#171. Peace. 7
* * *
Semi's father's voice grew louder as he threw the water cup.
“If that’s the case, why don’t you just marry the company?”
His thick eyebrows quirked and his bulldog-like cheeks tense up.
Semi's mother said, closing her eyes tightly.
“You know work life well, oppa. How can I be the only one who doesn’t attend?”
“What kind of era is this that you’re forcing me to attend a company dinner? Aren’t you going because you have someone in mind?!”
“Speak some sense!”
Even though attending company dinners was free, you couldn't help but be mindful of others.
Semi's mother approached her husband and took his hand.
“Brother, let’s really not do this. Okay? Or else I’ll look for another job. Okay?”
“Ha, really… … .”
My husband ran his hand through my hair as if to calm me down.
“It’s not that I’m suspicious. I’m just saying this because I’m worried about you. Look at today too. How can you bring up a company dinner with someone who came home sick and on vacation?”
“I know what you mean. I’ll try to explain to you that I can’t attend.”
Just then someone knocked on the front door.
Thud. Thud. Thud.
The husband's eyebrows furrowed.
"who is this?"
Semi's mother walked up to the front door and asked.
"who are you?"
“This is the police. We have a report. Could you please open the door?”
“Are you reporting it?”
“Yes, it will only take a moment.”
The husband grinned and muttered.
“I should get out of this fucking town.”
It seemed like someone had reported me for making a little noise.
Semi's mother's eyes widened slightly as she opened the door.
Because the police officer I saw during the day was Woojin.
Behind Woojin, there was also a senior.
She started talking with an awkward smile.
“My husband and I had a little argument, and I guess someone reported it.”
Woojin opened her mouth as she looked at her husband entering the room.
“Are you okay?”
“Oh, yes. Of course. It’s okay.”
“Is your child okay?”
“Yes, of course.”
“I’m sorry, but I think we need to make sure your child is safe.”
"really……."
Woojin cut her off.
“That's my job.”
She called out to her daughter as if she had no choice but to listen to Woojin's firm tone.
“Semi.”
At her soft voice, Semi carefully opened the door and revealed herself.
Woojin said with a smile.
“Hello, Semi?”
Semi nodded.
"hello."
“Are you okay?”
"yes……."
She was slightly surprised by Woojin's tone of voice, as if he knew his own daughter, and Woojin continued speaking.
“Your daughter reported it.”
Her eyes grew wide.
“Huh? Our daughter reported it?”
“Yes, surprisingly.”
As she turned her head back to her daughter in disbelief, the senior spoke as if this wasn't the first or second time something like this had happened.
"let's go."
So, although the senior made the move first, Woojin remained steadfast.
“I’ll sort things out and then go down.”
“Do it in moderation. Moderation.”
So the senior went down and Woojin continued talking to her.
“Have you been feeling dizzy or heavy-headed lately?”
"yes?"
“What if I feel tired or have cramps?”
“What are you talking about… … .”
She couldn't figure out Woojin's intentions in asking questions like a doctor.
“Your skin is itchy, and I saw you sweating a lot this afternoon.”
She answered blankly.
“Oh, yes. I’m not feeling well.”
“You said you needed to go to the bathroom. Did you have diarrhea? Or did you overeat? I think you overeated.”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about, but it’s really okay.”
“No, it’s not okay. It’s the teacher’s physical condition. Let me check for a moment.”
Woojin took off his shoes and strode inside without asking permission.
There was no hesitation in his actions.
Woojin entered the living room and opened the refrigerator door wide.
There were various side dishes, and at the very bottom was a pack full of cabbage juice.
Woojin nodded slowly.
It was the moment when I understood the vegetable smell coming from her.
It was the moment when all the circumstances were revealed.
“It’s really okay, so please leave.”
"yes."
Woojin answered like that, but he had no intention of leaving.
“I just want to ask you one thing. Is this cabbage juice that your husband ordered?”
Woojin, who had thrown the words, looked at her face.
No matter what the answer is, microexpressions don't lie.
That's what brought me here.
Although Semi reported it, it was Woojin who approached her first and became suspicious.
I put the puzzle together using people as evidence.
Her voice quieted down a little, as if she was watching her husband's reaction.
“Do I have to tell you that? Please leave.”
Woojin nodded slowly.
“Your husband ordered it. Have you heard of pesticide poisoning?”
Just then the bedroom door opened wide and my husband came out into the living room.
“If you’re a police officer, you’re a police officer! What are you doing coming into someone else’s house?”
Woojin moved toward the front door as if he was following her words, but he approached Semi and knelt on one knee, meeting her gaze.
“Semi, can you go into your room for a moment? Cover your ears tightly and count slowly to 100. Can you do that?”
“What are you doing now!”
Woojin turned around quickly as his husband shouted and sent Semi into the room.
Then he took a plastic bag out of his pocket and placed it on the table.
There was a cabbage juice pack inside.
“That sounds very plausible. Pesticide poisoning from cabbage juice. If my wife dies from pesticide poisoning, I can blame the company.”
Woojin took out another plastic pack from his other pocket.
There was a syringe in there.
“I figured this out. Even if your fingerprints don’t come out, your DNA will be on it.”
My husband's face turned red and blue.
“What are you talking about! Are you out of your mind!?”
Woojin nodded and answered.
“You’re in your right mind.”
Woojin glanced at Semi's room.
Did you count to 50?
Woojin said, fixing her gaze on her husband again.
And he spoke as if telling his wife to listen.
“Listen carefully, because we don’t have much time. My husband, who ordered cabbage juice, filled a small amount of pesticide with a syringe. The needle was thin, so it didn’t leak, and my mother-in-law drank it. Pesticides accumulate in the body. Little by little, and today my body reacted. My body hurts and I feel helpless.”
“Hey you crazy kid! What the hell are you talking about!”
“You are the one who is blinded by the affair and crazy.”
His eyes widened, and Woojin continued talking.
“There is someone who is happy that Semi’s mother is sick. She is a friend who goes to see Semi every day on her way home from school, Lee Si-yeon. She is jealous of Semi. That friend, Lee Si-yeon, is very likely to be infertile.”
Woojin asked her husband as if she wanted an answer.
“Am I right?”
The husband muttered, his hands shaking.
“You crazy kid… … .”
“Considering that Semi’s mother is welcoming the news of her illness, it is highly likely that she is an accomplice.”
Woojin walked towards him briskly.
“As of now, you are under arrest on charges of attempted murder.”
"what!"
He tried to resist when Woojin took out the handcuffs,
Bang!
I had to groan without even knowing how I fell.
Woojin calmly told him the Miranda Rights while handcuffing him.
“You have the right to remain silent, to have an attorney represent you, and to refuse to testify against yourself in court.”
Semi's mother said in surprise.
“Why are you doing this! I think you’ve misunderstood something… … .”
“Reality cannot overcome truth. I think it would be best for you to go to the hospital quickly. Semi protected her mother.”
Woojin dragged him out, and she collapsed on the seat.
* * *
The senior couldn't help but be surprised at the sight of Woojin pushing the man into the backseat of the police car.
It was because the guy who said he would sort out the situation of the couple's fight brought me in handcuffs.
“Hey, what is it?”
“I have arrested you for attempted murder.”
“What are you talking about? Attempted murder?”
“Yes. I was giving pesticide to my wife.”
“What does that mean?”
"wait a minute."
Woojin brought the cell phone to his ear.
It was Cha Joo-hyuk, deputy manager of SH Strategy at Shinwha Group.
He was the one who got promoted.
“I’m sending this to the National Institute of Scientific Investigation right now. Please take the fastest route.”
-Quick, are you okay?
“Are you sure this person is a person whose personal information is confirmed?”
-Yes, we are definitely close friends.
“Please send it right away.”
-All right.
Woojin said to him after finishing the call.
“I’m going to send the evidence straight to the National Forensic Service. They might decide not to prosecute you. Do you know what I mean?”
Woojin looked at him and slowly shook his head.
“It means there is nowhere to run.”
He just gritted his teeth and said nothing more.
“National Institute of Scientific Investigation?”
Woojin nodded at his senior's words.
“Yes. I know someone there. He’ll take care of it quickly.”
“You know someone at the National Forensic Service?”
"yes."
The senior blinked.
This time, even the National Institute of Scientific Investigation knows.
Now that I think about it, this guy seems to have a lot of money.
But anyway.
“You really fed pesticide to your wife? Are you sure? Did you see it?”
“I haven’t seen it, but I’m sure of it. There’s evidence. Officer Kim, I think we should go catch the accomplice right away.”
“Accomplice?”
"yes."
* * *
The pork skin was golden brown and cooked in front of Woojin.
Woojin dipped the cut shell in oil and put it in his mouth.
“Oh my… … After all, nothing compares to the shell of a glass of soju after work. It’s a bit disappointing that there’s no soybean powder.”
Officer Kim, who had been looking at Woojin without saying anything with his arms crossed, soon began to speak.
The man he arrested has now been taken to the police station, as has the woman who is said to be his accomplice.
“What is your identity?”
Something doesn't make sense.
The police officer is a police officer, but he is a really special guy.
The people around you and your connections are also like that.
Moreover, catching the criminal is also unusual.
It's like profiling, catching the criminal right away… … and it also looks like it's serving the citizens.
“Police officer Shin Woo-jin.”
“Other than that. Where did you come from and what have you been doing?”
“I was just doing this and that and came back.”
“What is this and that?”
“I have experienced the world.”
At that time, Woojin received a phone call.
Officer Kim took a sip of soju as he watched Woojin answer the phone.
“I should stop talking.”
Woojin, who had just finished the call so lightly, spoke to Officer Kim.
“They say the DNA matches.”
Officer Kim took a deep breath.
Send the evidence to the National Forensic Service and find out directly.
There are procedures and steps, but the guy was breaking the rules.
At that moment, Sergeant Kim's gaze was fixed on the TV.
“Isn’t that your story?”
Woojin's head turned to the TV.
-Police officer S, who confronted the criminal with a knife, arrested him after a struggle…
Woojin, who had been quietly staring at the TV, muttered.
“I said now was a good time… … .”
And he brought the soju glass to his lips.
