The Cop Is Too Strong [EN]: Chapter 48

Jung-soo was more embarrassed that the goddess in front of him knew his embarrassing ID than wondering how she knew it in the first place.

“Ah…”

Then, he noticed the phone screen in her hand. It was the same game screen. Only then did he realize why this goddess was frowning at him so intensely.

Young-soo quickly looked around and whispered to her.

“Hey, you should run away quickly.”

“What? You’re the one who needs to run.”

Haru grabbed Young-soo by the collar and dragged him to a secluded spot behind the convenience store where boxes were stacked.

Then, she crossed her arms and raised her chin, looking down at him as arrogantly as possible. She was imitating the delinquent girls from before.

“Apologize. Apologize for hitting me, running away, and making me angry.”

Young-soo fidgeted, looking around.

“No, yes, I’m sorry. But right now… you need to run away quickly…”

Thud, thud, thud.

“What, it was this girl?”

“Wow… what a jackpot?”

Two burly men wearing hats and masks sauntered over. Young-soo was terrified when he saw them.

Thump.

One of them placed a hand on Young-soo’s shoulder and said.

“What nonsense were you spouting, Young-soo? Were you trying to hog her all to yourself?”

“No, that’s not it… Hey! Just hand over the item and leave!”

“Uh-uh, where are you going? Young-soo, does her being pretty give you courage you didn’t have before?”

“Ah, even so, you can’t just hit a woman…”

“Hey, who said anything about hitting? We’re just going to treat her nicely.”

Haru quietly watched them with her arms crossed.

One of the men grabbed Young-soo by the back of the neck and pressed him down, while the other pulled his mask down to his chin and approached Haru.

“Hey, we usually beat anyone we’re supposed to PK [Player Kill] half to death, but we’ll give you a special choice. Do you want to get beaten to a pulp here and have your items taken? Or do you want to go to that motel over there and have a hot conversation?”

Haru tapped her lips with her index finger before opening her mouth.

“Don’t do things like this in the future. If I see you again, I’ll report you to the police.”

With those words, she started to walk away. Then, the man with the mask pulled down reached out and grabbed her hood.

Thud.

At the same time, Haru reached out, crossed her arm with his, spun him around, and lightly pushed his armpit with her palm.

“Uh?”

Without realizing it, the man couldn’t even hold onto Haru’s hood and stumbled back two steps.

He touched his armpit and chuckled.

“What, did you learn something? Is that why you’re so stuck-up?”

Swish-

The man took something out of his pocket and swung it open in the air. It was a collapsible baton, the kind police officers carry.

Seeing that, the man who had been harassing Young-soo also pulled out a baton and approached Haru.

“We need to give this lady a little steam, don’t worry, we won’t touch your pretty face!”

Contrary to his words, the man immediately swung the baton at Haru’s head.

“Ah, no!”

Young-soo screamed and squeezed his eyes shut.

Whoosh-

Haru only took one step with her left foot, and the baton cut through the air. The side of the man who had missed Haru was completely exposed.

Haru raised her phone and struck the man below his ear with the edge.

Thwack-

“Ugh!”

“You son of a bitch!”

As one man grabbed his ear and cried out in pain, the other man who had been watching hurriedly swung his baton.

Whoosh, whoosh.

Haru easily dodged the man’s attacks, which telegraphed his intentions with his shoulders, waist, and even his toes, and then kicked the back of his knee.

Thwack-

“Oof.”

As the man wobbled, kneeling on one knee, Haru moved in and swung her phone.

Thwack, thwack, thwack, bam!

She struck his exposed armpit, neck, and nose in succession, finishing with a knee to his chin.

“Ugh!”

The man let out a groan and collapsed on the spot. At that moment, the man who had been holding his neck and crying out in pain stood up.

Without even checking on him, Haru twisted her ankle, twisted her waist, spun half a turn, and slammed the top of her foot into his neck.

Bam!

With a precise spinning back kick, the man fell forward again before he could even stand up.

“Wow…”

Young-soo couldn’t help but be impressed by the sight. As Haru approached, Young-soo took out his phone and said.

“I, I’m sorry-”

Thwack-

Without hesitation, Haru struck his neck with her fingertips, and as he coughed, she slammed his face with her knee, knocking him down.

Haru looked down at Young-soo, who was sprawled out and groaning, and let out a long sigh.

“Hah…”

Even though she used a weapon, she was the one who came to fight after being provoked.

Haru was worried about getting in trouble, but she mustered the courage to pick up the phone.

“Hello… there’s been a problem.”

*

At the scene, Shin Hae-soo arrived in less than ten minutes.

At first, he thought Haru had finally caused an accident when he saw three men lying in a row, but when he saw the batons in the hands of two of them, he praised Haru.

“Haru, when the opponent is wielding a weapon like that at you, it’s important to break their arm to eliminate the threat.”

“Is that… okay?”

“It’s okay.”

Haru’s eyes sparkled as she nodded vigorously.

“But how did it…”

Hae-soo’s eyes met Jung Young-soo’s, who was clutching his neck and glancing at him.

“You?”

“Ah… Detective, haha.”

Hae-soo had encountered Jung Young-soo when he was a rookie detective and Jung Young-soo was in middle school.

It was a case where he was caught for creating a game hacking program and installing it in PC cafes, but it was settled after he reached an agreement with the account owners.

*

Gangjin Police Station, Violent Crimes Unit office.

“Hurry up and go in.”

“Ah, don’t push me…”

Thwack, thwack.

Hae-soo arrested Jung Young-soo and two others and pushed them into the office. Seeing them, the detectives asked.

“What, what is it? Detective Shin suddenly went out and brought back something again.”

“Seriously, that’s why we can’t keep up with Team 1’s performance, right?”

The team leader approached and greeted him.

“Charge! Our charge! Who are these young souls?”

“Please give me the composite sketch the victim drew.”

“Oh, it’s here.”

The quick-witted Oh Gyeong placed it next to Jung Young-soo’s face instead of Hae-soo’s. The team leader’s lips curled up slightly.

“What the heck? What kind of magic did you use?”

“I was lucky.”

“Luck? Oh, that young lady?”

Oh Gyeong recognized Haru, who was timidly following behind, at once. As expected, detectives have a good eye.

Hae-soo didn’t mention the cohabitation with Haru and explained the incident. Haru was quickly released because self-defense was recognized.

“Our team has to write statements, who’s the kind detective who will take this young lady home?”

“Me, me!”

“I’ll take her home!”

“I’m a former driver!”

Haru refused the volunteering detectives and left the police station alone.

The case was not as simple as it seemed. Jung Young-soo was at the center of the crime, but it was ambiguous to charge Jung Young-soo with the crime.

Jung Young-soo did everything but threaten, including item trading, instigating PvP [Player versus Player combat], acting as a decoy, luring, and assault.

There were also traces of assault and audio files all over his body.

So, Jung Young-soo was released without detention, and the two accomplices were detained in jail while the remaining investigation proceeded.

Most of the money Jung Young-soo and his gang made from selling items could be recovered. They said they were saving it until they had 500 million won [approximately $375,000 USD] for a big deal later.

“Something’s strange…”

“What is?”

“It’s nothing.”

The Jung Young-soo that Hae-soo knew from middle school was quite clever. The reason why the assaulters had the money but couldn’t use it, the undeniable evidence of coercion, everything fitting together perfectly was unsettling.

“I’m going out for a bit.”

“Don’t bring back any cases, I’m tired today.”

Hae-soo went to Jung Young-soo’s house. It was a shabby single-story house in a neighborhood with many stairs.

Knock knock.

It was quiet. The light was on in the window inside. Hae-soo waited quietly, and even though he didn’t hear footsteps, he heard a voice.

“Who is it…”

It was Jung Young-soo’s voice, quite cautious.

“It’s me.”

Creak, click.

The old iron door opened, and Young-soo showed his face. He bowed his head with an expression that said he knew this was coming.

“Hello. Come in.”

When he entered the house, there were four cell phones and a computer, all with the game running.

Hae-soo watched them carefully before opening his mouth.

“When I saw you back then, you didn’t seem like someone who would get pushed around.”

Young-soo nonchalantly offered tangerines and replied.

“What can I do when they know my address and threaten to kill my mom?”

“So, how does it feel to have succeeded in your revenge?”

Young-soo flinched.

As a result of interrogating the two who were caught, they had promoted this crime, but they didn’t have the brains to plan it as meticulously as it is now. Rather, the more he listened, the more he felt that they were subtly drawn into Young-soo’s plan.

They were just thinking of themselves as the leaders of the crime because they had the stolen money.

“…”

Young-soo couldn’t open his mouth and just stared at Hae-soo. He soon drooped his shoulders as if he had given up and held out his hands.

“Did you come to arrest me?”

“No, there’s no evidence.”

“Of course, then why did you come?”

Hae-soo was silent for a moment. He came to confirm his suspicion, but now that he had confirmed it, his mind was in turmoil.

Young-soo fought against injustice in his own way, and in any case, they were the ones who led the bad deeds. Young-soo was dragged around and then made a revenge plan later.

“Why are you still holding on to that?”

Young-soo clicked the mouse and replied.

“I need to make money.”

“Why don’t you prepare to be a white hat hacker [ethical hacker] with that skill instead?”

“Who would hire an ex-convict? Don’t worry about it, I’ll just play games and live quietly. I can make enough money to live on just by playing games anyway.”

Young-soo peeled a tangerine and put it in front of Hae-soo, changing the subject.

“What’s your relationship with that goddess? You called her landlord, oh, she’s a cop too, no wonder she’s so skilled…”

Hae-soo put the tangerine in his mouth and got up from his seat.

“Don’t talk nonsense.”

At that moment, the sound of the door opening was heard. It was Young-soo’s mother. She looked surprised to see Hae-soo.

“Oh my, what brings a detective all the way here? Did Young-soo do something again?”

“No, I was in the neighborhood and stopped by for a moment.”

“Oh, is that so? Why are you standing? Have a meal before you go.”

Young-soo’s mother spread the table as if she would prepare a meal right away.

“It’s okay. Where are you coming from?”

“Ah… to a restaurant.”

She looked at Young-soo as she spoke. Sure enough, Young-soo, who was touching his cell phone, raised his head sharply and glared.

“Why are you going to a restaurant again! I said I’ll make money!”

“The son should go to school properly, I’ll earn money on my own.”

“Mom, you should get your diabetes treated properly!”

At the mention of diabetes, Hae-soo looked at her feet. It was because her gait was a little awkward when she came in.

Even though she was wearing socks, pus was visible.

“Excuse me, ma’am, can I see your feet?”

“Yes? No, why my feet…”

She hesitated to take off her socks, looking at Young-soo. Then, Young-soo quickly took off his mother’s socks.

Upon closer inspection, the toenails of her big toe and index finger were rotting. It was a complication of diabetes. It was a terrible complication that could require amputation if left untreated.

“Oh…”

Young-soo’s face hardened terribly. He must not have known that his mother’s feet were in this condition. He had reportedly been involved in crimes and stayed out overnight like eating rice [a common Korean expression for doing something frequently].

“You need to get treatment for this right away. You may need to have it amputated.”

“Yes? Oh my, why amputation, detective, you’re scaring me.”

Young-soo’s face turned even paler at Hae-soo’s words.

“I, I told you to get treatment…”

Young-soo’s eyes became moist. He tried not to show tears in front of others. He blamed himself for not seeing his mother’s feet because he was out and about.

Hae-soo eventually couldn’t resist Young-soo’s mother’s urging and left the house after having a meal.

Young-soo, who came out to see him off, looked at Hae-soo and lowered his head.

“I. I was going to confess, I was really going to confess… I need to make money. What will happen to my mom if I go to jail…”

He shed tears. Hae-soo approached and patted him on the shoulder.

“…Young-soo, I’ll get you treated, at the best hospital, so don’t worry…”

Hae-soo said in a warm tone, close to his ear.

“Confess.”

Even if the situation is dire, you can’t cover up a crime.

< #48. Confession > End