He grunts noncommittally and studies me with a sharpness that speaks to his police training. “You said you’re writing about cold cases. Why this one? It’s ancient history.”
“Because justice matters, even when it’s late,” I answer smoothly. “I’m sure you would agree, would you not, Detective Im?”
“Don’t call me detective. I’ve been retired for eleven years. I left that life behind.”
“But that doesn’t mean the cases that did go unsolved should necessarily remain that way. The Seo family may no longer be alive, but their son is. He deserves some answers. He was just a little boy when it happened, and he’s spent his whole life not knowing who killed his parents and why.”
His eyes narrow, crinkling even more at the edges. He takes a long sip of his coffee as if stalling to think over what I’ve said. It’s when he sets it down that he answers.
“The case went cold,” he says plainly. “That happens sometimes. We followed every lead. There was nothing more we could do.”
“Is that true?” I lean forward, holding his gaze. “Because from what I’ve found, there were rumors about a group called the Hyeonmudan. It was thought they had something to do with it. None of that was ever followed up on, was it? The case file just... stops. Like someone hit a wall and decided not to climb over it.”
His face goes pale, and he looks away. For a small moment I’m sure he’s about to get up and walk out.
Instead, he releases a belabored sigh and closes his eyes like he’s too exhausted otherwise.
“The case didn’t go cold,” he admits. “It was buried. A… a man came to see me. I never got his name. Never saw his face clearly—he was careful about that. But he made it very clear what would happen to my family if I didn’t close the case and walk away.”
My pulse jumps in alarm. “What did he say?”
“He said…” Detective Im glances around us as if paranoid the man might be eavesdropping even now. “He said ‘Seo Jung-hoon took everything from me, so it was only fair I did the same.’ He paid me more money than I’d ever seen in my life, and he told me that if I ever spoke about it, my wife and children would end up like the Seo family.”
“Oh wow,” I whisper under my breath. “That’s… I’m sure that was very startling.”
“A man like him—someone from that gang—he could make it happen,” Detective Im explains cryptically. “There’s a reason they’ve always stayed hidden. No one knows about them like they do the other syndicates.”
It’s the extent of what he’s willing to offer. When I try posing another question, he vehemently shakes his head and mentions he must go. His wife is disabled and home alone, and he must return to her.
I thank him and leave the café with my mind full of puzzle pieces that haven’t clicked together yet.
Everything seems to point back to Jin’s father. Whatever Seo Jung-hoon did seems to have made the Black Shell determined to get revenge.
So determined he’s held a grudge for over thirty years.
Mom’s waiting for me when I get home, like I’m a teenager again and snuck out of the house to go to a party.
I walk through the door to the living room light suddenlyflicking on and Mom revealing she’s been sitting in the dark waiting on me.
The TV’s off, and she’s in her robe and bonnet, fuzzy slippers on her feet. I stumble to a halt, surprised she’d bother.
I’m thirty,notthirteen. I don’t exactly have a curfew.
“You’re up late,” I say, sliding out of my flats. I place my purse down on the console table by the door and cross the room barefoot.
“I could say the same to you,” Mom counters. “Moni, it’s almost one in the morning.”
“Yeah, I know. My phone has a clock on it.”
“Don’t get smart with me. I was worried about you. This is the third night this week you’ve done this.”
I stop in the middle of the living room, my brows raising. “Mom, I’m a grown woman. You can’t tell me not to go out.”
“But I can be concerned when you do it alone!” she says. “Since when do you go out by yourself so late at night? Baby, don’t give me the runaround. I know you better than you know yourself—it’s not you, and in light of everything that’s happened…”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“You know what it means! You know what you’ve been through lately. How you… you haven’t been yourself.”
