Chapter 83
Chapter 83
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 83
Chapter Title: Taking Charge
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"Just do it!"
Kang Hyun tried his best to ignore the shape of her mouth, but since things had come to this, he figured he had to sort out the situation.
In the end, Kang Hyun opened his mouth as if he'd made up his mind.
"...Have you secured the surrounding CCTV footage?"
"We have footage of him leaving here in his car, but he doesn't appear on any road CCTV after that, and we haven't confirmed him on any other videos."
That must have been why they'd pointed their guns at the pension.
From the police perspective, the missing person had simply vanished into thin air—an impossibility without some backstory or conspiracy.
Kang Hyun lifted his head.
And he stated firmly.
"First, report the situation to your superiors right away."
"...Pardon? Anything but that."
"What do you mean 'anything but that'? Are you joking? Do you think a procedural flaw like this can just be laughed off?"
"B-But still..."
"Besides, switching back to a search would require more manpower than the local station has. You're not expecting the sergeant to personally contact Sokcho Station for backup, are you? Follow the chain of command."
Kang Hyun looked at the sergeant's insignia as he spoke to him, and the man stood there dumbfounded for a long while before finally utterting a single word.
"...Yes, sir."
In the end, most of the police officers bowed their heads to Kang Hyun, and soon after, one of the dumbfounded staff members raised a radio.
"...This is Cheongcho Patrol One... reporting the situation..."
In an instant, Kang Hyun had tamed the police. It was a sight compelling enough to make Yoo Chae-eun swallow hard as she watched him.
Meanwhile, Kang Hyun—sweating bullets but desperately maintaining a stern expression by keeping his gaze fixed on the distant sea—immersed himself in reviewing the case.
'He really seems clueless...'
Even as he thought that, Kang Hyun didn't neglect to observe the owner's expression.
In fact, depending on the police's line of thinking, they couldn't entirely rule out the possibility that the pension owner, Kim Min-jae, had helped the missing man escape.
They'd need to investigate their relationship further, but just the fact that they'd worked together for years left a sliver of possibility for collusion in the flight.
Conversely, there was also the chance that the owner had ignored the disappearance or harbored a grudge against the employee and committed a crime.
Their relationship was clearly that of employer and employee, so it couldn't be dismissed outright.
However, Kang Hyun knew one thing the police couldn't consider.
'I didn't sense anything suspicious from the owner.'
Kang Hyun had seen the owner since morning and even spoken with him in the evening.
Pension owner Kim Min-jae was a young man who'd seemed like just another employee at first, so absorbed in his work. Moreover, he'd been questioning the manager's disappearance himself.
That allowed Kang Hyun to push the possibility of the owner's involvement to the back burner.
Which left two options: the manager had met with an accident, or he'd vanished on his own.
'No way it was a traffic accident. Patrol cops aren't that sloppy—if there'd been a crash, they'd have confirmed it by now, or at least found the vehicle...'
Kang Hyun's thoughts reached that point when a police car rushed into the narrow road.
A single officer stepped out. He looked like he could be a lead detective at headquarters—middle-aged, possibly a late-stage inspector or even senior inspector, meaning team leader rank or higher.
But judging by the timing and police operations structure in his mind, Kang Hyun quickly pegged him as the local station chief.
"You're here!"
"At ease."
After returning the staff's salutes, he turned his gaze to Kang Hyun and nodded.
"...I'm Inspector Heo Yong-jin, chief of Cheongcho Station. I heard you were a prosecutor."
"I'm not a prosecutor."
"Yes, I know. Even I wouldn't fail to recognize the faces of the few prosecutors who pass through Sokcho briefly. The kids just didn't know—forgive them. And separately, I apologize."
Murmurs rippled through the group.
"He's not?"
"But his face looks familiar."
"Maybe National Intelligence Service?"
Heo Yong-jin had instantly seen through Kang Hyun not being a prosecutor but didn't press the issue. That wasn't his concern.
He seemed intent on addressing the procedural violation.
A fatal mistake for the police.
"...We were having trouble pinning down a direction because he's on the wanted list. Sorry."
As expected, Kang Hyun's objection had hit the station right in the gut.
Admitting they'd botched the switch from missing person search to investigation. They were in a position to be held accountable, so they couldn't argue back.
That let Kang Hyun hold his ground even against the station chief, maintaining an equal footing. The police were the ones at a disadvantage, after all.
But Kang Hyun had no intention of berating them or forcing blame.
He knew what mattered.
There was no need to fight them.
"I understand. You should switch back to search mode now."
Since he responded so matter-of-factly, the station chief didn't drag it out either.
As he received a brief on the case, he said,
"Yes. We'll clarify responsibility once it's resolved. For now, let's start with what we need to grasp. You there, sergeant."
Heo Yong-jin turned to the nearby sergeant, who broke out in a cold sweat, flustered.
"W-Well... since we shifted to investigation mode, we were just getting preliminary consent from the owner for the records... so we haven't fully grasped..."
"Preliminary consent? You ransacked the pension without a care!"
The tension that had quieted down was rising again in an instant. The police blunder was a big one.
Forcing the direction change too aggressively was the problem.
Kang Hyun hesitated, conflicted.
With a senior inspector here in person, they couldn't bungle the investigation anymore. But even so, whether they'd wrap up and conduct a swift search remained uncertain.
Should he help, or call it quits here?
'I can't just leave it like this.'
He had an idea bubbling up for solving the case. Circumstantially, one possibility stood out strongest, sketching itself out automatically on the blank canvas of his mind.
But inserting himself further into a police investigation as a civilian would bring heavy scrutiny, and it'd inevitably affect his friends who'd come to have fun.
Ring ring.
Right on cue, Yoon Haneul called the conflicted Kang Hyun.
"Hello."
-Why aren't you back? What are you two doing?
Yoon Haneul's voice carried a slight chill.
But Kang Hyun had no time to notice.
"I'm talking with the police right now."
-Police?
"Yeah. About this incident. Probably..."
Kang Hyun hesitated to the end.
If he said, "I'm coming in now," they could wrap up dinner pleasantly without issues and maybe steal some alone time with her.
But if he dove into helping the police, all that would go out the window, and Yoon Haneul would worry.
Kang Hyun closed his eyes briefly.
Friends and Yoon Haneul were waiting at the lodging, but no helping it. He had to look after Yoo Chae-eun, who'd gotten roped in already, and he felt sympathy for the pension owner too.
Helping those in tough spots had become a principle for him.
Helping others, comforting the struggling, helping them stand again—it was rewarding.
But did helping these people in this situation count as aiding the needy?
Not quite, but even so, Kang Hyun's mouth moved on its own.
"...This might take a while."
Because correcting wrongs was just as important as helping the weak.
It might end up helping those locked in a power struggle, scrambling for an escape, rather than truly the underdog.
But "justice" built on a false premise was wrong from the foundation. That's why he had no choice but to act.
-...
Yoon Haneul's end went silent for a moment, like a wordless protest of displeasure. Then, in a reluctant tone:
-Got it. Send Chae-eun back.
"Yeah, I will. Rest up."
Whether she understood him or had no choice, she seemed to read his mind, so Kang Hyun could at least put the phone down lightly.
"Chae-eun, you head back."
"Oppa, are you going to follow them?"
"Depends on the situation. I can't just pretend I don't know anymore."
Yoo Chae-eun looked flustered but had no intention of stopping him.
"...Be careful. Call if anything happens."
Kang Hyun nodded.
He saw Yoo Chae-eun flash a faint smile.
As she hurried off, Kang Hyun inserted himself between the owner raising his voice, the few police officers, and Station Chief Heo Yong-jin.
"Stop fighting and calm down, everyone. I know the situation looks messy, but this isn't the time."
"Pardon?"
"We need to secure the missing person's safety."
Kang Hyun quickly turned to owner Kim Min-jae.
"Min-jae, has the missing employee borrowed or advanced any money from you recently? Or taken out a sudden loan?"
"Not that I know of."
"Then, for now, the note he left here is the most credible evidence. Even if he's currently wanted and was hiding his identity while working here."
"Pardon? A note?"
Heo Yong-jin glared at the sergeant, who shrank back like a scared puppy, hunching his shoulders.
Kang Hyun explained the situation.
"More precisely, it's a note hinting at dark thoughts. Its evidentiary value needs further review, but now that we're switching back to missing person search, it's the most crucial material."
At Kang Hyun's pointed gaze, Kim Min-jae fetched a sheet of paper and handed it to the station chief. The sergeant spoke up.
"We checked that part too. But with the warrant out, its credibility..."
"Credibility?"
Kang Hyun whipped around to the sergeant.
"What credibility are you talking about? Does the fact that he's wanted turn the key clue to his disappearance into 'he's wanted'?"
"No, that's not it, but..."
"Even assuming he's wanted and hid here for years at this pension as a hideout, the report we got was a missing person report, and the subject vanished the day before yesterday. It's been three days past midnight now. Why are you muddying the direction?"
At Kang Hyun's forceful words, everyone's eyes began to waver.