Chapter 83
Chapter 83
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Translator: uly
Chapter: 83
Chapter Title: Debrief at the Station
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Incheon Western Police Station.
Inspector Seo Yoo-jun, who had just arrived at the station, immediately called in Lee Jae-hyun and Inspector Oh Seo-hyun for the case investigation.
“What…… Anyway, you two are really friends?”
Inspector Seo Yoo-jun tossed out the question to lighten the mood before diving into the interrogation.
It was a way of signaling that this wasn’t a formal interrogation—just a casual chat.
Lee Jae-hyun shook his head slightly in response.
It felt a bit ambiguous to call them friends.
“No, not really……”
“Yeah, sure. We decided to be friends starting today.”
Inspector Oh Seo-hyun answered at the same time as Lee Jae-hyun.
Their conflicting responses made Inspector Seo Yoo-jun blink in surprise.
Lee Jae-hyun scratched his cheek and followed up.
“Yeah, that seems to be the case.”
“Ha, really……”
Inspector Seo Yoo-jun looked utterly baffled.
He quickly moved on to another topic.
“Fine, let’s say you’re friends. I get that you were personally invested in the school violence case, but drinking with the perpetrator’s father at a club? That’s a bit off, don’t you think?”
“We got lucky. I went there to check out which clubs he frequented…… I figured if the timing lined up, I might see who he was meeting.”
“But you ended up going into a room together? Without any backup?”
“Yeah, well. The MD came over and invited us in, so we went.”
Inspector Seo Yoo-jun’s question carried a hint of reprimand.
Inspector Oh Seo-hyun gave an awkward smile as she replied.
“Alright…… fine, whatever. But what’s this about drugs? If drugs were involved, you should’ve said something upfront.”
“I didn’t know about that either.”
“Come on, I know you didn’t confirm yet. We’ll need tests for that, but from the way the guy acted, it sure looked like it.”
“No, seriously…… I really had no idea.”
Inspector Oh Seo-hyun shook her head slightly, insisting she truly hadn’t known.
At her words, Inspector Seo Yoo-jun glanced at Lee Jae-hyun.
Lee Jae-hyun immediately backed her up.
“Yeah, we’d only figured out he had some backroom deal with Daehan Bank…… We knew there were other illegal activities tied in, but we hadn’t pinned down what exactly, so drugs never crossed our minds.”
Even Lee Jae-hyun could only chalk it up to luck if it really was GHB.
Well, if Park Man-seok used GHB often, then the guy who got caught was just the unlucky one—not that “bad luck” applied to him in the usual sense.
At the very least, it was pure luck for Lee Jae-hyun and Oh Seo-hyun.
Drugs meant harsh penalties even for first-timers, and he’d tried to destroy evidence right in front of cops.
No way he’d wriggle out easily……
And even if by some miracle he did, the school violence case—Lee Jae-hyun and Oh Seo-hyun’s original target—would already be wrapped up.
Who’d have bandwidth for anything else while dealing with a drug bust?
He’d be too busy scrambling to handle his own mess to even think about getting his daughter to drop the charges.
‘Still, we need to make sure he doesn’t slip away.’
Not just the drugs—everything else too.
There were all those rumors of him assaulting employees, and he’d openly threatened to cut his daughter off. How could they let that slide?
‘Gonna be busy.’
They had to dig deep into Park Man-seok properly, and if possible, look into Hyeonmin Group ties through his company, PMC.
And that wasn’t all.
They also had to expose every crime of the Daehan Bank Tan-yeong Intersection Branch manager and ensure he faced real justice.
From what they’d seen so far…… among the bank president’s evil karma, anything beyond embezzlement or breach of trust was likely drug-related.
They’d have to cook it up nice and serve it properly for resolution.
It was clear things would be hectic for a while.
The one silver lining……
“Backroom deals with Daehan Bank……? Okay, got it. Once the drugs confirm, I’ll lead the team and launch a full investigation. For the bank side, we’ll formally request support from the Financial Crimes Unit.”
“Understood.”
Inspector Oh Seo-hyun replied crisply.
“And…… Sergeant Lee Jae-hyun? You okay with this?”
“Yeah, I’m fine. Nail it properly.”
Lee Jae-hyun nodded as he answered.
Still, Inspector Oh Seo-hyun couldn’t help but tread carefully.
It was understandable—performance metrics were on the line, and it could feel sensitive.
Like snatching a fish right from someone’s grasp.
“Hmm…… We’re not the type to steal credit or anything. We’ll make sure to include your name prominently in the report, Inspector Lee.”
“Thanks for looking out.”
For Lee Jae-hyun, it didn’t matter either way.
He’d just been promoted to sergeant days ago.
He wasn’t desperate for merits yet…… This wasn’t about racking up points.
It was about fulfilling his A/S promise to Song A-ram properly.
* * *
Meanwhile.
Club Daepo.
“What the fuck is this……”
Kim Sun-woo, son of the Daehan Bank Tan-yeong Intersection Branch manager.
He’d come to the club for some fun after a long time—and witnessed something insane.
He knew Park Man-seok frequented Daepo.
His own father, Kim Jin-cheon, had partied there with Park Man-seok before and even called Kim Sun-woo over sometimes.
That’s partly why he came here.
Other places carded minors like him, but not here—no one checked his ID.
A quick greeting to Park Man-seok who showed up now and then could even score him a room on the house.
As the boss’s daughter’s friend, expenses covered.
Naturally, Daepo felt like home to Kim Sun-woo……
But not tonight.
It felt utterly alien.
Cops had stormed in, and Park Man-seok got dragged out.
The almighty Park Man-seok—arrested?
No way.
It was too shocking, and alarm bells started ringing in his head.
He suddenly remembered where he’d seen the guy who’d followed Park Man-seok out as he was hauled away.
‘That cop bastard from before!’
Handcuffed, he hadn’t recognized him at first, but now it clicked—the cop who was Song A-ram’s uncle.
Should he call Park Hyun-jin? But right now, she wasn’t the priority.
Not just Park Man-seok—the cops had nabbed a cop too?
What the hell was going on?
‘I don’t know why they got nabbed…… but our family isn’t tangled up in this, right?’
Kim Sun-woo couldn’t be sure.
His dad, himself—the whole family was tied to Park Man-seok’s.
Why else would he and Park Hyun-jin be so tight?
Snapping to, he called his father, Kim Jin-cheon.
“Yeah, Dad. It’s me.”
―What is it? Dad’s busy—spit it out.
Kim Sun-woo felt a chill.
Busy?
Had cops shown up at his dad’s too?
His voice trembled as he spoke.
“W-what’s going on?”
―Dinner with the team, you punk. Nothing to say? I’m hanging up.
Maybe because he’d been so tense.
The words “dinner with the team” made his legs buckle as he let out a sigh of relief.
‘No, snap out of it—this isn’t the time.’
Regaining his wits, Kim Sun-woo rushed on with the phone to his ear.
“No, Dad—not now. We’re fucked.”
―What? What mess did you cause this time? I told you to lay low!
Kim Jin-cheon sighed and yelled back at his frantic son.
But deep down, he’d probably dismiss it as minor.
Thinking something like caught smoking again.
Just some petty rebellion.
How serious could a kid’s screw-up be?
So Kim Jin-cheon was surely brushing off his son’s words.
At his father’s reaction, Kim Sun-woo clutched his aching head and spat it out.
“I didn’t cause trouble—trouble found us.”
―What? Trouble? You hurt?
“No, just listen.”
―Okay, okay.
Kim Jin-cheon told him to go ahead.
He knew his son well.
No way the kid was calling about someone else’s mess out of the goodness of his heart.
Not his own accident, but witnessing one?
Never……
And he wasn’t the type to prank-call over nothing, so Kim Jin-cheon decided to hear him out.
“I was at Daepo, and suddenly cops show up and nab Uncle Man-seok. What’s this about?”
―What? Daepo? You went there again? I told you to hold off! And it’s a work…….
“No, Dad! That’s not the point right now!”
Uncle Man-seok arrested, and he’s scolding him now?
Frustrated, Kim Sun-woo yelled, and a deep sigh came through the phone from Kim Jin-cheon.
―Ha…… What’s to worry? Probably just assault investigation—he’ll walk on his own.
Unlike his hysterical son, it was a nonchalant response.
To climb to branch manager, Kim Jin-cheon had faced countless people trying to drag him down.
His way of crushing them? Insurance.
A shield against fallout, no matter where it hit.
And at Club Daepo, his insurance was the gang holding shares there—the Axe Gang.
He’d fed them plenty of cash, turning them into dogs at his and Park Man-seok’s feet. They fed him real-time intel on everything going down.
When big trouble brewed, they protected not just Park Man-seok, but Kim Jin-cheon and Kim Sun-woo too.
No need for on-site heroics.
Cash them up, and they handled it.
So he wasn’t sweating this time either……
“Cops got nabbed too.”
―Who else nabs people? Cops? Quit the nonsense……
“No, a cop got nabbed ‘with him.’”
―What?
Hearing the details, it sounded headache-inducingly complicated.
Getting nabbed by cops on-site? Sure.
But a cop nabbed by cops?
Did Park Man-seok get caught slipping cash to a cop?
That was bad.
His deals could surface in the investigation.
“The cop got handcuffed too and dragged out by other cops.”
―……Fuck. Got it—hanging up.
The call cut off abruptly.
Kim Sun-woo ruffled his hair in anxiety.
“No way we’re really screwed, right?”
He muttered under his breath.
And as always.
“Could’ve sworn” had a way of biting people.