Chapter – 06
Cheonga was, by nature, extremely stingy when it came to evaluating men’s looks. Even when she saw fairly decent celebrities, she usually dismissed them as “just average.”
So when the words handsome—no, ridiculously handsome—came out of her mouth, it carried weight.
The smile that had been hanging on Ingyu’s face vanished in an instant.
He grabbed Cheonga’s arm and pulled her around to face him.
“Is handsome really the important part right now? Why didn’t you report it? I didn’t see that in your report.”
“Ah, what’s with you? Is this your first day doing investigations? I gave the team leader a verbal report already. I’ll write it up properly once I confirm a few more things and get a clearer picture.”
Park Ingyu let out a deep sigh.
“There’s no such thing as a normal guy who’s good-looking. Be careful.”
“Hey, hyung! Is that your way of strongly asserting that you are a normal guy?”
“Hey, you little— I mean, someone like me—”
Creeeak.
Ingyu’s voice was cut off by the sound of the old door to the training room opening.
Both of them turned toward the entrance at the same time.
“So this is where you two were?”
At Oh Seongmin’s voice, Cheonga and Ingyu sprang to their feet and greeted him formally.
“Good morning, sir!”
“Senior, you’re here.”
As the two bowed, Seongmin picked up the knife that had fallen on the floor.
“What’s this? These days, do people use things like this for lovers’ quarrels?”
At his playful joke, Cheonga burst out laughing.
“Oh, come on, senior. We’re not like that. And how would I ever take on Ingyu hyung?”
“Tsk tsk. How, you ask? Looks like you were already mouthing off and got smacked once—your forehead’s busted.”
“Ah… this is from the hospital…”
Cheonga scratched at the bandage on her forehead, looking embarrassed.
“Do you open the doors at Boksan University Hospital with your forehead or something?”
The reason Seongmin—a senior officer—could be so casual with Cheonga, despite her higher rank, was simple.
He was a veteran with nearly twenty years of field experience. Cheonga respected that, and treated him with genuine deference.
Of course, Seongmin also made sure to show her the proper respect her position deserved in official settings.
Thanks to that mutual consideration, Violent Crimes Team 2 maintained a warm, easygoing atmosphere—free from unnecessary hierarchy, yet never lacking courtesy.
“So, after running around enough to bust your forehead, did you find anything useful?”
“I don’t know… It feels like I caught something… but also like I didn’t…”
“Take it easy. If things get tough, tell that Park Ingyu over there—who’s just loafing around—to help you out.”
“What? I’m already swamped doing my work and Kim Cheonga’s too!”
Ignoring Ingyu’s deeply furrowed scowl, Cheonga smiled brightly.
“Thank you, senior!”
Thirty minutes before outpatient services began at Boksan University Hospital.
The cleaning staff, having finished their early-morning rounds, were sitting in a line along the corner of the staff-only hallway.
They sipped the cold vanilla lattes Cheonga had bought them, enjoying a brief moment of rest.
“Ah, having one young person join us means we get to drink stuff like this.”
“Thank you, Bokseon. I’ll enjoy it.”
They smiled warmly at Cheonga, clearly fond of the diligent and friendly young woman.
“Hehe, yes, unnis. I’ll buy you drinks every now and then.”
Cheonga smiled along with them.
“But in return, if there’s any fun gossip around the hospital, you’ve gotta tell me too. I love that kind of stuff.”
That’s right.
This was a bribe.
To be the first to catch wind of suspicious individuals and information circulating inside the hospital.
“Oh, of course! Who would hear hospital news faster than us?”
“Right? Hehehe.”
Just as their laughter scattered, a man in a white coat passed in front of them. At the same time, Cheonga’s smile faded a beat too slowly.
Walking toward the examination rooms with long strides—
It was Min Yushin.
Without realizing it, Cheonga’s gaze followed him.
“But Bokseon, what happened to your forehead?”
“Oh, I just… bumped into something.”
Distracted by Yushin’s retreating figure, Cheonga answered absentmindedly. Still, the kind-hearted women looked concerned.
“Did you disinfect it properly? We deal with hospital waste—you could get an infection. You need to take care of that.”
“Don’t worry. Professor Min Yushin treated it himself.”
“Oh? Still… he could’ve made it look a bit nicer.”
That was the moment.
Yushin’s steps halted mid-stride.
Slowly, he turned his head. His sharp gaze fixed on Cheonga.
“…?”
His eyes landed on the bandage on her forehead—wrinkled at the edges from sweat, messily cut and poorly reapplied.
Yushin turned his body fully and strode toward her.
The three cleaning women, crouched on the floor, stared openly at him.
“…That’s not the dressing I did.”
With his face deeply furrowed, Yushin reached out and grabbed Cheonga by the wrist.
“Huh?”
From between the cleaners—who were craning their necks like meerkats—Cheonga was yanked upright.
“Bokseon!”
“Professor! Oh my!”
Ignoring the chorus of voices, Yushin pulled Cheonga along with him.
They arrived at the emergency room.
Cheonga was shoved down onto a folding chair.
“Are you trying to get me cursed at? Why would you tell people I treated you when you’ve messed up the dressing this badly? Tsk.”
Irritably, Yushin tore off the bandage and roughly dabbed disinfectant-soaked cotton against her forehead.
“Ugh— that stings… But isn’t this better than people saying you hurt me, Professor?”
His hand, holding fresh gauze, froze.
Slowly, Yushin’s gaze dropped to meet hers.
“……”
“……”
Normally, this was where Yushin would have unleashed a string of insults without hesitation.
But now, locked in eye contact with Cheonga, he couldn’t say a word.
The noisy chaos of the emergency room filled the silence around them.
How long did they stand there, staring at each other?
Yushin was the first to look away.
With a small sigh, he slapped a new bandage onto her forehead.
“Ah!”
Stars flashed before Cheonga’s eyes.
Once again, she clutched her forehead, groaning.
For some reason, Yushin was looking at her with narrowed eyes.
“Stop saying unnecessary things. I’ll take responsibility up to this point.”
Flick.
His finger snapped against her forehead, and he quickly turned and disappeared out of the emergency room.
Cheonga stared blankly after him, a thought suddenly surfacing.
Why does he open his eyes like that?
Wait… was he smiling?
No way. He wasn’t laughing at me, right?
Even as Cheonga wrapped up her work for the day, thoughts of Yushin lingered.
The medical waste processing area reeked of alcohol and blood. After stacking the last of the trash boxes, she finally removed her safety gloves and wiped the sweat from her brow.
Her hand brushed against the neatly and carefully placed bandage.
“……”
To be fair, her injury wasn’t entirely Min Yushin’s fault.
She’d been the one sneaking closer to his office to eavesdrop, after all.
So he doesn’t really need to take responsibility or anything… Still—thanks, but also screw you.
Her mind was a mess of conflicting emotions.
Just then, her phone vibrated in her pocket.
Checking the caller ID, Cheonga answered immediately.
“Yeah, Yeonhee.”
[Unniii…]
The voice on the other end sounded drained.
[I think I was mistaken. I checked the hospital intranet again—Professor Min Yushin at Boksan University Hospital. He served in the military properly, he’s married, not rich, and lives in an apartment near the hospital. Just an ordinary man in his forties.]
“What?”
Cheonga’s eyes widened, then slowly narrowed.
That smooth, polished face—forties?
There was no way.
She closed her eyes and dug through her memory, recalling the ID she’d seen. The photo, the name, the date of birth, even the address—clear as day.
Resting her hand against the mountain of waste boxes, she shook her head.
“We cross-checked it together that day. You didn’t misread it. If the ID was fake, there’s no way I wouldn’t have noticed…”
Then a thought flashed through her mind, and her words trailed off.
“Wait. What if the information was altered? How likely is that?”
