Chapter 39 – Police [Dogged Cop]

May 21, 2018, 8:24 AM.

Buses and subways carried office workers suffering from Monday blues.

On a moving bus, Section Chief Cha Seonggon of the Guro Police Station’s Intelligence Division leaned his head against the window with his eyes closed, his face haggard from a hangover.

• This stop is the Guro Police Station main gate. The next stop is…

At the sound of the stop announcement, Section Chief Cha opened his eyes. As he got up from his seat, a middle school girl who had been eyeing the spot like a hawk quickly claimed it.

After getting off the bus, Section Chief Cha pressed his throbbing head firmly with his fingers a few times.

“Ugh…”

After shaking his head several times, Section Chief Cha passed through the main gate of the Guro Police Station.

The police officer guarding the gate saluted him, and Section Chief Cha waved his hand dismissively in response.

He didn’t head straight to the Intelligence Division. Instead, he went to the smoking area, sat on a bench, took out a cigarette, and lit it.

“Hoo…”

A deep sigh, along with the lingering effects of alcohol that still hadn’t subsided, were exhaled with the gray smoke.

“…”

Staring blankly into space, Section Chief Cha recalled a conversation he had a few days ago with a friend from the police academy.

『Why are you still living like that?』

『Even if I got lucky with connections and made it to Superintendent, man, all the guys who were worse than you are getting promoted to Chief Inspector this time, so what the hell is this with you?』

『Get with the program a bit, make some connections, get involved in some big cases, man. That’s how you get promoted quickly.』

『The Intelligence Bureau Chief is moving to Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency Chief, and the Deputy Bureau Chief is becoming the Bureau Chief, right? Give it a shot. I hear you get private meetings with those guys.』

『Ugh. Why the hell are you trying to play detective, all caught up in useless detective fantasies, you bastard.』

He couldn’t really respond to the words of his friend, who had been promoted to Superintendent the fastest among their police academy classmates, earned the Taeguk Mugunghwa medal, and went to the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency’s Investigation Division as its head.

『You just need to land one big case. Then I’ll give you a proper push. Man, you need to get that Chief Inspector rank too. Even bastards dumber than you got promoted to Chief Inspector this time and went to… what’s it called… yeah, they went as the chief of the Gwacheon Police Station. If you’d just drop that shitty detective fantasy…』

Listening to the sincere, yet from his perspective, not very pleasant nagging of his Superintendent friend, Section Chief Cha just tilted his glass.

“…”

Just as Section Chief Cha finished his cigarette and roughly crushed it into the ashtray.

“You’re here?”

Team Leader Kang from the Violent Crimes Team appeared, a cigarette in his mouth.

“Whoa. What’s with your face… Who did you drink with yesterday to end up like this?”

At Team Leader Kang’s words, Section Chief Cha gave a bitter smile and took out another cigarette to light.

“I drank alone, man. I asked him to join, but he bailed.”

“Hey, my wife’s got fire in her eyes, how am I supposed to go out?”

Team Leader Kang sat down next to Section Chief Cha.

Team Leader Kang asked Section Chief Cha.

“Hey, I heard you took leave, went to Jeolla Province, and met with some thugs?”

Section Chief Cha looked at Team Leader Kang and said.

“Who said that?”

“Who said? The station chief did.”

“That guy about to retire soon really has a dirty mouth.”

“Why did you meet them?”

“Why do you think? To beat up Lee Jeonghoon.”

Team Leader Kang shook his head with a pitiful expression and clicked his tongue.

“So, did those bastards talk?”

“Talk? They all kept their mouths shut and went into silent meditation.”

“Ugh. Give up already. Hey, frankly, since Lee Jeonghoon that guy took over everything here, there haven’t been any thugs causing trouble, right?”

At Team Leader Kang’s words, Section Chief Cha just gave a bitter smile and didn’t respond further.

Team Leader Kang threw his cigarette into the ashtray and got up.

“Let’s go get some hangover soup.”

At Team Leader Kang’s words, Section Chief Cha looked up at him with bewildered eyes.

“Man, what hangover soup during work hours.”

“Just say we’re out on field duty. There’s been a tip lately about a hidden camera pervert around Guro Jungang Girls’ High School, so we can say we’re going to catch that bastard.”

Section Chief Cha chuckled and shook his head vigorously.

He also put out his cigarette in the ashtray and got up.

“You’re buying.”

At Section Chief Cha’s words, Team Leader Kang smiled and nodded.

Just as the two were about to leave the smoking area.

Beep-beep! Beep-beep! Beep-beep!

Messenger chat alerts rang out several times in succession from Section Chief Cha’s pocket.

Section Chief Cha took out his smartphone.

It was a chat message from an unregistered person.

He opened the message inbox without much thought.

“!!!”

The moment he saw the inbox, his small eyes widened to almost twice their size.

Because photos and videos, bordering on pornography, of a naked man and woman embracing in a luxurious room had arrived.

The moment he checked them, another chat message arrived from the same sender.

<Recording Date: May 4, 2018, 23:15. Recording Location: Club Rust House VIP Private Room, Yeoksam-dong, Gangnam. Persons Appearing: Yang Seungjun (son of National Assembly member Yang Seongil), Shin Myeongjin (Shin Majeok, member of hip-hop duo Majeokseu), Gu Seongyul (composer and entertainer), Ju Saetbyeol (member of idol group Avant-Garde and entertainer), and 5 unidentified civilian women>

The hand holding the smartphone began to tremble uncontrollably.

Instantly, a piece of advice-cum-nagging from his Superintendent friend flashed through his mind.

『Get with the program a bit, make some connections, get involved in some big cases, man. That’s how you get promoted quickly.』

As Section Chief Cha stared holes into his smartphone, unmoving, Team Leader Kang looked at him.

“What are you doing?”

Section Chief Cha couldn’t respond.

In his mind, the message from the mysterious entity now in his possession and the nagging of his Superintendent friend were mixing, creating numerous scenarios.

“I said, what are you doing?”

Team Leader Kang tapped Section Chief Cha’s shoulder. Only then did Section Chief Cha’s gaze turn to Team Leader Kang.

Sensing something unusual, Team Leader Kang asked Section Chief Cha.

“What is it? Something happened? Did you hear something related to Lee Jeonghoon?”

“… Lee Jeonghoon?”

A major case incomparable to Lee Jeonghoon’s Clover Faction or the like.

The decisive evidence for that case was now in his grasp.

Section Chief Cha put the smartphone in his pocket.

“Let’s have the hangover soup next time. I have somewhere to go for a bit.”

Leaving only those words, as Section Chief Cha quickly ran towards the main gate, Team Leader Kang shouted after him.

“Where are you going!”

Section Chief Cha quickly replied without looking back.

“National Police Agency!”

National Police Agency Headquarters.

Intelligence Bureau Chief’s Office.

Just a few months ago, the person who was the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency Chief became the National Police Agency Commissioner, and the person who was the Intelligence Bureau Chief became the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency Chief, so the current Intelligence Bureau Chief’s Office was now occupied by the person who was the Deputy Bureau Chief until a few months ago.

The man sitting in the Bureau Chief’s chair, holding the phone, who had gone from Deputy Bureau Chief to Bureau Chief.

However, his expression was too dark to be that of someone who had been promoted.

“… Yes. Yes. Understood. Yes. Understood. Thank you.”

The Bureau Chief put down the phone receiver.

He leaned back in the chair and covered his face with both hands.

“Ha… Fuck…”

A sigh mixed with resignation and a curse escaped his lips.

‘Why now, of all times…’

“Fuck…”

As the previous administration collapsed abruptly due to impeachment and a regime change occurred before internal adjustments could be made, a strange coexistence between those who had sided with the fallen regime and those trying to side with the new regime continued within the police for a while.

During that period of coexistence, the police had to suffer internal conflict over which side to align with in the new regime.

One of the conflicts that arose during that process was whether the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency Chief would be promoted to Commissioner or an outsider would come in.

The one who worked hard at that time to get the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency Chief promoted to Commissioner was Bu Mingang, and naturally, the police aligned with Bu Mingang’s faction.

‘I thought it was a golden lifeline, but it was completely rotten inside.’

But now, that Bu Mingang was shaking.

On charges of raping his former secretary four times in one night.

So far, apart from an aide’s unofficial, and much-criticized statement that poured oil on the burning public opinion, there had been no particular official statement.

In a call just now with the former Bureau Chief who had gone to become Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency Chief, he received an order to somehow cover up this situation and create an item to save Bu Mingang.

‘There’s no way such a thing exists.’

Although he said he understood over the phone, the Bureau Chief already knew there was no answer.

‘How are we supposed to stop what Yang Seongil is determined to expose?’

The fact that the one who gathered the three major broadcasters, the four general programming channels, and two news channels for a live press conference was Yang Seongil.

That was all the Intelligence Bureau could ascertain.

Neither an item to cover up Bu Mingang’s crimes nor an item to divert public attention focused on Bu Mingang could be created at present.

“Hoo…”

Just as the Bureau Chief let out another deep sigh, a call came from his secretary.

• Bureau Chief. Section Chief Cha Seonggon from Guro Station says he wants to request a meeting.

The Bureau Chief’s expression crumpled further.

“Tell him not now.”

But the Bureau Chief’s words held no power.

Bang-!

The door opened roughly and Section Chief Cha entered.

“This is problematic!”

Secretaries hurriedly followed him in, but Section Chief Cha was adamant.

The Bureau Chief looked at Section Chief Cha with a stern face.

“What the hell are you doing right now!”

His voice rose. But Section Chief Cha didn’t budge an inch.

Section Chief Cha put his hand in his pocket.

Instantly, the secretaries tensed, drew their guns, and aimed at Section Chief Cha.

The Bureau Chief raised his hand to stop the secretaries.

The gun barrels lowered slightly away from Section Chief Cha.

Section Chief Cha took out his smartphone, unlocked the pattern, and handed it to the Bureau Chief.

“What are you doing now?”

At the Bureau Chief’s question, Section Chief Cha looked him straight in the eye and said.

“Look. It’s important.”

With a suspicious expression, the Bureau Chief took the phone from Section Chief Cha.

“…!”

The Bureau Chief’s hand began to tremble violently. His eyes widened, and his pupils shook as if an earthquake had hit.

“Th-this is…”

“I don’t know the source either. But what’s certain is…”

The Bureau Chief cut off Section Chief Cha’s words. He ordered the secretaries.

“You all, wait outside.”

At the Bureau Chief’s words, the secretaries hesitated for a moment but then holstered their guns, bowed, and went out.

After all the secretaries had left, the Bureau Chief looked at Section Chief Cha and asked.

“Where did this come from?”

“I don’t know either. It just came like that this morning.”

“Hmm… Is there nothing else besides this? Any other messages or calls.”

“Not so far.”

“Hmm…”

The Bureau Chief turned his gaze back to Section Chief Cha’s phone.

Watching the video, no different from pornography, with men and women mixed together, the Bureau Chief was excited.

But that excitement wasn’t due to sexual desire.

‘This is it. With this… with this…’

The Bureau Chief looked up at Section Chief Cha and handed him the phone.

“You, send me that message exactly as is. Send screenshots of the original too. Right now.”

“Understood.”

Section Chief Cha soon sent the photos, videos, and messages he had received, along with screenshot images of the originals, to the Bureau Chief’s messenger chat.

Receiving them, the Bureau Chief nodded with a satisfied smile.

The Bureau Chief looked at Section Chief Cha again and said.

“You, first track down the bastard who sent that message. I’ll talk to the Cyber Safety Bureau. That’s your job today. Don’t worry about anything else. If the Guro Station Chief makes a fuss, use my name.”

“Yes, understood.”

“Get going.”

Section Chief Cha saluted the Bureau Chief and left the office.

Confirming he had left, the Bureau Chief immediately picked up the phone receiver and made a call.

After the dial tone for a while, the other party answered.

“Ah, Aide Jung. It’s me. Bureau Chief Choi. I’d like to speak with the Assemblyman now.”

“I’m off!”

Nayeon, getting out of the car, waved her hand with a bright smile.

“Have a good day!”

Siguk in the passenger seat also waved his hand out the window. Lee Jeonghoon in the driver’s seat also waved lightly.

After bidding farewell to the two with a bright smile, Nayeon turned around and scurried into the school.

Watching her enter holding hands with a friend with pigtails she met at the gate, Siguk rolled up the window.

The car started moving again.

“In a year, Nayeon will be a middle schooler too.”

At Siguk’s words, Lee Jeonghoon nodded.

Siguk continued.

“I hope everything gets sorted out within this year if possible. Bae Eunjeong becomes the chairman of Ilsin Group and Chairman Lee also pulls in a lot of money. That way, next year, the school Nayeon goes to won’t be some crappy school like Guro Jungang Middle or Guro Jeil Middle, but a prestigious middle school in Daechi-dong or Dogok-dong.”

Lee Jeonghoon glanced at Siguk and said.

“Are you saying we should move?”

“Did you plan to stay in Guro-gu forever? For Nayeon’s education or to create a company to siphon money from Ilsin Group, moving to Gangnam would be better, right?”

“That’s true, but…”

“Let’s talk about that problem slowly later. Did you send the message properly?”

Lee Jeonghoon grinned.

“Sent it clearly.”

“The cleanup?”

“The phone itself was disposed of, so tracking is impossible.”

Siguk nodded.

He continued.

“With just the VIP private room photos, Bu Mingang’s side should be able to counter sufficiently.”

“Probably. But that won’t be enough to reverse the situation. Yang Seongil’s son is involved, but Bu Mingang himself is involved.”

“If they can’t land a proper counter and just flounder, we can hand over other materials. Yang Seungjun’s phone had a lot of interesting stuff, right?”

At Siguk’s words, Lee Jeonghoon sneered.

“So interesting that if even one thing was made public, all media would become tabloids.”

Siguk grinned.

“Let’s first see how Bu Mingang’s side responds.”

At Siguk’s words, Lee Jeonghoon nodded.

While stopped briefly at a signal, Lee Jeonghoon, as if suddenly remembering, asked Siguk.

“But what about school today?”

“School Foundation Day.”

“Wow. Fantastic. So you have two days off in a row including Buddha’s Birthday tomorrow.”

“I hope Bu Mingang’s side shows something during those two days.”

“Yeah.”

The car started moving again.

Siguk quietly sank into the seat and looked out the window.