Kill Your X Chapter 80

“People who don’t know the situation might think so. However, when you’re in the violent crimes unit of a police station, almost half of your work is related to such establishments. It’s also very common to be reported out of retaliation, like I was.”

There were many suspicious cases, but my father answered them plausibly, and they were eventually passed over. Unless something was definitively stamped on a verdict, there was a limit to how much the National Assembly members could keep pressing with just suspicions.

The broadcast was scheduled for an awkward weekday afternoon, but the viewership ratings soared. It was unusual for a police commissioner’s confirmation hearing to receive this much attention, unlike a presidential candidate’s. Everyone was eagerly waiting for the topic related to me to come up.

Two hours had already passed. Just as it seemed there were no more questions related to his work, a famous National Assembly member brought up the subject. My father had a calm expression, as if he had been expecting it.

“Lastly, I don’t think we can move on without addressing this issue.”

“Yes. Please speak.”

“Recently, I imagine you must have been very busy, nominee Song Jeonggun. First, a former colleague raised suspicions of collusion with an organized crime group, and shortly after, your son came forward and identified you as the true culprit of the past police serial disappearance case. The scene where your son went directly to the burial site and unearthed the evidence was broadcast live, causing a huge social stir. Are you aware of all this?”

“I am.”

“But the shocking thing is that, contrary to what your son claimed at the scene, not two, but a total of seven bodies were found. The results from the National Forensic Service confirmed that two of them were indeed the missing police officers.”

My father nodded obediently. I wondered if he was simply relaxed because time had passed, or if he was confident he could defend against the attacks for some other reason.

“Additionally, the DNA of none other than your son, nominee Song Jeonggun, was detected at the scene. Your son is claiming that his father tried to destroy the evidence by burying him in the dirt pit along with the others. What are your thoughts on this?”

My father was silent for a moment before opening his mouth. All the broadcast cameras focused on him.

“As everyone would think, that claim makes no sense. I can confidently say, staking my entire police career on it, that it is different from the truth.”

This time, another National Assembly member asked a question.

“Then are you saying that your son is lying right now?”

My father, who had been responding without looking at any notes until now, picked up the document placed in front of him for the first time.

“This has not yet been released to the media, but this morning, I received the results of my son’s psychiatric evaluation. To tell you only the important parts first… his psychopathy score came out to be quite high, at 33 points. This is a higher score than that of Choi Kyungyeom, our country’s most infamous serial killer.”

His head, which had been held high for two hours, drooped like a wilted flower. When he looked forward again, his face was slightly flushed, as if he were holding back tears.

“This may be an extremely personal story to share at a confirmation hearing, but since many people seem to be curious, I will speak frankly. My son, Song Gyujin, may seem fine on the outside, but he has been a troubled child since he was young.”

Watching the broadcast, I couldn’t help but curse. It was absurd for a man who had never once played affectionately with his son, from his distant childhood until now, to say such things.

“At first, I just thought he was a child born with a slightly more sensitive disposition than other children. He was smart and did well in school, and as a student, he at least never caused any major trouble outside. But inside the house…. I’m sorry. It’s all my fault for raising my child poorly.”

My father suddenly stood up from his seat and bowed at a ninety-degree angle. Then, he went back to the microphone and spun a preposterous scenario. A trembling voice, as if holding back tears, was a bonus.

“My son was sometimes violent at home and used rough language that was difficult for even his parents to accept. He hit his sister, who is three years older than him, quite a lot. Then, when he was fine, he was completely fine, making it hard to get a read on him. I’ve been avoiding reality until now, telling myself that he was just relieving academic stress. It’s my fault for being so busy with outside affairs as I climbed the ranks that I couldn’t properly look after my child’s condition. Really, I thought he was only causing trouble inside the house, but I had no idea he was secretly committing crimes outside.”

“I believe the police investigation is still ongoing. Do you see your son as a serial killer, nominee?”

“…Whatever the outcome, I will humbly accept it. What’s certain is that even if my son is the culprit, there will be absolutely no leniency.”

He said it indirectly, but it meant that he believed I was the culprit. Each sentence he uttered, as if he had thought about it for a very long time, felt so sincere that I was almost fooled myself. Now I see, my father should have been the actor, not Ma Yubin.

After my father’s statement, the venue became noisy again. Even in a situation where his appointment was almost certain, there were factions that tried to keep him in check until the end for various reasons.

“How can you even think of becoming the police commissioner when you have a serial killer for a son?”

“Assemblyman Kim. Watch your mouth. The investigation of that case is not yet complete. Criticizing his son in this situation is tantamount to invoking guilt by association.”

“I understand that the decisive reason Song Gyujin’s case was switched from an investigation with detention to one without is because the motive for the crime is not clear. They say he has no acquaintance with the seven missing people found on the mountain, so how do you explain this? And at the time, your son was a minor.”

“That’s why he’s a psychopath. They kill people who have nothing to do with them! If you raise a psychopath and let him out into the world, who else do you hold responsible but the parents? Huh?”

“Assemblyman Kim!”

While the National Assembly members fought amongst themselves, my father looked at the floor like a sinner. It had become a mess, but the confirmation process seemed to be over. Public opinion was overwhelmingly on my father’s side, and with the president’s support, it seemed difficult to nullify his expected promotion despite the various controversies.

“Congratulations on your promotion in advance. As a gift, I’ll do a great job of tarnishing your name.”

Since it had come to this anyway, there was no happy ending for me. I clicked the upload button on the video site. A notice popped up saying that it could take several minutes to upload because it was a rather long video.

Now, in a few minutes, the world would become even crueler to me. But in return, Seo Seunghan would be able to clear his name of the murder charge.

He would surely be angry if he knew I had done this… but since this mess had grown because of my stubbornness, I wanted to help him in this way at least.

The confirmation hearing venue had turned into a virtual battleground. It seemed there was no need to watch any further, so I was about to turn off the power when I noticed something strange in a corner of the screen.

Aides from each party’s affiliation rushed to the National Assembly members and whispered in their ears. They gathered amongst themselves, busy seriously checking something.

Did they already find out I uploaded the video? That was fast.

Thinking that, I looked at my laptop, but the video upload progress was at 89%, not yet posted.

Amidst the murmuring crowd, my father looked bewildered. Belatedly, someone ran over and delivered the news to him. His tightly closed mouth dropped open. Two and a half hours after the hearing began, my father’s face turned ashen as a corpse. It was the first time I had ever seen him so agitated, and I was taken aback.

The video upload progress was now at 93%. I had no idea what was going on when a breaking news alert appeared at the bottom of the TV screen.

[Breaking] Controversy over leaked X-file on Police Commissioner nominee Song Jeonggun, son’s testimony proven to be true

An X-file, what on earth was that?

I changed the channel to check the breaking news. One station was just reporting on it.

97%

The evidence video contained a vivid record of what had happened over a decade ago. The scene of my father finding me hiding behind the bushes, threatening me, killing me, and finally throwing me into the dirt pit was cross-cut and played back quickly. The angle, as if someone had secretly filmed it, added to the sense of realism.

The only person who had known for sure that I would be there that night. I couldn’t think of anyone else who would have secretly filmed that video.

“Seo Seunghan.”

While I was struggling to save him, I belatedly realized that he, too, had been fighting for me.

99%. I barely managed to press the cancel upload button. As time passed, the police never came to arrest me again.