The Cop Is Too Strong [EN]: Chapter 128

128. Abuse of Authority

“Cough! Hack, hack-”

Lee Eung-tae was slammed into the ground before he could even process what was happening. The impact knocked the wind out of him, and he choked and sputtered.

Shin Hae-soo ruthlessly pressed her knee into his back, grabbing his arm and twisting it sharply behind him.

Snap-

“Kkeuaaaack!!”

“Lee Eung-tae, I’m arresting you on suspicion of attempted murder. You have the right to an attorney and the right to remain silent… Relax, before I break the other one.”

“Yes, yes, Officer, I’m relaxed…”

After handcuffing him, Hae-soo looked up to see Haru standing in front of her. She scanned Haru up and down, checking for injuries, and nodded.

“Good work.”

Hae-soo’s expression was grim as she picked up Lee Eung-tae to take him away.

She knew that Haru’s skills were now on par with, or even surpassed, Oh Gyeong or Muscle Monster. However, she couldn’t help but worry after Haru had been in such a dangerous situation.

* * *

Gangjin Police Station, Violent Crimes Unit Headquarters.

The evidence—including the current circumstances, KakaoTalk conversations, and insurance policies—strongly suggested that Kang Sa-hyun and Lee Eung-tae had conspired to commit murder for insurance money, making it highly likely that the charges would be accepted.

Moreover, the witness was a police officer. Hae-soo had seen the victim teetering on the brink of death, and Ahn Seo-eun had witnessed Lee Eung-tae actively preventing Hae-soo from saving him and stopping her from performing CPR, so the attempted murder charge could be prosecuted without issue.

The problem was the death of Kang Sa-hyun’s ex-husband two years prior.

They had been able to obtain the right to reinvestigate the hit-and-run case where a truck hit and killed Kang Sa-hyun’s ex-husband, connecting it to this case.

The most important piece of evidence, the truck, was a stolen vehicle. Although the truck driver’s face was caught on CCTV, the image was shaky and of poor quality. Ultimately, they couldn’t find the culprit, and the case remained unsolved with only an arrest warrant issued.

There were many holes in the investigation, but his wife, Kang Sa-hyun, quickly requested that the investigation be dropped, claiming she was heartbroken, so the detectives had no choice but to give up.

The insurance company also found no particular grounds for suspicion and paid out the insurance money.

Swish-

At that moment, Haru, who was analyzing the CCTV footage of the hit-and-run, suddenly raised her hand. Hae-soo noticed it first and approached her.

“Did you find something?”

“Yes, I found something.”

“So what is it? Let me see.”

Haru tilted her head to the side so that the monitor was easily visible. The screen showed the truck driver’s face.

“Ah.”

The truck driver’s face was blurry, but the outline was enough to recognize Lee Eung-tae.

It was a different angle from the scene in the investigation records. The scene Haru found clearly made one immediately think of Lee Eung-tae.

Hae-soo handed the original video to the intelligence department to restore it as clearly as possible, then presented it to Lee Eung-tae.

“You’re the culprit in the hit-and-run case of Kang Sa-hyun’s ex-husband two years ago. Who does this look like?”

Lee Eung-tae widened his eyes, then narrowed them again and shook his head.

“I don’t know… I, I don’t know…”

“Looks like you can’t see well. Wait, I’ll help you see better.”

“Wh, wh, why are you doing this…!”

Hae-soo stood up, grabbed the back of his head with one hand to hold it in place, and used the index finger of her other hand to force his eyes open wide.

“Ah, ah, ah!! I, I see it, I see it! I can see it clearly!”

“Too bad, it looked like you were about to get out soon.”

Lee Eung-tae covered his eyes with his handcuffed hands and sobbed.

“Wh, what’s coming out… sob.”

“Yes, who does this look like?”

“It’s me…”

After receiving Lee Eung-tae’s confession,

Hae-soo finally sat down, adjusted her posture, and continued in a subtle tone.

“Kang Sa-hyun’s ex-husband’s hit-and-run murder, so that’s attempted murder and hit-and-run murder… you’ll get about 20 years. If you’re unlucky, you’ll get life.”

“Huh? Ah, ah, no, 20 years? Life imprisonment? I, I, I only did what I was told! What about that bitch, what about her?”

“Kang Sa-hyun will probably get about 2 years for the attempted murder of her current husband, Park Jae-won.”

Bang!

His eyes, which had been full of fear, now flashed with injustice.

Lee Eung-tae slammed his hands on the table and jumped up.

“That ex-husband, Kang Sang-han, yes, Kang Sang-han, that bitch told me to kill him too, you know? Why aren’t you including that? I’m telling you, I didn’t do it alone!”

Hae-soo nodded with a compassionate expression, as if understanding his injustice, and gestured for him to sit down.

“I know, but there’s no evidence. If there’s no evidence, you just have to bear all the punishment yourself.”

“Evidence? Ah, evidence… damn it, it’s true that that bitch told me to do it, you know?”

Lee Eung-tae muttered, squeezing his head, and pointed outside the interrogation room.

It seemed that he had blindly trusted the other person while conspiring to commit murder, without even recording anything. With a brain like that, it seemed Kang Sa-hyun had taken advantage of him.

“Ah, I was really living quietly, but that bitch interfered, that bitch seduced me to try to turn my life around!”

Hae-soo sighed softly, clasped her hands together, leaned forward slightly, and brought her face closer.

Her eyes gleamed coldly. If an accomplice was actively trying to reveal the crime, finding evidence was only a matter of time. People are not perfect.

“Okay, tell me slowly about everything related to Kang Sa-hyun… First, where did you first meet Kang Sa-hyun?”

“Where? Well… at a club…”

Lee Eung-tae scratched his head and slowly recalled his memories.

.

.

.

A moment later.

Creak-

Hae-soo came out of the interrogation room.

“Did you get anything?”

Because the two cases were intertwined, there was a lot to do, and no one was watching the interrogation.

Hae-soo made eye contact with the team leader and opened her mouth.

“Kang Sa-hyun got the stolen vehicle for him. I’ll go find the seller.”

“A stolen vehicle… okay.”

Selling stolen vehicles is strictly illegal.

Therefore, some of them keep records of buyers purchasing or visiting for quite a long time. They do this to blackmail and extort money from vulnerable buyers, or for various other purposes.

Hae-soo and the Violent Crimes Unit members went to the stolen vehicle dealer with a desperate hope, and three days later, they found footage of Kang Sa-hyun purchasing the stolen vehicle—the same truck that was used to hit and run her ex-husband—and cheered.

They had finally uncovered the ex-husband’s hit-and-run disguised as a murder case, thanks to the attempted murder of the current husband.

Team Leader Kwak gathered the two accomplices and played the footage of them purchasing the stolen vehicle.

Kang Sa-hyun’s eyes widened as she watched it. At the same time, Lee Eung-tae clapped his hands.

“As expected, you guys are pros, finding it so quickly?”

At that reaction, Kang Sa-hyun glared at him with a venomous look.

“You told them? What are you trying to do?”

“What am I trying to do? I’m not going to take the blame alone! It’s all your fault, isn’t it? I’m only guilty of doing what I was told.”

“A man with no loyalty… You said you’d die for me, you fraud!”

“Loyalty my ass, you blew my cover, you bitch!!”

Lee Eung-tae, with his arms tied behind his back, jumped up and headbutted Kang Sa-hyun.

Thud!

“Kyaaack!!”

Kang Sa-hyun, with a broken nose and blood streaming down her face, still got up with a vicious look and kicked Lee Eung-tae in the crotch with her heel.

“You bastard!!”

There was no need for separate interrogations. When they were put together, they spilled everything and fought like dogs.

Team Leader Kwak watched the scene for a while, then got up and knocked twice on the interrogation room door.

Knock knock

“That’s enough, take them both out.”

No sooner had the team leader’s words fallen than Hae-soo and Haru entered.

As soon as Lee Eung-tae, the anger management expert, saw Hae-soo, he immediately took a step back and lowered his eyes, while Kang Sa-hyun tried to kick Haru…

Snap

“Kyaaaaack!!”

Her ankle was twisted.

* * *

The Kang Sa-hyun case, a drama-like story of murdering her ex-husband for insurance money and attempting to murder her current husband, became quite a sensation.

[Husband Murder Only the Second Time? Death Insurance Leads to Murder]

┗It’s an unfortunate accident. I also think it’s a man-made disaster caused by humans. The law must be strengthened to prevent such heinous crimes from happening again. Please make an effort.

┗You’re such a virtuous scholar, I understand.

┗The article title is bullshit. Did death insurance kill someone? The woman who murdered for insurance money is crazy.

┗It’s not much different, is it? Are you subtly inducing it? Don’t you know that crime has increased because of insurance companies? Are you an insurance salesman?

┗Still, it’s fortunate that the second husband survived.

┗The husband who was victimized is an idiot

[Ex-Husband’s Murderer Ms. Kang, Caught by an On-Duty Police Officer While Attempting to Drown Her Current Husband.]

┗ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ

┗Damn, she got caught ㅋㅋㅋ

┗Not on patrol, but on vacationㅋㅋㅋIs she Conan?

┗Is that real? She found this on her day off? Amazing, and this person is also Ms. Shin, isn’t she Detective Shin?

┗She’s from Boseong Plaza Police Box, Detective Shin is a proud member of the Gangjin Police Station’s Violent Crimes Unit, right?

┗The current husband must have been a helmsman on a turtle ship in his previous life [referring to a Korean naval vessel, implying he had incredible luck], he should visit that police officer every holiday

┗The woman looks pretty, please remove the mosaic

┗A bad example of ㅈ dominating the head [a Korean slang term referring to someone being controlled by their desires]

┗Detective Shin, I always support you. Detective Shin, you’re awesome. I’m living a new life thanks to Detective Shin. Loyalty!

┗What is this disgusting, squid-smelling loser?

┗Don’t talk recklessly just because it’s the internet, before I go find you and challenge you to a chin-up competition

┗It seems like the police are working hard these days

┗(Link) Boseong Plaza Ice Cream Girl/Jjonye

Hae-soo chuckled as she looked at the comments and changed the names of the fighting members saved in her phone to Chin Jjang [slang for “best at chin-ups”].

* * *

At the same time, at the CEO’s office of Daesung E&M.

“Oh my…!”

Ahn Seo-eun carefully checked the articles about the incident she was involved in. Then, she clicked on a suspicious link and covered her cheeks with both hands in surprise.

The video showed her wearing a bikini and selling ice cream.

It was taken from a distance, and her face was mosaic-ed [blurred], but she couldn’t hide her embarrassment.

[(Hot) Boseong Plaza Ice Cream Girl]

┗Where is this? Is this heaven?

┗There’s no way her face isn’t pretty with that body, I want to see her face

┗Hey! Quickly remove the mosaic!

┗(3:46)(3:46)(3:46)(3:46)

┗Oh, thank you, thank you, roughly bowing with a big bow emoticon

┗Wow… I want to be ice cream too

┗That customer is just asking for what the noona [older sister or female friend] is offering to change, right? I’m so jealous

┗I went there that day too, but why didn’t I see her? When I saw it, there were only grandmothers

┗As someone who saw it in person, her face was prettier than her body, I thought she was an actress, she was there for about an hour before the police were called and she left

┗Why did they report her? The city of Boseong should pay her to be an ambassador

┗I agree

┗I thought she was a BJ [Broadcast Jockey, internet streamer], but she’s not, does anyone know the ice cream noona’s Byeolsta [Instagram account], I’ll reward you

Seo-eun was embarrassed but carefully read the comments and felt pleased.

At her reaction, Secretary Kang tilted her head, glanced at the monitor, and quickly straightened her posture.

“I, I’m sorry. I’ll take down the video immediately and proceed with legal action.”

Seo-eun raised her hand and timidly waved it.

“It’s okay. It’s not a bad thing, and my face is covered. Well, let’s not give people the impression that we’re such a picky company.”

“Ah, yes, I was short-sighted. I’m sorry.”

“It’s okay. The next schedule is…”

“It’s the publication 기념 [commemorative] autograph session of President Bae Shin-joo of Ilseong Electronics.”

Seo-eun frowned slightly at Secretary Kang’s words.

“An autograph session… anyone would think I’m a celebrity.”

“Some real celebrities will come, right? Shall we go?”

“Haha… yes.”

* * *

The Violent Crimes Unit finished the Kang Sa-hyun case and returned to the Boseong Plaza Police Box.

Before, it was daytime, but this time it was the most difficult time, with day and night shifts overlapping, starting at 6 PM.

The summer police box special support period would end in a week.

Perhaps that’s why the police officers at the police box were particularly welcoming to the returning Violent Crimes Unit.

“Salute! Thank you for your hard work!”

“I saw it in the articles. As expected of the Violent Crimes Unit… you quickly handled the case in that short time and even solved the unsolved case.”

The police officers raised both thumbs and praised them. Unlike the existing team members or Hae-soo, Haru didn’t know how to handle this kind of welcome, so she pulled her 근무모 [police cap] down and hid in the corner.

The police box chief, who hadn’t left work yet, also laughed heartily and welcomed the Violent Crimes Unit.

“Kihya, I’m proud of my friend! Come here!”

“I don’t want to, you’re disgusting, uh, don’t stick your beard in my face!”

Female Officer Yeo secretly approached Hae-soo and whispered.

“Detective Shin Hae-soo? Thank you for your hard work. Would you like to have some of this?”

“Ah, yes, thank you.”

“You’re welcome… I’m off work now… I’m sad. Fighting [a Korean expression of encouragement].”

The female officer raised a small fist.

Hae-soo took the paper cup of iced coffee that the female officer handed her and clenched her fist in return.

Haru caught that moment and stared intently at the female officer’s retreating figure until she disappeared from view, then finally took her eyes off her.

At the shift change, the officer in charge of District 3, where Hae-soo and Haru were supposed to go, had not yet returned.

The chief checked the officer and radioed directly.

“This is Plaza One, Plaza Three, Plaza Three, is there a problem?”

-Ye, this is Plaza Three, ah, that… I’ll be back soon…

The chief frowned at the radio message. The rookie, not the senior officer, answered the chief’s radio call. Moreover, his voice was trembling. Something had happened. Something difficult to report.

The chief turned to Hae-soo.

“It seems like something happened, go and check it out.”

“Yes, I understand.”

Hae-soo made eye contact with Haru, grabbed the radio, and quickly left the police box.

It was quite a distance, so she ran at a moderate pace and arrived at the location that the previous officer in charge of District 3 had told her.

About six young men and women were gathered in a corner of the sandy beach.

In the center, an elderly police officer was standing with his head bowed, and a young officer was standing a few steps away, fidgeting anxiously.

A man with a gold necklace in the middle of the young group smirked and looked up at the police officer.

“I can’t hear you well. Louder!!”

“I, I’m sorry! Please forgive me!”

“Ah, this old man, really! If a police officer has a voice like a mosquito, how can citizens feel safe?!”

The man yelled and forcefully threw sand in the police officer’s face.

At that sight, Haru immediately moved her feet.