The Cop Is Too Strong [EN]: Chapter 159

159. Lighter

The dark navy riot gear meticulously covered everything except the thighs and biceps. Fully equipped with a helmet, small round shields on the forearms, and a riot baton, even an ordinary person would feel confident enough to defeat a mixed martial arts fighter.

And this confidence was amplified into a sense of invincibility, which had a tremendous impact on the battle.

“Waaaaah!!”

“Yiaaaaah!”

The Mobile Strike Force, hastily called in place of the perpetually busy and tardy SWAT team, descended like a pack of hungry wolves.

Clang! Clang clang!

“Get down!!”

“Throw away your knives, you bastards!”

Thud, thud, thud!!

The gangsters with weapons were easy prey for the strike force members.

Unable to confront violent protesters, they unleashed their pent-up aggression here to their heart’s content.

Thwack! Pow! Thwack!

The sounds of heads cracking and limbs breaking echoed from every direction.

The police mobile strike force relentlessly subdued the gangsters.

It was a scene that demonstrated at a glance how much combat effectiveness is enhanced when armor and weapons are provided to a group.

Two police officers in riot gear went to an elevated position and filmed the entire situation, meticulously recording evidence of any potential excessive force, regardless of the deployment scenario.

Hae-soo handed over the beaten boss and Mr. Yang to the strike force and headed toward the container where the hostages were being held.

Creak-

He carefully opened the container door. The inside, with the lights off, was pitch black and eerily silent.

“Heeuh, heeuh.”

“Heu….”

Faint breaths confirmed the presence of people inside.

Unaware of what was happening, they were holding their breath, clinging to a sliver of hope.

“Young-shik.”

Hae-soo switched on his flashlight and directed the beam toward the floor. He saw people huddled together, pressed against the wall, trembling with fear.

Young-shik, recognizing Hae-soo’s voice and silhouette, jumped up and limped toward him.

“Hae, Hae-soo hyung-nim [term of respect for an older brother or male friend]?”

Thump

Hae-soo placed his large hand on Young-shik’s head and looked around at the other victims before speaking.

“This is the police. You’re safe now. Let’s get you home.”

Bee-yoh, bee-yoh, bee-boh, bee-boh

As if on cue, the sounds of police cars and ambulances wailed in a chaotic symphony.

Only then did the victims realize they were out of danger, and sighs and cries of relief erupted from everywhere.

“Haa….”

“Sniff, heeuh, heu…!”

“I’m really going to listen to my parents from now on….”

“Shibal [Korean profanity, similar to ‘shit’], shibal, I’m alive. I’m alive.”

Some hugged each other and wept, while others staggered up and approached Hae-soo.

The woman, whose eyes had looked like those of a dead fish earlier, grabbed Hae-soo’s hands with both of her own.

Her hands were rough and dry, but surprisingly warm.

“Thank you… thank you….”

The woman’s eyes seemed to regain a spark of life.

* * *

This operation run by Mr. Yang was the Chungnam Branch of a Voice Phishing [telephone fraud] scam. The headquarters were reportedly located in Shanghai.

It turned out to be connected to the Black Society, the same criminal organization that Kang Soo-dae had previously investigated.

They were a newly formed organization comprised of former Black Society members who had disbanded and scattered, regrouping in small cells of three to five. They were connected to a Korean organization, leading them to establish several branches in Korea as well.

The National Police Agency contacted the Chinese police again and pledged to crack down on the Black Society.

“I, I’ll tell you everything! I’ll tell you, so please go easy on me! Don’t criminals have human rights here?!!”

“Looks like you haven’t been beaten enough yet.”

Mr. Yang had a remarkably loose mouth, especially considering his penchant for torture. Through him, they uncovered information about other voice phishing branches in Korea, and the information and cases were shared with the relevant agencies, bringing the matter to a close.

[Korea’s Largest Voice Phishing Group Busted: Detective Infiltrates and Nets Entire Operation]

[Confirmed Damages Reach 103.5 Billion Won, Recovered Amount Only 30 Billion Won, Victims Protest in Frustration]

The crackdown on the large-scale voice phishing group, with its staggering number of victims, perpetrators, and financial damages, caused a significant stir in the country for a while.

Hae-soo’s contribution, which involved the risky infiltration and capture of not only the base but also key headquarters personnel, went largely unnoticed by the public.

Only the Kang Soo-dae members praised him.

“Our striker! You worked so hard, really!”

“That’s right, that’s right, he even got a tan because he was worried people would recognize him and he’d get celebrity disease.”

“He even dyed his hair yellow.”

“He even got a tattoo!”

“Yeah, can that tattoo even be removed?”

Hae-soo rolled up his sleeve to check the tattoo and nodded.

“They say it can be removed with a few sessions.”

“Ooh yeah, the tattoo amidst the muscles and scars looks really intimidating. I don’t think I’d recognize you if I ran into you on the street, and I’d lower my eyes out of fear.”

“I will try to remove it as soon as possible.”

Team Leader Kwak, who had been staring at Hae-soo’s tattoo, suddenly spread out his hands and folded them one by one, muttering.

“I think we have too many achievements; how many big cases have we had this year alone?”

“That’s right, isn’t this enough to guarantee a full special promotion next year?”

“Will I be able to get a special promotion too?”

It is not easy to go from Police Lieutenant to Police Captain. However, going from Police Captain to Police Superintendent is on another level.

From Police Superintendent, you are not only promoted in rank but also take a step into a different world as a real executive, starting with the benefits. It’s equivalent to the head of a police station division or a precinct chief.

Oh Geng tilted his head at Team Leader Kwak’s question.

“Hmm… well, I don’t know if you will.”

“Then am I escaping from here?”

“Who says so.”

Oh Geng grumbled for no reason. However, it is true that if Team Leader Kwak is promoted to Police Superintendent, he will no longer be able to stay with Kang Soo-dae.

And considering Kang Soo-dae’s achievements so far, the possibility of a special promotion was very high.

Oh Geng briefly imagined Kang Soo-dae without Team Leader Kwak, then shook his head and got up from his seat.

“Let’s go to the sauna! They said the stakeout money came through, right, hyung [term of respect for an older brother or male friend]?”

“Huh? Is that so?”

“Sauna….”

At the word sauna, Haru lowered his gaze and looked gloomy.

Hae-soo, noticing the subtle change in Haru’s expression, said.

“How about a company dinner instead of a sauna? I’m hungry.”

The muscle monster, who often looked after his first junior, Haru, added his opinion.

“That’s right! It’s been a long time since we had a company dinner!”

“What, did you two plan this?”

“Hey, don’t get up, you’re intimidating. Well, if you go to the sauna with these guys….”

Oh Geng looked at Hae-soo, the youngest, and finally Haru, and trailed off.

“Ah, I was short-sighted, eating is better than washing after all, hyung-nim [term of respect for an older brother or male friend], shall we go for pork belly?”

Team Leader Kwak took out his card and raised it high, shouting.

“Okay, let’s go for pork belly!”

“Let’s go!!”

* * *

After work, Kang Soo-dae headed to a pork belly restaurant.

The restaurant was crowded with people because it was dinner time.

Kang Soo-dae took a seat in the corner and started grilling pork belly.

“Didn’t those Dongdongpa [a local gang] bastards shout ‘sea of blood’ right at this spot before?”

“That’s right, our hyung-nim’s [term of respect for an older brother or male friend] memory hasn’t failed yet~”

“Please change the grill here.”

The youngest and Haru weren’t there at the time, so they just stared blankly and ate the meat.

“Dongdongpa, there were guys who shouted ‘Let’s make a sea of blood!’ next to us to take over this area! Now they’ve all come to their senses and are working… are they working?”

Hae-soo’s gaze turned to the employee who was changing the grill. The face of the employee wearing a green apron looked familiar.

He recognized Hae-soo, paused, and bowed deeply.

“Hello, Doctor of Physical Therapy! It’s been a while! I’m Go Jung-hoon!”

“Oh, oh, yeah, Jung-hoon, nice to see you. Lower your voice.”

Go Jung-hoon was one of the Dongdongpa members. He then recognized the team leader and Oh Geng and bowed repeatedly.

Apparently, all the Dongdongpa members were finding their own way to live and working hard.

Jung-hoon had been working here for almost a year and was working hard enough to receive a bonus from the restaurant owner.

“Oh, well done, well done, Jung-hoon, it’s good to see you. How great! Wait a minute.”

Team Leader Kwak listened to Jung-hoon’s recent situation and took out a few crumpled 10,000 won bills from his pocket and put them in his hand.

“Ah, ah, it’s okay!”

“No, I’m so proud of you, so proud of you. It’s really rare for kids who used to steal to do ordinary work, take it, take it.”

Hae-soo nodded his head greatly, thinking the same thing.

“You’ll do well in the future.”

“Th, thank you….”

At that sight, the youngest quietly felt touched, stuffing his mouth full of pork belly and frowning.

.

.

.

“Oh, I ate well. It’s delicious today, is it because I’m in a good mood, hyung-nim [term of respect for an older brother or male friend], a smoke?”

“Ah, shibal [Korean profanity, similar to ‘shit’], I can’t quit because of you.”

At Oh Geng’s words, Team Leader Kwak reluctantly took out a cigarette and got up and went outside.

The youngest, who didn’t usually talk much, looked at Hae-soo and Haru, drank a cider in one shot, and got up from his seat.

“I’ll go to the bathroom for a moment.”

The youngest habitually saluted Hae-soo and headed to the bathroom.

That way, Hae-soo and Haru were left alone naturally, and Hae-soo quickly picked up and ate the pork belly on the grill one by one.

Tak-

Just before eating the second to last piece, Haru’s chopsticks flew and blocked Hae-soo’s chopsticks.

Hae-soo slightly raised his head and met her eyes.

“I have something to say.”

Sensing Haru’s serious tone, Hae-soo quietly put down his chopsticks.

“Tell me.”

“I will take a leave of absence during the personnel transfer season next year.”

“…Leave of absence?”

Hae-soo had recommended a transfer to a police box. However, he was surprised by this unexpected remark.

“Yes, it’s not because of Hae-soo’s words. I need time to think about my future.”

“Hmm….”

Haru had decided to become a police officer to protect Hae-soo from close by after seeing him get hurt.

However, after experiencing it, working together is rather restrictive. You need to be free. You need to be free from the schedule and make money. You don’t need a lot of money.

So Haru thought about what kind of work she would have to do to freely take time off and make money.

However, she didn’t tell Hae-soo.

“Yeah, you don’t have much experience in the world, and it’s not good to do only this rough work for the rest of your life; you should experience many other jobs.”

“I understand.”

The muscle monster thought that Hae-soo and Haru were having a serious conversation, so he couldn’t go in right away and peeked at the bathroom entrance.

* * *

At the same time, in the smoking area in front of the store.

Bzzzz Bzzzz

“Oh, hyung-nim [term of respect for an older brother or male friend], I have a call.”

“Oh, go ahead.”

Oh Geng immediately put out his cigarette at his wife’s call and got up and went to a deserted place so as not to be disturbed by the noise.

The team leader quietly took a deep breath of cigarette smoke, exhaled, and looked at the sky.

Swish

At that time, someone sat next to him.

Since there were only three chairs in the smoking area, he had no choice but to sit next to the team leader sitting in the middle.

The team leader’s gaze was fixed on the sky, so he couldn’t tell who was sitting there.

However, at that moment, goosebumps rose from his tailbone to the top of his head.

A very ominous feeling, a feeling he had felt once before. He doesn’t remember when that was.

Team Leader Kwak froze in that position and didn’t even look to the side.

Then, a mid-low voice was heard.

“Mister. Can I borrow a light?”

“Ah, yes.”

The instinct is sending a danger signal. However, the police spirit that cannot be ignored moved his body first.

The team leader didn’t hand him the lighter, but lit it directly for him and quickly scanned him.

The man’s face was extremely ordinary. So much so that he couldn’t pinpoint a single distinguishing feature.

Tak, hiss-

However, when he looked at his hand as he held the cigarette, he saw that there were thick calluses between his thumb and index finger. There were also calluses on the tips of other fingers.

As he followed his fingers, he unknowingly made eye contact. The moment he met those dry eyes, the team leader felt the back of his head tingle.

However, unlike his racing heart, he didn’t show it on his face and greeted him naturally.

“Where are you from?”

“Sigh, hoo… Isn’t it polite to reveal it first before asking something like that?”

The man took a leisurely puff of cigarette smoke even at the team leader’s question and answered vaguely.

“Ah, I’ve been in Chungnam for almost 20 years. I asked because your accent isn’t from Chungnam.”

“Did you abandon your hometown because of your job?”

“Eh? Abandon? I go down every month; our hometown has amazing Janchi-guksu [banquet noodles, a type of Korean noodle dish]….”

The team leader was taken aback by the word abandoned and began to make excuses. At that time, Oh Geng, who had finished his phone call, came.

“Hyung-nim [term of respect for an older brother or male friend], what are you doing?”

Team Leader Kwak had a momentary brain freeze at Oh Geng’s appearance. He’s a veteran detective in his own way, but he was caught up in that man’s pace. He didn’t get any information.

It would have been different if it had been an interrogation with a different mindset, but he was careless.

“Ah, no, let’s go in.”

The man made eye contact with the team leader. Team Leader Kwak narrowed his brows and went inside the store.