The Cop Is Too Strong [EN]: Chapter 104

104. The Standard of Murder

The team leader received the case file related to Sung Su-an’s death and showed it to Hae-soo.

“Sung Su-an was also dismembered.”

Unlike Jo Bang-hee, his arms and legs were cut off, but his head was not.

“Dolgyeok, it seems they haven’t caught on here yet. At this rate, we can take over the case.”

In cases where an agreement is reached with the victim, juvenile crimes usually conclude with only an investigation record remaining for the perpetrator, without a criminal record.

Even when incidents occur, detectives usually only check the victim’s investigation record. Therefore, the police in charge of Sung Su-an’s residence were unaware that he was the perpetrator of that incident 15 years ago, and they were barking up the wrong tree.

Hae-soo and the team leader went to the police station in charge of the Sung Su-an case, used the Major Crimes Unit’s name to formally take over the case, and also received his cell phone.

Major Crimes Unit headquarters.

The youngest member turned on the phone, showed a KakaoTalk message, and said,

“This is a deleted message, which we recovered. But the video is strange.”

“Show me.”

(Unknown)

[Video]

Hae-soo clicked on the video.

-Knocked out? Wow, that’s hilarious. It’s my first time seeing someone get knocked out.

-Hey, hey, wake her up. In movies, they throw ice water on them.

-This? This? It’s swelling?

-Dude, you’re crazy. Why are you hitting her face with ice? Kekek.

It was a shocking video. A group of male and female students were laughing and assaulting a female student.

Just as the police had failed to connect Sung Su-an to the incident 15 years ago, they had also dismissed this video as just another trivial KakaoTalk message.

The team leader gritted his teeth and said,

“Oh Gyeong, compare the faces in this with the perpetrators’ graduation photos. Hae-soo, request the Information Division to trace the ID and IP address of who sent it. Has the request to restore Jo Bang-hee’s phone come back yet?”

“Ah, I just got a text. I’ll go pick it up.”

“Okay, the youngest will go.”

The youngest member brought Jo Bang-hee’s phone and checked the KakaoTalk messages. The same video as with Sung Su-an had been sent.

This made it almost certain. Revenge for that terrible incident 15 years ago was taking place.

“Who on earth…? A friend of the victim?”

“She didn’t have any friends or a boyfriend. She was being bullied.”

“Sigh, well, the important thing is that retaliatory killings are almost certain, so let’s secure the safety of the potential targets first, even if those bastards deserve to die. We’re still police, after all.”

“Yes, understood.”

“That’s right.”

At the team leader’s bitter words, the team members all gathered their belongings and stood up.

“Okay, Oh Gyeong, take the youngest with you, you three stay here, and Dolgyeok, come with me. First, put in a request for protection with the local precinct. Tell any long-winded bastards that I’ll tell our chief about everything later.”

“Don’t worry, boss.”

On the way to the police station parking lot, Hae-soo took out her car key, unlocked the car, and said,

“Team leader, it looks like we’ll be driving a lot, so let’s take my car.”

“Huh? Oh, that would be good. The more you drive, the better the ride should be.”

Hae-soo nodded and opened the driver’s seat door. The team leader paused at the sight.

“Huh? Why, oh, you want me to drive? Is that why you said we should take your car?”

“Yes, I have a lot to do.”

“Alright, let’s do that then.”

Retaliatory killings arising from a single incident. With the targets and even the suspect somewhat identified, even ten hands wouldn’t be enough.

Securing the safety of the targets was important, but we couldn’t neglect finding the suspect either. We had to catch two rabbits [achieve two goals simultaneously].

Hae-soo called Jung Young-soo.

Ring- Ring- The phone cannot be answered…

Hae-soo narrowed her brow slightly.

‘Is something wrong?’

He always answered the phone quickly, so worry came before annoyance.

For now, Hae-soo decided to wait for Jung Young-soo to call back and first called the targets.

As if to signal that this would not be an easy case, not a single one answered the phone.

Hae-soo first called the local precinct in the areas where they lived to request protection.

Vibration- Vibration-

Then, not long after, her phone rang. It was Jung Young-soo.

-Detective Shin! Did you call?

“Yeah, were you busy?”

-I was watching a movie.

“A movie? Alone?”

-Hey, who watches a movie alone? Anyway, what’s up? Is it urgent?

He sounded cheerful. It seemed like he was on a date. Hae-soo briefly explained the situation.

“…So, can you track this Unknown? The ID, the phone number they’re using, or even the IP address.”

-Well… I might be able to figure out the ID, but after that, it might be a little difficult.

“Hmm….”

-There’s an easy way, which is to send spam KakaoTalk messages to that ID, and if they click on it, we can find out everything. But it’s almost impossible to get someone like that to click. They probably created a new KakaoTalk ID, and KakaoTalk usually blocks anyone who isn’t in your contacts.

“I have a way.”

Hae-soo hung up and sent Young-soo the first second of the video, cropped.

-What is this?

“A video that person will have no choice but to click on.”

-What’s in it? It’s too short to tell.

“It’s better if you don’t know.”

-Tch, alright. I’ll trust you and send it.

As soon as Hae-soo hung up with Young-soo, the team leader asked, as expected,

“Dolgyeok, that didn’t sound like the Information Division just now. The conversation was a bit… off?”

“…I’m sorry. He’s a guy who doesn’t do anything illegal anymore, but I use him sometimes when it’s urgent.”

“You’re not even making excuses, leaving me speechless. I heard most of it… Dolgyeok, I understand how you feel, but try not to do it in front of me.”

“Understood. I’m sorry.”

In the meantime, they arrived at the apartment building where one of the perpetrators lived.

Knock knock knock

“Mr. Yang In-gang, Mr. Yang In-gang, are you there?”

There was no sign of anyone inside.

Vibration- Vibration-

Just then, the phone vibrated.

“Yes, this is Shin Hae-soo.”

-Yes, this is the police. Are you the detective who requested protection for Mr. Yang In-gang?

“That’s right.”

-Mr. Yang In-gang died a week ago. It seems they haven’t registered it in the background check records yet because it’s still under investigation.

“Ah… Yes, I understand. Thank you.”

Hae-soo and the team leader exchanged glances.

They immediately headed to the local police station in charge of the case. There, they took over the case using the Major Crimes Unit’s name and the chief’s backing.

The fact that they had already missed the connection to the incident 15 years ago was reason enough to have the case taken away.

“This one only had his neck and arms cut off. His legs were intact.”

“It seems like there’s some kind of pattern… Anyway, before we leave, let’s do a thorough background check on the other guys.”

At that moment, Oh Gyeong’s voice came over the radio.

-Mr. Kim Joong-jo died in a traffic accident four months ago.

-Mr. Kim Seon-ham… had both arms cut off a month ago. He’s currently hospitalized.

“Damn it… So, are you going to Kim Seon-ham?”

-Ah, but the team leader is closer to the hospital than we are.

“Really? Alright, send me the address. Then you guys request protection for Mr. Kang Jin and look into the perpetrator of Kim Joong-jo’s traffic accident.”

-Understood.

The team leader dropped Hae-soo off in front of the hospital.

“Aren’t you getting out, team leader?”

“Nah. I’ll stop by the station to pick up the case file. You get the story from him.”

“Understood. Drive safely.”

“Alright, take care.”

Hae-soo went to see Kim Seon-ham, the only survivor who had faced the perpetrator.

Both of his arms were bandaged up to the elbows.

His voice and face had a kind and gentle feel, like his name. He didn’t look like he could have been a perpetrator in that incident.

“…I don’t know. I drank as usual and blacked out, but when I woke up because it hurt so much, that person in a hat and mask was cutting off my arms. One side was already gone… Ugh.”

Kim Seon-ham shuddered as he recalled what had happened.

“Did the perpetrator take the severed arms?”

“No. He took them to the bathroom in front of me and burned them. It felt really strange and horrible.”

“Didn’t the perpetrator say anything?”

“That’s what made it even scarier. He really didn’t say anything, he just cut off my arms, took them to the bathroom, and burned them… Ack, ack, cough!”

Kim Seon-ham was greatly traumatized because it hadn’t been long since the incident, and he had a seizure in the middle of speaking. However, he stopped before the nurse Hae-soo called arrived. He had a troubled look on his face after hearing about the incident.

“I thought about it a lot. Maybe… I thought I was being punished for what happened back then. But it really was… I should be grateful to be alive.”

He seemed to be taking it calmly, even though he had suffered the terrible experience of having his arms cut off before his eyes.

Was that why he was spared? Because he seemed to be the only one who regretted his sins? Only the perpetrator would know.

“The person you faced is a serial killer who deserves to be caught and punished. If you remember anything about him, please tell me.”

Hesitation appeared in Kim Seon-ham’s eyes. He was afraid of being retaliated against, now that he had barely survived.

However, he bit his lower lip and continued,

“There really wasn’t much. If he decided to spare me, he must have tried very hard not to reveal who he was. He didn’t say a word… His eyes were very scary and bloodshot. He was a little shorter than you, detective, but still over 180 cm [approximately 5’11”].”

“Understood. Thank you for your cooperation, even though it must have been difficult to recall what happened.”

“Of course… I had to do what I had to do… I should have done it back then… I’m sorry.”

Hae-soo looked at him without a word and turned away.

In the meantime, the team leader took over the case and came to pick up Hae-soo in front of the hospital.

“Did you get anything?”

“He’s about 180 cm tall, male, and his eyes are sharp and bloodshot.”

“That’s the bastard, CCTV [closed-circuit television].”

“Yes, I think so.”

Hae-soo and the team leader parked the car for a moment and reviewed the investigation records, gathering information.

“He’s an intelligent criminal, this bastard.”

“Yes, looking at the dates, he postponed the ex-convicts, aiming to delay the discovery of the connection as much as possible.”

The team leader nodded.

“And he was half successful. Are there three left now?”

“Yes, Kang Jin is being handled by Oh Gyeong’s team, and the other two aren’t answering their phones.”

“It’s frustrating. Which of those two is closer?”

“Park Seo-young.”

“Let’s go there first, put in the address.”

“I’ll drive.”

“No, I’ll do it, you take a good look at the case records.”

“Understood.”

So far, four people have died. More than half of the revenge has already been carried out.

The methods of murder are also all different.

Jo Bang-hee was completely dismembered.

Sung Su-an’s neck wasn’t cut off.

Yang In-gang’s legs weren’t cut off.

Kim Joong-jo was crushed to death.

Kim Seon-ham is still alive.

All of these cases were being treated separately because they were under different jurisdictions.

Only a small number of people knew that they were the perpetrators of the incident 15 years ago, and most of them didn’t even have criminal records, making it difficult to find a connection.

Hae-soo was reviewing the case records when something suddenly came to mind, and she checked the video they had all received once again. Her eyebrows twitched.

“Team leader, I think I know the standard for the method of killing.”

The team leader, with his hands on the steering wheel and his eyes on the road, replied,

“What? Standard?”

“Yes, Kim Joong-jo, who died in a traffic accident earliest in terms of timing, seems to have only planned the murder at first. Judging from the three-month gap from then, it seems he gained confidence that he wouldn’t get caught afterwards.”

“Well, we’ll know that when we get the case records, and then?”

“This video is the standard. Next, Jo Bang-hee, who hit and swore with his hands and feet, was completely dismembered. Sung Su-an, who didn’t swear, didn’t have his neck cut off. Yang In-gang only swore and hit with his hands, so only his neck and arms were cut off.”

“Then Kim Seon-ham is…?”

“Yes, he only pushed with his hands. And only for a moment.”

“This is a real psycho. The one we’re going to now… Park Seo-young?”

Hae-soo paused the video at the scene where Park Seo-young’s face was visible and replied with a grim expression,

“Full body.”

“Damn it…!”

The team leader floored the accelerator. As they hurriedly moved to where the target was, one of them answered the phone again. It was Goo Gwang-heon, a perpetrator who was presumed to be the one filming in the video. His voice was full of swagger, like a thug.

-What is it?

“Is this Goo Gwang-heon? This is Detective Shin Hae-soo from the Chungnam Major Crimes Unit.”

-You son of a bitch, if you’re a detective, then I’m a detective’s mom.

Hae-soo narrowed her brow slightly and continued. She often received this kind of treatment. In these cases, you have to quickly get to the point before they hang up.

“You received that video from an unknown person, didn’t you?”

-……

Goo Gwang-heon remained silent without hanging up at Hae-soo’s words. That was answer enough.

“Everyone who received the video has been murdered. Kim Seon-ham survived, but both of his arms were cut off.”

-…Who are you? How do you know them?

“Goo Gwang-heon, we’ll let them know, so go to the nearest police station and get protection.”

-Don’t bullshit, why would I want to make that shitty thing a big deal again?

“The perpetrator will be targeting Goo Gwang-heon. Get protection. If you value your life.”

-Shut up, I can protect myself. Don’t call me.”

Click-