The Cop Is Too Strong [EN]: Chapter 57

With the end of the Fighting Zone Cafe, a new Justice Cafe emerged, and a video was uploaded.

[Video of Fighting Champions Getting Schooled by the Police]

The video showed Hae-soo, with only his face blurred, tying up the men without throwing a single punch and giving them a lecture. It quickly spread from the cafe to famous online communities.

┗Isn’t that Detective Shin? His build is a dead giveaway.

┗Identifying the police by their unique physique, lol

┗It’s him, comparing it to other news photos.

┗I saw them recruiting people to catch Detective Shin at the Fighting Zone Cafe, but it’s gone now. Serves them right.

┗Seriously, where did they leave their brains? Why pick a fight with the police whether you win or lose?

┗Detective Shin’s response of subduing them without getting hit or hitting them is legendary.

┗Exactly, they avoided jail time. He’s an angel.

┗They probably don’t realize that? Those kinds of guys should be sentenced to death.

┗These days, it’s all death penalty this, death penalty that, so annoying.

┗Death penalty for those who call for the death penalty.

┗Detective Shin, what are his limits?

┗I applied to the police force after seeing him. I’ll follow in your footsteps, brother.

┗Yeah, next delusional shut-in.

┗I wish all police were like that.

***

A few days later, Shin Hae-soo and Haru were on the 10th floor of the Reed Building.

The door was modified to open with iris and fingerprint scanning, or phone authentication.

The apartment had some glass walls and many windows, but it was sturdy and secure without needing to touch them.

Haru looked around the apartment with a thrilled expression and said,

“It’s too big.”

“I know.”

It was a rooftop penthouse built separately on the top floor, but the area was more than 100 *pyeong* [approximately 3,600 square feet], half the size of the building.

The living room was very large, and when the belongings brought from the studio apartment were gathered there, it looked pathetic.

Haru bustled around busily.

“There are six rooms, big and small.”

“That’s a lot.”

“There’s also an outdoor veranda here. It’s decorated like a small garden, and there’s an artificial pond.”

“Your Korean has improved a lot.”

“There’s also an outdoor bathroom here. How are we supposed to shower here?”

“Nice.”

Haru blushed. She was talkative, trying not to show it, but she seemed very happy to have moved from the studio apartment to such a large and nice apartment.

I should have moved sooner if I had known this would happen.

Hae-soo ordered *jajangmyeon* [black bean noodles] and *tangsuyuk* [sweet and sour pork], spread newspaper in the middle of the empty apartment, turned over a box, placed the *jajangmyeon* bowls on it, and ate facing Haru.

*Slurp slurp*

Haru took a bite of *jajangmyeon* and widened her eyes in surprise.

Come to think of it, I had never eaten *jajangmyeon* with Haru before. We often ate near the station, so we didn’t order it.

“It’s really, really delicious!”

Haru raised her thumb with *jajang* smeared around her mouth. She’s usually reserved, but she expresses herself generously when she eats.

Hae-soo thought about feeding Haru *tteokbokki* [spicy rice cakes] later.

*

That night, Hae-soo went to the first floor with Haru to look around the building and stopped by the convenience store.

“There are twice as many kinds of snacks here.”

“Yeah, buy some snacks.”

*Ding*

At that moment, the bell rang and three children came into the convenience store.

A middle school girl and two elementary school boys.

It was an unusual combination for a late night, almost eleven o’clock.

The boys giggled and went to the snack corner, carefully choosing for a long time.

Haru, who was enthusiastically choosing, stepped back slightly at the intrusion of the children.

After *gomin* [agonizing] for more than 5 minutes, they chose one snack each, and the girl bought dish soap.

The girl looked at the snacks her younger brothers had chosen and frowned at a slightly larger snack.

“How much is this?”

*Beep*

“It’s 3,000 won.”

“Thank you.”

The girl gave it back to her younger brother and said,

“Choose something else.”

“I want to eat this…”

“Did you promise your sister? Or not?”

“Ah, I understand!”

The younger brother stomped his feet angrily and chose a small snack.

Then, when paying, the part-time worker packed a lunch box and *kimbap* [seaweed rice rolls] and gave it to the girl.

They were receiving items whose expiration date would pass after 12 o’clock that day.

“Here.”

“Thank you. Say thank you.”

“Thank you~ Oh yeah, bulgogi lunch box!”

Hae-soo and Haru watched them quietly. They left the convenience store and went to the building entrance. As expected, these children did not live in this building.

The residential space was from the 7th to the 10th floor, and except for the 10th floor, there were 4 apartments per floor, each over 40 *pyeong* [approximately 1,440 square feet].

There was also an elevator exclusively for residents, so the apartment prices were expensive.

The reason why the children came to this convenience store even though they didn’t live here was probably because they were given lunch boxes and *kimbap*?

*

The next day, Hae-soo tried to leave the apartment at the same time. Then Haru got up.

“Where are you going?”

“Convenience store.”

“I want to go with you too.”

Haru seemed to be subtly concerned about them too. Despite her tough exterior, she seemed to have a good heart when she saw things like this.

But the children didn’t come that day. I wondered if I had only seen them by chance yesterday, but they came the next day. They came once every two days. Sometimes the girl came alone without her younger siblings.

The convenience store employee looked suspiciously at Hae-soo and Haru, who came at the same time several times and awkwardly loitered around.

“Excuse me. Who are you people?”

Haru was flustered and pretended not to hear, choosing stockings, and Hae-soo realized that it was understandable to be misunderstood and showed his ID.

“I’m a police officer. I also live in this building.”

“Ah… Why is the police involved? Did they do something wrong?”

“No. Do you know those kids well?”

“Not really… I don’t ask them anything on purpose either.”

She was being careful not to hurt them. I could feel the employee’s small kindness.

“Can you tell me what you know?”

“Um… It seems like they live without their parents? And the boss told me to pack lunch boxes and stuff for them. That’s all I really know.”

“I see…”

As soon as Hae-soo came out of the convenience store, he called Gu-shiljang.

-Yes, Shin-*sajangnim* [boss]? You’ve moved in? Congratulations. But when are you having a housewarming party?

“Rather than a housewarming party, is the convenience store on the first floor of the Reed Building paying monthly rent?”

-Um… Yes, as you said at the time, when selling the building, I lowered it by 10 percent, so it’s 900,000 won.

“Lower the monthly rent by half.”

-Yes? Suddenly?

“It seems like they’re doing good things.”

-Ah, that’s good. I understand.

Haru looked at Hae-soo’s back with a pleased expression and nodded.

*

The next day, as soon as he got to work, the team leader greeted him with open arms.

“Our Shin Star! Gangjin Station is so hot because of Shin Star.”

“I know, I even get calls here. A Detective Shin fan asked if they could meet him if they came, so I told them they could meet him if they caused an incident.”

“Hey, hey, they might actually do something. Just tell them to come, is that okay?”

Hae-soo sat down at his desk and nodded.

“Yes, whatever.”

The team leader grabbed the partition on Hae-soo’s desk and stuck his face out.

“Our *Doljjuk* [slang for someone who is headstrong and reckless] is so popular on the internet these days that he’s even been invited to the police academy as a special instructor.”

At the word “special instructor,” the youngest member *벌떡* [suddenly] stood up and raised both thumbs.

“As expected, *sunbaenim* [senior]! You’re awesome!”

Hae-soo waved his hand to make him sit down and asked the team leader.

“What is a special instructor?”

“Sometimes we invite elite detectives with a lot of field experience to come for about 2 weeks? Or a month? And they talk about their field experiences and teach actual suppression techniques.”

“I see. Do I have to go?”

“You can refuse, but I want our *Doljjuk* to go. I applied to be a detective because I was so impressed by the special instructors at the police academy. The more detective applicants, the easier it is for us.”

“Hmm… I guess that’s true.”

“Think about it comfortably, there’s a month left.”

“Yes.”

While working, Hae-soo suddenly thought of the convenience store children and asked Oh-gyeong.

“Do you know how much support a child head of household receives?”

“Well? They’ll get the basic living subsidy and some support from the local government, I guess. Why?”

“It’s nothing.”

He immediately searched and checked the basic living subsidy amount.

“1.1 million won for three people…”

The support from Gangjin City was 300,000 won, a total of about 1.4 million won [approximately $1,050 USD], which was not a large amount, but not too insufficient either.

A reasonable suspicion arose. Were they children in a blind spot who weren’t receiving proper support?

At that time, the team leader’s voice was heard.

“Speaking of child heads of household, our country’s welfare for child heads of household is very *허술* [shoddy] compared to our economic level, but do you know why?”

Oh-gyeong narrowed his brow as if he had noticed and answered.

“Voting rights?”

“That’s right. Politicians don’t get votes even if they help child heads of household, so they help the elderly instead.”

“That’s *씁쓸* [bitter].”

Hae-soo thought he should investigate the children a little more.

***

Late at night, the entrance of the Reed Building.

Three men who looked like high school students with yellow-dyed hair were leaning on a motorcycle.

At eleven o’clock, a girl in a middle school uniform appeared.

“Is that her?”

“She’s well-developed.”

A man with yellow hair and a piercing in his nose licked his upper lip and approached the girl.

“Hey.”

The girl stopped and looked around. Unfortunately, no one was in sight. She couldn’t even make eye contact and took a slight step back.

“Want to hang out with us, *oppadeul* [older brothers/guys] for a while? I’ll give you some spending money.”

“I’m… okay.”

The girl answered like a mosquito and tried to pass by, but the man grabbed her wrist.

“Hey, hey, no one’s going to eat you. Let’s just hang out for a bit?”

The girl’s wrist hurt, but she couldn’t shake him off.

At that moment, the street light was blocked, casting a shadow, and a low voice was heard.

“Want to hang out with me?”

*슥*

A burly man with a physique two heads taller than the girl, Hae-soo, appeared.

The man with the piercing, with an impression that could intimidate gangsters and a strong presence, flinched and let go of the girl’s wrist.

“W-who are you, *ajeossi* [older man]?”

“Me? I’m her uncle, is there a problem?”

“N-no. Let’s go.”

The man with the piercing hurriedly turned around and started walking, and Hae-soo followed closely behind him.

“Uh-huh, even if you’re leaving, you have to do what you have to do. Stick to the wall and stand in a line.”

“W-what are you?”

“Me? I’m her uncle and a police officer. I have a duty to guide teenagers who wander around late at night like you. Stand straight, take your hands out of your pockets.”

“Ah… really…”

They had rebellious eyes and took a crooked posture, but when they made eye contact with Hae-soo, they lowered their eyes and straightened their posture, as if they were teenagers who were good at controlling their anger.

Hae-soo wrote down their names, phone numbers, and where they lived and sent them away.

Turning around, the girl who was still there flinched. It was natural to be wary even though he had helped her.

“Hello, *ajeossi* [older man] is a police officer, I live here.”

Hae-soo showed her his police badge to reassure her.

Today she was wearing a school uniform, so he could see her name on her name tag.

‘Kim Jian’

Kim Jian nodded slightly.

“I’ve seen you a few times. With a pretty *unni* [older sister]…”

“Ah, really.”

Jian lowered her head deeply.

“Thank you.”

Hae-soo nodded back, and she silently went to the convenience store. When he went to the convenience store, Haru was loitering around. Anyone could tell she looked awkward.

“What are you doing here?”

“Ah, yes, I was waiting for the landlord.”

“I see, at the convenience store.”

On the way out after receiving the lunch box, Hae-soo and Haru followed her.

“Would you like to talk to *ajeossi* [older man] when you have time?”

“…Yes.”

Perhaps because of what happened earlier, she wasn’t very wary.

Hae-soo, Haru, and Jian sat down in the resting area in the corner of the building lobby.

“You used to come with your younger siblings.”

“I come alone when my younger siblings are sleeping.”

“I see, how old are you?”

“I’m fourteen years old. My younger brother is ten, and the youngest is seven years old. I lived with my grandmother, but she passed away two years ago.”

Jian seemed to have been asked these questions a lot, and she answered fluently as if she had prepared.

Hae-soo’s brow furrowed slightly. Two years ago, the youngest was five years old, a time when she needed a lot of care.

It was a heartbreaking situation, and her calm expression made his heart ache even more.

“Where do you live? Is the monthly rent expensive?”

“Across the street. My aunt pays the monthly rent, so I don’t know. My aunt also gives me pocket money.”

A dirty and filthy feeling flashed through his mind. Before Hae-soo could continue questioning, Jian stood up.

“I have to go before my younger siblings wake up, goodbye.”

“Oh, okay.”

Hae-soo couldn’t stop Jian. Her calmness was filled with deep sadness and exhaustion.

Haru stared at Jian’s back for a long time with an expression that was impossible to know what she was thinking.

*

The next day, he searched for Kim Jian on the police information network.

The aunt was listed as the guardian, and all the children were listed as living with the aunt.

However, the aunt’s address was not Goam-dong, where the Reed Building was located, but Yongsu-dong.

As soon as Hae-soo got off work, he went straight to Jian’s aunt’s house.

There was a large *gamjatang* [pork bone stew] restaurant, and a pretty nice detached house was attached to the back.

A foul smell was in the air. Just as Hae-soo was about to move his feet to the store, he quickly hid when he saw Jian coming from that way.

‘Does she live here?’

If the house location she mentioned before was a lie and she lived here, there would be no problem.

At that time, Jian stood still in front of the *gamjatang* restaurant for a few minutes and then opened the door and went inside.

*Squeak*

Then, not long after entering, Jian was grabbed and dragged out by a woman. Even at a glance, her slender arms were being held tightly.

She threw Jian into the restaurant yard and shouted fiercely.

“I told you not to come here, how many times do I have to tell you to understand!”

Jian rubbed her arm and said softly.

“Ji-won’s hospital bill is still…”

“I said I’d give it to you! Can’t you wait for that? Who told you to go to the hospital for that kind of thing? Bones are originally all attached if you stay still! Why go to the hospital and make a fuss?”

“But, she keeps hurting…”

“You’re talking back to me now, you *ssagaji* [brat]?”

“I’m sorry.”

At that time, the restaurant door opened roughly and a man came out. His glaring eyes looked *dahyeoljil* [hot-tempered] at a glance.

Jian’s gaze was fixed from the moment the man came out. She was noticeably *bulanhae* [anxious] and even took a step back.

The man strode menacingly and raised his hand without hesitation and slapped Jian’s cheek.

*Slap-!*

Jian’s frail body fell at once from the brutal slap.

“I told you not to show your face here, haven’t you been beaten enough?”

“Honey, honey, someone’s watching. Stop it, stop it.”

“*Ssibal* [swear word], if you show up in my sight one more time, I’ll sell you to China, do you understand?!!”

Jian lowered her head and couldn’t say anything. The aunt sent the man in and came out again and threw five 50,000 won bills at Jian.

“You’re just a money-grabbing *gwishin* [ghost], don’t you feel sorry for taking it? Use it sparingly!”

The aunt went in, and Jian stood still for a long time, then picked up the money and got up.

Hae-soo quietly watched Jian’s lonely back.

And, as soon as she was far enough away, he moved his feet and entered the *gamjatang* restaurant.

<#57. Convenience Store Siblings> End