The Cop Is Too Strong [EN]: Chapter 10

The sudden suggestion of a blind date made Shin Hae-soo’s eyes widen. It was unexpected.

Naturally, Chae-yeon came to mind. It wasn’t that he still had feelings for her; besides, he did nothing but exercise after work. Unlike his days in the Violent Crimes Unit, he had plenty of free time now.

Hae-soo pondered briefly and then nodded.

“Yes.”

“Great. I’ll pass on your number then. Senior Manager Shin can contact you directly.”

“Understood.”

***

On his day off.

Shin Hae-soo was scrapping illegally parked cars when he came across one with completely scratched side mirrors and sides.

Since it would only fetch 1 million won as a used car in its current condition, and the repair costs would be close to that amount, he decided to scrap it.

Instead, he bought a motorcycle. He had been thinking about getting one for a while, seeing the heavy traffic in Gangjin City.

Brrr.

The low, heavy exhaust sound made the air vibrate.

It was a tourer motorcycle, a model designed for both high-speed driving and a comfortable ride.

He initially wanted to buy one purely for high-speed driving, but after a test ride where he almost caused an accident because he couldn’t control the speed, he opted for this one.

Brrr!

He modified it to minimize the sound, but it was still much louder than a car, which was a bit of a nuisance.

He stopped in front of a building with a sign that read ‘Lead Building’ in golden letters.

The lower floors housed restaurants, a gym, and a surgical clinic, while the 6th floor and above contained offices in the 10-story building.

‘Room 613…’

Hae-soo was walking down the hallway when he encountered a neat-looking man wearing horn-rimmed glasses. He smiled and gestured.

“Welcome. The boss has been waiting for you.”

‘Asset Manager Gu Se-ju’

Hae-soo, sitting on the sofa, stared intently at the nameplate on the desk. Gu Se-ju placed green tea in front of Hae-soo and said,

“The name is unique, isn’t it? It also suits my profession.”

“It does.”

“I heard you’re a police officer. The basic manual is available because the seed money [initial investment] accumulated varies depending on your occupation or marital status. Shall we take a look here?”

The manual he presented contained expected seed money accumulation and asset management fees based on occupation, age, and marital status.

“Civil servants usually prefer the C-2 type. It’s a way to safely grow seed money slowly.”

However, there was no type suitable for Hae-soo, even at the top end.

“Besides this…”

“I understand perfectly. Those who haven’t managed assets before will inevitably find the minimum fee burdensome. I’ll show you types D, E, and F as well. Just a moment.”

Gu Se-ju showed him another manual. Hae-soo shook his head and made eye contact with him.

Since he had more money than he could ever spend in his current lifestyle, he decided to be upfront, having already decided to entrust it to an expert.

“11.3 billion won. That’s the seed money.”

“Ah, 11.3… huh?”

Gu Se-ju blinked, taking a moment to process the amount he had just heard.

Among the people he had managed assets for so far, no one had over 2 billion won.

He was an asset manager who was slowly making a name for himself, focusing on smaller clients.

Hae-soo saw his surprised face and gave him an awkward smile.

“I came here through Team Leader Kim’s introduction.”

“Ah, yes, yes, thank you. Thank you… You’re a lifesaver! Please, call me Manager Gu.”

Still, Gu Se-ju, with over 10 years of practical experience, quickly hid his surprise and calmly explained what an asset manager does.

“…You can set the range you want like this. You can also entrust stock or building purchases and management. Of course, you must approve the transactions directly.”

“I’ll entrust everything.”

“Yes… Haha, you’re very decisive. The fee is 20% of the net profit. The minimum fee is 10 million won per year for the type you selected.”

After the explanation, Hae-soo nodded and filled out and signed the contract.

Gu Se-ju stared intently at the tip of the pen as Hae-soo signed, and even after the signing was finished, he was still dazed and quietly closed his mouth.

“Well, please take good care of me.”

Hae-soo handed him the contract, got up from his seat, and offered a handshake, which finally brought Gu Se-ju back to his senses.

“Yes! Boss! I will dedicate my life!”

It was when Hae-soo came out to the parking lot, leaving Gu Se-ju’s enthusiastic greeting behind.

Bzzzz.

-Blind date: Is it today at 12 o’clock?

He had forgotten. The blind date partner had contacted him again to confirm after there had been no contact for several days after making the appointment.

-Yes.

***

A beauty salon located in the downtown area of Gangjin City.

Kim Eun-mi finished her hair styling and stood up to look at herself in the full-length mirror.

Dressed in a cardigan of a refreshing color and a short skirt, she exuded a spring-like vibe.

The beauty salon staff put their hands together and showered her with compliments.

“You look so pretty today! Do you have an important appointment?”

Eun-mi flipped her hair and replied.

“Blind date.”

“The other person will be smitten, won’t they?”

Eun-mi made a confident look and flicked her side hair.

“That’s a given.”

She left the beauty salon with a slightly excited heart and headed to the meeting place not far from there.

Even though she arrived 10 minutes late, the man was nowhere to be seen. The man on the motorcycle parked next to her didn’t even pay attention.

“Dare to make Kim Eun-mi wait?”

Ding, ding-a-ling, ding, ding.

Then the ringtone rang. It was the blind date partner. Eun-mi answered the phone right away.

“Where are you? I’ve been waiting for a long time.”

But there was no answer, and someone’s cell phone was thrust right in front of her. Her number was displayed.

Looking over the phone, there was a man wearing a helmet. He was the owner of the motorcycle parked in the corner.

He took off his helmet and made eye contact with Eun-mi.

“Kim Eun-mi?”

A bad feeling that today was ruined washed over her. Eun-mi couldn’t ignore him calling her name correctly and looked back at him.

“Ah… hello…,”

“Nice to meet you. Let’s go.”

Eun-mi narrowed her brows slightly and pointed to her short skirt with her index finger.

“My skirt is a bit short. Just tell me the location, and I’ll take a taxi.”

Then Hae-soo lifted the motorcycle seat and took something out of it.

Eun-mi couldn’t help but be surprised once again. It was a training uniform top with a police mark on it.

“What is that… oh my.”

As Eun-mi was stunned with her mouth half open in shock, Hae-soo wrapped the training uniform top around her waist and secured it by tying the sleeves.

“Shall I help you get on?”

“No, ha… it’s okay.”

Eun-mi reluctantly got on the motorcycle sideways, a position where her legs were neatly together.

Then Hae-soo quietly looked down at her lower body. Eun-mi slightly raised one corner of her mouth at the gaze.

‘He’s a man after all… but isn’t he staring too openly?’

At that moment, Hae-soo said with a stern expression.

“The risk of falling is high in the current position. Please sit straight.”

Eun-mi’s brows furrowed at the unexpected safety warning.

“Just go.”

“Excuse me.”

“Umma!”

Hae-soo lifted her up in a princess carry and sat her down again in a forward-facing position.

The seat was quite wide, so Eun-mi unintentionally had to spread her legs wide.

It was a shameful position that was covered by the police uniform, making her mind dizzy.

To make matters worse, the helmet suddenly came down on her well-styled hair.

“Ah!”

“What’s wrong? Is it too small?”

“No, no… just start quickly.”

“Yes, hold on tight.”

Only then did the motorcycle start moving.

The skirt was rolled up a lot, revealing her legs. Only a small part was covered by the police training uniform.

Every time they stopped at a traffic light, she could feel people’s gazes on her. Not only pedestrians but also drivers, and at times like this, she was glad she was wearing a helmet.

‘I want to kill him. Seriously, should I hit him in the head with the helmet as soon as I get off?’

“We have arrived.”

In contrast, his voice was so concise that it made her even more annoyed.

Swoosh.

Eun-mi took off her helmet roughly and glared at Hae-soo with her disheveled hair.

“Don’t you have a car originally?”

“I did, but it was in an accident a few days ago and was scrapped.”

“Ha, haha…”

She let out a hollow laugh at the absurd answer and turned her head, and a sign for a short rib restaurant was right there. Change of plans. Let’s eat that and make the most of the styling.

“Fortunately, you made a good choice of menu.”

“Let’s go.”

The short rib restaurant had a beautiful interior and private rooms, and the staff grilled the meat and cut it into appropriate sizes.

Yum.

It’s delicious. It’s the most delicious meat I’ve had in months, no, this year.

Then the crushed hair and the unpleasantness of wearing a skirt and riding a motorcycle with her legs spread wide in front of a man she had just met melted away like meat in her mouth.

With some room to breathe, she thought about what had happened earlier. The man who picked her up in his arms less than a minute after meeting her – she was so surprised that her heart skipped a beat, but that feeling at that time…

‘It was powerful. I’m crazy, really.’

Eun-mi carefully scanned Hae-soo’s face.

‘His face is okay if it’s about this level… his impression is a bit sharp, but men should be like that, especially since he’s a police officer who catches bad guys. He’s tall, oh my, why are his shoulders so broad?’

Her friend Im Si-a’s words came to mind.

-Seriously, he’s the best police officer I’ve ever seen. If I wasn’t married, I wouldn’t have introduced him to you.

Eun-mi wiped her mouth neatly with a tissue and looked at Hae-soo with a haughty expression.

“You said you’re a police officer.”

“Yes, I work at the same Eastern District Police Station as Officer Im.”

“Did you hear what I do?”

“No.”

A moment of silence, Eun-mi narrowed her brows slightly.

“Aren’t you curious?”

“Yes, I’m curious.”

“Haha… I work at Korea Bank.”

“I see.”

Usually, if a woman works at a bank, especially Korea Bank, which has the highest salary in the financial industry, people are surprised or intimidated. But he didn’t even raise an eyebrow, so her pride was slightly hurt.

“I heard that the preference for public officials has decreased by more than 40% compared to 5 years ago, and the reason is that the salary is lower than that of small and medium-sized enterprises. Is that really true?”

Pressing down with salary, Hae-soo directly confronted the indirect question.

“It will be lower than the average salary of small and medium-sized enterprises. I have been continuously demoted for 4 years due to excessive suppression, so my recent salary was approximately 20 million won [approximately $15,000 USD].”

“…Huh?”

It’s less than half of her starting salary. Eun-mi was so dumbfounded that she gulped down water.

Then Hae-soo launched a series of attacks.

“Currently, the demotion has been lifted.”

“Ha, haha.”

Eun-mi continued the soulless conversation while eating meat.

“…If you’ve worked for 7 years, you must have bought a house? With a loan or something.”

“I took out a lot of loans to pay the settlement money [money paid to resolve a dispute], so I can’t take out any more loans. I’ve paid off all the settlement money now, and I’m currently living in a monthly rental studio.”

“Haha, hahahaha!”

Eun-mi pointed at Hae-soo with her index finger and laughed absurdly before turning her head away.

“Im Si-a, you bitch.”

“Yes?”

“It’s nothing. I didn’t swear at you…”

‘I’m crazy, there’s nothing more to see, I should just make the most of the ribs. I knew it from when he brought the motorcycle, but he was powerful when he put me on the motorcycle… Get a grip, Kim Eun-mi, does power feed you?’

Kim Eun-mi ate the meat aggressively without saying a word.

Hae-soo, who was nodding at the sight, suddenly asked.

“What do you usually think about crime prevention, Eun-mi?”

“What? Crime… prevention?”

Since it was a topic that was difficult to bring up on a blind date, Eun-mi pondered the meaning for a moment. Is it a new word?

“Yes, it means preventing crime in advance, but it also includes how prepared you are in case a crime occurs to you.”

“…I haven’t thought about that. Isn’t that what the police do? Isn’t that why they’re paid with taxes? Do I have to do it too?”

“Of course, we are carrying out crime prevention activities through periodic patrols and publicity, but vulnerable groups such as children, the elderly, and women must also prepare.”

“How should I prepare?”

“There are various ways, such as carrying self-defense sprays and whistles, and subscribing to emergency location notification services.”

Eun-mi narrowed her brows and waved her hand.

“Ugh, I don’t like those things. They’re heavy…”

“I see.”

Hae-soo was silent for a moment, then pointed to the bone that Eun-mi had left with chopsticks. There was a lot of meat attached.

“Are you done with that?”

“Yes, why? Huh.”

Hae-soo reached out and took the bone she had left and neatly tore off and ate it.

“What is that…”

‘Why is he cool?’

The man takes the bone left by the blind date partner and tears it off and eats it.

If you only look at the text, it’s pathetic, but in Eun-mi’s eyes, his appearance was reminiscent of a noble and ferocious beast.

Eun-mi hurriedly shook her head.

‘Get a grip, he’s a 30-year-old man who earns 20 million won a year and lives in a monthly rental.’

When the meal was over and she was putting on her coat, Hae-soo said.

“Wait a moment.”

“Yes?”

He’s going to the bathroom at this timing. Eun-mi was so dumbfounded that she hated herself for thinking he was cool just a moment ago.

‘Yeah, what money would a debtor who earns 20 million won a year and can’t even take out a loan have? It’s better this way, I’m the one who earns money, so I should pay and get it over with cleanly.’

With that, she took out her card and headed to the counter, and the employee said.

“The man paid.”

“Yes? Ah…”

Hae-soo was seen checking his appearance and coming out of the bathroom.

‘What, why is he so handsome? It’s annoying…’

On the way out of the meat restaurant, Hae-soo turned around, held up his helmet, and asked.

“Would you like to go to a nearby coffee shop?”

Eun-mi narrowed her brows at the helmet he was holding. The thought of her hair getting crushed again and riding the motorcycle in a strange position made her feel complicated.

Eun-mi snatched the helmet and said.

“No, let’s go drink alcohol.”

As soon as she entered the bar, grabbed a table, and sat down, she shouted.

“Here! Two Cass [Korean beer brand] and one Chumchurum [Korean soju brand] for the first time!”

Unlike before, it was quite a hearty voice.

It was when she was drinking a glass of somaek [soju and beer mix] that she made herself.

Crash!

“You son of a bitch!!”

The table next to them, which had been noisy from the beginning, was overturned.

There were three burly men and two women.

“What, you son of a bitch? Am I wrong?”

“Are you saying that the older brother is wrong?”

The men, who didn’t know the situation, were grabbing each other by the collar and shaking each other.

Then a male employee came and stopped them.

“You can’t do this here. If you keep doing this, I’ll report you to the police for obstruction of business and property damage.”

“Report? Ha, what a son of a bitch, go ahead and do it!”

Slap!

The employee, who was slapped in the face by the man, fell to the floor covered in beer and glass shards.

Hae-soo’s eyebrows twitched at the sight.

< #10. Blind Date > End