Park Jin-hoo, who had been keeping a close eye on the two, smirked and said,

“That guy sure knows how to drink beer.”

“He could probably shoot a beer commercial.”

“Right? Now I kind of want a drink too.”

“We’re on duty.”

“I know, I know. Just saying. But more importantly…”

Park Jin-hoo continued, his voice slightly deflated.

“They really do seem like they just came to eat.”

“Looks that way.”

“Damn kids, making people nervous for no reason.”

“Were you nervous?”

“Didn’t I tell you before?”

“That weird dream?”

“Yeah. It was the first time I had such a terrible nightmare. It felt so real.”

“Still, it was just a dream.”

“It didn’t feel like a dream. And after a dream like that, you’re supposed to lay low for a few days.”

“Is that how it works?”

“I don’t know. But that’s how I do it. That’s probably why I’m still in uniform. Don’t you have something like that too?”

Go Kyung-soo scratched the back of his head. Thinking about it, he did have a similar superstition.

“For me, if my head bumps against the A-pillar when I get into the patrol car, something always happens.”

“So that’s why you always duck your head when getting in?”

“Pretty much.”

Park Jin-hoo smirked and glanced at the two men enjoying their fried rice.

“Damn, they sure are eating well.”

“Should we eat here too?”

“Well, it is mealtime. What do you want to eat?”

“Isn’t the gochujang pork belly the best here? Cheap, tasty, and plenty of it.”

“Then let’s go with that. Boss!”

“Yes?”

“Two servings of gochujang pork belly, please.”

It seemed like the two officers would be having their meal here as well.

Seo-jun, who briefly glanced at the officers taking their seats naturally, pulled out the marinated pork belly. Of course, he prepared a little extra.

Chiiiiiii—!

The meat sizzled on the grill as it cooked.

The rich, sweet, and spicy aroma of the marinade quickly filled the restaurant.

Sniff sniff!

Go Hyung-geon sniffed the air.

“Boss, that’s gochujang pork belly, right?”

“That’s right.”

“It looks delicious. Could we get a serving each as well?”

“Aren’t you full?”

“There’s always room for pork belly.”

Isn’t that usually said about dessert?

Seo-jun muttered internally but nodded in agreement.

And a little while later…

“Damn, this is amazing.”

“If you died while eating this, you wouldn’t even realize it.”

Go Hyung-geon and Kim Si-hyun, who had been enjoying their pork belly enthusiastically, finished their meal first and got up to pay.

As Seo-jun took the money, he tilted his head.

“The total is seventy thousand won, though?”

Pork belly was twenty-five thousand won per serving.

The fried rice didn’t have a fixed price, but estimating it at ten thousand won each, the total came to seventy thousand won.

Yet, Go Hyung-geon was handing over twice that—two hundred thousand won.

Glancing at the officers’ table, Go Hyung-geon spoke.

“Cops’ salaries are pretty tight. Buying them a meal instead of getting into a gunfight isn’t a bad deal, right?”

If that was the intention…

Seo-jun gladly accepted the two hundred thousand won.

Not long after the two men left…

“Boss, how much do we owe you?”

Park Jin-hoo pulled out his wallet.

“Those gentlemen already paid for you.”

“Huh?”

“The ones who were sitting over there.”

“Wait, you mean Hwang Tae-su’s guys?”

Park Jin-hoo sucked in a breath in disbelief.

“I’ve been a cop for years, but I never thought I’d have a meal paid for by gangsters. Right, Kyung-soo?”

“Seriously. I’ve been shot at by them a few times, but never treated to a meal before…”

“Well, better than getting shot. Boss, if they come by again, could you pass along a message that we appreciated the meal?”

“Why not tell them yourselves?”

“When would we ever run into them? Unless something goes down, we almost never do.”

“That makes sense. Alright, I’ll let them know.”

In the organization, Hyung-geon had two main jobs.

One was protecting Hwang Tae-su in case of unexpected danger.

And the other…

“Where are those bastards?”

A waiter pointed toward Room 3.

“In there.”

“Got themselves a room, huh?”

“Yes.”

“Tsk… There are always punks who think booking a room makes them royalty.”

Go Hyung-geon strode confidently toward Room 3.

When he opened the door, he saw a group of customers completely wasted.

This was Hyung-geon’s second job. More precisely, it was something he handled with Kim Si-hyun.

“Sir.”

Hyung-geon called out to the drunk customer in a low voice.

He had a background in wrestling. As a former athlete, he had a large, muscular build.

For ordinary people, just seeing his physique was intimidating enough.

“Who the f—”

And that intimidation worked wonders, even on people with anger management issues.

“…Wow, look at the time.”

“Sir.”

The customer, who had been sprawled across the table, hastily sat up.

“You seem quite intoxicated. Perhaps it’s time to head home?”

“Ah… Ah, I was just about to leave. Didn’t realize it was already ten. Haha, ha ha ha.”

“Will your companions be staying?”

Glancing at the drunk customer’s group, Hyung-geon saw them all hesitantly getting up as well.

“No, we were just about to leave too.”

“Yeah. It’s just not our night today. Haha… ha ha.”

“I see? I’ll make sure we step up our service next time.”

“Then, we’ll be on our way…”

“Hold on a moment.”

“Yes?”

“You still need to pay.”

“Ah, right.”

The troublesome customer handed over his card.

Hyung-geon went to the counter and swiped an extra 200,000 won on the bill.

Beep!

“Um…”

“What?”

“...It looks like you swiped an extra 200,000 won.”

“Sir.”

“Yes?”

“If you call a tow truck, do you pay the fee or not?”

“I-I pay it…”

“Then if you call a person, do you pay the fee or not?”

“I-I have to pay it…”

“That’s how it works.”

“Ah…”

Seeing the dissatisfied expression on the troublesome customer’s face, Hyung-geon bowed at a perfect 90-degree angle.

“Please visit us again next time!”

As the troublesome customers left, Kim Si-hyun smirked.

“Damn punks. They should drink more properly.”

“You think drinking goes the way you want it to? They’re young, that’s why.”

“Well… You used to be a huge pain in the ass when you drank too.”

Hyung-geon, who had been chuckling, made a motion as if snapping a shot glass.

“How about a drink, for old times’ sake?”

“Hell yeah, I’m in.”

There was no need to think about where to go. Without discussing it, both of them shouted, “Let’s go to ‘One Drink!’”

And so, they arrived at ‘One Drink.’

Yeon-jun was the first to recognize them.

“You’re back again?”

“Yeah. Just here to have a drink with my buddy.”

“There’s only one table left, over there. Is that okay?”

It was a table close to the restroom. But that didn’t matter.

“Of course.”

As soon as they sat down, Si-hyun spoke.

“The gochujang pork belly the other day was great. Should we get that again for our snack?”

“Sounds good.”

Just as they were about to order soju and snacks, someone came out of the restroom and called out to them.

“Oh! The ultra-fine advanced sensor!”

It was Park Yeon, who had just finished cleaning the restroom.

“But what brings the ultra-fine advanced sensor here?”

“Just passing by and thought I’d grab a drink.”

“Hmm. Drinking is good. But why of all places did you have to come here? This place isn’t exactly ideal.”

Just then, a head peeked out from the kitchen.

“You’re not talking about me, are you?”

“Feeling guilty, huh?”

“Didn’t you leave some cleaning unfinished?”

“It’s all done!”

“The clogged toilet in the second stall?”

“I unclogged that too! I even used my magic to—”

“...?”

Park Yeon quickly glanced at Hyung-geon and changed his words.

“—I mean, I worked the plunger so hard.”

“Good job.”

Snorting, Park Yeon turned to Hyung-geon.

“Well then, enjoy your meal. I have somewhere to be.”

“At this hour?”

“I missed episode 122 this morning. But according to the schedule, the rerun is airing now. I can’t miss it.”

Oh right, he’s a drama addict.

Wait, where did he go?

He vanished in an instant.

Like a ghost...

Just as they were murmuring to themselves—

“Excuse me…”

Yeon-jun approached.

“Yes?”

“I’m sorry, but would you be okay with sharing a table?”

“Sharing?”

“Yes, with those two over there…”

Yeon-jun gestured toward the entrance, where two people stood awkwardly. And those two were—

“Those cops from the other day?”

Si-hyun muttered under his breath, making Yeon-jun look sheepish.

“I guess you wouldn’t want to, right?”

Hyung-geon glanced at Si-hyun.

Si-hyun shrugged.

Then, Hyung-geon spoke.

“I don’t see why not.”

“Ah! Thank you so much! And I’m really sorry. I’ll make sure to bring out plenty of service for you!”

Soon after, Park Jin-hoo and Go Kyung-soo approached with awkward expressions.

“Mind if we sit?”

At Park Jin-hoo’s words, Hyung-geon shrugged.

“Go ahead.”

“Ahem.”

An awkward atmosphere lingered.

Even after the food was served, the awkwardness remained.

While picking at his food, Park Jin-hoo finally spoke.

“This gochujang pork belly is pretty good, huh?”

“Yeah, it’s good.”

The awkward silence returned.

This time, Go Kyung-soo spoke up.

“Uh, about the other day… You guys covered our bill.”

“Oh, that.”

“We thought we should at least say thank you…”

“It wasn’t much. Glad you enjoyed it.”

“Ahem.”

The two groups began drinking separately.

But as if competing, bottles of soju disappeared every five minutes.

“Boss! Another pork belly and a bottle of soju… No, make it two bottles!”

“Boss! We’ll take three bottles!”

The tables stacked up with empty bottles, but both sides remained unfazed.

“Boss! Another bottle of soju!”

“Boss, two bottles for us!”

As Park Jin-hoo placed an order, Hyung-geon followed up with one of his own. Then, Yeon-jun approached with an apologetic expression.

“I’m sorry. There’s only one bottle left. What should we do?”

One bottle remained.

Two teams wanted it.

Just as the awkward silence returned, Go Kyung-soo spoke up.

“Why don’t we split it?”

“Split it?”

“Yeah.”

“That sounds good. What do you think?”

“We’re fine with it.”

“Boss, put this one on our tab.”

Saying that, Park Jin-hoo opened the soju bottle and poured drinks for Hyung-geon and Si-hyun.

“You guys hold your liquor well.”

“We don’t just pass out anywhere.”

“Is that so? We don’t either, right Kyung-soo?”

“That’s right.”

At that, Si-hyun downed his drink and asked,

“By the way, what brought you two here the other day? Coming in uniform, weren’t you afraid something might happen?”

Not wanting to admit they had followed them into the shop, Park Jin-hoo hesitated.

“We were just on patrol, and it happened to be mealtime…”

“You’ve got guts.”

“We do.”

“Oh really?”

As the two sides drank and talked, Lee Seo-jun observed them and thought—

Maybe, just maybe, peace would come to District 12 after all.