Criminal Judge

Chapter 5: Kidnap

The next couple of days were uneventful for Ethan. He stuck to a routine: jogging early in the morning, stopping by a popular coffee shop in Seoul, heading to the gym, and returning home to write—on the days Sun-deok wasn’t caught up with a case. When she was free, they often spent time together, and much to his surprise, she was getting under his skin. He wasn’t as cold as before, and thanks to her, he was learning to communicate better. They visited various places together, often mistaken for a couple. He found himself drawn to her, tethered in ways he hadn’t anticipated.

But the calm didn’t last.

Sun-deok had stumbled upon a major case involving the theft of a large cache of weapons from a military base in Seoul. That morning, Mr. Kim had called Ethan, pleading with him to convince her to drop the case. But Sun-deok wouldn’t listen—not to Ethan, nor to her friends.

Now, Ethan sat at his usual spot in the café, sipping tea slowly as he stared into space, lost in thought.

“How do you drink something so hot with that much control?” a voice broke his reverie.

He glanced to the side, unsurprised to see Attorney Kim sliding into the seat opposite him.

“When I was a kid, my dad made me drink this every morning without flinching,” Ethan replied. “If I cringed, he’d have the guards ‘teach me a lesson.’”

“Your dad sounds like a tyrant,” Sun-deok said flatly, her expression indifferent to his past.

“You can say that again. My mom died when I was eight. At her funeral, everyone cried except Dad and me. People assumed I was in shock, but Dad…” Ethan smiled bitterly, taking another sip of tea, his voice carrying the weight of old wounds.

“Maybe he was suffering too. Don’t judge,” Sun-deok said softly, a rare attempt to console him.

Ethan shifted the conversation. “I told you to stay off the case.”

“You know I won’t,” she said with a smirk. “Quit wasting your breath and help me, will you?”

Ethan sighed, leaning forward. “Fine. Give me the full details.”

“Well, I contacted some people at the office, and guess what? They seemed unconcerned about the loss. It’s almost like they don’t even know about it,” Sun-deok explained.

“And when I went to the Captain’s office, he told me to back off. Said it was dangerous and ‘beyond my understanding,’” she added with a scoff.

“Go get some rest. I’ll join you once I’m done with this tea,” Ethan said with a smirk.

“Tea addict,” Sun-deok quipped with a small smile before leaving briskly.

The moment she was gone, Ethan picked up his phone.

“Hello, sir,” a voice greeted on the other end.

“There’s a case of stolen weaponry at a military base in Seoul. Can you look into it?” Ethan’s voice was calm, commanding.

“On it, sir,” came the reply before the call disconnected.

Ethan smiled faintly and continued his tea ceremony.

---

Later, at a motel…

The scene was chaotic when Ethan arrived. The motel was in disarray, and the air was thick with panic.

“They took him! They took my dad!” Sun-deok sobbed, her voice trembling.

“Who?” Ethan asked, his voice steady despite the storm of emotions around him.

“I don’t know! They all wore black and had their faces covered!”

“It must be connected to the case you’ve been digging into. I told you to leave it alone, but you wouldn’t listen,” Ethan remarked, his sharp gaze scanning the area for signs of Mr. Kim.

“Don’t blame me, alright? Let’s focus on finding him. I’ll report this to the police,” Sun-deok snapped before storming off.

By now, most of the motel’s occupants had gathered outside, their expressions filled with concern and confusion over the sudden disappearance of the owner.

Ethan retrieved his phone and made another call.

“I need two detectives in Seoul immediately. I’ll text you the meeting location,” he ordered, ending the call as he walked away from the scene.

---

Meanwhile, at a hockey field…

A man stood in the center, casually controlling a hockey ball with robotic precision. His expression was void of emotion, yet there was something menacing about his calm demeanor.

“You messed up again, didn’t you?” he said, his voice dripping with icy disdain as another figure approached.

“I… I… no, not really…” the man stammered, trembling.

The hockey ball struck his abdomen with brutal force.

“Ha!” The man doubled over in pain, but the tormentor wasn’t finished.

“Get up,” the man ordered in an eerily calm tone.

The stammering figure obeyed, only to be hit again. And again.

“That’s what you get for screwing up something so simple. Stealing a few weapons from the military base wasn’t rocket science. Now you’ve got an attorney sniffing around—one who’s apparently a lunatic. Get her off the case, or I’ll have you for dinner,” the man warned before resuming his game.

“Yes, sir!” the lackey stammered before fleeing or a change of mind would Suddenly occur.

---

Back at the motel…

“What did you find?” Ethan asked the two detectives who had just returned from inspecting Mr. Kim’s office.

“We found blueprints, sir. They don’t seem to belong to Mr. Kim. There are three of them, and we’ve tracked their origin to an abandoned garage just a few blocks away,” one of the detectives explained, flicking his pen in sync.

“Good. Text me the address. I’ll handle the rest,” Ethan replied, his voice sharp and efficient.

“Yes, sir,” the detective said, immediately sending the information before departing.

As Ethan checked his phone, another notification popped up—a message from Sun-deok.

Stay off the case, or your dad goes bye-bye.

Ethan called her immediately.

“What’s this about?”

“That’s what the kidnappers sent me,” Sun-deok replied, her voice heavy with despair and obvious worry.

“Don’t worry. We’ll get him back—sooner or later,” Ethan assured her before ending the call.

He glanced at the address sent by the detectives, his eyes narrowing with determination as he headed toward the location.