What comes to mind when you think of the Police in the typical Superhero genre? In my case, it's the background characters who swarm in after the incident is over. Incompetent people who make you wonder how they even graduated from the Police Academy. Sometimes, there's the character who's almost as righteous as the protagonist but ultimately gets beaten by the Supervillain, triggering a Hero moment or a power-up opportunity for the protagonist. Worst case scenario, it's corrupt officials colluding with villains, or those jealous of or hating Heroes and antagonizing them. Being a police officer is inherently a tough job, and the image isn't great to begin with, but in superhero stories, the treatment of the Police is strangely harsh. If you think about it, the answer is clear. A Superhero must be a Hero, but if the police are too competent, what role remains for the Hero? If the cops just keep catching the criminals, and subjecting them to the legal system. What need is there for a Superhero? I remember seeing something online, something about how a society that needs Superheroes is a failed society— …Let's just gloss over the fact that I can't imagine a world that doesn't need Superheroes. Anyway, my point is that being a police officer in a world with Superheroes is a tough profession. What, you don't believe me? Fine. Let's use our imagination. Let's say you're a righteous and diligent police officer. Imagine that you've worked incredibly hard and earned recognition for your competence. What do you think your future holds? Since you've just been recognized for your abilities, do you think you'll climb the ranks and uphold Justice? No. Absolutely not. What you'll see are those above you who got there through bribes and political maneuvering, and below you, pathetic juniors causing trouble. In the end, you'll struggle in that awkward middle position, taking all the flak alone, until you finally encounter a crazy Supervillain... and I don't need to tell you what happens next. This is the life of a diligent police officer in the superhero genre. Having seen similar fates befall diligent juniors, seniors, and colleagues, I, Lee Moon-su, Sergeant Detective of the Violent Crimes Division of Gangdong-gu, Seoul, decided to become a lazy police officer who only does the bare minimum. Is it weird to say I "decided"? I guess I'm innately not suited to be a police officer, but anyway. There's a reason I'm spouting this nonsense. It's because I'm a Reincarnator. …I know. You're probably thinking, "Should someone like this be a police officer?" But please hear me out. Even though I'm a Reincarnator, I don't have any special Psychic abilities like in comics, nothing outstanding. I'm just a bit physically stronger than the average person. In my past life, I unfortunately died in an accident, I awoke as a child. I grew up normally and became an adult. As I pondered how to live my second life comfortably, I decided to become a public official, based on past-life wisdom: a public official has stable income. But in this life, my brain is just as bad as it was in my past life, and the only thing I could rely on was my strong body. So, I aimed to become a police officer, a job that would make good use of my physique. However, I briefly despaired at the realization that I needed to pass the civil service exam to become a police officer. Somehow, I managed to cram my head full of knowledge, barely passing the civil service exam and getting into the Police Academy. Finally, I became a public official, just as I had hoped. And yet...I'm now constantly tired, my job sucked, my Marksmanship is shit, and my colleagues are utterly useless. I endured, suffering more than what my salary warranted, with the heart of Buddha. Just as I was racking my brain over the increasing number of criminals using Psychic powers, I heard the news of a strange spandex-wearing weirdo flying around and beating up thugs. The moment I heard that strange person's name was New Hope and saw what she looked like, it hit me like lightning: this world was the world of Secret Hero Rise. As I recall, Secret Hero Rise is a novel about a time when people suddenly start developing strange Psychic powers, causing social chaos. The protagonist, with rare innate powers, faces tragedy, then becomes a hero to stop crime. The city is in chaos, the government is incompetent, the Police are corrupt, and the world is on the brink of a post-apocalyptic state, but the protagonist somehow manages to protect people. It was a pretty interesting novel. But I'm in that world now. Do you know how absurd I felt? I just thought it was my second life, but to find out that this world is the world of a novel I read in my past life! Now that I'm at an age where it's hard to explore other career paths, I realized the sad truth of this world. Damn it. Looking back, I could have realized this world was a novel's setting sooner. The faces and names of my colleagues at the Police Station were familiar, and their personalities were as quirky as the characters in the novel. Lately, with the increasing number of criminals using Psychic powers, I’ve had a headache. And then the higher-ups suddenly started giving those bastards code names, which was ridiculous. And those code names felt strangely familiar, too. When I realized the truth of this world, I initially considered quitting, but then I resolved myself. I'd live even more quietly, as Lazy Cop #1. As a Detective, I’m aware that I could die at any time. But I didn't want to die horribly, caught in the crossfire between Supers. So, I decided to clean up after Superhero and Supervillain battles, maybe get stabbed by local thugs occasionally, spend some nice weeks with an injury leave, and do the kind of work that cops in superhero stories do. But damn it, my life never goes the way I want it to. Just like now. "Officer! Why was that Minus guy released?! You saw the horrible things he did! How could someone like that be acquitted?! There was so much evidence! What about this country's law, the people?! How can this happen?!" A small girl, trembling with barely contained rage, tears streaming down her face, shouted at me accusingly. The Hero famous these days, New Hope had come to me to complain. This rookie Hero, who had only recently started fighting under the name New Hope, seemed unable or unwilling to understand the current situation, where a Supervillain had committed Evil Acts and yet escaped punishment. I looked at New Hope. She was wearing black full-body suit with just a flight parka on top, and a pro-wrestler-style Eye Mask to conceal her face. I questioned whether she was serious about hiding her identity, but that appearance was exactly the same as the protagonist's appearance in the illustrations of the novel I remembered. I first met this Hero a month ago, around the time I started handling the mass murder case caused by a rich pervert named Minus. This Hero captured Minus and handed him over to me. Minus was released this morning due to lack of evidence. This tiny girl, whose head barely reached my chest, looked at me with betrayal in her eyes, as if I was in cahoots with that fucker. This girl's real name is Mina. It was only a month ago that I first met her in person because of her Hero work, so I couldn't understand what she felt betrayed about. I took a deep breath, trying to swallow my anger, but the little girl said something that further provoked me. "Really, even you… are you like that too? How much did you get? How… How could this happen…?" "Huh." If I had gotten something, I wouldn't be in this situation. The little girl's tone, filled with incomprehension, made me grind my teeth. I pulled out a photo of the scene where Minus was arrested, so that even a child could understand why this had happened. I instinctively took this photo the moment I arrived at the scene after receiving the report. The photo labeled Exhibit 1. It showed a completely collapsed building. "You completely destroyed the building, leaving no evidence behind." The photo depicted a scene of devastation that looked like a war zone. Common sense would dictate that such destruction wouldn't occur unless a missile had exploded, but this ruin wasn't caused by a missile, but by the combined efforts of the Superhero and Supervillain before me. This photo served as proof that the little girl in front of me and the criminal Minus were unbelievable monsters, but it was also the reason why the Supervillain Minus was acquitted due to lack of evidence. "Ah." New Hope seemed to understand, her eyes widening then hardening into points. I really wanted a cigarette, but the little girl in front of me was a minor. A kid who still had baby fat on her cheeks. I suppressed my urge for a cigarette. The venomous look in her eyes had subsided somewhat, yet she still seemed unconvinced, gritting her teeth, she shouted. "Ugh?! B-But I took pictures of the evidence and sent them all! Shouldn't that be enough?!" "Thaaat? Hey, what do you think would happen if we took those to Court? There are no witnesses. No physical evidence. If it's just photos, his lawyer will claim manipulation. How are we supposed to win against that?" At my words, her long, black hair swayed, and red eyes beneath her Eye Mask darted around restlessly. She really seemed to have thought those few pictures would be enough. This is truly absurd. I couldn't hold back anymore and retorted. "Did you really think that would work? Hey, those powers of yours made you an idiot too?" Damn it! Please! Did you only watch crap like Detective Conan and think the law and Police are completely morons?! Even I, a pretty dumb guy, know this is too much!! Swallowing the rest of what I really wanted to say, I sighed and sent the little girl home. The girl, though disgruntled, seemed aware of her fault and left without a word. Yeah, well, in superhero stories, the Hero does a good job, but the Police and law are so inept that criminals get away. It's a classic trope. But damn it, I busted my ass for months to catch that bastard, and this superhero girl's single act of mayhem undid all my efforts. What am I supposed to do? Truly frustrated and angry, I forced myself to think differently and calmed down. As I said, I'm a Reincarnator, but I don't have the typical Psychic powers or anything special. I'm just one of many detectives. If this kind of thing happened in this world, it was bound to happen. Perhaps due to this world's inherent characteristic of incompetent police, the gap between my common sense and reality is enormous, making argument pointless. This incident is just a simple event where I'm branded as an incompetent cop by the protagonist. Even if I meet her again, she won't expect anything from me, and we probably won't even cross paths. Come to think of it, the only way I'd meet that Hero is if I'm involved with a Supervillain, which is unlikely to happen again. Because they're creating a team specifically to hunt Supervillains. The Supervillain Specialized Investigation Team, was it? It’s a team that’s mentioned in the novel. A team assembled by selecting only the most outstanding officers to deal with Supervillains. But in reality, they were just cannon fodder for the Villains, constantly getting beaten up. This team embodies all the frustrating aspects of the Police in the Superhero genre. But that's not something I, an ostracized detective at the bottom of the barrel, should worry about, right? More competent people than me will join the Special Investigation Team and get hospitalized by Supervillains. I thought so, and tried to live as a moderately lazy cop as before, but... "Hey, Moon-su. You're now part of the Supervillain Specialized Investigation Team. There aren't many members yet. But you've got some experience, so you should be fine, right? Do your best." "Are you serious, Chief?" The Chief of Police suddenly handed me a death sentence. I was so disbelieving that I begged him to stop lying. How could I possibly go there? I even got down on my knees and offered to take a month of consecutive night shifts in exchange for my life. But the Chief just looked at me and said, almost mockingly, "Your performance has been good lately. The Special Investigation Team seems to have taken notice of your hard work during the Minus arrest." Damn it! To think I'd die for the sin of working even a little too hard! Half-unconscious from the despair of the world and the Chief's pronouncement, I came to my senses to find myself already officially transferred to the Supervillain Specialized Investigation Team. And wouldn't you know, in a couple of days, the clowns from this new Investigation Team ended up in the hospital, so I was slapped with the unwanted title of Vice-Captain of the Special Investigation Team. As I sat in the Police Station, dazed with regret, remorse, and despair, New Hope visited me late at night. For some reason, she had a strange expression on her face, a mixture of joy and guilt. "It's good to see you, Officer. Let's protect the city together from now on! And... I'm sorry for not trusting you that time... I'm really sorry." …Are high school girls these days overly sensitive? I can't keep up with these mood swings. I glared at New Hope with a disgusted look, but the Deputy Chief hat on my head remained firmly in place. Okay. Let’s recap, I’m now a police officer in a superhero genre novel, and I've become the Vice-Captain of the Special Investigation Team, the group that constantly gets trashed by Supervillains. In other words, to summarize— "Fuck." Realizing just how screwed I was, I immediately submitted a transfer request to the District Police Station. Of course, it was rejected.

I'm A Cop