Chapter 8
Chapter 8
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Translator: uly
Chapter: 8
Chapter Title: The Hidden Evidence
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Lee Jae-hyun suddenly smashed the pet shop's glass door with his elbow, drawing surprised looks not just from Oh Min-seok but from the other detectives as well.
“Team Leader, what the hell is that guy?”
One of the Violent Crimes Unit detectives asked, staring at the back of the man striding inside.
Oh Min-seok shrugged.
“What else? A crazy bastard.”
“Aren’t we supposed to grab him? He’s basically a burglar.”
“Just say he got away. For now, shouldn’t we search the scene of the robbery and look for evidence?”
Oh Min-seok said this as he turned to his team.
They’d been working together for about two years, breathing in sync.
The detective stared back at him with a dissatisfied expression.
“Why?”
When Oh Min-seok asked, the detective tsked, sucking in a breath of dissatisfaction before speaking.
“This could bite us in the ass later. I get that he’s making excuses to get in, but what if we get chewed out for contaminating the scene?”
“What are you talking about? Did we contaminate it? Some unidentified burglar did.”
Oh Min-seok replied in a brazen tone to his detective’s words.
It wasn’t like he’d broken in himself—the burglar had trashed the place, so what could they do?
Of course, checking the surrounding CCTV would reveal who smashed the door, so the pet shop owner, Myeong Jin-han, could sue Lee Jae-hyun for damages...
But would he even have the mind for that?
Oh Min-seok smirked slightly as he glanced at Lee Jae-hyun’s back, the man surveying the shop interior from where he stood.
The detective flicked his eyes toward Lee Jae-hyun, then back to Team Leader Oh Min-seok, continuing.
“No, Team Leader... That’s literally just an excuse. The bosses will know we’re turning a blind eye.”
“So what’ll they do about it? With the public watching every move, you think they’ll chew us out for finding evidence?”
“What if we don’t find any? For all we know, that guy might not even be the perp.”
The detective spoke with a hint of frustration at Oh Min-seok’s words.
At this, Oh Min-seok looked at him in disbelief.
For all we know, he might not be the perp?
“You serious?”
“...It’s gotta be him. But until we have proof, the presumption of innocence...”
The detective seemed to believe the guy was guilty himself, hesitating before nodding.
Oh Min-seok cut off his detective mid-sentence.
He got what the guy wanted to say.
Rushing in like this to search without a warrant could stir up trouble.
It might affect promotions or pay.
He understood the need to play it safe, but damn, it was frustrating right now.
Presumption of innocence, my ass.
“Hey, principles are great and all. But he’s a kidnapper, no matter what. He had a weapon. He’s not innocent, so what presumption?”
“You know that’s not what I meant. If we find evidence, fine, we’ll look the other way. But if we don’t, we’re the ones stuck cleaning up the shit.”
Yeah, he had a point.
No evidence, and the bosses might come down hard with questions or pressure.
But in the end, that’d only happen if they didn’t find anything.
Oh Min-seok opened his mouth with a nonchalant expression.
“Then we’d better find some evidence.”
“...What if there’s none here?”
“Shut up and search, you punk. Too much talk.”
Oh Min-seok finally furrowed his brow and smacked the detective’s shoulder with his palm.
Only then did the detective head inside to start searching.
The dissatisfied look vanished, replaced by a serious one.
Sure, he worried and griped, but he was a detective at heart—of course he’d get to it.
Still, as team leader, Oh Min-seok couldn’t help feeling a bit disappointed.
He wasn’t asking for a lunatic who’d barge in on some bullshit burglar excuse to hunt evidence.
But the excuse was made, the stage set—why not go in and find it?
As these thoughts crossed his mind, Oh Min-seok shifted his gaze to Lee Jae-hyun.
‘Wish we had a crazy bastard like that on our team.’
It reminded him of the old days working with Park Dae-hyung.
Back then, Park Dae-hyung had charged after perps without a thought for consequences.
Was it because Lee Jae-hyun had learned under him?
This Lee Jae-hyun guy didn’t seem like your average madman.
‘No, maybe even crazier than Dae-hyung?’
Either way, he was a guy to look forward to.
Oh Min-seok gave a slight smile and stepped into the shop.
* * *
After entering the shop, Lee Jae-hyun cautiously scanned his surroundings.
Voices drifted in from behind him.
It was Team Leader Oh Min-seok, whom he’d just greeted, talking with his detective.
The detective seemed wary of things getting messy.
Honestly...
‘I get it.’
Lee Jae-hyun could understand a detective’s mindset.
The guy probably had a family to support and valued his job.
Ten years ago—at this exact point in his previous life—Lee Jae-hyun had been the same.
A cop “public servant,” not a “police” officer.
He knew full well that smashing in without a warrant would raise hell, so he got it.
But his desire to see Myeong Jin-han properly judged outweighed any understanding.
As he tuned out the detectives’ words and looked around, Serhen appeared before him.
“God, I love this shit.”
‘What.’
“It’s so clear-cut. Just charging ahead with one goal: nail the bastard proper, consequences be damned.”
Serhen spoke with a pleased grin.
Meanwhile, the detectives filed in one by one, beginning their serious search.
Even as they moved about the shop, Lee Jae-hyun stood calmly, surveying.
‘I’ve had ten years to think. No time or need for more now.’
In his previous life, the guy had taken the coward’s way out: suicide.
The case closed due to lack of prosecution, no real investigation or judgment.
But Lee Jae-hyun hadn’t given up.
He’d thought for ten years.
Where did he hide the evidence?
The suicide note exposed the crimes, but the tools were never found.
Where had he stashed them? Where to search to catch him before he chose “suicide”?
In his past life, they had searched the pet shop.
But nothing turned up.
And with his suicide, the case ended, the landlord claiming foul play and quickly clearing out.
Lee Jae-hyun didn’t know the exact spot.
But he was certain.
The evidence was here, in this pet shop.
“Nothing here. Let’s check the back office.”
Some detectives, finding nothing in the front customer area, headed to the office.
But Lee Jae-hyun kept eyeing the front space.
“How can I help?”
Serhen asked in a sly tone.
Lee Jae-hyun shook his head.
No—at least not right now. He didn’t need the demon’s help.
He’d make sure, with his own hands, that the bastard faced proper judgment.
Ten years.
Of agonizing, analyzing.
Dissecting the guy, you could say.
Rape and murder.
Driven by his twisted lust, no doubt.
He didn’t want to know or understand it.
But he had to grasp what came after.
He’d dumped the bodies in trash bags, red ribbons tied around each victim’s head.
That was for whoever found them to see.
Showing off something only he understood.
At the root... exhibitionism.
‘The tools are here. And he hid them where every customer who came could see.’
Like a trophy.
On blatant display.
Lee Jae-hyun shifted his gaze to a Golden Retriever photo hanging on one wall.
The happily smiling dog had a red ribbon on its head.
Below the photo sat a cabinet... and on its top shelf, a small urn.
Lee Jae-hyun moved slowly toward it.
Tap. His footsteps echoed softly.
Memories of that day haunted him everywhere, every day.
Tap.
How to catch him before suicide.
How to avenge his father properly.
That’s all he’d obsessed over.
Tap.
And now, the answer.
“Ho.”
Serhen let out a small exclamation.
At the same time, Lee Jae-hyun reached out.
Toward the cabinet top.
[Happy.]
[Passed peacefully, happily.]
The small urn labeled thus.
He lifted it slowly.
Then—
“See? I’ve got a good eye for people.”
Ignoring Serhen’s words, Lee Jae-hyun smashed the urn on the floor.
Crash!
It shattered with a loud clang.
“What, what! Another burglar?”
“That guy’s a total psycho!”
Detectives from the back rushed out at the noise.
Outside, watching Oh Min-seok let out a hollow laugh, muttering.
Amid the chaos, Lee Jae-hyun just did what he had to.
“Team Leader Oh Min-seok.”
“Yeah, what?”
He called to the nearest, Oh Min-seok, who nodded.
Lee Jae-hyun continued with clear eyes.
“Mind lending me an evidence bag?”
“...”
Oh Min-seok handed one over without a word.
Lee Jae-hyun took it, flipped it inside out over his hand.
Then bent down, lifting something buried in the spilled ashes.
A collar, stained and soaked red.
Struggling to steady his rage-trembling fingertips, he flipped the bag back and sealed it.
The small bag now held the bloodied collar.
Someone gasped sharply at the sight.
“Fucking hell...”
Another cursed.
Lee Jae-hyun gritted his teeth, staring at the evidence bag with the collar.
Ten years of thought, ten years regressed.
Finally found it.
The evidence.