“I’m telling you, I have changed!” Choi Insik insisted from his cell. He was shouting loudly, begging forgiveness from his wife. He loved her so much but was swayed by a wrench! Why should he be punished when he was a changed man?

“Let me go!” he begged. “Let me-” ​​

“Oh shut up!” Jina snapped. “Changed my foot! What happened to this love for the past four years? Should have thought about it before abusing your wife, you piece of shit!”

The guy’s screams were irritating her. The precinct was abuzz with police officers who were either busy with their cases or gossiping with colleagues. Some of the uniformed officers had also arrived that day because there had been a gun shootout in the city so there was a lot of paperwork to be filled.

Jina was irritated at the load on her desk. What irritated her even more were the details on each of the cases.

“What the hell is a report on a lost bicycle doing on my desk?” she exclaimed at her partner who sat next to her. Kwon Jiwoon was a few years older than her but they worked well as partners. With a short pixie cut and tall stature, Jiwoon oozed a girl crush vibe. She specialized in filing while Jina was more into interrogation and criminal psychology.

Unlike her aura, Jiwoon was actually quite shy and soft spoken. The contrast between the two women could not have been more ironic. With an innocent face and elegant vibe, Jina was extrovert and cheeky. Her tongue was like acid which could burn through someone’s soul if possible.

“The rookies must have messed up the categories again!” Jiwoon sighed. “I told them so many times! Red mark means these are homicides whereas blue means general.”

“Oi!” Jina called a rookie officer. “Who filed these?”

She held up the files on her desk.

“I think it was Officer Jo,” the rookie said. “I’ll tell her to do it all over again!”

Jina nodded as the police officer took the files to re-do them. She stood up and stretched her limbs. A few uniformed officers approached her.

“Detective Hwang,” one of the officers greeted her. “We have just arrested this old woman from the subway. An anonymous neighbor tipped us that she killed her daughter-in-law but she’s not admitting her crime.”

“Where’s the transcript of the call?” she yawned. Jina felt really sleepy. She had been on duty for the past two nights and needed a good night’s rest but the damn Chief would not let her leave unless she was done with all the files.

Old git, she cursed in her head. Taking the file from the officer’s hand, she studied the case.

“Han Suki,” she read. “Sixty six years old. A housewife. And what’s this…”

She read the file and frowned. “There were many complaints of domestic abuse charged against her but she was never arrested! How come?”

“The daughter-in-law always took back the case,” the officer reported to her. “She was coaxed by her own parents and husband to let her free and give her another chance.”

“Aish!” Jina cursed. “When will people understand that criminals belong in jail not in homes! Letting abuse go unnoticed. No wonder monsters are increasing in this town. Where is this woman now?”

“At the interrogation room,” the officer replied. She shut the case and headed straight for the interrogation room to question the culprit. As soon as she was gone, one of the rookie officers named Junsik, approached Jiwoon.

“Umm, Detective,” he hissed. Jiwoon looked up.

“Is that the famous reaper?” Junsik asked curiously. “Hwang Jina.”

At that question, Jiwoon let out a laugh. “Yes, that’s the Reaper,” she snickered. “The famous Hwang Jina who’s known for her cutthroat investigative method.”

“Woah!” Junsik was in awe. “She’s such an inspiration to us rookies! Not only did she become one of the youngest detectives from her batch, but she caught that notorious bandit in City E! She’s a legend.”

“She is,” Jiwoon sighed. “A little cheeky. In fact, too cheeky for her own good. Never keeps a filter on her mouth. Then again, if she did, she wouldn’t have been this good.”

“I heard she’s from a very rich family,” Junsik gossiped.

“Not just a rich family,” Jiwoon corrected him. “THE rich family. Do you know who her father is?”

“Who?”

“The richest man in the country who had unparalleled wealth, Hwang Minho,” Jiwoon stated. “They say that when Hwang Minho snaps, money falls out. Jina claims them to be exaggerations but her father is rich. In fact, he can probably buy the whole police squad and gift it to her. But she chose her own way.”

“She’s an heiress?” the rookie gasped. “Then why is she working here on a salary? She could have taken over the business and enjoyed a life of luxury! Aren’t relations good between her and her family?”

“Are you kidding?” Jiwoon laughed. “She’s the apple of his eye! Hwang Minho values hard work and hard earned money over everything else. He’s so proud of his daughter that every time he throws a party, he would show off her achievements to everyone.”

“Still, she left so much luxury to become a detective…”

Jiwoon smiled. “Her mother is a detective too,” she revealed. “Although she’s with the Interpol now. But her mother, Jeon Gayoon, is a legendary police officer herself. She cracked the fake CCK case twenty four years ago and even got a medal for it.”

“A mighty rich CEO and a legendary Detective,” Junsik said in awe. “And Detective Hwang is their daughter? Woah!”

“It’s cool right?” Jiwoon sighed. “And they’re a tight knit family too. Although the Hwangs are abroad now. Hwang Minho might be a tough tycoon, but Jina says he’s henpecked husband. The moment his wife was posted abroad, he followed her under the pretense that his company found oil in that country. Strangely, they did find oil and he became richer than ever. The husband and wife now live wherever the latter is posted. Jina remained here for her job while their twin sons live with their aunt and uncle because of their schools.”

“How old are the twins?”

“Around fifteen,” Jiwoon winced. “And they are quite the handful. The Hwangs have another daughter but she’s really young. Around five years old.”

“That young?” Junsik was shocked.

“Jina once mentioned that her mother was eighteen when she had her,” Jiwoon explained. “So they waited until Jina grew up to have more kids.”

“Wow,” Junsik remarked. “Detective Hwang really has a cool life. Rich parents who let her choose her own path, loving family and an amazing career.”

Except love, Jiwoon thought. Jina did not elaborate on it, but she had once mentioned about a boy she had a strong connection with when she was very young. Jiwoon probed a little but Jina did not say anything more than that. But the sad tone in her voice made it clear that the connection ran deeper than friendship, perhaps to the point of childhood love.

“Let’s just go back to work,” Jiwoon sighed. “She might look to have the perfect life but beneath it all, is a simple human being who just wants to live.”

With that, they returned to their desks.

Meanwhile, Jina entered the interrogation room where the old lady sat. She looked up at the pretty detective who was smiling at her. Suki felt a ray of hope at seeing the smile. Maybe this detective would let her go!

“Detective, I swear I didn’t do anything!” she claimed. “My daughter-in-law committed suicide and is framing me! I swear!”

“Don’t worry, I’ll simply ask some questions for procedure,” Jina assured her. “Nothing more. Personally, I feel the case against you is very weak.”

Suki was somewhat assured by those words. She was sure that there was no evidence against her.

That darned woman is trying to trap me from the grave! She thought spitefully. But I won’t let her!

Jina slowly glanced behind her. A slim, pale figure in her late twenties silently stood there. The ghostly woman’s dark eyes were glaring at the old lady who seemed to be rejoicing. Her nostrils flared at that disgusting smile and she wanted to rip apart the old hag who took her life.

Suki did not notice the sudden drop in temperature because she was too busy thinking about her own survival.

“Shall we begin?” Jina asked.