Kim Eun-mi bowed deeply and quickly returned to her seat. Half-covering her face, she watched them closely.

The East Branch Manager led Shin Haesu and Chief Gu into the VVIP consultation room.

‘What the hell is going on…?’

Eun-mi’s eyes widened so much they seemed ready to pop out. Her colleague, who had been eating with her, rushed over after hearing the news, making a fuss.

“What? What? Eun-mi, you really landed a great guy, huh?”

Eun-mi blankly shook her head.

“I don’t know, I have no idea. Why did I act like that? Damn it.”

“Huh? What do you mean?”

A little while later, the two men emerged from the consultation room. The branch manager, who had been bowing politely before, now seemed even more deferential as he saw them off.

“…I will make sure to take care of everything properly. Thank you for coming by.”

Watching Haesu leave, Eun-mi’s eyes gleamed.

‘I can’t just give up like this.’

She immediately sent him a text message.

[It was nice seeing you in an unexpected place. Let’s have a meal together sometime. This time, it’s on me.]

‘Take the hint and respond.’

Despite her confident words, her fingers betrayed her anxiety as she nervously nibbled at her nails. Then, within less than five minutes, her phone rang.

- "Sergeant Shin Haesu speaking. Who is this?"

Surprised by the unexpected question, Eun-mi’s forehead creased.

“What is this? Are you messing with me?”

- "Ah, Miss Kim Eun-mi. My apologies. I had deleted your number that day, so I didn’t recognize it."

“…Excuse me? Deleted?”

- "Yes, I don’t keep unnecessary numbers in my contacts."

“Unnecessary numbers…”

- "Did you perhaps send that message to me by mistake?"

“Ah… Yes.”

- "I thought so. Well then, I hope you meet a good man. Take care."

Click.

Eun-mi stared blankly at her phone, processing the conversation. The phrase “unnecessary number” echoed in her mind, making it impossible for her to bring up the idea of having a meal together again. She let out a hollow chuckle.

“Ha, ha, ha… Unbelievable. He really is like a cop, so damn sharp and precise.”

After parting ways with Chief Gu, Shin Haesu repurchased the motorcycle he had bought earlier. Fortunately, the compensation from the investigation had come through, so his losses weren’t too great.

Riding his motorcycle, he headed toward his hometown, Songwon City.

“…This is Sergeant Shin Haesu, as I mentioned over the phone. May I take a look at the case file now?”

The reason Haesu returned to his hometown was to visit the Songwon Police Station.

This was the department that had handled his father’s case.

“Ah, yes. It’s been a while. But, um… someone else already reviewed this case before you.”

“Excuse me? Who came to look at it?”

Who would suddenly take an interest in a case that had been so neatly wrapped up as a suicide, even after twelve years?

“I figured you’d ask, so I made sure to note it down. I was worried you might not come, but here it is.”

“Thank you. Park Yeong-cheol… Sergeant.”

It wasn’t even an officer who had worked on the case back then. This was a name he had never heard before.

Haesu skimmed through the case file once more and immediately dialed the number listed under Park Yeong-cheol’s name.

- "Yes, this is Park Yeong-cheol speaking."

His voice was slow, weary from life.

“This is Shin Haesu.”

- "Ah… I figured you’d call me someday. So it’s now, huh."

It seemed like Park had been expecting him.

Park Yeong-cheol asked Haesu to meet him at his workplace. He was stationed at a quiet rural police outpost.

He was a middle-aged man with thick eyebrows, now slightly faded with age, giving him the appearance of someone with a strong sense of stubbornness.

Handing Haesu a cup of instant coffee, he carefully examined his face.

“Yeah, you’ve got Jeong-seok’s face.”

“You knew my father?”

“We were on the same team.”

Haesu slightly furrowed his brows. He had met every officer who had been on his father’s team.

“I don’t recall seeing you before.”

“That makes sense. I left the team not long before everything happened.”

“Ah…”

“Everyone close to Jeong-seok knew it—he would never commit suicide. But when everyone just gave up, I started digging into it myself.”

Even back then, Park had still been a cop. He must have uncovered much more than Haesu had.

“Did you find anything?”

Park took a sip of his coffee before turning his head to meet Haesu’s gaze.

“Do you really believe your father was murdered?”

Without a moment’s hesitation, Haesu nodded.

“Yes.”

At his firm response, Park downed the rest of his coffee in one gulp and crushed the paper cup in his hand.

“What’s the first principle of suspect identification?”

“Finding the motive.”

“Did your father’s case have a suspect?”

A face flashed through Haesu’s mind—the man he had encountered in the elevator. But there was no evidence.

“No.”

“Then what comes next?”

“Finding evidence.”

“And did you have any?”

“No.”

“Then what’s the next step?”

“Investigate the victim to identify a suspect.”

This method wouldn’t apply to a random assault case.

Park nodded at his response and walked over to his car. After rummaging inside, he pulled out a paper bag and handed it to Haesu.

“Look into your father’s life. This contains records of the cases he was handling at the time, along with my own personal investigations.”

Haesu stood up abruptly and accepted it with both hands. No matter how close Park had been to his father, dedicating more than ten years to digging into a closed case wasn’t something just anyone would do.

“Thank you. Truly, thank you.”

Park waved him off dismissively as he lit a cigarette. Haesu quickly pulled out a lighter and lit it for him.

“No need to thank me. I’m not giving you all the answers. Consider this your homework—go through those files, pick out anything suspicious, and bring them back. If you can’t find what I already know, then there’s no point in me telling you anything.”

“Understood. I won’t forget this favor. I’ll be in touch.”

Haesu bowed deeply.

That night, Shin Haesu brought the materials he had received from Park Yeong-cheol home and stayed up, pouring over them until dawn.

Haesu had already looked into the cases his father, Shin Jeong-seok, had been handling at the time of his accident.

However, these documents contained far more detailed information. Moreover, they also included an investigation into his father’s personal activities.

Believing there was a clue hidden within, Haesu scrutinized everything with suspicion.

He needed to check if there was even a trivial reason for someone to have killed his father.

“Hoo…”

But all he found were cases that had been neatly closed with the real culprits caught. Just as he pressed his tired eyes, he spotted something strange.

“Suicide?”

The murder case of Congressman Lee Seong-jin—when the investigation closed in, the real culprit turned himself in with evidence. His motive was simply that he felt uncontrollable rage whenever he saw rich people.

But according to these documents, the case was initially reported as a suicide. This information was not in the original files.

Looking into Shin Jeong-seok’s activities, it was clear that even after the case was closed, he had continued investigating Lee Seong-jin personally.

“Something is definitely off…”

Haesu first decided to investigate the true culprit of the Lee Seong-jin murder case, Kang Seok-gu. At the time, there were no records of large deposits, and his only family was a foreign wife who had run away due to frequent domestic violence.

He wanted to verify his movements and alibi, but, of course, no video records from that time remained.

It seemed like meeting him in person would be the best course of action—to determine if he was truly the killer or if he had taken the fall for someone else.

As soon as morning broke, he revved his motorcycle’s engine.

[Hyoseong Prison]

This was where Kang Seok-gu was incarcerated. Haesu applied for a visitation.

“Shin Haesu?”

“Yes.”

“The inmate has refused visitation.”

“Ah…”

It was expected. Haesu deposited 300,000 won into his prison account and requested another visit. Only then was he able to see Kang Seok-gu’s face.

The man had slicked-back long hair and a rough, menacing expression.

“Never seen you before.”

He sauntered in nonchalantly and slouched onto the chair.

“What’s this? Trying to bribe a quiet man with money? Are you a reporter? A cop? A victim’s family member?”

“Lee Seong-jin. You didn’t kill him, did you?”

“Hah, what bullshit is this? You wasted 300,000 won just to ask that?”

His denial was strong. Almost as if he needed to be the real culprit.

“You have no idea how many years you’re going to rot in here, so you wouldn’t have turned yourself in for money. You have no family. That means someone had something on you…”

Haesu stared intently into his eyes. He had the gaze of a killer. Detectives who had dealt with enough murderers could recognize it. That was why people so readily believed his confession.

“You… you killed someone else, didn’t you?”

“What the hell? Is this guy crazy? Guard! Guard! I’m done with this visit!”

“Not just one, huh?”

“The hell kind of—look at this guy’s eyes, acting like some fortune teller! Guard!”

Soon, a guard entered, and Kang Seok-gu raised his middle finger at Haesu.

“Thanks for the nonsense. We won’t be seeing each other again. Get lost. I’ll enjoy your 300,000 won.”

“Sure, see you again.”

Kang Seok-gu had only two years left until his release.

After ending the visit, Haesu organized the information.

The circumstances surrounding Congressman Lee Seong-jin’s death and Kang Seok-gu’s confession were suspicious. The likelihood that Shin Jeong-seok was killed while investigating the case was high.

If Kang Seok-gu wasn’t the real culprit, what was valuable enough for him to take the fall?

He had the eyes of a killer. Someone knew about his murders and used that to coerce him into taking responsibility for the congressman’s death. If someone had forced him to confess, that meant there was another person in the shadows.

‘The one who made Kang Seok-gu confess… that person is most likely my father’s killer.’

Haesu’s eyes lit up with determination.

Until now, he had nothing but a gut feeling that the man he encountered in the elevator was the murderer.

But after 12 years, he had finally met someone who shared the same doubts, and now, piece by piece, evidence of a homicide was emerging.

His heart pounded. The passion that had faded was reigniting.

The most valuable vacation had ended, and it was time to return to work.

Shin Haesu rubbed his bloodshot eyes and gripped the steering wheel. Officer Lim noticed and asked,

“Sergeant Shin, you look exhausted. Should I drive?”

“No, we’re almost there.”

Hearing that, Officer Lim glanced at her phone. It was 1 a.m.—shift change time. Her expression brightened a little.

“You’re right. I should’ve switched with you earlier.”

“It’s fine.”

As they spoke, they arrived at the station’s parking lot. Haesu and Officer Lim entered the precinct together.

Since it was past 1 a.m., the next shift officers were already waiting.

Haesu headed up to the second floor to change into his uniform when his phone rang.

[Sergeant Oh Kang-seok, Major Crimes Unit 1]

A call after 1 a.m.—Haesu had a feeling he knew why. He immediately answered.

“Sergeant Shin Haesu speaking.”

-Sergeant Shin, this is Oh Kang-seok. I just checked that you’re off duty, but I had to call. We’ve located the head of the Hook Gang and are about to take him down. But there are rumors he’s a monster. Can you come with us?

Taking down the leader of a brutal gang—this wasn’t just another turf war between gangs. This was the kind of mission where, despite being armed, officers almost always ended up dead. There was no reason to hesitate.

“Where?”

Without even 0.1 seconds of thought, Haesu replied. His body was already turning, his feet taking him back down the stairs.