Now With U (Living In The Past - Book 2) (WheeByul)

CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT

"I'm sorry. I'll make it up to you when I get back," said Byul into the phone after the whining had she rest of the week."

"Promise?"

"I promise."

"When will you be back?"

"Tomorrow or the day after. Be a good girl, okay? Listen to Whee and to Auntie Yong."

"Okay," replied the little girl sadly.

"Don't sound so sad. I'll be back before you know it. Now you need to go to bed and I need to work. Good night,Ha-eun-ah."

"Good night, Star. Come home soon."

She had to smile when she heard that, feeling a new kind of warmth spreading inside her heart. "I will. Can you give the phone to Whee?"

"Hello?"

"Hey, I just remembered something."

"What?"

"That lunch appointment with Yeri's friend tomorrow."

WheeIn groaned. "I totally forgot about that. I'll call and reschedule."

"Okay."

"Are you still in the train?"

"We've just arrived at the station." Byul stood up, shouldered her bag and started to move towards the exit with Seulgi and Hwasa.

"Have you eaten?"

"Had a sandwich so I'm good."

"Be careful."

"I will. I'll call you back later. Go tuck her in."

"Bye."

"Bye." Byul ended the call and sighed, wishing that she were in Seoul instead.

"It's tougher to leave home now, huh?" commented Hwasa.

"Yeah."

"Don't worry. We just have to talk to a few people, get the info we need and head back. Won't take more than a day, I think."

"I hope so. I don't feel comfortable leaving them alone in Seoul under the circumstances."

"There's Yong and Jimin too. They'll be fine," said Seulgi.

The three stepped off the train and merged with the crowd, going towards the station hall.

"Ah. There he is," Hwasa said and increased her walking speed to greet Jae-hwan who bowed politely to her.

"Welcome back, Inspector Ahn."

"Thanks, Jae-hwan. These are Inspector Moon Byul-Yi and Inspector Kang Seulgi," she introduced her friends. "This is Assistant Inspector Lee Jae-hwan. He's been extremely helpful."

The young man blushed a little as he bowed to the two inspectors. "Thank you, Inspector Ahn." He then gestured for them to follow him to his car.

"Have you brought in the hospital staff for questioning?" asked Hwasa once they had driven away from the station.

"I have. The doctor, the two nurses and the morgue resident are at the station now. That guy tried to skip town."

"Huh? Which guy?"

"Si-wan."

"The shady resident? Why? Doesn't he know that running indicates guilt?"

He shrugged. "No idea. He wouldn't talk though. The only one who looks innocent is the female nurse."

"Why do you say that?" asked Byul from the back seat.

"She answered all our questions and cooperated with everything. She didn't know much, she said, and denied all involvement but she gave us permission go through her apartment and even her bank account. She said she had nothing to hide and I believed her. We found nothing on her. No relation to that convict So Ji Soo and no criminal record. She's just an ordinary nurse, a mother of two and wife to a bank clerk downtown."

"I see. But you're still detaining her, right?"

"For now. But we can't hold her much longer. There's no reason to do so since she's been very cooperative with the investigation."

"Then we'll get to her first. Seul, maybe you can talk to her?" said Byul.

"On it."

"Hyejin-ah, let's go drill that morgue staff. I have a feeling that he's very much involved in the body switch."

"You got it. Can I be bad cop?" Hwasa turned to look behind her and grinned. "I'd like to keep my roles consistent and I was bad cop last time I saw him."

"Okay. But that doctor is mine," said Byul. "I want to know why Ji Soo is on his Facebook."

"He's all yours." Hwasa turned around to face the road ahead and noticed Jae-hwan furrowing his brows. "Byul... I mean, Inspector Moon, is our team leader, Jae-hwan. She's in charge."

"O-oh. I see." Jae-hwan stole a glance at the woman sitting in the backseat through the rearview mirror. "Then I better pay attention and learn a thing or two."

Byul gave him a small smile. "Be my guest."

------------------------------------------------------

The nervous young man turned his head when the door opened. He recognized Hwasa and instantly tensed as he watched her and Byul took their seats across from him.

"Do you still remember me?" asked Hwasa as she opened the folder in her hands.

"Y-yes."

"Heard you were going to skip town, Si-wan. You do know that running makes you look guilty, right?" She kept her eyes on the paper.

"I-I've been planning this trip for a long time."

"Really now? Then how come your supervising pathologist didn't know about it? You would've told him about taking a few days off for this trip of yours, wouldn't you? I mean, he's technically your boss."

"..."

Hwasa finally lifted her head, giving him the coldest stare she could manage. "Oh yes, we asked. He had no idea of your so-called planned trip." She closed the folder then handed it to Byul while fixing her eyes on him. "Look. We've just spent 4 hours in the train. We're tired, it's late and you're complicating things, holding up our investigation. What's worse, you're lying to us."

The petite inspector leaned forward and lowered her voice. "My teammates have been attacked and we suspect that So Ji Soo, that convict whose body we can't seem to find, is behind these attacks. So if you're somehow involved in letting him escape from the hospital, we're taking you down for being an accomplice to attempted murders of law enforcement officers. You can really kiss your degree goodbye because you'll be rotting in prison for a long time."

The young man swallowed and trembled, sweating under Hwasa's ruthless glare.

"Calm down, Inspector Ahn." Byul reached out, pulling Hwasa back by the arm.

She then looked at the scared Si-wan. "My apologies. My partner has had a rough week. We all have, actually. And yes, it was a long trip from Seoul and we're pressed for time. So let's just... quickly start from the beginning. Oh and I'm Inspector Moon Byul-Yi, by the way, also from the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency."

The young man only stared at Byul with uncertainty.

"Right. I see here that you're a medical student? Majoring in pathology? You're doing your residency at the hospital morgue, am I right?"

He nodded.

"It seems that you've been studying for quite a while," Byul casually remarked.

"I'm almost done!"

Byul raised her eyebrows.

"I am! I'll be done after this residency! I will no longer be a student, okay?"

She knew that she had found one button to push judging by his reaction so she calmly closed the folder, placing it back on the table. "Then how's the residency going? Because the local police told me that when they talked to your supervisor, he didn't exactly speak highly of you." It was a bluff.

"Tsch... That old dinosaur hates me. You can't believe anything he says."

"Even when he said he was planning to fail you?"

Si-wan balled up his fist.

"I bet your parents won't be happy to hear that," remarked Hwasa.

Byul observed the silent young man who was now clenching his jaws and breathing heavily, trying to get his anger under control. "Someone offered to help, to give you a passing mark. Am I right?" She took a guess.

He looked away.

"Who?" asked Hwasa.

"..."

"If you tell us what really happened, we could help you. Those who cooperate almost always get reduced sentence. Heck, you'd probably only get probation. You could still finish your study and get your parents off your case," said Byul.

He looked at her.

"Trust me. I know how parents can be. Mine weren't exactly thrilled to see their daughter becoming a cop. They expected me to go straight to the kitchen of some nice husband they found for me." She pretended to shake her head, hoping to convey sympathy although that story was a complete lie. Her parents never minded her career choice.

Si-wan opened his mouth for a second, but closed it again, hesitating.

"Help yourself, Si-wan," coaxed Byul. "You're covering for someone else's crime. You're gonna pay for someone else's crime. You realize that, don't you? Is it really worth a flimsy passing grade? We're talking years in prison here. He would be walking the streets freely while you go to jail. Because right now, all we have is your signature on that release form. You were the person who was responsible for the body. You let the man escape. Think about it. Prison is not exactly a fun place to be, you know."

The young man finally heaved a sigh after a few more seconds of silent contemplation. "My supervisor hates me. He thinks I'm stupid. He's making it tough for me and he has threatened to fail me many times."

"So who offered to help?"

He looked at Byul. "Please don't let me go to prison? I thought he was just trying to help and it's not like he asked me to do anything crazy, so I-..."

"You don't have to worry. He will pay for what he did, including taking advantage of a student to commit a felony. And we'll put in a good word for you. So who is it?"

"D-doctor Sung," he whispered, then covered his face with his palms.

"Doctor Ji Sung?" asked Hwasa.

Si-wan nodded. "He told me to sign the release form."

"I thought you said Eun Ji-won, the nurse, told you to do so."

"Doctor Sung told me to say that should anyone ask." He groaned. "I'm so dead when my parents find out."

"What happened? What else did he ask you to do besides signing the form?"

"He told me to take a long lunch break that day, show him the work roster and to lend him the spare keys to the morgue."

"Work roster?"

"Yes. The shifts."

"I see. Did you notice anything different when you returned?"

"No. Nothing seemed to change. All bodies were accounted for and so were the supplies. But I only did a quick count and tag check. I didn't look at their faces." He slumped in his chair, sliding his hands down from his face. "He switched the body, didn't he?"

"Maybe." Hwasa didn't want to give out too much information. "Did you even see this So Ji Soo when he arrived at the morgue?"

He shook his head. "The body arrived covered with the sheet. I signed the necessary papers, set it aside and left for lunch as the doctor ordered. When I came back, it was still there. Later that day, Doctor Sung made me sign the release form to send the body to the crematorium. That's all I know. I swear."

"How come no one saw him do this? A body isn't exactly something you can carry around easily."

"I was the only one there and Doctor Sung had the work roster so he probably had told the other staff something to keep them away. I don't know. I really don't know."

"Okay. Thanks for your help." Byul handed him a notepad and a pen. "Here, write down what you just told us - the detailed and complete story - and sign it." She then stood up. "We'll be back."

"And since you've been helpful to us, we'll kindly keep your parents out of this. For now," added Hwasa before she followed Byul out. "You believe him?" she asked once they were out of the room.

Byul nodded. "I know his type. He's desperate to graduate under the pressure of his overly demanding parents. He'd do anything and someone made use of that."

They then saw Seulgi coming out of another interrogation room down the corridor, together with Jae-hwan.

"How did it go?" asked Byul.

"I'm with Assistant Inspector Lee on this. I don't think she knows anything," said Seulgi.

"Feel free to call me Jae-hwan, Inspector," Jae-hwan spoke. "Did the resident tell you anything, Inspector?" he asked Byul.

"He did, as a matter of fact. He told us who put him up to it."

"Who?"

"None other than good old Doctor Facebook," answered Hwasa. "Let's go talk to him then get some food before we talk to Eun Ji-won. I'm famished!"

Byul checked her watch and took out her phone. She typed a quick message to WheeIn, apologizing for not being able to call her yet and telling her to go to sleep and not wait up.

A reply came within seconds after she sent the message.

"It's okay. Just call me when you can. Doesn't matter what time it would be."

"You need to sleep."

"I'll sleep just fine. I'm still talking to Yong's mother now while we wait for her and Samchon to come home."

"Byul..."

She looked up from her phone and realized that they had reached the door of another interrogation room.

"Okay then. Later," she typed the message in a flash then pocketed her phone.

"Hyejin, you're with me but he's mine," she said, reaching out for the door handle.

Byul was about to open the door when one of the local officers approached Jae-hwan and told him something in a low voice, unclear for her to overhear. "What's wrong?" she asked the assistant inspector.

"Apparently our good doctor has lawyered up," Jae-hwan answered after thanking his colleague.

"What? When?"

"While we were busy talking to the other suspects."

"Someone is acting guilty," mumbled Seulgi. "So what are you going to do, Byul?"

"We have Si-wan's confession and that Facebook account." Byul then paused, furrowing her brows in thought. "When people work for Ji Soo, it's usually because of debts or threats, right?"

"Usually, but we found no links to Ji Soo other than that old questionable Facebook picture, remember? He has no criminal records and no history of drug use or gambling."

"Then let's find out whether the doctor owes Ji Soo something else; something that's not illegal."

"Your double negation confuses me," joked Hwasa. "What are you trying to say?"

"Is there a way to find out who paid his tuition fee, for example?"

"Err... we did look into his financial records so we still have them on file but... how can we track past expenses? And at this time of night?" asked Seulgi.

"I don't know but try going through them again. Look closer. See if you can find out where he got his money from before he became a doctor. Ji Soo must have had something on him."

"I'll... see what I can do. Might have to call Bo Mi or Yong-..."

"Do it."

"Yes, Ma'am." Seulgi straightened up. "Jae-hwan, is there a computer I can borrow?"

"You can use mine, Inspector." Jae-hwan rushed away to his desk, followed by Seulgi.

"Shall we?" asked Hwasa.

"Let's go."

They went inside the interrogation room to see two unhappy looking men.

"You have no reason to detain my client," said the lawyer, standing up from his chair.

"That's what they all say yet the prisons are always full, aren't they?" answered Byul calmly. She took a seat while Hwasa remained standing, leaning against the mirror behind Byul.

"I'm Inspector Moon Byul-Yi and this is Inspector Ahn Hyejin. We're from the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency and your client is a person of interest in our investigation."

"And what might that investigation be?" asked the lawyer as he sat back down.

"The escape of a convicted criminal named So Ji Soo from the hospital where your client works."

"What?! That's ridiculous! That man's dead!" protested Sung.

"Yet we can't prove that."

"The records are there! I personally declared him dead at that hospital bed. He was cremated."

"See, that's where you're wrong." Byul leaned forward, clasping her hands. "That shady crematorium you sent the body to is having financial problems. So they cut corners, saved energy, dug up a few holes in the garden and tossed those bodies in them."

Sung's eyes widened for a second but quickly returned to their impassive state.

Byul noticed it but didn't react.

"We've retrieved everybody that was sent to that place within the past few weeks and compared their DNAs to So Ji Soo's. Guess what? No match."

"Redo the test. Your people might be wrong," said the lawyer curtly.

"Both the Suncheon lab and our Seoul lab have confirmed the results to be valid. There is no So Ji Soo among those bodies we found." She tilted her head, looking straight into Sung's eyes. "So the question is, naturally, where is So Ji Soo's body?"

"How should I know? He died in that hospital and that's where my responsibility ends."

"Then why did you make that pathology resident sign the release form for the body?"

"What? What kind of nonsense is that?!"

"We have his formal statement. Signed and everything," said Hwasa. "He is willing to testify in court that you, Doctor Ji Sung, offered him a passing grade for his residency in exchange for access to the morgue."

"W-what?! And you believe his words? He's just a failing student! Not even cut out to be any kind of doctor! Unreliable! No credibility whatsoever!"

The lawyer tried to calm his client down with a hand on his shoulder. "I can finish him in court, rendering his testimony unusable."

Byul shrugged, undeterred by the threat. "Go ahead. It's your word against his but we can search your car and house. I hope you told Ji Soo not to touch anything while he was in your car. Or at least did a proper clean up after you transported him." It was, again, a bluff but she knew that this doctor probably hadn't thought about the police going through his car or house. Especially since Hwasa had mentioned how surprised she was when she saw his office. A doctor shouldn't be that messy, remarked her petite friend, and the little detail had been stuck in Byul's head ever since.

The doctor gulped. "G-go ahead! You'll find nothing!" He tried to counter the bluff but his obvious stuttering gave away his anxiety.

"You'd need a warrant for that," said the lawyer.

"Oh that's easy and you know it. With that resident's signed confession, we have enough to wake a judge up and get the warrant issued by sunrise. In case you haven't noticed, Counsel, this So Ji Soo your client had helped escape is one of the most dangerous criminals in this country. He's the nephew of So Ji-sub, the most wanted man alive. And he was convicted for the attempted murder of several police officers, for creating and owning a network of illegal gambling business, extortion, and many many more."

The lawyer nearly flinched.

"You should keep up with the news," commented Hwasa. "Or at least ask your client to tell you the complete story. There's a reason why we came here all the way from Seoul, at this hour. And yes, the Commissioner has officially allowed our team to reinvestigate this death. Go call your buddies in Seoul if you don't believe me."

"So what would it be? You want to do this the hard way? Or the easy way?" Byul asked the doctor.

The man gritted his teeth and looked away. "I have nothing to say to you."

"Not even about why Ji Soo's picture is on your Facebook? Tagged as your friend?"

"..."

"Okay. Have it your way." Byul pushed her chair back and stood up. "You'll be staying here until we get the results back from your car and house." She gestured for Hwasa to follow her out.

"Let's find Jae-hwan and get that warrant. I want every molecule in his car scrutinized," she told her.

Hwasa nodded and broke into a run, going towards Jae-hwan's desk.

Byul took the opportunity to escape to the toilet, dialing WheeIn's number on her way there.

"Hey."

"Hey. How's it going?"

"Okay.Ha-eun's asleep."

"Did she ask a lot of questions about why you're staying at Yong's tonight?"

"Yeah. I just told her that we were having a fun sleepover since you're going to be busy working."

"And she bought it?"

"Oh yes. Yong's mother convinced her by letting her help with cooking and everything."

"How could cooking convince a little girl that she was having a fun sleepover?" asked Byul, unconsciously smiling as she imagined the cute Ha-eun helping Solar's mother eagerly.

"It was actually baking more than cooking. So yeah, it's different, it's fun, it's messy and chocolate..."

Byul chuckled.

"She fell for it hook, line and sinker. Had to do a lot of cleaning up afterwards, though. She even got chocolate on her head. Not hair. Head. On the top of her head. I didn't even know how that happened."

Byul chuckled even louder. "Oh man. I can't believe I missed that."

"I took pictures. I'll send them to you later. Let's just be grateful that it's not our kitchen." WheeIn was also smiling. "How's everything on your end?"

"Nothing much so far. The morgue staff confessed that the doctor put him up to sign the release form, in exchange for a passing grade. And so, we're trying to get the doctor to talk."

"Is it working?"

"Not really. He's denying everything but we're going to check his car and house for traces of anything that could prove that Ji Soo was there."

"That doesn't sound promising."

"He's a messy guy, remember? He probably doesn't clean his car that often. And since Ji Soo wasn't bleeding or anything, he most likely didn't feel the need to clean up after making the switch."

"Let's hope they find something then."

"Yeah." Byul took a deep breath. "Call me crazy but... I miss you."

"I miss you too."

"Has our relationship become this unhealthy?"

"What?"

"I've only been away for a few hours and yet... I shouldn't be missing you this badly, should I? We're not teenagers."

"I think it's because of how we've been lately." WheeIn was referring to the arguments and the whole situation with Ji Soo.

"Yeah. I think so too," Byul agreed, understanding what WheeIn was talking about. "Regardless of how things are, you do know that I love you, right?"

"Of course! And you know that I love you, right?"

"Yeah." She smiled. "I do."

"Good. Now get something to eat, go back to work and rest every chance you get. I don't want you to get sick."

"Okay. Send me those pictures of Ha-eun, please."

"I will. Oh and I've called Yeri's friend. She's okay with rescheduling our meeting to Friday."

"Friday it is."

The door opened and Hwasa walked in, looking around. When she saw Byul, she quietly signaled for her to come with her.

"Hey, I gotta go," said Byul into the phone. "I'll talk to you tomorrow."

"Okay. Don't work too hard."

"I won't. Good night."

"Good night. Come home soon."

"I will." Her heart once again ached with a deep longing at the thought of being back in her apartment with WheeIn and Ha-eun. She covered the mouthpiece with her hand and whispered, "I love you."

"Love you too. Bye."

"Bye." Byul hung up and pocketed her phone.

"You're considering retirement, aren't you?" joked Hwasa as they walked out of the toilet.

"What are you talking about?"

"It's only been a few hours of not seeing each other and you already look like a lost puppy, crying for its owner."

"Shut up," muttered Byul under her breath.

"Well, the good news is, there's still one judge that hasn't slept," said Jae-hwan once he saw the two inspectors approaching. "And since we have Si-wan's signed confession plus the Commissioner's personal request to prioritize this case, we should be able to get the warrant in a few hours."

Hwasa leaned down to whisper something in Seulgi's ear and they both snickered before Seulgi quickly pretended to look serious while she resumed working.

"Quit it, you two," hissed Byul. She knew what the two must be whispering about.

Jae-hwan raised his eyebrows but said nothing, knowing that it was probably an inside joke. "And my partner has ordered food. Let's go eat before we talk to the male nurse."

"Food! Thank goodness! Where is it?!" Hwasa clapped her hands happily.

"You guys go ahead," Seulgi said - eyes never leaving the screen. "I wanna finish this first."

"Let's go, Byul. Maybe food could make the sad puppy happier." She grabbed Byul by the arm and pulled her towards wherever Jae-hwan was going.

Byul could only roll her eyes while she let Hwasa drag her away.

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Hope you like this update. I'm relieved I was able to do an update this week..

I also want to say thank you for all the prayers you did.... I've finally received a good news. I've passed and is now regularized in the company I've applied. There was a delay since they have extended the scores to be included for the final regularization. Don't worry I'll still do my best to do a weekly update even if I'll be busy at work with more Over Times to come....

Again thank you so much my beloved Wheebyul readers and Moomoos....

Don't forget to vote....