The Cop Is Too Strong [EN]: Chapter 142

142. Sauna

Hae-soo frowned as he stared at the computer screen.

To summarize his findings: the person who murdered Detective Park Young-chul and his father was the same.

The Chilseong Society [Seven Stars Society] is affiliated with a major corporation or a powerful individual, and, as the name suggests, likely has seven members.

Given the Big Dipper-shaped tattoo found on the body, other members might also have tattoos.

So far, there are four suspected locations for the Chilseong Society.

Ilseong, Hajin, KD, Daesung…

All major corporations dominate South Korea.

At this scale, the Chilseong Society is a group that holds the country in its hands and shakes it.

Hae-soo looked away from the computer and leaned back in his chair, his gaze drifting to the night sky beyond the window.

Like the distant sky, it felt impossibly far away.

‘How do I find them, and how do I deal with them…? Are they really people I can handle?’

He had received information that had materialized from almost nothing. Nevertheless, seeing it laid out, Hae-soo felt a sense of powerlessness, acutely aware of the difference in their standing. He lowered his head.

“Hoo….”

Just then, he heard Haru’s voice from the living room through the slightly open door.

“Ah, what to do, what to do, What to do TV! Where are you running off to, Squad Leader? You think I won’t catch you if you go there? I only hit one guy, only one guy, only one guy, hehehe….”

Hae-soo sharply raised his head at Haru’s sinister voice. His eyes sparkled again.

‘Only hit one guy…!’

That’s what Hae-soo does best.

No need to overthink it. Just focus on one guy until the end. Daesung… I need to keep an eye on Ahn Seo-eun, so I’ll start with Ilseong, which is tied to me by bad blood and is also suspicious.

I need to find the Chilseong Society member in Ilseong.

I was already suspicious because the incident involving Ilseong’s second-generation chaebol [family-owned conglomerate] was cut off so cleanly.

Chaebols aren’t usually like that. They consider themselves a different breed and won’t bow their heads, even if their necks are about to break. And even if they do bow their heads, they’ll later break the other person’s neck after suffering such humiliation.

That’s how they are, but there had been no reaction so far, so I figured something else was going on.

Hae-soo checked the data related to Ilseong.

Detective Park suspected Ilseong of being part of the Chilseong Society for three main reasons.

First.

[According to the investigation records of Shin Jung-seok (Hae-soo’s father), the head of Ilseong Electronics and his secretary regularly visited the Red Moon. The secretary is now the chief of the chairman’s secretariat, and the head is the president of Ilseong Electronics.]

The president of Ilseong Electronics was Bae Shin-joo, the father of Bae In-sung, whom Hae-soo had sent to prison.

Second.

[When the KD Group’s slush fund case broke, publishing companies connected to pro-Ilseong interests strangely didn’t write articles or published articles that indirectly defended them.]

Detective Park had compiled a list of companies that had behaved similarly to Ilseong, including Hajin and Daesung.

Third.

[I encountered eerie people at Ilseong who gave me goosebumps just by passing them – one with the president of Ilseong Electronics and another following the chairman…]

This was Detective Park’s memo.

This is enough reason to target them.

As for the investigation strategy, Hae-soo chose his preferred method.

‘Confirm first, then investigate.’

It’s the simplest and most reliable approach.

* * *

Since he was young,

President Bae Shin-joo has had a habit of going to the sauna once a week to sweat it out.

“Hmm….”

He sat in the sauna, took a long breath, and closed his eyes. Secretary Lee was on his left, and Mr. Seok, a troubleshooter recently dispatched to replace Mr. Yang, was on his right.

“Secretary Lee….”

“Yes, Mr. President.”

“Do they have saunas in prison?”

Bae Shin-joo sometimes thought of Bae In-sung, even though he was his son.

“I’ll check.”

“Yeah, if not, build one where… my son is.”

“Yes, I understand.”

“You see, people are omnivores; they eat alcohol, vegetables, and meat, so their smell is very dirty, like a pig, unlike other animals.”

“That’s right.”

“That’s why you have to sweat like this to get rid of the waste.”

He chose this method because he didn’t like exercising, and the secretary put a hand on his chest, looking impressed.

“I will engrave it deeply in my mind.”

“Our lives are like that too; we tend to do all sorts of dirty things, even if we want to hide them. Then….”

Squeak-

Just then, the sauna door slid open. President Bae, Mr. Seok, and the secretary froze and looked at the door.

It was an incomprehensible situation.

Because the entire bathhouse was rented, no one else should have been able to enter.

Swish

A large physique, steel-like muscles, and deep scars showing experience.

At Hae-soo’s appearance, Mr. Seok immediately jumped up and blocked his entrance with one hand.

Hae-soo stopped, made eye contact with Mr. Seok, and smiled. Mr. Seok flinched at the creepy smile.

The secretary stood up, unable to approach, and asked.

“What is it?”

As he spoke, he glanced at the slightly open door and saw a guard lying at the entrance of the bathhouse. He had subdued him instantly without anyone noticing.

At that moment.

President Bae, recognizing the person, dismissed the secretary. Then, Hae-soo casually sat on the chair opposite the entrance and said.

“I thought you wouldn’t recognize the detective who sent your son to prison.”

President Bae only narrowed his brow slightly and didn’t answer.

“It’s nothing special; I just came to sweat a little, but I came in because you were blocking me, wondering what important people were here. It’s more disappointing than I expected.”

“This person is…!”

“It’s okay, leave him alone.”

“Yes, Mr. President….”

Hae-soo quietly examined the bodies of President Bae, the secretary, and Mr. Seok. There were no visible tattoos.

Mr. Seok’s body had as many scars as Hae-soo’s.

“Hoo, hoo.”

After some time, the secretary let out a hot breath. At the sight, President Bae waved him away.

“Go out first; I’ll be here a little longer.”

“A-Are you sure?!”

The secretary didn’t wait for an answer and ran out of there.

The invisible battle had begun. Everyone’s body turned red, and President Bae finally jumped up from his seat.

“Let’s go.”

“Yes.”

He had been waiting for this moment. Hae-soo’s eyes shone as he checked the backs of President Bae and Mr. Seok.

‘Was I wrong….’

There’s nothing. The Big Dipper isn’t visible.

Even the Chilseong Society tattoo is just an inaccurate guess. So far, Detective Park has only directly confirmed one person: the former Minister of Justice.

If he doesn’t have the Chilseong Society tattoo, the investigation goes back to square one. Hae-soo felt his strength draining away.

“Ha….”

He roughly showered with cold water and went out of the bath.

Weeeeng-

President Bae was in front of the mirror, taking off the towel around his waist and drying his groin with a hair dryer. Hae-soo’s eyes widened as he saw his back.

The Big Dipper was clearly drawn on his butt. It was covered by a towel earlier, so it wasn’t visible.

There are no others. Even that skinny man who appears to be from the company isn’t visible.

‘Mission complete.’

Now that he has achieved his purpose, he will naturally leave. However, since he came in after subduing the guards, leaving just like that will add to the suspicion. He needs to give them a reason for coming to reduce suspicion.

Hae-soo, wearing only his underwear, approached President Bae and picked his ear with a cotton swab.

“Honestly, I was surprised. I was impressed that the higher-ups didn’t take any action after being bitten by an ant. So….”

Hae-soo paused, but President Bae didn’t even look at him, as if to show his determination not to be fooled by anything a guy like him said.

“What could be the reason? I can’t help but wonder, the profit left over from the HanDon Bank acquisition? The salary crisis for executives? Or….”

As Hae-soo accurately pointed out Ilseong’s shady dealings that he had easily uncovered, President Bae finally opened his mouth.

“Shall I trample you?”

“Do you think I’ll be trampled if you trample me?”

There was no backing down, and the energy emanating from him was even more threatening. President Bae’s eyebrows twitched, pressed by the force.

Shin Hae-soo, a key figure of interest to the Society, but in his eyes, he is just a police officer.

He was furious at being ignored and intimidated by a mere police officer in front of him, who could make even the chief of police kneel, but he gritted his teeth and suppressed it.

Knowing or not knowing his heart, Hae-soo continued.

“In a democracy, why don’t we think about peaceful methods? You can satisfy my curiosity, or you can resolve my curiosity in another way.”

At Hae-soo’s last words, President Bae chuckled. In the end, he wants money if he wants to stop the future investigation into the shady parts.

His goal was money.

“Anyway, the nature of pyramid bastards doesn’t change…”

There is no one easier than a person who values money the most in life. Even if Shin Hae-soo is a key figure of interest to the Society, he is ultimately a person who can be controlled if he is given money.

President Bae’s eyes changed. He looked down at Hae-soo with contempt and turned around.

Then, without even looking at him, he put on his watch and opened his mouth.

“Secretary Lee, send him away.”

“Yes.”

Secretary Lee gave Hae-soo his business card and suggested he go outside.

Hae-soo looked at his business card once and raised a hand to President Bae.

“I’ll be waiting. Mr. President.”

Thud

As soon as the door closed, President Bae’s eyes changed drastically. He trembled, clutching the shirt in his hand.

“That arrogant minnow… If it wasn’t for the Society, I would have sliced him up…”

“Shall I take care of him?”

At Mr. Seok’s words, the president frowned.

“What are you, a newbie?”

At the sudden change of expression, Mr. Seok looked at him and bowed his head.

“I’m sorry.”

President Bae looked at Mr. Seok’s eyes and judged that this person clearly did not know that Shin Hae-soo was a key figure in the Society.

The company that sends these people has a close relationship with the Society, but this guy’s information is ridiculously lacking. Is it only known to executives in the company?

President Bae was once again realizing that Mr. Yang was special.

“Tsk… There’s no one like Mr. Yang, no one.”

President Bae once again regretted not actively stopping his son. Because of that, he lost the capable troubleshooter Mr. Yang.

* * *

Brrr-

On the way home on his motorcycle.

Hae-soo was waiting at a traffic light, lost in thought.

‘Definitely suspicious.’

President Bae of Ilseong Electronics’ actions don’t make sense. He expressed it as an ant, but they think of ordinary people as less than bugs.

However, it doesn’t make sense that he is holding back like that without ever being properly taught a lesson.

‘His eyes were strange too….’

His eyes were like a lion looking at someone teasing him from across the fence. He wants to tear him apart in one go, but he can’t help it because of the fence.

‘Why, why?’

There is something. He belongs to a group called the Chilseong Society, and even if that’s not the case, he shouldn’t be afraid of anything just by being the president of Ilseong Electronics, but he can’t treat him carelessly.

At the very least, can’t he tell the person next to him who appears to be from the company to beat him up?

While he was thinking, the light turned green, and Hae-soo pulled the accelerator.

Brrr-

At that moment, he shot forward.

Vroooom!

A dump truck from the side ignored the signal and crashed into Hae-soo’s motorcycle.