Dark Blue - 深蓝の魂 by 珊


Chapter 17


The loud rumbling sound of cars was heard passing by as Junjin emerged from his bedroom towards the sound knocking on his front door. He rubbed his head lazily and reached for the doorknob.

“Hello,” said Eric from outside the door.

“Hi,” Junjin replied dully.

“May I come in?” Eric asked.

“May I ask who you are?” Junjin asked back not moving. Eric reached for his wallet and flipped it open, revealing a photo and identification information.

“Detective Eric Mun, I’ll like to ask you some questions regarding the death of your former employer Lee Mike,” Eric said sharply as he stuffed his wallet back into his coat jacket.

Junjin stepped aside to allow Eric in as he walked over to the kitchen nearby to pour some coffee. Eric looked around the house like he always did, inspecting everything in sight. Junjin sat down and motioned for Eric to do the same.

“When was the last time you were with Mr. Lee?” Eric asked taking out a notepad and black pen to scribble down notes.

“A little more than a week ago, Friday night,”

“And where was he headed?” Eric asked not lifting his head up from the notepad.

“Home,” Junjin replied bored.

“How long have you known Mr. Lee?” Eric asked flipping the page of the small notebook he held in his hands.

“Almost two years,” Junjin replied sipping his coffee. Eric nodded as he seemed to be in deep thought.

“Do you happen to know any hated rivals or enemies that Mr. Lee might have encountered?”

Eric asked ending the blank questions as he moved on the important ones. Junjin thought for a moment before clearing his throat to reply.

“I’m not sure on that. Mr. Lee has a lot of rivals,” Junjin said blankly.

“Can you give me a name? A source? Or a reason why he had so many rivals?”

“Well, if you think about it, he owned the whole banking system in Seoul, and his corporation is extremely profitable, so would that be the cause of him making enemies?” Junjin said slyly as he leaned in to rest his elbows on his knees, setting the coffee cup down onto the coffee table in between them.

“His corporation?” Eric asked paying a little more attention to the hidden details Junjin was hinting to him.

“Shin Hyesung wanted the corporation, and offered Mr. Lee millions for it, but he refused,” Junjin explained.

“So are you saying Shin Hyesung killed Mr. Lee?” Eric asked, leaning back in his seat as he wrote Shin Hyesung’s name down.

“Killed? I thought it was an accident?” Junjin exclaimed a bit shocked himself.

“That’s what everybody thought, until we did further investigating. His car, the brake wire had been purposely cut, but unprofessionally did, because the end of the wire was jaggedly cut,” Eric said as he closed his notebook and stood up.

Junjin immediately followed.

“Wait, so you’re saying somebody murdered Mr. Lee and you’re looking for the killer?” Junjin asked finally realizing the cause of Eric’s visit.

“Well, we don’t have any familiar suspects, until now,” Eric said putting away the notebook.

“Shin Hyesung?” Junjin asked raising his eyebrows. Eric walked to the door.

“And you,” Eric said as he slightly nodded and closed the door. Junjin stared out the small window next to the door looking at Eric got in his car and drove away. He was now a suspect too?

As if his life wasn’t miserable enough. With Andy hunting him down for the number to unlock the bank accounts and him almost having no job was making it hard for him.

Even his sister Terri didn’t agree with him about Andy. Eric walked into Seoul Police Headquarters, taking quick glances at his watch as he paced up to the main office. He walked in to find about five men sitting down at a long black desk with papers and coffee cups scattered all over.

“Hey Ric,” shouted his partner Tae Hyung.

“Hey,” Eric muttered as he took off his jacket and sat down. He crossed his feet on top of the table and leaned back.

“Where did you go man?” Tae Hyung asked as he sat down next to Eric.

“Talked to that Junjin guy. Says he knows that Shin Hyesung was trying to buy Lee Corporation, so we have him listed under suspect now,” Eric explained as he took out a cigarette.

“Shin Hyesung?” asked another guy named Tony. He tossed away his gum wrapper and chucked.

“No donut head, I was talking about Shin Mi Hae, and how fine she looks when she walks into his office with that mini skirt,” Eric joked as he rolled his eyes back to Tae Hyung.

Tony made a face as Eric teased his girlfriend.

“Hey you be careful Eric,” Tony warned.

“At least I have a girlfriend.”

“You mean that hoe you pimp around? We all know she’s slept with half the officers in here,” Eric said as he and Tae Hyung started laughing.

“Ha-ha, f*ck you too,” Tony muttered as he turned away back to his paperwork. Just then the commander in chief walked in. Eric removed his feet off the table and sat up straight.

Tae Hyung stopped laughing and stood straight.

“Good afternoon boys. Eric, how did the case go?” he asked as he sat down at the head of the table.

“Sir, we have another suspect, Shin Hyesung. Hey Jae Won, have you found anything on him yet?” Eric said leaning to the side to see Jae Won who was in front of a computer doing his research.

He turned around and stuffed a bagel into his mouth as he carried a file over to the table.

“Um, yeah,” Jae Won said handing the file over to the commander in chief.

“Shin Hyesung, age 24, accused for crimes before such as bribery, robbery, printing counterfeit bills and owns a ring of corporations for his private matters.”

“Good work brainiac,” Eric said as he reached for a paper that the commander in chief gave him. A picture of Shin Hyesung, walking out of a black car wearing a suit and black sunglasses was stapled onto the front. “This guy looks gay,” Eric said as he tossed the paper down.

“I bet you’re interested huh?” Tony cut in.

“Hey why don’t you go f*ck your boyfriend,” Eric shouted back not being happy about Tony’s black humor.

“Gentlemen,” the commander said in his stiff tone. Both men stopped arguing and turned to him. Tony and Eric glared at each other with tension as the commander went on. “We will have to work together on this case.

I’ve been trying to track down some people lately, but with no results, so this is the best case we have so far. Don’t screw it up, got it?”

His order was immediate as Eric, Tae Hyung, Jae Won and Tony all agreed. ...........

“Oppa! I’m home!”

Li Ann shouted throughout the house as she carried a large bag of groceries towards the kitchen. Her shouts weren’t really heard because her house keys were stuffed in between her lips. She kicked the door closed as she struggled to walk.

She fumbled over her keys, sunglasses and purse, about to drop the whole bag when Mike walked out from the hallway and ran to her.

“Whoa, Li Ann,” Mike said as he tried to take hold of the grocery bag. He didn’t seem to be touching it in any way.

The bag passed through his arms. Li Ann’s speech was muffled by the keys in her mouth when Mike wrapped his arms from behind her around her waist. His arms then held the heavy bag from under her hands, helping her balance it.

Slowly they made their way to the kitchen. Setting the large grocery bag onto the counter, Li Ann finally breathed for air. Mike took a step back to give her room. She removed her hair strands out of her face and sat down.

She had never felt so tired and exhausted before. She was normal before encountering Mike, but then the bag was heavy as well.

“What do you have in there?” Mike asked looking at her confused.

“Lots of cans,” Li Ann shouted out in exasperation.

“Cans?”

“Dongwan eats mostly canned foods,” Li Ann said a bit annoyed that her brother wasn’t there to help her.

“Every time he goes shopping, it’s no problem for him.” Mike chucked at her with his arms crossed.

Li Ann pouted as she walked over to the refrigerator for some water. Dongwan walked into the kitchen with a towel around his neck.

“Hey Li Ann. Did you get tomato?” Dongwan asked sifting through the bag. Li Ann glared at him from behind her cup.

“Yes, and next time you’re going to do the shopping! I nearly died trying to carry that bag out,” Li Ann said as she washed her glass.

“#### woman, you need to work out or something. Like me!” Dongwan said ignoring her look as he continued to take out the groceries.

“Whatever,” Li Ann mumbled as she walked out. Mike followed her with an amused grin. She turned around to face him.

“What?” she asked.

“You drove?”

“Of course I did,” Li Ann said as she continued to walk to the living room.

“I didn’t know you can drive,” Mike said as he sat down across from her. He was already getting accustomed to living in that house.

“I can drive. It’s just that Dongwan needs the car all the time, and I’ve only been there for three and a half weeks, so I don’t have one yet,”

“Three and a half weeks? You mean you weren’t living in Korea from before?” Mike asked surprised.

“No. I studied in the United States ever since I was seventeen,” Li Ann replied.

“I lived with my aunt while I was over there. I had just recently moved back when I got my degree.”

“Oh, so that’s why I’ve never seen you before when I was alive,” Mike replied. Mike stood up and walked towards the door.

“Where are you going?” Li Ann asked feeling a bit of need to follow him.

“I’m going to see Ji Yun,” Mike replied. Li Ann suddenly felt a bit of hesitation and an urge of envy.

“I need to know who my niece is,” Mike continued. Li Ann finally smiled and nodded.

“Do you need me to drive you there?” she asked.

“No, I’ll be fine,” Mike replied as he walked through the door and disappeared. Li Ann sighed and leaned back and took a deep breathe.

She felt her body weakening as the need of sleep kicked in. She dragged her tired body upstairs and flopped down on her bed as a blanket of warm feeling rushed through her. She was already asleep before she knew it. Mike made his way quickly around the city and soon he was back at his layer’s office to find information regarding his niece. He walked in without being noticed at all and made his way to the lawyer’s office.

Mike walked over to the desk but before he could do anything, the door had swung open. His lawyer quickly walked over to the desk and picked up the phone. After a few rings, he breathed out a sigh of relief and spoke into the phone rapidly.

“Ji Yun? Ah, yes, I’ve found the niece, yes, yes, fine, okay, I’ll meet you tomorrow and the Manchurian restaurant. Have a wonderful day,” the lawyer said with a bit of satisfaction as he hung up.

He looked around his desk, scanning for anything that would be out of place before he grabbed his briefcase and walked out.

“You son of a b**ch,” Mike said with a bit of a smile. He felt betrayed and a sudden need to seek revenge. If this niece of his was to be the sole claimer of his properties, then so be it.

He’d rather let her have it than Ji Yun.

“Manchurian restaurant,” Mike repeated to himself.

“Let’s see who gets there first.”

[To be Cont]