Chapter 11
Chapter 11
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 11
Chapter Title: Pursuing the Library Thieves
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Han Hyun-ho seemed to be speaking after watching the viral SNS video of the "Man Who Saved the High School Girl on the Subway."
"How did you know?"
No one at school had recognized him yet, but Han Hyun-ho had spotted it right away and chuckled in disbelief.
He had just given an answer admitting he was the protagonist himself.
"Indeed!"
Then he nodded like he was playing detective, drawing a V-sign with his fingers and pressing it to his chin.
"That day, I was in the same subway car as you! I glimpsed your face and suspected it might be you! Wow! It really is!"
"You were there?"
"Yeah, on my way to my part-time job. That day was insane!"
It was an uncanny connection that Han Hyun-ho had been one of the people cheering Kang Hyun on with thumbs-ups and applause.
Kang Hyun scratched the back of his head awkwardly for no reason, and Han Hyun-ho spoke even louder.
"Man, that day I was seriously impressed! I was totally blown away! Somehow... I noticed a familiar face holed up in the reading room and got curious, and it turns out you're the 'Subway Hero'!"
He seemed to have completely forgotten about his own stolen items, beaming with a bright smile that showed his white teeth.
"It was just luck. Anyway, let's catch the thief first. I'll help you out."
This made it easier to talk openly without holding back. But Han Hyun-ho waved his hands dismissively.
"Nah, it's fine. Books can be replaced, and meeting an awesome friend like you today more than makes up for it!"
Han Hyun-ho truly seemed thrilled to have met Kang Hyun. But Kang Hyun shook his head firmly.
"No, we can't just let it go. Your books matter. And there could be more victims."
Kang Hyun's eyes gleamed as he spoke in a measured tone.
"And this guy's shameless, right? Brazenly keeping up the bad deeds. Petty thieves like him turn into cattle rustlers later. We can't let him off."
As Kang Hyun showed his strong resolve, Han Hyun-ho nodded vigorously, looking even more enamored.
"You're right! Heroes really do think differently! I was being shortsighted."
Han Hyun-ho gazed at Kang Hyun with sparkling eyes before suddenly asking with a serious look.
"So, what do we do now?"
"Finding out who it is won't take long. The real challenge comes after."
Kang Hyun flashed a sly wink.
Kang Hyun and Han Hyun-ho caught hold of a library staff member who hadn't clocked out yet. He responded with a grim expression, as if he'd been expecting it.
"Did something go missing?"
"Yes. This guy's study books and all his stationery—everything's gone."
"All my stuff... vanished."
Kang Hyun's blazing eyes and Hyun-ho's pitiful expression hit the staff member like a one-two punch.
The man, who had been about to head home leisurely, had no choice but to sit back down now that two high schoolers had come complaining about theft.
"Sigh... I told you upfront that the library can't take responsibility for lost items. What a mess..."
He let out a heavy sigh.
He was willing to listen now that he was seated again, but he had clearly dealt with so many complaints before that he was taking a defensive stance on this one.
Kang Hyun didn't mind as long as the man provided a little help, so he quickly picked up on the staffer's discomfort and jumped in.
"Sir! We won't cause you any trouble or put you in a tough spot! There's just something we're guessing at—we just need you to check a couple of things for us!"
He hadn't even considered asking for the police or CCTV footage from the start. If that were an option, these incidents wouldn't have dragged on this long.
"Come on, seriously..."
The staffer seemed a bit softened by Kang Hyun's earnest plea but still grumbled. Kang Hyun seized the moment and laid out his case clearly and logically.
"Of course, you and the entire library have no responsibility for stolen items. You've announced that responsibility lies with the individual, and it's posted all over the building. But surely you can accommodate a simple request from the victims of theft?"
"If you're thinking of calling the police, that'd be a problem. If things blow up, we'll be in a bind too... so we have no choice but to..."
"No! We absolutely won't call the police or cause a scene at the library. What I'm saying is, sir, you're not obligated to find lost items, but you could help out of goodwill."
Responsibility.
It was a word that could sometimes block cooperation. Kang Hyun emphasized that this was something that could be handled with simple goodwill and reminded the man that it wasn't his responsibility anyway.
With this gentler coaxing, the staffer nodded, agreeing it wasn't wrong.
"Hmm... alright. So, what can I do to help? Honestly, I'd like to. That student who lost their laptop last time cried their eyes out... It broke my heart, but there was nothing I could do."
"We totally understand!"
Kang Hyun nodded vigorously in agreement and stated his request.
"First, we need access to some registered records here—just one or two things. We'll only use it for this incident after checking."
"What do you need?"
As the man showed interest, Kang Hyun didn't miss a beat.
"If we look at the student entry records, we can narrow down suspects pretty quickly. It'd be even better if there's a list of stolen items logged."
"That much is fine..."
Thankfully, after a brief hesitation, he nodded with an expression that wasn't too displeased and went to fetch the records.
"We have a file for logged stolen items, but the entry records... they don't show exact times. We can only see when they came in..."
"That's plenty."
"But absolutely do not leak this outside."
"Thank you so much for helping!"
"Thank you!"
Kang Hyun bowed politely, and Han Hyun-ho beside him did the same.
Moments later, Kang Hyun received the records, spread them out on a wide table, and began cross-referencing something.
Han Hyun-ho watched silently, trying to guess what Kang Hyun was up to, but he couldn't figure it out.
Of course, logically speaking, both the stolen items list and the library entry logs were meaningful for this theft case.
But how would a ledger of missing items help? And the entry records only showed dates—no times, no entry-exit details. What use was that?
Not to mention, what was the point of cross-referencing the two?
After waiting a while, Han Hyun-ho couldn't contain his curiosity and asked quietly.
"Anything I can help with?"
Kang Hyun looked up from the records at the sound, saw Han Hyun-ho's frustrated expression, and chuckled softly.
"Oh, sorry. I got too focused."
"What are you doing?"
"Hmm... It's a simple deduction. Want me to explain?"
Han Hyun-ho nodded eagerly.
"It's not that complicated—just tedious. For example, we're setting a basic criterion for judgment. The premise starts with this being a public library's designated seating area."
He laid out the two sets of records clearly.
"First, the left one is the stolen items list. Naturally, when someone comes crying about missing stuff, they note the date and detailed item descriptions."
As Han Hyun-ho tilted his head, Kang Hyun's tone rose a bit.
"Look closely. From this, we learn the first theft was 'three months ago,' and the types and quantities of stolen items have been increasing steadily. You can feel them getting bolder."
"By a couple months in, even valuables were going missing, huh?"
"Exactly. And I heard from that staffer that the thefts all happened the same way. So, we infer the culprit has had designated seating access to the reading room for at least three months and is likely the same person continuing it."
"Whoa! Impressive!"
Han Hyun-ho's eyes widened.
"Once we've narrowed the suspect pool like this, the rest is straightforward. The second record is the entry log with card stamps—I got six months' worth. Surprisingly few entries for half a year. Designated seating means low traffic."
"So?"
"The key is that the thief must have come and gone on every theft date, and whether using their own card key or a stolen one, they had to scan the library-provided key fob for that day's entry record. So, cross-reference just the three months' entries and filter for overlaps."
"Hmm... but it might not be that simple, right?"
"No, it has to be. That's the trap. Thinking 'maybe some coincidence rules it out' is what culprits rely on most in police and prosecutor investigations. Prosecutors and judges catch those errors."
"Hmm... yeah, that makes sense."
"So I've been cross-checking, and about twenty names overlap. Subtract the ones who came today but aren't sitting in designated seating now... 'Three? Whoa, and they're all from the same school?'"
"Yep."
Kang Hyun gave a meaningful look.
Three names.
They were all high schoolers from the same school, and their entry dates matched exactly.
"They've been coming here since three months ago. But why come all the way here specifically?"
"Why? Aren't they free to?"
"Look. 'Hanram High School' is pretty far from our library, and there are two others nearby. This isn't some special place—it's a small neighborhood branch. Why register here? And all three together?"
Only then did Han Hyun-ho start to understand and voice his doubts. Kang Hyun sprang to his feet.
"Time to find out, right? Anyway, that's how you do it. It's not hard—just lazy thinking gets in the way. With common sense, you can deduce most things."
"Ah!"
Han Hyun-ho let out a short gasp of admiration. It felt just like the emotion he'd had the first time he saw Kang Hyun in his school uniform cornering the perp in the subway car.
What could all those finger-wagging library staffers and apathetic reading room folks amount to compared to one Kang Hyun?
Han Hyun-ho was convinced he'd judged the guy right. His clear, admiring eyes and exclamations were proof of his trust.
"I thought you were a lawyer, but you're a detective!"
"No private detective laws in our country, so it'd be illegal... Anyway, thanks for the praise."
Kang Hyun barely stopped himself from mumbling about some irrelevant Japanese detective law and met Han Hyun-ho's expectant gaze.
"But it's not solved yet. We have to confront them. If three or more are teaming up for regular thefts..."
"Hmm!"
Before Kang Hyun finished, Han Hyun-ho let out a spirited grunt. Then, as if determined to show he could be useful, he thumped his chest.
"Don't worry about that. Leave the rest to me."