Dangerous Investigation Diary

Ep. 26 ° Department Store Bomb Planting Incident (2)

Team 1 succeeded in disarming all the bombs except the one on the rooftop, but unfortunately, the bomb on the rooftop, which was the most powerful, exploded, causing the entire department store building to collapse.

The members of the Violent Crimes Unit 1, excluding Sergeant Kim and Patrolman Jeon, were safely evacuated before the department store completely collapsed, but Sergeant Kim and Patrolman Jeon were buried under the rubble and not a single piece of their clothing could be seen.

정호석 [30]

"Sergeant Kim! Officer Jeon!"

김태형 [29]

"Ha... I should have stopped it when I found out there were 5 minutes left..."

박지민 [29]

"Are you the kind of person who would stop just because someone blocks you? Let's find them quickly."

김석진 [32]

"Sergeant Kim!!! Police Officer Jeon!!!"

Where a high-rise department store once stood, all that remained were desolate, empty floors, shattered rubble, and Team 1, searching for its members whose fates were unknown.

Moments like this are the most heartbreaking for Team 1. I hate the police force for not even thinking about sending a single rescue team to such a critical situation. For fear of stepping on my team members, I can't even get close to the collapsed rubble, so I just scream.

Finally, after they had requested rescue themselves, only then did they finally arrive with several ambulances. Seeing the rescuers, unable to even bring in a forklift and having to carefully remove the debris by hand, Team 1 felt resentful again. They hated themselves for failing to protect their team members, and the police for not sending reinforcements.

"I found it!!!!!"

Just then, the voices of rescue workers were heard from afar, and the members of Team 1 rushed straight toward them. They were speechless as they witnessed Sergeant Kim and Officer Jeon lying in the rubble, clutching each other's hands, in a gruesome state.

Even as paramedics carried Officer Kim and Patrolman Jeon onto stretchers, the members of Violent Crimes Unit 1 remained silent. The only time they could speak, unfortunately, was to stop the reporters from swarming in to interview them. Even at this moment, was the scoop so important to them?

The first thing the Violent Crimes Unit 1 saw as they followed Officer Kim and Patrolman Jeon to the hospital was their news flashing on the hospital television. The bomb had failed to be completely defused, two police officers were injured, and one was unconscious...

I once again hated the media for emphasizing the "failure to defuse the bomb" in their reporting, as if we were no longer the glamorous and flawless Team 1 we once were. There's a lot to hate about us today.

03:37 PM

After more than three hours, the surgery finally concluded, and the operating room door opened, revealing the doctor. Despite the fact that it was a major simultaneous operation, Team 1 looked at the doctor with anxious eyes, feeling as if it had ended a little early.

김석진 [32]

"How... did it go?"

"I put out the fire, but... I don't know when I'll wake up."

"sorry."

Applying lines like those you'd see in sad breakup dramas or movies to our work felt incredibly unrealistic. It felt like the world was deceiving us, that two of our hard-line team members had to hear such lines.

As if it were a last-ditch effort by the police organization, Sergeant Kim and Patrolman Jeon were admitted to the VIP ward. The beeping of the heart rate monitor, echoing the bomb timer I'd heard at the department store, was truly maddening. I thought, "This is what they mean when they say you're going crazy."

김석진 [32]

"...Guys."

정호석 [30]

"...yes."

김석진 [32]

“You know that in times like these... you have to do better, right?”

김석진 [32]

"You saw it too. How the media reports on us."

김석진 [32]

"And... I have to make sure that I don't embarrass former police officer Kim Kyung-sa-rang."

김석진 [32]

"It would be a shame to wake up and hear such things when you're being called an incompetent police officer."

김석진 [32]

"Do you know what I mean?"

His voice, as he spoke with an effortless calm, trembled, and Inspector Kim's eyes glistened with tears. The remaining team members, fearing that their tears might be revealed, refused to respond for the first time, merely nodding. Inspector Kim, unlike his usual self, didn't comment on his team's actions.

With their wits about them, the first team of the Violent Crimes Unit gathered everyone they needed to interrogate. From the initial reporter, Park Soo-yeon, to the security guards who had checked the broadcasting room at the time, the security guard who had locked the door the day before the incident, the department store general manager, and even the managers of each store, everyone was involved.

Team 1, having anticipated the unprecedented number of interrogators, could only sigh. With two missing, they were down to six. When would they finally interrogate over 40 people? Why would they be forced to endure such tragedy and hardship so soon after their vacation? They were at a loss. Their mentality began to break.

김태형 [29]

"This is Detective Kim Tae-hyung from Violent Crimes Unit 1. We, Violent Crimes Unit 1, have invited you to interrogate anyone who may have any connection to this incident."

김태형 [29]

"We have the largest number of interrogators ever, so we may be a bit confused, so please understand."

김태형 [29]

"First, seven people, excluding the store managers. Would you please come into the interrogation room?"

박지민 [29]

"You will each go into the interrogation room one by one-"

김태형 [29]

"Officer Park, put those two people where I am."

박지민 [29]

"...Are you okay?"

김태형 [29]

"Are you doing One Today? It's okay, so put it in."

Seeing the slight trembling of Officer Kim's lips as he spoke, Officer Park, seemingly determined, sent the guard and the department store manager, who were about to enter Officer Kim's interrogation room, into his own. When the startled Officer Kim looked at Officer Park, Officer Park simply smiled.

Sergeant Kim thought that Sergeant Park's efforts to relieve each other's burdens in this way were very typical of Sergeant Park.

09:02 PM

The interrogation, which began at 4 o'clock, lasted over five hours. The faces of the team members emerging from the interrogation room were worn and weary. The sight of them tossing their interrogation notes onto the desk spoke volumes about the five hours of hard work.

김석진 [32]

"...Thank you all for your hard work."

김석진 [32]

"It seems like no one is in the mood to organize an interrogation right now, so should we just get off work today and do it when we come in the next day?"

김태형 [29]

"...But, if you forget the details of the interrogation..."

김석진 [32]

"Everyone must have recorded it and taken notes..."

김석진 [32]

"First, everyone, hurry up and go home."

김석진 [32]

"You must have been out of your mind today, so let's stop here."

Inspector Kim wasn't wrong. Working overtime in my current state was simply insane. My colleague was injured, the media was reporting us as a failure, and after five hours of dealing with seven people at a time, it was simply too much to do any more.

민윤기 [31]

"...Okay. Let's all go home from work."

With Officer Min's words, the officers left the interrogation room one by one. Officer Ha, who had been dazed in the room for a while, finally left at Officer Kim's call. Today, even Team 1, which had been working like machines, needed a break.

It's been a long time since I laid down on my bed. I took a half-body bath and added bath salts to relax my tired body, but my eyes didn't close easily. When I closed them, the sound of the bomb overlapped with the sound of the heart rate monitor, and Sergeant Kim and Officer Jeon came into view.

Finally, I got up and sat down in the rocking chair I'd been sitting in as a student, hoping to snooze, since I'd always slept soundly in bed. Sitting here gave me a strange sense of security. Soon after I sat down, tears welled up in my eyes. The emotions I'd been holding back finally burst out.

하여주 [28]

"...Ah. I shouldn't cry."

One day, Detective Kim saw me crying while solving a case and told me something. He said that if you're mentally unstable, tears will fall, and that you'll be in big trouble. He told me to try not to worry about cases, because it would mean you no longer have the courage to solve them. His words felt absolutely true.

하여주 [28]

"oh my god..."

Just then, I heard a knock on my door. Looking at my watch, I realized it was time for my father to leave work. I wiped away a few tears and opened the door. As expected, the father was standing in front of the room. The housekeeper must have told me I was getting ready for bed after a long time.

하여주 [28]

"Are you here?"

윤도운 [35]

"Yeah. It's been a while since you came into the room?"

하여주 [28]

"Yes... Everyone was having a hard time today, so we left work."

윤도운 [35]

"Good job. Can I come in for a moment?"

하여주 [28]

"It works... but why?"

윤도운 [35]

"Just. I have something to say."

하여주 [28]

"Ah... yes. Come in."

The man came into the room and sat down on the bed, and I sat in the rocking chair. I gently put away the tissue I'd used to wipe away my tears earlier. The man, who had been watching me silently, finally spoke after a long while.

윤도운 [35]

"Is the work worth doing?"

하여주 [28]

"Yes. It's hard sometimes, but..."

윤도운 [35]

"...The reason I came into your room was because you seemed particularly tired today."

윤도운 [35]

"Can you tell me what happened today?"

하여주 [28]

"...You must have seen it all, sir."

하여주 [28]

"While working at a broadcasting station..."

That's right. He works for the largest broadcasting station in the country. Because his family is wealthy, he's had a chance to try out a variety of jobs, but for the past few years, he's settled down at the broadcasting station. I don't know exactly what he does, but I'm guessing he's the head of the social affairs team.

If that's the case, I couldn't understand why you were asking, especially since you must have seen our story reported today. I was also afraid I'd burst into tears again.

윤도운 [35]

"I saw it all. But they reported it like shit."

윤도운 [35]

"I came here because I wanted to hear your story?"

하여주 [28]

".....that is,"

As I was about to speak, tears welled up in my eyes, so I stopped. Then, the man got up from the bed and hugged me. I ended up crying in his arms, and he began to whisper.

윤도운 [35]

"I work at a broadcasting station, but it's not like I don't know anything about police work."

윤도운 [35]

"I'm especially listening to what your team does."

윤도운 [35]

"So, I heard the details of what happened today."

윤도운 [35]

"I ran into your team leader on my way home from work."

윤도운 [35]

"I asked right away and he told me. Then he told me to take good care of you."

윤도운 [35]

"They can accept it to some extent because they've been through it before, but I'm worried because you're not like that."

윤도운 [35]

"I came to your room just in case, and you were crying..."

윤도운 [35]

"Why don't you tell me this? If not me, then who else are you going to tell?"

하여주 [28]

"...I was so, so scared."

하여주 [28]

"The large number of interrogators, the fact that my seniors were injured and unconscious—all of it was scary, but what was even more frightening was..."

하여주 [28]

"I felt like I had no one on my side..."

하여주 [28]

"The media calls us a failed police force, and even the hospitals where our seniors are admitted are gossiping about us."

하여주 [28]

"I was so scared because I felt like I couldn't do police work anymore."

윤도운 [35]

"No one is on your side. Just go out to the living room and you'll see it's full of people on your side."

하여주 [28]

"...yes?"

윤도운 [35]

"Go out. I'll let you know I'm on your side."

As the old man said, I hurried out of the living room and saw my seniors standing there, still wearing their uniforms, just like they did when they came to work. Surely... they'd all gone home after the dismissal order was issued...

윤도운 [35]

"I told you to sit down, but you're all standing, right?"

윤도운 [35]

"I think I've got the hang of it~"

윤도운 [35]

"Let's sit down and talk. I have an appointment."

김석진 [32]

"Ah... Okay. Have a nice trip."

He didn't seem to have any plans today, so he just blurted out something and left. It was very typical of him. But judging by the fact that the seniors were in uniform, I guess they didn't even stop by my house and came straight to ours. When did they come? After he left, an uneasy atmosphere flowed between the seniors and me.

하여주 [28]

"...What brings you here, everyone?"

정호석 [30]

"...After sending you home, we stopped by the kids' hospital for a bit."

정호석 [30]

"Oh, of course I didn't leave you out, it was just a coincidence that we were going to the same destination."

김석진 [32]

"I thought of you when I went there."

김석진 [32]

"I think you're having a hard time too..."

김석진 [32]

"I asked that person for permission and came with him."

민윤기 [31]

"Oh, if it's uncomfortable, I'll leave."

하여주 [28]

"Thank you so much, really..."

김태형 [29]

"...Are you crying?!"

That night, I spent time talking with my seniors and regrouping mentally. Perhaps being so downcast, even broken down and crying, was a sign of "not being the same powerful team as before," as the media would have it, so I vowed to stand up and not let that show.

It's true that we're facing difficult circumstances. First, the bomb defuse failed, then two team members were injured, and finally, the media and public attention. But these are the times we must demonstrate even more. There's a reason for our reputation.

This was the first time we had a chance to have a heart-to-heart talk without the influence of alcohol. Thanks to this, I felt like my courage and passion for being a police officer had been rekindled. I'll definitely have to thank him when the case is over.

There's not much to talk about today 😳 I really wanted to capture the strong team 1 growing stronger and stronger under adverse circumstances! I also wanted to show that the strong team 1, who everyone thinks are capable, isn't perfect...🫡

I couldn't say it during the 'Puppet Suicide Case 🗣', and I'll say it again this time! I always say it when I start a new case, but I feel empty when I don't 😅 Shall we tackle this case, the 'Department Store Bomb Installation Case 💣', together with the Violent Crimes Unit 1?! 🏃

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