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Only after everything was wrapped up did the detectives from the Gyeongnam Provincial Police Agency's Investigation Division arrive.

The division team leader stepped inside and looked around the gambling den with a hollow expression.

Being the most presentable one there, I explained the situation to him.

"The ringleaders of today's kidnapping are in the back office, so you'll need to transport them separately."

"Right. And who might you be?"

"Ah, I'm Corporal Min Suho from Seongam Station's Violent Crimes Team 1. This is our team leader, and that guy over there is my junior partner."

Jeong Uijeong, who had lost his mind earlier and couldn't even recognize his own mentor, was currently lying unconscious on the floor.

Team Leader Na Sangdo, catching his breath after a fierce struggle to subdue his opponent, missed the timing to greet the division leader.

"Team Leader, you need to work out. How are you sweating bullets after dealing with just one guy?"

"Who said it was just one? You just didn't see it, but I took down three. And they were the toughest ones, too."

"Ah, is tha-a-at so?"

"You punk, I'm serious!"

"Alright, alright. I believe you."

"But why is he lying down? Is he sleeping?"

"Not sleeping. Knocked out."

"Did he get hit? He looked like Ong-Bak out there earlier."

"Even Ong-Bak gets hit. Hand me that water bottle next to you."

There was a plastic water bottle left behind by the gamblers, so I used it to wake Uijeong up.

Splash!

"Whoa, cold!"

"Are you awake now?"

"Huh? What happened?"

"It's all over. If you're back to your senses, let's go home."

"Did I... pass out?"

"You don't remember?"

"Not at all. I remember you taking the office, and the Team Leader and I were tangling with the guys outside, and then..."

"Let's go. Do your thinking at home. Shall we, Team Leader?"

"Yeah, let's go. Ah, my aching bones. I guess I'm getting old. Back in my prime, I was practically flying."

"Of course, of course. You're driving us back to Seongam, right?"

"Since we reeled in a big one today, I'll give you a special ride all the way home."

"Oh, thank you. Officer Jeong, get up."

"Yes, senior."

"Well, keep up the good work, everyone. We're heading off."

The cleanup was left to the latecomers.

We headed back to our respective homes with light hearts.

After a warm shower, I threw myself onto the mattress of my studio apartment.

I had postponed my plans for tomorrow, but I didn't feel any regret or annoyance. Instead, I felt proud.

"Being a detective has its moments..."

I had arrested countless criminals, but this feeling was different from the thrill of the chase.

Today, I had saved someone.

It was similar to how I felt when I rescued Grandma Kkotbun, who had gotten lost in the mountains due to dementia, but this time, the emotion was even more uplifting.

The thrilling sensation of saving a dying life by a matter of seconds.

"A hero...?"

If I had to find a word, that seemed to fit.

Yes, a hero.

Tonight, I was a little hero.

"Is this why people become detectives?"

I lay on the mattress with a full heart.

Ring, ring, ring.

My phone rang. It was my sister, Gain. I sat back up.

"Yeah, Gain."

—Oppa, you weren't sleeping already, were you?

"No, I'm awake. What's up this late at night?"

—Did you happen to call Dad last night?

"Pro...bably?"

—What's gotten into you? You actually called Dad. What did you ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠say to him?

"I don't know. I don't remember."

I had no recollection of the conversation we had while I was drunk.

It seemed I had blacked out.

"But why do you ask?"

—Dad asked me if something was going on with you lately.

"With me?"

—Did you tell him that life is hard?

"No. I'm doing great these days."

—Then why is he acting like this?

"What did he do?"

—He bought books he'd never normally read. Poetry books, collections of wise sayings, '101 Ways to Find Healing'... a whole bunch of them.

"Why books all of a sudden? Dad hates reading."

—I know, right?

"..."

If only I knew what I had said, I wouldn't feel this frustrated.

—You two need to start acting like a proper father and son. Are you strangers? Why are you so awkward around each other? I'm not your spokesperson. It'd be nice if you just called him directly and talked.

"It's just because both Dad and I are blunt. Don't worry about it."

—Then do a better job so I don't have to worry.

"Alright."

—If I say any more, it'll just sound like nagging, right? I'll stop here for today.

"Yeah, thanks. It's late, go to sleep."

—Okay. You too, Oppa.

For me, conversations with my father were the hardest.

I wanted to show him a successful son, but so far, I had only brought him disappointment.

"I need to quit drinking. Ugh, you idiot."

As I muddled over the call with my sister, I drifted off to sleep.

Was it around 5 AM?

Ding.

A KakaoTalk message from my father.

Squinting through my sleep-laden eyes, I checked my phone.

"...What is this?"

My father was comforting me with a poem by Pushkin.

"Just what on earth did I say to him..."

I wracked my brain once more, but the memory refused to return.

Since sleep had completely fled, I decided to open the unchecked reward messages.

"What did I get this time?"

First was the gift box I received for rescuing Jin Sarang.

"Check!"

"This is..."

The reason I was able to become the owner of 'Beomjappa' was because my late mentor had registered me as his avatar.

Only the registerer knows; the registered person has absolutely no idea. Just like I hadn't.

"Who should I register as my avatar?"

The 1st Sub-User could only be a police officer.

However, Sub-2 through Sub-5 could be civilians.

A few people immediately came to mind.

"Cha Donbaek. Let's register one for now."

Since he had a criminal record, finding his resident registration number wasn't very difficult.

I planned to register him as the 2nd Sub-User, see what the results were, and then fill the remaining slots later.

"That's enough registering for now."

There were still other rewards to check.

The kidnappers caught at the gambling den, and the housekeepers working at the illegal establishment.

"It's been a while since I got a massive haul of points."

Lately, cash rewards had barely come in, so I hadn't expected much besides points. But then...

4.25 billion won?

The Black Card had sucked up all of their illegal funds.

"They're going to faint when they realize their accounts have been cleaned out. Haha."

This was far more thrilling than the actual arrest.

A refreshing morning dawned.

Violent Crimes Team 1 Office.

"Oh? Here comes Detective Min!"

"Detective Min, got time for a cup of coffee?"

"You haven't had breakfast, right? A great hangover soup place just opened behind the station. Want to grab a bite?"

"Corporal Min. Just five minutes. Let's talk for just five minutes, okay?"

"Whoa, what's with everyone?"

From the Investigation Team Leader to the Violent Crimes Team 2 Leader, and even seniors from the Women and Juveniles Division.

Officers who were usually hard to even strike up a conversation with ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠were now loitering around our team's desks, keeping an eye on Team Leader Na Sangdo.

Team Leader Na was also too busy answering calls from all over the place to completely block the influx of these "solicitors."

"Whew, what is all this fuss about?"

Inspector Choi Doyeong and Sergeant Park Inhyeok escaped the commotion by fleeing to the smoking room.

It's hard to see with the naked eye how hot water is until it reaches its boiling point.

But once it crosses that threshold, the calm surface changes drastically.

Steam rises, and despite being an inanimate object, it bubbles and boils furiously.

That was exactly my situation right now.

"Hey, rookie."

"Yes, senior."

"Come with me for a second."

Even in the midst of chaos, work had to be done.

I brushed off the seniors from the other teams and walked into the meeting room with my junior partner.

"Congratulations, senior. You've become an overnight star."

"A star?"

"The rumors have spread everywhere. They say there's a miraculous detective at Seongam Station who finds criminals like a ghost. My academy classmates keep asking if I'm close to you, so my chat room has been blowing up since this morning."

Looking at the highly excited Officer Jeong, I adopted ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠a serious expression.

"Officer Jeong."

"Yes, senior."

"Have you ever received psychiatric treatment?"

"...Pardon?"

"Like, have you ever suffered from anger management issues, or been prescribed medication for it? Anything like that?"

"No, never. But why bring that up all of a sudden?"

"The Team Leader didn't see it, but I saw it clearly. You weren't normal yesterday."

"...I'm not sure what you mean, senior."

"Yesterday, at the gambling den, you lost your mind. You didn't even recognize me. You were completely out of it."

"Oh, come on. How could I not recognize you? That doesn't make sense."

Officer Jeong was smiling, as if he thought I was joking.

"Do I look like I'm talking nonsense right now?"

"...Are you serious?"

"Yes. Let's go to the hospital today. Get checked out before a bigger accident happens. I'll keep this between us until the results come out, so don't worry about anything else. Got it?"

"..."

"Aren't you going to answer?"

"Understood."

Officer Jeong replied in a dejected voice.

I acknowledged his skills, but I couldn't deploy someone with a loose screw into the field.

A detective with a broken mind was just as dangerous as a serial killer.

"Detective ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Min!"

Before I could even sit down after leaving the meeting room, Team Leader Na called out to me.

"Yes?"

"The Chief is calling for you."

"Why?"

"What do you mean 'why'? If he calls, you go. The Chief is summoning us."

"Ah, damn it. What is wrong with everyone today?"

"You punk, you're secretly loving this. Hurry up and follow me."

I wasn't thrilled, but I couldn't exactly ignore a summons from the number one man at Seongam Station.

Knock, knock.

"It's Team Leader Na Sangdo."

—Come in.

The Chief, who had summoned the two of us, didn't even tell us to sit. He was looking in the mirror, tying his necktie.

"This will only take a moment, so wait just a second."

Lee Chungki untied and retied his necktie with his shirt collar popped up.

"I haven't done this in a while, so it's not going well."

A while?

What had he been tying around his neck every morning when he came to work, a noose?

Seeing him pay so much attention to his appearance, it seemed there was someone else we were meeting.

"Alright, let's go. We're meeting at the Gloria Hotel."

Team Leader Na asked.

"Who are we...?"

"Ah, did I not mention it? Representative Jin Jiman of Gukil Law Firm wants to express his gratitude for yesterday. The Commissioner of the Gyeongnam Provincial Police Agency will be there as well."

"Ah!"

Now it made sense why Chief Lee Chungki was fussing over his clothes so much.

It felt like someone was missing from the guest list, so I asked.

"If it's about yesterday, shouldn't we bring our team's rookie along too? He was there from start to finish."

"I'm sorry, but Officer Jeong isn't on the guest list. The host is actually someone else."

"...Who?"

"Jin Sarang."

"Ah, is she already awake?"

"Yeah. Apparently, she complained to her dad that someone massaged her limbs without permission. And she pointed to you, Detective Min, as the prime suspect."

"..."

"I thought you'd feel awkward going alone, so I'm bringing Team Leader Na along as a witness."

"Hmm."

Cold sweat seeped from my pores.

"Let's go. We'll be late at this rate."

Without even listening to my side of the story, the Chief hurried his steps.

In a private room of the Gloria Hotel's Western restaurant, three people had already arrived and taken their seats.

Representative Jin Jiman, his wife, and the twelve-year-old girl who had just escaped the jaws of death, Jin Sarang.

Jin Sarang was waiting for me with a completely different face than the night before.

Her pale face was now full of life, and her voice was clear and sharp.

She looked to have fully recovered her strength.

"Oh, he's here! Oppa, over here!"

"..."

Was she talking to me just now?

Representative Jin Jiman spoke to me with an embarrassed expression.

"Haha. I apologize on her behalf. She's a late-born daughter, so we spoiled her, and now she has no manners."

"Ah, no, not at all. It's good to see her looking so energetic."

"See, Dad? He says he likes it. Oppa, hurry up and sit next to me."

Did this kid only learn how to charge straight ahead?

She didn't know how to hide her affection at all.

Well, anyway, you're the first girl to say she likes me.

But you're twelve, and I'm twenty-five.

Are you trying to ruin my life?

"I said, hurry up and sit down!"

"Sigh..."

Should I sit? Or not?

Listening to a twelve-year-old hurt my pride.

But deliberately choosing another seat also felt...

Only Team Leader Na was enjoying this.

"What are you doing? The lady has been waiting for you. Hahaha."

"Are you really doing this to me too, Team Leader?"

The moment I bared my teeth slightly at Team Leader Na.

Ding.

Out of nowhere, a message notification rang.

Huh?