A Somewhat Unusual Lawyer - Chapter 7

Nam Da-reum put on a questioning expression.
His fingertips, which were resting on his chin, paused for a moment.
The investigation record sheets he had skimmed through so far were rapidly lined up in his mind.

‘It’s strange. If the son was at the crime scene, it would be normal to put him on the list of reference witnesses or eyewitnesses at the very least. In the investigation report, the only record regarding the upstairs neighbors was the elderly couple.’

It had already been over 10 years since he set foot in this old apartment and started living here.
Even if they weren’t close neighbors, he was familiar with the faces he bumped into in the elevator.
However, over the past 2 years, he had no memory of ever running into the ‘son’ who lived upstairs.

“Da-jeong, but why haven’t we ever seen his face all this time? If he lives upstairs, it’s highly likely we’d bump into him coming and going.”

At Da-reum’s question, Nam Da-jeong replied while chewing stir-fried anchovies, acting as if it were no big deal.

“Ah, that son doesn’t live with them. I guess he’s so busy it’s hard to even see his face unless it’s a holiday or his parents’ birthdays. I haven’t actually seen him either. I just overheard the lady next door and the grandmother upstairs chatting.”
“Really? Where did they say he works?”
“I think they said somewhere in the provinces…”

Da-reum fell deep in thought.
It was a neighbor’s family affair he could have just brushed past, but for some reason, a corner of his heart burned hotly.
It was because Prosecutor Go Kang-hyun’s case and his own case were starting to overlap, drawing a bizarre point of contact.
The steam rising from the soybean paste soup on the dining table faintly scattered.
He set down his spoon and quietly asked.

“Da-jeong, by any chance, do you remember the grandmother’s son’s name too?”
“Hmm? Even his name?”

Nam Da-jeong bit down on her chopsticks and looked at the ceiling, retracing her memories.
After pondering deeply for a long while, she finally snapped her fingers as if she had remembered something.

“I remember! Grandma used to say ‘Our Jae-soo, our Jae-soo’, so it must be Jae-soo, right? Grandpa’s surname is ‘Han’. So wouldn’t it be Han Jae-soo? The name is a bit unique. I kept it in my memory because I wondered if it was a name given to tell him not to repeat his college entrance exams.” (Note: ‘Jae-soo’ means repeating an exam in Korean)

Watching Nam Da-jeong answer brightly, Nam Da-reum showed a faint smile.

“Da-jeong.”
“Yeah?”
“Your memory is incredible. You’ll have no problem with the college entrance exam?”
“Haa…”
“What’s with the sigh.”
“Oppa, I know my memory is incredible too, okay? But the problem is this extraordinary ability absolutely doesn’t work when I’m studying. As soon as I stand in front of a test paper, my mind goes completely blank. I swear I could die from the injustice of it.”
“Isn’t it that you can’t remember because you didn’t study?”
“Ah, oppa! You’re really too much, you know?”

Nam Da-reum laughed and pulled out the notebook from his bag.
Then, he casually jotted down the three characters of the name ‘Han Jae-soo’.
The single photo given by Go Eun-chae was still tucked inside the notebook.
Nam Da-reum, who was looking at the photo and name side-by-side, slowly lowered his gaze.

‘It might not be him, but let’s check it out just in case because it feels off.’

Nam Da-reum quietly closed the notebook.
When he raised his head, he saw Da-jeong’s face with her eyes narrowed as if she were going to shoot lasers.

“Oppa. You’re stealthily taking out your notebook again? Didn’t I tell you we should just eat when we’re eating?”
“Got it. I really won’t take it out now. Let’s hurry up and eat.”

Da-reum let out a breathy laugh and shoved the notebook deep into his bag.
Puzzle pieces that looked completely different from one another were beginning to interlock as one by an unseen hand.

The next morning, Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency.
As soon as Nam Da-reum arrived at work, he sought out Inspector Jang Joo-young.
When he set down a carrier holding ten iced Americanos as a polite bribe, Lieutenant Jin Pil-seong swiftly dashed over.

“Ooh, coffee! My, my, your sense isn’t ordinary, Lawyer Nam! Would it be alright if I initiate the first cup?”
“Of course. I bought plenty so all the detectives in the mobile unit could enjoy them together. You work hard, after all.”

At Da-reum’s words, the dreary office atmosphere softened in an instant.
The detectives sitting in the office gathered around the coffee one by one.
However, only Inspector Jang Joo-young was staring fixedly at Da-reum with sharp eyes.

“I thought the bill was settled with me sharing the investigation record sheets yesterday.”

He picked up a coffee with a joke-mixed tone.
Da-reum didn’t miss that opening and answered in a low voice…

“That’s why I brought coffee.”
“As expected. There’s no such thing as a free Americano in this world. What’s the favor?”
“Hmm… it’s a bit awkward to talk here. Shall we step outside for a moment?”

Jang Joo-young slyly checked the movements of the surrounding detectives, then stealthily got up from his seat.

“Let’s do that.”

The two men headed to the outdoor smoking area located at the end of the hallway.
Jang Joo-young asked while taking a sip of his coffee.

“What is it this time? Don’t tell me you found another clue in Prosecutor Go Kang-hyun’s case?”
“No. There’s something I want to check regarding my assault case.”
“But why did you call me out so secretly? Your case is under official investigation, Lawyer, so you can ask openly.”
“Because what I have to tell you is connected to the internal secrets or pride of the police. I thought it might put you in a difficult position, Inspector, if I brought it up in front of the other detectives.”

Jang Joo-young’s eyebrows twitched.

“I remember the people upstairs were also included on the list of suspects. It’s recorded that Lieutenant Jin Pil-seong personally checked their alibis.”
“He did. The elderly couple upstairs were away from home at the time, and it was confirmed that their children don’t live with them either.”
“Yes, I saw that in the investigation report too. But yesterday, I heard an unexpected story from my younger sister. That elderly couple has one son, and his occupation is a police officer.”

In an instant, Jang Joo-young’s expression stiffened like stone.
Strength entered the hand holding the coffee cup.

“The elderly couple’s son upstairs… is a police officer? Are you certain?”
“Yes. I even heard he’s affiliated with the Daejeon Provincial Police Agency. However, in the investigation report at the time, it was processed as them not having any children. If there was a possibility of an adult male, an active-duty police officer at that, being involved, there’s no way he would have been left off the suspect list.”
“There were no children registered on the elderly couple’s resident registration document. It showed they had no dependents.”
“It could be because he doesn’t live with them and resides in the provinces. They say his name is ‘Han Jae-soo’. Inspector, would it be possible to run a check on this individual?”
“Hmm…”
“I know well that this is a presumptuous remark. But, I can’t just keep living in that house with my sister without catching the culprit.”
“No. I fully understand your position, Lawyer.”

Jang Joo-young answered while taking a sip of the coffee he was holding.

“Then, let’s go inside and check together. We can easily run a check on the personnel network right away.”

Returning to the office, the two immediately sat down in front of the internal computer network.
Jang Joo-young’s rugged fingers slowly moved across the keyboard.
Soon, the three characters of the name were entered into the search bar.

[Han Jae-soo]

The sound of typing continued briefly, and it took less than a second for the results window to pop up.

[1 Search Result]
Name: Han Jae-soo
Final Affiliation: Daejeon Provincial Police Agency, Violent Crime Team 3
Rank: Sergeant
Period of Service: 2015.04 ~ 2023.11
Current Status: Dismissal (Inspection)
Reason for Discipline: –

Without taking his eyes off the screen, Da-reum muttered lowly.

‘Dismissal, did he quit the police?’

Jang Joo-young quickly scrolled the mouse wheel to check the detailed breakdown. Scrolling down revealed a few more lines of additional information.

Inspection Summary: – / Internal Closure (Dismissal)

But for some reason, all the important entries were blank.

“There’s no photo. And no reason for discipline. There’s no address or contact information either?”

Nam Da-reum said quietly.

“Tell me about it. There’s no photo, and the reason for discipline and residence information are all blank.”

He tilted his head with a questioning face.

“Their whereabouts after dismissal aren’t originally recorded, but blowing away the information is unprecedented, as it’s customary to leave at least the basic details? Like the reason for dismissal…”

Jang Joo-young hesitated for a moment before picking up the receiver.
It seemed he was going to verify directly with an old colleague working at the Daejeon Provincial Police Agency.

“Thank you for your hard work, Inspector Ahn. This is Jang Joo-young from the Seoul Agency. Yes, yes. It’s nothing else, I’m calling because I have a question regarding Sergeant Han Jae-soo, who was dismissed from Violent Crime Team 3 at the Daejeon Agency. He’s not showing up on the personnel network search? I called wondering if you might know anything.”

At the other party’s voice heard through the phone, Jang Joo-young’s eyes narrowed. He glanced at Da-reum as he continued the conversation.

“Ah, is that so? Bribery… The amount must have been quite large. Excuse me? 500 million won? But he wasn’t arrested and it ended with an internal closure? Ah, no. I’m not trying to make an issue out of that. An attempted murder case occurred over here, and I heard information that Sergeant Han Jae-soo’s parents live upstairs from the victim, so I called to verify.”

The voice through the receiver couldn’t be heard perfectly, but the person called Inspector Ahn seemed to know quite a lot about Han Jae-soo. Listening to Jang Joo-young’s replies, he became certain.

“Ah, they aren’t his parents, but his grandparents who live in Seoul. I see. Yes, yes. His parents passed away a long time ago. And there are only rumors that he’s currently living somewhere in Seoul? Understood. You’ve been a huge help, Inspector Ahn. When you come to Seoul, I’ll treat you properly. Or I’ll go down and buy you a round of soju. Yes. Yes. Take care!”

Jang Joo-young, having hung up the phone, fell into thought while spinning his pen. Then, he blankly stared at Nam Da-reum.
Somehow, his ‘detective’s intuition’ seemed to be sharply on edge.
Jang Joo-young spoke calmly while jotting down words on a memo pad.

“According to Inspector Ahn, Sergeant Han Jae-soo was dismissed for receiving bribes.”
“Bribes?”
“Yes. The amount is large too. It’s around 500 million won. They say he was dismissed because he was caught receiving a bribe, but… it’s a bit strange?”
“What is strange?”

He raised his eyes and looked at Nam Da-reum.

“Usually, how a crime like bribery proceeds in the police agency is… For example, let’s say the police agency puts a maintenance contract up for public bidding. When it fails to bid twice and becomes possible to do a private contract, a specific detective funnels the contract to one company. But in this case, there weren’t even any cases, yet it’s a case where he only received the bribe?”
“What company is it.”

At Nam Da-reum’s question, Jang Joo-young tapped the memo.

“SafeLink Security. A CCTV maintenance agency.”
“But why didn’t they conduct an arrest investigation at the time. If he received a huge sum in bribes, isn’t it right to proceed with an arrest investigation.”

At the question that pierced the core, Jang Joo-young momentarily lost his words.
He answered with a slightly troubled face.

“Probably… he confessed to the charges and was cooperative with the investigation, so they wouldn’t have requested an arrest warrant… This is, as a fellow police officer, a bit shameful. Because from the outside, it will only look like we’re covering for our own.”

However, Nam Da-reum’s thoughts were a little different.
He thought it might be something more than just covering for their own.
He continued his questions in a calm tone.

“Around when was the time he received the money. By any chance, does it not overlap with the time Prosecutor Go Kang-hyun died?”

Jang Joo-young thought for a moment, then trailed off.

“…Tell me about it. It does overlap?”

Jang Joo-young tapped the edge of the memo pad, then reached a conclusion.

“Right now, do you think the suspect for both cases could be the same person, Lawyer?”

Nam Da-reum gave a short nod.

“Yes. From the method of the crime, the weapon not being found, to the unclear escape route. There are many similarities. However, if there is a difference… in my case, my sister returned immediately after the incident. When I asked her, she said she came back up in less than 5 minutes.”
“It must have been a variable for the culprit.”
“If my sister hadn’t returned, I probably would have died.”

Jang Joo-young scratched his head vigorously and said lowly.

“This, it seems… we definitely need to verify it. What this Han Jae-soo punk is doing and where he is.”

As if trying to change the atmosphere, he purposely grinned and lightly patted Da-reum’s shoulder.

“Then, how about chicken and beer at your house tonight… Lawyer Nam? The three of us, including Lieutenant Jin. I’ll buy.”

Nam Da-reum immediately noticed Jang Joo-young’s inner thoughts.
His proposal included ‘protection’ and ‘collaboration’.
Da-reum gave a short nod.

“Sounds good. Let’s do that.”