You Have Been Defended [EN]: Chapter 396

“Could you tell me in detail what happened?”

Ye-rim’s mother, clutching a stack of flyers and struggling to hold back tears, looked up.

“It’s just like I said before. I took Ye-rim to the playground. She was playing, and I was watching her from a bench. Then I got an important phone call, so I stepped away to a quieter spot for a moment. The playground was too noisy. It was only for a minute, but when I came back, she was gone.”

“And then what did you do?”

“I thought maybe she’d gone home, so I checked, but she wasn’t there. I rushed back to the playground and searched everywhere. It was like she’d vanished into thin air… If only I hadn’t answered that phone… It’s all my fault…”

Ye-rim’s mother broke down, sobbing uncontrollably.

Heo Min-woo sighed.

He’d seen parents lose children before, but this hit harder because Ye-rim was a friend of his niece, whom he loved dearly.

“This happened three days ago, around 3 PM?”

“Yes, around then.”

“Since then, I’ve been handing out flyers near the apartment and places she might have gone, but no one has seen her.”

Seventy-two hours had passed.

If it were a kidnapping, they would have contacted them by now with demands.

“I’m sure you have, but have you checked with relatives? Has she called anyone?”

“No, nothing… She even knows my and my husband’s numbers by heart. I don’t know why she hasn’t called…”

“Does anyone hold a grudge against you? Could someone have taken her for malicious reasons?”

“No, not at all… We even asked her dad, just in case, but we can’t think of anyone. I spoke with the security guard and checked the apartment CCTV [closed-circuit television], but she’s so small that we only see her leaving the building. Cars block the view, so we can’t see where she went.”

Fortunately, this was within the Gangnam Police Station’s jurisdiction, where Heo Min-woo worked.

Assuming Ye-rim hadn’t left the area, any reports would come to them. If an adult found her wandering, they’d bring her to the station.

She’s just a kindergartner, and it hasn’t been that long. She probably hasn’t gone far…

“Ma’am, I’ll check inside to see if any reports have come in.”

“Oh, yes, please. Thank you… Thank you, Young-min’s uncle…”

“Don’t worry too much. We’ll find Ye-rim.”

Heo Min-woo offered comforting words and stood up.

Ye-rim’s mother bowed deeply.

“Please find our Ye-rim. Please, I beg you…”

Heo Min-woo went inside and contacted the local police station to see if they were holding Ye-rim.

But she wasn’t there.

“What’s got you so busy?”

A colleague, who had been watching him make calls, asked.

Heo Min-woo explained everything.

“I know. A disappearance at a playground, not an amusement park… If it’s not a kidnapping, it’s strange.”

“Right, where did she go… Ah!”

Heo Min-woo jumped up.

“I wonder if there was an accident.”

“An accident?”

The stationery store Young-min mentioned flashed in his mind.

The store is on the main street.

What if Ye-rim went there? What if she got into an accident?

“Has there been any report of a traffic accident involving a seven-year-old girl, or any kind of accident?”

“From three days ago until now?”

“Yeah.”

“I’ll check.”

The officer sat at the computer, typed for a moment, and then approached Heo Min-woo again.

“There’s nothing.”

“Nothing in the entire Gangnam district?”

“Yes. But maybe it wasn’t an accident then? Even though it’s a large district, it would be hard for a young child to leave Gangnam-gu [Gangnam District] alone for three days. Especially since Ye-rim’s house is right in the middle of it.”

“That’s right. Ha, where did she go…”

“Her name is Jung Ye-rim, right? There’s a missing person report, but no reports or sightings at other police stations.”

“Okay, I got it. Thanks.”

With black boxes [vehicle recording devices] and CCTVs, how could she suddenly disappear in a country with so many eyes?

The golden time in a child’s disappearance case is forty-eight hours.

He had to find her as soon as possible.

Heo Min-woo jumped up. He was going to check the apartment CCTV step by step.

“Ha, I’m going crazy.”

Even while driving, he was lost in thought about where Ye-rim could have gone.

Maybe it was because she was so young, but he couldn’t stop worrying.

‘Oh, there’s a police station nearby.’

Heo Min-woo, heading towards the apartment, spotted a police station and turned the car around.

Even though there were no reports, he wanted to check if any witnesses had come forward.

“Thank you for your hard work.”

“How can I help you?”

“Ah, I’m Inspector Heo Min-woo from Gangnam Police Station.”

Heo Min-woo showed his ID and got straight to the point.

“You know Oseong Apartment in the next block?”

“Ah, yes, I know it.”

“A seven-year-old girl went missing from there. Her name is Jung Ye-rim.”

“Ah, Ye-rim. Ye-rim’s mother has been here several times.”

“You haven’t seen anything separately, have you?”

“We haven’t seen anything. We patrolled the day she disappeared, but she wasn’t there.”

Heo Min-woo sighed.

He came just in case and didn’t have high expectations, but he couldn’t help but feel disappointed.

“Okay, then… Ah.”

Heo Min-woo turned back as he was about to leave.

He had confirmed there were no accident reports, but he thought it would be better to double-check.

“Have there been any accident reports? Like a traffic accident…”

“There weren’t any. Officer Lee, there weren’t any, right?”

“There weren’t any… Ah.”

As one of the officers shook his head, he suddenly exclaimed, and Heo Min-woo approached him.

“Is there something?”

“Well, there was something that could be called a report, but…”

“There was?”

“But it’s not very credible. The reporter’s condition…”

“The reporter’s condition?”

Anyone can make a report.

But why was the reporter’s condition important?

“This is it.”

An older officer twirled his finger next to his head.

“The town’s… someone with mental health issues. We’ve been on so many wild goose chases because of her false reports.”

“But maybe there really was an accident.”

“We kept going out with that thought at first. We were fooled like that for a few months. You can’t trust her.”

“But maybe this time it’s real.”

“I’m telling you, we spent months running around with that thought.”

He understood their feelings.

False reports cause many problems.

But the mentally ill person’s report was the only clue in Ye-rim’s disappearance.

“So, what did she report?”

“Well, she said someone hit a child in front of the apartment and ran away, and told us to catch the hit-and-run driver.”

“So, did you check the CCTV?”

“No, we didn’t watch it because we were sure it was a false report…”

The officer’s voice trailed off.

He didn’t intend to blame them.

There wasn’t enough time, and he understood to some extent.

“Where’s the nearest hospital from here?”

“Gangnam Wooshin Hospital.”

“If what she said is true, the victim would have been transferred there, right?”

“Yes, that’s right.”

“Thank you.”

Heo Min-woo nodded and ran out of the police station.

He quickly got into his car and drove towards Wooshin Hospital.

“Please take a number and wait over there.”

As soon as he ran into the emergency room, a nurse pointed to the ticket machine.

“I’m from Gangnam Police Station.”

Heo Min-woo showed his ID.

“Has a child been brought to the emergency room due to a traffic accident in the last three days?”

“There have been a few.”

“Was there a child brought in without a guardian, or whose guardian was someone other than their parents?”

“Ah, there was.”

“Is she in the hospital now?”

“No, she’s been discharged.”

“Discharged? How could she be discharged without a guardian and pay the bill?”

“The welfare foundation paid for it, so she was discharged.”

“Then where is she now? Her name is Jung Ye-rim, is that right?”

The nurse shook her head.

“The patient couldn’t even remember her name. That’s why we couldn’t contact her guardian. Fortunately, she received treatment thanks to the welfare foundation.”

“Then where is that child now?”

“Since she didn’t have a guardian, she was sent to an orphanage.”

“An orphanage after only three days?”

“The patient wasn’t seriously injured, so she was discharged. But since she had nowhere to go, she had no choice.”

He couldn’t be sure if the child who had lost her memory was Ye-rim, but it was a glimmer of hope.

If it was Ye-rim, it would explain why she hadn’t been seen for three days.

“Which orphanage was she sent to?”

“I’m not sure. Ah, I remember the orphanage worker who took the child. She had a large red birthmark on her face.”

“A large red birthmark… Then, would it be possible to know which welfare foundation paid for the treatment?”

“You’ll have to go to the accounting department.”

“Okay. Thank you.”

Heo Min-woo headed to the accounting department.

Many patients were waiting to pay their bills.

He couldn’t cut in line, so he took a number and waited.

When it was his turn, he approached the payment window and showed his ID.

“I’m a police officer. I’m here about a missing child.”

“Yes.”

“I’d like to ask about a seven-year-old child brought in a few days ago due to a traffic accident without a guardian. I heard a welfare foundation paid for the treatment. Do you know which one?”

The employee tapped on the keyboard and answered.

“It’s Wooshin Welfare Foundation.”

“Wooshin Welfare Foundation. And the child went to an orphanage. Do you know which one?”

“Well, I don’t know.”

“Okay, thank you.”

Heo Min-woo left the accounting department and searched for Wooshin Welfare Foundation on his phone.

The website said it was an organization under Wooshin Medical Center and operated an orphanage called Angel’s House.

Since Wooshin Welfare Foundation paid for the treatment, she might have been sent there.