Lee Hanyoung was standing at the reservoir where the incident had occurred.
The guardrail where the accident happened had been repaired, erasing all traces of the past, and the water surface was calm.
But it hadn't been like this at the time of the incident.
Lee Hanyoung's gaze moved from the reservoir to the road.
In his vision, it felt as though he could see the sedan carrying Park Hyukjun and Kim Sunhee.
At 1 a.m., the sedan carrying the two of them was racing forward at tremendous speed, headlights flashing.
"Right there."
The car that had been speeding along the long straight stretch of road suddenly changed lanes.
"Kim Sunhee was already unconscious."
He could see Kim Sunhee sitting in the passenger seat.
As the car sharply veered, her body tilted, yet her eyes remained closed, as if she sensed nothing.
The eyes of Park Hyukjun, seated beside her, were filled with murderous intent.
"And then—bang."
The car slammed into the guardrail and plunged into the reservoir.
Water splashed violently, chaos erupting.
Park Hyukjun pulled himself out through the open window.
He sat by the water's edge, doing nothing, waiting until the car completely sank.
After recalling everything up to that point, Lee Hanyoung let out a small sigh.
He knew the outcome and the truth of this incident.
The problem was how to unravel it.
He knew the answer, but the process mattered.
Yet the tangled skein gave no hint of where to begin.
"Excuse me."
Lee Hanyoung had just crossed his arms when he turned his head at the voice coming from beside him.
A woman about as tall as his shoulder, looking to be in her mid to late twenties.
Her hair was tightly tied back into a single knot, her face bare of makeup, and the thick horn-rimmed glasses marked her as someone he was seeing for the first time.
Yet somehow, she felt familiar.
"Who is she? Have I met her before?"
He couldn't remember.
Naturally, since he had gone back nearly twenty years, it was impossible to remember the face of everyone he had once met.
When Lee Hanyoung stared at her silently, she spoke again.
"Excuse me, are you a detective?"
"Detective?"
Lee Hanyoung frowned slightly.
"You are a detective, right? I knew it, you're a detective."
She had first asked, "Are you a detective?" and now she was answering for herself, arbitrarily deciding that he was one.
She took a step closer to Lee Hanyoung, pulled a business card from her wallet, and held it out.
"Ah, don't misunderstand. I've never seen your face before, Detective. I'm Song Nayeon, a reporter from Dream Ilbo."
"Song Nayeon?"
Lee Hanyoung alternated his gaze between the name on the business card and her face.
When their eyes met, she waved her hands awkwardly.
"I know detectives don't like reporters, but, um, I mean…"
Watching her stammer, Lee Hanyoung let out a quiet chuckle.
"So that's where I saw her."
When Lee Hanyoung had been a presiding chief judge, she had been the head of the legal affairs team at Dream Ilbo. They hadn't met often, but he remembered that they had maintained a good relationship.
Back then, she had been a career woman with short hair and striking eyes. Now, she seemed nothing but clumsy.
Lee Hanyoung smiled.
Running into someone he'd known in a past life at an unexpected place felt like meeting a high school classmate.
And there was another reason Lee Hanyoung felt pleased to see her.
There was something he had heard during the few times he'd met Reporter Song Nayeon.
Her father was someone connected to a certain issue.
"So that's another gift I can give to Court President Baek Iseok."
After briefly reminiscing about his past life, Lee Hanyoung met her eyes again. Now was the time to focus on the case.
"My name is Lee Hanyoung."
He deliberately did not correct her misunderstanding that he was a detective.
Reporter Song Nayeon's gaze shifted toward the reservoir.
"Aren't you curious how I figured out you were a police officer just by looking at you?"
When Lee Hanyoung nodded, she continued.
"My friend died here. The accident—or murder—that Detective Lee Hanyoung is investigating right now."
She turned and pointed toward the road.
Her finger traced along the road.
When the line passed the guardrail and reached the reservoir, she spoke.
"Sunhee. Kim Sunhee. Park Hyukjun's girlfriend."
Lee Hanyoung's eyebrow twitched.
A certain feeling was beginning to form.
"If she was your friend, were you close to her family as well?"
"Family?"
"Yes. A lot of time has passed since the accident. There's nothing left to find here. I'd like to hear their side of the story, but as you know, dealing with bereaved families is difficult. If her parents are struggling, an older or younger sibling would be fine too."
"Sunhee didn't have any siblings."
At her reply, Lee Hanyoung casually tossed out a remark.
"According to the case records, Kim Sunhee had a close younger relative. The name was…"
"Gayoung? She was a relative, but they lived in the same apartment complex and were as close as real sisters. I've known her since we were young too, so I wouldn't say we're not close."
"So you'd be able to meet her and talk?"
"Yes."
Lee Hanyoung clenched his fist tightly.
Even though he knew the outcome of the case, he had been agonizing over how to approach it. Now, at last, he could see a way to untangle the knotted threads.
Checking Reporter Song Nayeon's business card once more, Lee Hanyoung asked,
"But judging by your card, you seem to be a finance reporter…"
Song Nayeon's eyes widened for a moment.
The Kim Sunhee case was a criminal case, not something a finance reporter would normally get involved in.
Even if Lee Hanyoung refused to cooperate, she couldn't even complain properly.
She let out a deep sigh and said,
"You're right. Why did I even give you my card and reveal that I'm in finance?"
At that, Lee Hanyoung laughed out loud.
The Song Nayeon he remembered from his past life had been meticulous and flawless. But now, she was as awkward as she looked.
As Lee Hanyoung laughed, Song Nayeon spoke again.
"Yes, I'm in finance. But this accident has so many unjust aspects for my friend. The massive insurance payout, for one. So I check on it whenever I have time. I'm also curious about the prosecution's and police's investigation."
"..."
"It's purely out of curiosity, so even if you tell me the investigation results, I won't report them to my superiors. So could you tell me how far things have progressed? I don't want my friend's death to be wrapped up unfairly. It's a murder case that happened in the provinces anyway, so even if I did report it, it would obviously be buried."
Lee Hanyoung nodded.
"That's right. It's a quiet case—for now."
But it wouldn't stay that way.
This case would set the internet ablaze.
As Lee Hanyoung quietly smiled, she spoke again.
"Then… could you tell me how the investigation is going? Please."
Lee Hanyoung shrugged.
"So far, there won't be much difference from what you already know. But from now on, things will change. If you help me, Reporter Song Nayeon."
"Me? How?"
"Since you work at a newspaper, do you know some small online news outlets?"
She nodded.
"Even a small online outlet is fine. I want an article about Kim Sunhee to be published. Can you do that?"
It had been the same in his past life. Starting from a small article, the Kim Sunhee case had surged like a wave, inflaming public opinion.
If public opinion was going to boil over anyway, this time Lee Hanyoung intended to move first.
Looking at Reporter Song Nayeon blinking in surprise, Lee Hanyoung continued.
"And I have one more favor to ask."
He went on explaining.
After listening for quite some time, Song Nayeon nodded again.
"Yes. I'll do it."
The firm answer and the clear look in her eyes were no longer clumsy.
They were the same eyes as Song Nayeon, the head of the legal affairs team, whom he had seen in his past life.
Lee Hanyoung smiled slightly and said,
"Even if you're in finance now, you'd probably do well as a legal reporter later. Seeing how you run around like this despite being in finance."
"What? Legal affairs? I don't even want to imagine it. Finance is sometimes fun with gossip-like stories, but legal affairs means meeting judges and prosecutors all the time, right? I don't want to meet authoritative people who walk around with stiff expressions every day, and I hate dealing with brutal crimes and accidents. Just looking at the seniors on the legal team, they all look exhausted. So I'll never do it. I won't even look that way. Absolutely never!"
Song Nayeon said firmly.
After finishing his meeting with Reporter Song Nayeon, Lee Hanyoung entered the courthouse and was walking down the hallway.
From afar, he saw a large man approaching from the opposite side.
Judging by the fact that he was wearing judicial robes with his belly sticking out, he seemed to be heading back to his office after finishing a trial.
Lee Hanyoung frowned.
He recognized him at a glance.
It was Judge Lee Jeonggeun, the most senior among the single-judge panel judges.
The most detestable person to Lee Hanyoung and the other juniors.
Even after going back decades, his face was still just as unpleasant.
And this time was no different.
"Come to think of it, you were here too. You disappeared so early that I'd forgotten about you."
The loathsome Judge Lee Jeonggeun would soon be exposed as a sponsor judge, leave the judiciary, and head to prison.
As Lee Jeonggeun approached, Lee Hanyoung quietly bowed his head.
Lee Jeonggeun sneered as he spoke.
"I heard you met the Court President. And that you got a troublesome case?"
"Yes."
"Hehehe. You know that case is famous around the courthouse, right? How are you planning to deal with it? You're screwed."
He used to be someone Lee Hanyoung found a bit intimidating.
But now, Lee Hanyoung was over fifty years old.
This kind of provocation wasn't even amusing.
"Judge Lee Jeonggeun, since you're wearing judicial robes, I'd appreciate it if you used more dignified language."
"What?"
"It makes you look cheap."
It went without saying, but this was the first time Judge Lee Jeonggeun had ever heard something like this from a junior.
Perhaps shocked, his face stiffened instantly.
"What? What? What did you just say? How dare you talk to a senior like that?"
"If I offended you, I apologize. But seeing a judge swaggering around like that is embarrassing for me as a fellow judge."
Lee Jeonggeun's eyes twisted with anger.
"Lee Hanyoung! How do you plan to survive in this courthouse from now on—!"
"I'm sorry."
Lee Hanyoung bowed his head once more.
"Sponsor judge Lee Jeonggeun. I don't know who sent you in my past life, but this time, I'll be the one to send you off. Just wait a little longer."
When Lee Hanyoung remained silent, Lee Jeonggeun's voice grew louder.
"You're making a joke out of organizational life! Who taught you that?"
"I taught him."
Turning toward the voice, Lee Hanyoung saw Senior Presiding Judge Im Jeongsik approaching.
"Hey, Lee Jeonggeun. I taught this guy when he was my associate judge. Why? Do you have something to say? Think I taught him wrong?"
No matter how senior he was, Lee Jeonggeun was still just a single-judge panel judge.
Compared to Senior Presiding Judge Im Jeongsik, the gap was like heaven and earth.
There was only one thing Lee Jeonggeun could say.
"No, sir. I'm sorry."
"Just worry about yourself and stop talking nonsense."
Senior Presiding Judge Im Jeongsik ignored Lee Jeonggeun and turned his gaze to Lee Hanyoung.
"I heard you went to the scene. Did you see anything?"
It was a warm voice.
With a senior presiding judge backing him like that, it was only natural that Lee Jeonggeun's face turned red and blue by turns.