Chapter 60: Dispatched to Violent Crimes

The other members of Team 4 all had different reactions.

First, Park Daehyung looked as if he’d expected this outcome, nodding calmly and accepting the decision without resistance.

Min Ji-hye, on the other hand, looked a little dumbfounded.

“Everyone seems to be forgetting something, but Jaehyun just woke up after being knocked out by a kidnapper with sleeping pills, right? It hasn’t even been that long since he regained consciousness.”

“Still… judging by his recent track record, isn’t it natural the Violent Crimes Division would want him?”

She spoke with a displeased expression, as if she couldn’t understand how anyone could send him off when they didn’t know if there’d be any aftereffects.

But at her words, Kim Junho immediately countered.

Considering all the achievements Lee Jaehyun had racked up recently, it made sense that the Detective Department might request support.

“Rather than rushing to support the Violent Crimes Division, shouldn’t he get checked at the hospital first, just in case? Team Leader, what do you think?”

What Min Ji-hye said wasn’t wrong.

Naturally, Team Leader Oh Jincheol couldn’t help but feel conflicted.

But then Park Daehyung spoke up first.

“He said he’s fine himself. If he’s able to support, then it’s best if he goes.”

Park Daehyung was usually very concerned about his colleagues’ injuries.

But the moment he heard Lee Jaehyun’s plea—to help him live as a true police officer—

In the end, he had no choice but to side with Lee Jaehyun.

“So, what about you, kid? Even now, do you still want to go to the hospital?”

Team Leader Oh Cheol-jin shifted his gaze, looking at Lee Jaehyun as he asked.

The other team members’ eyes all turned toward Lee Jaehyun as well.

The choice was left up to him.

And naturally…

Lee Jaehyun’s decision was already set.

“I’ll go. To support.”

Min Ji-hye let out a small sigh, and Park Daehyung gave a subtle nod.

“I get how you feel, so I won’t stop you anymore. But as soon as this is over, you’re going straight to the hospital.”

As if she had no other choice, Min Ji-hye looked at Lee Jaehyun and spoke.

At her words, Lee Jaehyun nodded.

“Yes, thank you for your concern.”

“That’s enough.”

Min Ji-hye returned to her usual expression, as if to say she wouldn’t bring up the hospital again.

Her face rarely changed, and as she returned to normal, she did look a bit stiff,

But everyone on Team 4 knew Min Ji-hye wasn’t truly a cold person.

And so, Lee Jaehyun’s support of the Detective Department was decided.

Lee Jaehyun headed to the Ilsan Western Police Station.

Of course, he didn’t go alone. Min Ji-hye came as internal support, and Choi Daehyun’s mother joined them as well.

As they traveled, Lee Jaehyun organized his thoughts.

Given that he’d originally been a detective, being assigned to support the Detective Department wasn’t a bad thing.

No, it was actually a good thing—he’d have much more freedom of movement than just being a Sergeant.

“In the long run, it can only be a good thing.”

There was so much to do.

Cases to prevent, criminals to catch—the work never ended.

And, looking at the long term, there was even someone he had to take revenge on.

For that revenge, of course, he had to rise quickly.

To do that, it would be advantageous for Lee Jaehyun to work in the Detective Department.

Even in carrying out his contract with Se-re-hen, the Detective Department was ideal.

After all, the Detective Department provided far more opportunities to deal with serious criminals than the Capital Region Police Station.

Still, he was a bit curious as to why he’d been specifically chosen.

He was friendly with Park Daehyung, and there were veteran detectives like Team Leader Oh Min-seok who were more experienced—

Of course, if it was Team Leader Oh Min-seok, that made sense.

“We met during the Myeong Jinhan case last time… Maybe he got a good impression then.”

They weren’t complete strangers, and they’d even worked together briefly, so it wasn’t too hard to understand.

And considering all the cases Lee Jaehyun had solved up to now, that was probably a factor too.

Maybe this was also a way to see if they could recruit him into the Detective Department by working together from now on.

“Well, whatever the reason, it’s fortunate for me.”

Lee Jaehyun thought to himself as he walked.

The Ilsan Western Police Station was coming into view.

***

Although it was called a temporary office, in reality, they were using the office that Team Leader Oh Min-seok’s team already occupied within the police station, so everything was perfectly prepared.

All the equipment was ready, and the staff were in place.

Everyone looked tired, but at the mention of a child kidnapping case, they tried their best to push past their exhaustion.

Team Leader Oh Min-seok was moving around busily when he noticed Lee Jaehyun entering, and immediately came over with a welcoming expression.

“Sergeant Lee Jaehyun from Hanseong Capital Region Police Station…”

“Ah, good to see you! Come in.”

Before Lee Jaehyun could even finish greeting him, Team Leader Oh Min-seok reached out to shake his hand.

With his other hand, he patted Lee Jaehyun on the shoulder and pointed around the office.

“Take any empty seat you like. If you need a laptop, I’ll get you one… but I figured you wouldn’t need a computer just yet, so I didn’t set one up.”

“Yes, understood.”

If they needed to review CCTV footage or do paperwork, of course they’d have set up a computer,

But this was a child kidnapping case.

They were expecting a call back at any moment.

Right now, they needed sharp judgment and quick feet more than computers.

“I’ll brief everyone in three minutes, so just get a feel for the situation and then head to the conference room.”

“Okay.”

Lee Jaehyun responded simply to Team Leader Oh Min-seok’s instructions.

Detectives in the Violent Crimes Division were rougher than expected, but also warmer than he’d thought.

It might sound contradictory, but it was true.

Because they dealt with violent criminals, they inevitably became rough, but having to walk on thin ice with their colleagues meant they were warm to their own.

And now, when an outsider rolled in out of nowhere…

“They don’t even care.”

Since he wasn’t a criminal, they weren’t rough.

But since he wasn’t acknowledged as a colleague, they weren’t warm either.

Of course, they’d met before, so a nod of greeting was natural, but that was it.

They pretty much treated him like he wasn’t there, but Lee Jaehyun didn’t mind that at all.

He’d expected it, and he’d experienced it countless times in his past life.

In other words, he was used to it.

He also knew what to do about it.

Though the briefing was supposed to start in three minutes, Team Leader Oh Min-seok began just a little over a minute later.

Lee Jaehyun sat at the very end of the conference room, looking at Team Leader Oh Min-seok.

“So, an eleven-year-old child was kidnapped. Choi Daehyun. The perpetrators have demanded a ransom of fifty million won. The suspects are a woman in her sixties, Go Hyunsook, and a man in his thirties, Park Yech’an. It appears the two committed the crime together. They’re contacting us with a Burner Phone…”

Team Leader Oh Min-seok began his briefing.

With a voice that was neither too high nor too low, he summarized everything they knew so far.

“We’re tracking the location of the vehicle registered to Park Yech’an through the Traffic Division. The Hanseong Capital Region Police Station Team 4, who first recognized the case, predicts the suspects will head toward Icheon. I think so too.”

At Team Leader Oh Min-seok’s words, the other detectives gave brief nods.

They seemed to agree.

Naturally, Team Leader Oh Min-seok continued speaking.

“The suspects probably have no idea that we’ve already identified them. And the reason we were able to figure out their identities so quickly is thanks to Sergeant Lee Jaehyun over there, who suspected something from the cat-related case and compiled the information. Let’s give him a round of applause.”

Clap clap.

Two short rounds of applause rang out.

The sight of these big, burly men clapping with blank expressions was rather striking.

But Lee Jaehyun, used to this kind of thing, just bowed his head mechanically and raised it again.

Team Leader Oh Min-seok glanced at the awkward Lee Jaehyun and let out a slight laugh, then continued the briefing.

“Well, what we have to do is clear.”

It was clear.

All they had to do was catch the criminals.

“We’re catching them no matter what. Now that we know who they are, if we can’t catch them, that makes us the idiots.”

The difference from his previous life was that, thanks to Lee Jaehyun, every detective here knew exactly who the perpetrators were.

Which meant tracking and targeting them had become much easier.

If they couldn’t catch them in this situation, that would be the weird part.

They weren’t even distracted by other cases right now; they’d put everything else on hold to focus on resolving the Choi Daehyun kidnapping case.

They were going to catch them no matter what.

But… timing was critical.

Team Leader Oh Min-seok tapped the desk lightly and spoke up.

“But what’s important isn’t just catching them, it’s protecting the child. We have to apprehend the suspects swiftly and accurately to ensure the child’s safety.”

At his words, everyone nodded in unison.

Grinning, Oh Min-seok glanced around at his team.

“For the criminals…”

The moment he said that, the other detectives in the conference room all spoke in chorus.

“Only arrest.”

Lee Jaehyun paused at the chant-like reply.

He looked up at Oh Min-seok.

Oh Min-seok was looking at Lee Jaehyun too.

“Sergeant Lee Jaehyun didn’t say it, did he? For the criminals!”

“…Only arrest.”

Only then did Team Leader Oh Min-seok nod and clap his hands once.

“Briefing’s over! We’re expecting a call any minute now, so everyone, stay sharp.”

With that, Team Leader Oh Min-seok ended the briefing.

The detectives all stood up at once.

Lee Jaehyun fixed his gaze on Team Leader Oh Min-seok as he exited the conference room.

“For criminals, only arrest, huh…”

He felt as if there was a familiar scent coming from Team Leader Oh Min-seok.

In an era when more and more people treat being a police officer as just a job, he gave off the rare scent of a “true cop.”

“Come to think of it, it was the same at Myeong Jinhan’s Pet Shop last time.”

Oh Min-seok had shown his satisfaction when he saw Lee Jaehyun breaking in through the glass window.

He’d even helped by blocking his own subordinate who tried to stop Lee Jaehyun.

The way he now pushed for the Capturing Principle toward the criminals also made a good impression.

“The person who requested support this time was also Team Leader Oh Min-seok.”

Even when he hadn’t been recognized as part of the team yet, Team Leader Oh Min-seok was the only one to greet him warmly.

Well, since he’d requested support, maybe that was natural.

But there were plenty of places where, after requesting support, they’d treat you like a useless burden just because you didn’t fit in.

In that regard, Team Leader Oh Min-seok’s willingness to applaud Lee Jaehyun’s contribution to this case was definitely memorable.

“Was he deliberately trying to make me stand out? Probably because he wants me to blend into this team.”

It seemed that ever since that day at Myeong Jinhan’s Pet Shop, Team Leader Oh Min-seok had had his eye on Lee Jaehyun.

And truthfully, it was what Lee Jaehyun wanted as well.

“Alright, then—I’ll make sure I stand out in this case.”

From the look of things, Team Leader Oh Min-seok wanted to bring Lee Jaehyun onto his team no matter what.

If he could make a strong impression in this case, even if he didn’t join right away, it would be helpful in the future.

With that thought, Lee Jaehyun clenched his fist.

Woooong.

A loud vibration resounded throughout the conference room.

Immediately, everyone’s face hardened and their attention focused on the source of the vibration.

Since everyone had turned off notifications before the important briefing, there was only one reason for a vibration in this situation.

The kidnapper, Park Yech’an, was calling again.