Chapter 48: Warning and Resolve

One piece of good news, and one piece of bad news.

As soon as Team Leader Oh Cheol-jin spoke those words, everyone’s faces stiffened.

The good news was easy enough to guess.

Of course, the envelope in his hand had to be the good news.

He probably brought us our bonuses, and judging by the thickness, the amount isn’t bad at all.

But as for the bad news, since no one had a clue, the tension in the air grew heavier.

Even Kim Junho, who just moments ago cared about nothing but the bonus, furrowed his brows and stared silently at Team Leader Oh Cheol-jin.

Team Leader Oh Cheol-jin clicked his tongue with a faint laugh and waved the envelope in his hand.

“First, the good news is the bonus.”

Kim Junho flinched, looking like he wanted to ask what the bad news was, but held himself back.

Lee Jaehyun glanced briefly over at Kim Junho.

Team Leader Oh Cheol-jin began distributing the envelopes in his hand to each team member.

It should have been a happy moment to receive their bonuses, but everyone’s faces remained unsettled, preoccupied with the bad news as they accepted the envelopes.

“Here, this one’s for you, Jaehyun. Our youngest did a lot of hard work this month.”

“Thank you. I’ll try to work even harder.”

Lee Jaehyun answered as he accepted the envelope.

His envelope looked two or three times thicker than the others, and it felt surprisingly hefty.

Seems there’s quite a decent amount in there.

At Lee Jaehyun’s response, Team Leader Oh Cheol-jin quickly shook his head.

“No, no. Let’s not work any harder. There’s bad news anyway.”

That meant the bad news was related to Lee Jaehyun.

For now, Lee Jaehyun felt a bit relieved.

At least, it probably wasn’t anything too serious.

A few things came to mind right away.

For one, he’d hit Myung Jinhan pretty hard, and he’d also busted up that guy’s Pet Shop Glass Door… And not long ago, he’d broken Goo Hyunseok’s ribs during an arrest.

Maybe he’d get some Disciplinary Action for Excessive Force.

“It’ll probably be just a month or two at most.”

Up until now, Lee Jaehyun had never had any accusations of Excessive Force.

He’d only just become a Sergeant, so of course there was no history of any past Excessive Force controversies.

Usually, the first time something like this happens, you get a slap on the wrist—a month or two Suspension at worst.

At most, maybe a cut in pay.

Lee Jaehyun was used to this sort of thing, so he looked at Team Leader Oh Cheol-jin with a calm expression.

But it seemed Team Leader Oh Cheol-jin was not so accustomed to it.

He clenched his fist tightly, let out a deep sigh, and continued.

“Myung Jinhan… filed a lawsuit against you, Jaehyun.”

“What? That son of a bitch!”

No sooner had Team Leader Oh Cheol-jin finished speaking than Kim Junho shot to his feet, shouting in anger.

The sudden outburst caught Lee Jaehyun off guard for a moment.

“That bastard’s out of his mind.”

Park Daehyung muttered a curse in a low voice.

Min Ji-hye nodded firmly in agreement with his words.

The slight smile that had been on her lips was now gone, replaced by a stony expression.

Even Lieutenant Kim Seokhyun, the oldest and always the gentlest among them, looked deeply upset.

He turned to Team Leader Oh Cheol-jin and spoke.

“What’s the charge?”

“Property Damage Offense.”

“Huh? What property of his did our rookie supposedly damage?”

“Ah, well… I broke the Glass Door at Myung Jinhan’s Pet Shop that one time.”

At Team Leader Oh Cheol-jin’s answer, Kim Junho let out a baffled laugh.

Lee Jaehyun raised his hand sheepishly and joined in.

Honestly, he had no real excuse for the Pet Shop’s Glass Door.

“It was the right thing to do, so why say any more?”

He was so matter-of-fact about it, there was nothing more to say.

The same went for the other cases.

What’s wrong with using force when arresting a criminal?

He’d only broken the Glass Door to secure evidence.

He was confident in his actions.

Of course, if he had to take the heat for it, he was prepared.

Rules were rules.

He would take responsibility for his own actions.

That was the resolve Lee Jaehyun always carried in his heart.

“That’s not Property Damage, it’s a legitimate action taken during an investigation…”

“I tried my best to appeal, but… Well, there’s nothing we can do this time. Still, as long as you pay for the Glass Door, they’ll try to make sure it’s handled quietly. Just pay for the Glass Door and it should be fine.”

“Ah, yes, understood.”

Kim Junho seemed about to argue further, but Team Leader Oh Cheol-jin ignored him and looked only at Lee Jaehyun as he spoke.

Lee Jaehyun nodded in response.

Team Leader Oh Cheol-jin, apparently not finished yet, let out a heavy sigh and continued.

“And there’s also the Excessive Force issue—they made a fuss about you using physical force during the interrogation and such…”

“Since when do subhumans expect to be treated like humans?”

“The Capital Region Police Station Chief told me to give you a verbal warning and let it go.”

“How is any of this our rookie’s fault?”

“I know, so just hold on a minute. I’m still talking.”

“Sorry, sir.”

As Kim Junho kept interjecting, Team Leader Oh Cheol-jin finally raised his arm in warning.

Once the arm was raised, Kim Junho immediately shut his mouth.

“Anyway, you didn’t do anything wrong, but it’s still something you should be careful about. From now on, just be a bit more careful. Maybe… try dialing down your passion a little.”

“Yes, understood. I’ll be more careful.”

“Alright, then. That’s all for the good and bad news. That’s it.”

Team Leader Oh Cheol-jin gave a light tap on the Partition as he wrapped things up.

The words had been said, but everyone’s faces remained somber.

Lee Jaehyun found himself watching his teammates, when suddenly Kim Junho, who had been standing since earlier, finally came over to him.

“Man, seriously. Hey, rookie.”

“Yes, Senior Police Officer Kim Junho.”

“Use this.”

With those words, he plopped the envelope he’d been holding onto Lee Jaehyun’s desk.

Lee Jaehyun looked up at Kim Junho, then down at the bonus envelope now sitting on his desk.

“Huh?”

“You need to pay for the Glass Door, right? Just use this. Looks like it’s about 300,000 won—should be enough, yeah?”

“It’s okay. Please just buy a Cat Tower for Posoon.”

Lee Jaehyun picked up the envelope and tried to hand it back to Kim Junho.

Police salaries aren’t much.

That went for Kim Junho as well.

A 300,000-won bonus was a huge sum.

“Posoon eats well enough already. Besides, she hardly uses the Cat Tower anyway. She prefers a Box or something you pick up for her.”

“Really, it’s fine.”

“Hey, you earned that bonus fair and square. I’m really—wait, what is it?”

As Kim Junho waved his hand, trying to insist Jaehyun keep it, his eyes caught on something beside him.

Min Ji-hye was holding out three Im Saimdang Bills to Kim Junho.

“Let’s say I covered half.”

She spoke as if it was only natural.

She leaned toward Kim Junho, urging him to take the Im Saimdang Bills.

At that moment, as Park Daehyung started to stand from his seat—

“Everyone, freeze.”

“……?”

Team Leader Oh Cheol-jin’s voice, filled with his unique charisma, rang out.

Park Daehyung, half-standing, stopped in an awkward pose.

Team Leader Oh Cheol-jin continued.

“First come, first served.”

“What?”

“Helping out the rookie with the Glass Door payment—first come, first served.”

“So, I was first—”

At Team Leader Oh Cheol-jin’s words, Kim Junho laughed and nodded.

But then Team Leader Oh Cheol-jin pulled an empty envelope from his pocket and waved it around.

It was obvious there was nothing inside.

With a smile, he gently pushed Min Ji-hye’s hand back and retrieved the Im Saimdang Bills, then picked up Kim Junho’s bonus envelope from Lee Jaehyun’s desk and returned it to Kim Junho’s pocket.

“I gave mine first, so that’s it. Only those with higher salaries can complain.”

At those words, Lee Jaehyun checked his own bonus envelope.

Sixteen 50,000-won bills.

800,000 won.

Given Lee Jaehyun’s recent achievements, it made sense he’d get a bigger bonus than the others, but even so, 800,000 won was hard to explain unless someone had slipped some of their own bonus into his envelope.

“Team Leader, I really—”

“Lee Jaehyun.”

“Yes, Team Leader.”

“Do you make more than I do?”

“No, sir.”

“Then you can’t complain. That’s it, everyone back to work.”

Team Leader Oh Cheol-jin clapped his hands once and returned to his seat.

His neat ending made it clear there was nothing more to discuss.

Some of the team members glanced wistfully at Lee Jaehyun, but with Team Leader Oh Cheol-jin having given up his own bonus and told them not to complain, no one pressed further.

Lee Jaehyun quietly looked around.

Yes, these people had always been like this.

In his previous life, Lee Jaehyun simply hadn’t realized it.

He’d always put revenge first.

His sole focus had been on catching criminals, eyes fixed only on that goal.

All the while, he hadn’t noticed the care he was receiving from those around him.

“In the end, you really do need to live life over again.”

Only then do you discover things anew.

With that thought, Lee Jaehyun let out a quiet laugh.

Team Leader Oh Cheol-jin’s care and goodwill—he decided to accept it without protest.

When you receive a favor, you just have to return it someday.

Whether with achievements, or with money… he’d make sure to repay Team Leader Oh Cheol-jin.

Not just the Team Leader, but the whole team.

Thinking that, Lee Jaehyun tucked the envelope into his inner pocket.

***

After the brief bonus giveaway incident that morning, afternoon rolled around and it was almost time to leave work.

Lee Jaehyun held a Sharp in his hand, looking quietly down at his Future Case Memo.

Now, the Child Kidnapping Case was almost upon them.

Today was Thursday, and according to Lee Jaehyun’s memory, the kidnapping would happen next Tuesday.

Only a few days left.

He looked at the notes in his Future Case Memo, checking the situation.

“First, the victim is an eleven-year-old boy.”

Name: Choi Daehyun.

A kid who attended a Taekwondo academy, and the day he was abducted was after his lesson, on the way home.

The incident took place in a CCTV blind spot, so it was impossible to identify the culprit.

When the boy didn’t come home, his mother, Choi Daehyun’s Mother, sensed something was wrong and went out looking for him, but couldn’t find him.

Then, the kidnapper called and demanded a ransom.

“They threatened that if the police got involved, the boy would die.”

After much agonizing, the parents finally reported to the Police Officer the next day.

Almost all local police were mobilized for the search, but on the third day, the boy was found dead.

The criminal had left evidence when killing the boy, so he was eventually caught.

But during his arrest, he resisted violently, stabbing an officer in the shoulder.

He then drank pesticide, fell into a coma, and died two days later.

So he never faced the judgment of law.

The kidnapper’s name was Park Yech’an, a middle-aged man who worked on a farm.

That was the full story as Lee Jaehyun remembered it.

Honestly, he wasn’t sure how to handle it.

After staring at the Future Case Memo for a while, Lee Jaehyun finally got up from his seat and went to Team Leader Oh Cheol-jin.

“Team Leader.”

“If you’re thinking about it, returns aren’t accepted.”

“Yes, thank you for covering the Glass Door.”

“Okay. If that’s not it, then what is?”

Team Leader Oh Cheol-jin looked at Lee Jaehyun, as if telling him to speak.

Lee Jaehyun opened his mouth calmly.

“I’d like to use a Partial Day Off tomorrow morning, if that’s alright.”

“Tomorrow morning? Yeah, that’s fine.”

Without much thought, Team Leader Oh Cheol-jin agreed.

“But, what for?”

“Ah, I just have somewhere I need to go.”

“…Alright, got it.”

Team Leader Oh Cheol-jin nodded without asking further.

Lee Jaehyun dipped his head in gratitude and turned away.

It seemed, after all, that he would have to go check the scene in person.