The Cop Is Too Strong [EN]: Chapter 217

< #217. Housing Deposit Fraud >

Autumn Realty.

Woo Kang-cheol sits across from a middle-aged man with a friendly face.

“You seem young, but you’ve saved quite a bit of money.”

“Hahahaha! I worked hard to save for my wedding! Of course, half of it is a loan.”

The smile never leaves Woo Kang-cheol’s face. It’s only natural, as this is the day he finally sees the reward for all the money he and his girlfriend have painstakingly saved.

The middle-aged man raises his eyebrows and asks,

“Ah, a wedding! Congratulations. This place is perfect for newlyweds; it faces south, so it gets plenty of sunlight, and it’s important for the house to be warm when raising a baby.”

“Ah, a baby, hahahaha!! Woo Kang-cheol baby, just imagining it makes me happy!”

“You’re very enthusiastic. But is your wife busy? Usually, couples sign the contract together.”

At the word ‘wife,’ Woo Kang-cheol’s lips twitch slightly. He replies in a voice that’s a bit too loud,

“Ah! I wanted her to come, but she has a flight today. My wife… heheh, the person who will be my wife is a stewardess! A stewardess.”

The middle-aged man puts on a surprised expression and hands over the contract.

“Wow, you must be really happy. Here.”

Woo Kang-cheol receives the contract and immediately adopts a serious expression, reading it with sharp eyes.

The realtor continues the explanation.

“Let’s confirm the contract. It’s a two-year lease, and you’ll be charged for restoration costs when you leave. The deposit is 200 million won [approximately $150,000 USD]. Read it, sign here, and stamp it.”

“Hmm… Yes, I’m a police officer, so I have to look at these things carefully. Oh, and I’d like to see your ID.”

The realtor had already provided copies of his and Woo Kang-cheol’s IDs, but he presents his ID again to ensure thorough verification.

The middle-aged man flinches slightly at the mention of ‘police officer,’ but Woo Kang-cheol doesn’t notice.

“Yes, yes, of course.”

“Oh, you look much younger in person, Mr. President.”

“Ahaha, I hear that a lot.”

Woo Kang-cheol carefully examines all the IDs, including the realtor’s, and only then signs and stamps the contract.

“Okay, then please transfer 200 million won to the account written on the contract. And please give me 800,000 won [approximately $600 USD] to this account.”

“Yes, I understand. I just sent it. Thank you for your hard work!”

Woo Kang-cheol gets up with a proud expression and shakes hands with the middle-aged man.

“Yes, congratulations again on your marriage, and I hope you have sons and daughters and live happily ever after.”

“Ahahaha!! Yes, I will! Thank you!”

After finalizing the lease agreement, they walk out side by side, and when their eyes meet again, the middle-aged man asks with a friendly smile.

“Have you had a meal?”

“Ah, no, not yet.”

“Then, would you like to have a meal nearby? My treat.”

He points to a Korean stew restaurant with his index finger. Woo Kang-cheol’s stomach rumbles, but he shakes his head.

“No, thank you. I only came out for a short time during lunch, so I have to get back quickly.”

“I see. You work hard.”

“Yes, then!”

The middle-aged man watches Woo Kang-cheol’s retreating figure with a knowing look.

As soon as Woo Kang-cheol finished the lease agreement, he immediately returned to work, left 30 minutes early, completed his address change registration, and subscribed to housing deposit insurance, attaching the contract to the documents he had prepared in advance.

And two days later.

He went to the newlywed home he had leased with a friend to move some of his belongings in.

Beeeee- rumble rumble

A moving truck is parked at the villa, and furniture is being lifted up.

“Oh, what, are they moving in?”

“Look at this, look at this, the energy here is good, so people are moving in.”

“Yeah, oh, but didn’t you say your house is 302?”

“Oh, right, why?”

“That, isn’t that 302?”

“…Huh? No way.”

Woo Kang-cheol frowns and heads up the stairs quickly.

The friend counts the floors, looks at the window positions, and tilts his head.

“I think it’s right…”

Thud

In front of the door to apartment 302, Woo Kang-cheol stares blankly at the movers carrying items inside.

Stomp stomp stomp

As Woo Kang-cheol enters, people turn to look at his imposing figure. Among them, a man directing the workers turns his head and asks.

“Who are you?”

It’s a face he’s never seen before. Woo Kang-cheol also narrows his brows and asks.

“Who are you…?”

At Woo Kang-cheol’s serious expression, the man senses something is wrong and turns to face him completely, saying.

“I’m the owner of this house.”

“…Pardon?”

* * *

After explaining the situation, Woo Kang-cheol and the buyer checked the real estate registry.

The buyer’s eyes widened.

“Huh? What, it wasn’t there?”

As it turned out, the buyer had made the purchase around the same time that Woo Kang-cheol had signed the lease agreement, and because he hadn’t registered his residency at the time of purchase, it wasn’t listed on the registry.

“Was the person you contracted with Mr. Kim Ga-ryang… by any chance?”

“Yes, a gentle impression… wearing glasses, slightly stuttering…”

“…Stuttering?”

The seller Woo Kang-cheol knew definitely didn’t stutter. This was ominous.

Perhaps it wasn’t the same person.

First, he tried calling the seller, but the phone was turned off.

Woo Kang-cheol went to the real estate agency with the buyer.

This is because if a sale is made immediately after a lease agreement and doesn’t appear on the real estate registry, the realtor has a duty to disclose the lease agreement.

Violating this would be aiding fraud, making the realtor also responsible.

However, as they approached Autumn Realty, the buyer tilted his head.

“Oh, this isn’t it?”

“Ah…”

After investigating further, it turned out that they had made appointments at two different real estate agencies at almost the same time and proceeded with the contracts. The fraudster was very meticulous.

He told the realtor the truth, but the realtor only repeated that he didn’t know anything and wasn’t responsible.

“I just did everything I always do and helped you with the contract. I’m not responsible. I never thought this would happen… Anyway, here’s his contact information, so report it to the police quickly.”

The situation was getting more and more complicated. At this point, the home buyer also began to give up.

“Um… I think I’ve done everything I can do for now, anyway… contact me if you need help later. I’m busy today, so I’ll head in.”

“Ah… y-yes…”

More than anything else, Woo Kang-cheol dreaded telling his girlfriend, Oh Ji-yeon.

He spent the night worrying, and the next day he went to work and considered looking up the fraudster Kim Ga-ryang’s personal information and catching him himself.

* * *

The next day.

Woo Kang-cheol stopped trying to secretly look up Kim Ga-ryang’s personal information, mindful of his superiors.

Looking up information without a formal case registration is illegal.

‘Should I report it first? But if things get bigger, Ji-yeon will find out… I’ll just have the information department track his cell phone location and catch him, and if I get the money back, I’ll have something to say to Ji-yeon…’

While trapped in this cycle of worry, quitting time approached.

Just as he was about to go to the information department, his stewardess girlfriend, Oh Ji-yeon, somehow found him.

* * *

Woo Kang-cheol’s eyes widened as he looked at his pretty girlfriend with an angry expression and asked.

“H-how…”

He was more concerned with how Oh Ji-yeon found out than with the seriousness of the incident. At his question, Oh Ji-yeon glared at Woo Kang-cheol and said.

“Kang Dong-shik! Your friend!”

As it turned out, the friend who was supposed to help with the move had posted some cryptic message on social media, [My steadfast friend, but cheer up.], and Oh Ji-yeon, finding it strange, contacted him and discovered that Woo Kang-cheol had been defrauded of his housing deposit. She came to the police station as soon as she finished her flight.

“Ha…”

Woo Kang-cheol dropped his head and clutched his hair with both hands. After a few seconds, he lifted his face and looked at Oh Ji-yeon with teary eyes.

“I’m sorry, honey, I’m so ignorant… I’m really sorry, your money…”

Swish-

At that moment, Oh Ji-yeon got up and hugged the head of the gloomy, bear-like Woo Kang-cheol.

“Oh, you big bear, what’s so important about that money? Why are you suffering so much alone? How much pain must you have been in all this time?”

“H-honey, uh, uh, uh-huh!”

Oh Ji-yeon wasn’t blaming him for losing money or for not handling the contract smartly, but was worried about Woo Kang-cheol, who must have been having a hard time alone.

As her sincerity was conveyed, Woo Kang-cheol wept like a child.

At the sight, other team members of the violent crimes unit, who were far away and didn’t know what she was saying or what the situation was, whispered to each other.

“What, what? Is Special Team Detective Woo’s girlfriend a flight attendant?”

“Honey is dripping, dripping, ah, I’m so jealous!”

“I’m going to be friends with Woo from today. Let’s get married!”

“Woo is capable…”

While Oh Gyeong tried to calm the excited atmosphere, Hae-soo took the slightly calmed Woo Kang-cheol to the corner and asked.

“Tell me, exactly how were you defrauded?”

“Sniff, sniff, sniff, yes, that, that is, I thought I hadn’t made any mistakes…”

Woo Kang-cheol told Hae-soo in detail from A to Z, from the situation at the time of the contract to the situation when he met the new owner. Oh Ji-yeon also sat quietly next to him and listened.

“…So, after the contract, he asked if he could buy you a meal.”

“Yes, so I said I had to go back because I came out urgently during lunch…”

Hae-soo’s eyes gleamed sharply as she said.

“He deliberately stalled for time. There must be an accomplice. He knew you were going to register your residency immediately and let you go.”

“Ah… residency registration…”

A realization flashed across Woo Kang-cheol’s face.

When you register your residency, it’s registered electronically within 10 minutes at the earliest and 1 hour at the latest, and you can check it when you pull up the real estate registry.

If the buyer had confirmed that, the sale contract wouldn’t have been made.

Hae-soo continued, clicking the end of her pen.

“If it’s a same-day contract… the housing deposit insurance won’t be valid either…”

Woo Kang-cheol nodded with a dejected face.

“Yes… when I called, they said it would take effect from the day after the confirmation date…”

Hae-soo circled the name ‘Kim Ga-ryang’ with a pen and said.

“Kim Ga-ryang is the one who made the double contract, so he’s the one who has to take responsibility, but seeing how meticulous he is, it won’t be easy. You first file a case with the Intellectual Crime Investigation Team, and the rookie should look up Kim Ga-ryang’s identity.”

“Yes…”

“Yes, I understand!”

The investigation situation couldn’t be disclosed to the general public. Woo Kang-cheol sent his girlfriend Oh Ji-yeon back first and then went up to the Intellectual Crime Investigation Team to file a case.

In the meantime, the rookie raised his hand.

“Section Chief Shin, please take a look at this!”

“Hmm…”

Oh Gyeong also approached and clicked his tongue while looking at the monitor.

“Tsk, this is suspicious, isn’t it?”

“That’s what I’m saying…”

A meticulously planned crime, and the key was Kim Ga-ryang.

It was confirmed that Kim Ga-ryang had never owned his own home until now, but this time he purchased the newlywed home that Woo Kang-cheol had contracted for a month ago.

The current address is also registered in a strange location.

In the meantime, Woo Kang-cheol came down after filing the case.

“Did anything… come out?”

Oh Gyeong massaged Woo Kang-cheol’s shoulders and said.

“Hmm, first, Section Chief Shin requested location tracking from the information department, and Detective Woo, you… go out with the rookie and get the CCTV footage and black box recordings from the place where you withdrew the money. I’ll get this person’s travel ban in place, just in case.”

“Yes, I understand.”

Under Oh Gyeong’s leadership, the special team members moved in unison.

That way, Kim Ga-ryang could be found in just one day.

At the subway stairs at Exit 4 of Gangjin Station.

“…Mr. Kim Ga-ryang?”

A homeless man wearing a suit that didn’t fit in this place raised his upper body. Then he put on the glasses that were lying on the floor and made eye contact with Woo Kang-cheol.

“Huh?”

Woo Kang-cheol checked his face and frowned.

It was so similar. No, this was the person on the ID.

Even the clothes and glasses were the same as the fraudster.

“Shit…”

The fraudster had imitated Kim Ga-ryang’s appearance.