Central Training Ground

The trainees who had been exercising began to gather one by one near the pull-up bars. As if there were something interesting to watch, they formed a circle around the bars. More people gathered, curious about the scene.

"Twenty-two."

The leader of the pull-up club was a former pull-up contest champion, and until now, he had never seen anyone at the police academy even come close to matching him.

"Twenty-three..."

But now, an instructor who looked much older was doing pull-ups with the same expression and posture as when he started.

For the first time since joining, the club leader felt a sense of crisis. His forearms trembled.

"Wow..."

All the club members who had been doing pull-ups had already dropped out. The trainees stood with their mouths half-open, watching the bizarre contest between the two.

"Twenty-four!"

Shin Haesu was enjoying himself, being able to exercise freely without worrying about tomorrow. His voice grew louder and louder.

"Twenty-fiiive..."

The club leader’s words dragged out. Haesu and the leader made eye contact. Seeing the leader’s fingers begin to let go, Haesu let go of the bar at almost the exact same moment.

Thud—

"Wow!"

"Instructor, you’re amazing!"

"Our leader is so cool!!"

"A hundred and twenty-five! I’ve never seen anyone do over a hundred in real life. It’s really something humans can do."

Haesu came down and extended his hand to the club leader. The leader took his hand and realized—there was still strength in Haesu’s grip. He had let go at the same time to protect the leader’s pride.

Among the spectators, Kim Woong-min, who had been silently watching, noticed the club leader’s hand trembling. In contrast, Haesu looked calm.

Seeing this, a sharp jolt ran through Woong-min’s chest. He realized he had been thinking foolishly all along.

'I want to become like that.'

Woong-min’s foolish jealousy transformed into reverence.

All Haesu had done was exercise as much as he wanted, yet unintentionally, he had inspired each trainee to reflect.

On the way back to the dorm after finishing his workout, Haesu looked out over the central training ground and stretched wide.

'The future of South Korea is bright!'

The Next Day, Mid Auditorium

Except for the initial introduction, practical classes were conducted in units of two platoons.

Haesu looked at the roughly sixty trainees and began to speak.

"Last night, I saw your passion very clearly. So! I’ve prepared a training schedule that matches that passion. Don’t worry. The best medical staff is on standby."

Haesu proudly pointed to the medical staff waiting at the far end of the auditorium. The trainees’ faces turned pale before the training even started.

"We’ll begin with stretching. If you don’t stretch enough, your bones might break or your ligaments might tear. Now, starting with the left arm..."

Moments later—

"Ugh, uwaaagh!"

"Kuhuk!"

Several trainees vomited and collapsed, and some were carried out on stretchers.

Haesu encouraged them and continued the training. At that moment, another instructor hurriedly approached.

"Instructor Shin Haesu, National Assemblyman Oh Seongju has suddenly made a visit. He said to have the trainees clean the auditorium, tidy their appearance, and wait."

Haesu furrowed his brow deeply. Oh Seongju was a three-term Assemblyman and held a high position, but it meant nothing to Haesu.

"Instructor, if an Assemblyman arrives, would you leave in the middle of an operation and go back to the station to mop the stairs?"

"...Excuse me?"

"Three-term or President, if it’s not an official event, we stick to the schedule."

"I-I understand, but this puts me in a difficult position..."

While Haesu and the instructor conversed, the trainees murmured among themselves.

"I guess it’s true that Assemblyman Oh Seongju’s child is in our class."

"Why would a lawmaker’s kid want to be a cop?"

"Maybe they just want to."

Then, Miyeon, who had been quietly listening, poked her face out.

"So what? What’s wrong with that?"

"What, Oh Miyeon? You’ve got the same last name, huh? Sounds suspicious."

Miyeon’s expression hardened as she replied.

"Why, if you’re a lawmaker’s kid, you can’t be a cop?"

"It’s not that you can’t... Just don’t be so serious. It’s scary when our smiley Miyeon gets serious."

"Really? Sorry."

Miyeon quickly smiled again and apologized to her classmates. Just then, Haesu’s voice rang out.

"Alright, training resumes! Everyone to the end of the auditorium!"

"Yes!!"

Training under Shin Haesu resumed, and just as the intensity began to peak, Assemblyman Oh Seongju entered the auditorium.

He saw another trainee holding Oh Miyeon’s feet as she walked on her hands and gaped in astonishment.

Sweat was pouring from their faces like rain, and Instructor Haesu was wiping the auditorium floor in real-time while shouting at them.

"M-My..."

Oh Seongju clutched the back of his neck and began stepping backward, and his secretary supported him and led him out of the auditorium.

Haesu glanced in their direction and then turned his attention back.

Outside the Auditorium

The secretary asked Oh Seongju,

"Shall I request a pause?"

"No no, we mustn’t get in the way. I’ve never seen my daughter like that before... I can feel her determination—it’s even better this way. What’s the name of that instructor?"

"Sergeant Shin Haesu. He’s a detective from the Violent Crimes Special Investigation Unit and was invited as a special instructor for two weeks."

"I see. Must’ve had a strong performance record?"

"He’s ranked number one in arrest rates nationwide."

"Oh ho..."

Oh Seongju stroked his chin and nodded, heading for the car.

Soon after, during training, an instructor burst in again. He glanced at Haesu once, and without relaying a message, shouted urgently.

"Trainee Oh Miyeon!"

"Yes!"

Oh Miyeon jumped up and ran toward him. Seeing the instructor’s serious face, Miyeon’s expression turned equally grave.

The instructor spoke in a heavy voice.

“Your father is asking for you.”

Miyeon’s expression became subtly complex. She had asked for absolute secrecy, but now all the trainees would find out because he was openly calling for her, and she couldn't think of any valid reason for it.

“What?”

“While returning home, he... had an accident.”

“What?!”

Miyeon’s round eyes grew even wider. Haesu, who had silently approached and was now listening to their conversation, asked:

“Where is he?”

“Nearby, at Haedong Hospital.”

“Let’s go.”

Haesu handed the training over to the instructor and took Oh Miyeon with him to Haedong Hospital in his car.

On the way to the hospital, the inside of the car was filled with heavy silence.

Miyeon didn’t cry. She just stared out the window with a deeply complex expression on her face.

“Bring more blood here, quickly!”

“Ugh, it hurts! Treat me first! Doctor!”

“Please wait just a moment!”

The heat of the emergency room hit them as soon as they stepped in. Haesu and Miyeon didn’t have to search long to find them in one corner.

Step, step, step—

Miyeon’s footsteps toward Oh Seongju were incredibly slow, as if refusing to acknowledge the current situation.

Next to Assemblyman Oh Seongju lay a white cloth. The driver, his secretary, had already left this world.

Oh Seongju was wearing an oxygen mask, and his lower body and abdomen were drenched in blood.

“Hngh!”

Only then did Oh Miyeon burst into tears.

Oh Seongju’s finger twitched. Miyeon didn’t miss the small movement and grabbed his hand. Tears flowed from Oh Seongju’s eyes as he lay there.

Haesu approached a paramedic who hadn’t left yet.

“When did the accident happen?”

“It’s been 20 minutes since he was brought here.”

Haesu quickly checked the time on his watch and calculated mentally.

“Tell me what happened. Describe the accident. Start with the location.”

“Ah… it happened at Bangsang Three-way Intersection. A dump truck ran into them. Drunk driving… we have the black box footage.”

“What about the dump truck driver?”

“He’s fine. He was taken to the police station first.”

Haesu immediately watched the black box footage on the hospital computer, memorizing the exact time and location of the incident.

Then he walked over to the panting Oh Seongju and looked down at him.

“It’s my fault…”

If he hadn’t insisted on continuing the training, if he hadn’t surprised him and caused him to rush over—two lives could’ve been saved…

It had been a long time since the Reset had activated. There hadn’t been any situations urgent enough. Though anxious, Haesu whispered earnestly in his heart.

“Reset.”

“Ugh, blegh!”

“Kehk!”

Trainees were throwing up, others were collapsing. He had returned one hour into the past.

Just then, the instructor came rushing in toward Haesu.

“Instructor Shin Haesu, Assemblyman Oh Seongju—”

“Please take over the training. I need to step out for a bit.”

“Huh? Uh, okay, yes.”

On the way to retrieve his car keys from his quarters, Haesu ran into Assemblyman Oh Seongju.

“I’m Instructor Shin Haesu. Please observe the training until the end. Thank you.”

“Ah… Yes, of course. Good work.”

Haesu drove straight to Bangsang Three-way Intersection. He waited in the same lane he saw in the black box footage and checked the time.

“16:33:15… 30 seconds until the accident.”

About 20 seconds in, the dump truck from the footage appeared from the 9 o'clock direction. It was barreling down the road at terrifying speed.

Clack, clunk—

As soon as the light turned green, Haesu shifted the gear to first in automatic mode and got out of the car. He stretched both arms out to block the other cars in the same lane.

Honk honk—KWAANG!!!

The thunderous crash came immediately after the honking. The dump truck slammed into Haesu’s car, pushing it for about 30 meters before finally coming to a stop.

“W-What just happened.”

“Holy…”

People got out of their cars to witness the crash scene.

Knock knock—

Haesu climbed onto the footstep of the dump truck and knocked on the door. Inside, the driver was dazed and out of it.

Without hesitation, Haesu smashed the window with his elbow.

Wham wham—CRASH!!

“Ack! W-What the hell?!”

After breaking the window, he unlocked the door and pulled it open. The driver, his nose red, stared back in shock.

“Get out.”

“Huh?”

WHAM!!

Haesu grabbed him by the collar and slammed him to the ground.

The dump truck driver was taken to the nearby police station.

Though it was a DUI-related accident, thanks to Haesu’s intervention, a fatality was prevented. Still, to ensure a heavy penalty, Haesu had sacrificed his own car.

“But, Sergeant Shin Haesu, how did you know to intervene beforehand and even stop the other vehicles?”

After some thought, Haesu answered the officer’s question:

“I have good eyes.”

“Ah, I see…”

Pointing at the driver whose face was bloodied from scraping the asphalt, Haesu continued:

“Please make sure that man gets the maximum sentence possible.”

“Of course. He could’ve been a murderer if things had gone wrong. Absolutely.”

“Yes, it’s only right.”

After writing his statement and stepping out of the station—

A flashy sedan stood at the entrance. The door opened and Assemblyman Oh Seongju stepped out.

Rather than wondering how he knew, Haesu was curious why he had come looking for him. Maybe he’d just come to the station coincidentally.

“What brings you here?”

Oh Seongju looked at Haesu’s eyes quietly, then opened his mouth.

“Just what are you?”

Haesu’s eyes widened.