I want a perfect number one.”
“You mean…?”
“Yes. This is our chance to erase Geonwoo’s shadow from Taehwa. It won’t take long. Just three years—if we can keep Geonwoo down for three years, they’ll never catch up. In modern tech, three years is an eternity.”
“Then let me assemble a team to handle the victim negotiations!”
Not a half-assed number one, but an overwhelming one! If the victim just gives the right testimony, it’s not some pipe dream. Yang Jin-ho’s voice trembled as he envisioned Taehwa’s future.
“No. Someone else will handle that. Have a car ready.”
“Ma’am?”
Ignoring Yang’s confusion, Hong Gye-young headed for the door. Her lips curved into a sly grin, like a mischievous kid plotting something naughty.
* * *
I stared at the black object in front of me. It looked like a regular credit card, but it was thicker, harder, with a bit of weight to it. Hong Gye-young had shown up unannounced at Gangcheon Police Station with Yang Jin-ho and handed it to me.
“…As I explained, Geonwoo’s pressuring the victim to tamper with her testimony. If this continues, Detective Kang Cheol-gu’s efforts could all go to waste.”
“Thanks for the advice. But what’s this card?”
She tilted her chin up, her eyes challenging me—like she knew I already had a hunch.
“You gonna let a fish you’ve almost hooked slip away? If it were me, I’d tighten those loose net holes.”
She didn’t dodge my gaze.
“Sounds like you want Geonwoo’s total destruction.”
“Oh? Destruction? Such a scary word….”
She smiled and waved it off.
“I just think our interests align again this time. What I want is solid number-one status for Taehwa. What you want is proper punishment for the guilty. No issue taking the card for that, right? Use it however you see fit, Detective Kang. Oh! No limit.”
Hong Gye-young stood. Yang bit his lip and followed her out.
* * *
Gangcheon Station faded in the rearview mirror. Yang, gripping the wheel, finally spoke up heavily.
“From what I’ve seen, Detective Kang Cheol-gu is more than capable. Action, drive, decisiveness—no flaws. But convincing a victim is a different beast. Wouldn’t it have been wiser to deploy a team of experts at the group level?”
A smile played on Hong Gye-young’s lips as she sat in the back with her eyes closed. She turned to look at him after gazing out the window.
“I know exactly what you’re worried about, Secretary Yang. But don’t. That man… he’s uncannily good at shaking women’s hearts.”
“…What makes you so sure?”
“Well….”
Her eyelashes fluttered as if recalling something. Her red lips parted slightly.
Go ahead, shake her. Like you did to me, Detective Kang Cheol-gu.
Words she couldn’t voice aloud.
* * *
“Where are you taking me?”
A young woman’s anxious voice cut through the Wrangler’s engine roar. The night of the crime, she’d been trembling naked in terror at the villa complex in Hyeonjeong-dong—Park Hyeok-cheol’s crime scene. Han Ye-seung spoke for the first time in ages.
“Haha. No casework today. You’ve been through hell, so I thought good food at a nice place might help. It’s not in the police manual, but consider it victim protection.”
Streetlights along the riverside glittered like jewels. She must’ve sparkled like one once…. But now, at just mid-twenties, disillusionment wrapped her like a thick coat. Self-loathing.
The Wrangler roared down the dark riverside road.
“This place has great food. Try it.”
A course meal topping 300,000 won. Flashy interior, impeccably trained staff. Han Ye-seung, overwhelmed by the vibe, couldn’t even look around—just kept chugging water.
“I’m not used to spots like this either. First time was my police academy graduation.”
“…….”
“Made me wonder. How does this country look to people who drop that on one meal without blinking?”
I set down my knife.
“…In their eyes, ordinary citizens are probably just pawns on a chessboard they can move around. That’s what I figured.”
I stared into her eyes.
“Tell me, Han Ye-seung. Are you a pawn on the board? Or a person?”
Her eyebrows twitched. She averted her gaze to the dark river.
“You’re not the only victim. Two others. One’s just turned twenty.”
She still looked away, but I could tell instinctively. She was locked in on my words. Didn’t want to hear it, but each one stabbed like a dagger.
“They’re hurting bad. Begged me—please make the bastard pay. Only then can they pretend it was a nightmare… and keep living.”
“…Stop!!”
Her sharp scream tore at my ears.
“Why are you doing this to me? You knew everything before you came, right? Just curse me out! Call me a whore…. Say I sold my body for cash! Sob sob.”
She dropped her head and wept. After a while, a forlorn voice emerged.
“…I had no choice. It happened…. I really needed that money…!”
“Double.”
“Huh?”
Her eyes widened at my low word.
“Double what they offered. Whatever it was. And I’m not judging you, Ye-seung. I get it—the crushing weight of an amount you can’t ignore.”
Back when I was the old broke Kang Cheol-gu, I knew colleagues who took bribes and stripped for cash. I’d curse them, but I understood too. To some, it’s a night’s bar tab; to others, life-changing money. I knew better than anyone.
“Show them you’re a person, Ye-seung.”
Her tear-streaked head lifted slowly.
* * *
“Quiet! Order!”
“Bribing witnesses now?”
“That scum’s a lawyer?”
The chaos didn’t stop despite the judge’s pleas. Shouts erupted from all sides.
“No! It’s a lie! Slander!”
Oh Dong-geun’s defense rang hollow in the courtroom. I looked at Park Hyeok-cheol. His face was like plaster—no expression. Only his eyes shook wildly.
The moment our gazes met, the plaster cracked across his whole face. A beastly howl ripped from his throat.
“Kaaang Chul-goo!!”
Thud thud! He sprang from the defendant’s seat like a coiled spring. His steps were awkward, unused to the crutches. Stumbling forward, he lurched toward me. Security grabbed him; he thrashed and screamed.
Wham! He finally reached me, missed with his crutch, and collapsed. Head bowed deep, like a sinner confessing.
“You? Your doing?”
His upturned glare was demonic. I crouched to meet his eyes and whispered low in his ear.
“Forgot? I’d make you pay. Geonwoo can’t save you.”
“You fucking dog!”
He lunged, grabbing my collar. At the judge’s order, they dragged him back to his seat—like capturing a wounded beast.
After a short recess, court resumed. The judge spoke gravely.
“…Defense emphasized the defendant’s status as heir to a top corporation and warned of societal impact. But criminal trials rely solely on evidence for fitting punishment. Defendant Park Hyeok-cheol sexually assaulted innocent women out of twisted desire, attacked an on-duty officer symbolizing state authority during the crime, and caused extensive property damage endangering citizens while fleeing. This court sentences the defendant to 7 years imprisonment. Additionally, the defendant’s information shall be publicly disclosed online for 10 years, and he is ordered to wear a location-tracking device for 13 years.”
“Refreshing verdict for once!”
“Justice lives!”
“Seven years is light! Life sentence!”
Cheers and reactions burst from the gallery. Park Hyeok-cheol hung his head, as if he couldn’t believe it. Only his clenched fists trembled.
It’s over.
As I quietly stood, a small hand grabbed my sleeve.