A wrecked pub

“Kyaaa!”

As the employee collapsed, the customers screamed and began to murmur in panic.

Kim Eun-mi, too, was shaken, her face turning pale.

“Ugh…”

“Get up, you bastard!”

The burly man grabbed the employee by the hair and forcibly pulled them up.

Seeing this, Shin Haesu met Eun-mi’s eyes and spoke.

“Excuse me for a moment.”

Just as the burly man raised his hand again to slap the employee, someone grabbed his wrist.

Tap.

“Hey.”

The burly man, having caught sight of Haesu rising from his seat, frowned and turned his head.

“Are you out of your damn mind—”

His voice trailed off. His eyes widened. Within his pupils, the chilling gaze of Haesu was reflected.

The man, who had been scowling fiercely, saw his expression gradually soften. He averted his gaze downward and spoke in the most docile voice he could muster.

“…Oh. I had no idea a detective was here! I sincerely apologize for the disturbance!”

He quickly altered his words, but Haesu’s face remained stone-cold. Seeing this, the burly man prostrated himself on the floor, as if bowing in apology before the shattered glass and spilled alcohol.

The other men behind him, upon recognizing Haesu, visibly trembled and followed suit, lowering their heads.

“…We’re sorry.”

Haesu tilted his head slightly at the unexpected situation. Their faces didn’t ring any bells, but given how their hands and shoulders were shaking, he was sure he had personally dealt with them before.

The entire pub had fallen into dead silence, every eye focused solely on Haesu.

For those who hadn't heard the word "detective," Haesu must have looked like nothing more than a crime boss.

Haesu glanced at Eun-mi before shifting his gaze back to the men.

“Get up.”

“Not until you forgive us.”

“…Not until you forgive us.”

When they remained motionless, Haesu’s voice dropped an octave.

“I said, get up.”

Thud. Thud.

The chilling tone made them scramble to their feet and kneel before him.

At least they weren’t completely lacking in awareness.

“Where are you from? And someone, help that employee up.”

“Y-Yes, sir!”

Gangsters never openly mention their organization’s name—it would be an admission of illegal activity.

“We’re from Gaesong-dong, Detective.”

“Gaesong-dong… Turn around and apologize to the employee.”

At Haesu’s words, all three men immediately stood and bowed deeply to the employee.

“We’re sorry for what we did!”

“We sincerely apologize!”

“The employee doesn’t have to accept your apology. They can call the police and report this as assault.”

Hearing this, the burly men, who had suddenly become meek, grew even more obedient. One of the women accompanying them grabbed one of their arms and whispered.

“What the hell? Why are you acting like this? The three of you against one guy?”

“For god’s sake, shut up. Just shut it.”

The man who had slapped the employee spoke seriously.

“It was my fault. Do whatever you need to do.”

“You should also clean up.”

“Yes! Of course!”

Despite their flushed faces, the men, now completely sober, apologized to the employee and the customers before starting to clean up.

Haesu recommended calling the police, but the employee, seemingly afraid of retaliation, adamantly refused.

Seeing this, one of the burly men was touched by their kindness and, instead of offering a settlement, stuffed all the 50,000-won bills in his wallet—nearly ten of them—into the employee’s pocket.

Haesu was relieved that he had handled the situation without using physical force in front of his blind date.

Once the mess was cleaned and the men had left, Eun-mi finally snapped back to reality.

‘What was that…?’

He hadn’t raised his voice, let alone used force, yet he had resolved the situation cleanly. Against three burly, rough-looking men. This was something Eun-mi had never witnessed before.

When he grabbed that man’s wrist before the slap could land, it was like a scene from a drama.

‘And those forearm veins… damn.’

At that moment, a dry yet slightly concerned voice reached her ears.

“Are you all right? Should we move to a different place?”

“Ah… no, the men who just left… why did they act like that?”

“Hmm, I didn’t hear their conversation earlier.”

“No, I meant with you.”

“Ah. They were thugs I ran into back when I was stationed at the precinct. They recognized me as a detective, that’s all. These things happen naturally between cops and gangsters.”

“Naturally…”

‘If that was natural, why were they shaking so much?’

Eun-mi sneaked a glance at Haesu. His sharp features and broad, solid shoulders felt incredibly reliable.

She met his eyes.

‘Change of plans.’

Her gaze softened, her long eyelashes accentuating her expression.

‘Maybe seeing him for a little while wouldn’t be so bad.’

She deliberately undid a button on her blouse and slowly crossed her legs.

Haesu’s pupils wavered ever so slightly at her provocative gesture.

‘Cute. You’re totally into this.’

“Shall we toast?”

“…Sure.”

After a few more drinks, the two left the pub.

Since you couldn’t call a chauffeur for a motorcycle, they walked to the main road to catch a taxi.

Facing each other, they prepared to say goodbye.

Swaying slightly, Eun-mi scanned Haesu from head to toe.

“Tonight… wasn’t bad, I guess.”

“I see.”

‘That’s it? I’m about to get in a taxi, and that’s all? Do I have to spoon-feed him everything?’

Seeing that he remained silent, Eun-mi crossed her arms and lifted her chin confidently.

“Next time—”

“I’m sorry.”

“…What?”

Eun-mi was utterly taken aback. The idea of being rejected wasn’t even a possibility in her mind. She was gorgeous, had a great body, and was successful—she simply couldn’t understand.

“Eun-mi, you’re not my type.”

“W-What? Excuse me?”

Eun-mi felt like grabbing the back of her neck in frustration. She barely managed to hold herself together and glared at Haesu.

“Honestly, I don't like you either. I was only going to meet you again out of courtesy for Lim Shia. But a man with no car, no house, and no money—how could he possibly be my type? Ha! Unbelievable.”

“I see.”

It infuriated her even more that he didn't seem affected at all and instead looked slightly apologetic.

“Whatever. Don't say anything to Shia. Let's never see each other again!”

“Alright, then.”

Haesu gave her a slight bow in farewell. Without looking back, she stomped off in her high heels and got into a taxi.

“Miss? Where to?”

“Ha! This is ridiculous. Men way better than him are lining up for me, and he doesn’t even appreciate it? How dare he reject me? The more I think about it, the more absurd it is…”

“Miss? I asked where you’re going.”

“Sandong-A Apartments!”

“Ah, got it. No need to yell.”

Scowling at the taxi driver, Eun-mi picked up her phone and called Lim Shia.

Ring ring! Ring ring!

Even though it was still far from his work hours, the loud ringtone echoed through the room. Haesu fumbled for his phone and checked the screen.

[Asset Manager, Director Gu Se-ju]

“Yes, Director.”

- Hello, President Shin. Oh, were you sleeping?

“I worked the night shift.”

- Ah, my apologies. But this is an urgent matter.

“It’s fine.”

- You know the Reed Building where my office is? The owner is rushing to sell it to prevent his company from going bankrupt. With an 8% return, it’s one of the top buildings in terms of profitability in the eastern part of Gangjin City.

“How much?”

- 4 billion won. If you have time to wait, you could resell it for 5 billion. You could also just leave it as is and collect rent. Properties like this are rare, so I highly recommend purchasing it.

“Alright, do it.”

- As expected, you’re decisive. I’ll proceed with the contract and contact you soon.

“Alright.”

It was surreal. Even when he had 10 billion won in his account, it didn’t feel real, and now, the idea of owning such a large building gave him a strange feeling.

Since he was already up, he had breakfast, worked out, and dressed for work. Just as he was about to leave, Director Gu called again.

“Yes, Director?”

- Good news! We closed at 3.7 billion won!

“Well done. How much is the real estate agent’s commission for a deal like this?”

- Gotta work hard to make a living. I have a license, so I handled it myself. No commission necessary!

“Thank you. Great work.”

- Thank you, President. Have a good day!

Upon arriving at the Eastern District Police Station, Haesu had just gotten into the patrol car when Officer Lim spoke up.

“I heard things didn’t work out with Eun-mi.”

“Yes, that’s right.”

“She’s acting like she dumped you, but judging by how she’s venting her frustration, I think you rejected her. What didn’t you like about Eun-mi? She’s the prettiest and most popular among my friends.”

Recalling the blind date, Haesu answered.

“She lacks a sense of security. And…”

The memory of her unbuttoning her blouse right in front of him flashed through his mind.

“I’m conservative.”

“Ah… um… What the hell did Eun-mi do…”

Officer Lim glanced at Haesu, hoping for more details, but he didn’t bring up the blind date again.

On his way home after work.

Working the night shift from 1 a.m. to 9 a.m. was tough, but one benefit was that he often had the next day off.

Since tomorrow was his day off, Haesu decided to visit the Reed Building he had just purchased.

Beep beep beep! Beep beep beep!

As he waited at a red light, the pedestrian signal blinked green. A man wearing thick-rimmed glasses and a neat suit hurried across the crosswalk.

Haesu recognized his face.

‘That’s Director Gu.’

It looked like he was heading somewhere from his office.

Even without him, Haesu could still tour the Reed Building, so he didn’t change his destination.

Vrooooom—

The sound of an engine revving at full throttle gave him an uneasy feeling.

He was still at a red light. The pedestrian signal was green. The road on both sides of him was packed with stationary cars.

But the roaring engine was coming from behind him? And it was getting closer?

Before he could turn around, a black car was already speeding the wrong way down an empty lane.

CRASH!

The black sedan struck Director Gu with immense force.

The impact sent his body flying several meters into the air. He hit another car before crashing to the ground and rolling across the pavement.

“Kyaaah!”

“Aaaah!”

Piercing screams filled the air.

The black sedan didn’t even slow down. It continued straight toward the overpass, disappearing from sight. There was no time to catch its license plate—Haesu immediately jumped off his motorcycle and ran to Director Gu.

He lay sprawled in the middle of the four-lane intersection.

The amount of blood soaking the asphalt was staggering, almost too much for a human body to lose.

“Director Gu!”

“Guh… guh… ugh…”

His body convulsed violently, and his mouth foamed with blood.

His upper and lower body were twisted as if they were about to be torn apart. His intestines spilled out, severed. Even a god couldn’t save him.

Meeting his fading eyes, Haesu grasped his bloodied hand.

As Director Gu’s pupils gradually lost focus, they locked onto Haesu’s gaze. Whether it was instinct or unconscious will, he wasn’t sure.

In his final moments, Director Gu read the look in Haesu’s eyes.

‘I will… make sure to save you.’