Chapter 118
Chapter 118
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Translator: uly
Chapter: 118
Chapter Title: Caught on Camera
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From early morning, Lee Jae-hyun headed to the Ilsan West Police Station.
The case that had started yesterday still wasn’t wrapped up, and since Hanseong Police Substation’s Team 4 was investigating it jointly, he’d come to the Ilsan West Police Station.
As he walked toward the main gate, Park Dae-hyung was already there waiting for him.
He raised a hand with a bright smile toward Lee Jae-hyun.
Lee Jae-hyun gave a slight nod of greeting to Park Dae-hyung.
“I got the file.”
“The file?”
As soon as Lee Jae-hyun approached Park Dae-hyung, the senior tossed out the words.
At his remark, Lee Jae-hyun looked at Park Dae-hyung and asked back.
“Yeah, the footage from the cam we set up at Gobong Mountain.”
“Let’s go check it out together right away.”
Cops weren’t idiots, of course, and it wouldn’t be strange if an accomplice returned to the scene.
Installing and maintaining extra CCTV on-site wasn’t something they could do immediately, so that was a bit tricky.
But setting up a temporary cam that could record for a day or two was entirely feasible.
Lee Jae-hyun headed to the office with Park Dae-hyung.
The two sat down and immediately played the video.
The footage was over ten hours long, so they needed to fast-forward.
They sped through at high speed, pausing only when there was movement to check.
“Oh, it’s a roe deer.”
There were more roe deer living in Korea’s mountains than one might think.
Naturally, the footage caught a few.
Not just roe deer—plenty of wild animals showed up on camera.
They were so varied that Lee Jae-hyun and Park Dae-hyung, no wildlife experts, couldn’t identify them all... They just confirmed they weren’t human and moved on.
Just as they started tiring of the endless animal appearances...
“Huh?”
“This... looks like our guy.”
Park Dae-hyung pointed at the monitor.
Lee Jae-hyun quickly paused the video and narrowed his eyes.
A man in a black cap was cautiously passing through the scene.
He hadn’t imagined a camera was there, it seemed—vigilant of his surroundings but not checking the camera’s direction.
He vanished from the frame quickly, and since the camera angle shot downward from above, his face wasn’t clear.
Still, they could make out his build to some extent.
‘Woo Kyung-hwan... It’s him.’
Park Dae-hyung seemed to think the same, scratching his cheek as he spoke.
“His build looks similar to Woo Kyung-hwan’s.”
“Yeah.”
Lee Jae-hyun nodded in agreement.
If even Park Dae-hyung thought so, then even without hard evidence... it was almost certainly him.
“What now? Go grab Woo Kyung-hwan first?”
“No solid proof yet, so arresting him right away would be iffy... Better to pressure An Do-hyun into naming him.”
Strong suspicions, but no concrete evidence.
That alone wouldn’t put the guy away.
In Korea, locking someone up without hard proof was tough.
But if An Do-hyun confessed, it’d change everything.
If An Do-hyun admitted Woo Kyung-hwan’s involvement and that they committed the crime together...
‘We can nab him.’
Then they could take down both An Do-hyun and Woo Kyung-hwan.
“Ramp up the pressure again?”
“Yeah. Report to Violent Crimes Chief Kim Ho-cheol first, then hit him with another interrogation.”
“What if he doesn’t talk?”
They’d need to report to Chief Kim Ho-cheol and get permission for another round.
Lee Jae-hyun wasn’t even officially with Ilsan West, and his rank was ambiguous.
He’d impressed last time, but he couldn’t just interrogate willy-nilly.
So he’d said they’d report first and then proceed...
But Park Dae-hyung asked what if the guy clammed up.
It would get a bit annoying, sure.
But it wasn’t impossible... just ‘annoying.’
With enough time, Woo Kyung-hwan would be caught anyway.
The issue was he might panic and do something rash, so speed was key.
“Then let’s check the scene for whatever evidence Woo Kyung-hwan left and talk after.”
“...Okay. I’ll head to the site, you squeeze An Do-hyun here.”
Going together would be ideal, but splitting up seemed better now.
No telling what An Do-hyun might think if things dragged.
Other detectives from Ilsan West were around, but Lee Jae-hyun and Park Dae-hyung understood each other best—they could coordinate via contact easily.
“Got it.”
Woo Kyung-hwan revisiting the scene might’ve left evidence proving An Do-hyun’s guilt.
But in doing so, he might’ve left proof of his own visit too.
Find both, and the police win.
“Oh, and no need to report to Chief Kim Ho-cheol separately.”
“Huh?”
“Team Leader Oh Min-seok said Chief Kim Ho-cheol told him to let you interrogate whenever you want.”
A smile spread across Lee Jae-hyun’s lips.
Probably thanks to his solid performance interrogating An Do-hyun last time.
Luckily, he could proceed freely.
Lee Jae-hyun bowed his head lightly in thanks and spoke.
“Oh, thanks.”
“Yeah, rookie, fighting. I’m off.”
“Right, take care.”
Lee Jae-hyun bowed to Park Dae-hyung, then turned immediately.
Time to visit An Do-hyun.
* * *
Heading to the interrogation room, he saw Team Leader Oh Min-seok and a few team members glaring at An Do-hyun, who sat alone.
“Good morning. Nice day.”
“Oh, Sergeant Lee Jae-hyun. Morning.”
Oh Min-seok smiled welcomingly at Lee Jae-hyun.
Lee Jae-hyun glanced at the glaring detectives around An Do-hyun and spoke.
“Any... issues?”
“Nah, nothing major...”
Oh Min-seok shook his head to reply.
But another detective cut in.
“This bastard’s been bitching about wanting pork belly since morning.”
“...What.”
Lee Jae-hyun let out a disbelieving scoff at the report.
This criminal punk, locked up, craving pork belly for breakfast?
In his past life, he’d have clocked him the second he walked in.
Too many eyes now, and his rank was low—he couldn’t go that rogue.
But there were plenty of ways to make An Do-hyun pay without that.
He was a rat in a trap, after all.
“We ordered seolleongtang up front, so feed him that and interrogate. You want in, Sergeant Lee?”
“Yeah, I’ll take another shot. Thanks.”
“Got two bowls—eat together while you do it. Haven’t had breakfast yet, right?”
Oh Min-seok looked at Lee Jae-hyun as he spoke.
Lee Jae-hyun scratched his head.
He hadn’t eaten, but detectives skipping breakfast wasn’t odd.
It was habit for him anyway—he was fine.
Plus... all these other detectives had more experience and higher ranks than him.
Eating alone while superiors watched? No thanks.
“Not yet... but I’m good. You all haven’t either.”
“We’ll eat after you finish with this punk, so don’t worry. Eating together during interrogation is key. Join him.”
Oh Min-seok waved it off.
Right then, another detective brought in the seolleongtang.
Lee Jae-hyun finally nodded to Oh Min-seok.
Eating together during interrogation did matter.
The act of sharing a meal lowered defenses somewhat.
Eating in a safe space gave psychological comfort, and sharing that comfort built a bit of rapport.
Lee Jae-hyun picked up the two bowls of seolleongtang and entered the room where An Do-hyun sat.
“Hey, hello.”
An Do-hyun greeted him with a snicker.
Lee Jae-hyun nodded slightly and set one bowl in front of him.
“Eat. Still warm.”
The seolleongtang in front of An Do-hyun had ice cubes added, so it was cooler than Lee Jae-hyun’s.
A safety measure—sometimes perps freaked out and attacked cops.
They’d even throw food, and hot stuff could burn, so they cooled it to warm.
An Do-hyun eyed the bowl and clicked his tongue.
“Aw, I wanted pork belly.”
“Yeah? Too bad.”
Lee Jae-hyun felt rage bubbling inside at the words but replied flatly, reaching out casually.
His target: the seolleongtang in front of An Do-hyun.
He pulled it toward himself smoothly.
“Don’t eat it then. Plenty of others who want it.”
“Ah, no... I didn’t mean I won’t.”
He hadn’t eaten since last night, so he had to be starving.
An Do-hyun smiled awkwardly at Lee Jae-hyun, who finally slid the bowl back.
As he did, he tossed out casually:
“Eat up. It’s your last meal.”
“...”
At Lee Jae-hyun’s words, An Do-hyun—who’d been stewing in anxiety and doubt all night—reacted sharply.
He snapped his head up, staring at Lee Jae-hyun as if demanding an explanation.
Lee Jae-hyun smirked at him.
“Nobody told you yet? We caught something fun on the camera at Gobong Mountain.”
He dropped the line to rattle An Do-hyun effortlessly, then resumed eating.
An Do-hyun stared down at his seolleongtang with a stiff face.
The interrogation was just beginning.