Chapter 49 – Don’t open the door

“The victim was resented by many people, such as those who borrowed money from him. They got the money from a violent illegal lender with a high-interest rate… the prime suspect had to be one of them.”

They nodded their heads, agreeing with Hansol’s words.

They took statements from his ex-wife and son, and it was necessary to look into the other ones.

“I will read the statements of his ex-wife and son.”

“Here.”

After receiving the statement presented, Hansol read it.

The ex-wife made it clear that she didn’t want to do anything with the victim after their divorce. She denied having any good memories with the man.

And the son’s statement?

According to his words, Kwak Dong-sik was neither a good father nor a bad one. He was just someone who would give him money when needed. And the son said he was a bit sad that such a man was dead.

Hansol tried to think. Are you sad because your father, who gives you a lot of money, is dead?

It felt like they would need a restatement from the son.

“The first thing for us to do is to secure that ledger. Kwak Dong-sik must have kept the records of those who borrowed money from him.”

“We couldn’t find it despite searching, though?”

“People have a habit of always putting such things in what they think is their safest place. If we were the victim. Where would we have kept them?”

“Home.”

“Same here.”

“Office? The man has offices in every building he purchased.”

Each of them spoke their guesses, and Hansol said, “It wouldn’t be in the offices of each building since they all look like places that are easier to approach but wouldn’t be comfortable for him leaving the ledgers in. Think about it this way, who is at the most disadvantage if the ledgers of the illegal borrowing were exposed?”

Hansol decided to change his thoughts. When the book of an illegal loan shark explodes, the first damage… is to none other than one person.

“… no, it can’t be the young son.”

Inspector Jung Yu-mi spoke, and the others agreed with her.

“Let’s try to investigate the son again. I will do it this time. Let me visit him.”

“Um… I can let Dr. Im go… maybe it should be a coercive investigation1?”

“You know that I cannot do that. That can’t happen.”

“Okay, so do you want it done today?”

“The quicker, the better. It needs to be done before any evidence disappears.”

“Well, take care.”

The place where Kwak Dong-sik and his son lived was an apartment. It is a place called Naero in Seoul; seeing this place, you can know how much money it costs to get here.

“What did you come here for?”

The guard greeted Hansol.

Hansol showed his ID and said that he was here to investigate the case of Kwak Dong-sik.

“Phew… that thug had so many tattoos and looked like a jerk. The Police kept coming in and out of this expensive place because of him. You don’t know how angry the residents are. Well, at least you didn’t come here in a police uniform. The residents were reluctant to use the same elevator as the Police. Go, the son just got back from school.”

At the grumbling guard, Hansol said thanks and went up.

Ding dong

Hansol got off the elevator and rang the bell. The guard told him the son was back, but he couldn’t hear any sound inside the unit.

Hansol rang the bell again until he heard something.

Kwak Dong-sik’s son must have deliberately avoided this.

After ringing the bell repeatedly, he heard the pounding footsteps, and the door opened.

“Ah, f**k… stop ringing the bell.”

He looked just like his father but much thinner and softer.

“I am Im Hansol, the profiler of the CIF team.”

“What? The police are here again? I already gave my statement!”

“Hm. Look at this young man being rude?”

Hansol changed his attitude.

As Hansol’s tone changed, Kwak Dong-sik’s son’s expression softened.

“No… it is so serious. Why do you keep coming here? I don’t know where my dad’s ledger is or what….”

Hansol’s eyes shone in blue.

‘… lie.’2

“Can we talk inside?”

Reading the child’s anxiety, Hansol proposed.

The child in front of him was in fear that his father’s murderer might kill him next. In this case, it was necessary to give them trust.

The boy thought and invited Hansol in.

Entering the house, the victim’s personality was evident. Stuffed dead animal heads, guns… even the house looked harsh.

But Hansol showed no reaction, which instilled more anxiety in the child.

“Yeah, thanks for opening the door and letting me in. What’s your name?”

“Kwak Do-hyun.”

“Do Hyun. We are trying to uncover the death of your father. It doesn’t matter what job your father did when he was alive. I don’t understand why you are so anxious.”

“If you take dad’s books, won’t you confiscate the property?”

“To be honest, it is illegal, and your father must be confined and punished. Do you know what a sit-in is? Normally, this signifies that the misdeeds will be passed down to the child. But such things do not exist here. It is no longer there. The victim’s death and the offenses he committed are gone with him. There is no debate about turning you over as guilty of his sins.”

Hansol explained calmly and wondered if the child understood it.

He expects that Kwak Do-hyun will hand over the ledger right away.

Many emotions flowed through the son, from thinking about whether he could believe Hansol or not and if he would be harmed or not.

“… will I really not lose anything?”

This child was wearing the mask of naivety, but it is the place where he makes a living with the things his father brought.

He was expressing his will to not let go of them. Hansol nodded and added that was certain.

“… actually, I have it.”

‘Truth. It is good that I can tell the truth and lies of this kid.’

“I put it between the question papers pretending it to be a study note.”

“Can I see it?”

The child hesitated and went into the room and took out a book.

“This. Numerous names and amounts were written.”

It looked like an ordinary diary, a diary in black faux leather.

Hansol turned its pages and checked the content.

Names and amounts are written by the side. And the payments are written in red line.

The basic loan was 10 million won, and no lesser money was being borrowed.

The names, social security number, address, occupation, amount.. with this alone, it seemed like the murderer’s place could be summarized.

Hansol, who carefully looked at it, noticed a name that appeared a lot.

‘Yoon Seong-cheol.’

He would borrow, pay it back and repeat it.

‘Hmm. It is strange and weird. Why?’

Hansol felt weird.

“Do-hyun, do you know Seong-cheol?”

“Ah… Yoon Seong-cheol?”

The child said the name clearly. The fact that the child was familiar with it meant that Kwak Dong-sik brought that person home multiple times.

“He was my dad’s friend.”

“Friend, hmm.”

“He did borrow money from dad, but dad said that he lent the money to uncle Seong-cheol at a low rate.”

“… I see. And how often did your uncle come home? Was he close with your dad?”

“When I asked dad, he said he is a precious friend from middle school, so I thought it was cool. Why? Do you think he is the culprit? No… no! Every time my uncle came home, he would bring many presents and take good care of me.”

Children don’t know how adults are. For now, Hansol had a name, and he could take the ledger.

“I wouldn’t let the other police take the ledger… but I will give it to you. So I will allow it. However, I would like to make sure. I won’t lose the money and continue to live this way, right? I can inherit dad’s property, right?”

The smart kid is going after the inheritance rather than mourning his father’s death.

Even if Hansol lacked empathy, he knew kids this age wouldn’t act like this.

He answered with a smile, “You won’t lose it.”

“Thank God… It’s actually the reason I didn’t go to school. Now, I am safe, right?”

“Since we never know… be careful. And was it Yoon Seong-cheol? Did that uncle ever come home after your father’s death?”

“No, but he called and said he would come here. It felt nice. I wondered if he was really going to come since the news of dad….”

“Don’t open the door.”

“Yes?”

The eyes of the child widen.

“You are in a situation where you don’t know who killed your dad. Everyone who borrowed money must be thinking about you and grinding their teeth. They will try to rip off anything they can from you. It doesn’t matter if Yoon Seong-cheol was nice to you, don’t open the door.”

“Still—”

“If you want to continue living like this and enjoying your money, don’t leave your house until the Police catch the culprit. The safest place for you right now is your home.”

Hansol gave a firm warning.

The safest place for this child is home, where one would have to go through security when entering and will be caught on camera in the elevator. That is the only way Kwak Dong-sik’s son can survive. He will be on his way to meet his dad the moment he heads out.

No matter what kind of a person Kwak Dong-sik was, he wouldn’t want his son to die like that.

Hansol put the book into his case bag.

“Don’t forget my words. Also, don’t allow any cops other than me, okay?”

The frightened child nodded.

“Okay then. I will head back. Thank you for cooperating.”

Hansol took the elevator down to the parking lot and looked around. People were coming and going.

‘… even I am being overly sensitive.’

Hansol began to open the car door and was about to get in when someone approached him and called for his name.

“Dr. Im Hansol?”

Someone called for him and suddenly threw a fist. Hansol threw his bag into the car and quickly subdued the man, pushing him against the car.

“… Mr. Yoon Seong-cheol, nice to meet you.”

1 any action that imposes some form of constraint on a suspect, such as apprehending someone ↩️

2 Lol. The child got busted so early. ↩️