The precinct was hectic. Cop waltzed here and there, the sound of fingers dancing on keyboard everywhere, detectives walking around discussing cases with folders in hand. However, Bang Yongguk sat in silence in his cubicle, studying the background of a person named Kwon Jiyong; one of the mob’s peons who specialized in drug dealing. But, a murder occurred at the time he did the dealing, at the place nearby his usual spot. He was the prime suspect and Yongguk was appointed to handle this case.

Handling a peon was never an easy task. Peons were known for their loyalty, for choosing to die rather than spilling everything out. It was inarguable that domino effect existed.  Like climbing up a staircase, step by step it led to the top; to the king. For a new detective like Yongguk to be given such case was an honor to him. If only he knew what kind of danger awaited him.

Kwon Jiyong was a drop-out of Seoul High School, the same school he went to. The school in which only rich and smart student could enroll. Yongguk once encountered Jiyong at the school. Yongguk was always the good kid, the first place of everything, the teachers’ golden student, the students’ role model. While on the other side Jiyong was the delinquent, the bad influence and all negative words you could label him as.

Jiyong knew the younger was a scholarship student and he knew he had a sick mother. Hell, he had connections. One day he approached Yongguk during lunch time, empty-handed and settled down across him.

“Need a hand?” Jiyong smiled crookedly while folding his arms on the table. Yongguk didn’t want to lift his gaze and continued staring at his food as if it would run away if he tore his gaze away.

“For?” he eventually mumbled, realizing Jiyong was waiting for his answer all the time.

“Your momma’s sick, right?”

This got his attention. Yongguk’s gaze shot up at him, eyebrows narrowed in both confusion and rage. “Back off,” he hissed. The older stood up. But instead of leaving, he bent down and stabbed Yongguk’s mashed potato with his index finger.

“Cafeteria lunch . Care to join me for an actual lunch?” 

“Yongguk. Yongguk!” Joon almost shouted at his face when Yongguk gasped and jumped backward.

“What the hell, man?! You scared the hell out of me,” he snapped between his panting.

“Huh. You were spacing out. What’s up?” Joon leaned his elbow on top of the cubicle, looking at ease and relaxed despite the chaos engulfing the peace in this precinct.

“No. What’s up?” Yongguk managed to ask once he was back in his calm demeanor.

“I did an autopsy on the body.”

“Found anything?” His gaze lit up.

“Negative. No fingerprints, even no shoeprints. This murderer is so squeaky-clean even bacteria is afraid of him.”

Yongguk ignored the last sentence and began to question his friend. “What about the stab? What knife did the son of a use?”

“The stab is not too deep, about two centimeters. So I’m guessing he was using a pocketknife or a small one,” he answered.

Yongguk fell silent for a moment as his brain processing the information. His team already cleared the site out to find any clue but no avail. Maybe Joon was right. The killer was squeaky-clean. But it’s not Yongguk if he gives up now.

The victim was a man in his forties named Jungsoo, a successful businessman who was respected by everyone in his circle. Divorced with his wife two years ago and had a daughter. Nothing suspicious with him nor his colleagues. His wife remarried with an artist, a famous one in his field. His daughter was in elementary school and chose to live with his ex-wife.

“But…I found this in his pocket.” Joon dive his hand in his pocket and pulled out an evidence plastic bag filled with candies. Yongguk took it and examined the content. The candies were wrapped with colorful paper and different fruit pictures, depended on the flavor.

“A bit strange for a man like him to bring this around, huh?” Joon spoke again, this time he gained his response.

“What’s this? Coke?”

“I wouldn’t jump to conclusion that fast if I were a detective like you.”

“Possible. His body was found in an alley near Kwon Jiyong’s usual spot. We had planted surveillance equipments in that alley but unfortunately the camera couldn’t film this homicide. It was out of frame as if the killer knew there was a camera there.”

“So…Kwon Jiyong is the guy?”

“Can’t be so sure, but he’s the prime suspect. The camera recorded his transaction and the time he left. He came at 1 AM and left five minutes later. He took a left turn, while the murder occurred on the right side of the alley from the camera’s angle.”

“But the murder happened between 2 and 3 AM. We found the body at 6 and figured out he was dead for at least three hours.”

“Correct. It’s possible that Jiyong came back to the alley between those times to kill. And maybe put these candies in Jungsoo’s pocket.” Yongguk stared daggers at the candies.

“Won’t it be suicide for him?” Joon’s nose scrunched up in disagreement. “If he were to kill a person as clean as this case, he wouldn’t put an obvious clue on the victim.”

“Or maybe he was just a bait…” Yongguk placed the bag of candies on his table and leaned back on his seat, hands intertwined before his chin. “The killer is using him as the bait so we’ll concentrate on him and forget the other chances that the killer is wandering around somewhere peacefully.”

“Or maybe Kwon Jiyong isn’t involved at all,” Joon said briskly. The detective narrowed his eyes at this. “You know, he happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. The killer is someone else, the drugs from someone else, we don’t know. We don’t have any strong evidence that Jiyong is the killer.”

“You’re quite smart to be a detective, forensic-guy.”

“Oh, you flatter me,” Joon laughed lightly at his remark.

“I didn’t mean to.” Yongguk trailed off as he got his kit to put on his gloves and took the candy out with a tweezers. Carefully, he unwrap the candy and examined it using a magnifying glass. Nothing seemed off. He then lifted the candy to his nose, sniffing the smell.

“Smells like drugs…” he mumbled.

“Hand it to me. I’ll make it clear whether it’s drugs or not.” And so he did.

After Joon left, he stared at Jiyong’s photo showed on the screen along with his almost empty background. The same crooked smile he’d given him nine years ago was plastered on his handsome face. His face hadn’t changed much, still the same gaunt boy with dark brown orbs and sharp gaze. Only his skin was now a bit darker and his hair color changed to dark blond. His hair was messy; the bangs almost covered his eyes and tiny curls just above his nape. The kind of hair when once had just woken up from sleep after a long day. Probably the sleep part explained the dark circles below his eyes.

Not much information regarding about him, just his birth date, an address, and educational background. His only family; father, mother, and sister were gone.  He simply removed his existence in this world after he got dropped out and yet showed up as a criminal.

Yongguk had gone to the address but all he could see was an abandoned house. It looked as if the owners left it out of the blue. The curtains were wide open although the windows were all shut. Everything was still in place. He’d asked the neighbors about this and they had no idea where the owners went. The whole family moved away without bothering to bid goodbye.

If this went on, he wouldn’t hesitate to pay a visit to the mob’s headquarters.

= =

The digital clock on the dashboard showed 1:00AM the moment an old car pulled over on the side of the street. Kwon Jiyong grabbed a black duffle bag from the backseat and slung it over his shoulder as he got out of the car, locked it, and walked casually past a queue of people in front of a night club. Jiyong nodded at the bouncer and walked inside without waiting on the line. Not that he was a regular, but he was working for the owner of the club. The mob, Lucas Han.

Loud music pounded against his eardrums, the common welcome of a night club. Although today was Thursday, the club was overly crowded. Jiyong paid no time to walk across the crowd; he chose a door on the left which directed him to an emergency staircase. At the second floor, he walked back inside, this time on the balcony where couples busy making out on secluded seats, where people busy talking while leaning on the railings, where a crimson velvet door stood elegantly. He gave the same nod at the guard beside the door and made his way inside. Lucas was playing casino with his notorious friends; a sign that Jiyong needed to wait until the game was over. So he settled down on one of the cozy couches and placed the bag on the coffee table, beside the boozes and drugs.

A woman in tight bikini asked him whether he wanted some drinks and he said no. He leaned back on the couch as his gaze flew to his boss, impatiently waiting for the game to end. Women seated around him, trying to get in his pants but Jiyong was determined to finish this job as soon as possible when-

“Oh, Jiyong. I didn’t notice you. Care to play with my girls while I’m finishing the game?” said Lucas.

“Damn tempting. But I have an errand to finish,” he replied.

“Drugs for Hyun?”

“That’s right.”

“All right. Mickey, get the bag. You can leave now, Jiyong. I want to talk more with you but I have to finish this first.”

Jiyong stood up and smiled at the guy, although the latter was overwhelmed with his game he didn’t even send him a glance.

“There’s always next time, if we’re lucky to live long.”

“We’re never that lucky.”

“True.”

And as he began to step outside, Lucas lost the game.

***

The narrow alley beside a Chinese restaurant had always been the perfect place for drug dealing. It was dark, concealed, and most importantly desolated. Jiyong pulled over and got off with another black duffle bag filled with three kilograms of after making sure no one was there to see them. Hyun waited in the middle of the alley, near the dumpster. Jiyong threw the bag at him and he barely caught it.

“Damnit, it’s heavier than I thought it would be,” Hyun grumbled as the bag almost slipped to his feet.  The younger grinned at this, feeling innocent.

“It’s only three kilos. Work out, man.” Jiyong smiled his crooked smile while cocking his head to the side, a hand patted the latter’s shoulder lightly.

“I work out, unconsciously.” Hyun slung the bag over his shoulder.

“Sure you do,” he replied amidst his muffled chuckle. Hyun heaved a sigh in defeat and punched his shoulder lightly. That was it, the sign to leave. They couldn’t stay here for too long.

Jiyong watched as Hyun entered a small gate behind the dumpster before walking to his car. He climbed in and started the engine. The car roared, breaking the silence which always hugged the area and never let go. Even the light from the Chinese restaurant signpost kept flickering, adding the eerie vibe to the already creepy place.

The car left the site to the main road, blending in with the rest of the road users. His old-model BMW convertible ran smoothly on the empty tarmac advancing the speed in each second passed. The broadcaster kept talking about new albums release yet he hardly listen to it. His body went autopilot while his mind wandered to her.

He was too overwhelmed with his thoughts that he didn’t notice a car was trailing him behind. The car kept a good distance; the lights couldn’t reach his sight. Whoever it was, he knew how to trail behind. Yet, the empty road was failing him. Jiyong made a left turn on the intersection and the car followed, he turned to right and the car followed, too. When the road was wide enough, the sedan behind him tried to precede his car and Jiyong moved his car a bit to the curb, allowing the sedan to overtake only to gain his position back in a blink of an eye. His car swiftly ran ahead of the sedan in high speed, and the sedan behind him advanced its speed too.

Both engines roared, breaking the silence apart. Two cars raced on the highway; neither of them slowed their cars down. The god of fortune must have blown her luck to Yongguk’s ear. In front of them, the railway crossbar began to fall in order to form a safety border. Jiyong stepped deeper on the pedal, attempting to go pass the train when suddenly he spotted a female silhouette standing on the railroad. Startled, Jiyong tromped on the brake and slammed the steering wheel to the side. Tires screeching unpleasantly until the car came to a halt. Behind him, Yongguk also did the same; his car almost hit the other’s trunk.

Jiyong stormed out of the car and ran to the figure, didn’t even have time to close the door properly. The loud honk from the train became louder and louder as the gap between them shrunk. Yongguk got off his car, both hands holding the Glock pointed to the drug dealer. His eyes widened.

What he saw was utterly astounding. A teenage girl stood dauntlessly on the railroad. She wore a beautiful night gown which shone under the train’s lights. Then Jiyong ran to her, swept her off her feet and ran forward to the other side of the railroad. Yongguk gulped the lump in his throat and kept his gun pointed at a distance while waiting for the train to pass. He barely heard the girl’s shrill screaming amidst the loud noise of the train.

When the train was out of sight and the crossbar began to stand straight, Jiyong walked crossing the railroad with the now calm girl in his arms. Yongguk tightened the grip on his Glock when he knew Jiyong was approaching him. Jiyong wasn’t even dangerous at the moment, his hands were busy holding a girl and he couldn’t fight him in that state. Maybe pointing a gun at a criminal had become his instinct.

Jiyong halted his steps, his gaze bored into his. The sharp gaze was gone, replaced by…sadness? Yongguk couldn’t believe his eyes now. Silence fell between the two. Two pairs of eyes gazed into each other. The same sorrowful look on Jiyong’s, while a glint of fear and confusion on Yongguk’s.

Yongguk decided to break the awful silence, by saying between his shaky breaths. “You’re coming with me to the police station.”

To be continued