Seo Jung-woo had just warned that he would break the door when the car window rolled down.

The man inside the car asked,

“What is this about...?”

Seo Jung-woo reached inside the window, unlocked the door, and yanked it open. The man inside, startled, screamed.

“Ugh! Who the hell are you?!”

Inside the car, there was a camera equipped with a telephoto lens.

Seo Jung-woo snatched the camera and removed the memory card.

The man resisted.

“What the hell are you doing?!”

As soon as Lee Seon-hwa saw the camera, she realized who he was.

She covered her mouth with her hand.

“A paparazzi?”

Seo Jung-woo explained to her,

“He’s been taking pictures of us for a while now.”

The man shouted in protest.

“The police are suppressing press freedom!”

“The police shouldn't do that. But are you sure I'm a cop?”

“A-aren't you? Sorry...”

“I am a cop.”

“What? Damn it. The police are suppressing press freedom!”

“But you’re not the press.”

“I-I'm a journalist!”

“Then you must have a press ID. If not, I’ll have you arrested for impersonation.”

Of course, he had no such thing. He wasn't a journalist. The man's confidence crumbled.

Seo Jung-woo held out his hand.

“You have another memory card, don’t you?”

“N-no, I don’t!”

That was obviously a lie.

When Seo Jung-woo knocked on the door earlier, he had seen the man quickly swap memory cards and slip one into his pocket.

Seo Jung-woo reached into the man's back pocket and pulled out the memory card. He also searched the car to make sure there were no other cameras or memory cards.

The man exploded in anger.

“Shit! I’ll sue you!”

“Go ahead.”

“I really will—”

Seo Jung-woo grabbed the man by the collar, pulling him in close, and spoke in a low voice.

“Do it. Please do. But I won’t be suing you.”

The man swallowed hard.

He still didn't know who Seo Jung-woo was, but he had a bad feeling that something worse than a lawsuit could happen to him. Fear crept over him, making his body tremble.

“N-no! No lawsuit! Lee Seon-hwa has every right to date, of course! She's young, after all.”

Then, he carefully slipped in a question.

“But why are the police here today...?”

“If you’re curious, watch the news. And don’t ever show up near Lee Seon-hwa again, Oh Jung-hyun.”

Oh Jung-hyun flinched in shock.

“H-how do you know my name...?”

“You think I left you alone all this time because I didn’t know who you were?”

Seo Jung-woo raised two fingers to his eyes, then pointed at Oh Jung-hyun’s eyes.

“I've been watching you for a long time.”

In this world, it was the first time he had seen Oh Jung-hyun.

But in the other world, this wasn't an unfamiliar face. Over there, Oh Jung-hyun had been doing something similar when Seo Jung-woo caught him.

“If I see you again, you're dead.”

Even in the other world, he hadn’t actually killed him—he had just said so.

Still, Oh Jung-hyun was terrified. He genuinely felt like he might die.

“Y-yes! Yes!”

Oh Jung-hyun fled as if his life depended on it.

Lee Seon-hwa, still looking shocked, asked,

“That man was...?”

“A paparazzi. If I left him alone, ridiculous rumors about you would start spreading, so I took care of it. He won’t show up again.”

She hadn't heard the details of the conversation between Seo Jung-woo and Oh Jung-hyun.

But she trusted that Seo Jung-woo had handled things well.

At this point, even if he told her he could ferment soybean paste with red beans, she would first wonder, ‘Really?’ before doubting him.

She lowered her head again.

“Thank you.”

Seo Jung-woo had caught a stalker for her and chased away a paparazzi. Her heart was still pounding.

‘Why does it keep racing like this?’

Seo Jung-woo spoke.

“Well, I should head to the police station now. Which bus do I take from here?”

Lee Seon-hwa quickly took out her car keys from her handbag.

“Here, take this car!”

“Someone else’s car?”

“It’s fine! The insurance covers any driver!”

“I can just take the bus.”

“Just drive this home today. And—”

She smiled brightly and added,

“Bring it back to me tomorrow.”

She had carefully thought of a way to see him again without hurting her pride—by lending something and having him return it.

“Ah... okay.”

Seo Jung-woo drove off in Lee Seon-hwa’s car. Behind him, Lee Seon-hwa waved enthusiastically, her face beaming.

Seo Jung-woo glanced at her in the rearview mirror before checking the car's interior. The inside of the sports car was decorated in pink.

“She has the same job and the same tastes in both worlds.”

Seo Jung-woo headed to the police station in Lee Seon-hwa's neighborhood.

But when he arrived at the entrance of the police station, Baek Sung-min was already there, waiting.

Seo Jung-woo was slightly taken aback. It hadn’t been long since he had called Team Leader Kwon Byeong-cheol. Even if Baek Sung-min had taken a taxi instead of a bus, it should have been impossible for him to get from their police station to this one so quickly.

‘Did he teleport?’

In the other world, he would have suspected him of being an Awakened with teleportation abilities, but here, there had to be another explanation.

Seo Jung-woo asked Baek Sung-min,

“How did you get here so fast?”

Baek Sung-min grumbled.

“Ugh. This kid's been here less than two weeks and already talks to me so casually. You're calling me 'hyung' now?”

“Should I call you Detective Baek Sung-min instead?”

Baek Sung-min quickly waved his hands.

“No, no. If you suddenly start speaking formally to me, that’d feel really creepy.”

“So, how did you get here so fast?”

Baek Sung-min complained again.

“I had a blind date set up with someone from this station, but then the team leader called me, saying you got into some mess again.”

“You’re still not married?”

“Not that I didn’t want to. I just couldn’t.”

“Go back to your date. She must be waiting.”

Baek Sung-min sighed.

“It’s already ruined. Because of you.”

"Me?"

"When I was on the phone with the team leader, I mentioned your name. As soon as she heard it, she lit up and ran off to her office. She’s probably looking you up right now. I put so much effort into introducing myself, and all she needed to hear was your name."

Seo Jung-woo explained the day's events to the detectives at this station.

Of course, he didn’t tell them everything exactly as it happened.

"Lee Seon-hwa didn’t call me because of the stalker. I was just there to help her with her acting by explaining investigation techniques when I happened to spot the stalker and caught him."

"So, you already knew Lee Seon-hwa well?"

"No. This afternoon, they were filming a drama at our station—‘The Princess’s Redemption.’"

"Oh, that one!"

"I was briefly consulted as an advisor. If you’re suspicious, you can check with the director. Want his phone number?"

"There’s no need to go that far. We’re not interrogating a suspect here."

He and Lee Seon-hwa had already coordinated their stories. With her acting skills, there was no way she’d slip up while giving her statement.

Seo Jung-woo also explained why he had completely destroyed both of Choi Sun-hyung’s hands.

“I thought he had a real gun.”

He didn’t tell the whole truth here either.

“I fought desperately to avoid getting shot. Whew. It was really scary.”

“We saw the video too, but it didn’t really look like you were fighting desperately...”

“It was desperate. My heart is still pounding from the fear.”

“You looked pretty relaxed in the video though...”

The detective who had set up Baek Sung-min’s blind date handed him a cup of coffee and said,

“Sung-min.”

“What?”

“Your rookie is seriously something else.”

Baek Sung-min smirked as he looked at Seo Jung-woo chatting with another detective a short distance away.

“He’s only a rookie on paper.”

“Thanks to him, do you get any perks too?”

“Do you even need to ask? Because of Jung-woo, our team’s performance is through the roof. That’s why I even get to go on blind dates like this...”

Baek Sung-min’s expression suddenly darkened as an unpleasant memory surfaced.

“Hey. That woman you introduced me to—she bolted in the middle of the date.”

“Huh? Why?”

“She ran off the moment she heard Jung-woo’s name.”

“There must have been some misunderstanding. I’ll set up another meeting.”

“Forget it. I’m not interested in her anymore.”

Lowering his voice, Baek Sung-min gestured toward a corner of the detective division.

“Introduce me to her instead. She’s totally my type.”

“Her?”

“Yeah. Is it because this is a rich neighborhood? How do they have such amazing people working in the detective division?”

“You don’t see how she’s looking at Seo Jung-woo with sparkling eyes? You really think she’d ask to be introduced to you? Or do you think she’d ask for Seo Jung-woo?”

“Damn, don’t hit me with facts. That hurts.”

Seo Jung-woo’s statement was wrapped up quickly.

He was never a suspect in the first place.

On top of that, there was a video showing Choi Sun-hyung pointing a gun and attacking with a knife. Even after the detectives arrived, Choi Sun-hyung was still holding the knife.

With evidence like this, they didn’t need Seo Jung-woo to lock him up.

They simply told him they would reach out if they needed anything else and ended the conversation.

Seo Jung-woo and Baek Sung-min left the police station.

Baek Sung-min grumbled,

“My blind date flopped, I had to pay for the meal, and I even got verbally smacked. Ugh. So miserable.”

“You got smacked? Did you get into a fight?”

“It’s just a saying.”

They headed to the police station’s parking lot. Since Baek Sung-min had a blind date today, he had driven his car.

But next to Baek Sung-min’s car was a sleek sports car. He whistled in admiration.

“Wow. That car must be crazy expensive. How much do these go for? Over a hundred million won?”

Seo Jung-woo walked over and opened the car door. The door smoothly lifted upward.

Baek Sung-min’s eyes widened in shock.

“Wait, what? Why did that door just open? Is this your car? Jung-woo, are you secretly a chaebol heir?! Have you been a rich kid all along?!”

“Of course not. I just borrowed it from Lee Seon-hwa for today.”

“Whew. You scared me there. I almost had an existential crisis.”

Suddenly, Baek Sung-min’s eyes gleamed.

“Hey, then let’s take this car whenever we go out to crime scenes. I’ve always wanted to do something like in the movies. I’ll step out of this sports car wearing sunglasses, scan the surroundings, and then say something like, ‘So, today’s crime scene is my father’s company building.’ It’s a story about a chaebol heir working as a detective, catching criminals with money...”

“Lee Seon-hwa said I could use it today since she’s grateful, but I have to return it tomorrow.”

“Tsk. For a top star, she sure is stingy. It won’t wear out just because we use it for a few more days.”

He parked Lee Seon-hwa’s car in a paid parking lot near his home.

The next afternoon, Seo Jung-woo crossed over to the other world.

He rented a car and moved to a new house.

If he wanted to move properly, he would need to hire an armored moving truck, but that would make it impossible to hide the fact that he was relocating.

So instead, he rented a regular car and transported his weapons, essential belongings, and items he had brought from the other world.

To an observer, it would just look like he was going on a short trip. The car was small, so he couldn’t move all the weapons in one go.

“I’ll move the weapons over the next few days.”

To use his old house as bait, it needed to look lived-in. So, he left most of the basic household items there.

As Seo Sora had said, the new house was sturdy. The reinforced concrete walls were twice as thick as normal houses. The attic, meant to serve as a watchtower, was properly bulletproofed.

The basement was designed as a shelter. Once its composite-material door was locked, it was completely sealed off from the outside. Inside, there was a food storage facility.

Seo Sora immediately started moving food supplies to the underground storage.

With little luggage and Seo Jung-woo’s strength, the move was finished quickly.

But by the time they were done, it was already evening.

Not only was Seo Jung-woo good at grilling meat, but Seo Sora was also skilled. She set up everything and got ready to grill some beef.

However, before they could even start, a guest arrived and rang the doorbell.

Seo Jung-woo stood up.

“Who could that be?”

He tucked the pistol he had placed beside him into the back of his waistband and cautiously opened the front door.

Beyond the small yard was the main gate. Through the gate, he could see the silhouette of a person.

The figure looked familiar.

“Huh?”

Seo Jung-woo walked across the yard and opened the gate.

Standing outside was this world’s Lee Seon-hwa.

His first instinct was to check her outfit.

‘Bright and stylish. At least it’s not something she wears when she’s in a bad mood.’

Of course, clothes alone couldn’t reveal everything about someone’s emotions. She could have picked the outfit when she was happy, only to have her mood ruined later.

She was carrying a handbag made from processed monster leather. If dismantled and reassembled, it could turn into a simple protective armor covering the heart.

However, there was no sign of a pistol on her waist or legs.

‘She must have put it inside the handbag again. That means it’ll be slow to draw. She really prioritizes style above all else.’

Suddenly, Lee Seon-hwa shouted at him with a heart-wrenching voice,

“How could you move without telling me?! How?!”

Her voice carried a mix of sadness, disappointment, and blame.

Seo Jung-woo calmly said,

“Seon-hwa, save the acting for when there’s a camera in front of you.”

Immediately, she dropped her expression filled with three conflicting emotions.

“Oh my. Was it that obvious? I thought I was perfect.”

“I’ve known you for years. Do you really think I’d still fall for it?”

Clicking her tongue, Lee Seon-hwa muttered,

“Tsk. Oppa, you know too much about me.”

“You’ve shown me too much.”

“Anyway! How could you move without even telling me?”

“I didn’t tell you, but you still found me just fine.”

She glared at him before dramatically turning away.

“You’re so mean! I’m leaving! You hurt me!”

Even as she spoke, her voice carried a frigid winter wind.

Seo Jung-woo called after her.

“Seon-hwa, I told you—save the acting for when there’s a camera.”

She spun around again.

“You could at least pretend to be fooled a little?”