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Side Story 19

The last side story: Twelve years later (1)

Within the ranks of the Central Region Precinct's Violent Crimes Unit, there was this one detective nicknamed the 'Phantom'.

The newbie detective joining the squad this year after passing the promotion exam, Lee Seh-Hwan, often heard this rumour while he was walking the beat as a patrolman.

The arrest rate of 200 percent!

The rumour went that, in front of this 'Phantom' capable of solving not just the cases in his own docket, but even the cold cases of the past, every single violent criminal or bloodthirsty thug would become a very well-behaved sheep in an instant.

To the officers patrolling these streets, this detective remained an object of pure respect, a real bonafide legendary figure.

Seriously now, the rumour even went on to say that, although he was eligible for a promotion, he wished to devote himself fully to fieldwork and refused to move up the career ladder. How hardcore was that?

'Anyone with some sense in them would definitely never refuse a promotion, obviously.'

In any case – even if only half of the rumours making the rounds turned out to be true, then the mystery cop was sure to be one hell of an investigator.

His fellow patrol officers were deeply envious of Lee Seh-Hwan joining the Violent Crimes Unit. Little did they know, he was currently swallowing back his nervous saliva while scanning the squad's office, wondering who this legendary detective from the rumours could be.

As befitting a group of detectives that clashed against seasoned criminals every day, they all carried manly, no-nonsense countenances. They began shooting sharp, probing glares in the direction of an unknown visitor to their ranks.

It'd not be all that awkward to call any one of these fine officers 'Phantom', indeed.

'The light in their eyes are so....'

Lee Seh-Hwan gradually shrunk back from the powerful glares of the veterans and began inwardly worrying about whether he'd survive for long in this place or not.

"Ehh.... Are you that newbie joining us from today onwards?"

A voice came from behind without any prior warning whatsoever and Lee Seh-Hwan jumped up in fright. He hurriedly turned around and performed an excellent salute.

"Loyalty!"

"Ah, ah... no need to be that tense. We're all one family now, right?"

The voice belonged to a middle-aged man carrying two paper cups filled with coffee standing right behind Lee Seh-Hwan. He kindly offered one of the cups to the still-nervous rookie.

"Here, it's on me."

"T-thank you very much!!"

Lee Seh-Hwan bowed deeply and received the coffee.

Instantly, he was greeted by the reassuring warmth that was kind of like a phone call from his family he dearly wished to see again after living alone for a long time.

Maybe that small first mouthful of the hot coffee helped him to relax?

Lee Seh-Hwan continued to sip on the hot beverage while cautiously studying the overall atmosphere of the surroundings, before asking the Senior who gifted him the drink.

"Excuse me... I went to speak to the Squad Captain, and he informed me that I'd be working together with Seong Detective-nim from here on, I was wondering..."

"Ahh, that 'Phantom' is your partner?"

"FUU-HEUP!!!"

It took almost everything Lee Seh-Hwan had to stop the coffee from spraying out of his mouth and nostrils.

"Well, we came up with that nickname for the guy because he's supernaturally quick, you see? Dunno when it happened, but that name got stuck somehow and even the folks in other units began calling him that. I'm sure you've heard of him too, right?"

"Y-yes, I have...."

Lee Seh-Hwan hurriedly nodded his head several times. A meaningful smirk suddenly crept up on the senior's face.

"The thing is, that coffee I gave you? It's meant for him."

The senior detective turned around to escape to the corridor, but then he stopped and pointed to the far end with his chin, a grin now firmly etched on his face.

"Speak of the devil. There he comes."

Unable to suppress his curiosity, Lee Seh-Hwan also quickly came out to the corridor himself and shifted his gaze in the direction where the senior was staring at.

That was when he discovered a certain man unhurriedly strolling towards his direction from the end of the corridor.

'That man is the legendary....'

Without a doubt, that man didn't seem to be in a hurry, yet he was already standing before Lee Seh-Hwan even before the rookie could fully regain his wits.

What an overwhelmingly intense pressure he emitted.

Lee Seh-Hwan was about average in height for a Korean male, but he had to physically look up at his new partner, the senior detective nicknamed 'Phantom', who was at least a head taller than himself. Almost instantly, the poor newbie felt stifled and it became hard to breathe from this inexplicable pressure emitted by the man in front of him.

'The Phantom of the Central Region....'

The reason why this detective was saddled with such a nickname wasn't simply because of his preternatural swiftness, oh no. Lee Seh-Hwan was sure of this fact after finally encountering the person in question.

"Senior."

"Ohh, hey man. Going out on a call?"

"Nah, it's nothing much, really. By the way, is he our new recruit?"

"That's right, he is. His name is Lee Seh-Hwan."

Jin-Woo bowed his head slightly to greet the senior detective standing next to Lee Seh-Hwan. He then spun the newbie around to face the other direction and placed his hand on the completely-frozen junior's shoulder.

"Then, I shall go ahead and train the rookie."

The senior detective with the face of a good-natured uncle continued to grin as if he found something quite amusing. He nodded his head to say yes.

"Sure, sure. Go ahead. Have a good day."

Almost as soon as the greeting with the senior was over, Jin-Woo dragged the rookie cop he was now entrusted with to outside of the building.

'H-he can't be p*ssed off about me having drunk his coffee, right?'

When that line of thought popped up in his head, Lee Seh-Hwan ended up hurriedly asking a question.

"S-senior-nim?! W-where are we going?"

Rather than an answer, though, he got a question as a reply, instead.