The Cop Is Too Strong [EN]: Chapter 8

The lottery numbers flashed on the TV screen.

‘Could it be…?’

Shin Hae-soo double-checked the ticket against the numbers the store owner was holding. It was indeed a winning first-prize lottery ticket from Daehan Bank [a major South Korean bank].

He reached out to check the man’s pulse, but there was none. His chest wasn’t moving either. The store owner had collapsed from a heart attack, the shock of the good news proving too much.

Hae-soo hesitated for a moment. He was already 60 million won [approximately $45,000 USD] in debt due to settlement money from excessive force incidents during his police work. There was no one else in the convenience store, and the lottery ticket was outside the view of the CCTV camera.

‘No.’

Hae-soo shook his head, trying to dispel the temptation. But then, an even better idea struck him.

First, he called 119 [South Korea’s emergency services number] in case the reset didn’t work, and then he started CPR.

Even as he performed CPR, Hae-soo’s eyes kept darting to the lottery ticket.

‘33, 28, 7, 17, 43, 45… Good, reset.’

***

Baaang! Honk honk honk!

Hae-soo’s eyes snapped open. He was back in the middle of the road, surrounded by blaring horns and flashing traffic lights.

He immediately checked the time.

‘7:52.’

Knowing that lottery sales closed at 8 PM, he had less than eight minutes. The road was completely gridlocked.

The convenience store selling lottery tickets was visible in the distance. Hae-soo made a snap decision, hitting the accelerator and driving on the shoulder of the road. But he was soon forced to stop again, blocked by illegally parked cars. Should he get out and run? Or just give up? The dilemma didn’t last long.

Broaaar!

Hae-soo plowed into the illegally parked cars, scraping them as he squeezed past. A middle-aged man, picking his teeth with a toothpick after leaving a restaurant, jumped back in shock and yelled.

“Hey, you crazy bastard!”

“That son of a bitch!!”

Hae-soo ignored their curses and sprinted into the convenience store. He slapped a 5,000 won bill [approximately $3.75 USD] on the counter and manually wrote down the Daehan lottery numbers on a slip.

With only three minutes to spare, Hae-soo placed his phone on the counter, using it to track the time in real-time as he marked the numbers quickly.

The convenience store clerk, sensing Hae-soo’s urgency, stood ready at the lottery machine, a nervous expression on his face. He understood what was happening without needing to be told.

As the clock ticked past 7:59:40, Hae-soo thrust the marked lottery card forward.

“Buy this!”

“Yes!”

Beep, zzzzz-

He had successfully purchased the ticket. The clerk, as excited as if he’d won himself, handed Hae-soo the lottery ticket.

“Did you have a dream or something?”

“Ah, haha.”

Hae-soo accepted the ticket with both hands and carefully placed it in his wallet.

“Thank you. I’ll treat you if I win!”

He paid and hurried back to his car. The purchase had delayed him by about ten minutes compared to the previous timeline.

The owners of the illegally parked cars were running towards him from afar.

“Hey! What do you think you’re doing!”

“What, did you just go for a quick dump?”

There was no time to argue. Hae-soo tossed them his business card and quickly reversed.

“File an insurance claim and contact me!”

“Hey, hey!!”

Hae-soo sped off, his car now sporting scratches down one side and a broken side mirror, weaving through traffic towards the convenience store near his apartment.

‘8:48.’

He arrived at almost the same time as before the reset. He could see the convenience store owner through the glass window, his eyes wide as he stared at the TV.

Hae-soo burst through the door just as the announcer’s voice boomed from the television.

-The last number is 47. Congratulations to the winners.

“Huh, huh, th, th, tha, tha, cough, cough.”

The store owner’s jaw dropped, and he began to hyperventilate, clutching his chest and collapsing.

“Mister!”

Hae-soo caught him as he fell, breaking his fall. Even before he could start CPR, paramedics arrived, rushing through the convenience store door.

He had called them from his car, anticipating the situation.

Before the store owner was carried away, Hae-soo slipped the lottery ticket from the man’s hand, placing it in his own jacket pocket and zipping it up.

“Hoo.”

Only then did Hae-soo let out a long sigh and head up to his apartment.

***

The next day, as he stopped by the convenience store to buy breakfast before work, the store owner emerged from behind the counter and grasped Hae-soo’s hands tightly in both of his.

“I heard you saved me. Thank you, thank you so much!”

“No, I’m the one who’s grateful.”

“Is it because you’re a police officer that you speak so well? Actually, you know… I…”

The store owner pulled a folded lottery ticket from his pocket and showed it to Hae-soo.

“I won the first prize. This lottery ticket almost killed my weak heart. Money was trying to swallow my life.”

The nuance of his words was a bit strange. What was he trying to say?

“Yes…”

“They say the prize money is over 3 billion won [approximately $2.25 million USD] this time. This… I want you to take it. I don’t have a wife or children, so it’s useless money if I die.”

“…Pardon?”

No matter how much he had saved his life, it was a proposition that would never occur to most modern people, who were invariably slaves to money. Was it because he had come back from the brink of death?

Normally, he would have accepted this kind man’s offer without hesitation, but he couldn’t do so in good conscience now.

Because he would receive hundreds of millions less than the original prize money because of him.

Swish.

Hae-soo put the lottery ticket back into the store owner’s hand, closing his fingers around it.

“Mister, use this money to enjoy life more now. You’ll find a wife and have children if you enjoy it. You’re still young.”

“Hehe, this guy is joking.”

It wasn’t a joke. In this day and age, there are many people in their early 50s who get remarried. It would be much easier if you had enough money to enjoy your old age.

And people’s hearts are fickle. He was offering it impulsively now because Hae-soo was the benefactor who saved his life, but as time passed, he might regret his generosity.

Hae-soo refused the offer several times and only accepted two kimbap triangles [triangular seaweed rice rolls] and a cup of ramen for free, which he had originally intended to buy, before leaving the convenience store.

Today wasn’t his day off, but he took a monthly leave day. He couldn’t concentrate at work, knowing that billions of won were sitting in his wallet.

He was afraid he might forget it while aggressively arresting a criminal, and he was also worried that his apartment might be burglarized if he left it at home.

So he stayed home all day, a nervous wreck.

After spending the day like a dead man, the long-awaited Monday finally arrived.

Hae-soo woke up early in the morning and prepared to go out. The Daehan Bank headquarters was in Seoul, a two-hour train ride away.

He knew he needed to get his car repaired, but he was afraid of getting into a traffic accident and losing the ticket, so he took the train to Seoul to minimize potential problems.

Standing in front of the Daehan Bank headquarters, Hae-soo crossed his arms to protect the inner pocket where he had placed his wallet and looked around warily.

He had even brought a three-stage baton [extendable metal stick] in case thugs tried to rob him.

Everyone who passed by or made eye contact with him seemed suspicious.

He was confident that he could take on a truckload of people, but he was so anxious that he felt like he was going crazy.

He now understood why half of the lottery winners showed up at Daehan Bank before the doors even opened on Monday.

Inside the bank, Hae-soo quickly scanned the surroundings. As a bank with a lot of cash, there were four security guards with guns stationed, their eyes sharp and alert.

Three people were trying to conceal their identities by wearing hats or hoods. But there were no suspicious movements yet.

Ding-dong

‘Number 94’

It was Hae-soo’s turn. The banker asked with a soft smile.

“How can I help you?”

“Yes, I’m here to collect the lottery prize money.”

Hae-soo looked around again, took out his wallet from his inner pocket, and slowly extracted the lottery ticket.

His thick hands were visibly trembling, shaking even more than when he had infiltrated the house of a serial killer alone.

The banker accepted the lottery ticket with a relaxed smile, as if she had seen this many times before. But the moment she checked the numbers, her mouth dropped open.

“Ah, uh, ah… Co, congratulations.”

The 5,000 won lottery ticket she held had the same number repeated five times.

*

The process of receiving the prize money was quite 까다로웠다 [kkadarowoottda – complicated/fussy]. It wasn’t as simple as opening an account at the counter and having the money deposited right away.

After the banker confirmed the win with the system, another male banker in a neat suit approached and led him to a private office.

There, he had to discuss the accounts in which the money would be deposited in a 2:1 ratio and listen to recommendations from various asset managers and fund managers for what seemed like an eternity.

But it wasn’t just a penny or two; they were giving him the prize money, so he was willing to listen to them a hundred times over.

“…This is an account that can only be opened for VVIPs who deposit more than 10 billion won. It’s a free deposit and withdrawal account with an annual interest rate of 1%, and if you maintain a balance of more than 10 billion won, you’ll receive a bonus benefit of an additional 0.1% interest each year for up to 10 years.”

“Yes, thank you. Is that all?”

“Yes, that’s right. Is this address correct? The VVIP gift worth one million won will be sent within a few days, so it must be accurate.”

“Yes.”

The banker licked his lips and looked at Hae-soo.

“You’re really lucky. To win more than half of the total prize money…”

“…Haha, I had a good dream.”

Usually, there were a dozen or so winners, but this time, luck had doubled, and there were only eight winners, so the amount he received was much larger.

The prize money Hae-soo received was 11.4 billion won after taxes.

“Hoo”

It wasn’t just a piece of paper that could be lost, wet, or torn; it was safely deposited in an account that could be accessed and used as needed at any time and wouldn’t be lost, so he felt much more at ease.

Hae-soo headed to the train station, paying no attention to his surroundings, his heart much lighter than when he had arrived.

On the train, Hae-soo was busy planning his future. He had always only dreamed of this, but now it was a happiness he could actually realize.

First, he would replenish the account that had been drained by the settlement money and clear all his outstanding loans.

But Hae-soo was most pleased about one thing above all else.

‘Now… I won’t be plagued by settlement money.’

He was already excited at the thought of using excessive force to his heart’s content.

He wouldn’t have to compromise his belief that those who weren’t afraid of the law should be made afraid of fists.

As soon as he arrived back in Gangjin City, he went straight to work without stopping by his apartment. Officer Lim, who had been reassigned to a different position, looked at Hae-soo strangely and asked.

“Chief Shin, you seem excited today? Is there something good?”

“I paid off all my debts.”

“Wow… congratulations. I have about 20 years left to pay off my apartment loan. You’re amazing.”

“I live in a studio. Monthly rent.”

“Yes?”

“The debt was paid off with the settlement money.”

“Ah…”

Officer Lim fell silent for a moment, lost in thought.

That day, after a particularly strenuous series of altercations with drunkards, it was finally time to leave work.

Officer Lim called out to Hae-soo, who was walking home without a car.

“Chief Shin, where did your car go?”

“I had a small accident, so I scrapped it.”

“…Yes? A small accident, but you scrapped it…? Anyway, get in. I’ll give you a ride.”

“No. I want to walk a bit today. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

“Ah… Yes, see you tomorrow!”

Hae-soo waved goodbye and headed home with light steps. It took almost 30 minutes to walk, but the scenery seemed beautiful today, and he was simply happy.

On the way, he passed the chicken restaurant where he ordered takeout once a month. Unlike usual, Hae-soo entered without hesitation.

The most difficult part of ordering delivery was choosing the menu. Both the soy sauce and spicy seasoned chicken were so delicious that he always agonized over the decision. But today was different.

“Soy sauce and spicy seasoned, give me both. To-go!”

That’s how it would be in the future. He would throw away the leftovers if he had to. But there wouldn’t be any leftovers.

Swish swish

The black bag containing the chicken made a pleasant sound as it brushed against his clothes.

Hae-soo swung the black bag like a child and went into his apartment building.

Chuck.

Just as he was about to place his palm on the door lock to activate the number pad and enter his code, Hae-soo’s eyes narrowed sharply.

He felt someone watching him. He turned his head, but the feeling vanished.

Hae-soo covered the number key with his hand, careful not to drop the chicken, and pressed random numbers. After pressing enough, he entered the real password and opened the door.

The apartment was dark, and a cold air lingered. As Hae-soo took a step inside, the entrance light flickered on, revealing the interior.

Three strange men were looking at Hae-soo, each holding a weapon in their hands.

One had a sashimi knife, one had a hammer, and one had a pipe wrench.

The man with the sashimi knife scratched his head with the handle and stepped forward.

“Don’t think about running away. Come here and sit down. If you listen to us, we won’t kill you.”

Hae-soo glanced at the beautifully packaged chicken in the black bag and then looked up again.

“Can’t I eat the chicken first?”