Chapter 125
Chapter 125
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 125
Chapter Title: The Gravekeeper
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Ring ring.
The dial tone rang out.
Soon, a voice came through the receiver.
"This is Constable Yoo Chae-eun from Investigation Team 1."
A somewhat stiff, businesslike voice. It was Yoo Chae-eun's police tone, one you rarely heard in everyday encounters. Kang Hyun paused for a moment before speaking cautiously.
"Chae-eun, you busy?"
"Huh? Oppa?"
The line seemed to cut out briefly, then Yoo Chae-eun's bright voice came through again right away.
"Wow! What brings you calling? I'd pick up your call no matter how busy I am!"
She was clearly swamped, but she answered Kang Hyun's call as if welcoming it.
"You doing okay?"
"Of course! I miss seeing you and Noona more often, but I'm working hard!"
Hearing her rapid-fire chatter brought her cheerful face to mind, making him smile.
"But seriously, Oppa, what's the occasion? Calling and all?"
"Oh, well... I have a work-related question."
"Work? Sigh. Knew it..."
She let out a deflated tone and muttered nonchalantly, but her usual charm kept the mood light.
"Tch, doesn't Oppa ever just call? Like, wondering how I'm doing even if it's just lip service, or maybe grab a drink..."
"Yeah. Let's grab a meal when you're free."
She huffed in mock annoyance, and it landed perfectly in Kang Hyun's ear. After a few fake coughs, she continued in a softer voice.
"It's a promise!"
"Sure."
"So, what's the question?"
"Seoul Metro Narcotics Squad sent an official document to Korea University. Can you check how the case was handled?"
"Pardon?"
"Confirm the case status."
He could feel her stiffen up like a machine.
"Uh, what do you mean...? Internal documents aren't open to the public..."
She started fumbling awkwardly.
"I'm filing this as a school official. We're the recipients of the document, so you can check, right?"
"R-Really?"
Kang Hyun soothed her flustered rookie-cop voice and pressed on.
"It's an official request for investigative cooperation. You should be able to access it. Want the document number?"
"No, no! Hold on, Oppa! I can't see documents right now. I just transferred in not long ago..."
"You constables can view it."
"Narcotics is in the Metro Investigation building. Totally different."
"You can access electronic docs. And you're the clerical officer for the investigation division, right? You're in charge of incoming and outgoing documents. Saw it on the homepage."
"I'm stats for Central Investigation Team 1... I'm not lying, I really can't see them?"
"You handle investigation inquiries too. Log into the system."
"Ugh, seriously... Oppa, can't you just ask at the public desk?"
Grumbling but following his lead, Yoo Chae-eun logged into the police system.
Click, click.
"Found it?"
"Huh? ...It worked."
Tapping away as Kang Hyun directed, she realized she could view the results and spoke in a puzzled tone.
"But... this is a closed preliminary investigation?"
"Closed preliminary?"
A closed preliminary meant they'd wrapped up the case without finding evidence to proceed.
But that required an "essential unavoidable reason," like the perpetrator being unidentified or deceased.
"Who's the lead investigator?"
"That's all?"
"Yeah, just tell me that."
"Hmm... Seoul Metro Narcotics Investigation Team 1, Inspector An Kwang-hyun?"
"An Kwang-hyun?"
"Yes. Huh? Sounds familiar..."
Kang Hyun mulled over the name, deep in thought.
Inspector An Kwang-hyun was none other than the guy who'd been the talk of police and prosecutor circles recently over a sex scandal.
But someone pulled strings, the rumors vanished overnight, and there was no word of any special discipline.
"An Kwang-hyun..."
Kang Hyun muttered gravely, lost in thought.
No clear connection, and preliminary investigations were purely police discretion.
Hard to inquire about, even harder to dig into. Seemed like this was as far as Kang Hyun could go.
Then, unexpectedly, from the receiver:
"Ah! This guy! I remember now! Not the best reputation. Barely does any work."
"I wouldn't know."
"Hmm. Be honest, Oppa! Your intuition kicking in again?"
"Just... checking something."
"Yeah, right. When you get like this, it always is..."
Yoo Chae-eun muttered to herself before tossing him a lead.
"Okay! Someone on his team is close with my dad. Want me to connect you?"
"Your dad, Sergeant Yoo Geon-hyung?"
Kang Hyun's eyes lit up.
Luckily, a shortcut was right here.
"Thanks, Sergeant."
"No need to thank me. Helping out when I can is what it's about."
Kang Hyun, accompanied by Yoo Geon-hyung.
Whatever Yoo Chae-eun had said, Yoo Geon-hyung readily agreed to help.
Good for Kang Hyun.
In front of the Metro Investigation building.
Yoo Geon-hyung made a call, and a burly man trudged out, clasping hands with him.
After a brief chat, the man turned to Kang Hyun and bowed his head.
"Hello."
"Yes, hello."
"Man, you're even more handsome in person. Who'd have thought I'd meet Kang Hyun."
A big guy with a bashful expression.
"This is Senior Constable Kim Cheol-min. Judo specialist, solid guy, and a fan of yours, Kang Hyun."
"Oh, thank you."
"Aw, Sergeant, come on. You're embarrassing me."
Yoo Geon-hyung chuckled at their awkwardness and waved them toward a cafe.
"We're here together by fate. Let's grab a coffee."
They naturally moved as a trio. A small cafe sat near the station.
Clink.
Seated in the quiet afternoon cafe, the three began light conversation.
"Kang Hyun, we're doing a narcotics eradication campaign promo. Interested in being an ambassador?"
"Me?"
"Yeah! Drugs are rampant among youth these days. Imagine the impact if you promoted it."
"Oh... sure, I'll think about it."
They chatted a bit, and Kang Hyun learned about the man.
Senior Constable Kim Cheol-min had been a judo athlete before joining the force young.
His kind, honest face paired with a bear-like sturdy build made him seem reliable.
Mid-conversation.
"Oh, by the way..."
Kang Hyun set down his cup and probed Kim Cheol-min.
"We got a request for investigative cooperation at our school recently. Know anything about it?"
"Oh, that case. Yeah, it was your school, right? Probably."
"Yes. The student council got the document and checked with the admin office. They were puzzled it was already closed."
"Ugh, that mess."
Kim Cheol-min suddenly bristled, and Yoo Geon-hyung clicked his tongue.
Kang Hyun blinked in confusion until Yoo Geon-hyung's words revealed it was aimed at Inspector An Kwang-hyun.
"Still like that over there?"
"The team leader? Ugh... yeah. Talk about bad luck. Always stuck with guys like that..."
"Doesn't care about anything but his own cases."
"Even so, is this how it's done?"
"Nickname's Gravekeeper. Master at burying cases."
"...?"
Kang Hyun's curious look broke his silence, and Kim Cheol-min realized he needed to explain, giving an sheepish smile.
"Master at making cases disappear like they never happened."
"Ah..."
As Kang Hyun reacted in surprise, Kim Cheol-min furrowed his brows, stretched out, crossed his arms, and began.
"The case was about someone using the ID 'KimHanaYang' dealing drugs."
"Drugs?"
Expected from Narcotics, but Kang Hyun played ignorant, listening intently.
"Yes. 'Dietamine,' a narcotic kids abuse as diet pills. Highly addictive and dangerous. Reports came in about repeated posts selling it nonstop."
"Target identified?"
"No. Just the 'KimHanaYang' ID."
"Ah... I see."
"But lately, info surfaced that this was a Korea University student named Kim Hana."
From the rundown, Kang Hyun could piece together why the request came and how it fizzled.
But Narcotics Team Leader An Kwang-hyun, too lazy to chase down Kim Hana, buried it before even starting.
"Well, kinda understandable. We have tons of cases, and unsolved ones need quick closure to focus on catching real crooks. But it pisses me off! When there's a lead and they still close it... that's too much. Sigh."
"Procedurally sound, I assume."
Kang Hyun murmured after mentally reviewing procedures, earning a odd look.
"Spot on. Preliminary closure authority."
"But wasn't it closed because there was no proper way forward?"
"Pardon?"
"If so, maybe I can help."
Kim Cheol-min tilted his head, catching the shift in Kang Hyun's eyes.
"You help? Why?"
"There's a drug dealer at Korea University. Can't just let it slide."
"Ah, true... But Team Leader An is stubborn as hell..."
He glanced up at Kang Hyun's face and hesitated, gauging him.
"Makes me want to meet him more."
Kang Hyun said firmly, word by word.
In their exchange, Kang Hyun's face stayed neutral, but inside, fury boiled.
A cop burying cases for convenience, ignoring leads.
And getting away with it, living cushy.
Does that even make sense?
Whoosh.
Kang Hyun stood abruptly.
Kim Cheol-min and Yoo Geon-hyung sensed they couldn't stop him and rose too.
"Since we're here, mind if we visit now?"
"No reason not to, but..."
Kim Cheol-min faltered, then yielded to Kang Hyun's resolve.
"I'll show you in."
Caught in Kang Hyun's sudden fire, Kim Cheol-min nodded slightly and led the way.
"Punk-ass thugs."
"A few bad apples tarnish the whole force."
"Can't stand dealing with them."
Yoo Geon-hyung tsked, Kim Cheol-min flushed.
Behind Seoul Metro Station.
A cluster of loitering men, smoking.
An Kwang-hyun's crew, infamous even in Metro for their foul mouths.
"This is far enough. I'll introduce myself and talk. Thanks for the help."
"No, come with. I'll make introductions."
"No thanks. Don't want to put you in a tough spot, Senior Constable. It's our school matter."
"Fair enough... Got it. Chat, and call if you need anything."
Kang Hyun thanked them and approached the group alone.
"..."
Bold steps.
He stopped before the obvious ringleader: a balding man in a sloppily unbuttoned uniform, swaggering.
An Kwang-hyun.
"...?"
An Kwang-hyun glared at the sudden intruder, eyes full of "Who the hell is this weirdo?"
Kang Hyun met his glare head-on and fired off.
"Who's Kim Hana that you closed the investigation?"