Manager Kim Hyeong-jin had already left to take care of other business, so only Oh Dong-cheol returned to meet Seo Jung-woo.

Seo Jung-woo met Oh Dong-cheol at a small café near his home. It was the same café run by Lee Joo-yeon, where he had previously bought coffee and cake.

After exchanging brief greetings in a corner of the café, Oh Dong-cheol suddenly leaned forward and pleaded.

“Please help us! We have to debut Sora!”

Oh Dong-cheol’s sudden movement nearly made Seo Jung-woo instinctively strike his chin. Having lived in a harsh world, his body was conditioned to react to attacks.

‘I thought he was trying to headbutt me.’

If this were the other world, his fist would have already flown. But knowing that he couldn't act the same way here, he barely managed to stop himself.

Seeing Seo Jung-woo’s displeased expression, Oh Dong-cheol became flustered.

‘This is bad. He’s not going to give it to me! Of course, why would he give such a great song to a struggling agency like ours? He could take it to a bigger company and use it to negotiate Sora’s debut instead.’

But backing down wasn’t in Oh Dong-cheol’s nature. He quickly listed more reasons.

“Besides Sora, our company has three more girls like her. Nana! Yoon Nana! And on top of that, we have two high school seniors who probably won’t make it to college. If the four of them form a girl group and sing ‘If We Could Meet Again,’ they’ll definitely make it big. I’ve made those kids struggle for years. Sniff. My final wish is to see them debut.”

Seo Jung-woo responded indifferently.

“Your voice sounds like you’re crying, and your face looks like you’re crying, but there aren’t any actual tears.”

Oh Dong-cheol let out an awkward laugh.

“Ah. Ahahaha. I’m not very good at acting.”

“Not at all.”

“But I really do want to debut those kids. I even bought a song for them.”

“Ah, that trash…”

“Yes. I think it’s trash too. That guy handed me a song he had discarded, saying it would be usable with a little tweaking. Ugh. After all the help I gave him back in the day.”

Seo Jung-woo recalled Yoon Nana, who had been kidnapped by a serial killer. Oh Dong-cheol had deliberately emphasized her name just now.

‘A singer debut, huh.’

In the other world, which was constantly at war with monsters, trauma was both common and a serious societal issue. He suspected that Yoon Nana might have developed trauma.

‘If she becomes a successful singer and keeps herself busy, it might help her recover from the trauma.’

His mind started leaning toward the idea. But that wasn’t the only reason he was considering helping.

For a more practical reason, he wanted this song to generate money—a lot of money.

‘I need more funds to research this world further and buy supplies to take back to the other world.’

He still didn’t know how much a patrol officer’s salary was, but he assumed it would be far from enough.

‘I’d love to take some pharmaceutical production equipment with me.’

After calculating the pros and cons, Seo Jung-woo finally spoke.

“Of course, we have to debut Sora. With that song.”

Oh Dong-cheol’s face lit up.

“Thank you!”

“But there’s a condition…”

Oh Dong-cheol’s expression stiffened slightly.

‘Is it about the contract fee? What if he asks for a huge amount? Do I really have to mortgage my house? I’ve already reached my loan limit, and I can’t take out any more. I really can’t resort to loan sharks…’

“What condition…?”

“I’m a police officer.”

Oh Dong-cheol immediately realized it wasn’t about money. His face brightened again.

“Then quit being a cop and become a full-time composer right now!”

“I plan to stay a police officer. For good.”

“Ah. I see. There must be someone you really want to catch.”

“Not exactly. But I want to use a pseudonym as a composer. If my real name gets out, it’ll make my job as a detective harder.”

The small café owner, Lee Joo-yeon, had briefly stepped out after serving their coffee. Since she trusted Seo Jung-woo as a police officer, she had left them alone. Right now, they were the only ones in the café.

Oh Dong-cheol burst into laughter. As long as the condition wasn’t about a large contract fee, he was willing to agree to anything.

“Hahaha! That’s no problem at all. There are tons of people like that in this industry.”

“That’s a relief.”

“Do you have a name in mind?”

“Hmm.”

Seo Jung-woo pondered for a moment.

‘Should I use Uncle Cheol-woo’s name? No, that’s not a good idea. What if I bring more songs later? I should come up with a completely new name.’

“Dimension. Dimension sounds good.”

Seo Sora asked.

“Dimension? What does that mean?”

“It means ‘dimension,’ you ignorant little sister.”

“Are you calling it Dimension because you’re a weirdo?”

“How did you even get into college? Did I steal the exam answers for you?”

“‘Dimension’ can have multiple meanings! That’s why I asked! Don’t treat me like an idiot!”

Oh Dong-Cheol quickly intervened, fearing that the contract might be canceled if the siblings' argument escalated.

“Oh dear. Of course, our Detective Seo should choose a stage name he likes! Dimension. It rolls right off the tongue. Hahaha. Yes, we’ll go with that.”

Now, all that was left was to sign the contract.

However, Oh Dong-Cheol hadn’t brought the contract. Since his failing agency wasn’t in a position to bring in new talent, he never carried one around.

“Please give me your phone number. I’ll prepare the contract and call you as soon as it’s ready.”

“Ah. I don’t have a phone right now.”

“What?”

He made up an excuse.

“It got destroyed while chasing a suspect.”

“Ah!”

Oh Dong-Cheol suddenly jumped up.

“Please wait a moment!”

He dashed out of the café.

Seo Jung-woo leisurely sipped his coffee.

‘As expected, the coffee in this world is amazing.’

After a short while, Oh Dong-Cheol returned and handed him a box containing a new smartphone.

“Here, use this.”

“What is this?”

“I just bought it from the phone store nearby. You just need to insert your SIM card. Hahaha.”

He had put it on his credit card in installments.

Seo Jung-woo didn’t know what a SIM card was. However, he did understand that there was a smartphone inside the box.

‘I should look up what a SIM card is later.’

Without much thought, he accepted the box.

Seo Sora, however, questioned it.

“Oppa, is it okay to just take that? Won’t it be a problem?”

Seo Jung-woo realized something new.

‘In this world, accepting something like this might be a legal issue.’

He still wasn’t familiar with the laws of this world.

“I’m not just taking it. I’ll deduct it from the song payment.”

Oh Dong-Cheol hesitated. He had intended to win favor with this gift, but if it was deducted from the payment, it wasn’t a gift at all—just an errand.

The other party was a government employee. If he tried too hard to bribe him, it could backfire.

“Ah, haha. Of course, of course. It’ll be deducted from the song payment. After all, you work for the government.”

They left the local café and parted ways with Oh Dong-cheol.

On their way home, Seo Sora suddenly started dancing in the middle of the street.

“Ehehe!”

Seo Jung-woo was once again reminded that Seo Sora was his younger sister from a parallel world, split into two dimensions. Her personality and way of speaking were slightly different, but just like the sniper Seo Sora from the other world, she would suddenly break into dance when she was excited.

The only difference was the type of dance.

He asked, “Are you happy?”

“Of course! Starting tomorrow, I’ll practice with this song right away!”

“But your friend Yoon Nana is still in the hospital. How are you going to start tomorrow?”

Seo Sora’s voice sped up. “Nana finished all her tests today. If the results come back fine tomorrow, she’ll be discharged immediately. She lost her phone, so I called her mom earlier and told her our song was finally out. She said she’d start practicing right away tomorrow. She’s really fired up.”

Seo Jung-woo had his own interpretation of her enthusiasm.

She was kidnapped by a serial killer and trapped in a car trunk for an hour or two. She must have been terrified. Coming from such a peaceful place, the fear must have been even worse.

Everyone has their own way of coping with fear. In the other world, many people suffer trauma because of monsters, so various treatment methods are well-known.

Some people focus on other tasks to get through it. Maybe she’s that type. That’s good.

Seo Sora asked, “By the way, do songs just come to you? Like, you suddenly get inspired, and before you know it, there’s a finished sheet of music in front of you?”

“Does that sound realistic?”

“No way. Never. Absolutely not. Then what? Did you just get lucky and write one good song by chance? I mean, even if it was luck, how could it be such a masterpiece…? Wait, did you get possessed by a spirit or something today?”

He had recently awakened a new skill that allowed him to travel between parallel dimensions. It had nothing to do with music, but it did allow him to bring back great songs.

“Sora.”

“Yeah?”

“Don’t question it. Just take what you’re given.”

“Got it!”

Seo Jung-woo entered his room and took out the smartphone he had just received.

“So, this is a phone that connects to the internet? Wow. The world has really advanced.”

Rubbing his hands together, he turned it on. The screen lit up smoothly.

“Oh! Oh! It works! It—huh?”

A message appeared, prompting him to insert a SIM card. He recalled what ES Entertainment’s president, Oh Dong-cheol, had told him earlier.

“What’s a SIM card?”

He turned on his computer and looked it up online.

“Ah, so that’s what it is. But I don’t have one.”

He searched his room thoroughly and eventually found his wallet tucked between the bed cushions.

“Huh? Why is this here? Oh!”

Seo Sora had mentioned that before transferring from the police substation to the detective division, he had gotten heavily drunk at his farewell party.

“I must have just fallen asleep in my clothes and dropped it. If I’d lost my wallet… Man, I hope it ended up in the Elf Village. At least I’d be able to eat there without needing Korean money.”

Now that he had his ID, he left the house and went to a phone store.

He took out his new phone and asked for a SIM card. The store employee asked, “Did you lose your phone?”

Since he wasn’t familiar with the procedure for reporting a lost phone in this world, he made up an excuse.

“I didn’t lose it. It got smashed while fighting a criminal.”

“Huh? A criminal?”

“He had a knife. It was a pretty intense fight.”

“Then… are you by any chance…?”

“I’m a police officer.”

Seo Jung-woo showed his badge.

“Oh, I see! And that criminal…?”

“Caught him.”

“That’s a relief. You weren’t hurt, right?”

“Of course not.”

“Please give me your phone number. I’ll take care of everything.”

Seo Jung-woo handed over his business card.

The employee carefully explained each step and registered the new smartphone. When Jung-woo admitted he had forgotten his password, they even helped him reset it.

Back at home, he started playing with the smartphone.

“Wow, this is amazing. A whole computer fits inside this tiny device. The technology here is insane. How is this even possible?”

It wasn’t just the smartphone—computers were faster, and the internet was even more advanced.

“This world is really something.”

He searched online for police procedures and flipped through the books he had bought earlier at the bookstore.

“There are quite a few similarities in how things are handled.”

In the other world, he wasn’t a police officer but a hunter. However, since he had worked alongside law enforcement often, he had a rough idea of their procedures.

Comparing both worlds, many things were similar, but some were quite different.

“So, you’re not allowed to shoot first. I figured, that’s why I didn’t shoot Jo Dong-sik.”

The next day, Seo Jung-woo reported to the police station.

Now, he could travel between the two worlds daily.

If he wanted to bring the abundant food and supplies from this world to the other, he needed a stable identity and financial security. Being a police officer provided both, and it also made gathering classified information easier.

Detective Jo Min-seok greeted him.

“Jung-woo, how’s your body?”

Since he had finished testing his dimensional teleportation skill, he no longer needed to use the hospital as an excuse.

“I’m fine.”

Detective Baek Sung-min added, “Then let’s get to work. We’ve got a lot to do.”

Team Leader Kwon Byeong-cheol scolded him.

“Hey, don’t just dump work on the guy. He was at a substation until today. He’s still just a rookie.”

“What kind of rookie instantly tracks down a serial killer and takes down a kendo black belt armed with a knife?”

“Shut up and teach him first. Then he can actually do something.”

“Got it. Hey, Min-seok, you heard him. Teach him well.”

“Sure thing.”

Seo Jung-woo spent his first day learning. Since he could compare it with the police work from the other world, it wasn’t hard to adjust. For anything he didn’t understand, he bluffed his way through, planning to look it up later.

Before lunchtime, Kwon Byeong-cheol called him over.

“Jo Dong-sik still isn’t confessing.”

Seo Jung-woo frowned. “But we caught him at the scene. There were witnesses.”

“He admitted to kidnapping Yoon Nana—he couldn’t deny that. But he’s claiming he was just imitating the real serial killer and had no intention of killing her.”

“He’s the real serial killer, though.”

“We know that. But we need hard evidence. Want to interrogate him?”

Surprised, the other detectives hesitated.

Baek Sung-min objected, “Alone?”

“Why not? He caught the guy. Let’s see if he can interrogate him too.”

Jo Min-seok encouraged him. “Go for it, Jung-woo. If things go south, we’ll step in.”

Seo Jung-woo entered the cramped interrogation room. The situation inside could be monitored from outside via a screen.

At that moment, Kwon Byeong-cheol received a phone call.

“Yes, Chief. I’ll come up right away.”

Kwon Byeong-cheol turned to Baek Sung-min and Jo Min-seok.

“The joint investigation task force that was originally handling that serial killer case is putting immense pressure on us to hand him over. Even if we end up transferring him, we need to get his confession and secure all the evidence first so we don’t have to share the credit. I’m going to discuss with the Chief how to delay this for a few more days, so keep an eye on Jung-woo and help him out if he makes any mistakes.”

Baek Sung-min raised his voice confidently.

“Leave it to me. I’ll keep a close watch.”