Dangerous Investigation Diary

Ep. 13 ° Elementary School Mass Disappearance Case (1)

And so, another incident ended. Do Beom-su was safely taken into custody, and with the situation now known, it seemed he wasn't facing much criticism. When I returned to my office and sat down, I finally felt a bit less tense. When I turned on the internet, I saw a picture of a national secret vault theft...

박지민 [29]

“Discrimination should be eliminated as soon as possible.”

전정국 [27]

"That's the simplest, yet not the easiest."

전정국 [27]

"An act that violates human morality and degrades human value..."

전정국 [27]

"They will turn a blind eye even though they know it's wrong."

김석진 [32]

"There's nothing we can do. I've already handed over the evidence of corruption, so they'll take care of it."

민윤기 [31]

"Let's focus on our work."

민윤기 [31]

“Don’t you all know that there are so many incidents going on right now?”

민윤기 [31]

"In the worst case scenario, we might have to investigate minor cases while investigating major ones."

정호석 [30]

"Inspector..."

민윤기 [31]

"...Oh. Sorry."

민윤기 [31]

"Anyway, let's come to our senses."

민윤기 [31]

"If you don't want the same thing to happen to you, do it right."

민윤기 [31]

"...I believe you understand."

"While investigating major cases, we also investigate minor ones." His words seemed to irritate his seniors, causing them to frown slightly at Detective Min's words. Could those words be a hint about someone named Shin Da-hee? I pause to consider.

김태형 [29]

"Everyone, it's easy until the incident comes in."

김태형 [29]

"This incident is very tiring in many ways."

김남준 [30]

"Okay. I'll go up to the rooftop for a bit."

정호석 [30]

"What are you going to do?"

김남준 [30]

"Let's get some fresh air."

정호석 [30]

"I'll go too."

김남준 [30]

"Or so."

김남준 [30]

"...Sergeant Ha, do you want to go with us?"

하여주 [28]

"Uh... yes?"

Sergeant Kim's sudden offer. Normally, I would have declined, but for some reason, his eyes were filled with power. It seemed as if he was telling me he had something to say. So, without further comment, I followed Sergeant Jeong and Sergeant Kim to the rooftop.

The BU Police Station rooftop, which I first climbed, was monotonous. It was a colorless structure with a simple smoking area in one corner. It was quite spacious for a rooftop, and the view was truly breathtaking. The weather was exceptionally clear. The sky was a beautiful blue...

As soon as he stepped onto the rooftop, Officer Kim let out a deep sigh. Officer Jeong crouched down, leaning against the wall in silence, fiddling with his bitten fingernails. He also added that it was dangerous to get too close to the railing.

정호석 [30]

".....Hey, Kim Namjoon."

김남준 [30]

"...uh."

정호석 [30]

"You're not going to tell the kid? Isn't that what you came up here to say?"

김남준 [30]

"...As expected, you are very perceptive."

정호석 [30]

"If you're not ready, tell me later."

김남준 [30]

"...Ha. Okay, well."

김남준 [30]

"I'll tell you the long story later..."

김남준 [30]

"Let me just tell you this, Officer Ha."

하여주 [28]

"...yes?"

김남준 [30]

"A child named Shin Da-hee,"

김남준 [30]

"Three years ago, something terrible happened and I took my own life here."

하여주 [28]

".....yes?"

하여주 [28]

"Why, why..."

김남준 [30]

"I'll tell you more details when I get some more time to discuss the case."

정호석 [30]

"...As I said last time, can you wait until then?"

하여주 [28]

"Uh, yeah..."

정호석 [30]

".....I feel it every time I see it."

정호석 [30]

"You look a lot like Dahee."

정호석 [30]

"Dahee was really pretty like you."

김남준 [30]

"I feel so lucky that you are happy when you are with us."

정호석 [30]

"Please grow up brightly like that from now on."

김남준 [30]

"There's a case. Let's go down."

정호석 [30]

"...Okay. Anyway, just stay like this."

정호석 [30]

"Let's go down."

하여주 [28]

"yes...!"

The seniors, perhaps unprepared to speak, hesitated for a while before finally learning the reason for Shin Da-hee's death. Perhaps that's why they missed her so much... I could see their backs trembling as they headed to the office to check on the case, tears welling up in their eyes.

I ran down to the office, drenched in sweat, but I didn't have the luxury of caring. An incident had occurred, but also because Officer Min's words, telling me to do the right thing if I didn't want the same thing to happen again, kept echoing in my head.

김남준 [30]

"What's going on?"

김석진 [32]

"Starting on April 27th, children have been disappearing one after another in Domun-dong, but they haven't been caught at all, so they were handed over to us."

김석진 [32]

"The suspects are unclear, and there are a whopping 14 missing children."

김석진 [32]

"I think we need to do a site visit first."

김석진 [32]

"Order to deploy."

정호석 [30]

"Okay, just a moment..."

After listening to a brief explanation of the incident and taking notes on a post-it note, Detective Jeong turned on the microphone only after receiving the initial investigation report.

정호석 [30]

"Case number 2002do256, near Domun Elementary School in Domun-dong. A mass disappearance of elementary school students has been reported. Dispatch immediately."

민윤기 [31]

"Strong Team 1, prepare to deploy."

Hearing the order to deploy and gathering equipment have become familiar tasks. Putting a small notebook in a small pocket and a pen in the chest pocket. And only after I've even stuffed a Taser gun into my pocket just in case, am I ready to go?

This is already the third case this police station has encountered. With Superintendent Kim's call for action, the investigation into our third case, the "elementary school mass disappearance," begins.

Domun Elementary School was located in a more remote location than I expected. Parents holding placards and protesting in front of the school gate, begging for their children to be found, stood out. They had mats, blankets, umbrellas... They seemed to have lived here for several days.

The picket signs, seemingly handcrafted from large wooden blocks, bore the pictures of the missing children, along with their names and ages. They also urged Domun Elementary School to take responsibility for finding the children and not shirk its responsibilities.

박지민 [29]

"It seems like the school the kids go to is shifting the blame."

민윤기 [31]

"It's the worst. I can't even offer any comfort..."

김석진 [32]

"Speak to me, Officer Kim."

At Inspector Kim's words, the seemingly soulless officer's eyes sparkled and a smile appeared before him as he approached the protesting parents. That senior, just like Inspector Min, possesses incredible concentration while working, yet he seems oblivious to it.

김태형 [29]

"Hello~ Can I talk to you for a moment?"

The parents weren't too wary of the handsome face that anyone could see, but since they were people who had been hurt by others, they didn't completely let their guard down and asked who he was.

김태형 [29]

"Oh, I-"

김태형 [29]

"This is Detective Kim Tae-hyung from the Violent Crimes Unit 1, from the BU Police Station."

김태형 [29]

"You know Imjeon-dong, right? It's a bit far from here."

"What brings you here from so far away..."

김태형 [29]

"I heard there's been a mass disappearance recently."

김태형 [29]

"As the matter has grown, the case has been transferred to our jurisdiction, so we ask for your cooperation."

"Oh my, that national secret vault theft a while ago? You're the ones who solved that!"

"Hehe. I see - they are incredibly talented people...!"

김태형 [29]

"Yes, that's right. Did the rumor get that far?"

As always, Sergeant Kim's savvy never goes out of style. He spoke with a smile that made people completely let down their guard. From beginning to end, he was so natural, and in that moment, I truly admired him.

김태형 [29]

"Are you all the parents of the missing children?"

"yes..."

김태형 [29]

"Could you talk to us for a moment?"

"I will..."

김태형 [29]

"Is tea okay, or coffee okay?"

"Anything is fine."

김태형 [29]

"Officer Ha. Do you see that cafe over there?"

하여주 [28]

"Oh, yes...!"

김태형 [29]

"Go over there and buy me 16 iced Americanos, ah!"

민윤기 [31]

"Hey. Do you keep making the youngest do useless things?"

김태형 [29]

"Mr. Lee... Then who should I ask! Is Detective Min going to go?"

하여주 [28]

"Hahahaha, it's okay, Officer Min. I can go and come back."

김석진 [32]

"Are you okay? Should I go with you?"

하여주 [28]

"No. There are many people who need to investigate, so I just need to go and come back quickly."

박지민 [29]

"Take care on your way. If anything happens, hold down the earpiece. Got it?"

하여주 [28]

"Okay, I'll be back!"

김남준 [30]

"Why do you make an innocent child run errands?"

김태형 [29]

"It's supposed to be the youngest who does this."

김태형 [29]

"If not now, then when else would you make excuses about being the youngest?"

전정국 [27]

"Parents, please follow us and come this way-"

김태형 [29]

"Now you're just ignoring me..."

The investigation into the first case began with Officer Kim's grumbling. The first task was a pre-search interrogation of the missing person's location. While they were concentrating on the investigation, no one could have known what would happen to Officer Ha, who had briefly left the group. Who knew that he would feel guilty for ordering him to run errands?

As I entered the cafe that Officer Kim had pointed out, an eerily familiar interior caught my eye, and a pungent perfume wafted into my nostrils. The usual soft music playing in cafes wasn't playing, and all I could hear was the rough sound of dishes being washed in the kitchen. It's not easy to find a place this empty.

하여주 [28]

".....Are you there?"

I mustered up the courage to open my mouth, and the sound of dishes washing stopped. As the footsteps from the kitchen toward the counter grew closer, I suddenly felt a surge of tension, and I gripped the card belonging to Officer Kim even tighter.

하현성 [54]

"Yes... welcome."

Time and space seemed to have stopped. The man wearing an apron, the cafe owner, who greeted me, seemed unbelievable, but he was definitely my father. He was the man who divorced my mother and left home some years ago, when I was a child. It was unmistakable.

하현성 [54]

"Can I help you order?"

I couldn't understand why my father, with his fierce appearance, his dislike of socializing, and his aversion to small pleasures and chores, was working in a cafe, a service industry. I figured that was why there weren't any customers.

When my father asked me again if I wanted to order, I couldn't answer or open my mouth, and just as I was about to turn around and leave, my stiff body stiff.

하현성 [54]

".....Are you, by any chance, Yeoju?"

My father, who was 5 years old at the time and 28 years old at the time, somehow managed to match up, and he recognized me and called me by name... It was terrifying. He hadn't contributed anything to my growth during my childhood. I told him he had the wrong person and continued walking.

하현성 [54]

"Wait a minute...! Let me talk. Huh?"

If my dad hadn't jumped out from behind the counter and stopped me from grabbing the cafe door handle, I could have just left, but everything was ruined because of him.

하여주 [28]

"People, I told you you saw something wrong...!"

하현성 [54]

"You're just like when you were young, my lady..."

하현성 [54]

"What's with this uniform, huh?"

하여주 [28]

"Put this down!"

The moment I put my hand to my ear to press the in-ear button, my father grabbed my wrist. Requests for help from my seniors were all but limited, and I could only resist. I felt helpless. Unless it was a citizen's arrest, I wouldn't have been able to approach.

하현성 [54]

"Do you know where your mother went?"

하여주 [28]

"I don't know, so let go...!"

Elite brains are useless in times like this. Maybe I should go work out with the police officer. After about three minutes of struggling, repeatedly shaking off my father's hand, I finally managed to press the earpiece and communicate with my seniors.

하여주 [28]

@ "This is Officer Haejoo! Now...!"

박지민 [29]

@ "What? Where are you, Officer Ha!"

하현성 [54]

"Huh? I said let's talk for a moment, what is this..."

하여주 [28]

@ "This is HE Cafe. I'm currently arguing with the owner...!"

민윤기 [31]

@ "What?! Why all of a sudden!"

하여주 [28]

@ "The owner of HE Cafe said, "

하현성 [54]

"You come here!!"

•••

김석진 [32]

@ "Officer Ha...! Wake up, Officer Ha!!"

The in-ear communication ended with the screams of a middle-aged man and a police officer. The Violent Crimes Unit 1, who were investigating the parents of the missing children, frantically gathered their coats as soon as the in-ear communication was cut off. Perhaps it was because they were reminded of someone named Shin Da-hee.

"Tongue, detectives...?"

김태형 [29]

"I'm sorry. Please wait a moment with the other officers."

Without even a moment to explain the situation, Team 1 of the Violent Crimes Unit left the interrogation room, consistently asking for a moment. Their hurried steps toward Domun-dong, their hands reddened from the force of their grip, and their eyes reddened with tears, spoke volumes beyond their past.

Elementary school mass disappearance case! 💥 Before we get started, the next episode will feature Shin Da-hee and the Violent Crimes Unit 1 :) We'll do our best to repay your continued support! Thank you 🙇‍♀️💛

_ Number of characters: 5423