The Cop Is Too Strong [EN]: Chapter 123

123. Ice Cream Girl

As the Violent Crimes Unit officers arrived for work, the precinct chief clapped his hands once and began to speak.

“Alright, detectives, remember the districts you patrolled yesterday? Those are the districts you’ll be responsible for moving forward. Now, the Violent Crimes Unit officers will pair up and patrol in twos. Today, it’s districts 1 and 2.”

Team Leader Kwak, who had been listening quietly beside the chief, shrugged at the chief’s words.

“Why? I thought it was good for getting to know the precinct staff.”

“Ah, the competition is just too fierce. It would be fine if it was just a friendly rivalry, but people are actually getting their feelings hurt. So, I thought it would be better to just eliminate the competition altogether.”

“Ah… so we’re just super popular, huh?”

“Well, anyway, that’s why the Violent Crimes Unit will patrol together. Instead, our officers might be a bit of a pain when they’re on standby. But that’s more comfortable for the Violent Crimes Unit officers too, right?”

The officers nodded at the chief’s words.

Some had felt burdened by the constant questions and overly intense gazes while patrolling together.

“Yes, well, it is more comfortable.”

“Yes, we’ll do that.”

It would be two weeks at the shortest, a month at the longest. As they got older, they didn’t bother trying to build relationships that were destined to be severed in the future.

The youngest officer was disappointed, but Oh Geng and Hae-soo thought it was for the best.

Team Leader Kwak decided to receive radio calls from within the station, and the four officers needed to form two teams. Now it was time to pair up, and Hae-soo and the youngest officer happened to be standing next to each other.

The team leader panicked at that potentially volatile pairing, inserting his hand between them to separate them.

“Hey, hey! You two need to stay apart. People will get scared and run away. Stay apart, stay apart.”

“Um….”

Hae-soo and the youngest officer looked each other up and down. Then, they nodded in unison, acknowledging the team leader’s words.

‘Police officers shouldn’t create anxiety among the residents.’

“Dol-gyeok, you go with Officer Ha. Oh Geng, you go with the youngest officer.”

“Yes! Understood.”

As the teams were decided and Ha-roo left the station for foot patrol, the corners of his lips subtly turned upward.

* * *

“Wow!”

“Ugh….”

As Hae-soo and Ha-roo walked together, people glanced at them for different reasons.

People who saw Hae-soo in his short-sleeved uniform were amazed by his steel-like forearms and spiderweb-like veins, and people who saw Ha-roo were amazed by his aura that couldn’t be hidden by the uniform and his looks that made them do a double-take even when he wore a hat.

“…I want to see him without that hat on.”

“Do they pick police officers based on their looks these days… ?”

Hae-soo could hear the whispers, and he glanced at Ha-roo, who was walking with a blank expression, before speaking.

“Have you considered not wearing makeup?”

At Hae-soo’s words, Ha-roo turned his head to look at him and took off his duty cap to show him.

“I’m not wearing makeup. I only put on sunscreen.”

“Ah… I see.”

When Ha-roo took off his hat, several people around them seemed to gasp.

Hae-soo nodded and continued the patrol.

When doing foot patrol, people often think of the police as tour guides for Boryeong Hae-soo Beach, asking them for directions or about events.

However, during the two hours of foot patrol, not a single person spoke to Hae-soo and Ha-roo.

Although there were quite a few people who followed them for a long time.

As they were about to return to the station near the end of their shift,

-Ganghana here, a stabbing occurred near Dong Square, a stabbing occurred near Dong Square, are there any teams nearby?

The radio call from the team leader on duty came through.

Hae-soo was about to answer the radio when he stopped and looked at Ha-roo. Ha-roo quickly noticed and answered the radio.

“This is Officer Do Ha-roo.”

After finishing the radio call, he made eye contact with Hae-soo, and Hae-soo nodded as if to say, “Good job.”

“Let’s go.”

A stabbing was a time-sensitive incident. The two quickly ran to the scene.

Perhaps because they were fearless, there were many people gathered, so they were able to find the location without getting lost.

“…Come here, I’m going to cut your throat.”

“Shut up, you bastard, I’m going to smash your head in!”

“Oh yeah, try it, come here.”

A man with a kitchen knife and a man with a wooden stick were facing off. In the corner, a man was sitting holding his forearm. Blood was flowing from his forearm.

Peeeeeep!

Hae-soo saw them from afar and blew his whistle as he ran towards them.

“Stop! Both of you, put down your weapons!”

Even with the police arriving, neither of them had any intention of putting down their weapons.

The man with the wooden stick was about to lower it, but when the man with the knife showed no signs of lowering it and even threatened to swing it at the police, he raised the wooden stick again.

The man with the knife had already stabbed someone, so he didn’t care about the police. He knew, even subconsciously, that he had crossed the line, so his reason was further spiraling out of control.

The gathered onlookers fueled their competitive spirit even more. Even the moment Hae-soo and Ha-roo paused to assess the situation became a target of evaluation.

“Wow, he doesn’t back down even with the police here, that’s crazy.”

“He’s going to stab the police too at this rate.”

“Look at his eyes, so fierce….”

“Seriously, can’t the police subdue a man with a knife?”

“Is the female officer just watching from behind again today?”

“Oh, she’s so pretty… did they pick her to make them dance like a girl group?”

Hae-soo ignored the people’s words and spoke to the man with the knife in a calm tone.

“Drop the knife. There’s a big difference in the sentence depending on whether you drop it yourself or I have to subdue you.”

However, the man gritted his teeth at Hae-soo’s words.

“Shut up, you bastard! Try to subdue me if you can!!”

The man took a step forward and swung the knife at Hae-soo.

At that moment, Ha-roo dashed past Hae-soo.

Thwack-

Ha-roo went in low, and the brim of his duty cap was grazed by the tip of the knife swung by the man, causing the hat to fall off.

He didn’t care and grabbed the man’s wrist, turned around, and pressed his body against the man’s, quickly executing a hip throw [a judo technique].

The man’s body spun and slammed into the ground.

Thud!

“Guh!”

The man coughed from the impact of his back hitting the concrete floor, but he didn’t let go of the knife in his hand. Ha-roo then trapped his arm between his legs, crossed them in an X-shape, and choked him.

The onlookers murmured at the sight.

“Gasp!”

“This is, this is a reward.”

Snap-

“Aaaagh!!”

At that moment.

Ha-roo mercilessly broke his arm. He let out a sharp scream and dropped the knife in his hand.

“Never mind.”

“Even better….”

At the same time, Hae-soo approached the man with the wooden stick, and he took a step back and immediately threw the wooden stick to the ground.

“Ooh, awesome.”

“Wowwww!!”

Clap clap clap clap!

“Cool!”

As the situation was resolved in an instant, the people who had gathered cheered and applauded Ha-roo. Some were diligently filming with their phones.

Hae-soo quickly picked up Ha-roo’s duty cap and handed it to him.

“Wear it.”

“Ah, yes.”

While waiting for the patrol car, after only handcuffing the man who had been wielding the knife until the end, the Violent Crimes Unit detectives from the local precinct arrived first.

Cases involving knives or other weapons are considered violent crimes, so both the patrol station and the Violent Crimes Unit are called simultaneously.

They widened their eyes at the already resolved scene.

“What, is it already over?”

At the detective’s words, another detective recognized Hae-soo and replied.

“It’s them. The Violent Crimes Unit detective, I heard they came to support the summer patrol station….”

“Ah…!”

The detectives nodded and split up to approach the onlookers, Hae-soo, and the fighting men to ask about the situation.

Since someone was injured with a knife, it was not a simple settlement but a criminal case.

When he was in the Violent Crimes Unit, this was just the beginning of another process, but Hae-soo handed over the case to the detectives with a light heart. Then, he got into the patrol car that had arrived on the scene and returned to the patrol station.

“Working at the patrol station like this sometimes isn’t so bad-”

“Ugh, what’s with the confirmation! I’m the evidence, okay? This man touched my thigh!”

“Please! Confirm it. I hope confirming it will relieve some of my unfairness.”

As he entered the patrol station, a loud voice immediately echoed. A man in his 30s and a young woman were bickering with a police officer between them.

And Team Leader Kwak, the head of the Violent Crimes Unit, not the team leader of that time, was facing them.

“Calm down, everyone. First, let’s check the CCTV since we brought it. Wait here. Youngest!”

“Yes, Team Leader!”

The team leader spoke softly to them but shouted sharply when calling the youngest officer.

Then, the youngest officer hurriedly ran over to match his tone. He must have been doing push-ups in the waiting room until just now, as his muscles were even more pumped up.

“Oh, oh my, the police officer is in good shape.”

“Tsk, does he just work out all day….”

The man and woman’s momentum subsided slightly at the appearance of the team leader, who was smiling but not necessarily a good person, and the youngest officer, who was giving off a sense of intimidation with his body.

Hae-soo approached Team Leader Kwak out of curiosity and watched the CCTV with him.

The man and woman were riding the Disco Pang Pang [a spinning ride] together when the man lost his balance and brushed against the woman’s thigh. It didn’t seem intentional, but the fact that he touched her was significant.

“Ah, this is….”

“It’s going to be difficult.”

“Right, the lawsuit could be lengthy, and maybe even the Disco Pang Pang DJ could be held liable?”

“Hmm….”

It was a moment that made the man feel sorry for himself. The team leader approached them, showed them the scene again on the tablet, and said.

“Ms. Lee, are you going to sue for sexual harassment? However, even after confirming the CCTV, it is difficult to prove intent, so the outcome of the lawsuit is uncertain. The process is also very long and complicated, and you may not get the desired result.”

The woman frowned and looked up at the ceiling before turning her head sharply towards the man.

“Forget it, let’s settle. How much are you going to give me?”

“Ugh… I really didn’t do it on purpose…!”

“Screw it, then just go to jail. If you didn’t do it on purpose, then it’s not wrong? How disgusting do you think it felt when that hand touched my chest!”

At the woman’s words, the man sighed deeply and then raised his chin and asked.

“How much? How much do you want?”

“One million won!” [approximately $750 USD]

The woman raised her index finger and called out the settlement amount. The man widened his eyes at the amount and then slowly nodded.

“…Okay.”

“Really? Oppa [term for older brother used by females], are you rich?”

The woman was surprised when the man immediately accepted. The title quickly changed from “mister” to “oppa.” Some of the police officers who were watching this had subtle expressions on their faces.

“I just run a cafe.”

“A cafe owner? Where?”

“It’s called K Cafe, it’s on the hill at the end of Namgwangjang [South Plaza]…”

“Oh my gosh, I’ve been to K Cafe, it’s decorated so beautifully!”

“Well, I put a little effort into it.”

The man’s voice, which had been full of injustice, gradually softened at the woman’s praise.

The woman helped the man up and had already linked arms with him. The man frowned but didn’t let go.

“Wow, then… ah, can we handle this ourselves?”

The woman turned around and asked Team Leader Kwak as if she had forgotten something. Team Leader Kwak nodded with a smiling face.

“Yes, of course.”

“Okay, then.”

And so, the two left arm in arm, unlike when they had entered.

The police officers smiled in vain at their departing figures.

“Ha.”

“Heh heh.”

The patrol station chief approached and put his hand on Hae-soo’s shoulder and said.

“Funny, right? But things like that happen often. If you’re here, you’ll see a lot of ridiculous cases, it’s fun.”

“I guess so. It’s fun.”

Hae-soo nodded.

It was absurd, but it was fortunate that things didn’t escalate.

After the sweet standby time passed, it was time to change shifts and put on the patrol vests again.

The day shift team leader shouted.

“Illegal street vendor reported in the center of the plaza! Apparently, a young woman is selling ice cream wearing a bikini. We received a report, so please ask her to leave. Who’s going to go?”

“A bikini? Heh heh, she’s got a good business sense.”

“She’s passionate.”

Hae-soo chuckled at the police officers’ reactions and was about to leave when Ha-roo raised his hand.

“We’ll go!”

“Oh, Do Ha-roo? Ah, it’s at the edge of your assigned area, but please take care of it.”

“Yes!”

The rookie’s passion was admirable.

Hae-soo sighed softly and took Ha-roo out.

They headed to the central plaza at a brisk pace. There were quite a few people gathered there, just like during the stabbing incident during the day.

The difference was that most of them were men, and they had pleased expressions on their faces.

Hae-soo and Ha-roo pushed through the crowd and approached the area.

Two men in suits were standing tall, and a woman in a black bikini with a thin white cardigan was scooping ice cream. The scene was very awkward, as if she was a beginner.

Ha-roo widened his eyes after confirming her face.

“Ahn…Seo-eun-nim [formal Korean address] ?”

“Huh? Ah.”

Seo-eun instinctively raised her head when her name was called, then covered her face with her hands and blushed.