Chapter 1
Chapter 1
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Translator: uly
Chapter: 1
Chapter Title: From Cop to Mad Dog
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# Chapter 1
I’m not sure when it started, but becoming a cop had been my goal.
The reason I never called it a dream was simple.
It wasn’t the kind of thing you could grandly label as a “dream.”
I just wanted to live a stable life as a civil servant, and the police happened to catch my eye.
Maybe I just thought those cops standing around dazedly directing traffic looked like an easy gig.
It wasn’t driven by any sense of duty or mission.
Even so, Lee Jae-hyun studied hard for the police exam.
He wasn’t dumb, and his athleticism was pretty solid, so it wasn’t too tough.
Fortunately, he passed and became a cop.
Convinced he’d made it, he settled into a complacent life.
A police “civil servant.”
The term “iron rice bowl” was outdated, but public service was still a solid job.
The work didn’t suit him perfectly, but it wasn’t so bad he hated it.
He just got by.
Day by day, adapting to police life in stable comfort.
His life changed right around when he’d finally settled in as the rookie patrol officer at his substation.
It was during that tense period when a string of serial murders hit the jurisdiction, putting all the cops on edge.
As a patrol officer back then, he rode the wave of tension but secretly hoped the mess would wrap up soon.
Then his father died.
His father had been a great head of the household.
Driving a taxi ten hours a day to keep the family afloat.
That day, too, his father was out driving his taxi.
Lee Jae-hyun had just passed his exam and become a patrol officer.
By pure coincidence, he ran into his father during a drunk driving checkpoint.
A passenger was in the cab, so they didn’t talk long.
His usually playful dad gave a joking salute, and Lee Jae-hyun laughed and saluted back. That was it.
“See you at home later.”
“Yeah.”
He had no idea.
That casual “see you at home” would become a promise he could never keep.
If he’d known...
He wouldn’t have let his father go like that.
After sending his father off, Lee Jae-hyun finished the midnight drunk driving check at noon as usual and returned to the substation.
Spotting the unusually chaotic substation, he instantly sensed something was up.
Even amid the serial murder tension.
Truth be told, Lee Jae-hyun hadn’t taken the serial killings all that seriously deep down.
Tragic as the deaths were, they still felt like someone else’s problem.
He didn’t have some burning sense of police duty anyway.
Serial murders were Violent Crimes Unit territory from the start.
But then.
“Jae-hyun, your father...”
His father was dead.
Cause: exsanguination.
Stabbed and left to bleed out.
The killer was the serial murderer the police were hunting.
When he heard the perp was caught and rushed to the scene, Lee Jae-hyun could only despair.
Because he recognized the man’s face.
A guy in a shabby outfit, hat pulled low, clutching a travel trunk.
The killer was the passenger in the back seat the last time he’d seen his father.
‘If only I hadn’t let him go that day.’
The regret burrowed deep into his chest, tormenting him.
In the end, Lee Jae-hyun gave up his stable life.
Half-mad, he started hauling in criminals left and right.
That’s how he became a detective.
And earned the nickname “Mad Dog.”
* * *
“Hey, Mad Dog!”
Lee Jae-hyun frowned at the familiar voice calling him and turned around.
Way over there, a guy who looked every bit the gangster boss grinned and waved.
Lee Jae-hyun chuckled at the sight.
A welcome face.
Someone he’d known since his patrol officer days.
Senior Superintendent Park Dae-hyung.
They didn’t see each other often these days, but they’d grab drinks like this whenever time allowed.
“Ah, hyung. Mad Dog? Even you?”
“If you see a mad dog, you call it a mad dog. What else?”
Park Dae-hyung burst out laughing and patted Lee Jae-hyun’s shoulder.
He’d earned the nickname, but few called him Mad Dog to his face.
He considered pointing it out, but Park seemed to enjoy it.
In the end, Lee Jae-hyun just shook his head with a smile.
“Let’s go. I’m covering from first round to last.”
“Wow, senior. I respect you.”
Lee Jae-hyun bowed playfully at Park Dae-hyung’s words.
Their destination: a plain pork belly joint.
“I said I’m buying, and you pick pork belly?”
“You know I love pork belly.”
Park Dae-hyung grumbled at the sizzling pork belly before him.
Lee Jae-hyun shrugged with a light tone.
Sure, their pay grades differed.
But cop salary was cop salary.
Unless you took bribes, it was all the same.
And Park Dae-hyung wasn’t the type to take dirty money.
Lee Jae-hyun grinned and slapped the pork belly onto the grill.
Sizzle.
A mouthwatering sound rang out softly.
Park Dae-hyung looked wistful but swallowed hard.
“Looks tasty.”
“Pork belly’s always tasty.”
Park Dae-hyung nodded at Lee Jae-hyun’s words.
The meat cooked fast, and they dug in.
They ate in silence for a bit.
Lee Jae-hyun broke it.
“So, what’s up? Why’d you call?”
“Can’t I see you without a reason?”
“Last time you called, you tossed me a case. Same before that.”
Lee Jae-hyun narrowed his eyes at Park Dae-hyung.
They were close enough to meet without reason, but Park usually brought work when he sought Lee Jae-hyun out first.
Park Dae-hyung cleared his throat and rubbed the scar under his eye.
A memento from grabbing a knife-wielding lunatic at the same substation.
Not just any scar—Lee Jae-hyun had shoved him out of a stabbing.
Seeing Park Dae-hyung touch it, Lee Jae-hyun let out a dry laugh.
“Come on, why’re you fiddling with that scar so obviously?”
“...That noticeable?”
“Yeah, spill it, hyung.”
Lee Jae-hyun waved him on.
Park Dae-hyung clicked his tongue, looking embarrassed.
“Honestly, I never thought I’d be saying this to you.”
“Yeah.”
“It’s time to ease up for real.”
Lee Jae-hyun’s face hardened at the blunt words.
Ease up?
When was “ease up” time?
After a victim died? After a new one appeared?
He suppressed his defiance.
Park Dae-hyung had warned him to be careful before but rarely said “ease up.”
They knew and trusted each other that much.
If he said it knowing Lee Jae-hyun wouldn’t waver easily, there must be a reason.
He forced a smile.
“Hyung, there’s no ‘easing up’ with scumbags. Catching bad guys is just what we do.”
“Great that you catch ’em, but you beat the crap out of them.”
“Everyone I nab’s a murderer, rapist, aggravated assaulter. They all deserve it.”
“There’s a line, you know. If excessive force complaints hit again, even I can’t cover for you.”
Park Dae-hyung sighed heavily.
Lee Jae-hyun shrugged.
Excessive force?
Didn’t exist.
The perps he dragged in were all violent criminals. No such thing as “excessive” against them.
You don’t coddle killers.
Besides.
“Crooks cross every line committing crimes, but we’re supposed to toe it? How do we catch ’em then?”
“I get it, all of it... Sigh, I misspoke on ‘ease up.’ But this case you’re digging into.”
Lee Jae-hyun frowned as Park Dae-hyung mentioned his current case.
He knew exactly what Park meant.
The case Lee Jae-hyun was laser-focused on: Hyeonmin Group chairman’s grandson drunk-driving into a rage and killing someone.
Only one reason to beat around the bush like this.
“At least drop that one.”
Sure enough.
Park Dae-hyung bowed his head, face twisted.
No one burned with more cop pride than Park Dae-hyung.
That’s why saying this hurt him too.
“Hyung.”
“Jae-hyun. The Hyeonmin Group case—you gotta ease up on that one. It’s dangerous. I looked into it; those Hyeonmin bastards aren’t right.”
Lee Jae-hyun called out.
Park Dae-hyung spilled words fast.
His genuine worry was obvious.
Grateful, but Lee Jae-hyun couldn’t “ease up.”
“A man died. Father of a five-year-old.”
“...”
“A word like ‘ease up’ doesn’t fit scum like that. You know it too, hyung.”
Lee Jae-hyun met Park Dae-hyung’s eyes firmly.
Not just drunk assault—a murder.
Took a family’s breadwinner.
And they want him to ease up?
No way.
Seeing his resolve, Park Dae-hyung sighed softly.
“I admire your fire, not caring about consequences. But... this one’s really dangerous. Different from before. Not just ‘might piss off the brass.’”
Park Dae-hyung held his gaze.
Not all Lee Jae-hyun’s cases had been smooth.
Some drew heat from above, excessive force gripes too.
Park Dae-hyung had shielded him.
Now, even he was warning.
It’s really dangerous.
Lee Jae-hyun eyed his serious gaze, then chewed pork belly.
“Hyung.”
“Yeah?”
“Ever seen Mad Dog ease up?”
Park Dae-hyung gaped, then ruffled his own hair.
“Ha, fuck... Guess not. You easing up wouldn’t make sense.”
“Exactly. No easing up when someone’s dead.”
“Then do it right. If you’re splashing fire on me, keep it to what I can handle. More than that, I can’t help.”
Lee Jae-hyun chuckled at Park Dae-hyung’s words.
How many times had he heard that?
Park always said it but covered for him anyway.
“Don’t worry. I’ll do it right.”
Lee Jae-hyun raised his glass, vowing to himself.
The drinks lasted till the next day.
* * *
Long story short.
He fought hard, but it was futile.
Chaebols weren’t chaebols for nothing.
Yeah, in modern society, money was absolute power.
Not just money, though.
They had their cartel locked in.
After drinks with Park Dae-hyung.
Two days later, a text hit Lee Jae-hyun’s smartphone.
A photo of his hospitalized mother.
Eyes bloodshot, he’d vowed to nail the Hyeonmin Group chairman’s grandson.
Even asked Park Dae-hyung for help.
“Got it, I’ll look into it.”
But days later, Park Dae-hyung got shipped to some rural post.
An absurd demotion.
And now, days after that, Lee Jae-hyun was dying in some rundown factory.
“Phew, told ya to stop when warned. Why drag it this far? Young master’s pissed.”
A long-haired guy nudged Lee Jae-hyun’s head with his foot.
Four burly guys flanked him; six or seven more glowered behind.
“Cough.”
Lee Jae-hyun hacked up blood.
‘Stupid.’
Threats against his mom, Park demoted—he lost it.
Normally, he wouldn’t fall for such an obvious trap.
Blaming himself, he steadied his breath and scanned around.
Went to the address from the “whistleblower”—ten guys jumped him.
Took down six, but that was his limit.
Now tied to a chair, hands and feet bound.
“Hey, smile. Taking a pic.”
He wrinkled his nose at the familiar acrid smell; the long-haired guy shoved a smartphone camera in his face.
He snapped pics cackling, fiddled with the phone, and grinned wide.
“Okay, payment confirmed. Let’s go.”
“Yeah.”
They followed without a word.
Lee Jae-hyun blinked to clear his blurring vision, fighting to stay conscious.
Gritting his teeth, he drew a deep lungful.
Mind sharpening a bit, he glared at the long-haired guy’s back.
“Hey, if I get outta here...”
“Oh, almost forgot. Gotta have a smoke.”
As Lee Jae-hyun spoke, the guy teased playfully and nodded to a brute.
The brute handed over a lighter and cigarette.
Long-hair dangled it teasingly.
“Want one?”
“...Fuck off.”
“Aww, too bad. This is good stuff. Fine, more for me.”
He lit up and inhaled deeply, unfazed.
Exhaling smoke, he smirked.
“Phew, that’s the stuff.”
Not really about the smoke—he flicked it away without regret.
The cigarette sailed through the air.
Landed with a plop near Lee Jae-hyun.
Whoosh!
Flames erupted instantly.
He realized the smell filling the place.
‘Gasoline.’
Lee Jae-hyun scowled at the blaze spreading fast.
It’d reach him soon.
“Take care.”
Long-hair waved casually and exited the warehouse.
Lee Jae-hyun swallowed curses at his back.
Door slammed shut.
Fire already half the warehouse.
Heat brutal, smoke worse.
‘Should’ve listened to Dae-hyung.’
He thought, but nah.
Not the point now, and he knew himself.
Repeat it a hundred times, he’d choose the same.
Heat intensified; breathing grew impossible.
He struggled away from the flames, but soon he’d be engulfed.
“Fuck, really.”
Where’d it go wrong?
No need to ask.
Life went to hell after Dad’s death.
If he’d spotted the suspicion first that day, nabbed the killer—what then?
If he’d saved Dad, what life?
Pointless hypotheticals.
No fixing regrets.
Maybe from the day he went half-mad berserking.
This end was sealed.
As Lee Jae-hyun gave up, accepting his fate.
Clack.
A heel click, out of place in the decrepit warehouse.
Lee Jae-hyun gaped at the impossible scene before him.