feel me | yeonbin

033

“Choi Yeonjun?”

“Yes,” Yeonjun says, a man and a woman walk into the room, both wearing corporate work clothing and donning badges clipped to their belts.

“Detective Hwang Hyeja,” the woman introduces herself, bowing and offering a polite hand. Yeonjun shakes it.

“Detective Yoon Muyeol,” the man adds, shaking Yeonjun’s hand and setting down a cup of black coffee. “Take a seat, please.”

“Thank you,” Yeonjun says, settling onto the couch as the detectives both pull up chairs so they can speak comfortably to one another. Yeonjun removes only his face mask, but not his baseball cap. He keeps one layer of protection, no matter how futile. “Am I allowed to make some phone calls? I know I’m not under arrest or anything, but I still think it would be good to have my lawyer present for this.”

“We’ve contacted KHK Entertainment and Media’s legal team to inform them of the situation,” Detective Yoon says. “Your company’s legal team attorney is on his way. We do feel obliged to remind you that you have the right to your own counsel as well, including a lawyer from outside your company that you’ve chosen on your own.”

“Are you serious?” Yeonjun raises both eyebrows, his next inhale catching in his throat. “Even though KHK has a lawyer appointed to me specifically for this case and anything else?”

“Yes.” Detective Hwang nods. “As an individual, you have the right to have a private attorney of your choice present in any conversations with the authorities.”

“Then… I think I would like to call an attorney,” Yeonjun whispers, feeling faint. “Please. Thank you.”

“Of course. We do want to reiterate that you are not currently under arrest and you’re free to walk out of the building at any point in time if you don’t wish to speak with us,” Detective Yoon reminds him. “You’re free to go.”

“I understand that. But you’ve just seized all of my electronics. I want to know why and I want to know what you find,” Yeonjun says firmly.

“We’ll warn you then that although we’re going as fast as we can and we’re expediting the process significantly, you’ll have to wait several hours for any results,” Detective Hwang says gently. “So if you’re willing to remain here, then we can deliver any results as soon as possible. We’ll allow you to make your phone calls first.”

“We’ve already been informed that…” Detective Yoon checks his phone. “Lee Daeul is on his way to the station as we speak.”

“I don’t want to speak to him.” Yeonjun blinks and folds his hands in his lap, looking from one detective to the other. “Please keep him away from me and don’t let him in the room. I don’t care how much he begs and insists. Keep him away. Please promise me.”

“We’ll honor your request,” Detective Hwang replies, nodding. “We just wanted to introduce ourselves before getting to work on everything that we took from the home. We have officers collecting Lee Daeul’s electronic devices right now.”

“Good luck with that.” Yeonjun sighs and leans back, trying to calm his racing heart. It’s just a police station. You have to trust the process. “May I make phone calls while you get to work?”

“Sure. Refer to this sheet here—” Detective Yoon produces a laminated half sheet of paper— “for the correct codes to use the landline to dial outside of the building. Remember that all of your calls will be recorded and could be monitored.”

“I understand,” Yeonjun agrees. “Thank you.”

The detectives depart. Yeonjun waits in the silence for a good two minutes before he reaches for the phone and dials the correct code before punching in a number he has memorized for a reason. When he presses the receiver to his ear, it’s cold. His heart is gurgling in his throat right now, so he sips his coffee for a distraction.