The Cop Is Too Strong [EN]: Chapter 221

< #221. Scary Uncle >

Kim Seon-tae blinked.

‘Is this a good thing?’

Reading the message alone, it was clearly a bad thing, but seeing the two women in front of him with shining faces, the thought of being somehow *beholden* to them confused Seon-tae.

Thud

Haru, who had been staring at Seon-tae’s eyes, suddenly grabbed his hair.

“First, you need to get beat up a bit. You’re the boss, so you should get beat up the most.”

“Huh? No, my eye-”

Thwack!

Before he could say anything, Haru’s knee struck his face, and the pain of his nose bone shattering and his face collapsing washed over him.

Thwack! Thwack! Thwack!

Haru beat him, aiming only for places that would hurt him to death but not kill him. Eventually, Ahn Seo-eun raised her hand to cover her eyes.

“Kkeueueuk.”

Kim Seon-tae was in unbearable pain, and he resented his body for not passing out.

“Right-handed? Left-handed?”

“Heeu, heeu, R, right…”

“From now on, be left-handed.”

Crunch-

Haru immediately bent and twisted his right hand back until the back of his hand completely touched his wrist.

“Kuaaaak!!”

Haru covered his mouth, brought her face close, and said.

“That’s it for today. Let’s see each other often in the future, *our* sucker.”

“Hiss, wooeup.”

‘She said *’our’*…’

A chill ran down his spine.

It was the first time Kim Seon-tae had ever felt the word ‘our’ so eerie.

* * *

Ahn Seo-eun suggested not calling the police officer Shin Hae-soo.

Although things had gone awry after the matchmaking meeting, Daesung Group and Songyang Group had a friendly relationship in many ways, and the chairmen of the two companies also had a close relationship.

Although the second son was a troublemaker, the Songyang Group chairman and most of the owner’s family were not known to have a bad image externally.

So, Ahn Seo-eun planned to hold Kim Seon-tae’s leash and slowly get to know Songyang Group.

“Are you alright?”

“Ah, yes, yes.”

Seo-eun snapped out of her thoughts and nodded when Hwang Jang-soo suddenly approached and asked.

She had heard that he was friends with Hae-soo since childhood, but she was surprised that he resembled her not only in body and face but also in his formidable skills.

As Seo-eun stared blankly at Hwang Jang-soo, he blushed, touched his cheek, and avoided her gaze.

“Is there something on my face?”

“Ah, no. I’m sorry. And thank you for today. Thank you.”

As Seo-eun bowed politely, Hwang Jang-soo scratched the back of his head and laughed awkwardly.

“I didn’t do anything. Haru did everything.”

Haru, who had brought two cups of hot chocolate, including one for Ahn Seo-eun, sat next to her and said.

“Gangster *ajusshi* [a Korean term for older man, often used informally], why do you talk like that?”

“What’s wrong with my *mal-tu* [manner of speaking]? And I’m not a gangster anymore. Not a thug, and not an *ajusshi* either.”

Hwang Jang-soo waved his hands and looked at Seo-eun. Seo-eun simply smiled as she drank the hot chocolate that Haru had brought her.

Haru ignored Hwang Jang-soo’s outburst and continued.

“So, how should we use our sucker in the future?”

Seo-eun wrapped her hands around the mug and said seriously.

“Extorting money is illegal, so until a good idea comes up, how about beating him up whenever we have time?”

“Hmm, that’s a good idea. How about breaking one finger a week…?”

“Fingers are too noticeable. How about starting with the toes?”

“That’s a valid point. We should tell him to wash his feet first.”

Hwang Jang-soo shook his head as he watched the two women putting their heads together and having a terrifying conversation. The fact that they were all serious was even scarier.

* * *

Shin Hae-soo’s house.

Beep, click-

As Hae-soo entered, Haru came out to greet him after a long time.

“Welcome back?!”

“Yeah, nothing happened, right?”

“……..”

Hae-soo asked a normal question as usual, but Haru froze and stood still.

Hae-soo walked past her to wash his hands in the bathroom, but then turned around. She was still standing there, staring at him.

“What’s wrong? Did something happen?”

“N, no. N.o.t.h.i.n.g happened.”

Seeing Haru speaking awkwardly, cutting off her words like a robot, Hae-soo almost burst out laughing.

It reminded him of when he had gone undercover in the past.

“Okay, then.”

As Hae-soo casually brushed it off and went into the bathroom, Haru let out a long sigh after the bathroom door closed.

“Hoo… I’m glad I practiced acting usually.”

Feeling a little relieved, Haru sat on the sofa and accessed Exit Mobile on her phone to calm her mind.

And not long after, Hae-soo came out and went to the kitchen, asking.

“What did you do with Ahn Seo-eun today?”

“Eep?!”

At Hae-soo’s question, Haru jumped like a rabbit and was startled.

She had asked him first if she could bring Ahn Seo-eun to the hideout, but she had completely forgotten about it.

The fact that Hae-soo’s usual tone was the same as when he was interrogating someone also played a part.

“Th, th, that’s!”

Hic

She even hiccuped. Hae-soo took out an onion, placed it on the cutting board, and was about to cut it with a knife when he stopped. Then, he turned around and looked at Haru, asking.

“Is it a secret?”

A face that made a kitchen knife look like a machete, an interrogating tone, and a question that seemed to know something.

Haru avoided his gaze, wiggled her toes, and then looked up.

“I, I’ll tell you.”

“No, you don’t have to.”

Thwack!

Hae-soo answered nonchalantly and struck the onion with the knife. The end of the onion was cut cleanly.

At the merciless knife skill, Haru shuddered and continued. Sweat formed on her forehead.

“I’ll tell you everything, the truth.”

Haru, feeling guilty, told Hae-soo in detail what had happened today, and Hae-soo’s eyes flashed with fire, saying he would tear Kim Seon-tae to death right away.

“…I’m going to rip off that thing of his.”

“Ah ha? As expected, Hae-soo-nim… [Korean honorific suffix]!”

Haru nodded with an impressed face.

Having heard all the circumstances, Hae-soo respected the opinions of Seo-eun, Haru, and Hwang Jang-soo and did not indict him.

“Haru, if something like that happens in the future… I’ll follow your wishes as much as possible, so you have to tell me everything… without missing a single detail. You must.”

Haru bowed her head deeply and answered.

“I must…”

* * *

Holiday, the hideout.

Shin Hae-soo went to work at the hideout after a long time, and Jung Young-soo was diligently briefing him on the crime information he had gathered through *tam-saek* [reconnaissance/investigation].

“…These students are subtly bullying him like this. They’re not openly hitting him, they’re not openly extorting money, and they’re not openly ostracizing him… but subtly.”

Young-soo paused, pushing up his glasses, and continued.

“But I’ve been through this before, and I know… it really drives people crazy. It’s even more maddening because there’s nothing you can do. And most of the time, they reconcile with themselves, thinking, ‘Oh, they’re my friends, and they’re just being a little mischievous.’ But it’s still just as painful.”

“Hmm… where did you say it was?”

“Gyeongil High School, 2nd grade. The victim is Hwang Ji-gu, and he’s sent SOS signals at least three times. So far, it seems like there are four main perpetrators.”

“Gyeongil High School…”

A familiar case to Hae-soo as well, where even if the police intervene, punishment is very ambiguous. It’s a very cunning method.

As Hae-soo was lost in thought, Young-soo pointed to Hwang Jang-soo, who was lifting a barbell in the corner.

“Send Hwang Jang-soo *ajusshi*.”

Jang-soo, who had been quietly exercising, suddenly raised his upper body.

“What? What, why me, what.”

Hae-soo stroked his chin and looked at Hwang Jang-soo before nodding.

“Hmm, it’s the same Hwang family name.”

“That’s right. Get consent from the victim, and if he goes to and from school with him as his uncle for two weeks, it’ll be somewhat resolved.”

“Did you hear that, Jang-soo?”

Jang-soo frowned and approached Jung Young-soo. At his murderous impression, Young-soo instinctively moved his body backward. Hae-soo saw this and nodded. Hwang Jang-soo was a very appropriate choice.

“Two weeks? Is two weeks just some passing dog’s name? And Gyeongil High School is two hours away from here, isn’t it? Are you kidding me? Young-soo, do you want to work out with *hyung* [older brother]?”

Hae-soo turned Hwang Jang-soo’s head, who was getting closer and closer to Young-soo with a threatening face, towards himself and made eye contact.

“I’ll give you an *chul-jang-bi* [business trip allowance], go right away starting today.”

“How much.”

“One hundred per diem.”

“Okay, deal.”

Hwang Jang-soo’s face smoothed out as if it had been ironed. In that way, Hae-soo successfully sent one hundred per diem to Gyeongil High School.

* * *

Gyeongil High School, 2nd grade, 2nd class.

Hwang Ji-gu trembled and cowered. He hoped that he wouldn’t be noticed in this classroom.

Thwack!

“Hey! Hwang Ji-gu!!”

A male student hit Ji-gu’s shoulders hard and called out to him cheerfully.

Ji-gu couldn’t even look him in the eye and answered.

“O, oh, Nam-soo.”

“Rock, paper, scissors!”

Nam-soo immediately played rock, paper, scissors, and Ji-gu reflexively put out paper. Nam-soo put out rock.

“Ah, I won. Hey, hit him, hit him.”

Nam-soo pushed his cheek forward and forced him to hit him. When Ji-gu reached out and hit him lightly, he grabbed Ji-gu’s wrist and said.

“Aish, it’s only fun if you hit hard. I’m okay, I’m telling you? Hey, like this!”

Slap-

He swung Ji-gu’s wrist and made him slap his cheek quite hard, then played rock, paper, scissors again.

This time, Ji-gu put out scissors, and Nam-soo put out rock.

“Ah…”

“Yes!”

While Ji-gu was staring blankly, thinking about the future that would unfold, Nam-soo mercilessly slapped Ji-gu’s cheek.

Whack!

A cheerful sound echoed in the classroom, and Ji-gu’s head snapped to the side.

Other students who were watching the scene clapped and cheered.

“Wow, *ssibal* [Korean swear word] Jung Nam-soo!! Fire slap!”

“The sound is so *chal-ji-ne* [satisfying/crisp sound].”

“Hey, hit him gently, Ji-gu will get hurt.”

Nam-soo grinned and suddenly put on a worried expression, grabbing Ji-gu’s face with both hands.

“Ah, Ji-gu, are you okay? Did I hit you too hard? Sorry.”

“Ah, no, I’m, I’m okay.”

“Are you okay? Okay, our Ji-gu is a man, right? One more round!”

Slap! Slap! Slap!!

The sound of slaps did not stop in the classroom until the break was over.

Both cheeks were swollen and bruised, but the teacher only said, ‘Don’t play too rough.’

Their bullying was not only violence.

“Hey, hey, hey, gather around, let’s play *panchigi* [a coin-flipping game]!”

The rule was that *panchigi* was always played at Ji-gu’s seat.

“I don’t have any money, so I’m not going to play…”

“Money? Why are you like this between friends? I’ll lend you money, I’ll lend you money. Just tell me if you need money, okay?”

Nam-soo immediately took out two 10,000 won bills from his pocket and gave them to Ji-gu, and Ji-gu had no choice but to join in.

*Panchigi* is a game where you put coins on a book and hit the *pan* [board] with your palm to flip the coins over.

Usually, the game is played only with the coins on the *pan*, but these days, due to the lack of coins and the rise in prices, they started betting 1,000 won to 5,000 won to 10,000 won per *pan*.

Of course, Ji-gu’s debt continued to grow after *panchigi* was over.

“Did our Ji-gu borrow 120,000 won? Hey, what’s the point of having friends? I won a lot today, so I’ll cut you 20,000 won. Just pay me back 100,000 won. Pay me back slowly, slowly, just within this week.”

“Ah, uh…”

“Wow, Jung Nam-soo is such a *sang-nam-ja* [real man/macho man].”

Ji-gu kept his head down for a long time, then raised his head and opened his mouth with a flushed face.

“I… I don’t want to play *panchigi* anymore, I don’t want to.”

“Hey, why are you being so petty? Did you lose a lot today? Relax, relax, let it go, eat this.”

Nam-soo pretended to comfort him and shoved a red bean bread into his mouth. Ji-gu chewed on it, his eyes reddening.

“Ji-gu? Is Ji-gu crying? Is our Ji-gu crying? Hey, *ssibal*, who threatened you with a knife to play *panchigi*? What’s wrong?”

The word ‘crying’ sounded particularly loud. Ji-gu shook his head and said.

“N, no, no, no…”

Nam-soo came up to Ji-gu, put his arm around his shoulder in a friendly manner, and whispered in his ear. Ji-gu froze as he smiled brightly.

“Yeah, *ssibal*… anyone would think I’m bullying you, why are you crying? Don’t make innocent people perpetrators, huh?”

“Huh? Uh, s, sorry…”

When school was over, this hell was over, but it wasn’t over until it was over. Their attention continued on the way home from school.

“Soccer kick!”

Thwack!

Nam-soo kicked Ji-gu’s calf hard. Ji-gu fell to the ground and cried out in pain.

“Oh, Ji-gu, are you okay? You kick too, you kick too. They say this is good for building up your resistance, go go.”

At that moment, a dark shadow approached them.

“Soccer kick!!”

With a heavy voice.

Thud!!

With the sound of leather tearing, Nam-soo spun around and fell to the ground.