The Cop Is Too Strong [EN]: Chapter 180

180. Hwang Jang-soo’s Revenge

Swish, swish, swish-

It’s drizzling outside. Not pouring, but not a rain you can ignore.

Beep- Beep-

The signal goes through, but the call isn’t answered. Shin Hae-soo rode his motorcycle toward Hwang Jang-soo’s ‘company’ while calling Jung Young-soo.

-Ah, hyung-nim… [Hyung-nim is a Korean term used by males to address older brothers or close male friends.]

“Trace the number’s location.”

Young-soo could sense the urgency in Hae-soo’s voice, though it was as dry as usual, and he swallowed hard.

-Give me the number.

“010-337….”

Vroom, vroom, vroom-

As Hae-soo headed to the phone’s location, he was flooded with thoughts.

Judging by the circumstances, Hwang Jang-soo’s life seemed to be in danger. He probably didn’t even have the strength to turn off his phone. The location was constantly being updated, but it wasn’t changing. He couldn’t even move.

Hae-soo’s face twisted with regret.

He remembered the times before he turned twenty, when they were always together like best friends, exercising and getting into trouble together.

Even though he ended up in the underworld, he was more innocent than Hae-soo. He should have been more proactive in getting him out of there.

He could have done it.

No, he could find him and save him.

Screech-

Hae-soo weaved through the complex neighborhood and stopped abruptly.

A gap between stores, barely wide enough for one person to squeeze through sideways.

In that ambiguous space filled with trash, cigarette packs, cigarette butts, and filth, there were bright red bloodstains on the wall.

He went inside and ran his index finger over the blood smeared on the wall in the shape of a hand. It wasn’t even dry yet.

He shuffled further inside. Amidst the pattering rain, he could hear faint breathing.

Wheeze- Wheeze

At the end of the L-shaped bend, a familiar man was leaning against the wall.

“Hwang Jang-soo!”

He approached and checked his body.

His eyes were heavily closed, and his focus was blurry. He was wearing a black shirt, so it wasn’t obvious, but there was quite a bit of blood mixed with the rainwater around him.

Hae-soo’s eyes quickly scanned the wounds.

There was a cut on his neck, but it had missed the artery. What he could see immediately were large knife wounds on his thigh and ankle, still bleeding.

The black shirt was riddled with holes, like some kind of distressed fashion.

His pulse was present. His breathing was very labored.

It was about a 7-minute drive to Daesung Hospital from here, but it wouldn’t be easy for an ambulance to get through the complicated streets.

He could die on the way.

Hae-soo hadn’t found any clues as to how Hwang Jang-soo had ended up like this, or who had done this to him.

Hae-soo looked into Jang-soo’s blurry eyes and whispered inwardly.

‘Reset.’

Swish, swish, swish-

It was quiet. Only the sound of rain hitting the ground could be heard. Nothing changed. Hwang Jang-soo was still bleeding.

‘Reset, reset.’

It wasn’t working. He hadn’t used Reset even once today.

Then.

He had been hoping it wouldn’t be true as he came here, but he had been trying to deny that setting.

This damn ability doesn’t work on gangsters.

His heart was racing like crazy.

He felt anxious.

“Reset, reset, reset!!”

He grabbed Jang-soo’s shoulders as if they would break and shouted Reset, but no matter how desperately he wanted it, the ability didn’t activate.

Hae-soo momentarily considered grabbing a random person passing by, beating them to death, and then using Reset.

Then.

“What’s Reset…”

Hwang Jang-soo’s voice was as small as a mosquito’s wings. Hae-soo widened his eyes and pressed his hand against the wound on his stomach, saying.

“Don’t talk.”

But Jang-soo wasn’t one to listen to Hae-soo.

“Is this my life flashing before my eyes… Wow, the times when you and I were fighting in high school are like a movie…”

“Shut up and stay focused. I’m going to save you no matter what.”

As Jang-soo spoke, Hae-soo’s mind became clearer. Hae-soo took off his coat, tied it tightly around his stomach, and carefully carried him on his back.

“Aish… It hurts…”

After that, Jang-soo’s voice was no longer heard.

Hae-soo felt his body temperature dropping in real-time as he headed to the emergency room at Daesung Hospital.

* * *

When Hae-soo entered the emergency room carrying the large Hwang Jang-soo in his arms, the attention of the medical staff and patients was immediately focused on them.

The medical staff, seeing the red rainwater dripping on the floor, realized the seriousness of the situation and quickly gathered around.

Emergency surgery was immediately started, and a nurse, following the doctor’s orders, picked up the internal phone.

Click-

At that moment, a blood-stained hand grabbed her wrist. Startled, she turned her head and saw a police officer’s ID.

“There’s no need to report it. I’m here because I received the report.”

“Ah, I see… Yes, then your affiliation and name…”

“Shin Hae-soo, Detective of Violent Crimes Unit 1, Gangjin Police Station.”

The nurse checked Hae-soo’s photo and name, nodded lukewarmly, and stepped back.

The surgery lasted 10 hours. He told the Violent Crimes Unit that he had an urgent matter and had to leave work early, but he didn’t go into detail.

The doctor who came out after the surgery looked at Hae-soo and tilted his head. Hae-soo frequented Daesung Hospital, so he knew his face and profession.

“…It seems the patient doesn’t have any other guardians? It’s just Detective Shin.”

“Hoo… Yes.”

Hae-soo sighed softly, seeing the doctor’s expression and tone. But it was too early to relax.

The doctor’s expression was very ambiguous.

“Well, anyway, we stopped the bleeding, but the organs are too damaged… We’ll have to monitor his progress.”

“The chances of survival…”

The doctor looked up and met Hae-soo’s eyes.

“Ah, Detective Shin, he’s your acquaintance… Hmm, as you know, this is just a medical statistic, but… it’s less than 20 percent.”

Hae-soo lowered his head. In fact, considering his condition at the scene, it was a miracle that he was still alive.

But the despair that came over him was always greater than he had anticipated.

“…I understand.”

* * *

Hwang Jang-soo was in the intensive care unit for half a day before being moved to a private room.

That night.

Creak-

The door to the hospital room slowly opened.

Thud, thud, thud

Excessively cautious footsteps. A stranger wearing a hat, mask, and black jumper approached the bed where Hwang Jang-soo was lying.

Swoosh-

He took out a sharp knife from his chest. At the same time, the bathroom door opened, and a stainless-steel trash can flew out.

Bang!

The stranger reflexively knocked it away with his arm, and then faced a beast with gleaming eyes charging at him.

Thump! Crash, bang!!

The stranger was helplessly pushed back by Hae-soo’s body slam. Even so, he didn’t drop the knife and swung it at Hae-soo’s side.

Crack, crunch

“Kkeueup!” [A Korean onomatopoeia for a suppressed groan.]

But before that, Hae-soo grabbed his wrist and twisted it sharply, then punched him in the side.

Thwack!

“Ugh!”

He was hit precisely in the side, where the flesh and muscles protecting his ribs were thinned because he was holding up one arm. The stranger felt several ribs break in real-time with that one blow.

Hae-soo grabbed the back of his neck and slammed his face into the stone floor, then pressed his knee into his face.

“You, shou…”

Hae-soo swallowed the next word.

If he legally caught those who tried to kill Hwang Jang-soo, would he really be safe? Would he really get revenge? He was pessimistic.

Hae-soo decided to act personally.

As he twisted the stranger’s wrists behind his back and tied them with cable ties, two nurses who heard the commotion ran over and opened the door.

Even in this commotion, Hwang Jang-soo didn’t open his eyes.

“W-What on earth…”

Hae-soo looked at them and calmly replied.

“It’s nothing. Go about your business.”

The nurses, feeling an irresistible sense of intimidation in Hae-soo’s voice, took a step back, thinking they should leave the scene.

Creak- Bang

As soon as the hospital room door closed, Hae-soo grabbed the stranger’s hair, dragged him to the bathroom, and slammed his face into the toilet.

“Keureureureureuk! Glug!” [Korean onomatopoeia for gurgling sounds.]

Hae-soo flushed the toilet twice, then lifted his face and said.

“Do you have anything to say to me?”

“Heok, heok, he…” [Korean onomatopoeia for heavy panting.]

The stranger stared at Hae-soo with venomous eyes and said nothing.

“If you have anything to say to me, then say it.”

As soon as he finished speaking, Hae-soo slammed his face back into the toilet.

“Eowook-!” [Korean onomatopoeia for a choking sound.]

* * *

After the killer incident, Hae-soo tried to move Hwang Jang-soo to another hospital but gave up and called Haru.

-Yes, Hae-soo-nim. [Nim is an honorific suffix in Korean.]

“Are you very busy? No, even if you’re busy, put your work aside and come here, and… contact Ahn Seo-eun-ssi too.”

-Yes, I understand.

Hae-soo also had Seo-eun’s phone number, but he tried not to call her directly as much as possible.

Soon, Ahn Seo-eun came to the hospital room as soon as she received a call from Haru.

Her appearance, with a jet-black two-piece suit and her jet-black hair neatly tied up, gave off the feeling of a picky, beautiful actress.

She was slightly surprised to see the chaotic hospital room, but quickly managed her expression and dismissed Secretary Kang, then sat facing Hae-soo.

It was the first time they had properly faced each other in a year since the incident related to the Chilseong Society.

“Have you been… well? Hwang Jang-soo-ssi is receiving the best possible care at our hospital-”

She had received reports on what kind of surgery Hwang Jang-soo had undergone, what his condition was, and whether he was an acquaintance of Hae-soo.

Hae-soo interrupted her.

“I still trust Ahn Seo-eun-nim.”

Seo-eun was in the middle of speaking, so she froze with her mouth slightly open. Her eyes, looking at Hae-soo, trembled slightly.

After that, there was a silence of 3 seconds. Seo-eun blinked her big eyes twice and lowered her gaze, saying.

“T-Thank you. Um, that…”

“Just knowing that is enough. And, I urgently called you here today because I have a favor to ask.”

“Yes, yes, please speak comfortably.”

“First, get rid of Hwang Jang-soo from this place.”

“…Pardon?”

* * *

Hae-soo used the scam card called Ahn Seo-eun to temporarily mark Hwang Jang-soo as deceased only in the hospital records and moved him to a VIP room.

And he installed two personal CCTV cameras there.

Belatedly, Haru also arrived at the hospital room, saw Hwang Jang-soo’s face, and was amazed.

He had trained at his gym, so he had seen him at least twice a week and had some affection for him, so he was slightly angry at his condition.

“Who did this?”

“I don’t know yet.”

“I will find them and take care of them.”

Hae-soo shook his head slightly.

“…Protect him.”

Haru flinched.

Hae-soo’s voice just now was a tone he had never heard in the years they had lived together.

It felt like he didn’t even have the strength to break a dry twig, but there was a deep murderous intent within it.

It was a very dangerous state, a dangerous state to respond to.

Haru nodded his head greatly.

“Yes… Yes.”

“If I don’t come by this time tomorrow, call this number and let them know.”

“…Yes.”

Hae-soo turned around and took two steps, then stopped and turned his head about halfway.

“If anyone comes…”

“If they come?”

“Kill them.”

“…Yes!”

Even at Hae-soo’s extreme command filled with anger, Haru answered confidently.

Somewhat relieved, Hae-soo left Haru and Hwang Jang-soo behind and headed home.

* * *

Swish, swoosh-

He puts on a special stab-proof vest and stab-proof gloves, and takes off his detective uniform. Black mask, black jumper, boots, and heads to a secluded place behind Lead Building.

Clunk-

A burner car [A car used for criminal activity and intended to be disposed of afterward.] that had been prepared in advance was parked there. In the back seat of the car was a stranger with his hands and feet tied.

The look in his eyes, which had been full of venom, was nowhere to be seen, and now he had innocent deer-like eyes.

“Let’s go, to meet your master.”