Chapter 51
Chapter 51
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Translator: uly
Chapter: 51
Chapter Title: Another Sleeping Cat
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The incident where someone mistakenly reported a cat as dead wasn't the kind of case that would draw much attention from the police.
In a police substation where situations cropped up constantly, a cat that seemed dead but woke up barely even qualified as small talk.
Of course, Team 4 at Hanseong Police Substation, where Lee Jae-hyun worked, had no choice but to pay a little more mind to it than others.
After all, it had happened right after 'Po-sooni,' the cat Kim Jun-ho had been raising, died.
But that didn't mean they obsessed over it to the point of disrupting their duties.
Still, Lee Jae-hyun couldn't stop fixating on the cat that had seemed dead asleep.
He forced himself to focus on the tasks at hand.
It felt a bit off, but beyond a vague 'bad feeling,' there was no real reason to dwell on it.
And so, another day passed.
"Good work, everyone. See you tomorrow."
"You too, sir."
The weekend approached.
Substation cops essentially had no weekends.
They did rotate shifts to allow some rest, but Lee Jae-hyun was on duty this weekend.
Night shifts both Saturday and Sunday, off Monday, back on day shift Tuesday.
Tuesday was the day the child kidnapping occurred.
Anxiety kept Lee Jae-hyun from falling asleep easily.
Only three days left now.
A child kidnapped, potentially losing their life, and no clear solution in sight.
He hadn't even prepared a way to prevent it.
He'd worried, looked around, but hadn't truly impacted the case in any real way.
It was frustratingly helpless.
Sleep was out of the question.
He tossed and turned until he dragged himself to work.
Even during the night shift, he kept a notebook open, mulling over ideas to pass the time.
The only call that came in was the usual drunkard report, nothing out of the ordinary.
Seeing Lee Jae-hyun unable to focus, Park Dae-hyung nudged him.
"Tired? Want to take a break?"
"No, I'm fine."
Lee Jae-hyun shook his head at Park Dae-hyung's words.
He wasn't sleepy.
His body felt a bit heavy from physical fatigue, but his mind was sharper than ever.
Park Dae-hyung clicked his tongue at the response and continued.
"But why are you spacing out like this? Something up?"
"No, just... it's bugging me."
"What?"
"The cat incident. Sergeant Kim Jun-ho's Po-sooni died not long ago, and then we get a report of another dead cat right away. It was a false alarm this time, but something feels off."
Lee Jae-hyun blurted it out.
The child kidnapping-murder weighed on him most, but that hadn't happened yet.
He couldn't mention it, so he brought up something that had already occurred.
Besides, the cat case genuinely stuck with him more than others.
Not just because of Kim Jun-ho—his instincts kept pulling him back to it.
"Cats acting weird isn't rare. Eating something bad and keeling over happens all the time."
"...You're right."
Honestly, Lee Jae-hyun had no counter to Inspector Park Dae-hyung's words.
Stray cat complaints or incidents were never unusual, whatever the cause.
Park Dae-hyung stared at him for a moment, then stood and moved behind him.
He placed his hands on Lee Jae-hyun's shoulders and started kneading.
"Inspector Park?"
"Just sit still. You've been off lately. Catching violent criminals left and right, nabbing that fleeing scammer—you've gone nuts all of a sudden. Relax, kid. Stress only hurts you."
Lee Jae-hyun was flustered by the sudden shoulder massage but felt a strange warmth too.
It reminded him of times before, heading out on calls together and getting this familiar gesture.
"Jae-hyun."
"Yes, Inspector."
"Don't stress too much, and forget about performance stats. What you've done already is huge. You could coast for a year and no one would bat an eye."
Park Dae-hyung seemed to think Lee Jae-hyun felt burdened by patrol officer life.
Lee Jae-hyun shook his head slightly.
"I'm not stressed or anything."
"Yeah? Then is it that you feel your achievements aren't getting proper recognition?"
"Not that either... It's just a really bad feeling. Like a big case is about to blow up."
Lee Jae-hyun glanced at Park Dae-hyung, dropping a hint.
Park Dae-hyung scratched his cheek at the words, then plopped back into his seat.
He sucked in a breath through his teeth and spoke.
"If it were anyone else, I'd brush it off, but coming from you, it's got me worried."
"Maybe we should patrol a bit. That's what I'm thinking..."
"Where?"
"How about circling the area around that cat report?"
Lee Jae-hyun suggested.
The false dead-cat report had come from a spot very close to one of the potential crime scenes: the playground.
The alleyway and back of the mart—other suspected spots—bordered Hanseong's jurisdiction but technically fell under another substation.
Sure, cops could say jurisdiction doesn't matter when a case hits, and they'd rush anywhere needed.
But that was after the fact.
They'd respond to calls or requests regardless if nearby, but in normal times, it was iffy.
"Well... yeah, okay. Let's check it out."
Park Dae-hyung shrugged once, then agreed.
* * *
They ended up on patrol.
"Feels like the days are finally cooling off."
"Yeah."
Lee Jae-hyun nodded as Park Dae-hyung spoke while stepping out of the patrol car.
The heat had broken, autumn rushing in.
Winter would follow before long.
Park Dae-hyung yawned as he walked, but Lee Jae-hyun stayed alert, scanning the surroundings.
He paid special attention to spots cats might hide: bushes, under benches.
It might sound odd, but he couldn't shake the feeling that the sedated-cat incidents tied to the child kidnapping.
'It's possible.'
Knowing the future, Lee Jae-hyun could piece things together—and maybe prevent it.
Child kidnappings were often by acquaintances.
Simple reason: acquaintances had the edge, even for adult abductions.
Victims often let their guard down, thinking 'not them.'
Even without that, less suspicion made it easier.
But the child kidnapping-murder he aimed to stop wasn't by an acquaintance.
Not even a local—the perp didn't frequent the area, leaving questions even after capture.
But what if the guy drugged the kid first?
Knocking out an 11-year-old boy who couldn't resist wouldn't be hard.
Carrying him off naturally could dodge suspicion.
Entirely feasible without being an acquaintance.
No clue how he'd drug the kid, but any possibility meant no relaxing.
"Hey, Jae-hyun. Shine the light over there."
It was dark, so they patrolled with flashlights. Park Dae-hyung, strolling casually, tapped his shoulder and pointed.
Lee Jae-hyun aimed the beam where indicated.
"Tuna can?"
A tuna can sat there, clearly placed intentionally.
"Cat food, right?"
"Yeah, well. Even from a flip, it looks left for cats. But it's empty already."
Park Dae-hyung nodded, checking the can.
Cleaned out, it wouldn't raise eyebrows for most.
But not for Lee Jae-hyun.
He'd come suspicious of the cat case.
The can alone was suspect.
'If it's the same as before, then definitely...'
A cat would be nearby, dead asleep.
Lee Jae-hyun scanned sharply.
His detective instincts always spotted anomalies.
A few steps later, he found the downed cat.
Beside the stairs up to the playground, in the bushes.
Too close to the suspected crime spot—suspicion deepened.
Lee Jae-hyun cautiously nudged the cat.
No movement.
But it felt warm.
"Like last time—seems asleep."
"Again? That's weird. Sleeping pills?"
"Probably."
"Whoever it is, twisted hobby. Dosing cats with sedatives."
Park Dae-hyung tsked.
Lee Jae-hyun's 'bad feeling,' plus seeing this twice now.
Abandoned tuna can, sedated cat nearby.
Suspicious enough for anyone, detective or not.
"Got a grudge against cats or something."
As Park Dae-hyung muttered, Lee Jae-hyun grimly surveyed the area.
If tied to the child kidnapping-murder, perp Park Ye-chan would be nearby.
But no one in sight, despite vigilance.
Just quiet.
"What do they gain from knocking these out? Killing them?"
"If they wanted to kill, wouldn't they use rat poison or Tylenol instead of sedatives?"
For killing, poison was simpler than sedating then finishing off.
Unless they were a psycho who loved blood—which they weren't.
As Lee Jae-hyun recalled, Park Ye-chan's goal was money; the murder impulsive, per investigators.
Either not the child case perp, but some real 'psycho bastard.'
Or...
"Could be practice."
"For what?"
"Crime."
Maybe a dry run before snatching a kid.
Lee Jae-hyun answered Park Dae-hyung's puzzled look in a stiff voice.