An Old File
An Old File
"Sir, she's my best friend!" Gayoon exclaimed. "I have to go and find her!"
"Precisely, why I'm not letting you go," he said shortly. "You are partial in this case! Your personal connection to the Hwang family and the suspect will jeopardize the rescue mission."
He was fixing the files on his desk, ignoring her protests. Gayoon did not give up, adamant to fight.
"You removed me from the CCK case and look what happened!" she accused. "Mina was kidnapped that time as well but got lucky-"
"And in the process, you got kidnapped!" he snapped back. "Simply because you did not listen to orders! I can't let you run free like this anymore, Jeon Gayoon."
He sighed and looked at her. "You are my best detective," he admitted. "But I also have to follow procedures. Letting a cop who has a personal connection to a case will only make others question my credibility as your superior officer. I'm sorry, Gayoon but this is my final decision. Now go and work on recording the files into the database. I see that you've been avoiding that. Dismissed."
Gayoon clenched her fists and stormed off. There was no point in convincing him. Taejoon's team would have to handle this and she was not sure how they were going to rescue Mina. She had little faith in the killer who framed Kanji.
Why would he contact Mina? She wondered. Ugh!
"Gayoon!"
Kanji called her. She walked towards his cell. He looked worried for Mina and was beside himself with tension.
"What's going on?" he demanded. "What's happening with Mina?"
"The Chief won't let me go," she said bitterly. "Because of my connection to you and Mina. He says that our personal relationships will jeopardize the mission. But the rescue team has been dispatched. They're heading there right now."
Kanji was not convinced with the assurance. He was pacing back and forth inside his cell, his eyes red. Gayoon frowned at him.
"Why do you care?" she questioned him. "Mina told me everything. You rejected her and now you're worried as if your girlfriend has been kidnapped!"
Kanji shot her a sad look but did not say anything. He was fine with people cursing him as long as Mina led a happy and safe life. Gayoon shook her head in dismay. It was obvious that he loved Mina very much but was too thick headed to admit it to her.
"If you love her this much, then just give up this life!" she scolded him. "Stop being such an ass!"
"My enemies-"
"Oh please!" she snapped. "Enemies? You're talking about enemies to me? Me? A cop? I have enemies both living and dead! You think that I don't worry about them harming my family and friends? I have a daughter for god's sake! Everyday, I feel that one of my old enemies would return and harm her! I was dragged into an unknown dimension by an old enemy. Even Minho has enemies! His serial killer friend wasn't exactly hospitable with me."
She looked at him, feeling disgusted. "All she asked from you is to give up this life," she went on. "It's not hard. Hand over all your information to the police and we'll even give you protection! You can live a happy life with Mina. And yet, here you are being an idiot, sulking over your deeds. If you want, I can even refer you to criminal rehab programs! There are so many of them where ex-criminals enrol so that they can live a good life without crimes! How hard is it to swallow your pride and admit your feelings, you dumbass?"
Kanji closed his eyes, trying to drown out her words of reason but it was impossible. She was right. He had let his pride get in the way and now, Mina was in danger because of him.
"Save her," he begged. "Call my dad and tell him to send out men to that place! They can rescue her."
Gayoon sighed but said, "Okay. I'll call him. Give me his number."
Kanji gave her his father's number and Gayoon conveyed the message to Jang Jason. The man had agreed to send his best men to rescue Mina.
"He's on it," she informed Kanji, hanging up the phone. "He's also making the preparations to bail you out. You'll be out by tonight, hopefully."
Kanji let out a sigh of relief. But Gayoon was not done. "If you love her, tell her," she ordered. "Otherwise, set her free so that she can move on. Stop playing these games."
She turned away to return to work, leaving him alone in his cell. There was a lot of thinking to be done by Jang Kanji and if required, she would keep him in jail for longer just so he could collect his thoughts and decide whether he loved Mina or not.
Gayoon sat at her desk and picked up a file. Sullenly, she flipped the pages and came to the point she had left off.
"Kim Suna…" she read. "Husband is the prime accused and the name is…"
She suddenly sat up. Hwang Junho? Flipping through the pages, she came across the names of the other family members. No way! She thought.
"Oi Kanji!"
Kanji spun around to see Gayoon rushing towards his cell again. She was panting when she held up a photo of a woman in her thirties with chocolate brown eyes and a sweet smile.
"That's Auntie Suna!" he frowned. "Minho's mother. How did you get this picture?"
"That's her?" Gayoon gasped. She flipped through the file and read the documents.
"A white ball is seen in this picture," she said. There was a photo of Junho running after the ball. She flipped the file again when something fell. Stooping down, she picked it up.
"That's a ring auntie Suna used to wear all the time," Kanji stated, recognizing the golden ring. "She never parted from it except for the time when she gained a little bit of weight after Mina's birth. I remember Minho telling me about it."
But Gayoon was staring at it. The ring was cold against her palm and she was feeling a strong energy from it. The feeling was similar to what she felt at the World of the Dead. It was much smaller in scale but there was no denying that something was trapped in that ring.
"I need to show it to ahjusshi," she muttered. "But I also need to visit their old mansion."
"It's right by the river," Kanji said. "Easy to spot. Once you reach the riverside, keep going south until you reach this abandoned mansion. That's the place."
He glanced at the ring. For some reason, he was scared of it as if it was something ominous.
"Be careful, Gayoon," he warned. "That place has been abandoned for years. It's...it's not a place we want to visit ever again."
"I'll be fine," she assured him. "But you...please think about what I said."
Kanji nodded. "I will tell her my true feelings if I get out of here," he promised.
He was determined this time. His heart was in agony for hurting Mina so much and he wanted to curse himself for being a jerk to her.
I'll make it up to her, he promised.
"Thank you, Gayoon," he said, feeling grateful. "Thank you for listening."
"Thank Mina for being an idiot," Gayoon sighed. "Don't let her go this time, alright?"
"Please save her," he begged. "Please..."
His voice cracked from the unshed tears. He just wanted to see her again and hold her in his arms, never letting her go. They had been playing this game of push and pull for too long and it was time to stop.
"She'll be fine," Gayoon assured him. "Don't let it get to you! Minho and her dad will save her. You'll see. Just return to her, okay?"
Kanji nodded. "Good luck finding the truth," he wished her.
Gayoon smiled at him and headed off in search of answers. I just hope I get them, she prayed. She looked at the ring in her palm. It was Minho's mother's ring but there was something wrong with it. She could feel it throbbing against her palm, trying to unleash the energy within it.
"What did she do with it?" Gayoon wondered out loud. "What secrets is this ring hiding?"
Deciding not to distract Minho and ahjusshi at that time, Gayoon got into her car and revved up the engine. She must do this alone.
Stepping on the pedal, she drove off, unsure of what was going to happen.