Chapter 48
Chapter 48
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: uly
Chapter: 48
Chapter Title: Good News and Bad News
-----------------------------------------------------------------
One piece of good news, one piece of bad news.
Everyone's faces hardened at Team Leader Oh Cheol-jin's words.
The good news was easy enough to guess.
Obviously, it had to be the envelope in his hand.
He'd brought the end-of-month bonuses, and judging by the thickness, it wasn't a bad amount.
But the bad news? No clue at all, which only ramped up the tension.
Even Kim Jun-ho, who'd been focused solely on the bonus until a moment ago, now furrowed his brow and quietly watched Team Leader Oh Cheol-jin.
Team Leader Oh Cheol-jin clicked his tongue and waved the envelope in his hand.
"For starters, the good news is the bonus."
Kim Jun-ho flinched, as if he'd been about to ask what the bad news was but held back.
Lee Jae-hyun glanced briefly toward Kim Jun-ho.
Team Leader Oh Cheol-jin handed out the envelopes one by one to the team members.
It should have been a happy moment receiving their bonuses, but everyone was too preoccupied with the bad news, accepting the envelopes with awkward expressions.
"Here, this one's yours, Jae-hyun. The maknae worked extra hard this month."
"Thank you. I'll work even harder."
Lee Jae-hyun replied as he took the envelope.
It looked two or three times thicker than the others, and it had a solid weight to it.
Seemed like a pretty decent amount inside.
At Lee Jae-hyun's response, Team Leader Oh Cheol-jin hurriedly shook his head.
"No, no. Don't work even harder. Especially not with this bad news coming up."
"......"
That meant the bad news was related to Lee Jae-hyun.
For now, Lee Jae-hyun felt a bit relieved at that.
He could guess it wasn't anything seriously bad.
A few things immediately came to mind.
Probably the way he'd roughed up Myeong Jin-han pretty good, or smashing the glass door of that pet shop the guy ran... And just recently, breaking Gu Hyun-seok's rib when they nabbed him.
Maybe he'd get disciplined for excessive force.
'It'll be over in a month or two, at most.'
Lee Jae-hyun still hadn't faced any excessive force controversies.
As a rookie patrol officer, it was natural he had no prior record.
Usually, for first-timers, they hand out a one- or two-month suspension and call it a day, even if it's serious.
At worst, a pay cut.
It was all familiar territory for Lee Jae-hyun, so he watched Team Leader Oh Cheol-jin with a calm expression.
But it seemed unfamiliar to Team Leader Oh Cheol-jin.
He clenched his fist tight, let out a heavy sigh, and continued.
"Myeong Jin-han... filed a complaint against you."
"No fucking way that dog of a man exists!"
As soon as Team Leader Oh Cheol-jin finished, Kim Jun-ho shot to his feet, unleashing his anger.
Lee Jae-hyun was momentarily startled by the sudden profanity.
"That crazy bastard."
Park Dae-hyung muttered a curse under his breath.
Min Ji-hye nodded vigorously in agreement, her lips—which had been slightly curled up—now set in a hard line.
Even Kim Seok-hyun, the oldest and always the gentle one, looked pissed off, his face tense.
He looked at Team Leader Oh Cheol-jin and spoke.
"What's the charge?"
"Property damage."
"What? Why would our maknae destroy that guy's property?"
"Oh, that... I smashed the glass door of the pet shop Myeong Jin-han was running last time."
At Team Leader Oh Cheol-jin's explanation, Kim Jun-ho let out a disbelieving chuckle.
Lee Jae-hyun raised his hand slightly and cut in.
Honestly, he had nothing to say about breaking the pet shop's glass door.
'What more is there to say? I did good.'
He was too confident to add anything.
Same with the rest.
What was wrong with beating a criminal during an arrest?
What was the problem with smashing a door to uncover hidden evidence?
To repeat: he was confident.
Of course, if there were consequences, he was ready to face them anytime.
Rules were rules, after all.
He'd take responsibility for his actions.
That was Lee Jae-hyun's standing principle.
"That's not property damage; it's justified damage during an investigation..."
"I argued hard on your behalf, but... no dice on that one. Still, they said we can settle it by just compensating for the glass door. So, pay for the glass, and it should be fine."
"Ah, yes. Got it."
Kim Jun-ho started to say something more, but Team Leader Oh Cheol-jin ignored him and addressed only Lee Jae-hyun.
Lee Jae-hyun nodded in response.
Team Leader Oh Cheol-jin wasn't done yet, sighing heavily before continuing.
"And he's making a fuss about excessive force, physical assault during interrogation, that kind of thing..."
"That subhuman scum whining about being treated like a human?"
"The substation chief told me to handle it with a verbal warning and move on."
"Why's that our maknae's fault?"
"I know, so pipe down. I'm still talking."
"Yes, sir. Sorry."
Kim Jun-ho kept chiming in, so Team Leader Oh Cheol-jin finally raised his arm toward him.
As Team Leader Oh Cheol-jin lifted his arm slightly, Kim Jun-ho immediately backed down.
"Anyway, you didn't do anything wrong, but it's something to be cautious about. Just be a little more careful from now on. Tone down the passion... a bit."
"Yes, sir. I'll be mindful."
"Good. Well... that's the good news and bad news delivered. Done."
Team Leader Oh Cheol-jin tapped the partition and wrapped it up.
The words were done, but no one looked happy.
Lee Jae-hyun was checking on the team members' reactions when Kim Jun-ho, who'd been standing, finally approached him.
"Ha, for real. Hey, maknae."
"Yes, Sergeant Kim Jun-ho."
"Use this."
With that, he plopped his own bonus envelope onto Lee Jae-hyun's desk.
Lee Jae-hyun immediately looked up at the bonus envelope now on his desk and asked back.
"Pardon?"
"You have to pay for the glass door, right? Use this. Looks like about 300,000 won. That should cover it, yeah?"
"I'm fine. Buy Posuni a cat tower instead."
Lee Jae-hyun picked up the envelope again and held it out to Kim Jun-ho.
Police salaries weren't great.
That applied to Kim Jun-ho too, naturally.
A 300,000-won bonus was real money.
"Posuni eats well enough as is. And she doesn't even use the cat tower much. Prefers cardboard boxes we scrounge up."
"Really, I'm okay."
"Hey, it's a bonus you earned by doing good work anyway. I'm totally fine... What's that?"
Kim Jun-ho waved his hand as if to say put it away quick, looking like he truly didn't mind.
Then he blinked at the three Shim Sa-jeong bills extended from the side.
Min Ji-hye was holding out three 50,000-won bills to Kim Jun-ho.
"I'll cover half."
She said it like it was the most natural thing.
She leaned toward Kim Jun-ho, urging him to take them.
The moment Park Dae-hyung started to rise from his seat upon seeing that...
"Everyone freeze."
"......?"
Team Leader Oh Cheol-jin spoke in his authoritative team leader voice.
Park Dae-hyung froze in his awkward half-risen pose.
Team Leader Oh Cheol-jin continued.
"First come, first served."
"Pardon?"
"Helping with the maknae's glass door money—first come, first served."
"Exactly. I was first."
Kim Jun-ho nodded with a grin at Team Leader Oh Cheol-jin's words.
But Team Leader Oh Cheol-jin reached into his pocket, pulled out an envelope, and shook it.
It dangled limply—empty inside.
Grinning, he gently pushed Min Ji-hye's still-extended arm to make her withdraw it, then took Kim Jun-ho's bonus envelope from Lee Jae-hyun's desk and stuffed it back into Kim Jun-ho's pocket.
"I gave first, so we're done. Complaints only from the high earners."
At his words, Lee Jae-hyun checked his own bonus envelope.
Sixteen 50,000-won bills.
800,000 won.
Given his contributions, a bigger bonus than the others made sense, but 800,000 won? Unless someone had slipped their bonus into his envelope, it didn't add up.
"Team Leader, I'm really fine..."
"Lee Jae-hyun."
"Yes, Team Leader."
"You make more than me?"
"No, sir."
"Then no complaints. Alright, now we're really done. Back to work."
Team Leader Oh Cheol-jin clapped once and returned to his seat.
He cleanly shut down any further talk.
The other team members glanced at Lee Jae-hyun with lingering reluctance, but since Team Leader Oh Cheol-jin had yielded his bonus first and told them not to complain, they didn't push.
Lee Jae-hyun quietly looked around.
Yeah, these were the people they always were.
In his past life, he'd just failed to notice.
Always prioritizing revenge.
Eyes rolled back, thinking only of locking up criminals.
He hadn't realized the constant consideration from those around him amid all that.
'People really do need a second life to see things clearly.'
That's when you gain new insights, right?
Lee Jae-hyun smiled lightly to himself with that thought.
He decided to accept Team Leader Oh Cheol-jin's kindness without protest.
Return favors later.
Whether in results or money... He'd repay Team Leader Oh Cheol-jin.
Not just him—all the team members.
With that in mind, Lee Jae-hyun tucked the envelope into his pocket.
* * *
After the morning bonus handoff fiasco.
Into the afternoon, as quitting time approached.
Lee Jae-hyun held his pen and stared down at his notebook.
The child kidnapping murder case was truly right around the corner.
Today was Thursday, and as he recalled, the kidnapping would happen next Tuesday.
Just days away.
Lee Jae-hyun reviewed the notes, checking the situation.
'First, the victim: an 11-year-old boy.'
Name: Choi Dae-hyeon.
He attended taekwondo academy, and vanished on his way home after class the day he was taken.
Happened in a CCTV blind spot, so no identifying the perp.
When the kid didn't come home, his mom sensed something wrong and went looking, but no luck.
Then the kidnapper called, demanding ransom.
'Threatened that reporting to police meant the kid dies, of course.'
After agonizing, the parents reported it to police the next day.
Local cops mobilized for a search, but on the third day, the boy was found dead.
The perp left traces while killing him, so he got caught.
But in resisting arrest, he slashed a cop's shoulder with a sickle.
Then ingested pesticide, fell into a coma, and died two days later.
Never faced legal judgment.
Perp's name: Park Ye-chan, middle-aged farmhand.
That was the full extent of what Lee Jae-hyun remembered.
Not sure how to respond yet.
After staring at the notebook a while, Lee Jae-hyun stood and approached Team Leader Oh Cheol-jin.
"Team Leader."
"Just so you know, no returns."
"Yes, thank you for the glass door money."
"Yeah. So what is it?"
Team Leader Oh Cheol-jin looked at him expectantly.
Lee Jae-hyun spoke plainly.
"Mind if I take tomorrow morning off?"
"Tomorrow morning? Sure, go ahead."
Team Leader Oh Cheol-jin approved the half-day off without much thought.
"But what's up?"
"Oh, just need to head somewhere."
"Alright... Got it."
Team Leader Oh Cheol-jin nodded without pressing further.
Lee Jae-hyun gave a slight bow of thanks and turned away.
Looked like he'd have to check out the scene in person after all.