Golden Time

Chapter 145

Hearing Jo’s remarks, Suhyuk stopped unwrapping the bandage suddenly, but resumed after a moment, with a smile.

“How did you know that?”

“Well, this is a small village as you know. Rumors are spreading quite quickly.”

Suhyuk nodded his head.

Soon Suhyuk removed the bandage completely with a frown.

“Did you say you were hurt from falling?”

The wounds were strange.

The bruises on his arm were not caused by his falling.

It looked as if it was cut by a sharp object, about 7 cm deep.

Though he could not see any bone, he found the stab wounds to be deep.

A bit of pressing on it might cause a gush of blood from there.

“When did you get hurt?”

Looking at his own wound, he made a strange smile.

“Only yesterday…”

“You might feel a bit of a sting. Let me do it quickly, though.”

“Did you get your arm cut by a sharp object when you stumbled?”

“Well… I was not sure because it was dark at the time.”

Having said that, he looked at Suhyuk.

At the moment both met their eyes simultaneously.

A brief moment of silence.

It was Jo who said, with a smile,

“Doctor, do you think my condition is not good?”

Suhyuk fixed his eyes back on his wounds.

“Fortunately there seems to be no damage to the bone or muscle. I don’t see any debris, either. Did you do any first-aid by yourself?”

He nodded his head, answering, “Yes, I rinsed the wounds with lukewarm water.”

“Well done. Next time come to the clinic immediately when you’re hurt like this.”

He smiled, replying,

“Well, this is the only clinic on this small island. I would love to, but I can’t.”

After he was done with disinfecting the wounds, Suhyuk said,

“I think you need some st.i.tches because the stab wound is deep.”

‘Please go ahead in a less painful way, doctor.”

“You’ll be alright because the st.i.tches are done only after anesthesia.”

“It costs additional money, right? You don’t have to apply anesthesia then.”

“No big difference in the cost.”

Jo smiled faintly, saying, “Then please go ahead with anesthesia.”

Now Suhyuk began st.i.tching the wounds on his arm.

“Don’t you feel any stinging?”

“No, I’m alright.”

After he was done with st.i.tching, Suhyuk now disinfected his arm once more.

“Makes sure the wounds don’t touch water, and keep them clean.”

Jo nodded his head, asking, “Am I done?”

“Yes, Let me give you a prescription, so don’t fail to take it. The prescription I will give you is an anti-inflammatory drug…”

After listening to his explanation, Jo rose from the seat.

“Thanks, doctor.”

“My pleasure.”

Suhyuk looked at his appearance from behind when he was going out.

A man with a limp, 175 cm in height. And he was hurt yesterday.

‘Is it my own delusion or do I just feel that way because the whim is on me?’

Suhyuk lowered his eyes downward.

Later on that night, the identification team from the police station arrived at the crime scene.

It took a long time for them to finish the job.

As the suspect’s crime was so perfect, it was not easy for them to find any clues.

At that moment, they heard a voice calling, “Detective Kang!”

Kang ran out of the scene at the voice.

“Take this thing.”

It was a cigarette b.u.t.t that the identification team handed to Kang.

Kang’s eyes glittered.

He heard that n.o.body in the victim’s family smoked a cigarette.

Squatting on the ground, Kang looked at the b.u.t.t held with tweezers by the identification team member. Fortunately it was found under the roof, so it was not wet.

It was more than enough to get a DNA sample of the suspect.

Kang murmured to himself as if he was sure of catching the suspect.

“You b.a.s.t.a.r.d, stay put right there!”

The victim had no acquaintances who had grudges against her, which made the detectives feel stuck in the investigation. Now it looked like they could find some clue.

“Detective Jang!”

“Yes, sir.”

“Get all the DNA samples from those walking with a limp and with height of 175cm.”

“Alright.”

The people on the island showed complaints whenever the detectives came to see them, but were overall cooperative in their investigation.

The detectives met all the island residents from morning till evening.

And they narrowed down to two suspects: Jo Jungwhan, 57 and Lee Osu, 45.

Both of them were walking with a limp, 175 cm in height.

The detectives kept a close eye on these two men.

But their wives testified that they were sleeping when the crime happened.

But they could not take their words at face value because they were a family.

Kang took their DNA samples from their mouth and gave them to the identification team leaving the scene.

All they had to do was to wait for the outcome of their DNA samples by the National Scientific Investigation Center.

—–

Back home after work he lay on the bed, looking at his cellphone like he did yesterday.

For a while he was on the bed like that, and then opened the door after getting up.

It was still raining hard outside.

Finally tomorrow there will be no rain.

While looking outside on a chair, he wore a raincoat suddenly.

He held a first-aid box with one hand.

Something kept bothering him about patient Jo Jungwhan.

He heard from the detectives that Jo was on the suspect list because the footprint the suspect left behind on the crime scene was about the same as his feet.

But Suhyuk was thinking of the guy in a raincoat watching the crime scene with his body behind the wall.

‘Why did he run away at my voice?’

However, the two legs of the running guy were normal.

“Do you think they can catch the suspect?”

That was the question asked by Jo with glittering eyes, when Suhyuk was st.i.tching the wounds on his arm.

Something suspicious was clearly written in his eyes.

Suhyuk was aware of Jo’s address as he memorized it from his medical record.

After walking for about 10 minutes, he arrived at the rusty gate of Jo’s house.

Suhyuk checked the time on his wrist watch.

It was 9pm.

Knock, knock, knock.

“Is anyone inside?”

At his voice the iron gate shook with a big noise.

“Who is it?”

Taking off his hat, Suhyuk said, “h.e.l.lo.”

Jo was slightly surprised to see him.

“How come you came at this hour?”

“Sorry, sir. I told you that I’d disinfected your arm, but forgot to.”

“Oh, that’s fine. I’m sorry to have you come at this hour, though.”

With a smile, Suhyuk said,

“That’s alright. May I come in?”

Nodding his head, Jo looked outside, and let him in soon.

Suhyuk went into the living room, and looked around carefully.

It was nothing particular, with a small refrigerator, a small TV set and some furniture.

And there was another room, whose door was tightly closed.

“Doctor?”

“Oh, let me disinfect now.”

After he sat down, Suhyuk unwrapped his bandage and began disinfecting.

In between he checked the room around him.

“All done.”

After he was done, Suhyuk stood up.

At that moment he saw something under the kitchen sink.

Reddish black fluid. It was none other than blood.

As a doctor Suhyuk could notice it better than anybody else.

“What is that…?”

At his asking, Jo opened his mouth as if it was nothing.

“I cut my hand while cooking.”

‘Cut hand?’

The mark of blood was still there as if he did not wipe it off completely.

To make matters worse, he did not wipe the blood under the kitchen sink at all.

Suhyuk knitted his brows.

The size of the blood mark showed clearly that someone’s bleeding was large.

‘Why did he lie?’

“Thanks so much for coming all the way to my house to disinfect my arm, doctor.”

“Can you show me the cut area of your hand? You might get another disinfection if you leave it untreated like that.”

He made some sort of embarra.s.sing expression.

At that moment the door of that room that was shut tightly opened, and a guy came out.

He was in his mid-20s.

His eyes met Suhyuk’s directly.

“Why did you come out like that instead of sleeping?”

He was Jo’s son. At his scolding, the son made a frown.

Then Suhyuk cast his eyes at the son’s wrist.

A poker card sticking out of it.

It was a Diamond card.

With a calm voice Suhyuk asked him, looking squarely at him,

“Was it you?”

At his asking, the son’s lips were twisted.

Yes, those were the lips Suhyuk witnessed, which he only saw partially due to the darkness.

And then the son took out a knife from the waist of his trousers.

He charged toward Suhyuk.

“No don’t. Son of a b.i.t.c.h!”

Jo blocked his son in front of Suhyuk. At the same time the knife he was aiming at Suhyuk’s heart slashed Jo’s shoulder lightly.

A line of blood was cut through his shoulder.

And then the son ran out of the house.

“I’m sorry, doctor.”

Suhyuk checked the wounds on his shoulder, who was deeply troubled.

Fortunately the wound was not serious.

“I’ll be back soon.”

Jo’s son was already opening the gate to run out, and he quickly moved out.

At that moment he rolled forward like a spring as he came out of the gate.

For Suhyuk kicked his back.

When he was about to stand up, Suhyuk stepped on his throat. And when he was struggling to move the knife, Suhyuk pressed his wrist with his foot gently.

It was still raining hard, and a man was approaching them like silhouettes.

He was detective Kang Taewook, who was in hiding in the vicinity of Jo’s house.

“What happened?”

Suhyuk opened his mouth, staring at Jo’s son,

“This guy is the culprit.”

***

All the details of the murder case were revealed.

The murder was committed by Jo’s son.

He put his brain to work for fear of his name being put on the suspect list.

So, he fabricated footprints of a lame person, and dropped a cigarette b.u.t.t on purpose that he had collected from his father’s ashtray. And then he made his father the suspect of the murder.

And Jo visited the clinic with the wounds on his arm.

On the night before the murder incident, Jo sensed something strange from his son.

His son was showing abnormal behavior such as killing wild cats sometimes.

He just felt terrified when he saw his son going out with a knife.

While he stopped his son going out, he had his hand cut by his son’s knife.

And that early morning the murder incident took place.

Jo already knew who was responsible. Though his son committed a terrible crime, he was his son, after all. So, he visited the clinic because he heard Suhyuk had seen a suspicious person and wanted to check it with him. Fortunately Suhyuk did not seem to know who was the culprit.

However, it all was revealed now, to his regret.

“I’m sorry…”

When Suhyuk was done dressing his cut shoulder, Jo said miserably.

Looking at him quietly, Suhyuk opened his mouth,

“I don’t think that’s what you should have said to me.”

Detective Kang handcuffed Jo and dragged him out of the clinic, and his son who committed the murder was taken along with his father.

They left the island with the detectives.

—–

Lunch time was approaching.

A couple of gentlemen in neat suits visited the clinic.

“Is Dr. Lee Suhyuk in?”

At one man’s asking, Choi called Suhyuk.

Coming out of the clinic, Suhyuk asked,

“I heard that you came to see me.”

“Let us escort you. Let’s go!”

“For what….”

“Come with us to receive your award. The n.o.bel Prize.”