Last week, my wife’s car was stolen in an absurd incident. Perhaps this was inevitable, given her ‘foolish’ habit of leaving the smart key inside the car. Astonishingly, the thieves broke into the apartment’s underground parking garage in the early hours, selected a vehicle with its side mirrors unfolded, drove off, and vanished without a trace.

Reviewing the CCTV footage showed two men driving off in a parked car around 3:30 AM. When they nearly collided with the car in front due to inexperienced driving, the passenger got out to check the gap, and his face was clearly captured. Crucially, two days later, they were caught after causing a minor accident near the food alley around Nonhyeon Station in Incheon, abandoning the car, and fleeing.

I was deeply impressed by how various departments—from local police officers to homicide detectives and the forensic team—worked together seamlessly to apprehend the suspect within days. I was shocked again upon hearing the investigator say the motive was unknown, but this wasn’t a first offense and multiple victims already existed. It was truly heartbreaking to learn the perpetrator was a high school minor. The vehicle was recovered in two days, but it sustained scratches on the side from a collision, and two people were injured. Since the thief was a minor, insurance wouldn’t cover it, so I settled with the victims out of my own pocket first. I looked into applying for a compensation order through the court, but ultimately decided against it after much deliberation, as it would have placed a significant burden on those teenagers’ parents.

The problem was that during the time the car was gone, the fallout landed squarely on me. I had to endure a lot of resentment because of my carelessness. My wife, who couldn’t drive the other cars left at home – they were all manual or electric trucks – couldn’t go to her morning workout, and her frustration exploded. It was a five-minute trip by taxi or by borrowing a neighbor’s car, but she seemed angry just about being in that situation. My wife, who always warned me not to leave the keys in the car, had her fears realized, so I had no defense. I even suggested a solution—a long-term lease for a new car—thinking the perpetrator was a meticulous planner and we might never find the vehicle, but it wasn’t enough to soothe her hurt feelings.

Ultimately, despite my pleas for leniency, I received a text notification that the students were sent to a juvenile detention center after their trial, bringing the incident to a close. This experience made me vow, with bone-deep resolve, to be meticulous about locking car doors and managing keys from now on.