Chapter 12: Feast and Vows

Ssshhk.

The faint sound of meat sizzling echoed softly.

Watching the scene, Lee Jaehyun felt a strange sensation.

He remembered the last time in his previous life, when he and Park Daehyung grilled samgyeopsal together.

Now, the circumstances were completely different, and the meat was beef instead of pork, which only made it feel even stranger.

He had caught Myung Jinhan and saved his Father.

And now, Park Daehyung sat before Lee Jaehyun without any worry of being demoted.

Quietly, he gazed down at the beef as it cooked.

“This is it. Even the sound it makes is different from samgyeopsal.”

The rich aroma of grilling beef wafted up, and Park Daehyung murmured in admiration.

Lieutenant Kim Seokhyun, sitting next to him, nodded his head as if he completely agreed with Park Daehyung.

Lee Jaehyun let out a small laugh.

Honestly, he couldn’t really tell what was different about the sound, but if Park Daehyung and Kim Seokhyun said it was, then it must be.

As he thought that, Team Leader Oh Cheol-jin chimed in from the side.

“What’s so different about the sound? Meat is meat.”

“Team Leader, why are you like this? Anyone can tell it’s different.”

Lieutenant Kim Seokhyun replied with a cheerful face to Team Leader Oh Cheol-jin.

At his reply, Team Leader Oh Cheol-jin grinned and said, “Hyung-nim, try saying something that makes sense. How can the sound be different?”

“Team Leader, as expected, I should be the one grilling…”

As Lee Jaehyun hesitantly reached out toward Team Leader Oh Cheol-jin, who was holding scissors and tongs, he spoke cautiously.

But Team Leader Oh Cheol-jin gently nudged Lee Jaehyun’s hand away with his elbow.

“Hey, the Rookie is supposed to just sit still and eat quietly.”

“Exactly! This dinner is thanks to the Rookie. The Team Leader will grill everything, so don’t worry and just eat.”

At Team Leader Oh Cheol-jin’s words, Lieutenant Kim Seokhyun waved his hand as if it was only natural.

Lee Jaehyun couldn’t help but feel a little self-conscious.

As the team Rookie, it was only natural to feel awkward when the Team Leader was grilling the meat himself.

Even if Lieutenant Kim Seokhyun, who was a rank below Team Leader but the eldest by age, told him not to worry, it only helped a little…

Still, it was impossible not to be concerned.

Whether or not they noticed Lee Jaehyun’s discomfort, Team Leader Oh Cheol-jin and Lieutenant Kim Seokhyun kept up their cheerful conversation.

“Hyung-nim, when the time comes, I’ll hand the tongs and scissors to you. Be ready to receive them.”

“Haha, hurry up and give them to me.”

As Team Leader Oh Cheol-jin and Kim Seokhyun bantered and everyone chuckled along,

“We’re here!”

A loud voice rang out as a man greeted them, stepping into the Capital Region Police Station.

Behind him, a short-haired woman entered with a nonchalant expression.

Lee Jaehyun, almost instinctively, turned his head, then smiled gently.

At this point in time, he’d only exchanged names with them and wasn’t very close.

But in the future, Lee Jaehyun would grow quite close with them, so he couldn’t help but feel glad.

“Oh, you’re here?”

“Welcome!”

Park Daehyung greeted the man and woman who had just entered.

Lee Jaehyun quietly stood from his seat to greet them as well.

The man saluted Park Daehyung and then gave Lee Jaehyun a casual wave.

“Rookie, you did well. Thanks to you, I get to have some beef for the first time in a while.”

He addressed Lee Jaehyun directly.

Kim Junho, Senior Police Officer.

He was Lee Jaehyun’s immediate senior.

Before Lee Jaehyun joined, Kim Junho was the team’s Rookie, so he especially welcomed Lee Jaehyun’s arrival.

In fact, Kim Junho had looked after Lee Jaehyun quite a lot.

Among the team, he was the most easygoing and talkative, to the point it could be exhausting at times.

When Lee Jaehyun’s Father passed away, he’d found Kim Junho’s endless chatter incredibly annoying, but looking back, he realized it was Kim Junho’s way of caring.

Lee Jaehyun smiled softly and spoke.

“It was nothing.”

“Hey, what do you mean nothing? No need to be modest, just accept the praise and enjoy yourself.”

Kim Junho spoke as he gave Lee Jaehyun’s shoulder a gentle thump.

He was always light-hearted and smooth, but today he seemed even more so.

“Rookie.”

“Yes?”

Kim Junho called out excitedly as he sat down, and the woman who’d come in with him, Sergeant Min Ji-hye, addressed Lee Jaehyun.

With her characteristic indifferent gaze and cold voice.

In his previous life, Min Ji-hye was the last teammate Lee Jaehyun became close to.

Her naturally blunt personality played a part, but Min Ji-hye also didn’t think much of Lee Jaehyun, who just tried to get by as a Civil Servant in the Police.

Min Ji-hye was someone who always did her best in everything.

A true Police Officer, not the oldest on the team, but she played the role of an older sister.

Unlike Kim Junho, she spoke very little.

But that didn’t mean she was cold or unfriendly.

She quietly looked after the team in her own way.

She just didn’t show it on the surface.

Lee Jaehyun, who still wasn’t close with Min Ji-hye in this life, was a little surprised that she spoke to him first.

“You did well.”

She tossed out the words lightly.

Min Ji-hye, not intending to say more, immediately sat down in an empty seat and gazed at the grilling meat.

Lee Jaehyun watched her for a moment, then couldn’t help but smile.

As everyone exchanged greetings for a moment,

“Let’s eat!”

The meat on the grill had finished cooking before they realized it.

At Team Leader Oh Cheol-jin’s signal, the team members all dove into their meal with fighting spirit.

Kim Junho looked like he’d eat the most, and Team Leader Oh Cheol-jin, with his solid build, seemed to pack it away too.

The surprise was—

“Wow, I’m always amazed watching you eat. How does all that food fit into that body?”

Min Ji-hye’s appetite was much greater than expected.

Lee Jaehyun found himself nodding along with Team Leader Oh Cheol-jin’s admiration.

Normally, Min Ji-hye was blunt and composed, but now she was eating with surprising enthusiasm.

She was devouring her food almost as fast as Kim Junho, so much so that even the staff passing by would sneak glances in amazement.

On the other hand, Park Daehyung was eating more slowly than usual.

Lee Jaehyun noticed the hint of concern on Park Daehyung’s face, but kept his thoughts to himself.

Just then, Kim Junho popped a piece of meat into his mouth and called out to Lee Jaehyun.

“Hey, Rookie.”

“Yes, Senior Police Officer.”

Lee Jaehyun immediately responded to Kim Junho’s call and turned his head.

Kim Junho shrugged and asked his question.

“So how did you know that guy was a serial killer? I mean, you caught him in a taxi during a DUI checkpoint—that’s really something.”

Kim Junho asked curiously.

Lee Jaehyun thought for a moment before answering.

“The suitcase he was hugging was suspicious, and he was extremely tense… There were plenty of reasons to be suspicious if you looked closely.”

When he got to that point, Kim Junho snapped his fingers.

“Yeah, that’s it. I saw the paperwork, and just like you said, if you thought suspicious, everything about him felt off. But was there nothing decisive?”

“…No, I just had a bad feeling the moment I saw him.”

“So it was just your intuition in the end? That’s a real talent for a Police Officer. What do you think, hyung?”

Kim Junho turned to Park Daehyung with a cheerful voice.

Park Daehyung waved his hand at Kim Junho’s bright voice.

“I’m busy eating, so don’t talk to me.”

“Trying to eat it all yourself?”

Though Park Daehyung sounded a little gruff, Kim Junho just laughed and went back to putting more meat into his mouth.

The dinner atmosphere grew lively.

When Park Daehyung quietly got up from his seat, Lee Jaehyun followed him outside.

As Lee Jaehyun joined him, Park Daehyung pulled out a cigarette and looked at him in surprise.

“Why’d you come out? Aren’t you going to eat more?”

“We’re supposed to go in pairs, aren’t we?”

At those words, Park Daehyung let out a small laugh.

As if it wasn’t even funny, Park Daehyung shook his head and took out his lighter to light his cigarette.

“I’ll—”

Lee Jaehyun moved forward to help light it, but Park Daehyung waved his hand.

“No need. You don’t even smoke.”

After saying that, he took a long drag and exhaled the smoke.

Watching the smoke drift into the air, Lee Jaehyun was suddenly reminded of his own last moments in his previous life, and he paused.

It wasn’t that he had developed any Trauma or anything like that.

He just suddenly felt like eating something cold.

Perhaps sensing his mood, Park Daehyung looked up at the sky and spoke.

“Let’s finish this cigarette and grab some ice cream at the Convenience Store.”

“Yes, sir.”

Lee Jaehyun answered promptly.

He responded simply, but Park Daehyung’s face was a bit complicated as he exhaled another plume of smoke.

“This Event—”

“Yes.”

Park Daehyung started to talk about the Event.

Lee Jaehyun replied slowly.

Seeing Park Daehyung’s troubled face as he began to speak, Lee Jaehyun realized he must have something on his mind.

He briefly wondered if a disciplinary action had come down, but quickly dismissed the thought.

If that were the case, Team Leader Oh Cheol-jin would have looked more troubled.

This must be a personal concern of Park Daehyung’s.

“You did well. You solved it brilliantly.”

“Thank you.”

Park Daehyung offered a brief word of praise.

Lee Jaehyun accepted it calmly.

Park Daehyung scratched his head as if deep in thought, then spoke again.

“But from now on, don’t act on your own.”

Lee Jaehyun looked quietly at Park Daehyung.

Now he understood why Park Daehyung’s expression had been so complicated and why he’d given that praise.

That’s why it was hard for Lee Jaehyun to answer easily.

He was working at the Capital Region Police Station now, but Park Daehyung was originally a detective.

A man full of energy, always ready to take down bad guys.

And he’d been transferred here after being demoted because of an Event where he acted alone.

Park Daehyung still regretted going solo back then.

Lee Jaehyun shouldn’t have known this, but after spending ten years with Park Daehyung in his past life, of course he did.

As he wondered how to answer, Park Daehyung continued.

“I’m not saying you shouldn’t take initiative, and I really think you did a great job this time. Just don’t act so recklessly. It could be dangerous. This time, things ended well… but there were some reckless moments. Act like a Rookie, like a Patrol Officer.”

“Shouldn’t a Rookie show a little youthful vigor?”

Lee Jaehyun fully understood Park Daehyung’s point.

It was something anyone could understand, even without knowing his circumstances.

Honestly, while catching Myung Jinhan this time, there were a few reckless parts.

Later, when finding evidence… he’d acted even more carelessly, breaking down a door himself after reporting a robbery to speed up the investigation.

But he had no regrets, so Lee Jaehyun simply smiled.

But Park Daehyung exhaled again, looking even more serious as he met Lee Jaehyun’s gaze.

“If you can, try to restrain your energy. If you act on your own, eventually you’ll find yourself bearing all the responsibility alone. Don’t do that—just follow orders.”

He spoke in a firm voice.

Lee Jaehyun didn’t avoid Park Daehyung’s gaze and looked straight back at him.

Park Daehyung hadn’t told him this at this point in time in his previous life, but Lee Jaehyun already knew, so he could completely understand.

Still.

“Even so, I can’t just live quietly.”

There were many victims to save from the hands of criminals.

There were people Lee Jaehyun personally wanted to see brought to justice.

Of course, he couldn’t just stand by.

He would continue to take action.

He bowed his head slightly and spoke.

“Yes, I’ll try to live up to what it means to be a Police Officer.”

He began his answer with “yes,” but his next words were different.

Of course, following orders is one way of living up to being a Police Officer.

But Park Daehyung quickly realized that wasn’t what Lee Jaehyun meant.

He mulled over Lee Jaehyun’s words, then let out a chuckle and nodded.

“Of course, a Police Officer should live like one. Why the serious face as if you’re making a grand decision?”

He said this as he lightly patted Lee Jaehyun on the shoulder.

Lee Jaehyun smiled faintly at the hand that had just touched his shoulder.

He remembered the friendly way Park Daehyung used to treat him in his previous life.

Lee Jaehyun smiled as he spoke.

“I’m not making any big resolutions. I’ll just live as a proper Police Officer.”

“Yeah. Got it… Just don’t get hurt.”

“Yes, sir.”

“Everyone’s waiting. Let’s hurry up and hit the Convenience Store.”

With that, Park Daehyung started walking.

Lee Jaehyun naturally followed behind him.