The Connection Between Us (4)
I patted the big guy’s shoulder.
Though he could be judged as having betrayed his family, I knew how much stress had been weighing down on his soul and how much courage he had needed to make this decision.
The guards came over and stood Dal-Gon up.
It was time for me to make my way back.
I packed the remaining mooncakes into the plastic bag and stuffed it into his hands.
“Eat it when you get back. I’ll put in a good word for you.”
“Why on earth are you going so far for me? Is it because of my Hyong-nim?”
“Hm. If you really want to know…”
It’s because you were part of my first family.
Even though the team members of Task Force 2 are my family now.
It’s because I still cherish the years that I spent with all of you.
Especially for those times when your mother came to visit, every time she would pack a lunchbox for all of us as well.
For someone without parents like me, that lunchbox felt very warm.
I laughed as I said.
“Because the egg-rolls were tasty?”
Dal-Gon’s brows furrowed.
It was as if he heard some meaningless gibberish.
I packed up all my important notes and headed back to our ace team’s office.
***
That night.
All of our team members were gathered in the quiet office.
We were crouched in a huddle as if we were in the middle of a conspiracy.
Looking at the reports that Mong-Doo had prepared, we shared our intel.
The meeting began with an introduction from our Team Leader.
“The result of the forensic test confirms that the hammer was the murder weapon, and also detected Song Dae-Ak’s DNA. Even the victim has been identified.”
The victim’s name was Yoo Chang-Dong.
He was 49 years old and he lived in the Hwanak Neighborhood of Su-An District.
“Hwanak Neighborhood? Isn’t that the place that’s going under redevelopment.”
“The victim was the neighborhood head of Hwanak Neighborhood.”
“Hm. Didn’t you say that the Fork Gang has started up an architectural firm?”
It felt like we could see how this incident took place.
The neighborhood head, who was against the redevelopment, was resisting the architectural firm, and Song Dae-Ak decided to take care of the problem by murdering him.
It was too mindless and cruel for words.
“What about the cause of death?”
“The direct cause of death was a strong impact to the head. As there was water in his lungs, we can either assume that he was tossed in the river while he was still alive, or he may have been waterboarded before he died.”
“Looking at the timing, he couldn’t have been murdered while Song Dae-Ak was on the run. So he was probably waterboarded.”
“Oh yeah. What happened with the guy called Dal-Gon or something?”
Black asked as he flipped through the report.
“We’ve grasped the location of the drugs and found out about a person of interest named Madam Shim. As Song Dae-Ak’s secret mistress, they’re close enough that he’s put her in charge of his secret slush fund.”
“Madam Shim? Is she a call girl?”
“She manages a place called ‘Exodus’ in Gangnam.”
“Exodus. Ex-o-dus.”
Black searched for the club on the internet.
Its approximate location popped up, but there wasn’t a single review or any kind of post with helpful information. At the very least there were a few photos.
The club might have been incorporating Japanese culture as it had a stage in the middle of a large hall, and with sofas surrounding the stage, it looked gorgeous and luxurious.
“At first glance it looks top-class.”
“It doesn’t appear chintzy.”
“Wow. Look at the costs. It’s several hundred for just the basics.”
Mong-Doo and Black mumbled as they looked at the photos.
“Should we go looking for him tomorrow?”
“If we act too soon, we might end up losing the trail.”
Team Leader shook his head.
From now on we really had to be careful.
Because the outcome of a case could be decided when the truth was still only barely visible.
Black spoke up as he was looking at photos of the bar.
“If that’s the case, should we just hang around over there?”
“Can you hear the wind whistle through the empty space you call a brain?”
“Hey, what’s that supposed to mean! Is there any better method than that?”
“Are you going to shell out for it? This guy who has to beg sister-in-law for pocket money.”
“Why are you asking me instead of the investigation support staff?”
“Just how are we supposed to ask for the money? Tell them that we want money to go have fun at a club?”
“I guess that won’t work? In that case why don’t you say something big man. Do you have a better idea?”
Black and Team Leader bickered and tore strips off each other like an old married couple.
Hmm. So it’s a high-class club.
Is it the sort of place where you get treated like a king as soon as you flash your cash?
I crossed my arms while smiling.
I just had a great idea.