Chapter 44
Chapter 44
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Translator: uly
Chapter: 44
Chapter Title: The Reporter
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Lee Jae-hyun took a moment to size up the reporter Yoon Min-ha standing before him.
Dark brown hair cascading over her shoulders.
Eyes sparkling with curiosity.
A faint smile on her lips, professional yet approachable.
"I'm sorry, but I don't think there's anything I can share off the record..."
"Could you just spare a quick minute? If you're heading out on patrol, maybe we could chat on the way to your patrol car?"
Min Ji-hye turned her down first.
But Yoon Min-ha brushed off the refusal lightly and reached into her pocket, pulling out two bottles of vitamin drinks.
Pop.
She cracked one open in an instant and handed it to Min Ji-hye.
"Here, have this, Inspector... Min Ji-hye. Thanks for all your hard work."
She'd shown up out of the blue, asking if she could toss some case-related questions their way.
Clearly, she had plenty of experience dealing with cops as a reporter.
The moment she handed over the drink, Yoon Min-ha quickly scanned Min Ji-hye's name and rank insignia.
"Uh..."
Min Ji-hye, who usually stuck to substation duties and rarely dealt with reporters, seemed caught off guard.
Even she, with her usual poker face and prickly cat vibe, hesitated for a second.
Yoon Min-ha cracked open the remaining bottle and offered it to Lee Jae-hyun.
"Thanks for your hard work, Patrol Officer. Your name is... Lee Jae-hyun...? Huh?"
This time, it was Yoon Min-ha who froze.
She hadn't come knowing Lee Jae-hyun was here—her eyes widened the instant she spotted his name tag.
"Nice to meet you, Reporter Yoon Min-ha."
Lee Jae-hyun greeted her as she stared at him blankly, drink half-extended.
Only then did Yoon Min-ha snap out of it.
"Ah, wow... I had no idea I'd run into you here."
"The incident happened in our jurisdiction."
"What a coincidence. Seriously, nice to meet you."
Yoon Min-ha pressed the vitamin drink into Lee Jae-hyun's hand, her smile genuine—bright and surprised, not just polite.
"You didn't know I was here?"
"Of course not. It's not like I have the inside scoop on every cop in Korea. I'd have to be told where someone is to know."
Yoon Min-ha waved it off, insisting she hadn't expected this at all.
Truth be told, Lee Jae-hyun hadn't anticipated seeing her either—he was a bit surprised himself.
Of course, someone else was even more shocked.
Blink, blink.
Min Ji-hye glanced back and forth between Lee Jae-hyun and Yoon Min-ha, eyes wide.
"So... Jae-hyun, you two know each other?"
"No, not exactly know each other, but..."
"Yup, we talked on the phone just last week."
As Min Ji-hye asked, Lee Jae-hyun started to reply.
But Yoon Min-ha smoothly cut in from the side.
Lee Jae-hyun let out a dry chuckle and glanced at her.
Sure, they had talked last week.
But that had been their first—and last—conversation.
"That's a weird way to put it, Reporter."
"Hey, I'm from Dongyoung Daily—we only report the facts. No way my words are off."
When Lee Jae-hyun called her out, Yoon Min-ha responded coolly.
Watching her, Lee Jae-hyun once again felt she reminded him of Kim Jun-ho—sharp and unflappable.
He shrugged and continued.
"Never thought I'd witness rumor-mill magic up close."
"With all due respect, it didn't really make for much of a story."
Yoon Min-ha grinned cheekily.
She parried every quip without missing a beat, and Lee Jae-hyun ended up shaking his head with a laugh.
Even in his previous life, he hadn't been close with reporters.
He'd kept in touch with a few, but nothing you'd call "friends."
So he didn't know their world inside out.
But he had a decent read on their type.
Reporters like Yoon Min-ha? They split down the middle.
Some hounded cops into corners for scoops.
Others teamed up to break real stories.
He wasn't sure which she was yet, but one thing was clear: she had no reason to play hardball with him right now.
As Lee Jae-hyun paused to think, still eyeing her, Min Ji-hye stepped in.
"Anyway, we have patrol duty."
"Ah, right. Patrol comes first. Mind if I ask a few quick questions while you head to your car?"
"...Jae-hyun. What do you think?"
Min Ji-hye glanced at Lee Jae-hyun for input.
Yoon Min-ha's eyes lit up as she realized decision-making had shifted to him.
Lee Jae-hyun met her intense gaze—like she might drop to her knees any second—and chuckled lightly.
"I'm fine with it."
"Well... yeah, sure, me too."
It was only a ten-minute walk at most to the parking lot where the patrol car waited.
No big deal.
With articles already flooding out, answering a few questions wasn't much trouble.
"Thank you so much. This way, then."
Yoon Min-ha bowed her head gratefully, and they started walking toward the hospital parking lot.
Along the way, she fired off questions.
Sharper than expected, several of them.
"Who was the initial reporter?"
"Uh, the initial reporter..."
"We can't disclose that to protect the reporter's identity."
Min Ji-hye started to answer on reflex, but Lee Jae-hyun cut in sharply.
She flinched at being interrupted but quickly realized her near-miss and adjusted her expression.
"Yes, we can't reveal the reporter's personal details."
Yoon Min-ha nodded slightly at Min Ji-hye's response.
Technically, Min Ji-hye outranked her here, but Lee Jae-hyun was calling the shots.
Catching on, Yoon Min-ha directed her next question his way.
"So the victims... a six-year-old child and the mother raising them alone, right? Why would the perp... do something so brutal?"
"The perp was an illegal loan shark. He went to threaten the mother—who'd borrowed from him due to financial hardship—over repayment, and things escalated."
"Reports say there were no signs of forced entry at the scene, though..."
"No comment on that."
Lee Jae-hyun drew clear lines: what he could say, what he couldn't.
The fact that the victim reported it would leak eventually, but he aimed to slow it down.
Perp's motive? Fine to share. Anything personal about the victim? Off-limits.
Obvious.
Legally, perps had rights too—best not to say anything that could endanger them.
But whatever.
If he'd been the type to sweat that, he wouldn't have earned the "Mad Dog" label in his past life.
"You mentioned the perp ran an illegal loan shark operation. How big was it?"
"We're still assessing, but at least ten billion won, we estimate."
He'd heard the safe held about 530 million won in cash.
All confiscated, naturally, since it was dirty money.
Just the safe's contents topped 500 million—add circulating cash and Gu Hyun-seok's personal stash, and ten billion was a conservative lowball.
Lee Jae-hyun pegged it at around two billion.
Pretty massive.
With six full-time staff at the office alone, the scale was obvious.
He answered smoothly up to that point, but the next question? No way.
It touched on victim details.
"The victim being a six-year-old and a single mom raising the kid... so the husband...?"
Yoon Min-ha trailed off, reading Lee Jae-hyun's face.
She knew he wouldn't bite.
Lee Jae-hyun glanced at the elevator doors as they dinged open, then stepped out and turned to her.
Did she think he'd spill on the husband?
Sure, the guy was wanted for fraud—a criminal.
And Lee Jae-hyun didn't fuss much over criminals' rights.
But this tied straight to victim privacy.
No-go.
"That's not something I can comment on."
His tone was firm—even Min Ji-hye shot him a look.
A subtle warning to Yoon Min-ha.
No more victim-related prying.
Otherwise, he'd play ball.
Yoon Min-ha met his gaze steadily and nodded.
She didn't seem clueless—she got it.
Lee Jae-hyun resumed walking, figuring that was that.
Then came her next question.
One any reporter would ask, but one that made him hesitate.
"So... word is the perp broke some ribs during takedown. Was the arresting officer...?"
Yoon Min-ha asked carefully.
Fair game for her, sensitive for cops.
Obviously.
Excessive force claims could brew anytime.
The case was fresh, perp's crimes vile—public outrage pinned him.
But sentiment could flip.
The arresting officer might catch heat.
Yoon Min-ha knew it was touchy, hence the caution.
And in that instant—
Lee Jae-hyun whipped his head around.
Min Ji-hye, right beside him, jolted.
Yoon Min-ha stepped back half a pace.
"Ah, if that's off-limits, sorry..."
Yoon Min-ha started to apologize.
But Lee Jae-hyun's eyes weren't on her.
A man he'd glimpsed as she asked—passing by, heading for the elevators.
Familiar, somehow.
Lee Jae-hyun stared for a beat, then a memory flashed.
He bolted without a word.
"Looks like I really screwed up..."
"Huh? What?"
Leaving the baffled Yoon Min-ha and Min Ji-hye behind, Lee Jae-hyun sprinted.
'That's the guy.'