Along with the God of Law - Chapter 367



Only Noblemtl

367.

Boohoo.

“Oh, but, Inspector Baek.”

“yes?”

“During your training period, you were assigned some trial cases, right?”

“Yes, that’s true. But it’s hard to say that it was done properly. There were only three.”

“Is that so?”

“Yes, my seniors also won because they were lucky. They told me not to be arrogant and not to think of it as an achievement, so I erased it from my mind.”

“Ah. I guess your seniors are strict people.”

“Specially, Senior Prosecutor Ahn. He was a bit rough around the edges… ”

Kang Hyun looked at Baek Hoon-sik, who was driving diligently and answering, and was lost in thought.

‘If I’m not mistaken, he would be a really great prosecutor.’

Baek Hoon-sik was a person who, after going through many hardships and crises, dramatically became a prosecutor and took root at the Central District Prosecutors’ Office.

However, Kang Hyun remembered Baek Hoon-sik’s personnel record card exactly, and in addition to his actions and career, he remembered one more impressive thing.

‘A major case that Baek Hoon-sik solved during his training days. It wasn’t an easy case.’

Kang Hyun was lost in thought as he recalled the case disposition record section written on Baek Hoon-sik’s personnel record card.

A total of 3 over 6 months.

As soon as he passed the bar exam and the prosecutor exam at the same time, he came to the Central District Prosecutors’ Office’s trial division and seemed to spend his time as a trainee trial prosecutor, taking on an absurdly small number of cases: ‘only three.’

That’s what the visible record says.

However, there is a secret behind the ‘three’ cases he was assigned to during his training period.

‘These were outrageous cases that would take another three years to be sentenced.’

Kang Hyun immediately realized what was going on. His seniors had given Baek Hoon Sik a ‘year-long trial case that he couldn’t solve’ and left him alone.

It was no different from abandoning Baek Hoon-sik.

‘Senior Prosecutor Ahn Ji-won and others must have made it that way.’

However, Baek Hoon-sik actually solved all of those ‘three cases’ during his training period and even got the verdict handed down.

Considering that the cases he solved were all difficult and required a lot of thought compared to his career and skills, it meant that Baek Hoon-sik might be someone whose thinking speed was as good as Kang Hyun’s.

Whether it’s something made with talent or something made with persistence.

‘Did they think that they could come up against them at any time?’

Kang Hyun felt bitter.

Well, whatever. We’ll see what happens next.

The two people arrived at the mountain behind the neighborhood where the defendant’s residence is presumed to be.

Squeak.

“Here it is.”

“I think it’s over there.”

The two got out of the car, took a quick look around, and then approached a place that matched the scene photos they had seen in the incident report and began talking.

First, Kang Hyun asked questions like a teacher, and Baek Hoon-sik answered.

“Now, this is the place where the defendant is believed to have murdered the victim. What should we check?”

“We need physical evidence such as circumstances surrounding the body’s concealment, the victim’s clothing, shoes, etc.”

“But there’s no chance that anything will come out, right?”

“Yes, too much time has passed, and there are no traces of burial, no traces of people coming and going. Nothing. And on top of that, it looks like this has been developed into a hiking trail.”

“Yes, I can’t understand any more.”

Perhaps it was natural. The murder was supposedly committed four years ago.

At the time of death, nothing that could be considered direct evidence, such as a corpse, corpse remains, or body parts, was found at the scene.

Add to that the fact that over the years, the scene had changed so much that anyone who came would find it hard to believe that such an event had ever occurred there.

Kang Hyun continued asking questions.

“But why were the investigative authorities able to be certain that this was the murder scene at the time?”

“I’m slow at looking at case records….”

“Just tell me whatever comes to mind. Even guesses and predictions are fine.”

Kang Hyun waited, guiding his thoughts. Baek Hoon Sik seemed to hesitate, but soon stated his opinion clearly.

“… DNA would have probably been found. There would have been traces of blood or something else, and there is also a possibility that the suspect at the time, Ahn Il-gyun, and the victim’s circumstances would have remained. Vehicle traces, etc…”

“That’s right. That’s correct. At the time, the victim’s blood was found in this empty lot, and there was also circumstantial evidence that Ahn Il-gyun had gone back and forth between the victim and the mountain behind here. He even confessed to killing someone at ‘this place,’ so at the time, there was no reason to investigate further, and the case was definitely closed.”

“But, even as the case went to trial, the body was not found, and at the same time, Ahn Il-gyun changed his statement in the first trial. He said he didn’t kill her.”

When he grasped the conclusion of the case and started talking, Kang Hyun nodded briefly. Baek Hoon-sik had only a short time and was not given much, but as Kang Hyun expected, he quickly adapted to the case and his insight was also quick.

“Yes. At that time, the defendant’s side started to argue that there was no body, so how could they say that they committed murder? Later, a large police force was dispatched to the entire mountain to search for the body, but nothing was found. That’s how the first trial ended and the case came to us.”

Nothing was found at the scene of the crime. It is unclear whether this was due to a sloppy investigation or whether the investigative authorities had located the wrong location.

Okay.

It was the same when moving on to the next step. Kang Hyun said this while handing over the materials he received from the 5th trial division official to Baek Hoon-sik.

“So, as Inspector Baek said, I investigated the victim’s past actions.”

“Huh? Already?”

“Yes. The victim had no family other than his father and was a person who traveled to China a lot. Judging from the fact that there is evidence of minor criminal records, he was not a person who lived an honest life. Would you like to take a look?”

Baek Hoon-sik’s eyes widened when he saw the data.

It briefly summarized background information such as family background, past entry and exit records, criminal record, vehicle, cell phone, and financial transaction history up until the estimated time of death.

“Ah, no. Sir, how do you do this…?”

“It’s nothing. Inspector Baek could have easily come this far, and what comes next is important.”

“Yes? Next?”

“What’s important to a prosecutor is legal knowledge and excellent document classification skills. And there’s one more thing that’s needed.”

Baek Hoon-sik looked at Kang Hyeon with a curious expression.

“insight.”

“Insight….”

Baek Hoon-sik felt awkward and muttered his words as if they were words that did not suit him, but Kang Hyun was serious.

“How to lead a case in the right direction. That is another talent and ability that a prosecutor can have. In my opinion, Prosecutor Baek has talent in this area.”

Baek Hoon-sik blinked, dizzy from hearing the compliment for the first time. However, he forced a smile and asked back at Kang Hyun, who was staring at him intently as if he was sincere.

“Am I really that kind of person?”

“Just give it a try. Think about what to do from now on and lead the case. I’ll just give you direction from behind.”

Kang Hyun walked along the mountain path as if he was taking a walk, smiling.

Although this mountain was sparsely populated, four years after the incident, it has been developed into a small hiking trail and the road has been covered.

The path was quite good, and the two continued their walk in silence for a long time.

As he followed Kang Hyeon, Baek Hoon-sik began to worry.

‘If you think about what the other person’s argument might be and think about what you need to deal with first.’

Unlike when I would feel dizzy and have all sorts of thoughts throbbing every time before a trial.

Now, Baek Hoon-sik was able to slowly follow Kang Hyeon down the road and think about the incident at his own leisure.

There is no one to urge or force you.

Perhaps that is why, strangely enough, various variables and cases began to emerge, and judgments were made by comparing them to each case.

‘Murder. It’s obvious that there will be a complete denial of murder.’

It was his first experience as a prosecutor, but he couldn’t help but be amazed by it. He thought of something and ran after Kang-Hyeon and caught him.

“I just remembered where I need to go, sir!”

“Where is it?”

“It’s the deceased’s house. I saw it in the trial records, and I remembered that the father still preserves the deceased’s house.”

“There’s probably nothing there. The police and prosecutors have already investigated the scene so many times.”

“I still want to go there once. It’s strange that nothing came out. And there’s one thing that catches my attention.”

At Baek Hoon-sik’s firm answer, Kang Hyeon winked and raised his eyebrows.

“Okay. Then, since it’s before sunset, let’s leave right away.”

Kang Hyun smiled happily as he hurriedly ran to the car.

If Kang Hyun had taken on the case alone, he would have made the same judgment as Baek Hoon-sik.

‘If nothing comes out, it’s right to start from there.’

Seeing Baek Hoon-sik trying to solve the case on his own, Kang Hyeon nodded, satisfied with his own judgment.

* * *

Knock knock, squeak.

“hello.”

“…Are you a police officer?”

“I’m from the prosecution. My name is Prosecutor Kang Hyeon.”

“I am Prosecutor Baek Hoon-sik. I know it may be difficult, but I would like to check your son’s room and belongings.”

“I also come here once a month to clean. You’re lucky today even though you didn’t have an appointment.”

Confrontation with the victim’s father.

He opened the door to Kang Hyeon and Baek Hoon-sik, who showed their inspection IDs, without saying anything else.

“This way.”

“Excuse me.”

Squeak, bang!

The deceased’s house still seemed to have stopped in its four-year-old state. The rooms, furniture, and clutter were still the same.

Baek Hoon-sik stopped looking somewhere and asked his father.

“… It’s a picture. Is it your son?”

“I don’t even know if he’s alive or dead. That guy named An Il-gyun, who I can’t even chew on, is still insisting that he didn’t kill him. I’m just holding onto hope. Take a look around and go.”

When asked about his children, the father hesitates and speaks with a helpless expression.

‘Even though it says on the record that he wasn’t close to his father, I guess he’s still looking after the house now that his son is dead.’

“Then shall we begin?”

“Yes. There is something I need to see.”

The two of them started looking around the room, past their father’s empty gaze.

Kang Hyun watched for a moment as Baek Hoon Sik, who was searching for something, asked his father questions.

“You said nothing came out?”

“Yes. No wallet, no ID, no cell phone. Nothing. The person himself is gone.”

“Hmm. Do you remember what model your son’s cell phone was at the time?”

“The new Apple phone is a white, popular model.”

“All right.”

Baek Hoon-sik is searching for something hard again.

Now, he was lifting the bed in his room, opening and closing the cupboard, going to other rooms, the kitchen, and even the bathroom, searching frantically for something.

Kang Hyun, who was watching this, asked a question as if he sensed something.

“Clothes, wallet, and cell phone are most likely to be with the missing person. But do you think the cell phone could have come from the victim’s house?”

“… Yes. That’s right.”

Baek Hoon-sik spoke to Kang Hyeon with a shining gaze as if he had caught a clue that the investigative authorities, the court, and many prosecutors in charge of the case had failed to notice.

“According to the communication records at the time of the incident, the last base station reception location of the cell phone was this house. Even if other items were the same, if the cell phone location was cut off here, it means that the victim left the cell phone here at the time of disappearance.”

“At that time, it was simply determined that the cell phone had been turned off. So, there is also an investigative report stating that this record would be meaningless?”

“Sir, that’s true, but the last time the base station signal was picked up was late in the evening on the day the victim was reported missing. She left it behind. So naturally, we can assume that the cell phone battery at home died and went off. Right here in this house.”

“But, there was no cell phone at home and it wasn’t found?”

“Yes. It’s strange that it wasn’t found. I came here to see if someone hid it, or at least it could be somewhere in the house that they couldn’t find, but strangely enough, it doesn’t seem to be in this house.”

“Oh,” Kang Hyun looked at Baek Hoon Sik with a curious expression.

‘That’s pretty good.’