Chapter 137
After dinner, I used the laptop Han Yu-na had brought to reduce the fatigue of our two characters, and was resting when it happened.
The sound of police sirens reached us.
Then I saw a group of people coming out of the pension where a drug party was taking place.
They were Gu Nam-cheol and people from the Uijeongbu District Prosecutors' Office.
"Looks like things are finished over there."
"Yes."
Most of them were already dazed from drugs.
Where could they possibly run?
"The police sirens..."
"One of their bodyguards must have sensed danger and called the police to ask for protection."
"What a ridiculous situation."
Tilting her beer can, Han Yu-na said coldly.
"Criminals asking the police to protect them."
"Haha. What can you do?"
It had already happened.
Someone inside the Gangneung Police Station had moved to shield the drug-partygoers.
I smiled and set my empty beer can down.
The police who had come from the station would be able to stop most opponents.
But there were three prosecutors, led by Gu Nam-cheol.
Could they stop them?
"Ah. They're backing down."
The police who had entered in an angry rush were backing away in confusion.
All they could do was say they would hold the suspects at their station.
But no matter how high-ranking those officers were, it would not be easy for them to take custody of criminals placed under emergency arrest.
Even less so when dealing with prosecutors who knew the whole truth.
"Hmm? Someone's coming from over there."
"We should get ready to greet them. Ms. Yu-na, do you have anything to drink?"
"Of course."
She took two cans of soft drinks from the cooler.
One of the people coming this way had a familiar face.
It was Prosecutor Gu Nam-cheol.
And the other one was...
"Hello, Teacher Kang Noah."
He had a blunt expression and a square jaw.
Thick eyebrows.
And a closely shaven head.
The burly, rugged-looking man calmly introduced himself.
"I'm Woo Sang-mun, deputy chief prosecutor of the Uijeongbu District Prosecutors' Office."
Deputy chief prosecutor.
The second-in-command of a prosecutor's office, assisting the chief prosecutor and controlling the department chiefs.
He was the highest-ranking person in Prosecutor Gu Nam-cheol's chain of command.
"I've heard a great deal about you from Prosecutor Gu."
"I see. Nice to meet you. Uh..."
"Please feel free to call me Prosecutor Woo Sang-mun. Or just Prosecutor Woo."
"Understood, Prosecutor Woo."
"I sincerely thank you for reporting this incident."
"It's only natural for an ordinary, law-abiding citizen to do so."
"Hahaha. Ordinary, huh?"
What a dour man.
If he was going to laugh, I wished his expression would smile along with him.
"Do you know that Lee Haru is among those being taken away?"
"Yes."
"She's a troublesome opponent. As the only granddaughter of the chairman of Namhyeong Group, she's someone the chairman is trying to protect by any means necessary."
"How should I put it? She's rather stupid. Is there really any need to create an owner risk?"
Honestly, if she was that much of a wastrel, wouldn't it be better to cut ties with her quickly?
But that's the opinion of someone who doesn't place much importance on blood ties. Who was I to say anything?
I'd just have to let it go.
"We found them at the scene and made emergency arrests, so we plan to process them through the Uijeongbu District Prosecutors' Office."
"Won't the prosecutors and police here make a fuss?"
"It isn't impossible. But I intend to handle that part myself."
These people held a drug party right beside the place where the Uijeongbu District Prosecutors' Office's second-in-command had come for a visit.
And since they themselves made the arrests, even the local authorities wouldn't dare casually demand that the suspects be handed over.
Prosecutor Woo spoke firmly.
"So you don't need to worry."
"I'm not particularly worried... but contact me if any trouble arises."
"Were you planning to help us, Teacher?"
"This concerns me too, doesn't it? I don't intend to just report it and leave things at that."
Woo's expression brightened.
He said that, while receiving various reports from Prosecutor Gu Nam-cheol, he had always felt grateful to me and had been looking for a chance to meet me. Then he grinned.
"It seems South Korean society is held together by people like you, Teacher."
"No, it's not really like that. There are more good people in the world than you'd think, you know? You and Prosecutor Gu Nam-cheol, for instance."
It was merely a few loaches causing a disturbance and muddying the water.
"Anyway. We'll take them with us for now."
"You came here for a team-building event and didn't even get to enjoy yourselves before leaving."
"Hahaha... What can we do? It's our job."
He grinned, accepted the can of soda I held out, greeted me, and walked away.
After he left, Prosecutor Gu Nam-cheol approached me.
"The deputy chief prosecutor said he really wanted to meet you."
"Why didn't you bring him along before?"
"Ah, I was worried it might make you uncomfortable."
"Come on. Why would introducing someone make me uncomfortable?"
If I felt burdened by something like that, I never would have formed our alliance.
Nor would I have associated with an American governor.
"Wow~! As expected, you're a truly magnanimous person."
"Hahaha. I won't deny it. Anyway, things are about to get busy."
"Yes."
With a bitter expression, he looked toward the exit of the pension complex.
It seemed to bother him immensely that the police had moved to protect those people.
"I had no idea things were this rotten within the police."
"Ah. Don't worry."
"Huh?"
"There are rotten parts in the prosecution, too."
Loaches could be found everywhere.
Wasn't that something Sage Jirobo had said as well?
If five people get together, one of them is trash. How much trash must there be in an entire organization?
Prosecutor Gu Nam-cheol let out a deep sigh.
"If the deputy chief prosecutor hadn't been involved in this, does that mean they might have gotten off with a slap on the wrist and been released?"
"Who knows..."
Looking into the future, I saw that they were caught simply because, while tracking down a drug dealer, investigators followed the trail upward and found their names listed as customers.
That was why those who had taken drugs and made transactions here received no particularly harsh punishment.
The only one sacrificed was the powerless pension owner, made a scapegoat as an example.
But things were different now.
"This incident will become a massive scandal that shakes all of South Korea."
"...Is that so?"
"Are you prepared?"
The corner of Prosecutor Gu Nam-cheol's mouth twisted.
"I am always prepared."
Truly reassuring.
.
.
.
Once the major event was over, things grew somewhat quiet.
Han Yu-na stared at me.
"What is it?"
"You don't change at all even when something like this happens, Noah."
"Huh? What do you mean?"
"I mean, in the worst case, couldn't you end up going up against a chaebol family?"
"Oh. You mean Namhyeong Group? That won't happen."
"Is that so?"
"Yes. They're a little too small-time to pick a fight with me."
They're merely a chaebol family in South Korea, after all.
And one with an especially nasty owner risk.
The more flaws there are to exploit, the easier it is to deal with them.
"Still, they're a chaebol family by any measure. To call their weight class small..."
"Hahaha."
Things would get busy from now on.
The deputy chief prosecutor had set his jaw and was determined to turn everything upside down.
"Prosecutor Woo is aiming for the chief prosecutor's position."
"Really?"
"Yes. So he'll use this as an opportunity."
"Won't he make a deal with Namhyeong Group?"
"He's an upright man. And he values honor."
He had risen to the position of deputy chief prosecutor solely through his ability and achievements.
Given his temperament—he didn't want to get caught up in pointless rumors—he would ignore any pressure completely and move forward.
"And I'll help him. I told him that earlier, didn't I?"
I had told him to contact me if he ran into difficulties.
That wasn't something I had said casually. I meant it.
Starting with this incident, pressure and interference would come at him from all sides.
I could see a future in which he tried to handle everything alone, realized it wouldn't be easy, and contacted me.
"I can't help thinking you're going through too much trouble, Noah."
"All I'm doing is wagging my tongue a few times. They're the ones doing all the hard work."
"But some of the people involved in things like this are dangerous, aren't they?"
Well, probably.
"Won't they try to hurt you, Noah?"
Haha. That would be laughable.
"I think it might be better to assign you some of the bodyguards who work at my house. What do you think?"
"Hmm... I'm fine."
I already had more than enough protection.
Han Yu-na still worried her lower lip, as if my words hadn't reassured her.
"I'm really fine, so don't worry. Well, shall we go to bed soon, too? We have to get moving early tomorrow morning."
Before going to bed, I should play a little more Dunsa.
.
.
.
The next day, before the sun had risen.
When we boarded the fishing boat moored at the harbor, the pension owner went into the wheelhouse.
"I'll take you to a really good spot!"
"Ah, Captain. Before we go, take a look at this."
He grinned and turned over my card.
"At Point 3, the one you're thinking of right now, you'll come up empty-handed."
"Gasp. Is that really true?"
"Yes. What other spots are there?"
"What about Oddang Rock...?"
"There's nothing much there, either."
"Tsk. Then how about Jungsam...?"
Oh. That's where you can catch some big ones.
"Let's go there, please."
"Aye!!"
After saying he'd guide us to a spot where the fish bit well, he went into the wheelhouse, and a moment later, the boat began to move.
After traveling across the sea for about an hour, the boat came to a stop in the middle of the open ocean.
When the signal announcing our arrival at the spot rang out, I grabbed my fishing rod.
"Ms. Yu-na. You know how to do this, right?"
"Yes."
How long had Han Yu-na been fishing with such natural focus?
Her fishing rod bent sharply.
"Oh, my?!"
"Pull! Pull!!"
She frantically pulled on the fishing rod.
Then she quickly worked the reel, and before long...
"Wow, wowww!!"
She reeled in a huge red sea bream nearly fifty centimeters long.
"I caught it!!"
Indeed, she looked just as good with a bright laugh like that as she did with her faint smiles.