Chapter 20: The Truth Hidden in Fluids and Lies

Lee Jaehyun and Kim Junho tried to gather new evidence by continuing their conversation, but even the elderly residents didn’t know anything for certain.

“Do you happen to know what kind of supplement it was?”

“Oh, old folks like us forget all about that stuff even if we hear it. We just can’t remember.”

“Yeah, it’s just a kind-hearted lady giving it to us at a good price. We trust that she’s giving us something good for the young ones, and that’s that.”

They didn’t know exactly why it was special or what was so great about it, and couldn’t explain any of it.

In the end, Lee Jaehyun returned to the car without any significant gain.

Clack.

As soon as he climbed into the car, he turned to Kim Junho and spoke.

“What do you think?”

“At this point, it seems pretty clear. I think your hunch was right.”

“Right.”

Fortunately, it seemed he’d succeeded in persuading him.

Now, the only thing left was to continue the investigation, arrest the nurse, and then go after Park Chunbeom.

Just as Lee Jaehyun was thinking that, Kim Junho spoke up, forcing him to pause.

“Let’s hand over the rest to the Detective Division and get back to our own work.”

For a moment, Lee Jaehyun didn’t know how to respond to Kim Junho’s words.

He wasn’t the type to give up on a case so easily, so it was a bit unexpected.

“I remember that in my previous life, he wasn’t this kind of person. Is this another change caused by me?”

Blinking, he looked at Kim Junho.

Kim Junho wasn’t as dark a person as he’d thought.

He hadn’t worked as a detective like Lee Jaehyun in his previous life, but—

Still, when an event occurred, he’d actively step up and tried to be a ‘people’s baton’.

He hadn’t really worked a case directly with Lee Jaehyun before.

But he’d sometimes tackled cases with Park Daehyung, and, whether knowingly or not, he’d had an influence on cases that Lee Jaehyun had been in charge of during his detective days.

It wasn’t like he’d done anything that would cause such a change, so this sudden shift was puzzling.

“Why is that?”

He had a sense of justice and duty, but also cared about his achievements and wanted to get promoted quickly.

He was more honest than anyone, a progressive figure who dreamed of a bright future.

It was a little odd for him to back out like this.

Unable to resolve this doubt on his own, Lee Jaehyun looked at Kim Junho and spoke.

“May I ask why?”

“Well, after hearing about it, it just seemed like someone was leaving some supplements… No one’s in immediate danger. And it’s not even our jurisdiction in the first place.”

In response to Lee Jaehyun’s question, Kim Junho scratched his head and shrugged his shoulders.

Thinking about it, it wasn’t something impossible to understand.

It was actually a very reasonable answer.

But that couldn’t be the only reason.

Lee Jaehyun waited quietly for Kim Junho to continue.

“From our standpoint, this just means more troublesome work. If it were drugs, that’d be another story, but supplements aren’t serious enough to be a major case.”

Only then did Lee Jaehyun completely understand his position.

If it was a major event, he’d have been more aggressive to rack up achievements.

Or, if a victim was in real danger, he’d have rushed in to solve it right away without hesitation.

But, thinking about it rationally, that wasn’t the case. So he just wanted to avoid causing unnecessary trouble and hand it over to the local jurisdiction.

The problem was, for Lee Jaehyun, that wasn’t an option.

“You can only say that because you don’t know there’s a murderer hiding here.

The fact that someone is just playing the injection lady is an issue, but the bigger problem is that a murderer is hiding.

And he hasn’t even been judged yet.

If Park Chunbeom’s murders aren’t revealed, the murders he committed will remain forever unsolved.

The victim’s families won’t be able to rest, either.

For Lee Jaehyun, he had no choice but to convince Kim Junho, no matter what.

He furrowed his brow slightly, put on a serious expression, turned his body to face Kim Junho, and spoke.

“Senior, I know it’s really troublesome and not even our jurisdiction… But is there really no way?”

“…No, it’s not absolutely impossible. But if it’s not our jurisdiction, it gets way more troublesome. We can’t just arrest people as we want, and even if we solve the case, there’s a ton of paperwork after.”

Kim Junho answered, scratching his cheek with a troubled face.

So, it was difficult because it wasn’t their jurisdiction.

Luckily, there was a solution to this problem.

“The suspect, Nurse Han Seona, works at Myungseok Hospital.”

“Really? Now, that’s some good news.”

At Lee Jaehyun’s words, Kim Junho brightened and responded with a slightly livelier tone.

Myungseok Hospital was within the jurisdiction of the Capital Region Police Station.

That solved the jurisdiction problem.

Kim Junho, looking like he was thinking it over, scratched his head and clicked his tongue before speaking.

“Tsk… All right, fine. But why are you so obsessed with this? Is there really something hidden here? Don’t tell me you’re really planning to move here with your grandma.”

He looked at Lee Jaehyun slyly as he said that.

Of course, Lee Jaehyun had told the elderly folks at the senior center that he was planning to move here.

Naturally, that was just a lie to get a clue for the case.

Lee Jaehyun gave a small chuckle and replied.

“Of course, that’s not it.”

“Then why?”

At Kim Junho’s question, he shrugged his shoulders.

He couldn’t say there was a murderer here.

So he dodged again.

“I just have a bad feeling.”

“Hey, when the guy who caught Myung Jinhan on a bad feeling says that, it makes me nervous. That nurse hasn’t done anything worse, right?”

Kim Junho shivered as he asked.

When Lee Jaehyun had said something like that before, he’d caught Myung Jinhan—the infamous serial killer who’d been all over the media.

Of course, catching someone like that was good…

But that also meant there were more victims.

For everyone’s sake, it was better if Lee Jaehyun’s ‘hunch’ didn’t ring true.

Seeing his frowning face, Lee Jaehyun gave a wry smile.

“Of course not.”

“Right? But why do I feel so uneasy?”

“Still, just in case, I’ll check it out. You know how the saying goes: ‘Even if it’s a false alarm, better to check than to regret it later.’”

The real problem was, once again, that there was a serial killer hiding.

When this case is wrapped up, and it’s revealed that Park Chunbeom is the serial killer—

What kind of face will Kim Junho make?

“What? Hey, that last line was really unsettling! You’re sure it’s not like that, right? Don’t tell me they’re doing human experiments or something, or I’m out.”

“You’ve been watching too many movies.”

Whether he was truly anxious or just joking around as usual,

When Kim Junho, shivering, asked, Lee Jaehyun just laughed.

“Anyway, as I said, I’ll check it out.”

“You’re saying it like you’ll check by yourself? We’re doing this together. The Security Team Leader told us to move together, you know.”

“If you’ll join me, I’d really appreciate it.”

Lee Jaehyun replied as he started up the car.

Having Kim Junho along was reassuring.

Just a moment ago, without his assistance, he wouldn’t have gotten any clues from the elders so easily.

Lee Jaehyun fiddled with his smartphone.

Kim Junho glanced over at his phone, gave a little laugh, and spoke.

“Did you record it already?”

“Yes, just in case.”

With a sly smile, Lee Jaehyun checked the saved audio file.

After confirming that it had been recorded well, he backed it up to the cloud.

“Well done.”

Seeing this, Kim Junho smiled lightly.

Lee Jaehyun smiled back and set the car in motion.

Their destination was Myungseok Hospital.

The place where Han Seona worked.

***

Arriving at Myungseok Hospital, Lee Jaehyun headed straight for the information desk.

As he approached, the receptionist at the desk greeted him with a polite but soulless voice.

“Hello. Is there something you need?”

Her eyes looked as dead as a dried pollack’s, as if “When do I get off work?” was written on her forehead.

She stared at Lee Jaehyun with those lifeless eyes and asked.

Lee Jaehyun handed her his badge.

“We’re police officers. Where do we go to check the CCTV?”

At his words, a spark of life suddenly returned to her eyes.

With a much brighter voice than before, she spoke.

“Shall I call the Security Team Leader? They handle all the CCTV footage.”

“No, could you just tell me where I need to go?”

“If you go around that way, there’s a staircase. Go down to B1, and if you walk a bit, the security room will be right there.”

She pointed with her finger to a corner deep in the hospital and explained how to get to the security room.

Her eyes and voice were now filled with enthusiasm, like a totally different person.

Seeing her brimming with curiosity, Lee Jaehyun spoke in a warning tone.

“Thank you. Also, could you please keep it confidential that we’re here to check the CCTV?”

“Of course. My lips are sealed.”

At his request, she nodded several times.

Lee Jaehyun and Kim Junho turned and quickly headed for the stairs.

It wouldn’t be long before word started spreading.

No matter how heavy her lips might be…

“Her fingers seem pretty light, though.”

Glancing over, he saw her hastily hiding her phone.

Before long, word could spread in an instant through a group chat that the police were here.

They needed to check the CCTV and request Han Seona’s presence at the police station before word reached her ears.

They already had testimony secured, so they could at least request her attendance.

But they were moving to secure more solid physical evidence.

“If you dig into things like this, it’s not usually hard to secure evidence.”

With any luck, they could catch Han Seona today.

But she wasn’t the main target this time.

Illegal medical practice was certainly a crime that needed to be rooted out.

They would arrest Han Seona as well.

But since there wasn’t a direct victim and no drugs were distributed, as Kim Junho said, it was fine to delay it a bit.

“What’s important now is catching Park Chunbeom.”

By blowing up Han Seona’s illegal medical practice case, he could drag that man in as well.

That’s why he hadn’t stopped the receptionist from spreading rumors about the police’s arrival.

So that news would spread quickly, and everyone related to this event would know.

“Still, I have to catch Park Chunbeom before the news reaches his ears.”

In short, this investigation was a race against time.

Before Park Chunbeom could get a warning from Han Seona and destroy the evidence of his murders, they needed to secure it and catch them.

That was the core of this case.

Lee Jaehyun quickened his pace toward the security room.