Junwan was irritated. It was one of those days during which nothing was going right for him. Firstly, he was forced to close Park Seungjo's case since all the accused were either in prison for other cris or paralyzed. One kid even slipped into a co.
Secondly, he was going to be transferred uptown as the new Chief of the Homicide departnt. Even though it was a promotion, the transfer was going to be hellish for him because he would have to travel two hours but bus from his ho in order to get there.
But the third and the worst reason was sitting in front of him, wearing a long jacket and turtleneck sweater beneath it, looking like a male supermodel than a power hungry money machine.
"Minho, I told you! Already!" Junwan gritted. "We're trying to find him."
"You've been telling this for eighteen years," Minho remarked. "Where's the progress, Junwan?"
"Kid, I'm older than you!" Junwan snapped. "Call either Detective or uncle!"
"You gotta earn respect, Junwan," Minho comnted. "If you were ant to be respected, you wouldn't have been a police officer. An incompetent one at that."
His words were like a slap to Junwan's face. The detective was fuming in anger for being told off by a kid who was decades younger than him.
But Hwang Minho was no ordinary man. Not only was he the richest man in the country, but he wielded a considerable amount of power. Even the current President of the country was indebted to him for endorsing their party's campaign. Moreover, Hwang Minho owned shares in almost all kinds of sectors starting from real estate to retail and lifestyle. His influence was no joke and no one would dare to ss with him.
So, what else could a poor detective like Junwan do?
"You're getting too cocky!" Junwan grumbled. Minho rely shrugged, causing the detective to sigh.
"Junho had been spotted in many places," he reported. "Last month, he was seen in City B at a shop near the river. We tried to find him and asked around the place. The shop he was at said that he was buying salt and candles. At first we assud that he probably lived there but the locals did not recognize him."
He took out a file and handed it to Minho. The latter frowned and read the docunts in it. There were also a few pictures of Hwang Junho. His father had put on so weight and was older but there was no mistaking his commanding aura. After all, it mirrored Minho's own domineering presence.
"A few months ago, he was spotted around an apartnt complex," Junwan went on. "He seed to have exited that place and we even asked the residents there. None of them saw him there before. There was one family which seed suspicious though."
"And you're telling this now?" Minho asked, raising his eyebrows.
"The main head of the family firmly stated that he did not know who Junho was," Junwan stated. "We tried to question them many tis but all the family mbers refused to acknowledge that they knew him. It was strange but all of their stories were sa. It was impossible to make them reveal anything and legally, we couldn't charged them either because there was no proof."
"Where's that family now?" Minho demanded.
"Unfortunately, they moved abroad," Junwan sighed. "To Country U."
Minho tried to control his anger with great difficulty but it was becoming increasingly impossible. The mont he closed in on Junho, the old man mysteriously escapes. It was getting on his nerves and he must find that man before the statue of limitation was over in three years.
"You have been of no use," Minho said in a quiet tone.
Junwan angrily banged his table. "I've been working on this case for eighteen fucking years!" he yelled. "Who else would work on a case this long? No one! I still supported you and did everything I could. And yet, you don't even acknowledge -"
"Did you see your mother being murdered in front of you, detective?" Minho asked coolly. Junwan gaped at his question.
"No," he replied.
"Did you raise a newborn sister all on your own while your father had abandoned you?" Minho asked.
"No, but I've seen-"
"You've seen way more dead bodies than I even have," Minho finished for him. But have you been the one who lost a loved one? For you, deaths are everyday case. You find a dead body, investigate, catch the criminal if you can and then go back ho to your family. But the people who lost their loved onesit's not a case to them. We return to our empty hos, with no hope for seeing our beloved one ever again."
Junwan was rendered speechless by Minho once again. There was no winning against this stubborn man.
"I earned money, so that I could recover my family's reputation," Minho went on. "I earned more than what my father had so that I could get enough power to find him and ask him why he killed my mother. Why did he leave his children behind instead of accepting his punishnt? Why were we abandoned by soone who was supposed to love us?"
The usually stoic Hwang Minho was now sounding bitter and probably even heartbroken. The sadness in his tone was there for a brief second but before Junwan could be completely sure, it was gone.
"Do you hate him, Minho?" Junwan asked out of curiosity. He could not help but ask that question. The initial Hwang Minho he used to know had thoroughly despised his father to the point that Junwan was afraid that one day, Minho would kill Junho with his bare hands. He had seen so many criminals in his life that sotis, he thought there was killer hidden within Minho. But slowly, over the years, Minho seed to have either gotten a hold over his emotions or had completely let go of hatred and was searching for his father rely for answers.
"I don't hate him," Minho admitted. It was true. Rembering his encounter twelve years ago with the cannibalistic killer, he had co to terms with his strong hatred. After seeing the monster CCK had beco, Minho was afraid of becoming one himself. If he also asked an eye for an eye, then what was the difference between him and the CCK?
"I don't hate him enough to want to kill him anymore," he said. "I simply pity him for the choices he made. The day I find him, I want to look at him in the eye and announce to him that his actions may have nearly destroyed us, but we survived. Our mother might have left this world, but we're still her children and no matter what Junho had done, we still made it on our own without his help. I just want to tell him that he couldn't knock us down."
Junwan was astonished and admittedly, a little impressed. Minho stood up and left the station. The detective watched him leave and could not help but admire the money lover.
"Looks like Hwang Minho is growing up," he sighed. "Finally."
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