The Cop Is Too Strong [EN]: Chapter 125

125. On the Yacht

Boseong Plaza Police Station.

The identity of the grandmother was a man with a small build.

He wore a wide-brimmed hat to avoid being recognized and hunched over, playing the part.

When the hat and mask were removed, it was a young man in his early to mid-20s.

“Name?”

“Jjoksae.”

“What? Speak properly.”

“Jjoksae, Kim Jjoksae.”

“Is this person making fun of the name… Well, the name is unique and nice.”

The police officer sitting in front of the computer cleared his throat.

Jjoksae pouted his lips at the word ‘unique’.

“…So, you’re saying you did it because people listen better when you ask them dressed as a grandmother?”

“Because it’s easy….”

Jjoksae nodded slightly. His voice was high-pitched like a woman’s.

He wasn’t like this from the start. He had tried various street vending businesses and failed, leaving him frustrated. Then, he saw another grandmother asking a young woman for help and came up with the idea.

“…If I leave the spot for about an hour and come back, and give them an ice cream as an apology, they’re grateful… I thought it was a sweet deal….”

Team Leader Kwak, passing behind the police officer who was writing the report, muttered.

“With this much dedication, he could earn several times more doing a normal job.”

“Really?”

“I don’t know.”

Jjoksae’s charges were very ambiguous. He ran away, so they caught him, but he didn’t force labor.

“No prior convictions. Judging by his skills, it seems like he’s done various things before….”

“It’s my first time, please be lenient.”

Jjoksae bowed to the police officer and then bowed to Seo-eun as well. Then, he glanced at Seo-eun and raised his index finger.

“By the way, you’re really pretty. I thought you were a celebrity.”

Seo-eun crossed her arms, looked down at him, and let out a cold sneer.

Secretary Kang said softly to Seo-eun.

“I’ll call Attorney Yoo.”

“No, it’s okay.”

Currently, Seo-eun was the only victim, and the damage was minor, so the police officers had no choice but to recommend a settlement.

“Don’t do this kind of thing again. Understood?”

“Yes, yes, I understand. Thank you so much. I will live honestly!”

Seo-eun only accepted ten thousand won [approximately $8 USD] as a settlement and ended it. Of course, the money from the ice cream he sold while working was her share.

Team Leader Kwak muttered, watching Jjoksae’s back as he skipped away from the police station, excited.

“Young, agile, good at parkour, and good at disguises. He has so many talents, what a waste.”

Hae-su stood next to the team leader, nodding in agreement.

“Yes, I’ve entered his number, so I’ll keep an eye on him.”

“Our Dolgyeok [police database] is on point, yes, that kind of guy will definitely cause trouble again.”

“Yes.”

After the incident was resolved, Hae-su, Haru, and Seo-eun finally looked at each other.

“Hoo… I didn’t expect to experience something like this as soon as I arrived.”

“What brings you here?”

“Why? Are you two the only ones allowed to come to the beach? Am I not allowed to come?”

Strangely, Seo-eun pouted. Hae-su shook his head.

“No. In a democratic country, individuals are free to go wherever they want, as long as it’s not private property.”

“I came on vacation. I wanted to see the sea too. It feels like it’s been 5 years since I last saw it.”

“Um…”

Then Haru chimed in.

“I’ve never seen it before.”

“Re, really?”

“Um….”

Hae-su turned to look at Haru. He hadn’t realized. If he had thought about it a little, he would have known that she had never seen the sea. He had only been focused on coming to support the summer police station.

“How was it? How was it? How did you feel seeing the sea for the first time?”

At Seo-eun’s emotional question, Haru turned her gaze towards the sea.

“Something… something… touching. There’s something like this, it’s hard to express in words. I felt like my world was expanding.”

“Ah… no, you’re expressing it well? I think I know what you mean.”

Hae-su stared at Haru quietly, then opened his mouth after seeing the police officers coming out of the police station.

“We should get going. We’re still on duty.”

“Ah… right. That’s right, then when do you rest?”

“I have a day off tomorrow.”

“Haru and I have a day off the day after tomorrow.”

Seo-eun barely lowered her rising lips and continued.

Haru was staring intently, so she felt sorry, but it was an opportunity she couldn’t miss.

“Oh, what should I do? You two have separate days off. I wanted to spend time together, but I can’t help it. Then I’ll contact you tomorrow.”

“Yes, then.”

Hae-su took the first step, and Haru followed him, then stopped and instructed Seo-eun.

“Ms. Seo-eun, always bring Secretary Kang and Guard Kim with you. Countless men are after Ms. Seo-eun.”

“Ah, pfft, yes, Haru, fighting [a Korean expression of encouragement].”

Seo-eun clenched her fist and lowered it, and Haru also clenched her fist, raised it to her, and turned her head.

It was a similar gesture, but the meaning seemed to have changed.

Step, step, step.

On the way to work, Hae-su and Haru were walking in silence when Hae-su suddenly threw out a word.

“You saw the sea for the first time.”

“Yes.”

Hae-su had never seen Haru immersed in emotion while looking at the sea, so he hadn’t thought that her feelings would be so special.

He felt sorry for it.

“Where else haven’t you been? A valley, a mountain?”

“As you know, even if I’ve been somewhere before, I don’t remember it. Company training center, underground arena, and after that, it’s as you know.”

She had only lived like a human for a few years in her entire life. He knew it, but when he was reminded of it again, his heart ached as if it were pricked with needles.

“Okay, let’s go. Next time we have a day off, let’s go to a valley, and then let’s go to a mountain. There’s a lot to see.”

“…….”

Haru read the heart in Hae-su’s clumsy expression. She gazed at Hae-su and nodded slightly.

“Yes, that’s good.”

* * *

The next day.

As soon as it struck eight in the morning, Seo-eun called.

-Are you ready?

“If you mean ready to go out, I’m not yet. I was running along the coast and returned to the accommodation 3 minutes ago. I need to take a shower.”

-I’m in front of your house. I’ll give you 5 minutes.

“That’s enough.”

Hae-su quickly finished showering and came outside in casual clothes, not his usual work uniform or detective uniform, for the first time in a while.

“You look completely different wearing that.”

Seo-eun felt quite unfamiliar with Hae-su’s appearance in a round tee and shorts.

“Is that a compliment?”

“No….”

“Um.”

Seo-eun took Hae-su to the dock and boarded a yacht. She said she had rented it for the entire vacation in case she wanted to ride it.

Seo-eun and Hae-su sailed the yacht out to the deep sea, far enough that the crowds were no longer visible.

At her request, she did not bring her two escorts. Secretary Kang and Guard Kim trusted Hae-su and knew his skills, so they easily agreed.

Surprisingly, Seo-eun even had a yacht license, so there were only two of them on the boat.

“Do you know how to fish?”

“I only know the method. I didn’t enjoy it.”

“Me neither. Let’s try it together. They say this is a good spot.”

“Yes, let’s take our time.”

Seo-eun took out the fishing rod and bait that had been prepared in advance.

“Um, eu….”

Seo-eun’s face clouded over when she saw the earthworm.

However, she had no dating experience and a narrow circle of acquaintances, and her position in life meant she didn’t need to act coy.

Therefore, she had no idea what kind of behavior would attract the other person’s attention in this situation. She was disgusted, but she didn’t ask Hae-su for help and struggled to pick up the earthworm and put it on the hook.

“Ah!”

Then, when she dropped the earthworm on the ground again, Hae-su’s hand suddenly reached out.

“Like this, hold it tight, as if you’re skewering the other person’s neck….”

“Y, you’re good at it.”

“Is that so?”

Hae-su raised his head at Seo-eun’s compliment, and their eyes met.

Seo-eun was momentarily breathless.

Splish, splash, splish.

Under the blue sky, there were only two young men and women on a vast sea where no other people or boats were visible.

The water was gently rocking the boat, and the surroundings were silent.

It was a place where even people who had no interest would feel strange.

Seo-eun’s sparkling eyes were shaking wildly. Her lips were dry, and she kept wetting them with her tongue.

Seeing this, Hae-su felt a slight sense of déjà vu.

He seemed to have felt this kind of emotion from the other person before.

He remembered when he went to the hospital because of Jung Young-soo’s mother and ran into her by chance.

‘What is this woman thinking?’

However.

Due to her background, appearance, and even more brilliant career, Hae-su couldn’t accept her feelings as they were.

It was difficult to do so.

At that moment, Seo-eun’s red lips opened.

“Hae-su, what do you think of Haru?”

“Haru….”

Hae-su lowered his gaze and thought about the question. The atmosphere from just now suddenly changed.

Seeing that he couldn’t answer right away, Seo-eun asked again.

“Then, what do you think of me?”

“Ms. Seo-eun is a good partner and….”

Hae-su was becoming more and more certain. He didn’t understand why, but… this answer was not easy to say.

“A good partner and?”

Hae-su looked at Seo-eun, who was staring intently at him, quickly organized his thoughts, and opened his mouth again.

“Good…”

At that moment.

Whoosh-

Suddenly, a black curtain was cast over the sky, and soon Hae-su’s world turned black.

When the black curtain was lifted again, a completely different sight was visible.

-…So, I’m telling you to try it too, I saw my friend doing it, are you scared?

A young woman in a swimsuit is visible in front of me. Below, I can see the sea, the depth of which is not easily estimated. It seems like I’m up on a hill.

-Bro! You should jump in too! It’s so much fun!

A burly man with dark skin is waving his hand and urging me from below.

‘Huff, huff, huff-‘

Just looking down at the sea makes my heart beat fast and my breathing quicken.

-Honey, you know I can’t swim.

At the man’s words, the woman scanned him up and down with a look of disgust.

-You’re so frustrating, embarrassing me in front of my friend, can’t a man jump from this height? I’ll throw you a tube, and he’s down there too. Are you an idiot?

-Ha… really.

The woman’s eyes sparkled as the man stood up.

-Oh, are you going to do it? Wow, Jung Jin-gu is so cool?

-I’m only doing this once. For you, don’t call me a coward or an idiot from now on.

-Of course not! Hurry up and jump, I’ll take a good picture.

-Hoo, one, two…

Thud!

The body falls unexpectedly.

The man froze so much that he couldn’t even scream.

The woman kicked his butt from behind when he wasn’t ready. The man fell violently into the sea.

-Gulp, gulp! Sa, save me! Gulp!!

The man was a complete sinker in the water. He accidentally swallowed the salty seawater and was out of his mind.

But something felt strange. No matter how much he struggled, the guy who was supposed to be his wife’s friend didn’t come near him.

No matter how hard he tried to reach him, he got further away.

In the midst of the confusion, the situation before the jump suddenly came to mind. The surroundings were strangely deserted.

‘Ah, I crossed the red line that said danger.’

He thrashed and looked at his wife. She was holding a tube as if she was about to throw it, but she was just looking down at him.

Looking at her eyes, the man could be sure.

In the past, when they were dating.

It was the same look she had when she caught a frog and put it in water to boil it, saying she was testing whether the rumors on the internet were true.

‘A look of anticipation for when I’ll die.’

The man lost consciousness while looking at that look.

* * *

“Huff, huff! Cough, cough!!”

Seo-eun had been tensing her heart in a strange atmosphere until just now, but she couldn’t help but be surprised when Hae-su suddenly gasped for breath.

The strong and sturdy Hae-su’s legs gave way, and he slumped down on the yacht, gagging several times.

“Hae, Hae-su, are you okay? Why suddenly…!”

Seo-eun didn’t understand his actions even more because Hae-su hadn’t eaten or drunk anything, and he hadn’t been sleeping.

At that moment, Hae-su opened his eyes wide and stood up, saying.

“We need to find a place where diving is possible.”

“…Huh? Suddenly?”