Killer in The Dark

4

"Detective Go are you all right," Jiwoo questioned.

"Yes," I straightened up. "I must get going now... thank you for your time,"

Nayeong let a dimpled smile out and proceeded to walk us out the door. I stopped in my tracks as I headed to the car. Jiwoo blankly stared at me.

"We need to investigate further into Kim Junho's case..." I stated.

"But, what about the other cases?" Jiwoo asked.

"We have limited time to investigate them all." I nodded in agreement. "Still, we can't just leave Hong Seokjin feeling devastated about his brother's death."

"Wasn't the case passed onto Officer Jeong?" Jiwoo implied.

I pulled to my phone and played the recorded audio from the cafe. "Officer Jeong was a part of the act," I stated.

"Don't you think it's strange..." Jiwoo mumbled, I brought my eyes towards him squinting my eyes. "It almost seems like every police report has some sort of relation to each other."

My eyes widened, finally, I knew what he was fingering. All these crimes were committed by the Blood Jangmi Gang. "How do you know about that gang?" I asked.

"Oh-" Jiwoo avoided eye contact with me and scratched his neck. "I've heard some people talk about it,"

I raised an eyebrow. I was certain he was involved in that gang at least once in his life. I brushed it off, with the time I've known him it would be hard to believe that he would still work with them; I hopped into the car. I had no reason to doubt him, but I still had a feeling something wasn't right. We drove in silence for a couple of minutes, neither of us saying anything. Finally, I decided to just ask him straight. "You were involved with the Blood Jangmi Gang weren't you?"

"W-what?" I caught Jiwoo off guard. "I know a few things about them... but I was never involved in their dirty acts."

"Did you know any of the members?" I continued.

"Sadly..." Jiwoo sighed.

"Sadly?" I repeated.

"My friend tried to leave the system," Jiwoo paused. "It didn't end well."

I nodded. "Where do you live?" I asked as the moon brightly shined above us.

"Yeoncheon-gun," he stated, he tilted his head at my sudden change of topic. "Why?"

"I was planning to drop you off..."

"Oh-" he handed the directions to his home. "Thank you."

I watched him walk into the apartment building, he must've been through a lot I thought. I quickly drove to Pohang-si to find evidence of Hong Dusik's disappearance. The night soon became day, I booked a hotel room near the area and called in sick for the day. I made sure I had everything to continue my investigation, I knew there was more to the story than a high school student getting murdered. I wanted to know more, about why they killed Dusik as well. What were they hiding with him? I tossed and turned in bed at the hotel, I needed sleep but still, my mind raced with anticipation. I turned the television on, the mayor of Gyeongju was speaking at Gyeongju's city capitol.

"Our nation has been going through a crisis this coming month," Mayor Nam stated. "Many of our residents have been going missing with no traces, leaving our citizens heartbroken and terrified of what will happen next... That is why I've decided to Establish an investigation team to look into these disappearances. The team will include experts in the field of missing persons and law enforcement personnel. We must find out what is happening and stop it as soon as possible." he concluded, a large crowd applauded after his speech.

I froze in place, my heart skipping beats. A sudden thought popped into my head, what if he was behind this mess? I shook my head, a loyal man could never commit such a crime. Suddenly, Mayor Nam's son came to mind. But then again... Hyungjoon was related to the act in some way. I rolled my eyes, there is too much to deal with in this evil world. My phone buzzed on the bedside table. Without hesitance, I picked it up and checked the notification.

Are you feeling better, Detective Go? Officer Cho wrote.

Yes, thank you. I replied.

I placed my phone back down on the table. I gathered my belongings and headed out of the hotel room. I quickly turned in my key card before heading outside. I closed the door of my car and headed to Dusik's parent's neighborhood. Looking through my notebook I saw a picture of his grandparent's house. I looked out the window, and to my surprise, their house was across the street. I stepped outside, and the sound of seagulls flew by me as the ocean water freshened the air. I approached the gate in front of Dusik's grandparent's house and quickly rang the doorbell.

"Hello?" an older defensive voice called out from the speaker. "Who are you?"

"Yes, I was wondering if you would like to talk to me about Dusiks' murder... To help find the suspect," I made my voice sound gentle and calming. Hoping Dusik's grandparents would cooperate with me.

"WHAT?" he yelled making the microphone static.

Assuming he was hard of hearing I restated my question. "I'm sorry I didn't contact you in advance, you have every right to decline this offer," I added. 

Silence.

Soon, the gate creaked open a short elderly man peaked through the gates opening. He had a scowling look on his face. "And you are?" he questioned carefully watching my every move. 

I bowed with a welcoming smile, wanting to get this over with. "Let me introduce myself I am Detective Go I work at the Iwong police station," I introduced myself. "I was wondering-" The elderly man slammed the gate in my face. I rolled my eyes and began to walk away. I stopped in my tracks remembering my motive for everyone to find justice in their lives. I rushed to the gate once more and rang the doorbell again. This time a female voice answered.

"How may I help you?" she called out, she didn't seem much older than me. 

I sighed in relief. "Yes, I am Detective Go I was wondering if you had time to talk about the missing person case of Hong Dusik?" 

"Wait for me, okay," she responded. The young lady soon stepped out of the gate and bowed with respect. "Did my grandfather meet you already?" I nodded. "I'm so sorry, he can come off as rude to strangers," she laughed, but her eyes showed signs of distress. "You said you were Detective Go... What brings you here?"

"I was wondering if you would want to discuss Hong Dusik's missing perso-"

Her eyes light up with hope. "Yes!" She grabbed my hand. "I would love to!" I smiled hearing her relief, knowing I was doing my job.