The Cop Is Too Strong [EN]: Chapter 69

Lee Hye-jung, half-entranced by Shin Hae-soo’s whisper, hesitantly held out her phone.

Just as her phone was about to reach Hae-soo’s hand, she suddenly snatched it back.

“No, I can’t.”

“It’ll only take a moment.”

“Ah, no way!”

Hye-jung abruptly threw her phone to the ground and stomped on it emphatically.

The detectives exchanged bewildered glances at her sudden outburst.

Hae-soo calmly moved her legs aside, picked up the broken phone, and tried to turn it on. The screen was shattered, but it powered on.

-I hacked into that woman’s phone and checked it out. There wasn’t much in the audio files, but there were some strange messages in the texts.

Just as Jung Young-soo had said, there was nothing worthwhile in the audio files. The text messages he mentioned were also missing. She must have deleted them.

“Maknae [youngest member of the team], send this for digital forensics.”

“Yes, Detective.”

Hye-jung’s eyes darted around nervously. The text messages recovered through forensics read:

-Don’t contact me from your phone.

She had another phone.

After obtaining a search warrant, they searched the Sunshine Mansion, but they didn’t find a burner phone.

Next, they tracked Oh Geng-i to find Hye-jung’s real home and searched it. They found a phone wrapped in plastic in the toilet tank.

“Found it.”

“A very suspicious phone indeed.”

Several audio files were carefully stored on the phone.

A common trait of people who do this kind of work is that they hold onto the client’s weaknesses in preparation for unfavorable situations.

Recordings from the time of the request are the most typical example.

Hae-soo played the audio file on the spot. A familiar voice was heard.

-…So, frame that bastard and send him to jail. The laws are good these days, so if you just insist, he’s definitely going to jail. Or, just sleep with him for real and then report him.

┗Ha… Do you think I’m a whore? So, how much is it?

-I told you, 30 million.

┗How much?

-You’re all about the money, 50 million, and another 50 million upon completion.

┗I think you look sexiest when you’re throwing money around like this, oppa [term of endearment for an older brother or male friend].

-You crazy bitch, shut up and do your job properly.

Hae-soo couldn’t help but chuckle.

He thought he’d have to go through at least two or three layers, but this voice was clearly Jang Kang-cheon’s. He had directly ordered Lee Hye-jung to do it.

Judging by the content, Hye-jung wasn’t a professional but rather one of the women Jang Kang-cheon had met in the past.

That’s why she was so flawed and clumsy.

Jang Kang-cheon may be a third-generation chaebol [family-owned conglomerate], but he seems quite dim-witted. It made things much easier.

*

Shin Hae-soo faced Hye-jung alone in the interrogation room.

“Lee Hye-jung-ssi [formal title], do you know why Jang Kang-cheon ordered you to do this?”

“I don’t know. Do I need to know that kind of thing? He probably just doesn’t like the police.”

She seemed to have given up.

“It’s because I beat up his bodyguard and ruined his party, embarrassing him.”

At Hae-soo’s words, she unfolded her crossed legs and leaned forward.

“Wow… impressive? Was that party the president’s inauguration party, by any chance?”

“That’s right.”

“Oppa, that’s amazing. A guy who lives for his own ego getting humiliated by a mere police officer… It’s a wonder he didn’t order a hit.”

“He probably thought there was no way to do it with physical force.”

“That’s quite a confidence you have?”

“I’m going to send this audio file to Jang Kang-cheon now.”

Hye-jung jumped up from her seat at Hae-soo’s bombshell statement.

“Are you crazy? Do you want to see someone get killed?”

Hae-soo calmly looked at her and continued speaking.

“Whether I report you for false accusation or whether this audio file reaches Jang Kang-cheon all depends on your choice, Hye-jung-ssi.”

“That’s a strong threat. What do you want me to do?”

“It’s very simple. Just start telling me everything you know about Jang Kang-cheon.”

“That pervert… Jang Kang-cheon…”

Hye-jung had known Jang Kang-cheon for quite a long time and was close enough to be ordered to do something like this.

“…I know at least two girls he forced to get surgery and then abandoned. He’s complete trash.”

“I see.”

She didn’t seem to realize that she herself was doing trashy things for money for such trash.

A common trait of repeat offenders with six or seven convictions is that they don’t realize that what they’re doing is a crime.

Hye-jung knew a lot, but there was nothing that could really take down Jang Kang-cheon. The rest was just suspicion that needed to be investigated.

Unless he was a celebrity, there would be no problem with making a woman he was seeing get surgery and then abandoning her.

This case wasn’t a murder contract either, and a false accusation of sexual assault would at most result in a suspended sentence.

“Let’s call it a day for today. Get your phone fixed, and I’ll contact you again in a few days.”

Hye-jung was cooperative with the investigation, so she was investigated without detention. The false accusation charge hasn’t been indicted yet. It’s to give her a sense of security so we can extract as much information as possible.

“…You’re really not going to send that to Jang Kang-cheon, are you?”

“If you cooperate well, Hye-jung-ssi, there’s no reason to send it.”

Hye-jung glared at Hae-soo with distrust before abruptly standing up.

As she left, Oh Geng-i approached and asked.

“Did you get anything?”

“Nothing but trivial stuff. We need to keep an eye on it.”

“Too bad… I wish we could just throw those bastards in jail for 20 years.”

“I know, right.”

Hae-soo also clicked his tongue in disappointment.

***

“Damn it… Suddenly wanting to see the phone, ugh, my money wasted.”

Lee Hye-jung grumbled as she walked down the alleyway. She took the newly repaired phone out of her handbag and examined the screen closely.

“Wait, is this a scratch? These guys looked like thugs… Or am I imagining it.”

As she tilted her head and was about to put the phone back in her handbag, suddenly,

Thwack

Someone bumped her arm and passed by, and the phone slipped from her grasp, spinning in the air.

Tap tap thwack! Crack!

The corner of the phone hit the ground, spun a few times, and then landed with the screen facing down. Unfortunately, a small rock was sticking out where it fell.

Hye-jung was stunned, her mouth agape, frozen in place. She knelt down and picked up the phone. The screen she had just fixed was completely shattered again.

Her hands trembled. Her gaze slowly shifted to the person who had just bumped her arm.

Slender legs, curvy hips, a narrow waist, it was a woman.

Hye-jung gritted her teeth and shouted with rage.

“Stop right there, you bitch!”

At Hye-jung’s shout, the woman’s footsteps halted. Then, she slowly turned around.

She was pretty enough that Hye-jung, who was confident in her own looks, felt intimidated. Perfect. The fact that she was prettier than her made her rage boil even more.

Hye-jung held up her phone and shook it, saying.

“Where are your eyes? What are you going to do about this?”

The woman looked at Hye-jung with a blank expression, glanced at the phone, and then turned away again.

“You crazy bitch! Where do you think you’re going!”

Hye-jung ran up with murderous eyes and grabbed the woman’s hair.

Then, the woman turned around, and Hye-jung slapped her across the face with all her rage.

Smack-!

Just as she was about to slap her again,

Thud-

The woman grabbed Hye-jung’s wrist. The woman looked down at Hye-jung with cold eyes and said in an even colder voice.

“Now it’s self-defense.”

“What?”

Smack!

Hye-jung was jolted awake. Her wrist was thinner than hers, but it was as shocking as if lightning had struck her head.

“You”

Slap!

“Dare”

Slap!

“Touch who?”

Smack-!

On the fourth slap, Hye-jung’s eyes rolled back, and she collapsed to the ground. Her mouth was torn, and blood and saliva mixed and flowed out.

“S, s, save…”

The woman grabbed her chin, lifted her head, and raised her hand again.

“Yeah, be grateful I’m sparing you.”

Slap slap smack!!

Hye-jung felt her teeth being pulled out in her mouth as she lost consciousness.

*

Beep- Click

As the sound of the door opening was heard, Hae-soo, who was making buchu pancakes [Korean chive pancakes] in the kitchen, came out with a spatula in her hand. She looked as if she was holding a weapon.

“Where have you been…”

Thud

Hae-soo froze like a still frame the moment she saw Haru. She dropped the spatula she was holding to the floor.

“I’m back…”

Haru, who was bowing her head, had a red, swollen cheek.

Except for when she first rescued Haru, not even a small scratch had appeared on Haru, even when facing four Joseonjok [Korean-Chinese ethnicity] men with sashimi knives.

But now, seeing the clear handprint on her cheek, Hae-soo was speechless with shock.

She felt very strange. Even if a knife was stuck in her stomach, she wouldn’t feel much, but a handprint on her cheek made her heart ache as if it was being pierced with needles.

Hae-soo grabbed Haru’s wrist as she tried to pass by her and go to the bathroom.

“Who was it?”

Hae-soo’s voice trembled. She even felt murderous.

Haru had a slightly troubled expression.

“It’s, it’s okay.”

“I’m not okay. Who was it? I’ll tear them apart.”

Feeling Hae-soo’s undisguised anger up close, Haru didn’t dislike it for some reason. Rather, she liked it and stared intently at the angry Hae-soo.

Hae-soo, meeting Haru’s gaze, turned her head slightly as she realized that the emotion in her eyes wasn’t negative.

“Tell me when you want to talk.”

“…Yes.”

Haru, who had entered the bathroom, looked at the wrist that Hae-soo had grabbed and smiled softly.

***

On the way home on his motorcycle, as he entered the underground parking lot of the Reed Building,

Vroom-!

A van that had been following suddenly accelerated and charged at Hae-soo. Hae-soo urgently pulled the accelerator and moved forward.

Then, a van that had been parked next to him suddenly jumped out and blocked his path.

Screech- Bang!

Hae-soo jumped off the motorcycle to avoid the van behind him. At the same time, the van crashed into the motorcycle with great force.

Thud- Thud

Hae-soo rolled on the ground a few times, then grabbed a parked car and stood up. The doors of the two vans opened, and men wearing masks and holding sashimi knives and hammers poured out. There were at least ten of them.

“That rat bastard, he dodges well.”

“He dodged the car, but can he dodge the knives?”

The men exuded a menacing aura and surrounded Hae-soo.

Hae-soo clutched his left wrist, which had been tingling since he fell. It hadn’t fully healed yet.

“Looks like his left hand is injured.”

“That’s right, let’s go in from the left. Everyone! No capturing alive or anything. Stab him as much as you want!”

“Yeah!!”

“Die!!”

Hae-soo swung his left fist at the closest man coming in from the left. Hae-soo’s fist and the back of the knife grazed each other skillfully.

Thwack-!

Hae-soo’s fist landed squarely on the man’s face. The speed at which he was running added to the force, and the man floated halfway into the air before collapsing.

Hae-soo shook his left hand and grinned at the men.

“It’s a feint, you bastards. I’m so fucking glad to see you.”

< #69. Feint > End