“Son! Get up and have breakfast!”
The next morning, Lee Jaehyun opened his eyes naturally to the voice coming from outside his room.
He stretched and got up, sitting on the edge of his bed as he looked around.
A familiar, yet strangely unfamiliar sight.
Shelves filled with police exam prep books and criminal law texts.
It was just the way his room had looked a few years ago, when he still lived here.
“Ah, I really did come back.”
He muttered to himself, rising from the bed.
The scenery in the room, the feeling of the mattress’s springiness after a long time, everything from the past remained just as it was.
Since his Father passed away in his previous life, he hadn’t felt this way at all.
It was only now, finally, that he truly felt like he’d come ‘home.’
He found himself unconsciously smiling gently.
“Atle, are you still sleeping?”
“I’m awake!”
His Mother’s voice called out again from beyond the door.
A familiar voice, but one he hadn’t been able to hear much since she was hospitalized.
“No, it’s been like that since before then.”
To be exact, it had started after his Father passed away.
His Mother, lost in grief, gradually spoke less and less.
Lee Jaehyun, blaming himself, rarely came home.
To begin with, why had he been called ‘Mad Dog’?
He’d thrown himself into the Detective’s work, as if he had neither house nor home.
Naturally, the number of days he spent at home dwindled, and looking back now, he realized how foolish he’d been.
“From now on… I should start changing, little by little.”
He carefully opened his door and stepped out into the living room.
The instant he opened the door, the smell of doenjang jjigae stung his nose and only grew stronger as he headed toward the kitchen.
“I made stew. Hurry and eat, then you have to go to work.”
His Mother placed the pot of doenjang jjigae on the dining table as she spoke.
Wearing an apron and giving him a warm smile as she served breakfast—she was just as he remembered his Mother to be.
Suppressing his turbulent emotions, he opened his mouth.
“I can go in a bit late today.”
“Really? Why’s that?”
“Team Leader Oh said I did well and told me to come in after lunch, no matter what.”
Lee Jaehyun nodded as he replied.
Maybe it was because he’d stayed late finding evidence that Myung Jinhan was the Serial Killer.
Team Leader Oh Jincheol didn’t discipline him, and even handled the Capital Region Police Station Chief himself, rearranging the shift schedule just for Jaehyun’s sake.
Yesterday, Jaehyun had turned the offer down without much thought.
But thanks to Team Leader Oh Jincheol’s insistence that he take a proper rest, he now had time for a leisurely meal with his parents, and he felt quietly grateful.
At Lee Jaehyun’s words, his Mother smiled tenderly.
“He must be a good man. I guess he noticed you weren’t doing well yesterday.”
At her words, Jaehyun recalled what had happened the day before and fell silent.
When he’d come home after work last night.
Unlike the memory of his Mother lying in a hospital bed, she had greeted him with a bright smile.
As soon as Jaehyun saw her, he couldn’t contain the emotions that welled up, and hugged her tightly, crying for a long time.
He was a grown man who hadn’t even cried when he went to the army.
But coming back to life like this had brought him to tears.
It had been the same when he came home to see his Father, who had finished taxi driving early and was waiting for him.
Seeing his Father, who had come home early and was waiting, had released emotions he couldn’t express in words.
In his past life, Lee Jaehyun had been so fierce he’d been called Mad Dog.
But now, with the relief of having saved his Father who had died in the past, he couldn’t help but react more like a gentle lamb than a mad dog.
As Jaehyun sat down at the table, looking awkward, the door to the master bedroom opened and his Father stepped into the living room.
His Father took a seat at the table, glanced at his wife, and then winked at Jaehyun.
Seeing this, Jaehyun remembered the promise he’d made with his Father the previous night.
“‘Let’s keep this between us, so your Mother doesn’t worry.'”
His Father must have been shocked himself, but he’d suggested they keep last night’s events secret from Mother for her sake.
Jaehyun agreed with his Father’s intention.
“Did you sleep well?”
Ten years as a Detective had made Jaehyun used to situations like this, but not his Father.
It was only natural that he’d be worried about his Father.
He wanted to ask if he was all right, but since they’d agreed to keep last night’s events secret from Mother, Jaehyun could only ask in that way.
And yet, the answer came from elsewhere.
“Oh, don’t get me started. Last night, your Father suddenly came home early for some reason, and before bed, he just kept going on about how much you look like he did when he was young. I couldn’t sleep at all because of him.”
At Mother’s response, Father only closed his mouth and brushed his face with his hand.
Jaehyun stifled a laugh and picked up his spoon.
His Father, seeing that, quickly changed the subject.
“Come on, let’s eat. Thank you for the food, honey.”
“I’ll eat well.”
And so, breakfast began.
Mother’s cooking, for the first time in a while.
Jaehyun drew a breath and unconsciously swallowed.
“First… a bite of the doenjang jjigae.”
He soaked some white rice in the broth and brought it to his mouth. The rich aroma and deep, savory flavor filled his mouth.
It was a bit less salty than what they sold at the store, but that made the doenjang jjigae easier on the stomach.
It was the same with the other side dishes.
Most were lightly seasoned or easy to digest.
She had considered the fact that both his Father, who drove a taxi, and Jaehyun, as a police officer, couldn’t easily go to the restroom.
Once again, Jaehyun felt a lump rising in his throat and quickly pushed down his rice.
Otherwise, he felt like he might burst into tears again.
“‘Maybe going back to the past comes with the side effect of making me more tearful.'”
Otherwise, there’s no reason he’d be on the verge of tears at the smallest thing.
Even the Detective colleagues who’d worked with the ‘Mad Dog’ for years had never seen him cry, and yet, now that he’d returned, he’d been brought to tears several times already.
Maybe he really was a devil; perhaps Serhen had forgotten to mention the side effects.
Blaming the absent Serhen for no reason, he busied himself with his spoon.
Clatter, clatter.
He silently moved his spoon, eating, when his Father glanced at him and blinked.
“Did something good happen?”
“Huh?”
He tilted his head at his Father’s sudden question, then instinctively touched his mouth, feeling the upturned corners of his lips.
“It’s just… the food is delicious.”
“Your Mother’s cooking is always something else.”
“Just her cooking?”
Jaehyun teased, making his Father laugh.
Mother narrowed her eyes and asked playfully.
Watching his family chatting happily together, Jaehyun felt a new sense of gratitude.
From now on, he wanted to have moments like these more often.
In his past life, after his Father died, he’d thrown himself into chasing criminals and working endless overtime, barely ever eating his Mother’s food.
This time, for sure, he needed to live a little differently.
And…
“I should change other things, too.”
Jaehyun’s gaze turned to his Mother.
In his past life, his Mother had ended up in the hospital because of cancer.
In the end, when Jaehyun was investigating the Hyunmin Group Chairman’s Grandson, she was even used as a means of blackmail.
This time, he’d make sure nothing like that happened.
Not just the Hyunmin Group, but he’d make sure his Mother would never even need to go to the hospital.
As Jaehyun stared at her for a long while, his Mother blinked, noticing his gaze, and spoke up.
“Why are you looking at me like that? Want some more rice?”
When Mother said that, Jaehyun smiled and shook his head.
“Please go to the hospital with me.”
“Hospital? Are you sick?”
Mother looked at Jaehyun in surprise.
She was always the first to call and check on him whenever she heard news of a police officer getting hurt.
She’d never had any lingering illnesses, so hearing that he wanted to go to the hospital worried her.
Of course, with no injuries at all, Jaehyun lightly shook his head.
“No, I want you to get a Health Checkup.”
“Why a sudden Health Checkup? I’m healthy.”
“Still, please come with me.”
At his words, his Mother glanced at him with a strange look, then soon nodded.
“Fine, I suppose it would be weird not to do it when my son’s asking. Besides, I can get a free Health Checkup this year, so I may as well go.”
“Let’s make an appointment for the soonest day possible and go together.”
“Oh, all right. Really, what’s gotten into you since yesterday?”
She said that, but she didn’t seem displeased at all.
A small smile lingered at the corner of her lips.
“What about me?”
“Of course, Father, you have to come, too.”
His Father, who’d been watching from the side, asked in a disappointed voice.
Jaehyun, realizing he’d forgotten his Father, hurriedly added, but it seemed it was already too late.
“Oh my, are you sulking?”
“Sulking? No way. I work so hard and all you care about is your Mother… I should’ve had a daughter instead.”
“You really say the most outrageous things.”
His Father grumbled, sighing heavily.
He said he wasn’t, but it was obvious to anyone he was pouting.
Mother’s light smack on his back was what finally stopped his Father’s complaints.
Jaehyun smiled as he watched the scene.
He wondered if his Father knew.
How Jaehyun had spent all night running around desperately, doing everything he could to save his Father.
“By the way, I think your hand was a little heavy.”
It seemed his Father’s comment about Mother’s ‘magical cooking skills’ was true in more ways than one.
And so, Jaehyun’s first family meal since returning to the past ended in a warm and cheerful atmosphere.
***
After quickly finishing his lunch, Lee Jaehyun headed to the Capital Region Police Station as the sun reached its peak.
“Good afternoon!”
As he stepped into the station and greeted everyone energetically, Park Daehyung welcomed him.
“Oh, you’re here?”
“Yes, I’m reporting in.”
Saluting Park Daehyung, Jaehyun also greeted Lieutenant Kim Seokhyun at the next desk.
Yesterday, their shifts hadn’t overlapped so he hadn’t seen him, but Lieutenant Kim Seokhyun was one of the pillars of the team.
“Lieutenant Kim Seokhyun, good afternoon.”
“Oh, rookie. I heard you did something big last night?”
Kim Seokhyun responded to Jaehyun’s greeting with a smile.
He was the oldest on the team, but looked and felt like a kindly old man.
How to put it.
He looked like the kind of person you’d find at the counter of a neighborhood Supermarket.
He was a warm person.
Kim Seokhyun never used foul language and spoke softly, and he’d always treated Jaehyun well.
But in his past life, Jaehyun hadn’t had the time to appreciate that kindness.
With his usual gentle smile, Kim Seokhyun continued.
“Our Team Leader Oh seemed to be in a good mood. The Chief even called to praise him this morning, I hear?”
At Kim Seokhyun’s words, Jaehyun tilted his head.
It made sense for Team Leader Oh Jincheol to be in a good mood after last night, but…
The fact that Chief Seo had called personally was a surprise.
Honestly, he’d been worried.
He’d left no evidence, but… anyone could tell that the police had been closing in on Myung Jinhan.
Team Leader Oh Jincheol had been prepared to take responsibility, so it was only natural for Jaehyun to be concerned.
But instead of blame, the Chief had personally called?
“The Chief called?”
“Yeah, even gave a cash bonus. So we’re having a team dinner tonight. Beef.”
“Wow.”
At the word ‘beef,’ Jaehyun couldn’t help but exclaim in admiration.
It might not mean much to others, but to police officers, ‘beef team dinner’ meant a lot.
No matter how hard you worked, it was usually just pork belly, and even that was often paid out of pocket.
It meant the achievement of catching Myung Jinhan, the Serial Killer, had truly been recognized.
“Well, we did catch the Serial Killer, after all.”
Thank goodness.
At least Team Leader Oh Jincheol wouldn’t have to take the blame and face disciplinary action.
Jaehyun sat at his desk, thinking to himself.
A team dinner was a team dinner, but now was the time to organize his thoughts and figure out what to do next.
Unlike the chaos of yesterday, today he was facing things with a clear mind, and so there was more to think about.
Whirr.
Jaehyun spun his pen between his fingers, steadying his heart.
He needed to calmly plan for what was coming.
He had some knowledge of the major crimes that would occur in the future.
At least, the cases he’d handled himself were still in his memory…
Even for those he hadn’t worked on, he remembered at least the outline.
“Better write them all down before I forget.”
Catching the spinning pen, Jaehyun opened his Notebook.
He’d only become a Detective about two years from now.
He might not know all the cases before then, but he should jot down as much as he could remember.
“I’ll stop them all.”
He began writing down the future crimes, one by one, in his Notebook.
He made up his mind.