Interlude. Hayes Detective Agency
I was dreaming.
In the dream, I wasn’t called Hayes, but by another name. A name much more familiar to me.
As I looked around the streets, nothing was unfamiliar, and nothing threatened me.
Instead of being overcast or rainy every day, the sky was filled with brilliant sunshine, and in my hand, I held a smartphone rather than a heavy lead cane for self-defense.
Panting in the heat, I wandered across the concrete streets where heat haze shimmered.
[Fun Manga Shop]
Just then, the neon sign of a worn-out manga shop flickered, catching my eye.
‘No!’
I shouted toward the me in the dream with a voice that wouldn’t reach.
‘Don’t go in there!’
However, there was nothing I could change.
I entered the shop with a look of delight. I picked up a random manga book, sat down with a thud, and flipped through the pages carelessly.
Suddenly, my hand stopped. A large black-and-white illustration filled both pages of the book.
The silhouette of a person who had been stabbed and collapsed in a back alley.
I inadvertently stared into the drawing.
When I came to, I was lying in an unfamiliar back alley.
This was not my world, and this body was not my own. But the me in the dream didn’t know that. I just blinked like a fool, dazed.
The moon shone brightly in the narrow sky above the alley, and when I lowered my gaze at a sudden, throbbing pain, a sharp blade piercing my chest filled my vision—.
“Gah!”
I woke up from the dream, jolting against the desk.
“Haa, haa…. A dream?”
The pain had been so vivid that it didn’t feel like a dream at all.
I fumbled at the stab wound on my chest with my hand.
“It doesn’t seem to have opened up…”
But as I touched the scar, I felt a long-standing ache. It seemed the wound had been pressed while I was sleeping face-down on the desk.
“Ah, dammit. How long has it been, and it still hurts?”
Since it happened right when I fell into this world, it must have been about a year, yet the wound still throbbed.
It was truly a miracle I hadn’t died.
“Who knows. Maybe the original owner of this body died, and I was unlucky enough to possess it.”
What was even more frustrating was that I didn’t even know who to resent for this wound.
The person who stabbed me? I didn’t know.
When I regained consciousness, I was in an unfamiliar body being stabbed, and the bastard who did it fled immediately. I had no idea who stabbed me or why.
Then should I resent the original owner of this body for being careless enough to get stabbed? That was also difficult.
Amazingly, I still didn’t know who the owner of this body was.
‘I only realized it after being possessed. The greatness of Korea.’
In modern Korea, a simple fingerprint search would have been enough.
My personal information would have been found in a single night.
But in this strange world, there was no way to identify a madman who couldn’t remember his own name, hometown, or close acquaintances.
Thanks to that, I didn’t just hover between life and death with a knife in my chest; I became a homeless person who knew nothing about himself.
My life had hit rock bottom overnight. There were more than a few moments when I thought about just closing my eyes and dying, but…
[If you need a purpose in life, how about being a great detective? Who knows? On that path, you might find the answer you truly want.]
Well, luckily, I met a good person and was barely able to live like a human being again.
I decided to become a ‘detective,’ a profession where I could make the most of the abilities I gained through the possession, and if I was going to be a detective, I decided to aim for the top spot.
“A few days ago, I took a proper step in that direction…”
The newspaper I had carefully organized on the desk caught my eye. Putting the unpleasant nightmare behind me, I proudly unfolded the paper.
In the morning edition I received today, my stage name was written in clear type.
[Rookie Detective Hayes Arrests Thomas Chapman.]
“Ha! This is it!”
Even though it wasn’t on the first or second page, but a small article on the third page—and a short one tucked in the left corner at that—it was still something.
“Since my name appeared in the morning paper, becoming famous is only a matter of time.”
I was one step closer to my goal of becoming a great detective.
That wasn’t all.
I gently folded the newspaper and rechecked the front page I had seen earlier. The headline printed in large letters read:
[Culprit of the Drug Scandal Confirmed to be Thomas Chapman!]
“Yeah. This is what I’m talking about.”
I wore a satisfied smile once again.
Although the front-page article itself didn’t mention me, what if you combined it with the short piece on the third page?
Anyone would be able to tell that I was the detective who proved that fraudster’s guilt.
‘Even though I had to submit almost all the seized criminal funds to prove it…’
My hands had trembled as I handed over the gold coins at the police station.
I thought about how I should have pocketed one or two more gold coins, and I regretted the gold coin I gave away as an information fee earlier.
But still! The important thing was gaining a reputation as a detective, wasn’t it?
“It’s fine because if I become famous and get a lot of requests, I’ll be able to earn more money.”
I muttered as if soothing myself.
I was sick and tired of this detective agency where only flies gathered. It made me feel so pathetic to sit alone, pretending to be cool with my hands clasped, staring into space.
If I hadn’t been so desperate, would I have gone all the way to that countryside just to catch a criminal? All the evidence I had was a rumor that Chapman had gone to that village.
But now, the hardship is over, and the activity begins.
Since I caught an unexpectedly big fish, won’t requests start pouring in through word of mouth?
“Once a request comes in, catching a criminal with my ability is child’s play.”
Now, come! Anyone who needs my help.
Preferably someone rich!
They’ll come running in a hurry, holding the morning paper they saw today. Yes. Any moment now, they’ll push open that door with the bell and enter my detective office—.
Ding-aling—!
At that moment, the office door actually opened.
I welcomed the guest with a bright face.
“Welcome! This is Hayes’s Detective Agency.”
“Hello, sir. Did your business trip go well?”
My body, which had jumped up, slumped back into the chair.
“Oh, it’s just you.”
The person who walked through the door wasn’t a client, but the part-timer. In the terms of this world, it was my assistant, Lure Feuren.
Lure waved a rolled-up newspaper at me. It was a newspaper that looked strangely familiar.
“I saw a detective with the same name as you in the newspaper. Coincidentally, the place where this detective solved the case matches where you went for your trip. Isn’t that a fascinating coincidence?”
“Um, while it’s good for a detective’s assistant to doubt everything, isn’t it common sense to think I’m that detective when things match up that much?”
“Really? Is that common sense? However…”
Lure walked toward me with long strides and slammed her hand on the desk.
“Then isn’t it also common sense for a detective to take their assistant when going to solve a case?”
“Um… well…”
When I couldn’t answer easily, Lure vented her frustration.
“Really! Why on earth did you leave me behind! I became a detective’s assistant to watch cases being solved from the side! You made me clean the office for a whole month, and then you left me behind when you actually went to solve a case!”
“But…”
I protested inwardly.
‘If I take you, I have to pay for your travel expenses.’
To be blunt, I had no money.
There was no way I had money when it hadn’t been long since I cleaned up my life on the streets. I met a good person, received an investment, and set up a detective agency, but even that hadn’t made any significant profit, and it was the second month of eating through the investment capital.
In this situation, there was no way I had money to cover an assistant’s travel expenses.
‘…If I say that, I’ll look too pathetic, right?’
I composed my voice solemnly.
“Ahem, hem! Lure. I respect your passion, but you’re still a student.”
“That’s true, but…”
“Of course, I was impressed by your enthusiasm to gain practical experience as a student of the Department of Investigation, even if it was unpaid.”
I was impressed by that ‘sucker-like’ quality of volunteering for passion pay.
If I had been just a little bit more of a villain, Lure would have truly had to work for no pay.
‘I’m paying her a pittance now, but since she volunteered for it, she shouldn’t have any complaints, right?’
Ahem, anyway.
“But you shouldn’t confuse the means with the result. Lure, is your identity a detective’s assistant, or a student of the Department of Criminal Investigation?”
Lure pouted with a frustrated expression, even though she knew the answer.
“A detective’s assistant.”
“No, it’s not. You’re a student of the Department of Investigation. Isn’t that a more important identity for you?”
When I put on a stern face, Lure reluctantly nodded.
“So I couldn’t take you. How could I take a busy student on a trip that I didn’t know when it would end? Didn’t you even say it was your exam period?”
“Ugh, that’s true…”
Lure sighed and then added:
“Still, please make sure to take me next time something like this happens. I’m worried I’ll be fired soon if I just loaf around in an office with no customers every day.”
This kid is hitting where it hurts.
“Clients are going to start coming in droves now. Didn’t you see my name in the paper?”
“Ah, yes. That name you can barely see if you comb through the newspaper, right?”
“Ugh, that…”
I had nothing to say.
“A-Anyway, there’s no way I’ll fire you.”
“Really?”
“Of course. I absolutely need your help.”
It was a truth without a single lie. In the first place, if I didn’t absolutely need an assistant, I wouldn’t have indulged in the luxury of hiring one in my poor circumstances.
‘My ability isn’t invincible, after all.’
[Possession Perk: Mystery Manga Reader’s Perspective]
[The culprit’s appearance is hidden by a black shadow until they are revealed.]
My ability seemed cheat-like at first glance, and it actually was, but there was one fatal drawback.
That was the fact that the culprit’s form was hidden.
Thanks to my ability, I could identify who the culprit was, but at the same time, because of my ability, I couldn’t guess who the culprit was at all.
You don’t understand what that means?
For example, there was an incident like this.
“Hello. I’m here to make a request.”
The first case request I received after opening the detective agency.
“I want to catch the arsonist who set fire to my house.”
The culprit of that case was the client himself.
‘A staged incident? Must be a crime for insurance money. Did they seek out a rookie detective on purpose?’
I felt offended, clearly sensing that I was being underestimated.
‘I’ll show you soon what kind of special eyes I have.’
Yes, I admit it.
At that time, I was a bit full of myself.
‘I couldn’t help it! I had just realized my ability and become a detective after going through all sorts of hardships.’
At that time, I was full of confidence and felt like I could do anything with my ability.
“I understand, gentleman. Please, take a seat. Could you tell me more details about the case?”
Anyway, I offered the client a seat with as calm a face as possible. I intended to catch the culprit off guard and collect evidence.
That is, until the culprit suddenly became furious.
“What did you say?!”
“Pardon? I told you to take a seat…”
“You just insulted me!”
“No, when did I!”
“Didn’t you insult me by calling me a gentleman when my voice is ruined!”
“Ah…”
That’s right. My client and the culprit was a woman.
And a foolish woman at that, who couldn’t control the fire she set and had her voice ruined by her own deed.
It was a fact I could never have imagined just by listening to that husky voice.
“Ah, that… I’m sorry. I have my reasons.”
“What kind of reasons could justify insulting someone like that?!”
“Well, that’s. Because my eyes are a bit special…”
“…Oh.”
An awkward silence followed.
Even though she was hidden by the black shadow, I could feel the pitying gaze she was sending.
“I didn’t know that…. To be a detective with such a body, you must be suffering a lot.”
“Ah, yes. Thank you…”
I felt like I was dying of shame.
Fortunately, I was able to solve the case soon after and call the police to settle that terrible situation.
‘If you get rid of the witness, there’s no dark past.’
The person who witnessed my dark past? Clink, clink! They’re gone now, right?
But I had no desire to go through something like that again.
The moment I handcuffed the culprit and put her in the police carriage, I thought, ‘Ah, I need to get an assistant.’
“Fire you? No way. Lure, I really need you.”
I spoke with total sincerity, recalling the shame of that time.
“I need your broad vision. Where else would I find an assistant as passionate about investigations as you?”
‘And where else would I find labor that works for passion instead of money like you?’
“Sir…”
Did she feel my sincerity? Lure clasped her hands together and nodded.
“I understand. I’ll work hard without getting discouraged. As your assistant!”
“Good. That’s a wonderful attitude!”
“Even though there are no customers and I’m confused whether I’m an assistant or a cleaner.”
“No, Lure. I told you, clients are coming. Guests will be flooding in soon.”
Lure snorted.
“With that tiny article? I don’t know. There are so many detectives in this capital. Would there really be a client who comes looking for us after seeing a small article like that?”
But at that very moment.
Ding-aling—!
Like a lie, the front door bell rang.
“Haa, haa…”
A fat man entered the office, panting.
The man, who was covered in expensive-looking jewelry, held the morning paper in his hand.
The man shouted.
“Please help me, sir! I desperately need the help of the detective!”
The appearance of a client. It was the beginning of a new case.