Chapter 2: Lines That Shouldn’t Be Crossed

However, I didn’t want to reveal my emotions as they were.
Knowing that doing so could look like a weakness, Sooyoung asked back with an expression that showed not a trace of change.

“……If you truly think I was angry, shouldn’t you start with an apology first? Team Leader.”

If he knew his words were enough to make someone angry, that was no different from admitting fault.
Sooyoung was late, but she was still giving him a chance to apologize—if only now.

“Wouldn’t it feel better to snap back at me instead of getting an apology?”

But instead of apologizing, he told her to throw the same words back at him.
He stepped one pace closer and shoved his hands deep into his pants pockets.

“No matter how I apologize, you wouldn’t take it as sincere anyway.”

That was true.
Even judging from his attitude right now, there wasn’t much sincerity to be felt.

Honestly, she wanted to unload everything on him right then and there.
But even if he had been rude to her, the fact that he was a senior—both in age and in tenure—who had joined the organization before her made her throat feel tightly constricted.

Sooyoung parted the lips she had been pressing shut.

“……Then, I’ll consider the apology received.”

“You’re saying you’ll accept an apology you didn’t even get?”

He seemed to have seen through her attempt to avoid the situation.
Still, this wasn’t the time to waste on personal matters.

Sooyoung replied politely, but firmly.

“This isn’t a situation where we can afford to lose time over something like this.
There’s important case material that needs to be reviewed immediately.”

At the mention of a case, a glint flashed through his eyes.

“The Jongno District murder case?”

If it was a case with the potential to be a serial killing, then he—working in Violent Crimes—would have been briefed as well.
Sooyoung gave a faint nod.

He shifted his body aside, clearing the path he had been blocking.
Sooyoung acknowledged him with a brief nod and stepped forward.

Just as she reached the office door—

“Detective Han.”

Her hand, about to reach out, stopped.
Turning around, Sooyoung saw that the man was still standing where he’d been.

He pressed his lips together as if choosing his words, then lifted his downcast gaze.
Their eyes met, and his tightly sealed lips parted.

“There won’t be anything like ignoring you again, Detective Han.
Not from now on.”

His low voice was steady and grounded.
Perhaps because his diction was so clear, the attitude that had felt insincere moments ago now sounded unexpectedly genuine.

Sooyoung looked at him silently, then answered by offering another brief bow in greeting.

She opened the firmly closed door and stepped inside the office.
At the heavy thud that echoed behind her, Sooyoung glanced back once, her brow faintly creasing.

What’s gotten into him all of a sudden?

The question that bloomed in her mind drew her other eyebrow down as well.
But only for a moment.

“Sooyoung!”

She reacted to the voice calling her name.
Composing her expression, Sooyoung greeted Team Leader Jo Joo-yeon lightly and walked over.
Joo-yeon gestured toward the door and asked,

“You ran into Team Leader Baek out front, didn’t you?”

“Yes.”

“Then you must’ve heard about the case?”

At the word “case,” Sooyoung stopped midway through turning her chair.

“……No.”

“Really?
I thought you were chatting and came in late.”

Despite working in a cooperative relationship, they’d only worked cases together a handful of times.
You could say circumstances played a role, but it wasn’t untrue that they’d also avoided each other.

“This.”

Joo-yeon handed over a thick stack of documents from beyond the partition.
Sooyoung accepted them with both hands.

“They decided to transfer the case from Jongno Station up to headquarters.”

At the news of the case being escalated to a higher authority, the words Si-eon had said earlier surfaced in her mind.

‘The Jongno District murder case?’

Maybe he knew more than just the basics.

“Did Team Leader Baek’s team get assigned to it?”

“Yeah.”

As expected.

“And it’s a case you’ll be handling too, Sooyoung.”

That part was less expected.
Her eyes widened slightly at the implication that she’d be the lead.

“I’m in charge of it?”

“Mhm.
Baek Team Leader said he wanted to work together this time.”

Her eyes narrowed at the news that he’d been the one to suggest it.

“Team Leader Baek Si-eon said he wanted to work with me?”

“Yeah.
First time, right?”

Joo-yeon smiled brightly and settled back into her seat beyond the partition.

They’d cooperated before, albeit reluctantly—but being specifically named and requested like this was, as Joo-yeon said, a first.

‘There won’t be anything like ignoring you again, Detective Han. Not from now on.’

Had his suggestion that she snap at him instead of accepting an apology been because of this case?
It seemed he thought it best to clear away any lingering resentment if they were going to be seeing each other often.

Sooyoung set the documents down on her shelf with a soft thump and looked down at them quietly.

[Report on the Current Progress of the Jongno District Murder Case Investigation]

She’d thought it was shaping up to be the worst day possible, starting with bad news from the morning.
But maybe it wasn’t that bad after all.
A faint smile spread across Sooyoung’s lips, which had been stiff all day.

She quickly wiped the smile away, squeezed her eyes shut once, then opened them and sat down.
Then she began reading through the documents in earnest.

Thud.

The heavy door opened and closed, sending a dull echo through the room.
Constable Woo Seong-min stopped his rapid typing and greeted him.

“Team Leader, you’re here?”

“Yeah.”

Si-eon acknowledged the greeting with a glance and strode over, spinning his chair around as he sat.
As he shrugged off his jumper, the words he’d heard earlier resurfaced, and a faint chuckle escaped him before he realized it.

‘……Then, I’ll consider the apology received.’
‘This isn’t a situation where we can afford to lose time over something like this.’

She’d said she wasn’t angry, but it was obvious her feelings were hurt.
And yet, the way she suppressed her emotions and acted as though nothing was wrong was almost astonishing.
She was so calm and composed it made him wonder how that was even possible.

Just then—

“Team Leader.
Did something good happen?”

At Seong-min’s question as he slid his chair back, Si-eon let the smile fade from his lips.
He denied it curtly, as if nothing were going on.

“No.
Not at all.”

But faced with Woo Constable’s half-lidded, knowing stare, Si-eon changed the subject.

“Are the case records that came in done printing?”

“Oh, the rookie’s printing them now.”

“As soon as that’s done, we’re going straight into a meeting, so let Captain Kim and Jin-hee know.”

“Yes, sir.
They’re already on their way.”

Seong-min moved briskly, as if he already knew what Si-eon would ask of him.
At the self-satisfied look on his face, Si-eon let out a dry laugh and pulled his chair in.

“Then I’ll head to the meeting room first and get things ready.”

“Yeah, go ahead.”

As he responded and rested his arm on the desk, the mouse slid under his hand.
The monitor lit up, and his gaze was drawn to the screen.

“…….”

The breaking news article he’d been reading before leaving was still displayed.
The expression that had softened only moments ago slowly hardened.
His pitch-black eyes sharpened, and soon his brow twisted.

[New Cheonmyeong cult leader Lee Young-se (60) found not guilty by prosecutors.]

It was an unwelcome headline.

Si-eon believed the man deserved to be punished.
But despite committing acts no different from a demon’s, the prosecution couldn’t indict him due to insufficient evidence.
He’d committed crimes—and yet would pay no price.

[Meanwhile, the Saetal Association announced it would formally object to the prosecution’s decision and pursue legal action if necessary.]

Like the victims who had filed the charges, Si-eon couldn’t accept this outcome.

‘Something is happening in there, I’m telling you!’
‘Ah! We already investigated everything!
You heard the conclusion—that what happened to the student was an unrelated, random crime!’
‘Then what about the child?
What I saw—’
‘There was no child who ran away!
Honestly!’

As the memory resurfaced, Si-eon clenched his fist so tightly his veins bulged.

‘P-Please… help me!’

Had anything really changed since then—since the time when something that could overturn his entire life had happened, yet no one could be held accountable?

“…….”

Overcome with a heavy sense of unease, Si-eon squeezed his eyes shut, then opened them.
Gripping the mouse with his large hand, he moved the cursor and closed the article that filled the screen.