Chapter 10
Chapter 10
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Translator: uly
Chapter: 10
Chapter Title: The Broken CCTV
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Papers scattered everywhere in a chaotic mess, a desk covered in bloodstains.
And above all, Myeong Jin-han sprawled on the floor, trembling.
Park Dae-hyung scanned the interrogation room with a hardened expression before opening his mouth.
“What the hell happened here!”
“That’s…….”
He felt no regrets about his actions, but he couldn’t deny that he’d caused this mess.
How was he supposed to explain it?
In truth, the scene spoke for itself well enough.
As he pondered how to respond, Serhen’s voice came from beside him.
“Tell them it was self-harm.”
“It was self-harm.”
Was it because her voice piped up just as he was agonizing over it?
Lee Jae-hyun unwittingly repeated exactly what Serhen had instructed.
Naturally, he regretted it immediately.
Self-harm? That didn’t make any sense.
“……Self-harm?”
Park Dae-hyung raised one eyebrow, asking incredulously.
No one looking at this would see anything but Lee Jae-hyun having beaten Myeong Jin-han.
Self-harm was absurd, and there was CCTV in the interrogation room to boot.
A quick check of the footage would expose the lie.
Lee Jae-hyun shot a glance at Serhen, but she just smiled silently.
‘Does she not know about CCTV?’
It was entirely possible.
She might look like a little girl, but Serhen’s true nature was that of a demon.
She might not know much about the human world.
As Lee Jae-hyun mulled this over, Park Dae-hyung—who had been eyeing him meaningfully—spoke up.
“I don’t know what went down, but let’s check the CCTV first.”
With that, he turned and left the interrogation room.
Lee Jae-hyun followed Park Dae-hyung to the security room.
When they reviewed the footage, they couldn’t help but be stunned.
“……What the hell is this?”
“……Beats me.”
Park Dae-hyung and Lee Jae-hyun stared at the CCTV screens showing the station interior, their faces blank with disbelief.
Specifically, the feed from Myeong Jin-han’s interrogation room was nothing but noise—completely unidentifiable.
Park Dae-hyung turned to Lee Jae-hyun, but he was just as baffled.
“Why are you looking at me like that? I have no idea.”
“You really had nothing to do with this?”
“I went straight from changing clothes to the interrogation room—didn’t that get caught on camera? I’m innocent here.”
“So you’re saying that, purely by ‘coincidence,’ the CCTV crapped out the moment you walked in?”
Park Dae-hyung’s voice carried a disbelieving scoff, but there was no evidence anywhere that Lee Jae-hyun had tampered with it.
Of course not—he hadn’t been the one to break it.
Lee Jae-hyun glanced at Serhen, who was floating idly in midair.
‘What happened?’
He directed the question at her silently, as she’d been grinning wordlessly the whole time.
This mess was definitely her doing.
At his query, she finally spoke up, still smiling.
“It’s a service.”
‘A service?’
“Yeah. I’ve never tasted karma this delicious before. Ah, talking about it’s making me hungry again.”
Serhen smacked her lips with a slurp.
Lee Jae-hyun let out a hollow chuckle at her response.
‘So Serhen erased it.’
He had no idea how, but for someone who could even turn back time, it probably wasn’t a big deal.
Either way, it wasn’t bad for him.
As Lee Jae-hyun fell silent, Park Dae-hyung seemed to interpret it some way and let out a heavy sigh.
“Ha…….”
At the sound of his sigh, Lee Jae-hyun tensed slightly and straightened up.
No matter how little regret he felt, beating Myeong Jin-han had been a risky move.
It could go beyond suspension all the way to dismissal.
Park Dae-hyung stared at Lee Jae-hyun, deep in thought, then smacked his lips.
“Tch. Whatever. It’s late—go home already.”
“Pardon?”
Lee Jae-hyun blinked at him in surprise.
Even with the broken CCTV, any kid could tell from the circumstances that he’d assaulted Myeong Jin-han.
He’d braced for punishment, and now he was being told to clock out?
Lee Jae-hyun was caught off guard for a moment before grasping the implication. He furrowed his brow and spoke up.
“Inspector Park.”
“Yeah?”
“You’re not planning to take all the blame yourself, are you…….”
Park Dae-hyung hadn’t known him long……
But Lee Jae-hyun had known him for ten years.
He could read his intentions from his eyes alone.
At his words, Park Dae-hyung blinked at him.
“……How’d you know?”
“It’s written all over your face.”
Lee Jae-hyun chuckled wryly.
How could he not know? It was obvious from his expression—you couldn’t miss it if you tried.
No, even just looking at the situation, it was blatant.
Park Dae-hyung cleared his throat awkwardly before replying.
“Damn kid, sharp as ever. A senior always takes responsibility for what the rookie does.”
Evidently embarrassed by his own words, he cleared his throat again.
Lee Jae-hyun smiled faintly at the sight.
‘Yeah, that’s the kind of guy he is.’
Always there to help when trouble hit, always covering when shit went sideways.
The man who’d backed Lee Jae-hyun while pursuing the Hyeonmin Group, only to get demoted to the boonies for it.
He’d been exactly like this ten years ago.
But this time, Lee Jae-hyun would be different.
“Let’s go together.”
He declared firmly.
Park Dae-hyung frowned and turned to him.
“What?”
“I was at the scene. How could I just slip out alone?”
“Hey, this is…….”
“Say what you want—I’m not going.”
In his last life, he’d only ever owed the man.
Hell, Park Dae-hyung had even gotten that scar on his face trying to save him.
Not this time. He wasn’t about to let him shoulder it alone.
Reading the stubbornness in Lee Jae-hyun’s expression, Park Dae-hyung sighed.
“Fine……. Let’s go report to the team leader first.”
With that, the two headed side by side to Team Leader Oh Cheol-jin.
* * *
Team Leader Oh Cheol-jin alternated glances between Park Dae-hyung and Lee Jae-hyun standing before him, his face a mask of disbelief.
“……You expect me to buy this?”
Then he said exactly what Park Dae-hyung had.
Park Dae-hyung, looking sheepish at Oh Cheol-jin’s words, spoke up.
“Come on, Team Leader. The rookie caught a serial killer and found evidence, didn’t he?”
“Yeah, but still……. Ha, Jesus.”
Oh Cheol-jin slumped into his chair with a defeated expression.
He’d heard about Lee Jae-hyun finding the evidence.
Catching the perp and securing proof meant perfect stats for Lee Jae-hyun—and by extension, the team.
He’d been thrilled, with only the transfer of Myeong Jin-han to his station left to handle.
Then this bombshell hit.
Chuckling hollowly, Oh Cheol-jin straightened up in his chair and eyed Lee Jae-hyun.
“Speaking of, didn’t you say you were heading home? Why’d you go poking around where the evidence was?”
“I wanted to wrap the case up perfectly, as a police officer.”
Lee Jae-hyun replied firmly to Oh Cheol-jin’s question.
On paper, it looked exemplary—the kind of dedication any cop would admire.
He’d explicitly said he was off duty, yet he’d come back to retrieve the evidence.
He should’ve stopped there.
“But why not just leave it at that?”
Oh Cheol-jin muttered with a hollow laugh, and Lee Jae-hyun stayed silent.
He had nothing to say, even if he had a hundred mouths.
Whatever punishment came, he’d take it gladly.
But……
“Eh, whatever. You’re both off the hook—go home.”
“Huh?”
Oh Cheol-jin waved them off dismissively.
Bracing for the worst, Lee Jae-hyun stared at him in confusion.
“What’s with the reaction? You worked hard—get going.”
“No, it’s just…….”
“What, you want a disciplinary hearing?”
“…….”
As Lee Jae-hyun clamped his mouth shut, Oh Cheol-jin smiled.
An assault on a suspect inside the station.
If Myeong Jin-han pursued it, not just Lee Jae-hyun but his superiors—Park Dae-hyung and Oh Cheol-jin—would face consequences too.
It absolutely warranted discipline.
But Oh Cheol-jin couldn’t bring himself to reprimand him.
Was he supposed to chew out a first-month rookie who’d nabbed a serial killer, just because his hot blood and rage led him to punch the bastard a few times?
No way in hell.
“Team Leader, what’s your plan?”
Even Park Dae-hyung—who’d been ready to take the fall—furrowed his brow worriedly.
Shrugging at the question, Oh Cheol-jin replied.
“What, the substation chief’ll grumble a bit, but how bad can it be?”
He barked a laugh.
Oh Cheol-jin played it light, but to Lee Jae-hyun, this was no small matter.
If word got out, the police could be accused of a cover-up.
“You sure you’re okay with this?”
“Isn’t it a boss’s job to own up for his subordinates’ screw-ups? There’s no evidence—what’re they gonna do?”
Lee Jae-hyun’s face remained stiff as he pressed……
And Oh Cheol-jin echoed Park Dae-hyung word for word.
It showed exactly who Park Dae-hyung had learned the ropes from.
As Lee Jae-hyun and Park Dae-hyung hesitated, Oh Cheol-jin shooed them again.
“What’re you waiting for? It’s way past quitting time—scram!”
“Team Leader, still…….”
“You wanna go face the chief yourselves? Without the seniority? Then I’m the only one who gets reamed, you idiots!”
Oh Cheol-jin groused peevishly, but he couldn’t hide his intent.
The substation chief might summon them after hearing, so he was getting them out before that.
In the end, Lee Jae-hyun and Park Dae-hyung were practically shoved out of the substation……
“Ah, and rookie.”
Oh Cheol-jin’s voice called from behind.
Lee Jae-hyun turned back with a puzzled look.
The team leader continued.
“Good work.”
“Pardon?”
Lee Jae-hyun parroted back, not grasping it at first.
Good work? Out of nowhere.
As if answering the question in his head, Oh Cheol-jin went on.
“That woman in the carry-on? She woke up a little while ago.”
“…….”
“You saved her.”
Unsure how to respond, Lee Jae-hyun just shut his mouth.
Oh Cheol-jin cleared his throat and lowered his voice to continue.
“And honestly? Felt damn good.”
He grinned.
Lee Jae-hyun stared blankly at him for a moment before smiling back.
“Now it’s really over! Go rest!”
“Yes, sir.”
Oh Cheol-jin waved him off once more.
Saluting, Lee Jae-hyun finally stepped out of the substation for real.
Yeah.
It had been a bumpy ride……
But the third victim, Jeong Mi-rae.
His father.
‘I saved them in the end.’
He’d done it.
Caught Myeong Jin-han with his own hands.
Secured the evidence so justice could be properly served.
He’d finally undone the regrets that had haunted him for ten years.
‘But…….’
It still wasn’t enough.
He’d only just fixed that first crooked button.
There was still plenty left to do, and he wouldn’t leave any regrets from here on out.
Smiling, Lee Jae-hyun started walking.