Life's Second Turn (4)
He's right behind this door. Now it's time to catch the bastard. No repeating past mistakes.
Memories flooded back. "Does this country even have such a thing as justice?" It had been ten years since that question, but the parched voice was unforgettable. The father of Go Yun-ji, the killer's eighteenth victim, had asked me over and over in the interrogation room. His callused hands, visible through frayed sleeves, stabbed painfully at my eyes.
"My wife passed away, leaving me with our child. I slaved away at construction sites, clinging to Yun-ji as my only hope. Even though I was a pathetic dad who couldn't send her to the academies all the other kids went to, she always gave me a thumbs-up, saying I was the best dad in the world. But how could someone do that to a child like her..." His back heaved roughly. A week later, his body was found—he'd drunk pesticide and killed himself. The landlord's wife was the only one who complained: Why kill yourself here of all places, spreading rumors everywhere? That was the sole reaction to his death.
* * *
He shook his head. This wasn't the time to get lost in thought. This time, the bastard's serial killings ended here. According to the case files, he took an average of fifteen minutes from securing a victim to completion. He turned the doorknob. Locked. He shoved Kim Gwang-il aside as he reached for the bell and yanked a fire extinguisher from its case.
Bang! With a dull thud, the knob tore off. Kim Mi-ran wasn't in the room. Water ran from the shower. No way, already? He flung open the bathroom door. A scream rang out, and a pale naked body came into view.
"Kyaaah!"
Thank God. As he let out a sigh of relief, an unfamiliar voice struck his ear from behind.
"Who the hell are you punks? Pimps for this bitch? We're executing official duties here. Get lost quietly!"
Without a hint of panic, the guy flashed a badge and handcuffs. A color printer fake. A laugh escaped involuntarily.
"Oh, yeah? One of us, huh. Which department?"
For a split second, the man's eyes flickered—then he hurled himself out the third-floor window.
"Crazy bastard! Jumping from the third floor?"
The guy slid down the drainpipe. Fast, just like the rumors said.
"Kim! Get in the car and block the escape route. I'm chasing on foot!"
He grabbed the same drainpipe and dropped down. His palms sizzled like meat on a grill. He spotted the man's wavering back. The landing jarred his ankle. As he hesitated a moment, heavy footsteps echoed into the alley.
Screech!
"Detective Kang, you okay? Hop in."
Kim Gwang-il's jeep braked hard.
"No—block Saesam-ro 2-ga alley! I'll flank him!"
He bolted after the bastard.
* * *
Where the hell did this guy come from? Yoo Hyeong-cheol's mind raced as he fled. He'd committed countless murders, but no cop had ever zeroed in on him like a ghost and given chase. To hide victim identities, he'd dismembered bodies and dumped parts separately. When he bled in the car during a kill, he'd torched the whole vehicle to erase traces. Using a fake police badge, he'd targeted low-income families or women from illegal brothels who couldn't report easily. No mistakes. Their desperate pleas for life were more beautiful than any heavenly music. The light fading from their eyes as warmth left their bodies excited him more than any woman's nakedness. In the moment of killing, he was God.
But where had this guy come from? Street life from childhood had honed his eye for people. Clearly a rookie in his early twenties, yet those pursuing eyes belonged to a seasoned vet. Did the Korean police have a maniac like this? At the same time, he felt a kinship—the guy was his kind.
Suddenly, something flew at him between streetlights. So fast the shadow lagged behind. As he clutched his jaw and struggled up, a cold voice reached him.
"Bingo."
It was the young cop, backlit by the streetlamp, shadow stretching long. His ragged breaths sounded like a beast's growl.
I can't let it end like this! Yoo Hyeong-cheol touched his jaw and rose. He'd already killed ten times. Capture here meant the obvious end.
Yeah, cops are human too, right? Stick a knife in the gut, and they die just like anyone!
Shing! Biting his lip, he drew the folding knife strapped to his ankle. Gripping the blade that had tasted so much blood eased his fear.
Let's see...!
Yoo Hyeong-cheol's eyes widened in shock. As the blade bared its edge, the cop closed in—exposing his abdomen.
He squeezed his eyes shut and swung reflexively, but...
No familiar give. Not human flesh—some organic material met the tip.
What the—!
Thwack! Before the question cleared, the cop's elbow smashed his jaw.
"Thanks for stabbing first. Now it's self-defense."
As he crumpled, a cold voice pierced not his eardrums but his brain—like a vengeful spirit's whisper. He looked up. Through torn clothes, black stab-proof armor gleamed.
Fuck.
Bang! Before the curse finished, a gunshot cracked. Burning pain seared his thigh like fire; his body bent like a shrimp.
Kang Cheol-gu aimed the still-smoking revolver.
"This revolver? Five-shot cylinder. But regs say leave one chamber empty, and one's a blank. So really, just three rounds. Rules are rules..."
Click! The slide racked back.
"But I loaded it full. So four more where that came from. You can do that math, right?"
Terror gripped him. Was this how his victims felt? He trembled and wailed.
"I just did some prostitution stuff! Is this how police overreact?"
Murmurs rose. Windows opened at the sudden shot.
"My goal as a cop is to render you helpless and arrest you, see..."
Bang! Calmly, Kang Cheol-gu fired again. This one shattered his kneecap. The M60 revolver's stopping power was a nightmare. A through-and-through might heal with quick treatment, but...
Yoo Hyeong-cheol knew better than anyone how to kill or cripple a man. Instinct screamed: he'd be crippled for life. But that wasn't the issue. This cop plans to kill me. The killing intent he'd once savored in victims now poured from this stranger. He tried to rise, but his shot leg twisted grotesquely, dumping him again.
"Ugh... hack... please..."
"At this range, even a lousy shot wouldn't miss. Right? But this time, I almost wish I was a lousy shot."
Kang Cheol-gu's barrel slowly tracked to his face.
"S-spare me... p-please..."
"Detective Kang, no!"
Kim Gwang-il, hearing the shots, lunged between them.
"You... got lucky."
No bluff. Genuine regret burned in the young cop's eyes, gleaming with murder.
* * *
"Hey, you hear the news?"
"Nah. What happened?"
"That Kang Cheol-gu from Violent Crimes Team 3 who just transferred in—the one who immediately started building his own squad..."
"The rich kid? What about him?"
"Don't ask. Last night, the west station was in total chaos. He nabbed some illegal prostitution punk and fired his gun twice. Blasted away without even a blank warning—bam bam bam!"
"Psycho? Daddy's pull making him untouchable? Or is it Taehwa backing him?"
"Kekeke. Anyway, he's screwed this time. Someone uploaded the scene to YouTube, and Jeong Seong-hui turned it into breaking news this morning!"
"Jeong Seong-hui from JTBD? That shark?"
"Yeah. Hammered police brutality. The guy's crippled for life even after treatment. No matter if it's the police academy dean or Taehwa behind him, he's done. Toast. Haha."
* * *
"Detective Kang. Public backlash is insane right now. What the hell were you thinking, handling it like that?"
Chief Kim Dong-sik's voice trembled with anxiety.
"I'll handle it, sir. No need to worry."
Violent Crimes Team 3's office felt like a funeral home. Team Leader Hwang Woo-sik clutched the phone, pleading.
"Ah, Reporter Kim. Really? How many tips have I given you? Bury this one, just this once."
Detective Kim Gwang-il hung his head, sighing. Probably thinking he was catching flak for hanging with the troublemaker.
"Attention, everyone! Chin up. Why the gloom?"
"Fastest shutdown in history. Team's done in under a month. Media's crucifying us."
Detective Lee Gyu-cheol muttered bitterly.
"Team Leader Hwang, first report was from JTBD's Jeong Seong-hui, right? Get me her contact."
* * *
"Thanks for the swift coverage. Detective Kang Cheol-gu here."
– Detective Kang Cheol-gu? The overkill cop from yesterday? What's this about? You shouldn't even be calling me. If it's a favor for the story, I'm hanging up.
Tough cookie, as expected.
"Favor? In this climate? No—I've got a scoop for you."
– A scoop?
He could picture her face without seeing it. Reporters sell their souls for exclusives.
"That prostitution suspect I over.kill.reacted on yesterday? He's at Hanim Hospital. Run his DNA through the database at the capital's major crimes unit. You'll bow to me, Reporter Jeong."
– Hold on! More crimes I don't know about? Hello? Detective Kang!
* * *
Jeong Seong-hui's face filled the TV monitor.
[Yes, this is JTBD's Jeong Seong-hui reporting. Hanim Hospital is now under tight control by capital major crimes unit agents. Yoo Hyeong-cheol—the serial killer who terrorized citizens for the past six months—is confirmed to be a patient here. Last night, he lured his eleventh victim to a motel in the Gangcheon area. That's when Gangcheon Station Violent Crimes Detective Kang Cheol-gu identified and pursued him. After a breathless thirty-minute chase, Detective Kang Cheol-gu and Patrolman Kim Gwang-il successfully apprehended the suspect. Over to reporter Oh Kyung-tae for details from the scene.]