A slight knock on the door made both Riu Te Jun and his boss, the Police Captain Ko IonHwa, wince. Then, the two men exchanged glances, as though asking each other, „Who bothers us so early?” Yet, none of them knew the answer simply because none of them wasn’t waiting for any visit there.
Standing up from his armchair and feeling all his bones cracking, Ko IonHwa gasped. Then, straightening his back, he glanced at his worker, who was sitting on the sofa, with his face buried in his hands, completely exhausted after everything that happened that night, hissing through his teeth, „It’s not over yet!”
„As though it had ever been over,” Te Jun growled to himself, squinting at his captain, whom he saw straightening his back once again while heading toward the door. Detective Riu even heard his boss mumbling at one point, which hinted to him that he was nervous and would have liked to sleep instead of solving problems like the one Te Jun seemed to have caused that night.
His boss’s mumbling bothered Te Jun, making him nervously move in his spot. The reason? He’d been forced for too long to hear his boss’s high-pitched voice while that one scolded him. Not only did that night IonHwa scold Te Jun. It happened all the time because Captain Ko seemed not to like Te Jun at all. „The feeling is reciprocal,” as Detective Riu yelled in his head eventually, leaning against the back of the sofa and staring at the door, eagerly waiting to see the face of the one who’d receive another portion of „lessons of life” from the Captain.
When Ko IonHwa opened the door and spotted a woman’s silhouette through the half-open door, Te Jun turned serious. Who was the Mrs. or Ms. who came there that early? He had no clue because he hadn’t ever seen her before. Te Jun was pretty sure of that, although he hadn’t seen the stranger’s face. This made him curious and supported his elbows on his knees, pulling his body a little bit in front in the hope of seeing that woman’s face - the one who saved him from sure death because if he had stood a little longer alone with the captain, who had been yelling into his ear for about an hour, his head would have cracked for sure: so intense was his headache. Yet, that pain suddenly vanished when the stranger knocked on the door and the Captain shut his mouth for a few seconds.
Eventually, Te Jun winced, seeing the Captain’s weird grin. What Detective Riu didn’t know was that his boss’s grin was because of an unpleasant surprise though. Finally understanding this, Te Jun frowned, especially when he heard IonHwa telling the stranger with a certain flattery in his voice, „Chief Kim, I didn’t know you’d stop by.”
„Chief Kim?” Te Jun wondered, frowning again. „Which Kim, in particular? As far as I know, there are enough Kims in the system. Even so, there are only a few Kims in front of whom Ko IonHwa would bow like that and wag his tail. Ah, don’t tell me that she’s…?”
Seeing the large smile sketched by HanSol, who stretched her hand to shake her interlocutor’s hand, Te Jun became attentive. Particularly, it happened when she said, „I also didn’t know that I’d stop by your office, Captain Ko. Yet, let’s say it was necessary.” Then, seeing Te Jun standing up, HanSol smiled. And, looking at Ko IonHwa out of the corner of her eyes, she asked, „And… this gentleman? One of your workers, Captain?”
„Yes,” Captain Ko growled, visibly bothered that Chief Kim paid attention to Te Jun, an attention he would have liked for himself. Then, seeing that HanSol kept looking at Te Jun, IonHwa said, „His name is Riu Te Jun! He’s one of my detectives and… he was leaving!” Then, he discretely motioned to Te Jun, letting him understand that it was time to hit the pike.
His boss’s urging and insistence on „kicking him out of the office” made Te Jun smile. Yet, he did that discretely while bowing his head when he passed by HanSol, trying to show her respect. After that, he grabbed the doorknob, intending to close the door behind him.
He looked at HanSol in amazement when she grabbed the door and didn’t allow him to close it. Thus, he saw a discreet smile on her face, right before the smile vanished and her eyes sparkled, sternly looking at him. She also seemed confident in his eyes, particularly when she said, „Not that fast, Detective Riu! I have a word with you.”
To Captain’s unpleasant surprise, Te Jun burst into laughter. Then, IonHwa hissed through his teeth, asking the detective to act as was required by the protocol. Eventually, when HanSol raised her hand, telling him that she didn’t need him, Ko IonHwa kept his mouth shut and headed with his tail between his legs toward the table with liquors to pour something and cool his soul. The reason? Chief Kim’s reaction bothered him, who let him think she was visiting him when she came after someone else, in fact.
Not as „upset” as his boss, but still nervous to realize that HanSol was there for him, knowing who he was although she pretended to have seen him for the first time, Te Jun released the door. Then, straightening his back, he looked straight into HanSol’s eyes, asking, „You have a word with me? I don’t see what we have in common. I mean… what such a distinguished lady, as you seem to be, can share with me to look for me at such an early hour.”
„Obviously, I’m not here for… pleasure, Detective,” HanSol told him ironically. „Why? Because our paths haven’t ever crossed in a bed to look for you for such „things.” If I’m here, it is because of work.”
„I haven’t ever doubted that,” grinned Te Jun. „That you are here for… work, I mean. As far as I remember, we don’t have other reasons to see each other. Personal things, I mean.”
„Even so, you dared to get in my way,” HanSol hissed through her teeth, turning and facing him. Taking this influential posture, HanSol folded her arms over her chest, staring straight into the detective’s eyes. She saw him nervously looking to the side, a hint that her insistent glance disarmed him. Seeing this, Chief Kim triumphantly smiled. Then, she told him, „You probably wonder when you got in my way, isn’t it?”
„Let’s say that it’s something that could have crossed my mind. At the same time, it isn’t something to bother myself about.”
The fact that the detective scoffed made HanSol feel a bitter taste on the top of her tongue. She felt offended because, even though she worked with enough arrogant people in her life, none of them dared to look into her eyes right from their first meeting. Particularly, this didn’t happen after she got the same position as Lee Do Hun, ruling DOC after his death, and this meant only one thing - the poor devil in front of her had no idea who she was and what power she was handling.
Thus, confident in the surprise element, HanSol stepped toward the detective and completely opened the door not to stay between them. Then, staring into his eyes, who hardly did the same, she told him, „Your arrogance, Detective, doesn’t impress me. Why? It neither intimidates me nor makes me give up. On the contrary, it only makes me want to land you one in the eye. Why? I hate those who look at women as though they are Gods.”
Hearing her talking to him like that, not being at all afraid of consequences, Te Jun finally understood what kind of power the woman had. This made him swallow hard. He didn’t do that because he felt intimidated or was afraid that something would happen to him afterward but because he disliked the tone of her voice. Particularly, he disliked when others treated him as he was a nobody, both women and men, something the stranger did at their first meeting, confident in her post and power. Even so, Te Jun decided that it wasn’t the right time to gain more enemies than he had already, and, pulling back, he said, „Honestly, I don’t understand what makes you think this. That I’m looking at women as though they aren’t my equal, I mean.”
„Your behavior?” HanSol replied mockingly. Then, realizing that she didn’t have time to waste with him, she said, „Nevertheless, I say to leave this for later. To mark our territories or find out what our position is, I mean. For the moment, I want to hear about the race.”
When HanSol mentioned the race, both Te Jun and IonHwa wince. Captain Ko even put the glass with whisky, which he hadn’t finished, on the table and approached them, asking HanSol in a shaking voice, „The race? What race are we talking about?”
„I’m talking about the race the detective here present, along with other patrols, was involved in tonight. A race that shouldn’t have been organized on our streets.”
„Of course, it was necessary to organize it,” growled Te Jun through his teeth. Thus, he tried to show her his anger when he realized that his decisions were questioned. „That race was necessary once the BMW broke the law of our streets. And, as always, all I did was my job.”
„By chasing a car that wasn’t driven at full speed but properly, Detective?”
„Properly? Chief Kim, does it seem to you that having 200 km/h is considered driving properly?”
„Yes!” HanSol calmly replied, making Te Jun attentive. „Why? It’s the normal speed a DOC agent uses when he tries to get rid of „tails,” like the one that my agent had tonight without asking for that.”
„DOC? What do you want to say is that the one who raced on streets like insane today, endangering everybody, was a DOC agent?”
„That’s right. The one whom you chased on the streets tonight is one of my agents. And yes, even with the risk of repeating myself, I have to say that he’d been chased without a reason, Detective. Why? My agent wasn’t driving at full speed when you started the race. Thus, he didn’t also endanger anybody, something that happened once the police patrols followed him, something your employees did, Captain Ko.”
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IonHwa winced. „My employees? Are you talking about the detective now?”
„Yes, I’m talking about him and his reckless decision to race someone tonight at full speed on Seoul streets. This led to a traffic collision, including police patrols and officers. If I’m not mistaken, one of the officers is at the hospital right now, in bad shape and his chances to survive are damn low.”
HanSol’s words made Te Jun swallow hard again. Captain Ko nervously moved in his spot, squeezing his fists because if all this happened because of one of his detectives, an event about which he had no idea, his head was about to be cut. Yet, he didn’t want to allow that to happen because he fought too hard to get that job. Realizing this, IonHwa suddenly turned obedient and, sweetly smiling, he told HanSol, whose hand he touched with both hands, slowly caressing it, „Ei, Chief Kim, let’s not exaggerate right now! I mean… I already heard that a few cars collisioned but… nothing serious, as far as I know. I was already handling this incident because I called Detective Riu into my office at this early hour to scold him for this. Even so, his decision was right because… no matter if the one involved in the race was a DOC agent or a simple person, the speed isn’t allowed on our streets. God doesn’t want that but… he could have killed someone there.”
„The only one who could have killed someone today is your employee, Captain!” HanSol shouted, taking both men by surprise. Then, to show them her anger, she released her hand by pulling it toward her and put a thick file in Captain Ko’s arms. After that, she glared at Te Jun, saying, „An employee around whom there are a lot of question marks by the way.”
„Question marks? Around me? Why? For doing my job?”
„Don’t lie to yourself, Detective: you didn’t do your job there,” HanSol confidently replied. Then, taking the file from the Captain’s arms, which he didn’t even start to brows, HanSol gave it to Te Jun to whom she said, „All you’ve done was for self-interest because that sum of money from your bank account, where a pretty good amount of money is transferred every month, isn’t for sure because of your salary and bonuses. Or… am I wrong now?”
IonHwa stared at her, eyes wide open. „Sum of money? Are you sure that it belongs to Detective Riu?”
„Pretty sure because… let’s say that he’s someone I’ve suddenly turned curious about. The reason? Anyone who pokes his nose in my business makes me have an interest in him, Detective. You won’t be the exception, not when you tried to jeopardize the mission I’ve been working on for months. Not alone but with a whole team. So, to have a deal, Detective: if you want me to stay away from your… „business” and not let others know whom you are really working for, stay away from my work!”
HanSol whispered the last words with hatred right into Te Jun’s ear, making him swallow hard again. Then, he stared at her, slowly shaking inside because if she talked to him like that, it meant she knew who transferred him that money, just as she might have known the real reason why he organized the race that night. A reason that he wanted to keep for himself only. That’s why he decided in a matter of seconds to keep his mouth shut and, if necessary, to accept Chief Kim’s deal. If not, he was sure she wouldn’t have let him breathe for anything in the world. At least she would have made sure that Riu Te Jun was history for that police station.
Te Jun didn’t have time to accept the pact, just as he didn’t have time to ask for more details about what she knew from HanSol. This happened because he suddenly felt Ko IonHwa’s hissing breath in his right ear, which made him wince. Then, he stared at the Captain’s face, who was outraged, when this one asked, „What the hell are we talking about this time, Detective Riu?”
„About nothing in particular,” stuttered Te Jun, taking one step behind him. „A simple misunderstanding, isn’t it, Chief Kim?”
HanSol smiled. „Misunderstanding? Is this what you call now the events that can blow up the entire police system, Detective?”
„To blow up?” Captain Ko yelled, hearing HanSol talking like that. „That bad is it?”
„As bad as possible,” replied HanSol, staring at Te Jun when he motioned her to keep silent. Then, looking at IonHwa, HanSol said, „Yet, it’s still something that can be easily solved if Detective Riu accepts my offer.”
„Offer? What kind of offer?” Captain Ko asked.
„I’ll talk only with the detective about this. In private, Captain. And… can we use your office for this?”
„Yes,” stuttered Captain Ko, moving from her face. Thus, he allowed HanSol to enter the office, followed by Te Jun. After the Detective entered, IonHwa saw in a stupor how the door closed behind Te Jun, right in front of his nose, which made him suddenly pull back to avoid being hit. This made him frown and growl upset, „What the hell is this supposed to mean? Besides, since when I’m kicked out of my office? And… since when does someone make offers to my employees without me being present?”
The captain didn’t have whom to ask about this or someone there for him to answer his questions. He also didn’t have someone there to ask for his help because the other detectives seemed too focused on their work, although, until then, while the conversation in front of IonHwa’s office took place, they’d kept an eye on that door. Yet, IonHwa didn’t notice his employees’„curiosity” because he was outraged after finding out that Te Jun got into problems again and not with a random person but with the new Chief of DOC, someone who was pretty influential in the system and who could have buried not only Te Jun but also IonHwa in a matter of seconds.
Thinking about all this, IonHwa decided that it wasn’t to his advantage to be left aside. That’s why he decided to eavesdrop on what the two talked about in his office. Yet, although he stuck his ear to the door and tried hard to hear at least something, he heard nothing, and this happened because of the padded door, which he asked for because he was afraid that others would eavesdrop on his secret conversations. A decision he regretted a lot at that moment. Even so, this didn’t make him give up and, for ten minutes, how long the conversation between HanSol and Te Jun took place, he stood by the door, ear stuck to the wood.
When the door had been suddenly opened by Te Jun, who was pissed off because of HanSol’s pact, which he’d been forced to accept, Captain Ko had been about to go head over heels. Yet, he could avoid the shame eventually, and this happened because of the doorknob on which his pants hang out. Thus, he only hit his palms on the floor and bumped his head on the door, making him feel a slight pain on the top of his head. He didn’t pay too much attention to this but looked ashamed to the side, feeling really bad for being caught eavesdropping on the conversation of others. He even turned red at one point, and this happened not because he’d been caught eavesdropping but because of the pants that were hanging out of the doorknob. And, once he couldn’t release himself alone, he was forced to ask for Te Jun’s help eventually.
„Thanks,” the Captain stuttered when his soles touched hard soil again. After that, he looked at HanSol, on whose face he’d seen a smile, saying to her, „I was about to knock on the door and ask you if you don’t want anything. A coffee or maybe a tea?”
HanSol smiled. „Not necessary,” she said. „To bother with this, I mean. What I came here for, I got already. Besides, I don’t have time to waste with this because I have to stop by somewhere else before going to the office, and there really burns.” Then, regardless of Captain’s sour face, who seemed not to have understood a word from what she said, HanSol passed by him. She even „friendly” tapped on IonHwa’s shoulder before leaving his office.
„What the hell was that?” Captain wondered, often blinking. „Romance in my own office?” Then, realizing that he was talking nonsense in his head, he shook it and entered his office to finish the whisky he left aside for so long.
***
Passing by Te Jun’s table, whom she saw slamming the files, a clear clue that he was pissed off after he’d been forced to accept her pact, HanSol stopped. Then, looking at him out of the corner of her eyes and taking care not to be heard by the other detectives, she told him in half a voice, „Take care of that car to get to the DOC parking lot not later than in two hours, Detective. If not, tomorrow morning, the Anticorruption Bureau will have a damn thick file with your name in it on their desk.” Then, not waiting for his answer, HanSol headed toward the door.
Looking behind her, Te Jun started to shake with all his body. Even his lower jaw was shaking when he hissed through his teeth, „Bitch! Does she smell everything that stinks around or what?” Then, to calm down a little, he started to squeeze a file in his hands, which he didn’t manage to put aside before HanSol said those words. Who took the file from Te Jun’s hands eventually was Jun Ho, who approached the detective when he saw him outraged. Yet, none of them said anything for minutes in a row. Only when Te Jun felt that he had calmed down a little, he told his partner, „Make that car vanish!”
„Have you lost your mind?” Jun Ho growled, pulling a chair closer to Te Jun’s desk. „If we give them the car, we are screwed. Why? It’s our only chance to prove that…”
„No, it’s our only chance to reach hell, Ma Jun Ho! Why? If we don’t do that, the Anticorruption Bureau will send us behind bars today! I’m sure you don’t want to have this in your personal file, right? So, if you don’t want to spend your life in jail, listen to what I say and send them the damn car.”
„Damn it!” Jun Ho nervously growled. „I didn’t expect that they’d find out so soon about this. And… who is she? The one who left, I mean.”
„The new Chief of DOC! A real bitch! Otherwise, I can’t explain myself how she found out so easily about us.”
Jun Ho frowned. „Do you mean that she knows about us and…”
„Yes, it looks like that. At least… she let me think she knows. And… I don’t think she’s bluffing because… I saw the evidence she has in the file.”
„The one she took with her?”
„Yes. That one is a file that can be either our salvation or sentence, Jun Ho. So, when you leave the car in the DOC parking lot, get it back.”
„This doesn’t mean she doesn’t have copies of it.”
„Even so, having that file, we at least have a chance to plan our defense. It’s better than nothing, don’t you think?”
„Yeah, you might be right,” replied Detective Ma, not at all convinced. Then, looking around and seeing that their colleagues didn’t seem interested in their conversation, he pulled closer to Te Jun when he asked, „What about the car? What reason to put in the report?”
„A simple misunderstanding. No, write that we got it back at DOC’s request after it was stolen from their parking lot a few days ago.”
„And the thief?”
Te Jun grinned. „He’s not someone important. What’s important is that we have the car and our backs protected. For the rest, let them handle their own problems.”
When he said that, Te Jun stood up from his desk and headed toward the backyard door, feeling the need to smoke a cigarette. He thought that while smoking a cigarette, he’d have the chance to be alone with his thoughts, something that was too many for a single night. It wasn’t anything strange for him to have so many thoughts, not after everything that happened that night. At the same time, he needed a new plan about how to get the prey his new „boss,” the one from the shadows, had asked him to get. And, if he twisted his new enemy’s neck, Kim HanSol, while fulfilling that mission, he would have felt really fulfilled.