Wanted Poster Reset
Cha Donbaek's words meant he wanted to form a vigilante group under the guise of a social organization.
To anyone else, it would have sounded like a highly dangerous proposition.
"I want to serve you properly, Detective. I don't want us to just be associates who help each other out when it's convenient. I want us to be family, bound by a master-servant relationship. Please, accept my request."
"I appreciate the sentiment, but running a private organization while being a police officer will cause problems."
"..."
Cha Donbaek made no effort to hide his disappointment.
He looked so crestfallen that I felt bad for drawing such a clear line.
So, I offered an alternative.
"Why don't you start a volunteer group instead?"
"A volunteer group?"
"A civic group sounds too grand, and a vigilante group is completely out of the question. A volunteer group won't raise any eyebrows, and I think it would be meaningful for you guys."
"A volunteer group..."
"Is that not enough to satisfy you?"
"No, it's not that. I'm just wondering if former gangsters like us are even allowed to use the name 'volunteer group.'"
"A volunteer group formed by reformed men. I think the narrative is excellent."
"It sounds wonderful, but..."
"If it's a volunteer group, I can proudly put my name on it too."
"Then let's do that."
Cha Donbaek accepted immediately, as if to prevent me from changing my mind.
Though I didn't show it, I was actually the desperate one.
It would be impossible to complete the missions alone without them.
As my level rose, the difficulty of the missions would only increase.
"We should start by choosing a name."
"A name?"
"We need an official name to register it with the authorities."
"Could you choose the name for us, Detective?"
"You should discuss it with your boys and decide, Mr. Cha. Naming it yourself will make it more meaningful."
"Understood. But, Detective..."
"Yes?"
"While we're at it, why don't we change how we address each other?"
"How so?"
"Since it's a volunteer group, you can take the role of Director, and I'll be the representative of the members. You can call me Representative Cha, and we'll call you Director."
"Are titles really necessary?"
"Of course. If nothing else, titles are absolutely essential."
"We could just have a flat, horizontal relationship."
"Absolutely not! Never! We don't do 'horizontal.' It has to be a vertical relationship. That's the only way to maintain discipline."
He was determined to make me the boss one way or another.
I figured arguing any further would only drag the conversation out.
"Fine, let's do that. But instead of just the two of us having titles, let's give one to Geum, Eun, and Dong too. Something like manager, treasurer, or secretary."
"Oh, they've already decided on their own titles."
"What are they?"
"Department Manager Geum, Section Chief Eun, and Assistant Manager Dong. They insisted on those."
Department manager, section chief, assistant manager? We weren't even a corporation.
And 'Geum, Eun, Dong' weren't even their last names.
But...
"Well, if they like it, why not?"
Did the format really matter? It was the intent behind it that counted.
If that was what they wanted, they could have it.
I called out to Geum, Eun, and Dong, who were standing a short distance away with their ears perked.
"We're all done talking, so come on over. Let's eat breakfast."
"Yes, Director!"
Director.
The more I heard it, the more it rolled off the tongue.
After breakfast, I briefly explained today's schedule.
"Just think of today as a scenic drive. You don't have to do anything besides drive, so you can relax."
There were five wanted criminals left, and seven days remained until the deadline.
Having arrested three suspects between Friday night and Saturday, our schedule had become much more relaxed.
There was no need to search the inland areas or the East Coast anymore.
We had caught them all.
The only places left unexplored were the South Coast, parts of the West Coast, Jeju Island, and Ulleungdo.
If I were a fugitive, I would never go to Ulleungdo.
The escape routes were limited, transportation was inconvenient, and the terrain made it incredibly difficult to shake off a pursuing detective.
Since arresting fifteen criminals, the search radius of the Beomjappa app had expanded to 105 kilometers.
When we arrived at our lodging yesterday, I had already confirmed that there were no fugitives along the South Coast.
The only places they could be were the West Coast and Jeju Island.
During the first year of running, fugitives usually hide their identities and move frequently.
However, as time passes, it is their nature to settle down in one place.
They are human, after all, and they crave stability.
Living like a ghost in isolation without any human connection takes a severe mental toll.
That was why I planned to start from Ttangkkeut Village today and search mainly along the coastal areas and the islands of the West Coast.
Once I confirmed their residences, I could round them up all at once.
"I'll ride in this car today."
Cha Donbaek volunteered to drive the Commando to celebrate the formation of our volunteer group.
"I'm in your hands, Representative Cha."
"Thank you, Director."
He seemed to thoroughly enjoy his new title.
Imja Island off the coast of Sinan, an apartment construction site in Gwangju, Jeolla Province, an empty house in Jeongeup, and Kkotji Beach in Anmyeondo.
I detected traces of the wanted fugitives in four locations.
The last remaining fugitive was nowhere to be found.
I jotted down the locations of the four fugitives in my notebook and headed back to Seongam.
"I'll pull over here."
Cha Donbaek parked the car on the roadside within sight of the police station and handed me the keys.
This was as far as they would accompany me.
"You all worked hard this weekend. Before you go, please give me the address of your lodging."
"Why do you need our address?"
"To send you some gear. I sent you out without any protective gear due to my lack of preparation, but next time, you should be properly equipped."
"Ah, we appreciate it, but you don't have to push yourself. If you get caught embezzling police supplies because of us..."
"Hahaha. Why would I embezzle police supplies? If I order them online, they'll arrive the next day."
"You can order them online?"
"Yes. You can buy everything except guns. The commercial stuff actually has better quality."
I intended to equip them with a full set of gear so they wouldn't get hurt while helping me.
"Also, once the name of the volunteer group is decided, let's have a small party. We can hold the inauguration ceremony then."
"Should we prepare a signboard too?"
"Of course. Oh, and I'll settle the promised payment on the first of every month, under the guise of volunteer group activity funds."
"Aigoo, you can take your time. We still have plenty of money left over even after paying the store deposit."
"If you save up steadily, you'll be able to buy a house in a few years. Don't worry about money."
"Thank you for everything. I'll text you the address."
"Alright. Take a good rest tomorrow, and keep in mind that we'll be heading out on Tuesday evening."
"Yes, Director. Thank you for your hard work!"
Geum, Eun, and Dong followed Cha Donbaek's lead, bowing ninety degrees to me.
I wished they would stop doing that.
The next morning.
I brought one of the three suspects we locked up in the holding cell last night to the Violent Crimes Team 1 office.
"I'm not asking because I don't know, so let's not waste time and get this over with. Name?"
I planned to finish writing the reports in the morning and take the afternoon off.
The first-place lottery prize would only truly be mine once I went to the bank.
My plan for today was to see the money hit my account and drink a glass of champagne at home.
Surely I could afford to relax a little today?
"Detective Min, you're here early. Who's this?"
Detective Park Inhyeok, who had just arrived at work, asked as he looked at Mo Pilsang crouching in front of my desk.
"A wanted fugitive. If you have time, senior, please take one of them. The detectives in charge of their cases will be here soon."
"There's more?"
"Two more. They're in the holding cell, so just pick whichever one you want."
"You caught three? You're really something else."
"I had a lot of informants, so it wasn't that hard."
"Share some of those tips with me too."
"Of course I will. Just wait a bit."
"Okay. You said they're locked up in the holding cell?"
"Yes."
Every detective was starved for cases.
Performance results translated directly into evaluations.
"Hey, Mo Pilsang. This isn't the place to exercise your right to remain silent. Spit it out so we can wrap this up. Name!"
The report written before transferring a suspect only needed to contain basic personal details and the circumstances of the arrest.
The detailed interrogation was the responsibility of the detective from the original jurisdiction.
However, most suspects didn't care about such administrative procedures.
"Detective. Don't you catch black widow scammers?"
"Why? Do you know one?"
"If I give you a tip, will it help reduce my sentence?"
"Let's hear it first."
"Actually, there's a female scammer in this line of work who's way more famous than me, and she doesn't even have a criminal record yet."
"So you got scammed by her too?"
"Yes. Wait, what? No, I didn't get scammed."
"Come on, you definitely did."
"I'm telling you, I didn't! I just almost did once."
I figured I could squeeze something useful out of him if I played my cards right.
"What did she do to almost hook the legendary gigolo of Gangnam?"
"That bitch is a master at seducing men. You know what a femme fatale is? That's exactly what she is. If a guy spends just three days with her, he loses his mind and sells his house and land just to give her everything."
"There's someone like that? What's her name?"
"Amy."
"Amy?"
"She's a native Korean, but she introduced herself as Amy."
"You don't know her real name?"
"It was Yoon-something. I don't remember the full name."
"Her last name is Yoon? Not Park?"
"It's definitely not Park. Why? Do you know her, Detective?"
Park Bongja, who had been with the con artist Yang Chimok, had also introduced herself as Amy.
Is the alias 'Amy' trending these days?
I was curious, but succeeding in the mission was far more important to me than hunting down a female scammer.
"Forget Amy. Let's finish this first. Name?"
"Ah, damn it! You already know, so why do you keep asking?"
"Name!"
Meanwhile, Nam Junghmo, the former Special Forces sergeant whom Detective Park was handling, was protesting his innocence.
"I didn't kill anyone! The whole thing was fabricated. What kind of crazy bastard shoots and kills an entire family just because of a breakup?"
"Save your tragic story for the Dangjin Police Station."
"I'm telling you, nobody there will listen to me!"
"I get it, so name?"
Just then, Inspector Choi, who had walked in with Team Leader Na Sangdo, looked at the noisy office and asked me.
"Is this your doing again, Detective Min? Don't you ever rest on weekends? You don't have a girlfriend, do you?"
"If you feel so sorry for me, go check the holding cell. I left one for you too, senior."
"How many did you catch?"
"Three."
"Whoa. Seriously, what's your secret?"
"A deep yearning for a just society, combined with a burning passion..."
"Alright, alright. Forget I asked."
While Inspector Choi headed to the holding cell, Team Leader Na Sangdo hovered behind me, gauging my mood.
After hesitating for a moment, he even massaged my shoulders, trying to act friendly.
"What are you doing?"
"Did you eat breakfast before starting work?"
"I'm going to eat an expensive lunch later. I submitted a request for a half-day off, so please approve that."
"Where are you going on your half-day off?"
"To the bank. They told me to come collect my first-place lottery winnings."
"Pick up mine while you're at it. I won first place last week too."
Telling the truth here was pointless because no one would believe it.
It made no sense for someone to show up at a police station after winning the lottery.
"It's Monday. Aren't you going to the meeting?"
"The Chief isn't here. He went to the National Police Agency headquarters for a superintendent meeting today."
"Are you slacking off just because the Chief is away? Stop bothering me and do some work, Team Leader."
"When did I ever bother you?"
When I snapped my head around, Team Leader Na quickly retreated to his desk.
That meant he had a guilty conscience about something.
"I told you to just sit back and enjoy the show. Is that really so hard? If you keep interfering with my work, I might start having other ideas."
"What other ideas?"
"Like applying for the Regional Investigation Unit so I can conduct whatever investigations I want without walking on eggshells."
"Hey! Don't even joke about that. The RIU only takes veterans with at least ten years of experience. And besides, it's not called the RIU anymore, it's the Criminal Investigation Mobile Unit. The name changed ages ago."
"Anyway, choose your side wisely. The Chief who will leave in a year, or me, the one who boosts your performance rating. Think carefully about who you'll be working with in the long run."
"Alright, alright, do whatever you want. I won't micromanage you from now on."
"Really? That's a promise?"
"Yes, I said I got it."
I didn't know how long that promise would last, but I decided to trust him for now.
"Hello, Detective Min."
Officer Song from the Detective Support Team walked into the Violent Crimes Team 1 office holding a wanted poster.
"Detective Min, are those people also wanted fugitives?"
"Yes."
"All three of them?"
"Yes."
"I should report this to headquarters before they print the new posters."
"Aren't they supposed to replace them next week?"
When a wanted fugitive is captured, a candidate from the waiting list takes their place on the poster based on priority.
Since they couldn't print new posters every single time someone was caught, they replaced them on a set date once every month or two.
I had assumed it wouldn't affect me since I planned to finish the mission before then.
"I heard they're moving the schedule up because way more fugitives have been caught than expected."
This was an unexpected variable.
"Which department is in charge of that? When does printing start?"
"The Investigation Planning Team at headquarters handles it. They said it'll be distributed this Friday, so they'll probably print it around Wednesday or Thursday."
If that happened, I wouldn't be able to complete the mission.
The mission I received wasn't about arresting a specific number of people; it was to completely clear the wanted poster.
In other words, I had to succeed in a 'clean sweep' within thirty days.
The deadline was the end of this weekend, but if a new poster was distributed before then?
It meant the wanted poster would reset to the beginning.
I had to stop this at all costs.
"Hey, rookie. Take over this for me."
I asked my junior, who was sitting next to me like a fixture to learn the ropes, to finish up the report.
"Me?"
"If there's anything you don't know, ask the Team Leader. I have an urgent matter to attend to, so I have to go."
"Understood, senior."
Team Leader Na stared at me and asked, "I thought you were taking a half-day off in the afternoon?"
"Let's just make it a full day off."
"So where are you going?"
"To the National Police Agency. Do you know what the main agenda for today's superintendent meeting is?"
"The agenda? How would I know that?"
"A violent crimes team leader doesn't even know that? You can't even guess?"
"Well, if nothing else, they'll definitely discuss the customs drug smuggling case. It's been a hot topic on the front pages of the news for the past few days."
"Thank you very much."
"Why do you ask?"
"I'll tell you later. I'm in a bit of a hurry right now. I'm off."
Team Leader Na muttered something, but I couldn't hear him as I dashed out.
I had to hurry if I wanted to reach the National Police Agency before the superintendent meeting ended.