The interrogation room was situated in the basement of the police station. It was a large space divided by a wall with a one-way mirror. Detectives and officers were on the other side of the glass, while two officers sat at the table with a high school student. The room was dimly lit by harsh neon lights, casting a cold, blue tint over the space. A camera was focused on the girl from across the table. Despite the officers' attempts to be friendly, the girl appeared visibly anxious.
"Please, have some water, Miss Min," said Officer Choi Wooyoung. She had a charming bob haircut and a small mole just above her lip. Beautiful and admired by many of her colleagues, Officer Choi’s gentle demeanor emerged with certain individuals, though she could be quite tough with others.
"No, thank you, I'm fine," the girl replied. "Can my parents be here with me?" she asked next.
“Your parents might inadvertently influence your responses. Don’t worry, we won’t keep you here too long. We just need you to tell us exactly what you saw.”
On the other side of the mirror, Jinhwan typed rapidly on his computer. Detective Oh could see what he was writing in the Word document—initial observations about the witness's emotional and psychological state.
“Let’s start with an easy question. Can you tell us why you were in front of the gym where the child went missing?”
The girl's knees fidgeted nervously. “I got a really bad grade in math, so I stayed at school longer that day to have extra lessons with Professor Jeong. After the tutoring session, I met a friend who was doing physics tutoring. She lived close to the school, so instead of taking the bus directly from the building as I usually do, I walked part of the way with her. When we got to her neighborhood, we said goodbye, and I went to the nearest bus stop. That’s why I was near the gym.”
“Then you arrived at the bus stop, sat on the bench, and what happened next?”
“I don’t like being out when it starts to get dark, so I put on my headphones to listen to music and distract myself. I listened for about five minutes when I noticed something very strange. Although I have to admit that I only realized it was odd later, at the moment I didn’t think much of it. I saw this child leave the gym alone, and I wondered what a kid so young was doing out by himself. Then a man came up to him. The child seemed reluctant to leave the gym, and I naively thought he just wanted to stay and play with his friends. But now that I think about it, he might have been scared when that man approached. I heard on the news about a rope, but I didn’t notice that detail. All I saw was that the child was crying, and the man picked him up. Then they both got into a car, but I couldn’t see it well because it was blocked by a van parked nearby. I think it was a dark-colored car. I don’t know much about cars, so I can’t describe it well, and I only saw it for a brief moment,” the teenager explained.
“What do you think about this statement?” Jinhwan asked Detective Oh.
“It seems quite realistic,” she replied.
“Yes,” Jinhwan said. “It’s incredible how such a young girl could notice so many details in such a casual moment.”
“What do you mean?” Detective Oh asked.
“Nothing, just a strange feeling.”
“Don’t you think we should discuss it?”
“No, not yet,” Jinhwan said. “Do you have any questions we should ask her?”
“Actually, everything seems quite clear. I’d like to know more about the car, but the girl says she didn’t see it well.”
“Exactly,” Jinhwan said. “And she mentioned it right away, even before anyone asked her.”
Detective Oh began to understand Jinhwan’s doubts.
“Do you think someone might have fabricated this story and influenced the girl to give it to mislead the investigation?”
“It’s possible. I’ve heard dozens of interrogations, and I’ve never encountered someone who gave such precise information in their initial testimony that left me with no questions.”
“It’s as if they already knew what the girl was supposed to say.”
“I think so too.”
“But why?”
“That’s what we need to find out.”
Detective Oh pressed the red button on the microphone, allowing her to speak directly through the earpiece worn by Choi Wooyoung.
“We have doubts about this testimony. We need to determine if she’s lying.”
Wooyoung leaned forward, placing her hands on the table, and their eyes locked. “What songs were you listening to?”
“Uh?”
“You said you were listening to music because you felt uneasy being out alone in the evening. So what songs were you listening to?”
“I… I don’t remember.”
“You remember something as casual as what you saw, but you can’t recall the song you were listening to?”
“Maybe it was a BTS song.”
“Of course. So why did you stay and chat with your friend, taking a longer route than usual if you knew it would get dark and make you uncomfortable being alone after sunset?”
“I hadn’t seen her for a while, and we needed to discuss some things.”
“I understand; it’s always nice to catch up with a friend you haven’t seen in a while. What did you talk about?”
“Officer, excuse me… but how is this question relevant to the case?”
“We’re dealing with a child’s disappearance, and after days of silence, someone finally appears who saw the last moments before the child vanished. In this situation, we can’t overlook anything; we must examine every detail, even those that might seem trivial. That’s why I ask you to cooperate and answer every question we ask.”
The girl reached for the glass of water on the table, took a couple of sips, then rested her arms at her sides. Her gaze seemed to drift off momentarily. To an observer, it might have looked like she was trying to recall her conversation with her friend, but Detective Oh had the immediate feeling that the girl was struggling to remember a story that had been fabricated for her.
“We both like the same guy,” the girl eventually said. “We’re not obsessed, and he doesn’t know we exist, so there’s no competition between us. We were just gossiping about the girl he’s dating.”
“Wow, I can’t imagine being friends with someone who likes the same guy I do,” Wooyoung remarked. “What’s the name of the friend you were with?”
The girl hesitated for a moment. “Her name is… Bang Chaerin.”
Jinhwan quickly noted the name.
“So, if we ask Chaerin what she did that afternoon, whether you met up and talked about this guy, she will confirm everything you’ve said, right?”
The teenager looked genuinely worried. She took another sip of water and asked, “Will you really be questioning her?”
“As I said, this case is especially important, and we can’t afford to overlook any detail,” Wooyoung reiterated.
At that moment, the girl did something very strange. She turned towards the mirror with a look of almost desperation. Of course, she could see nothing but her own reflection and had no idea that her troubled gaze met that of Detective Oh.
“My parents will never find out about this, right?”
“This investigation is about a missing child, not a trial of you. So, no, the information you provide won’t be disclosed outside this room,” Wooyoung said.
Everyone on the other side of the mirror knew this was a lie. Any useful information would be documented, discussed in court, and likely featured in the media. This was a high-profile case that had already attracted significant attention. There would probably be continuous articles about every minor detail of the case, including the fact that an adolescent was being questioned in the interrogation room about the last moments of the missing child.
“I… I didn’t actually meet up with my friend.”
Wooyoung crossed her arms. “You lied to the police,” she said, her previously gentle tone now much more severe.
“I didn’t think it was important! I thought only the part about the child mattered, I swear!”
“Please, tell us exactly what happened. The truth, this time,” Wooyoung urged.
“I… as I told you, I got terrible grades in math, and I was supposed to attend an afternoon tutoring session at school, but I didn’t go that day. It was my only chance because if my parents knew I was there, they wouldn’t have looked for me or called me, forcing me to go home. Instead, I met up with a guy. He’s incredibly popular, with lots of girls interested in him, and he’s currently dating one of the cheerleaders from the baseball team. I’ve liked him for a long time, and I never expected him to be interested in me. So, when he asked me to come over to his house, I hesitated but didn’t want to say no. We ended up spending time at his place, and time flew by. When I realized how late it was, the sun was already setting. I took a quick shower and left his house. I was heading to the bus stop, but since it was my first time, I felt quite uncomfortable and sore. I walked slowly, trying to distract myself by observing everything around me. The rest of what I told you is true. I saw that man approach the child, then the child crying, and finally, the two of them getting into the car. There was a van in front, one of those that transport bulky items, so it almost completely blocked the view of the car. Anyway, I thought it was the father and that the child was just throwing a tantrum, so I didn’t pay much attention. I wish I had, I swear!”
“It will be difficult to press the girl about the moment she last saw the child. I don’t think she’s lying, but if she is, we have no evidence to confront her,” Detective Oh said.
“According to her account, the only thing we’ve really learned is that the abductor should be a single man, which rules out the father as a suspect,” Jinhwan noted.
“It’s so strange… Yesterday morning, we went to the child’s parents, and they gave us names of people they might have had disputes with. Then, the next day, a witness comes forward. I’m sure something will soon come to light that will completely exonerate someone from the names on our list,” Detective Oh said. “It’s only a matter of time. When it happens, we should focus our investigation on that person.”
“Do you think they might be bribing someone to clean themselves up immediately?” Jinhwan asked.
“It's possible, but it might not be. In any case, we can't afford to overlook any clue. We need to follow every lead as if we were 100% certain it would lead us to the right place, to solving this case.”
The girl was released, and the officers reviewed the interrogation footage as the detectives returned to the upper floors.
“You look better than this morning,” Jinhwan said to Detective Oh.
“Like I told you, I was fine before too,” Detective Oh said.
“That may be true, but it’s not easy to fool me,” Jinhwan replied.
“It’s not my intention to do so,” Detective Oh defended herself.
“It’s been a long day for both of us, and if you’re like me, you could use a drink,” Jinhwan suggested.
Detective Oh remained silent. It was clear that this was an implicit invitation, and though she was about to decline and head home, it was evident she needed a drink as well, if only to push away the thoughts that had been robbing her of sleep for the past few nights. And who knows, maybe some company would do her good.
Jinhwan gently grasped her slender wrist with his long fingers. “Detective Oh, how about joining me tonight?”
Detective Oh hesitated for a moment. Her heart started to pound in her chest. Years ago, she had vowed never to date another colleague. She didn’t want to endure the pain of potential complications. Yet, despite her heart’s protests, a deeper, more visceral need urged her to tilt her head slightly. A strand of hair slipped from behind her ear.
“Let’s go,” she said, and that single word made Jinhwan’s lips curl into a smile.
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