The Cop Is Too Strong [EN]: Chapter 2

Shin Hae-soo hung up the phone and glanced at the designated driver.

Many designated drivers waited near bars, some of whom extorted money and valuables from drunk patrons. This one seemed to fit that profile.

With that single phone call, the conflict buried deep within Hae-soo’s heart began to surface.

He scanned his surroundings. No witnesses, no cameras. The rain would wash away any evidence.

Since the driver had approached him with criminal intent, no one would question how he ended up in Hae-soo’s car.

His mind began to race in a dangerous direction. It was as if the circumstances were conspiring in his favor.

Just then, headlights appeared in the distance, slowly making their way up the winding mountain road. It would take a while for them to arrive.

Hae-soo’s internal conflict intensified, and anxiety gnawed at him.

‘Hide the body? Report the incident? Should I move him first? What about my career as a police officer? What about the murderer who killed my father?’

Hae-soo’s thoughts tangled, and he instinctively shielded the designated driver’s body with his own.

Whoosh-

Almost simultaneously, a truck sped past Hae-soo.

Did they see anything? No, impossible. It was pitch black with no streetlights, and the heavy rain severely limited visibility.

Looking back, it seemed like the perfect place to commit murder.

“Hoo, hoo.”

He had killed someone. If he went to prison for murder, he’d lose everything. He could never be a police officer again.

He couldn’t catch the man who killed his father. This was an unavoidable choice. Besides, the other man was a criminal.

His alcohol-soaked, dizzy, and confused brain desperately sought justification.

Hae-soo’s mind, fueled by alcohol, was like a runaway train, unstoppable.

‘Where do I dispose of him? Bury him in the mountains? Dump him in the sea? I don’t have a shovel, so a deep burial is out of the question, and it would take too long. I need to act fast to establish an alibi, just in case…’

Crack

Hae-soo tore at his hair, trying to halt his spiraling thoughts with physical pain.

The other man was a criminal trying to rip him off.

It was also a clear fact that he unintentionally punched the man to death.

Even if he turned himself in, he would not only lose his badge but also face a lengthy prison sentence.

But was it right to conceal a murder while pursuing his father’s killer?

“Hoo…”

The answer was already clear.

No matter the reason, concealing a murder was wrong.

This incident would cost him his career, his chance to uncover the truth about his father’s death, and his relationship with his girlfriend.

But he had no choice. Not if he wanted to remain human.

Hae-soo let out a long sigh and picked up his phone.

“…Yes, someone is dead… injured here. The location is…”

After ending the call with emergency services [119 is the emergency telephone number in South Korea, similar to 911 in the US], Hae-soo sat down next to the body and called his girlfriend.

-Why

When had she become so cold?

“Let’s break up.”

-What suddenly? Did *oppa* [an honorific term used by women to address older brothers or male friends] tell you?

The conversation felt off. Strange. She rarely called Hae-soo *oppa*.

Here, *oppa* refers to someone else. The phrase ‘told you’ can be interpreted in context to mean that that *oppa* told him.

It can be inferred that he is one of the people he met at the alumni meeting just now.

“…Yeah, I heard.”

-Ha… Why are you cops so loose-lipped? Anyway, I was going to tell you anyway. Move your stuff out by tomorrow. This is my house, after all.

Police, someone he knows, a police academy graduate he met at the alumni meeting, the suspect is absurdly just one person.

“Dong Nam-cheol… Shit…”

-…Did you say it without knowing?

“Ha… Why did it have to be that bastard? Are you trying to crush my self-esteem completely?”

-Do you still have any self-esteem left to crush?

“I don’t think you like me; I think you hate me.”

-Of course, the end of a relationship is usually marked by contempt. You’re a cop through and through, and I want to be with a normal person now.

“…Through and through?”

-A baton on our 100th day, a stun gun on our 1st anniversary, pepper spray on our 2nd anniversary… I’m sick of hearing the words crime, criminal, prevention, and police.

“But you’re having an affair with a cop?”

-*Oppa* is different from you. He’s not as obsessed with police work as you are, and he makes a lot more money.

“Ha… Let’s hang up.”

Hae-soo hung up and nearly threw his phone but stopped himself. Replacing it would cost at least 300,000 won [approximately $250 USD].

No wonder that bastard kept mentioning Chae-yeon’s name; they were already involved.

It’s better this way. He didn’t need to feel guilty; he just needed to feel bad for himself.

‘Have I… lived my life so wrong?’

Pondering his soon-to-be-ruined life, he pulled a cigarette from his pocket with a bitter expression and lit it.

Tap, tap, tap

The downpour had subsided, but the cigarette wouldn’t light properly because it was damp. Hae-soo frowned and tossed the lighter away.

Hee- hee-

At that moment, a faint, strange sound reached his ears.

It wasn’t his own. There was no one around except the corpse. That left only one possibility.

Hae-soo spat out the cigarette and approached the designated driver, placing his ear near the man’s mouth.

“…Eh-”

A very faint sound of inhalation could be heard before it abruptly stopped.

Something clicked in his mind regarding the man’s condition.

‘Concussion!’

If a severe concussion results from a major head trauma, breathing may only occur during inhalation until the lungs are full, then breathing ceases, and the heart stops simultaneously.

Why hadn’t he considered that? Alcohol? Confusion? Anger and resentment? He didn’t know if he had already missed the window of opportunity.

Regardless, what mattered was the present.

Swish

Hae-soo removed his coat, wrapped it around the man’s head, and pressed down firmly, then raised the man’s upper body and struck his back forcefully.

Thump, thump!

“Spit it out, spit it out!”

He received periodic first aid training, but he had never actually performed concussion first aid. He was improvising, but the man’s breathing didn’t return.

Now, even the inhalation had stopped completely, and his heart had ceased beating.

If the heart stops and oxygen is not supplied for more than 5 minutes, brain damage begins, and death follows within minutes.

Hae-soo laid him down again and started CPR [Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation].

“Please don’t die, don’t die!”

The designated driver’s heart remained still, and blood continued to seep from the back of his head.

After what felt like an eternity, the ambulance arrived.

The paramedics emerged, loaded the man onto a stretcher, and the subsequent CPR procedures seemed distant, as if he were watching a television show.

Hae-soo also rode in the ambulance.

Upon arriving at the hospital, the medical staff took over, and Hae-soo was handed over to the detectives.

At Hae-soo’s request, he waited until the designated driver’s surgery was complete.

However, the news was devastating.

“…The patient’s life is no longer in danger, but there is some minor brain damage. We need to monitor his progress.”

“Ha…”

“Mr. Shin Hae-soo, we’ll have to take you in now.”

The detective didn’t handcuff Hae-soo, considering that Hae-soo was also a detective, had reported the incident himself, and had done his best to administer first aid.

*

“Defendant Shin Hae-soo is sentenced to three years in prison for assault causing injury.”

Thump, thump, thump

Stripped of his badge and sentenced to prison, Hae-soo felt like his world was collapsing.

The past, where he had worked tirelessly to apprehend criminals during his four years as a detective, now returned as a weapon in prison.

“Whew~!

“Who is this? Isn’t it Detective Shin. Hae. Soo?”

“Wow, it’s nice to see you, Detective Shin, who knocked out eight of my teeth!”

“My right arm that Shin Detective broke aches so much whenever it rains, but it’ll be a little better now.”

“Sniff, sniff, he broke my nose, so I still can’t smell.”

The prison teemed with inmates who had become Shin Hae-soo’s enemies, victims of his excessive force as a police officer. Even in the face of their murderous intent, Hae-soo simply stared blankly into space.

Three years might seem short, but it was enough to lose everything.

“Our Shin Detective has become *dongtae nunkkal* [dead fish eyes]?”

On the prison’s general cleaning day, a man with a deformed nose shoved his face close to Hae-soo’s. Hae-soo pretended not to see him and mechanically moved the trash.

Step, step, step

At the prison’s 3rd ward incinerator, about a dozen inmates surrounded Hae-soo as he went to dispose of the trash.

They held wooden sticks, toothbrushes with sharpened ends, glass shards, and other makeshift weapons.

“If you live like you’re dead, we’ll be… sorry. Did you think we’d say, ‘Let’s escort you~’? You have to pay the price, Detective?”

Thud

Hae-soo dropped the pile of trash he was carrying. The men surrounding him flinched.

Even with missing teeth, a tiger is still a tiger. His sharp claws were still there, and the memory of being defeated by Hae-soo was deeply ingrained in their minds.

At that sight, the man with the crushed nose became enraged and shouted.

“What are you doing, you bastards! Kill him!”

“Yiaaaaa!!”

The youngest one charged forward first at his cry, swinging a wooden stick.

Bang!

The wooden stick struck Hae-soo’s head head-on and shattered. A stream of blood trickled down Hae-soo’s forehead.

But when there was no reaction, the other men mustered their courage and rushed in.

“Die!”

“Give me back my arm!”

“Give me back my leg!”

Thwack, thwack, thwack!

Someone tripped him, and Hae-soo fell forward, mercilessly trampled while lying face down.

Stab, stab!

Someone used a broken wooden stick to stab Hae-soo’s elbow, and someone else used the back of a toothbrush to stab Hae-soo’s hand repeatedly.

Hae-soo’s face contorted in agony, but he lacked the strength to resist; it was pointless.

A shadow fell. A nailed wooden stick hurtled towards Hae-soo’s face.

‘How did it come to this?’

Thud

At that moment, Hae-soo’s blood-soaked hand seized the wooden stick. The nail pierced through his hand, protruding onto the back, but his expression remained unchanged.

As the men hesitated at the sight, Hae-soo pushed himself up.

Swish

‘If I don’t have teeth, I’ll use my gums. Even if I can’t be a police officer, it doesn’t mean I can’t track down my father’s murderer. My life isn’t over yet.’

“Where do you think you’re going!”

Thud-!

At that moment, a terrible blow struck the back of his head, and Hae-soo collapsed like a kite with a broken string.

The world turned black.

***

“…Die!”

At that moment, as if flipping to the next page of a photo album, the surrounding environment abruptly shifted.

Heavy rain was falling, it was dark, and the designated driver wielding a knife was before his eyes.

‘A knife?’

He hadn’t seen it before, but he could see it now. Hae-soo’s body instinctively dodged the attack and swung his fist.

‘Ah, no!’

< #2. Abyss (Revised) > End