If the Law Can't Solve It
Recently, the number of dog thefts in the metropolitan area had nearly doubled compared to average years.
If cases classified as simple disappearances were included, the figure had practically tripled.
The Incheon Yeonan Police Station, which was handling the case, viewed it merely as delinquent behavior by underage offenders.
Inspector Choi Doyeong had gone to the home of a kid caught at the scene, while Sergeant Park Inhyeok met with the kid's homeroom teacher.
Team Leader Na Sangdo and I had visited the Yeonan Police Station and were currently speaking with Team Leader Kim Sujin of the Women and Juvenile Affairs Division.
Since we were intervening in a case outside our jurisdiction, Team Leader Na explained the situation with caution.
"The dog thefts are concentrated solely in the metropolitan area," Na Sangdo said. "There are too many cases to dismiss this as mere childish mischief. Even headquarters is keeping a close eye on it."
"I thought it was just a natural increase because more people own dogs now, but I guess that might not be the case," Kim Sujin replied. "Where did you say you were from again?"
"Team Leader Na Sangdo, Seongam Police Station, Violent Crimes Team 1."
"Ah, I thought you were from headquarters."
"Well, we're basically subcontractors," Na grumbled. "It looks like all the annoying work is being dumped on us. Thanks to a certain someone."
I felt the sting of their glares on the back of my head, but I ignored them, focusing entirely on the scene beyond the glass window.
This was the observation room adjacent to the interrogation room.
Behind the one-way mirror sat thirteen-year-old Lee Yunho, who had been caught stealing someone's pet dog.
"Excuse me, Team Leader Kim," I said, pointing toward the interrogation room. "Who is that sitting next to the student?"
"Oh, that's Yunho's aunt. His father passed away early, and he lives with his mother, but she was severely injured at work and is currently hospitalized."
"So she's here as his legal guardian?"
"Yes."
"No lawyer?"
"One already came and went. A public defender. They said since he's not a first-time offender, there's no reason to drag things out."
"He's not a first-time offender?"
"This is his third time. Although all three were technically attempted thefts, he's a repeat offender, so we have no choice but to refer him to juvenile court."
"Has he been keeping his mouth shut this whole time?"
"Yes. He admitted to all the charges and said he would accept whatever punishment he gets. He hasn't said a word since."
Na Sangdo clearly disapproved of Yunho's attitude.
"Accept whatever punishment, my foot. It'll just be probation or community service anyway," Na scoffed. "The kid knows the law is soft on minors."
I didn't agree with him.
"Even probation can be a heavy burden for a thirteen-year-old."
"You talk like you've actually been through it."
"Weren't you thirteen once, Team Leader?"
"That was ages ago. I don't even remember."
"It hasn't been that long for me, so my memory is still fresh."
"Must be nice to be young."
"The important thing is why he stole someone else's dog... Excuse me, Team Leader Kim?"
I wanted to hear Yunho's thoughts directly.
"Would it be alright if I went into the interrogation room?"
"Ah, technically it's against protocol, but since you're here on headquarters' orders, we should cooperate."
"Thank you."
Kim Sujin asked the female officer conducting the interview to step out for a moment.
However, she couldn't ask Yunho's aunt to leave.
Since he was a minor, a guardian had to be present.
It was a shame, but I sat down across from the two of them.
"Hey there, Yunho. Nice to meet you."
"..."
Giving me the silent treatment? How awkward.
Like any other teenage boy going through puberty, Yunho was tight-lipped.
"Looking at you reminds me of my school days," I said. "One of my desk partners was quiet just like you. For the longest time, I didn't even know his name."
Whether the kid reacted to my words or not, I kept talking.
"I was in the sports club, you see, so we didn't have much time to get close. But then, I noticed a bruise on the back of his neck. It was a handprint. Looked like someone had beaten him."
"..."
"Even when I asked who did it, he wouldn't say a word. So, I secretly followed him after school."
Only then did Yunho lift his head and lock eyes with me.
"He didn't go to an academy or home. It was an abandoned apartment construction site. Do you know who was waiting for him there?"
"...Who was it?" Yunho asked.
Team Leader Kim Sujin couldn't hide her astonishment.
"My goodness! He got the kid to talk within five minutes of meeting him!"
"Is that really something to be so surprised about?"
Na Sangdo found Kim's exaggerated reaction stranger than the feat itself.
"You've never worked in the Juvenile and Women's Affairs Division, have you?"
"No. I've spent my entire career in Traffic and Violent Crimes."
"That explains it. What he just did is incredibly difficult. Building rapport with a teenager—especially one going through puberty—isn't easy, even for someone with a degree in child psychology."
"Rapport?"
"A relationship of mutual trust."
"Just because he asked one question, you're making it sound like..."
"The beginning is what matters. This is my third time meeting Yunho, and I haven't been able to have a single proper conversation with him."
"A tough nut to crack, then."
"Yes. He's completely closed off his heart. Yet, he was curious enough to ask a question first. In just five minutes. How is that possible?"
"I don't know the details, but it seems his sincerity got through."
"Sincerity?"
"What Detective Min just said is probably his own experience."
"His own experience?"
"Yes. He has some bad memories from his school days too."
"You said you're from Seongam, right? Is that officer by any chance Corporal Min Suho?"
"Yes. Seongam's ace. The very same Detective Min who is known as the Commissioner General's golden boy."
"Ah, no wonder."
Kim Sujin turned her head back to the interrogation room, her eyes sparkling.
Whenever this happened, Na Sangdo couldn't help but feel like a doting parent bragging about his kid.
He's not even my kid. Why the hell am I acting like this...
"Pardon?"
"Ah, it's nothing."
Just then, Yunho's guardian stood up inside the interrogation room.
Na Sangdo had missed a few lines of the conversation because he was lost in thought.
"Is it over already?"
"No. Yunho asked his aunt to step out because he wants to talk to him alone."
"Ah!"
The kid had completely opened up to Detective Min.
At the same time, the speaker connected to the observation room was switched off.
Sitting in the passenger seat, Team Leader Na spoke on the phone with Inspector Choi Doyeong.
"Yeah, I just sent you the address. Bring Sergeant Park and get over there. They say all the stolen dogs are there. We're heading out now, so let's meet up at the site."
The team leader handed the steering wheel over to me.
Behind us, a line of police cars dispatched from the Yeonan Police Station followed.
Our destination was the Incheon Yeonan Industrial Complex.
The place where the stolen dogs were being kept.
"What's your secret?" Na asked. "What did you say to make the kid spill everything?"
"Kids naturally open up to good-looking people," I replied. "Not that you'd understand even if I explained it to you, Team Leader."
"I knew you'd say something like that."
"If you knew, then stop asking. This is a trade secret."
"Fine, keep your secrets. How many dogs did he say are there?"
"About thirty dogs that haven't been 'exchanged' yet."
"Exchanged? What does that mean?"
"You've seen the flyers on the walls looking for lost pets, right?"
"Sure. People desperately looking for them, offering rewards."
"Exactly. They take the stolen dogs and return them to the owners to collect the reward money. Along with a word of thanks. They call that 'exchanging' them."
Na Sangdo, who had been looking forward, turned completely to face me.
"They really do that?"
"Yes."
"So it was all about the money in the end?"
"It's a business. Apparently, there are over thirty 'suppliers' like Yunho."
"Suppliers?"
"The kids who steal the dogs. Underage delinquents who get off easy even if they get caught. The 'collectors' who go get the money are usually older kids."
"Kids these days are terrifying. You're saying they divided the roles into suppliers and collectors to make money?"
"It's not that simple."
"Huh?"
The traffic light turned red, so I stopped the car and spoke more comfortably.
"They handpicked the suppliers from middle schools across the metropolitan area, specifically targeting boys from poor families who are physically weak."
"Handpicked? By whom?"
"The school bullies."
"Those rotten bastards!"
"But that's not all."
"There's more?"
"The middle school bullies have to pay tribute to the high school bullies."
"Ha! Quite the system."
"What's even more surprising is that the high school bullies aren't at the top of the food chain."
"Don't tell me it leads to actual gangsters?"
"Yes."
"Gangsters are dabbling in that kind of stuff now? I thought the trend for gangs these days was online gambling or drug distribution."
"Their trend is to do whatever makes money, regardless of the field."
"Does stealing dogs really make that much money?"
"Dog owners treat their pets like family. A reward of a few thousand dollars is standard. I've even seen a celebrity offer ten thousand."
"Ha! If I went missing, I wonder how much my wife would put up?"
"Safe to assume she wouldn't even look for you."
"You little punk, I ought to...!"
Na raised his fist, contemplating where to strike.
"Hey, I'm driving right now."
"I know, you brat. Let's catch those gangsters."
"A few detectives can't handle this. To round up the entire gang, we need a systematic, cautious approach at the metropolitan division level."
"If we do this right, we might even aim for a commendation at the end of the year."
"Don't get greedy. Let's just be satisfied with finding the Minister's dog."
"If we team up with the juvenile division detectives behind us, plus Inspector Choi and Sergeant Park, wouldn't it be possible?"
"Didn't you see that half of the juvenile division are female officers? This case involves actual gangsters. Even calling in the SWAT team might not be enough, and you want to get innocent people hurt?"
"What a waste. It's making my mouth water."
"Wipe your drool. We're moving. I'm going to speed up a bit."
The light changed, and I stepped on the gas.
Blinded by the prospect of a commendation, Na Sangdo pestered me a few more times, but I ignored him completely.
We could return the dogs to their owners and beat up the bullies and gangsters, but we couldn't erase the dirty memories of the kids scarred by school violence.
The police could never solve that. A private service agency, perhaps, but not us.
The Incheon Yeonan Industrial Complex.
At one time, eighty percent of the precision machine tools exported abroad were produced here, but now it had turned into a dusty wasteland.
It was practically a graveyard of factories that had either relocated to Southeast Asia or shut down after being classified as declining industries.
An apartment complex was scheduled to be built here soon, but for now, it was classified as a high-crime zone, and public access was restricted.
In this place where no one should have been, a few young-faced boys were guarding the front of a rusty shipping container.
"That's the spot."
Just by looking at them, they had the same vibe as Yunho.
Their small, frail statures made it obvious they were victims of school violence.
I got out of the car with Team Leader Na and slowly approached them.
"Hey kids, what are you doing here?"
"Just hanging out. Who are you, mister?"
Their highly defensive glares made them look like stray dogs that had been abandoned for a long time.
"We're police officers. We heard there are stolen dogs here."
"We haven't seen any dogs..."
One of the kids told a lie that wouldn't convince anyone.
"We already know everything," I said. "We can hear dogs barking from inside that container. You stole them, didn't you?"
"N-no, we didn't steal them! They're all strays!"
"Didn't you just say you hadn't seen any dogs?"
"..."
The lie was exposed instantly.
As several police vehicles arrived at the scene one after another, they finally seemed to accept their guilt.
"Are you going to arrest us?"
I nudged Team Leader Na's back, urging him to find the Minister's dog first. Then, I knelt down to match the eye level of the terrified kid.
"There's nothing to worry about. Just follow those female officers over there and tell them everything that happened. If you lie like you did just now, you'll get punished, so you have to be honest, okay?"
"But the older boys won't leave us alone..."
"I'll take care of them. I'll make sure they never do anything bad again."
"...Really?"
"Yeah. Just trust me and get into that big car. It's cold out here. Go on."
Although they were in their first or second year of middle school, they were as small as elementary schoolers.
Perhaps because shrinking back had become a habit from long-term bullying, they looked even smaller than they actually were.
By the time we got the kids into the police cars, Inspector Choi and Sergeant Park arrived at the scene in a taxi.
"Detective Min, where's the team leader?"
"He's inside the container looking for the dog."
"The Minister's dog?"
"Yes. Oh, look, he's coming out now."
Na Sangdo emerged, cradling a fierce-looking poodle in his arms.
"Wow, it's a total madhouse in there. The place is tiny, but it's packed with dogs. There are over thirty of them."
"How did you manage to find it so quickly?"
"I stared at this little guy's photo a hundred times on the way here."
"Hurry up and go get your praise from the Minister."
"Aren't you coming?"
"I have a secondhand trade to do nearby. I can head straight home from here, right?"
"Well, I don't see why not, but... are you really sending just me?"
I had to send Inspector Choi and Sergeant Park along too.
"You two should go with him," I suggested. "When else are you going to get a chance to meet the Minister of the Interior and Safety?"
It was an enticing offer.
However, Na Sangdo didn't look entirely pleased.
"Isn't it a bit weird for the three of us to swarm in just to deliver one dog?"
"You don't have a carrier or a pet car seat. Are you going to drive while holding the dog in your arms?"
"I can just put it in the passenger seat."
"Do you think a dog will just sit still? What if it struggles to escape and gets hurt? Will you take responsibility for that?"
"..."
Since Na Sangdo had never raised a dog, my words were law to him.
"Fine, let's go. Who's driving? Inspector Choi? Sergeant Park?"
"I'll do it," Park Inhyeok volunteered.
In the end, Sergeant Park took the wheel and they set off.
Team Leader Kim Sujin of the Yeonan Police Station approached me after loading the remaining dogs and the school violence victims into the vehicles.
"Good work, Detective Min."
"You too, Team Leader Kim. It looks like the Yeonan station is going to get seriously busy from now on."
Proving the bullies' involvement and rooting out the gangsters would be a massive undertaking that would take at least a month.
"We'll have to cooperate with the Violent Crimes Unit," she said. "You don't seem to have a car. Shall I drop you off at the main road?"
"I'm fine. I have plans nearby."
"Ah, I see. Well, we'll head out first then."
"Sure. Take care."
Left alone in the deserted industrial complex, I called Cha Donbaek.
"I have some business here. Can you come over right now?"
"We're always on standby, Boss. Where should we go?"
"I'll text you the location. Just in case, make sure to wear your full set of protective gear when you come."
"Are we going to war or something?"
"Well, something like that."
"Understood."
Saving a single victim of school violence is harder than catching twenty wanted fugitives. At least, if you try to solve it through the law.
So, this time, I was planning to bend the law just a little.