Chapter 14
The call came at 5:20 a.m. from Kim Gi-jin’s grandmother, Madam Lee Hwa-young.
I was in a deep sleep and at first thought the phone ringing was my alarm.
Half-asleep, I fumbled for my phone and saw an unfamiliar number.
“Hello?”
—“Is this Attorney Yoo Hyun-jae?”
It was a husky, gender-neutral female voice.
The tension in her tone instantly drove the sleep out of me.
“Yes, speaking.”
—“I am Kim Gi-jin’s grandmother.”
For a brief moment, I wondered who Kim Gi-jin was.
Kim Gi-jin!
Then I remembered—he was the friend I had recently made.
“Yes, hello, ma’am.”
—“Are you the friend of our Gi-jin, Attorney Yoo Hyun-jae?”
“Yes, that’s correct. What is going on?”
—“Could you come here right now?”
From her voice, I could tell this was no ordinary matter.
“Has something happened to Gi-jin?”
—“He’s at the police station right now.”
Madam Lee Hwa-young’s voice over the phone was heavy.
—“As a suspect in a murder case.”
It felt as if electricity shot through my body.
“Which police station?”
—“Ansan Cheongnok Police Station.”
“Understood.”
I hung up and shot out of bed.
Even though it was early morning, the winter darkness still hung outside.
I hurried to Cheongnok Police Station.
I could recognize Kim Gi-jin’s grandmother immediately.
A rare sight—an elderly woman with white hair tied neatly, wearing a mink coat that reached her ankles and ankle boots, sitting in a police station at dawn.
But even more noticeable than her appearance was the intense silver aura surrounding her—so strong I didn’t even need to focus to see it.
I could tell she had been the one shielding Kim Gi-jin’s aura all this time.
Madam Lee Hwa-young was no ordinary person.
As I approached, she turned her gaze toward me.
Eyes so black they seemed to swallow all light in the world.
There were only two kinds of beings with eyes like that.
Either a ghost… or a shaman.
“Are you Gi-jin’s grandmother?”
“Yes. You are Attorney Yoo Hyun-jae?”
“Yes, I am Yoo Hyun-jae.”
“You have a good energy, just as I expected.”
“Thank you.”
“Gi-jin told me you are his friend and asked me to contact you immediately.”
She spoke calmly.
—Wow, that idiot never mentioned his grandmother owns over a hundred buildings… and didn’t even say she’s a shaman?
Right now, she’s just a grandmother sitting in a cold police station worrying about her grandson.
—Still, how—
The red eyes were speaking, but suddenly its voice cut off completely, as if muted.
It panicked, realizing it could no longer make a sound.
It grabbed its throat and mimed shouting.
“She was too loud, so I silenced her for a while. She’ll be able to speak again when the time comes.”
Madam Lee Hwa-young said, looking directly at where the red eyes were.
That had never happened before.
Watching the red eyes flail in confusion, I realized she was no ordinary shaman.
At that moment, the police station door opened and a woman walked in.
She looked to be in her early twenties, wearing a neatly pressed ivory wool coat. Her pale, makeup-free face was calm and beautiful.
Her eyes told me immediately—she was also a shaman.
“Mother, I brought it.”
She lifted a fur coat slightly.
It was Kim Gi-jin’s outerwear, the same one I had seen at the sushi restaurant before.
They were likely a shamanic mother-daughter pair.
“Haemi. Check if the talisman is still properly attached inside the coat.”
The young woman named Haemi inspected the inside of the coat.
“It’s not here.”
“I see…”
Madam Lee Hwa-young closed her eyes briefly, as if calculating something, then sighed.
I needed to understand the situation first.
“What case has Gi-jin been accused of?”
“He had a girlfriend,” she said. “Song Seul-gi… I told him not to see her, but he never listened…”
She pressed her temples as if in pain.
“You know her too, don’t you, Attorney?”
“Yes, I do.”
“They’re saying Gi-jin killed her.”
“What?”
I immediately recalled Kim Gi-jin walking home with Song Seul-gi, his arm around her, looking happy just days ago.
Kim Gi-jin killed her?
“How is he right now?”
“I don’t know. I haven’t been able to see him yet—it’s not visiting hours.”
“Lawyers can meet clients 24 hours a day. I’ll go see him first.”
Madam Lee Hwa-young looked at me silently, as if measuring me.
“Please do. I want you to take this case. No matter the cost.”
“Understood.”
I submitted the visitation request and handed it to the officer.
After confirming my identity as a lawyer, I was guided to the attorney meeting room.
I sat behind a transparent acrylic partition and waited.
Soon the door opened, and Kim Gi-jin was brought in.
Disheveled hair, wrinkled clothes—he looked like he hadn’t sobered up yet.
“Kim Gi-jin.”
At my voice, he jolted up and pressed himself against the acrylic.
“Hyun-jae… sob… Hyun-jae…”
“What happened?”
“I don’t know… I was too drunk. I can’t remember anything.”
He looked terrified.
“Seul-gi is dead?”
“Yes… they said she’s dead. I fell asleep in the bathroom, then the police woke me up and suddenly said I killed her.”
“Were you alone at home with her?”
“Yes… and… there was blood on my hands.”
“What?”
“It wasn’t me, Hyun-jae. I didn’t kill Seul-gi. But what if I really did? I don’t remember anything… what if I really killed her?”
He was crying and rambling incoherently.
“Don’t say things you can’t remember clearly. I’ll figure out what happened.”
“Hyun-jae… I’m counting on you. Please…”
After hearing everything, I stood up.
Time had already passed far too quickly.
Madam Lee Hwa-young brought clean clothes for Gi-jin.
I arranged a family visit.
When Gi-jin saw his grandmother, he burst into tears.
“Grandma… what do I do?”
She silently held his hand.
“I didn’t kill her. I really didn’t. Grandma, do you believe me?”
“I know you’re not someone who could kill another person. I told you not to get close to her—she was bad fate for you. Why didn’t you listen?”
“I’m sorry… but I really liked her. Did she really die?”
He sobbed like a child.
Madam Lee Hwa-young sighed deeply.
“It is all karma.”
Gi-jin lowered his head.
At that moment, a senior police officer entered the room.
Four chrysanthemum insignias—he was the police chief of Cheongnok Station.
“Chief!”
The officers stiffened instantly.
“Carry on with your work,” he said gently.
He walked straight toward us and bowed slightly to Madam Lee Hwa-young.
“Madam Lee Hwa-young?”
“Yes?”
“I am Chief Jang Dong-ho of Cheongnok Police Station. Is there anything uncomfortable?”
“No.”
“Would you like coffee or anything to drink?”
“No, thank you.”
“Please let us know if you need anything.”
“Yes.”
“We will make sure your grandson is as comfortable as possible while he is here.”
“Thank you.”
The chief seemed focused only on impressing her.
The entire station fell silent.
Even typing stopped.
After he left, the noise resumed.
Gi-jin wiped his tears.
“My grandmother is a very famous shaman. Even politicians come to her during elections and bow to her.”
Only then did I understand the situation.
The police chief wasn’t just being polite—he was trying to make an impression.
If even a police chief acted like that, her influence must be enormous.
I entered the interrogation room with Gi-jin and sat beside him.
The detective gave me a sharp look.
“Hello, I’m Yoo Hyun-jae, Gi-jin’s lawyer.”
“A lawyer?”
“Yes, here is the appointment letter.”
The detective, Jo Yang-soo, didn’t look pleased.
He seemed annoyed.
“You know he’s a drug suspect, right?”
“You tested him?”
“We did. Results will come soon.”
The detective clearly believed this was a drug-related murder case.
That kind of bias is dangerous—it seeps into the investigation.
What is written first in a police report can influence everything that follows, like a butterfly effect.
“Let’s begin the interrogation. Name, resident registration number, occupation, address…”
The questioning began.
Gi-jin looked at me.
I nodded for him to answer.
“My name is Kim Gi-jin…”
He answered step by step.
“Occupation?”
“Building owner.”
The officer glanced at him and wrote “property rental business.”
“You have the right to remain silent…”
The formal rights explanation continued in a rehearsed rhythm.
“Will you exercise your right to remain silent?”
“No. I will tell the truth.”
“Will you request legal assistance?”
“Yes. I have appointed Attorney Yoo Hyun-jae and will have him present.”
He answered correctly.
The officer handed over the rights document and recorded my appointment.
“Are you Kim Gi-jin?”
“Yes.”
“Family relations?”
“My grandmother.”
“Do you live with her?”
“Yes.”
After basic questions, the real interrogation began.
“On March 3rd, 202X, did you enter the victim Song Seul-gi’s house with her?”
“Yes.”
“What time?”
“About… 10:30 p.m.”
Kim Gi-jin began recounting that night.
