Miraculous Intervention
Two days had passed since Min-jun identified the target. The countdown on his phone had become a constant presence in his mind, ticking away even when the screen was dark.
T-48:15:33
Min-jun sat in his car across from a small officetel complex in Mapo-gu. The building was unremarkable—twelve stories of pale concrete with narrow windows. Somewhere inside was Lee Su-jin, Kim Jae-hoon's ex-girlfriend.
So-young sat in the passenger seat, arms crossed. She hadn't said much since they'd left the station.
"Senior."
"Yeah?"
"You know we're conducting surveillance without a warrant, right?"
Min-jun kept his eyes on the building entrance. "I know."
"This could get us both suspended."
"Don't worry. I'll take responsibility."
So-young turned to look at him. "That's what I'm worried about. You taking responsibility alone."
Min-jun's phone buzzed. He checked it discreetly.
[UPDATE]
High-probability window: 23:00–01:00
Location: Target's residence (Lee Su-jin)
Recommended action: Direct intervention
"Senior, what was that?"
"Nothing. Just a message."
So-young's eyes narrowed, but she didn't press further.
The hours crawled by. They'd been parked here since 8 PM, taking turns to stretch their legs and grab coffee from a nearby convenience store. The officetel's lobby lights cast a pale glow onto the street.
At 11:32 PM, Min-jun's phone vibrated again.
T-00:28:15
His heart rate picked up. Less than thirty minutes.
"So-young."
"Yeah?"
"Stay alert. Something's about to happen."
"How do you know?"
Min-jun didn't answer. His eyes were fixed on the street corner.
At 11:47 PM, a figure appeared.
Kim Jae-hoon. Walking quickly, head down. He wore a dark jacket, hands buried in his pockets. In his right hand, Min-jun could make out the shape of something long and thin—an umbrella.
But it hadn't rained in three days.
"That's him," So-young whispered. "Kim Jae-hoon. What's he doing here?"
Min-jun was already reaching for the door handle. "He's not the victim."
"What?"
"He's the perpetrator. Come on!"
They exited the car as quietly as possible. Kim Jae-hoon had already entered the building. Through the glass lobby doors, they could see him bypassing the elevator and heading for the stairs.
"He knows the camera positions," Min-jun muttered. "He's been planning this."
They moved quickly across the street. Min-jun pulled out his police ID and flashed it at the security guard dozing at the desk.
"Police. Which floor is Lee Su-jin?"
The guard jerked awake. "Uh... 4-B. Fourth floor. What's—"
But Min-jun was already running for the stairs, So-young right behind him.
The stairwell was dimly lit, their footsteps echoing off concrete walls. Min-jun took the steps two at a time, his breath coming hard. His phone was in his hand now, the screen showing:
T-00:03:47
Three minutes.
They burst onto the fourth floor. The hallway stretched ahead, doors on either side. Halfway down, Kim Jae-hoon stood in front of apartment 4-B, his back to them. He was doing something with the door lock—picking it.
The umbrella lay on the floor beside him, partially unzipped. Min-jun could see the glint of metal inside.
"Kim Jae-hoon!"
The man spun around, eyes wide with shock. For a split second, they all froze.
Then Kim Jae-hoon bolted.
He ran toward the opposite stairwell, abandoning the umbrella. Min-jun sprinted after him, closing the distance with each stride. Just before Kim reached the stairwell door, Min-jun launched himself forward in a tackle.
They hit the ground hard. Kim Jae-hoon struggled, but Min-jun had forty pounds on him and three years of judo training. He twisted the man's arm behind his back and pressed his face against the linoleum floor.
"You're under arrest for attempted breaking and entering and possession of a deadly weapon."
"Get off me! I didn't do anything!"
"Yet," Min-jun said coldly.
So-young had retrieved the umbrella. She carefully unzipped it fully, revealing what was hidden inside—a box cutter with the blade extended.
"Senior, look at this."
The apartment door opened. A woman in her late twenties stood there in pajamas, eyes wide with terror. Lee Su-jin.
"What... what's happening?"
So-young held up her badge. "Ma'am, I'm Detective Park So-young. Are you Lee Su-jin?"
"Yes, but—"
"This man was attempting to break into your apartment. He was armed."
Lee Su-jin's hand went to her mouth. She looked down at Kim Jae-hoon, who had stopped struggling, his face pressed against the floor.
"Jae-hoon? Oh my god. How... how did you know he would come?"
So-young glanced at Min-jun, who was calling for backup on his radio. "My partner predicted it."
The scene was controlled within twenty minutes. Uniformed officers arrived to take Kim Jae-hoon into custody. Paramedics checked on Lee Su-jin, who was shaken but unharmed.
Min-jun stood in the hallway, watching as they loaded Kim into the patrol car downstairs. His phone showed:
T+00:15:22
Fifteen minutes past the deadline. But the event had been stopped.
A new notification appeared on his screen.
[SUCCESS]
+500 Guardian Points
New Rank: Silver Guardian (Lv.2)
Leaderboard: #847 → #203
Lives Saved: 1
Min-jun felt something unfamiliar—a rush of satisfaction, almost euphoric. He'd done it. He'd actually prevented a murder.
"Senior?"
He quickly pocketed his phone. So-young approached, her expression troubled.
"How did you know?"
"Know what?"
"That Kim Jae-hoon was the perpetrator, not the victim. That he'd come tonight. That he'd be armed."
Min-jun met her eyes steadily. "Experience. Pattern recognition. Ex-boyfriends who escalate from stalking to violence—they follow predictable timelines."
"That's not a pattern. That's... that's precognition."
"It's not magic, So-young. It's just paying attention."
She didn't look convinced, but she let it drop.
At 2:30 AM, as Min-jun was filing paperwork at the station, a visitor appeared—Yoon Hae-jin, a young reporter he recognized from crime beat coverage.
Twenty-seven, sharp-eyed, with a camera bag slung over her shoulder. She approached his desk with a professional smile.
"Detective Kang. Can I ask you a few questions?"
"It's late."
"It's early," she corrected. "And this is a hell of a story. How did you know to be there tonight? How did you stop a crime before it happened?"
Min-jun looked up from his computer. "Victim protection is our top priority. We follow up on all stalking reports seriously."
"But Kim Jae-hoon filed the stalking report. You somehow knew he was lying. That he was actually the threat."
"Good police work."
Hae-jin studied him for a moment, then smiled. "Can I quote you on that? For my piece tomorrow?"
"Sure."
"Detective Kang Min-jun says it's just good police work," she said, as if testing how it would sound in print. "The man who saw the future and saved a life."
After she left, Min-jun returned home just as dawn was breaking. His studio apartment felt smaller than usual, the air stale. He collapsed onto the sofa without changing clothes.
His phone buzzed.
He pulled it out and opened DEADLINE.
The success screen was still displayed, but below it, a new message had appeared:
[MILESTONE ACHIEVED]
First successful intervention
Reward unlocked: Enhanced prediction accuracy
Next case available in 96 hours
[EVENT #2]
Location: Gangnam, Teheran-ro
T-95:22:10
Clue #1: "Woman, red coat, subway exit 7."
Min-jun stared at the screen. Ninety-six hours. Four days until the next case.
He should have felt exhausted. He should have been worried about So-young's suspicions, about the ethical implications of using an app of unknown origin.
Instead, he felt alive.
For the first time in three years, he'd made a difference. He'd saved a life. The numbers didn't lie—he was ranked #203 out of nearly three thousand users. He was good at this.
His reflection appeared in the darkened phone screen before it went to sleep. For a moment, he almost didn't recognize the expression on his face.
He was smiling.
The next morning, Min-jun woke to his phone ringing. Team Leader Bae.
"Min-jun, get in here. Now."
"What's wrong?"
"Wrong? Nothing's wrong. You're all over the morning news. 'Predictive policing' they're calling it. The commissioner wants to talk to you."
Min-jun sat up, suddenly alert. "The commissioner?"
"Yeah. Also, that reporter—Yoon Hae-jin—her article went viral. 'The Detective Who Sees the Future.' You're a goddamn hero."
After hanging up, Min-jun turned on his TV. Sure enough, his face was on the screen. Footage from last night—police lights, the officetel building, Kim Jae-hoon being led away in handcuffs.
Yoon Hae-jin's voice narrated over the images:
"In an unprecedented display of predictive policing, Detective Kang Min-jun of the Major Crimes Unit prevented a violent crime before it could occur. Using what he calls 'pattern recognition and experience,' Detective Kang identified that a reported stalking victim was actually the perpetrator, and intercepted him just minutes before an attempted murder..."
The headline scrolled across the bottom of the screen:
"PREDICTIVE POLICING: Detective Kang Prevents Stalking Murder"|
Min-jun's phone buzzed again. This time it was So-young.
[So-young]: Senior, are you watching this? Everyone's talking about you.
He typed back: On my way in.
Before leaving, he checked DEADLINE one more time.
T-92:15:33
The countdown to the next case was already running. In the community chat—which he'd only glanced at before—new messages were appearing:
ShadowKnight: Did you guys see that news story? That's one of us.
Prophet_7: Kang Min-jun. Silver tier already. Impressive.
NightHawk: He went public with it though. Risky.
ShadowKnight: Or smart. Now he's got cover for future interventions.
Min-jun closed the app and pocketed his phone.
As he walked to the subway station, he passed a newspaper stand. His photo was on the front page of three different papers.
People on the train recognized him. A few even nodded respectfully or gave him thumbs up. One elderly woman approached him.
"Are you that detective? The one who saved that poor girl?"
"Yes, ma'am."
"Thank you. We need more police officers like you."
Min-jun bowed slightly. "Just doing my job."
But inside, that feeling was growing—the satisfaction, the validation, the sense that he'd finally found his purpose again.
When he arrived at the station, the atmosphere had completely changed. Colleagues who'd barely acknowledged him for months now clapped him on the back, congratulated him, asked him how he'd figured it out.
Even Team Leader Bae greeted him with a rare smile.
"The commissioner's meeting is at 2 PM. Wear your formal uniform. And Min-jun?"
"Yes, sir?"
"Keep this up. You might actually get that promotion."
So-young found him at his desk an hour later. She sat down across from him, her expression unreadable.
"Senior."
"Yeah?"
"That intuition of yours. That pattern recognition."
"What about it?"
"What exactly is it?"
Min-jun met her eyes. "Experience. Years of cases. Learning to read people."
"Is that all?"
The question hung between them. Min-jun could see the doubt in her eyes, the suspicion. She knew something was off, even if she couldn't articulate what.
"That's all," he lied.
So-young held his gaze for a long moment, then nodded slowly. But as she stood to leave, she paused.
"Just... be careful, okay? Sometimes when things seem too good to be true, they are."
After she left, Min-jun opened DEADLINE again.
The notification was still there, waiting:
Next case unlocked. T-89:47:15.
Clue #1: "Woman, red coat, subway exit 7."
His finger hovered over the notification.
Then he tapped it, accepting the next mission.
T-89:47:15