The Tiger King (Chaelisa)

54| Jjimjilbang Day

previously: chanyeol got a tipoff on tiger king and decided to talk with his former mentor, jensoo are dating and getting busy, chaelisa are wholesome domestic gfs, ella goes to summer music school.

The man inside the cell was waiting with his arms folded in front of him on the table. He looked up when the metal door creaked open and the tall detective slipped in.

"Fifteen minutes," he told the guard at the door. "Make sure the cameras are recording."

"We'll be on standby."

At this, the man at the table scoffed audibly before schooling his features back into a neutral expression when the detective glared at him.

"It's just absurd, Chanyeol," the man muttered softly. "I am unarmed, pot-bellied, alone. Where would I run?"

"Enough," Chanyeol snapped. His eyes were rimmed with fatigue as he pulled the chair back and thumped down in it with an irritated clench of his jaw. At the same time, he dumped folders down on the table in between them.

"I don't have time for pleasantries for crooks like you," Chanyeol began abruptly, "so I'll keep things short. You make sure you answer or you'll pay."

The other man lifted an eyebrow. "Two minutes into a surprise interrogation and you're already threatening your source of information? Chanyeol, this is not what I taught you—"

"Save it," Chanyeol gritted. Locking gazes with the man he once considered his idol, the man who fell from grace after he betrayed the whole ideal of justice in return for money, was more than he could bear. It almost made him vomit the acid in his stomach, vile hatred choking him.

It was one of the reasons he had not visited throughout the years. He thought he was made of stronger stuff but reality proved otherwise—despite all the time that passed, he was still wounded by his mentor's betrayal.

What was worse was that Lee Sooman had not changed, had not morphed into a monster with a villainous laugh. When Chanyeol looked at him, Lee Sooman still had the air of a quiet, unassuming man. 

If Chanyeol allowed himself the luxury of reminiscing, he would find buried memories of his mentor's proud glint in his eye, of his tireless encouragements when they were working around the clock to solve a case and of his belly laughs as they downed whiskey and soju on their rare days off.

Chanyeol grimaced and pinched the bridge of his nose. The days leading up to this scheduled interrogation had been rough, rife with doubts, troubled dreams and gnashing of his teeth. Going back to Sooman, despite being his best shot in the dark chasing this mysterious Tiger King, soon felt like a vice was gripping him from the throat.

Was it worth dredging up old ghosts for the sake of a wild goose chase that might finally catch him the notorious criminal he'd been chasing?

"Have you been resting well?" Lee Sooman asked with a furrowed brow. "You look tired. I always told you to take things easy—"

"Don't you dare finish that sentence," Chanyeol said quietly, his voice soft as a snake's hiss. "You don't get to...to care about my well-being. That was before. We all made our choices. Now we live with them."

Lee Sooman closed his mouth and nodded. "That's true. What is that you want from me? Help on some case?"

He reached out to one of the folders but Chanyeol quickly slammed his hand down on the documents, blocking him.

"Wait until I tell you to speak," Chanyeol gritted. He pointed at the folders. "I have with me here case files on Yang Hyun-Suk. I want you to look me in the eye and tell me if you ever spoke with him, conferred on some business or associated with him in anyway."