Chapter 29
Chapter 29
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Translator: uly
Chapter: 29
Chapter Title: The Eyewitness Snapshot
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Lee Jae-hyun gazed at Song A-ram, who was seated across from him.
She had said she would start explaining, but now her lips were moving slightly, as if she were pondering how to begin.
Lee Jae-hyun waited patiently for her to speak.
Finally, she took a shallow breath in and out, then opened her mouth.
“I still remember it vividly. The week of the accident was my birthday.”
Song A-ram began her explanation, stirring the latte on the table with her straw.
Her calm voice blended with the soft music playing in the café, flowing into Lee Jae-hyun’s ears.
“My dad bought me the latest smartphone model that had just come out as a birthday present. It was the first smartphone I’d ever had since becoming a middle schooler, so I fiddled with it all day long.”
Lee Jae-hyun sat quietly, listening attentively to her story.
Asking unnecessary questions would only burden her.
Here, just listening silently would be the best way to draw out her words.
As Lee Jae-hyun remained still, she continued.
“It was the same on the night of the incident. I was secretly using my phone in the early morning hours, and I remembered hearing how good the camera was, so I was taking pictures of the night sky from my room. Then, a car came by.”
At her words, he flinched.
A car at that early hour—it had to be Park Chun-beom’s.
Lee Jae-hyun leaned forward, focusing even more on her words.
“Our neighborhood has a lot of outsiders coming through, so cars passing by weren’t that unusual…… I ignored it and kept shooting the sky. But then, suddenly, there was this loud crash.”
After saying that, Song A-ram seemed tense and parched, so she took a sip of her latte.
She set the cup down, caught her breath for a moment, and then continued.
“I was startled and looked down toward the sound. The car had crashed into the guardrail. I could see one person getting out of the driver’s seat.”
Lee Jae-hyun’s eyes gleamed at her words.
It was Park Chun-beom.
The fact that he got out of the driver’s seat confirmed it.
Lee Jae-hyun swallowed dryly in tension as Song A-ram went on.
“Before that, I never understood why people take photos first when there’s an accident. But then I got it. Something you rarely see in a lifetime was happening right in front of me…… My hand just moved on its own.”
Lee Jae-hyun nodded, understanding her feelings.
Since the driver had gotten out, there was no need to worry about reporting it right away.
As Song A-ram said, that’s how most people are.
When an accident happens, half the people just gawk and pass by, half of the rest take photos, and half of those left just watch.
The ones who actually report it are only an eighth.
And even that’s only when the victim is unconscious on the ground.
Most traffic accidents are just gawked at and ignored by passersby.
Sure enough, the same words came from Song A-ram’s mouth.
“The driver looked fine too. I figured no need to report it. I got excited and snapped photos to send to my friends…….”
“And?”
“The moment I took the photo, it felt like the man who got out of the driver’s seat turned this way. I felt like I was sneaking a peek at something, so I hid. But in that time, the car—the car…….”
As she said that, Song A-ram seemed to recall the moment and trailed off, her head dropping.
Seeing her hands trembling faintly, Lee Jae-hyun gripped them firmly.
“It’s okay. Slowly……. Take slow, deep breaths.”
At his words, she flinched for a moment but then inhaled deeply.
After a couple of deep breaths, Song A-ram seemed a bit calmer. She steadied her shaking body and slowly began again.
“The car fell, and then the ambulance and police arrived. My heart was pounding so much……. And if they found out I was on my phone at that hour, Dad would scold me, so I pretended to be asleep. But then I heard two people had fallen and only one survived. The driver survived, they said, but I clearly saw someone get out of the driver’s seat…….”
Her voice trembled as she spoke.
“But it was so scary. People around were saying it was bad luck, bad energy, and business at Dad’s shop wasn’t going well, so he looked grim. And…… more than anything, I couldn’t forget that man’s gaze as he looked my way. I made up my mind a few times. Yeah, tomorrow I’ll go to the police station and tell them…….”
As she spoke, Song A-ram started sniffling little by little.
By the end, tears were streaming down her face as she continued.
“The more time passed, the more I thought the police would grill me about why I was bringing this now……. Even if I made it to the station, it felt like that man was watching me, so……. So I couldn’t do anything. I’m sorry, I’m so sorry.”
She finished with a hiccup.
Lee Jae-hyun handed tissues to the crying girl and spoke.
“No. Thank you so much for telling me now.”
He patted her shoulder as she wiped her tears.
It wasn’t her fault.
It could never be Song A-ram’s fault.
The criminal is the one at fault for committing the crime—how could a witness be blamed?
It’s the police’s job to build trust with witnesses who saw the crime scene and are trembling in fear, and to take their testimony.
Since the police failed to provide that trust, it’s a shortcoming on their part.
Lee Jae-hyun let out a sigh.
As he patted Song A-ram’s shoulder, waiting for her to calm down, he soon looked at her, her trembling somewhat subsided, and spoke.
“Do you still have those photos from back then?”
“Yes. I’ll send them right now.”
She nodded immediately and tapped her phone, using the number on the business card Lee Jae-hyun had given her.
Bzzz.
Soon, Lee Jae-hyun’s phone vibrated.
He checked it and saw several photos in a text message.
Photos of a car crashed into the guardrail in the dark early morning.
And…….
A photo capturing a man stepping out of the open driver’s door, and another of him looking around.
The photos were dark and taken from afar, but thanks to the latest smartphone model at the time, the quality was quite good.
Anyone who knew Park Chun-beom’s face would recognize him easily.
‘This is more than enough…….’
It didn’t need to show Park Chun-beom’s face perfectly.
The time and location were embedded in the photo metadata.
The information conveyed by the photos was substantial.
The location, car model, and damage to the vehicle.
Above all, the only accident at that location in recent years was Park Chun-beom’s.
This was evidence he could never escape.
* * *
Park Dae-hyung frowned, snorted through his nose, and stared at Park Chun-beom sitting in one corner of the substation.
Something felt off.
An unpleasant sensation he often felt back when he was in the detective squad.
‘Tch, even after that incident, you still haven’t come to your senses.’
He clicked his tongue, realizing he was relying on ‘instinct’ again.
Kim Jun-ho sneaked up to such a Park Dae-hyung.
“Whew, Inspector Park. Why the scary face? Everyone coming to the substation will run away.”
“……What is it?”
Kim Jun-ho tossed a joke in his usual cheeky manner.
Park Dae-hyung turned to him and asked, and Kim Jun-ho shrugged.
“Nah, we can’t hold that guy forever. Our maknae has to dig something up. No contact yet?”
“Yeah, not yet.”
Park Dae-hyung nodded in response.
Quite some time had passed since Lee Jae-hyun went to Incheon, but no word yet.
Even with suspicions of a crime, they couldn’t detain him indefinitely……
It was time to release Park Chun-beom.
Truth be told, keeping him this long was only because Park Dae-hyung had made excuses to hold him forcibly.
‘When’s he coming?’
Park Dae-hyung twitched his brow and jiggled his leg.
Tap tap tap tap.
His foot drummed on the floor.
Kim Jun-ho watched Park Dae-hyung with a surprised expression.
“Why are you looking at me like that?”
Feeling the gaze, he glanced at Kim Jun-ho and asked.
Shrugging at Park Dae-hyung’s question, Kim Jun-ho jerked his chin toward Park Chun-beom and spoke.
“It’s just unexpected. Honestly, from what we’ve uncovered so far, that guy doesn’t seem to have anything more. We’ve dug as much as we can. Maybe the maknae’s mistaken?”
“Hmm……. You’re right.”
Park Dae-hyung hadn’t left everything to Lee Jae-hyun.
After sending him to Incheon, he’d tried coaxing and intimidating, questioning everything, but found nothing suspicious about Park Chun-beom.
The only thing nagging him was that damn ‘gut feeling’.
‘No, I can’t rely on that.’
Park Dae-hyung shook his head, thinking that, but……
Honestly, he couldn’t shake the nagging feeling about Park Chun-beom either.
Park Dae-hyung glanced at the clock on the substation wall, then turned to Kim Jun-ho and spoke.
“Five minutes. Let’s wait exactly five more minutes.”
“Yes, sir.”
Kim Jun-ho saluted playfully in response.
Tick tock tick tock.
The short five minutes passed quickly.
“Inspector Park.”
“Sigh……. No choice. Go release him……?”
Just as Park Dae-hyung was about to tell them to let Park Chun-beom go.
Bzzz.
His pocket phone vibrated.
Park Dae-hyung pulled it out immediately and checked—it was a text from Lee Jae-hyun.
And soon……. After reading it, Park Dae-hyung burst into laughter.
“Hahaha!”
“What is it? The maknae?”
“Ji-hye. Take a look at this.”
Kim Jun-ho tilted his head in confusion beside him.
But Park Dae-hyung called over Min Ji-hye, who was handling other tasks, and handed her the phone.
Min Ji-hye tilted her head too but took the phone and checked the screen.
What appeared in her eyes were several photos.
“This is…….”
She had investigated and compiled Park Chun-beom’s personal records, so she knew immediately.
Photos related to the accident Park Chun-beom claimed was five years ago.
The moment she saw the phone screen, Min Ji-hye grasped it and spoke with a bewildered expression.
“The maknae caught another murderer.”
She murmured that, giving a peculiar look.