Money Tends to Follow (3): A Ray of Light
The eyes of both the manager and Eun-young locked onto Kang Jin-ho at the same time.
"A way? You mean there is a way to catch the culprit without provoking the head chef?"
"Yes. From the very beginning, I suspected that the head chef was not the culprit. The culprit is likely outside the kitchen."
Jin-ho poked the cross-section of the overcooked steak with his fork. "The outside of the steak isn't charred, but the inside is completely dried out. This means it wasn't cooked by an external fire; rather, heat was generated directly inside the meat. That is why I believed the head chef was innocent."
"...Are you saying it's a long-range heat manipulation ability?"
"Exactly. Someone applied heat from the outside." Jin-ho tapped his fingers rhythmically against the table as he spoke.
"But we checked all the servers..."
"Why did you suspect the servers in the first place? Wasn't it because they would know exactly when the meat was coming out, allowing them to interfere at just the right moment?"
"Well, yes, but..."
"There is one other person who would know the exact timing of the dishes. So let me ask you, Manager." Jin-ho looked straight at the elderly man. "What is your daily routine? And when you shuffled the staff schedules, who was the only person whose schedule remained unchanged?"
"My daily routine... I arrive before opening and leave at closing. And as for the person whose schedule didn't change..." The old man's face drained of color. "Are you saying... Driver Kim is the culprit?"
"That is my suspicion, yes." Jin-ho raised a finger and pointed to the CCTV camera mounted on the ceiling. "You mentioned earlier that you gave him access to the security feeds in case of an emergency, correct? He likely sat in his car, watched the restaurant's interior, and timed his moves. Coincidentally, the parking lot is located right next to the corridor leading from the kitchen to the dining hall. It is the perfect spot to tamper with the meat."
"D-Driver Kim would never do such a thing!" The old man blurted out in denial. He simply couldn't believe that an employee he had cherished like family would betray him.
"Please contact the head chef right now. Ask him to send out a raw, uncooked steak covered with a cloche, just as if it were being served. Since the kitchen is sending out raw meat, the chef obviously won't have touched it."
The floor staff's working hours were constantly shifting, completely ruling them out as suspects. Furthermore, to cook the meat from a distance, the culprit needed a line of sight by any means necessary.
Therefore, if the meat arrived here fully cooked... since only two people had access to the CCTV feeds, the culprit had to be either the elderly manager or Driver Kim!
The elderly manager sent a text to the head chef, requesting raw meat.
When the dish finally arrived in front of them, it was thoroughly cooked.
"It's cooked. Even though we asked for raw meat."
"...Bring in Driver Kim."
"Sir, this is a misunderstanding! Are you really going to believe these cops you've never met before?! There isn't even any proof that I did it!" Driver Kim vehemently protested his innocence at first, but...
"Why don't we step aside for a little chat?"
"Is a police officer allowed to do this? What's your name! Park Eun-young? I'll make sure to—"
Click.
"We're done."
"...The owner of Le Grand caught me embezzling the restaurant's funds and blackmailed me. I thought that if I secretly cooked the steaks, it would cause a rift between the manager and the head chef. I'm sorry."
After emerging from a brief 'consultation' with Eun-young, he meekly confessed to his crimes.
"D-Driver Kim... didn't you say you were unawakened...?" the manager grandfather asked, his heart visibly shattering.
"...I awakened an ability recently. I haven't had my regular checkup yet, so I don't have an ability registration card."
"But... but... I even made sure to celebrate your wife's birthday..."
"...I am sorry."
In truth, Driver Kim had also been thrown into a panic upon hearing that the police were being brought in. Yet, he couldn't stop sabotaging the steaks either.
"Because Officer Kang over there... prevented anyone from announcing that the police had arrived..."
Only the manager grandfather and Driver Kim knew that the police were on the premises. If the steaks suddenly came out perfectly fine today—the very day the police visited—Driver Kim would inevitably become the prime suspect. It was a classic catch-22.
Could it be that keeping the head chef in the dark about the police was a calculated move to force my hand? Is this man, Kang Jin-ho, truly some kind of heaven-sent monster?
Driver Kim had bet that all of this was a coincidence, that the media's label of 'genius cop' was nothing but exaggeration. He had lost that bet, resulting in his arrest. Yet, he felt no resentment. Once caught in the sights of a detective like that, there was never any way out to begin with.
"...Why?"
"I'm sorry."
Without a single excuse, Driver Kim repeatedly muttered his apologies. Once the situation was resolved and Driver Kim was handed over to the local precinct...
The manager grandfather bowed so deeply his head nearly touched the floor.
"Thank you. Thank you so very much. If not for you, I would have lost my restaurant and my oldest friend." Though I have lost a trusted employee... the old man added bitterly.
"I've heard that a B-Class hero has launched an investigation into Le Grand. They are looking at a minimum of a business suspension, and if things go well, even permanent closure. This is all thanks to you."
"We only did our duty, sir. Please, lift your head." Jin-ho tried to stop the elderly man, feeling awkward as the senior bowed to him, but the old man's resolve was firm.
"No. You saved the restaurant I spent my entire life building. My pride as an old man will not allow me to offer mere empty words of gratitude."
The old man pulled a luxurious checkbook from his breast pocket and gripped a pen with trembling hands.
"Though I operate several other restaurants, The Chef is where my youth and soul reside. This was the commission fee I had originally prepared to formally request aid from the Hero Association. Please, accept it."
Scribbled on the check the old man held out was the sum of fifty million won.
"Pardon? No... absolutely not."
It was a massive sum, equivalent to a typical worker's annual salary. It was an amount Jin-ho would have to scrape together over years of saving his patrol officer's salary and hazard pay without spending a single penny.
Yet, Jin-ho barely managed to hold onto his rationality. Though his long-term plan was to amass a fortune and retire, he was currently a public servant. He was in no position to accept private monetary rewards.
"I am deeply grateful for the sentiment, but a police officer cannot accept private compensation for helping a citizen. Please put it away."
Just as Jin-ho was about to firmly refuse while swallowing his tears...
"Oh, come on, Jin-ho. Why are you being like this?" Park Eun-young chimed in, nudging his ribs. "This wasn't standard police patrol duty anyway. It was a 'commission' authorized by the Chief himself. What's wrong with getting paid for solving a case? Besides, the manager was going to give this money to a hero anyway, so there's no reason for us to refuse. Right, Manager?"
"Exactly! If Officer Kang doesn't accept this, my conscience will be so troubled that this old man won't be able to sleep a wink at night!"
Emboldened by Eun-young's encouragement, the old man practically tried to force the check into Jin-ho's pocket.
"Please, don't do this!"
"Aigoo, just take it!"
Fending off the old man's hands as he tried to force the check on him, Jin-ho hurriedly whispered to Eun-young.
"S-Senior?"
"Yes, Jin-ho?"
"Is it really okay to take this money? Won't this trigger an audit or something later?"
"Not if you don't get caught."
"Well, yes, but still!"
Realizing once again that Eun-young's moral compass was entirely skewed compared to normal people, Jin-ho's mind raced. Can I take this money? Yes, if I don't get caught. Can I avoid getting caught? Probably. But what if I do get caught? I'll get fired from the force. And if I get fired, will Eun-young let me go? No. Not a chance.
Okay, I absolutely cannot take this.
Having finished his calculations, Jin-ho was about to firmly reject the check once and for all when—
Ping!
The Donation Function for clearing Karma has been unlocked.
Condition: When returning wealth to society under your own name, Karma will be deducted proportionally to the amount donated.
Current Exchange Rate: 1 Karma point deducted per 10,000 KRW.
"...Huh?"
A semi-transparent status window floated in the air. Reading the contents, Jin-ho instantly ran the numbers and did a complete about-face.
"Manager. I truly cannot accept this money. I am a public servant, after all."
"But..."
"How about we do this instead? Since it is difficult for me to accept the money directly, why don't you donate the sum you intended to give me, but do so under my name? Knowing that solving this case helped those in need would bring me peace of mind."
The sudden declaration of donation left both the old man and Park Eun-young utterly stunned.
"...Oh, is that so?" Eun-young tilted her head, her eyes boring into Jin-ho as if trying to read his mind.
"Oh, heavens."
The old man clasped his wrinkled hands together, offering a prayer. Thick tears began to stream down his face. A genius-level insight. A heaven-sent intellect. And on top of all that, a noble spirit of self-sacrifice that didn't waver for a single second in the face of fifty million won, choosing instead to think of the less fortunate!
"Dear God, does such a righteous police officer truly exist in Light City! You... you are a ray of light in this dark city, Officer Kang!"
"Uh, no, I wouldn't go that far..."