Dangerous Investigation Diary

Ep. 03 ° The Black Rose Murder Case (2)

As I entered the office with a heavy heart, the first thing I heard was Chief Kim praising me, impressed by my interrogation skills. He seemed to be unaware of my feelings, and on the one hand, I was glad to be praised, but on the other, the pressure weighed heavily on me.

김태형 [29]

"I told you I was really surprised?"

김태형 [29]

"You did such a calm and composed job during your first interrogation..."

김태형 [29]

"First of all, Officer Ha is a talent born with the talent of confidence."

김석진 [32]

"So, you ordered me to interrogate a kid who had only been here a day?"

민윤기 [31]

"Do you think I sent the police officer to tell you to do that?"

김태형 [29]

"Ah- Inspector Kim and Inspector Min should have seen it too."

김태형 [29]

"You know I don't smile when I'm being interrogated, right?"

김태형 [29]

"But then I just burst out laughing..."

김남준 [30]

"Huh? When did Officer Ha come?"

하여주 [28]

"...Ah. Just now..."

박지민 [29]

"I bet you heard Officer Kim praising Officer Ha."

김태형 [29]

"Anyway, Officer Ha. You did a great job, okay?"

하여주 [28]

"thank you..."

정호석 [30]

"Did you find out anything?"

하여주 [28]

"...first of all."

Yeah. Think about that later... Let's focus on one case. There's a lot of headaches ahead, and if I start fretting about it now, things will look bleak.

하여주 [28]

"The victim, Kim Yu-seon, and the flower shop owner, Han Kyung-sook, were close friends, and Kim Yu-seon was a regular at 'Black Flower'."

하여주 [28]

"On the day of the incident, before the flower shop closed, Kim Yu-seon came to the shop and chatted with her before leaving the shop together. She also locked the doors and closed the shop."

하여주 [28]

"The two went in different directions home, so they parted ways right in front of the flower shop. The next morning, Han Kyung-sook, who went to work, found Kim Yu-seon dead inside the locked flower shop."

김남준 [30]

"...Inside the locked flower shop?"

하여주 [28]

"Yes. And considering that Ms. Kim Yu-seon and her husband, Lee Han-min, have been fighting so severely and frequently lately that they are even discussing divorce, it is possible that Mr. Lee Han-min committed an accidental crime."

박지민 [29]

"Okay. Thank you for your hard work... Is there anything else you would like to do today, Inspector Kim?"

김석진 [32]

"I don't think there's anything for today. The autopsy results will be out tomorrow evening, so I'll do it tomorrow even if I have to work overtime."

김석진 [32]

"I'm off work today. Good work."

김석진 [32]

"Officer Ha, today was your first day at work. You must have had a hard time adjusting to the murder case."

하여주 [28]

"Oh, yes, thank you."

05:37 PM

Fortunately, I was able to get home on time today. As the minute hand of the clock neared 5:40 PM, I safely completed my first day on the job with Team 1 and was able to leave relatively quietly.

Yeo-ju was the first to leave the office of the Violent Crimes Unit 1, leaving only seven police officers inside, clutching their heads. The reason, as you might guess, was because Yeo-ju had questions about Superintendent Kim and the truths hidden within his words.

정호석 [30]

"...This time, I will definitely do it."

정호석 [30]

"I will not create something that sacrifices anyone."

하여주 [28]

"I'm back."

윤도운 [35]

"The heroine is here already?"

하여주 [28]

"Are you finished work?"

윤도운 [35]

"I just stayed home and rested today. I didn't want to go to work."

윤도운 [35]

"So, how did you feel about your first day at work?"

하여주 [28]

"...hmm-"

Here's my impression. It was a day so hectic I can't even remember what I did. I couldn't find the words to say, so I sat in my chair with a faint smile. The man noticed, didn't show any sign of it, and simply changed the subject. Thankfully, he didn't ask me any more questions.

윤도운 [35]

"Have you had lunch?"

하여주 [28]

"I didn't eat... I was really busy today."

윤도운 [35]

“Of course_ It was the first day, so you must have been really nervous.”

윤도운 [35]

"Then you must be really hungry now?"

윤도운 [35]

"You disobedient bastard who didn't even eat breakfast."

하여주 [28]

"I'm not particularly hungry."

윤도운 [35]

"But I have to eat_ I can't go to work tomorrow hungry."

하여주 [28]

"...Well, it was a reckless thing, wasn't it?"

I was chatting and laughing like any other day, when my phone suddenly rang loudly. I checked... and it was an unknown number. I usually don't answer calls from unknown numbers, so I was about to hang up.

At the same time, I hear the urgent voices of my seniors in my ears.

하여주 [28]

"Oh, what is it...!"

It turned out that he'd left work without disconnecting the in-ear communication connected to the radio. I was so busy working that I didn't even realize I had the in-ears plugged in. It was amazing.

I came to my senses and pressed down on my earbuds, and the seniors' voices grew louder. Then, as they announced that they were connected, their voices, even more agitated, rang in my ears.

전정국 [27]

@ "Officer Ha!!"

하여주 [28]

@ "Ah. N, yes...! This is the police officer's response."

정호석 [30]

@ "Come to each other right now. Got it?!"

하여주 [28]

@ "yes...?"

김태형 [29]

@ "I'm sorry for making you leave work late, but I found Kim Yu-seon's diary..."

김남준 [30]

@ "As fast as possible! Got it?"

박지민 [29]

@ "Answer me, Officer Ha!!"

하여주 [28]

@ "Okay, I understand...! I'll go right away."

The noisy in-ears finally stopped ringing, and only then did my ears finally calm down, but my heart started beating rapidly. A callback? It must have contained something quite important.

윤도운 [35]

"Why... what happened?"

하여주 [28]

"...I think I should go out right away. New evidence has come out."

하여주 [28]

"I might be late, so don't wait for me and go to sleep...!"

윤도운 [35]

"Oh, oh, oh, okay...! Have a nice trip-"

We were all flustered, and with that same flustered cheer from the old man, we crumpled our shoes and ran around without stopping for a moment. Yeah... I guess I'm the weird one, excited about getting off work early.

The police station was a 20-minute walk away, but I arrived at the office in just 10. My once-neat uniform was drenched in sweat. I'd been running so hard that only now, having finally stopped, did my hands begin to tremble.

My seniors seemed quite surprised to see me like that, so they handed me a tissue and told me to wipe the sweat off my face. They also took out some cold water and ice cubes from the office refrigerator and gave them to me.

하여주 [28]

"Ha, ah... huh, it's okay, I..."

하여주 [28]

"You said Kim Yu-seon's diary came in?"

김석진 [32]

"...Uh, uh..."

하여주 [28]

"Give it to me."

민윤기 [31]

"...here."

Leaving behind my seniors, who were quite surprised to see me, I looked through Kim Yu-seon's diary. It was a diary from her lifetime... Thinking it might hold some crucial clues, I turned the first page.

April 29, 2002 Today, my husband and I had another fight. We were yelling and throwing things, and it only ended when his boss called him. When will this endless, agonizing fight ever end?

It was immediately apparent that the couple had been fighting for several days prior to the incident. First of all, Han Kyung-sook's testimony about frequent marital quarrels was not false.

May 3, 2002 Today, after another fight, divorce was finally discussed. As I waited for my husband to go to the local government office to pick up the divorce papers, I thought, "This is for the best. I don't have to stress anymore, and I won't have to see that guy anymore."

Three days, six days before the incident. It seemed like six days ago was the first time they'd argued and brought up divorce. Kim Yu-seon seemed to think divorce was the better option, and her husband, Lee Han-min, seemed to agree, as he went to the local government office to pick up divorce papers.

하여주 [28]

"The last diary entry is... May 9th, the day of the incident."

May 9, 2002 The fight over property division finally ended when Kyung-sook yelled at me to go to her sister's flower shop. The divorce papers had already been stamped with our respective seals. Seeing my husband pointing a knife at me and yelling at me to kill myself...

...Wait a minute. On the day of the incident, during a fight between the couple, Lee Han-min thrust a knife at Kim Yu-seon and yelled at her to "kill herself." The outline of the culprit seemed to be emerging. And the final line from the diary entry written on the day of the incident.

Seeing my husband pointing a knife at me and yelling at me to kill myself, I knew there was no reason to delay any longer. I was happy, thinking that tomorrow I could escape this hell.

하여주 [28]

"Is this the end?"

김태형 [29]

Yeah. If you have any idea, tell me.

하여주 [28]

"Han Kyung-sook's statement that Kim Yu-seon and her husband have been fighting frequently recently is not false."

하여주 [28]

"If you look at the diary entry from April 29th, there's a line that says, 'I fought with my husband today too.' April 29th is 10 days before the incident. So..."

...Wait a minute. He clearly said "today too." If he said "today too" 10 days before the incident, that means they fought even earlier than that. Han Kyung-sook's statement said they've been fighting a lot lately.

Even though the two are close siblings, they didn't say anything because of a family scandal and kept it a secret, and then recently spoke about it or didn't say anything at all, but there is a high probability that Ms. Han Kyung-sook guessed it or made a statement that they had a fight in order to frame Mr. Lee Han-min as the culprit.

박지민 [29]

"Why? Is there something you're wondering about?"

하여주 [28]

"...I think I'll have to meet Mr. Lee Han-min later."

하여주 [28]

"I need to ask about the discrepancies between Han Kyung-sook's statement and Kim Yu-seon's diary."

하여주 [28]

"Anyway, six days before the incident, the two of them were fighting and the topic of divorce came up. While Lee Han-min was at the local government office getting divorce papers, I think the diary Kim Yu-seon wrote was dated May 3rd."

하여주 [28]

"This was the first time the topic of divorce was mentioned, and I think they both agreed to it."

하여주 [28]

"Kim Yu-seon said, 'It's better now. I don't have to be stressed anymore, and I don't have to see that person anymore.' And when Lee Han-min went to get the documents, it seems he agreed."

하여주 [28]

"Whether he really agreed... only Lee Han-min himself will know."

하여주 [28]

"And May 9th. There's a diary entry for the day of the incident."

하여주 [28]

"During the couple's fight, Lee Han-min pointed a knife at Kim Yu-seon and shouted at her to kill herself. Kim Yu-seon then practically ran away, saying she was going to Han Kyung-sook's flower shop."

하여주 [28]

"During this process, there is also a possibility that Lee Han-min, unable to control his anger, chased after Kim Yu-seon and killed her."

하여주 [28]

"There are still many aspects of Han Kyung-sook's statement that warrant suspicion. There are also discrepancies between her statement and the contents of her diary."

김석진 [32]

"Detective Kim. Locate Mr. Lee Han-min."

김남준 [30]

"You are living in the house you shared with Kim Yu-seon."

정호석 [30]

"Shall we go and get a statement?"

전정국 [27]

"I think that would be better."

정호석 [30]

"Take a note of the address, Officer Kim. I'll have the car wait."

김남준 [30]

"Seonyu-dong•••..."

박지민 [29]

"You did a good job earlier, Officer Ha."

하여주 [28]

"Thank you - I'm glad I could help."

박지민 [29]

"I'll report to the superintendent. He'll assign you a position."

하여주 [28]

"What's your position?"

박지민 [29]

"Yeah, we all have positions we're responsible for."

박지민 [29]

"You'll probably get a general idea once you start working there."

박지민 [29]

"You'll soon have a solid position, so just keep doing this. Got it?"

하여주 [28]

"Yes, I understand...! Thank you."

민윤기 [31]

"Officer Park, Officer Ha! Why don't you come quickly?"

박지민 [29]

"I'm going~!"

Only after hearing praise from Officer Park, who had been blunt toward me from day one, did I finally feel a sense of belonging, a sense of belonging in the Violent Crimes Unit 1, even as I shrugged. It was so embarrassing that I even felt a brief regret about becoming a police officer.

Mr. Lee Han-min, that is, Lee Han-min and Kim Yu-seon, came to the house they lived in together and knocked on the front door. There wasn't even a sound from inside, and I wondered if they were wary of us. Out of the eight of us, I, whose voice sounded more affectionate, knocked on the door and called out to Lee Han-min.

하여주 [28]

"Mr. Lee Han-min - are you there?"

하여주 [28]

"Mr. Lee Han-min. We are here to help you."

하여주 [28]

"If you are inside, please respond so we can assist Mr. Lee Han-min."

I desperately called out to Lee Han-min in a pitiful voice, but there was no response. I had no choice but to try to reach some sort of compromise with Lee Han-min, who might be inside.

하여주 [28]

"Okay. You don't have to answer, but if you're inside, just listen to me and follow what I say."

하여주 [28]

"Mr. Lee Han-min, if you are inside right now, please turn on the television and turn the volume up to maximum."

하여주 [28]

"Please respond so we can help Mr. Hanmin."

How long had it been since I'd held my breath and waited? A loud home shopping broadcast wafted through the otherwise quiet house. My legs almost gave out in relief, but I managed to muster the strength to speak to Lee Han-min.

하여주 [28]

"Thank you for giving me courage."

하여주 [28]

"We are Team 1 of the Violent Crimes Unit, investigating the Black Rose Murder Case, the murder of your wife, Kim Yu-seon."

하여주 [28]

"It must be hard for you, isn't it? Losing your wife in just one day..."

I was about to continue speaking when Officer Jeong grabbed my wrist and placed his index finger to his lips, signaling for silence. Then, as I pressed my ear to the door, I could faintly hear Lee Han-min's voice, its voice cracking and slightly mixed with sobs.

이한민 [38]

"It's all my fault that Yooseon ended up like this..."

이한민 [38]

"If only I had controlled my emotions a little more... If only Yooseon..."

Her voice was shaking violently, her voice sounded like she was going to cry even though she had only just started speaking, and her voice was hoarse as if she had been crying all along... At least I could roughly guess how much she felt sorry for Kim Yu-seon.

하여주 [28]

"If you feel sorry for Kim Yu-seon, please let us into your home, Lee Han-min."

하여주 [28]

"If you talk to us, we can catch the culprit who killed Kim Yu-seon a day sooner."

이한민 [38]

"...Are you police officers?"

하여주 [28]

"Yes, please talk to us for a moment."

이한민 [38]

"How many minutes have you been here?"

하여주 [28]

"Eight people came, but if it's inconvenient, please let just a few people in."

이한민 [38]

"...Please wait a moment. The house is very... dirty."

A few rustling sounds were heard from inside the house, and then the door opened. The moment the door opened, a pungent stench of alcohol wafted out, stinging my nose. Then came the puffy, watery eyes, the red, wet corners of the eyes, the messy hair, the foul odor... All of it was Lee Han-min's.

이한민 [38]

"Come in, everyone—it's shabby, but..."

I endured the pungent smell, smiled kindly, and entered Lee Han-min's house. I couldn't help but pray that this wasn't a trap, and that nothing unexpected would happen.

Upon entering the house, bottles of liquor were strewn across the floor, as if they'd been hastily cleared away, and dishes were piled high in the sink. Apparently, the only dishes left were ramen, as the only items left were a large pot and chopsticks.

All the picture frames that contained photos of Kim Yu-seon and Lee Han-min together were broken, and several of them were damp, as if soaked in tears.

전정국 [27]

"...oh my god."

이한민 [38]

"The house is a bit... dirty, isn't it?"

이한민 [38]

"Oh, please come in slowly and don't step on the glass shards."

하여주 [28]

"...Your wife passed away. It must have been very difficult for you."

이한민 [38]

"...That's right. I was the one who was bad until the end."

하여주 [28]

"Today, the diary that Kim Yu-seon used while she was alive was discovered."

하여주 [28]

"We obtained it as evidence."

이한민 [38]

"What... was it written on? Was it full of my curses?"

하여주 [28]

"Ms. Han Kyung-sook said that the two of you have been fighting a lot lately."

하여주 [28]

"There were things like that written in the diary too."

하여주 [28]

"May I ask when you two started fighting so often?"

김석진 [32]

"...Sergeant Kim. Turn on the recorder."

김석진 [32]

"Detective Jeong, turn on the camera."

Detective Kim, who had been standing at the very back, quietly gave the signal to act. Officer Jeong and Detective Kim followed suit, quietly operating their recorders and cameras and approaching Lee Han-min. After all, statements require evidence.

이한민 [38]

“I don’t remember exactly when it started, but it was probably about a month ago.”

As expected. A month ago... I found out that the two had been arguing for much longer than ten days. Han Kyung-sook said "recently," but if they'd been fighting every day for a month, there's no way they could use the word "recently."

이한민 [38]

"We were originally on good terms... so I thought we'd just fight one day."

이한민 [38]

"But that went on for a month, and eventually..."

Lee Han-min, unable to continue speaking, lowered his head, shedding clear tears on the floor... I hated having to wonder if this was acting or sincerity. To have to remain calm even when witnessing someone's tears? Nothing could be more heartbreaking.

하여주 [28]

"...May I ask why you fought?"

이한민 [38]

"It was all just trivial things... Why don't you divide up the housework? Don't drink too much. Don't watch TV next to someone who's sleeping at dawn. Don't come home late..."

이한민 [38]

"During that process, I even held a knife and screamed at Yooseon to kill him..."

김태형 [29]

"What did Kim Yu-seon do at that time?"

이한민 [38]

"He blocked me with a cushion and yelled that he would leave me, and he changed his clothes..."

이한민 [38]

"I asked where she was going, and she said she was going to Kyungsook's flower shop..."

하여주 [28]

"I heard that on the day of the incident, both parties had already stamped their seals on the divorce papers. Is that correct?"

이한민 [38]

"Yes... Oh, I'm sorry, but I can't say any more..."

이한민 [38]

"The memories of that time are still vivid... and they're not even allowing a funeral because they say an autopsy is needed..."

With Lee Han-min avoiding the question, it seemed difficult to get any further statements. Then, Detective Jeong turned off the recorder and asked me who I thought the culprit was.

정호석 [30]

"You can arrest Lee Han-min right here, or you can think about it some more."

하여주 [28]

"...Officer Park."

박지민 [29]

"huh?"

하여주 [28]

"Handcuffs... Did you bring any?"

박지민 [29]

"Right...? Why?"

하여주 [28]

"Can you give me some?"

박지민 [29]

"Uh, uh... yeah."

With a slightly puzzled expression, Officer Park took the handcuffs out of his pants and handed them to me. He accepted them, stood in front of Lee Han-min, bit his lip a few times, took a deep breath, and then spoke clearly and distinctly to Lee Han-min.

하여주 [28]

"...Mr. Lee Han-min,"

하여주 [28]

"You are hereby arrested on charges of murder and assault against Kim Yu-seon."

I hope my choice wasn't wrong. I hope no one suffers injustice because of me, as I handcuff Lee Han-min, whose eyes widened as he left his surprised seniors behind. In this situation, I could only pray earnestly to the heavens.

_ Character count: 8298 characters [I'm not good at controlling the amount of content... Please just think of the overflowing content as happiness...😇]