Chapter 37: Kay didn’t say that
The work became more manageable as DIU's Team One began cooperating with the investigation. In particular, a large amount of information about Kay that the DIU's Team One had was an amount of data that CIF lacked.
With this, both teams narrowed their investigation to catch Kay.
Hansol had no reason to be deeply involved in this investigation as a profiler, so he focused on the dating violence case.
Lee Wanjae was subjected to questioning. The man was now wearing a disgusted grimace.
In this situation, the more cautious Hansol would have to approach the other individual as the inquiry progressed. Because the other side was already experiencing negative emotions, it would be difficult to understand their thoughts and deliver the required statement.
Of course, Hansol could see the truth in the eyes.
Hansol wanted to receive a statement without having to depend on his eyes. However, he knew very well that he had no choice but to confirm things through his eyes, whether he wanted to or not.
"Hello. Mr. Lee Wanjae."
"I won't greet you."
Lee Wanjae spoke in a deep voice. Hansol carefully looked at the man. His face appeared worn, like that of a drug addict. Due to his anxiety about answering the future questions, one of his legs was continually shaking, and his fingers were constantly moving.
'Perhaps this is due to not taking the drugs he had always enjoyed… and he might haven't handled this even with alcohol. So now, the symptoms are showing. He's very anxious.'
He had a rough idea as to what this situation was. For people who were severe drug users, the more intense the addiction, the more anxious they are when they are not using it.
The man Hansol's facing, Lee Wanjae, was one of those.
"How long have you been inside the jail?"
"What do you ask that despite knowing the answer? Let's just put it out and talk about Kim Dohwa. Okay? I want to get out of here as fast as I can."
"Even so, you won't just go out, right?"
"… ha! I'd rather just sleep in the jail cell. I'm itching to end this! Don't even think about diverting this conversation. I have already said everything to the drugs team."
"Did they ask for the dating violence case? Now, Lee Wanjae is sitting here as a suspect."
Although Hansol had seen people exposed to drugs, he didn't understand this anxiety they had because he had never tried drugs. Of course, even if he tried drugs, it was obvious that he wouldn't still be able to empathize with the man sitting in front of him because he could not sympathize with anything.
"The proof is already there. This is due to Miss Dohwa's involvement in the investigation."
At Hansol's words, Lee Wanjae burst in with an answer.
"That bitch? Did she say I slapped and pushed drugs on her? Maybe it was like that the first time, but it was that bitch who said it was fantastic, and she drank a lot of alcohol and continued asking for more drugs when she ran out!"
'… lie.'
He could tell that Lee Wanjae was lying.
'I didn't want to use my ability as much as possible… however, I seem like I have no choice but to use my eye's power often for today.'
He wasn't sure how many more lies would come out, so he wanted to be more careful.
However, Hansol had to think about what lie he would say to make this suspect speak the truth.
"Mr. Lee Wanjae, please continue your story. You must have also felt injustice with how everything is being sided with Miss Kim Dohwa,"
And as if waiting for that, Lee Wanjae spoke.
"Well, do you know how she behaved when we first met? She was pretending to know nothing, acting innocent… turns out she was distributing drugs and dragging my hands into it as well… To be honest, she said she had never used drugs before, but you have no idea how hard it is for me to believe. She is already a junkie. She is unable to function without drink or drugs."
Hansol remembered the injection marks on Kim Dohwa's arm.
'He keeps telling lies.'
"It is very different from Miss Kim Dohwa's statement."
And once again, the man broke into anger.
"Of course it is! Did that bitch say that I did it? The bitch is the one who got me on drugs!"
Hansol spoke then.
Kay hasn't been caught yet… It was time for him to use the hidden card.
"Kay didn't say it like that."
"… K-Kay?"
When Kay's name suddenly popped out, Lee Wanjae was surprised. He looked perplexed.
"Right. Do you know Kay? He also made several deals at the Mara hotel."
"… Kay has been caught?"
"I am not going to answer that."
Even if he was making a trap to make the suspect speak the truth, Hansol shouldn't tell a lie to get a statement, so he decided to not answer the question, which only puzzled Lee Wanjae.
Giving false information was no violation of the law.
"Ah, no. Kay got caught? That cannot happen. There is no way Kay could be caught."
Lee Wanjae was displaying signs of mental breakdown.
"How can I believe that Kay said that?"
"Well, you will be investigated in the court with Kay."
This, too, wasn't a lie. DIU's Team One and CIF narrowed their investigation to push Kay to the corner, and it was only a matter of time before he would be caught.
If Kay got arrested, Lee Wanjae would undoubtedly stand with him in court.
"Haha… hahaha…. There is no way Kay got caught… you are trying to lie to me to get a confession, right? Right? It looks like it. Right?"
"I am not going to answer that. it is Mr. Lee Wanjae's choice."
"What did Kay say? Did he say that I kept buying drugs from him?"
Flustered, Lee Wanjae's attitude suddenly turned docile.
It felt like he knew that he was at a disadvantage here.
"Well. I cannot tell you. I can only tell that Kay and your statements are different."
"Ah…. No… father said he wouldn't buy me a house if I got caught on drugs… ah…."
Lee Wanjae scratched his head and blamed himself.
Hansol kept looking at him.
"Sir… yes? I will confess to everything Kim Dohwa did with the drugs, so can you take me out? If I get caught this time, my father… my father will not help me again."
"It seems like you had your father help you out in the past. To be specific, in the previous trial."
Hearing Hansol's words, Lee Wanjae went silent and puzzled. Then, when he realized on his own that he admitted to telling that his father bribed…
"… ah! No. my father doesn't care at all. It is my fault. My father knows nothing about…."
"He has no idea his son is a drug addict? It differs from the preceding statement. Why are you attempting to get away with lying? You said you'd talk about Miss Kim Dohwa, so let's hear it now."
The silence continued for a while as Lee Wanjae contemplated whether to speak or not.
Then, he spoke as he looked Hansol in the eyes.
"If I make a confession… will the sentence be reduced?"
"What kind of confession are you talking about?"
"It was stated that they will reduce the sentence if I talk about people I took drugs with and from. Apart from Kim Dohwa, I will also talk about those people to lessen my sentence? What do you say, huh? And I actually go to a psychiatrist! I went there to quit drugs too!"
"But, there were no treatment records in Mr. Lee Wanjae's data."
This was true. Lee Wanjae's file didn't mention anything about him being treated to quit drugs. Although he was on probation as a drug offender, he never visited a psychiatrist.
"Has it been completed?"
"That's correct. Mr. Lee Wanjae's investigation has concluded. This interview is being held for your benefit. We can shorten the sentence slightly if you speak the truth."
Finally, Lee Wanjae moved how Hansol wanted him to.
Terrified of something, he opened his mouth.
"O-okay….when Kim Dohwa and I were dating, I forced her to take drugs… I would move for Kay."
"Aside from forcibly administering drugs, do you admit to the violence and gaslighting used on Miss Kim Dohwa?"
"It is because she kept talking back to me! Ah no… I just gently pushed… she took it as violence… I pushed maybe a bit hard."
'He isn't sober yet. He's mixing truths with lies.'
"If we look at Kim Dohwa's medical record, it isn't just a simple push. You have applied violence with a strong force enough to get her 3 weeks of rest. Miss Kim Dohwa is currently undergoing treatment. Ah, and one more question. Did you hire someone to murder miss Kim Dohwa?"
"… H-hire? Is Kim Dohwa dead?[^lol he's not listening]."
"To be honest, the cops found her by luck, and she was able to survive as a result. Miss Dohwa was in a confused state when she was discovered because she had been injected with drugs. It was simply attempted murder, to be accurate."
Lee Wanjae laughed in frustration as if he was losing it.
"I-I, no matter how much I try, I cannot kill her! I have drugs given to her to be good with each…."
'… this is true.'
"Thank you for telling me. So, who would have tried to kill Miss Kim Dohwa? Did your father maybe give instructions for it?"
"My father wouldn't do that! At least he wouldn't break the law! Even though I am a drug addict, I wouldn't try to kill someone!"
Lee Wanjae was speaking in tears.
This was true too. Tears in the corner of his eyes showed this was absurd.
"Okay. If so, is there anyone around you who didn't like Mis Kim Dohwa?"
"… Kim Dohwa didn't have any friends. She had a pretty face, but that was all, and she had a strange personality, so she didn't have friends. It is my fault to even try living with someone like…."
"Um? How is Miss Kim Dohwa's personality?"
"Strange. There are things you find strange as you live with her… it seems like something isn't right. She has no friends too…."
The information wasn't accurate, and Hansol never lived with Kim Dohwa, so he couldn't understand this.
"Can you speak in detail?"
"People who have been with her would know. She pretends to not know something even though she knows… and when I'm like.. out of my thoughts, she gets angry and turns things upside down… like everything. If you look on the internet, you can see people like this. I think talks really don't work on her."
"… and so, you assaulted her?"
"She didn't understand words, so I had to hit her."
"… you are being honest."
Knock.
At that moment, the sound of the door being knocked and Team Leader Woo-jin said, "Conversation time is over."
Lee Wanjae was sweating while being taken back to the detention center.
After that, Team Leader Woo-jin came in.
"You performed an excellent job. Now that we acquired a confession regarding what happened, the only thing left to do is carry out the sentence. It will be determined by the prosecutor's performance. Let's go catch Kay and finish this."
"I hope this never happens again. I feel reassured that it is getting resolved now."
When Hansol said that, Woo-jin rubbed Hansol's shoulders and continued.
"But what do we do… Doctor Im has more work to do."
"…?"
"There's news that Kay has finally been caught. Let's finish this case with Kay and give Doctor Im some rest. We may relax if we, too, conclude the dating violence case. Wouldn't that be worth taking two days off for?"
"…!"