Chapter 7

Detective Choi, the top arrest rate! Chapter 007: Becoming a Tycoon

"But what can we do? Nothing is coming up."

"No matter how I think about it, it seems strange."

"What's strange?"

"I wouldn't entrust an investigation to a different precinct if I were in that position. So, I thought, maybe we're forgetting something else?"

"Is there something we need to recover?"

"Yes. If the safe is small, how much money or gold could have been lost? Isn't that right?"

"…Hmm! Now that I think about it, that's true."

The high-ranking police officer lives in a high-end apartment worth over 1 billion won and doesn't keep cash at home, so it's clear there must be something else if he's asking other precinct detectives to handle this.

Honestly, it's intriguing.

Money is important, but I also want to succeed as a police officer.

In the first life, April 10th, when Yujin attempted suicide, has already passed, and Yujin is now recovering at home with her mother. I thought I was content, but during my adaptation to Bupyeong Police Station, I realized a desire was stirring inside me.

"Let's start by looking into the professional burglars."

"Is there anyone who stands out? Oh, by the way, why are you so skilled?"

"Me?"

"You said this is your first time in the Criminal Investigation Division, but you seem like a veteran who's been around for about 10 years."

"Come on, that's not true."

He chuckles.

Senior Park knows his words don't make sense, so he's just saying it.

"Just a thought."

"I'll make a list as soon as I get to the station and report back to you."

"Then let's grab a bowl of soup at the market on the way."

"Sure."

Is this what they call internal intimacy?

It took a while to get close to Senior Park, but this time it's different.

Partners are sometimes called "wives," meaning they see everything about each other.

If we don't get along, it's like hell, so I tried harder to become closer.

We parked at the entrance of the market and walked towards a soup restaurant inside when I accidentally made eye contact with someone.

'Huh?'

Suddenly, my ability activated.

- Publicly wanted criminal.

- 52-year-old Lee Dong-hyun, suspect in the 2020 November 5th Dombong District family murder case.

I must be lucky.

To decide to become successful and have a pumpkin vine come to me, that's something.

The Dombong District family (3 members) murder case was quite a big deal at the time.

In Korea, such cases don't just go away.

However, despite the suspect being identified, he disappeared without a trace, leaving the case unsolved.

'How strange.'

Considering this is my second life, it's a case from 12 years ago, yet why do I remember it so clearly? It feels like the police database KIX is in my head.

"Senior!"

"What is it?"

"We should eat later, I think."

"What do you mean?"

"Look discreetly. 11 o'clock, black hat."

"Huh?"

Senior Park is already a veteran.

Even if he complains about his promotion now, he will eventually be recognized for his abilities, becoming a chief inspector and leading the regional investigation team.

When I signaled, he didn't panic and confirmed the black hat.

"Did you see it?"

"What is it?"

"Do you remember the Dombong District family murder case?"

"Dombong District… Oh! The case from two years ago?"

"Yes."

"It's definitely Lee Dong-hyun, the wanted suspect."

"What?"

He looks surprised.

'I don't know why I have this ability, but it seems my father in heaven is watching over me.'

He grins.

It's a smile saying, "Isn't it great that luck is on our side?"

"It's definitely him. I have a great memory."

"But you only saw his picture, right?"

"I've seen a video. Let's catch him first."

"What if we're wrong?"

"Then we can apologize."

"Wow~"

"Senior! He's moving."

While we were talking, Lee Dong-hyun, wearing the black hat, started to move, but he doesn't seem to have noticed us yet.

"I don't know what to do."

"Will we get a special promotion for catching a wanted criminal?"

"Hard to say how the media will react, but since it's a buried case, a special promotion is unlikely. Still, it will help during the promotion review."

"Let's catch him. I'm curious to see how it goes."

"Yes, partner!"

He says he will, but he brings his tightly clenched fist to my face.

It's a warning to be prepared for a scolding, but I smile, knowing it won't come to that.

A rookie might have shouted, "Lee Dong-hyun?" to confirm, but we didn't do anything as dramatic as in the movies.

Senior Park approached from the right, and I from the left, quickly pinning his arms to prevent him from moving.

"Ah!"

"Are you Lee Dong-hyun?"

The moment I said, "Are you Lee Dong-hyun?" he bowed his head.

Senior Park looked surprised.

"Really?"

He realized it by Lee Dong-hyun's reaction.

Some suspects resist violently, but many more criminals resign themselves to their fate the moment they are caught.

We took Lee Dong-hyun to the station and headed straight to the interrogation room, where we checked his belongings and fingerprints.

"Senior! The fingerprint results confirm it's Lee Dong-hyun."

"Really?"

"Yes, it's definitely him."

"Wow~ I never thought I'd see a day like this… Wait a moment. Let's report to the team leader first."

"Sure."

Senior Park called Team Leader Seo Il-gwon, who was out, to inform him that they had caught a wanted criminal, and he rushed over, sweating.

* * *

"What happened?"

"We caught Lee Dong-hyun, the suspect in the 2020 Dombong District family murder case."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes, we confirmed the fingerprints, Team Leader."

"Where?"

"At Bupyeong Market."

"Wait. The market is crowded. How did you recognize him and know it was Lee Dong-hyun?"

"The rookie recognized him at first glance."

"The rookie?"

"Yes. He said it was definitely Lee Dong-hyun and we should catch him, so we did, and the fingerprints confirmed it."

Seeing me, he looked like he was possessed, so I drew a V with my fingers and smiled.

'Isn't he a useful guy?' I sent this message with my eyes.

"Wow~ What are you?"

"The rookie, sir."

"Isn't he a lucky charm?"

"What?"

"No, I just thought he looked like a lucky pig. Hahaha!"

Now he believes it and starts laughing loudly.

Then he quickly heads to the chief's office.

* * *

Anything else would be superfluous.

The day we caught Lee Dong-hyun, Bupyeong Police Station was in chaos.

But as Senior Park predicted, there was no special promotion.

The chief gave us a bonus for a celebratory dinner, but it was just enough for a decent drink, which is all we got.

This is the first time I've seen this happen, so I found out that ultimately, the case has to be handed over to the prosecutor, and the focus shifts there.

Unless the police and the prosecutor are fools, they emphasize that the suspect was caught but not who or where.

"Disappointed?"

"No. We did our job as police officers. Still, we had a great dinner, didn't we?"

"Wow! You're quite something."

"I've been a police officer for six years, so I know how things work."

"Good. Now we need to solve our case. How's the list you said you'd make coming along?"

If Senior Park says this, it means he wants to let go of the Lee Dong-hyun case and focus on our case.

I wasn't disappointed because I caught him by chance due to my mysterious ability.

"There are three suspects with such skills. Kim Byung-mok, 45 years old, with three theft convictions, known for opening electronic and dial safes. The second is Lee Tae-sung, 39 years old, with two theft convictions, but he seems less likely."

"Why?"

"I'll explain the reason later. The last one is Park Jong-moon, 50 years old, with five theft convictions and unknown whereabouts. Lee Tae-sung is recorded as having returned to farming in Mu安, North Jeolla Province, which is why I said he's less likely."

"Then let's check Kim Byung-mok and Park Jong-moon first."

"Sure."

"Who do you want to take?"

"I'll look into Kim Byung-mok."

"Good. I'll take Park Jong-moon. If you need help, contact me immediately."

"Sure, Senior!"

I knew Kim Byung-mok was the culprit but didn't want to give him to Senior Park.

I was personally curious about what he had lost to cause this, so I wanted to meet Kim Byung-mok first.

Coincidentally, Kim Byung-mok is also obsessed with horse racing.

I remembered that when he turned himself in, he had lost the stolen money on horse racing.

Since today is Friday, and there's a Friday horse race, I went to the Dongincheon horse racing track, where he often went.

When I arrived at the track, I was surprised because everyone seemed to have a criminal record.

'Wow, this is going to be a headache.'

It felt like the place was filled with criminals.

I did see a wanted criminal, but he was a minor one, like a street vendor or a fraud suspect.

I can catch those later.

'Now I need to focus on Kim Byung-mok.'

It would be great if I could control my ability, but it appears whenever I see a criminal or a wanted person, like an alarm going off in my head, which was initially disorienting.

But by focusing, I could endure it and gradually adapted.

'Ah, that's right!'

A good idea came to mind.

The 3.3 billion won first prize in the lottery is next week.

Since I'm at the horse racing track, I thought it wouldn't be bad to make some money to give to No Jin-gu.

Thinking about winning the lottery makes me more alert.

I had taken photos of each page of Lee Chul-gu's betting notes and saved them on my phone.

I went to the gallery on my smartphone to find today's Friday horse racing results and was lucky to find them.

'To analyze 10 years of data, he must be crazy…'

Thanks to this, I can benefit, but I still can't understand why this is happening.

Especially, holding Lee Chul-gu's notes and coming back to the past is beyond comprehension.

I alternated between the betting board and the horse racing information sheet and found Kim Byung-mok, who was deeply engrossed in analyzing the data.

The 7th race result showed a 35.5x payout for a combination bet on horses 3 and 5.

Each person can bet up to 100,000 won per race, but in reality, no one follows this rule.

People often go to different windows and place bets whenever they have time.

But I am a police officer and need to bet legally.

If it becomes known later, someone might raise an issue, so I need to stay within legal bounds to avoid trouble.

The horse racing track is a place where people bet and often end up in dire straits.

I remember many times when I went to the track to look for suspects.

I bought a ticket and sat next to where Kim Byung-mok was seated.

He hadn't bought a ticket yet and was so engrossed in analyzing the horse racing information sheet that it looked like he was using it as a practice sheet.

'If he studied like this, his life would be different by now.'

Since I have a purpose, building a relationship is more important than arresting him.

I need to understand why he did it.

I thought I could get all the information by arresting and interrogating him, but it's not that simple, so I'm starting with Plan A.