The Cop Is Too Strong [EN]: Chapter 138

138. Tolerance Training

Shin Hae-soo followed the youngest detective and said to the team leader,

“Park Ji-won’s registered address is probably his family home. His parents are likely there, so we should check it out, right?”

“Of course, we should! Oh Gyeong, what are you doing? Grab the car keys!”

“Okay, let’s go!”

The investigation, which had been completely stuck, suddenly started to unravel, creating a strange mix of energy and tension within the headquarters.

Hae-soo, along with the youngest detective, headed to Park Ji-won’s house, which they had identified earlier, and called Haru.

-Ring Ring

“Hmm…”

She must be showering; she’s not answering. Just as they arrived at the location, Hae-soo left a message for Haru and got out of the car.

Ding-dong, ding-dong

“Hello?”

Thump, thump

“Mr. Park Ji-won.”

After knocking several times, a frightened voice came from inside.

-Wh-who is it? I-I’m going to call the police.

It was a young woman’s voice. She must have seen Hae-soo and the youngest detective through the peephole and gotten scared.

It was completely different from the voice of Park Ji-won they had heard before.

Something was wrong. As Hae-soo’s mind raced with a serious expression, the youngest detective held up his police ID to the peephole.

“We’re police officers. We’re from the Violent Crimes Unit at Gangjin Police Station.”

-P-police?

Screech, click, shhh-

Only then did she open the door, but kept the chain lock on, peeking her face out. It wasn’t Park Ji-won.

“Where is Mr. Park Ji-won?”

“Park… Ji-won? Who is that?”

As she asked back, Hae-soo turned to the youngest detective with a questioning look.

“This is the right place. Room 303, it’s correct.”

Hae-soo, reassured by the youngest detective’s confident words, turned back to the woman.

“Did you perhaps move in here recently?”

“N-no, I’ve lived here for a year now…”

“Hmm…”

Hae-soo held out his phone to the woman, showing her Park Ji-won’s face.

“You don’t know Mr. Park Ji-won?”

“Yes? N-no… I-I don’t think so…”

She shook her head, then narrowed her eyes and looked at the photo again.

“Oh? I think I’ve seen him somewhere… Who is this person?”

Hae-soo looked at the door lock on her front door.

The fact that she, who was so wary, remembered his face meant that he had been loitering around, watching her. And since the youngest detective had confirmed that Park Ji-won had entered this house, it was presumed that he had been watching her enter the password and memorized it.

And that meant he had recognized that he was being followed by the detectives and had shaken them off.

The possibility that he was the adhesive killer became even greater.

“What’s your name?”

“Me? Ah, I’m Areum.”

“Okay, Ms. Areum, listen carefully. This man is a murder suspect, and he has broken into your house.”

“…H-he’s a murderer?”

The perpetrator had been right under her nose. Even if it increased the public’s anxiety, it was important to clearly inform them of the current situation and prepare them.

“First, change your password. Youngest, just grab a smartwatch from the car.”

“Yes, sir!”

“We’ll give you this watch for your protection, so if anything happens, just shake it. We’ll increase patrols around your house. If you’re worried, it’s also good to stay at a friend’s house or your family home. If your residence changes, we’ll have to change our patrols too, so please let us know.”

“S-so, a murderer broke into my house…?”

“Yes.”

Various emotions, such as embarrassment, fear, and denial, appeared on the woman’s face. While she was in shock, the youngest detective brought the smartwatch.

“Please wear this at all times. We’re currently tracking the suspect, so we’ll contact you as soon as he’s caught.”

“…Yes, yes…”

“Lock your doors and windows. And… since this place has already been exposed to us, the suspect probably won’t target Ms. Areum anymore. Then…”

As soon as Hae-soo came out of there, he heard a radio transmission.

“Park Ji-won isn’t there. The place we checked before was another woman’s house. Judging from the fact that he knew the password, it’s presumed that she was a potential target.”

-Damn it… I’ll put her under protection. Send me the address.

“Yes, we handed over the watch. Has Park Ji-won’s location been found?”

-Yeah, but it’s in a remote place. We’re on our way, so we’ll check it out too.

“Yes, I’ll start collecting CCTV footage from around here.”

-Okay, radio in if anything happens.

Hae-soo hung up the radio and collected CCTV footage with the youngest detective, lost in thought. Something felt off.

‘Why would he deliberately approach and expose himself when the probability of being identified as a suspect is so high? Even giving his real name… Is it for a display of vanity? To mock the police?’

But Hae-soo shook his head to clear his mind of unnecessary thoughts.

In any case, although the evidence was insufficient, it was clear from the circumstances that he was a strong suspect. It was right to do what he had to do now.

Zzzzzz Zzzzzz

At that time, his personal phone rang.

“Yeah, speak.”

-Detective Shin! I found something strange while tracking this guy! I sent it to you in a text.

“Hold on a second.”

Hae-soo stopped walking and checked the photo Jung Young-soo had sent.

It was a post on some website plotting a crime against a Violent Crimes Unit detective. And the target was Haru.

“Youngest, start the engine.”

“Ah, yes, sir!”

“Young-soo, you know Haru’s number, right? Get her location, and if she’s moving…”

-I’ll send it to you in real-time!

Young-soo replied quickly to the deeply sunken voice.

Hae-soo immediately hung up the phone and got into the car.

“First, to Reed Building, quickly.”

* * *

Inside the bus heading towards Reed Building.

Thud-

Haru’s head bobbed and eventually hit the seat in front of her. But she didn’t wake up and remained in that state.

Park Ji-won smiled bitterly at the sight, grabbed Haru’s arms, and leaned her against his shoulder.

“So… why did you drink so much?”

A soliloquy spat out with a sigh.

The gazes that had gathered at the rather loud voice scattered.

Ji-won immediately pressed the stop button, picked up Haru, and got off.

“You’re heavier than you look.”

He struggled as he crossed the street and caught a taxi.

“Please go to Yangji Motel.”

“Yes~ Your girlfriend is completely wasted.”

The taxi driver’s eyes, looking at Haru, who was staggering and out of her mind, were lecherous. A murderous intent flashed in Ji-won’s eyes for a moment.

“Mister, I get angry when you look at my girlfriend like that.”

“…Huh? Ah, I’m sorry. She’s too pretty.”

“Yeah, just step on the gas.”

Park Ji-won carefully looked at the taxi driver’s family photo attached next to the navigation system and secretly took a picture of it with his phone. Then, he got out of the taxi, took a picture of the taxi’s license plate, picked up Haru, and went into the motel.

Thud-

“Hoo, hoo, hoo.”

Ji-won laid Haru on the bed and looked at her with excited eyes.

“Ah, right, first, I need to take a proof shot.”

He put on sunglasses and a mask, took a selfie with Haru next to him while making a V-sign, and uploaded it to a dark web site.

[I do what I say. Violent Crimes Unit female detective on her way to heaven – Writer: James Bond]

-Is this still a delusion? [Photo]

┗FrenchKigal: ㅅㅍ Crazy lol [Korean slang for “fucking crazy lol”]

┗YourWifeIsMine: Hah Hah So Pretty Stop I’ll Buy Her I’m First

┗YourMoneyIsMyMoney: You just called a hooker and took a picture while she was sleeping, saying it’s a Violent Crimes Unit female detective ㅇㅈㄹㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ [Korean slang for “are you kidding me lol”]

┗YourWifeIsMine: Isn’t it? It seems right. The only female detective in the Violent Crimes Unit, her face almost matches the video that came out

┗YourMoneyIsMyMoney: Can you see that when her eyes are closed? And all the videos don’t show her face properly

┗YourWifeIsMine: It’s similar, would he have found someone similar?

┗FrenchKigal: Awesome, quickly finish her off and upload a review photo, or a video.

┗JamesBond (Writer): Okay wait

┗YourWifeIsMine: Ah, don’t send her to heaven, she’s such a waste

┗JamesBond (Writer): Shut up

Park Ji-won was pleased to see their enthusiastic reactions as comments were posted in real-time, and he took out the supplies he had prepared from his bag.

“Now… let’s start with these pretty eyes first…”

Just as he took the lid off the super glue and brought it to Haru’s eyes, her eyes flashed open.

However, Park Ji-won was not flustered.

“Oh, you woke up early? Stay still. It’ll be over soon.”

Haru initially thought that Park Ji-won was just a simple sex offender using sleeping pills to rape her. But when she saw him taking out super glue without even taking off her clothes, she realized that he was the perpetrator of the case they were investigating.

Park Ji-won grabbed Haru’s forehead with one hand and tried to spray the glue into her eyes again.

Tap-

Haru pushed his hand away and knocked away the hand holding the glue. The glue escaped from his grasp and flew far away.

Ji-won stepped back slightly, wary of the fact that Haru’s movements were no different from a normal person, considering she had overdosed on sleeping pills.

“What, why are you so fine? Is this what being a detective is like?”

Haru stared at him with dry eyes and pointed to his chest with her index finger.

“Knife.”

Haru had noticed the knife in his inside pocket when their shoulders touched as he was helping her on the bus.

“Ha, haha, okay. I don’t really like post-mortem adhesive finishes… but I have no choice.”

Swish

As he took out the knife from his chest, Haru also picked up the wooden chopsticks placed on the drawer next to the bed, separated the two, and broke them in half.

Thud Crack-

Then, she held three broken wooden chopsticks in one hand and one in the other.

“Ah… you’re going to fight a knife with that? There’s a limit to how much you can ignore me. You’re ignoring me too much. I’ve used a knife a bit!”

He frowned and swung the knife while shouting. However, Haru only moved her upper body slightly backward from her spot and swung one of the wooden chopsticks in response.

Thwack-

“Argh!”

The wooden chopstick accurately pierced the wrist of Ji-won, who was holding the knife. Because of this, the knife did not reach Haru and stopped as it was.

Ji-won’s face contorted in pain, and he made eye contact with her. The corners of Haru’s lips slightly turned up.

“…I like opponents with knives even more.”

Facing that fatal smile, Ji-won felt chills running down his spine.

Tap- Swish

Haru grabbed his wrist with the wooden chopstick stuck in it and kicked his shin. He spun half a turn and fell helplessly to the floor.

Snap-

“Aaaargh!!”

Haru broke his fingers to make him drop the knife.

Stab!

“Ugh!”

She stabbed one wooden chopstick into the palm of his other hand.

Whack!!

“Ughaaaaa!!! It hurts, it hurts!!!”

She mercilessly stabbed the remaining two chopsticks into both of his eyes.

Haru got on top of his body, pressed down on both arms with her two knees, compressed his chest with her weight, and grabbed his neck with one arm.

“Be quiet. If you make noise, I’ll take one of these out and stab you in the carotid artery.”

“Ugh, ugh…”

Ji-won bit his lower lip so hard that blood leaked from his mouth to prevent groans from escaping as he shed tears of blood from both eyes. He had bitten his lip so hard that blood was also leaking from his mouth.

Haru was satisfied and took out her cell phone from her pocket in that position and called the Violent Crimes Unit.

“This is Haru. Here, Yangji Motel, room 402…”

Crash Bang!!

At that moment, the door was violently smashed open, and two men with large builds like boars appeared.

One of them rushed to Haru and grabbed both of her shoulders urgently.

“Haru! Are you okay?!”

Haru hung up the phone, looked at him, and smiled slightly.

“I’m okay.”

* * *

Daesung Hospital, private room.

Park Ji-won’s injuries were so severe that the interrogation took place in the hospital room.

His left eye was blind, and his right eye was also severely damaged, close to blindness.

Of course, no surgery was performed.

Unfortunately, the fact that he took out the adhesive and tried to spray it on Haru was not clear evidence that he was the same perpetrator as the previous murder case.

If they were to charge him, they could have him receive a sentence equivalent to murder for attempted murder and attempted rape, but they could not cleanly close the previous case. His confession or clear evidence was needed.

So, while Team Leader Kwak and Oh Gyeong went into the hospital room to interrogate Park Ji-won, Hae-soo and Haru sat on a bench in the hospital hallway and talked.

“…You suspected him from the moment he handed you the fatigue recovery drink on the bus? But why did you drink it, no, how were you okay after drinking it?”

Haru looked at Hae-soo, then turned her head and stared at the air for a few seconds before opening her mouth.

“I am resistant to 20 types of sleeping pills and 42 types of poison.”

Haru’s eyes were empty as she said that. Hae-soo could immediately guess how she had developed the resistance from her atmosphere.

As Hae-soo remained silent, Haru took the initiative to tell him more details.

“I added half a pill each month. When it became ten pills, I took it for 300 days.”

“…Is that something a person should do…”

“I endured the harsh training well, but many colleagues dropped out during the sleeping pill and poison training.”

Dropping out meant death. A bitter past just thinking about it.

But Haru did not want to ignore and avoid that desperate time, but wanted to tell someone she relied on that it was difficult.

After hesitating, she continued to speak in a slightly agitated voice.

“The poison was only hard at that time, but the sleeping pills were hell because I couldn’t sleep even after the training was over.”

“…How about now?”

At Hae-soo’s question, Haru blinked once. A single tear ran down. She wiped it away with her hand, made eye contact with Hae-soo, and opened her lips.

“It’s good. Insomnia has disappeared since I met Hae-soo.”

Hae-soo stared at her quietly and nodded deeply without saying a word.

Creak-

At that moment, the hospital room door opened, and Oh Gyeong shouted.

“Damn it, that bastard has one person captured! He hasn’t been contacted and hasn’t come to work for three days, so it seems real. We have to find him quickly!”