Chapter 17: The Village Chief’s Shadow

Lee Jaehyun greeted Han Seona with a feigned cheerfulness.

“Oh? We meet again here.”

“…Who are you?”

She didn’t seem to recognize Lee Jaehyun; she took a half-step back and tilted her head warily.

They’d only met once, and parted right after she gave him directions, so she must not remember.

Lee Jaehyun smiled lightly at Han Seona.

“We saw each other at the hospital yesterday. You’re a Nurse, right?”

“Ah…?”

“Seona, do you know this person?”

“What, is he your boyfriend? You said you didn’t have one.”

As Han Seona faltered in confusion, the elderly ladies and gentlemen beside her spoke up as if they were delighted.

Hesitating over what to do, Han Seona found herself in a situation she couldn’t just brush aside, so she quickly nodded her head and began to act as if nothing was amiss.

“Ah, yes! Hello.”

“Wow, what are the odds of running into you here?”

“Yes, right… Um, how did you come here…?”

“Oh, I’m checking out this neighborhood since I might move here.”

“Move? But why come to the Senior Citizens’ Center?”

Lee Jaehyun replied jokingly, and she tilted her head.

It was already odd for a young man to move to a rural village like this, but coming to the Senior Citizens’ Center was even stranger.

“Oh, I live with my grandmother. I can live anywhere, but my grandmother can’t, you know? Whether there’s a Senior Citizens’ Center here, and what kind of people go there… things like that matter, so I came to check.”

“Ah.”

Han Seona nodded as if she understood his answer.

Of course, Lee Jaehyun’s grandmother lived in the district, and even then, she was more the type to climb mountains than visit the Senior Citizens’ Center.

He wove the lie with practiced ease.

“Oh my, what a devoted grandson!”

The elderly men and women chimed in to Lee Jaehyun’s words.

Watching all this, Se-re-hen gave a sly smile.

“See? This is why you can’t trust humans.”

She muttered quietly.

Lee Jaehyun paid her no mind and continued, looking at Han Seona.

“By the way, Nurse, what brings you here?”

“Ah, I volunteer here once a month.”

“Wow, I was worried since there wasn’t a hospital around, but with someone like you here, I could move with peace of mind.”

Lee Jaehyun smiled as he spoke.

Though Han Seona was still wary, she was beginning to relax.

While the two chatted—

“Who’s come?”

From the small room Han Seona had just come out of, an old man emerged, leaning on a cane.

His leg seemed bad; he hobbled heavily, fully dependent on the cane.

Lee Jaehyun quietly watched him.

“Contractor.”

Suddenly, Se-re-hen sprang forward.

Hearing her voice, Lee Jaehyun was a little startled and shifted his gaze to look at Se-re-hen.

A chilling voice and eyes shining with greed—eyes truly befitting a demon.

It was like she’d just spotted a gold nugget on the road.

“What is it?”

“That one, I want to eat.”

He asked, and Se-re-hen licked her lips and replied.

Lee Jaehyun followed the direction she pointed, and his brow furrowed.

“…That person?”

Se-re-hen’s finger was aimed not at the Nurse, but at the old man who had just appeared.

She stared at him and spoke again.

“That one, he’s killed a person before.”

The greed burning in Se-re-hen’s eyes was much like what she had shown before devouring the karma of Myung Jinhan.

The old man seemed like a kindly Elder.

But in truth, he was a Murderer.

Realizing this, Lee Jaehyun’s face hardened.

***

Whether it’s theft or fraud… what would someone do if they came to catch a Serial Offender, only to encounter a Major Offender?

Their body would surely freeze at the unexpected situation.

Even for Lee Jaehyun, standing face to face with a Murderer left him a bit tense.

“This man is…”

“Oh, that’s the Village Chief.”

“What? The Village Chief?”

Lee Jaehyun quietly asked Han Seona.

He frowned at her reply and asked again.

A murderer as Village Chief?

That could only mean one thing.

“So, the fact that he killed someone hasn’t been revealed.”

If he’d been found out, there’s no way he’d still be the Village Chief.

He wouldn’t have gone through a legal trial, either.

Realizing this, Lee Jaehyun’s face grew even stiffer.

Han Seona, noticing his strange reaction, tilted her head.

“Is something wrong?”

“Oh, I’m just surprised there’s a Village Chief here. It’s not that far from the city, but you still have a Village Chief?”

“Well, I was surprised at first too. I guess since it’s an old village, they still keep the tradition.”

Lee Jaehyun casually dodged and asked Han Seona.

She nodded in response.

It was an excuse he came up with on the spot, but it worked well enough.

Even without considering the Murderer part, having a Village Chief here was certainly unusual.

It wasn’t that far from the city—certainly not out in the district.

“I thought ‘Village Chief’ was a title you’d only find way out in the provinces. I didn’t expect to see one here.”

Lee Jaehyun rolled his eyes, scanning the old man called Village Chief up and down.

His hunched back made walking awkward, so he gripped his cane.

At a glance, he seemed like any ordinary Elder you’d see anywhere.

But Lee Jaehyun didn’t lower his guard.

After all, Se-re-hen had vouched for it…

He had only yesterday been reminded, after seeing Han Seona at the hospital, not to judge people by their appearance.

Scrutinizing the Village Chief closely, Lee Jaehyun lifted his gaze.

“That’s right, he’s killed someone.”

After meeting the man’s eyes—sagging at the corners—Lee Jaehyun was sure.

The look in his eyes was different.

During his career as a Detective, Lee Jaehyun had personally arrested countless vicious criminals, even catching Myung Jinhan recently.

He could recognize that cold, sharp gaze at a glance.

That was the look only found in those who had killed.

“Village Chief, apparently this is someone Seona knows.”

“Didn’t you turn down all my attempts to introduce you to my grandson? Look at that, you had a secret boyfriend after all!”

While he spoke with Han Seona, the elderly men and women around them introduced Lee Jaehyun to the Village Chief.

Feigning friendliness, the Village Chief smiled and reached out to Lee Jaehyun.

“Nice to meet you, young man. I’m Park Chunbeom.”

“Nice to meet you. I’m Lee Jaehyun. I look forward to your guidance.”

Lee Jaehyun smiled and shook his hand.

What luck.

A murderer, who’d never faced proper judgment for his crime.

He must’ve dumped the body somewhere no one would find it, or slipped off the suspect list with some cunning trick.

And now he was shamelessly acting as Village Chief.

“I’ll catch you with my own hands.”

As he let go of Park Chunbeom’s hand, Lee Jaehyun silently made up his mind.

While the Village Chief was distracted talking to someone else, Lee Jaehyun turned to Se-re-hen.

“Se-re-hen, I’ll let you feed on him soon, but first, check out that small room for me.”

Lee Jaehyun pointed at the room inside the Senior Citizens’ Center where Han Seona and the Village Chief had emerged.

Se-re-hen nodded silently, smiling, and darted toward the small room.

It didn’t take long before she reappeared at Lee Jaehyun’s side.

“Did you see? How is it inside?”

“There are lots of old humans inside.”

Lots? How many, exactly? Their genders and age groups? What are they doing in there?

Lee Jaehyun hurriedly bombarded her with questions.

Han Seona, a suspected repeat offender.

And the Village Chief, presumed to have committed murder.

Since he didn’t know what those two had been up to inside, his anxiety rose.

“There are five people, two women and three men. They all look old, but I can’t say more. Some are just lying down, some are sleeping, and some are chatting.”

Most people wouldn’t even remember that many details after a glance.

But Se-re-hen merely shrugged and answered.

Lee Jaehyun furrowed his brow.

That much wouldn’t be accepted as evidence.

Just because Elders were talking in a room didn’t make it a crime.

Still, he wasn’t ready to give up hope.

“Anything else unusual?”

Lee Jaehyun asked, confirming with her.

It was just a random question.

But Se-re-hen paused to think, then her eyes lit up.

“They all had injections stuck in their arms.”

The moment he heard that, Lee Jaehyun chuckled and glanced at Han Seona, who was chatting with the other Elders.

He thought he understood the situation.

“So that’s it, she’s the Ringer Lady.”

“Ringer Lady? What’s a Ringer Lady?”

Se-re-hen tilted her head, and Lee Jaehyun gave a rough explanation.

Ringer Lady.

It’s a slang term for someone who goes from Home to private Office, administering IVs.

Usually, retired Nurses or Nursing Assistants do that kind of work.

Under current medical law, Specialized Medication can’t be bought or sold without a doctor’s prescription, so it’s clearly illegal.

After hearing the explanation, Se-re-hen glanced back at Han Seona.

“Hmm, since she works at a hospital, getting those IV things must be easy.”

“As a Nurse, I should’ve considered that first, but I just didn’t think of it.”

Actually, it was no wonder Lee Jaehyun hadn’t thought of the Ringer Lady right away.

These days, IV nutritionals are so cheap, so aside from things like Jolpiden or Propofol, Ringer Ladies are practically nonexistent.

What’s more, using Specialized Medication without a prescription could cause who knows what side effects.

Especially since the recipients were Elderly.

For the Elderly, whose metabolism is already slowed, careless drug use can lead to serious problems.

“No one would do that unless they had no regard for human life.”

Lee Jaehyun pressed his brow, gazing at Han Seona.

How could a working Nurse—someone who should value life above all—do something like that?

He simply couldn’t understand.

But Se-re-hen didn’t seem to agree, tilting her head.

“Really? The humans I’ve seen all did that. Killing each other for money, starting wars.”

“Not all humans are like that.”

“Then why do those humans kill others?”

She pointed to Han Seona and Park Chunbeom as she spoke.

Faced with Se-re-hen’s question, Lee Jaehyun hesitated.

He didn’t know what motivated Han Seona to do this, or what her criminal intent was.

It could be for money—or something else entirely.

But one thing was clear: she was breaking the law, and Lee Jaehyun had no intention of leaving it alone.

What he wondered about, though—

“So, what’s the relationship between Han Seona and that Park Chunbeom?”

He glanced back and forth between Han Seona and Park Chunbeom, thinking.

The demon herself had said “he killed someone,” and to Lee Jaehyun, Park Chunbeom’s gaze was not that of an ordinary person.

It seemed certain he’d committed murder.

The question was whether Han Seona was involved.

“I can’t be sure.”

Could it really be coincidence that these two were together?

He had no proof of their relationship.

“So, how should I handle this?”

Before him, Han Seona was still unable to fully hide her anxiety, while Park Chunbeom wore a kindly face.

Lee Jaehyun couldn’t help but agonize as he looked at the two of them.