The Ultimate Inspector, Kang Ji-hyeok - Chapter 39



Only Krnovel

Episode 39

Wheein.

As I was reassembling the incident, my cell phone rang.

“The strongest inspector.”

– Is our Lee Hyun-ah doing well?

“Yes, sir.”

– Yeah. He worked for me for 5 years after graduating from college. How did you know he was an ace······.

“I trusted the strongest prosecutor.”

– Haha. As expected, you’re made to live off of words. If you were a lawyer, you’d be a really great guy.

It stings.

I squinted my eyes.

That’s something I really don’t want to hear.

“Please don’t tell me to become a lawyer. It really bothers me.”

– Okay, I got it. Things got pushed back, so I’ll be going to the special forces in a week.

“Oh, you did? Wow, congratulations.”

– Huh? Wow? You must have known, seeing as you’re acting surprised unlike usual.

“I thought you would become a special prosecutor. I didn’t know it would be this fast······.”

He didn’t speak for a while.

– Thanks to you. I guess it seemed like I was the one coaching you on the case you solved this time. You misunderstood, huh?

“You’ve finished coaching, haven’t you, hyung?”

– Anyway, the best thing is to please people. Kang Ji-hyuk.

He ended the call by saying he would buy me dinner next time.

“If I go to the special forces, they will help me, right?”

– Of course. If it’s something you do, I’ll take off my shoes and give it to you.

“That’s enough, Inspector Choi.

Choi Kang-han ended the call by saying he would buy her dinner next time.

I got a thousand troops.

That was also the reason why I didn’t bring detective Cha Hyeon-su.

“I’m sorry, Inspector.”

When I nominated Lee Hyeon-ah as the office worker, Detective Cha spoke to me separately.

“Detective Cha.”

“Why do you call me so sweetly?”

“Someone should help me by the side of Prosecutor Choi. I will punish criminals in a brutal way that Prosecutor Choi cannot.”

He smiled as if he understood what I meant.

“I like that mission.”

“That’s right. That’s called an undercover investigation. Please let me know what’s going on there sometimes, Detective Cha.”

“Then are we like Infernal Affairs?”

“It’s something similar.”

Next to the strongest prosecutor is investigator Cha Hyeon-su.

He was on my side the last time I wiped out the Guangzhou faction.

As fellow detectives, we must have had something in common.

Because I did that too.

Around lunchtime, Lee Hyun-ah called me.

“I found out. The information about the so-called family you asked for.”

“I gave you an order?”

“Please do as I asked. Otherwise, the prosecutor will have to write a report because of the Personal Information Protection Act.”

She said so.

Because he is truly an amazing person.

“Then, let’s do as you requested.”

Jiying.

Jiying.

The printer quickly spit out a three-page document.

“Here’s a favor! Here’s the so-called family address and simple situation. It’s even stranger than I thought, isn’t it?”

I looked over the materials she gave me.

I looked out the window while reading the documents.

The sunlight was dazzling.

“So, Lieutenant Han had a younger sister and two parents. Huh?”

I looked at the documents with surprised eyes.

It was just as she said.

Hyuna Lee spoke to me point by point.

“My younger sister was officially reported missing to the police station a year ago. My mother filed that report.”

“But, your mother has also been missing for the past month?”

“After checking with the police, it turned out that it was your father who reported your mother missing.”

“That so-called father is now running a cafe?”

“It was originally my mother’s café. It seems like she’s just running it······.”

“It’s the ‘De Jong Cafe’ in Cheongdam-dong······. It’s located in a pretty expensive location.”

I checked the cafe name.

Among the second documents, I found out that the two-story cafe building was owned by my younger sister.

“24 years old. Han Yeon-su. My unemployed younger sister is the owner of the cafe building.”

“But from what I’ve found out, the second floor of that building is suspicious.”

“Suspicious?”

“Yes. It is registered as a business that conducts religious activities without receiving rent.”

“I see. Since there’s no name, I’ll have to go and find out. Thank you for your hard work, Lee Hyun-ah.”

“No. I was thinking of buying a sandwich for lunch. What do you think?”

He took out his personal card and handed it to Hyunah Lee.

“Please use this for your future meals or purchases.”

“Should I submit a report?”

“No. It’s my personal card.”

“Everyone uses cash as special activity funds······. Why use a personal card?”

I raised my head and looked at Lee Hyun-ah.

It was a strange face.

“Just use this. Feel free to use it. I have so much money from stocks, but I don’t have time to spend it… You have to pay off your card balance every month to get the benefits.”

“Okay, I’ll do that. Thank you. I’ll use it comfortably.”

“But don’t be too comfortable······.”

She went out without listening to the words.

“The special activity funds are being used recklessly by an individual inspector. Here too······.”

He shook his head from side to side.

Wheein.

A message came to Kim Ji-cheol.

[Inspector. The professor has finished listening and is on his way back. He will arrive in 30 minutes.]

“I think I need two sandwiches?”

He muttered while looking at the documents with his chin resting on his hand.

* * *

Rain, rain.

The car was filled with the sound of chewing sandwiches.

“Do you enjoy sandwiches?”

“Because I’m hungry.”

“Isn’t the food you eat when you’re hungry the best?”

“The food is good, but······.”

Kim Ji-cheol, a former military man, grumbled and ate his sandwich in a flash.

“Your Majesty, your thoughts are all correct. They say it is a religion that came from Japan.”

“I guess so.”

“I don’t know exactly, but I heard it’s a religion that’s recently become popular in Japan······.”

He took the recorder out of his bosom and gave it to me.

“The recording takes about an hour.”

“I guess it would be better to hear it myself.”

I plugged the earphones into the recorder I received.

I closed my eyes to concentrate and spoke to him.

“It will take exactly one hour to get to Cheongdam-dong, so I will listen.”

“Thank you. I was frustrated because I couldn’t remember, so it would be great if you could tell me directly.”

Kim Ji-cheol was upset.

Well, he might eat a sandwich at lunchtime, but he was used to serving in the military, so he probably would do that.

“I’m going to buy beef for dinner, so let’s skip the sandwiches with that.”

“Beef? It’s expensive, but it’s good for your health and it’s so good for men······.”

widely.

I lightly hit the car window with the palm of my hand.

“That’s right, let’s focus for a moment.”

Kuk.

When I pressed the recorder, the professor’s explanation flowed out.

After a while, the sound of the car outside the window seemed to disappear.

Is it because my concentration has improved?

– Judging from the dance in the video, it seems right. There isn’t much information about it because it’s a new religion that appeared recently, but as far as I know, Oumon’s unique dance plays an important role in religious ceremonies and worship. This dance is deeply related to Oumon’s belief system, and is responsible for communicating with ghosts and monsters and expressing faith.

“Oumonkyo······.”

He muttered and put it back into his memory once more.

The story continued.

– The most unique thing about this religion is the sound that creates the dance, which is very strange. When I listened to this sound, it seemed right. It is said that the sound of bells and the sound of grass swaying in the wind plays a role in opening the human brain.

“Play music that opens your brain and make you dance······. Why do you have to open your brain?”

I muttered and focused on what the professor was saying.

– The biggest characteristic of Oumonism is that it worships the ghosts and spirits of each region separately. Unlike other religions that worship the leader as a god, the biggest difference is that it worships the ghosts and spirits of each region. The leader gives a representative to take charge of the ghosts and spirits of each region, and there is a condition that the representative must be a virgin who has never given birth to a child.

In that situation, Kim Ji-cheol asked a question.

– I understand, Professor. But is it Aum Shinrikyo? Isn’t it connected to its leader, Shoko Ashara?

The professor was silent for a moment.

I heard a rustling sound.

It was probably time to look for materials.

Gulp.

I swallowed dry saliva.

– Even in Japan, when a new religion arises, they always investigate its connection to Aum Shinrikyo. Maybe because of past incidents, the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the Public Prosecutors’ Office thoroughly investigate it. The results of the investigation show that it has no connection to Aum Shinrikyo. The leader, Shoko Ashara, born in March 1955, is currently in prison, and his family members have all committed suicide. In Japan, Aum Shinrikyo has lost its value as a religion, and the remaining organizations are turning into violent organizations involved in drugs or crime.

Knock knock.

Before I knew it, rain was falling and hitting the car window.

“Huh? It’s raining?”

“I’ve been here for a while. I’ll be there soon.”

When I looked at my watch, an hour had already passed.

“I see it over there. The cafe. I’ll park in front. There are plenty of spaces.”

I took out the earphones and separated them from the recorder.

I hid the recorder in my sleeve and looked out at the cafe.

“It’s a cafe.”

It was hard to see because of the rain, but there was definitely something on the top of the two-story building.

* * *

After parking, I ran into a cafe to avoid the rain.

Daughter.

As the bell rang to announce that guests had arrived, the owner looked at us.

As expected, his face was pale.

He is a man in his 50s, as confirmed in the photo.

Han Ji-min’s father.

He was the only family member who ‘existed’ in this society at the time.

“It’s raining. Please sit over there.”

A female part-time worker guided us to a window seat.

He handed me the white towel he had brought along and also handed me the menu.

“You have a cold, so wipe it.”

“thank you.”

Unlike Kim Ji-cheol, who was grateful, I looked at her carefully.

It’s weird.

This is a bit too kind.

The interior, made of simple gray and black colors, felt out of place, unlike any other cafe in Cheongdam-dong.

There were only two tables of guests.

For something like that, there were five beautiful waitresses.

They were young ladies in their 23s or 25s with long, neatly tied hair.

Is it because it’s Cheongdam-dong?

Is it possible for five pretty girls like that to work in a cafe in real life, outside of dramas or movies?

“Iced Americano.”

“I’d like a cafe latte, please.”

As I wiped the wet area with a towel, she knelt politely and poured warm water on me.

“Okay, just wait a moment.”

We went back with the towels and menus they gave us.

He was looking at that sight with a blank expression.

“Is that the man? The so-called father?”

“I think so.”

A familiar atmosphere.

The hand that poured the coffee trembled slightly.

Movements that appear extremely unstable.

Awkwardly slow movements.

“What are you looking at? Are you interested in that girl?”

“Not to the young lady, but to the old man.”

“Are you staring too intently?”

“But you don’t know. Even though I’m looking at you so clearly, you don’t know.”

“Is that possible for a human? He’s not a zombie either······.”

Kim Ji-cheol said with a dumbfounded expression.

Yeah, that’s right.

The identity of that strange feeling I get from the so-called father······.

“I see. It was a zombie. A zombie.”

“Huh? What is that?”

He still moved awkwardly and handed the freshly brewed coffee to the part-time worker.

Dalgrak.

The female part-timer I saw earlier carefully knelt down and placed two cups of coffee on our table.

There were two coffee cups placed in front of us.

“thank you.”

“No, that’s obvious.”

“But what is your name, Shindo?”

The female part-time worker paused for a moment, then smiled.

“This is Sora.”

“Ah. That’s Japanese? Does it mean sky in Korean?”

“Yes, that’s right. In this cafe, everyone calls each other by their Japanese names.”

I gave her 20 thousand won.

She was embarrassed.

“Take a tip. I have a favor to ask.”

“Go ahead.”

“I want to talk to you about my son who died in the military······.”

She approached the owner.

Kim Ji-cheol made a puzzled expression.

“Something is a bit strange here.”

“You didn’t see the second floor when you came into the cafe, did you?”

“I didn’t see it. I came in a hurry because of the rain······. Is that important?”

“The sign that took up the entire second floor of this building was written in Japanese as Oumon.”

“Oumon? Where did you hear that······.”

“Isn’t your memory too bad?”

“Ah! That’s right. That new religion the professor mentioned earlier?”

“Moreover, even though I called him ‘believer,’ he told me his name without any hesitation.”

Damn it.

Damn it.

A so-called father approached us with his eyes squinted.

“You came looking for me?”

“I was a subordinate of Lieutenant Han.”

“Our Jimin is your subordinate?”

“Yes. My name is Lee Chang-geol. The friend next to me is Heo Ji-hoon. We are military classmates.”