Dangerous Investigation Diary

Ep. 50 ° General Hospital Ghost Doctor Case (9)

Suddenly, the entire Violent Crimes Unit 1 was summoned to the Chief of Police's office. While everyone else was flustered and bewildered, Superintendent Kim, unexpectedly, was sweating profusely and trembling with anxiety. The Chief of Police motioned to the long table, telling the Violent Crimes Unit 1 members to sit down.

민윤기 [31]

"Why did you call me?"

Instead of Inspector Kim, who was fidgeting and unable to keep still, Inspector Min asked the reason for the summons, and the Chief of Police put down the file he was looking at and opened his mouth.

치안총감 [51]

"Well... I've already talked to Inspector Kim."

치안총감 [51]

"Originally, we were planning to disband the Strong Team 1."

김남준 [30]

"...yes?"

치안총감 [51]

"Detective Kim was so pleading that it ended up just being a plan..."

치안총감 [51]

"It will have to go through the deliberation committee, but your performance is so good that there's no need to worry."

The word "disbandment" surprised me a little, but ultimately, it meant it wouldn't be implemented. Then, wondering why he'd called them, the team members calmed down and nodded, looking at the Chief of Police. The Chief of Police insisted on bringing up an old story that most of them didn't know about.

치안총감 [51]

"I called you all here to give you a warning."

치안총감 [51]

"I wanted to protect you all the way to the end of the contract..."

치안총감 [51]

"The team atmosphere has been tense recently, so I couldn't help but agree with the suggestion of disbanding."

정호석 [30]

"...I'm sorry. It must have been because of me."

정호석 [30]

"I will be more careful and control my personal emotions..."

치안총감 [51]

"Inspector Jeong, isn't there another thing you need to apologize to me for?"

The atmosphere in the police chief's office instantly froze at the commissioner's words. Officer Jeong knew what they meant, but couldn't bring himself to say them out loud. That would have been like admitting his mistake and requiring an apology.

정호석 [30]

"...I don't know."

치안총감 [51]

"There's a limit to shamelessness, really..."

What Detective Jeong, who had struggled to spit out his carefully chosen words, received was a sarcastic rebuke from the Chief of Police. This time, it seemed, he wouldn't let it slide. The icy situation continued, requiring a fervent apology to end.

치안총감 [51]

"How long has it been since you've been so stubborn about something as trivial as a travel ban against me and the police chief?"

치안총감 [51]

"Even if that's true, Officer Ha, Sergeant Jeong shouldn't have done that."

치안총감 [51]

"Why are you so confident that you dare to talk back so loudly? Let me hear your reason."

정호석 [30]

"...My thoughts are the same as back then."

정호석 [30]

"I tolerated all the other incidents, but this one was particularly brutal for a first-time offender, so the arrest of the suspects was even more urgent."

정호석 [30]

"I just hastened things a little because if I didn't issue an exit ban, the possibility of them fleeing the country was too great."

정호석 [30]

"It was inevitable that arguments and friction would arise during the process."

치안총감 [51]

"Don't your teammates know?"

정호석 [30]

"...yes?"

치안총감 [51]

"In exchange for issuing a travel ban, they promised to cut off all support if the culprit wasn't caught within a day."

치안총감 [51]

"It's fortunate that the team members who went to the scene arrested him."

치안총감 [51]

"If they hadn't arrested him... wouldn't that be unimaginable?"

치안총감 [51]

"I still vividly remember how he answered without even considering his teammates' feelings."

치안총감 [51]

"Isn't that right, Officer Ha?"

Suddenly, sparks flew to Officer Ha, and Officer Jeong, unable to bear the sight, tightly closed his eyes and tried to interrupt Officer Ha. However, Officer Ha was quick. Without blinking, he began to speak clearly and distinctly... Fortunately, it didn't feel like he was talking back.

하여주 [28]

"It was possible for this behavior to occur because there was a lot of trust between team members."

하여주 [28]

"Of course, I couldn't help feeling uneasy, so I tried to stop him at first..."

하여주 [28]

"I didn't try to stop him any further, thinking that since Officer Jeong had spent more time with his seniors, he would know them better than I did."

치안총감 [51]

"I wonder if the other team members think the same way?"

Officer Ha's confident gaze, about to answer "of course," suddenly turned to confusion when he met his seniors' betraying gazes at Officer Jeong and me. "Ah... Was it wrong to dare to try to understand the feelings of those seniors who were running so hard they almost collapsed from dehydration?"

Somewhere among the team members gathered, a burst of laughter erupted, and somewhere else, heavy breathing could be heard. The team's disbandment might have been a bit harsh, but the atmosphere was such that it seemed as if it could happen tomorrow. Officer Ha's gaze shifted from confusion to fear.

The police commissioner, already sensing the mood, continued speaking in a more arrogant tone. It was clear he'd deliberately brought up the subject to create this atmosphere.

치안총감 [51]

"I don't think my teammates think that way."

치안총감 [51]

"Well... it's in the past, so there's nothing I can do."

치안총감 [51]

"But I called you to warn you that if you cause trouble like this again, then the team will really be disbanded."

치안총감 [51]

"Is there an incident right now?"

치안총감 [51]

"I'm sorry to call you when you're busy."

치안총감 [51]

"I'll go first... so do your best with the investigation."

After the Chief of Police left, the members of Team 1 of the Violent Crimes Unit sat motionless in the empty office. Sergeant Jeong and Officer Ha, like criminals, clutched the hems of their carefully crafted uniforms, wrinkling them to the point of rumpling.

It started with the thought that our trust was so thin that it could crumble like this, then it went through the feeling that the cold gazes of my teammates, whom I was seeing for the first time after working together for three years, were scary, and then I reached the point where I thought that if things continued like this, the team would really disband.

김태형 [29]

"...Why didn't you say anything?"

정호석 [30]

".....The departure ban is more urgent..."

정호석 [30]

"I thought it was better than running away overseas and losing it."

정호석 [30]

"...Ha, sorry, I..."

민윤기 [31]

"...Go see the guys who were interrogating Jeong Hyeon-seok earlier."

민윤기 [31]

"You said the interrogation wasn't enough. Finish it."

Officer Min sighed at the officers who had interrogated Mr. Jeong Hyeon-seok, who was unable to get up, and then hurriedly grabbed Officer Kim's wrist and dragged him out of the police chief's office. Officer Ha was back to biting his nails, something Officer Jeong had barely managed to fix.

박지민 [29]

"That day, really..."

박지민 [29]

"I had all sorts of thoughts running through my head at the airport..."

박지민 [29]

"How could you say such irresponsible things..."

김석진 [32]

"stop."

김석진 [32]

"If the travel ban hadn't been issued back then, I would have really missed it."

김석진 [32]

"Don't you remember that when the police finally caught him, he was struggling and was banned from leaving the country, and only then was he arrested?"

김석진 [32]

"We did the best we could in our position."

박지민 [29]

"When will I ever have a hard time without support..."

박지민 [29]

"I accepted the collateral condition of no support..."

박지민 [29]

"I really..."

Even though he looked like he would break down in tears at the slightest touch, Officer Park did not cry and instead spoke words mixed with resentment. In the end, Officer Ha burst into tears, and from then on, no one in the Chief of Police's office could speak to him.

Meanwhile, Officers Min and Kim, who had brought Jeong Hyeon-seok back to the second interrogation room from the detention center, prepared for the re-interrogation. They were upset with their team members, but the work was just work. Only after this incident was over could they properly talk to each other.

민윤기 [31]

"Mr. Jeong Hyeon-seok, nice to meet you."

민윤기 [31]

"This is Inspector Min Yoongi from the Strong Team 1."

정현석 [24]

"Ah... yes, hello."

민윤기 [31]

"You couldn't make the statement earlier... Please continue."

민윤기 [31]

"According to the report, you were going to talk about what the director told you to do."

정현석 [24]

"Yes, that's right."

김태형 [29]

"Could you tell me what else the director told you to do?"

Both Officer Min and Officer Kim felt the same complex and unsettling emotions, but they decided to focus on the case. They knew that if they could just get this statement, the case would be resolved.

정현석 [24]

"Uh... after I found out that you were trying to make it public..."

정현석 [24]

"You ordered me to confine Yu Bo-ra."

김태형 [29]

"...yes?"

김태형 [29]

"By any chance, are you still... imprisoned?"

정현석 [24]

"I don't know right now."

정현석 [24]

"Because you change the confinement location periodically..."

정현석 [24]

"You might have changed it again without me knowing."

The new general hospital consists of seven floors, including a basement. Five above-ground and two underground. Searching them all is practically impossible. There may be hidden spaces, or perhaps this time, they're hidden in a different space than the hospital.

정현석 [24]

"and..."

When Mr. Jeong Hyeon-seok, who had been speaking fluently until just now, suddenly stopped talking for a while, Sergeant Kim handed him a glass of water. Even after he gulped down the water, the silence persisted, and it seemed as if he was about to burst into tears. Sensing something was wrong, Sergeant Kim sat up straighter.

김태형 [29]

"Please talk comfortably, it's okay."

김태형 [29]

"Mr. Jeong Hyeon-seok turned himself in first, so that will be taken into consideration."

Let's tell a heartwarming story. Jeong Hyeon-seok wiped away the tears that had welled up in his eyes with the back of his hand, then opened his mouth, his eyes reddened. Perhaps he was confessing his passive crime, which he had committed at the director's behest.

정현석 [24]

"Teacher Jeongho... the day Yoo Bo-ra disappeared..."

정현석 [24]

"You said you were going on a business trip to the police station to report that Yoo Bo-ra was missing..."

정현석 [24]

"But... the director knows about that..."

정현석 [24]

"Teacher Jeongho told me to cause a traffic accident..."

As expected, I had a hunch, but I didn't realize he'd hired an intern just to avoid getting blood on his own hands. The director was even more meticulous than I'd imagined. Even the fact that he silenced every hospital staff member was proof of this. Without Yoo Bo-ra and Kang Jeong-ho, the investigation would have been impossible.

정현석 [24]

"So... I hit the car and ran away..."

정현석 [24]

"Ah... I should have told you when I sensed something strange. I'm sorry..."

정현석 [24]

"The director permanently expelled interns who didn't listen to him so they wouldn't be able to practice medicine..."

정현석 [24]

"Teacher Jeongho, are you alive...?"

민윤기 [31]

"...He survived, but is in a coma."

민윤기 [31]

"You might wake up, or you might not."

정현석 [24]

"Oh, please... just let me take the punishment..."

정현석 [24]

"I made Teacher Jeongho like that... I really can't stand it..."

Jeong Hyeon-seok, whose tears had barely stopped, burst out again, his hands trembling, and he was consumed by the most excruciating guilt in the world. When he first accepted that sweet offer, he probably didn't know he would be asked to do something like this. Perhaps he should have realized it when he ordered Yoo Bo-ra to be imprisoned.

김태형 [29]

"...First, you will be held in detention until the case is concluded."

김태형 [29]

"Have you contacted your family?"

In an attempt to appease Jeong Hyeon-seok, Detective Kim lent him his cell phone, telling him to contact his family first. Only then did he finally breathe a sigh of relief. He turned off the recorder and camera, which had been running, and clenched his slightly trembling hands. Detective Min silently gathered his interrogation equipment and left the interrogation room first.

김태형 [29]

"I'll take you to the detention center."

Then, as he gathered his notebook and report and led Jeong Hyeon-seok out of the interrogation room, the faces of his team members, seemingly lost in thought, kept flashing before his eyes. He shook his head vigorously and headed toward the detention center, slowly tracing back where things had gone wrong.

When Officer Kim returned to his office after a visit to the detention center, he saw his team members sitting at their respective desks, seemingly in a peaceful mood. Amidst this atmosphere, glimpses of the heightened anxiety of Officer Jeong and Officer Ha, and a few team members, trapped in a sense of betrayal, as if they'd been stabbed in the back of the head.

Even if Sergeant Kim was sensitive to psychology and had sensed it, it was accurate. He still couldn't believe that a single word could upset the team's cooperation, but he tried to cover it up as if nothing had happened, walking towards the whiteboard as before. The team members' eyes, each with their own emotions, followed him.

김태형 [29]

"...I will report to you."

김석진 [32]

"...Sergeant Kim."

A flash of tears flashed across Sergeant Kim's eyes, prompting Inspector Kim to call him over. However, Sergeant Kim clutched the report so tightly that it almost crumpled. This gesture, a silent pledge that he would never cry and would do his job, also silenced Inspector Kim.

김태형 [29]

"Mr. Jeong Hyeon-seok's re-examination... has been conducted."

김태형 [29]

"Mr. Jeong Hyeon-seok... was deceived by the conditions set by Director Yang Shin-im."

김태형 [29]

"I imprisoned Yoo Bo-ra and personally caused the hit-and-run accident involving Kang Jeong-ho."

김태형 [29]

"The location of Ms. Yoo Bo-ra's confinement... changes periodically, so it is said that her current location is unknown."

김석진 [32]

"great job."

김석진 [32]

"Ah... that news was well reported."

김석진 [32]

"Now, all we'll be talking about on television all day is the new general hospital."

김석진 [32]

"I'm going to go get a search warrant for the hospital now..."

김석진 [32]

"If anyone has something to say, speak now."

Inspector Kim's sharp, sharp gaze darted towards his team members, who avoided his gaze. Perhaps it was unfamiliarity, as Inspector Kim rarely showed his anger towards them.

김석진 [32]

"Officer Park, it seemed like you had a lot to say earlier."

김석진 [32]

"no?"

Inspector Kim's presence was clearly needed in the current atmosphere of the 1st Violent Crimes Unit, but upon meeting him, he was left feeling bewildered. When Officer Park opened his mouth, Inspector Kim furrowed his eyebrows, seemingly displeased with what he was saying, but he still listened.

박지민 [29]

"When we ran like that, getting dehydrated..."

박지민 [29]

"Jung Kyung-sa-rang and Ha Sun-kyung accepted the ridiculous conditions in the West."

박지민 [29]

“Aren’t all the choices made at that time deceiving the team members on the field?”

김석진 [32]

"Did they not run because they didn't want to run on the field?"

김석진 [32]

"We stayed here to get an exit ban for ourselves, so we could meet with the high-ranking officials."

김석진 [32]

"Even though the police officer had already caught him, Jeon Seo-jun resisted strongly."

김석진 [32]

"If the departure ban hadn't been issued there and I missed it, I would have really left the country."

김석진 [32]

"Shouldn't we be grateful to the two of you who believed in us?"

김석진 [32]

"Were we that distrustful of each other?"

김석진 [32]

"I didn't think that way, and I didn't tell you that, and I didn't teach you that."

김석진 [32]

"What on earth are you so...annoying that you're growling at your teammates?"

Everyone was taken aback by Superintendent Kim's trembling voice, perhaps from resentment of the situation where he blamed his teammates, or perhaps from sheer anger. He was always known for his pressure as a team leader, never showing any weaknesses, but it was heartbreaking to see him shed tears.

김석진 [32]

"...Anyway, at least until this incident is over, don't show your personal feelings."

김석진 [32]

"This case involves the lives of countless bereaved families, so take full responsibility for it."

김석진 [32]

"After the incident is over, from now on... you figure it out."

Superintendent Kim seemed to have given up on trying to restore the team atmosphere and left the office with a silent warning. For a while, not even the usual computer keyboard clicks could be heard in the Violent Crimes Unit 1 office. This time, something was truly amiss.

Superintendent Kim was reluctant to enter the office of the superintendent who had just caused a scene, but he felt that if he could at least pretend things were going well, he could at least slightly sway the higher-ups' desire to disband the team, so he took a deep breath and knocked on the door.

김석진 [32]

"This is Inspector Kim Seok-jin from Team 1."

경무관 [43]

"Oh, what's going on?"

김석진 [32]

"I came to obtain a search and seizure warrant for the new general hospital."

경무관 [43]

"Isn't there already a fuss about that hospital thing since morning?"

경무관 [43]

"You guys handed over the data, right? The analysis style is exactly like yours."

김석진 [32]

"Oh, yes. I handed it over this morning."

Superintendent Kim felt a sense of relief when the superintendent, speaking casually as usual, issued the search warrant. He realized he'd been overly sensitive.

경무관 [43]

"however..."

경무관 [43]

"How are things with the kids?"

경무관 [43]

"It seems like the Chief of Police ended up telling the truth about Detective Jeong and Officer Ha."

김석진 [32]

"...Oh, yes. It's okay."

It wasn't as expected. The thought I just had, after so many ordinary conversations, seemed meaningless, and we immediately moved on to an uncomfortable topic. If you knew that, you shouldn't have brought it up, Commissioner. Or at least stopped me. Contrary to what I'm saying, the kids' mood right now...

경무관 [43]

"Is the answer a bit slow?"

경무관 [43]

"Well, I can't just ignore it because of the kids' personalities."

김석진 [32]

"...No. I'm not that shaken up."

경무관 [43]

“Don’t you know I’m watching the CCTV in your room?”

경무관 [43]

"There's no such thing as thin ice, and now they're trying to fool me."

That's right, CCTV... I'd forgotten that they'd recently installed new ones in each team's office after receiving more funding. And now, of all places, the Superintendent's Office was managing them... At the Superintendent's slightly sarcastic tone, Superintendent Kim clenched his teeth and suppressed his anger.

경무관 [43]

"I'm not angry, I'm not trying to scold you."

경무관 [43]

"I just... I was wondering why it ended up like this when you were someone I trusted so much."

경무관 [43]

"It can't just be because of this police officer..."

경무관 [43]

"Rather, they are the ones who should have protected Officer Jeong."

김석진 [32]

".....I don't know."

김석진 [32]

"I think the time right after the incident with Detective Jeong was better."

김석진 [32]

"I wonder why each of them became so sensitive, or maybe it was like a lover's boredom..."

김석진 [32]

"I think it's because I, as the team leader, didn't take good care of them..."

Detective Kim, who had been standing with his head held high, collapsed and cried like a child. He looked truly precarious. It was the first time the superintendent had seen Detective Kim cry so loudly, so he simply handed him a tissue without saying a word.

Inspector Kim and the Violent Crimes Unit 1 had to face this situation squarely and work tirelessly to resolve it. Only then could they restore the Violent Crimes Unit 1 image everyone knew and desired.

There's not much to talk about today... 🫠 What will become of the fate of Team 1 of the Strongest Investigation Team?! Will they be able to overcome it? 😳 This case is particularly difficult, so it's taking longer than expected...! I would appreciate it if you could look forward to it and keep going until the end! I love you 💓

_ Number of characters: 7840