The Cop Is Too Strong [EN]: Chapter 121

121. Foot Patrol

Inside Boseong Plaza Police Substation.

“Ugh, those bitches started it, I’m telling you! I only held her hand!”

“What? Bitches? You son of a bitch!”

“Hand my ass! Is my hand attached to her chest? Enough, just throw these bastards in the slammer quick.”

“Wow, I’m seriously going crazy!”

Bang, bang, bang!

“Quiet, quiet! We’re getting the seafood restaurant’s CCTV, so let’s all be quiet until we check it out, huh?”

“There’s no need to check! Don’t you believe me, mister? Are you doubting me right now?”

“It’s not about believing or not, we have to check first… uh, why aren’t they here? A radio call? What? Underage? They drank too? What a mess, bring the owner here too.”

“Booze? Get me booze!”

It’s a real mess. One side is grabbing hair and fighting, and the other is a middle-aged man in a tank top and shorts, lying on the substation bench, completely red-faced, asking for alcohol.

Team Leader Kwak sighed softly and walked over to the substation reception desk.

When he came in with muscular men and a strikingly beautiful policewoman, he naturally drew attention.

“Where’s the station chief here?”

Team Leader Kwak asked, looking around. A young officer spotted his rank insignia and jumped up.

As a police superintendent, Team Leader Kwak was the same rank as the substation chief.

“Uh, Chief is out on a call temporarily.”

“On a call? Does the chief go out on calls himself here?”

“Ah, he goes sometimes when he wants to. He’s usually at the main station.”

“An enthusiastic chief, I see.”

As the team leader turned and leaned against the reception desk, the officer cautiously spoke.

“Perhaps… what brings you here?”

At his words, the team leader casually replied.

“Oh, we’re from the Regional Investigation Unit. Supporting the summer substation.”

“R, Regional Investigation Unit!”

At the mention of the Regional Investigation Unit, the officer’s eyes widened, and he covered his mouth with a look of overwhelming emotion. His voice was loud enough for the other officers in the station who were paying attention to them to hear.

“The Regional Investigation Unit?”

“Wow, that Regional Investigation Unit? From Gangjin?”

“Wow… I knew it!”

A policewoman who had been taking care of a lost child subtly approached and spoke to the muscleman.

“H, 혹시 [Perhaps] Detective Shin?”

The youngest member was startled and waved his hands in denial.

“No? This person is our senior detective.”

“Ah, I’m sorry. Detective Shin! I’m a huge fan. You’re so cool!”

The policewoman shyly asked Haesu for a handshake. The youngest member was proud as if it were his own accomplishment.

“Ah, yes, thank you.”

“Kyaa, thank you. To be working at the same station as Detective Shin…!”

“Ahaha….”

The policewoman giggled with a blissful expression and lightly touched Haesu’s arm. Not missing that moment, Haru moved and stepped between the policewoman and Haesu.

The policewoman suddenly wondered who this person was, giving her a glare, but Haru was a head taller than her, so she naturally looked up and quickly averted her gaze.

At the mention of the Regional Investigation Unit, the police officers’ interest in them exploded.

“Wow, look at those muscles, they look like they’re about to burst.”

“Ah, so that person is… that veiled female detective….”

“More than I imagined… wow, uh.”

“What? Say something.”

Haesu and the team members felt awkward with the atmosphere in the station, as if they were celebrities, but it wasn’t unpleasant.

“Hehe, it’s like we’re at a fan signing event.”

“Dolsoe is a celebrity now, a celebrity. Wear sunglasses and a mask, why don’t you.”

“I’m considering it.”

It was an emotion they couldn’t feel anywhere else. They were all police officers and from the same Chungnam Provincial Police Agency, so they remembered the Regional Investigation Unit, but even if they went to another agency, not many people would know about the Regional Investigation Unit or Haesu.

The benches were already full, so as they stood awkwardly, a male officer came out from the reception desk and spoke to Team Leader Kwak.

“There’s a break room upstairs. I’ll guide you there until the chief arrives.”

“Oh, okay. Let’s go.”

“Yes.”

A strange silence flowed through the substation.

With the appearance of the large men in a row, the place, which had been like a marketplace until just now, became quiet.

As they were going up the stairs, the glass door at the entrance was opened roughly.

“Ugh, it’s hot! That’s why you have to go out on calls! You can see how hard our guys work, right?”

“Yes, that’s right.”

“Anyway, you’re good at answering.”

A gruff and hearty voice. Team Leader Kwak turned around at the familiar voice.

“Oh? Bongpal?”

At the team leader’s words, the police officer who had just entered, wearing two mugunghwa flowers [Korean national flower, symbolizing a police superintendent rank] on his shoulders, turned his head. A generous build, a red face full of vigor as if he were drunk, and piercing eyes.

It was Kim Bongpal, the chief of Boseong Plaza Police Substation.

“Huh? Kwak? Kwak Sucheol?!!”

“It’s Bongpal! It’s really him!”

Team Leader Kwak ran down the stairs in one stride and gave the chief a rough hug. Then, they slapped each other’s arms, expressing their joy intensely.

“Wow, it’s been so long, Bongpal! You were here? Ah, is the Regional Investigation Unit you? Are you the leader of the Regional Investigation Unit?”

“Yeah, I moved from Violent Crimes Unit 1 to the Regional Investigation Unit. I’m the leader, the leader.”

“Kihya! Our Kwak has made it! Awesome!”

Team Leader Kwak and Chief Bongpal were classmates at the police academy.

After that, they were close friends who even did patrol duty and riot police duty together.

However, Kwak applied to the Violent Crimes Unit, and Bongpal applied to the substation, saying he was going to more urgent scenes, and they were torn apart.

They were both busy, so they naturally lost contact and met again after five years.

“Our Kwak has lived diligently!”

“You too, you were in this busy place? How long have you been here?”

“Who else would do it if not me? It’s been four years. I was supposed to move, but no one was coming, so I just said I’d keep doing it.”

“Oh my, you’re still the same. You need to take care of your body now, we’re old.”

“And you’re taking care of yourself by being in the Regional Investigation Unit?”

“Hehe, is that so?”

Haesu nodded and made a satisfied expression.

Just listening to the chief’s conversation, you could tell that he had a strong sense of justice and duty.

With a superior officer present, the processing was quick.

Team Leader Kwak decided to help with the overall processing at the substation with the chief, and the other four, not knowing the area, decided to patrol in pairs with local police officers.

O Gyeong and Haesu, who were higher in rank, were paired with lower-ranking officers, and the youngest member and Haru, who were lower in rank, were paired with higher-ranking officers.

“What a coincidence! I’m so honored to be in the same team! Detective Shin!”

“Yes, I’m honored too.”

Haesu was paired with the policewoman who had called herself a fan earlier.

“Well, please take care of me… Officer Yeoja-yeong.”

“Yes.”

Haru was paired with a police sergeant who looked more innocent and fair-skinned than a woman.

“Okay, our assault team! Go patrol hard! When you come back, I’ll give you a glass of ice water each!”

“Are you going to slack off here, hyungnim [older brother/senior male] ?”

“Then should I, with two mugunghwa flowers, be walking around in the scorching sun?”

At Team Leader Kwak’s words, the chief came over and grabbed his shoulder.

“Friend, it’s been a long time since we met, let’s reminisce about our youth together. Leave the station to the team leaders, and let’s go for a patrol.”

“Oh, uh? No, wait, what are you talking about, Chief?”

The team leader had met his match.

Haesu smiled at Team Leader Kwak’s embarrassed face and left the substation.

* * *

“The sea!!”

“Kya ha ha ha!”

“Hey, hey, run, run!!”

Beep, beep-!

A rented sedan stopped at the top of the beach, and six young men and women rushed out and ran madly to the beach.

Some are playing beach volleyball, and others, who seem to have come as a group, are planting flags in the sand and running.

It’s a hot beach, and just watching it makes you feel the summer. Haesu had never even thought about things like vacations or beaches, but when the youthful energy reached her skin, she felt her heart flutter without realizing it.

It was a foot patrol that brought back memories of her rookie days.

“Detective Shin, how many violent criminals have you arrested so far?”

At the policewoman’s question, Haesu checked her name tag. Yeoja-yeong, a unique name.

“I don’t know. I haven’t specifically counted.”

“Wow! You’ve arrested so many you can’t count, as expected!”

“Um, yes.”

The reaction seemed excessive, but it was true. Even roughly thinking, it was well over a hundred.

The policewoman fixed her gaze on Haesu, not ahead, and her eyes sparkled.

“I search Detective Shin once a day and always look for new videos on YouTube. When I see the comments on Detective Shin’s news articles, I feel proud, and I think I did well to become a police officer. Anyway, I think it’s fortunate that we have someone like Detective Shin in our police force.”

She seemed to be full of words, but her words felt sincere. Haesu turned her head for the first time and looked at her briefly, then looked ahead again and answered bluntly.

“Thank you.”

“Wow… but to be paired with such a Detective Shin, it’s like a dream….”

The last words were spoken very quietly, but Haesu could hear them clearly.

It was a bit burdensome, but she couldn’t feel bad when she liked her so much. Haesu unknowingly had a small smile on her face.

The policewoman was like a young fan meeting her favorite singer.

“I’m glad. It’s good that my actions give energy to Officer Yeo’s police life.”

“Yes, really big… Stop there!! You can’t set off fireworks in a place with so many people. Who sets off fireworks in the daytime?”

From a girl with her hands together and sparkling eyes, she suddenly gave strength to her eyes and shouted with abdominal breathing.

Haesu was caught off guard and startled, but didn’t show it.

Beep-beep!

Ignoring the policewoman’s warning and continuing to set off fireworks, she blew her whistle and ran towards them.

* * *

At the same time, Haru was on foot patrol with the most innocent-looking police sergeant she had ever met.

The sunlight was strong, so she was wearing her uniform hat pulled down deep, but she could feel many glances, both male and female, looking at Haru.

It wasn’t an ordinary workplace where everyone was busy with their own work, but a place where people came to play, so there were especially many people who gave attention to others.

“There’s a big island at the end there. Go all the way there and then to the right… take a picture of the Viking ride and our area is up to the substation. Walking around the outskirts takes about 30 minutes per lap.”

“Yes.”

Haru continued her patrol after a short answer.

It’s not easy for her to continue a conversation with strangers. She doesn’t really try to have a conversation either.

So, if she can’t think of anything to say, she just gives short answers, and the innocent-looking sergeant thought that Haru was very nervous because it was an unfamiliar duty.

“You don’t have to be too nervous. Usually, people get heatstroke during the day, and drunk people cause a ruckus at night. But most of the time, it ends with simple on-site measures….”

Chijik-

-Gwanghana here, report of a drunk person sleeping on the street near the Algetmoya seafood restaurant in Bukgwangjang.

The innocent-looking sergeant scratched his head and picked up the radio.

“Doseot, I will send it.”

-Doseot Songpal

Algetmoya is a large seafood restaurant that mainly sells crabs. Going to the alleyway that surrounds it, there was a middle-aged man who appeared to be in his early to mid-60s lying down.

Near him, a young couple was looking down at him with disgusted eyes. They were the reporters. They spotted Haru in her uniform and raised their hands.

“Here. Please get rid of him quickly.”

“You’re the ones who reported it?”

“Yes, can we go then?”

“Yes, but first, I’d like to ask you a few simple questions….”

While the innocent-looking sergeant was asking the reporters basic questions, Haru checked the drunk man’s condition.

His skin was red and smelled strongly of alcohol. There was vomit on his mouth. He was breathing, but it was uneven, and there was some vomit in his mouth.

슥

His skin was hot like a patient with a high fever.

Haru immediately took out a bottle of water that she had stuck in her patrol belt and sprinkled it all over his body.

It was a 500ml bottle of water that she had received when she started working at the summer substation, in preparation for emergencies.

When she turned his eyelids over to examine them, his focus was blurry.

The innocent-looking sergeant, who had finished asking questions to the reporters, sat next to Haru and tapped the drunk man’s shoulder.

“Sir, sir? This is the police. Are you okay?”

Meanwhile, Haru tilted the middle-aged man’s head to the side and put her fingers in his mouth to remove the vomit.

The innocent-looking sergeant narrowed his brows and admired her bold appearance.

But Haru turned her head to him with the same emotionless face as before and said.

“His condition doesn’t look good. Call an ambulance first.”

“Yes? Ah, yes, yes.”

The innocent-looking sergeant tilted his head and obediently picked up his phone.

Soon, an ambulance came and the middle-aged man was taken to the hospital. Haru and the innocent-looking police officer handed him over to his guardian and returned to the substation.

As a result of the confirmation, the middle-aged man had a stroke. They had left as soon as they received the report, but by the time Haru arrived, a lot of time had already passed and he did not wake up and became brain dead.

* * *

Just before leaving work on the first day at the summer substation.

쾅!

A young woman with arms as big as Haru’s waist appeared, roughly opening the substation door.

She strode to the reception desk and shouted.

“Who killed my dad! Was it you? You bitch?! You fucking police bitch who killed my dad, come out!!”