It's always the neighbour

Following up on some strange answers the officers had got when canvassing near last nights murder, Detective Ouk goes to the apartment of a neighbour of the victim, Yu-seok Park.

"Just leave it at the door," the answer to his knock is yelled from inside the apartment.

Knocking again, Ouk yells back "It's the police."

The door opens enough for a man's head to poke out. Ouk offers a look at his badge.

"This is about the murder upstairs, again?" the head asks, opening the door more to reveal a man in blue pajamas.

"I'm not here on a delivery," answers Ouk.

"Am I a suspect?"

"Should you be?"

"Well. It's always the neighbour, isn't it?" The man, looks at the doors up and down hallway, as if to remind Ouk that there are other neighbours.

"It's seldom the neighbour, sir," Ouk says, putting his badge back in his pocket.

"Well then what are you here for?"

"You told an officer this morning that you saw a man leaving the building late last night."

"Oh, yeah. He told you I said that?"

"Yep. It seemed it could be relevant."

"Wow!" says the man. "I've never said anything relevant before."

"No. I don't imagine you have." agrees Ouk. "Did you know the man?"

"The police officer? I think he said his name was Hwang. Officer Hwang. Or maybe Ordinary Officer Hwang, wasn't it?"

"I mean did you know the man that you saw leaving the building."

"Oh, no. I'd never seen him before. The officer asked if I'd seen anyone strange. He wasn't strange, he looked quite ordinary. Two hands and two feet and all. But I didn't know him. He..."

"Alright," cuts off Ouk, seeing that all of this is going nowhere. The man had already told what he had seen to the canvassing officers. Ouk just needed to see if he seemed to be hiding something. "Call Hwang at the police department if you think of anything."

"I thought of something!"

"Yeah."

"What's Hwang's number?"

"You can just tell me now what you thought of."

"I did. I thought of `What's Hwang's number?'"

Ouk gives the man his own business card. "Same number as this, just ask for Assistant Inspector Hwang."

"That was it!"

"What?"

"Assistant Inspector! That's how he introduced himself," says the man. "Ordinary looking fellow though, for an assistant Inspector. Two hands and two feet and all."

Ouk bites his lip. "Thanks for your help sir," he says. "Don't be afraid to call Hwang." Then over his shoulder as he goes through the door to the stairs. "I think you two would get along."