The Sun to my Moon

Chapter 25: Unexpected gift

"What has you so freaked out by this fact?" Dal-geon asked, watching her closely.

"His wrists are in handcuffs, and he's just sitting there." Hwa-sook took a deep breath. "With a piece of paper with a bloody blue shark drawn on it on the table in front of him."

Hae-ri was marching towards the interrogation room before Dal-geon had finished processing the shock of this revelation. Tae-ung and Sehun were outside the door, talking to two members of Yoon's team.

Hwa-sook hurried after her. "It's no good, Timjangnim," she said, laying a staying hand on Hae-ri's wrist just as she laid her hand on the knob. "He refuses to talk to anyone but Cha Dal-geon."

"Well, that's too damn bad," Hae-ri huffed.

Dal-geon rushed over to her side. "Hae-rissi, wait. It could be a trap."

"Ne, I know," she said irritably. "For you."

"I'm not the one Edward Park threatened," he reminded her.

"We still don't know that for sure," she said stubbornly.

He closed his eyes. "Hae-rissi, jebal. I'll go in there and talk to him for a few minutes. Snow white will be right outside the door, and you can watch from the interrogation room."

"Like hell I will," she said indignantly. "I am the team leader on this case. You're going in there with me or you aren't going in there at all."

Dal-geon could tell she wasn't going to budge on this. He calculated his options rapidly and settled on the most reasonable compromise he could think of. "Arasso, arasso. But if you come in, Snow white comes in, too."

"Fine," she said impatiently. "Let's do it."

Dal-geon met Hwa-sook's gaze and she nodded her understanding. She would keep an eye on Hae-ri so he could focus his full attention on Yoon Han-ki without being distracted by fear for her safety.

Dal-geon entered the room first, making sure Hae-ri and Hwa-sook were well behind him.

"Annyeonghaseyo, Han-kissi," Dal-geon said. He took a seat at the table across the table from Yoon Han-ki. The two women took positions at his flanks, each leaning up against the wall on either side behind him and glowering menacingly at Han-ki.

The other man smiled at him. "Annyeonghaseyo, Cha Dal-geon."

Dal-geon gestured to the handcuffs and the smiley face still before him on the table. "So, what's going on here?"

"Nothing much."

Dal-geon raised an elegant brow. "Nothing much? You're a respected agent with the NIS, yet you appeared to have handcuffed yourself with your own handcuffs and presented yourself to us with a piece of paper which implies that you have some connection to Edward Park."

"Majayo," Han-ki agreed placidly.

Dal-geon looked at him closely. "Have you been coerced into sitting in here in handcuffs?"

"Eopseoyo."

Dal-geon waved a hand in front of his face. "It doesn't appear you've been hypnotized, either, so I must conclude you are here of your own free will."

"Ye."

Dal-geon nodded to the sheet of paper with the shark face on it. "What about that? Where did that come from?"

Han-ki smiled. "A friend gave it to me."

"Is your friend Edward Park?" Dal-geon asked.

Han-ki's smile widened. It was like looking at a shark smile. "I've been told you're a smart one. Guess it didn't take much brains to figure that out."