“Oh my, hello.”

“Hello.”

The leader of Team 1 entered the Gyeonggi Violent Crimes Unit's investigation headquarters first, carrying luggage and greeting them. Behind him, the muscle-bound officers followed in a line.

“Ah, yes.”

“Come in.”

The response from the Violent Crimes Unit detectives was lukewarm. Naturally so. They had been investigating for months, and now, having to admit their incompetence and bring in outside help was a severe blow to their pride.

And it wasn’t even the frontline detectives’ decision. It was almost a certainty that the order for joint investigation came forcibly from someone higher up, like the Chief or Commissioner.

Understanding this to some extent, Team 1 kept their expressions in check.

At that moment, the door opened again, revealing a woman in her thirties.

“Hello~ everyone from the Violent Crimes Unit, nice to see you again. Oh, I see some new faces. You must be from Gangjin City? Nice to meet you. I'm profiler Yang Ji-eun.”

“Ah, yes, nice to meet you.”

It was only now that they realized the gravity of the situation and decided to station a high-level profiler.

The original Violent Crimes Unit had six members. Team 1 from Gangjin quickly settled in and received a case briefing from the Violent Crimes Unit.

“Ha… First, as of yesterday, the sixth victim has died. The pattern remains the same—the perpetrator cuts off all ten fingers. The crime occurred in an area with no CCTV, and the only footage we have is from a distant black box, capturing only the perpetrator’s back.”

The Violent Crimes Unit had not been idle. They had gathered quite a bit of information.

The perpetrator was bold, not bothering to wear a mask or hat. As a result, footage often captured his back, allowing for analysis of his height, age, and gait, but his face remained elusive.

Furthermore, the crime locations were scattered all over Gyeonggi Province, even reaching Gangjin City, making it impossible to predict the next site.

The victims were all women in their 20s and 30s who lived alone, and all were murdered in their homes.

Several characteristics of the perpetrator were identified—his killings were not impulsive but meticulously planned. He would linger near the victims for days beforehand, learning their routines and schedules before making his move.

“…Thus, the hair found at the crime scenes was subjected to DNA analysis, but there were no matches in the criminal database.”

As soon as the briefing ended, Haesu raised his hand.

“The last case is peculiar in that the perpetrator was wearing a T-shirt with ‘police’ written on it. Has the exact T-shirt been identified?”

A detective from the Violent Crimes Unit sighed slightly at Haesu’s question.

“You’re new to this case, so you might not know, but this guy isn’t just any criminal—he’s extremely smart. It’s not easy to get an actual police T-shirt, so he must have made it himself to deceive the victims.”

The subtle tone of condescension made Oh Kang-seok grit his teeth.

“This is ruled out because of this, that is ruled out because of that, then what exactly are we investigating?”

“What?”

Kang-seok’s provocation made a few detectives from the Violent Crimes Unit bristle.

“Watch your mouth. Maybe you guys only know how to investigate with brute force, but real investigations require selection and focus. If you’re ignorant, at least…”

Kang-seok shot up from his seat. At the same time, the muscle-bound officers exhaled sharply through their noses and flexed their bulging biceps.

“Yeah? You want to be convinced with brute force?”

With Kang-seok even mimicking their speech, the most muscular detective from the other side stepped forward, clasped his hands together, and flexed his chest muscles.

Seeing this, Haesu casually stood next to the youngest team member and flexed his own biceps.

The leader of Team 1 exchanged glances with the leader of the Violent Crimes Unit and subtly shook his head.

At that moment, profiler Yang Ji-eun stepped forward and raised her hand.

“Ah… May I say something?”

“Go ahead.”

“Yes, I will. The perpetrator has successfully committed five murders yet doesn’t feel the psychological pressure of an intensifying investigation. That’s why he stopped wearing a mask and hat. Criminals who kill for the sake of killing, rather than for financial gain or sexual assault, experience immense satisfaction and a sense of superiority from their crimes. And ironically, the police’s repeated failures have led the perpetrator to let his guard down. This is our chance.”

Yang Ji-eun rattled off her analysis like a machine gun, leaving the detectives speechless.

At that moment, the youngest team member leaned toward Haesu and whispered.

“Senior, what did she just say?”

“Hmm, basically…”

Haesu trailed off. Just then, Yang Ji-eun pointed at the whiteboard with her index finger and said,

“We need to investigate that police T-shirt.”

The youngest detective finally understood, snapping his fingers and nodding. In any case, this put weight behind Team 1’s opinion.

They began a detailed analysis of the captured CCTV images of the T-shirt from various angles.

“This looks like a number behind the word ‘police.’”

“It is a number. The first digit is definitely a 1, but the rest is unclear.”

“If it’s a number, it’s unnecessary for the design, meaning he didn’t make it himself—he obtained it. Where’s the guy who gave the briefing earlier?”

“Ugh, don’t overthink it. Just focus on the analysis.”

At that moment, the youngest detective murmured while looking at his phone.

“1…45?”

“What? Did you figure something out?”

“Ah, it looks like 145. I tried replicating the font and took a picture with my phone from a distance—it looks almost identical.”

“Wow, you’re right. That’s a smart trick, kid.”

Haesu nodded in satisfaction at the youngest detective and said,

“If it says ‘Police 145,’ it must be a class number. Not for patrol officers, not for riot police… It’s from the conscripted police.”

“We have to find all the conscripted officers from the 145th class?”

Haesu nodded as if it were obvious.

“At most, there would be 300. If we filter by height and region, the list will shrink significantly.”

“Damn, there’s a chance we won’t find anything…”

Kang-seok glanced at the Violent Crimes Unit before quickly changing his words.

“No, let’s do it. Investigations are always done with physical effort.”

The detectives filtered the 145th class of conscripted officers by height—around 175 cm—and eliminated those currently living far away, like Busan or Gangwon-do, narrowing the list down to eleven names.

The leader of Team 1 and the leader of the Violent Crimes Unit spread out the eleven profiles and solemnly addressed their teams.

“Alright, it’s time to get moving.”

“Go, Muscle Squad! Oh Kang-seok! Charge!!”

“Hey, this weird pattern of speech is making me uncomfortable.”

There was the simple option of calling and requesting attendance, but if they contacted people unrelated to the case, half would dismiss it as a phishing scam.

More importantly, if the perpetrator was among them, a call would alert him to the police’s movements, allowing him to prepare in advance. That’s why they had to do this the hard way—by visiting in person.

“Phew… How many have we done so far?”

“This is our last one.”

“This neighborhood has so many stairs. Good thing it’s leg day.”

“Ugh.”

The last person on their list was Jung Seong-cheol, 37 years old, a freelance video designer.

They arrived at his registered address and looked around. There was no sign of life.

Thump, thump-!

As the youngest knocked, the old scrap metal door shook as if it would break.

“Is anyone there? Is there no one inside? Mr. Jung Sung-cheol?”

“Haesu, try calling.”

“Yes.”

While Haesu made the call, Ogeng pressed his ear to the gap in the door, focusing his hearing to detect any ringing or vibrations. But he heard nothing.

“Something feels off.”

“Let's check around the area first.”

Haesu went down the stairs and entered a small supermarket tucked in the corner of the hill.

“Do you know Mr. Jung Sung-cheol, who lives up the hill with the blue gate? He’s about 175 cm tall…”

“Oh? That weird bachelor?”

A middle-aged woman with pink hair rollers furrowed her brows as she responded.

“Are you the police? Did that guy finally do something?”

“No, we just have a few questions.”

“Is that so? That guy… he's seriously suspicious.”

At her words, Ogeng pricked up his ears. The woman covered her mouth halfway as if sharing a secret and whispered.

“One time, I went out for a smoke late at night, and I saw him struggling down the hill with a massive bag, almost as big as his own body. What else could that be but a person?”

Haesu and Ogeng exchanged glances. Ogeng asked urgently.

“When was this?”

“A few days ago?”

“Why didn’t you report it to the police?”

“What if he finds out I snitched and comes after me? I nearly peed myself that night, I tell you!”

Ogeng signaled Haesu with his eyes and probed the woman further for details.

Meanwhile, Haesu stepped back and radioed the team leader.

“This is 201. We've found a suspicious individual among our targets.”

-“201, copy. We’ll regroup at your location.”

After reuniting with the Violent Crimes Unit, they parked a van near Jung Sung-cheol’s residence and began surveillance.

As night fell, the detectives' eyes grew heavy with sleep.

“Why is he taking so long? Are we gonna be here for days?”

Ignoring Ogeng’s grumbling, Haesu checked the time. It was 1 a.m. Just then, a rattling old car rolled up and stopped in front of the stairs.

Haesu nudged Ogeng’s shoulder and elbowed the dozing rookie’s arm.

“I-I wasn’t asleep!”

“Shh.”

A man stepped out of the car where Haesu pointed.

The moonlight revealed a face strikingly similar to the photo of Jung Sung-cheol. His height and build matched as well.

“Delivery has arrived.”

-“201, delivery confirmed.”

“Standby.”

-“Song-pal.”

“Song-pal” was their code for “Understood.”

Inside the opposite van, the Violent Crimes Unit members also watched intently.

The man opened the car trunk, pulled out a massive golf bag, slung it over his shoulder with effort, and began climbing the stairs.

Something was wrong. Serial killers don’t transport bodies.

The rookie spoke in a trembling voice.

“This feels off. His hobby is golf?”

“Golf bags aren’t supposed to be that heavy.”

“T-there’s something visible at the bottom… It’s slightly open…”

Haesu narrowed his eyes and examined it. Something white was glinting in the moonlight. It was unmistakably a human…

“Finger.”

As soon as Haesu spoke, Ogeng pulled up his zipper, and the rookie grabbed his handcuffs. The air inside the van tensed instantly.

“201, go.”

-“201, moving in.”

Haesu furrowed his brows. Ogeng muttered something under his breath and carefully opened the car door.

Click. Ssshhh—

As Team 1 stepped out, the detectives from the Violent Crimes Unit across the street also poured out. The suspect had walked far enough, but if he turned around, he would see everything. The ridiculous scene of eight well-built men pressed together on the hillside beside the stairs unfolded.

Across the staircase, Ogeng and the unit leader of the Violent Crimes team engaged in a silent argument using facial expressions and mouth movements.

‘Stay put while you can. You don’t even know exactly where he lives.’

‘You stay put. We were tracking him first.’

‘If we lose him, will you take responsibility?’

‘Why me? That’s your job.’

In the middle of their silent bickering, Haesu crouched low and slipped between them.

‘?’

‘?’

Click-click. Creak—

The man reached the blue gate, opened it, and entered. Just as he was about to lock the door—

BANG!

Haesu forcefully shoved the door open and tackled him.

“Waaah!”

Twisting his arm behind his back, Haesu pinned him down and declared,

“Jung Sung-cheol, you are under arrest for the disposal of a corpse and—”

Mid-sentence, Haesu’s gaze landed on the golf bag. The zipper was slightly open at the end.

Through the gap, a human finger was visible… but something seemed off.

Just then, the detectives burst in through the metal door.

With his arm pinned, Jung Sung-cheol whimpered.

“I-I’m sorry! Please, just this once!”

Something was wrong. Leaving the suspect to the other officers, Haesu moved toward the golf bag as if entranced and pulled the zipper open.

“N-no, Miku-chan!”

Inside was a dismembered human…

Or rather, a doll resembling a dismembered human.

“Uh…”

“W-what the hell is this?”

The other detectives were equally dumbfounded.

It turned out Jung Sung-cheol had been secretly importing adult dolls, the kind that had recently caused a customs controversy.

The one the supermarket lady had seen before was an older model he had sold second-hand.

The detectives, having been completely off-track, slumped in exhaustion.

Haesu apologized while keeping the explanation vague enough that the suspect wouldn’t realize the full situation.

“…So during our investigation, we ended up here. I apologize for twisting your arm. If you visit a hospital and submit a diagnosis—”

“Ah, it’s fine. I’m totally okay.”

His tone was odd, but fortunately, he was understanding. Seizing the opportunity, Haesu asked,

“You were in the 145th class of the police auxiliary force, correct? Is this uniform a standard issue?”

“Huh? Oh, yeah, 145th… That t-shirt looks familiar. We were supposed to return them when discharged, but… huh?”

Unlike the others, Jung Sung-cheol reacted differently upon seeing the suspect’s back on the monitor. Haesu’s eyes gleamed.

“Do you recognize him?”

“Uh… Not really, but one person comes to mind. He wasn’t my classmate, though.”

“Who?”

“A senior from my military service. He was nice but sometimes creepy… His name’s Im Gi-seong, from the 141st class. Normally, he was meek, but during riot training, he’d lose it and charge like a madman. He even almost got jailed for bashing protestors’ heads with a shield.”

The rookie pulled up CCTV footage on his phone.

“Is this him?”

After staring for a moment, Jung Sung-cheol nodded.

“The way he walks… Yeah, it looks like him.”

The detectives, who had been disappointed by their false lead, suddenly found a spark of hope in their eyes.