Chapter 1

**Top Arrest Rate Detective Choi! Chapter 001**

@MUST REThe story involving the characters, organizations, or companies mentioned in the text is fictional. Any similarities to real-life entities are purely coincidental and not based on reality.

@Prologue

Choi Mujin.

My name is nothing special, and my job is a detective at the Incheon Bupyeong Police Station.

We call Incheon, where many incidents occur, the "Demon World."

Since my home is in Incheon, I have been part of the police force in this so-called "Demon World" ever since I passed the police civil service exam.

I became a police officer influenced by my father, who died in the line of duty, and I worked tirelessly day and night to support my mother and two younger sisters.

However, my family and I did not have a smooth life.

After becoming the head of the family, I almost gave up my personal time and worked like a madman to support my family.

I devoted myself entirely to the police force and, out of pride, never accepted any bribes.

I thought that if I just worked hard, everything would be fine, but my youngest sister, who was twelve years younger, had a dark high school life and even chose to commit suicide due to bullying.

I always thought of her as just a cute little sister.

My younger sisters, Soojin and Mijin.

Because of the significant age gap and my busy schedule, I only managed to give them pocket money occasionally. When I heard that my youngest sister, Yujin, had fallen from the school rooftop, it felt like I had been hit on the head with a hammer.

What was the point of all this?

Wasn't the reason I worked so hard to take care of my family?

But I couldn't protect my sister.

Yujin, who fell from the rooftop, didn't lose her life but fell into a coma.

After that, the medical bills piled up, and my mother, who had been staying at home, started working at a supermarket. Soojin, considering our financial situation, decided to give up on college, and I couldn't stop her.

Soojin gave up on college and decided to learn beauty skills, working part-time at a beauty school. After becoming independent, she started to contact us less out of guilt.

Sigh, where did it all go wrong?

Why must our family endure such trials?

Would it get better if we relied on God? So I went to church.

But neither my situation nor our financial situation improved.

I despised myself for rejecting the envelopes of money from the entertainment venue owner and threw myself into work to escape reality.

I thought that if I kept catching criminals, at least my mind would be free of distractions.

But tragedy struck.

Three years after Yujin fell into a coma, on the day her ventilator was removed, I prayed to God for just one chance to help.

But...

God's mercy did not exist for us.

Even after my sister passed away, I had to pay off the hospital bills for over five years, giving half of my salary.

Do the rich know how powerless money can make you feel?

“Ugh...”

What a messed-up world.

Rationally, I know there are people who have it worse, but I didn't want to take comfort in others' misfortunes.

So I kept going.

The only thing left for me was the self-respect of being a police officer.

Time passed, and I gradually became numb to the pain.

I was like a zombie.

Obsessed with catching criminals, I turned thirty-eight before I knew it.

All the time that passed felt like it was dead to me.

I had no reason to live except for my work.

* * *

One day in April 2022.

When I came to my senses, my body, mind, and financial situation were all in ruins.

“Father! I'm here.”

I came to the columbarium where my father was resting, carrying a bottle of soju.

It's a place I visit whenever I think of him, as it's the only place where I can feel a bit of relief after a few words of remembrance.

Seeing a small flower stuck to the glass, it seemed my mother had visited not long ago.

“Sigh~ Mom came by, didn't she? She must have seen her knee pain. What are you doing in the afterlife? Why don't you appear in my dreams and give me the lottery numbers? ...Ha ha. No, I can't do that. I'm a police officer, after all, and I can't ask for favors.”

Heh heh.

I laughed bitterly at my own words.

“But Father, is it even possible? In movies and dramas, people go back in time and live their lives again... It's not possible, right? If I could go back, I would take better care of Mom and my sisters...”

Today, I keep saying things that are just wishful thinking.

Before I knew it, I had finished the bottle of soju.

“Ugh~ I'm done. I'll go now. By the way, please think seriously about what I asked. I know it's impossible, but...”

Because I had drunk a bottle of soju, when I returned to the station, the team leader was angry about the smell of alcohol.

“Mujin! Did you drink?”

“I just had one drink with a meal. What’s the problem?”

“Cut it out.”

“Sure~”

I ignored the team leader and sat down.

“Don’t sit. Get ready to respond.”

“Respond?”

“A suspect has appeared at the indoor racetrack in Sungui-dong.”

The suspect the team leader was talking about was Bapbap.

Bapbap is not just any Bapbap; he is a habitual offender who breaks into women's homes, rapes them, and steals their belongings.

“Sungui-dong?”

“Yes. Inspector Kim went out a little while ago, so follow quickly.”

“Got it!”

I answered briefly and stood up.

The suspect we were looking for, Lee Cheolgu!

There are five reported cases, and more victims have been found during the investigation, so it's an emergency.

We received information that he was obsessed with horse racing and had set up informants at indoor racetracks. Finally, we got a lead.

I rushed out, but Inspector Kim was already gone.

“What a scumbag!”

He is eight years younger than me, a graduate of the police academy, and a sergeant.

That's why he felt uncomfortable around me.

Our interactions were always off, and the age and rank difference made it impossible to resolve.

I had no choice but to ask for help from the youngest, Sergeant Lee Yeonseok, and we headed to Sungui-dong together.

“Yeonseok! Can you help me?”

“Inspector Kim went alone again?”

“Sigh~ That's how it is.”

“What a guy!”

“Sigh~ Let it go. I feel suffocated too.”

Because he felt uncomfortable around me, Inspector Kim often asked to be transferred to another team.

“But that's not right. Detective Choi has so much experience...”

“Never mind. I'll try to get some rest. Wake me up when we arrive.”

“Sure.”

The alcohol was making me drowsy.

* * *

I closed my eyes for a moment, but we arrived quickly, and I woke up with bloodshot eyes.

“Senior! Hurry. We're tracking Lee Cheolgu.”

“Really?”

“Hurry.”

“Got it.”

Since this happens often, I was used to waking up and quickly assessing the situation before rushing to the scene.

“I'll take the back door.”

“I'll go first. Park the car roughly and come.”

“Sure. Senior!”

I had visited the Sungui-dong racetrack many times and knew the building structure well.

From the second to the fifth floor, it's a TV racetrack, so if he's inside, we can catch Lee Cheolgu by securing the first floor.

‘What a useless guy!’

I cursed for a simple reason.

We should have waited for us to arrive, but Inspector Kim, who arrived first, moved to take all the credit.

I crossed the first-floor lobby and reached the back door, where I saw Lee Cheolgu jumping out of a second-floor window.

Above him, Inspector Kim's unpleasant face appeared, leaning out of the window.

It seemed he thought I would catch Lee Cheolgu.

But the scene is full of variables.

Especially Lee Cheolgu, who is agile and wields a knife without hesitation.

“Lee Cheolgu. Stop there!”

Instead of stopping, he smiled and lunged at me with the knife.

“Die, you bastard.”

Swish!

I rolled quickly to avoid it, and the guy, seeing an opening, started running.

‘Damn!’

“Ugh!”

Sergeant Lee was suddenly beside me.

It seemed his arm had been grazed by the knife, and blood started to seep through.

“Are you okay?”

“I'm fine. Go quickly. We need to catch that guy.”

“Right. Call 119 quickly.”

“Go quickly. We need to catch Lee Cheolgu.”

It didn't seem like a serious injury, so I ran to catch Lee Cheolgu.

* * *

“What a lunatic...”

After running about 100 meters, I saw him run across an eight-lane road without looking at the traffic, and I couldn't help but curse.

Determined to catch him today, I followed him until I cornered him in a dead-end alley.

Pant! Pant!

“Lee Cheolgu! Stop it.”

“What do you mean stop, you bastard.”

He had a knife in his right hand and a rolled-up notebook in his left.

I was curious why he held onto the notebook so tightly in such a situation.

It's a kind of occupational habit, thinking it might be evidence.

“What is that you're holding so tightly?”

When I asked, he just cursed.

“It's my lifeline. What are you going to do? Bastard.”

“You're crazy. If that's your lifeline, I'll burn it.”

I said I would burn it because it seemed important to him, even though I didn't know what it was.

‘Damn! Where are the reinforcements?’

I was getting anxious because they were taking so long to arrive.

At times like this, I wished Inspector Kim would show up.

“Stop it. You idiot.”

His talkative nature showed he was scared of being caught.

“Lee Cheolgu. Don't regret it. Drop the knife. If you're caught with it, you'll serve three more years.”

Heh!

He laughed.

Usually, they would offer their wrists to be handcuffed, but sometimes it's difficult because of guys like him.

“You don't have a gun. Don't get yourself killed and just step aside.”

“Let's do this nicely. Stop making innocent victims.”

“Ha ha! You're putting on a show. From now on, the women you victimize will blame you. Are you afraid of the rumors? Just go back and say you lost him.”

“You bastards will beg for mercy when you catch me. Oh~ I don't want to see that again.”

I had forgotten to bring my gun in the rush, and I regretted not having it as I watched him.

“You're crazy.”

I tried to buy time until the reinforcements arrived, but he lunged at me.

Fighting a guy with a knife bare-handed is not as easy as in movies or dramas, regardless of the length of the knife.

I'm confident in my fighting skills, but subduing him without getting hurt is not easy, so I quickly unbuckled my belt and wrapped it around my right hand.

Fortunately, I heard footsteps behind me, turned quickly to see who it was, and focused back on Lee Cheolgu. It was Inspector Kim.

“A bit late.”

“Yeah.”

Swish!

“Ugh!”

“Goodbye. Ha ha!”

It was definitely Inspector Kim.

But he had a knife in his hand and stabbed me from behind.

Then he threw the knife to Lee Cheolgu.

Click!

Instinctively, Lee Cheolgu grabbed the knife and was momentarily stunned but quickly realized what was happening.

“What?”

“What are you going to do? You're now charged with murder of a police officer?”

“What?”

“What are you doing? This guy is still breathing. It's better to stab him and run.”

“Are you letting me go?”

“Yeah. So don't get caught. If you do, I might have to kill you. Or you'll spend the rest of your life in prison.”

“...”

Lee Cheolgu looked shocked by Inspector Kim's cruel smile.

“Since no one will believe what you say, are you going to get caught?”

Shake, shake.

“What are you doing? You need to finish this and go.”

Even as I was losing consciousness, I could clearly hear what they were saying.

“...Why?”

In extreme pain, I mustered the strength to ask why.

“Ask your father when you die.”

I felt weaker and my eyelids grew heavy.

My last words were “Why.”

Even as I was dying, I was curious why Inspector Kim told me to ask my father.

Thud! Thud!

Lee Cheolgu stabbed me twice as I was dying.

In my last moments, I instinctively grabbed the notebook he was holding, and that was my last memory.