AGENT 17

“Gucheon New Town? Isn’t that where rich people live?”

“That is correct.”

“A serial killer is rich?”

“It is possible.”

“A rich person? Why?”

“Pardon?”

“I’m asking why a rich person would commit serial murder.”

“…Pardon?”

Yongnae asked back in a flustered voice, as if he had heard something absurd. The bald man’s question was so nonsensical that it was borderline ridiculous.

Crime happens anytime, anywhere, regardless of gender, age, or environment. A rich person can certainly commit such violent crimes. Why? Because they are human, too.

“…As we saw while coming up, these kinds of neighborhoods have neighbors living too close to one another.”

“I asked why a rich person would do that, and he’s ignoring me…”

“In that case, when the killer dismembers a body, no matter how much they eliminate the smell of blood, it eventually would have spread enough for an ordinary person to smell it.”

“He’s got grit…”

“If they used a massive amount of air freshener to prevent that, the police would have mentioned that scent in regards to the bodies or the bags.”

“Hmm…”

When Yongnae ignored the comment not worth answering and continued his argument, the bald man also began to listen seriously to why Yongnae thought the culprit would be in Gucheon New Town.

“But since there was no such mention, there is a high probability that the killer resides in a place where interaction between neighbors is difficult or the distance between houses is far enough that they don’t need to use air fresheners. This neighborhood is the only place where the distance between neighbors is that great.”

“You’ve got a point. But what’s the probability the culprit is just living in an open field with no neighbors?”

“That probability can’t be ignored either. However, the culprit kidnaps people, kills them, and then disposes of them in carriers. That means they purchased carriers. If they bought the carriers in person, the police would have already investigated all the nearby carrier shops and the culprit would have been identified and caught. Even if they ordered them by delivery, if a house in an open field frequently had bulky carriers delivered, they certainly wouldn’t have escaped the deliveryman’s suspicion.”

“But wouldn’t they be suspicious of any house, not just one in an open field, if it frequently ordered bulky items?”

That was also true. In any house, if bulky items were ordered frequently, a deliveryman could certainly become suspicious.

“But what did you say earlier?”

“Me? What did I— ah…!”

However, even the deliveryman does not suspect it.

No, they choose not to suspect it. Even if bulky items like carriers are ordered frequently, they just take it for granted, thinking, “A wealthy house does a lot of internet shopping.”

“You asked why a rich person would commit serial murder.”

After returning to the officetel with the bald man first, Yongnae called Glasses and the subordinates and spread out a map of Gucheon New Town in the middle of the living room.

“Would a killer live in a place like this?”

“After listening to Mr. Lee, it sounds plausible.”

Glasses seemed to doubt whether a serial killer would live in such a place regardless, but the bald man gave weight to Yongnae’s argument, saying it made sense. At some point, the title the bald man used to call him became “Teacher,” but it wasn’t awkward. It was a title he heard all the time when he went out on field assignments.

“Are there this many rich people? There are surprisingly many households here. It’ll take three days just to go around here.”

“What? It takes 4 days?”

“Sa-heul is 3 days.”

“Whaaat? It’s ‘sa‘-heul, so how is it 3 days and not 4 days? Hey Teacher, is that true?”

When Glasses answered that sa-heul means 3 days, the bald man looked at Yongnae as if wanting an answer, asking what kind of nonsense that was. Glasses is also Korean, so why couldn’t he trust those words and had to ask him?

“Yes. 3 days is sa-heul. 4 days is na-heul.”

“See.”

“What, really? That makes no sense.”

“It makes sense.”

“…My pride is hurt.”

Why was his pride hurt? As a Hong Konger, it was something he might not know, so he couldn’t understand exactly what point hurt his pride.

“Hey. Doesn’t this house look suspicious?”

“Yes. This house is suspicious. The house next door has a swimming pool and is bright, but this house doesn’t have a pool and looks gloomy in black, so it looks exactly like where a killer would live.”

“Hey. You’re smart, aren’t you?”

“You flatter me.”

The bald man was marveling at the answer of the red-haired subordinate who didn’t look smart at all. These people were trying to reduce the time it would take—even though it already took three days—by suspecting the houses on the map without any context. It wasn’t about the width between the yards of the houses, but suspecting it because it looked “gloomy”…

“…The probability of the killer living in a place with a basement is likely higher.”

“A basement? The map doesn’t show whether there’s a basement or not.”

“Wouldn’t we be able to find out if we go to the real estate agency in charge of that area?”

“What do we ask at the real estate agency? Whether there’s a house with a basement in this neighborhood where the smell won’t leak out even if you kill a person?”

“You can’t go because you’ll be suspected.”

The bald man naturally seemed to think he would be the one going to the real estate agency, but Glasses shook his head looking at the bald man’s wriggling snake-skin pattern, saying it was absolutely out of the question.

It was the same for Yongnae. Even if the bald man dressed up neatly here, he wouldn’t look like a wealthy person who came to buy a luxury mansion; he would just look like a thug checking things out. Only someone who looked like a rich person who might actually buy a house would have the real estate agency look into things actively and provide information.

“…”

The man would be perfect for such a disguise… Just as he would never have thought he was a detective if he hadn’t heard he was one when he first saw him, the man was so flashy and elegant that he definitely… gave off a strong feeling of a noble prince or a young master.

“What? If I can’t go, you can’t go either.”

“I’m better than you. Look at your hair.”

“What about my hair?”

The bald man and Glasses were having a noisy, childish argument. Naturally, if the bald man didn’t go, Glasses would go, but Yongnae thought that if he tentatively suggested at this point that perhaps the man should go, they might be tempted, so he opened his mouth hesitantly and carefully.

“Um, perhaps…”

“What about my hair!”

“That person…”

“You’re asking because you don’t know your own hair? Look in the mirror.”

“…How about letting that person do it?”

Since they weren’t focusing on his words, he should have asked louder, but he couldn’t raise his voice for fear his intentions would be revealed.

“Um, the one called Susu…”

“Hmm?”

“What?”

However, even at that small voice, as soon as he uttered that name, everyone gathered in the living room stopped what they were doing and turned to look at Yongnae.

“…”

“…”

“…”

In the long silence that followed, a flustered Yongnae slowly rolled his eyes. What is it. Was the name Susu like a Voldemort-level name that must not be spoken? Was he actually a traitor or a target for execution within the organization? Was that man perhaps the police informant? Was that why he only knocked Detective Park unconscious? But it didn’t seem like the bald man said anything like that yesterday?

While all the deductions Yongnae could make were spinning rapidly inside his head, the bald man was the first to open his mouth in this silence.

“Teacher.”

“Yes.”

“I told you. Susu is busy.”

“…Ah.”

“He doesn’t get involved in things like this.”