Shin Haesu pulled his hood down low and stepped into the gamjatang restaurant.

“Welcome… oh.”

Kim Ji-an’s aunt flinched at the murderous aura emanating from him. A man built like a weapon, with his hood drawn deep, sent chills down her spine.

“One gamjatang, please.”

“Y-yes, I’ll bring it right away.”

Haesu took a seat in the corner. The restaurant wasn’t particularly busy, but it wasn’t empty either.

He ate his stew slowly, ordered a bottle of soda, and sipped it leisurely. He stayed until every last customer had left.

Hours passed, and closing time approached. As Haesu remained seated, Ji-an’s aunt exchanged uneasy glances with the man beside her.

Left with no choice, the man hesitantly approached Haesu.

“Uh… We’re about to close now…”

These people were the type who would even pocket the government subsidies meant for the three siblings. A certain famous drama scene came to mind.

Haesu glanced at the man, then pulled out his wallet. He took out a 100,000 won check and placed it on the table.

At the sight of money, the man’s and Ji-an’s aunt’s expressions brightened.

Then.

“How about a game?”

“…What?”

“Rock-paper-scissors. If you win, you take the money.”

“And if I lose?”

Haesu raised his hand, which looked as deadly as a weapon.

“One slap.”

“Hmm… Sure, why not?”

A game? How hard could he hit? Even if it was a strong slap, one or two wouldn’t be a big deal. The man accepted without much thought.

Haesu stood up, faced the man, and extended his hand.

“Rock, paper, scissors.”

“Paper.”

Haesu chose scissors. The man lost. Without hesitation, Haesu swung his hand.

Smack—!

The man’s head snapped to the side.

“Ah… Ow.”

His brain rattled in his skull. It was stronger than expected. How many more times could he take this?

Just then, Haesu placed another check on the table.

“One more for each slap.”

“Wow, you’re quite the bold guy. Alright, let’s go again. Rock, paper, scissors!”

Smack—!

“Urgh… Guh…”

The man staggered, his gums torn, his head swimming.

“Honey, are you okay?”

Another check landed on the table.

“A-again! Rock, paper, scissors!”

“Paper.”

“Yes! I won!”

This time, the man won. He quickly grabbed the 300,000 won and took two steps back.

“Honey, stop now. That’s enough.”

“Well, I mean…”

Just then, Haesu placed two checks on the table.

“Double.”

“Rock, paper, scissors!”

Smack!

The man couldn’t tell if it was because of accumulated damage or if the hits were getting stronger. Either way, it hurt more.

Two more checks appeared.

Smack—!

This time, the man collapsed. But his eyes remained fixed on the pile of 600,000 won on the table.

“A-again… Yes!!”

Finally, he won again and took the 600,000 won. In less than five minutes, he had made 900,000 won.

Blood dripped from his mouth as he grinned foolishly. Even Ji-an’s aunt, mesmerized by the money, didn’t stop him.

And, to meet their expectations, Haesu placed three more checks on the table.

“Triple.”

Smack!

Six checks.

Smack—!

Nine checks.

Smack! Thud! Crack!!

The man collapsed again. A total of 2.4 million won sat atop the table.

His bloodshot eyes looked monstrous, blood streamed from his nose and mouth, and his swollen cheeks made his face nearly unrecognizable.

Ji-an’s aunt rushed to his side, trying to lift him.

“Honey, get up, get up.”

“Ugh… I-I’m f-fine…”

The man, supported by his wife, flinched upon seeing her face. She whispered in his ear with a look that could devour him.

“Win. Don’t fall.”

A chill ran down his spine. His safety meant nothing to her—not for a mere 2.4 million won.

Shaking, the man steadied himself again. He had taken too many hits to quit now.

“Rock… paper… scissors.”

He lost. He shut his eyes in despair.

Whoosh—

Until now, Haesu had merely stood and swung his hand. This time, he stepped back with his right foot and twisted his torso.

Wham—Smack!!

The man flew across the room, crashing into the counter.

“Honey, honey! Get up! We need to play!!”

Ji-an’s aunt shook him roughly, but he didn’t move.

As Haesu picked up the money and stood, she rushed forward desperately.

“I-I’ll do it! We’re husband and wife—what’s his is mine, right?”

Haesu stared at her coldly before speaking.

“It starts at 100,000 won. Will you play?”

She hesitated, glancing at her battered husband. No matter how much she loved money, she knew she couldn’t endure as much as he did. She could die from this.

“T-that’s not fair.”

“Will you play?”

“N-no! You crazy bastard! I’ll report you for assault! The CCTV caught everything!”

Haesu lowered his hood slightly and walked out of the gamjatang restaurant.

It was done on purpose, in a place where the CCTV was clearly visible.

Since Shin Haesu’s face wasn’t visible, and everything was conducted under mutual agreement with money exchanged as compensation, it would be difficult to even file a report.

A few days later.

Haesu made up his mind to officially begin investigating Kim Ji-an’s family—the three siblings and their aunt.

There was no need for a complicated investigation. He just had to meet Ji-an and get her statement.

At eleven o’clock, at the convenience store in the Reed Building, Haesu openly waited for Ji-an. Today, he had decided not to sleep early and skip coming.

When Ji-an arrived, Haesu raised his hand to greet her.

However, Ji-an merely bowed her head slightly and avoided his gaze. Her eyes wavered anxiously, looking unusual.

“Ji-an, can we talk for a bit?”

“Ah, my younger siblings are awake right now. I’m sorry. Goodbye.”

Ji-an avoided Haesu as if she had done something wrong and quickly walked away.

“What’s going on with her…?”

The next day, at Gangjin Police Station.

“…Yes, yes, all support requests have been sent out? Understood.”

A detective from Team 2 stood up abruptly after answering an internal call.

“A missing person report! A man in his forties, hasn’t been seen since last night. If Team 1 doesn’t have anything urgent, let’s help search.”

The Team 1 leader typed on his keyboard irritably and replied.

“Ah, no way, we have too many drunk-and-disorderly cases to process. If we don’t do it, who will? Who’s gonna take care of them, huh?”

“Come on, don’t be stingy. Let’s go. Where does this guy live?”

“In Yongsu-dong, at a place called Wangmat Gamjatang…”

At those words, Haesu abruptly stood up.

“Wait, can you tell me the missing person’s identity?”

“Huh? Here.”

Haesu checked the screen of the senior officer’s radio. It was the same man he had slapped around a few days ago—Kim Ji-an’s uncle.

Haesu furrowed his brows and grabbed his coat.

“Chief, let’s take this case.”

“Ah, seriously, Shin-dol, you know I can’t refuse you, don’t you?”

“Yes.”

“Tch, fine, let’s go.”

With the assistance of the district police, the Major Crimes Teams 1 and 2 began tracking the missing person’s phone location.

Less than two hours into the search—

“- This is Patrol Unit 4. We’ve found the missing person. Sharing location now.”

“Damn…”

“Hmm…”

Not mentioning the condition of the missing person before sharing the location usually meant one thing—he was already dead.

The location was beneath an overpass, in a desolate area. A lone car sat parked there.

Looking inside the car, the man was slumped over in the driver’s seat, a cold corpse.

“Been a while since we’ve had a murder case.”

“Yeah. Head trauma… No, looks like something sharper.”

“There’s a lot of blood around the stomach and side. This was a knife.”

“Dashcam’s gone, of course.”

Haesu examined the body carefully, his brow furrowed.

“He was moved.”

“Huh? Ah, you’re right.”

There was too little blood. And only a few small blood splatters inside the car. With wounds this severe, the inside of the car should have been a mess.

Checking further, it seemed the body had been moved from the trunk to the driver’s seat.

Oh Gaeng picked up a long strand of hair with tweezers and held it up for Haesu to see.

“Doesn’t look like it’s from this guy, right?”

“A woman.”

“Yeah. No idea if she’s the culprit, but we should send it for analysis.”

Haesu nodded, deep in thought. A few days ago, Ji-an went to the hospital to get money. He had slapped her uncle. Now, Ji-an was avoiding him. Could it all be connected to this murder?

Major Crimes handed the scene over to CSI, and the chief and the rookie detective went to bring in Ji-an’s aunt.

Once the scene was processed and the victim’s identity confirmed, the team returned to the station.

“Oh my god, my husband, what do I do! Oh god…”

Moments later, Ji-an’s aunt entered, sobbing hysterically. Haesu quickly lowered his head. It wouldn’t matter much if she recognized him, but now wasn’t the right time.

“I know this is painful, but to catch the criminal as soon as possible, we need a detailed statement.”

“Yes… Yes, of course, sniff.”

“Right. The night before, did your husband act strangely? Did he go anywhere?”

Meanwhile, Haesu was in the corner with Oh Gaeng, analyzing the CCTV footage.

However, with countless cars passing under the overpass, it wasn’t easy to determine when or where the car had been.

Just then—

Knock, knock.

“Excuse me.”

A female student entered with a police officer. Haesu glanced over and then abruptly stood up when he saw her face.

“Ji-an.”

Ji-an’s face was deathly pale, completely drained of color.

“Detective Shin, do you know this student? She just turned herself in, saying she thinks she killed someone.”

“…What?”

At the sight of Kim Ji-an, her aunt suddenly erupted into a frenzy.

“It’s that bitch!! That bitch killed my husband! I knew it!!”

“Ma’am, ma’am! Please calm down!”

“How am I supposed to calm down?! That damn girl seduced my husband and killed him! I knew she’d do this! What did we ever do so wrong to her?! What did we do, huh?! I knew she’d end up killing my husband!!”

The aunt was unable to calm down, so they had to separate her from Ji-an.

Haesu revealed that he knew Ji-an and proceeded with a one-on-one interrogation.

“…You confessed to the police saying, ‘I think I killed someone’?”

“Yes…”

“So you weren’t certain? How did you find out your uncle had died?”

“My aunt… she texted me just now.”

Haesu’s eyes gleamed. They had that kind of relationship, yet she chose to inform her through a text?

“Let’s hear the details.”

“Yes, so… yesterday…”

Her uncle had called her, saying he would give her money for hospital bills and some extra allowance. Then, he had taken her by car to a secluded place.

“Was it here, by any chance?”

When Haesu showed a picture of the area under the overpass, Ji-an nodded.

“…Yes.”

Outside the interrogation room, the detectives listening let out quiet sighs. They had secretly hoped it wasn’t true.

“…I refused, but he grabbed my wrist, and forced…”

At Ji-an’s words, the detectives outside the room gritted their teeth.

“That bastard…”

“Insane. He deserved to die.”

Suppressing his own rising fury, Haesu pressed on.

“So… what did you do?”

“I grabbed a family photo that was in the car… and hit him on the head over and over. He started bleeding, and when he tried to come after me, I slammed the car door on his head… Then I ran away. But… he didn’t chase after me. I really didn’t think he would die from that. What do I do, Mister? If I go to prison, what will happen to my siblings…”

Tears fell from Ji-an’s eyes like raindrops. But something was off. The details didn’t match up.

“Are you sure?”

“Yes…”

“You need to be completely honest with me. Was that really all you did? Just hitting him with the frame and slamming the door?”

“Yes… I told you the truth.”

Haesu hesitated before showing her the files on his laptop. Instead, he decided to explain verbally.

“The official cause of death was excessive bleeding due to stab wounds in the liver and lungs. The killer stabbed him six times with a knife.”

“What? B-But… I didn’t… I really didn’t do that! How could I have used a knife…?”

Surprise, confusion, and even relief flashed across her face—the relief that she wasn’t the real killer.

“I know. I believe you, Ji-an. That’s why we’re going to find the real culprit now. But I need your help. We won’t tell your aunt about this, so don’t worry.”

“Huh? H-How can I help?”

“First, I need you to tell me more about your relationship with your aunt.”

Ji-an turned to look at the interrogation room’s window, then let out a deep sigh before answering.

“She helps us. She said that if she wasn’t around, my siblings and I would all be separated. I… don’t want that to happen.”

“No, if you want, you can keep living together like now. Even if you enter the system, you’ll all be placed in the same institution.”

“Then…”

“How much allowance does your aunt give you?”

“Fifty thousand won a month…”

Haesu clenched his teeth. Even if they spent only ten thousand won per day on food, it wouldn’t be enough for clothes or other necessities.

“Does your aunt pay for the gas or water bills?”

“…I pay them.”

For a moment, Haesu felt his temper flare, but he bit his lower lip to suppress his anger.

“The amount of support money you three receive is 1.47 million won. If you include irregular additional aid, it easily exceeds 1.5 million. But out of that, you only get 50,000 won.”

Ji-an’s eyes widened in shock.

“What? That… that can’t be…”

“Your aunt pocketed the rest while pretending to be generous.”

“…I was really stupid. I didn’t even realize…”

“No, it’s the adults who exploit children to fill their own bellies that are the real problem. So, are you okay with cutting ties with your aunt?”

“Even if we remain connected, it’s already a toxic relationship.”

Ji-an’s eyes gleamed with determination.

Even though Haesu believed in Ji-an, she was still the prime suspect. As a result, she was placed in a holding cell, but thanks to Haesu’s request, the detectives made sure to take good care of her.

After work, Haesu took on the responsibility of looking after Ji-an’s younger siblings.

They needed to catch the real culprit as soon as possible to set Ji-an free. With bloodshot eyes, Haesu pored over the CCTV footage.

Then—

Tak.

While reviewing footage near the crime scene, his hand suddenly froze. His heart plummeted.

‘Why… are you coming out from there?’