The Cop Is Too Strong [EN]: Chapter 97

Gomchi had been drifting from one shady business to another after the fall of the Gangseo Clan before settling here.

He was quick-witted and had good judgment, so he quickly caught the boss’s eye and joined the lowest rung of the group known as the ‘Board of Directors’ in record time.

He thought he only had success ahead of him, but unexpectedly, he had to make another critical decision in his life.

‘Shit, it’s the Physical Therapist. Definitely. He shaved his head and tanned his skin to look even scarier.’

As soon as Gomchi recognized him, the Physical Therapist recognized him too and gestured threateningly.

Seeing that, Gomchi, who had a suspicion as thin as dust that he might be the Physical Therapist’s twin brother, became certain.

‘Th-th-that’s definitely his way of saying he’ll fold my waist [break me]. Seriously, how can he be so infamous and still think of infiltrating the organization undercover? Is he crazy? What if he gets caught… Ah.’

Gomchi imagined revealing the Physical Therapist’s identity to the boss right now. The moment he speaks, his own waist would be folded first, and this place would become a bloodbath.

In Dying Night, he was Death himself. Wherever he went, enemies and allies alike fell to the ground, foaming at the mouth.

What if the entire force downstairs rushed in at once? The entrance here is too narrow for two people to enter at the same time. And if that hulk next to him, who looks like a gym rat, is on his side…

‘I’m definitely getting folded. My waist, that is.’

Just as Gomchi was quickly assessing the situation and deciding on his course of action, the boss’s voice came.

“The store manager has been skimming drugs. You don’t know anything about it, do you?”

Mal-tong widened his eyes and shook his head vigorously, trying to look as innocent as possible.

“I don’t know anything about it! I swear I don’t. Really!”

“Really?”

“Yes, I really didn’t know.”

At Mal-tong’s confident answer, the boss grabbed his hair.

“That’s the problem.”

The boss smashed his jaw with a blood-stained ashtray.

Thwack!

“You should have known.”

Thwack!

“You should have known and reported it to me.”

Thud!

“That’s what you’re here for.”

Crash!

Mal-tong lost his strength for a moment and collapsed to the side. He quickly regained his composure and lowered his head.

“I-I’m sorry…”

Mal-tong’s face was already a bloody mess, just like the store manager’s.

At that moment, Hae-soo made eye contact with Gomchi and silently mouthed something to him.

‘Stop. Him.’

Gomchi, instantly understanding Hae-soo’s pronunciation, couldn’t hide his bewildered expression. He widened his eyes and pointed to his own chin with his index finger.

‘Me?’

Hae-soo nodded.

Gomchi timidly raised his hand towards the wall and waved it dismissively, shaking his head slightly.

Hae-soo grabbed his own finger with his other hand and pretended to break it.

‘Shall I break your neck?’

Gomchi looked tearful and lowered his head deeply. And just before the boss was about to smash Mal-tong’s face again, he raised his head.

“A-achoo! Achoo! Achoo!! Woo-rah-cha!! [nonsense phrase to feign illness]”

At Gomchi’s sudden sneeze, which sprayed saliva like a mist, the boss stared in disbelief.

“What the hell is wrong with that bastard?”

“I’m sorry- Ugh-ech!”

This time, something like phlegm stuck to the boss’s arm.

“Ugh! That’s disgusting, you bastard! Hey, get him out of here!”

“I’m okay- Ugh-ack-ech!!”

“I’m not okay, you bastard! Drag him out!”

At the boss’s command, the two hulks who had been standing on either side dragged Gomchi out.

Gomchi continued his passionate performance of non-stop sneezing even as he was being dragged out.

The boss frowned, wiped his arm with a tissue, and put his arm around Mal-tong, who was dripping with blood.

“Anyway, just do well from now on. You’re the store manager from today.”

Mal-tong, who had been extremely nervous, widened his eyes. He immediately prostrated himself on the floor.

“I-I’ll risk my life!!”

“Yeah, those who don’t risk their lives in this business should die. Who are those guys?”

Only then did the boss notice Hae-soo and the youngest.

“They’re new recruits who just joined.”

“New recruits? They look a bit old? But they’re in good shape.”

“I scouted them myself.”

“Good job. Bring in more guys like that. These days, all the youngsters are scrawny and useless.”

“Yes, I understand, boss.”

The boss wiped his blood-stained hand with the wet wipe Mal-tong handed him, got up from his seat, and walked towards the door.

Just when it seemed like he would pass by, he stopped in front of Hae-soo. Then, he patted Hae-soo’s cheek with his palm and said.

“Kids, work hard. You have to climb up to this position, got it?”

“Yes, I understand.”

“Yes, I understand!”

“Good, that kid has good eyes.”

Finally, the boss slapped the area between Hae-soo’s neck and chin with his palm and left the office.

“Have a good day, boss!”

Mal-tong bowed at a 90-degree angle.

As the boss walked away, Mal-tong wiped the blood off and said to Hae-soo.

“You guys should consider yourselves lucky, or not, well, it’s good for you. From now on, call me Store Manager.”

“Yes, Store Manager.”

Soon, the two hulks who had come with the boss came in and took the bloodied former store manager away.

“What will happen to that person?”

“This bastard… First rule.”

“Don’t ask questions.”

“Alright, I’m in a good and shitty mood, so I’ll tell you specially. It’s a big loss to just bury him. I’m going to sell him to China. Actually, a healthy man is more expensive than a hot woman.”

“I see.”

That meant he would be sold to China within a few days. To be used as a member of an organization, or to have his organs harvested.

Soon, Oh Geng’s voice came through the earpiece.

-Ugh, those gangster bastards, always putting on airs. Good job, our Hae-soo Muscle Monster. I’m putting a tail on that bastard. Team 2 is here to support. We won’t lose him.

-I’m on the monitor. Everyone, fighting.

After parting ways with Mal-tong, Hae-soo and the youngest left the building.

-Where is this guy going? What is this place? He’s so busy.

On the way to the temporary headquarters where the team leader was monitoring.

-Lost him, damn it. Team 2, Team 2? Did you lose him? Where did this bastard suddenly go? Did he catch on?

-Shit…

Team 2 returned to Gangjin Station, and Oh Geng returned to the temporary headquarters.

The temporary headquarters was just a small motel room near their office.

As soon as Oh Geng entered, the team leader pressed him.

“How did you lose him?”

“If we got caught tailing him, it would be over, so I followed him from a great distance, and that was the problem. I lost him in a situation where it’s ambiguous whether he noticed and ran away. There were a lot of cars and the signal was cut off, but the other guys lost him too, damn it.”

“What if we got caught? Tomorrow.”

The team leader and Oh Geng’s gazes turned to Hae-soo. Hae-soo spoke up.

“I have something to tell you. That fish-eyed guy who came with the boss earlier is from the Gangseo Clan. He recognized me.”

“Wh-what?”

“Shit, things are getting messed up. Why didn’t you reveal it there?”

“I don’t think he’ll say anything in the future.”

“Huh? Why?”

“Since he didn’t do it there, I don’t think he will. He’s probably thinking about the upcoming power shift and taking care of himself.”

“How can you be so sure?”

“I’m not sure. I’m hoping that’s the case. We’ll proceed with the plan without any setbacks. Even if he noticed the tail, he might suspect us, but he won’t be sure.”

Oh Geng stopped Hae-soo.

“Don’t do it, don’t do it. It’s too dangerous.”

“It’s okay. It’s a waste to give up what we’ve done so far…”

Hae-soo looked at the youngest and continued.

“It’s not that dangerous.”

At Hae-soo’s words, the youngest flexed his biceps and shouted.

“That’s right! With you, senior, nowhere is dangerous!”

“Team leader and Oh Geng, please track that guy down. Seeing that he’s already silent, there’s a high chance he’ll cooperate with us if we catch him and beat him up.”

“Wouldn’t anyone be cooperative if we caught them and beat them up?”

“Yeah, it’ll be easier to chase him than the boss.”

*

The next day, Hae-soo and the youngest went to the office as if nothing had happened. The guy who had been slapped by Hae-soo greeted them.

“You’re here? Get in.”

He took Hae-soo and the youngest to a liquor warehouse factory where the van was located. Seeing that he didn’t say anything, it seemed like nothing had happened.

“Do it according to the ledger, you know from yesterday, right? If you stash away cash, you’ll d…”

He was about to say something harsh, but he saw Hae-soo’s arm and quickly came to his senses.

“Anyway, be diligent, and try to get a car if possible. You’ve received the down payment, haven’t you?”

“Yes, I understand.”

The down payment ghost account was entrusted to the investigation.

Now, finally, only Hae-soo and the youngest were left. The youngest drove to an old warehouse instead of the delivery destination.

Oh Geng, the team leader, and the members of Violent Crimes Unit 2 were waiting there.

Clap clap-!

“Alright, we’re here! Turn everything inside out in 10 minutes. Go!”

“Go!!”

“Hyung [older brother/term of endearment], help us quickly!”

“My back hurts. I’ll keep a good eye on things.”

The detectives searched all the beer in the car. But they found nothing.

“Oh, are we really just delivering beer?”

As Oh Geng grumbled, the team leader narrowed his eyes and pointed to a beer.

“Oh, something’s strange here? This has been crimped twice.”

“Huh? Where?”

The detectives gathered at his words. Sure enough, the beer cap was unnaturally distorted. As if it had been opened and closed again.

“Look for more like this!”

There were others too. Exactly one bottle per box.

The team leader took only one bottle. And filled the space with the same beer.

“Send this for ingredient analysis.”

“Okay.”

“Then I’ll go back to delivering.”

“Act well! I’m worried about the youngest.”

“I’ll do well!”

Hae-soo and the youngest went back to delivering. Arriving at the delivery location, they knocked over the beer boxes in front of the karaoke owner.

“Oh oh oh!”

Crash!

Dozens of beers were broken, and the owner was furious.

“What the hell!! What are you doing!”

He shouted, urgently checking the caps of the broken beers.

“How much is this worth!! Ugh, seriously!”

“I’m sorry. I’ll bring it again.”

“Of course! Bring it today! So there are no disruptions to the reserved customers!”

‘Reservation?’

-Reservation customers also booked, okay.

Hae-soo saw what the owner was doing and was certain it was drugs, even though the ingredient analysis results hadn’t come out yet.

While delivering to another house, the team leader radioed.

-It’s confirmed that the beer is diluted with drugs. Evidence secured. Good job, now the problem is human trafficking.

“Good job. We’ll have to find out slowly.”

As they were delivering smoothly, that guy came to one of their customers again.

“Hey, you two, stop what you’re doing and get in.”

“We still have deliveries left.”

“Shu… Anyway, get in, the store manager urgently wants to see you.”

“Yes.”

“Get in, both of you.”

He opened the back door as if guiding them to the back seat. Hae-soo and the youngest got into the back seat, and another guy drove the van.

Hae-soo carefully watched the guy’s face during the ride. He swallowed four times in 20 minutes. His pupils were shaking slightly. He was nervous.

Hae-soo, as well as the youngest, sensed something strange and made eye contact.

Oh Geng and the team leader were silent. They were busy with the ingredient analysis and tracking Gomchi.

The guy took them to a secluded abandoned warehouse.

Screech-

The men guarding the entrance opened the warehouse door when they saw the car, and the car entered the warehouse.

“Get out.”

“Yes.”

Inside the abandoned warehouse, the new store manager, Mal-tong, was sitting on a pile of scrap materials. He was scribbling on the floor with a bolt, but he looked up when he saw Hae-soo and the youngest.

“Oh, you’re here? How was today? Was it hard?”

“No, it wasn’t.”

“Yeah, I see. I had a hard time, this heart of mine.”

Men slowly emerged from the darkness. Everyone was holding something in their hands. Iron pipes, nailed planks.

About fifteen, not more than twenty. They slowly surrounded Hae-soo and the youngest.

Mal-tong narrowed his brows and continued.

“As soon as the boss left here yesterday, some bastards started tailing him. This overlaps perfectly with the timing of you guys joining? So I did some digging, and that guy’s friend recognized you.”

When he turned his head to where he was pointing, one of the guys held up a phone and showed a picture. It was Shin Hae-soo’s picture.

“Currently, Gangjin Station Violent Crimes Unit team member Shin Hae-soo, and Woo Gang-cheol.”

“Heh, shit… I thought some good guys had joined after a long time, but they were cops? My heart must be aching.”

There was no way out. They were caught red-handed.

Hae-soo lowered his head and chuckled.

“…Are you laughing?”

At Mal-tong’s words, Hae-soo raised his head again. His eyes were 180 degrees different from when he was disguised as a subordinate. Mal-tong flinched at the cold look in his eyes.

“Did you tell the boss?”

“You crazy bastard, you’re admitting right away that you’ve been caught? If I tell him it’s my mistake, I’ll be screwed, so I’ll just bury you guys and say I quit.”

The corners of Hae-soo’s lips curled up slightly. At that sight, Mal-tong felt goosebumps all over his spine.

“Then… if only the people here keep quiet, no one will know?”