Lee Jaehyun stared at the Reporter Yoon Minha standing in front of him for a moment.
Her dark brown hair draped over her shoulders.
Eyes sparkling with curiosity.
A faint, somewhat businesslike smile rested on her lips.
“Sorry. I don’t think there’s anything else I can tell you…”
“If you could just spare a moment. Even if you have to Patrol, could we at least talk on your way to your next stop?”
Min Ji-hye refused at first.
But Reporter Yoon Minha, undeterred by her refusal, suddenly reached into her pocket and took out two bottles of Vitamin Drink.
Crack.
In an instant, she opened one and handed it to Min Ji-hye.
“Here, please have this, Sergeant Min… Ji-hye. Thank you for your hard work.”
She had just shown up out of the blue and started asking questions about the case, asking if that was all right.
It seemed she had quite a bit of experience as a Reporter.
The moment she handed over the Vitamin Drink, Reporter Yoon Minha quickly scanned Min Ji-hye’s name and rank badge.
“Oh.”
Maybe because she always worked only at the Capital Region Police Station and didn’t deal with Reporters much, even the always-expressionless, catlike and prickly Min Ji-hye was taken aback and froze.
Reporter Yoon Minha opened the other Vitamin Drink and held it out to Lee Jaehyun.
“Thank you for your hard work as well, Sergeant. Your name is… Lee Jaehyun…? Oh?”
This time, it was Reporter Yoon Minha who looked surprised.
Maybe she hadn’t known Lee Jaehyun would be here; as soon as she saw his name tag, her eyes widened in surprise.
“Nice to meet you, Reporter Yoon Minha.”
Lee Jaehyun greeted her, seeing her freeze for a moment with a blank look in her eyes.
Only then did Reporter Yoon Minha regain her composure.
“Ah, wow… I didn’t expect to see you here like this.”
“This is our jurisdiction since that incident happened here.”
“What a coincidence. Really, it’s good to see you.”
As she said that, Reporter Yoon Minha placed the Vitamin Drink into Lee Jaehyun’s hand.
It seemed she was genuinely surprised and glad to meet him, for the smile on her lips felt sincere, not just professional.
“You really didn’t know I’d be here, did you?”
“Of course not. It’s not like I know all the ins and outs of the police in Korea. No one tells me where everyone is at all times.”
Reporter Yoon Minha waved her hand, as if she’d never even imagined it.
Lee Jaehyun was also a bit surprised; he hadn’t expected to see her here either.
Of course, there was someone even more surprised than Lee Jaehyun.
Blink, blink.
Min Ji-hye looked back and forth between Lee Jaehyun and Reporter Yoon Minha in confusion.
“So… Jaehyun, you know this person?”
“No, I wouldn’t say that exactly…”
“We spoke on the phone last week.”
As Min Ji-hye asked, Lee Jaehyun opened his mouth to answer, but Reporter Yoon Minha quietly cut in from the side.
Lee Jaehyun smiled and looked at Reporter Yoon Minha.
It was true—they had spoken on the phone last week.
But saying “last week too” as if it was a regular thing… Wasn’t that the first and last time they’d spoken?
“Reporter, that’s a bit misleading.”
“Come on, I’m always honest—Dongyeong Ilbo’s Reporter, you know. I wouldn’t say anything misleading.”
When Lee Jaehyun pointed that out, Reporter Yoon Minha answered smoothly.
Watching her, Lee Jaehyun was again reminded how she was subtly similar to Kim Junho.
Lee Jaehyun shrugged and continued speaking.
“Didn’t think I’d see a tabloid being made right before my eyes.”
“With all due respect, I don’t think there’s anything newsworthy here.”
Reporter Yoon Minha grinned.
Seeing how quick she was with her retorts, Lee Jaehyun couldn’t help but shake his head and chuckle.
Even in his past life, he’d never been particularly close with Reporters.
Sure, he’d kept in touch with a few, but never enough to call them “friends.”
So he didn’t know everything about the world of journalists.
But he did have some sense of their personalities.
Reporters like Yoon Minha… usually split into two types.
The ones who make things extremely difficult for the Police to get a scoop.
Or, on the other hand, the ones who work together with the Police to make the scoop happen.
Lee Jaehyun wasn’t sure which type she was, but one thing was clear: she didn’t seem like she’d go out of her way to cause trouble for him right now.
As Lee Jaehyun stared at Reporter Yoon Minha in thought, Min Ji-hye stepped forward.
“Well, anyway, we need to Patrol now.”
“Ah, right. Of course. Would it be all right if I just asked a few questions while you’re on your way?”
“…Jaehyun. What do you think?”
Min Ji-hye looked to Lee Jaehyun for his opinion.
Noticing that the decision had passed from Min Ji-hye to Lee Jaehyun, Reporter Yoon Minha’s eyes sparkled as she looked at him.
Lee Jaehyun saw the intense look in Reporter Yoon Minha’s eyes—like she might kneel down and beg—and let out a dry laugh.
“I’m fine with it.”
“Well then… Yes, me too, it’s fine.”
After all, it would take at most ten minutes to walk from here to the Parking Lot where the patrol car was parked.
No big deal.
And with articles already pouring out, answering a few questions wasn’t that big of a deal anyway.
“Thank you so much. This way, please.”
Reporter Yoon Minha bowed her head in gratitude, then began walking with them.
On the way to the hospital Parking Lot, she asked several questions.
Her questions were sharper than he’d expected.
“Who made the first report?”
“Oh, the first report was—”
“To protect the reporter, I can’t disclose that.”
As Min Ji-hye started to answer Reporter Yoon Minha’s question without thinking, Lee Jaehyun cut in.
Surprised that he’d interrupted her, Min Ji-hye paused.
But realizing she’d nearly made a mistake, she quickly changed her expression.
“Yes, I can’t disclose any information about the person who made the report.”
As Min Ji-hye answered, Reporter Yoon Minha nodded slightly.
Technically, Min Ji-hye outranked Lee Jaehyun, but in reality, Lee Jaehyun was the one controlling the situation.
Realizing that Lee Jaehyun was deciding what to answer, Reporter Yoon Minha subtly shifted her gaze to him.
“Then, about the victims… I’ve heard it was a six-year-old child and the mother who’s raising the child alone. Why did the perpetrator do such a cruel thing?”
“The perpetrator was a Loan Shark running an Illegal Loan operation. He visited the mother, who’d borrowed money to make ends meet, to threaten her for repayment. That’s when the incident happened.”
“I heard there weren’t any signs of forced entry at the scene. About that—”
“I have nothing further to say about that.”
Lee Jaehyun drew a clear line between what he could and couldn’t answer, and responded accordingly.
The fact that the victim had made the report would be revealed eventually, but he had to delay it as much as possible.
There was no issue disclosing the perpetrator’s motive, but anything that could be considered private information about the victim, he wouldn’t speak about.
Of course.
Legally, even the perpetrator had human rights, so he’d have to be careful not to reveal anything that could endanger the perpetrator’s safety…
Right.
If he’d been the type to worry about things like that, he wouldn’t have been called “Mad Dog” in his previous life.
“You said the perpetrator was a Loan Shark running Illegal Loans. Do you know the scale of the operation?”
“We’re still figuring out the exact scale, but it’s estimated to be at least a billion won.”
He’d heard there was a total of five hundred and thirty million won in cash recovered from the Safe.
Since it was illegal, it was of course seized by the government.
Just counting the cash in the Safe, it exceeded five hundred million won. If you added the money circulating outside and what Gu Hyunseok had personally, it would definitely be at least a billion.
Lee Jaehyun’s personal estimate was closer to two billion won.
Quite large.
Given that the office had six regular employees, it was obvious it was a large operation.
Lee Jaehyun answered without much enthusiasm up to that point, but of course there was a question he couldn’t answer.
As expected, it was about the victim’s personal information.
“The victim is a six-year-old child and a mother raising the child alone, so… what about the husband…?”
Reporter Yoon Minha trailed off, watching Lee Jaehyun’s expression.
She already seemed to know that he wouldn’t answer.
As Lee Jaehyun glanced at the opening Elevator doors, he moved his gaze toward Reporter Yoon Minha as he stepped out.
Did she expect him to answer about the husband?
Sure, the husband was also wanted for fraud and could be considered a criminal.
And since Lee Jaehyun wasn’t the type to care much about criminals’ rights, you might expect him to answer.
But this matter was directly tied to the victim’s identity.
Naturally, Lee Jaehyun couldn’t speak on it.
“I can’t answer that.”
He replied in a firm voice.
So firm that even Min Ji-hye glanced at him in surprise.
Lee Jaehyun was quietly warning Reporter Yoon Minha.
Don’t ask any more questions related to the victim’s identity.
Anything else, he’d answer if he could.
Reporter Yoon Minha met Lee Jaehyun’s eyes squarely and nodded.
She didn’t seem like someone who couldn’t take a hint—she’d understood.
Thinking that, Lee Jaehyun started walking again.
And Reporter Yoon Minha asked the next question.
It was something a Reporter had every right to ask, but one that Lee Jaehyun was hesitant to answer.
“Then… I heard the perpetrator suffered a broken rib during the arrest. By any chance, was the Police Officer who arrested him…”
Reporter Yoon Minha asked cautiously.
It was a reasonable question for a Reporter, but a sensitive one for the Police.
Of course.
It was the kind of situation that could lead to controversy over Excessive Force.
So far, people were too busy with the resolution of the case and the severity of the perpetrator’s crime, so public opinion was heavily against the criminal.
But that could change at any time.
The Officer who made the arrest could end up taking some of the blame.
Reporter Yoon Minha, knowing how sensitive this was for the Police, asked carefully.
And in that moment—
Lee Jaehyun sharply turned his head.
It was a big enough movement to make even Min Ji-hye, who was standing right beside him, flinch.
Reporter Yoon Minha stopped, taking half a step back in surprise.
“Ah, if you can’t answer that either, I’m sorr—”
Reporter Yoon Minha started to apologize.
But Lee Jaehyun’s gaze wasn’t on her.
As she asked the question, he had glimpsed a man in passing.
The man was heading toward the Elevator from far down the hall.
Somehow, he looked familiar.
Lee Jaehyun watched him for a moment, and as a memory flashed through his mind, he immediately moved.
“I must have really crossed a line…”
“Huh?”
Leaving the bewildered Reporter Yoon Minha and Min Ji-hye behind, Lee Jaehyun sprinted forward.
“That’s him.”