The Cop Is Too Strong [EN]: Chapter 248

< #248. Assassination >

The chairman of KD Group leaned against the high terrace railing, fondling the breast of a woman younger than his granddaughter as he gazed at the scenery outside.

A vast private garden stretched out, its walls as high as a fortress. A mere glance revealed ten armed local guards.

The chairman of KD Group, admitting he couldn’t stop his employees in a country where firearms were prohibited, had fled to the Philippines, hired mercenaries, and hid in his own fortress.

The chairman, pleased with the tight security that wouldn’t allow even a rat to enter, turned around, took the woman, and went into the bedroom.

Bang!

At that moment, a gunshot rang out. The chairman was startled, roughly pushed the woman aside, and headed for the terrace.

He frowned as he grabbed the terrace doorknob.

‘What if they snipe me when I open the door? I shouldn’t open it; they’ll handle it.’

He stepped back and frantically searched for the radio. Just as he was about to use it, the mercenary captain entered with a knock.

“What’s going on?!”

“There was an intruder. My men will take care of it soon. Just wait a moment, boss.”

Bang, bang—bang!

The mercenary captain’s eyes were full of confidence, and as if to prove his words, the gunshots quickly subsided.

The mercenary captain radioed in front of him.

“Intruder, taken care of?”

-Here, Rough One, complete.

Only then did the chairman let out a long sigh and slump onto the bed.

“Hmph… No matter how skilled those corporate bastards are, they can’t beat guns, you fools.”

“Then, have a pleasant time, boss.”

“Alright, get out quickly.”

The chairman waved his hand dismissively, speaking in Korean that the mercenary captain couldn’t understand.

And the moment the mercenary captain opened the bedroom door.

Thwack-

Before the door was even a hand’s breadth open, a dagger flew through the gap and lodged in the mercenary captain’s forehead.

Thud.

The mercenary captain fell backward silently.

“Kyaaa-”

The naked woman, who had been hugging a blanket in the corner, screamed at the sight, and the chairman frantically searched for the gun in the drawer with trembling hands.

Thud, thud, thud.

Heavy footsteps approached. Soon, a black-clad grim reaper appeared.

The moment the chairman grabbed the gun in the drawer and turned around, a dagger flew and struck his shoulder.

Thwack.

“Aaaagh!”

The chairman dropped the gun, overwhelmed by the unfamiliar pain.

He was terrified and didn’t even think about picking up the gun on the floor, staggering backward.

“S-spare me, Mr. Chun, I’ll give you twice, no, ten times more than Mr. Chun!”

The grim reaper, now right in front of him, looked at the chairman with emotionless eyes and opened his mouth.

“‘The one who moves first is the lamest,’ Mr. Chun said.”

“Please-”

Swish-

Young slit the chairman’s carotid artery without hesitation. He collapsed, clutching his neck. The blood gushing from him stained half the floor.

* * *

A golf course located in a quiet area of Gyeonggi Province [a province surrounding Seoul].

The chairman of Sunggong Ilbo was leisurely walking on the grass, holding his favorite golf club.

Behind him followed a guard with sharp eyes.

“Chairman, this is a dangerous time. It’s best to avoid places like this with open views.”

His guard was a dispatched employee from the company that Mr. Chun had sent before.

Having been with him for a long time and treated well, the guard chose the chairman over the main company.

However, the chairman didn’t even glance at him, estimating the distance to the hole with his golf club.

“That’s for cowardly merchants to worry about. Mr. Chun can’t touch us. Only fools think like that.”

“Why do you think so?”

“It’s obvious. He’s still in Korea, thinking he’s the king here. Would he abandon his subjects? What’s the point of being a king in name only? He needs subjects and people to rule. He wouldn’t do that unless he’s crazy.”

“But…”

The guard hesitated to argue, seeing the chairman about to swing.

Still, with him by his side, he could buy time to escape if something happened.

Thwack-

“Oh, nice shot, Chairman!”

The president of a small business next to him fawned enthusiastically.

The chairman stared at where his ball had flown, narrowed his eyes, and said.

“What’s over there?”

“What do you mean? I can’t see very well…”

At that moment, the guard saw something glinting.

Ffft-

A small amount of bright red blood splattered in a line on the green grass.

Thud.

“Oh my.”

“Huh?”

The chairman collapsed forward, and the people around him, not knowing what was happening, looked down for a moment before trying to support him.

The guard, who had been frozen, reacted first and turned the chairman’s body to face the sky.

“Chairman!”

The chairman was frozen with a blank expression, not knowing what had happened. There was a small hole in his forehead, and a sharp needle was slightly protruding from the back of his head.

A long, thin needle had pierced through the chairman’s brain.

The guard realized it was the work of a sales department employee.

“Kyaaa!”

“C-Chairman?!”

The guard stood up abruptly and took a step toward where the needle had come from, then stopped. It was useless since the chairman was already dead.

Should he risk his life to catch the culprit now to get into the successor’s good graces? No, they would be doomed too.

The guard suddenly turned around, loosened his tie, and trudged toward the golf course exit.

* * *

The day the chairman of Sunggong Ilbo was attacked.

In the office of the chairman of Hajin Group, the view outside the glass windows was dark. Only occasionally, when the clouds cleared, did the moonlight intermittently illuminate the earth.

“Hmm.”

Chairman Ha stretched once, put on his coat, and prepared to leave work.

No one was visible in the office or even in the hallway.

Thud, thud, thud.

…Thud.

He had only heard his own footsteps, but now there were two sets of footsteps. Even though Chairman Ha stopped walking, the sound continued.

In front. No, behind too.

Two men in black suits were approaching Chairman Ha. They both simultaneously reached for their waists and pulled out knives with crescent-shaped blades.

“W-who are you! Stop, stop for a moment!”

Chairman Ha, with a frightened expression, stuck to the wall and showed them his palms. But their steps were unwavering.

Dash-

Just as they kicked off the floor and rushed at him.

Bang!

Shin Haesoo burst out from the side hallway leading to the restroom, slammed one of the men into the wall with a body check, grabbed the back of his neck, and threw him at the other man who was running towards them.

Thwack!

The two men fell on top of each other, then quickly tried to get up nimbly. But Haesoo’s hands were faster, grabbing both of their collars.

Bang-

Haesoo grabbed their collars, lifted them about 30 centimeters off the ground, slammed them down, and then grabbed their faces, which were dazed from the brain shaking, lifted them again, and slammed them onto the floor.

Bang! Crack!

The two men trembled, their heads cracked open.

Chairman Ha, watching Haesoo’s overwhelming power from behind, couldn’t close his mouth.

‘T-to think there’s another monster like that besides the company employees…!’

* * *

A few hours earlier.

Taptap taptap

Chairman Ha was picking at his fingernails, gripped by anxiety. He had just received news that the chairman of Sunggong Ilbo had been murdered.

The article hadn’t been released yet, but he was able to find out immediately through an informant.

“Now only Daesung and I are left, damn it. Should I have just pretended not to see, pretended not to know, and turned a blind eye? If I apologize to Mr. Chun, would he forgive me even now?”

Chairman Ha shook his head.

“No, Manager Ma was eventually cast aside for making one small mistake. Mr. Chun doesn’t give second chances… What should I do.”

Beep beep beep beep

“Aish, damn it! You scared me!”

Chairman Ha was startled by the sudden direct call and checked the caller. He frowned and answered the phone.

“What is it?”

-Let’s meet.

“What have I gotten myself into because of you! I can’t take a single step out of here.”

-I’ll go there.

Shin Haesoo must have been nearby because he was sitting in front of Chairman Ha in less than 5 minutes.

“I will protect you. Choose. Life, wealth, and honor, one of the two.”

Haesoo’s proposal was for Chairman Ha of Hajin Group to confess all the things he had done with Chilseonghoe [Seven Stars Society, a powerful organization] and submit evidence, and to report what Mr. Chun had done.

It was a matter of social death or actual death for Chairman Ha.

He pondered.

He could die for his children and leave them something. But he also thought that his children could be abandoned by Mr. Chun the moment they made a mistake.

And this Shin Haesoo didn’t seem like he would lose to Mr. Chun at all. No one had ever pushed him this far.

Mr. Chun would eventually be caught, and the companies affiliated with Chilseonghoe would all be overturned anyway. It was only a matter of time.

Just 10 minutes ago, his eyes, mixed with anxiety, injustice, and greed, had turned into empty eyes.

Those eyes were filled with emptiness.

He answered in a voice resembling those eyes.

“I didn’t have a choice in the first place.”

* * *

“…Failed. Joon and Huin have been captured.”

Bang!

Mr. Chun slammed the table hard with his fist. His neat hairstyle, with not a single strand visible on his forehead, was a little disheveled today.

“There’s no way that old man could have stopped their surprise attack. Who is it, Shin Haesoo?”

Young nodded.

“Yes.”

At the mention of Shin Haesoo’s name, Mr. Chun’s expression twisted strangely.

“Again! Is it that bastard again? Did he turn back time? No, he might have known in advance and prepared…”

He clenched and unclenched his fist, acting a little erratically, then looked at Young with sharp eyes.

“What happened to that incident in front of the police station back then?”

“He died. Shin Haesoo couldn’t save him.”

Only then did Mr. Chun snap his fingers.

“I knew it. It’s only possible once a day. What about Ho?”

“He wasn’t caught.”

“Good. Just a mere police officer… Daring to challenge me with a crude trick?”

Mr. Chun jumped up from his seat.

“I can catch the old men anytime, so leave them aside. I’ll catch Shin Haesoo, that son of a bitch, first.”

“Yes, sir.”

Young bowed sharply once, then slightly raised his head and looked at Mr. Chun.

Mr. Chun, whose greatest strength was always maintaining composure, was being swayed too much by emotions these days when it came to Shin Haesoo.

* * *

For over a week, not a single article was published about the murders of the chairman of KD Group and the chairman of Sunggong Ilbo.

Shin Haesoo assigned indirect protection to Chairman Ha for a day and Hwang Jangsoo to Chairman Ahn.

But since that day, there had been no reaction from Mr. Chun’s side.

Violent Crimes Division office.

“Oh, oh, yeah!!!”

Detective Chief Kwak suddenly clenched his fist and shouted while looking at a text message.

Wondering what was going on, Oh Gyeong approached and asked.

“Did you win the lottery or something? Why are you making so much noise in the office?”

Even with Oh Gyeong’s provocation, Detective Chief Kwak grinned and roughly put his arm around his shoulder, showing him the phone screen.

A text message from his wife, with a photo of Jeju Island [a popular vacation island in South Korea] attached.

-My Queen: I won a trip.

Not knowing the details, Oh Gyeong stared at Detective Chief Kwak, who then shouted loudly.

“They’re having an event at the mart I go to often, and I won a 2-night, 3-day family trip to Jeju Island! Awesome, I made money!”

“Oh, that’s great, congratulations, hyung [older brother or close male friend].”

“Congratulations, Chief!”

“Oh yeah, yeah, so you guys work hard too! That’s how you become a lucky adult like me!”

Detective Chief Kwak grinned throughout and then left work.

He quickly took a vacation. The trip voucher had a short expiration date, so he had to go quickly.

The Violent Crimes Division, with Detective Chief Kwak absent for the first time in a while, was very busy.

Accidents and murders happened overnight.

They were able to prevent the accidents with their abilities, but they couldn’t prevent the murders because an hour had already passed.

“Hoo…”

Haesoo was investigating and finally came back to the office after work hours, collapsing into his chair when a delivery arrived.

“Quick service. Detective Shin Haesoo?”

“Yes, that’s me.”

A quick service arrived and gave Haesoo a small box. When he opened it, a 2G phone [older generation mobile phone] came out.

A bad feeling swept over him.

Buzz

The moment Haesoo picked it up, a text message came.

[Photo]

A photo of Detective Chief Kwak and his family, his wife, son, and daughter, playing.

Buzz

Another text message rang.

-What a harmonious family, how heartbreaking.

-Don’t do anything now, take the phone and come out of the police station and get in the black taxi across the street, alone.

Haesoo bit his lower lip and stood up.