What It Means to Be Police in This World

Dead people have come back to life.

The situation seemed a bit strange to simply dismiss this as Dokkaebi lying or spouting nonsense after being deceived by some weirdo.

After speaking with the tteokbokki shop owner and people wandering around in a condition similar to Dokkaebi’s, it seemed that what Dokkaebi said wasn’t completely absurd.

“My daughter. My daughter came back. She loved tteokbokki. How much must she have wanted to eat it coming down from heaven? I need to prepare it quickly.”

“These are the flowers my wife loved. It’s been hard to find them with the world like this, but I finally managed.”

“Mom was here! It’s really Mom! I’m sure of it! Mom came back!!”

When asking people who clearly looked in an abnormal state wandering around the city, they all gave strange testimonies about dead family members returning.

Although one could dismiss these testimonies as unreliable given the corpse-like state of these people, but even mentally sound people reported seeing people they knew to be dead. There was even CCTV evidence to support it.

It was a scene that seemed to appeal to us that the impossible event of dead people actually coming back to life had really happened, but our reactions were as follows:

“Seems like a lie.”

“Sounds like a scam, right?”

“Some bastard is setting something up.”

Being a police officer means inevitably encountering all kinds of con artists. And in this country where superpowers have been added to the mix, how many scammers just like this would there be?

Bluntly put, even Park Jeonghun was just an unremarkable cult scammer before, but the problem grew because he gained superpowers.

This time it’s likely something similar.

There’s no way someone could actually resurrect the dead, but they might have an ability that makes people think so.

And that superpower user is surely connected to the Chosen Ones.

It’s so predictable.

The Chosen Ones used a superpower user who was either hidden until recently or newly acquired to orchestrate this incident.

To ensure their own survival, they’ve made it so that neither Dokkaebi nor the people here dare pay attention to the Chosen Ones.

Looking at the timing, the sightings of dead people coincide with the Chosen Ones’ movements, and it’s not just sightings – the families and acquaintances of these “resurrected” people are left devastated like this.

Although Dokkaebi isn’t speaking about it directly, the reason why the remnants of the Chosen Ones, whom he could sweep away in an instant, are still around must be related to this.

I had been wondering why those who Dokkaebi could push aside instantly have been holding out for so long, and this was the reason.

I let out a sigh. Judging by Dokkaebi’s face, he must have seen someone he misses and gotten caught up in their scheme.

With the emergence of superpowers, all sorts of crazy incidents are occurring – it really feels like the world has gone mad.

Alright, then what needs to be done first is—

“The tteokbokki here is fucking delicious. I don’t usually eat rice cakes much, but I’ll give this my approval. Ah, five more servings please. Dokkaebi, you eat up too. Look at your face. Sheesh, you’re even more skin and bones than your sister.”

“…Wasn’t the atmosphere quite different just a moment ago?”

“Detective said something before, umm, that everything people do is to make a living, so we should eat well.”

You remember that well. Good job.

I scooped most of the tteokbokki onto the plate in front of Dokkaebi, then served the rest to Mina who was sitting next to me.

Mina had been sleeping well in the vehicle, but as soon as I put the tteokbokki in my mouth, she jumped up and ran over like a chicken with its tail on fire.

I knew high school girls liked tteokbokki, but I didn’t know their reaction would be this quick.

Watching Mina who looked as happy as if she’d gained the whole world, I wondered if she was hungry or hadn’t eaten tteokbokki in a while. As I was worrying with various thoughts overlapping—

Dokkaebi’s dried lips quivered as he looked at me, seemingly wanting to protest about something.

But when I conveyed with my eyes that I would force-feed him if he didn’t eat, he started eating the tteokbokki as if he were eating dirt.

Even while eating, Dokkaebi’s eyes kept glancing at me, examining me. With his mask off, Dokkaebi’s thoughts were easy to read.

He must be curious about what I’m thinking right now.

This guy must have seen his dead family members through the scheme of that “something,” and because of that, he couldn’t crush the likes of the Chosen Ones, whom he could easily trample with his power.

I don’t know what Dokkaebi’s past circumstances are, but given his face like that and the fact that he brought his sister here, there must be some desperate story.

And because of that story, he was unable to easily shake off whatever was appearing wearing the faces of dead people and has been dragging things out, but with my arrival, he must be anxious that whatever it is might disappear.

Think that’s not the case? When you’ve been in the police long enough, there are times when you can sense what someone is thinking just by looking at their face.

Looking at Dokkaebi’s face, I can sense it. The fact that he’s not in his right mind right now.

So. What should we do now?

I chewed on the moderately sweet and spicy tteokbokki while thinking.

It’s impossible to persuade him to join the Special Task Force right now. Well, not impossible, but it would be quite troublesome, that’s clear.

I can’t just give up and go back either, since the Special Task Force was created to solve superpower incidents and restore stability to this country.

If such an absurd incident has occurred, we need to identify the culprit and resolve the case, but—

Would Dokkaebi, who’s clearly lost it, just leave it alone? Even from a glance, his eyes are rolling around; it seems like he’s ready to interfere with us if things go wrong?

If this incident is orchestrated by Sai, it surely means she’s finishing preparations to crush us, and it won’t be easily resolved. If Dokkaebi also interferes—it’s giving me a headache.

So—

“We’re going to investigate the case of dead people appearing that you mentioned. Come with us.”

“What?”

“You’re lingering around like this because you’ve seen someone too, right? Let’s properly determine if someone has really come back to life or what. What the hell are you doing with your face looking like that, trembling in fear?”

So I’m saying it directly.

First off, isn’t this guy an important witness needed for the investigation? While it might be an approach to gather testimonies from other civilians by seeking them out one by one—

In cases of superpower crimes, the situations are so bizarre that testimonies, even when collected, often don’t align or get exaggerated.

But if we add the testimony of Dokkaebi, who is a superpower user himself and can make relatively cool-headed judgments [the problem is that he used that cool-headed judgment to crush politicians’ heads], the investigation would become easier.

The issue is his reaction—

“…Huh.”

Dokkaebi made a deflated sound and covered his face with both hands. Mina looked back and forth between me and Dokkaebi at my words, then said in a tone that suggested she had expected this:

“Mr. Dokkaebi. Detective is always like this, so just give up.”

As she said that, Mina made an “Ang” sound and put more tteokbokki in her mouth. I wanted to ask why she had to say that out of all the things she could have said.

But seeing Mina eating tteokbokki with a wide smile as if she was happy, I couldn’t bring myself to say anything.

That kid, really. My face involuntarily formed a disapproving expression, but I then turned my attention to Dokkaebi’s subsequent words.

“…Will you find out what it really is? Really? It appears before people who harbor regret and longing in their hearts, and the shadows of the past swallow people, turning them into ghosts.”

“It’s not my place to say since I’ve already been devoured, but no one can withstand it. It’s a longing that consumes even reason. Detective… can you really withstand it?”

Dokkaebi spoke with a dried-up voice. His bloodshot eyes trembled constantly, looking as if he might have a seizure at any moment.

From this, I could tell that, as I had anticipated, seeing dead people again somehow gnaws at a person’s mind in various ways and makes them physically debilitated.

I don’t know who the culprit of this case is or what they’re doing, but they’re truly vicious.

To make people end up like this. Come to think of it, since Sai created it, I guess it’s natural that it’s vicious.

First, I should answer Dokkaebi’s question. I’d like to say something that would convince this guy definitively, but—

It’s not like I know him well like Mina does. Rather, it wouldn’t be strange if our relationship soured with prolonged conversation.

What kind of conversation can we have when he’s in that state?

Rather, now I should be preparing for the worst-case scenario where things go wrong and we have to fight, recalling knowledge from the original work about how to deal with this guy while answering:

“I don’t know. How can I be sure about something I don’t even know?”

As someone who’s been to the military twice, I can declare that saying “I’ll be fine” isn’t something to be said lightly. If I ever did say it, it was either in front of the kids or by mistake.

I thought I’d get used to it after going to the military once. Good heavens. Sergeant Kim, that fucking bastard. Such a shitty life.

As irritation from that time surged up, I caught the stainless steel cup with my front teeth and nervously shook it, when Dokkaebi smiled with a face that now looked enlightened.

Not knowing what he was thinking, I glanced sideways and surveyed the surroundings. He slowly opened his mouth.

“I see. … Alright. I’ll cooperate.”

“That’s a relief.”

I was genuinely relieved when he said that. I had been trying to recall how Mina fought him, but I couldn’t remember well.

I thought I should look at my notebook, but I didn’t bring it here, so I’d have to go back to headquarters to check. But now there’s no need for that.

As I’ve mentioned several times already, his condition is a bit strange so I can’t completely relax, but since I’ve received his answer saying he’ll cooperate, it means I’ve persuaded him.

“— So how can we meet these dead people? There’s no way you just got victimized. Haven’t you found out anything?”

Now that I’ve persuaded him, I immediately asked Dokkaebi for the investigation.

I had already asked those who claimed to have witnessed the dead people how to meet them, but from the tteokbokki shop owner to everyone else, they all tightly shut their mouths when asked that question.

But compared to those people, this guy is in a more normal state. And no matter what, I couldn’t imagine he’d just be victimized without doing anything, so I asked.

As if my expectation was correct, Dokkaebi smirked and readily opened his mouth.

“According to what I’ve confirmed so far, that entity appears before people who have been deeply wounded, such as losing family or loved ones in accidents.”

“And those who encounter that entity perceive it differently, each with their own image, and come to have an inexplicable certainty that their family, friend, or love buried in their heart has come back to life.”

“And they keep recalling them, remember the mistakes they made to their loved ones and regrets. … That’s how they end up like this.”

“It seems related to the Chosen Ones even at a glance. Why didn’t you just push them away?”

“……”

Ah well, when emotions take precedence, reason gets thrown in the backseat. And it seems like this ability is of the type that prevents rational judgment in the first place.

Now that I understand, what’s left is for us to find this entity with the faces of the dead ourselves.

That doesn’t mean I planned to rush out immediately. Dokkaebi looks exhausted, and although Mina seems to have recovered some strength, she still needs more rest.

I was thinking that dealing with the Chosen Ones would come after that when—

“—Oh no. They’re here.”

Dokkaebi suddenly looked outside, snatched the mask I had placed beside me, and put it on. Mina stared outside with sharp eyes.

Seeing their reactions, I sensed that something was happening, and at the same time, my colleagues’ transmissions came through the radio.

“[Multiple personnel spotted from the direction of Namdaemun-ro. Most of the approaching personnel appear to be superpower users, and the majority have faces of the remnants of the Chosen Ones! And—damn it, those bastards are bringing mutants with them too!?]”

Shit. Has Sai already started making her move? I cursed while hastily picking up the gun I had leaned against the wall.