It had been a week since they moved into the new house.
They still walked without thinking toward their old house, but the frequency of that would soon decrease.
In the meantime, two things had changed.
First of all, Ha-ran's resting time had increased.
This was because she had changed from the second shift to the third shift.
It was a bold decision since they didn't need to pay a monthly rent anymore.
Of course, Ha-ran had refused. The salary difference was significant.
She had argued that she could send Tae-min to a private cram school with that money.
However, even Tae-min had opposed her, so she was forced to surrender.
What could be done when Tae-min said that his brain was too good to go to a cram school?
Of course, he had to suffer a headlock from Tae-hyuk who was standing next to him.
Ha-ran was now able to have some personal time.
Whether it was because of the time to relax or the move, Ha-ran's cough had disappeared completely.
Tae-hyuk smiled warmly at that.
Then the second change…
He now had a family to greet him when he came home.
Tae-hyuk moved quickly.
Noona would be waiting for him to eat dinner.
'By the way. I never thought that Kang-suk hyung would donate all the reward money…'
Originally, a detective wasn't supposed to receive the bounty money. It was likely to be construed as a bribe.
Out of the 200 million won that Tae-hyuk had received, he had given 100 million to Kang-suk.
Yet Kang-suk had donated all the reward money from the Sungjin Group to an orphanage.
Tae-hyuk had asked why he didn't use it for his marriage funds and Kang-suk had simply laughed.
Kang-suk had watched the children playing on the playground and said,
"They are the only ones who would want to marry me, so it seems like I will have to wait 10 years."
"Wah. A detective is trying to commit a crime."
This was because Kang-suk was really popular with the children.
Kang-suk had laughed and said this was enough.
There were only idiots around Tae-hyuk.
'Come to think of it. I haven't received any crime skills in the past week.'
There was still a long time until the next incident on the blacklist. He thought about using that time to pull back the veil of the demon mirror.
'Ah, right. I decided to call it the Demon Revealing Mirror.'
It was the magic mirror that illuminated the true image of a demon.
He had recently discovered that the success rate of Robbery was around 10%.
However, it was good at stealing strange things, such as:
A wig; handcuffs; panties…
Forget it.
He still didn't know how to get skills and affinity points, nor did he know the identity of the Demon Revealing Mirror.
'Damn, that pseudo bastard.'
He had taken it to a shaman who was famous in dealing with demon-possessed items. This was what the shaman had said,
"It is made of bronze, a mix between copper and tin. The reflection rate is around 80%. This probably wasn't made to be used as a mirror. It looks ceremonial. The value…"
The conclusion was that it was just an ordinary mirror.
Tae-hyuk glared at the Demon Revealing Mirror. Strange letters could still be seen on it.
[Seo Tae-hyuk]
-Title: God of Crime
-Rating: Commoner (Lacking conditions for upgrade)
-Skills Possessed: Robbery (Lv 1)
???
'Eh?'
There were letters that he could see.
Additionally, there was something blurred under the skills section.
'Perhaps… a clue to a new skill?'
Tae-hyuk pressed on the question marks.
However, there was no reaction.
'The direction…?'
Tae-hyuk hurried forward.
He decided to look through everything about the Demon Revealing Mirror when he got back.
'Uh, isn't that Noona?'
Tae-hyuk stopped walking. Ha-ran was standing on the street outside their house with a face that seemed like she was about to cry.
She looked anxious like something big had happened.
"T-tae-hyuk! What do I do…?!"
'What, is there a thief or something?'
If he had known, he would have come home earlier.
Fortunately, Ha-ran seemed unharmed despite her face being a mess of tears.
"What's going on?"
"I-it is a big deal. He's hurt. An accident. He was taken."
"Wait a minute. Take a deep breath and tell me slowly. Say it again. What happened and to who?"
Ha-ran breathed slowly as she followed Tae-hyuk's words and finally started to calm down.
Tae-hyuk stroked the back of the still crying Ha-ran. Now that she was a little more normal, he was able to hear a clear answer,
"…I just got a call. Tae-hyuk was injured. He stole a luxury car and an accident happened. Unless he receives surgery, his life is at risk. Plus, the car is completely smashed, so he will go to jail if…"
'That Tae-hyuk bastard. Isn't he a completely crazy bastard?
'Wait a minute, that's me!'
"…Noona, wait. Who am I?"
"T-tae-hyuk."
"Then think about the story you just told me."
"What should I do, Tae-hyuk? Tae-hyuk is injured!"
"Look, I'm safe and sound."
"…?"
Ha-ran still seemed confused.
Tae-hyuk realized that Ha-ran had been subjected to a crime.
'Voice phishing!'
It was a type of phone fraud.
10 years ago in Japan, they had called it the 'It's Me Fraud'.
A call would come from someone saying, 'It's me' and that they had been seriously hurt, 'Please deposit some money quickly.' This way, they could pretend to be a close person without saying the name.
As this approach became more famous and no one fell for it anymore, they started pretending about different things.
Something like your bankbook password had been leaked and they needed to deposit the money into another account.
In this way, they had deceived the other person.
Ha-ran had fallen for a trick that was commonly used 10 years ago.
"Noona, I'm okay. Do you think that I would steal a car?"
Tae-hyuk hugged Ha-ran gently and stroked her back.
She stopped crying as the excitement subsided.
"I am fine. I won't get into any car accidents and…"
He wouldn't be framed for murder either.
Tae-hyuk explained to Ha-ran slowly.
"Then it is a scam?"
"Not yet. The other person is just spreading out the trap."
"But it is good that you are safe and sound."
Tae-hyuk grinned at his sister.
The reason the 'It's Me Fraud' was effective was because it played on the person's affection. He was thankful for that fact.
'Still, why is a scam that was popular a few years ago being used now?'
Ha-ran was someone who had graduated from a girl's dormitory in middle school and high school. As soon as she graduated, she had started work straight away to look after her little brothers.
She was just like a flower that grew in a greenhouse and didn't know anything about the world.
So, she was silly enough to believe in others. In other words, she was a sitting duck.
'At any rate, can it end like this?'
Those guys had made Ha-ran cry. His anger wouldn't be resolved unless he did something.
"That person said they would call again?"
"Yes, he told me to prepare my bankbook and seal and wait for him."
Tae-hyuk smiled widely. The scam was still in progress.
"Noona, give me your handphone and go to your room. There are many interesting dramas these days that you should watch. If anything like this happens again, just call me."
"Yes… I understand."
If he waited, a call would come from the opponent.
Tae-hyuk entered his house while thinking about what he could do to them.
* * *
First of all, he would pretend to be deceived, only to turn the tables on them.
However, Tae-hyuk became distressed about how to do that.
'They will notice if the person who answers the call has changed.'
The best way was to have Ha-ran pick up and direct her on what to say.
However, she had a pure nature and didn't want to talk to the scammers anymore.
'Is there another way?'
Dururu!
He was thinking of a way to catch them when he got a call.
'Those guys!'
Brr!
However, the vibration wasn't only heard from his handphone.
It was the Demon Revealing Mirror.
[Crime Skill: Voice Modulation has been learnt.]
-You can imitate the voice of the target directly.
-The criteria to learn the skill completely hasn't been met yet.
-It has been registered in the temporary skills window.
'New crime skill…!'
Tae-hyuk's eyes flashed.