After solving the case, Lee Jaehyun dragged his tired body back to the Capital Region Police Station.
“Alright, applause!”
The moment Lee Jaehyun stepped inside the Capital Region Police Station, he blinked at the sudden shower of applause.
As soon as he entered, Lieutenant Kim Seokhyun, who spotted him, shouted “Applause!” in a booming voice, prompting everyone to clap.
With his kindly face, Lieutenant Kim Seokhyun usually looked like someone who could be found sitting behind the counter at the neighborhood mart.
Yet at moments like this, he was more natural than anyone at looking after his team members, encouraging them, and taking pride in their achievements.
“Wow! Well done, our rookie!”
Kim Junho cheered especially loudly as he clapped.
Of course, the others were also clapping hard, but Kim Junho couldn’t help but stand out.
It was understandable, given that PoSoon’s death was involved, and it was almost certain that Go Hyunsook was responsible for PoSoon’s death.
Kim Junho placed his hand firmly on Lee Jaehyun’s shoulder and flashed a big smile.
“Well done.…… Thank you.”
“It was nothing. I just did what had to be done.”
“If every Police Officer did what they were supposed to like you, I bet there wouldn’t be a single unsolved case left in the world, right?”
“Haha.”
At Kim Junho’s praise, Lee Jaehyun smiled bashfully.
In his previous life, he would have found this atmosphere embarrassing and would have avoided it.
But now, having returned to the past—
Lee Jaehyun found he didn’t mind this mood so much.
Just then, Sergeant Park Daehyung approached and placed a hand on Lee Jaehyun’s shoulder.
“Well done. That was real Police work.”
“Thank you. I’ll keep doing my best.”
Lee Jaehyun replied with a slight bow.
Sergeant Park Daehyung patted his shoulder in an exaggerated manner as he continued.
“Just don’t push yourself too hard. Take care of yourself.”
”Of course.”
Sergeant Park Daehyung gave him a thumbs-up and lifted the corners of his mouth in a smile.
Lee Jaehyun nodded in response to Sergeant Park Daehyung’s words.
Being told he acted like a real Police Officer might be something said easily, or even out of habit.
But to Lee Jaehyun, it was something that resonated deeply.
There were plenty who wore the Police badge but knelt before money and power.
That was why Lee Jaehyun always strove to live ‘like a true Police Officer.’
In his previous life, and in this one as well.
Meanwhile, Min Ji-hye, who had been listening to the conversation, squeezed in between them.
She was always the one holding down a corner of the Police Station with her expressionless face.
Standing between the two, Min Ji-hye glared once at Lee Jaehyun and Sergeant Park Daehyung before letting out a breath and opening her mouth.
“What do you mean, ‘of course’… You’re the one popping sleeping pills and pretending everything’s fine, yet you didn’t even go to the hospital.”
At her words, Lee Jaehyun could only let out an awkward smile, unable to reply.
Seeing his reaction, Min Ji-hye shook her head slightly, looking at him as if she couldn’t believe it.
“You’re not saying you still haven’t gone even after the case was solved, right?”
“I’ve been a bit out of it, so not yet…”
“Haah.”
“I’ll stop by after work today.”
Feeling Min Ji-hye’s sigh mixed with concern, Lee Jaehyun hurriedly added an explanation.
With her usual blank expression combined with a sigh, the pressure was oddly palpable.
Watching this, Team Leader Oh Cheol-jin, who’d been listening nearby, quietly chimed in.
“No, don’t bother. You were supposed to be off today anyway, right? Go home and get some rest. Don’t come in tomorrow either.”
“……Really?”
“I mean it, don’t come in. Just get some sleep.”
It was a sweet offer.
Honestly, Lee Jaehyun had pushed himself too hard these past few days.
He couldn’t deny how exhausted he felt.
Right now, all he wanted was to wash the dirt off his body at home and collapse onto his bed.
He bowed his head deeply.
“Thank you. I won’t refuse… I’ll get plenty of rest and come back.”
“Good. You really must get some rest.”
Team Leader Oh Cheol-jin nodded in response.
To his eyes, Lee Jaehyun was a talent too precious to lose.
Just how many cases had Lee Jaehyun solved by now…
If anything were to happen to such a valuable team member, rumors would surely start about him being an irresponsible Team Leader.
This level of treatment was only natural.
Hearing this, Kim Junho piped up in a bright voice.
“If he returns on Tuesday, shouldn’t we expect a Reward?”
“How long has it been since we got a Special Bonus, and we’re getting another one already… Are we? We probably are, right?”
Team Leader Oh Cheol-jin started to answer but changed his words to a question.
Rewards, after all, aren’t handed out that often.
They’re only given now and then for truly exceptional merit.
But in this case, didn’t Lee Jaehyun basically handle everything from beginning to end?
Besides, it was a Child Kidnapping Case.
Considering all these factors, the possibility of another Reward wasn’t completely out of the question.
“He solved a Child Kidnapping Case. If they don’t give a Reward this time, they really have no conscience. I wonder how much it’ll be this time.”
Though he wouldn’t be receiving it himself, Kim Junho answered excitedly as if the Reward were for him.
Sergeant Park Daehyung looked at him and calmed him down, saying nothing was decided yet.
Seeing the two, Lee Jaehyun lifted the corners of his mouth gently.
In his previous life, it was a tragedy he couldn’t prevent.
But now, with the incident stopped, the mood at the Police Station was warm and cheerful.
***
While Team 4 was enjoying their celebratory mood,
Inside the office of Kim Hocheol, head of the Strong Crime Unit at Ilsan Seogu Police Station.
“Minseok…”
Kim Hocheol looked up at the person sitting in front of him.
Seated before him was Team Leader Oh Min-seok of the Strong Crime Unit, who had caught the culprit alongside Lee Jaehyun.
Kim Hocheol gazed at Oh Min-seok in silence before speaking up.
“What is this?”
Chief Kim Hocheol set down the smartphone he was holding in front of Team Leader Oh Min-seok.
On the small smartphone screen, a video was playing.
Thunk! Thud!
A dull sound, like bone striking bone, echoed through the office.
The footage being played on Chief Kim Hocheol’s smartphone was of Police subduing a suspect.
Though the video quality was poor, making it hard to see the officers’ faces,
Through the conversation with the suspect heard in the video, it wasn’t hard to figure out who they were.
Lee Jaehyun.
In the video, he subdued the criminal with skills far too polished for an ordinary Sergeant.
He cleverly twisted his hips to dodge the suspect’s hand, then delivered a punch to the escaping man.
He landed a clean blow to the suspect’s side, and thanks to that, Park Yech’an now had two fractured ribs.
It was a move you’d expect from detectives who’d worked in the Strong Crime Unit for decades.
The whole time the video played, Team Leader Oh Min-seok kept touching his cheek.
He only spoke up once the video had ended.
“That’s proof the Child Kidnapping Case was resolved well.”
“Resolved, yes, but it sure wasn’t quiet.”
“When did I ever say I’d solve it quietly? I said I’d get the job done.”
“……Good grief.”
It wasn’t just confidence—it bordered on shamelessness.
At his reply, Chief Kim Hocheol could only exhale in disbelief.
This was the kind of excessive use of force that could almost have resulted in a civilian complaint.
But rather than nitpicking Oh Min-seok’s words, Chief Kim Hocheol simply smiled faintly.
“Well, the kid’s safe, right?”
“Hah, true. You wrapped it up cleanly, so I can’t really complain.”
Oh Min-seok quietly added to Chief Kim Hocheol’s response.
Even with his brazen attitude, Chief Kim Hocheol could only answer in a bewildered tone.
The victim this time was a child.
It’s a huge case even when an adult is kidnapped—there was no need to mention the scale when it’s a child.
So even if things got a little loud, the case had been wrapped up neatly… He had nothing to say.
“Chief… No, hyungnim. Could I ask just one real favor?”
Seizing the chance, Team Leader Oh Min-seok quickly spoke.
Honestly, Lee Jaehyun had practically led this case… but officially, Oh Min-seok was the one in charge on scene.
Which meant Oh Min-seok had every right to ask for compensation too.
“What is it now.”
When Oh Min-seok even changed how he addressed him, Kim Hocheol responded in an exasperated tone.
They’d known each other a long time, but whenever Oh Min-seok called him that, it was always to ask for something troublesome.
“Just assign me one Sergeant, please.”
“A Sergeant? Why are you suddenly all about Sergeants?”
Chief Kim Hocheol rubbed his ears as if bothered.
But Team Leader Oh Min-seok had already made up his mind about what to say, his gaze resolute.
Since Chief Kim Hocheol hadn’t outright refused, there was still a chance.
Oh Min-seok spoke up again, directing his voice at Chief Kim Hocheol.
“The guy I worked with this time is excellent.”
Oh Min-seok said this with a smile unfitting for a detective in the Strong Crime Unit.
It wasn’t the usual demeanor or words of a Team Leader.
But he’d decided that, for Lee Jaehyun, he’d put up with any trouble.
You know the saying—
A detective who catches criminals well is worth more than ten hangers-on.
Kim Hocheol smirked at Oh Min-seok’s attitude, so different from usual.
“You want that guy?”
“Yeah, he’s a real find. Please let me work with him.”
“But what if I can’t?”
“Oh, come on, don’t say that…”
Team Leader Oh Min-seok’s brow furrowed.
He was practically begging now.
But Chief Kim Hocheol cut off his pleas and spoke.
“So, to be clear, all you want is just one Sergeant?”
“Yes. Just give me one, and that’s enough.”
“But not that guy.”
“What? No, it really has to be him.”
Oh Min-seok flailed his hands in surprise.
His only interest was Lee Jaehyun.
But Kim Hocheol only refused with vague words.
Naturally, Team Leader Oh Min-seok couldn’t help but get impatient.
Whether Kim Hocheol understood or not, he pressed on.
“You said just one Sergeant, right?”
“What’s with you…?”
“So, is it just any Sergeant? Or does it have to be that guy? Say it clearly.”
Chief Kim Hocheol looked at Team Leader Oh Min-seok with a strange expression and asked.
Oh Min-seok couldn’t understand his words and tilted his head.
So I can get a Sergeant, but not Lee Jaehyun?
Was he just toying with him?
But Kim Hocheol wasn’t the kind to make pointless jokes.
As he furrowed his brow in thought, something seemed to dawn on Team Leader Oh Min-seok and he spoke.
“Ah, no way.”
Team Leader Oh Min-seok stared at Chief Kim Hocheol as if to confirm his suspicion.
In response, Kim Hocheol said nothing more.
He just shrugged his shoulders with a peculiar expression.
That was answer enough.