The next day, Shin Haesu watched Haru sleeping in and then turned around to pick up his phone.

—“It’s been a million years, President Shin!”

“I want to find a house. A secure and spacious place with a security guard.”

—“Aren’t you happy to hear from me?”

“I am. How long will it take?”

—“Well… If you want a secure place, an apartment would be best… Ah! There’s actually a place that fits your criteria. The penthouse on the top floor of your Reed Building has been vacant for about a month.”

The Reed Building is a mixed-use complex with a security guard stationed in the lobby on the first floor, along with CCTV cameras and a steady stream of foot traffic.

Floors 7 through 10 are residential, with a separate elevator exclusively for residents. The 10th floor is a single unit, so no one else would have a reason to come up there.

“Sounds good. I’ll move in right away.”

—“Right away? It needs to be cleaned. I’ll hire a cleaning service to take care of it tomorrow. Oh, and about the special protective gear. That new material is hard to get, but there’s a similar fabric available. There’s enough to make 16 sets. The price is about 50 million won each.”

“That’s much cheaper now. Let’s go with that.”

—“But because of the durability issue, it’s not very flexible. It’ll have to be custom-fitted.”

“Ah…”

—“Since you’re making them for the same detectives anyway, I’ll bring over a professional tailor from our side.”

“Yes, please do that.”

—“Oh, by the way, you didn’t read the email about the fee adjustments, did you?”

“No, I’m sorry.”

—“Well, I’ll take comfort in the fact that this just means you trust me. That means I have to work even harder. Anyway, your asset value has exceeded 25 billion, so the fee rate has been lowered from 11% to 9%.”

“Wasn’t it 13%?”

—“Haha, it’s been 11% for six months now.”

“I see. I guess I hired a good asset manager.”

—“That’s not enough. Buy me some beef later.”

“Alright.”

Haesu smiled faintly and ended the call.

On his day off, at Hwang Jangsu’s gym.

Haesu and Haru stood facing each other in the ring. Hwang Jangsu leaned his arm over the ring rope, switching into spectator mode.

“Come at me with everything you’ve got.”

“…Okay.”

Haru clenched her mouth shut and nodded resolutely.

No matter how secure their new place might be, as long as Haesu remained a detective, danger could come at any time and from any place.

Even though Haru was already skilled, Haesu intended to train her more and teach her proper restraint techniques.

Swish, thud, swish swish, thud—

Haesu and Haru’s fists and feet blurred as they exchanged quick blows. Hwang Jangsu’s mouth, which had been relaxed at first, slowly fell open.

Smack, click, smack, click—

Then, Haesu grabbed both of Haru’s wrists and stopped her.

“Wait, hold on.”

“Hey… Where’d you find a girl like this?”

Even Haesu was surprised. His inner elbows, wrists, the back of his hands, his sides, knees, and shins—all of them throbbed with pain.

Haru wasn’t particularly strong or muscular, and though she was fast, she wasn’t on the level of a true martial arts prodigy.

However, her sense of timing when attacking and dodging, and the precision of her strike locations, were all instinctively perfect.

This was partly training—but mostly, it was talent. Haru had a natural gift for combat despite being a woman.

Haru’s primary combat style was a counter-based strategy that compensated for her physical limitations as a woman. She would react at the perfect moment to counter an opponent’s attack.

If they threw a punch, she would strike the inner elbow; if they swung a kick, she would target the shin or the top of the foot.

By using the opponent’s kinetic energy, even her relatively weak strikes could deal serious damage and stop the attack.

However, she was vulnerable to grappling. Against a high-level opponent like Haesu or Hwang Jangsu, being grabbed would be the end.

“Let’s start with restraint techniques. I’m going to attack you with this rubber knife. Try to counter it—slowly, slowly.”

Haru gave a small nod. She was conserving her breath due to her lack of stamina.

Smack—

“No, if you do that, the opponent could die instantly. Try this instead.”

Smack—

“No, that’s still fatal. Do it like this.”

Thud—

“Nope, still deadly.”

“That’s also fatal.”

“Instant death.”

“Ack!”

Every single one of Haru’s moves was lethal. It was almost unbelievable that she had managed to avoid killing anyone during that real-life fight incident.

Haesu carefully adjusted her techniques, modifying them to use the opponent’s strength against them while keeping Haru’s natural talents intact.

This wasn’t to protect the criminals—it was to protect Haru’s mind. After that incident, Haru had suffered for days, tormented by guilt.

“Huff, huff.”

Haru gasped for breath, her arms and legs trembling. But instead of collapsing or asking to stop, she braced herself and adjusted her stance.

Probably because she hadn’t eaten well in the underworld, her stamina was weak.

Haesu helped her sit against a pillar and handed her a bottle of water.

“Let’s rest. No need to rush. We’ll do this every day from now on.”

Haru held the bottle without drinking and widened her eyes.

“Really? That’s… That’s amazing!!”

The joy in her voice was unmistakable. She had reacted the same way when he first taught her restraint techniques—despite the grueling exhaustion, she genuinely loved the training.

[Gangjin Police Station]

“This the place?”

Near the front wall of Gangjin Police Station, five burly men stood clustered together.

A man with a thin mustache answered.

“Yeah, boss. Checked the website—it’s definitely Detective Shin Haesu.”

“I thought you were gonna do some scouting?”

“Ah, well… Got a little busy.”

“Doesn’t matter. If we wait, he’ll show up.”

“Boss Cloud, why don’t you go sit in a café while I keep watch?”

The man called Cloud, the most muscular of the group, shook his head.

“No. Let’s wait. In a fight, the initial show of force is critical. We need to start with a stare-down the moment he comes out.”

“As expected…”

“As expected from a seasoned fighter. I’m learning something new again, boss.”

While they were staring intently at the police station, Shin Haesu walked out.

“Oh, I think that’s him… Yeah, it’s definitely him. His build confirms it.”

“Let’s go.”

“We’ll catch him right here out front.”

At that, Cloud glanced at the officer standing at the main entrance and smirked.

“Who’s catching who?”

“Ooooh.”

As Cloud led the men toward the police station, a figure emerged from the main building—a short man with muscles rivaling Haesu’s, but more defined and larger.

The men instinctively turned on their heels and walked away.

“We have some manners, after all. We’re not about to storm a police station.”

“That’s right. We may like to fight, but we still uphold justice.”

“Are all detectives built like that?”

“No wonder South Korea is so safe.”

“Shhh, keep your voice down. He’s looking this way, looking this way…”

They leaned against the wall again and peeked at the police station.

“But… If he drives himself home, that’s the end of it, right?”

“Ah, I’ll go and lure him out somehow. You guys wait at the fight spot.”

“Fight spot?”

“Yeah, the place we all scoped out earlier…”

The man with the mustache trailed off. A chilling, unfamiliar voice had interrupted him. Slowly, he turned around.

“Huff—”

Shin Haesu stood behind them, his brows slightly furrowed as he stared at them.

“Who are you guys?”

The men couldn’t open their mouths at Haesu’s sudden appearance. It wasn’t just his muscular build—it was the overwhelming aura radiating from him at close range that froze them in place.

‘What the hell… This is no joke.’

‘It feels like… we’ve just locked eyes with a starving tiger.’

‘Damn… He looks cool.’

The first to regain his senses was the man with the mustache. He thought his boss and Haesu were locked in a battle of wills.

“W-We’ve heard rumors about you. Our boss here is a member of the Fight Club, which gathers the most notorious fighters from all over the country. We thought the rumors might be exaggerated, so we came to confirm your strength ourselves.”

“My strength?”

When Haesu took a step forward, the man with the mustache flinched and took a step back. The pressure only intensified as Haesu got closer.

“How?”

“There’s a fight spot I have in mind. We’ll put on open-finger gloves and settle it like men, one-on-one…”

Haesu frowned deeper, glanced at the other men, and waved his hand dismissively.

“Stop wasting time and disperse. Don’t say anything stupid in front of a police station.”

As Haesu turned around, Cloud finally spoke up.

“You scared?”

Haesu came to a halt. Slowly, he turned back to face Cloud.

“Let’s go. To the fight spot.”

The man with the mustache clapped his hands and mounted his phone on a selfie stick.

“Oh! Finally! We’ve secured a fight with the hottest, most rumored detective!”

“Make sure my face doesn’t show.”

“Y-Yes, yes.”

Led by Cloud, Haesu and the six burly men began walking toward the fight spot. Passersby spotted them from a distance and hurriedly crossed the street or ducked into nearby buildings.

The fight spot was the playground of a nearby elementary school.

“Alright, sign this waiver. Street fighting has no rules, but once someone admits defeat, you stop. And no matter what happens, each person covers their own medical costs.”

“Sounds reasonable.”

Haesu slipped on the open-finger gloves they had prepared.

“One, two, three, four… I don’t have time. Come at me all at once.”

“Ha! How cocky. First, I’m gonna flatten that nose of yours!”

Cloud threw the first punch.

Snap—

Haesu caught his fist with one hand. Then, he grabbed Cloud’s wrist and twisted it backward.

“Aaargh!”

He twisted the other arm next and kicked Cloud’s knee from behind, forcing him to kneel. Then, Haesu pulled out a cable tie from his pocket and bound Cloud’s wrists together.

“W-What the hell are you doing!”

Smack!

Haesu slapped the back of Cloud’s head and looked at the other men.

“I told you to come at me all at once. If you won’t, I’ll come to you.”

“B-Bastard!”

“Yaaaaah!!”

Two men charged Haesu. He easily dodged their punches and caught both of their arms, twisting them with a swift motion.

“Aaaargh!”

“P-Please! Let go!”

“Stay still, or I’ll break it.”

Haesu crossed their wrists together and tied them with the cable tie. Now the two men were stuck back-to-back, their hands bound together.

The last remaining man stared at Haesu with wide eyes.

“You. Come here.”

“I-I didn’t attack you!”

“Come.”

“Aaargh!”

Haesu bound the last man’s wrists with a cable tie as well. The mustached man, still filming with his phone, shouted in disbelief.

“W-What’s going on here?! As expected, South Korean police are powerful! He didn’t even throw a single punch…”

“What are you doing?”

“Huh? Ugh!”

Haesu grabbed the mustached man and tied his hands behind his back.

Haesu lined them up in a row and made them do a duck walk. The ones tied together had to shuffle awkwardly as they moved.

“Listen carefully and don’t forget a word. As of today, the Fight Club is officially dissolved. If I hear about any more street fights like this, I’ll come for you first. Understood?”

“Y-Yes, sir!”

“Too quiet. Go touch the soccer goalpost and come back.”

“B-But detective, didn’t you say you were short on time?”

“You do an extra lap.”

“I’m sorry!!”

The phone, even though it had fallen to the ground, was still standing upright, capturing the entire scene.