January 1st, H Market in Yeonhui-dong.

A navy coloured van, which may very well be seen in all places, stopped on the entrance to a standard market full of people that got here out for the New 12 months.

Beep.

“Primary location, examine.”

Cheon Ho-beom, head of the Seoul Metropolitan Police Company’s second-tier investigation workforce, sat within the again seat of the van and seemed out the window with a walkie-talkie in his hand.

“Listen to one another’s actions.”

-Location 1. I am grilling toast.

The proprietor of the stand nodded barely in direction of the van.

-Location 2. In the course of a supply.

The supply man, who was shifting with a field of rooster, additionally turned to the van as soon as.

-Location 3, wanting on the rooftop.

A hand appeared from the roof of a constructing overlooking your entire market. Then, it disappeared.

Cheon Ho-beom, who confirmed the places of all of the detectives, turned to the cafe constructing, which was the anticipated assembly place of the suspect.

“Captain.”

A younger detective within the driver’s seat, Lieutenant Yoon Joong-gi, turned to Cheon Ho-beom.

“About Heogi-poongi. Will he actually seem right here? As quickly as he begins to run, I will seize him in a choke. Ju-jitsu is extra widespread than judo nowadays.”

Cheon Ho-beom hit Yoon Joong-gi over the again of his head.

“If you wish to movie an motion film, go to the Violent Crime Division. They all the time struggle over there.”

“Ow… How can I simply get out of the Investigation workforce once I labored so exhausting to get in? I’ve to catch some huge guys earlier than I am going out.”

“These clever guys will actually be simply caught by you who’s solely good at bodily issues. Cease speaking nonsense and transfer in.”

“Sure.”

Sporting an apron with the cafe brand, Yoon Joong-gi opened the door of the cafe and ran in.

– Location 4, part-time job…… Completed!

In a bit bit.

– That is the rooftop. Shin Sung-oh appeared on the entrance of Namyeongpa’s recreation enterprise. I am shifting towards the cafe. 5 wings.

Centering on the mortgage enterprise, a boss of a corporation that intervened in varied leisure rights and embezzled massive quantities of cash had appeared.

-There are various clients within the cafe. Lets ship them out earlier than Shin Sung-oh arrives?

Cheon Ho-beom instantly replied to the walkie-talkie.

“Do you’ve gotten any doubt? Half-time, simply make espresso properly and don’t step up till we’ve the suspect in custody.”

-Understood.

Removed from the market, a person with a harsh impression walked along with his followers.

Shin Sung-oh, who got here shut, stood on the aspect door of the van. Cheon Ho-beom considerably lowered the sound of the radio and connected himself to the again seat.

Shin Sung-oh, who was wanting round at his sportswear mirrored within the tinted window, requested his subordinate.

“Duyong, ought to I’ve worn a neat go well with? You mentioned that man Gipoong or Poong-gi or one thing gave off a bookish aura.”

“Hyung-nim, who wears a go well with like a gangster and threatens individuals nowadays? It is best to do enterprise with a smile.”

“Graduating from highschool actually exhibits a distinction, huh. Okay, okay. We’re businessmen not  gangsters.”

They, who seemed precisely like a legal group, giggled at one another and entered the cafe.

“Shin Sung-oh coming into the cafe. Half-timer.”

-I’ve checked.

Now they only needed to await the principle character to look.

Cheon Ho-beom was staring on the cafe as if he was wanting via the wall, and his eyes had been so dry that he put some synthetic drops in his eyes. When he checked out his eyes within the rearview mirror, the whites had been pink.

He’d been wrestling with the CCTV movies each morning for the previous three weeks, so his eyes had been in a ridiculous state.

-Captain, how can an individual who swindles a whole bunch of billions of received haven’t any legal report?

“Half-time. You retain chatting throughout the mission, huh?”

-I am washing the mop proper now. It is my first day at work, however they’re giving me so much to do.

-Yoo Sijin. The shopper left. Hurry up and clear up the desk.

-Sure, sure!

Cheon Ho-beom positioned the walkie-talkie to his mouth, placing the factitious drops in his pocket.

“The scary factor about this man is that apart from the alias ‘Heogi-poongi’ we don’t know something about him. Solely the CCTV footage of the again that’s presumed to be him has been taken.”

-It is time for a detective’s instinct. I’ll all the time… Huh? Somebody appeared in entrance of Shin Sung-oh!

Cheon Ho-beom instantly replied to the report delivered below his breath.

“What does he seem like?”

-Mid-30s, tall, glasses, and wage man fashion. What ought to I do?

“Hold watching. I am coming into as a visitor.”

Cheon Ho-beom entered the cafe with communication earphones in each ears as if listening to music.

“Welcome.”

“A cup of Americano.”

“Are you going to drink it right here?”

He took out one earphone and nodded.

“It is right here, sir.”

Holding a tray with a mug on it in his hand, he walked to an empty desk and seemed barely towards Shin Sung-oh.

The objective of at present, a laptop computer, was introduced out and proven to Shin Sung-oh, who out of the blue took out and shook a automobile key whereas chatting.

-The deal is beginning.

The automobile that Shin Sung-oh may open along with his key was full of money acquired via an unlawful enterprise, and Heogi-poongi would take over a sure sum of money by laundering it utilizing cryptocurrency.

The sum of money illegally laundered over the previous 12 months by the suspect, who was on the forefront of recent monetary crimes, was as a lot as 500 billion received.

In the event that they hit the case on the finish of that transaction, they might even safe on-site proof.

Cheon Ho-beom sat down and whispered quietly into his earphone microphone.

“Toast and Supply, get able to enter. Rooftop, lurk on the escape route.”

A nervous second.

The face of the suspect appeared in Chun Ho-beom’s eyes, who was measuring the timing of the arrest with a deep breath.

“Abort! Wait earlier than coming into.”

-What’s unsuitable?

Cheon Ho-beom, who turned his head out of the window, hurriedly mentioned, pretending to drink espresso leisurely.

“That is Lim Jung Se. Stage 3 for company cash laundering. It will probably’t be Heogi-poongi.”

-Are you saying it is a false lead? Let’s put Shin Sung-oh in first.

-I am towards that. You may miss a clue since you’re catching small fry.

Amid divided opinions, Yoon Joong-gi requested whereas washing dishes in a nook of the cafe.

-Captain. I heard that he has to do it himself as a result of cryptocurrency manipulation or mixing is a specialised space, proper?

A sudden flash of thought flashed in his head on the rudimentary query from Yoon Joong-gi, who just lately began studying to research monetary crimes.

Heogi-poongi was a cautious fellow. The truth that his private data had by no means been uncovered to the investigation community additionally mentioned that it was extremely doubtless that he used an agent like at present.

Cheon Ho-beom’s eyes turned to the inside of the cafe.

“Half-time. Act naturally and examine all the purchasers’ faces one after the other. The suspect’s round right here someplace watching the transaction. Deal with those that are utilizing a laptop computer, pill or smartphone.”

-Ca-captain. Is… there anybody who isn’t doing that right here?

A person sporting a baseball cap, who was typing the password ‘Coin blender’ swiftly within the protocol, turned his gaze to the street outdoors the window and stopped his fingers.

That supply man.

He had been holding the identical bag of rooster for the previous 20 minutes. Although the client would complain if he took that lengthy to ship. It was a really unnatural motion.

Baseball cap man turned the display screen of the laptop computer to an SNS picture album.

He grabbed the bag he’d positioned on a chair so he may go away shortly however turned again round when he noticed a person in his 40s sitting by the door as if he had been guarding it.

He took out his cellphone and instantly despatched a textual content.

[Police stakeout. Need help.]

Baseball Cap man seemed towards Shin Sung-oh. He noticed Shin Sung-oh spin the important thing round after which push it towards Lim Jung Se.

Proper earlier than the contract concluded. There wouldn’t be any downside if they might escape efficiently.

[Will make a distraction with the heater.]

Baseball Cap man who had been pretending to take a look at his cellphone turned his gaze to the heating component on the shop’s ceiling.

Bzzzzzt一

Carbon monoxide exuded by your entire constructing, which must be discharged to the skin, poured into the sealed cafe via an exhaust.

Lower than 30 seconds later, there have been individuals coughing all around the cafe.

-Supervisor! What’s unsuitable with the air right here?

-Oh, my throat.

On the entrance, a person suspected of being a detective coughed and seemed on the ceiling.

Prospects stood up one after the other and began shifting outdoors. Baseball Cap Man used that hole to go to the place the place Lim Jung-Se was.

On the time when he was about to obtain the important thing from Lim Jung-Se secretly.

“Everybody, cease! I despatched individuals to the boiler room, so don’t transfer!”

“Who’re you, outdated man? Are you the proprietor right here?”

“I am Inspector Cheon Ho-beom of the Seoul Metropolitan Police Company’s metropolitan investigation unit.”

A person in his 40s, who introduced up his police standing, had the individuals withdraw and opened all doorways and home windows to ventilate the shop.

The supply man and the proprietor of the toast restaurant additionally stood on either side of the doorway with out anybody realizing once they’d come over.

Baseball Cap Man couldn’t strategy Lim Jung-Se as a result of sharp gaze the police had been utilizing to look at everybody’s transfer. As a result of the police would have come for this deal.

Shin Sung-oh was shocked and pointed at Lim Jung-Se.

“What? Fuck! Did you arrange a entice?”

“What are you speaking about?”

At this fee, they’d be arrested with out having the ability to do something about it. Baseball Cap Man texted along with his cellphone below the desk.

[The police are moving to the boiler room. Stronger distraction is needed.]

[Stay away from the wall. I will ignite the refrigerant gas in the air conditioning facility.]

Perhaps about 10 seconds later.

Booom一!

With an enormous explosion, the outside partitions of the cafe related to the boiler room exploded in all instructions.

The inside seemed prefer it was swept by a storm.

Baseball Cap Man, who tried to get out within the midst of collapsed and moaning individuals, instantly stopped strolling when he noticed a restaurant part-timer crouching below the counter come out whereas, shouting, “captain!”

There was another.

If he ran away from right here, he would get consideration from that final detective. Baseball Cap Man crouched subsequent to the fallen individual. After which shouted.

“Assist!”

* * *

Vrrr. vrrrr.

Dowook, who was sticking his head between thick books, jumped up right into a sitting place. Then he held his cellphone in hand.

Seong Chang Soo was the principle wrongdoer who woke him up.

“Why?”

-This place goes loopy proper now. There are 4 sufferers with simply cranial accidents.

Dowook let loose a giant yawn and requested.

“Did you ship an emergency name to an individual with a name exemption? Does Chief Ji find out about this?”

-Cease bragging. I do not know concerning the different sufferers, however I want you to examine this individual’s CT. He’s barely holding on to his life, but it surely seems like he wants an emergency surgical procedure.

“What’s it?”

He turned on the pc and opened the pc chart.

A affected person’s cranium solely had fractures, however there was a significantly great amount of blood pooled inside. He was suspected of extreme mind trauma attributable to a counter-impact bruise.

“He obtained hit exhausting. Did not he fasten his seat belt?”

-No. The constructing exploded and he obtained caught in a pillar.

“What explosion?”

-Are you coming or not? If it isn’t you, I’ve to name Professor Yeom. I do not wish to hear his complaints from the beginning of the brand new 12 months.

Dowook turned to the books piled up in preparation for the specialist examination, which was solely six days away.

It was so boring that he could not even consider pulling an all-nighter.

“I will go.”

-Okay.

Dowook, who was coming into the emergency heart, tilted his head when he noticed individuals in police uniforms standing as in the event that they had been guarding the remedy space.

‘What is that this?’

“Dowook.”

He approached the extreme remedy space Seong Chang Soo was gesturing in a rush.

“It is him.”

The affected person in blood-stained sportswear had a protracted scar on one aspect of his cheek. Dowook seemed carefully on the semi-comma affected person’s head and requested Seong Chang Soo.

“Explosion? No hearth?”

“I do not know precisely both. The fridge gasoline exploded and the wall collapsed. All of the sufferers are right here. What sort of luck is that this from the start of the 12 months?”

Dowook was shocked to see the emergency beds lined up within the hallway as a result of the middle was too full.

“Why did all these sufferers come to our hospital without delay? With out dispersing.”

“There was a legal suspect within the constructing the place the accident occurred.”

This reply was offered by a person in his early 30s with a band-aid on his brow. The person lifted his ID card for Dowook to see.

“I am Lieutenant Yoon Joong-gi from the Investigation Crew. Please perceive that each one sufferers carried in from the Yeonhui-dong cafe explosion shall be handled right here below police surveillance till the tip of the investigation.”

Yoon Joong-gi pointed to the affected person.

“This man, Shin Sung-oh. Can he reside?”

“Properly, if we function and catch the cerebral hemorrhage first, it will not be life-threatening. The aftereffects, we should wait and see.”

“I stay up for your form cooperation. Shin Sung-oh is a vital confederate.”

Dowook picked up his cellphone and instructed Nam Hana to prepared an working room, and his eyes remained on Yoon Joong-gi, who seemed very anxious.

“Captain…”

The place Yoon Joong-gi stood, a middle-aged affected person lay related to a respirator.

“Oh, Hana. As shortly as doable. I’ll name Professor Choi.”

Dowook lowered his cellphone and tapped Seong Chang Soo’s shoulder.

“How’s he doing?”

“The Investigation workforce’s captain? He is torpid with a fracture in his stomach bone. The bleeding was fairly huge.”

Dowook swallowed the exclamation of shock that was about to return out.

He could not consider that detectives and criminals had been dropped at the emergency room collectively in an accident. How may this occur?