Chapter 56
Chapter 56
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Translator: uly
Chapter: 56
Chapter Title: Promise with the Demon
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Lee Jae-hyun caught his breath while waiting for Park Dae-hyung to arrive.
His heart was racing, and his nerves felt tightly wound from tension and regret.
Hoo.
He let out a rough exhale, then lifted his head and found Serhen staring at him. He opened his mouth.
“Why?”
“No, it’s just... For now... You don’t need to blame yourself too much. What’s meant to happen will happen, and the fates you can change are limited. No matter how hard you try, Contractor, there are things you just can’t alter...”
“I could have stopped it. If I’d only thought a little more carefully.”
What’s meant to happen will happen?
Don’t talk nonsense.
Lee Jae-hyun had prevented numerous incidents so far and caught the culprits.
Take Myeong Jin-han, the first one he’d ever caught.
Originally, three more people should have died by his hand.
The victim Jeong Mi-rae, Lee Jae-hyun’s father Lee Han-cheol, and finally Myeong Jin-han himself.
But Lee Jae-hyun had saved all three... and ensured Myeong Jin-han faced proper judgment.
Clearly, he could have stopped this incident too, but his own foolishness had gotten in the way.
Serhen seemed to think differently, though. She shrugged and continued.
“There are definitely fixed fates, and no human can stop them all. The kidnapping was inevitable—just accept it.”
“How could I...”
“So focus on what you can do, Contractor.”
Lee Jae-hyun started to say something more, but Serhen furrowed her brow and pressed on.
Focus on what you can do.
At those words, Lee Jae-hyun nodded.
He couldn’t agree with her claim that fixed fates exist and humans can’t stop them all.
But he could absolutely agree with concentrating on what he could prevent.
The kidnapping had already happened.
So what Lee Jae-hyun could stop was... making sure the child wasn’t killed and returned safely to his parents’ arms.
As he sorted through his thoughts, Serhen spoke up.
“I promise.”
“What?”
“If you catch that kidnapper... when he eventually dies, I’ll make sure he faces proper judgment in hell.”
Serhen looked at Lee Jae-hyun as she said it.
Catch him, and she’d deliver true justice.
Coming from a demon of all people, it was paradoxical... but he believed her.
Lee Jae-hyun met her gaze head-on, her eyes flickering with an inner inferno.
In that moment, he realized Serhen was just as furious as he was.
She’d been angry last time too, during the attempted child murder case.
Was it because this involved a child again?
Whatever the reason.
Seeing her rage and make that promise cooled Lee Jae-hyun’s head.
He clenched his fist tight and spoke.
“...I promise too.”
“What?”
“I’ll catch them, no matter what.”
Lee Jae-hyun’s voice was firm.
Serhen let out a light laugh in response.
He’d never failed to catch someone after declaring he would.
So she naturally believed in him as well.
* * *
Park Dae-hyung arrived soon after.
He’d said he was nearby, and sure enough, he showed up in under ten minutes after their call.
Serhen vanished the moment he arrived.
Lee Jae-hyun gave a slight bow in greeting to Inspector Min Ji-hye, who approached with quick steps alongside Park Dae-hyung.
“Let me explain the situation right away. I was sitting on this bench when the old lady came over and...”
“How’s your condition?”
He’d barely greeted them before starting the explanation, but Min Ji-hye wrinkled her brow and asked.
Lee Jae-hyun paused and looked at her.
Min Ji-hye scanned him up and down while waiting for his answer.
With a strange tone in his voice, he replied.
“I’m fine. Just some muscle soreness, nothing else...”
“Muscle soreness? You’re sure it was just sleeping pills?”
Min Ji-hye asked at his words.
Lee Jae-hyun nodded immediately.
“Yeah. Right after drinking the ginger tea from the old lady, drowsiness hit me like a wave and I passed out cold. That was about an hour ago...”
“And yet muscle soreness... It might not have been just sleeping pills. Let’s head to the hospital first.”
“I’m fine. A kid’s missing, and an on-duty cop got drugged and fell asleep. The child’s in danger, so we need to prioritize...”
“You don’t seem to realize you’re that on-duty cop who got drugged.”
Min Ji-hye said, sounding frustrated.
Her words and actions carried genuine worry for him.
He knew that, but Lee Jae-hyun was well aware of what mattered most right now.
Choi Dae-hyeon—the abducted child’s safety.
He’d been drugged, but nothing serious had happened to his body.
There was no chance of other substances like Min Ji-hye feared.
Serhen had said earlier, ‘Good thing there was nothing besides the sleeping pill ingredients.’
“Anyway, he doesn’t look too bad, so let’s hear the kid’s explanation first.”
In the end, Park Dae-hyung stepped in.
Min Ji-hye’s face showed her displeasure, but she shut her mouth and looked at Lee Jae-hyun.
He continued his explanation.
“She’s shown up on CCTV a few times. We can check that, confirm her identity... There’s no way a grandma alone kidnapped an eleven-year-old, so there must be an accomplice—a grown man, most likely.”
“You’re jumping to conclusions. The kid could’ve just gone missing on his own...”
“With a kid missing and an on-duty cop drugged and asleep? That’s no coincidence.”
Lee Jae-hyun shot back at Min Ji-hye’s words.
He couldn’t help sounding so certain.
From her perspective, it wasn’t confirmed yet if it was a kidnapping, a runaway, or just a missing child—but for him, it was.
Still, her words made him rethink not repeating the same mistake.
Park Dae-hyung, thinking along similar lines, spoke up from the side.
“She’s right. But fixating your thinking in one direction is dangerous, so calm down and rethink it.”
Lee Jae-hyun nodded at his words.
Min Ji-hye, unhappy with how things were going, glanced between Park Dae-hyung and Lee Jae-hyun before speaking.
“Jae-hyun, you go to the hospital first. We need to get back on patrol.”
“I’ll go once this is wrapped up. And they’ve probably already left the area anyway.”
He shook his head at her insistence on the hospital.
He’d known this incident was coming.
And yet he hadn’t stopped it, so he couldn’t help but feel responsible.
At the very least, solving it had to be on him.
That was his personal vow—and the promise he’d made with Serhen.
But...
“You’re not a detective. Whenever there’s suspicion of ingesting a drugged drink, protocol is hospital first, check yourself out... Leave the investigation to the Violent Crimes Unit, right?”
“I’m not a detective, but I’m still a cop. I have the right to investigate and arrest. One more person on this...”
“What, you’ve got the rights, so you’ve gotta take the responsibility too? What’s next, ‘with great power comes great responsibility’ like some movie line?”
Min Ji-hye cut him off, her voice a bit harsh.
Lee Jae-hyun hesitated at her agitation.
From the start, she’d been trying to pull him from the scene and send him to the hospital.
It was the first time he’d seen her show her emotions like this.
“...I failed to recognize the culprit right in front of me. Of course I should take responsibility...”
“Jae-hyun, you’re the rookie. A patrol officer. If there’s responsibility to take, I’ll take it—or Park Inspector here, or our team leader.”
Perhaps feeling bad for snapping, Min Ji-hye spoke calmly.
Even so, Lee Jae-hyun couldn’t easily nod.
Yeah, she was right.
He was just a patrol officer right now... No matter what mistake he made, plenty of people would cover for him.
But even if he looked like a patrol officer on the outside, he had ten years of detective experience inside.
How many criminals had he put away as a detective?
How had he earned the Mad Dog nickname?
Failing to spot an accomplice in a child kidnapping-murder right in front of him was undoubtedly...
A heavy burden of responsibility for Lee Jae-hyun.
“Inspector Min Ji-hye.”
“Yeah.”
“Help me out just this once—so I can live like a real cop. If I go to the hospital now, I’ll regret it forever...”
He clenched his fist as he spoke.
Just yesterday, seeing Choi Dae-hyeon kidnapped, he’d vowed to protect him no matter what.
Vowed to change the future.
Failing to uphold even that was tormenting him.
Min Ji-hye opened her mouth to argue back, refusing to yield...
But Park Dae-hyung placed a hand on her shoulder and shook his head.
She had no choice but to step back.
“...Let’s head back to the substation first. At least change your clothes.”
“Thank you.”
“And both of you, cool your heads on the way.”
With that, Park Dae-hyung wrapped things up and loaded Lee Jae-hyun and Min Ji-hye into the patrol car they’d arrived in.
Even as he did, he gave Lee Jae-hyun a meaningful look that was hard to describe.
* * *
The situation unfolded rapidly.
Only Team 4 suspected a child kidnapping, so they were the only ones moving busily...
But the entire substation buzzed with unrest anyway.
Lee Jae-hyun—the one who’d already filled one hand with heavy hitters like serial killers, fratricide murderers, attempted child killers, and fleeing scammers in just the past few weeks.
Add Park Dae-hyung, a detective now stationed at the substation, moving around with a grave expression, and it was no wonder the whole place was paying attention.
Everyone was subtly helping Team 4 while grasping the situation.
In the midst of it, Lee Jae-hyun checked the grandma’s identity with Min Ji-hye.
“ID check results are in. Name’s Go Hyun-sook. Husband’s dead, one son. Son’s name is Park Ye-chan.”
“Anything notable?”
“She’s in debt. And... from Icheon. Hasn’t been up here long.”
“Icheon?”
Park Dae-hyung, listening from the side, furrowed his brow.
He thought for a moment, then spoke.
“Contact Icheon police. Get her background secured.”
Min Ji-hye nodded at his order and was about to call the local station when—
Clang—
Not the usual chime, but the sound of the door being flung open in haste echoed as someone burst into the substation.
A man and woman, faces pale and trembling.
That alone was enough to inject tension into the already hectic substation.