TRAIN 247 • Park Jongseong

𝚌𝚑𝚊𝚙𝚝𝚎𝚛 𝟸𝟹: 𝚜𝚊𝚕𝚝 𝚒𝚗 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚠𝚘𝚞𝚗𝚍

warning: violent themes ahead

hours after, at the local police station

Blood dripped down his knees onto the concrete floor as he struggled to stand still. He lost energy with every strike they took on his body, yet he hung onto the ropes tied around his wrists.

"Kim Hwashin, was it?" A shadow came into the light. "You're quite passionate about keeping your secret."

It was the officer who previously appeared on the news, claiming to catch the criminal. He looked quite different. Much worse. A dishevelled appearance with indistinctly darkened eye bags to compensate for his determination in catching the assailant.

"I'm getting straight to the point." He continued after lighting the cigarette he pulled out of a pack, "Why are there drugs in the bar?"

"I've told you." Hwashin replied with a coarse voice, "They're... not mine."

"Aren't you the manager? Wouldn't you know what's happening at the bar?" He breathed out, exhaling the smoke. "Who do they belong to?"

"I don't know." He spat the words, beginning to get frustrated. "But, just wait till I sue your ass for bringing an innocent into custody and violently abusing them when you told me this was just going to be a small investigation."

"They didn't tell you?" The officer kept his calm. He flicked the cigar with his thumb, ashes falling to the ground. "We have a signed warrant."

Hwashin remained quiet as his breath got heavier with the sudden information of a warrant. His body hung on to his roped wrists, desperately searching for support and balance.

"The blame's on you for blindly following them." The officer maintained his irksome expression as he took another puff, walking around the almost lifeless body, "Looks like they beat the shit out of you." He aggressively gripped his chin examining his bleeding face.

"If you choose to maintain discretion when you clearly know something," the officer continued with a much threatening tone, "It shows on your face... And if I notice it," he extinguished the half smoked cigarette on the table, picking up a wooden baton, "The treatment is worse."

He repeatedly struck his body, where the wounds were already cut open as Hwashin let out a bellowing shriek of pain. The impact was more powerful, more forceful as his arms strained with the amount of energy triggered through each hit.

Even after continuous strikes, Hwashin hadn't opened up about the bar. The officer wanted to believe that it was because he didn't know anything. Yet, a second thought of the possible master controlling Hwashin as a puppet drove him insane to the point where he stopped taking more strikes and headed towards the desk, roughly picking up a handful of salt as he tossed away the wooden baton.

He turned back towards Hwashin revealing the fistful amount of salt, "Shall we do a little biology experiment?"

Tiny granules slipped through his fingers as the tight clench whitened his knuckles. He grit his teeth, taking slow steps, "Let's name this experiment: Salt in the wound."

The officer lingered his fists right above Hwashin's bloody, exposed knees, swaying between both of them. He abruptly gripped onto his right knee as the salt grains crunched against his barren skin. Hwashin uncontrollably quivered with agony and torment as hot tears flushed out of his red eyes, letting out a cry that could rip his vocal cords.

After a few seconds of throbbing, which seemingly felt longer for Hwashin, the officer grabbed a bottle of water, pouring it over the targeted knee. It washed off the excess salt from the exposed area, remaining being soaked by the torn cloth or dripping down to the floor, dampening the dried up blood. Although the running water created a burning sensation, imperceptible for his numbed knees, it was an indistinct needle prick compared to the pain felt earlier.

The officer let out a huge sigh as he rubbed his temples with distress. "Let me be honest with you." He began, "I don't like doing this either, but it's bastards like you who make my job harder." He landed a punch across his face, "Now, tell me who controls the drug business! And where's the owner of the bar?" He repeatedly threw punches across his tired face without slowing down.

Suddenly, there was a sharp knock on the door. The officer paused midway in his action and glared in the direction of the noise, "I'm in the middle of an interrogation!"

"Sir! Mr. Jeong! This is urgent!" A subordinate opened the door, peeking in, "I thought you might want to see this instantly."

"What is it?" He replied with an exasperated tone, "This better be good." He walked to the back end of the room, washing his hands in the sink. He rubbed his bloody hands, the water tinting red as it escaped his palms and ran over the white marble.

"We received some footage." The subordinate carefully strolled towards the desk, placing his laptop as his eyes never left Hwashin's stiff and cold body. He eyed the ooze of blood, trickling into a pool below his knees and feet.

"What footage?" The officer hurried to the desk.

"We were wrong about zero surveillance, sir." He explained, "There was a black car parked towards the end of the lane. It was technically camouflaged in the darkness. There was no driver in it but we contacted the owner and received the dash-cam footage."

"And did we find anything useful?" The officer plopped himself down onto the seat, turning the laptop towards himself. He began watching the footage.

"We can see the actions of the crime." He began with a tensed tone, "He first hit his victim with bare hands, taking a final hit with a metal rod." The footage contained mere shadows of the conflict, tinged in a faint red light, "However, due to his obscured appearance with the black mask, cap, gloves and the lack of proper lighting, it's hard to recognise any features or standing out details."

"We haven't found the weapon yet, right?" The officer questioned, propping his chin on his hand. He played the video on repeat, carefully examining for any mistakes by the criminal.

"I'm afraid so, sir." The subordinate replied as he glanced in the direction of Hwashin's swaying body.

However, the officer sensed a slight hesitation, "Looks like you have something to say."

He shot his attention back to his superior as he cleared his throat, "I know this is against our rules but I was thinking that we could gain information about this unknown person if we..."

"If we what?" The officer grew impatient.

"If we show this video to him." He pointed towards the body, "He's the manager of the place, right? So he may know something about this person--"

The officer threw his head back as he let out a sudden chuckle, "That's funny!" However, noticing the serious expression of his junior, he sat back straight, "I hope you're not being serious about this..."

"I am, sir." He replied monotonously, "I think it's worth a shot."

And the officer knew it was worth a shot, because they barely had anything on the criminal, yet his authorial side refused to break the rules. "It can put our jobs at risk, showing non-officials vital pieces of evidence."

"I'm well aware, sir." The subordinate leaned in slightly close, lowering his voice, "But no one has to know."

The officer exhaled heavily, "Okay." He put his hands on the desk and pushed himself up, "It's worth a shot."

✧──────✧

𝙙𝙤𝙣'𝙩 𝙛𝙤𝙧𝙜𝙚𝙩 𝙩𝙤 𝙫𝙤𝙩𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙘𝙝𝙖𝙥𝙩𝙚𝙧 • 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙣𝙠 𝙮𝙤𝙪!