Lee Jaehyun returned to the Capital Region Police Station, sat at his desk, and tapped his Notebook lightly with a pen.
His Notebook was full of words written and erased beneath the headings “Hyeongryeong” and “Breach of Trust”.
“What kind of crimes could a Bank Manager commit?”
Other than Hyeongryeong and Breach of Trust, was there anything else?
For now, the ones that came to mind were Hyeongryeong and Breach of Trust.
They were the simplest crimes a Bank Manager could commit by abusing his position.
But if there was something more, what could it be?
He’d been sitting at his desk for over an hour, clutching his pen, but nothing came to mind.
“I should be heading to Incheon, but I’ve got nothing.”
In a little while, he would meet Oh Seohyun, Sergeant at Incheon Seobu Police Station, and give a Briefing on what he’d investigated so far.
There was also what Se-re-hen had said, and he was digging around to see if he could find anything else before the Briefing, but instead, his head only hurt.
As he furrowed his brow and agonized, Kim Junho approached and spoke to him.
“What’s wrong? Why do you look like that?”
“Oh, Sergeant Kim Junho.”
“You’ve looked frustrated for a while now. Something on your mind?”
“It’s just…”
Lee Jaehyun calmly gave Kim Junho a brief summary of what had happened so far.
He didn’t bother explaining about Park Hyunjin, PMC, or the other School Violence perpetrators.
He only talked about what was necessary: the Bank Manager and the Bank Manager’s Son.
The Bank Manager’s Son was a School Violence perpetrator, and he was using his father’s status to intimidate others.
And that father was none other than the Branch Manager of Daehan Bank.
To stop the son from committing School Violence, they needed to reveal the crime the Branch Manager had committed.
But Lee Jaehyun didn’t know what crime it was.
“What kind of crime could a Bank Manager commit?”
“Well… the usual that comes to mind is Hyeongryeong, I suppose…”
“Yes, but that’s too obvious. I’m sure there’s something else.”
Kim Junho stroked his chin and muttered, and Lee Jaehyun furrowed his brow even more.
According to what Se-re-hen had said, there were some evil deeds involving money, but there was something else beyond that.
And for some reason…
Lee Jaehyun had an intuition that uncovering that evil deed would be the key to solving this case.
But.
“…Either way, you need to be careful.”
“Huh?”
Kim Junho gave him a stern look, his voice full of warning.
Lee Jaehyun blinked and had to ask back.
Be careful? Of what?
“Am I missing something? Is there something you see, Sergeant Kim Junho?”
Lee Jaehyun continued, looking at him expectantly.
And then…
“What exactly should I be careful about?”
“Right now, you’re assuming there has to be something and trying to find it no matter what.”
At Kim Junho’s words, Lee Jaehyun let out an “ah” of realization.
Thanks to Se-re-hen, Lee Jaehyun knew the Daehan Bank Branch Manager had committed a crime beyond Hyeongryeong…
But Kim Junho didn’t know that, so he could see it differently.
It was a difference in perspective caused by the difference in information the two of them had.
In truth, Kim Junho was absolutely right.
“Either way, don’t dig in too hard just because you’re determined to find something. Targeted investigations are risky. If you’re not careful, it could turn into a Capital Offense.”
“I understand. Thank you.”
Lee Jaehyun bowed his head as he spoke.
Now he knew Kim Junho said things like this out of concern for him.
That’s why Kim Junho’s words felt so comforting.
As Lee Jaehyun smiled faintly, Kim Junho shrugged his shoulders and opened his mouth.
“Well, anyway, you’re sure he committed a crime, but you don’t know what it is?”
“Yes.”
Kim Junho stroked his chin again as he looked at Lee Jaehyun.
He seemed lost in thought, but there was also a hint of curiosity.
Lee Jaehyun, noticing the look in his eyes, tossed him a question.
“Why do you keep looking at me like that?”
“Sometimes, you’re so skilled you could put veteran detectives to shame… But in times like this, it really hits me that you were just a Patrol Officer not long ago.”
Kim Junho shrugged his shoulders as he spoke.
Lee Jaehyun tilted his head.
Am I missing something again?
Is there something he can see that I can’t?
As Lee Jaehyun furrowed his brow in thought, Kim Junho let out a quiet chuckle and continued.
“For things like this, don’t think about the job. Think about the position.”
“Position…”
Lee Jaehyun asked back, clearly not understanding.
Isn’t one’s position decided by their job?
If that’s the case, how can you separate the two?
Seeing Lee Jaehyun’s puzzled expression, Kim Junho answered clearly.
“A Branch Manager can do more than just Hyeongryeong or Breach of Trust. If he likes to drink, maybe there’s something related to parties or drinking.”
Hearing those words, Lee Jaehyun felt like he’d been struck on the head.
“How did I not think of that?”
Lee Jaehyun admitted his thinking had been too narrow.
If people only committed crimes related to their jobs, Myung Jinhan wouldn’t be a serial killer, but just an animal abuser.
Humans, unlike other creatures, are capable of “imagination”.
Whatever it is, if it’s beneficial to oneself, one can act beyond their own field.
Because his opponent’s job was Bank Manager, he hadn’t been able to break out of thinking only about the bank.
Now that he’d broken that frame of thought, he knew what to do.
Next, he needed to find out what the Bank Manager was up to outside the bank, and something was bound to turn up.
But with the appointed time approaching, it seemed he’d have to go to Incheon first today.
“Thank you, Sergeant Kim Junho.”
“Seems like you figured something out. Looks like there’s nothing more I need to say.”
“I’ll be heading to Incheon for a bit.”
“Alright.”
Lee Jaehyun bowed once more to express his thanks.
Kim Junho watched as Lee Jaehyun left the Capital Region Police Station, then let out a small laugh and returned to his seat.
***
Putting aside the thoughts that came to mind, Lee Jaehyun decided to observe the situation a bit longer.
“Maybe I should hear what the bank employees have to say.”
From what he’d seen, it was certain the bank employees weren’t fond of the Branch Manager.
He’d heard one of the bankers, whom he couldn’t identify, mutter quietly, “Dokdookkaebi is here.”
Besides that, when the Branch Manager showed up, some people cast uncomfortable looks.
There were even those who passed by without greeting him.
It was a small thing, but each of these reactions was clear evidence of how the employees viewed the Branch Manager.
A sort of nonverbal language, perhaps.
The question was, would they cooperate?
If they would, it would be more than possible to resolve the issues the Branch Manager had caused within the bank.
As for external issues, that was something Lee Jaehyun would have to dig up himself.
“I’ll think about that later.”
It wasn’t a problem that could be solved by worrying now.
What mattered was to do what he could do right away.
Thinking that way, Lee Jaehyun found himself arriving at the Incheon Seobu Police Station.
Ding.
As he opened the door and entered, a scene both familiar and unfamiliar greeted him.
The police officers in blue uniforms were all focused on the computers before them.
Some were on the phone, sharing details of ongoing cases.
Though all police stations were fundamentally the same, there was something distinctly different about this place compared to his local station, making it feel unfamiliar.
“What brings you here?”
As Lee Jaehyun looked around for Sergeant Oh Seohyun, a patrol officer approached and asked him.
“Oh, my guest is here.”
Sergeant Oh Seohyun appeared behind him.
Like the others, she wore a blue uniform and stood at attention.
The word “model police officer” seemed to fit her perfectly.
She gave Lee Jaehyun a slightly bright smile and spoke.
“You arrived earlier than I thought.”
“I couldn’t sit still when I was thinking of catching those criminals.”
Lee Jaehyun replied with a broad grin.
Sergeant Oh Seohyun smiled at his words, then gestured further inside.
“This way, please.”
They entered the conference room and began the Briefing.
Lee Jaehyun sat down, took out his Notebook, and started.
“Shall we start with Daehan Bank?”
“Sure. Did you find anything out?”
At Oh Seohyun’s question, he nodded.
“I obtained information that there’s a possibility of Hyeongryeong.”
“Information? You didn’t discover it yourself?”
For a moment, Lee Jaehyun’s eyes narrowed.
Information was crucial in solving cases.
Every piece of information piled up could become grounds for a search, and decisive evidence to catch the culprit.
But what if the information was a lie?
It was obvious what would happen.
A loophole would become a hole for the criminal to escape through.
“It’s information obtained from a reliable Confidential Informant.”
“…I don’t know who this Confidential Informant is, but you must really trust them.”
Oh Seohyun replied with a voice full of conviction.
At her tone, Lee Jaehyun nodded.
Even if he didn’t know who the Confidential Informant was, police rarely say they “trust” someone.
Dealing with lies from criminals was part of the job, after all.
Yet, for her to call someone a reliable Confidential Informant meant the information had credibility.
Sensing that nuance, Lee Jaehyun’s eyes lit up.
“Did you find out anything else?”
“From what I’ve investigated, Min/0 has some internal connections to Daehan Bank.”
“Connections?”
“Loans. Every time they ran short on funds, Daehan Bank would lend out a few hundred million, sometimes as much as a billion. Other than that, I haven’t found anything special yet.”
“And, there’s a rumor that the CEO has a bad personality. Apparently, there have been some problems related to assault.”
If there were issues with violence, that might be another angle to pursue.
But, as with School Violence, that depended on the victim’s courage.
It wasn’t something Lee Jaehyun or Sergeant Oh Seohyun could handle by simply deciding to.
As he considered this, Sergeant Oh Seohyun continued.
“Oh, and apparently, he really loves Clubs. I hear he goes to Clubs two or three times a week.”
“Clubs? Do we know exactly where?”
“Well, there are so many Clubs, so I haven’t been able to confirm that yet.”
Lee Jaehyun stroked his chin.
Clubs have always been close to crime.
It’s true now, and will be in the future.
A lot of illegal funds flow through Clubs.
Plus, the private rooms in Clubs are perfect for secret conversations.
As long as you’re careful about who brings in the drinks, there’s no need to worry about leaks.
Most of the noise will be drowned out by the loud music outside.
There’s a reason deals are often done in such places.
For these reasons, many Clubs are run by organized crime… It’s definitely worth looking into.
“Then, let’s check them out starting today.”
“Huh…?”
Oh Seohyun’s eyes widened in surprise.
On the other hand, Lee Jaehyun could only smile mysteriously.