Chapter 65
Chapter 65
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 65
Chapter Title: Detention Standoff
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"65."
“The police and prosecutors keep contacting me, saying I'm the culprit. Even though I was the one who got hit. I did tell my mom... but she said I was crazy. Delusional.... Thinking about it, she's the one who made me like this!”
“Enough.”
Kang Hyun barely reined him in as his words sped up and his tone grew heated.
“Got it. I have a rough idea of the situation.”
Kang Hyun finished assessing based on what he'd heard.
Im Cheol-su was indeed a naive kid clueless about how the world worked. He'd fallen for voice phishing, no doubt, and was clearly a victim.
But depending on the level of involvement, he could flip into a suspect facing a fine or worse.
It all hinged on the methods used, the scale, and how much he'd actually known.
In the end, he needed to cooperate fully with the investigation.
That said, this wasn't a case for arrest followed by detention. What Im Cheol-su had done was just the foolish act of a legally ignorant juvenile.
In other words, it was ambiguous whether he posed a flight risk or had deliberately ignored summonses.
So there was room for Kang Hyun to help.
‘First, keep him from getting arrested, and hold his parents accountable.’
Kang Hyun had no more questions for Im Cheol-su.
He simply stood there, arms crossed, wearing a grave expression alongside the detectives who'd been listening intently, gazing at the brightly lit main entrance of Seocho Police Station.
Seocho Police Station.
A place he'd never had reason to set foot in—not tangled in any incidents or misdeeds, and someone who might've even dreamed of becoming a cop himself.
Certainly not somewhere linked to crime.
Smaller than the Central District Prosecutors' Office, but even at dusk, the number of lights spilling from the windows rivaled the prosecutors'.
Back when he'd briefly worked at the prosecutors' office, he'd only seen staff from Seocho dropping off case files. Kang Hyun's memories of a ‘police station’ were just passing glimpses of the exterior.
So stepping inside as the guardian of an arrested student was beyond imagination.
Yet Kang Hyun felt an inexplicable familiarity—and a rising sense of fulfillment he couldn't shake—chuckling softly.
Prosecutors' natural rivals,
and allies too.
The police.
Their stronghold.
Planted in the heart of Seoul, right on the front lines of an endless battle.
He was here, in the thick of it, ready to go toe-to-toe with them.
First, Kang Hyun organized his thoughts.
‘Accept the fair punishment, but fight the excessive parts.’
Im Cheol-su's issue boiled down to ‘the arrest warrant was overkill.’
Fugitives who fly under the radar, deadbeats who flat-out refuse fines—those were the usual targets for arrest warrants.
By that standard, Im Cheol-su was pitiable. He'd just ignorantly dodged multiple summonses out of sheer stupidity.
No signs of him deliberately fleeing or evading investigation. He'd even just started tutoring with Kang Hyun, clear proof he had no intent to run.
He should've been caught in a routine location check, but by some unlucky coincidence, he'd slipped that too.
Thus, the arrest warrant had been issued on shaky grounds.
But the real problem was his mother. What the hell had she done to him?
Adult ignorance didn't grant absolution for crimes.
Kang Hyun knew that well.
“This way.”
A grizzled detective led them through the tidy-yet-cluttered office, past cops focused on their tasks, his tone icy.
With Im Cheol-su shuffling awkwardly ahead, Kang Hyun and the two officers headed deeper into the first-floor hallway.
[Voice Phishing Task Force.]
The name of the police's new dedicated team for cracking down on phone financial scams.
They handled related cases end-to-end, including arrests.
The cop who'd once tried setting Kang Hyun up with his daughter—Yoo Geon-hyung—guided them to the desk with his nameplate, then sat to wrap up paperwork.
He glanced at Kang Hyun and spoke.
Supportive, but business was business. The classic stance of a cop who knew how to separate personal from professional.
“Looking in your eyes, Kang Hyun, you want to clear this kid's name....”
“Yes. He's my student, Sergeant Yoo Geon-hyung.”
Kang Hyun read the nameplate on the desk. Yoo cracked a faint smile.
“Hmm... I get where you're coming from. But this kid's tangled in a pretty big case. Sure, just as a mule, a tail-end runner.”
“Yeah, I figured. That's why he needs to cooperate fully. Reflect on it.”
“Appreciate you saying that. But seems like you've got other ideas?”
The detective's instincts were sharp; he could already read Kang Hyun's mind.
Kang Hyun answered honestly.
“Yeah. I think Im Cheol-su should be investigated without detention.”
“No, we'll request a detention warrant.”
“You should recommend release.”
Their eyes locked, a battle of wills igniting.
From the investigators' side, pushing from arrest straight to detention streamlined performance metrics and strengthened the overall case.
But Kang Hyun saw it differently.
Fine, the warrant had been issued and executed per judicial decision. But sending Im Cheol-su to a detention center? Overreach.
“This kid didn't do anything warranting jail. It's a release case.”
“We decide that.”
“As his guardian, I get a say too.”
“Doesn't change our call. Detention warrant's going up.”
“It'll get rejected anyway. He's just a pathetic minor participant who'll show up without detention, pay a fine, reflect, and move on.”
“Do you know the scale of this voice phishing ring?”
“Can't access public portals myself, so not precisely, but given loan scam stats, arrest warrants mean at least 500 million won or more.”
“You think about the victims' frustration and outrage before saying that?”
“The real criminals—mid-level and up—need to be swept up, punished under the law, and made to compensate. Not an eighteen-year-old kid. He's a victim too.”
“Ha, someone like you should be cooperating! Is this the time for word games?”
Frustrated by Kang Hyun's sharp retorts, Yoo snapped rudely.
But Kang Hyun didn't flinch.
He'd seen through it instantly: this was Yoo Geon-hyung's tactic.
“I'm just going by legal principles. For the case to resolve well, don't detain the mule—use him to catch the real ones. What good is nabbing one minor?”
“...Sigh. It's not that simple... No, kid! Why'd you do it?”
Fed up, Yoo yanked off his lanyard ID and turned on Im Cheol-su.
The boy hung his head lower, silent, face ashen.
“Sergeant.”
At Kang Hyun's steady, forceful voice, Yoo snapped back, slumping in his chair with a heavy sigh.
“...We're frustrated too.”
“Then release him first and let's talk. I'll cooperate.”
“Making a deal?”
“Meaning I'll assist the investigation. I saw something myself. He's ready to cooperate too, right?”
“...I'm really sorry.”
Kang Hyun recalled the black-hatted man who'd taken Im Cheol-su's money as he spoke.
The detective hesitated, face pinched, but didn't budge. He placed his hands on the keyboard.
“...Time of arrival: 8:17 PM. Location: Voice Phishing Task Force Office 1.”
“You're still going through with it?”
“With you here as guardian, we'll proceed with questioning, then talk.”
“Let me say it again: no need for formal suspect processing. But you're planning to lock him up right after?”
Suspect interrogation. Processing.
Meaning they viewed Im Cheol-su as a criminal and would proceed accordingly—straight to jail if they followed through.
If they wanted to heed Kang Hyun and recommend release, they could take a cooperation statement or reflection letter.
But Yoo pressed on, confirming details for the record.
“Argh! Just cooperate! What, you think you're a cop? Butt in without knowing the full story! We'll question first, talk after!”
Finally venting, the detective glared at Kang Hyun, breathing hard.
Kang Hyun glanced at Im Cheol-su's puffy-eyed face, then slowly stood.
“Fine. Give me ten minutes.”
“What're you up to? Makes you look suspicious too.”
“Sergeant, I get you have your duties. Not taking Im Cheol-su. Just need to check something for his release. Wait here a sec.”
“Fine, whatever.”
Worn out, the detective waved him off, swiveling his chair to sigh.
It was a routine case: process mechanically, ship to prosecutors.
He knew plenty of pitiful folks passed through voice phishing cases, but most victims were even more heartbreaking.
Now this Kang Hyun shows up, throwing wrenches— Yoo checked his watch, irked.
Kang Hyun rose quietly, slipping out with soft steps.
8:45 PM.
“Senior, where'd Kang Hyun go?”
A junior cop appeared with coffee. Yoo waved dismissively, summing up the situation.
“What? Suspicious?”
Yoo grimaced at the question, pondered silently, then replied cautiously.
“Nah, he's just as advertised. No ordinary guy. Prime talent, kid.”
What Kang Hyun did outside was pick up the receiver.
It'd been a while since he'd called directly, but this was key to the case.
Prosecutor Han Tae-woong, the one handling it.
-Yes, Han Tae-woong speaking.
“Prosecutor. Kang Hyun.”
-What? Kang Hyun?
He could hear the man scrambling to sit up straight.
A rookie prosecutor fresh to the Central District Prosecutors' trial division.
Now briefly in Incheon, he was Kim Jeong-min's classmate—the one Kim called ‘Jeong Prosecutor’ or ‘Han Prosecutor,’ one of the two.