Chapter 16 - 4#
The door to the Metropolitan Investigation Unit office opened.
Yoon Tae-wan followed closely behind Do-jin as he walked down the center aisle.
“Chief. Here. This is our team’s intelligence report for this week.” Do-jin took the papers Yoon Tae-wan held out. While walking, he responded lightly with a nod to the detectives who greeted him, scanning the papers with a cursory glance. Noticing his gaze lingering here and there on the material, Yoon Tae-wan explained seriously.
“That’s all we’ve secured so far. If you think the intelligence is insufficient to initiate a case, the team says they’ll leave it up to you to decide on a planning investigation or reassign it.”
Do-jin, who had been flipping through the pages without hesitation, suddenly stopped. When he looked to the side, Yoon Tae-wan, who had stopped in sync, gave an awkward, good-natured smile. Facing that smile, it felt as if he could clearly read the thoughts of Nam Hye-jun, who wasn’t even in the room. He let out a dry laugh.
“Team Leader Nam is now…”
Thwack. He handed the stack of papers back, bumping it against Yoon Tae-wan’s chest, and added lazily.
“…starting to conduct even team meeting reports non-face-to-face.”
The Chief’s office was just ahead. Yoon Tae-wan, having secured the documents, tactfully stepped ahead to open the door wide and replied cautiously.
“Since I have been delegated the authority to work as the acting team leader, I consider this a face-to-face report, strictly speaking.” Do-jin stood motionless, simply looking at the middle-aged man. The detectives in the office turned their gazes toward the standoff between the two. It wasn’t the first time this had happened. Lately, such situations had been occurring in turns between Do-jin and the members of Team 1. It felt as if he had spoken more to the members of Team 1 in the past few days than he had in the months since he arrived at the National Police Agency.
Do-jin guessed the reason why Hye-jun was giving such orders to them. Nam Hye-jun had no sexual attraction to men. For the one receiving, everything might have felt unfamiliar and frightening. Furthermore, it must have been quite confusing that the person in question was him, someone she found uncomfortable. He had tried to wait to some extent, out of a consideration that didn’t suit him. But this was his limit.
A sharp question erupted from his lips while he continued to stare straight at Yoon Tae-wan.
“In Article 66 of the State Public Officials Act, it says that police officers cannot engage in labor movements or collective action for matters other than official duties. Are you aware of that?”
“Yes? Well, that… isn’t that just the law that says not to form a union…?”
“Why shouldn’t you form a union? Because they go on strike to demand meals. A team leader is frequently absent with the cooperation of the team members. If this isn’t a strike, what is it? Oh, did you go on a picnic? Don’t you see that work is paralyzed?” Yoon Tae-wan, who was unnecessarily full of loyalty, was extremely embarrassed but kept his words to a minimum. So, he added more.
“Do you really think this is helping Team Leader Nam?”
“We just think it’s our duty to listen to what the Team Leader wants…”
“Then let’s change the question. How do you feel about the negative effect that keeping that duty is causing—which is irritating me?”
This time, too, Yoon Tae-wan couldn’t say anything.
Having witnessed that reality with his own eyes, Do-jin walked toward Team 1 instead of his office. He sat in the empty team leader’s chair and exchanged glances with Ma Jung-eun, who was at her desk. Yoon Tae-wan closed the office door he had opened, returned to the office, and stood in front of him in a posture of military punishment. Ma Jung-eun also tensed up, popped out next to Yoon Tae-wan, and stood her ground firmly.
Do-jin, sitting with his legs crossed and looking up at them, spoke first as a superior.
“Now, I’ll ask you two a few questions. They’re easy. Team Leader Nam’s promotion to Senior Superintendent versus my promotion to Superintendent General. Which one will be faster?” Ma Jung-eun answered with confidence.
“Yours, Chief.”
Nodding as if satisfied, Do-jin tapped the desk without hesitation and asked in succession.
“Then, do I know that the members of Team 1 are sticking together to hide Team Leader Nam, or do I not?”
Yoon Tae-wan, silently watching Ma Jung-eun’s reaction, responded calmly.
“You are aware.”
“If I had simply checked the agency’s CCTV to grasp Team Leader Nam Hye-jun’s current location, it would have been simple. Why do you think I came out to check it myself several times instead of giving that order?”
“You’ve been… waiting.”
“And what about now?”
“You have judged that you can no longer wait.”
“If I’ve asked so kindly and you don’t answer until the end, what can your behavior be described as? Two syllables.”
Neither of them said anything. It would be more accurate to say they couldn’t bring themselves to answer. Do-jin, who would have criticized them for answering with silence in the past, didn’t do so this time. While Ma Jung-eun and Yoon Tae-wan remained silent, he threw out a final, clinching keyword.
His tone and expression were serious, without a hint of a smile.
“I’ll answer for you. I call that insubordination.” Watching the two flinch and glance at each other, Do-jin leaned back more comfortably into the backrest of the chair. Then, he asked with ease.
“Where is the owner of this seat right now? I want to hear both the location and the reason in detail.” Yoon Tae-wan closed his eyes, opened them, and confessed calmly.
“I believe she is in the annex. She suddenly said she needed to do some physical training.”
“Physical training?”
“Yes, Detective Hwang is a former Asian Games gold medalist, isn’t she? So… well. She said she wanted to learn something. That now, while there are no cases, is the best time for training. She went with Kang-san.”