CIF was dispatched along with Team Two of the Violent Crimes Unit. The destination was the house where Lee Wanjae and Kim Dohwa lived together.
"Is anyone here!?"
The Team Two members knocked on the door first. However, no response was heard.
"Should we just pick the lock?"
Picking the lock was the easiest way to enter the door.
Among them, the detective skilled at picking locks took the lead. He pulled something from his pocket, inserted it into the keyhole, and turned it to unlock it.
"Let's head in."
The detectives looked around and went inside.
"Miss Kim Dohwa? Are you here?"
".. ah… help me."
A meek voice was heard.
She was alive! Kim Dohwa!
When Inspector Jung Yu-mi approached the room where the voice came from, she found Kim Dohwa hanging like the Hanged Man.
"Miss Dohwa is here! Someone break off the line and get her off!"
While some were inspecting the premises, they quickly got a chair and began cutting the rope around Kim Dohwa. Shin Dong-jin, Kang Woo-cheol, and Jung Yu-mi of the CIF team were wearing latex gloves while assisting the victim.
All ropes were cut, and the woman was gradually lowered to the floor.
"… Haa…"
Kim Do-hwa's face was red, with blood rushing through her.
"Did someone call 119?"
"I did!"
"Then we can leave soon. Miss Dohwa, are you alright?"
Inspector Jung Yu-mi put her hand on Kim Dohwa's face. The woman's face was in heat. Kim Dohwa was about to say something, but she could not speak, barely lifted her head off the floor, and turned to the side as she vomited.
"Just to be sure, I will collect what she puked."
CIF meticulously took pictures of the scene and put the puke inside a ziplock bag.
The detectives of Team Two have been walking around the house to check if Lee Wanjae was around, but they found no signs of him.
"Is Lee Wanjae not here?"
"Who did this…."
"First, let's check if there is any hair on the floor or traces; I don't seem to find fingerprints or anything. This is strangely connected to the case of the Kim sisters."
Hansol nodded at Detective Shin Dong-jin's words.
Someone thought drugs would be discovered in Kim Dohwa's vomit. Kim Dohwa was rushed to the emergency room shortly after 119 arrived.
Kang Woo-cheol and Inspector Jung Yu-mi followed.
Hansol returned to the office with Team Two's Violent Crimes Unit. As soon as he returned, he got a message from J.
— Can we talk now?
Hansol checked the message and then called J.
"What is it?"
[I decided that simple ecstasy and heroin cannot cause death, so I tested what came from the body once again. But it wasn't something which could be found in Korea… a new drug, Bad Boy, which was recently reported in US and India, was discovered.]
"… Bad Boy?"
[This newly discovered drug is known to be more potent than current ecstasy and LSDs. It would be easy to locate a distributor in Korea if this medicine was available. Although the information was not included in the autopsy report, I contacted you since it may assist you with the investigation.]
"… okay. Another person almost got killed today. You will get a puke with gastric juices. Analyze if the new drug, Bad Boy, is also in that."
[Okay. Got it. I'll call you later.]
Hansol hung up the phone and began to search for Bad Boy on the internet.
There were indeed reports that a new drug called Bad Boy is starting to become a fad in US and India. It hasn't been allowed to be used legally, and the paper has minimal findings.
'I need to download the thesis first.'
Then, Hansol suddenly remembered that he didn't read the paper on antisocial personality disorder in children that Doctor Kim Hee-seob had written.
After downloading the thesis on Bad Boy, Hansol first read the thesis written about him.
It was a story about himself. As for how children with antisocial personality disorder can live like ordinary people through education, it was confirmed that his father, Im Jaemin, was actively cooperating.
It was concluded that even people with an antisocial personality disorder may feel emotions like regular people, provided they acquire the proper education.
'No, this is an inadequate thesis. Nothing says about changes in the frontal and temporal lobes of people with an antisocial personality disorder. This is just simply saying that a person can change through education. It makes no sense.'
Hansol, who lived only on his own, didn't understand this. At the same time, his father, too, must have lived the same, and it felt strange that such a thesis was out in the world.
'… test subject had to be father. How much does Professor Kim Hee-seob know? He has to know quite a lot, considering how he is helping father even after knowing he is a criminal. Ah, and Professor Kim Hee-seob was also on the list of professors treating criminals with mental illness.'
Hansol with the cases of Kim sisters and Woo brothers and Kim Dohwa…. By linking the events, it was determined that his father had something to do with them.
However, he couldn't understand one thing: Why on earth was the Prosecutor General and a large firm moving according to what his father wants?
It was a question that never left his mind.
What kind of man was his father who could wield such power?
The abrupt presence of Im Jaemin last time indicated that he was testing his son. The countdown made of criminals and victims is a signal to his son. A sign for his son to catch.
'… this entire thing has to be understood. First and foremost, we must concentrate on the investigation. When the investigation command is sent down from the Prosecution to the Police, they purposefully assign a certain case… just like when the investigation command was passed down through Prosecutor Kim Soo-hyeon, it appears as if father is behind him.'
It was an honest opinion.
Hansol grabbed the pen and turned it. The prosecutor assigned Kim Dohwa's case was Kim Soo-hyeon. Lee Wanjae's side was the Law Firm as if they were already preparing to face the Drug Investigation Unit. Even though he was already known to be a drug addict, a big firm was taking up his face… they say they are trying to get away with making an intermediate booking that Kim Dohwa took drugs…
'What are the chances of Lee Wanjae being the next victim? Currently, Lee Wanjae is already an offender and on probation for drugs. And trying to kill Kim Dohwa….'
At that moment, Team Leader Woo-jin called for him.
"Lee Wanjae, he… we can't get that bastard."
"… Uh? What?"
"We sought to charge him with attempted murder, but he already confessed to the Drug Investigation Unit yesterday. He's claiming until the end that he simply inhaled drugs, and Kim Dohwa was behind the drug distribution. I just found out about it now."
"Was his alibi confirmed? Kim Dohwa isn't conscious yet, so the exact time of getting the statement isn't known."
"There was visiting session yesterday morning and confession. After that, he was in jail."
If he had been imprisoned since yesterday morning, Lee Wanjae couldn't be charged with the attempted murder of Kim Dohwa.
If Team Two and CIF arrived a little late, then Kim Dohwa would have been found dead.
"Then, Lee Wanjae will be investigated only for dating violence."
"But what… During the drug investigation, Lee Wanjae admits to using drugs but claims it was due to dating violence and that the drugs were given to him? Let's presume he goes with that statement."
For a moment, Hansol almost cursed out. The Drug Investigation Unit was now conducting a general investigation of the criminal.
He didn't expect Lee Wanjae to suddenly do something like this and get out of their investigation.
"Aiming to reduce the sentence by fabricating… he will get a year or two in prison at most and end up with a fine. In addition, Kim Dohwa has low self-confidence due to the constant gaslighting after the dating violence and is in the middle of mood swingings. So there is a high probability that the credibility of her statement will be lowered."
"Lee Wanjae… the house seems to be slightly stale. Is he the son of a real estate tycoon or what? He went to study abroad as well, and… I think his parents are at fault."
"… so, will the dating violence case be passed on? We want to close this investigation. There are things I want to hear more about from direct questioning."
"I don't know how the Drug Investigation Unit will react. Even the attempted murder case of Kim Dohwa cannot be pinned on him as he was already taken away. I think we will only get to investigate the attempted murder of Kim Dohwa."
"Alright."
Hansol felt like he was playing into his father's hands.
"Team Leader… about the Drug Investigation Unit, who is the prosecutor in charge of them?"
"Alright. Want to see if it is the same as before?"
"Like hitting in the dark."
At that time, a law article popped into Hansol's mind.
Article 37 of Attorney-At-Law Act (¹)
[Public officials engaged in investigations are prohibited from introducing or arranging specific layers for handling cases related to their duties. Violations of this shall be punished with imprisonment for up to one year and a fine of not more than 10 million won.]
If Article 36 of the lawyer act (²) is added to it, even if it wasn't related to the job, if one introduces a case of the institution they work to a lawyer they know, they will be fined 20 million won for negligence.
Others may not have noticed it, but Hansol saw it thanks to the constant violation of Kim Soo-hyeon.
"Team Leader Woo-jin? Can we talk in the conference room for a moment?"
"Sure."
Team Leader Woo-jin and Hansol went into the room, and Hansol brought up the lawyer law.
There is undoubtedly corruption of some sort in the Prosecution and Law Firm.
"Is Kim Soo-hyeon going to be working on it again? No, this idiot, what is he doing… why is he overdoing it?"
"But what will happen? Still, we're now in a fight between the Police and the Prosecution, which only intensifies… if the Police file a report for Internal Corruption of Prosecution… the Prosecution will not take it lightly. Besides, our CIF is a special team; it isn't a team made to whistleblow on the corruption in the Prosecutor's Office…."
Team Leader Woo-jin was right.
The CIF was a team created by the Police Agency to investigate special cases and not uncover internal faults. And if CIF did so, it would intensify the conflict, jeopardizing the team.
Hansol used his head as much as he could.
'… how the hell am I supposed to stop that now?'
Knock.
"I am a detective from Team Two of the Violent Crimes Unit. Are the members of CIF here?"
"Yes. We are."
The detective hurriedly opened the door and said.
"Doctor Im Hansol, Kim Dohwa is awake and has requested to speak with you."
"Is that so? Let's go now."
After talking, Woo-jin and Hansol drove the car to where Kim Dohwa was admitted.
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1. Article 37 (Prohibition of Case Referral by Person Handling Duty, etc.) of the Attorney-At-Law Act of South Korea Translated by the Korea Law Translation Center
2. Article 36 (Prohibition of Referral by Court, Investigative Agency Officials) of the Attorney-At-Law of South Korea Translated by the Korea Law Translation Center