Miho the Killer
Chapter 67: Crossfire

Chapter 67: Crossfire

I nervously sat in the passenger seat of Shin’s new car as we headed toward Gangnam Police Station, where he arranged a meeting with Detective Choi.

Just what is he thinking...

Miho was staying at ’home’ for now. Probably bored, or maybe not - playing the crane game or juggling. I didn’t really want to think about the latter, so I decided to put my Miho to the back of my mind for now and focus on the upcoming encounter.

"Are you sure this is a good idea?"

I asked him again for the umpteenth time.

"We got attacked at a hospital. Literally ran away from the scene. You’ve told him I was taking you somewhere safe and then your phone went dead for a few days. It’d be suspicious as hell if we didn’t pay him a visit - not to mention the fact that I DID promise to do this."

"Why would you do that?"

"Don’t take the police force for fools. I have great respect for them."

"You do not seem to have any respect for the laws though."

"No, I don’t. But I have respect for law enforcement force."

Whatever.

I was never going to understand his warped logic or some high-level game he was playing.

We arrived at the station and went to the reception, Shin doing all the talk and asking for Detective Choi who was expecting us. We did not get escorted to an interview room though as the Detective himself came to the ground floor to bring us in. As friendly and respectful of Shin as ever, and showing genuine concern for my well-being. I couldn’t shake off the suspicion that he was also suspicious of me in some ways, but I suppose that’s what we came here to clear up.

"Coffee, Senior?"

Choi asked him as he handed over an ice-Americano, which Shin gladly accepted and swirled in his hand.

"Coffee, Ms. Han?"

I, too, accepted with a polite smile and swirled the ice with a straw.

We sat around a small table in the interview room. I sat at the opposite side of the table with Shin sitting on my left side, positioned between us, as if he was going to be a referee for a little arm wrestling match that Detective Choi and I were going to have.

"So, what happened, Ms. Han?"

The Detective asked me, specifically. I looked over at the old man and he just gave me a nod. We didn’t really discuss what I was supposed to say, and I knew from the previous patterns that he expected me to say things just as they happened. Something about ’Don’t take the police for fools’.

"It was all so sudden. I was in Ms. Jin’s room and suddenly three guys entered wearing black balaclava. They all held knives in their hands and went straight for Miho and me."

"That’s awful! I hope you were not hurt."

Obviously, I wasn’t, as he could tell.

"Thank you. But I’m fine."

"Phew, I haven’t had to get in action like that in a long time, Hakguen, haha."

Shin did the part where lies had to be spoken.

"I suppose it was their unlucky day, Senior, haha."

So Choi knew Shin’s ability - the ability to defeat three armed men all by himself.

"I tell you, young man, I’m not so young anymore. My back ached for a few days after that little skirmish!" Shin, exaggerating.

"Ah, don’t say that. I’m sure you can still take a dozen of them all by yourself!"

"Don’t be silly. Half a dozen is the most I can handle."

Then the two men both laughed. I didn’t quite understand what was so funny about it, so I did the socially unacceptable thing and sat there without joining.

"So, why do you think Ms. Jin and Ms. Han here were targeted?"

"I’m thinking some old grudge." The old man said casually, sipping on his coffee.

"What kind of grudge could that be?"

"Miho is my niece, and more than that - she’s the daughter of my partner."

"Your partner... I’m so sorry to hear about that again."

"Shit happens in our line of work."

Shin offered a toast and they bumped the tall plastic cups together, completely wiping the smiles off their face in an instant, almost putting on a sincere solemn face for a few seconds.

"So, I trust you are staying somewhere ’safe’ now?" The Detective directed his question at me this time.

"I think I’m in safe hands, yes."

"You couldn’t be safer anywhere else than under Senior Shin’s guard. I can assure you that." Choi then exchanged a knowing smile with Shin.

"Did you manage to catch those guys?" I asked what I was curious about. If Shin wasn’t going to keep me in the loop of what was going on, so be it. I’m just going to be myself too and ask what I want.

"Oh, yes. We did. The investigation is underway and I can assure you we will find out what really happened."

The fact that he did not stress ’really’ gave me the impression that he didn’t really believe what Shin said was what ’really’ happened.

What an odd relationship these two men have.

"I see. I haven’t been able to sleep well since." A half-lie and a half-truth. I haven’t been sleeping well. That much was true. But it was mostly because I was sleeping in the cramped bottom bed of the bunker bed in Miho’s room. Together with her army of plushies.

"I’m sorry to hear. Maybe you can see Dr. Yang for some support?"

I twitched a little. Inadvertently.

So he looked further into my past. Probably Miho’s records too. It’s just as Shin said. He wasn’t going to just let us off the hook because Shin was his senior.

"I think I might need to. Thank you for your consideration."

Choi just nodded in acknowledgment and turned to face Shin again.

"So, where are you staying?"

"If I told you, I’d need to kill you." Shin joked but I knew it wasn’t a joke. The Detective probably knew too.

The atmosphere didn’t turn as awkward as I thought it would, but suddenly the door opened and someone barged in. It was Chief Yu, Shin’s ’friend’ and the Chief of the Organized Crime Division.

"Hey, hey, hey, Shin! Why didn’t you tell me you were coming?!"

Shin looked at Choi, who only smiled back with twinkling eyes.

The old man then rose to greet the Chief and they both shook hands.

"Ah, I was just dropping by for a short chat with the excellent Detective here, haha."

Somehow it didn’t feel like it was Shin’s setup this time to get us out quickly.

"You wanna go for smoke?", the Chief invited Shin. The old man looked at the Detective once, who waved him away to tell him that he could leave. The old man then looked at me, and then the Detective again.

"Sure, why not?" He shrugged.

With that, both men left the room, closing the door behind them.

Now I was alone in the room with Choi again. Nervousness crept up from my fidgety feet.

"Ms. Han."

Choi looked into my eyes. There was no sign of a smile on his face now, although he didn’t come across as hostile.

"I won’t ask you to tell me what happened or where you are now. But I believe you are in danger."

I didn’t know what to say, so I just squeezed my cup gently.

"There’s always more to things than meets the eye. You have already seen many horrible things. I’m deeply sorry that you had to go through all that. And I really don’t want such things to happen around you again."

I gave my ice-Americano one swirl and asked him, cautiously.

"Why do you think I might be in danger?"

"Just a gut feeling."

Surely he had more than just a gut feeling.

"Please book regular appointments with Dr. Yang. And if you ever... find out that something bad is about to happen, leave a message to her. Don’t worry. She won’t say anything about her patient to the police. But if you ASK her to deliver a message to me, she will. Just say when and where."

I bit my lower lip, not knowing how to take it all in.

At that time, Shin came back to the room.

"Hah, I hope I wasn’t away for too long! Sorry about that."

The detective’s expression changed completely from an intense concentration as he was talking to me to the look of an aloof idiot.

"Hehe, don’t worry, Senior Shin. I’ve had a bit of a chat with Ms. Han and am really relieved that you are taking safe care of her and your niece. I don’t think you’d ever need to come to the station again unless there was something I could help you with."

"Ah-, you don’t want to see your senior again?" Shin quipped.

"Well, I wouldn’t say no to some barbeque and soju. I will treat you next time!"

"It’s a promise, Detective Choi."

The old man mimicked a gun with his hand and shot at Detective Choi, who playfully shot back at him.

I think I’m going to get caught in a crossfire someday.