Hardboiled Scenario

Chapter 21

 

They weren’t strangers to each other, and they knew all too well how things worked in this field. It seemed more efficient to lay everything out on the table and talk openly, like the professionals they were.

“What makes you think that?”

Muyoung leaned back leisurely in his chair, tilting his chin as if to say ‘go on’.

“Why do murderers get caught? When a body is discovered and the surroundings are investigated, there are always suspicious people around. That’s why they dismember the body to prevent it from being found, or damage it beyond recognition, right?”

“Let’s say that’s true.”

“But that’s when the murderer is an ordinary person.”

Lee Do-hyung paused briefly, staring at Muyoung with a sardonic smile.

“What if you deliberately exposed everything from the start, aiming to be considered a suspect and then ruled out?”

His tone was closer to certainty than question.

“You could use your position to tamper with evidence, suggest misleading investigative directions, or delay the investigation until it goes cold. You wouldn’t even need to dispose of the body separately, right?”

Investigations are ultimately carried out by people, and can be manipulated if one is determined. Moreover, the case was assigned to the Seoul Central District Prosecutors’ Office, and Seo Muyoung was a prosecutor belonging to that office.

As soon as Lee Do-hyung finished speaking, Muyoung responded coldly, as if to say ‘is that all?’

“Your perspective is interesting, but—”

For a suspect to become an accused, several elements are needed. Right now, Muyoung only had points of suspicion. So, through these points of suspicion, there was something that needed to be proven.

“Let’s say, as you claim, that I’m suspicious.”

It was the motive for the crime.

“Even a mere drug addict has a motive, whether it’s curiosity or some foolish reason like ‘chasing a friend to Gangnam.’ What motive have you identified for me?”

“Are you saying you’re not the culprit because you have no motive?”

“Shouldn’t there be something?”

“Who knows? Maybe after dealing with criminals all the time, you went crazy and killed someone just to know what it feels like?”

How could anyone work with this bastard?

Even if Muyoung said beans are used to make fermented soybeans, Lee Do-hyung would argue, “No, beans are for soy sauce.” In short, even if Muyoung was right, Lee Do-hyung would always find a way to nitpick.

“Ugh…. This is getting off to a bad start.”

For the first time, he felt resentful towards Deputy Chief Baek who had brought this terrible ordeal upon him.

It was clear that Lee Do-hyung didn’t care whether Seo Muyoung was the culprit or not. Otherwise, he wouldn’t be wasting time trying to provoke him with such wordplay.

“Shouldn’t we first confirm who, when, and where put the body in my car?”

“No. We should first confirm when, where, how, and why you killed that woman.”

“I’ve felt this before, but you really live a tiring life.”

“Are you changing the subject?”

“Forget it. Have you checked the CCTV?”

Muyoung’s car movement was simple. His apartment in Chungmuro and the Seoul Central District Prosecutors’ Office. It was safe to assume that the body could only have been disposed of in these two places.

“There was nothing on the prosecutor’s office parking lot CCTV on the day of the accident or the day before.”

“What about my home?”

“Unfortunately, the CCTV in the underground parking lot of your apartment is only installed at the entrance and near the elevators, so there was nothing to check.”

One place had nothing recorded, and the other had no CCTV.

“You knew, didn’t you?”

“Knew what?”

“That there was no CCTV in the underground parking lot.”

“And do you know exactly where all the CCTVs are in your place?”

When Muyoung spoke sarcastically, Lee Do-hyung frowned and redirected, saying, ‘Just answer the question’.

Damn, pretending to have hit a nerve when he doesn’t even know. Tsk. But then again.

“Even if I didn’t know, the culprit would have known. The place without CCTV.”

This meant that before planning this, they had already investigated Muyoung’s movements and done a background check.

Come to think of it, Muyoung realized it had been quite a while since he had opened his car trunk.

If the traffic accident hadn’t happened, Muyoung wouldn’t have known there was a dead woman in his trunk until the stench of the decomposing body became noticeable.

That’s terrifying in its own way.

“Ah.”

Something seemed odd. Muyoung propped his temple with his fist and thought quickly.

At first, he thought he had fallen into a troublesome trap due to someone’s grudge or resentment.

“As you said, for a murderer, hiding the body is more difficult than killing the person. But what if there was no intention to hide the body in the first place?”

The situation fitting together so perfectly seemed too contrived to be a coincidence.

“Once the autopsy results come out, the cause of death will be revealed, and when the time of death is determined, my alibi will be proven. So being ruled out as a suspect was just a matter of time from the beginning.”

“So what are you trying to say?”

“What if they weren’t trying to frame me as the culprit from the start? Moreover, if it was out of grudge, wouldn’t killing me outright be more satisfying?”

“……”

“Think about it. Since they already pushed me with a truck, wouldn’t it have been easier to crush me beyond recognition?”

“What kind of person are you……”

How could he talk so casually about something that could have really killed him if things had gone slightly wrong? Lee Do-hyung’s face contorted.

“Who is it?”

“What? Why is the arrow suddenly turning to me?”

“You were the one who said to watch my back.”

“I didn’t think you’d remember that.”

“On the day the body was hidden in the trunk, they deliberately caused a traffic accident. To cause an incident of this scale means they’re that mentally unhinged…”

A psycho capable of the idea of loading a woman they killed, not even a living person, into someone else’s car just to mess with them.

“Do you know anything about who these people might be, the ones you said were plotting?”

“Why? After acting so recklessly, are you finally realizing what kind of trouble you’ve been causing?”

“I don’t care what’s in the heads of those drug addicts, but this has gone too far.”

No matter how much he racked his brain, he couldn’t think of any crazy bastard capable of such an idea.

Moreover, the fact that this prank was just a simple warning made his spine shiver even more. In other words, it was evidence that they could do even worse things.

“Lee Do-hyung. I know you’re enjoying this, but I’m sufficiently pissed off now, so that’s enough. You already know I’m not the culprit.”

“Your attitude is too arrogant for someone asking for help.”

Muyoung frowned deeply and clicked his tongue. He was equally displeased with Lee Do-hyung’s sarcasm and unreasonable nitpicking.

“Should I be more honest? I don’t care whether you’re screwed or not. If I can just watch the show and eat some rice cakes, that’s not bad either.”

“If you carelessly eat any rice cake offered and choke, who will you blame then?”

“Look at this. You haven’t suffered enough yet.”

Curse words welled up, but he couldn’t bring himself to spit them out. To grasp any clues about the case, he needed investigative materials, and the authority for that lay with Lee Do-hyung.

“Someone died.”

“Yes, they did. Found in your car.”

“Let’s stop this now. This bickering. Don’t you want to catch the real culprit too?”

“If you cooperate well.”

Muyoung decided to admit it. Whether he liked it or not, whether he wanted to or not, he had to be in the same boat as Lee Do-hyung due to Deputy Chief Baek’s orders.

Currently, the person holding the helm of that boat was Lee Do-hyung, not himself.

“What do you want? Do you want me to get on my knees and beg for help?”

“Could you do that if I asked?”

“No. I’d rather become a suspect. It’s not like they can prove the charges anyway, so why bother?”

“I thought so. Well, fine. I didn’t take on this case just to argue with you either.”

Lee Do-hyung picked up a file he hadn’t opened since coming to the interrogation room and tossed it in front of Muyoung.

“Let’s take it one by one.”

“……”

“The truck driver’s identity is still being investigated, and this is the identity information of the body found in your car.”

When the man who he thought would push things to the limit took a step back, Muyoung wondered what this new tactic was.

“In your eyes, prosecutors swayed by higher-ups might look like idiots, but everyone is trying to do their part in their own position. Including me.”

So.

“It’s not always good to act so arrogantly like you do. I’ll consider this a lesson learned from this incident.”

Lee Do-hyung looked relieved, like someone who had just pulled out an aching tooth.

🍓

The body found in Muyoung’s car was that of a student on leave from a university in Seoul. Lee Jeong-hye. Age twenty-three. Unfortunately, she was an orphan.

Although the autopsy hadn’t been done yet, based on the external examination, the cause of death was estimated to be asphyxiation due to strangulation.

A victim of a murder case, and even after death, used to frame someone else.

They hadn’t yet figured out how she ended up in such a situation, but Muyoung had no intention of just clearing his name and letting it go.

Finding the culprit was a given, and he intended to pay them back double for what he’d received.

Currently, the woman’s body is being kept at the National Forensic Service in Seoul. Whether by coincidence or fate, the forensic pathologist in charge was Dr. Jeong Jae-in.

“We keep getting chances to meet, I might get attached at this rate.”

Muyoung, in a new car replacing the one confiscated by the prosecution, operated the navigation system. The destination was, of course, the National Forensic Service located in Yangcheon District, Seoul.

🍓

Thank you for reading! ♡

Thank you for reading! ♡ Feel free to check my other novel on my carrd!

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