Sex crimes are considered violent crimes. Therefore, when reported, both the local police precinct and the violent crimes division of Gangjin Police Station respond simultaneously.

That night, the detectives from Violent Crimes Team 1, who were on duty, along with former Team 2 detectives, arrived at the scene and were visibly taken aback when they found Shin Haesu.

“S-Shin Detective…”

“This man is a rapist! Arrest him immediately!!”

Hyejeong, despite hearing someone call Haesu a detective, did not even flinch. Instead, she screamed for them to take him away as soon as possible.

Gangjin Police Station Violent Crimes Division

For the first time, Haesu found himself on the other side of the interrogation table in this familiar place, now sitting as a suspect.

“…So, you’re saying that you called him over because a strange man was knocking on your door, but as soon as he arrived, he assaulted you?”

“That’s right! Why do you keep making me repeat the same thing? I’m exhausted…”

The detective glanced back and forth between Haesu and Hyejeong before letting out a small sigh and continuing.

“Shin Detective—no, Mr. Shin Haesu, the black box footage from a car on the roadside captured you running from Reed Building at 12:07 AM. The report from the resident came in at 12:13 AM. It takes at least three minutes to get from the recorded location to the scene. Are you saying the assault took place in just three minutes?”

Hyejeong flinched, then shot a glare at the middle-aged man who had made the report before turning back to the detective and shouting.

“What does time have to do with rape?! Are you accusing me of being a fraud? Do you want me to show you? Should I show you the evidence?”

She suddenly stood up and lifted her skirt. The detective quickly turned his head away and tried to calm her down.

“No, that’s not what I meant. If the circumstances are unclear, it could put you at a disadvantage, so we’re trying to verify the facts.”

“My tears are the evidence! What more do you need? Oh, I see! You’re just defending him because he’s a fellow officer, huh? I’ll report this to another police station!”

The detective looked troubled. The truth was, he already believed Haesu was innocent, and he was trying to build a case to prove it.

At that moment, Haesu lowered his head and spoke calmly.

“It was my mistake for being careless.”

Hyejeong’s eyes widened in surprise at his response.

The detective, understanding Haesu’s signal, let out a small sigh and nodded.

“Mr. Shin Haesu, given the victim’s consistent testimony and the presence of a witness, we have no choice but to formally file this case.”

Haesu waved a hand dismissively, prompting the detective to turn back to Hyejeong and continue.

“Understood. We will proceed with the official filing of the case.”

“Aren’t you going to provide me with protection?”

“The suspect will be in detention here, but if you wish, we can arrange protective measures.”

“No, never mind.”

“I’ll escort you home. Maknae.”

While another detective took Hyejeong home, the investigating officer leaned in close to Haesu and asked quietly.

“This is obvious, isn’t it? You ran into her at Reed Building, she asked if you lived there, and now she’s trying to scam money out of you. Why are you just going along with this? It’s already a headache with that witness being so aggressive. What’s your plan?”

“As long as I remain confident… it will work out.”

“Damn it, you, of all people, know how unfair the system is for men in sex crime cases. Whatever…”

Boom!

Just then, the office door burst open with a force that made it seem like it might break.

“Where’s my boy?!”

“Haesu!!”

It was Team Leader and Oh Gaeng. Somehow, they had already heard the news, and they stormed in, faces red with fury.

When they spotted Haesu sitting in the suspect’s seat, they immediately grabbed the investigating detective by the collar.

“You little bastard!! How dare you put him in that seat?!”

“Damn it, Haesu! Why the hell are you sitting there?! Get up! Let’s go!”

Neither of them were in their right minds. As the other detectives rushed in to hold them back and calm them down, the office door was thrown open once again, and a giant, bear-like figure stormed in.

“SENIORRRR!!!”

“Damn, my eardrums.”

“That’s not a human voice. That’s a beast.”

The youngest detective ran in, grabbed Haesu’s hands tightly, and glared around the room with murderous eyes.

“Who?! Who dared to frame my senior with such filth?!”

“Lower your voice first. You’re hurting my ears.”

Still, they were a team. While their outburst might have been a nuisance to the other detectives, it was reassuring to see them so loyal, like family.

However, no matter how much they all believed in his innocence, and no matter how close they were, the procedure had to be followed.

When Haesu was led to the holding cell, the burly members of the violent crimes unit stood at the entrance, arms over each other’s shoulders, tears and snot running down their faces.

After sending his team away, Haesu turned to the detective before handing over his phone.

“Can I make one call?”

“Yeah, do something. If you let your guard down, you could really get screwed over. You know how easy it is to be convicted of a sex crime in this country.”

“Thank you.”

Haesu gave a slight smile, then picked up his phone. The detective shut the holding cell door with a bitter expression.

After watching the detective walk away, Haesu called Jeong Yeong-su.

“Yes, Shin hyungnim.”

“You always answer fast.”

“Of course, hyungnim. A second could make all the difference.”

“Good attitude. Can you access recorded files on a phone if I give you the number?”

“Hmm, hacking into someone else’s phone… Normally, the owner has to click on a message or a link for that to work.”

“So it’s not possible?”

“It’s tough these days since people are more cautious… but don’t worry, this is my specialty.”

“It really shouldn’t be your specialty… I’ll give you the number. 010…”

After ending the call with Yeong-su, Haesu paused before turning in his phone. There was one more person he absolutely had to call.

“Where are you?”

Haru’s voice was chillingly cold. She had seen Haesu take the urgent call and run out.

Had she followed him? If she hadn't, was it really a good thing?

“I’m in a holding cell right now.”

– Isn’t that a place for criminals? Why is the landlord there?

His tone was oddly knowing, as if he already had all the details.

“That woman called me for help, but when I got there, she framed me as a rapist and I was arrested on the spot.”

– …

“I’m telling you this for one reason only: don’t do anything. Just stay put. I have a plan. Don’t kill that woman, don’t follow her.”

– I will wait.

“Good. That’s my girl.”

A few days later, in front of Hyejeong’s house.

Oh Gaeng and the youngest detective from the Violent Crimes Unit were staking out the area from inside a van.

Back when they had stood outside the holding cell, arms around each other, shedding dramatic tears, Haesu had whispered only to his team:

– This doesn’t seem like a simple honey trap case. That woman is being extremely aggressive. Please investigate quietly. If someone put her up to framing me, she must have received money through some channel.

– And if she didn’t?

– In that case, I already have enough evidence proving I’m not the culprit. She likely stashed the down payment somewhere, and now that the job is done, she’ll be collecting the rest. Track it.

– Got it. We’ll get to the bottom of this in the name of the Violent Crimes Unit. Just hold tight.

They had checked Hyejeong’s bank accounts, but they were clean. That left only two possibilities: she had received cash directly, or she had been given a burner account with the money already in it.

“Oh Gaeng hyung, she’s coming out.”

“Yeah, no kidding. And dressed like that…”

It was nearly 2 AM when Hyejeong finally stepped out, wearing a hat, a mask, and carrying a black bag. She walked to a secluded ATM and withdrew cash multiple times.

The entire scene was being recorded in real time.

Static… static…

She stuffed the money into her bag and then inserted her card into the receipt shredder.

“Looks like our workload just increased.”

“Tell me about it.”

“Stay strong.”

“Huh?”

As soon as Hyejeong left, the youngest detective immediately called the bank security team to retrieve the shredded card, while Oh Gaeng continued to tail her.

Hyejeong returned home briefly, then took a car to a different district, where she checked into a small studio apartment for the night. The next morning, she left again and returned to Haetnim Mansion.

A few days later, Gangjin Police Station summoned Hyejeong to provide a formal statement. She arrived accompanied by a man dressed in a sharp suit.

“And who might this be?”

“Hello, I’m Attorney Kim Mugo from SM Law Firm.”

“Wow, you already hired a lawyer? You must have a lot of money.”

At the detective’s comment, Hyejeong crossed her arms and scowled.

“That’s an incredibly rude way to talk. Is that how a detective should treat a victim of sexual violence?”

At that moment, a voice spoke from behind.

“It’s how we treat a criminal guilty of false accusations. By the way, that’s quite a name you’ve got there, Attorney Kim.”

Team Leader, Oh Gaeng, and the youngest detective approached with overwhelming presence, surrounding her. The sheer pressure made Attorney Kim instinctively shrink back.

Oh Gaeng snapped a pair of handcuffs onto Hyejeong’s wrists.

“Miss Lee Hyejeong, you are under arrest for false accusations and fraud. We may be at the station, but I don’t like looking at you, so keep those on.”

“W-What do you think you’re doing?! What the hell is this?!”

As Hyejeong and Attorney Kim stood in shock, the Team Leader placed a laptop in front of them and continued speaking.

“Before sending you off to the prosecution, we had to take care of some loose ends. You really should have picked your opponent more carefully. Did you really think you could frame a detective?”

Once the case was forwarded to the prosecution, reporters would inevitably swarm in, and even if Haesu’s innocence was later proven, his reputation would be permanently damaged.

On the laptop screen, footage played: Hyejeong withdrawing the down payment, followed by a video the youngest detective had captured of her receiving the final payment.

Her pupils trembled as she pointed at the screen and shouted.

“W-What the hell is that?! I was just withdrawing money! How is that evidence, you crazy bastards?!”

“Watch your mouth, Miss Lee. You’re at a police station, talking to detectives. You wanna add defamation charges on top of everything else?”

“Why even hold back? Add it. Right now. We’ve got CCTV too.”

As they spoke, the video changed to an audio recording.

– I mean, she suddenly showed up, said she’d pay me to rent this place for a month, and told me never to tell anyone. I really had no idea it was for something illegal! I swear!

– She was pretty and everything… and then she even paid me, saying she’d scream if a stalker came so I could rush in… of course, I went along with it.

It was testimony from the original tenant of the apartment, as well as confessions from the supposed "witnesses" who had falsely accused Haesu.

Hyejeong hadn’t even lived there in the first place—she had rented the place just to stage the crime.

And finally, the last piece of evidence: footage of Haesu leaving his own home, entering Hyejeong’s apartment, and then, almost immediately, the sound of her screams.

Haru had secretly followed him and recorded everything. Thanks to that, there was no longer any need to submit Haesu’s own audio recordings.

Hyejeong’s face turned deathly pale. Her eyes darted wildly, and she began mumbling incoherently.

“N-No, I just… I didn’t like the way he bumped into me… his eyes, they…”

Step. Step. Step.

The sound of heavy, deliberate footsteps filled the room. The detectives’ gazes all turned toward one point.

Following their line of sight, Hyejeong turned her head—only to see Shin Haesu standing right in front of her.

His expression was completely unreadable as he looked down at her.

And at that moment, she realized—he had known all along.

“W-When did you figure it out…?”

Haesu let out a brief scoff and replied coldly.

“From the moment you dropped your broken phone.”

Haesu’s physique, trained for combat, wasn’t just about strength. His dynamic vision was naturally superior to most and further honed through years of experience.

When she had rushed toward him, bumping into him and dropping her phone, he had already noticed that it was broken before it even hit the ground.

She had prepared a shattered, non-functioning phone in advance.

“Now, let me explain how you can reduce your sentence. If you cooperate, we might consider dropping the false accusation charge.”

“R-Really?”

“Of course. Now, let’s start by seeing your phone.”

…Of course, that was a lie.