Chapter 18
Chapter 18
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Translator: uly
Chapter: 18
Chapter Title: Natural Enemy
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Park Chun-beom limped out of the seniors' center.
He had come to see Lee Jae-hyun off on his way home.
“Your body’s not well... yet you came all the way out here to see me off. Thank you.”
“We might end up as neighbors someday. It’s nothing. Take care, young man.”
“Thank you. I’ll see you again next time. Goodbye.”
Lee Jae-hyun bowed politely, then got into his car.
Park Chun-beom waved him off with a kindly smile.
Vroom.
Soon, he was gone.
The friendly smile on Park Chun-beom’s face twisted in an instant.
‘That guy’s dangerous.’
His cold, sunken eyes fixed on Lee Jae-hyun’s departing car.
He knew it instinctively.
‘He’s my natural enemy.’
Park Chun-beom recalled a long-forgotten memory as he gripped his cane.
It felt like tightrope walking—one slip and he’d plummet off the cliff.
This was a warning from his survival instincts.
So, who the hell was that guy?
Fortunately, someone who could answer that question was standing right beside him.
“So, how exactly do you know that guy?”
He turned to Han Sun-ah, who had come out with him.
At his question, she furrowed her brow and sighed.
“That’s all I told you earlier. I saw him once at the hospital yesterday, and ran into him here by chance today... We’re not close enough to call acquaintances.”
“For someone you barely know, he seemed awfully interested in you.”
“......”
Park Chun-beom cleared his throat pointedly.
Han Sun-ah hesitated, unable to respond easily.
She had sensed a bit of interest from Lee Jae-hyun herself.
Finally, she shrugged and continued.
“Who knows? Maybe he likes me.”
“......You’re pretty shameless.”
At her response, Park Chun-beom eyed her up and down with disbelief.
She wasn’t bad-looking, but just that—nothing special.
To him, she was nothing more than a money-making tool.
Han Sun-ah’s lips twitched and her brow furrowed, but his opinion didn’t change.
Park Chun-beom snorted and pressed on.
“Anyway, you’re not close? If that’s true, this Lee Jae-hyun guy is definitely suspicious.”
For strangers, Lee Jae-hyun had acted far too friendly.
And suddenly deciding to move here? That was odd too.
He’d said he was looking at a house to live in with his grandmother, but no one had mentioned seeing any such person scouting properties.
This remote neighborhood far from the city had no realtors—you had to pound the pavement yourself for empty houses or lots and negotiate directly.
No one had reported seeing a house hunter.
‘I need to watch myself for a while.’
Park Chun-beom scowled at the road where Lee Jae-hyun had vanished.
Then Han Sun-ah clapped her hands to get his attention.
“Whatever, think about that on your own later. Time to settle up? I did five today. Here’s your cut.”
“Hmm, good work.”
She handed him 100,000 won out of the 500,000 she’d collected from five clients for the injections.
Park Chun-beom pocketed the ten green bills and flashed a sly smile.
Han Sun-ah rolled her eyes at his sudden shift, scoffing.
“You’ve got plenty of money, but you light up every time you get paid.”
“Money’s good the more you have.”
Her tone dripped with sarcasm, but he brushed it off.
As he counted the bills with a satisfying rustle, smirking, Han Sun-ah cleared her throat.
“By the way, what did you do when you were young to have so much money?”
She asked casually.
Park Chun-beom didn’t seem like an ordinary civilian—his wealth was substantial.
Yet he had no job.
He just introduced her to old folks and took a finder’s fee, which piqued her curiosity.
But.
At her question, Park Chun-beom’s face hardened.
“Sun-ah.”
“......Yes.”
She swallowed hard without realizing it.
His kindly act voice differed sharply from his normal one, sure.
But this was different.
His usual cold tone felt like a chill wind...
This felt like a blade pressed to her back.
Park Chun-beom eyed her trembling form and continued.
“Let’s not dig into dangerous territory.”
A clear warning: Don’t pry too deep.
She nodded frantically, forcing a light tone.
“Got it. You’re so prickly. What, you were probably scamming back in the day or something.”
She was obviously terrified.
But she tried to play it cool.
Park Chun-beom saw right through her and chuckled with a nod.
“Scamming, huh? Yeah, something like that.”
Only then did he flash his kindly smile again, nodding in satisfaction.
Scamming was scamming.
He muttered to himself, turned, and headed back into the seniors' center.
* * *
On his way home, Lee Jae-hyun gripped the wheel, lost in thought.
His first thought was obvious.
‘How do I put those two away?’
Han Sun-ah: illegal medical practice.
Park Chun-beom: murder.
Park Chun-beom’s crimes weren’t proven yet, but hadn’t Serhen said, ‘That level would’ve killed at least one person’?
Lee Jae-hyun didn’t fully trust Serhen, of course.
But she hadn’t lied so far.
It was more like she hadn’t revealed...
What to call it?
‘Her appetite.’
He couldn’t pin down the exact word, but Serhen had openly shown her desire and asked him to let her ‘eat soon.’
That confirmed Park Chun-beom was a killer.
Lee Jae-hyun’s instincts screamed it too.
From his eyes and speech to the shift in the air around him.
From the moment he met Park Chun-beom, Lee Jae-hyun had been certain of his guilt.
And he’d decided to expose it.
Other thoughts followed.
Were their crimes connected?
How to find evidence?
Questions and answers swirled in his mind.
“Must be your true calling.”
A familiar voice came from the passenger seat.
Lee Jae-hyun glanced over.
Serhen sat there, buckled in.
A demon—nothing she couldn’t do.
He shrugged it off and asked.
“True calling?”
“Being a cop. Hardly anyone in the force is that gung-ho about catching bad guys. But our contractor’s got an extra-strong sense of justice.”
Serhen tapped the window rhythmically, speaking calmly.
He couldn’t tell what she meant.
Was she praising his drive to catch criminals despite the demon contract?
Or mocking him for having justice in his heart?
Unclear, but he shook his head.
She had it wrong from the start.
“Not justice. Revenge and duty.”
That wasn’t justice driving him.
Revenge against criminals formed the core.
Duty as a cop layered on top.
Some might call that justice, but Lee Jae-hyun knew it was different.
He never thought of himself as ‘righteous.’
In his past life, he was Mad Dog.
In this one, contracted with a demon.
Neither was about justice.
Revenge and duty just manifested as a sense of mission. Not justice.
At least, that’s how he saw it.
Serhen watched him quietly, then let out a light laugh.
“Whatever... As long as you let me eat Park Chun-beom soon.”
“Don’t worry. Won’t take long.”
Lee Jae-hyun replied immediately.
Thoughts raced through his mind, but as they sorted themselves, certainty grew.
‘It won’t take long to solve this case.’
A few days at most.
With a plan forming, he smirked meaningfully.
* * *
The next morning.
At the substation, Lee Jae-hyun drew on past-life experience to blitz through paperwork.
He finished every patrol officer task in no time.
Then, reports in hand, he approached Team Leader Oh Cheol-jin.
“Team Leader, mind if I head out on field duty?”
“......Out of the blue? What for?”
Oh Cheol-jin furrowed his brow at the sudden request.
Not from just anyone—a rookie patrol officer barely a month in.
It wouldn’t look good, but Lee Jae-hyun pressed on shamelessly.
“Something I want to investigate personally.”
“......”
Silence fell as Oh Cheol-jin eyed him up and down slowly.
Finally, he leaned back in his chair.
“Trying to play detective?”
“Just something personal I want to check.”
His tone wasn’t harsh, but his eyes and voice showed clear disapproval.
So Lee Jae-hyun answered calmly.
Acting cocky here would paint him as a hotshot newbie strutting after one serial killer case.
“Hmm......”
“......”
Oh Cheol-jin hummed thoughtfully.
Lee Jae-hyun waited silently for approval.
Soon enough, he nodded slowly.
“Clear it with Jun-ho. If he’s got time, go with him. Bring back some results if you can.”
“Yes, thank you.”
Permission granted.
Lee Jae-hyun bowed, saluted, and turned.
Now, time to tighten the noose.