The Cop Is Too Strong [EN]: Chapter 169

169. I Win

Shin Haesoo’s eyes turned icy at Royce Kim’s shocking revelation, a montage of their first meeting at the cafe, the unsolicited phone call offering help, and their subsequent travels together flashing through his mind as Royce peppered him with questions.

Haesoo slowly clenched his fist.

Royce Kim, flustered by the sight, raised both hands, palms facing out.

“Whoa, whoa, don’t move, don’t move, don’t hit me, chill out, man!”

“Tell me *one* reason why I shouldn’t.”

“Oh, oh, shit! You’re gonna hit me after one!”

Royce Kim hastily backpedaled, creating distance.

“Two.”

“Whoa, whoa!! Hunt! Let’s catch Chilseonghui [Seven Stars Society, a secret organization] together!”

Feeling his life was in danger, he blurted out the core of his proposition.

“…What?”

Haesoo stopped, and Royce Kim finally lowered his hands, catching his breath. After a few deep breaths, he spoke.

“I joined Chilseonghui out of necessity. I hate Chilseonghui, I hate Teacher Cheon [likely a high-ranking member or leader], they’re bad news, a really bad cartel. Change is needed.”

“……”

Haesoo registered the new term.

‘Teacher Cheon…’

Regardless of his sincerity, what Royce had to say was worth hearing.

As Haesoo was lost in thought, Royce Kim quickly continued.

“What should I tell you first? Ah, I’ll tell you everything I can disclose. Chilseonghui members are a select few. I don’t know the exact number, but I’d bet anything it doesn’t exceed 100 people. Only CEOs of large corporations or people with significant influence are invited to be members.”

Haesoo looked him up and down, tilting his head as if to say, ‘You’re *really* one of those people?’

Royce Kim, interpreting his gaze, shrugged and said,

“What’s with you? I have access to at least $100 million I can use right now.”

“I can rearrange your face right now.”

“Whoa, calm down, calm down, man.”

Royce Kim then detailed which companies were currently part of Chilseonghui, his position within the organization, and his perspective on its nature.

Ilsung, Daesung, Hajin, KD, etc., were all forces Haesoo already suspected due to Detective Park’s X-File.

“If you can handle it alone, why approach a mere detective like me? And so methodically.”

“Man, nothing was planned from the start. It’s fate.”

“Shut up and answer the question.”

“Ah, okay, Chilseonghui is manipulating the Korean peninsula like it’s playdough. But you’re like a stone in the dough, hindering their manipulation. Honestly, with Chilseonghui’s power, they could completely erase you without you even knowing they existed. I was curious and speculated about why they weren’t doing it, or rather, *couldn’t* do it. Surely, you have a force behind you comparable to Chilseonghui….”

Haesoo looked at him with narrowed eyes and said,

“I’m alone.”

“What? Come on, I know everything.”

“I wish there was someone else, but I’m alone. If you know everything, then you know I’ve received death threats three times a day from the Hui [short for Chilseonghui].”

“Uh….”

Royce Kim was dumbfounded and sighed at his words.

“Now, tell me how to take down Chilseonghui.”

“Ah… okay, Chilseonghui is big. But there’s definitely a way to catch them. If we nibble away at them little by little, they’ll eventually collapse.”

“That’s it?”

“Of course not. With the information I have, we can cut off one of the Hui’s arms. But attacking somewhere else suddenly might make me look suspicious, so let’s hit Ilsung first, the current naturally connected target. I’ll give you the dirt I know, and things you’ll find out later. Handle them at the right time, call in any prosecutors you know.”

“If we build trust in each other.”

“Ah, okay, I acknowledge that.”

Royce Kim raised a hand for a high-five.

Haesoo raised his hand high and swung his palm.

Whack-!

Haesoo’s large palm struck Royce Kim’s cheek instead of his hand. He sprawled on the rock like a frog.

“That’s the price for deceiving me.”

* * *

Haesoo left Royce Kim and returned home.

‘A Chilseonghui member came to me and wants to join hands…’

It’s not a matter of believing or not. Judge the authenticity of the information, prepare to avoid losses, and then act.

Knowing which companies are part of Chilseonghui, even just four of them, is better than wandering aimlessly in a vast ocean.

Click- Clunk

As he was about to take off his top, Haru came in.

“I’m home.”

“Oh, you’re back. You’ve been busy lately.”

Recently, Haru had been going out and coming home late, occupied with something.

Standing in front of the entrance, Haru stared at Haesoo and suddenly asked,

“Haesoo, do you do YouTube?”

“YouTube? No, why?”

“That’s a relief.”

“Huh?”

“Ah, it’s nothing. Rest well.”

Haru quickly went to the sofa, flopped down, and touched her phone, glancing at Haesoo.

[Harusari: I’m home. Haesoo doesn’t really do YouTube.]

[Seoeunidang: Really? But you’re really going to keep it a secret from Haesoo?]

[Harusari: I’ll reveal it someday, but I’m too embarrassed to reveal it right now.]

[Seoeunidang: I understand. Have you decided on a channel name?]

[Harusari: Not yet. I’m thinking about it carefully.]

[Seoeunidang: I’m excited >.< I'll give you my full support!] [Harusari: The wrap-up comes first.] [Seoeunidang: Ah, yes!] Haru looked over Seo-eun's equipment and nodded contentedly, then accessed YouTube. Then, she watched a video of herself doing pull-ups. Two million views in a week. Haru didn't know how hard it was to get that many. She was just curious about people's comments and occasionally went in to check the reactions. #Seoks [Likely a location or brand] #Street Pull-ups #Legendary [A hidden master has appeared. Legendary beauty! Legendary twist!] Views 2,134,003 ┗This is really crazy ┗Noona [term of endearment for an older sister or female friend used by males] ㅗㅜㅑ [Korean internet slang expressing awe or excitement] ┗This isn't clickbait, it's really, really legendary. I'm going to change my underwear ┗Doesn't look like a noona? Looks really young? ┗If you're pretty, you're all noona ┗Wow, I'm looping 6:30 here, I think I'm in love ┗Doing 40 perfect pull-ups with that body, is she on drugs? Let's do street pull-up doping tests from now on! ┗You wouldn't be able to do it even if you took drugs ┗I really want to see that noona take off her mask, it's my lifelong wish ┗That's a humble wish ┗I'll give a reward to anyone who tells me her Insta [Instagram account] ┗Wow, look at that form, I'm watching it for the 37th time and I'm not getting tired of it ┗7:11 Serratus anterior muscles are insane when the t-shirt rolls up ┗She looks so delicate, but is that all compressed muscle? ┗Seoks found a treasure, I'm jealous ┗She'll come out again, right? Please Haru covered her mouth with her hand and chuckled to herself. She was seriously considering YouTube after earning 200,000 won [approximately $150 USD] so easily, and Jung Youngsoo also recommended YouTube to her after seeing this video. In addition, Youngsoo offered to help with video editing, so Haru decided to take the plunge and do YouTube. * * * The next day. "Be careful on your way." "Okay, you too, Haru." After Haesoo left for work, Haru checked her phone to make sure the GPS device was working properly, and headed to the exercise room with a fluttering heart. She decided to focus on exercise content, which Haru liked and was good at. The first video was pull-ups. She ordered a mask so that her face would never be revealed, inspired by other masked exercise YouTubers. Then, she turned on the recording function on her phone in a suitable place, secured her position, and said the lines she had memorized dozens of times. "Hello. I'm Harusari. I'll start with pull-ups." A cynical comment that reflected Haru's personality, followed by pull-ups without hesitation. "One" Whoosh "Two" Whoosh "Three" She did 41 pull-ups without stopping, then came down, repositioned herself in front of the camera, and opened her mouth. "Forty-one pull-ups are done. Next time, I'll do forty-two. Goodbye." Haru immediately sent the video she had worked hard on to Jung Youngsoo's email and felt proud. * * * At Jung Youngsoo's house. Youngsoo had been eagerly waiting after hearing from Haru that she was sending him the video she had filmed today. Ding "It's here, it's here!" He checked his email in a second and downloaded the video. And the moment he pressed the play button, he froze. "......" -Youngsoo: Noona, this is a bit… -Haru: Why? Am I weird? -Youngsoo: Ah… Youngsoo couldn't bring himself to speak, thinking that he couldn't hurt this innocent noona. -Haru: Upload it well, when will it be uploaded? -Youngsoo: …Yes, I'll upload it at 8 PM tonight. Youngsoo accepted the upload, thinking that it was the first video anyway, and not many people would watch it, so let's just focus on uploading it. -Haru: Okay, so now I can earn tens of millions of won? I can support Haesoo. -Youngsoo: Hehe -Haru: I'll give Youngsoo a salary too, how much should I give you? Ten million won? -Youngsoo: No, haha. Let's talk about it when we make money later. I'll think of it as an investment and do it for free. Youngsoo felt bitter imagining this noona, full of dreams, soon realizing the reality. But this was also necessary. He put his emotions aside and started editing the video. The original video was so simple and clear that there was almost nothing to edit. And it was 8 PM, the upload time. * * * The Daesung E&M building, with the lights off. The only small light was coming from the CEO's office on the top floor. Tap tap tap In the dark office, Ahn Seo-eun was typing diligently on the keyboard. Dark circles, which were not there before, stood out. But her eyes were full of life. "Gakdaejang [likely an online game username] hasn't been seen lately, was he shocked…." [Target (Gakdaejang) has logged in.] "Oh? He's logged in." The +9 Sword of Despair that she had put on the exchange was already expensive and not selling well. Seo-eun whispered to him, intending to return the sword. [Seoeunidang: Gakdaejang] [The other party has blocked you.] Seo-eun's beautiful brow furrowed at the sudden message. "The shock must have been great, oh well…." Then, a whisper came in. [Harusari: Ahn Seo-eun, I uploaded my first video.] [Seoeunidang: Oh really? Have you decided on a channel name? Tell me quickly!!] [Harusari: I Win] [Seoeunidang: Huh?] [Harusari: It's I Win.] [Seoeunidang: …Ah, it's, it's trendily well-named! I have to go see it quickly] Seo-eun immediately minimized the game window and turned on YouTube. And she searched for 'I Win' and clicked on the only video that was uploaded with a fluttering heart. Doom, doom A background sound like when meditating flowed out, and the channel name 'I Win' appeared in white letters on a black background and disappeared smoothly, and a clean gym screen was captured. But the angle is a bit high. Seo-eun took a sip of the wine she had poured in advance, anticipating it. [Harusari: Hello. I'm Harusari. I'll start with pull-ups.] Haru's clear voice was heard in the video. But the angle was still the same. Haru's white and slender hands are visible. She grabs the bar and slowly comes up, but… "…Huh?" It's green. It's big. Something's wrong. [Harusari: One] When Haru finally came up and was fully captured in the angle, she could fully see her mask. Clang Seo-eun unknowingly spilled the wine she was holding on the keyboard. "Dae… Dae…?" In front of Seo-eun was a green, bald orc filling the screen. It was a mask with good detail, with even red blood on its protruding fangs.