The Cop Is Too Strong [EN]: Chapter 43

Screech-

A black car pulled up in front of a five-star hotel.

Before Shin Hae-soo could get out, Ji-yeon handed him a 2G cell phone.

“Oppa [Korean term for older brother, used by females], if you contact me with this, I’ll pick you up anywhere. I had a great time today.”

At ten million won [approximately $7,500 USD] per visit, she’d be happy to pick him up anywhere.

“Go.”

Hae-soo got out of the car and entered the five-star hotel. In the elevator, he took out the phone, covered the microphone with a handkerchief, and put it deep inside his pocket.

‘Room 701.’

Hae-soo strode purposefully towards the room. He unlocked the door with the card, and Team Leader Oh Geng, and the youngest member greeted him.

To live as Lee Tae-soo until this operation was over, he borrowed a hotel run by Dae-sung.

“Hae-soo, you really have guts…”

Hae-soo silenced Oh Geng with a finger to his lips and held up the phone. Oh Geng made a circle with his index finger and thumb, then took the phone to check for any eavesdropping devices.

“Nope, I didn’t think so. Anyone they deal with would be checking for that. They wouldn’t last long in this business if they got caught.”

“Where is he located?”

Hae-soo took off his coat and stepped inside. The living room, transformed into an investigation headquarters, came into view.

The Team Leader projected photos onto a whiteboard with a beam projector.

“It’s practically attached to the Queen Club. I just drove around in circles for an hour. But look at this, it’s a mystery where they found such a space.”

“It seems the entrance itself is through a hidden space.”

“We’ll have to go a few more times.”

At Hae-soo’s words, Oh Geng smirked and nudged him with his shoulder.

“Why, to see Asiana flight attendant Ji-yeon?”

“It’s work.”

“You seem disappointed?”

“It’s your imagination.”

*

At Red Moon, Manager Jung Seok-seung received a report from Ji-yeon upon her return.

“…That bastard was impotent? So… so that’s why he’s got such a nasty temper. This might be easier than I thought?”

He has a lot of money but can’t satisfy his sexual desires, so he’ll look for something else. There’s only one thing a rich, impotent man will look for. He’s probably already doing it.

“You, if that bastard comes again, see if you can recommend something.”

“Yes? Already?”

“What else would a rich, impotent bastard do besides drugs? What else is there?”

The manager raised his fist. Ji-yeon flinched. Hae-soo’s burly muscles came to mind. She could die if she got hit by that hand.

“Y-yes, I understand.”

*

A few days later, Red Moon.

Thump, thump! Crash!

“Kyaa!”

The door burst open, and Hae-soo stormed into the hallway, grabbing Ji-yeon by the hair.

Hae-soo snorted like an angry bull and shouted.

“Damn it!! Get your boss out here!”

His booming voice quickly drew the guards. Manager Jung Seok-seung also rushed over.

“Customer, what’s going on?”

“What’s going on? What’s going on, you bastard!”

Hae-soo let go of the crying Ji-yeon and grabbed the manager by the collar. Then, with his other hand, he showed him a small glass bottle filled with drugs.

“Did she recommend this on her own?”

“That’s…”

The manager was flustered and couldn’t continue. Usually, they would threaten with a video if someone crossed the line, but since the guy was impotent, that wasn’t an option.

“Does this bastard think I’m an easy target?!”

Thud!

Hae-soo threw the manager aside. Then, three guards closed in.

“You think you can do something to me right now? Do you know who my dad is? Huh?! Get your boss out here!”

“You can’t do this.”

“If you cause a disturbance, we’ll have to restrain you.”

“Restrain? Ha, you crazy bastards!”

Hae-soo swung his fist at one of the approaching guards.

Whoosh-

The guard leaned back to avoid the punch, and the other two quickly lunged at Hae-soo.

“Let go of me, you bastards!!”

The guards surrounded Hae-soo, but he was so strong, as much as his muscles showed, that the three of them were dragged around.

Bang, bang!

Hae-soo slammed his body against the hallway walls, and the guards fell away one by one. Hae-soo grabbed the last remaining guard by the collar, tripped him, and knocked him down.

“You want to die, you bastards! How dare you lay a hand on me?”

Clack, clack, clack.

At that moment, the sound of high heels echoed in the hallway.

A woman and a man appeared at the end of the hallway. The woman watched Hae-soo’s rampage and opened her mouth slightly.

“Chief Ha.”

Dada-da-dak

No sooner had she spoken than the man called Chief Ha darted towards Hae-soo. Hae-soo belatedly noticed him and widened his eyes.

Tak-tak tak-

Just before reaching Hae-soo, Chief Ha ran up the wall of the hallway, his body floating nearly two meters in the air, and struck Hae-soo’s face with his knee. Hae-soo raised both hands to block, but he couldn’t withstand the force and fell.

“Ugh!”

Thud!

Chief Ha immediately pounced, twisted Hae-soo’s arm, and pressed his knee into his neck.

-Ooh, that must hurt.

-Who is that guy? He’s flying?

“Cough, cough! D-don’t let go! Cough!”

Clack, clack, clack.

Unlike the desperate Hae-soo, the woman in the bright red dress approached with a leisurely gait. She knelt on one knee and met Hae-soo’s gaze.

Because the dress was split in the middle, her underwear was visible to Hae-soo, but she didn’t seem to care.

“Lee Tae-soo?”

There was a strange energy in her voice. The strong smell of perfume made his head spin. It was hard to guess her age. She seemed old in some ways, and in her twenties in others.

As their eyes met, she gave a coquettish smile.

“There are many valuable guests here besides you, so it’s difficult to cause a disturbance.”

“S-surrender, j-just…”

“Chief Ha.”

Only then was his neck freed.

Hae-soo remained lying on the floor, staring intently at the man called Chief Ha.

At the sight, the woman chuckled and asked.

“You were looking for me?”

*

Red Moon’s office.

The woman and Hae-soo sat facing each other across a luxurious table. Behind the woman stood Chief Ha and the manager, and behind Hae-soo stood three guards, waiting.

“I am the representative of Red Moon. Please call me Madam Yoo. What brings you here?”

Hae-soo took out the glass bottle containing the drugs and showed it.

“The girl who came into my room recommended this? Selling women is one thing, but selling drugs is another. Do you want to shut down your business?”

“Report it.”

“What?”

“Go ahead. I’ll get arrested, so what.”

Her shoulders shrugged, she seemed quite relaxed.

“Ha, it doesn’t work, huh? Okay, let’s get to the point. Where did you get this? Sell it to me. It’s a good product.”

Madam Yoo smiled knowingly, crossed her legs, and propped her chin with one hand.

“I got it from above.”

“Above?”

“If you cross the line, it comes out.”

‘North Korea.’

North Korean drugs are the highest quality available in South Korea. He just took a shot, but it was really top-notch stuff. It can’t compare to Chinese or Vietnamese products in terms of purity.

Usually, it costs 500,000 to 1,000,000 won [approximately $375 to $750 USD] per gram, but North Korean drugs start at 3,000,000 won [approximately $2,250 USD] per gram.

“Wouldn’t it be good for you guys to sell a lot anyway?”

Madam Yoo winked as if acting cute. She was a woman whose age was impossible to guess. Her tone was middle-aged, but her face was in her twenties, like dealing with a witch.

“Come visit often.”

She dismissed him and stood up.

“One hundred billion.”

Her steps stopped. Hae-soo leaned back on the sofa and casually draped one arm over the back.

“The first deal starts at one hundred billion won [approximately $75 million USD], 10 percent upfront.”

Madam Yoo sat back down and crossed her legs.

“You have a bold personality, just like your appearance.”

She extended a slender hand into the air, and Chief Ha took out a cell phone from his inside pocket and handed it to her. It was, of course, a 2G cell phone.

She pushed the phone towards Hae-soo.

“I’ll contact you with this for details. See him out.”

“Okay, straightforward, just like your face!”

Hae-soo stood up with a cool expression. Then, he started to walk away but stopped in front of Chief Ha.

A moment of silence, Chief Ha gritted his teeth, bracing himself for a slap on the cheek.

“You’re pretty good?”

Contrary to his expectations, Hae-soo extended a hand. Chief Ha just stared at the hand, and Madam Yoo nodded in approval. Only then did Chief Ha shake his hand.

*

After Hae-soo left the office.

Madam Yoo exhaled a long stream of cigarette smoke and stared into space, parting her lips.

“Manager Jung, investigate him. It’s strange that the son of a subcontractor is throwing around one hundred billion won so easily, isn’t it?”

“Yes, Madam.”

***

Thwack!

Back at the five-star hotel, as Shin Hae-soo entered room 701, Oh Geng hugged him tightly. Then, he caressed his face with both hands and said.

“Hae-soo, are you okay? You’ve got guts hanging out of your belly? Where is it, where are your guts?”

“I was really watching from here, and I was scared to death. I could never have done it, I would have been caught before that.”

“Detective! I knew you’d come back safe!”

Hae-soo took off his coat and loosened his tie, replying.

“Yeah.”

Oh Geng followed Hae-soo, chattering.

“You acted getting hit well.”

“It wasn’t acting.”

“Huh?”

“R-really? Right, that guy was flying…”

“My neck hurts too when they press it.”

“Ah, you scared me.”

The youngest member moved his neck back and forth, interjecting.

“That’s why I recently started neck muscle strengthening exercises!”

“Ugh, muscle monster…”

Hae-soo looked at his palm and said.

“That Chief Ha guy, he didn’t have fingerprints, like Jin.”

“Shady place… very.”

“Let’s check the CCTV footage.”

“I checked it all because it looked similar to me.”

The Team Leader showed various angles of a suspicious man taken in Shinira’s residence.

His build, height, and nose were similar to Chief Ha. It was a pity that they didn’t get a good look at his gait.

“Didn’t you say that one damaged fingerprint was found at the scene?”

“That’s right, we’re keeping it.”

One smudged fingerprint was taken during the crime scene investigation. A characteristic of those who erase fingerprints is that they don’t wear gloves with confidence.

Whether that fingerprint was left by Jin when he came before, or by Chief Ha, or by someone else, will be known when Chief Ha is caught and compared.

In any case, if Chief Ha is the killer, it’s important to catch the person who ordered him to kill, rather than this person. Probably Madam Yoo.

Hae-soo was lost in thought for a moment.

‘Chief Ha is in his mid-thirties to forties… the age is right, but the body is different.’

Hae-soo’s mind became complicated. The man who killed his father 13 years ago was taller and had broader shoulders than Chief Ha.

Different people, but the same murder method? Or did Chief Ha not kill him?

The suspicion leans towards the former. Chief Ha and Jin, and Haru… In any case, since the fingerprints are erased using the same method, a hypothesis is established that there is a group that receives training and takes murder requests.

*

Hae-soo gave 1 billion won [approximately $750,000 USD] in cash as a down payment when he visited Red Moon again.

And at that time, while enjoying a short luxury by ordering room service to his heart’s content at the hotel.

Buzzz

“Looks like a text came!”

“I’ll check it.”

-[Meeting: 7/15, 23:00]

It means July 15th at 11:00 PM. The connection was made quickly because the place has excellent manufacturing capabilities, even though it’s 10 billion won [approximately $7.5 million USD].

On the day of the appointment.

Violent Crimes Unit 1 had two squads of police special forces on standby. It’s a pincer operation.

Hae-soo and the youngest member at the drug deal site.

Oh Geng and the Team Leader are conducting a burglary at Red Moon.

Hae-soo and the youngest member dressed neatly and waited in front of the hotel. The youngest member was holding a black bag in his right hand.

Screech-

After a while, a black Grandeur [a popular sedan car model in South Korea] stopped in front of them. Hae-soo and the youngest member took the money bag and got into the car.

*

Meanwhile, Police Special Forces Squad 1, who were supposed to move with Hae-soo.

Static

A strange noise was heard. The squad leader frowned and radioed.

“Two hundred one, respond, if you hear, press the button twice.”

There was no response. Not even static. As soon as Hae-soo got into their car, the electromagnetic waves were blocked. Radio communication as well as location tracking were cut off.

The squad leader frowned and shouted.

“Damn it, it’s blocked, follow them!”

“We lost them!”

“Radio the control center! Black Grandeur 34mu7773!”

If they reveal their identities, thinking that the special forces are ready to enter at the meeting place, the two detectives are dead.

The squad leader became anxious and punched the inside of the car with his fist.

*

Screech-

The car carrying Shin Hae-soo and the youngest member stopped in front of a warehouse located in a corner of the pier.

They had no idea that the electromagnetic waves were blocked.

Two men wearing sunglasses searched their bodies before entering the warehouse.

“Excuse me.”

“Excuse me.”

After a thorough body search, they opened the warehouse door for them.

Screech, click, clank.

As they stepped inside, the warehouse door closed and they heard it being locked from the outside.

A dark warehouse, only the center was lit, and Madam Yoo was seen sitting on a sofa with her legs crossed.

She blew out cigarette smoke and raised her chin slightly.

“You’ve come?”

Hae-soo looked around and narrowed his brows slightly. He realized that something was wrong with Madam Yoo’s changed tone and the atmosphere of the meeting place.

“Where’s the stuff?”

“Shall we see the money first?”

“Where’s the stuff?”

Chee-

Madam Yoo stubbed out her cigarette in the ashtray and sneered at Hae-soo.

“You don’t have any money, you cop.”

Hae-soo and the youngest member, who were looking around with uneasy expressions, paused.

At the sight, Madam Yoo laughed out loud.

“How many prosecutors do we have by the neck, how could we not recognize a cop?”

Thud, thud

As if on cue, men holding sashimi knives, hammers, and steel pipes closed in from the darkness. Roughly, there were more than twenty of them.

“Ah, support? It’s not coming, don’t expect it, even if it comes, it’ll come after you’ve become fish food.”

“Madam Yoo…”

“Get rid of-”

Bang!!

Before the order was given, Hae-soo moved first. He quickly took two steps and strongly struck the face of the nearest man.

Koo-oong-!

The man spun around on the spot and fell to the floor. He was foaming at the mouth with his eyes rolled back.

Hae-soo wiped the blood from his face with his thumb and met Madam Yoo’s gaze. She flinched.

“You didn’t investigate enough, this is too few.”

< #43. Too Few. > End