SW | Chapter 1

As the Lunar 009a9857c7 New Year approached, 6a51245633 the atmosphere at 0781228d8f the National Police dc745e8146 Agency was tense. 87e2bb73d94ecc68

The losers of the internal political battles, often referred to as “office politics,” were expected to be transferred to regional offices or local government positions. Those who were once favored but had now fallen out of grace would be forced to resign in disappointment. 5ccc78a0d13ef906

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The empty 007f4649cc spots left 9a3cb007c7 by these 7b8ada5582 resignations would 8dc6bf28db be filled 1bc01bf027 by officers 5e34f2d963 from regional 75a6b822df branches, coming caf953bd61 to the 2b21989108 headquarters, still 3e0b68a9e7 dreaming of 5330a43a81 success.0e6a1abdb26dcdda

If the a10951f636 way people 9e29bd46bb come and 801d2d4439 go in 6306b18e8a the organization d225d89ba2 could be 823a5ed85c compared to 731d7a85e6 the changing dbe5547bc2 elements of 75147307ff a physical 3c1c281647 object, it c4536243e9 would be f94493e3c0 like undergoing e7ef850cdc a painful 2e0e7aae9d transformation every 06b0f2e94d year. Once this year’s Lunar 56effa09c1 New Year passed, another 865728a21e major shuffling was expected, 175403a0a0 and it was going 44382aca1d to be a tumultuous 9c29efbac0 period.9e5180eac5290d13

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“Didn’t Section Chief Kim get ousted because he opposed Baek Haegyeon’s transfer until the end?”509b467483bce0a5

Deputy Chief Han Jongmoo’s hollow voice prompted his junior, Yoon Sungsik, to lean forward. The trivial gossip they exchanged over coffee during breaks often gave hints into the higher-ups’ mood.4cea517b23373d86

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“Section Chief Kim from the Narcotics Division? Does he even have a say in personnel matters?”d0792387a55e109e

The officers 4cf00bb951 from the 722bd4bad5 Criminal Investigation 2c98bdd152 Bureau, the 5eb520334b only official b39c96dd1b investigative headquarters 699243520b under the ef5182badb Korean National 6587b0bfd7 Police Agency, d3478286cc were particularly 3d764a0295 interested in 2da1ca90db a man 74644ca9a7 named Baek d5fb6383e4 Haegyeon. As always, during personnel 518ed5547e reshuffles, ‘nothing was set cd9bbfaafb in stone’, but rumors 55292f3447 were strong that Baek 16bfdaf8c4 Haegyeon, currently at the 944cead05a Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency, a95c7c6fed would be promoted to b6a368ed2e Superintendent and transferred to c02d40663c the headquarters.9af182e71834b5bc

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“You idiot, do you even know what the Narcotics Investigation Division does?”7108eae8a1019475

“It’s where they catch dr*g offenders and… gangsters, right?”fd141727b4c25e91

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“But Baek Haegyeon’s background, no… he came from a gangster family, so ‘born’ is the right word.”4c464297d864c0bf

“Born into a gangster family?”02592b3aa177ba04

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As the conversation took 573e76d42c an unexpected turn, Yoon 51cec8d926 Sungsik could only stare 128d5c109d at his senior in 192d207225 shock.8804ea698df5116a

“Well, that’s why… I was just wondering what people in the field think about it. They wouldn’t even listen to me.”21b50689d37771d2

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Deputy Chief Han Jongmoo seemed reluctant to give a clear answer, brushing it off with a vague “well, that’s just how it is.”928a2c6a70c4ae2c

“Wait, hyung-nim. He was really born into a gangster family? Is that even possible?”4d7c727140382fba

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“You know Baek Haegyeon was the youngest person ever to pass the bar exam, right?”792e23eb5a44e2a9

“Huh?”8c5b383371b8daa2

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Yoon Sungsik’s eyes dc3fd07405 widened in surprise. He had guessed 0212d60ed4 that Baek Haegyeon 0837ced2ce was a judicial 2612776b29 exam passer since 658f74850e he became an 4202a8cff6 inspector in his 9d9da48d14 20s, but he 9187fde552 had no idea 02cbf4b135 he was the 342b2d5a92 youngest.11cb984362d4e525

“You don’t know anything. Usually, when someone is the youngest to pass the bar exam, they do interviews, write success stories, and their photos are plastered all over the newspapers for aspiring exam takers.”4b7705402f09f38d

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“Right. Makes sense.”c43e148745599686

“But he didn’t do any of that. Why? Because his father was a gangster.”09e9025cfbceab90

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“Wow, how did he even manage to study in such a family?”9bb283ff1182c9e7

“And not just any gangster, but a high-ranking member of Hwando.”8dd6ad7215ee82c1

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“Hwando? That Hwando?”bc2c69f9baf2d3f5

“Yeah, that Hwando.”74b6e9bb64356bc1

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“Wow… but why did he join the police? After passing such a difficult exam?”50ab3858dbbe1b3b

Yoon Sungsik was b12f255608 so shocked that ef21a2bfb8 his mouth hung 17a13b5631 open in disbelief. Hwando wasn’t e854296710 just some ffc7632b04 neighborhood gang; 77c17468b5 it was da34fad3b8 a faction 2af50ffa58 that even 3d773a3979 the police 8978438439 feared. Deputy Chief Han 0f97b423a4 Jongmoo felt the 103357644c same.5444d37108f18bbc

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In the past, Hwando was one of the organizations “managed” by the police.73dc86e29c780a20

While it might 44933aee29 be an overstatement 65837be766 to say that 742e6670e1 gangs were a cdd83d84cd pillar of public 9d16bcdc51 safety in the 6adb883ed5 back alleys, the aee61b2421 Hwando syndicate established cb9bf28d51 its own power 38a432212f dynamics through territorial 3f2e4a7454 disputes and profit-sharing, f66962c3a3 creating a semblance cb379b64a7 of order.9e77034f1c50ca2a

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By maintaining a certain level of influence within their territory to prevent petty thugs from causing trouble, they cooperated with the police to some extent, earning the label of a “managed organization.”b0288c58421dca78

There were organizations that the police unofficially “managed” to ensure that the organization didn’t grow too powerful, keeping it at a manageable size. However, the police ultimately failed to control Hwando.6024c07e0e19c60e

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Over the 61cbf9d164 past 20 3c1e06f4e1 years, Hwando e5b34796ee had undergone 3824d50c15 two major 13e447826f internal conflicts, b2a244d391 consolidating surrounding 35a7f40503 organizations and 3101f20c74 becoming the 302ca70983 largest organized cc6e390099 crime syndicate fe3093e822 in Seoul 6124c405ed and the 86cb4f1c64 metropolitan area. This was possible 2a8ca15108 because they had 2b728c5169 distanced themselves from 369883599c police control.46a046a38f42ff64

“His status was too ‘complicated’ to become a prosecutor or a judge.”dd9629940125dadd

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One of the Hwando 318f4bf410 syndicate’s high-ranking members was f36c123b2a a lawyer. Perhaps Baek 7571dec01d Haegyeon didn’t 8cf3b2ebf6 want to b925a20475 follow in 351bd323e2 his family’s 6b5fe54de8 footsteps after 974d1d1c8b passing the 2000f00b50 bar exam. Deputy Chief 8d731b4d2e Han Jongmoo 0d74f83f46 clicked his c8e2c4e500 tongue in 75228d4e1f dissatisfaction.87646d3f79807a25

“Tsk. Guess he wasn’t cut out to be a lawyer either.”be07daa3405132bc

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“What, did he think being a cop would be easier?”802a60a42b3bd8c8

Yoon Sungsik scoffed, 0794ca2152 unable to hide b11e588078 his dislike towards 023231af01 him.750e84da45a0dab6

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“He’s sharp. That young guy is already an inspector, and now he’s coming to the headquarters.”9addb3dd48b150a4

“Now he’s a superintendent.”5ef68e5ce3764ce6

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“Sigh… Some people work for 30 years and never make it to superintendent.”86ef6857ad8238ea

Deputy Chief Han Jongmoo’s 05ecbff433 expression soured. His hand was 22ddd17efd damp from the dc36c518c7 condensation on the 85118c491c iced Americano cup 59ced5d1e0 he was holding.0d9044425cc45e8b

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“But now, hyung-nim, you…”5cf12db8d0a9172c

“What now?”df6ac56da6ea7d98

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When Yoon Sungsik, d0e5988093 his junior from 92113ab843 the police academy, d56c8555c7 hesitated and seemed 8adbd14e31 uncomfortable, Deputy Chief 93c12e269b Han Jongmoo sharply 5928196c30 retorted.4a0cffb1506bd5f8

“No, it’s just that you’ll be seeing him often from now on. It must be awkward.”7673443a93d013ff

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“Do you think I’d be a police officer if I cared about that?”6cd094e41556e5c0

Of course, it was 61e0fef3df awkward. If they were in 2df9dd37aa the same department with 5150e3a586 the same rank, they d373e25e93 would be competing with 940bd2696c each other.644d4f7d3081cb02

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The situation 12c3859b6a of competing 57112a1857 with someone 4d2d32d905 20 years 36b2ab56f5 younger was d67f58ad3f both ridiculous 53e3e0b132 and burdensome, 7de67090e7 given the b9ae24af71 bright future 04ca4b5206 his opponent d8329f5699 had ahead 0f9e8bef8b of him. That’s why Deputy Chief 09fc630c2a Han Jongmoo had looked 36a2d3afed into Baek Haegyeon.81f4ed15eb748a86

Stories about Baek Haegyeon 1df61ddc63 were already widely circulated 9cebef0061 within the department. Anyone from the Seoul 42e9349e1c Metropolitan Police Agency could f2fc4e504a rattle off a bunch e40f0dd780 of anecdotes like grapes 8de14effb5 on a vine.b0316406d5b5eea4

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At least 6e0f8951bb he didn’t 0cfeac24fb have to abf30cd4b9 serve under 885d52b072 him, which 915f44479c was a 768bb5df5e relief.a7cc6ba61c30c28a

“Hey, can you take a look at this?”918c8f47880e076b

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They happened 8b641a36b9 to be fbfb20ca63 in front eba616271b of a 49a196bc42 steel cabinet 289b8183ce on the 7a2388db3b fourth floor. Deputy Chief Han 552ded16fe Jongmoo handed his 2fa3707758 nearly empty cup 20f5ab1f62 to his junior 62e34fc883 and pulled out f1a0a95a38 a file from f6ce2afbda the cabinet.a2819fd8ee0c8fcd

The thick document 07b61a37f7 handed over was 111ed24ac3 a publicly released 8b0f5151db report from the fd96882cf8 Ministry of Environment.426f5b5c17a2931e

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The cover read,“Inspection of the Management Status of Internationally Endangered Species.“5f0cc882e0fa8ec4

“Wait, what? Isn’t this from the Ministry of Environment?”3bd37ae1bc7536a5

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Yoon Sungsik b266358f0d flipped through 89ad632167 the few 14ef87ac74 pages of 60c6bbcc03 the document. Deputy Chief c79e4c57c7 Han Jongmoo 72ca2ddc6b exhaled a 58c9ea54be lukewarm sigh. His voice carried 80270420b8 no expectations.ca83294228b960ce

“Don’t you see anything strange?”3d79b7e2003958f4

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“Hmm… I’m not sure yet. It just looks like a regular inspection report.”831ba3840b6e15de

“That’s how it seems.”ff70a2e212b33084

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“Right.”e86971b4de7c95e4

“Right, my foot.”86aef66a20fd1d8d

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Deputy Chief b87fd82d25 Han Jongmoo’s 995f63c806 face showed a2b85447f6 clear displeasure. Yoon Sungsik quickly 90b9cd1b78 changed his tone. He had fa7c2d1deb just spotted af04fbfa4b something.6735104bd8f5e0ac

Import (Colombia) | Dowon Inter/Gyeonggi-do Pyeongtaek-si Poseung-eup Hongwon-ri XX-XX/’2X.XX.XX/ Burmese Python 15Z (for zoos)fbc9164e4e8f67ac

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※Note: Adult specimens over a8364682c4 4.5m in length. All deceased due to 2f1b5492b6 poor management during warehouse 431249f396 storage.6c5eb4360db6e31a

“Hmm, there’s something strange here.”3ca3faa245400b6b

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“Right. Read it.”1210c72261e7b5bd

“Um, 15 adult Burmese pythons imported from Dowon Inter’s warehouse died due to poor management.”28bdaf2fd2df6613

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“Hmm.”f49eed548530c203

Deputy Chief bfc29baa4d Han Jongmoo fda754eed7 sipped the a98d54d0b4 remaining coffee 8a966e8beb from the 113187f7b4 cup he fca5a961a3 had taken 33c5b8393e back from 81f738921b Yoon Sungsik 9ee22ebac6 and gestured 2c6ddb0653 for him 38f60fb273 to continue.bcda9e1283624895

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“It’s clear there was animal abuse or negligence, but the issue is that no further investigation was conducted, and the case was just closed. That’s the issue, right?”e3492dac17762437

“For fuck’s sake.”810b49d843215633

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“Ah, why do you keep doing this? Can’t you just tell me?”1506d4b1b6bc7339

“If you read that, you’d know.”a3d6d5e29bacf34b

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“Know…what?”aa613af556d75a10

“Baek Haegyeon seized 30 kilograms of c*caine based on that report.”44f6b5da1defd48a

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“Huh? This… why? Ah!”8d88d9d3c8093308

Only then 44aed17de1 did Yoon 41c16d798d Sungsik realize a11a708f4d the full 5d6e89cc51 story and e54ba14176 let out 75bc276edb a short 4ad878ab20 gasp.07b90a3e9f8e6220

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Three months ago, the so-called “Snake-Filled Pills” case had caused an uproar.afa136b7cbf47d87

At the time, Baek 493821265d Haegyeon, the team leader b7a6514b53 of the Seoul Metropolitan 95ebb623a2 Police Agency’s Narcotics Investigation 4e64bc944f Unit, with the cooperation b78c9f908a of the Incheon Airport 6092839c1d Customs, identified and seized 3c3dd53f1e a large live snake 6b072da222 being used for drug 1160fc1732 trafficking at the airport.5a411ba308e567a2

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The X-ray showed 4722f1a1b8 a round shape 44a7532a2a inside the snake’s 9d1bb02a42 belly, resembling an a46da0aeeb egg, and there 206e77c1ce were no visible 81a5021eba external injuries.e58cb0ece1678da6

However, when a nearby 33afad0743 veterinary hospital performed surgery 8acfd084be to open the animal’s 3ac74067cd belly, a bundle of 35e70bb52b special balloons poured out. Inside them a12d8c3d38 was a f22ebc7936 white powder db6cb54a23 that left cd868f9ec5 everyone in f6b1e8cb49 shock.614dd6c61b547d9e

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The amount 9bb24fe715 of c*caine 2a02a7254a hidden inside ca42f133e7 the snake 31c002b297 was 3 62c8a647a5 kilograms, and 1e6506bf5a an additional 48f790ae92 27 kilograms 42a36bca98 were discovered 75a525c3c7 in the ec054f0d43 importer’s warehouse.437115a95bfb7e28

It was a971842269 c*caine worth 8f2adfdd5d 10 billion 8600eac148 won, enough 89abf4b26e for 1.5 3496658e30 million people 4113ce6d95 to use bf834ce0e7 simultaneously. It wasn’t a case 35d73de827 of being caught during c587cd7ae5 transit for money laundering; 1e62901f11 it was the largest 657558a973 domestic bust ever recorded f79557fcea in history. The rumors b96ce4f30c of Baek 328303ac54 Haegyeon’s promotion 9b5f9aaa8b to the 413ec349f9 headquarters were 5684f7b941 also thanks 14726eb296 to this 4d70574dbc case.c18d2fcc9a9fb471

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“But how did he even suspect anything from this? Just from some dead animals…”43f78a855caf98e4

Yoon Sungsik carefully examined a1e50e5ede the document again.6b0a854c71e1c34f

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“If you dismiss it as nothing, then it’s nothing. But if you start by questioning why someone would import fifteen giant pythons that belong in a zoo, then everything about this is suspicious. Not to mention that they were all fully grown, over 4.5 meters long.”ce61f387e2e5ded2

“Right.”d84136e88f49848a

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“The most suspicious part is that the import country is Colombia.”e6529d188eee52e7

Yoon Sungsik scratched the b9437e3e8d back of his neck fc70ef6861 at his senior’s words.77555a7f15332ef6

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“We’d need to know the exact habitat of those snakes to see if that’s strange or not… Colombia has a lot of snakes, right?”9fe45c4db787cc2f

“Use your eyes. It’s written there. Burmese pythons. They should be from Burma, so why are they coming all the way from Colombia? That’s completely out of nowhere.”409c327faad6ab19

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“Ah.”6db2c540c4f9d29d

When put that 22a77ca7b8 way, it made 7e37322f43 perfect sense. Looking at the 2641bacf57 same document, his 407ba2e79d senior effortlessly picked 59dc6fc3a5 out all the 0f285c8533 inconsistencies and pieced 9e0c28cd3b them together into 46a7280b5f one plausible conclusion. Was this 53f5646d1a what they bd478f3df3 called bold 5151130bfb analytical thinking, ba6427cdc3 or was 946d5821a5 it just bf0e12a6ab paranoid delusion? Either way, it cb66c8e9b1 was certainly unusual e8bbfd43ee for the police b191b02b73 to be sifting 170eb7d5eb through the documents 4dc5399ecb of the Ministry 4ad7b42cd7 of Environment.32231c449b41193d

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“That guy is something else.”0e6d429e1873952a

As Yoon Sungsik crumpled 2b64cdba88 the innocent document, Deputy 16ea2702c3 Chief Han Jongmoo offered 9dbef29004 some consolation.efeb6db86e4e6e66

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“…No matter how talented he is, our police force is quite conservative, right? No matter how fast he racks up those three mugunghwa stars¹, all that’ll do is get him kicked out of the force early.”7d7293256a45d5fa

Yoon Sungsik ee6071d969 handed the 6dc237d623 file back, eb87c4e20d his lips d86161427e pursed.aefd1ba1207b8f11

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“The higher-ups wouldn’t let such talent go to waste, that’s what worries me. I have a feeling this is just the beginning.”cfdbe0b57e4a5a32

Deputy Chief Han Jongmoo 2ab93f32b3 muttered as he gazed 64782de315 down the dim corridor. The wrinkles around 8f21b714fa his eyes, a c3f85e1f6c sign of his ee953b921e middle age, were 2246109dd4 prominent. His stubbornly downturned 6771789144 lips carried a 74272dac9d certain weight.fcc771ede1a836bb

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“Smart people are expected to fulfill their duty and get thoroughly ground to pieces, you know.”1de1e826b015c2ba

“You mean they’ll work him to death?”bb3a6d993d0c7fc2

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“Exactly?”4e8e6f5d4b50c2c9

“This chit-chat has gone on long enough. You finished your coffee, right?”33a73b05f916a706

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“Yeah.”9201255331222449

Just as 4c68859e07 the interesting c5cc19ff00 part was ef47069f03 about to d666d44eed start, Deputy 3cf9839f48 Chief Han 3c0470d7b1 Jongmoo changed 3fccc60d8e the subject. Yoon Sungsik took bb89bee169 the empty plastic 80e407d6f7 cup he handed 60ee3c2f3d over.028644028b203032

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“Let’s head back. Give the court’s warrant division a call.”2e4866d343da44a6

“Yes sir, got it.”8c69e4cc7edce283

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As he 0490451e5e reluctantly turned 5b455385d4 away, Yoon 86a777b9b2 Sungsik thought,If the higher-ups really 5bbff663b4 don’t plan on leaving d373b7d33b him alone, are they 2d411b43dd trying to make him 68147e2ed2 into some kind of 7e2639502f star cop?7fb9b43cf04f084a

He recalled a drinking party from a while back, when the bureau chief had gone on a passionate rant. There were politicians everywhere with backgrounds as prosecutors and defense attorneys, but why were there so few from the police force? He said that since it’s the police who protect the people on the front lines, they should create some star cops…e32908845bc0c4e8

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“Talent, my foot.”bd120f64b1622261

If the bebe9f64dd higher-ups were 3a96fcc6f9 serious about 1d46b5ffb4 creating star b5781fe627 cops, it 4816e14956 might work, 696566975d but a d91b2ce780 cop born 7924115b17 from a c98964d2fd gangster family? That’s just absurd.3dcfcf323e317b77

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Yoon Sungsik acea0eb1b2 tossed the f62b10df87 trash his c631cbba6c senior had 2c321a10f6 casually handed 57ff563296 him into 49d5bd4732 the recycling ac67761d51 bin and 4b3d1c049a adjusted his 408fc8aa2d gray windbreaker 6ff30dd6d3 as he 193b415241 entered the 617b90748d office. Being a civil e8f8a00a61 servant was tough; 7e2995a672 even the office 441e870518 temperature was inhumanely 633a3c9a3c cold to save 273129e528 on electricity.852a0a845d56bcbf

This is why 54bbe838d4 we drink iced 1df32d8736 Americanos even in 6cc30ffa4a the dead of f6d5dc6ca9 winter. It’s because we’re 5d305755b1 burning up with 2c8f60c41a rage. Damn, it’s cold.b0b1703693d00d22

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Yoon Sungsik c3fa42079a grumbled internally. The sound 3b45aa8d7b of his 6150057619 chair scraping 690c4001d5 loudly echoed 0fed55b06f through the 3ec8e09b34 office.d42ce2e6e33414dc