Everyone sprang to their feet at the sight of a man and woman, faces pale and haggard, who looked like they’d run here in a panic.
Even Team 4, who had been moving quickly with the Child Kidnapping Case in mind, paused for a moment and turned their eyes.
The first to react was Lee Jaehyun.
It was instinctive.
Of course, that made sense…
“They’re Choi Daehyun’s parents.”
They were people Lee Jaehyun remembered.
With Choi Daehyun murdered and the entire nation’s attention focused on the case.
While holding the Funeral for their child, they sobbed and pleaded for the countless Reporters and interview requests to stop, blaming the Media for it all.
Lee Jaehyun quickly approached and bowed his head.
“Hello. I’m Police Constable Lee Jaehyun from Capital Region Police Station Team 4. Please come this way.”
“Sir… please, find our child.”
The man, presumed to be the boy’s father, spoke first.
At the desperate sound of his voice, everyone gathered around with serious faces.
“Are you Choi Daehyun’s father?”
“Yes, yes. That’s right. I heard my wife already reported him missing…”
“Yes, we’ve received the missing person report, and we’re investigating, not as a simple disappearance, but with the possibility of kidnapping in mind.”
Lee Jaehyun replied in a calm voice.
The situation itself was grave and heavy.
Even more so, in front of the boy’s parents.
To even consider the possibility that your own child may have been kidnapped—how heartbreaking that must be.
He needed to deliver the facts calmly and steadily.
And at Lee Jaehyun’s words, the boy’s mother staggered, letting out a faint moan.
“Ah…”
Min Ji-hye hurried over and supported the boy’s mother, helping her into a chair.
The boy’s father sat down beside her.
He seemed at a loss as to where to begin, hesitating before finally starting to speak.
“We received a call from the kidnapper.”
His words were enough to send a chill through everyone inside the Capital Region Police Station.
They had already been considering the possibility of kidnapping and moving quickly, since it was a situation worth suspecting.
But… both Park Daehyung and Min Ji-hye had still harbored hopes that it wasn’t really a kidnapping.
Those hopes were now utterly shattered.
The other teams, not Team 4, were shocked to realize that Team 4’s assumptions had been correct.
“When did they contact you?”
“It’s been, what, twenty? Thirty minutes maybe. They told us not to tell the police no matter what… but my wife had already filed the missing person report.”
Since the missing person report was already filed with the police, and with no other options left, they had come here.
He spoke as if he couldn’t fully trust the police.
And as the boy’s parents, it was understandable.
It wasn’t just the police—who could you trust in a situation like this?
You’d be terrified.
Lee Jaehyun continued in the calmest voice he could manage.
“You did the right thing coming here. We’ll do our best to find Daehyun.”
“Please, I’m begging you.”
The boy’s father bowed his head and grasped Lee Jaehyun’s hand.
Lee Jaehyun froze for a moment.
Just then, Park Daehyung, who had been watching the situation from nearby, spoke up.
“What was the kidnapper’s voice like?”
It might seem like a strange thing to focus on, but it was more important than it seemed.
While Lee Jaehyun himself could already be certain that Park Yech’an was the culprit—
Others could not.
Aside from the grandmother, Go Hyunsook, if there was an accomplice… it could be a clue to finding out who it was.
“It sounded strange, like it was altered by some kind of machine… but it still sounded like a man’s voice, someone a bit older.”
At the mention of an older man’s voice, Park Daehyung glanced over at Min Ji-hye.
Min Ji-hye nodded slightly.
They’d already confirmed Go Hyunsook’s identity, and that she had a son.
If it was a man’s voice, there was a higher chance her son, Park Yech’an, was the accomplice.
“Did they make any demands? Like money.”
“They asked for fifty million won. In cash.”
“Did they just tell you to prepare it? Did they mention a meeting place or anything?”
“No, they said they’d tell us the meeting place later.”
To Lee Jaehyun’s question, the boy’s father nodded in response.
If they didn’t tell them where to meet and just said to prepare fifty million won, it meant they were at least somewhat cunning.
“If you entrust us with your Phone, we’ll analyze it as quickly as possible…”
While Lee Jaehyun gathered his thoughts for a moment, Min Ji-hye asked the boy’s father for the Phone.
The boy’s mother hung her head, weeping, while the father did his best to cooperate with the police.
“If the kidnapper called the father’s number, it means they knew his contact information… how did they find out?”
Kim Junho looked over at Park Daehyung and asked.
Park Daehyung glanced at Choi Daehyun’s parents, who were speaking with Min Ji-hye, then shrugged his shoulders.
“They might’ve just happened to know, since their activities overlapped. Even if they didn’t… if the kid had a Phone, they could’ve gotten it from there.”
“That’s true. Crazy bastards… kidnapping a kid for money, can you believe it?”
Kim Junho ground his teeth in anger.
Park Daehyung let out a quiet sigh and carefully spoke up.
“My biggest worry is, the kid might already…”
He didn’t finish his sentence, letting his words trail off.
But everyone there understood what Park Daehyung was getting at.
He scratched his head, then looked at Kim Junho and asked,
“PoSoon—her Cause of Death was overdose of Sleeping Pills, right?”
“Yeah.”
“If they didn’t control the dosage for the child either…”
“That won’t be the case. I recovered after just an hour, so if it’s a young kid… they’ll probably sleep for two or three hours at most.”
Though Park Daehyung voiced his concern, Lee Jaehyun shook his head in denial.
Of course, it was best to reassure his colleagues. According to Se-re-hen, he himself had been out for about four hours… for an eleven-year-old child, it could be six to eight hours. Maybe even longer.
In the original case, Choi Daehyun had survived for about two days before being killed by Park Yech’an.
The situation had changed, so nothing was certain, but it was unlikely Park Yech’an and Go Hyunsook would kill the child right away.
As everyone was scrambling in the chaos of this major Child Kidnapping Case, each person busy with their own role—
Bzzz. Bzzz.
The boy’s father’s Phone, which Min Ji-hye had already received, suddenly vibrated loudly.
Everyone, who’d been rushing about, froze in place and stared at Min Ji-hye.
Min Ji-hye carefully handed the Phone to the boy’s father.
His hand trembling, the father answered the call.
“Y-yes, hello?”
—Ah, so. Is the money ready?
With a mechanical, distorted voice, the altered tone echoed through the Capital Region Police Station.
***
Thunk.
A bright car rocked over a speed bump.
Park Yech’an glanced at the child lying in the back seat, then spoke.
“What’s wrong, why aren’t you answering? Don’t tell me the kid’s dead…”
—Please! Just spare my child. I’ll get the money somehow. My wife went to the Bank to withdraw the money right now…
Before Park Yech’an could finish his sentence, the desperate voice of the boy’s father came through.
There was nothing about his tone that sounded like acting.
But Park Yech’an clicked his tongue, then spoke curtly.
“How do I know if you really went to the Bank to get the money or to the Police Station to file a report?”
With that brusque tone, the response came back immediately this time as well.
—We have our child with us, how could we go to the police! Sir, as long as you return our child safely, we’ll get the money no matter what.
“So, when will you have it ready?”
—Just an hour, please… I’ll withdraw the money as fast as I can and get it ready. Where should I go?
“Hey now, do you think rice seedlings bear grain as soon as you blink?”
—Huh? What do you mean…
A bewildered voice came through.
Park Yech’an frowned, then continued.
“Don’t be so impatient. Get the money ready in an hour. I’ll call you again in exactly one hour. We’ll be in touch then.”
If you told them the meeting place too soon, the child’s parents could tip off the police and get caught at the scene.
That’s why, the transaction location had to be kept secret until the last moment.
Just as Park Yech’an was about to hang up—
—Sir! Please, before you go, let me just hear my child’s voice!
At the father’s desperate plea, Park Yech’an looked in the rearview mirror at the reflection of the child.
The child was strapped in with a seatbelt in the back seat, sleeping.
“He’s asleep.”
With that, Park Yech’an hung up immediately.
Unlike his earlier calmness while negotiating with a child as a hostage, as soon as the call ended, he squeezed his eyes shut.
He let out a heavy sigh and immediately handed the Phone to Go Hyunsook, who sat in the passenger seat.
“Good job, son.”
“Yeah… but, do we really have to go this far?”
Park Yech’an spoke to Go Hyunsook, clearly unwilling.
Kidnapping a child for money was something he’d never imagined doing in his life.
They did need money.
They were weighed down by Debt, struggling to get by.
But…
Was this really the only way to solve that Debt?
But it seemed that was only Park Yech’an’s thought.
“Hey.”
“Yes.”
Go Hyunsook called him sharply.
Park Yech’an flinched, then replied in a subdued voice.
“Your dad left you with Debt, and if we don’t do this, we’ll never pay it off. Before I die, I have to pay off all the Debt and leave the land to you.”
“Mom, please don’t talk about dying. You have to stay with me.”
At Go Hyunsook’s firm words, he answered with a forlorn look.
If it was the father who died and left nothing but Debt when he was young, that would be one thing.
Park Yech’an couldn’t even imagine life without his mother, who raised him alone.
So, if it was for his mother’s sake, he could do anything.
“That’s right, so let’s pay off the Debt and live comfortably, okay?”
“…Okay.”
He forced a smile as he answered.
Yes, all of this was for his mother.
Thinking that, Park Yech’an tried to reassure himself.
“That’s right, my good boy.”
Go Hyunsook reached out with a gentle voice and softly patted his shoulder.
Behind the affectionate mother and son, Choi Daehyun lay as if dead, deeply asleep.
Just as the long-tailed kittens had fallen asleep after taking Sleeping Pills.