The Cop Is Too Strong [EN]: Chapter 51

The moon was hidden behind clouds on this dark night.

A dozen or so burly men were in the yard of a shantytown, holding their breath and listening intently to the conversation.

“…And what was really creepy was that there was this yellow tabby cat with stripes in our unit, called Jjamtiger. One day, it died, and all its front toes were cut off. I don’t know who killed it, but I found it later in Im Gi-sung’s locker when I was cleaning up after he was discharged. In that transparent *ppopgi* [capsule toy vending machine] egg thing…”

The detectives frowned at Jung Sung-chul’s detailed explanation.

Killing an animal and collecting its toes. It couldn’t be a coincidence.

The detectives’ thoughts mirrored Shin Hae-soo’s. Hae-soo asked,

“Where did you serve in the military?”

Jung Sung-chul looked up, trying to remember.

“Uh… Dongbu Police Station, Gyeongjin Dongbu Police Station, Mobile Unit 1.”

At his answer, Oh Gyeong stood up, stepped back, and radioed.

“Cheon Set here, background check requested, Gyeongjin Dongbu Police Station, Mobile Unit 1, 141st class, Im Gi-sung, suspect.”

-Suspect? Songpal.

Hae-soo took out his business card and gave it to him.

“Thank you for your cooperation. I’ll contact you if I need more help.”

“Ah, ah? So, are you letting me off the hook? Are you supporting me and Miku-chan?”

Hae-soo glanced at the golf bag, patted Jung Sung-chul on the shoulder, and turned away.

*

Next day, at the investigation headquarters.

-Name: Im Gi-sung

-Occupation: Office worker

-Address: 30-303, Gongiro 22beon-gil, Seongjeong-si, Gyeonggi-do

…

Im Gi-sung’s personal information was listed on the whiteboard.

The head of the Metropolitan Investigation Unit stood and looked down at the detectives, shouting,

“Team 1 to Im Gi-sung’s parents, Team 2 to the company, Team 3 to Im Gi-sung’s home, move out now!”

“Huh? No, *hyung* [older brother/term for a respected male colleague], that’s not right, is it?”

“Why is Team 3 going to his house?”

Team 3 refers to Hae-soo’s team. There was a lot of backlash because Team 3 was going to the house, where they were most likely to encounter Im Gi-sung.

It was the result of Hae-soo’s team leader playing rock-paper-scissors with the Metropolitan Investigation Unit team leader and winning.

Hae-soo ignored their protests, grabbed the car keys with his youngest member, and went outside.

Then, Oh Gyeong stopped in front of the car and said,

“Hae-soo, I’ll move with Team 2, that’s better.”

“Yes, understood.”

“Okay, be careful.”

This was because the existing Metropolitan Investigation Unit was concerned that information sharing would not be proper because they thought they had to catch him, not the Gangjin Police Station team.

*

Hae-soo headed to Im Gi-sung’s house with the youngest member. It was an old studio apartment building made of red brick.

Knock knock knock

He knocked every few minutes, but there was no sign of anyone inside.

Then, Team 2’s radio crackled.

-Cheon Dul here, Im Gi-sung is not at his workplace. He took a day off today.

He took a day off and went somewhere. It didn’t feel good. It’s technically illegal if he’s not a suspect, but sometimes you have to ignore procedure.

“Youngest, close your eyes.”

“Yes.”

As soon as the youngest member closed his eyes tightly without asking, Hae-soo lifted his foot and kicked the doorknob.

Pow! Thud!

He broke the doorknob in just two kicks and entered the house. The house was very tidy. Everything was aligned to the corners, and the towels were folded neatly.

Hae-soo looked around and said,

“Search the computer.”

“Yes, Detective.”

The youngest member looked at the USBs lying around the desk and the internet search history.

It was confirmed that he frequently accessed a site called Mango Market, which deals in used goods mainly in the nearby neighborhood. The site login was maintained, so he checked the transaction details.

“Detective, something is a little strange.”

“Look.”

The record that the youngest member showed indicated that Im Gi-sung was mainly selling women’s clothing. There were quite a few comments saying that he didn’t sell properly and failed.

Hae-soo narrowed his brows and listened to the radio.

“Team 2, please find out Im Gi-sung’s vacation record from last September until now. Quickly.”

-Songpal

While Hae-soo was writing down the IDs of the people who had traded with Im Gi-sung, the radio crackled again.

-Calling out the vacation record. September 11th of last year, December 28th, April 17th of this year…

Oh Gyeong noticed something strange while calling out the dates. Goosebumps rose on Hae-soo’s arm as he listened.

Oh Gyeong said in a whisper.

-Damn it… the dates overlap.

It is the same date as the serial killings. The missing days in between are weekends.

Checking the dates on Mango Market, there is always at least one person about a week before the incident. He found the target through Mango Market.

It is predicted that he posts articles selling cheap and good women’s clothes for direct transactions, makes them fail, confirms the target, and stalks them.

-So, today’s vacation means…

-Damn it, find this bastard quickly!

-Hae-soo! Did you find anything else there?

There is one more thing this time. Three days ago, a potential buyer left a comment saying they sent a message. It seems to be a message that can only be checked with the mobile app, not on the web.

Even if you check the mobile message, you can only check the meeting place due to the nature of direct transactions, and you will not be able to check the exact address.

“It is presumed that the target was secured through Mango Market. One person three days ago, the transaction category is Yongsu-dong, Gangjin-si, the ID will be sent to the team leader via text message. Please find out the home address and mobile phone number with the ID owner’s membership information, and track the mobile phone location.”

-Okay, I’ll pass it on to the information department, everyone head to Yongsu-dong for now!

“Songpal, let’s go.”

On the way to Yongsu-dong, the team leader’s radio came on.

-Hey, this bastard turned off his phone, Im Gi-sung’s location cannot be tracked. The last location is his house.

It is becoming increasingly likely that Im Gi-sung planned a murder today. The detectives’ hearts grew anxious.

-Damn it, *hyung*, is that ID address still far away?

-Ah, there’s still no word on that either. I’ll ask the information department again…

At that moment, the team leader’s voice stretched strangely in Hae-soo’s ears. At the same time, a pitch-black darkness covered his eyes.

*

The vision is shaking unsteadily. The long hair obscures the view. Securing a good view is difficult.

The hands feel numb and painful, and the mouth feels stuffy. It seems to be gagged. A person wearing a black windbreaker is visible. The owner of the gaze is afraid and does not dare to look up at the face.

A chilling voice was heard in my ear.

-It was fun. Now it’s time for us to say goodbye, there won’t be another chance to meet.

The man chuckled. As he chuckled uncontrollably, the gaze gradually rose.

He met the man’s crazy eyes with his head drooping. An unbearable fear swept over him in an instant.

-Kkeueueup!

At the same time as he made eye contact, he raised the hammer in his hand.

Thwack thwack thud-

*

“Keoheok- Heok! Heok!”

Hae-soo, who had been staring straight ahead in the car, suddenly gasped for breath as if he had come back to life, and the youngest member was also surprised.

“Detective! Are you okay?”

Hae-soo opened his eyes wide, stroked his head, looked back and forth between the youngest member and the front, and opened his mouth.

“Let’s go, quickly.”

“Yes, sir.”

Hae-soo recalled the illusion he had just seen. It can’t even be called an illusion.

That unbearable fear, the vivid pain felt in his hands, the foul smell of blood, the chilling voice, it was not a feeling of seeing through the eyes of a third party, but rather close to possession.

Possession future vision, Hae-soo’s anger and impatience double after fully experiencing the victim’s situation.

This time, there was no helpful hint in the current situation, except that the victim would die in an hour.

He picked up his cell phone and called Jung Young-soo.

-Detective Shin? What’s wrong-

“Is it possible to hack Mango Market?”

Hae-soo said what he needed to say before Jung Young-soo could finish speaking. Young-soo realized how urgent the situation was and replied firmly.

-I’ll try.

“I’ll send you the ID, find out that person’s information and address.”

-Okay. What’s the time frame?

“Immediately.”

-Yessir.

Less than 10 minutes after hanging up the phone and worrying, Young-soo called. Hae-soo answered before the bell rang once.

“Yeah.”

-Name Kim Seo-young, 25 years old, female, is that right?

He doesn’t know. However, age and gender fall into Im Gi-sung’s target.

“What’s the address?”

-30, Jujeong-ro 22beon-gil, Jijeong-dong, Areum One Room 401

The youngest member immediately reset the navigation while driving. Hae-soo nodded at the sight and replied.

“Okay.”

As soon as Hae-soo hung up the phone, he picked up the radio.

“Location has been changed. It wasn’t Yongsu-dong. It’s a person from Jijeong-dong who received a transaction in Yongsu-dong. I’ll call out the address again. Jujeong-ro, Jijeong-dong…”

-Okay, but how did you know that?

-Team 1 is on its way.

-Still, shouldn’t we go to Yongsu-dong just in case? What about the information department, are they still working on it?

-They said they haven’t received cooperation yet, these bastards are really frustrating.

Hae-soo put down the radio and attached the emergency dispatch siren to the car.

“Youngest, let’s speed up.”

“Yes, understood!”

The youngest member shouted vigorously and stepped on the accelerator.

Vroom!

***

A studio apartment decorated with cute ornaments.

Kim Seo-young, a young professional, never knew that this place, where she was pursuing her dreams while living alone for the first time, would become hell.

“Hic, heueup.”

The floor is full of blood. All her own blood.

“Okay, let’s try again. You can do it. Hold it like this, why are you shaking so much? You’ll fail if you shake, you didn’t play the nail-driving game at the university festival?”

The man gently placed the hammer in Seo-young’s right hand. Seo-young’s left hand was placed on the low dining table, and a knife was stuck in the back of her hand.

There were already three cuts on the back of her hand.

“If you drive it all the way in at once, you live, and if you fail… you have one more chance.”

“Heueuk, heuk, heuk…”

She can’t even make a proper cry because of the gag in her mouth. Seo-young shook her head weakly, shedding tears.

The man’s expression, which had been excited by the sight, hardened coldly. His voice sank.

“Do it quickly, do I look like I have time?”

Seo-young closed her eyes, holding back tears, and prepared to strike her hand, with a fear greater than the fear of hitting her own hand with a hammer.

Only then did the man smile again and say.

“Good, good, be careful of your fingers, shoot!”

Thwack!

“Kkaaeueueuk!!”

The hammer missed and hit her thumb. Her fingernail broke and blood flowed.

“I told you to be careful of your fingers, aish, really, I’m upset, okay, now the last chance.”

Chuaaak-

The man pulled out the knife stuck in Seo-young’s hand without hesitation. Blood gushed out like a fountain.

Seo-young grabbed her hand and writhed in pain.

“Uueueu! Eueueu”

The man smiled at the sight, picked up the knife, and grabbed her wrist tightly.

“Don’t move. If it’s not in the middle, you have to shoot again.”

“Heueueu, heueueu”

“That’s right, here!”

The moment the man raised the knife and tried to strike Seo-young’s hand again.

Crash!

The studio apartment window was broken and a burly man rolled in with the polka dot curtain torn off.

Shin Hae-soo saw Im Gi-sung, who was holding a knife and looking surprised, and a woman with blood flowing from her hand.

Hae-soo silently strode forward, knocked away the knife that Im Gi-sung was wielding with his hand, grabbed his collar and shoulders, lifted him up, and slammed his head into the ceiling.

Kwagwang!!

The ceiling was broken and debris fell to the floor. Hae-soo pulled Im Gi-sung from the ceiling. The flesh on his face was torn and bleeding, and his eyeballs were turned over.

“Don’t pass out, I’ll hit you until you wake up.”

Hae-soo grabbed his face with one hand and dragged him to the bathroom.

<#51. Don't Pass Out> End