The Cop Is Too Strong [EN]: Chapter 179

179. Beat and Heal Until Death

Kang Yong-sik’s scream echoed loudly in the meat restaurant. The sight of two chopsticks stuck in the back of his hand shocked many witnesses.

“Y-You son of a bitch!!”

He held a soju [Korean distilled rice liquor] bottle upside down in his other hand and swung it at Shin Hae-soo’s face.

Smash!

Hae-soo waved his hand, swatting it away like a fly. The soju bottle shattered, glass shards cutting Kang Yong-sik’s face and around his eyes.

“Kuh-ugh!”

As Hae-soo pulled out the chopsticks, two streams of blood shot out like a water gun. Hae-soo grabbed Yong-sik’s hair, who was covering his eyes and groaning in pain, and slammed his head onto the table.

Bang! Bang!!

“Get lost!!”

Yong-sik’s friend, who was eating with him to show his loyalty, swung a metal chair at Hae-soo.

Thud.

Hae-soo blocked the chair with one hand, grabbed the man’s neck with the other, and lifted him up.

The man, who must have weighed at least 70 kilograms (154 pounds), was lifted as if Hae-soo would break through the ceiling of the meat restaurant.

“If you interfere, you’ll die too.”

Hae-soo coldly warned and slammed him down on the cement floor.

Bang!

The man didn’t move, as if he had fainted.

At this point, Kang Yong-sik understood the situation and didn’t offer meaningless resistance. He was terrified of Hae-soo’s strength in that short amount of time.

People were filming with their phones, and the restaurant owner was reporting to the police. But Yong-sik felt like he would die before the police arrived.

“I-I was wrong, I was wrong…!”

Then, a large hand reached out again.

“Too late.”

Hae-soo grabbed him by the collar and dragged him out of the restaurant.

The onlookers, who had witnessed Hae-soo’s monstrous strength and cruel actions, didn’t dare to follow him as he entered the alleyway.

Yong-sik was overcome with fear, like being hit by a tranquilizer gun, and was quietly dragged along.

Hae-soo dragged him deep into the deserted alleyway and immediately slammed his face against the wall.

Thud! Thud! Thud!

Just when he thought he was going to die, he was suddenly laid on the ground, and Hae-soo began toying with Yong-sik’s hands. Yong-sik squeezed out his voice as much as possible.

“Save me, save me… I’ll apologize, I’ll atone-”

Crack-

“Kuaaaaaagh!!”

Yong-sik’s pinky finger was bent in a bizarre direction, twisted like laundry.

Soon, a trash bag was shoved into his mouth to prevent him from screaming.

Crack.

“Kuh-ugh-ugh!!!”

One finger was just the beginning. All ten fingers were twisted like that, and the middle and index fingers were completely torn off.

Yong-sik thought that this moment, where he couldn’t even faint and was fully experiencing this terrible pain and fear, was a living hell.

Then, finally, the trash bag was removed from his mouth.

“Haa… P-Please… stop…”

It wasn’t far from the restaurant, but why weren’t the police coming? He had never resented the slow police like this before.

But when he thought about it, this jurisdiction was the precinct he worked at, and today, the junior [lower ranking officer] he had trained was on duty.

Yong-sik’s face turned pale at the thought that he couldn’t expect a quick dispatch. His junior resembled him the most.

“Eyes.”

A cold voice was heard after a long time. Yong-sik, who had been on the verge of losing his mind, quickly focused on Hae-soo’s voice and raised his head to meet his eyes.

Tuk. Tuk. Tuk.

They weren’t human eyes. They were the eyes of a demon who had just emerged from hell. He was scared, so scared that his teeth were chattering, but he couldn’t avoid his eyes. He froze.

The demon’s lips opened.

“You need to remember this pain well.”

“Please, ple-”

Crack!

* * *

“Kuaaaaagh!!”

Yong-sik screamed as he felt his crotch explode. His friend, who was eating meat next to him, was startled and asked.

“Hey, what’s wrong? Did you see a ghost or something?”

“Huh? Uh, uh?”

“Are you okay?”

Yong-sik looked at his friend’s eyes and shook his head.

‘Why did I suddenly scream?’

People’s attention was drawn to his unsightly appearance. Yong-sik covered his face in embarrassment and picked up a piece of meat to eat.

“It’s nothing, let’s eat.”

About an hour passed as he drank soju with the meat as usual.

Suddenly, terrible memories rushed in like a tsunami.

Tuk. Tuk. Tuk-

Yong-sik’s teeth chattered and he sweated coldly at the vivid and terrible memories. His pupils were also shaking as if an earthquake had struck.

“Yong-sik? What’s wrong again, suddenly?”

“Huh? Haa, heh… Ah, I’m going crazy, what is this? Did I sleep?”

“Huh? What nonsense are you talking about? Stop drinking, you must be drunk.”

“Should I eat this? Ah, I guess I should. I think I should call it a day…”

It was when Yong-sik got up to leave.

Swish-

Someone sat next to Yong-sik. He hadn’t even checked the face yet, but goosebumps rose all over his body.

“Please, have a seat.”

A cold voice, the voice he had heard in the terrible memory, whether it was a dream or something else.

He barely turned his uncooperative head to check the face of the voice’s owner.

‘T-That man!’

A chilling gaze, an oppressive aura, even the clothes he was wearing were perfectly identical to the memory he had just seen.

Only the time was different. In that memory, he had come to find him an hour ago.

That man, Shin Hae-soo, opened his mouth.

“Kang Yong-”

“I-I was wrong!!”

* * *

[Police who missed the serial killer, voluntarily resign and apologize to the bereaved family, and provide financial compensation]

-Detective Kang, who failed to prevent the first murder of serial killer Park Jung-guk, voluntarily resigned on the 19th. He then visited the bereaved family to apologize and decided to provide financial compensation. The specific amount of compensation has not been revealed.

┗The most important thing is missing

┗Does that bring the dead back to life?

┗Let’s put him in jail for murder

┗But he’ll be found innocent anyway, so he’s doing this out of conscience. Realistically, it’s the best ending.

┗The best ending at his own discretion. It’s so annoying to see

┗Let’s execute him

┗All the other bereaved families should be compensated too. They all died because he didn’t catch him at first

┗Compensate Park Jung-guk’s life too. If you had caught him, he would have been an attempted murderer, but now he has 5 kills

┗Wow, calling the victim 5 kills is so creepy, are you a psychopath?

┗It’s a relief.

The public’s interest in the serial killer case, which had been burning hot due to Kang Yong-sik’s quick actions, was scattered again.

Although the police were incompetent, it was a thing of the past, and more than anything, since he had even resigned, it was difficult to generate great interest no matter what was said.

The fear that humans feel sometimes elicits more effective threats than any other means.

Hae-soo had once revived an indirect perpetrator whom he had almost killed with his own hands through a reset, and he planned to threaten Kang Yong-sik based on this.

.

.

.

After that day, strange posts occasionally appeared on community sites.

[Anonymous: Is there a psychic who can beat people to death and turn back time by an hour?]

-I had a social position and I’m not a person who talks nonsense. I saw someone who really turns back time by an hour.

I experienced it, if there is anyone else who has had the same experience as me, please leave a comment. I’m serious. It’s not bullshit.

┗Dog that barks at idiots: Woof woof!!

┗Anonymous: Write nonsense with some sincerity, what is this?

┗Ppibbong: Wow, that’s so creepy? I want to hear more about the writer’s story seriously, can you talk to me personally?

-┗Anonymous (Writer): Possible

–┗Ppibbong: Okay 0501-3312-3355 call ㄱㄱ [Korean slang for “go go”, meaning let’s go]

—-┗Anonymous (Writer): You son of a bitch, it’s a mental hospital

——┗Ppibbong: Yeah, get some treatment, I’m saying this for your sake

┗channel0: Next delusion patient

┗Samuchida: There are a lot of comments on a post that doesn’t even attract aggro [attention]

┗Miracle: Delicious

* * *

After work, Hae-soo looked at the night view beyond the glass window in the darkened house.

Haru has been going out often these days, I wonder if she’s busy with something.

-Detective, you’re the same as me.

-You enjoy killing, don’t you?

-You liked killing people legally, didn’t you?

The voice of serial killer Park Jung-guk lingered in his head, embellished.

Hae-soo’s face hardened.

He should dismiss it as nonsense and throw it away, but he despised himself for not being able to deny his words one hundred percent.

“Hoo….”

He thought it was just to violently punish heinous criminals. That will remain the same in the future.

However, the question is raised, am I enjoying the act of assaulting people itself? In fact, the number of those who were criminals but were killed exceeds double digits.

They were people who deserved to die, but it wasn’t all unavoidable killings. Clearly, there were times when he killed even though he could have made them unable to resist without killing them.

The complicated and difficult feeling he felt when he saw the tears of the families of the criminals he killed resurfaces.

“Should I quit….”

“What are you talking about?”

Hae-soo was startled by the voice suddenly heard from behind and turned around.

Haru was looking at Hae-soo with worried eyes, holding a screw bar.

“When did you come in?”

Seeing that he didn’t even hear the sound of Haru opening the door and approaching, he must have been quite lost in thought.

Hae-soo shook his head.

“No, nothing.”

Then, he stopped as he tried to pass Haru. She, as much as Hae-soo, perhaps even more than Hae-soo, would have taken the lives of many people.

“Haru.”

“Yes.”

Hae-soo looked into Haru’s clear eyes and was at a loss for words. Then, he smiled slightly as he looked at the screw bar in her hand.

“Is your work going well these days?”

The ridiculous sight of her wearing an orc mask and doing pull-ups in the exercise room came to mind.

Even if they only shared a house and lived their own lives, he thought it was necessary to correct such strange behavior.

“Yes, I’m working hard!”

However, Haru nodded her head greatly and answered confidently. Looking at her sparkling eyes, it seemed that she had some genuine passion for what she was doing now.

So Hae-soo quietly folded his words and nodded his head.

“Okay, tell me if there’s anything I can help you with.”

“Probably not, but I’ll let you know if anything comes up.”

Then Haru headed to her room.

Hae-soo quietly watched her back.

Yes, Haru is still young, and even strange things like exercising with an orc mask are all experiences. The very act of doing something so passionately will be helpful in life.

Hae-soo eventually failed to confide his worries to Haru and moved his steps outside.

Right now, there was only one person he could think of who could relieve these worries.

* * *

A street stall located next to a stream, two men with large builds and fierce impressions sitting face to face at an outdoor table.

There are many people, but the tables around them are strangely empty.

“Wow, how long has it been? Having a night drink with a detective at a street stall.”

“…Are you happy?”

Hwang Jang-soo, a current loan shark, nodded his head greatly and opened another bottle of soju.

“Of course I’m happy, I’m always dealing with sneaky and gloomy guys, but like this, huh? Protecting Korea, uh! Drinking with a detective makes me feel purified, how can I not feel good? Huh!”

Hwang Jang-soo quickly drank a bottle as soon as he met him and seemed to be drunk already. He was intoxicated and shouting, and his voice was so loud that people’s attention was drawn to him.

“Shut up a bit, you’re just running your mouth….”

“But this gangster is in a good mood, why is the detective so down? You’re not even drinking.”

Hae-soo picked up a glass full of cider, put it down, and quietly looked at Hwang Jang-soo.

“Why, what’s on my face? Good-looking?”

Hae-soo chuckled at the ridiculous joke, and then opened his mouth small with a hardened face.

“Hwang Jang-soo, have you ever killed anyone?”

Jang-soo’s hand, which was excitedly pouring alcohol, stopped.

He couldn’t easily meet Hae-soo’s eyes. A few seconds of silence passed, and Jang-soo eventually looked at Hae-soo and gave a forced smile.

“What nonsense are you talking about all of a sudden? Just drink.”

However, Hae-soo’s question did not end. He read the answer in Jang-soo’s reaction.

“How many people have you killed?”

Jang-soo put down his glass and sighed deeply.

“Ha… This bastard, I thought I was invited to a good place after a long time, are you interrogating me now? What if I killed someone?”

Hae-soo averted his gaze from him and continued.

“I… killed a lot. Ten, no, it seems like it’s over twenty.”

“…….”

“Suddenly I thought, am I enjoying killing? Am I enjoying assault? Is it assault for punishment, or assault for assault?”

Clunk, gulp-

Jang-soo drank soju without saying a word.

“But the very frustrating thing is, I can’t deny that frustrating thought, I, somehow….”

Then Jang-soo interrupted Hae-soo’s words.

“Ah, you talk so much, hey, detective, that’s how it is, everything in the world is addictive, not just drugs or alcohol that trash like me does. Even healthy and good things are all, marathons, exercise, don’t you know?”

“…I know.”

“You just have to control it, have you ever beaten someone to death other than a criminal? Have you ever just picked a fight with these people here and beaten them to death?”

“…No.”

Jang-soo grabbed his shoulder strongly and said.

“Then that’s it, friend, huh? If you think complicatedly, your life will become complicated, live simply, live simply, then stop talking nonsense and drink cider.”

“…Okay.”

Hae-soo nodded slightly and downed the cider.

It was strange. Listening to this crude guy’s bullshit philosophy, it felt like his stomach was refreshed as if he had eaten a peppermint candy.

Hae-soo smiled and laughed as he looked at Hwang Jang-soo, who was frowning and drinking soju.

* * *

A few days later.

Beeep Beeep

He was waiting for quitting time in the violent crimes unit office when his personal phone rang. It was Hwang Jang-soo.

“Yeah, why.”

-Friend, am I your friend…

“What are you talking about all of a sudden… Where are you.”

His voice is strange. It’s very different from the usual Hwang Jang-soo. His breathing is also strangely labored. Hae-soo’s expression changed seriously.

-Answer me… Am I your friend.

Hae-soo got up from his seat, grabbed his coat, and shouted as he went out.

“Yes, you are, so where are you!”

-…Ha, okay, that’s enough. If I have one proud friend like you, isn’t my life a success…

Click-

The phone hung up.

“Hwang Jang-soo! Hey!!”

Hae-soo immediately called Hwang Jang-soo again and got on his motorcycle.