Kill Your X Chapter 51

My father bowed his head for a moment and then continued.

“How can I be at peace when I don’t know from one day to the next whether a precious colleague is alive or dead? I still vividly remember how our team members suffered day and night because of several large cases that overlapped at that time. When an unexpected accident happened nearby, I, as a superior, fully understand the feeling of not being able to endure it without blaming someone.”

Facing a crowd of reporters, my father looked straight ahead with confidence. To someone who didn’t know him, he would seem truly trustworthy. His firm expression showed a will that would rather break than compromise with evil.

“But I can assure you that Detective Nam Jinhwa’s claim that I was involved in my former colleague’s disappearance and intentionally tried to cover up the case early is absolutely not true. Even in poor conditions, I tried to find my colleague until the end, and everyone who worked with me at that time is my witness. Nevertheless, I couldn’t find him in the end, and I have always lived with a heavy heart, considering all of this to be my responsibility. It’s because, apart from the fact that my former colleagues had a more just personality than anyone else, I knew that police work was not a good fit for them, and as a Sunbae, I failed to suggest a different path for them early on.”

It meant that he felt a sense of moral responsibility, even though it wasn’t his fault. In a very roundabout way, my father was driving the whistleblower, Detective Nam Jinhwa, into a corner as a mentally unstable person suffering from on-site trauma.

At that moment, one of the reporters, who had been typing on a laptop, raised his hand.

“This is Kim Youngsoo from the Hyungsan Ilbo. What do you think about the allegation that you have been secretly taking profits by joining hands with gangsters? The claim from Mr. Nam’s side is that you pretended to crack down on the organization publicly, but in reality, you sided with a large organization and looked after their interests.”

“That is absolutely impossible. I say this on my police career.”

To me, who knew half the truth, my father’s firm attitude felt rather unsettling. Unless he was a fool, Detective Nam would not have started a war of exposure without any basis. But my father acted as if he really had nothing to hide.

“As for matters concerning organized crime, we have only disclosed a part of them to the media because there is a lot of content that is inappropriate to reveal in its entirety. However, I believe that it is even more wrong to remain silent and make the public anxious when unnecessary controversy has arisen.”

What was the source of his confidence, which was close to arrogance? It was an attitude that could not have come out unless he had something to believe in for sure.

Could my memory really be distorted? Or did Detective Nam go purely insane and start a fight that was destined to be lost?

“Dear citizens. As the current candidate for the National Police Agency Commissioner, I intend to prove the preceding controversy in the most police-like way.”

My jaw dropped at the following remark. The press conference hall also buzzed at once.

“I will take responsibility for arresting the key figure of the organization mentioned to be connected to me.”

A key figure. Does he mean he’s going to lock up the boss of the Kumto-pa? If it’s true, Kim Minseok, no, Si Yeonho’s father?

“You must have heard the news of a rookie actor who unfortunately lost his life recently. Our police have just secured evidence that there was an artificial intervention of an organization in the victim’s death.”

My thoughts kept getting cut off by the shocking turn of events. Two incidents that I had thought were completely separate were strangely intertwined.

“I will never stand by and watch crimes that sicken our society, such as organizations, drugs, and illegal gambling. Regardless of whether I am appointed as the National Police Agency Commissioner this time, I will proceed with the investigation, and I promise here and now that I will protect justice to the end as a police officer of the Republic of Korea.”

As soon as the press conference was over, the media poured out related articles without exception. The public’s reaction was overwhelmingly on my father’s side.

The number of people who praised my father, comparing him to his predecessor who was busy saving his own skin, by asking if there had ever been such a hot and aggressive police commissioner, was rapidly increasing.

Even those who had suspected an inappropriate relationship with the Kumto-pa took two steps back at my father’s confident attitude. It was from the belief that it would be difficult to act like that if he had even a little something to hide. Also, just as my mother had done, some people dismissed it as a happening caused by someone steeped in an inferiority complex, citing Detective Nam’s past disciplinary record. It took less than half a day for public opinion about my father to turn around.

Meanwhile, KNT Entertainment was in an uproar. This was because a rumor had just spread in the stock market that one of their entertainers had acted as a broker who spread illegal variant gambling in the entertainment industry.

Wings were attached to the rumor that the rookie actor’s death was also deeply related to that entertainer. The public was caught up in a strange sense of anticipation, saying that the truth of the case would soon be revealed as the star police officer took the lead.

‘Something’s strange. I thought he would protect Ma Yubin to the end, but how did the word leak out so quickly?’

Although it was not officially reported, another rumor began to circulate along with other suspicions. The way I saw it, it was an unnatural form as if someone had deliberately spread it to manipulate public opinion.

It was that a major conflict had recently occurred within the Kumto-pa. The content was that a key figure who had been acting as the real power while the boss was ill had staged a coup. It was said that the final backer of the variant gambling, which has recently emerged as a social problem, was that person, and the rookie actor had suffered a backlash because he did not move according to his will. With the explanation that he was a person who shamelessly acted as the boss’s son, I realized that the person in the rumor was Seo Seunghan.

‘Seo Seunghan staged a rebellion within the organization?’

It was nonsense. Why would a person whose goal was to leave the organization immediately stage a coup? Also, Seo Seunghan hated such crimes so much that he went after Ma Yubin whenever he had a chance. He was the one who made a great contribution to transforming the Kumto-pa, which was in the shadows, into a respectable private company called KNT Entertainment. But somehow, it seemed that he was taking the blame for all the crimes committed by the organization.

More than anything, I was dumbfounded by the rumor that he was the one who drove the rookie actor to his death. It was impossible. At the estimated time of the victim’s death, Seo Seunghan was rolling around with me in the car.

I was his alibi.

✽✽✽

I mustered up the courage to call him first, but I couldn’t reach him. The device that Seo Seunghan had set up exclusively for contacting me had been turned off for days.

It had already been over a week since he left the house, saying he would leave the organization. In the meantime, my father declared war on the Kumto-pa and seemed to be steadily narrowing the investigation network.

“Is he really not coming today either….”

They say no news is good news, but in my case, it felt exactly the opposite. Days of being unable to sleep at all continued, wondering if something had happened to Seo Seunghan. Since I didn’t know the circumstances he was involved in, I couldn’t just go to the police station recklessly.

The thought of finding a new house was out of the question, and I was busy running home after work. Every time I saw with my own two eyes that he was still not at home, I felt my heart die a little. I just vaguely hoped that the identity of this turbid emotion was anything but love.

When night came, I forced my eyes shut and tried to sleep. As my body was tied up in a net of worries, I heard a loud bang! I was startled and looked towards the front door where the sound came from. There were no other noises after that.

Did a package arrive late at night? Or did a neighbor hit our door by mistake while moving heavy luggage? I naturally guessed based on the house I originally lived in, and my blood ran cold.

Seo Seunghan’s house had a structure with a rather long private corridor in front of the entrance. There were only two households on one floor, and since they were in opposite directions and there was a door lock in front of the corridor door, it was difficult to enter by mistake.

‘I’ll try not to, but the arrow could fly to Sunbae by mistake.’

The words Seo Seunghan had said in passing suddenly came to mind. Trembling with anxiety, I cautiously walked over and checked the intercom screen. I didn’t see anything special outside.

‘It’s been quiet since the one sound, so maybe I heard the direction wrong? Or maybe it was just ordinary noise from upstairs and I mistook it in my sleep.’

Being a coward but having more curiosity was a chronic problem with my personality. If I didn’t check that there was really nothing wrong outside, I would surely stay up all night with my eyes open.

After standing still and catching my breath, I soon walked to the front door and grabbed the doorknob. I took a deep breath and pushed, but was immediately blocked by something. I brought my head close to the slightly open gap.

“Gasp!”

The first thing I saw was blood. I collapsed on the spot at the sight of the dark red blood pooled on the floor. I felt like I was going to faint from the terrible smell of blood, but I tried to hold on to my senses and got up again. When I opened the door with a little more force, thud, this time something fell to the side. If I had covered my mouth a little later, a scream would have spread throughout the neighborhood.

“Seo, Seo Seunghan!”

He was lying in front of the front door, a complete mess. The bleeding was so severe that it was difficult to figure out where and how he was hurt at first glance. His usually neat clothes now looked like someone who had rolled through hell.

“Get a hold of yourself! Seo Seunghan, get a hold of yourself!”

The blood from him soaked my clothes. This is not the time for this. I had to call an ambulance right away. I couldn’t remember where I had put my cell phone at that moment, and while I was looking around, a blood-stained finger twitched.

“Seo Seunghan! Are you conscious?”

The zombie-like hand reacted to the voice calling his name.

It’s okay. He’s still alive. I can save him.

I repeated it earnestly, but the small hope was extinguished as soon as it sparked. The hand he had raised towards me fell helplessly to the floor. The scene replayed very slowly in front of my eyes as if a slow-motion effect had been applied.

“Seo Seunghan…?”

His closed eyes were calm without any trembling. I checked his heart, which was no longer beating, and the pulse in his neck several times. Shaking his body violently didn’t change anything. Really, Seo Seunghan was dead.