Just like Team Leader Oh Min-seok said, it was true that they had to head toward Icheon anyway.
Lee Jaehyun drove the undercover vehicle, moving together with Team Leader Oh Min-seok.
Team Leader Oh Min-seok sat in the passenger seat, continuously contacting Traffic Division and communicating with other team members who were heading toward the rest area.
Officers from the Capital Region Police Station near Onseo Rest Area also provided support, and he coordinated the situation with them as well.
Team Leader Oh Min-seok was a leader who knew how to skillfully take charge of the situation.
Back in his previous life, when Lee Jaehyun was part of the Investigation Team, he hadn’t put in that kind of effort to coordinate and breathe as one with his team.
Of course, it wasn’t as though his performance record suffered because of it, so most people just let it slide, thinking, ‘That crazy dog is just being a crazy dog.’
But seeing Oh Min-seok actively make use of his team members, adjust and coordinate, and truly show what a “Team Leader” should be like, gave him a fresh feeling.
No matter how much he used to lose himself whenever criminals were in front of his eyes… he had to admit, he’d lacked consideration for his teammates.
Lee Jaehyun glanced sidelong at Oh Min-seok, then refocused on driving.
Oh Min-seok saw him do so and let out a slight chuckle.
“Lee Jaehyun, Sergeant.”
“Yes, Team Leader Oh Min-seok.”
“If you’re curious about something, just ask.”
Oh Min-seok threw out those words in his own way.
At his words, Lee Jaehyun kept his eyes on the road and opened his mouth.
“I had the feeling you were waiting for me to share my opinion. You directly designated me to support you… There must be a reason you called for me specifically, so I was a bit curious what that was.”
Lee Jaehyun asked.
Truthfully, he wasn’t really curious about the background of why he’d been designated.
After all, Oh Min-seok had probably seen Lee Jaehyun’s performance firsthand, heard about his record catching criminals, and that’s why he’d requested support.
More than that, what Lee Jaehyun wanted to know was what Team Leader Oh Min-seok expected from him.
“Well… in your case, Sergeant Lee Jaehyun, you might look reckless on the outside, but if you really think about it, you act after careful calculation more often than not.”
Even when Myung Jinhan was really fresh, it was the same. When you broke down the door at the Pet Shop, I thought, ‘This guy’s really nuts,’ but thinking back on it later… you weren’t completely out of your mind.”
“Is that so?”
At Team Leader Oh Min-seok’s words, Lee Jaehyun was actually puzzled.
To smash a glass door right in front of everyone, yet claim that’s not being crazy—what on earth did he mean by that?
Of course, from Lee Jaehyun’s own perspective, he couldn’t wait any longer, and he was already burning with anger…
He didn’t regret the action in the slightest, but Team Leader Oh Min-seok was still an outsider.
Hearing such understanding words from him, it was only natural for Jaehyun to feel confused.
“Well, you’re the one who found the evidence anyway. It’s not like there was any real loss from breaking the door, was there?”
Hearing Team Leader Oh Min-seok say that, Lee Jaehyun finally turned his head slightly to glance at him.
Team Leader Oh Min-seok waved his hand as if to say, ‘Look ahead.’
When Lee Jaehyun fixed his eyes on the road again, Team Leader Oh Min-seok continued.
“There must have been a lot of talk about this and that, but at most the real disciplinary action would be a warning at best, and even that’s unlikely. What, compensation for the door? That’s the only real cost, right? It couldn’t have been much.”
He shrugged as he spoke.
Lee Jaehyun lightly touched his cheek.
He was right.
In reality, Lee Jaehyun hadn’t suffered any significant loss.
All he’d done was pay for the door, and in terms of money, it was only a few hundred thousand won…
Depending on how you looked at it, that could be seen as a lot, or not much.
But at least, as a cost for catching a Serial Killer, it was laughably minor.
“In the end, I didn’t suffer any real loss… but it’s also thanks to Team Leader and Inspector Park Daehyung for covering for me up above. I’m sorry for that.”
“Why are you sorry? For a Serial Killer case, the performance record is shared anyway. If the Capital Region Police Station caught a Serial Killer, it’s as good as getting a guaranteed promotion at the next Promotion Exam—how’s that something to apologize for?”
That’s what Oh Min-seok said, but Lee Jaehyun still felt genuinely sorry toward Team Leader Oh Cheol-jin and Park Daehyung.
Especially Park Daehyung, who had always cleaned up after his messes in his previous life and kept things from getting out of hand.
His guilt only deepened.
But Team Leader Oh Min-seok insisted it was nothing to feel sorry about.
They’d gotten results; that was all that mattered.
Thinking about it, it wasn’t wrong.
In his past life, Park Daehyung had been transferred elsewhere and only suffered losses without gaining any benefit, even when he actively helped Lee Jaehyun.
But this life was different.
Now, they were still on the same team.
Lee Jaehyun’s performance record was also shared with Park Daehyung.
Same for Team Leader Oh Cheol-jin.
So long as he achieved more merit than trouble, there was no need to feel guilty.
Lee Jaehyun thought for a moment, then spoke up.
“Thank you for the advice. I’ll keep it in mind as we work together.”
“That’s not to say you should just go around causing trouble whenever you want.”
“I never go around causing trouble for no reason. Just now, Team Leader Oh, you also said I might look crazy, but I’m not, didn’t you?”
“Well, you do look like a crazy guy sometimes, so of course I have to worry.”
Team Leader Oh Min-seok replied with a slightly embarrassed expression, a bit different from what he’d said a moment ago.
Lee Jaehyun burst into a light laugh.
Practical, but also honest.
Now he knew exactly what Team Leader Oh Min-seok wanted from him.
Don’t cause trouble without reason.
But if you can catch the criminal, even if you do cause trouble, it can be cleaned up, and neither of us will suffer any real loss.
That’s what Team Leader Oh Min-seok was saying.
Hearing that, how should he put it…
It felt like a leash had been loosened.
His mind began to whirl.
Team Leader Oh Min-seok took a sharp breath and then spoke.
“So, let’s think calmly again. Where do you think it’ll be?”
“Well… Gonjiam is the most likely candidate. The problem is, I don’t know exactly where in Gonjiam.”
Gonjiam was right next to Icheon and its location wasn’t bad.
But it wasn’t just because it was close to Icheon that it seemed likely.
Basically, Gonjiam had numerous Distribution Centers for delivery companies, and that meant convenient transportation.
In other words, there were many Runaway Routes.
You could escape in any direction, including toward Icheon.
It took only 20 or 30 minutes to reach central Icheon from Gonjiam, so it would provide enough psychological comfort.
“Gonjiam, huh… Makes sense. There are lots of industrial complexes and warehouses, so maybe it’s one of those.”
“Hmm… Personally, I don’t think it’s that kind of place.”
At Oh Min-seok’s question, Lee Jaehyun shook his head.
Normally, that would be a logical assumption.
A criminal being chased by the police—especially a child abductor—would be worried the child might wake up and would head somewhere deserted.
But for some reason, Lee Jaehyun had a hunch that this time would be different.
At his unorthodox response, Oh Min-seok’s eyes glimmered with curiosity as if he’d been waiting for it.
“Really? Then where do you think it’ll be?”
“They’re the kind of guys who look down on the police. Rather than somewhere deserted, they’ll choose somewhere with a lot of people.”
Thinking back to Go Hyunsook and Park Yech’an’s previous behavior, it wasn’t a hard guess.
They’d tricked the police right under their noses, waited for the police to arrive even after hearing a report that the cat had died.
They’d even directly called the police themselves, saying there was a suspicious person.
“They’re good at making use of the ‘darkness under the lamp.’
On top of that, they aren’t afraid to act boldly.
Didn’t they directly approach police officers and feed them Sleeping Pills?
If you consider all that… they’re more likely to choose a place with a lot of people, where they can take action.
Lee Jaehyun wasn’t a psychologist or a Profile.
But his years working as a Detective told him that his hunch was right.
At Lee Jaehyun’s words, Team Leader Oh Min-seok furrowed his brow in thought.
As a veteran Detective and now a Team Leader, he’d faced many criminals.
Of course, it didn’t take long for him to realize Lee Jaehyun’s theory had plenty of basis.
As Team Leader Oh Min-seok nodded, his radio crackled.
“Hello?”
—Team Leader, we’ve received contact.
A voice from the Investigation Team heading to the rest area came through the radio.
The tension in the car immediately thickened.
Contact from a perpetrator who’d already played the police for fools once.
Team Leader Oh Min-seok brought the radio to his mouth in a dry voice.
“What’d they say?”
—They told us to leave the money. We tried to lure them by saying we’d hand it over after confirming the child, but they didn’t fall for it at all.
Of course not. So what did you do?”
Team Leader Oh Min-seok glared out the window.
There was still some time before they reached their destination, Gonjiam.
It seemed the detectives who arrived first had already made contact with the perpetrator.
Team Leader Oh Min-seok tapped his knee impatiently with his fingers.
This was within expectations.
The guy was cautious and clever.
Choosing the rest area as the meeting spot, messing with the police—all of it fit the predicted scenario.
What mattered now was how to steer the situation from here.
—After arguing a bit, we decided not to provoke him further and told him we’d cooperate as much as possible.
“How did the child’s parents respond?”
—The child’s father tried to stop us from just leaving the money and waiting, and then called you, Team Leader.
For the Father, even the slightest chance was important.
Whether the child was alive, whether he was hurt.
Cruelly, the perpetrator hadn’t given the Father even a single clue about his son.
From the Father’s point of view, the anxiety must be unbearable.
For the sake of the anxious Victim’s Father, they had to catch the Victim as soon as possible.
“How did the call end?”
—He told us to leave the bag with the money at the location sent by text and then leave.
“Where’s the location?”
—In the men’s restroom inside the rest area.
Team Leader Oh Min-seok’s eyes narrowed slightly.
The guy’s identity had already been shared.
All that was left was to see if he would slip up any further.
But the guy, not knowing this, believed the police didn’t know who he was and continued with his petty schemes.
To Team Leader Oh Min-seok, it was like watching a child putting on a show.
“Look at this bastard… Confirmation?”
—I sent Seongtae in to look around naturally, and there’s something suspicious… Uh, wait—!
The detective’s voice suddenly turned urgent.
Both Lee Jaehyun and Oh Min-seok hardened their faces at the same time.
Something had happened.