The Cop Is Too Strong [EN]: Chapter 58

Shin Hae-soo pulled his hood down low and entered the potato stew restaurant.

“Welcome…”

Kim Ji-an’s aunt flinched at the murderous aura Shin Hae-soo exuded. His body looked like a weapon, and with the hood pulled down so low, it sent a chill down her spine.

“Potato stew, one serving, please.”

“Yes, I’ll bring it right out.”

Hae-soo took a seat in the corner. Business wasn’t booming, but it wasn’t dead either.

Hae-soo ate the potato stew slowly, ordered a bottle of cider, and sipped it slowly, until all the other customers had left.

After a few hours, it was closing time. When Hae-soo didn’t budge, Ji-an’s aunt gave the man a look of distress.

The man had no choice but to approach Hae-soo and speak to him.

“Um… we need to close up shop now…”

Hae-soo thought, *These people were so obsessed with money that they even stole the government subsidies meant for the three siblings.* A scene from a famous drama came to mind.

Hae-soo glanced at the man, took out his wallet from his inside pocket, and pulled out a 100,000 won check [approximately $75 USD], placing it on the table.

The faces of the man and Ji-an’s aunt brightened at the sight of the money.

Just then.

“Would you like to play a game with me?”

“…Pardon?”

“If you win at rock-paper-scissors, you can take it.”

“And if I lose?”

Hae-soo raised his hand, which looked like a weapon.

“A slap on the cheek.”

“Um, sure, let’s do it.”

*It’s just a game, how hard could he hit? Even if he hits hard, what’s a slap or two?* With that naive thought, the man readily agreed.

Hae-soo stood up and faced the man, extending his hand.

“Rock, paper, scissors.”

“Paper.”

Hae-soo played scissors; the man, paper. Hae-soo won. He immediately raised his hand and swung.

*Smack-!*

The man’s head snapped to the side.

“Ah… ouch.”

The man shook his head, feeling like his brain was rattling. *That was harder than I expected. Could I take a few more of those?* He started to worry.

Just then, Hae-soo took out another check and placed it on top.

“Another one added for each hit.”

“Wow, aren’t you a feisty young man? Alright, rock, paper, scissors again!”

*Crack-!*

“Ugh, ugh…”

The man staggered, unable to come to his senses as the inside of his mouth tore and his head spun.

“H-honey, are you okay?”

Then another check was placed on top.

“H-hey, again, again! Rock, paper, scissors!”

“Paper.”

“Yes! Alright!”

This time the man won. He quickly grabbed the 300,000 won [approximately $225 USD] and took two steps back.

“Honey, stop now, stop.”

“Uh, well…”

Then, Hae-soo took out two more checks and placed them on the table.

“This time, double.”

“Rock, paper, scissors!”

*Smack!*

The man was confused whether the damage was accumulating or if the intensity had increased. Either way, it hurt more.

And two more checks were added.

*Crack-!*

This time, the man couldn’t withstand it and collapsed to the floor, but his gaze was fixed on the 600,000 won [approximately $450 USD] stacked on the table.

“A-again… alright!!”

He finally won and took the 600,000 won. He had earned 900,000 won [approximately $675 USD] in less than 5 minutes.

The man grinned, blood streaming from his mouth, and Ji-an’s aunt didn’t stop him, looking at the money.

And, meeting their expectations, Hae-soo placed three checks on the table.

“Triple.”

*Crack!*

Six checks.

*Smack!*

Nine checks.

*Crack! Thud! Whack!!*

The man collapsed again. There was 2.4 million won [approximately $1800 USD] stacked on the table.

The blood vessels in the man’s eyes had burst, making them look monstrously red, and blood was flowing from his nose and mouth. His cheeks were so swollen that it was hard to recognize his original face.

Then Ji-an’s aunt approached and supported his arm.

“Honey, get up, get up.”

“Uh, uh? I’m, I’m okay…”

The man looked at Ji-an’s aunt’s face as he was being helped up and was startled. She whispered to him with a look that seemed like she would devour him.

“Try to win, don’t collapse.”

The man felt goosebumps on his spine. His safety was not important to her, all because of a mere 2.4 million won.

The man staggered and regained his stance. He couldn’t give up now after being hit so many times.

“Rock… paper… scissors…”

He lost. The man closed his eyes in despair.

*Swish*

Hae-soo, who had been standing upright and swinging his hand, took his right leg back and twisted his waist.

*Whoosh- Crack!!*

The man flew to the cashier and collapsed.

“Honey, honey! Get up! We have to play the game!!”

Ji-an’s aunt shook him violently to wake him up, but he couldn’t get up again.

When Hae-soo picked up the money and got up, she rushed at him.

“I’ll, I’ll do it instead. Husband and wife are one in heart and mind, right? Huh?”

Hae-soo stared down at her coldly and opened his mouth.

“It starts at 100,000 won. Will you do it?”

She paused and glanced at her husband, who was covered in blood. No matter how much she loved money, she didn’t have the confidence to endure as much as her husband. *She could die if she got hit like that.*

“Th-there’s no such thing!”

“Will you do it?”

“N-no way! You crazy bastard! I’m going to report you for assault! It’s all recorded on the CCTV [closed-circuit television]!”

Hae-soo bowed slightly and left the potato stew restaurant.

He had deliberately proceeded in a place where the CCTV was visible.

It would be difficult to even file a report since it was filmed from a direction where Hae-soo’s face was not visible, and it was clearly recorded that they proceeded by mutual agreement and even paid money as compensation.

*

A few days later.

Hae-soo decided to start investigating Kim Ji-an and her two siblings and aunt in earnest.

No complicated investigation was needed. All he had to do was meet Ji-an and get her statement.

Eleven o’clock, Reed Building convenience store, Hae-soo was now openly waiting for Ji-an. He had gone to bed early today so he wouldn’t miss her.

When Ji-an arrived, Hae-soo even raised his hand to greet her.

However, Ji-an bowed her head and avoided eye contact. It was strange that her eyes were shaking.

“Ji-an, can I talk to you for a bit?”

“Ah, my younger siblings are awake right now, I’m sorry. Goodbye.”

Ji-an avoided Hae-soo like someone who had done something wrong and hurried away.

“Why is she acting like that…”

*

The next day, Gangjin Police Station.

“…Yes, yes, all the support requests have been sent? Understood.”

A detective from Team 2 answered an internal call and jumped up.

“Missing person report! A man in his 40s, hasn’t been seen since last night. Team 1, if you don’t have anything urgent, let’s find him together.”

The Team 1 leader banged on the keyboard irritably and replied.

“Ah, no, we have too many drunkard statements to write. Who else will write them if we don’t? Who will raise the cows?”

“Hey, don’t be so stingy, let’s go. Where does this man live?”

“They said it’s Wangmat Potato Stew in Yongsu-dong…”

Hae-soo jumped up at those words.

“Wait, please tell me the missing person’s identity.”

“Huh? Here.”

Hae-soo checked the radio screen of the Team 2 senior officer. It was the man Hae-soo had gleefully slapped a few days ago, Kim Ji-an’s uncle.

Hae-soo narrowed his brow and grabbed his coat.

“Team leader, let’s take this case.”

“Ah, seriously, Dolgyeok, you know I can’t refuse you, don’t you?”

“Yes.”

“Ugh, let’s go.”

With the support of Gang [Violent Crimes] Teams 1 and 2 and the local police station, they started searching from the location of the cell phone.

Less than two hours after starting the search.

-Here is 순 net [police code], we found the missing person. I will share the location.

“This…”

“Hmm…”

Sharing the location without mentioning the missing person’s condition meant that he was already dead.

The shared location was under a bridge on an overpass, a secluded place. A car was parked there alone.

Looking inside the car, the man was a cold corpse in the driver’s seat.

“A murder case after a long time.”

“Right. There’s a blunt object to the head… no, is it something a little sharper?”

“There’s a lot of blood from the stomach and side. This is a knife.”

“Of course, the black box [vehicle recording device] is gone.”

Hae-soo slowly examined the body and narrowed his brow.

“He was moved.”

“Huh? Ah, that’s right.”

There was too little blood spilled. Moreover, there was very little blood splattered inside the car. With this level of injury, the inside of the car should be a mess.

After checking, it was presumed that he was moved from the trunk to the driver’s seat.

Oh Gyeong-i grabbed a long strand of hair with tweezers and held it out in front of Hae-soo.

“You can’t see it with this man’s hair, right?”

“It’s a woman’s.”

“Right, she may not be the culprit, but we have to send it anyway.”

Hae-soo nodded and fell into thought. *Could the fact that Kim Ji-an went to receive hospital bills a few days ago, the fact that he slapped her, and the fact that Ji-an avoided him, all be related to this man’s murder?*

The violent crimes team handed over the scene to the CSI [Crime Scene Investigation unit] and the team leader and the youngest member decided to go pick up Ji-an’s aunt.

After the scene was cleared and the victim’s identification process was completed, the violent crimes team returned to their respective stations.

“Oh my, what should I do, my husband, what should I do! Oh my…”

After a while, Ji-an’s aunt, covered in tears, came in with the team leader. Hae-soo quickly bowed his head. It didn’t matter if she recognized him, but now was not a good time.

“I know you’re… heartbroken, but please give us a detailed statement to catch the bad guy quickly.”

“Yes… yes, I have to, sob.”

“Yes, was there anything strange about your husband’s behavior the day before, did he go anywhere…”

Hae-soo was hiding in the corner, analyzing the CCTV with Oh Gyeong-i.

However, it was not easy to know when and where the car was going on the overpass where so many cars were passing.

Then.

*Knock knock*

“Thank you for your hard work.”

A female student was seen entering with the police officers. Hae-soo glanced at her and jumped up when he saw the female student’s face.

“Ji-an.”

Ji-an’s face was pale without a trace of blood.

“Is this student someone Detective Shin knows? This student confessed that she thinks she killed someone.”

“…What?”

When he saw Kim Ji-an, her aunt got up and freaked out.

“That bitch!! That bitch killed my husband! I’m sure of it!!”

“Hey, hey! Ma’am! Calm down!”

“How can I calm down right now?! That bitch seduced my husband and killed him! I knew that bitch would do this! What did we do so wrong! What did we do so wrong? Huh! I knew that bitch would eventually kill my husband!”

In the end, the aunt couldn’t calm down and was separated from Ji-an.

Hae-soo revealed that he knew Ji-an and conducted the interrogation 1:1.

“…You confessed to the police that you think you killed someone?”

“Yes…”

“It wasn’t a certainty then? How did you know your uncle was dead?”

“My aunt… told me in a text message earlier.”

Hae-soo’s eyes lit up. *They were in that kind of relationship, and in the meantime, she informed her of her death via text message?*

“Shall we hear the story in detail?”

“Yes, so, yesterday…”

Her uncle called her, saying he would give her hospital bills and pocket money, and took her to a secluded place in the car.

“Is that place here by any chance?”

When Hae-soo showed her a picture of the overpass under the bridge, Ji-an nodded.

“…Yes.”

The detectives who were listening to the contents outside the interrogation room sighed softly. They secretly hoped it wasn’t true.

“…I refused, but he grabbed my wrist and forced me…”

The detectives outside the interrogation room gritted their teeth at Ji-an’s explanation.

“This 개 [son of a bitch]…”

“Crazy, he deserved to die.”

Hae-soo also suppressed his rising anger and asked.

“So, so what did you do?”

“I used my uncle’s family photo in the car… and repeatedly hit him on the head. Blood came out of my uncle’s head, and when he tried to chase me, I slammed the car door shut, hitting my uncle’s head… I just ran away. But, he didn’t chase me. I really didn’t know he would die to that extent. What should I do, Mister? If I go to prison, my siblings…”

Ji-an shed tears like raindrops. But something is strange. The statement doesn’t match.

“Are you sure?”

“Yes…”

“You have to be honest with me. Besides hitting him on the head with the 액자 [framed photo] and hitting him with the car door, is there anything else?”

“Yes… I told you honestly.”

Hae-soo stopped trying to show the data on his laptop and continued with the explanation.

“The direct cause of death is excessive bleeding due to lacerations of the liver and lungs. The culprit stabbed the stomach six times with a knife.”

“Yes? I, I didn’t do that? I really didn’t! How could I have a knife…”

There was a mixture of surprise, embarrassment, and relief, the relief that she was not a murderer. *This child is not a murderer.*

“I know, I believe in Ji-an too, so now we’re going to catch the real culprit, and Ji-an has to help. Let’s not reveal this to your aunt, don’t worry.”

“Yes? H-how can I help?”

“First, I want to hear about your relationship with your aunt in detail.”

Ji-an turned her head and looked at the interrogation room window, then bowed her head and sighed for a moment before answering.

“She’s the one who helps us. She said that if my aunt wasn’t there, my siblings and I would have to be separated. I… I don’t want that.”

“No, if you want, you can live together like you do now. Even if you go to an institution, you can all go to the same institution.”

“Then…”

“How much pocket money do you get from your aunt?”

“500,000 won [approximately $375 USD] a month…”

Hae-soo gritted his teeth. Even if the three of them spent 10,000 won [approximately $7.50 USD] a day on food, it would be a tight budget to buy other necessities, let alone clothes.

“Does your aunt pay for gas or water?”

“…I pay for it.”

Hae-soo was momentarily furious, but bit his lower lip and calmed down.

“You… the money that comes out in your name is 1.47 million won [approximately $1100 USD]. If you add up the irregular subsidies, it’s well over 1.5 million [approximately $1125 USD], and you’re only getting 500,000 won out of it.”

Ji-an’s eyes widened at Hae-soo’s explanation.

“Yes? What does that…”

“The rest is taken by your aunt, who acts like she’s doing you a favor.”

“…I was really stupid. I didn’t even know that…”

“No, it’s the adults who eat away at the children to fill their stomachs who are bad. So, is it okay if your relationship with your aunt is cut off now?”

“It’s okay even if it’s connected by a bad relationship. No, it’s already a bad relationship.”

Ji-an’s eyes sparkled with determination.

*

Even though Hae-soo said he believed her, the fact that Ji-an was the most likely suspect did not change. Ji-an was in the detention center, and at Hae-soo’s request, the police station detectives actively took care of her.

At Ji-an’s request, Hae-soo decided to take care of her siblings after work.

He had to catch the real culprit as soon as possible to release Ji-an. Hae-soo was turning the CCTV with his eyes 빠져라 [glued to it].

Then.

*Tap*

While watching the CCTV near the scene, Hae-soo’s hand stopped as if frozen. His heart sank.

*Why are you… coming out of here?*

< #58. Confession > End