“……It has become a hot topic as it has been revealed that the personal assets amounted to 3 trillion Won of the chairman of Daesang Group, who passed away a few days ago, went to the son of the owner of Daesang Group, who was hidden.…….”

Radio news was playing on a city bus full of people.

[……The heir is currently doing something that has nothing to do with the management of the Daesang Group, and it is known that his relationship with the owner family has been long lost, so some speculate that he is the son of the late former director Lee Hanseok…….]

And at the back seat of the bus.

Hyunsoo is looking intently at the notes he wrote in his notebook.

Jiiing- Jiiing-

The cell phone in the pocket of Hyunsoo's pants rang.

Hyunsoo focused more on finding the criminal who he didn't know than on the phone call from someone he knew.

“It was a school uniform at Youngsoo High School, and the perpetrators were three male students……. The evidence is a cell phone…….”

Jiiing- Jiiing-

Hyunsoo sighed and took out his cell phone as it continued to ring.

[Team Leader Heo / 3 missed calls]

Hyunsoo frowned and pressed the power button on the phone to turn it off. Then he opened the side window. The cool wind brushed Hyunsoo's face. It seemed to be a little easier to breathe in the crowded bus.

Even though Hyunsoo could see future incidents, he could not always stop them.

He didn't know that the scene of his parents' death would leave in his head, and even the screams of the victims that passed through his head lingered in his ears. Then one day, when he visited the scene of the incident and caught the culprit, Hyunsoo felt a little relieved of guilt.

Catching criminals.

That was Hyunsoo's only way to breathe.

Hyunsoo, who was once again immersed in old sentiments, took a few deep breaths and exhaled, then looked at the notebook again.

‘One is the leader, and two male students followed him. They're all in the same class as the female victim…….’

The scene of the incident that flashed in his head was an incident involving students from ‘Youngsoo High School’ near Seoul City Hall.

Hyunsoo recalled that brief but crucial moment once again.

* * *

“Yah, isn't this a bit strange? Do you think she's dead?”

In a small motel room of about 3 pyeong*.

A male student who was buttoning up his school uniform touched the arm of a female student lying under his feet. Then another male student next to him put on his jacket and shook his head.

“Is she going to die just because she drank it? You’re making no sense…….”

“No, she could die.”

It was a voice from behind.

Another boy in the same uniform as two male students.

“What? Eyy…… No way…….”

“People who don't drink are said to die if they drink too much. Why, there was a lot of news like that in the past. University students go to MT** and die while drinking.”

“Hey, then…… If she dies……!”

“Rather good.”

A male student leaning against the wall in the back slowly approached.

“What……? Why?”

“There's no evidence. What we did to her.”

As he walked, he picked up a cell phone that was standing on a small table.

“Well, even if she didn't die, she wouldn't be able to say anything. Because we have this.”

Then, with the sound of ‘ding-’ that could be heard when the video recording ended, he put his phone in his pocket.

“It's not our fault that she died from drinking too much. Who told her to be born unable to drink? There is no evidence that we force-fed her.”

“Then that video…….”

“Don't worry, I'll keep it safe. So listen carefully…….”

The male student approached the other two and put his arms around their shoulders.

“Even if she dies, it's never our fault.”

* * *

Hyunsoo, who was pondering the scenes again and outlined the incident, opened his eyes wide. His eyes turned sharp with killing intent.

[The next stop is Youngsoo High School.]

* * *

Chwiik-

The bus door opened and Hyunsoo got off.He looked around, holding the notebook tightly in his hand, and started walking. After walking for about five minutes, the crowd began to whisper something. And a lot of people stood around, blocking the front.

What their gazes were directed to was a corpse coming out of a motel building.

The police line was not sagging, and the policemen at the police substation were blocking people. It seemed that the incident had just been discovered.

Hyunsoo, who was struggling to pass through the crowd, took out his public official card to the policeman.

“You can't come in here……! Seo, Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency Inspector-nim……? How can you be here…….”

“I need to check something. I'll go in for a second.”

After passing the police officers, Hyunsoo immediately headed to the front desk of the motel.

“Oh my God, how come. The business is going to be ruined…….”

The motel owner, a middle-aged woman, was looking at the situation outside with a worried expression.

“Should I change the sign, if rumors spread that this is a motel where people died…….”

“You're the owner, right?”

“Pardon? Ah, yes. Who are y……?”

“Police, students with the victim, are they out? Do you know when they left?”

“The students who came with her? Ah, I think I saw them come in…….”

The motel owner tilted his head with a puzzled expression. Then, he immediately shook his head.

“Ah…… I don't think I saw them. I came to work a while ago, so the employee who just got off work probably saw them.”

With Hyunsoo's firm expression, the motel owner rolled her eyes and continued.

“Shall I try…… contact that employee once? He wouldn't have gone that far.”

“No, show me the CCTV. That'll be faster.”

Hyunsoo pointed to the CCTV filming the entrance of the motel.

“The one that was taken over there.”

“That…….”

“Could it be that it can't record?”

“No, even if it flashes a red light…… It's fake.”

“Pardon?”

“To save money……. I put a fake one on.”

A sigh of breath escaped from Hyunsoo's mouth.

As expected, there is no easy case.

If you look at the scenes of future incidents, you can think that catching the criminal is very easy. The reality, however, is not.

After seeing a passing scene, there were times when the suspect was not clearly specified, and even if the suspect was specified, he had to find evidence to prove it. And to catch the missing criminal, he had to run around on his feet like any other detective.

He snapped his fingers and scanned the surroundings.

An old motel, non-working CCTV, no witnesses, and the perpetrators walked out of the motel leisurely. If only the CCTV had worked properly, he would have known the exact name.…….

At that moment, Hyunsoo's gaze turned to the glass motel entrance. Then he immediately moved on.

‘At this distance…….’

Hyunsoo left the motel and went straight to the parking lot. A black sedan parked not too far from the entrance of the building.

‘Since I'm in a hurry…….’

Hyunsoo, who was alternating between the entrance of the motel and the car, kicked the door of the car with his foot.

Ppii- Ppii- Ppii-!

The car started beeping loudly.

Ppii- Ppii- Ppii-!

And not long after, a middle-aged man rushed out of the motel.

“Hey! What are you doing?!”

Ah, are you the owner of the car?”

“That’s right! I’m the owner of this car! But to do that jerk move to a stranger’s car…… Yah!”

The man who was checking the car door widened his eyes and shouted at Hyun-soo.

“There's a scratch! Are you crazy?! Who are you!!”

“Ah, it's not a big deal. I’m just a police passing by.”

“Po, police?”

The startled man scanned Hyunsoo up and down.

“I'll pay for the repairs, so let’s take a look at the car's black box. I don't have much time, so hurry up.”“Yes, huh? Black……box?”

Perhaps he rushed out of the motel room, but the man wearing a shirt over his underwear looked around in surprise.

‘Why are you so surprised’

The man seemed quite surprised to respond to a black box request because of the incident.

Hyunsoo, who was looking at the man's outfit, turned his head into the car. Hyunsoo looked inside the heavily tinted car windows as he almost glued his eyes to the windows.

“S, Sir! What are you doing!”

“I see…….”

It was a lidless lipstick that fell next to the passenger seat that caught Hyunsoo's eye as he was glued to the window and looking inside the car. Hyunsoo turned his head toward the man.

“Are you having an affair?”

“……How can I do that……!”

“Eyy, don't be afraid because unfaithfulness in marriage isn't my responsibility.”

Hyunsoo, who leaned his shoulder on the car, waved his hand.

“You see what's happening here? We're trying to catch the perpetrators, so let's cooperate.”

“Then, then bring me a warrant!”

“Pardon?”

“Just because you're a police doesn't mean you can take the black box as you please! I'll give it to you when you get……the warrant.”

Hyunsoo let out a short sigh and turned his wrist to check the time.

“You must have a lot of things you want to hide……. But I think it will take too long to get a warrant…….”

“Then I can't give it to you! Without a warrant, the black box of my privacy…….”

“Then 100 million Won.”

“Pardon?”

An absurd glint escaped the man's eyes.

“Looking at it, the black box quality seems to be very good…… 100 million Won will be enough.”

“Is, is it okay for police…… to do this?”

The man's eyes trembled, but he didn't reject Hyunsoo's proposal.magic

“It's not going to be used as court evidence anyway, I just want to know the faces and names of these criminals.…….”

“…….”

“Would you like to get 100 million Won and cooperate with a good deed?”

* * *

“If you're going to use such a high-quality black box, don't cheat in the car…… Anyway.”

Thanks to the middle-aged man who pretended to be worried and quickly accepted Hyunsoo's proposal, Hyunsoo was able to check the screen on the black box right away.

“As expected, money is good. It's solved in one go.”

Hyunsoo escaped the crowd while looking at the phone picture of the recorded black box screen.

“Kim Byunwoo, Shin Hancha…… I can't see the other one.”

As he moved, Hyunsoo enlarged the name tags of male students on the screen. Luckily, two of the three perpetrators had their name tags stamped correctly on the black box.

“Your faces…… I can see them well.”

Hyunsoo, who was looking at the photo and comparing it with the faces in his memory, called someone.

“Uh, Police Officer Kim. Please give me a background check. Uh. The name is Kim Byunwoo, Shin Hancha, they are high school students, and from their uniform, I think they go to Youngsoo High School near here…….”

Hyunsoo, who continued to speak, frowned for a moment.

“I'm sure the uniform is……. Wait a minute.”

Hyunsoo, who took his cell phone off his ear, went back into the photo album and checked the perpetrators who were taken in the black box.

“……This uniform.”

Hyunsoo opened his eyes wide and quickly turned his head.

“No way.”

Hyunsoo strode across the crosswalk. A theory flashed through his mind.

The criminal always returns to the scene.

‘Moreover, if they are immature teenagers…….’

Hyunsoo's gaze turned to the other side. At the end of that gaze, two male students were standing wearing the same school uniform as the female victim.

Hyunsoo approached them and grabbed one of them by the shoulder.

“……Got ya, you bastards.”__________

*Pyeong is a Korean unit of area and floorspace.

**Membership Training (MT) is an event held among university students in South Korea. These events last roughly two days and are considered a free-form training session, where students spend time socializing with peers in the same academic majors or clubs, often at a remote location.