Dangerous Investigation Diary

Ep. 17 ° Elementary School Mass Disappearance Case (4) _

하여주 [28]

"If I were to identify Ha Hyun-seong as a prime suspect, would that be credible?"

Back in time, before Officer Ha sent the text to Officer Kim, or more precisely, when Officer Ha questioned Officer Jeong about the credibility of his own statement. Officer Jeong, who had just woken up from a faint, blinked slowly and answered Officer Ha.

정호석 [30]

"Well... if you're confident, it'll be credible."

정호석 [30]

"...no way."

하여주 [28]

".....That's because I really saw it. The door."

정호석 [30]

"You, ha... That alone doesn't even get you permission to conduct an internal investigation."

하여주 [28]

"...I think this is the best help I can give you."

정호석 [30]

"If your remarks cause any confusion in the investigation, then..."

하여주 [28]

"I'll take care of everything then. Please allow me."

정호석 [30]

"...Okay. Contact Sergeant Kim."

하여주 [28]

"thank you."

정호석 [30]

"I'm going out for a bit. Take a rest."

After a brief struggle, Officer Ha obtained Officer Jeong's permission, and Officer Jeong left the sickroom to cool his pounding head.

After leaving the hospital room, Officer Jeong smoked a couple of cigarettes in the smoking area outside the hospital before re-entering. Unable to bring himself to enter Officer Ha's room, he sat in a chair in the hallway, tapping away at his cell phone, unable to make contact.

정호석 [30]

"...I hope things are going well."

While Officer Jeong was fidgeting and shaking his legs, worried that Officer Ha's testimony, which he had allowed, might have caused confusion in the investigation, the hospital suddenly became noisy.

정호석 [30]

"...what?"

As he headed out to the information desk, patients were arriving at a frantic pace. The wailing voices of parents, complaining of malnourished elementary school children, pierced Sergeant Jeong's ears, causing him to grimace. And then, before he could hear anything but noise, he heard the clear voice of Officer Jeon.

전정국 [27]

Turning his head toward the sound, he spotted Officer Jeon, sweating profusely as he processed the admission process. Wait a minute, Officer Jeon and the malnourished elementary school students... No way.

정호석 [30]

"I'm a police officer."

전정국 [27]

"Oh, you're here. Please wait a moment."

정호석 [30]

"What... is it resolved?"

전정국 [27]

"thank you..."

정호석 [30]

"huh?"

전정국 [27]

"yes?"

정호석 [30]

"Is the case solved?"

전정국 [27]

"Oh, yes. Officer Ha was right."

정호석 [30]

"Really? That's a relief..."

전정국 [27]

"What about Officer Ha? Are you resting well?"

정호석 [30]

"Yeah. I fell asleep again. I put a lot of that ingredient in the sap..."

전정국 [27]

"Ah... Anyway, all the missing elementary school students were found inside the cafe."

전정국 [27]

"Mr. Ha Hyun-seong will be preparing for interrogation."

정호석 [30]

"Really? I'll be there soon. Take Officer Ha with you."

전정국 [27]

"Officer Ha too? Why Officer Ha..."

정호석 [30]

"He deserves an apology too-"

정호석 [30]

"Because I can't get back the childhood that was stolen from me by that author called Abi."

In the interrogation room, where the stuffy air was unfamiliar, no matter how often I entered, were the members of Violent Crimes Unit 1, excluding Officer Jeong, Officer Jeon, and Officer Ha, along with the real culprit in this case, Ha Hyun-seong. Given the injuries and the young nature of the victim, Violent Crimes Unit 1 was inevitably more sensitive to this case.

Perhaps that's why the interrogation room, even cooler than usual, enveloped Ha Hyun-seong. The gazes of Officer Kim, who sat before him, silently preparing for the interrogation, and the four other officers surrounding him, were so murderous that they were beyond words. Ha Hyun-seong clenched his jaw.

김태형 [29]

"Mr. Ha Hyun-seong?"

하현성 [54]

"yes yes?"

김태형 [29]

"You admit to all the crimes, right?"

하현성 [54]

"Is there more to it than just kidnapping the kids?"

김태형 [29]

"There's no sign of reflection at all."

김태형 [29]

"Mr. Ha Hyun-seong. There are already three charges that could land you in jail."

김태형 [29]

"If you come out with this attitude, it won't work out, right?"

하현성 [54]

"...Well, I also had my own circumstances."

김태형 [29]

"What are the circumstances that lead you to commit a crime?"

김태형 [29]

"That's the kidnapping and imprisonment of 14 children..."

하현성 [54]

"...Anyway! I had every reason to do that."

김태형 [29]

"Would you like to tell me why you caused the children to become malnourished?"

하현성 [54]

"That's right. I'm sure detectives will change their minds after hearing this."

김석진 [32]

"...her."

박지민 [29]

"that,"

박지민 [29]

"We will judge."

Rather, Ha Hyun-seong's confident demeanor sent rage through everyone in the interrogation room, including Officer Kim, who was conducting the interrogation. Officer Kim, in particular, suppressed his anger by staring at the list of victims and clenching his fists.

[The Full Story _ Ha Hyun-seong's Point of View]

It's been over 20 years since I divorced my wife. It was the right thing to do for our daughter, and it was better for us. I cherished her to begin with, so I trusted my wife and left her in her care. But recently, I had a chance to talk to my wife on the phone, and when I got drunk, I called her.

하현성 [54]

- "Honey... I saw Yeoju on TV recently. Did you see it?"

이다빈 [49]

- "Yeoju? It's been over 20 years since I last saw you."

하현성 [54]

- "What? Why? Did you go so far away to do police work?"

이다빈 [49]

- "no?"

이다빈 [49]

- "I left it at the park when Yeoju was 5 years old?"

하현성 [54]

- ".....what?"

I was furious. I trusted her, and all I got was, "She abandoned me so soon after our divorce." I never hated her in the first place. It was just the circumstances, and the timing was just wrong.

I hung up the phone and stood in the alley for a while, dazed. I wanted to see Yeoju's face and at least apologize. Then I saw an article about Yeoju graduating at the top of her class from the police academy and joining the Violent Crimes Unit 1 at the BU Police Station, which oversees Imjeon-dong.

Yes, that's how I see the heroine. It's just my way.

Even if it's a crime, it's something to see.

Doing anything to achieve what you want.

The target was Domun Elementary School. Before that, we wanted a safe place, so we set up a cafe on the first floor of the Domun Building, the well-known HE Cafe, and illegally remodeled it to create a space to confine the children. April 27th, Domun Elementary School's dismissal time.

하현성 [54]

"Hello~"

박진선 [12]

"who are you?"

하현성 [54]

"The old man just opened a new HE cafe over there and is giving out cookies to celebrate the opening~"

하현성 [54]

"Want to try it? I made it myself."

박진선 [12]

"Wow! Thank you."

In fact, those cookies were heavily loaded with sleeping pills, and when a child passed out on the way home from school after eating the cookies I gave him, I put him in my car and brought him to my cafe. That's how I lured several other children. That's all.

I had no intention of killing those children, nor did I threaten their parents. I didn't even care about them. I don't know their names or ages. I just gave them food and water on time, and if they were too noisy, I'd gag them.

I'm just a father who wants to see his daughter.

김태형 [29]

"...Father, you say?"

하현성 [54]

"Yeah, I just-"

Ha Hyun-seong, who was babbling and making absurd excuses, was grabbed by the collar by Lieutenant Min. Consequently, Ha Hyun-seong's free-spirited speech also came to a halt.

The members of Team 1 of the Violent Crimes Unit have only seen Officer Min's inability to control his anger twice: once when Officer Shin Da-hee died, and now.

민윤기 [31]

"Do you find it funny just by talking? Don't you know what you've just done?"

김석진 [32]

"Detective Min, stop."

민윤기 [31]

"Because of you, Officer Ha is now...!!"

김석진 [32]

"Detective Min."

민윤기 [31]

"....."

김석진 [32]

"Get out. You could be at a disadvantage too."

민윤기 [31]

".....Yes. I'm sorry."

김석진 [32]

"Officer Kim. Finish the interrogation."

김태형 [29]

"...yes."

김태형 [29]

"Mr. Ha Hyun-seong."

하현성 [54]

"yes."

김태형 [29]

“You said earlier that you didn’t even know the names or ages of the children you kidnapped.”

하현성 [54]

"Right. Because I wasn't interested."

김태형 [29]

"Then, from now on, remember this clearly."

하현성 [54]

"...yes?"

김태형 [29]

"....."

Officer Kim, barely able to suppress his rising emotions, began to slowly read the list of missing persons.

김태형 [29]

"8 years old, first graders at Domun Elementary School. One girl, two boys. Kim Seon-hee, Kim Dong-jun, Park Seong-woo."

김태형 [29]

"9 years old, 2nd grade at Domun Elementary School. Two boys. Jo Woong and Woo Hyeon-seo."

김태형 [29]

"10 years old, third graders at Domun Elementary School. Five girls, one boy. Lee Jeong-hee, Yoo Do-ah, Son Ji-yeon, Kim Joo-hyun, and Lee Dong-hyun."

김태형 [29]

"11 years old, 4th graders at Domun Elementary School. Two boys. Kang Ye-hyeon and Do Hyeon-gyu."

김태형 [29]

"12 years old, 5th grade student at Domun Elementary School. One female student. Park Jin-seon."

김태형 [29]

"13 years old, 6th grade student at Domun Elementary School. One female student. Ji Yeon-young."

After Detective Kim finished speaking, silence fell over the interrogation room. Ha Hyun-seong stared blankly down at the desk, speechless. His thoughts were truly unpredictable. Was he feeling a belated sense of guilt? Or was he still completely emotionless?

김태형 [29]

"...Mr. Ha Hyeon-seong. You said you did this because you wanted to see your daughter."

하현성 [54]

"....."

김태형 [29]

"The memories I've heard of Officer Ha's father are that he was just a violent person."

김태형 [29]

"I still don't understand why you're only now trying to see Officer Ha..."

김태형 [29]

"Of course it doesn't matter. There are plenty of reasons to put him in jail."

김태형 [29]

"Mr. Ha Hyeon-seong, you probably haven't even seen Officer Ha graduate from kindergarten, let alone elementary school."

김태형 [29]

"Mr. Ha Hyeon-seong, what did you do as a father when Police Officer Ha was 5 years old?"

김태형 [29]

"...the parents of these 14 missing people,"

김태형 [29]

"You fought all night to find your child."

하현성 [54]

"....."

김태형 [29]

".....Officer Park. Arrest him."

박지민 [29]

"Yeah. Just a moment..."

Suddenly_

정호석 [30]

"Is it too late?"

The interrogation room door swung open, flooding the previously dark room with light. Officer Kim frowned slightly and looked at the door. There, he saw Officer Jeong, Patrolman Jeon, and...

하여주 [28]

"...Return complete."

There was Ha Hyeon-seong's daughter, Hae-yo-ju.

정호석 [30]

"Father, you should apologize to your daughter, right?"

하현성 [54]

".....Lady, Dad..."

하여주 [28]

"....."

하현성 [54]

"I'm sorry, Dad. I gave birth to you and raised you in a house like that..."

하현성 [54]

"I'll apologize on your behalf for abandoning you. I'm truly sorry..."

Even as Ha Hyun-seong's eyes grew wide, Officer Ha remained unmoved. Perhaps it was too late to apologize, as so much time had passed. The Violent Crimes Unit 1 was also focused on what Officer Ha would say.

하여주 [28]

"...Mr. Ha Hyun-seong."

하현성 [54]

"...uh?"

하여주 [28]

"You are under emergency arrest on charges of assault, kidnapping and confinement, illegal remodeling of facilities, etc., and as the ultimate culprit in the mass disappearance of elementary school students."

하현성 [54]

"What, what?! Wait a minute, heroine...!"

하여주 [28]

"...If you were hoping for some leniency, you were foolish."

하여주 [28]

"You still have the talent to put people at ease by pretending to be pitiful when they're cornered."

하여주 [28]

"Did you think I, a five-year-old, wouldn't remember anything?"

하현성 [54]

"Lady, that's... all in the past. Yes?"

하여주 [28]

"It's a thing of the past... I guess you don't know that the thing of the past is still eating away at you, even at the age of twenty-eight."

하여주 [28]

"I understand that you're a bit dull in this area."

하여주 [28]

"I hope we never meet again, not even in the next life."

하여주 [28]

"Congratulations on becoming the worst person in my life."

하현성 [54]

"Hey, heroine. You still have to tell your father...!"

김남준 [30]

"You're going to start talking nonsense again."

전정국 [27]

"Officer Ha, are you done talking?"

하여주 [28]

"...Yes, please arrest me."

하현성 [54]

"My lady, my lady!"

하현성 [54]

"How could you do this to me...!!"

Officer Ha, who had been listening to Ha Hyun-seong's voice fading away, collapsed onto the cold floor of the interrogation room when he could no longer hear it. It was a moment when the Hae-joo of his childhood and the Hae-joo of his present interlocked. Even the Violent Crimes Unit 1 simply watched Officer Ha in silence.

Perhaps this incident may have only left Officer Ha with scars.

[Case No. 2002do256: Elementary School Mass Disappearance Case Closed]

[Investigation log released]

[Investigation log released]

[Investigation log released]

Investigation Log: A metaphorical term for a case manuscript written by the author before solving the case in episodes.

Finally... Finally!!!!! The 'Elementary School Mass Disappearance Case' has come to an end 🥳 Thank you for waiting even during the long hiatus! I'm here a month before I start my second year of high school, as I've been refining my mindset as a high school student...🫠

Thank you so much for waitingㅠㅠ!!! I still feel like I'm a writer who is lacking a lot to you all 🙇‍♀️

If I have time to write after school, I'll try to write a little bit! I don't know if things will change when school starts, but... 🥲 What a test taker......🙀

Thank you for sticking with me through the four-part "Elementary School Mass Disappearance Case," which felt long! Personally, it was the most difficult case to plan, but I'm so proud to have finished it. 🤪

This time too! I'll give you a hint on the initials of the next case!

The 'Kkdgsh Jss' incident 🗣

Then, I promise to come back with the next episode soon! Let's do our best with Team 1 of the Strongest Investigation Team on this case too 🏃 Thank you for waiting for my writing, which is still lacking 😌 I will become an Aji writer who will repay you with better writing! I love you, Adi fans 💛💛💛

_ Number of characters: 5784