#4. Suspect

As Jin-woo met her eyes for the first time in three months, he was momentarily at a loss for words.

She had grown painfully thin.

Her eyes were sunken, her long hair disheveled, and her cracked lips were stained with spots of blood.

Her once-healthy complexion had faded beyond pale, taking on a grayish, almost ashen hue.

She hardly looked like herself.

At last, she raised her head and met his eyes.

"Jin-woo?"

That single word caught in his chest, stealing his breath. A tremor began in his fingertips.

This wasn't the strong, clear-eyed woman he remembered.

She looked as fragile as a shattered mirror, her unfocused eyes utterly empty.

Jin-woo struggled to steady his trembling voice. Then he turned toward the investigators, his gaze and tone firm.

"…I'm taking her out of here. Come back with a warrant."

Without waiting for a response, Jin-woo strode toward Seo-wan.

He'd expected some unpleasantness. After all, a fellow police officer was sitting in the suspect's chair.

But the reality was far more unpleasant than he'd imagined.

Inspector Park pressed a hand to his furrowed forehead.

"Detective Kim Jin-woo, what exactly do you think you're doing?

"She was found covered in blood near the scene of a suspected murder, and the victim is missing.

"Her statement is unclear. We can't just overlook all this and let her walk out—"

"There's no body. No body. The evidence, Inspector."

Jin-woo cut him off firmly.

"There's no confession. No eyewitnesses. And above all, she's suffering from psychological trauma and malnutrition."

Jin-woo dropped a medical report onto the desk as though throwing it down.

"Here's the psychiatric evaluation. You've kept someone in a mentally and physically impaired state under interrogation all night without a warrant. That's clearly an excessive investigation.

"Even now, you haven't established whether she's a victim or a perpetrator."

"The amount of blood found tells us that Seo Min-gyu is the victim!"

"Then you should start by locating your victim."

"He could have been killed and his body disposed of."

"Then where is the body?"

"That's exactly what we're trying to find out!"

"Unless she tells you, finding it is the police's job."

"Listen here, Detective Kim!"

"And why are you ruling out the possibility that Seo-wan is the victim? Just look at her condition!"

"That's what we're trying to determine as the investigation—"

Jin-woo cut him off without hesitation.

"This looks like an unlawful interrogation. I assume the recording has been preserved? Every part of this questioning could come back to haunt you."

Inspector Park's face flushed with anger as he rose from his chair.

The tension between the two men tightened around the interrogation room.

"If we stand by and do nothing, we'll never find the body! She's the only one who knows where it is!"

"No one has been confirmed dead, Inspector. As of now, this is a missing-person case."

"How can you be so sure? There was enough blood to make anyone believe someone had died!"

"We don't even know where that person is. Take a good look at her.

"Do you seriously believe she could have disposed of a grown man's body in that condition?"

Jin-woo didn't raise his voice again.

Instead, he slowly turned to look at Seo-wan.

She was staring blankly at them.

She didn't appear fully aware of her surroundings, and her hands trembled faintly in her lap.

"She was missing for three months. No one could find her. And now she's finally… finally come back."

"......"

"She was an outstanding detective. The perfect partner. She's not someone who would do this!"

"That doesn't prove anything."

It wasn't that Inspector Park couldn't understand Jin-woo.

He knew perfectly well what a partner meant to a detective.

But that wasn't proof she wasn't a murderer.

"We'll continue cooperating with the investigation. But until you obtain a formal warrant, she'll be under my protection."

With that, Jin-woo turned toward Seo-wan.

"…Am I to understand that you're taking responsibility for her?"

"Of course."

Inspector Park couldn't give him a reasonable basis for keeping her there.

He watched them in silence for a moment, then slowly raised his hand and spoke to another detective.

"Let her go."

Jin-woo quietly approached Seo-wan, knelt in front of her, and met her eyes.

"Seo-wan, let's go. You don't have to stay here anymore."

Seo-wan accepted his support and slowly stood.

"Jin-woo… could I really have killed Mr. Seo?"

Jin-woo didn't answer.

He simply wrapped one arm around her shoulders, supporting her carefully as they walked down the corridor.

"Right now, getting you healthy again comes first. After that, we'll figure out what happened to you, one thing at a time."

As the two reached the end of the police station corridor, Inspector Park's deep voice followed them.

"Detective Choi Seo-wan! Detective Kim Jin-woo! We'll be seeing each other again soon!"

Jin-woo didn't look back.

He only tightened his grip on Seo-wan's shoulder and wrist.

And silently, he made himself a promise.

Seo-wan, I will never leave you on your own again.

In the glass of the police station building, Seo-wan's reflection appeared—staggering as she leaned against Jin-woo for support.

Inspector Park watched her through narrowed eyes.