Chapter 6
Chapter 6
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Translator: uly
Chapter: 6
Chapter Title: Interrogating Myeong Jin-han
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Lee Jae-hyun stepped into the interrogation room where Myeong Jin-han was sitting.
As he opened the door and entered, Myeong Jin-han, who had been exercising his right to remain silent until now, finally spoke up.
“What’s this, a shift change? But why bring in the cop who roughed me up?”
With nothing left to lose now that things had come to this, he seemed to have regained his composure.
Unlike when he’d been caught at the scene, Myeong Jin-han spoke in a light tone.
Lee Jae-hyun sat down without a word, eyeing the man.
The cocky attitude, the provocative tone.
There wasn’t a hint of remorse anywhere.
‘Well, if he were the type to reflect, he wouldn’t have written that boastful suicide note and killed himself.’
Why did scum like this have to be kept alive?
Lee Jae-hyun couldn’t comprehend it.
Especially since he had memories of losing his father to someone like this.
‘Should I kill him?’
Keeping him alive would just be a waste—useless trash to society.
It might be better to end him right here.
Click. Click.
Lost in thought, Lee Jae-hyun slowly toyed with the ballpoint pen in his hand, clicking it.
Right now, it was just a possibility he was blocking, something that hadn’t happened yet.
But in his previous life, this man was the enemy who killed his father.
Having lived ten years in regret, Lee Jae-hyun’s rage toward Myeong Jin-han burned with an intensity beyond words.
‘Could I kill him?’
Lee Jae-hyun stared at Myeong Jin-han with sharp eyes.
At the arrest scene earlier, he’d stayed calm and level-headed to avoid putting his father in danger...
But now was different.
No obstacles whatsoever.
Click.
Lee Jae-hyun pressed the back end of the pen tip, exposing the sharp point.
Myeong Jin-han was within arm’s reach.
The carotid artery running through his neck.
One swing of his arm, and he could kill Myeong Jin-han right there.
The moment Lee Jae-hyun’s killing intent surfaced outwardly.
“Ha.”
Myeong Jin-han let out a hollow laugh.
As Lee Jae-hyun’s eyebrow twitched while glaring at him, Myeong Jin-han continued.
“You’re a cop?”
Had he sensed something in Lee Jae-hyun’s gaze?
Myeong Jin-han spoke in a tone laced with disbelief and derision.
Lee Jae-hyun listened to the man’s words and pressed the side of the pen.
Click.
The sharp tip retracted back into the barrel.
He’d made up his mind.
‘I can’t kill him.’
It wasn’t that the man’s words had changed his heart.
He simply couldn’t let Myeong Jin-han die without facing proper judgment.
‘First, let the law judge him.’
Wasn’t that the fact that had enraged him most over the past ten years—that Myeong Jin-han had slipped away without true punishment?
He looked at Myeong Jin-han and spoke in a low voice.
“Am I a cop?”
Fine, he’d admit it.
For a moment, his killing impulse had clouded his vision, nearly leading to a mistake.
But...
“Of course I am. A cop.”
Lee Jae-hyun was still a cop.
A cop who crushed criminals like Myeong Jin-han.
At Lee Jae-hyun’s firm, unwavering voice, Myeong Jin-han faltered for a second before forcing a smirk, pretending to be at ease.
“Yeah? With eyes like you want to kill me? Someone might think we’ve got a grudge.”
“Would we be friends instead? You serial-killing bastard, you think you’re on a cop’s level?”
Of course, Lee Jae-hyun could clearly see the man’s agitation.
The guy who’d kept his mouth shut and invoked his right to silence until now had opened it—that was proof enough.
In response to Lee Jae-hyun’s words, Myeong Jin-han furrowed his brow and spoke.
“Serial killer? Sure, I kidnapped that woman, but I didn’t kill her. Or do you have evidence?”
Lee Jae-hyun let out a hollow laugh as he watched the man say that.
All the circumstances already pointed to Myeong Jin-han as the culprit.
Yet the bastard was brazenly denying he was the serial killer.
‘Playing it like that, huh?’
Of course, such lies wouldn’t work on Lee Jae-hyun, who knew the full truth from his past life’s memories.
Fine.
If Myeong Jin-han wanted to play it that way, all Lee Jae-hyun had to do was expose the lies.
With that thought, Lee Jae-hyun curled up the corner of his mouth toward Myeong Jin-han.
* * *
Myeong Jin-han furrowed his brow as he watched Lee Jae-hyun smirk.
‘Just what the hell is this guy?’
He hadn’t liked him from the start.
Not just because he’d been humiliated in the taxi because of Lee Jae-hyun...
But standing before him made him feel exposed, like he was naked.
As if he was being dissected piece by piece.
And that wasn’t all.
‘This bastard was seriously debating killing me just now.’
Meeting Lee Jae-hyun’s blazing gaze, Myeong Jin-han swallowed dryly.
Others might not notice, but he knew exactly what that look meant.
Killing intent.
It was the gaze of a predator eyeing its prey.
‘This is a cop? Give me a break.’
Running a pet shop, Myeong Jin-han had seen that look plenty of times.
The eyes of a starved guard dog when food was tossed in front of it after days without a meal.
The problem was, this time that gaze was fixed on him—not raw meat or kibble.
He felt chills run through his body but forced himself to act casual.
‘It’s fine. There’s no evidence anyway.’
No matter how much the circumstances pointed to him, without hard evidence, he could walk on insufficient proof.
Sure, since they’d caught him transporting his third “work,” he couldn’t avoid some punishment.
But there was no way they’d find decisive evidence on the first two cases.
‘As long as that doesn’t come out, I’ll do three years max and get back to my “art.”’
After serving his time, he could pick up his “work” again.
As Myeong Jin-han secretly smiled to himself with that thought...
“Evidence? Yeah, we have it.”
“...What?”
Lee Jae-hyun looked at him and declared it confidently.
Myeong Jin-han was so flustered he forgot to play dumb and reacted.
‘They have evidence?’
No way.
He’d cleaned the scenes spotless, handled material transport and “display” carefully, even avoiding black boxes.
Above all...
The essential “tool” for his work was hidden where no one would ever think to look.
‘It’s gotta be a bluff.’
Coming to that conclusion, Myeong Jin-han regained his calm, shook his head, and spoke.
“Ha, Detective. What era do you think this is, railroading people like that? Don’t you know about presumption of innocence?”
“...”
“That’s why people call our cops fake cops.”
He tried to needle Lee Jae-hyun now that he’d regained his composure, but Lee Jae-hyun didn’t react.
Myeong Jin-han frowned at the silent man.
Wasn’t he just growling anxiously all by himself like this?
Well, that’s exactly what he was doing.
Ignoring that fact, he pressed on.
“You know I’m suing for excessive force on that leg break. Dragging me out without evidence. You a thug or a cop?”
Myeong Jin-han said it like a threat, and he meant it.
From the moment their eyes met in the taxi, Lee Jae-hyun had shown inexplicable hostility toward him.
Sure, he could understand other cops eyeing him as a serial killer after finding the woman in the suitcase.
But that was after something turned up.
This guy had acted from the start like he knew Myeong Jin-han was the serial killer.
‘No way. Probably just pissed his dad got insulted.’
Recalling that moment, Myeong Jin-han tried to deny it inwardly.
Anyway, that gaze had irked him, so he’d poked more, turning it into a verbal spar.
That was the mistake.
His opponent was crazier than Myeong Jin-han had imagined.
The guy had yanked him from the cab and flung open the suitcase right there.
‘Tch, and of all taxis, it had to be a cop’s dad driving.’
Myeong Jin-han clicked his tongue inwardly.
Even thinking back, his luck had been rotten.
Veteran detectives had been fumbling to find him.
To get nabbed by some rookie cop on DUI patrol.
‘When I get out, I’ll sue for violating presumption of innocence and file complaints nonstop. Beg all you want then—I’ll show mercy?’
Evidence turning up? No chance.
Myeong Jin-han was that confident.
But...
Lee Jae-hyun, who’d been quiet, let out a smirk and spoke.
“All the victims had identical wounds on their necks and knees.”
“Yeah? First I’ve heard. So what?”
“No tools in your possessions that could make those wounds.”
“That just proves I’m not the guy, right?”
Myeong Jin-han looked at Lee Jae-hyun and chuckled.
That tool was essential for his “work.”
So he kept it safe in a place only he knew.
As Myeong Jin-han thought that...
“Pet shop.”
At Lee Jae-hyun’s grinning remark, he couldn’t help but stiffen.
Watching him, Lee Jae-hyun continued.
“The evidence is there.”
Myeong Jin-han’s eyes trembled wildly.
* * *
Meanwhile, Park Dae-hyung and Team Leader Oh Cheol-jin stared blankly at Lee Jae-hyun and Myeong Jin-han on the CCTV feed.
Oh Cheol-jin spoke first.
“What do you think?”
“...Impressive.”
That was all Park Dae-hyung could say.
His instincts as a detective screamed that Myeong Jin-han was behind the recent serial killings.
No need for gut feelings—the evidence was clear.
He’d pushed hard during interrogation, but Myeong Jin-han hadn’t budged.
The guy had clamped his mouth shut, eyes fixed ahead, invoking silence.
Park Dae-hyung had half-given up, planning to hunt for irrefutable evidence instead.
‘And he pulls a reaction out of him.’
He watched Myeong Jin-han’s trembling eyes on the screen.
Was it because Lee Jae-hyun caught him that he reacted so strongly?
‘It’s not just that.’
Whenever Myeong Jin-han slipped, Lee Jae-hyun jabbed with info that would rattle him.
He didn’t know how “pet shop” came up, but Myeong Jin-han clearly panicked at the word.
‘He waited for the moment Myeong Jin-han let his guard down, thinking it untouchable, then hit him with “pet shop” to draw the reaction.’
Park Dae-hyung watched Lee Jae-hyun with a grim face.
Even ten-year vets stumbled on interrogations.
Some stations even had dedicated interrogators.
Yet Lee Jae-hyun handled it like a natural, effortlessly extracting reactions from the perp.
Park Dae-hyung let out an involuntary “whoa” of admiration.
‘Is this talent?’
Then what about his usual laziness?
The question lingered, but Park Dae-hyung recalled something and chuckled wryly.
‘Right, geniuses are always the lazy ones.’
Born with overwhelming ability, they saw no need to try, so they slacked.
That’s what they called geniuses.
‘But why the sudden fire?’
That part, even Park Dae-hyung couldn’t figure.
As he tilted his head in puzzlement, Lee Jae-hyun emerged from the interrogation room.
Park Dae-hyung shook off his thoughts, approached with Oh Cheol-jin, and asked.
“How’d you know?”
“Huh?”
Too eager, he’d skipped context.
Lee Jae-hyun turned and tilted his head.
Normally, Park Dae-hyung would’ve said “good work” first, but curiosity overrode that.
Oh Cheol-jin jumped in from the side.
“The pet shop. How’d you know evidence was there?”
“Oh, that.”
Scratching his head at their questions, Lee Jae-hyun continued.
“He was heading to his pet shop in the taxi. Dad told me.”
“Ah.”
Park Dae-hyung and Oh Cheol-jin exclaimed in unison.
Right—Myeong Jin-han had been in Lee Jae-hyun’s father’s taxi.
Transporting a victim, it had to be for the crime.
His reaction, the circumstances—all pointed to the pet shop holding the crime tools.
Oh Cheol-jin turned to Park Dae-hyung.
“No background on Myeong Jin-han yet?”
“Hold on, I’ll call his station.”
Park Dae-hyung pulled out his phone and dialed.
“Hey, long time. About that Myeong Jin-han from earlier. Background come up?”
Casual tone—must have contacts there.
Other jurisdictions’ cases were usually off-limits, but personal ties were exceptions.
Soon, his face hardened as he listened.
“...One sec.”
Covering the mic, he turned to Lee Jae-hyun and Oh Cheol-jin.
Face tense, Park Dae-hyung spoke.
“There’s a pet shop registered under Myeong Jin-han.”
“Case closed.”
Oh Cheol-jin snapped his fingers.
Myeong Jin-han’s agitation at “pet shop.”
And it under his name.
Only an idiot wouldn’t connect it.
Oh Cheol-jin looked regretful as he continued.
“Man, this far and we can’t take it? Shame.”
“No choice. Not our jurisdiction anyway.”
Park Dae-hyung replied, but he smacked his lips in disappointment too.
As they showed their regret...
Lee Jae-hyun raised his hand casually and spoke.
“Hey, past quitting time. Mind if I head out?”
Oh Cheol-jin and Park Dae-hyung blinked at him.
The guy who could claim credit for nabbing the serial killer shaking the nation was asking to clock out like it was nothing.
“You’re not bummed?”
“Stopped more victims. That’s enough for me.”
Park Dae-hyung and Oh Cheol-jin had nothing to say.
The star of the investigation said that—who were they to push?
Finally, Team Leader Oh Cheol-jin burst out laughing.
“Hahaha! Right, cop catches crook—that’s the job. Good work, go rest.”
“Yes, sir. Heading out then.”
Lee Jae-hyun saluted them and left the substation.
Park Dae-hyung watched the seemingly merit-averse Lee Jae-hyun and chuckled.
Quitting time over glory? But he’d always been punctual about shifts.
“Clocking out in this mess. Guess he hasn’t changed completely.”
“They say sudden changes kill you.”
“Then he’s died a dozen times today.”
Park Dae-hyung recalled the old Lee Jae-hyun—ambitionless, go-with-the-flow.
Oh Cheol-jin smirked back, and Park Dae-hyung laughed heartily.
Meaning Lee Jae-hyun had surprised them plenty today.
Park Dae-hyung watched him go with approving eyes.
“But why’s he leaving in uniform?”
Unlike usual—changing to civvies—he headed out in his work clothes, head tilted.