Park Han Dong and His Dongsaeng (1)
Park Han Dong turned to stare at me in surprise.
These words had come from not just anyone, but from the mouth of a police officer.
He unconsciously drew closer to the glass window.
“C-could it be that the case has been reopened? Have you caught the culprit?”
“Sorry, but no. There hasn’t been any progress made on the case. That’s why I’ve come here looking for you.”
The hope that had flared up for just a moment, looked like it had been snuffed out.
However he soon appeared to have reconsidered the value of our conversation as he retook his seat.
And the bloodlust in his eyes had softened slightly.
I slowly started speaking.
“There are a lot of inconsistencies. From the motives of the accused to the strangely skewed evidence.”
Setting aside the fingerprints that I had left on the door handle, and inside the room.
At that time, the only other clues linking me to the case should have been the ones obtained from my own testimony.
However they inexplicably discovered traces of my DNA on Hae-Soo.
It was likely that Park Han-Dong had experienced the same thing.
That meant that there had to be something shady going on, so by looking at the difference between his case and mine, we might be able to find some hints.
“I want to hear it personally. Everything that happened on that day.”
“But that should all be on the record already.”
“There’s no way that I can trust it. Because I believe that you are not the culprit.”
I adamantly stated my rejection.
Rather than the record that had been written down by someone else’s hand, hearing the testimony from the person himself was more reliable.
Park Han-Dong’s hands fidgeted as he was lost in thought.
He was probably trying to recall what happened all that time ago.
Then after a while, with some difficulty, he started to speak.
“I was the delivery man for a Chinese restaurant. Business was quiet that day, so I went out as soon as the order came in.”
“That’s good. Just keep going like that. Every little detail might prove helpful.”
“Um… it was sea cucumber soup and two servings of stir-fried chicken with hot sauce.”
“Really?”
“I remember it because it was an expensive order. Usually people just order Jajangmyeon or Sweet and Sour Pork.”
I guess that would be memorable.
But the size of the order seemed too big for one woman to eat alone.
From what I recalled, Hae-Soo had lived alone.
Was it possible that there were several people with her on that day?
You can’t really estimate the number of people who might share a pizza, but you can make a rough guess with Chinese food.
As expected, if you want to know something, you need to hear it from the person’s mouth.
These were clues that I would never be able to get my hands on in my previous life.
“I remember thinking, ‘They must get to eat expensive food like this because they live in an officetel’.”
I had felt something similar.
It was a sort of bitterness that could only be felt when you were on the brink of starvation.
Park Han-Dong, taking in my expression, hesitated.
“Should I skip this sort of thing?”
“Huh? Oh no. It’s fine.”
“Anyway, when I arrived, I went to press the doorbell, but the front door was already open.”
This was also a bit different from my experience.
For me, the door had been closed and I had opened it without thinking.
Shit. Now that I think about it, it seemed really suspicious.
Why on earth had I opened the door back then?
Like a complete idiot.
“I entered the room, but a flower pot was shattered and Hae-Soo was lying on the sofa.”
“By any chance, do you remember how long the delivery took you?
“About thirty minutes? Like I said before, there were no other orders, so I left quickly.”
But when I delivered it, it took me about an hour.
It seemed like the reason for why the door was open came from this difference.
“Then after that… it all went according to the record. I thought she had just collapsed, so I called 119, and after they investigated my testimony, I ended up like this.”
Park Han-Dong bit his lips.
It seemed that the resentment he held deep within him was starting to boil over again.
The rest of the report went almost identically to my own case…
Hm. If I had the time, it looked like I would need to find Hae-Soo’s officetel and take a look myself.
He carefully gave me a once over and asked.
“But why exactly do you believe that?”
“What? That there’s a true culprit?”
“Yes. Especially since you’re from the Suan Station’s Violent Crime Task Force. It’s confusing to hear something like this from the place that closed the case.”
“This isn’t the station’s official opinion, it’s my personal belief. The detective who was in charge of the case has already transferred to a different section.”
“What was his name again, Wang… Wang Ong-Gu?”
Park Han-Dong frowned as he scoured his memories.
He seemed to be having quite some trouble recalling such a hateful face.
“Park Han-Dong-ssi. What I believe doesn’t really matter. The truth is that I’m not in a position to speak out for your sake. But the truth is like the sky, it can’t be hidden forever. I, personally, will lead you out of here.”