The Cop Is Too Strong [EN]: Chapter 28

Kim Dong-dong glanced at the approaching men, raised his right fist in front of his subordinates, and trembled.

“My steel fist is crying, looking forward to tasting blood after a long time.”

As he rolled up his sleeves, a long scar on his forearm made him look even more vicious. He had severely injured his arm in the past and had a steel rod inserted.

His subordinates were impressed by the sight.

“Are we finally seeing the legendary steel fist?”

Kim Dong-dong stood up with his subordinates and greeted the approaching men.

“Tonight, I won’t be able to sleep without seeing blood…”

And the moment he turned around, his mouth shut like a clam, and his body froze.

At the end of his gaze, a man, Shin Hae-soo, looked down at him with cold eyes and said,

“A sea of blood?”

At Hae-soo’s voice, Dong-dong snapped out of it as if cold water had been poured on him, and hurriedly pulled down his rolled-up sleeves.

“We meet again, Physical Therapy Doctor!”

The title “Physical Therapy Doctor” is a sarcastic nickname that gangsters who have received a little too much ‘physical therapy’ [beatings] use.

Dong-dong’s gang members had never seen him, but they had heard the nickname from Kim Dong-dong until their ears were sore.

“Physical therapy…?”

“Physical Therapy Doctor?”

They saw Kim Dong-dong’s face turn pale and were convinced that he was the real deal. They bowed in unison.

“Greetings! Physical Therapy Doctor!”

The word “Doctor” reminded Hae-soo of the exorbitant settlement money he extracted from these gangsters. Kim Dong-dong was the one whose right arm was completely destroyed by Hae-soo, resulting in a payout of close to ten million won [approximately $7,500 USD].

Hae-soo grabbed Kim Dong-dong by the scruff of the neck and lifted him up.

“Dong-dong, it’s been a while. Is your arm okay?”

“Thanks to you, I’m healthy!”

“It’s a problem that you’re *too* healthy, planning to turn Goam-dong into a sea of blood.”

At Hae-soo’s words, Kim Dong-dong shook his head, trembling.

“N, no. It’s a, a fishing club meeting, to, to catch fish and… make a sea of… uh… happiness! Ha, haha.”

“Okay, okay, it’s a fishing club. Since we met, let’s stand side by side and take a picture and write down our names.”

“Yes, y-yes, I understand!”

Hae-soo lined them up, took pictures, and collected their names, phone numbers, and resident registration numbers [Korean equivalent of a social security number].

Seeing this, Oh Gyeong raised his thumb and said,

“Wow, since our Hae-soo is so famous, there’s no need to lift a finger. This is easy.”

“Oh Gyeong, we decided to call me Shin-dol, right?”

“Ah, it doesn’t roll off the tongue. Let’s go for round two, hyung-nim [older brother/respected senior].”

“Okay, where should we go for round two? Maknae [youngest member], is there anywhere you want to go?”

“Anywhere is fine!”

“You rascal, your military discipline is tight. Let’s go for beer, beer!”

As the detectives of Violent Crimes Unit 1 were leaving, the Dong-dong gang members lined up and saw them off as if they were their big brothers.

“Please go in!”

“Please go in!!”

“Okay, Dong-dong, live well and don’t be conspicuous.”

“Yes, Doctor, I will keep that in mind!”

On the way from the meat restaurant to the pub, Hae-soo checked the time and someone came to mind.

“Team Leader, I have to head back.”

“Huh? Why, do you have a toad bride at home?”

“It’s probably a fairy bride.”

“That’s the same thing! Isn’t that right, Maknae?!”

“That’s right!”

“Maknae, that’s right? Am I an idiot?”

“I’m sorry!”

Oh Gyeong smiled with a playful expression as he looked at the embarrassed Maknae. Hae-soo was unfamiliar with the sight. He had never joked with him before. He probably didn’t because he had experience and a connection with the precinct.

“It’s not like that, I just don’t feel well.”

“Okay, see you tomorrow!”

“I’m on monthly leave tomorrow.”

“Oh, that’s right, see you the day after tomorrow!”

“Hae-soo, go in!”

“Please go in!”

The burly Maknae bowed deeply and greeted him. Somehow, it felt the same as when he received greetings from the Dong-dong gang.

*

Beep beep beep, click.

“Ah, surprise…”

As soon as he entered the house, Haru was standing right in front of him. She seemed to have greeted him in her own way, but she had a bewildered look on her face.

Hae-soo looked at her avoiding his eyes and asked awkwardly.

“Oh, yeah, were you doing well?”

“Yes…”

“Okay.”

Looking at the TV, it was still on the same channel he had turned on at the beginning. It seemed like she hadn’t changed the channel even once.

He slowly looked around the house. It felt like someone was home, but wasn’t. Everything was in its place.

He opened the rice cooker and looked at the side dishes in the refrigerator. She hadn’t eaten a single meal. Not even a glass of water.

“You…”

Hae-soo took care of the water before speaking. Then she drank two glasses in a row.

That made him angry for no reason. But it’s not this woman’s fault. He calmed down and started preparing a meal.

He scooped rice and took out side dishes from the refrigerator, leaving the door open and said,

“Haru.”

Shak

Haru’s head turned quickly, making a whooshing sound.

“Everything here, you can eat it all.”

She had a shocked expression. Her pupils were visibly shaking.

“Come here.”

Hae-soo sighed softly and showed her how to use the electric range.

After setting the table, Haru sat down and stared at Hae-soo.

“I…”

Hae-soo stopped talking and just scooped rice and sat down in front of her. And after taking a bite, she finally picked up her spoon.

She must have been very hungry, but every time she took a bite, she shed tears and was moved.

And then it was time to sleep again. Haru was still holding Hae-soo’s sleeve and sleeping. Hae-soo woke up in the middle and laid a blanket on the floor next to him. She flinched, got up, and bowed her head.

“Sleep here.”

“Yes…”

*

The next day, Shin Hae-soo had a lot of worries from the morning. He was watching Haru, who had burned her hand while turning on the electric range and was holding her finger in the running water.

‘How long should I keep this woman with me?’

An adult woman who can’t even use chopsticks… I have to teach her the whole world like a baby.

According to the gangsters, she was kidnapped around the age of thirteen or fourteen, but it was a little strange that she didn’t know this.

It seemed that losing her previous memories played a big role.

‘It will take a long time…’

Hae-soo frowned and stared at Haru, then looked at the closet and the shoe rack.

Hae-soo sat her down on a dining chair and knelt on one knee in front of her.

“Foot.”

Haru didn’t know what Hae-soo was trying to do, but she couldn’t even think of refusing. She silently bowed her head and lifted her foot.

Her feet were deeply calloused and her toenails were all damaged. It was hard to see them as belonging to a woman in her mid-twenties.

Hae-soo put his hand on the sole of her foot. It fit perfectly, as if it were made to match his hand size.

“Women’s feet are smaller than I thought.”

He suddenly realized that he didn’t know the shoe size of Chae-yeon, whom he had broken up with before.

Hae-soo got up and went to the front door and said,

“Wait.”

Beep, click-

After Hae-soo left, the door closed, and after a few seconds, Haru’s voice was heard in the quiet room.

“…Yes.”

Hae-soo came back in a short time. In his right hand, he was holding a pair of white sneakers.

“Wear them.”

Thanks to measuring the size with his hand, the shoes fit her feet perfectly.

“Let’s go out.”

“Yes?”

Haru wore white sneakers and a large black tracksuit and walked out with Hae-soo.

On the way to the mart [supermarket], Haru kept bumping her head against Hae-soo’s back.

“Why are you only looking at the ground like that?”

“I’m sorry…”

“It’s nothing to be sorry about, just look ahead and walk.”

“Yes.”

Even at Hae-soo’s words, Haru lowered her head from time to time to look at the shoes she was wearing. Snow-white and pretty shoes like tissue paper, she never got tired of looking at them.

Creak

Hae-soo said casually to Haru, pulling a shopping cart.

“I can’t live with you forever, so you’re going to learn how to live alone whenever you have time, remember that.”

“…”

Haru couldn’t bring herself to open her mouth. She had guessed that this overflowing happiness would one day disappear, but when she heard it directly from him, it hurt as if a knife had been stabbed in her heart, and she couldn’t say anything and just bowed her head.

“Ah…”

However, soon everything was new and amazing, and her eyes widened.

In comparison, Hae-soo was feeling uncomfortable.

‘Hmm…’

Haru, who had washed away the scabs and dust, was tall and had a striking appearance like a model. Besides, she was holding the hem of Hae-soo’s clothes, making it difficult for him to move.

“Let go of this, or follow me closely.”

Haru answered ‘yes’ in a small voice like a mosquito and couldn’t give up holding onto his clothes and followed closely behind Hae-soo.

On the way out after shopping, there were clearance sales of women’s clothes displayed across from the checkout counter. Hae-soo looked back and forth between the clothes and Haru’s clothes and opened his mouth.

“Pick one you want.”

Haru grabbed the clothes she was wearing and shook her head.

“I, I like these clothes.”

“These are my clothes, pick *yours*.”

However, there was no way Haru could pick out clothes.

Hae-soo was recommended by an employee and bought tight jeans, comfortable cotton pants, and three cotton t-shirts for 10,000 won [about $7.50 USD] and had her change into them right there in the fitting room.

Haru liked Hae-soo’s tracksuit that she had changed into for the first time after coming out of the underground world, but she liked the new clothes that she had purchased and became her own even more.

It wasn’t shabby and big like a tracksuit, but it fit her body like custom-made clothes, and as the crowning glory, the snow-white shoes under it made her feet feel refreshed, and her heart was filled with joy.

She wanted to jump up and down in place, but she held back because she thought Hae-soo would hate it.

*

After stopping by here and there, it was already night. Haru had a lot of stamina, unlike what she looked like, so she didn’t look tired.

“Hyung-nim, how are you!”

At that time, a loud voice was heard from behind. When he turned his head, one of the Dong-dong gang members he had met yesterday was bowing his head to Hae-soo.

He was wearing clothes and an expression that clearly showed that he was a gangster.

Hae-soo frowned and approached him and said quietly.

“Why am I your hyung-nim?”

“Yes? No, that’s not it…”

“A gangster is not supposed to act friendly with a detective. Do you understand?”

“I, I’m sorry.”

“Go.”

He hurriedly disappeared, and when he turned around, Haru was gone.

‘This’

She must have been reminded of the Red Society by them and ran away in fear.

“Haru! Haru!”

Contrary to his worries, Haru was found sooner than he thought. She was standing still, looking at the food in the food stall.

Hae-soo watched from afar, finding the sight amusing. She fiddled with her hands and stood there for a long time, and when she saw other people taking out and eating fish cakes, she carefully took them out and ate them herself.

‘Yeah, she must be hungry, one, two, three, four, wait, how many is she going to eat…’

Eventually, she filled ten and then left the food stall, patting her stomach as if she was satisfied. Of course, she didn’t pay.

But the food stall owner glanced at her and didn’t stop her or say anything.

Hae-soo went in, took out money from his wallet, and asked.

“Why did you just let her go?”

“Ah, the young lady has a lot of stories on her face.”

Hae-soo nodded slightly. She seemed to have recognized her tragic life at a glance with her years of experience.

“Make a lot of money.”

Hae-soo put two 50,000 won bills [about $75 USD] on the counter and left.

In the meantime, three sloppy punks approached Haru.

Hae-soo looked at them and realized that this was the city of crime, Gangjin.

“Wow, you’re so hot, do you want to hang out with me today?”

“…”

“What, are you mute? Let’s go together, I’ll take you to a great place.”

One man grabbed Haru’s wrist and tried to drag her away by force.

At that time.

Tap! Squeak-

Haru slapped his wrist and grabbed his Adam’s apple.

“Cough, cough”

Then, without hesitation, she stabbed the fish cake skewer into his eye.

Thud-

The pointed end stopped less than an inch in front of the pupil. Hae-soo had grabbed it. The punk felt a murderous aura for the first time and felt his pants get wet.

Hae-soo glared at Haru and turned his head to the punks.

“Get lost.”

They nodded greatly at the unusual energy felt from Hae-soo’s whole body and got lost nicely.

Hae-soo grabbed Haru’s wrist and urged her.

“Get a hold of yourself, this is not that underground. You must never harm people unless absolutely necessary.”

“Never…?”

Eyes that interpret it literally, Hae-soo sighed softly and chose his words.

“Except for people who are trying to harm you.”

“Trying to harm?”

“Trying to hit…”

“…Yes.”

It feels like taming a mature wild beast. Hae-soo captured her (?) and trudged back home.

***

The next day, Violent Crimes Unit 1 was having a peaceful day, processing trivial drunkard reports.

Ring ring ring ring

Hae-soo’s cell phone rang. It’s CEO Gu Se-ju.

“This is Shin Hae-soo.”

-Yes, CEO Shin, it’s been a while. Why don’t you read your emails?

I can feel a little anger in his voice.

“You’re doing well on your own.”

-What if I embezzle?

“I’m a detective.”

-Oh, I’m scared. Do you know how much the annual performance has increased?

“Well…”

-It’s up 41 percent! Your assets, including the building, are worth 20 billion won [approximately $15 million USD]. But if you don’t say a word about doing well, will I be motivated to work?

“Ah ha… You did well, just a moment. I have a call coming in. I’ll call you later.”

-Yes? Hello. You bastard-

Hae-soo ignored Gu Se-ju’s unpleasant last words and switched the call.

“This is Shin Hae-soo.”

-It’s me. Ahn Seo-eun.

“Yes, it’s been a while.”

-Team 2 there is in charge of the celebrity Kang Min drug case, right? He’s from my company.

“Yes.”

-I want Hae-soo to take care of it.

There was a moment of silence between the two. Hae-soo’s voice, who opened his mouth again, was even colder.

“I can’t do that, but that’s not why you sponsored me, is it?”

-That’s right. That’s why I sponsored you.

“I misjudged you, Director. I’ll hang up now-”

-Kang Min, he’s dead. Just now.

The word “just now” is quite shocking. Hae-soo waited silently for the next words without answering.

-I tried my best to manage the celebrities well, but I was very upset. So, when I personally found out who seduced our company’s child, someone came out who I couldn’t easily touch?

“And.”

-But the detectives don’t know what I found out.

Hae-soo frowned and looked at Team 2. They really don’t know, or they pretend not to know, but detectives know suspicious smells like ghosts, so it’s more likely the latter.

-So I want Hae-soo to take care of it. The most reliable police officer I know is only Hae-soo.

Hae-soo nodded slightly.

“Yes, I have to take care of it.”

<#28. Taming> End