Sergeant Oh Seohyun.
To be honest, in his previous life, Lee Jaehyun had no connection with her.
Even though Lee Jaehyun had worked as a police officer for ten years, their jurisdictions had always been different…
There’s no way to know every single officer in the National Police.
Of course, back when he worked as a detective, he’d rushed about and gotten to know quite a few faces through various cases.
But among them, Oh Seohyun wasn’t one.
Maybe they simply never had the chance to cross paths, or perhaps she’d transferred from detective work to a regular post at the Capital Region Police Station.
Or maybe she had quit being a police officer.
There were plenty of possible reasons.
“Please wait here for a moment.”
“Yes, understood.”
Oh Seohyun said this as she opened the door, and Lee Jaehyun nodded in reply.
Lee Jaehyun took a moment to look around the meeting room Oh Seohyun had just left.
On one side, a small projector was set up, and in the center stood a long table that could seat twelve people at once.
Drawers filled up an entire wall.
It seemed to be a combined storage room and briefing space for stacking materials.
Lee Jaehyun casually glanced at the notes written on the drawers.
There were dates attached to each, the oldest being three years ago.
“There’s nothing here.”
It seemed the materials related to Park Chunbeom’s case weren’t in this room.
Well, when Oh Seohyun returned, he could calmly discuss things with her and request the files.
Five years ago, the case belonged to Incheon Seobu jurisdiction, but this time, the case had gotten tangled with illegal medical activity, so it had been probed further.
There were several reasons why the Hansung Capital Region Police Station could claim the case as their own.
Of course, that was only possible because Incheon Seobu had handed it over without much complaint.
“At least she doesn’t seem like the type to pick a fight over nothing, so that’s a relief.”
It was his first time seeing Sergeant Oh Seohyun, but she didn’t strike him as someone who’d insist on being stubborn for no reason.
She just seemed the type to do her job neatly and efficiently.
Then again, maybe it was simply that there were too many cases to care much about this one.
Or maybe she just didn’t see the need to insist a five-year-old case was theirs.
Whatever the reason, as long as Oh Seohyun wasn’t the nitpicking type, it was fine for Lee Jaehyun.
He pulled out a chair and sat, waiting for Oh Seohyun.
About ten minutes passed.
Oh Seohyun returned, arms full with a stack of documents.
There was even a notebook tucked in—this looked more like personally gathered material than official documentation.
“These are all the materials from the case five years ago that I could find.”
“Thank you.”
She placed the files down with a firm thud on the desk.
Lee Jaehyun offered his thanks for her bringing them over.
It was already a closed case, and it could be unpleasant for another station to dig into it, yet she’d still gathered the materials for him.
Still, it didn’t seem she intended to hand them over easily.
“At the time, the circumstances were suspicious enough that we suspected intentional murder, but there was no evidence,”
Oh Seohyun said, and as Lee Jaehyun reached for the documents, she placed her own hand atop the pile as if to stop him.
Lee Jaehyun saw her expression, as if urging him to explain what evidence he had, and slowly withdrew his hand.
That’s when he remembered what Song Aram’s father, the owner of Song’s Gukbap, had mentioned.
“At the time, there was a police officer who kept poking around, insisting it was murder.”
That must have been Oh Seohyun.
The fragments of regret and lingering attachment in her eyes said it all.
She was a sergeant now… Five years ago, she would have been a junior officer.
If she’d been suspicious back then, she must have really dug deep.
She must have done her best, but ultimately come up short.
There were limits to her rank as a junior officer, and to the circumstances themselves.
Honestly, the only reason Lee Jaehyun was able to find evidence so easily this time was thanks to the abilities of the Demon, Se-re-hen.
Remembering that, he suddenly recalled he’d promised to buy Se-re-hen ice cream.
But for now, he pushed thoughts of Se-re-hen aside and focused on Oh Seohyun before him.
With her hand still on the documents, Oh Seohyun slowly took a seat across from him, meeting his gaze.
He was going to explain everything anyway, and he had something to ask of her.
With a calm expression, Lee Jaehyun spoke up.
“The gukbap restaurant located at the crime scene…”
“Yes, Song’s Gukbap.”
Oh Seohyun nodded right away, as if she already knew.
The fact that she could remember not just the crime scene but even the gukbap shop nearby—this was proof of just how invested she’d been at the time.
She looked at him as if to say, Get to the point.
Lee Jaehyun felt a strange sensation at her gaze.
At first, her chilly and firm demeanor reminded him of Min Ji-hye from Hansung Capital Region Police Station.
But now he realized that wasn’t the case.
If Min Ji-hye was like a cat, Oh Seohyun was a dog.
In other words—
“She’s my kind.”
In his past life, Lee Jaehyun had been called a mad dog.
He recognized those familiar eyes, even in a stranger at a strange station.
Suppressing a laugh, Lee Jaehyun continued his explanation.
“The owner’s daughter took a photo with her smartphone at the time.”
“A photo? Of what?”
“After the accident, she captured someone getting out of the driver’s seat. The car fell into the water afterwards.”
He found the photo on his own smartphone and handed it to Sergeant Oh Seohyun.
She looked at the phone’s screen, frowning slightly.
It was a photo taken at night, so it was hard to identify, but with the photo’s data, they could verify the time and approximate location.
And the car in the photo was definitely the same model as the one involved in the incident.
Oh Seohyun let out a slow breath and handed the phone back.
“So, after the crash, someone got out alone… and pushed the car into the water?”
“That’s what I’m assuming. He pushed the car, then went into the water himself, called 119, and waited as if nothing had happened.”
“He got out first, dumped the car, and then jumped in after… That explains why there wasn’t a single trace of Park Chunbeom’s DNA on the driver’s seat.”
Now that she finally understood, Oh Seohyun muttered and nodded.
Lee Jaehyun paused at her words and asked for clarification.
For there to be a car accident but no DNA evidence found was rare.
Inside a car, with all the bumping and injuries, there should at least be some blood, maybe a pulled-out hair, something.
“They really found no DNA?”
“Yes. At the time, I thought maybe it was because the car was so damaged and submerged in seawater.”
“If he’d been in the driver’s seat during the accident, there would have been blood, hair, at least something left behind during the escape… The fact that nothing was found means he really wasn’t inside when the car went into the water.”
Lee Jaehyun clicked his tongue.
How could a person do that to their own sibling?
“And then, he deliberately went into the sea and called for help… What trash.”
Oh Seohyun muttered in a low voice, then looked up at Lee Jaehyun.
Neatly, she lifted her hand off the files and spoke.
“I kept pushing for the truth, but thank you for revealing it for me, Officer Lee Jaehyun.”
“It’s nothing, Sergeant.”
“I’ll have to go and personally thank the witness, too.”
She must have suffered a lot over this.
That’s what Oh Seohyun said.
Lee Jaehyun started to pull the files toward himself to check them, but then let out an “Ah.”
“By the way, may I ask you a favor?”
“A favor?”
Oh Seohyun looked at him curiously.
It was only natural; they weren’t exactly close enough to ask each other for favors.
“Yes, the witness has been a victim of school violence. I did witness it at the time and intervened, but… as you know, stopping school violence once doesn’t solve the issue.”
He had promised Song Aram up to ^/5.
But, since it was a different jurisdiction, no matter how much he cared, having a local officer look after her would be much more effective.
“I’ll visit the school tomorrow.”
Sergeant Oh Seohyun frowned slightly as she answered.
Judging by her expression, he could relax a little.
Lee Jaehyun thanked her again and gathered the files.
***
Returning to the Hansung Capital Region Police Station with the files in hand, everyone paused their busy movements to look at him.
“I’m back.”
Lee Jaehyun bowed and greeted them before heading toward his seat.
“Hey, our rookie’s back!”
Senior Police Officer Kim Junho approached, placing a hand on Jaehyun’s shoulder.
He grinned and said,
“You went there and immediately found evidence—seriously, you did great.”
“Thank you.”
“How do you even catch two murderers in a single week?”
Kim Junho patted his shoulder, half incredulous, half impressed.
He wasn’t really looking for an answer; it was just natural surprise.
Lee Jaehyun just gave an awkward smile.
Then Park Daehyung strode over.
“Good work.”
“Not at all. Here are the files…!”
Lee Jaehyun tried to hand the files to Park Daehyung, but Min Ji-hye cut in.
“Give them to me, and get started on your report. I’ll organize and hand them in.”
“Thank you.”
He gave Min Ji-hye a simple word of thanks as she took the files from him.
She waved a hand dismissively and sat down.
Sorting out case files was always a hassle.
By doing it for him, she was lightening his load.
Murder was always considered a serious, violent crime.
And for an ordinary Capital Region Police Station team to have solved it.
Not just once, but twice in a single week.
Of course, there’d be an uproar outside.
And inside the team, the mood was soaring.
With such good team results, a cash bonus or some kind of end-of-month reward was almost certain.
Actually, just catching Myeong Jinhan last time had made everyone expect a bonus, and now that they’d solved Park Chunbeom’s murder, the bonus was all but guaranteed.
Naturally, everyone looked at Lee Jaehyun fondly.
Watching Min Ji-hye carry the files away, Park Daehyung smirked and tapped Lee Jaehyun’s arm.
“This one… felt pretty police-like.”
It was a comment only Lee Jaehyun would understand, but he couldn’t help smiling.
He remembered saying at the last get-together that he’d live as a proper police officer.
With a smile, Lee Jaehyun spoke.
“From now on, I’ll keep living like a proper police officer.”
“Yeah. Let’s live like real police.”
Park Daehyung grinned widely.
Facing him, Lee Jaehyun nodded.