GSC: Chapter 130-Interlude – Detective Park Gangwon (2)

[2019, May 5th | Sunday, 16:32 PM]

[Lee Joon: Number of Attempts – 2]

[Ghost Story Points: 242]

[Causality Rate: 20%]

“Read it.”

“……”

The stack of documents the Detective handed over to me contained records of a certain criminal case.

* * *

[Bongcheon Street Apartment Locked Room Murder Case]

Case Summary: A mysterious locked room murder case occurred in August 2012 at K Apartment in Bongcheon Street, Gwanak District, Seoul.

It was a rare unsolved case where even the method of intrusion and escape still remained undiscovered, and not even a single suspect had been identified.

Background: A murder took place on the 12th floor of Building B in the newly constructed, luxury K Apartment in Bongcheon Street. The victim Mr. Kim (32) was a freelance photojournalist. His body was found in the living room by his girlfriend, who visited his apartment around 7 p.m. The autopsy revealed that the estimated time of death was around lunchtime that day, and the cause of death was a wound to the carotid artery, with dozens of stab wounds found on his face and neck area.

* * *

“If it’s Bongcheon Street…… Oh, it’s right next to our area.”

Bongcheon Street, right in front of Seoul National University Station.

Just two subway stations from there, it’s right here in ShinLim Neighborhood, where I live.

“The weapon was a kitchen knife that was found in the kitchen at the scene. There were no signs of forced entry on the front door or windows, and since it was a newly built apartment that hadn’t even been occupied for a year, the CCTV in the hallway was up to date. I thought it was just a matter of time before the culprit was caught. But they couldn’t.”

I read through the details of the case once again and expressed my doubt.

“…Why couldn’t they catch the culprit? If there were surveillance cameras in the hallway, it should have captured everyone coming and going…..”

“Well, that’s because the video shows that no one entered or left during that time.”

The Detective answered while crunching the ice cubes in his iced coffee that he had just finished drinking.

From his aura, it seemed like he might be a detective in a noir film, who would casually smoke a cigarette while talking about cases. However, since smoking is prohibited inside the building, it seemed like he was settling for chewing on ice instead.

[Your understanding of the character Park Gangwon has increased by 5.]

“There was no one. Even if they had pressed the doorbell, it should have been captured by the front door camera, but there’s no such record. Moreover, there was no activity on the front door’s lock at that time. The only record of it being unlocked was when his girlfriend came in the evening and opened it.”

“… That means that the apartment was a completely closed room until the front door was opened that evening.”

The culprit neither entered nor exited through the front door.

As I read through the case details again, I realized that it wasn’t a corridor-style apartment, and there were no other windows through which the culprit could have escaped.

“What about the balcony…? It’s on the 12th floor, so they couldn’t have jumped out of it, but I saw in movies that it’s possible to climb down using a pipe….”

“The CCTV at the playground right in front of the apartment building just happened to capture that floor, but it was clean. The balcony wasn’t even opened.”

I looked over the documents a few more times and sighed.

“….. It really is a locked-room murder. They still haven’t caught the culprit?”

“Yeah. They haven’t caught them, and it’s been classified as an unsolved case.”

I looked over the documents one last time and then set them down.

“But why are you showing this to me…?”

“I believe it was a ghost that killed him.”

The Detective continued speaking in a calm tone, unlike me who showed a startled expression.

“The victim had been feeling like the locations of objects in his apartment were changing for a few days prior, so he decided to record videos with a camcorder to observe the inside of the home. The camcorder was tightly clenched in his hand when the body was found.”

A strange thought crossed my mind, so I skimmed through the documents again.

“…There’s no mention of that here.”

“That’s right.”

“Isn’t that the most important part? The moment of the murder might have been recorded on the camcorder.”

“We deliberately left that part out during the investigation. We didn’t want it to cause too much of a social stir.”

The Detective replied calmly, setting down his drink cup.

“Of course, we secured that camcorder at the scene and checked the footage recorded there. The moment the victim was murdered was definitely recorded on the camcorder.”

And the fact that they still couldn’t catch the culprit after confirming all of that means the footage must have shown something abnormal.

“Even now, if you go to the evidence storage room at the police station, you can find that camcorder there. It’s wrapped tightly in a black bag and locked away in a special case safe reserved for only the most unusual cases, so that no one can see it.”

“……”

“Do you know what I saw there…?”

The Detective looked at me with a slightly weary smile.

“Among the unsolved cases that I desperately wanted to solve, there must be some culprits who aren’t human. That’s when I started to feel a deep sense of helplessness.”

‘Helplessness……’

The Detective wore a bitter expression.

He had always appeared so intimidating, as if he could take down anyone and anything, but at that moment, with the sense of helplessness, he suddenly seemed small.

“I would stay up all night, staring at the CCTV until my eyes felt like they might fall out, working through the day and night regardless of the weather. I would spend freezing winter days, unable to change my clothes, sleeping in a car with the heater off while on stakeout. I had once been stabbed by a madman and ended up in the hospital, but even when the cases dragged on and I got insulted and criticized, I always felt it was enough as long as I could slap the handcuffs on the culprit’s wrist and call it solved. Now, I have come to realize that there were some criminals you could never catch. If it were an animal, I could at least shoot it, but how could I catch and imprison something that has no physical form?”

The Detective took out a cigarette and a lighter from his coat pocket and placed them on the desk.

Whether it was his way of keeping calm or just a habit, he began fiddling with them in his hands.

“Joon, now, whenever I encounter a case I can’t understand, this kind of anxiety is the first thing that comes to my mind. Am I just stumbling around trying to catch someone I can never catch? I feel like there’s an insurmountable wall in front of me I couldn’t break.”

“……”

“And sadly, my intuition was right—those kinds of cases are becoming more and more common.”

The Detective looked at me and gave a subtle nod, as if asking if I understood what he was saying.

“Just last month, a member of the National Assembly walked to his home window by doing a handstand, dangled from the window ledge by his feet, then turned around and jumped through a 50cm gap to commit suicide.”

“……”

“The month before that, a man who was being investigated at the police station for illegal firearm possession stole a gun that had been confiscated from him when the detective in-charge got distracted for a moment, shot himself in the head in front of the police and collapsed to the ground. Then suddenly, he got up again, cleaned up the blood stains around him in 5 seconds, and died. The month before that, a taxi driver committed suicide by jumping from a gate at the height of several meters with a rope around his neck and hanging himself. And the month before that, a middle-aged man who worked in a restaurant cut his own throat with a string of bean bags and then parked his car without a neck before finally dying.”

“……”

“All of these cases were treated as suicides. Since there was no way to figure out what exactly happened, it’s impossible to get to the bottom of it.”

The Detective gave a bitter smile.

Suddenly, he looked older than his age.

“The world is turning in an increasingly incomprehensible way, beyond anyone’s understanding. And there’s nothing I, a detective, can do about it.”

The Detective then placed both of his hands on the table and stared at me with a serious look in his eyes.

“Do you now understand what you mean to me, Joon?”

“……”

“You are the only person who can explain the case of a woman, who committed suicide with her child a week ago, opening the balcony door in her living room and jumping 45m meters straight into the air before falling and crashing down. You are the only one who can track down the clown who climbed up the 20th-floor apartment building with his bare hands, cannibalized an entire family, and then fled.”

“……”

“That’s what you mean to me, Joon.”

A hint of desperation could be heard in his voice.

This righteous adult who has experienced all sorts of hardships in life was clinging to me, a mere high school student.

I call myself a hero, but I’m not really someone so noble and righteous like him.

Why is it that everyone seems to be trusting me so much?

I’m not really that important.

I felt like it was too much to accept all this unlimited attention that’s being poured onto me.

“The one person who can explain all these incomprehensible phenomena. For me, that is you, Joon.”

“……”

“I tried my best to overcome that wall on my own, in my own way. In fact, I’ve managed to solve a few cases by sheer luck. But it’s no longer possible. This world is gradually getting crazier and crazier, Joon.”

“……”

“Can you help me……?”

From the Detective, who had always seemed so intimidating, there was an unmistakable sense of desperate sorrow.

In the face of such desperation, I could only nod.

And as if to show my willingness to cooperate, I too politely placed my hands on the table, one on top of the other.

“… I’ll help you.”

I also had no clue about the Demon King.

And at the end of these strange events, that existence will undoubtedly be involved.

“But I can’t help with everything. My top priority is still dealing with the matters within the school and the Demon King buried there……”

“Yes. Of course I know that. Solving a few of these cases would be useless if the world were to end. But.”

The Detective stretched out his arm and roughly patted my shoulder a couple of times.

“Thank you. For saying that you would help me.”

“… I should help you. You help us too, Detective.”

The Detective burst into laughter.

“I know that, right? Yeah, I’ve honestly helped you guys a lot, haven’t I?”

“Yes, and… this is just my opinion, but.”

I carefully shared the meeting we had among the members this past Friday during the CA session.

“The Dogma of Void… and Clover Corporation, you say. You’re saying that those two are already aware of the strange phenomena… hmm…”

“Yes, all the strange incidents you mentioned, Detective… It’s too early to say that the Demon King was responsible, since they happened even before I was involved.”

When I left school and lived somewhere else in my previous life, I didn’t experience any strange phenomena.

If something strange had already happened in the shadows before I was even involved…..

‘Those two might be connected in some way…..’

Someone is conducting all kinds of experiments on South Korea.

‘And aside from those bizarre aspects, realistically, both of those organizations have their own shady corners.’

While the Dogma of Void forces students who have lost their place in society at the alternative school to conduct strange cult rituals, Clover has a private army somewhere that could potentially overthrow the country.

A secret religion that has spread among the school staff, and a strangely developed corporation that dominates the entire world.

“And the Demon King too. But those three aren’t working together?”

“No. Not only are they not working together… there’s not even a hint of connection between them.”

“There’s no connection, you say. If they were groups that understand the true nature of the strange phenomena, there would likely be some kind of connection between them.”

The Detective crossed his arms and fell into deep thought.

“I’m assuming that because I’ve handled various major cases and delved into politics and corporations… But based on what you know, the Dogma of Void and Clover are completely unrelated. The words have never even been listed together.”

The Detective spoke as if he had already made up his mind.

“What’s bothering me is how suspicious groups are playing their own strange games separately.”

“We’ll have to find out gradually. Speaking of which.”

I lowered my voice carefully, making sure no one else could hear, and cautiously made my request.

“Do you remember In Hayoon from our club?”

“… Hmm. You mean that pretty girl?”

The Detective nodded as if he remembered.

“That calm and quiet girl?”

“Yes, with a pale face. That one.”

“What about her?”

“Can you do some background checks on her?”

The Detective was so surprised that if he had anything in his mouth, he would have spit it out.

“What are you talking about all of a sudden! You’re requesting me to do a background check on the girl you have a crush on!”

“What are you talking about! Why would I have a crush on her!”

I hurriedly looked around, making sure no one could hear, and explained the situation.

“She’s suspicious. Suspicious.”

“Why and how do you know she’s suspicious?”

“That……”

I told the Detective everything that had happened up until now.

Only then did he stroke his beard, furrowing his brow as he pondered.

“Hearing from you now, she definitely sounds suspicious.”

“Right? Isn’t it strange?”

“The mass panic on the train was also caused by that girl… Hmm.”

The Detective leaned on the table with a thoughtful expression.

“I thought you were asking me to dig up on her personally because you like her.”

“No, that’s not it…… why would I even……”

I hurriedly looked around, trying to be cautious in case there were any students from my same school nearby.

The Detective chuckled, laughing at the flustered expression on my face.

“Just kidding, kidding. But why is your face getting redder and redder? Do you really like her?”

“Oh, stop it, really!”

Normally, high school students don’t like to admit to liking someone, but the moment they’re teased with “Do you really like her?”, a strange feeling triggers inside, and they start wondering, ‘Do I really like her?’.

I’m trying my best not to develop any romantic feelings toward anyone, especially Hayoon.

She’s already so pretty, and if I let my guard down and get too caught up in her, I feel like I wouldn’t be able to get out.

‘Actually, I feel like I’m almost halfway there already…..’

It’s dangerous.

I shouldn’t even think about anything related to that.

I would just think of her as a member of our club, as a girl with a suspicious side.

“So, can you do it for me or not?”

“Hmm, you need to be specific about what kind of background check you want.”

“The best thing would be to find out what she does after school, where she goes…”

“That’s impossible.”

The Detective flatly rejected the request.

“Whether questioning the people around her or tailing her, there’s no way I could get involved. Even though I’m a detective, I’m just an adult with a big build, so if I start following a minor girl, I’ll get caught right away.”

“Then what kind of information can you get for me……?”

I asked, thinking that Hayoon would definitely know it if he followed her around with that big body.

“I can do simple background checks. Like her home address or her medical records.”

I nodded quickly in understanding.

“That’s enough. Just the family relationship and home address.”

In Hayoon, and the person named Taesang, who is currently the leader of the Dogma of Void and will later become the President of South Korea.

‘They both have the same surname.’

And it was not a common surname.

Through the family relationships, I might be able to uncover some clues.

‘And I know that their family is incredibly wealthy, but there aren’t many rich people like that in the ShinLim Station area. If I can just get the accurate home address, there would be a lot more I could figure out.’

“Okay, a simple background check like the family relationship and home address of the girl you like. In return, you help me with my case. Are you okay with that?”

“Yes, sounds good. If I need anything else, I’ll ask again. How long will you take to get the information?”

“Next time, just give me a call before you die.”

The Detective smiled leisurely and crossed his arms.

“Checking it through the system takes less than 10 seconds, but all of that gets recorded and sent up the chain of command later. If it’s found out that I checked the information of an unrelated, innocent minor girl, I’d be immediately punished when they review it.”

“Oh, I see……”

“So, just give me a call before you die next time. All you need to do is get the information from me before time goes back.”

I nodded my head.

Of course, I could also get the information today and commit suicide. If I do that, I could confirm it quickly.

But having just been warned by the Detective not to do such a thing that would eat away at my sanity, I couldn’t bring myself to do it.

‘Above all, if I die and the checkpoint is further back, I would have to come back to this café and explain the situation again, talking about it all over.’

When the situation arises where I have to die to turn back time, I decided that I would ask to look into Hayoon’s identity at that time.

“Alright, that’s it for today. I’ll handle the various background checks you ask for, and you’ll help with the cases I can’t solve.”

“Okay, I’ll do that. But how can I help you?”

“I’ll contact you when I need you.”

With that, we finished our conversation, stood up, and left the café together.

As soon as we opened the glass door, the Detective naturally placed a cigarette in his mouth, as if he had been waiting for that moment.

Even the way he flicked the lighter and lit the cigarette gave off the feeling of a grizzled, hard-boiled detective from a noir story.

When I glanced at him, the Detective smiled and waved his hand, as if asking what I was looking at.

“Go ahead. Don’t look at bad things.”

“Yes, I’ll go. Thank you for your hard work~”

“Okay, let’s do our best~”

“Yes, I’ll be counting on you~”

“Alright~”

We said our goodbyes, stretching our words like a typical adult and student, and parted ways.

By then, the sunset was casting its glow over the apartment complex, and that was how the day ended.

* * *

[Scary once you understand]

– Camcorder Ghost Story –

One day, a man began to notice strange things happening inside his own house.

Whenever he returned home after going out, he felt that the house was strangely messy, or that the positions of objects had changed.

Recently, whenever he was alone in the house, he even began to feel the presence of someone’s gaze.

Feeling uneasy, the man decided to set up a camera to record the inside of his house in order to resolve his suspicions.

That very day, the man set up his own camcorder he had been using in the living room.

He pressed the record button and went out. When he returned, the positions of the objects in the house had mysteriously changed again.

The spot where the remote was placed, or the slightly disheveled carpet in the living room.

There were definitely strange traces left behind.

The man quickly found the camcorder he had left in the corner of the living room, stopped the recording, and began playing it right where he was sitting.

For a while, the camcorder showed nothing on the footage.

However, shortly after he had left, a strange woman was seen walking around the living room with a kitchen knife.

‘There it is! Someone really broke into the house!’

The man, completely agitated, began to focus more intently on the recorded footage.

The woman holding the knife randomly stabbed at the air, and at one point, she even crawled around the living room like a dog, constantly moving about.

‘Crazy, how did I not notice this until now…..’

The man felt goosebumps running down his spine when he thought about how many times this woman had walked around the house without him knowing.

‘At this rate, the police will probably take action, right?’

Just as the man was about to open his phone to make a report, he saw the woman on the screen crawling under the sofa in the living room.

And then, right after, someone else, a man, entered the house.

‘There was another one!’

The man in the video gradually moved closer, grabbed the camcorder, and began looking around. Soon after, the footage stopped.

Realizing something, the man couldn’t help but break into a cold sweat.