Incheon Police Station. 8:20 a.m.

Min-Young sipped his coffee as he stared at his computer. He spent the last half an hour trying to find a tattoo online. The same tattoo he saw last night. A part of him refused to believe that it was just a coincidence. So far, he had not gotten any matches. 

"GOOD MORNING, MIN-YOUNG!" Ji-Won interrupted Min-Young. He almost spilled his coffee over the CPU.

"What the hell man?!" Min-Young looked at Ji-Won with a furious expression.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to scare you," he said, chuckling. He then glanced at the computer screen Min-Young was staring at. "So...I didn't you were interested in tattoos."

Min-Young kept his cup of coffee aside. He didn't want to explain why he was looking at tattoos in his workplace. "I'm not interested in them. I'm just trying to find something." 

Ji-Won raised an eyebrow, clearly skeptical. "Find something? Like what?" He asked, looking at Min-Young intently. Before Min-Young could even answer his question, Ji-Won continued, "By the way, I have a tattoo as well." He rolled up his sleeve revealing a tattoo of a girl's name. "Cool, isn't it?"

Min-Young was not even a little bit interested in Ji-Won's tattoo. He then took another sip of his coffee and went back to staring at his computer screen, scrolling through tattoos.

Ji-Won noticed Min-Young's behavior, indicating that he didn't want to talk. However, he was not the type to give up. "Hey, If you ever want to get a tattoo, just tell me. There's a nice tattoo shop down the street-"

"Leave." Min-Young's tone made Ji-Won stop talking. He raised his hands in surrender, chuckling lightly. 

"Alright, alright. I'll leave you to your tattoo hunt." He turned around and walked away, shaking his head with a smile on his face.

A few minutes later, Min-Young finished his coffee and crushed the paper cup. He got up from his chair to throw the cup in the dustbin. 

Just then, he heard the sound of a glass being shattered from the front desk. What the hell was that?!  It was quite loud, enough to catch the attention of all the officers present on the floor.  Min-Young hurriedly walked toward the source of the noise, trying to contain his curiosity. 

At the front desk, he saw Seong-Haneul, the leader of Team B. She was talking with a few people who had barged into the station. On the floor was a flower vase which was shattered to pieces. There were three women and three men. They seemed to be in their fifties. In contrast to Haneul's calm demeanor, they were creating a commotion. I guess they're the ones who broke the vase.

"IT WAS NOT AN ACCIDENT. MY SON IS NOT SO STUPID TO DIE THAT WAY! WHY DON'T YOU GUYS UNDERSTAND?" One of the ladies shouted at Haneul.

"Mam, please try to understand. The case was closed a month ago. We've gone over it several times. It really was an accident," Haneul replied, trying to keep herself calm. 

Min-Young watched the situation unfold before him, feeling a mix of curiosity and unease. He stood there, watching the heated exchange between Haneul and the group of people.

Haneul was slowly beginning to lose her cool. "You guys need to understand that you can not keep barging into the station like this. If you continue this, then we will be forced to take strict action against you people."

No matter how much Haneul tried to explain, the group wasn't ready to listen to any of it. Rather, they kept yelling at her, telling her to re-open a certain case. Min-Young, who had transferred to Incheon only a few days ago, had no idea what was going on. 

The commotion continued to get louder and louder. The group began to get more aggressive. One of the ladies picked up a broken glass piece from the floor and threatened Haneul with it. Seeing the situation escalate, the remaining officers rushed in to help Haneul. They tried to push the group out of the station. 

The situation quickly got out of hand as the group of people became more and more agitated. One of them tried to grab Haneul, but she managed to dodge out of their grasp. The officers were trying their best to maintain order, but the crowd was too big and too chaotic.

"PLEASE! YOU JUST CAN'T CLOSE THE CASE LIKE THAT! OUR CHILDREN DIED!" One of the people in the group shouted. Seeing the situation get out of hand, Min-Young sighed. 

"HEY!" Min-Young's voice echoed through the entire floor. It was then followed by complete silence. All the officers stood still and looked at Min-Young. Even Haneul was quite shocked. As the silence filled the air, Min-Young slowly walked towards the group of people who were causing the commotion.   He looked each person in the eye, silently commanding their attention. His eyes sent chills down everyone's spine. 

Sweat rolled down Haneul's forehead as she looked at Min-Young's calm, yet dangerously menacing expression. "...O-Officer Min-Young," She stuttered. 

The group looked at Min-Young with mixed emotions. Something was telling them that they needed to leave immediately.  As Min-Young continued to stare at them, the group of people began to slowly back away from him. They didn't understand why, but they felt an overwhelming sense of fear wash over them. One by one, they turned around and left the station. 

All the officers present were baffled as they failed to process what had just unfolded. Min-Young stood still for a few seconds. He then turned to face the officers. "You guys shouldn't be afraid to use force in situations like this. They're the ones who started the fight." His menacing expression had suddenly disappeared. 

"Officer Min-Young, I'm not sure what you did just now, but I'm glad they left without causing any more trouble," Haneul said, still feeling shaken from the encounter. She paused for a brief moment and turned to all the officers. "Everyone, go back to your assigned duties," She ordered. The crowd immediately dispersed. 

As they left, Min-Young could hear a few officers talking behind his back. "Hey, isn't that officer Park Min-Young? I heard he got demoted yesterday." 

"Yeah, it seems he punched the chief." 

Word travels fast. Min-Young tried not to pay any heed to it. Instead, he knelt down and began collecting the broken vase pieces from the floor one by one. Even Haneul knelt to help him. "Thanks for handling the situation," she said with a smile. 

"...Who were they?" Min-Young asked, trying to change the subject.

Hanuel took the last piece of the vase in her hands and stood up along with Min-Young. "Well...long story."

"I want to know," Min-Young replied, his voice laced with seriousness. "If they want to reopen a case, then there are procedures that need to be followed. However, they didn't seem to be in the mood to listen though...Could you please tell me what happened, Captain Haneul?"

It was evident the Min-Young wouldn't take no for an answer. Haneul looked at him and took a deep breath. "Fine."

She threw the pieces in her hand into the dustbin and said, "Follow me to my office."

As they walked towards her office, Haneul began to explain the situation. "About a month ago, there was a fatal accident involving three young men. They were students at a local college. The parents of the victims have been pressuring us to reopen the case. They claim that their children were murdered, not killed in an accident." 

Min-Young listened intently as Haneul spoke. "They have been harassing the officers involved in the case and even the witnesses. They've been threatening to go public unless we reopen the case." 

As Haneul entered her office, she took off her jacket and kept it on the desk. She then sat down and continued to explain. "They keep coming here often, creating a ruckus. It gets on my nerves, you know."

Min-Young folded his hands and asked, "What's the accident?"

Haneul poured herself a glass of water and replied, "The college those kids went to had organized a trip to Manisan Mountain. It's a long story to explain. But in short, my team had conducted the investigation...and all clues led to one answer. Those three kids slipped down the steep edge of a cliff. It's sad but it is what it is."

"Then why do their parents insist it wasn't an accident?" Min-Young was curious. "There should be a reason."

"Ahh, well, they keep saying that the accident is quite stupid. It wouldn't make sense for their kids to be walking near the edge of a cliff when they were accompanied by professionals."

"Professionals in the sense?"

"Professional hikers. They were on a hiking trip." Hanuel sighed. "Accidents happen even when precautions are taken. Anyway...that's what happened. You can leave now, officer Min-Young."

However, Min-Young stood glued to his place, lost in thought. Something didn't feel right to him. Seeing him dazed, Haneul said, "Officer Min-Young...the door is that way." She smiled. 

 Min-Young shook his head, snapping back to reality. "Sorry, captain. I'll be going now." He turned around and started walking towards the exit. As he reached the door, he paused and looked back at Haneul. "Captain Haneul," he said.

"Yes?"

"May I look at the case file of this incident?"

Haneul was slightly taken aback by this. "What will you do with the case file?"

"I want to see if it was an accident...It's just a hunch."

Haneul laughed. "You're a weird fellow, officer Min-Young. You know, I heard about your contribution to Kim Ha-rin's case the other day from Nam-gil. Your reasoning skills are quite good, I must say. You seem like the type of person who makes decisions based on logic, rather than acting on emotions."

Min-Young ran his hand through his hair and said, "Well, that's what people need if they want to join this line of work. But I don't understand what this has anything to do with the case file."

"A hunch isn't enough of a reason for me to give you the case file." Haneul smiled.

"It really is just a hunch, captain."

Haneul turned away and drank the glass of water that she poured herself. "Well, I'm sorry to say, but I can't do that."

Min-Young was puzzled by Haneul's statement. "Why not?"

"It's because you're not at Nam-gil's rank anymore. Hence, you will need his permission first. After that, you can consult me." Haneul's tone was firm. "On top of that, rumors are going around that you punched the chief yesterday...So you can probably imagine what my team would think of me if I gave the file of a case my team investigated to an indisciplined officer."

 Min-Young clenched his fists at Haneul's response. He understood her concerns, but he was still determined to find out the truth. He knew that he had to tread carefully if he wanted to gain access to the case file. "Captain Haneul," he said, his voice low and calm. 

"Yes, officer Min-Young?"

"I understand your concerns. But please, consider this. If there's even the slightest chance that the accident wasn't an accident, don't you think it's worth investigating?"

Haneul remained silent for a moment, weighing her options. "Even if it wasn't an accident, my team will not be able to start an investigation any time soon. We're currently occupied with another case."

Min-Young smiled, his eyes filled with determination. "Then I will request Captain Nam-gil to take over the case."

"And what if he says no?"

"Then I will do it myself," Min-Young's voice did not contain even a hint of hesitation. 

Haneul stared at Min-Young, surprised by his boldness. She knew that he was a determined man, but she didn't expect him to go that far. After a moment of silence, she sighed and said, "Fine. If you really want to investigate this, I'll give you the case file."

Min-Young's eyes widened in surprise at Haneul's agreement. He nodded his head in gratitude. "Thank you, captain Haneul. I promise I'll do my best."

Haneul stood up from her desk and walked towards the filing cabinet. She started searching for the case file. Just then, Min-Young interrupted her. "I prefer a soft copy, captain."

Haneul turned her head in confusion. "A soft copy? why?"

"It's easier to handle."

Haneul chuckled. "Very well. But it will take some time. I'll send it to you by this afternoon."

 Min-Young nodded his head in agreement. "Thank you, captain Haneul." He turned around and walked out of the office, his mind already racing with the possibilities of what he would find in the case file.