The Cop Is Too Strong [EN]: Chapter 4

The Drunk is Too Strong – Part 4 (4/255)

A drunk grabbed Hae-soo’s pants, painting a picture from thigh to ankle with the snacks he had eaten. The policewoman opened her mouth slightly, then hurriedly grabbed a mop.

“Oh my, just a moment.”

Hae-soo stopped her from wiping the vomit on his pants and took the mop.

“It’s okay. I’ll clean it up.”

“Yes, okay.”

The policewoman cleaned up the vomit on the floor, and Hae-soo wiped his pants. It was okay since he would change into his uniform anyway, but it was quite unpleasant that it had gotten inside his shoes and soaked his socks.

As he was finishing up, a middle-aged man in the back seat raised his head slightly. Two mugunghwa flowers [national flower of South Korea, often used to denote police rank], a team leader.

“You’ve had quite the initiation, Detective Shin from Naejuseo, right? Come in.”

“Yes.”

As he went inside the reception desk, the team leader scanned Hae-soo up and down.

“You’re in good shape for a former detective. The captain hasn’t come out yet, so report later. You see those stairs over there? Go change into your uniform and come down. Officer Lim, please show him around.”

“Yes, Team Leader.”

Hae-soo followed Officer Lim, who had helped clean up the vomit, to the second floor. Along the long hallway, there were changing rooms, a break room, and an equipment storage.

“You can change here. Put your clothes in the locker without a name tag.”

“Yes.”

Hae-soo spoke as Officer Lim stood awkwardly at the entrance.

“I’ll change and come down.”

“Ah, yes, but… you don’t seem to have much emotional change. I would be a little annoyed.”

Hae-soo stopped and turned to make eye contact, shaking his head.

“No. I have a lot of anger. Only for bad deeds, and throwing up isn’t a bad deed.”

“Ah…”

“Then.”

Hae-soo nodded slightly and went into the changing room.

*

Hae-soo had worked at a patrol division for exactly one year, six years ago.

The reporting system had changed a lot since then, so everything felt new, like a rookie.

The Dongbu patrol division had six patrol cars and thirteen people per shift.

The work was done in pairs, with a total of six teams. Three teams patrolled, and the other three teams waited at the patrol division and dispatched when a report came in.

Hae-soo was spending time learning the job from Officer Lim.

-This is Baekhana, a report of a drunken disturbance at Peppa Intersection in Jijeong-dong.

Baekhana is the situation room at the Gangjin Police Station. Unlike other places, Gangjin City directly operated the emergency dispatch situation room at the police station, not the police agency.

Drunken disturbance is an abbreviation for incidents where drunks cause trouble, and it is so common that it accounts for 80% of patrol division reports.

“Oh, another report. Officer Lim, take this one. There’s someone who came today…”

“Shin Hae-soo.”

“Yes, go with Shin Sergeant.”

Officer Lim grabbed the radio and stood up, answering.

The radio is not the large brick-like device of the past but has the same appearance as a cell phone.

It was equipped with phone, text, and radio functions and paired with earphones with a microphone function.

Calling it a cell phone can be confusing with regular cell phones, so it is commonly referred to as a radio.

“Yes, Team Leader, sending Sunnet to Jijeong-dong.”

-Sunnet delivery

Officer Lim familiarly got into the driver’s seat of the patrol car labeled Sun4. Hae-soo quickly followed her into the passenger seat.

Click click

As the patrol car started, the location related to the incident appeared on the navigation.

Officer Lim pressed something on the radio. Then, the contents of the consultation with the reporter through the emergency report were heard.

[…Yes, so the woman here has blood on her head, and the part-timer also…]

Hae-soo was surprised inside as he listened to the recording.

‘What’s with all this new stuff… It’s changed a lot in a few years.’

Officer Lim nonchalantly manipulated the navigation and explained after seeing Hae-soo’s reaction.

“It hasn’t been long since we’ve been receiving cases directly through Sunma [police communication system]. Gangjin Police Station is implementing it first.”

“Ah, yes.”

Officer Lim put the gear in drive and said.

“Then, let’s go.”

Vroom-

“Ugh”

Unlike her innocent-looking impression, Officer Lim’s driving was quite rough.

Hae-soo grabbed the handle tightly without realizing it.

The place they arrived at was a small meat restaurant a bit far from the city.

He quickly found it because several people outside the store were peeking inside.

Through the glass door, he could see the messy store.

Chairs and tables were scattered haphazardly, and there were many broken glass pieces on the floor.

In the middle of it, two large men were sitting and drinking.

However, under one of them, a young man who appeared to be a part-time worker was crouching, acting as a human footrest.

“These crazy bastards…”

At the sight, Officer Lim bared her teeth and burst open the door.

Even though they were wearing uniforms and could immediately recognize them as police, they didn’t seem surprised, perhaps because they were drunk.

“Oh, a young lady came? Young lady, come here and pour me a drink.”

As he entered, he also saw a middle-aged woman bleeding from her head and collapsed near the kitchen. Hae-soo’s eyes sank coldly.

He stopped Officer Lim, who was about to pounce on the large men, with his hand and said.

“Officer Lim, call an ambulance first.”

“Those bast… Yes, I understand.”

As Hae-soo approached them, one of the large men smashed a beer bottle on the table and pointed the sharp part at him.

“Get lost, you male bastard, if you don’t want to die.”

However, without any delay, Hae-soo nonchalantly knocked it away with his hand, twisted his wrist, and slammed his head on the table.

Crack!

The large man felt the glass shards digging into his cheek and touching them with his tongue. Another one was right in front of his eyes.

“Th, th!”

Bang!!

Before he could do anything, his friend also slammed his head right in front of him. Unlike him, his friend had glass shards piercing his nose.

In this short time, he couldn’t understand what had happened.

At that time, a chilling, low-pitched voice was heard from behind.

“You are under arrest for special assault, assaulting a police officer, sexual harassment, and obstruction of business. You have the right to an attorney, and you have the opportunity to explain.”

Clank clank

Overpowering two men who easily weighed over 100 kilograms, Officer Lim’s eyes, which had been half-covered until now, widened.

Fortunately, the meat restaurant owner had no life-threatening injuries.

After handing over the two large men to the police station and returning to the patrol division, Officer Lim glanced at Hae-soo and whispered with her close female officers.

It was a strange sight that was rarely seen in the work environment. There were no female officers in the detective team or the violent crimes team.

Hae-soo went on more than five dispatches with Officer Lim while waiting. And after four hours, the shift change time was approaching.

“Hoo”

As he got into the patrol car, a short sigh came out involuntarily. At the sight, Officer Lim smiled slightly.

“Are you very busy?”

“Yes, I am.”

Officer Lim drove slowly, perhaps because there was no specific destination this time.

“I heard the violent crimes team is also very busy.”

“Well, it’s rare to dispatch immediately, but instead, I couldn’t leave work.”

“Ah ha.”

Having been together for a few hours, Officer Lim seemed a little more comfortable and asked Hae-soo questions from time to time.

As they patrolled while having small conversations, the quitting time was approaching. The patrol division almost always leaves work on time unless there is something special.

“It was a war-like day. Shall we slowly return to the patrol division now?”

There were 10 minutes left until quitting time. It was the perfect time to return to the patrol division.

At that time, the radio rang.

-This is Baekhana, a missing person report in Yongsu-dong. Is there a Sunma available?

Officer Lim sighed and picked up the radio.

“Sending Sunnet.”

-Sunnet delivery

After listening to the report recording, it was a missing person report from a 21-year-old woman about her friend.

After the two came out of the bar, the reporter left her friend, who had drunk a lot, sitting down and went to the bathroom, but she disappeared. She’s not at home either.

Since it was not a simple case, Officer Lim stared intently at Hae-soo, who was a former detective, while listening to the report.

Hae-soo read the look and nodded, saying.

“Let’s go to the bar first.”

“Yes.”

A bustling street with many people, neon signs of various colors brightly illuminating the black night like day.

The reporter, wearing heavy makeup and a short skirt, was waiting in front of the bar.

“…I told her to call me as soon as she got home, and there was no contact with other people while drinking.”

“Yes… She was so drunk that there’s no way she could have gone anywhere on her own two feet?”

Hae-soo stood in front of the bar where the missing person had been sitting and looked around. There was a CCTV in front of the cosmetics store two blocks away. He went there immediately and asked for cooperation.

He watched the CCTV at that time with the reporter.

“Oh? Here! It’s her??”

A man wearing a black hoodie was grabbing the missing person’s shoulders and walking closely like a lover.

“Is the missing person’s boyfriend or someone she knows?”

“She doesn’t have a boyfriend! That’s weird??”

Crimes of taking a woman who cannot control her body because she drank too much and sexually assaulting her while pretending to be an acquaintance are constantly occurring.

As Hae-soo looked back with a serious expression, Officer Lim immediately picked up the radio.

“This is Sunnet, converting the missing person report in Yongsu-dong to an abduction case, requesting support. Suspect’s description: black hoodie, jeans…”

Initial investigation is especially important for missing person cases. Recognizing the importance, the team leader’s radio came down from the patrol division, and three patrol cars that were waiting responded to the support.

-Unless they put her in a car, she’s nearby. Search all the motels and karaoke rooms nearby.

-Two hundred one is going for support. Track Sunnet’s movements.

Two hundred one is the violent crimes team 1 of the police station. Rape cases are classified as Code Zero, so the violent crimes team is also involved.

Three patrol cars gathered in less than 10 minutes and began searching the surrounding motels and karaoke rooms.

The detectives also quickly came and confirmed the suspect’s movements identified so far with Hae-soo.

A detective with a slightly short but sharp impression said.

“We will check from now on. Patrol division officers, please search the karaoke rooms… except for the motels.”

“Yes, please take care.”

After parting with the detectives and getting into the patrol car, Officer Lim asked.

“Why did they say to exclude motels?”

Hae-soo answered immediately without thinking.

“Other Sunmas are already searching the motels, and it is a principle to search the places with the highest probability in these missing person cases. In terms of monetary and numerical aspects.”

“Ah…”

Certainly, there were far more karaoke rooms than motels in the missing location, and they would not have been able to take a woman who could not control her body far away.

Hae-soo began searching the karaoke rooms with Officer Lim.

A karaoke room located in a secluded alley about 50 meters away from the missing location.

“Ah, surprise!”

“What the hell!”

“Is everything okay if you’re a cop?”

Time is of the essence for missing persons and abductions.

Hae-soo and Officer Lim were searching by bursting open the doors without hesitation.

At that time, a man came out of a room that had not yet been checked and walked towards the back door.

‘Black hoodie and jeans.’

“There, just a moment.”

As Hae-soo called out, he paused and suddenly started running. Hae-soo immediately chased after him.

Officer Lim followed behind and radioed.

“This is Sunnet! Suspect found, Sunrise Karaoke! In flight!!”

Thud-

Hae-soo stopped abruptly in the room where he had come out while chasing the suspect. The victim, with her clothes undone, was lying on the karaoke sofa.

“Cough, cough”

The victim’s body heaved, and blood splattered inside the room.

“Call an ambulance! Quickly!”

Hae-soo screamed in horror and went inside to check the victim’s condition.

Two holes in her neck, blood gushing out from there.

He desperately tried to block the holes with both hands, but it was not enough. The sofa and floor were already covered in red blood. That meant she had lost a lot of blood.

“Huh, huh”

Officer Lim called an ambulance as Hae-soo said and was horrified to see the room. And when she tried to move her feet again, thinking of the criminal, Hae-soo shouted.

“Don’t go! The police are already all over the place, so you’ll be caught soon…”

Chasing a murderer with a weapon alone is something that even most violent crimes team detectives avoid. Another victim could be created in an instant.

“Damn…”

The paramedics were not here yet, and the victim’s breath slowly stopped. She had lost too much blood. Blood was still flowing out between her fingers.

Did he kill her because he was flustered by the police searching? Or did he originally intend to kill her? Or was the victim’s resistance fierce?

It didn’t make sense that he killed the victim in such a sloppy way, in a place where he would be caught soon.

It was really a narrow difference. If he had come just one minute, no, 30 seconds earlier, he might have saved the victim’s life.

If he hadn’t scolded the karaoke owner who was yelling about obstructing business, if he had ignored the drunk who was grabbing his collar, if he had searched the karaoke room on the right instead of the left.

‘If only, if only I had come a little earlier…’

All the choices he had made until just now were regrettable.

.

.

.

At that time, the surrounding environment suddenly changed as if flipping through a photo.

Inside the patrol car.

-This is Baekhana, a missing person report in Yongsu-dong. Is there a Sunma available?

Hae-soo raised his head sharply.

<#4. Gotham City of Korea, Gangjin City. >