After Story 85

“Over here.”

Seungah waved the tongs in her hand. Maru took off his coat and walked over to the table Seungah was sitting at.

“Dawoon said she had time so I called her too. You okay with that?”

“The one who’s paying is calling someone else over, so I don’t really care.”

“What the, I’m buying today?”

“Isn’t the rule to be the one treating if you’re the one calling people out? Isn’t that right, Dawoon?”

Dawoon laid out the cutleries and nodded.

“You two are on one side, huh? Hey, Jung Dawoon, this unni will be disappointed if you keep doing that.”

“You weren’t buying?”

Seungah’s lips twitched before she put down the tongs and the scissors.

“Fine, I’ll buy for today. Instead, you two serve. First up, cut up the meat into suitable pieces.”

Maru picked up the tongs. He was planning to grill the meat even if he wasn’t told to. He couldn’t let anyone else handle this delicate food that would differ in taste depending on the grilling intensity and duration.

He placed his palm above the grill. It was just the right temperature. He put on the thick pork belly and started watching intensely.

“Wow, a master has appeared alright,” Seungah said, her interest piqued.

He looked at the surface of the meat for a while before flipping it over. The fat had melted down just enough, making it look yellow. He sliced it into suitable pieces and placed it in front of the girls.

“What the, what the hell is this?”

“It’s really good.”

He could probably build the Great Wall of China with the number of grills he swapped out, so it would be troublesome if it wasn’t tasty. He put the grilled pork belly in his mouth.

It was the taste that contained the frustration of a new recruit at a company.

Maybe he should open up a restaurant instead. Based on the stability of income, there was nothing better than decent restaurants. He had experience opening one thousands of times, as well as going out of business thousands of times, so he had plenty of know-how. If he could gain enough experience as an actor and then open a barbecue restaurant targeted at mid-income people….

“Oppa, aren’t you going to eat?” Dawoon said, putting some of the meat onto his dish.

He named the rough idea in his head ‘Business item no.21’ and stored it away.

“You should open a restaurant in the future. I’m a regular here, and it’s never been as delicious before.”

Seungah said those words after they finished their meal and left.

Maru was the one who paid. Seungah was the one who said that they should eat dinner together, but it was he who called her out for business in the first place.

“I was thinking about it, so don’t worry.”

“Tell me if you do open one. If it’s that good, I’ll go every day.”

“Me too.”

After getting them some coffee from the café he switched places. It was about time to go to the police station.

“I see the kids over there.”

There were about 20 primary school kids where Seungah was pointing. They were walking inside the police department under their teacher’s guidance.

“But is it really okay? It’d be troublesome if we’re bothering them,” Maru asked as he walked past the entrance.

“Don’t worry. My uncle told me that it’s fine even if we do it on the day of the primary school visit.”

They walked past the noisy central staircase filled with primary school students and walked up to the 2nd floor. The sign indicating to the Violent Crimes team was pointing towards the corridor.

Seungah walked without hesitation as though she had come here before.

Maru looked around the police station and accepted the atmosphere into his body.

In his memories, he had numerous materials related to crime investigators. Not only did he have interviews, but he also had real-life experience, so the value of them was really high. However, those memories were a product of the past. They also contained his personal bias, so a lot of it would have lost its meaning.

He needed raw impressions. It was then that Seungah asked if he’d like to visit the police station together.

It was a precious opportunity to listen to a real-life violent crime investigator. He said he would definitely go.

A man with a sturdy build walked towards them from the other side. From the look of him, he seemed to be an investigator from the violent crimes team. He observed the way he walked, the impression he gave off, as well as his overall style before Dawoon, who was next to him, caught his eyes.

She looked very nervous. Even the smile she had on all the time disappeared without a trace. Her eyes were fixed on the floor.

“Did you commit something wrong or something?” he said as a joke.

After all, people easily became assimilated into the atmosphere that the place gave off.

Dawoon suddenly stopped. Her pupils widened, her lips trembled, and her hands hesitated.

“Huh?”

He was reminded of the last get-together while listening to the stiff answer when he remembered what Dawoon said to herself. Was there something else other than what she blurted out that day?

“Come on. She’s way over there.” Maru pointed at Seungah, standing in front of the violent crimes team.

Dawoon soon got herself together and followed him. He couldn’t tell if she was frail or if there was something else about her.

He stopped thinking and approached the investigator that Seungah was greeting cheerfully. An investigator at his desk stood up after seeing her.

“I’m here.”

“Oh yes. Are those your friends?”

“Yes. You two, this is my uncle.”

Maru greeted the investigator. The investigator came over and shook hands with him.

“Aren’t you busy?”

“We’re extremely busy at times, but now’s not that time. Sit down here first, and the two of you too.”

They walked over to a table covered in newspaper. The investigators around them gave them a glance before looking away.

“What is it exactly that you want to hear?”

“He’ll be the one to ask you that. We’re doing a drama together this time, and his role is a violent crimes investigator.”

“Really? But he’s quite young considering that’s the case.” The investigator pointed around, telling him to look. “See that? Everyone looks old as heck. The youngest one is thirty.”

When he said those words, another investigator spoke up,

“Team leader, I can hear you. And honestly, you look the oldest around here. You look like you’re at least past 50, but you’re only in your forties.”

“Look at you speak. Can’t you keep some face for us police? You’re being too crude in front of kids who came to hear about the violent crimes department.”

The investigators laughed out loud. The team leader stood up, telling them to wait. When he returned, he gave each one of them a drink.

“Not everything’s harsh and vicious just because it’s the violent crimes team. We’re all the same people here. Of course, it does change if there’s a case, “ the team leader said to Maru. “I also need to go see the kids that came over. I think I’ll have about thirty minutes. Do you think you can ask enough in that time?”

“Yes. That’s enough. And also, thank you for making the time.”

“Don’t mention it. A friend of my niece wants to know about investigators, so I’ll be happy to help out. But I wonder if the things I say would actually help?”

“It’ll be very helpful.”

“I guess that’s good. Then ask away. I’m actually curious about what questions you’ll ask.”

Maru asked if it was okay to record the audio. The team leader gladly gave him permission.

He took out the notepad he had brought. He was going to write down the visual clues that audio wouldn’t be able to get on the notepad.

“You’re fully prepared, huh? It’s making me slightly nervous.”

Maru asked his first question to the team leader who sat upright,

“How did you feel when you first joined the violent crimes team?”

“How did I feel, huh? Honestly speaking, I wasn’t that nervous. I applied to come to the investigation department, and that’s how I was assigned to the violent crimes section. I just thought it was an extension of what I’m already used to. Of course, my thoughts totally changed after the first dispatch.”

“What kind of event was it?”

“It was 1 a.m. I can still remember it clearly. We got a report that someone was trying to trespass by stepping on someone’s car. I and a senior of mine went out immediately. I was a little excited too. I mean, it was a thief. I was thinking that I should get a cool achievement for my first job. When I arrived at the scene though, we could not get in touch with the one who reported, and the car couldn’t be seen either. My senior told me that it must be a prank call and that we should just return but then I saw the anti-theft fencing on the ground. It was from the 3rd floor. The lights were off, but the fencing had fallen off and the window was wide-open? I thought that something was wrong and immediately jumped inside. Then, I was hospitalized.”

“Hospitalized?”

“I came across the thief on my way up the stairs. Seeing the opportunity, I tried to catch him but he took out a hammer. It was a really small hammer. But when I saw it, it scared me. Then I slipped on the stairs. Meaning, I just fell backward all by myself. I asked the senior later, and apparently, the thief was shaking me to wake me up.”

The team leader spoke with a smile, but if it was a real scenario, it was definitely not something to laugh about.

“I got all sorts of cuss words from my seniors. They told me I was reckless and that I should be elsewhere if I want to play detective. I learned on my first dispatch that investigators need to know fear. Only if I know fear will I be able to apprehend the culprit so that both I and the culprit do not get hurt.”

“It must have been a precious experience.”

“It was. And I was lucky too. If I was unlucky that day, I might have died from a concussion. Or the culprit might have killed me out of panic.”

Seungah, who was listening quietly, was startled and told him not to say such things.

“May I continue asking?”

“Yes.”

“Since we’re on the topic of fear, have you ever had your life threatened?”

“Have I had my life threatened, huh? There were a few times I thought that I was really going to die.”

“It might be difficult to answer, but have you ever been threatened with a knife or been stabbed with it?”

“I have. Fortunately though, it wasn’t that deep.”

“May I listen to the feelings you had at that time?”

“My feelings at that time, huh.”

The team leader scratched the back of his neck a few times. Maru looked at his expression.

There were some people who just looked back at past events, while others would have difficulty doing so. He had no plans of forcing him to speak. He was going to end the interview as soon as he showed the slightest hint of being agonized.

Poking into another’s wounds on the pretext of an interview was not a humane thing to do. He had that done to him numerous times, so he knew the viciousness of it.

“If it’s too difficult….”

Just as he was about to say that he should stop, the team leader raised his hand and spoke,

“It’s not that iffy. I just hesitated because it was so vivid despite being such a long time ago. My feelings, huh? Yes, my feelings. It doesn’t sound like you want to know what the case is about, so I’ll tell you just about what happened when I met the culprit and when I got stabbed, okay?”

“Yes. That’s enough.”

“I thought he would get apprehended obediently. He listened to my words too. I never even imagined that he would pull out a knife so suddenly. The moment I let my guard down, I had a knife stuck in my shoulder. I did shout in pain, but it actually didn’t hurt that much. Instead, it was fear that ruled my head. The first thing that came to mind was that I should run. The pistol on my vest didn’t even come to mind.”

The team leader seemed to be reminded of that event and he gnashed his teeth a little.

“But curiously, the moment I saw the culprit’s face, heat gushed out and my fear disappeared. I’m not saying this to sound cool. It was really like that. I had the ridiculous desire to get that guy even if it meant falling there and then. It seemed that it was his first time using a knife as well, and he even got a cut on himself. I just threw everything away and just jumped at him. Then I apprehended him with a follow-up investigator. That was when the pain hit me. I even shed some tears. My direct senior asked me if I was crying, and I was really sad, hurt, and afraid, but I was also proud of myself.”

The team leader ended the story with a smile.

The moment he saw that face, Maru decided on the personality of the character he was going to play. It was going to be a slightly different direction from what he showed during the audition. He was going to tune the minute things in ways he could change as an actor, even while not going outside the big frame that the writer wanted.

“Team leader Choi. You should go see the kids.”

Someone called him from outside. He stood up from the seat.

“Looks like the time was pulled forward. I didn’t even get to tell you that much, sorry about that.”

“Not at all. It was really helpful.”

“Glad to be of help. Everyone, good luck with your acting, and Seungah, see you again next time.”

The team leader hurriedly left the office.

Maru imagined what he would’ve looked like during his younger days and overlapped the character ‘Park Uijung’ on top of it.

“Shall we go?” Seungah said.

Maru nodded with his phone and notepad in hand.