The Hospitalized Heir (1)
Geumcheon District was exactly where I had met Je-gyun the day before. So when the Geumcheon Police Station that oversaw the area called me, I didn’t need any special intuition to guess that something had happened to him after we parted ways. Come to think of it, his screams had suddenly cut off as I left the redevelopment zone, and that had been bothering me.
‘Maybe I shouldn’t have left him alone like that?’ The thought crossed my mind for a moment, but I shook my head. Je-gyun wasn’t a preschooler, and he was the one who had tried to illegally confine me by cutting off my hands and feet. It would have been absurd for me to personally escort him to my car and drive him home.
Before calling back the number saved on my phone, I reviewed the footage from the previous day. One thing was certain: while I had been at that location, not a single illegal act had occurred that would have warranted police intervention. I had controlled the situation that thoroughly. So whatever happened must have occurred after I left Je-gyun behind.
Ring, ring—
When I called the Geumcheon Police Station, the line connected after a few rings, and a man who sounded as though he hadn’t slept at all answered in an exhausted voice.
“This is Sergeant Yoo Jeong-hoon of the Geumcheon Station.”
“Yes. I received a missed call from your station, so I’m returning it. This is Kwon Ho-gyun.”
“Mr. Kwon Ho-gyun? Thank you for calling back. I know it’s late, but the matter seemed urgent, so I contacted you.”
“I’m glad you reached me. What’s this about?”
What followed was quite shocking. After I left, Je-gyun had apparently jumped from the abandoned building. Fortunately, it was only three stories high, and he had landed in some bushes on the way down, so his life wasn’t in danger. Members of the redevelopment opposition coalition who had been preparing a protest there found him and reported it to the station. He had been taken to a nearby emergency room and was now at Myeongryun University Hospital.
After finishing his summary, Yoo Jeong-hoon continued with a question.
“Mr. Kwon Ho-gyun, you’re the younger brother of the victim, Mr. Kwon Je-gyun, correct? From the QS Group.”
Who the hell was playing word games with legal terminology in front of me?
“You’re calling Mr. Kwon Je-gyun the victim? Are you saying this is an attempted murder case? And you’re naming me as the suspect?”
Yoo Jeong-hoon seemed to suddenly remember that I was a lawyer and hurriedly tried to walk back what he had just said.
“No, no. For now, we’re treating it as a suicide case and proceeding with the investigation. But when we checked the phone we recovered from the scene, we saw that Mr. Kwon Je-gyun had arranged to meet you there right before the incident.”
“That’s correct. My brother texted me to come there in the middle of the night, so I went. That’s why I’m extremely tired right now.”
At my suddenly stiff tone, Yoo Jeong-hoon spoke in a pleading voice, clearly flustered.
“Even if you’re tired, this concerns your brother. Would you mind stopping by the station for a brief statement? It’s just a witness interview, so if you submit receipts for transportation or meals, we’ll reimburse you in full…”
His voice trailed off. He must have felt awkward mentioning reimbursement after confirming I was a son of the QS Group.
“Understood. Reimbursement won’t be necessary. I’ll stop by the Geumcheon Police Station before heading to work.”
When I met Yoo Jeong-hoon at the station, his attitude was completely different from the phone call. He clearly suspected me of attempted murder. Even after seeing the text messages Je-gyun had sent to lure me there, he kept pressing with a blank expression.
“So you’re saying Mr. Kwon Je-gyun called you there? What business did he have meeting you at such a late hour in such a remote place?”
“It’s written in the text he sent. Family matters that outsiders shouldn’t know about. Are you trying to dig into the private affairs of the QS Group?”
Tap, tap—
Yoo Jeong-hoon deliberately made an exaggerated show of typing on his keyboard as he pretended to focus on writing the statement.
“Ah, no, of course not. There was some kind of argument there, and after that, you left immediately, correct? The content of the argument… was it something that could have caused emotions to flare up suddenly? Ah, I’m sorry.”
“Sergeant?”
Yoo Jeong-hoon answered with a startled look.
“Yes?”
“You haven’t handled many murder cases, have you? If I had intended to kill my brother, would I have just pushed him off the third floor?”
“Ah, no, of course not. But at the initial stage of an investigation, protocol requires us to keep all possibilities open. I ask for your understanding.”
Understanding, my ass. That line only works when understanding is actually warranted. Right now they were trying to pin an attempted murder charge on an innocent person.
“Listen to the end. My brother is a grown man of average build. If he had been threatened with murder, there should have been signs of a struggle or defensive wounds on his body. You said he went through the emergency room—did the medical examination find anything like that? Since this happened early this morning, there should be marks on my body as well, right? Would you be satisfied if I went to the hospital for an examination right now?”
Smack—
Yoo Jeong-hoon clicked his tongue in disappointment at my barrage of facts. He had probably been hoping to solve an attempted murder case involving the QS Group’s ruling family and earn a commendation from the police chief or even a promotion.
“You’re right, Mr. Kwon Ho-gyun. I was lacking. Thank you for the lesson. You’ll make an excellent lawyer.”
“Not ‘will make.’ I already am a lawyer. And at the very least, I’m better than you, Sergeant Yoo. You said this was standard procedure, but if someone without medical knowledge had come in as a witness, they would have been framed for murder without a chance to defend themselves.”
“I’m sorry. I was very rude. I’ll be more careful from now on.”
After that, Yoo Jeong-hoon apologized repeatedly, clearly afraid of being hit with more facts, and finally acknowledged that this was a suicide attempt. One fortunate thing from my perspective was that he was so incompetent that I didn’t even need to show him the footage I had recorded last night. If the police had seen the armed men in that video and decided to investigate, it would have been troublesome. After all, if those men got hurt, my relationship with Seok Dong-hoon would sour, and there was a more important place where that footage needed to be revealed first.
* * *
I had thoroughly put the arrogant Yoo Jeong-hoon in his place before leaving, but my own mind wasn’t entirely at ease. Even if I hadn’t tried to kill him, I couldn’t say my actions had no influence on Je-gyun’s suicide attempt. With that complicated feeling, I turned my car toward Myeongryun University Hospital instead of QS Tower.
When I gave the patient’s name at the information desk and confirmed I was immediate family, I easily obtained Je-gyun’s room number. I took the elevator up and stood in front of the room, but I didn’t feel like going in. As I hesitated, I caught a glimpse inside through the gap in the raised blinds.
Seeing Je-gyun lying on the bed, I realized Yoo Jeong-hoon had been right—he wasn’t in critical condition. There was no ventilator or any dramatic equipment, just an IV drip in his wrist. There were bandages on his arms and legs, but those were probably just scratches from the bushes. Since I had confirmed his condition with my own eyes, I was about to turn away when I sensed someone behind me.
“Hello, young master. Have you come to visit?”
I didn’t know her well, but I recognized her face from photographs. She was Kim Ja-min, who had once been a popular actress on family dramas before quitting acting early to become Je-gyun’s wife. In terms of blood relation, she was my sister-in-law.
“Hello, sister-in-law.”
Since she must have been the most shocked by this incident, I was about to offer some words of comfort when she bowed her head first and spoke.
“I heard you almost got into serious trouble because of my children’s father early this morning.”
What? How did Kim Ja-min know about that?
“There was a bit of an incident. Did you hear what happened?”
“Yes. Early this morning, the eldest young master sent me a long text. He said he didn’t have the courage to say it out loud. He also mentioned you, so I found out.”
Maybe Je-gyun had jumped to prevent Seong-gyun from telling the family what he had done. But Seong-gyun had apparently informed Kim Ja-min almost immediately after leaving the scene. In that case, what had Je-gyun jumped for? It was his own fault, but I couldn’t help feeling a little sorry for him.
“So you already heard. Still, the one who’s injured right now is Je-gyun, so please take good care of him.”
Kim Ja-min’s face was filled with both apology and gratitude as she started to say something, but my gaze suddenly snapped toward the inside of the room. Je-gyun’s limbs were convulsing violently, his body thrashing so hard it looked like he might be thrown off the bed. Seeing this, Kim Ja-min quickly bowed and excused herself.
“I’m sorry. I need to go check on him right away. Nurse! Doctor!”
A doctor rushed over at her call and immediately gave orders.
“Prepare 2mg of lorazepam IV. Quickly!”
After confirming that Je-gyun’s convulsions had stopped following the injection, I turned away from the room and headed toward the hospital entrance. I had been planning to go straight to work, but it felt strange to visit Myeongryun University Hospital without seeing Chairman Kwon Byung-do. So I changed direction and headed toward the neurology intensive care unit, whose location I already knew.
Since visits to the ICU required a medical staff escort, I was planning to just look from a distance like I had with Je-gyun’s room when I heard hurried footsteps approaching from behind.
“Young master, you’ve arrived.”
When I turned around, I saw the neurosurgery department head I had consulted with at length in the past rushing toward me.
“Department Head? You must be busy with work. There’s no need to come out to greet me like this.”
“Not at all. I’m in the middle of outpatient duty, but I can spare a moment. I also have something I need to tell you after seeing you in person.”
The neurosurgery department head was Chairman Kwon Byung-do’s attending physician, and the fact that he was still in the ICU a month after surgery made me uneasy. I didn’t expect to hear anything hopeful.
“What is it?”
“It looks like you came to see the chairman. Shall we go in together?”
“Am I taking up too much of your time?”
“It’s really fine. One of my morning outpatient appointments was canceled, so I can use that time.”
After finishing disinfection, I entered the ICU and stood beside Chairman Kwon Byung-do’s bed with the neurosurgery department head.
“Is Father’s condition very bad?”