The term ‘Premeditation Practice,’ such a dangerous choice of words, made Park Daehyung furrow his brow.
Naturally so.
For a Police Officer to hear about a crime’s Premeditation Practice and not frown would be stranger still.
“What do you mean by that?”
“I’m just thinking, isn’t there a chance? It could be a Child Kidnapping Case…”
“Ugh, hey. Take that back right now. Don’t you know your words have power?”
It’s a jinx.
Whenever someone says things like, ‘It’s been quiet lately,’ or, ‘There haven’t been any cases,’ or, ‘Doesn’t it feel like something’s about to happen?’—sure enough, something always happens.
As a Police Officer working at the Capital Region Police Station, it was a phrase that couldn’t help but make you uneasy.
Lee Jaehyun couldn’t take back his words.
But even so, he had to say them.
Only then would Park Daehyung stay somewhat alert and be able to respond quickly if something actually did happen.
“Park Daehyung, sir.”
“…What is it, you punk?”
“I really have a bad feeling about this.”
“Ha, seriously, with your words… It’s driving me crazy. You’re not some veteran detective of ten years. If you go around saying you have a bad feeling, and then start talking about major cases, especially a Child Kidnapping Case, am I supposed to go, ‘Oh, really? Then I should arrest the criminal before it happens?'”
Park Daehyung burst out laughing as he said this.
Yet even as he spoke, Park Daehyung’s gaze had grown a little heavier.
Which meant, in the end, that Park Daehyung didn’t entirely think Lee Jaehyun’s words were off the mark.
Lee Jaehyun had watched Park Daehyung for years—how could he not read the man’s true feelings by now?
Naturally, sensing what Park Daehyung was thinking, Lee Jaehyun just quietly looked at him.
Eventually, Park Daehyung let out a sigh and continued.
“It’s not like there’s zero chance of a crime happening, but talking about child kidnapping is a stretch. It’s good to be proactive, but you shouldn’t go too far.”
“I know I might be overthinking, but I don’t think this is just someone putting cats to sleep for fun.”
“It’s not like anyone would do this for fun.”
Who would go around feeding Sleeping Pills to cats for amusement?
Park Daehyung nodded in agreement with Lee Jaehyun.
He lowered his head for a moment, then spoke up again.
“Chain Sleep Demon of the Cat, huh.”
At that bizarre expression, Lee Jaehyun looked at Park Daehyung in disbelief.
With everything in chaos and the Child Kidnapping and Murder Case still unsolved, he’d at least managed to get one Hint.
But with Park Daehyung making jokes, it was only natural for Lee Jaehyun to react that way.
The problem was, if this had been their relationship in a previous life, Park Daehyung’s glint would have made sense.
But now, it wasn’t as if they were as close as in the past.
This guy, I’m your senior by far. Are you sure you should be giving me that kind of look?”
“Sorry. It just slipped out.”
“Hmph.”
Park Daehyung let out a small laugh at Lee Jaehyun’s honest answer.
Unless it was outright insubordination, Park Daehyung, despite his appearance, tended to let things slide.
He shook his head once, took a picture of the cat, and continued.
“I’ll talk to Junho about this. He should check what exactly PoSoon ate before she died.”
“Yes, it could be an overdose of Sleeping Pills.”
Sleeping Pills can put someone to sleep, but if the dosage is too strong, it can make them sleep forever.
Maybe PoSoon died from a Sleeping Pill overdose.
If the culprit really was Park Yech’an, the murderer behind the Child Kidnapping and Murder Case, that would be another crime added to his record…
Even if not, he’s definitely someone they have to catch.
There was no evidence, and nothing concrete, so Lee Jaehyun couldn’t say for certain that the Chain Sleep Demon of the Cat was the same person as Park Yech’an, the future murderer in the Child Kidnapping and Murder Case.
“Honestly… personally, I’m sure of it.”
One of the most important things to be wary of during an investigation is targeting a suspect from the start.
Once you decide who the culprit is in your mind, all your thoughts inevitably turn that way.
Even if evidence is lacking, you end up forcing things to fit.
Right now, Lee Jaehyun’s main concern was the Child Kidnapping and Murder Case expected in a few days, so naturally his thinking was slanted—he’d convinced himself Park Yech’an was the Chain Sleep Demon of the Cat.
Even as Lee Jaehyun realized how biased his thinking had become, he was still sure of it.
But, if by any chance, they’re not the same person—
“Then I’ll just catch them both.”
Thinking this, Lee Jaehyun clenched his fist tightly.
***
The rumor about the Chain Sleep Demon of the Cat quietly spread within the team.
Kim Junho and Min Ji-hye, who were on day duty, also patrolled the same areas but hadn’t found any Tuna Cans or cats at the time.
Even when Lee Jaehyun and Park Daehyung went back on patrol during their shift, they couldn’t find any additional suspicious signs.
Through all this, Lee Jaehyun had barely slept, his eyes losing focus.
“Wow, you’re just about done, aren’t you… Don’t you really need to rest?”
“Seriously. Just go home already.”
Kim Junho and Min Ji-hye, upon seeing Lee Jaehyun still glued to the monitors even after they’d come in, spoke up.
Lee Jaehyun had been checking the Playground area CCTV since last Saturday, where the Tuna Can was found.
But there was a reason that spot was suspected as the Supernatural Crime Scene.
It was a CCTV blind spot.
Of course, the nearby cameras didn’t show the exact spot where the Tuna Can was placed.
Still, you could see people passing by the area, so he kept going through the footage.
“Damn it, where is that bastard?”
He’d only seen Park Yech’an’s face in photos, and those were already ten years old—he could barely remember.
But if he saw him, he’d recognize him.
With that confidence, he kept checking the CCTV, but after two days straight, Park Yech’an never appeared.
He was sure it was related, but now he was starting to think maybe it really was just a coincidence.
“Hey.”
Min Ji-hye came over and tapped Lee Jaehyun’s shoulder.
Only then did Lee Jaehyun snap back to his senses and look up.
“Oh, yes, Detective Min Ji-hye.”
“You look like you’re about to collapse. Just go home. Junho and I will watch.”
“Yes, understood.”
Finally, Lee Jaehyun nodded.
He’d checked and checked, but nothing or no one seemed suspicious.
He hadn’t found Park Yech’an, either.
All the effort, and no results—frustration was growing.
But he couldn’t just keep sitting there out of stubbornness.
Lee Jaehyun obediently got up, changed, and headed home.
Of course, knowing the Child Kidnapping and Murder Case would happen in two days, he couldn’t simply go home… so, naturally, his steps took him toward the Supernatural Crime Scene.
The first place he went was the parking lot behind Shikjae Mart.
As soon as he arrived and began looking around, Se-re-hen appeared in front of him, blocking his view.
“Wow, honestly.”
Se-re-hen, appearing after several days, looked at Lee Jaehyun with a face of quiet admiration.
Lee Jaehyun sent her a puzzled look at her exclamation.
Se-re-hen shrugged her shoulders and spoke up.
“What happened to you these past few days that your eyes…”
“My eyes?”
“You really don’t realize you look like a stray dog that’s been wandering for days?”
Lee Jaehyun couldn’t help but chuckle at Se-re-hen’s phrasing.
A stray dog wandering for days, she said.
Sure, he was tired and haggard… was he giving off a threatening vibe?
Or did he just look pitiful?
Whichever it was, Lee Jaehyun could easily tell that Se-re-hen’s description was pretty accurate.
He didn’t need a mirror to know what state he was in.
When Lee Jaehyun let out a light laugh, Se-re-hen folded her arms and simply gazed at him.
“Strangely sexy, though… Anyway, when did you last get any sleep?”
“Honestly… I can’t remember.”
Was it Thursday?
The last time he actually lay down to sleep was Thursday, and since then he’d only dozed off here and there while checking the CCTV.
Today was Sunday, so he’d barely slept since Friday.
“Even demons need rest, but humans definitely do.”
“I’ll rest after I catch the child kidnapper and murderer… Park Yech’an.”
He’d thought that knowing about a future crime would make it easy to stop.
But it was nothing like that.
He hadn’t realized it would be this nerve-wracking.
Lee Jaehyun let out a small sigh and shook his head.
Se-re-hen, watching him, brushed her disheveled hair back.
That made the horns on her head stand out even more.
As Lee Jaehyun glanced at her horns for a moment, Se-re-hen suddenly spoke.
“Well, that’s all fine and good, but I’m starting to get hungry, you know.”
“You get hungry too?”
“It’s a metaphor. Just let it slide… The point is, when can I eat the next Evil Karma?”
“Just wait two more days. I’ll catch Park Yech’an for you.”
“Hmm. Weren’t you trying to prevent the kidnapping?”
Se-re-hen looked at Lee Jaehyun curiously.
Of course, Lee Jaehyun nodded, as if it were obvious.
What else?
Of course I have to stop it.
“I have to stop it.”
“If you do, he’s not a kidnapper. It would just be attempted kidnapping.”
At Se-re-hen’s words, Lee Jaehyun furrowed his brow.
Attempted kidnapping.
Meaning, the crime wouldn’t have happened.
“If someone doesn’t actually commit the crime, Evil Karma doesn’t accumulate, so if you successfully stop the crime, I can’t eat any Evil Karma.”
If it ended up that way, Park Yech’an wouldn’t get the judgment he deserved.
The bigger problem…
“In that case, there’d be no way to detain him for real.”
Which meant Park Yech’an could try to kidnap and kill another child, not the original victim, Choi Daehyun, who was just eleven.
That possibility couldn’t be ruled out.
It was a mistake.
In his desperation to prevent the Child Kidnapping and Murder Case at any cost, he’d become narrow-minded.
No, to be honest…
“Have I just been ignoring it?”
Deep down, he knew, but maybe he just pretended not to.
Lee Jaehyun ran his hand through his hair, ruffling it.
His thoughts were tangled.
But…
Even so, there was no way he could just stand by and let Choi Daehyun be kidnapped and killed.
Whatever happened afterward, he could stop that too.
Right now, the best Lee Jaehyun could do was prevent Choi Daehyun’s abduction.
As he settled his thoughts and looked up, he meant to ask Se-re-hen to wait just a little longer, but before he knew it, she was gone.
And then.
“Excuse me.”
An unfamiliar man’s voice sounded from behind him.