The Cop Is Too Strong [EN]: Chapter 27

“Take off your shoes…”

Shin Hae-soo stopped mid-sentence, realizing she didn’t have any shoes on. She was wearing hospital slippers.

Hae-soo paused, looking at her feet, and stood in the entrance.

Sniff, sniff.

A pungent smell wafted up – a mix of blood, musty mold, and ingrained dirt overwhelmed her nose.

Hae-soo turned and pointed to the bathroom.

“Take a shower first.”

The woman nodded slightly and scurried towards the bathroom, leaving smudges of dirt on the white floor with each step.

Hae-soo squeezed her eyes shut at the sight.

As the woman washed up, Hae-soo added an extra serving of rice to the pot.

*

Swishhhhh-

The woman turned on the shower and slowly looked around the bathroom.

The spotless floor and pristine white walls, free of any mold, amazed her.

Ssk

“Heup.”

She spun around, looking around as the warm shower water touched her body.

She had always washed with water so cold it chilled her bones, and had forgotten that shower water could be warm. It was quite shocking.

The woman touched the water with her fingertips for a long time, then slowly increased the area of contact.

‘Warm…’

The warmth enveloped her whole body, as if she were back in her mother’s womb.

The woman wanted to stay like this for hours, but stopped when she saw her hands getting wrinkled, worried that Hae-soo would scold her.

“If you’re done washing…”

Hae-soo stopped again, unintentionally. The woman was only wearing the tank top and underwear she had been wearing, still wet from being washed.

On Hae-soo’s outstretched hand was a neatly folded tracksuit jacket.

Although very thin, the woman had defined muscles, unlike ordinary women, and numerous scars. Some were recent, others old.

Hae-soo couldn’t even begin to imagine what kind of life she had lived.

“Throw that away and wear this.”

Hae-soo took out the smallest tracksuit from her clothes and gave it to her.

As soon as she received the tracksuit, she immediately took off her clothes and changed on the spot.

Hae-soo consciously averted his gaze.

“Change your clothes where no one can see you.”

“Yes…”

As Hae-soo told her, she unreservedly threw the tattered tank top and underwear she had worn for so long into the trash can.

Even though she was quite tall at 170cm [approximately 5’7″], considering she hadn’t been fed properly, the clothes Hae-soo gave her looked baggy because they were too big.

Hae-soo set the table without looking at her and said,

“Sit down.”

There was only room for her to sit across from Hae-soo at the two-person table. She sat facing Hae-soo and looked at the food that had been prepared.

A bowl of fluffy white rice, ham coated in egg with ketchup sprinkled on top, well-grilled seaweed, and red kimchi stew with pork.

The woman was so unfamiliar with this kind of meal that she couldn’t bring herself to touch it.

Then Hae-soo picked up a spoon and started eating rice.

They didn’t give spoons and chopsticks there. They ground up food waste and gave it to them in a bowl, and they just had to drink it.

It had been over 10 years since she had used a spoon or chopsticks.

She carefully picked up the chopsticks, watched Hae-soo intently, and picked up a piece of ham.

Thud.

She dropped it on the table while bringing it to her mouth, and ketchup stained the table.

Hae-soo’s brow furrowed slightly at the sight, and the woman’s heart shrank.

Ssk

She expected curses or punches, but instead, Hae-soo picked up a piece of ham and placed it on her spoon.

At the unexpected turn of events, she was stunned, then picked up the spoon and took a bite of the ham.

“Heueu… Heup.”

And without realizing it, a strange sound came out of her mouth, and she hurriedly covered it with her hand.

It’s delicious. Incredibly delicious. She was so grateful that tears welled up in her eyes.

She wasn’t this moved when she first stepped into the house with the warm floor, or when she took a shower with warm water.

The woman chewed the ham, trying to hold back her tears, worried that Hae-soo would dislike seeing her cry.

At first, Hae-soo thought she wasn’t picking up the spoon because she didn’t like the meal he had prepared.

But when he saw her crying after taking a bite, he could imagine a little bit what kind of life she had lived there.

He felt a little sorry for her, who he had initially seen as just an annoying and bothersome person.

“What should I call you?”

At Hae-soo’s question, she put down both her chopsticks and spoon and hesitated.

“I can’t keep calling you hey, you.”

Those people had called her that for 10 years, but this person was really different. A crack formed in the wall in her heart.

She opened her mouth so small that she could barely be heard.

“…Haru.”

The woman remembered when Arin whispered in her ear.

-Now your name is Haru, let’s hope that both you and I can live just one more day…

Arin had always held onto the hope that she would be able to get out someday and had endured day by day.

And her hope came true.

Because the story behind the name had a happy ending, Haru really liked this name.

“Okay.”

After finishing the meal, another awkward silence passed, and it was time to go to sleep.

Hae-soo wandered around, pondering something, and approached Haru, who was squatting in the corner.

“Sleep there.”

Hae-soo pointed to the bed. Haru stared at the bed and shook her head slightly.

“Never mind if you don’t want to.”

Hae-soo immediately got up, turned off the lights, and lay down on the bed, pretending to be cool.

Haru squatted down with her knees bent and slowly looked around the darkened room.

She couldn’t believe the situation she was in now. It didn’t feel real.

She was envious of Arin, who was reunited with her parents at the hospital, but she wasn’t envious now.

The happiness she felt while eating during the meal came to her mind. She thought of the warm water when she washed, and the soft touch and good smell when she put on the new clothes that the owner of this house had given her.

Ssk Ssk

Haru rubbed the floor with her hand. The floor here is not hard and warm.

There’s really nothing bad about it. It’s so good that she’s afraid someone will take it away.

‘Uh…’

Her gaze reached the window.

A crescent moon, emitting a light of rest, shone through the window. Being able to see outside through the window from inside the room, and seeing the crescent moon, everything was touching.

‘I wish I could have more days like this, even if it’s just for one more day… just tomorrow.’

Even if she was dragged back to that hell, she could endure it by remembering today.

*

In the dark dawn, Haru suddenly got up and approached Hae-soo.

Hae-soo pretended to be calm, but he couldn’t fall asleep easily because the woman who could give off that fierce look was in the house with him, so he was awake in a state of alert, and he was startled when she approached.

‘Is it an assassination attempt…’

While Hae-soo squinted and prepared to counterattack, Haru came closer on her knees and stared down at him.

Then she turned around, leaned against the bed, reached out, and grabbed the end of Hae-soo’s sleeve.

And soon her breathing became even.

Snore snore

As if it were her favorite doll, she felt comfortable holding Hae-soo’s sleeve.

When she first saw Hae-soo, his words and actions were deeply etched in her mind.

-Grab it.

-Don’t let go.

The world she followed while holding that sleeve was salvation for her.

Hae-soo tried to shake off her hand, but he held back and went to sleep quietly.

***

The next day.

Haru was sleeping next to Shin Hae-soo, who was sleeping in bed, when she squinted her eyes open. And she slowly opened her eyes wide.

She seemed to have fallen asleep for quite a while. Already, the crescent moon had disappeared outside the window, and warm sunlight was shining down.

Haru was afraid to open her eyes, fearing that it wouldn’t be the same room as yesterday when she woke up, and that the things she had experienced yesterday would scatter and disappear like sand.

But the warmth that wasn’t there greeted Haru.

The man who was cooking with his back turned to her reminded her that it wasn’t a dream now.

“If you’re awake, sit down.”

Haru nodded her head greatly and sat down at the table, eating another grateful breakfast.

Nom nom

Hae-soo prepared to go to work and put on his shoes, urging her.

“Absolutely don’t go out, just stay home…”

He was at a loss for words. It wasn’t easy to tell someone who had been locked up for 10 years to be confined to their home again.

“Hoo…”

Hae-soo frowned and stared at Haru for a moment, then took off his shoes again and handed her the remote control.

She looked at Hae-soo with bewildered eyes. She just stood there holding the remote control upside down.

“You don’t know how to use it… you don’t know.”

Hae-soo turned on the TV with it and showed her how to change channels and adjust the volume.

“Stay home until I come back, don’t go anywhere.”

Hae-soo was worried about how she would take this order. But she nodded her head with innocent eyes that didn’t match her age.

“Yes…”

Hae-soo stared at her for a moment before turning around.

Beep, click-

Hae-soo left, the door closed, and after a few seconds, Haru carefully moved and sat in front of the TV.

***

Shin Hae-soo couldn’t concentrate on his work.

‘What should I do? Should I get her a studio apartment and let her live alone? Should I find her a job and entrust her to someone else?’

Everything is a concern. He’s worried she might commit suicide, or hurt someone else, but he can’t keep her at home, so he’s in a difficult situation.

“What are you thinking so seriously about? Did you hear that the youngest member is coming today?”

Team Leader Oh massaged Hae-soo’s shoulders.

“Detective Shin has finally escaped being the youngest.”

“Haha…”

Hae-soo laughed awkwardly. Oh didn’t call Hae-soo the youngest because of his habits from his days at the police box [small local police station].

The team leader scratched his philtrum [the vertical groove between the base of the nose and the upper lip] with his finger and said.

“What should we call you now? What did they call you at Naeju?”

“Shin-ttol.”

“Shin-ttol? Perhaps, Shin-ttol is short for Shin-ssi’s crazy guy [Shin is the family name]?”

Hae-soo nodded in agreement.

“Detectives are really good at making nicknames, but still, ttol is a bit much for our assault captain…”

“We can call him Shin-dol, Shin-dol.”

The team leader snapped his fingers at Oh’s words.

“Oh, you’ve finally realized it, Oh. Yes, from now on, it’s Shin-dol.”

As soon as they came up with a new nickname, a detective from Team 3 came in with data and said.

“Receive the youngest member of Team 1~!”

“Oh, finally the youngest!”

“It’s the youngest!!”

Thud, thud, thud.

A large muscle mass follows the Team 3 detective.

“The youngest…?”

He thought he was a gangster, but he was wearing a uniform. He was a little taller than Hae-soo, and his brain seemed to be filled with muscles.

“Officer Woo Gang-cheol! Reporting for duty to the Violent Crimes Unit 1 of Gangjin Police Station!”

The team leader slowly raised his thumb. Oh got up and greeted him enthusiastically.

“Oh… our team is no longer a violent crimes team, but an assault team.”

“Hyung-nim [term used to address an older brother or male senior], let’s have a company dinner!”

***

[Meat Platter]

Early evening, a pork belly restaurant.

Dongdong Faction is a newly formed organization that has not been established for long. Boss Kim Dongdong was having a company dinner at a meat restaurant to boost morale. There were still less than ten members.

“We don’t have any business establishments yet, but this fist is second to none…”

Then a loud voice came from the next table.

“For the youngest member!”

“Cheers!”

“Hyung-nim, shouldn’t the first glass be a one-shot [drinking the entire glass in one go]?”

“Oh, no, you’ll see when you get older.”

Kim Dongdong frowned and turned his head towards the sound. All the people sitting there were quite large.

Other members also noticed them and were concerned.

“Who are those guys?”

“We can’t lose, guys, raise your glasses!”

When Kim Dongdong raised his glass, the other members followed and raised it high.

“Let’s turn Goam-dong!”

The members shouted loudly at Kim Dongdong’s lead.

“Into a sea of blood!!!”

As expected of a new group, they had a spirited slogan, and at the same time, the four people at that table jumped up.

<#27. Stray Cat> End