Chapter 114
Chapter 114
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Translator: uly
Chapter: 114
Chapter Title: Flustered Eyes
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Lee Jae-hyun quietly stared at the guy in front of him.
Woo Kyung-hwan, the son of the first incident's female victim.
He wasn't rejoicing that the culprit had been caught, nor was he furious at the perpetrator....
Instead, he showed a flustered expression with trembling eyes.
There was no reason for the victim's son to react this way.
Unless there was a reason like him scheming something with the culprit.
Or perhaps committing the crime together.
It had to be one or the other.
Realizing his own fluster, the guy hurriedly composed his expression.
Woo Kyung-hwan nodded repeatedly, clenching his fists tight.
"He's been caught. Thank you, Detective. For my mother's unjust death...."
Lee Jae-hyun let out a scoff as he watched the guy put on a clumsy act and try to speak.
No matter how late he tried to manage his expression, Lee Jae-hyun had already read the panic on Woo Kyung-hwan's face.
It was almost certain that the guy was involved in the crime somehow.
His suspicions were already rock-solid.
And yet, here the guy was, putting on this awkward performance and calling it his "mother's unjust death." It was absurd.
Lee Jae-hyun curled one corner of his mouth upward and spoke.
"I'll hold off on the thanks. I haven't properly uncovered your mother's unjust death and avenged her yet."
"But you just said you caught the culprit."
"Yes. I did say I caught the culprit. The culprit behind the Gobong Mountain incident, that is."
"...."
Lee Jae-hyun hadn't said he caught the culprit of the Gobong Mountain incident.
As he made the distinction so precisely, Woo Kyung-hwan's face in front of him stiffened slightly.
He probably hadn't expected the fact that there were two culprits to be uncovered this quickly.
Of course, he must have anticipated some suspicion falling on him.
He knew better than anyone that his alibi didn't hold up perfectly, and his claim of lying to avoid his dad finding out would seem suspicious to anyone.
But he must have thought the suspicion would lift once the Mae-bong Mountain incident occurred.
He couldn't have imagined a detective jumping straight to concluding there were two culprits and continuing to suspect him.
That's how he had been able to give such bold false testimony despite committing the crime.
Shrugging his shoulders at the guy staring at him with a rigid expression, Lee Jae-hyun continued.
"They're clearly different incidents, so we have to treat them as such."
"No, the person who killed my mom also killed someone new, right? Why treat them differently?"
"Well, sure.... Police judgment can differ from a layperson's, can't it?"
Lee Jae-hyun said it casually.
The victim's son furrowed his brow and opened his mouth.
"You came picking a fight earlier for no reason, and now you're spouting some weird nonsense? Just because you're a cop, does that mean you can come hassle people out of the blue?"
The guy spoke with an irritated look.
Seeing that, Lee Jae-hyun realized something new in that moment.
His speech had changed.
Unlike just before, when he'd snapped at him informally out of annoyance upon hearing the culprit was caught.
Now, he was using polite language consistently.
Not out of respect, but caution.
He no longer saw Lee Jae-hyun as an easy mark and was speaking that way because he thought, "Does this bastard actually know something?"
Locking eyes directly with the guy's pupils, Lee Jae-hyun spoke.
"I'm not picking a fight. I'm just doing the job a cop has to do."
Interrogating someone who could be the culprit was naturally a cop's duty.
Investigating cases was a cop's job too.
Lee Jae-hyun was simply carrying out what he had to do, as a matter of course.
At his words, the victim's son made a face like it was ridiculous.
"I don't get how showing up at a victim's funeral home and saying stuff out of nowhere to make people uncomfortable is part of a cop's job."
The guy spoke with his face slightly twisted.
Despite the guy lashing out at him like that, Lee Jae-hyun calmly continued.
Feeling bad about his words?
Sure, that could happen.
If he was the culprit.
When an innocent person is wrongly suspected of being the culprit, the first reaction is usually "fluster."
Then they protest their innocence, and if that's not accepted, they get frustrated.
If the guy had shown that reaction right when the culprit was caught earlier, Lee Jae-hyun might have lowered his suspicion.
"I'm just saying that because catching the Mae-bong Mountain culprit doesn't necessarily mean it's bad news. Your mother's incident and the Mae-bong Mountain one might have different culprits, and we don't have evidence yet."
"...."
At Lee Jae-hyun's words, the guy couldn't say anything.
He clamped his mouth shut and just glared at Lee Jae-hyun.
Lee Jae-hyun chuckled and continued.
"Don't worry too much. We'll make sure to properly uncover your mother's case and catch the real culprit."
He couldn't arrest him yet.
Even if he was convinced the guy in front of him was the culprit.
There wasn't enough evidence.
He needed solid proof, not just suspicion.
Still, it would come soon enough.
Interrogating the guy caught trying to commit a crime at Shin-dong Mountain would yield answers.
There was a flight risk, but they'd already identified him properly, so catching him again wouldn't be hard.
Besides.... If he bolted from here, it'd be like confessing he was the culprit, so he probably wouldn't make that choice easily.
"See you around, then."
Lee Jae-hyun gave the guy a crisp farewell and turned away.
First things first—he needed to get that evidence.
* * *
Ilsan West Police Station, interrogation room.
Team Leader Oh Min-seok was personally interrogating the guy.
Since this case had been handled jointly by the Ilsan West Violent Crimes Unit and Lee Jae-hyun's Hanseong Substation Team 4 from the start.
Lee Jae-hyun had no trouble watching the scene.
The interrogation had already been going for about an hour, and they'd gotten some basic info, but....
"That bastard won't open his damn mouth."
There was hardly any substantial information yet.
Lee Jae-hyun glanced at Park Dae-hyung at his words, then turned his head to Min Ji-hye.
Min Ji-hye held papers compiling as much info as possible on the guy in the interrogation room.
When she noticed Lee Jae-hyun looking her way, she flipped through the documents and handed them over.
"Thanks."
Lee Jae-hyun took the papers with a brief thanks and examined them.
Name: An Do-hyun, for starters.
Worked at a nearby factory.
He checked for any criminal record, but there wasn't much.
Just your typical middle-aged guy, nothing particularly standout.
How did someone like him end up killing with a baseball bat?
Lee Jae-hyun quietly stared through the glass at the guy talking with Team Leader Oh Min-seok.
The man maintained a relaxed attitude throughout.
The other detectives' faces were screwed up, clearly annoyed by it, but.... There was nothing they could do.
Violent Crimes Chief Kim Ho-cheol was the same, arms crossed and face grim.
But he just watched the interrogation room without a word.
―So, why'd you kill her?
―No, really, Detective.... I'm innocent. Okay, I admit I suddenly got pissed and tried to hit that lady in a fit of rage. But saying I killed someone? That's a problem. Where's the law in Korea that allows that?
―You little shit!
Team Leader Oh Min-seok slammed his fist on the table and growled.
He couldn't help but be angry.
The guy was denying the crime outright.
Flat-out.
He admitted only to the scene where he was caught, claiming total ignorance of the prior incident and sticking to it.
It had been an hour of this, so Team Leader Oh Min-seok was bound to feel frustrated.
No matter how experienced he was or how many like him he'd dealt with.
Guys who wouldn't talk always pissed you off.
―Hah, calling me a shit.... That's a bit harsh, isn't it? Can I go public if I get out of here?
―....You crazy bastard. So, why'd you try to hit that lady earlier?
―With that face, acting all bold like she wanted to sleep with me. How could I not get mad? No, if a person has any conscience, any eyes, there's no way I'd....
Hearing up to there, Team Leader Oh Min-seok finally exploded.
The chair clattered backward as he stood, stormed around the table, grabbed An Do-hyun by the collar, and hoisted him up.
―You son of a....
Just as Team Leader Oh Min-seok was about to curse him out.
"Go in and stop him."
Chief Kim Ho-cheol let out a small sigh and said.
At his words, the other detectives rushed into the interrogation room and held Team Leader Oh Min-seok back.
Thanks to that, An Do-hyun avoided getting hit by the raised fist.
But the frustration lingered in the detectives' hearts.
Kim Ho-cheol stared at the interrogation room where An Do-hyun now sat alone, seeming to think for a moment, then clicked his tongue.
"Take a break and resume."
"Yes, understood."
The other detectives nodded and replied.
Lee Jae-hyun carefully observed the situation.
When he'd arrived at the station, Team Leader Oh Min-seok was already interrogating, so he hadn't offered any input.
But now seemed like a good time.
"Uh, Chief."
"....Sergeant Lee Jae-hyun. Speak."
"I'd like to give the interrogation a try."
Lee Jae-hyun looked at Violent Crimes Chief Kim Ho-cheol and spoke in a firm voice.
At his words, not just the other detectives but even Team 4 turned to him in surprise.
Even for Lee Jae-hyun, they hadn't expected him to step up with so many Violent Crimes detectives around.
Chief Kim Ho-cheol looked at him for a moment, then let out a hollow laugh.
"Whatever. Give it a shot."
He nodded slightly in response.
Lee Jae-hyun immediately bowed his head in thanks.