First, I needed to confirm whether or not something had really been put in the drink.
The method was…
‘Let’s just ask him outright.’
Given how things were going, and the fact that after just a few words, Park Man-seok tried to throw a punch at Lee Jaehyun—
It didn’t seem like Park Man-seok was the calm type, so it was best to use that to his advantage.
As Lee Jaehyun mulled over this, he spoke up.
“Hey.”
“W-What…? Hey? Did this bastard just call me ‘hey’?”
“But there’s something I’m curious about.”
“Heh… Go ahead, you punk. Say whatever you want.”
Park Man-seok seemed so flabbergasted, he was almost finding it funny, bobbing his head as he spoke.
“Wow, you’re really gonna give it back tomorrow morning after just one drink?”
“What?”
“Are you that much of a lightweight? If you drink even a glass, do you keel over? Or… is it that there’s something in the drink?”
“You little…!”
Lee Jaehyun provoked Park Man-seok and casually asked his question.
At his provocation and question, Park Man-seok’s surprise was clear as he swung his fist.
Seeing his reaction, Lee Jaehyun was sure.
‘Yeah, it’s Mulppong.’
He only had circumstantial evidence, but this was enough.
Either way, after subduing the guy, all he needed was physical evidence.
And if it was drugs, Park Man-seok wouldn’t be able to wriggle out of it easily.
Lee Jaehyun dodged Park Man-seok’s fist by smoothly shifting his body.
“From your reaction, it looks like it’s true.”
“Hah, this bastard. You kept your mouth shut before, and now you finally speak up just to accuse me of being a drug addict with this nonsense?”
Gritting his teeth, Park Man-seok kept throwing punches at Lee Jaehyun.
Because the guy was pretty big, Jaehyun dodged his punches whenever possible.
Thud.
If he couldn’t, he raised his guard and blocked the blows.
Park Man-seok definitely had a solid build and strength to match his size.
Thanks to that, after blocking him a few times, Jaehyun’s arms were already throbbing…
Still, Lee Jaehyun’s eyes gleamed low, like a predator stalking its prey.
‘He’s not letting up.’
There was barely an opening.
Unlike the guys he subdued outside, this one was not only physically capable but skilled as well.
‘He said he’s in construction, but is this guy an ex-thug too?’
Lee Jaehyun frowned, watching the way the man moved, so familiar with street fights.
Truthfully, he could take him down if he wanted to… but…
It wasn’t like he could go overboard as if he was arresting a criminal.
‘It’s called self-defense, but honestly, it’s never that simple here.’
Jaehyun clicked his tongue and ducked aside to avoid another punch.
It’s not easy to get a claim of self-defense recognized in Korea.
Unless Park Man-seok was wielding a weapon, all Jaehyun could do was subdue him without causing injury.
But the guy wasn’t giving him any openings.
While Lee Jaehyun was waiting for a chance, thinking all this over—
“You slippery bastard, I’ll finish you off now!”
Frustrated with the stalemate, Park Man-seok grabbed a liquor bottle that had been rolling on the table.
Seeing this, Lee Jaehyun blinked.
“Huh?”
“Too late to beg now. I’ll kill you myself tonight.”
Interpreting his reaction however he wanted, Park Man-seok grinned and strode forward.
Seeing this, Lee Jaehyun chuckled.
“So you’re basically begging me to arrest you now?”
He laughed at Park Man-seok, who was digging his own grave.
The reason Jaehyun had been holding back so far was because he had to subdue Park Man-seok without causing any aftereffects.
But if the guy escalated things—
He’d be able to claim self-defense up to a certain point.
“Die!”
Just then, Park Man-seok swung the bottle in his hand.
Lee Jaehyun spun his body and ducked low.
As the bottle sliced through the air where he’d just stood—
Whoosh.
In the next instant, Jaehyun spun around in place and kicked out.
Putting the momentum of his rotation into the strike.
A spinning back kick.
Crash!
The bottle was sent flying by his kick, smashing into the ceiling and shattering.
As a stunned Park Man-seok stared dumbfounded at the scene—
Jaehyun dashed at him and tackled him.
“Ugh!”
Park Man-seok tried to snap out of it, but it was already too late.
With Jaehyun’s full weight in the tackle, Park Man-seok crashed noisily to the floor.
“You bastard, get off me!”
“Stay still.”
Jaehyun mounted him, twisting his arm behind his back.
“Aagh! You son of a bitch! Do you know who I am?”
“Oh, I know.”
“What, what?”
“You’re the jerk who tried to drug my friend and pull something funny.”
As Park Man-seok cursed, Jaehyun responded and pressed his arm down even harder.
“Hey, what are you guys doing! Dammit. Do you know how much money I’ve poured into this place? Are you just going to stand there and watch?”
Park Man-seok shouted, throwing a fit.
Eventually, some staff hesitantly began to step forward, but at that moment…
***
“The police are here!”
The police had arrived at the Club.
At those words, Lee Jaehyun instinctively looked up to find Oh Seohyun.
There was no way the police came for no reason.
It wasn’t like the guests downstairs had reported the commotion in the VIP Room.
Of course, someone might have reported after seeing the guys Jaehyun subdued, but since only room guests could access the stairs, that was unlikely.
That left only two possibilities…
First, that a staff member had called the police.
‘Realistically, that doesn’t make sense.’
Calling the police is a last resort for a Club.
The moment the police show up, nervous guests leave, and that’s a direct hit to revenue.
Usually, they try to handle things quietly with their own Guards.
That only left one possibility: Oh Seohyun.
Sure enough.
Oh Seohyun gave a slight nod.
Jaehyun let out a silent sigh of relief.
He’d been thinking he needed to subdue Park Man-seok and secure evidence, but the easiest way to do that was to have the police come directly.
Oh Seohyun had acted wisely.
“You damn…”
Park Man-seok struggled even harder, trying to get free from Jaehyun.
It was only natural.
If it really was GHB—
He had to do something about the glass in Oh Seohyun’s hand before the police arrived.
Either toss it in the Restroom attached to the room, or at least spill it on the floor…
He knew that if he was caught at the scene with the evidence, there was no way out, so he desperately wanted to prevent that.
But of course, Jaehyun had no intention of letting him go.
For a short while,
The VIP Room was filled with the bellowing of a large man twisting and screaming in another’s grip.
***
Even until the police arrived at the VIP Room, Park Man-seok didn’t stop struggling.
And Lee Jaehyun kept restraining him until the police came in, then stopped the moment they entered the room.
“This is the police. Everyone, please step aside.”
The officer entering, dressed in plain clothes…
‘That’s not Senior Park? No, it isn’t, but…’
It definitely wasn’t Senior Park, but he gave off a similar vibe.
Just from passing by, you’d think he was someone working in the back alleys.
Even as he flashed his badge, there was a huge scar running down his arm.
Anyone could tell that was a knife wound.
“Sir, that’s enough. Please step back.”
The Detective looked around the VIP Room, glanced at Oh Seohyun, and let out a small sigh before gesturing at Jaehyun.
Another Detective who’d entered behind him was shooing away the other staff watching the scene.
As Jaehyun prepared to comply and loosen his grip, he noticed Park Man-seok tense up again, so he pressed down even harder.
This guy was planning to make a move for Oh Seohyun’s glass the moment Jaehyun stepped back.
“Excuse me, please secure the glass my friend is holding.”
“The glass…?”
“I think it’s been drugged. I can’t move until you secure it safely.”
The Detective turned his gaze toward Oh Seohyun.
Oh Seohyun gave a slight nod and held out the glass.
“Hey, bring an evidence ampoule in here!”
At the Detective’s shout, there was some commotion outside.
Soon, a uniformed officer brought in a zipper bag and a small plastic vial.
Apparently, it wasn’t just Detectives who had come.
The Detective handed the ampoule and zipper bag to Oh Seohyun.
Oh Seohyun poured the drink into the ampoule, then placed the glass in the zipper bag.
The Detective took out another zipper bag, double-sealed both the glass and drink, then turned to look at Jaehyun.
Meanwhile, the other Detective who’d cleared out the people entered the room.
Only then did Jaehyun step back.
“Agh…!”
Park Man-seok tried to lunge at the Detective who’d entered first.
But Jaehyun, anticipating it, immediately kicked Park Man-seok’s leg out from under him.
“Ugh!”
He crashed to the floor again.
The Detective who’d come in late quickly moved over and cuffed him.
Only then did Jaehyun relax, and an officer approached him.
“Sir, sorry, but…”
“Yes, go ahead.”
Jaehyun offered both hands.
It couldn’t be helped.
He’d subdued a man using force without formal investigative procedures, and this wasn’t even his own jurisdiction, so he couldn’t avoid police questioning.
Handcuffs were placed on Jaehyun as well.
The Detectives asked Oh Seohyun if she was alright and guided her to the patrol car.
And, as soon as they were all in the patrol car—
“Hey, what on earth happened? Never expected to be called out for support at a Club all of a sudden.”
“I’m sorry. The situation was what it was.”
The Detective in charge let out a sigh.
Oh Seohyun answered awkwardly, and the Detective glanced at her and continued.
“So, what’s going on?”
“The school violence case I’ve been looking into.”
“Oh?”
“The man we just arrested is the bully’s father. I went undercover to check things out, and he tried to force drinks on me. From his reaction, I think there really was something in it, so please check.”
“Of course. That bastard is in big trouble now.”
The Detective cracked his knuckles, clearly angry at the thought that a fellow Police Station officer could have been harmed.
No doubt, if the tests found GHB in the drink, Park Man-seok wouldn’t get off easy.
Seeing that, Oh Seohyun gave a little laugh and lowered her head.
“Thank you.”
“No need to thank me. By the way, haven’t seen you working solo in a while?”
“If you look at it one way, it’s not really solo.”
As she spoke, Oh Seohyun looked toward Lee Jaehyun.
The Detective let out an ‘Ah’ and turned, reaching through the barrier to shake Jaehyun’s hand.
“Nice to meet you. I’m Sergeant Seon Yujun.”
“I’m Senior Police Officer Lee Jaehyun. As you can see, my hands are a bit tied for a handshake…”
“Oh, my. My mistake.”
Sergeant Seon Yujun pulled out a key and unlocked Jaehyun’s handcuffs.
Jaehyun rotated his wrists lightly.
He was always the one putting the cuffs on, so being on the other side felt strange.
“Well, let’s head out, then.”
With that, Sergeant Seon Yujun started the car.
Their destination: Incheon Seobu Police Station.