Chapter 36
Chapter 36
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Translator: uly
Chapter: 36
Chapter Title: The Mother's Confession
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The first to react was Min Ji-hye.
She had been eating her jjajangmyeon when she abruptly stood up, wiping the corner of her mouth with her hand as she hurried over.
Lee Jae-hyun reacted quickly too.
He hadn’t even taken a single bite of his jjajangmyeon yet, but the moment he heard the woman’s voice trembling faintly, he knew something was wrong.
It was clearly no ordinary matter, so he didn’t mind leaving the food behind.
Since he hadn’t eaten any, there was nothing on his mouth to wipe off like there was for Min Ji-hye. Lee Jae-hyun simply moved without pause.
Her long hair felt dry and unkempt.
It was obvious she didn’t take good care of it on a regular basis.
Her eyes were hollow, and at a glance, anyone could tell she hadn’t come from a healthy environment.
Min Ji-hye cleared her throat with a loud cough before approaching her.
Since the reporter was a woman, no one tried to stop Min Ji-hye from taking the lead.
“Hello. What brings you here?”
When Min Ji-hye asked the woman, she flinched and trembled.
It was an excessive reaction.
The kind that only appeared when someone was extremely sensitive, wary of everything around them.
It looked serious, so Lee Jae-hyun carefully approached Min Ji-hye.
The woman glanced at Min Ji-hye, then turned her head to look at Lee Jae-hyun as he drew near.
She breathed raggedly for a moment before exhaling long, as if she’d made up her mind.
“I... I want to report...”
“Please, speak freely.”
Min Ji-hye spoke in a gentle voice, as if to reassure her.
It was a complete contrast to how she’d been earlier when ordering her jjampong.
Whatever her tendencies or personality, one thing was certain.
Min Ji-hye was a police officer.
A police officer duty-bound to protect citizens and ensure their safety.
Perhaps reassured by Min Ji-hye’s tone, the woman spoke rapidly.
“My daughter...”
“Your daughter?”
She hesitated again.
The mention of “daughter” made everyone tense, their expressions darkening.
Lee Jae-hyun was no exception.
He’d just been mulling over how to prevent a child abduction case, so his thoughts naturally veered in that direction.
‘Child abduction? Already? No way...’
It was supposed to happen next week.
No matter how fuzzy Lee Jae-hyun’s memories were, he couldn’t forget the time after his father’s death—when he finally pulled himself together and resolved to become a detective.
He might not remember the exact date, but it definitely wasn’t this month.
Next week... the first week of next month.
Lee Jae-hyun tried to calm himself and focused on the woman’s words.
“I... I lost my daughter...”
“Did you lose your daughter?”
“No, no, it’s not that. Sob...”
The woman broke into tears mid-sentence.
Min Ji-hye let out a small groan at the sight.
They’d been trying to grasp the situation for several minutes now with no luck.
Her expression and tone made it clear this was an urgent, critical matter.
Min Ji-hye cautiously reached out and placed a hand on the woman’s shoulder.
“We’ll do everything we can to help. Please calm down and tell us what happened to your daughter. We’ll take action right away.”
At Min Ji-hye’s words, the woman swallowed her sobs and looked up.
Min Ji-hye didn’t avoid her gaze.
Lee Jae-hyun stared into the woman’s eyes as they met Min Ji-hye’s.
Then, the woman spoke.
“...She’s dead.”
Silence fell over everyone at her words.
No one reacted right away.
Even Min Ji-hye was the same.
She clenched her teeth once, then forced her mouth open.
“Dead...? I’m so sorry for your loss, but could you explain a bit more about what happened?”
“I... I killed her.”
Her voice was thick with deep regret.
The emotion in it alone was enough to startle anyone.
Of course, once they fully processed what she’d said, the shock was even greater.
“What do you—”
“A mother killed her own daughter. I... I did it...”
Min Ji-hye froze in place.
The woman grabbed Min Ji-hye’s arm and collapsed forward onto the floor.
Min Ji-hye staggered but knelt down with her.
Lee Jae-hyun could no longer stand by.
“Ma’am, where’s the child?”
“At home... In the master bedroom.”
“Where’s your home?”
“Sangchon Village Complex 2, Apartment 402...”
Fortunately, she gave the address.
Of course, no one knew yet if she was telling the truth.
But with her claiming her daughter was dead—and that she’d done it themselves—no one could ignore it without checking.
Lee Jae-hyun turned and moved immediately.
Park Dae-hyung took charge of the rest.
“Ji-hye.”
“Yes.”
“...Keep the reporter safe for now.”
“Yes, got it.”
Min Ji-hye snapped to attention at Park Dae-hyung’s words, nodding firmly.
She looked straight at the woman in front of her.
The woman still wouldn’t lift her head, sobbing as she clung to Min Ji-hye like a child.
Park Dae-hyung let out a small sigh and turned to Kim Jun-ho.
“Jun-ho.”
“Y-Yes.”
“Request backup and report the situation.”
“Understood.”
Kim Jun-ho seemed a bit dazed by the sudden events, his response half a beat late.
But he understood Park Dae-hyung’s orders and replied clearly.
That left Lee Jae-hyun.
“The rookie’s with me...”
“I’ll drive.”
Before Park Dae-hyung could finish, Lee Jae-hyun tucked handcuffs into his belt and answered.
“Uh, let’s go.”
Park Dae-hyung felt a strange mix of pride watching Lee Jae-hyun move first without waiting.
But now wasn’t the time for sentiment.
They had to check it out immediately.
The moment they hopped into the patrol car, Lee Jae-hyun exhaled sharply and gripped the wheel tight.
Slam.
Park Dae-hyung shut the passenger door with a loud bang.
At the same time, Lee Jae-hyun floored the accelerator.
The car shot forward.
* * *
They arrived, and Lee Jae-hyun jumped out first.
Several patrol cars were already there.
The police line hadn’t even been set up yet.
It was chaos—multiple patrol cars and officers bustling about.
An ambulance was there too.
Lee Jae-hyun focused on the paramedics.
“They’re bringing down the patient. It’s a child, critical condition—they’re heading out right away, so get ready...”
They were speaking quickly, but they’d said “patient.”
Even “critical.”
Normally, that wouldn’t be good news.
But not now.
They’d come here after hearing the daughter was dead.
“Critical” meant she was still alive—at least for now. A small relief.
At the same time, Lee Jae-hyun’s expression darkened slightly.
Honestly, from her face and tone, he’d hoped it was some kind of joke played on the police.
But it wasn’t.
Lee Jae-hyun let out a small sigh.
Just then, Team Leader Oh Cheol-jin approached.
“You’re here?”
“Yeah. How’s it going?”
Park Dae-hyung nodded and exchanged greetings with Team Leader Oh Cheol-jin.
Lee Jae-hyun quietly listened to their conversation from the side.
“They say the kid was on the brink of death. Whole body covered in bruises... Couldn’t even breathe right—probably broken ribs or blood in the airway. Paramedics handled the rest, so I don’t know more. But she’s alive for now.”
“Damn... Lucky, but what about the husband? You get a read on him?”
“That’s... complicated.”
Team Leader Oh Cheol-jin ruffled his hair in frustration.
Park Dae-hyung glared fiercely—not at him, but instinctively at the sense things were getting messy.
“Complicated how?”
“Don’t know where the husband is. He’s gone into hiding. Wanted for fraud. Name’s Jeong Woo-min.”
“...So the husband’s a scammer and the wife attempted murder?”
Park Dae-hyung couldn’t hide his disbelief.
Oh Cheol-jin sucked in a breath and corrected him.
“We don’t know about the wife yet. What exactly did she say?”
“She straight-up said she killed her own daughter.”
“Someone who thinks they killed their daughter came all the way to our substation to report it?”
“It sounds insane, but that’s her story.”
Of course, Park Dae-hyung didn’t fully buy the reporter’s words.
Still, since she claimed she did it herself, she was the prime suspect.
“How did she seem when she said it?”
“Could barely speak, looked eaten up by guilt. That’s what’s confusing me.”
“...Let’s check the scene first and think. I’ll call Jun-ho.”
“Got it.”
Park Dae-hyung nodded briefly at Team Leader Oh Cheol-jin’s words and started walking.
Lee Jae-hyun followed him to the scene, both lost in thought, exchanging not a single word.
It was a four-story villa, and the apartment was on the top floor.
No elevator—just stairs.
At the top, a few officers were taking photos of the scene.
Lee Jae-hyun calmly surveyed the place.
The house was a mess, nothing tidy or organized.
Clothes scattered on the floor, dishes piled in the sink.
Lee Jae-hyun carefully checked drawers and corners.
A pot in the kitchen held lukewarm water, and the living room was littered with kids’ toys amid trash.
Lee Jae-hyun leaned down to sniff the lukewarm water.
It had a faint rubbery smell.
He checked near the sink for wet dishes.
The only wet ones were a child’s spoon-and-fork set.
Made partly of rubber.
‘Disinfecting it...?’
He considered touching it but held back to avoid contaminating the scene.
After checking the entire interior, Lee Jae-hyun turned to Park Dae-hyung.
Park Dae-hyung gave a slight nod, signaling to head out.
Lee Jae-hyun nodded back and left the house.
As they descended the stairs, Park Dae-hyung spoke first.
“What do you think?”
“Doesn’t seem like she lacked affection for her daughter. Everything else is a mess, but the kid’s dishes were the only ones boiled in hot water, and her clothes were neatly stacked in one spot.”
“Yeah, the toys were the only kid stuff that was messy.”
“I checked that too. They said the child had bruises... But a mom like this beating her kid all over? Odds aren’t high.”
Lee Jae-hyun turned to Park Dae-hyung as he spoke.
It wasn’t something to speculate lightly, so he was cautious with his opinion.
It could be a Violent Crimes case, but since it happened in Hanseong Police Substation jurisdiction, they had to handle the initial response perfectly.
Voicing guesses like this could bias the investigation, leading to oversights in initial handling.
On the flip side, focusing sharply could make for flawless initial work.
Park Dae-hyung pondered briefly, glanced around, then spoke.
“For now... Let’s check the CCTV first.”
Lee Jae-hyun nodded at Park Dae-hyung’s words.
Right now, just like Park Dae-hyung said, CCTV was the priority.
They had to gather every scrap of potential evidence.