Park Yeon was rummaging through the shopping basket. When he couldn't find what he wanted, he looked terribly disappointed.

"I told you to bring back a Bibibig."

"Bibibig costs money too."

"That's why I gave you money."

"You did. Two thousand won."

"......"

"Unfortunately, I don't have the skill to turn two thousand won into twenty thousand."

"You can do it!"

"That would be a crime."

"......"

With nothing left to say, Park Yeon just shook his head and slipped into his room.

At that moment,

A subspace opened, and the Bibibig Park Yeon had longed for popped out.

Seo-jun soothed his bored mouth with the Bibibig and began organizing what he had bought in the shopping basket.

There wasn’t much.

Mussels and seaweed.

That was it.

From the ingredients, it was clear: today he intended to make mussel seaweed soup.

Compared to beef seaweed soup, it might be an unfamiliar dish, but once you get hooked on its taste, you won’t go back to beef seaweed soup.

That's how deep and refreshing the flavor is.

The cooking method wasn't particularly difficult either.

First, he put the mussel meat in saltwater and gently washed it as if applying baby powder. Then he drained it through a strainer and rinsed it under cold water, draining off the moisture.

Next was the seaweed, the main ingredient for the seaweed soup. He soaked it in cold water to rehydrate it and washed it thoroughly.

The key was to wash until no bubbles remained. It wouldn’t do in one go; it had to be rinsed several times.

After rinsing, he squeezed out the water firmly and cut it roughly into bite-sized pieces.

The next steps were the same as making beef seaweed soup.

He heated some sesame oil in a pot, and once it was sufficiently hot, he added the soaked seaweed.

Chaaah!

With smoke, a savory aroma burst forth. It was best to stir-fry the seaweed while loosening it until it became tender.

Once the seaweed was loosened up, he added minced garlic.

The important point here was even mixing. If not mixed well, depending on who ate it, it might become a hit-or-miss seaweed soup.

When the sharp scent of minced garlic faded and a sweet aroma began to rise, he added the mussel meat to finish it off.

For seasoning, he only used soup soy sauce and salt — nothing else at all.

Boiling bubbling-!

Looking at the deliciously boiling seaweed soup, Seo-jun smacked his lips. But he had to hold back. The soup had an owner, after all.

And just then, the owner appeared.

"Oh my, hello."

"You’re here."

"Congratulations on moving in. I wanted to come help, but unfortunately, I was on duty that day. Also, this is a housewarming gift."

Go Kyung-soo, the owner of the seaweed soup, handed over a box he was carrying.

"Is this a robot vacuum cleaner?"

"These days, every house has one, you know."

Seo-jun laughed awkwardly.

His was one of the rare homes that didn’t have one.

"You didn’t have to bring something so expensive."

"Expensive? It’s not much. And even if it were expensive, it’s fine. I’m just grateful for how you sometimes look after our Hye-jin. Ah, by the way, the reason you asked me to stop by on my way home..."

"Just a moment."

Seo-jun went into the kitchen and brought out the pot of seaweed soup. Go Kyung-soo watched blankly, tilting his head.

"Seaweed soup?"

"Technically, mussel seaweed soup."

"Why seaweed soup...?"

"I heard tomorrow is your birthday."

"Eh?"

"Isn't it tomorrow? That's what Hye-jin said."

"...Oh? Tomorrow's already the 27th?"

"Yes."

"Hah... I even forgot my own birthday. Guess I really am getting old. When I was young, birthdays were a big deal..."

Go Kyung-soo opened the lid of the pot and sniffed.

"It smells amazing."

"It'll taste just as good."

"Of course! I know how good your cooking is. Anyway, thank you for the meal!"

"And happy birthday in advance."

Looking embarrassed, Go Kyung-soo scratched his head and bowed politely.

"Thank you."

"Not at all. Have a wonderful birthday."

"I'd like to... but it doesn't look like I can."

"Pardon?"

Go Kyung-soo shrugged.

"Unfortunately, I have to work."

Go Kyung-soo sluggishly got up from bed.

Scratch scratch.

Last night, a bunch of mosquitoes had been buzzing around, and it seemed he got bitten several times. His neck and arms were all swollen red.

"Damn mosquitoes just get more vicious every year."

"Then maybe you should wash before going to bed."

A woman with a few strands of gray hair approached the grumbling Go Kyung-soo. It was his mother, Lee Jung-shim.

"I did wash before bed."

"Yeah right. You might as well try fooling a ghost. You didn’t wash."

"You were asleep, how would you know?"

"Wait till you get old. You’ll see — your hearing gets sharper while sleeping."

Go Kyung-soo stared at Lee Jung-shim with fresh eyes.

Come to think of it, Mom's gotten really old. Well, no wonder — she’s been through a lot.

Her child, well into her sixties, instead of being treated to filial piety, was stuck raising a kid in her twilight years.

"Why are you staring blankly at me?"

"I just thought, our mom has really become a grandma now."

"Of course I’m a grandma, what am I, a young lady? Now hurry up and wash up, then eat."

Go Kyung-soo headed to the bathroom. His hair was so wild that even a wandering warrior would want to be his friend.

After brushing his teeth and washing his face, he came out to find a modest breakfast set on the table.

"What's with the seaweed soup?"

"You really don’t know?"

"Is today something special?"

Lee Jung-shim sighed in disbelief.

"It's one thing to forget your own birthday, but you even forgot the stuff you brought home."

"Ah?"

"Forget it, just pick up your spoon before it gets cold."

"Yessir!"

Slurp!

After taking a spoonful of the seaweed soup, Go Kyung-soo's eyes widened like saucers.

"Wow... it's delicious."

Normally, he barely touched breakfast, but this was so good he couldn't stop eating.

After hurriedly finishing his meal, Go Kyung-soo debated whether to have another bowl but checked the time and decided to change his clothes instead.

He could always eat more seaweed soup after work.

Soon, he tiptoed quietly into Hye-jin's room. She was sleeping soundly.

A smile blossomed on Go Kyung-soo’s lips.

Even on days when he didn’t want to go to work, just seeing Hye-jin’s face would wipe away those feelings.

I have to go to work. I have to earn money. So I can buy Hye-jin even one more snack she likes.

As Go Kyung-soo kissed the sleeping Hye-jin on the cheek and left, Lee Jeong-shim spoke softly.

“Be careful on your way.”

It was something he heard every time he went to work. And every time, Go Kyung-soo always answered energetically.

“Don’t worry.”

After stepping out the door, Go Kyung-soo stared intently at the closed front door and, as always, kissed the cross necklace he wore.

“……Dear God. Please let me be used as an instrument of peace today as well.”

“Doesn’t that look like a stolen car?”

It was a lazy afternoon with the scorching sunlight heating up the asphalt.

Go Kyung-soo, yawning widely behind the wheel, lifted his head at Park Jin-hoo’s sudden remark.

All police cars in South Korea were equipped with image recognition scanner technology.

The image recognition scanner was connected to the police database network and could detect stolen cars or vehicles involved in crimes.

Just like now.

Red letters lit up on the monitor.

A check revealed that it was indeed a car reported stolen last week.

“Ha…… There's never a peaceful day.”

“Was there ever one? If you don’t like it, just ignore it.”

“Will you write the report for me, sir?”

“Of course!”

“…….”

“No, wait, I won’t.”

Chuckling, Park Jin-hoo turned on the siren.

WEEENG!

“Vehicle 9494, pull over to the shoulder.”

The vehicle obediently pulled over at the command. Seeing that, Park Jin-hoo said,

“They’re obedient.”

“Doesn’t seem dangerous.”

Of course, it was too early to be certain, but in most cases like this, things ended without incident.

Still, just in case, Go Kyung-soo and Park Jin-hoo cautiously approached the stolen car, hands on their holsters according to protocol.

Go Kyung-soo took the driver’s side, and Park Jin-hoo took the passenger’s side.

“What’s going on?”

The driver with dreadlocks rolled down the window and asked.

“Sorry, but could you lower the music volume, please?”

“I’ve lowered it. What’s the matter?”

“Please turn off the engine and step out of the car.”

“At least tell me what’s going on before asking me to get out.”

“This vehicle has been identified as a stolen car. We ask for your cooperation.”

While Go Kyung-soo spoke with the driver, Park Jin-hoo scanned the car’s interior and radioed headquarters.

“This is Patrol 3, inspecting vehicle XXXD9494, please confirm.”

-170, please confirm the driver’s description.

170 was Park Jin-hoo’s call sign.

“Uh…… He has dreadlocks, and there’s a cross-shaped tattoo on his right hand.”

There was a brief silence on the radio as they confirmed the information.

At that moment, Park Jin-hoo noticed the driver’s hand moving toward the side pocket.

“Sir, please keep your hands on the steering wheel……”

He should have finished with “raise them up.”

But Park Jin-hoo couldn’t finish his sentence.

BANG!

The driver had already pulled out a gun from the side pocket and fired.

The gunfire did not stop at one shot.

BANG!

Two shots rang out before Park Jin-hoo could hurriedly draw his weapon and return fire.

TATATATANG!

VRRRROOOM!

Gunshots and the roaring sound of the engine followed. The driver was trying to flee.

“Shots fired! Shots fired!”

Park Jin-hoo quickly radioed the situation and aimed at the fleeing vehicle’s tires, pulling the trigger.

BANG! BANG!

Unfortunately, the bullets missed.

In that case, all they could do was quickly call for backup and start a pursuit.

“Kyung-soo, get back to the car quick…….”

Once again, Park Jin-hoo couldn’t finish his sentence. Because Go Kyung-soo was lying there, bleeding.

Four o'clock in the afternoon.

At this time, the daycare bus always stopped in front of the store. As the bus doors opened……

“Uncleeeee!”

Seo-woo came running with open arms, smiling brightly. Seo-jun’s task was simple.

Lift Seo-woo up in a big hug.

That’s it.

“Hi, Hye-jin!”

Today, Hye-jin also got off the bus. It happened occasionally, so Seo-jun greeted her with a smile. Hye-jin responded with a deep bow.

“Hello.”

While Seo-jun watched warmly,

“Ah, teacher. Did you get home safely yesterday?”

“……Ah, yes.”

Lee Ra-hee’s expression was oddly dark as she answered.

“Did something happen at daycare? Did Seo-woo do something wrong……?”

“Pardon?”

“It’s just, your expression seems troubled.”

“Ah…… No, no. That’s not it……”

Lee Ra-hee glanced at Hye-jin. Hye-jin, as always, clung innocently to Seo-jun’s leg with a big smile.

“It’s something I should tell you when the kids aren’t around.”

“Seo-woo, Hye-jin, why don’t you two go inside first?”

“What about you, Uncle?”

“Uncle will stay and hear from the teacher about how good you two were today.”

“Hehe.”

“Heehee.”

The two laughed and happily ran into the store.

“What is it? What’s wrong?”

“I don’t know how to say this, but we only got a call…….”

“A call?”

“From the police station…… No, from Inspector Park. He asked if we could drop Hye-jin together with Seo-woo today.”

Today was supposed to be Go Kyung-soo’s birthday.

He was probably planning a small celebration at the store after work with his colleagues.

Maybe I should buy a cake while I’m at it.

Fresh cream? Chocolate? Or……

While Seo-jun was pondering,

“……Hye-jin’s father was shot at the scene.”

“What?”

“They rushed him to the hospital…….”

It was absurd. It felt completely out of the blue.

Just yesterday, Go Kyung-soo had come by the store to congratulate him on the move. No…… it wasn’t even just yesterday.

He even messaged this morning, saying the seaweed soup was delicious.

And now, he was shot and being transported to the hospital?