The Cop Is Too Strong [EN]: Chapter 31

Hae-soo observed Haru with a discerning gaze. Her sincerity was evident in her expression, her earnest eyes, and the slight tremor in her body; she clearly wasn’t trying to mock him.

*Is it because she’s only ever heard crude language in the underworld – that awful place – that she speaks like this?* he wondered. *Or did she misunderstand something when I told her to search online after showing her how to use the phone?*

Hae-soo masked his surprise, placed some kimchi on his rice, and spoke.

“Really.”

“…Yes?”

“Really, truly… use those phrases. Not things like, ‘shit,’ or ‘fuck.'”

“Yes, yes! I’m really, truly sorry!”

“…Eat.”

Hae-soo’s thoughts grew more complicated as he considered Haru’s situation. *Where and how should I teach her proper language? Should I really send a fully grown adult to elementary school?*

Lost in thought, Hae-soo fell silent. Haru, misinterpreting his silence as anger, spent the entire day watching him, a knot of anxiety tightening in her stomach.

*I wanted to make a good impression, but I ended up making a bad one…*

***

“There are no matches. We’ve run her information against all the missing persons data we have, and nothing comes up.”

“I see. Thank you for your hard work.”

Shin Hae-soo had taken Haru’s toothbrush, just in case, and submitted it for comparison with missing persons’ genetic data, but the results were negative.

*Finding her identity has failed. Should I register her as an undocumented person, then…*

Hae-soo had taken a half-day off. He could return to work, but things had been quiet lately, so he decided to make another stop.

He thought back to a man named Jin from a few days ago.

*He wasn’t ordinary.*

After the reset [Hae-soo’s ability to revert time], he had caught Jin easily by surprise. But before the reset, Jin had managed to cut him with a knife during a chase and escape.

He wasn’t as skilled as Mo Chang-gui, but he was still a tricky opponent.

Arriving at his destination, Hae-soo looked up.

[Hope Capital]

In stark contrast to the flashy sign, the entrance to the office was dark and uninviting.

Bang!

The man sitting at the desk looked up, his face breaking into a wide grin as the door was thrown open.

“What the hell? Hae-soo, is that you!”

Hae-soo’s old classmate and friend from their school days, Hwang Jang-soo, leaped up from his seat to greet him.

“What brings you here? Have you finally decided to take me up on that offer I made you before?”

Three more men with menacing expressions stood inside. Hae-soo coldly brushed off Jang-soo, who had tried to put an arm around his shoulder.

“Stop talking nonsense. Do you guys use knives?”

Jang-soo’s smile faltered slightly at the question, but quickly returned.

“Knives? Why? What reason would we have to use knives in our line of work these days? We don’t even use fists anymore.”

“Don’t bullshit me.”

Squeak.

One of the men, who had been listening silently, finally lost his patience, frowned, and stepped toward Hae-soo.

“Geez, watch your mouth, pal. Use some decent language–”

Thwack!

He didn’t get to finish his sentence. Jang-soo suddenly slapped him hard across the face. Jang-soo, who had been about to sit back down, instead picked up a heavy glass ashtray and approached the man.

“Our Yadoo’s gotten a little too big for his britches, hasn’t he? Butting in while I’m talking to a friend?”

“I, I’m sorry.”

Thud!

“Why do you do things you’ll be sorry for, embarrassing me in front of my friend? Huh?!”

Thud-

Hae-soo grabbed Jang-soo’s wrist just as he was about to swing the ashtray again. He had missed once, but if he connected this time, the man’s head would likely be cracked open.

“Are you committing assault in front of a police officer? Do you miss prison food?”

Jang-soo’s cold expression vanished instantly, replaced by a wide smile.

“Right, right, sorry, sorry, you guys. This is the police friend I told you about. A whole truckload of you couldn’t break a single one of his fingers, so don’t even think about messing with him, got it?”

“Yes, I understand!”

Hae-soo found Jang-soo’s over-the-top performance a bit tiresome, but it wasn’t entirely unwelcome.

“What a show…”

“But why the knife?”

“Do you know Mo Chang-gui?”

“Ah…”

Jang-soo’s face hardened. He stared blankly into space for a moment, as if recalling unpleasant memories, then spoke.

“You were the one who caught him?”

Hae-soo nodded, touching the scar on his side where Mo Chang-gui had stabbed him.

“I see. No wonder. I was wondering how the police managed to catch that bastard.”

“You know him well?”

Jang-soo shook his head, as if disgusted, and replied.

“Well, he was almost a legend, in a bad way. I’ve only seen him once… and it was quite intense.”

“Could you catch Mo Chang-gui?”

“Me? I…”

Jang-soo glanced at his subordinates, leaned back on the sofa, and burst out laughing.

“Of course! Who do you think I am? Hwang Jang-soo, that’s who!”

There was a hint of bluff in his voice, but his subordinates seemed to believe him. Their eyes shone with admiration.

Hae-soo had never had a serious fight with Jang-soo, only sparring matches in the high school gym. He knew Jang-soo was a formidable opponent in a fistfight.

“I remember there used to be a gym in the basement here. Can I use it?”

“Ah, that’s ours.”

“Nice. Grab a knife.”

Jang-soo looked taken aback as Hae-soo stood up.

“Huh? Right now?”

“A detective’s time is precious.”

“And you think I have all the time in the world? Hey, you guys, guard the place. Call me if anyone shows up.”

“Yes, I understand! Hyung-nim [term of respect for an older male]!”

In the underground gym, Hae-soo and Jang-soo faced each other.

“So, you came to me for training on fighting guys with knives because of Mo Chang-gui? What were you doing before that? You’ve been a police officer for quite a while now, haven’t you?”

“I didn’t feel the need.”

“You’re a monster, and so is Mo Chang-gui.”

“Pick up a knife.”

“You think I carry a knife around all the time?”

At Hae-soo’s words, Jang-soo went to the storage room and returned with a model knife. The blade was made of rubber.

“Why do you even have something like that?”

“Oh… well, we’re preparing for… things?”

As Hae-soo silently took a fighting stance, Jang-soo grabbed another container and dipped the rubber knife into it. Red paint coated the blade.

“It washes off easily with water. We’ll use this so we can see where you got stabbed.”

“That’s… strangely systematic. Come on, then.”

“Aren’t you going to attack?”

“I usually fight with my bare hands.”

“It’s going to be tough.”

“Come on.”

As soon as Hae-soo finished speaking, Jang-soo lunged forward with the knife.

Thud- Thud thud-

Each time Jang-soo thrust, Hae-soo deflected the knife with the side of his arm, stepped back, or blocked the attack. Hae-soo only defended against Jang-soo’s attacks. Eventually, Jang-soo stopped attacking and shrugged.

“You’re dead.”

“What?”

Jang-soo raised his index finger and pointed at Hae-soo’s body. Following his finger, Hae-soo saw red paint smeared here and there.

Most of the marks were on his forearms or thighs, indicating glancing blows. But there were also traces of being stabbed near his side and collarbone, areas that could be fatal.

“Hmm…”

Hae-soo nodded slightly.

He knew it was true. Those were fatal wounds he had allowed because he had chosen to block or dodge instead of attacking to defend those vulnerable points.

He was now convinced. Hwang Jang-soo wasn’t as ruthless or fast as Mo Chang-gui, but he was skilled enough to be a valuable training partner.

“You, let’s train together from now on.”

“If it’s a friend’s request, I can do it anytime.”

“Every morning at six o’clock, here.”

Jang-soo, who had been so confident, immediately looked dismayed.

“Six o’clock is a bit… seven o’clock?”

“Five o’clock.”

“Okay, six o’clock, six o’clock. I’ll have to start living diligently for the first time in a while.”

Hae-soo made a training appointment with Jang-soo and left.

***

[…I don’t want to be kicked out of the house. Please tell me how.]

┗That’s the foreigner from before.

┗I feel so bad for her.

┗Let’s help her, she’s working hard.

┗No, but what’s the relationship? Is the writer a man or a woman? What about the landlord?

The online community, filled with self-proclaimed experts hiding behind their keyboards, peppered Haru with questions about her personal life, and Haru answered everything honestly.

A young man and a woman live in the same house. But they are not in a romantic relationship. Decisively, the writer is a woman.

The users of that community site, where humorous posts were uploaded for fun, were immediately excited by this information.

They dropped everything and enthusiastically began to advise Haru.

┗First, take out ‘house’ from the title.

┗Is she pretty?

┗Men like this outfit.

┗I like this one.

┗Why are you recommending what *you* like, lol

┗I’m a man too.

┗Sorry

┗But isn’t the main purpose of scoring points with the owner so you don’t get kicked out? Not to seduce him? Then try cooking or cleaning.

┗Writer: I clean every day. I’ll try cooking.

┗That owner is so lucky, seriously.

┗Did he save the country in his previous life?

Haru was determined to try cooking. She decided to make kimchi stew using the ingredients at home.

Although it was her first time, she tried to follow the online recipe as closely as possible. Soon, the aroma was quite promising, and when she tasted it, it seemed good.

*I hope he comes home quickly,* she thought, feeling a surge of anticipation as she imagined Hae-soo enjoying the meal she had prepared.

Beep beep beep Beep Clank-

“Have you come…”

Shin Hae-soo stopped taking off his shoes and froze, staring at the dinner table that Haru had prepared. He stood motionless, then turned to meet her eyes.

She lowered her head shyly and gestured toward the table.

“I tried to make it by looking at the internet.”

“…Okay.”

And so, the meal began in silence.

Haru wasn’t sure if the kimchi stew tasted good, whether it was because she had made it herself or because she was simply too nervous to tell.

However, Hae-soo seemed to be having a similar experience.

“Ugh.”

Haru, who had been watching Hae-soo with a worried expression, looked up, startled by his strange groan.

Hae-soo forced himself to hide his discomfort and continued to eat the rice with difficulty.

“…Is it delicious?”

Hae-soo’s eyes flickered at her question, and he hesitated. It tasted as if she had boiled kimchi stew with seawater.

Hae-soo swallowed the mouthful he was chewing, gritted his teeth, and answered.

“It’s delicious.”

A faint smile spread across Haru’s stiff face at Hae-soo’s compliment.

That night, Hae-soo was lost in thought as he watched Haru watching TV.

No matter how he considered it, he couldn’t understand Haru. If the kidnapping had occurred eight years ago, even if she had been at the youngest possible age, she would have been twelve years old at the time. Yet, it felt as if he were teaching a five-year-old child.

Even if she had lost her memory, it was strange that she so rarely retained what she had learned.

He had avoided asking her directly, afraid of bringing up painful memories, but he couldn’t suppress his doubts forever.

“Haru, has no memory come back at all?”

Haru’s expression visibly hardened at Hae-soo’s question. She consciously avoided looking at him, fixing her gaze on the TV, and opened her mouth slightly.

“No…”

“When did you lose your memory? Before or after the kidnapping?”

Haru’s head slowly lowered, and her lips trembled.

Hae-soo’s suspicions deepened at her reaction. The emotion she was displaying was guilt.

“I don’t remember anything, anything… I’m sorry…”

Haru struggled to say the words, burying her face in her knees, her shoulders shaking.

Hae-soo was now convinced.

*She didn’t lose her memory. She’s hiding it.*

Hae-soo hesitated, then gently patted her back as she sobbed.

“Sorry, I’m sorry.”

Haru felt the warmth of his rough hand on her back and renewed her resolve.

*Never, never tell. If I tell… I’ll be abandoned by the landlord.*

***

“Huff, huff, huff, huff…”

The team leader’s chest rose and fell with each labored breath. The youngest member of the team was pinned beneath him.

Oh Gyeong-i walked in and muttered.

“That muscle-bound maniac never stops exercising, even in the office. Here, take a case.”

Hae-soo picked up a dumbbell, set it back down on the floor, and asked.

“What is it?”

“Missing person.”

“Young woman?”

“Man in his 40s.”

“Ugh!”

Hae-soo and the youngest member jumped up at those words, causing the team leader, who was still straddling the youngest member, to nearly fall over.

A missing man in his 40s, as opposed to a young woman who was likely kidnapped, usually meant one of two things:

Suicide or murder.

As Hae-soo and the youngest member gathered around, Oh Gyeong-i sat down and began to brief them on the case.

“His younger sibling reported him missing. He’s divorced, and he went to visit his ex-wife and child a few days ago. He hasn’t been in contact since.”

< #31. Hidden Memories (Revised) > End