The next morning, Dae-hyun arrived at Yongsan station at six forty-five. Min-jun was already there, standing outside with a paper cup of coffee in his hand. The older detective nodded at him but said nothing as Dae-hyun unlocked the door. They walked inside together, and Min-jun immediately started exploring the bullpen on the first floor.
At seven-oh-five, Jin-young showed up, blinking sleep from behind his glasses and carrying a laptop bag. He looked around the empty bullpen, grunted, and claimed the desk with the best view of the parking lot.
"He'll be useful," Min-jun said quietly, watching Jin-young set up three monitors.
"If he doesn't hack us all by accident first."
Min-jun snorted.
At seven-ten, Shi-eok arrived, filling the doorway with his massive frame before moving quietly to a desk near the windows. He sat down and started organizing the few things he'd brought.
"That one's been through some things," Min-jun observed.
"They all have, and that's why they're here."
At seven-fifteen, Soo-ah appeared at the entrance in her crisp uniform. She scanned the room quickly before her eyes settled on Dae-hyun.
"Assistant Inspector Kang Soo-ah reporting, sir."
Dae-hyun gestured to the bullpen. "Pick a desk."
She chose one near the center and sat down with her back straight and her hands folded on the desk.
"Academy graduate," Min-jun said.
"Top of her class and she notices details others miss."
The five of them stood in the bullpen, looking at Dae-hyun with varying degrees of expectation. Min-jun leaned against his desk with his arms crossed, Jin-young had somehow already connected his laptop to the building's network, Shi-eok sat quietly by the window, Soo-ah remained ramrod straight at her chosen desk, and Hae-rin watched everything with those calm, assessing eyes.
"So," Min-jun said finally, breaking the silence. "What exactly are we doing here?"
Dae-hyun walked to the front of the bullpen and set the thick folder Commissioner Hwang had given him on the nearest desk. "This is what we're doing here."
He opened the folder and spread the contents across the surface. Case files. Crime scene photos. Witness statements. Autopsy reports. Unsolved homicides. High-profile robberies. Kidnapping that had gone absolutely nowhere.
Jin-young leaned forward, his eyes scanning the documents with obvious interest. "These are all cold cases."
"Yes."
"From different districts," Hae-rin observed, moving closer. "Different jurisdictions and different types of crimes."
"Which is why no one saw the connection before." Dae-hyun pulled out a marker and approached the whiteboard. "The Commissioner thinks they're related, and I think he's right. But we need to prove it, and we need to solve them."
Shi-eok spoke for the first time. "Where do we start?"
Dae-hyun looked at the files spread before him. His eyes moved from one to another, weighing, calculating, searching for the weakest point. Finally, he picked up a thinner file and held it out.
"This one. A robbery at a jewelry store in Gangnam three months ago. The thieves got away with nearly two billion won in merchandise, and the police haven't found a single solid lead."
"That's the easy one?" Min-jun raised an eyebrow.
"It's the most recent, which means fresher evidence, fresher memories, and less time for the trail to go completely cold." Dae-hyun turned to Soo-ah, who was watching him with intense focus. "Assistant Inspector Kang."
She straightened even more, if that was possible. "Yes, Captain?"
"I need everything on this case. Every piece of evidence, every witness statement, every security camera feed from within a three-block radius. I want it organized, and I want it on that board by the end of the day."
Soo-ah's eyes widened slightly, but she didn't hesitate. She crossed to the desk where the files lay and picked up the robbery case, clutching it to her chest. "Yes, Captain. Right away."
She moved to the whiteboard and started reading, her lips moving slightly as she absorbed the information. Within minutes, she had the first few pieces of evidence pinned up—photos of the store, statements from employees, and a map of the area.
Jin-young watched her for a moment, then turned back to his laptop. "I can pull traffic camera data from that area for the whole week. Might catch something."
"Do it," Dae-hyun said.
Min-jun pulled a chair close to Soo-ah and started helping her organize, pointing out which details might matter and which were probably dead ends. Shi-eok joined them, reading through witness statements with that intense focus of his. Hae-rin stood back, watching the evidence take shape on the board, already building profiles in her mind.
For the next hour, they worked in a rhythm that surprised even Dae-hyun. Soo-ah pinned up photos and notes while Min-jun dictated from the files. Jin-young called out timestamps from traffic cameras that might be useful. Shi-eok found inconsistencies in two witness statements that no one had caught before. Hae-rin quietly pointed out that the robbers' movements suggested military training.
Dae-hyun watched them, saying little. This was what he'd hoped for. This was why he'd chosen each of them.
The bullpen door opened.
Everyone turned.
Commissioner Hwang stood in the doorway, looking around the room with an expression that might have been approval. Behind him, Dae-hyun could see several uniformed officers and what looked like administrative staff waiting in the hallway.
"Captain Kang," the Commissioner said, stepping inside. "I see you've been busy."
Dae-hyun approached him. "Sir. We were just starting on the jewelry store robbery."
"Good, good." Commissioner Hwang looked at the whiteboard, at the evidence taking shape, and at the five people who had stopped working to watch him. "You've chosen well. I recognize some of these faces." His eyes lingered on Min-jun for a moment. "Very well indeed."
He turned back to Dae-hyun. "I've brought you some additional personnel. A police inspector to handle the regular station operations, plus administrative staff, uniformed officers, the usual. This building needs to look and function like a normal police station. Your squad will have this floor to yourselves—the rest of the building will be for everyday business."
Dae-hyun nodded. "Understood."
"The inspector's name is Park Sung-min. He's solid, experienced, and knows better than to interfere with your work." Commissioner Hwang gestured toward the door. "He's out there with the others. I'll let him introduce himself properly."
But he didn't leave. Instead, he stepped aside slightly, and Dae-hyun saw that there was someone else in the hallway. Someone who hadn't been visible behind the uniformed officers.
"Which brings me to the main reason I'm here," the Commissioner said. "I told you there would be a seventh member, and someone you didn't choose."
He turned toward the hallway and gestured. "Come in."
She stepped through the doorway, and for a moment, the room went absolutely silent.
She was beautiful. There was no other word for it. Tall and poised, with features that belonged on magazine covers and movie screens. Dark hair pulled back simply, a face that seemed designed to catch light, eyes that held something complicated behind them. She wore the standard police uniform, but on her it looked like something else entirely—like a costume, like a disguise, like armor.
Dae-hyun's first thought was that he'd seen her face before. Everyone had seen her face before.
"Yoon Seo-ah," the commissioner said, "meet your new captain, Kang Dae-hyun."
The woman—the actress, because that's who she was, that's who everyone knew her as—stepped forward and bowed slightly. When she straightened, her eyes met Dae-hyun's without flinching.
"Captain Kang," she said. Her voice was calm and measured. "I'm ready to work."
Behind Dae-hyun, someone made a small sound. Soo-ah, he thought, her hand pressed to her mouth in shock. Jin-young's jaw had actually dropped. Even Min-jun looked momentarily stunned.
Dae-hyun said nothing for a long moment. He simply looked at her, this woman who had no business being in his squad, this celebrity who had somehow talked her way into a police uniform and a spot on his team.
Then he turned to the Commissioner. "Sir, a word."
Commissioner Hwang's smile didn't waver. "Of course, Captain. But the answer won't change. She's on your team. Make it work."
He clapped Dae-hyun on the shoulder and walked out, leaving the actress standing in the middle of the bullpen, surrounded by five stunned detectives and one very unhappy captain.
The silence stretched.
Yoon Seo-ah looked around the room, at the whiteboard covered in evidence, at the files spread across desks, and at the people who were clearly trying to process her presence. Her expression didn't change—calm, professional, waiting.
Finally, Min-jun cleared his throat. "Well," he said. "This is going to be interesting."
Dae-hyun's jaw tightened. He looked at the whiteboard, at the case they'd been building, at the work that still needed to be done. Then he looked back at the woman who had just become his problem.
"Everyone," he said, his voice flat, "back to work. Assistant Inspector Kang, continue with the board."
Soo-ah blinked, tore her gaze away from the actress, and nodded quickly. "Yes, Captain."
Dae-hyun walked to his office without looking back. He didn't invite Yoon Seo-ah to follow. He didn't acknowledge her presence any further.
But she was there. And somehow, he knew, she wasn't going anywhere.