At Shin Haesu’s words, the man holding the sashimi knife let out a small laugh.

“Chicken? Ha, this bastard doesn’t get the situation yet. Should I stab you in the gut?”

The man swung the sashimi knife threateningly.

Haesu gently placed the black plastic bag beside the shoe cabinet and swung his hand.

Thud—!

His palm struck the flat side of the sashimi knife precisely, knocking it out of the man's grip and embedding it into the floor.

The man widened his eyes, unable to comprehend what had just happened, as if his brain had short-circuited.

At that moment, Haesu’s large hand gripped his throat.

“See? You shouldn’t hold a knife so carelessly.”

“This bastard—!”

“Get him!”

At the same time, the other two men, armed with a hammer and a pipe wrench, charged.

Haesu used the sashimi man as a shield and backed into the narrow space near the shoe cabinet.

“L-let go, you son of a—kgh!”

The more he spoke, the tighter the grip became. Just as the man’s eyes started rolling back, Haesu slammed him against the wall.

Crash! Crack!

Once into the left wall, once into the right. A sickening crunch echoed from the man's throat.

Haesu tossed him at the other two men and lunged forward.

“Die!”

The hammer came crashing down toward Haesu’s head. He took a quick step back to dodge it, then immediately stepped forward and extended his fist.

Thud—

With a clean jab, the man winced and stumbled backward. His nose caved inward.

Meanwhile, the other man swung the pipe wrench at Haesu’s shoulder.

Haesu tilted his upper body slightly, raising his thick forearm to block it, then twisted his waist and drove his opposite elbow into the man's face.

Smack!

The elbow struck right between the man's jaw and mouth. His eyes rolled back, his mouth opened involuntarily, and a mixture of white and red objects scattered onto the floor.

Clatter.

Four teeth.

The man hit the wall once and then slumped to the floor.

“D-don’t come any closer!”

The last remaining man, holding the hammer, clutched his bleeding nose with one hand and backed away.

It was a small studio apartment—just two steps, and he was trapped in a corner.

“Didn’t you just tell me to come over?”

“W-wait, I—I was wrong—”

Thud!

Haesu’s fist smashed into his nose again.

The man had been covering his face with his hands, so this time, even his fingers cracked under the impact. He collapsed with a scream.

“Aaargh!”

Clank.

Haesu gathered up their weapons and tossed them into the sink. Then he walked back to the entrance and flung the door wide open.

Two more thuggish-looking men were standing outside, blocking the doorway.

One of them peered past Haesu into the apartment. His eyes went wide.

“Oh, shit—”

Before he could react, Haesu grabbed both of them by the collars and yanked them inside.

Outside, on the street in front of Haesu’s apartment.

A gray van was parked with its lights off but the engine running. Inside, a man in the driver’s seat was smoking a cigarette without even rolling down the window.

“Damn… A guy living in a dump like this won a hundred billion? Life is just pure dumb luck. But why the hell is it so noisy… Huh?”

He saw a face pressed against the heavily tinted window. Thinking it was one of his guys, he leaned in closer.

Smash!

The window shattered like brittle candy, and an arm shot inside.

“W-what the fuck?!”

The man grabbed at the gearshift, trying to accelerate, but Haesu wasn’t about to let that happen.

Thud! Thud!

With two hard smashes against the steering wheel, the driver’s escape attempt came to an abrupt halt.

Haesu opened the door, dragged the dazed man out, and hauled him back inside.

Inside Haesu’s apartment.

The five captured men were now tied up with mountaineering rope, their arms secured behind them. Their heads hung low, and their necks were connected to each other, making escape impossible.

Silently, Haesu bound the driver’s arms and pushed him into the corner. The man, seeing the others, instinctively took his place without a word.

Haesu sat cross-legged in front of them, munching on his chicken.

“Who’s the boss here?”

“I-I am.”

“Sashimi?”

“Yes, sir!”

The man stood up so fast that the rope pulled, making the others collapse.

“Ah, shit—”

“Ugh!”

Haesu lazily waved his chicken drumstick at him.

“Kneel.”

“Yes, sir!”

The men hurriedly bowed their heads again.

“Now, list out exactly what you were planning to do.”

“Yes, sir. So, basically…”

The man rattled off their entire plan without hesitation, wanting to avoid any further trouble.

His pronunciation was so bad that Haesu untied him and made him kneel properly in front of him.

“So the plan was to transfer the money into that account, right?”

“Yes.”

“How much?”

“Thirty billion… sir.”

Just as expected. They had found out about his lottery win and even knew the exact amount.

They weren’t greedy enough to take everything—just enough that the victim might consider negotiating.

In previous cases, they had stolen five billion from people who had won twenty billion.

They would read out the victims’ personal details, threaten to kill their entire families if they reported it, and so far, no one had dared to go to the police.

“Interesting.”

Having finished his soy sauce chicken, Haesu set it aside and opened the spicy version. He bit into a wing and asked.

“The banker, right?”

The sashimi man flinched, eyes widening.

Though he said nothing, his lips trembled.

That reaction was confirmation.

Haesu recalled the bank employees he had met.

“It’s Ju Yong-pal, isn’t it?”

The man’s eyes grew even wider.

“The money is being laundered overseas, probably to the Philippines or China.”

The man’s mouth fell open.

Haesu smirked before his expression turned cold. He pointed a chicken bone at the man.

“Do you really think you’ll get your cut if you and Yong-pal go to prison?”

“I…”

“Of course not. You’re the one taking all the risk. He’s set it up so you take the full blame while he gets off easy and keeps the money.”

“That son of a bitch, Yong-pal…”

The man cursed under his breath, then hesitated.

“But how do you know all this? You’re just a government employee…”

Smack!

Haesu slapped him with a chicken drumstick.

“Ow!”

“Aren’t cops government employees?”

“Ah…”

“Anyway, let’s get to work on reducing your sentences. First, we return the stolen money to the victims—”

“W-wait, officer, why would you—”

Smack!

“Ugh.”

“Interrupt me again, and I’ll rip out your tongue.”

“…I’m sorry.”

“Now listen carefully. First, you’re going to call…”

Haesu collaborated with the sashimi man to devise a plan and also requested assistance from the intelligence division for phone number and account tracking.

In a bustling nightclub parking lot, Ju Yong-pal sat inside a foreign luxury car—one that would be impossible to afford on a bank clerk’s salary—quietly listening to music.

Two mobile phones were placed beside him, seemingly waiting for a call.

Before long, an old-fashioned flip phone rang.

“Why are you so late?”

-“Boss Ju, we have 2 billion left, excluding today’s amount. We need to collect that.”

“Huh? Why all of a sudden? Did today’s job go well?”

-“50 billion. If we get that, we’ll let today’s amount go.”

“Hey, what the hell? Why are you suddenly pulling this? Do you know how much money we’ve split so far? You know me—I make sure things are secure.”

-“This one’s big. Honestly, all you do is toss us the info and do nothing else. We handle everything in the field.”

Bam!

Ju Yong-pal slammed his fist into the car interior.

“You bastards only got this far because of me! Without me, you’d be nothing more than petty thieves making a few tens or hundreds of millions from robbing one house!”

-“If you’re not interested, hang up. Don’t treat us like idiots—we’ve got accounts too. We’ll take everything this time and disappear.”

“Hah… fuck. So what do you want me to do?”

-“Cash. By tomorrow. Then we’ll deposit it.”

“Tomorrow…? Fuck. It’ll take at least a month to withdraw that much and launder it. That’s insane—”

-“Laundering? We’ll handle that shit. Just have it ready tomorrow.”

“You stubborn little shits… Wait a second, I need proof you actually got the money. Show me the cash, and wire 1 billion to the usual place.”

-“Boss Ju, you really have the nerve to make demands when you owe us. Fine.”

After the call ended, Ju Yong-pal slammed his fists onto the steering wheel.

Bam! Bam! Beeeeep!

“Damn it! This is why I hate dumb thug bastards! Shit… should I just cut them off?”

But he quickly shook his head. He had shared too much with them based on trust.

‘Just one last job, then I’ll take the money and disappear overseas. Those street rats can rot in jail…!’

As soon as he made up his mind, a transaction notification popped up—1 billion had been deposited into his laundering account. A photo of the remaining 4 billion sitting in their ghost accounts soon followed.

Ju Yong-pal smirked, the corner of his mouth twisting.

“Idiots… A dog dares to bite its master? You’ll regret today’s stunt for the rest of your lives.”

His mood soured, and without stepping out of the car, he pressed the accelerator.

The next day.

A worn-down Hyundai Avante rattled into a drive-in theater parking lot. Soon after, a Bongo van pulled up right next to it.

Bzzzz

The passenger-side window rolled down, revealing Ju Yong-pal’s scowling face as he glared up at the van.

“You guys really go all out… Just get in.”

The sashimi man grinned and climbed into the backseat, where a black bag was waiting. He carefully inspected the stacks of cash inside.

“…One, two… twenty. Right on the mark. As expected, Boss Ju is precise.”

“You knew that, yet you still pulled this shit? Hurry up and wire the money.”

“Money? Sure thing. Hey.”

The sashimi man shouted toward the van, and a figure wearing a deeply pulled-down cap stepped out. The person opened the passenger door and got in.

Ju Yong-pal blinked. This silhouette didn’t match anyone in his crew. Yet… it felt familiar.

Shhh

The stranger removed their cap and locked eyes with Ju Yong-pal.

“It’s been a while.”

“S-Shin Haesu…? What the hell is this? Boss Kang?”

The sashimi man—now identified as “Boss Kang”—scowled and muttered.

“What the hell do you think? You’re fucked.”

Click. Click.

Haesu pulled out a pair of handcuffs and snapped them onto Yong-pal’s wrists.

“Ju Yong-pal, you are under emergency arrest for violating the Personal Information Protection Act and for orchestrating special armed robbery. You can get a lawyer if you want. Do you have anything to say?”

“S-Say?”

“Don’t.”

Still struggling to process what had just happened, Yong-pal alternated glances between Boss Kang and Haesu, unable to say a word.

Ju Yong-pal and Boss Kang’s crew had extorted a total of 10 billion won from lottery winners through threats. Excluding Haesu, there were 18 victims, but not a single one had reported it to the police.

Using the 1 billion Haesu had deposited, the intelligence division traced the accounts, successfully recovering nearly half of the stolen money in cash.

The rest was retrieved by liquidating Ju Yong-pal’s remaining assets, allowing for the recovery of over 90% of the damages.

The case shook not only the local precinct but also the major crime division of Gangjin Station.

“Shin Haesu? The guy we caught back then? Damn, he’s the real deal.”

“Step up your game, guys! This month’s top arrest record belongs to a district officer. How does that even make sense?”

“Why is he even in the district station? We should recruit him.”

“If I had that power, I’d be the commissioner.”

“Wait… where did he even get that 1 billion seed money? Dude’s rich.”

“I heard he won the lottery.”

“Wow… Lucky bastard. No way he’s transferring now—he’d probably quit instead.”

Even the normally absent station chief personally praised Haesu’s efforts and awarded him a cash reward.

“Thanks to you, I can actually face the superintendent these days. Well done. Keep up the good work.”

Officer Lim, Haesu’s patrol partner, kept sneaking glances at him during their rounds, eyes filled with admiration.

“Even after work, you’re out here catching criminals… You’re a true policeman.”

Haesu waved a hand dismissively.

“Not at all. It was just a coincidence… Please, don’t.”

As their shift neared its end and they returned to the station, Officer Lim suddenly grabbed Haesu’s arm just before he stepped out of the car.

“Sergeant Shin, you don’t have a girlfriend, right?”

The abrupt question caught Haesu off guard.

“…No, I don’t.”

“Then, what’s your ideal type?”

“I don’t really have one.”

“Come on, just give me three traits.”

“Three…?”

Haesu rubbed his chin thoughtfully before snapping his fingers and raising an index finger.

“First, a woman with strong crime prevention instincts. Second, a woman who hates crime. Third… a woman who doesn’t cheat.”

Officer Lim was taken aback.

“W-What kind of answer is that? Haha… Hmm… Well, I don’t know if she meets all of those, but I have a pretty, capable friend. Want to go on a blind date?”

“…A blind date?”