KIM HYUN JOON
FRAMED
Framed: Kim Hyun Joon
GHOSTS
It was never a secret to the local detectives that whenever Kim Hyun Joon visited Cheongju, he also, without fail, visited the grave site of Mo Ji Eun. It was his usual habit for the past 14 years.
  
Ghosts. Haunting memories. It was always the same trip down memory lane.
He remembered the day that Mo Ji Eun staked her territorial claim over him. The bright, forward and vivacious girl was not, in the least, embarrassed to claim that he was hers. Wrapping a black-beaded bracelet round his wrist, she gleefully drew his attention to her matching bracelet. She declared that they belonged together. She had that kind of intensity that was embarrassing but he did little to protest. Probably he liked her too.
  
Then, one day, she was murdered.
He laid down a bouquet of white chrysanthemum flowers on her grave site.
      
Being a strong supporter of the Cheongju Youth Institute, Kim Hyun Joon had gone back to his alma mater to attend the 2017 Honour Roll Scholarship Ceremony.
Waves of nostalgia must have hit him as he, Kim Hyun Joon, had also been a recipient of the institute’s scholarship many years before and that was how he had entered the Police Academy. Gratitude and ghosts brought him back.      In the midst of the ceremony, a childhood friend, Choi Sang Ho, called out to him.     But another friend, a lawyer, disparaged Choi, a smart student in the past but was ruined because of his misfortunes. For someone who was also not so successful in life, it was ironic that the lawyer who couldn’t even afford to pay his rent would be so contemptuous of someone who was in the same dire financial straits.       
Suddenly, a squad of policemen flooded the room. His nemesis from the past loomed large in his face – Detective Tae.
Detective Tae who had always wanted to pin Kim Hyun Joon down from day one as the perpetrator of the Nadeul River Murder, now had full authority to arrest the profiler since he was in town.
Kim Hyun Joon was mystified. Did the ground shift beneath him?
         Since they were in a formal ceremony, Detective Tae did not want to make a scene. But it was strange that in the ensuing commotion, Kim Hyun Joon was photographed. The press seemed to have been alerted to his arrest.        Kim Hyun Joon was shocked and distressed to be arrested for the murder of Kang Ho Young, another murder suspect of the Nadeul River case. There were murmurs of astonishment. Before he could even protest, Kim Hyun Joon was told to be quiet, and a pair of handcuffs was clapped onto his wrists by Detective Tae. It must have given Detective Tae a sense of power to finally handcuff the person whom he was firmly convinced was the murderer of Mo Ji Eun.    
When he was whisked away to the Cheongju police station, it must have been surreal for the profiler as he had been thrown over the other side of the law.
   BREAKING NEWS
Team Leader Kang had been packing up his office stuff and preparing to take his leave because of his PTSD (Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder) due to his wife's murder.
The NCI Chief Director, Baek San, had compelled him to take time off to recover.
They were about to announce this when Yoo Min Young rushed in to inform them of the breaking news about Kim Hyun Joon’s arrest over Kang Ho Young’s murder.
                                            
It was obvious that Team Leader Kang could not take his leave since his team member needed him.
Kim Hyun Joon soon found himself in the middle of a media storm.
Kang Ho Young’s corpse had been discovered near the Cheongju
Dam. It seemed that all those years Kim Hyun Joon had been in touch with the
deceased.
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INNOCENT
UNTIL PROVEN GUILTY
Not believing in his guilt, the NCI took immediate action to do some digging on his behalf. To them, Kim Hyun Joon was an honest and compassionate man. It was completely out of character that he would to kill anyone. Anyway, he was innocent until proven guilty.
LABYRINTH
ASSESSING
THE EVIDENCE
Kim Hyun Joon’s case had the undivided attention of the whole
team, who were intent on proving his innocence.
They soon learn that it would be difficult to clear his name. There was a slew of obstacles, including Dectectives Tae and Detectives Oh in their quest for the truth. And, Kim Hyun Joon himself was an obstacle because he refused to divulge what he knew about the case.
  In the NCI bus, You Min Young, briefed the team on the case. The cause of the Kang Ho Young’s death was skull fracture by a blunt instrument.  Kang was found dead in the forest near the Cheongju Dam three days before. The corpse was so badly decayed that it was almost impossible to identify him. The post mortem examination determined that he had died 20 days before.   
The police seemed to have strong circumstantial evidence to suspect that Kim Hyun Joon was the Kang Ho Young’s murderer.
1. Kim Hyun Joon’s fingerprints, and Kang Ho Young’s fingerprints and blood were discovered in the Cheongju Youth Centre gym, the suspected murder site.
2. The police had also secured security camera evidence of Kim Hyun Joon walking out from the site.
3. Kim Hyun Joon was the last person Kang Ho Youn called on the day of the murder.
4. It was confirmed that Kim Hyun Joon was at the site at the estimated time of the murder.
All of those mentioned were circumstantial evidence, not direct evidence. But could they be used against Kim Hyun Joon in court?
           Lee Han wanted to know Kim Hyun Joon’s criminal intent, if he was the murderer. Why would Kim Hyun Joon want to murder Kang Ho Young? They were childhood friends.     Team Leader Kang had noticed that Ha Sun Woo was deep in thought and wanted to elicit her opinion. He seemed to know about her past and her connection to the Cheongju case.  She knew that Kim Hyun Joon had been tracking the Nadeul River case. Kim Hyun Joon, Kang Ho Young and Go Young Min were suspects in Mo Jin Eun’s murder. Go Young Min had died not long ago.      Nana Wang was reminded of Kim Hyun Joon's confession that he was one of the suspects. It seemed like a joke then. But now, it seemed that he had to navigate the labyrinth of not only the murder case from 14 years ago but also the new murder case.   Ha Sun Woo suspected that Kang Ho Young’s death and the Nadeul River case (Mo Ji Eun) were related.   |
KIM HYUN JOON FRAMED
In the interview room of the Cheongju police station, the carnivorous hunter, Detective Tae seemed determined to seek justice for the dead victim, Kang Ho Young.
He seemed to take the stance that his prey, Kim Hyun Joon was ‘guilty until proven innocent’.
Unfazed, the profiler divulged that Kang Ho Young had called him up to meet up but Kang did not appear as promised.
   
With a searching look, the detective demanded that the profiler explain his call history. He stopped short of directly accusing Kim Hyun Joon of being the murderer of Kang Ho Young.
   
‘Do you think I killed Kang Ho Young to close the Nadeul River Case?’ an indignant Kim Hyun Joon questioned.
      
Madness must have seized Kim Hyun Joon. He accused the detective of being prejudiced against him even from the very beginning.
Kim Hyun Joon sneered with disdain at the detective’s underhand tactics to make him look like a criminal. He analysed the detective’s motives. His actions were called into question.
    
He pointed out that when Detective Tae was transferred to the Violent Crimes Unit, the Nadeul River murder case was his first case.
Kim Hyun Joon had a nagging feeling that Detective Tae was obsessed with finding closure for the victim’s family so he had resorted to pinning the blame on him.
Then. Kim Hyun Joon was just sixteen-years-old. The young Kim Hyun Joon was devastated. The fearful young boy had no resources to defend himself.
Detective Tae was trying to find a scapegoat for the murder case. And, the young boy, Kim Hyun Joon, was the fall guy.
       
Now. But, an adult, Kim Hyun Joon could fight back. He was not cowed. He was previously a detective. And he knew the law.
His eyes raked over the mulish detective and examined him with an eagle eye.
He did not hesitate but boldly posed the question, ‘If I am the criminal, do you think I would be so foolish to leave my fingerprints around, and also, be caught by the security cameras?
Kim Hyun Joon glared at him resentfully. ‘Think about it!’
         
The detective’s obsession could have led his imagination to run wild. ‘Do you really want to solve the Nadeul River case?’
       
Detective Tae’s face had turned to ash. He was so incensed with the accusation that he jumped to his feet.
He leaned over in a belligerent stance, and shouted, ‘Shut your mouth!’  
Kim Hyun Joon was unintimidated. Stirred with intensity, he eyeballed the other man.
He challenged the other man, ‘Find Kang Ho Young’s murderer! That’s what you need to do!’ The profiler was skilled at navigating around such circumtances.
      
‘Don’t toy with me. You escaped justice in the past but you will not be able to get out of this one!’
Was the deluded Detective Tae really so determined to make him the fall guy for each and every murder in Cheongju?
  
Suddenly, the door was thrown open. Sergeant Oh Jeong Taek was furious to see Detective Tae rough up Kim Hyun Joon with his accusations.
His position being more senior, he reprimanded the younger law enforcement officer for overriding his authority. He was wrathful that such an important case was not reported to him.
     
Was Kim Hyun Joon relieved to see him? Certainly. The sympathetic Sergeant Oh Jeong Taek was his saviour.
The older detective had been protective of him since the tragedy that happened 14 years ago.
   
‘Scumbag!’ The younger detective, having been admonished and insulted by his senior, should have looked stricken.
It was surprising that he did not slink away but shot Kim Hyun Joon a look of loathing on the way out.
    
Despite Sergeant Oh’s perfect timing, Kim Hyun Joon was too disturbed to smile in appreciation.
If he had not appeared at that time, Detective Tae would have given him a harder time.
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