“What… is that really Deuk-young…?”
His clothes and way of speaking were definitely Deuk-young’s, but his clothes looked too big on him, probably because he had gotten shorter.
His wolf cut had turned into long, luscious hair, and his face was quite handsome.
But more than anything… he had breasts.
About average size for a woman, maybe.
“Yes? What happened…”
[Thud. Thud.]
“Haa… you’re here…”
Soon enough, Detective Lim arrived and pointed his finger.
I was so confused by the surreal situation that I couldn’t even say anything.
“Th-this…”
I was dumbfounded, so I thought Detective Lim would be flustered too, but surprisingly, he calmly started looking around.
“What… are you doing?”
…
As he kept looking around, I started to feel uneasy and looked around as well.
It was still dark, so even the flashlight wasn’t very helpful.
“Found it!!”
[Thud! Thud!]
He suddenly shouted and ran off.
Found what…? What was he talking about?
Then.
[Thud. Thud.]
I heard footsteps other than Detective Lim’s, so I reflexively started following him.
For a detective, he was running like a fugitive.
[Screech-!]
Just then, I heard the sound of a window breaking and an ear-splitting noise, so I looked in that direction.
It was the direction Detective Lim was running.
There… was someone dressed in black with a mask on.
Strangely, the mask covered his eyes and mouth, so I wondered how he was breathing.
As the light streamed in through the broken window, he looked like an assassin from a movie.
Soon, the suspect ran out the window, and Detective Lim started chasing after him.
I was flustered, but maybe a 7-year detective’s instincts couldn’t be helped…
[Thud! Thud!]
“Who are you!?”
“The guy who turned Deuk-young into a woman.”
Was it even possible to turn someone into a woman in such a short amount of time?
Looking at his face, it seemed like it would require changing him at the atomic level…
My brain, which had learned physics in science class, couldn’t understand it.
I kept running, but the distance wasn’t closing.
Detective Lim was faster than me, but… he seemed even faster.
I was trembling all over at this chase scene, which I had never seen before.
Even with 7 years of experience… it seemed like it wasn’t enough.
“Hands up!”
Just then, a detective other than me aimed a taser at him, and he stopped.
Come to think of it, this was a police investigation.
There would be detectives and police officers everywhere, so it would be stranger if he didn’t get caught, even if he was an Olympic runner.
[Thump-]
Soon, he knelt down and raised his hands, and I saw several police officers handcuffing him.
“Haa…”
I couldn’t help but sigh.
Suddenly, there had been significant progress in the investigation tonight.
And I had a feeling that the game wasn’t a lie.
…
[Click-]
“Chief…”
“No knocking… what’s going on?”
The next morning, March 23rd, after that incident.
We had taken some measures for Deuk-young, but this wasn’t a simple problem.
“…Could you give us additional manpower for the investigation?”
Strangely, since last night, most people except for me and Detective Lim didn’t seem to believe us.
And the Chief seemed momentarily flustered.
…In a way, it was more normal not to believe us.
“Even if the last case was that big…”
“It’s going to be difficult to get additional manpower, okay?”
I couldn’t understand why it was difficult, even though Duck-young was missing.
“Even the police are going missing!?”
“Haa… even if it’s not to the extent of ‘turning a man into a woman,’ it’s still a group effort, at the very least…”
And more than anything, there was no time.
If the game they were playing was real, they would be almost halfway through by now…
“…I’m really sorry, but I can’t do it.”
“Deuk-young is unfortunate, but we’re going to cover up the case.”
He slowly approached me and handed me an envelope.
Inside were dozens of 50,000 won bills.
“I can give you more, depending on the situation.”
Was he… trying to buy me off with money?
It was the first time my trust in him, which I had never lost, was broken.
“Are you… kidding me right now…?”
“You’ve been doing well so far.”
He patted me on the shoulder, and I felt a surge of anger.
I didn’t think a person should do that.
“This is no longer a problem for us to handle. We need to pass it on to the higher-ups right now…”
“Hey!!”
His thunderous voice woke me up.
“Just do as you’re told…! I’m the one who got you promoted 7 years ago!”
“Haa… the higher-ups keep complaining… a case is a case… tsk…”
If I continued, it would essentially turn into an argument.
Even in my agitated state, I knew that much.
“…You’ll regret this.”
[Thud… Thud…]
[Bang!]
I came out, but I didn’t know what to do.
Even if we found out their location, they would probably put the case on hold…
And if we went by ourselves, we couldn’t even guarantee our own survival.
…
[Creak-]
“Haa…”
“You’re here…?”
I came home after a long time, and Deuk-young greeted me with a dejected look.
I remembered that the house was quite dirty because I had been staying at the police station lately…
“Um… I did some cleaning. I’m so sorry…”
I was the one who felt sorry.
If I had stopped it somehow back then…
“…Are you sure it’s okay not to see your family?”
“They live overseas anyway, so I’m just talking to them on the phone.”
“I can just make excuses and use a voice changer.”
He seemed quite calm, considering that his body had turned into a woman.
Honestly, I would be flustered if I suddenly turned into that kind of body.
Besides, he would have to meet his family someday…
“When is the next time you’re meeting your family in person?”
“Um… about a year from now? I’m thinking of that time.”
We had to take action somehow within that year.
First, I had to inform the surrounding police about this…
But I didn’t know how to explain it.
“I’m going back to the investigation for now.”
“Ah… won’t you eat before you go…?”
Was there no change in his personality?
It was a little ambiguous.
Was this his usual personality?
“There’s no time for the investigation… I’ll buy something to eat on the way.”
“Um… yes, Detective, please return safely!”
[Creak-]
…
[Click-]
“I’m back.”
“Ah… do you have some time?”
Detective Lim rarely asked for a meeting, even on YouTube.
Well, I accepted it, since only incomprehensible things had been happening since yesterday.
“I investigated the camera and black box that I attached to my body last time.”
Soon, two screens started playing on the computer.
From the moment Deuk-young was flustered… to the chase.
“No matter how I think about it, you can’t call that a normal person’s running speed.”
He was right.
“But if you think about it that way, Detective Lim is also…”
He gave me a look, and I quieted down for a moment.
“…Anyway, it’s highly likely that the missing person’s testimony is true, and at the very least, it’s not a small group.”
“Maybe even within the government or the station…”
Was there a spy?
Suddenly, the scale of the case increased dramatically, and I felt like a hero…
No. Now that we had gotten involved in the investigation, we were also targets.
More than anything, Deuk-young had a grudge.
“Anyway, I don’t think we can solve this with just the two of us?”
“Maybe there are people from their side in here.”
No matter how I thought about it, that wasn’t the case.
I had never seen anything suspicious about them in the years I had known them.
Even if there was, we were already their targets anyway.
At this moment, it wouldn’t be strange if we became like Deuk-young.
“These are people I’ve known for years.”
“…Let’s get our equipment ready first. I’m going to get some lunch.”
Lunch in this situation…? He was too relaxed.
“Even so, at a time like this…”
“I’m the type of person who needs to eat to make progress in the investigation.”
I had seen a video of interviews with detectives who had worked with him recently.
They all said the same thing: “He’s special.” Now I knew what they meant.
“…Then go eat and come back.”
[Click-]
We had to use the time while he was out of the police station efficiently.
Should I show this data to my colleagues…?
I hesitated a little, probably because I had listened to him.
Come to think of it, there was one person who had been caught recently.
The person wearing the mask. We needed to interrogate him first.
Deuk-young’s grudge… I would definitely start with an aggressive investigation.
[Creak-]
I opened the closet and saw handcuffs and a gun.
I wondered if I should even take the gun… but I had to prepare for the worst.
[Click-]
It had been a while since I had loaded a gun, and the unique, addictive sound rang out.
Was the interrogation room in the investigation department?
I walked with the documents related to the game information, and soon I saw a reception room.
…
“Ready? Look up the information.”
“I’m sorry…”
I couldn’t provide information…? This had never happened in my experience.
“Why.”
“It seems that the mask and gloves can’t be taken off, no matter what equipment we use…”
Well… there was also the technology to forcibly change someone’s gender, so anything was possible.
He must have been playing some kind of trick.
Anyway, even if he had that kind of technology, it would become a matter of national security if the police were harmed any further.
Whether there was a spy in the government or not, it would eventually come to that.
“Then I’ll go in right away. 5 minutes.”
[Click-]
The inside was as quiet as death.
Inside the room, there was a table and two chairs as usual…
And he was sitting silently on one side.
I slowly sat down on the opposite chair, and he was the one who spoke first.
“You must be very busy.”
That voice…
He took off his mask for the first time, and I knew.
A man with a neat hairstyle and a pretty good face.
It was Kong-yu.