Meanwhile, at the now-darkened docks.
Park Hyunjin shook her head in disbelief, recalling what had just happened.
“That damn bitch! She dared to bring the police?”
She kicked a discarded soda can lying on the dock and screamed.
The can made a metallic clang as it soared through the air in an arc, then landed with a soft plop atop the water’s surface.
Watching as the can was soon swallowed by the waves and disappeared, she recalled the police officer she’d just encountered.
“That old bastard, trying to mess with me? Just watch, Song Aram, I’m going to tear you to pieces.”
Park Hyunjin ground her teeth and muttered viciously.
They said the police was Song Aram’s cousin, but of course she hadn’t believed it.
She knew all too well—Song Aram didn’t have any close relatives like that.
It was obvious Song Aram made up that story to hide the fact that she called the police.
“That dog Song Aram, how dare she report me? When I see her at school tomorrow, I’ll kill her for real.”
The police would leave soon enough anyway.
There was no way they could watch over Song Aram for twenty-four hours.
Song Aram, who stupidly reported her to the police, would pay for it soon enough.
Thinking so, Park Hyunjin began scheming how she would torment Song Aram.
She’d already used up all the easy methods.
Now, only things likely to cause real trouble were left.
But something like that wasn’t enough to stop Park Hyunjin, who was blinded by rage.
“Just wait until I see you at school tomorrow. I’ll show you what hell really is.”
The moment Park Hyunjin muttered that with a twisted smile—
Kim Seonwoo, who’d been standing nearby, tapped her on the shoulder.
“Ah, what is it!”
“Hey, what’s that?”
Annoyed, Park Hyunjin roughly brushed off his hand.
Kim Seonwoo didn’t care and just pointed somewhere.
As she followed the direction of his finger, she saw the sea.
It was just the sea.
A quiet sea, without even a single small fishing boat in sight.
“What are you talking about—huh?”
Though she grumbled, Park Hyunjin looked where Kim Seonwoo’s finger pointed, and her eyes widened.
It was dark, so she couldn’t see clearly.
But “something” was floating far out there, in the middle of the sea.
To be honest, it wasn’t so strange for something to be floating on the ocean.
A boat, a buoy, or all kinds of marine debris…
There were always things drifting on the water.
But this time, something felt off.
She squinted her eyes, staring quietly at it.
“What… is that?”
She wasn’t the only one who saw “it.” One by one, the others frowned, following Kim Seonwoo’s pointing finger.
Soon, they figured out the reason for the odd feeling.
“Am I seeing things? That… it’s ‘floating’ right now, isn’t it?”
Oh Yeonseo, her hand trembling, pointed at it and asked.
No one could answer.
Park Hyunjin rubbed her eyes in disbelief, but the pale, shapeless figure remained at the edge of her vision, making her blink rapidly.
At first, she thought it was floating on the surface of the water, but that wasn’t it.
It was really above the sea—floating in midair.
“What is that?”
Now that she thought about it, it was strange.
Park Hyunjin felt goosebumps break out all over her body as she shivered.
The sea was… too quiet.
No, it was “still.”
It would be weird for the sea to be noisy at this hour, but this was far too unnatural.
“When did this start?”
Since she’d kicked the soda can?
Or when Kim Seonwoo tapped her on the shoulder?
She didn’t know when it started…
But the sound of the waves was gone.
The instant Park Hyunjin realized that, her whole body felt like her hair was standing on end.
“Shit.”
Someone cursed, their voice trembling with fear.
But no one could say anything in response.
Everyone sensed that something was terribly wrong.
At some point, no sound could be heard at all.
Meanwhile, the thing out there slowly, slowly grew larger as it drew closer to Park Hyunjin’s group.
“Ah… aaaaah!”
The three kids turned and bolted away from the docks at full speed.
Park Hyunjin’s face had gone white as a sheet, and she fainted right there on the spot.
And a moment later.
The figure that had just looked like a pale ghost, Se-re-hen, grumbled as she threw off her white cloth.
“What, I should’ve tormented her more. She passed out already.”
Clicking her tongue, she looked down at Park Hyunjin sprawled on the dock.
Then, Se-re-hen leaned closer to the unconscious Park Hyunjin and exhaled gently.
A breath filled with dark energy slipped straight into Park Hyunjin’s nose.
Not long after, the unconscious Park Hyunjin started writhing and frowning in her sleep.
“Ugh… ugh…”
Mumbling incoherently, her face twisted in agony.
Watching this, Se-re-hen spoke.
“Now you’ll really learn what happens to those who bully their friends. You’ll find out what your dreams will become from now on.”
Come to think of it, she did say she’d show her hell.
Most likely, every night Park Hyunjin spends sleeping from now on will be hell.
Looking down at her, Se-re-hen smiled with a truly ‘devilish’ grin, then disappeared without a trace.
***
Meanwhile, while Se-re-hen was fully playing the role of a demon—
Lee Jaehyun was on the phone with Park Daehyung, driving somewhere.
He’d been talking with Song Aram and her father, the Gukbap Restaurant Owner, when Park Daehyung called, telling him to head to Incheon West Police Station, so he set out right away.
He’d been instructed to request the case files, but Park Daehyung couldn’t hide his concern.
—Since it’s an old case, they might get a bit sensitive about digging it up. And with the ranks and all, they might refuse if they feel like it. If you have trouble, call me right away.
“I’ll try to handle it politely.”
Lee Jaehyun answered calmly.
It was a case from five years ago.
Bringing it up now would obviously not look good to the Incheon West Police Station.
No matter how it went, if Lee Jaehyun revealed that the officers in charge back then either didn’t investigate properly or failed in their duties, it would be uncomfortable for them.
He knew all this well, having coordinated with other precincts and made many requests for cooperation before.
So he simply drove on, unperturbed.
If anything, Park Daehyung seemed more worried, repeatedly warning Lee Jaehyun on the drive to Incheon West Police Station.
—Yeah, but if you’re firm enough, they’ll hand it over. Don’t worry too much.
“Yes. Understood.”
—If you think there’s going to be a problem, call me immediately. Don’t try to handle it alone.
“I’ll contact you.”
With that, Lee Jaehyun ended the call with Park Daehyung.
He then turned his gaze to the right, spotting a white building off the side of the road.
At the upper right of the building, he saw a golden eagle holding the Taegeukgi and Mugunghwa, and next to it, blue letters.
Incheon West Police Station.
Lee Jaehyun turned the steering wheel and drove into the police station.
He parked his car roughly, got out, and entered the station with quick steps, feeling the cool air greet him.
He’d been to Incheon West Police Station a few times before for detective work, so it didn’t feel entirely unfamiliar.
Lee Jaehyun glanced around the interior, then moved ahead.
At the entrance, a man at the Information Desk looked up and spoke to him.
“What brings you here?”
“Thank you for your hard work. I’m Police Sergeant Lee Jaehyun from Hanseong Capital Region Police Station.”
“Yes, Sergeant Lee Jaehyun. Welcome. What brings you all the way to Incheon West?”
The man frowned slightly as he asked.
Hearing he was just a Sergeant, the man didn’t bother to hide a slight hint of disregard and caution.
If he’d been a higher rank, it would probably have been none of his business.
But since Lee Jaehyun was a Sergeant, the man at the desk might find this bothersome, hence his caution.
Lee Jaehyun understood the man’s position and simply went about his business.
“I’m here because of a case from five years ago.”
The man tilted his head at Lee Jaehyun’s words.
With so many cases—dozens, even hundreds—just saying “a case from five years ago” wasn’t enough to know what he was talking about.
Lee Jaehyun continued explaining.
“There was a car that fell into the sea, the driver survived but the passenger died…”
He got that far.
Perhaps because it was a fatal case, or maybe it was a bit of an issue even at Incheon West Police Station.
The man seemed to remember and nodded immediately.
“Ah, yes, that case. I remember. But, why is someone from Hanseong Capital Region Police Station suddenly asking about that case from five years ago?”
Since it was a fatal case, it carried weight.
So of course it was strange for a sergeant from an unrelated station to inquire about it.
Maybe it was his instincts telling him something troublesome was about to happen.
The man looked at Lee Jaehyun, frowning.
Lee Jaehyun tried to keep his explanation as simple as possible.
“We’ve apprehended a woman known as ‘IV Lady,’ and while investigating, we found that her accomplice was the driver from that case five years ago. It turns out, the evidence shows it wasn’t an accident, but an intentional murder.”
“Huh…? Murder?”
The man echoed, his tone flustered.
Lee Jaehyun pestering him about a five-year-old case was already a hassle, but now hearing it had evidence of murder was an entirely different issue.
As the man hesitated, not knowing how to answer, Lee Jaehyun was about to speak again.
“What did you just say?”
A chilly voice came from behind Lee Jaehyun.
Turning, he saw a sharp-eyed woman with a tense mouth.
Black hair draped over her shoulders.
It was clear right away.
She was a Detective.
She had that unmistakable aura.
Her outfit too.
Not in uniform but in plainclothes—her style was exactly that of a Detective.
Well, there’s no strict dress code for Detectives.
“Denim pants and a high-neck jacket—yep, a hundred percent.”
In fact, Lee Jaehyun himself wore that kind of outfit all the time.
It was like an infection of sorts.
Seeing all the other Detectives dress that way, he ended up doing it too.
Lee Jaehyun nodded slightly and greeted her.
“I’m Sergeant Lee Jaehyun from Hanseong Capital Region Police Station.”
“Yes, I’m Detective Oh Seohyun. Did you just say it was murder, five years ago?”
Detective Oh Seohyun asked quickly.
Seeing her interest in the five-year-old case, Lee Jaehyun nodded and replied.
“Yes, it wasn’t an accident. It was murder.”
“Do you have evidence?”
“I do.”
“Can we talk about this in private?”
Detective Oh Seohyun looked at Lee Jaehyun as she spoke.
There was no reason for Lee Jaehyun to refuse.
It was obvious that, in this Incheon West Police Station, Detective Oh Seohyun was the one who knew the most about the Park Chunbeom case.
Lee Jaehyun, who had come to obtain information about the Park Chunbeom case, welcomed this.
“Of course, Detective.”
He answered without hesitation.