Chapter 139
.
.
.
The result of the fishing competition was Chairman Park's victory.
Chairman Han Jun-ho was disappointed, but what could he do?
Fishing is inherently a game of uncertainty—a game where luck can make or break you.
All we could do was chalk it up to bad luck.
"Damn it!! It came down to a single sheet of paper!!"
That was one awfully thick sheet of paper.
But there was no need to argue with him while he grumbled.
"By the way, did you have fun in downtown Gangneung?"
"Well, it was fun if you call it fun, and not fun if you don't."
"What kind of answer is that?"
"Well, you see."
On the car ride back to Seoul, I told him about what had happened earlier that afternoon.
An incident taking place in Japan.
Chairman Han Jun-ho was dumbfounded by the misfortune befalling students on a school trip.
"Isn't that butsukari?"
"Butsukari... Ah. Shoulder-checking?"
"That's right. It's become a problem in Japan lately."
I'd seen it in the news on YouTube a few times, too.
Some people shoulder-checked easy-looking targets as they walked down the street, or shoulder-checked people taking pictures as they passed.
They even deliberately bumped into little children and knocked them down.
Lately, I heard they'd even started tripping people.
"But don't they just do that in places like intersections or on the street?"
"Apparently, these days they do it in places like subway stations and bus stops, too."
"Wow. They're insane. Why would anyone do that?"
"How am I, a sane person, supposed to know what's going on in the minds of lunatics?"
Fair point.
Would a sane person shoulder-check random passersby?
"I hear they often target people who look weaker than them or tourists who would have trouble protesting."
"Exactly. That's what makes it even more despicable."
"But what on earth do you call a lunatic who shoulder-checks male high school students?"
But now that I thought about it, the guys we'd met earlier hadn't been particularly big.
And they might have thought the boys were easy targets because they were young and tourists.
"Doesn't that mean they think they can get away with it? You said the future you saw was during rush hour, right?"
"Yes."
"As I understand it, some Japanese stations are packed with people. And I hear it's especially insane during rush hour."
"I suppose... that's true?"
"Also, quite a few Japanese train stations still don't have platform screen doors."
"Ah. Yes. I saw that before. There were several in Tokyo, too."
"At places like that, even a moderate bump can be extremely dangerous."
"So it's not simply a matter of anti-Korean hatred?"
"It could be. Or maybe they have to commute to work while these people are visiting another country, and the fact that they're in the way during already crowded rush hour annoys them."
Hatred has no reason.
If you insist on assigning it a reason, there are countless possibilities.
"Anyway, if you're acting to save someone, I can't just sit back and do nothing."
"What are you planning to do?"
"Should I give you a little spending money? You're part of our company, too, aren't you?"
Though I'm only an outside director and serve as an adviser.
But as he said, my name is on the Saseong Group roster, so he wasn't wrong.
"Haha. I can't very well refuse an allowance from my father."
"Hahahaha!!"
He guffawed and held out a card.
It was the black card I'd accepted earlier and then returned to him.
"There is no limit, so spend it however you like."
"Wow! Really?"
"That's right. Ah, you said you were going next week, didn't you? Hmm, Yu-na won't be able to go with you."
"Yes. Ms. Yu-na needs to focus on the Saudi project."
The future changes.
Saseong would secure the Saudi project because they were giving it their all.
If Han Yu-na, who was supposed to be at the center of it, were absent, we could consider the project as good as lost.
He'd already lost the fishing competition this time. If he lost the project bid, too, Chairman Han Jun-ho's pride would be completely shattered.
"Yu-na. Let's put in some hard work this time."
"...Yes, Father."
Though she looked dejected, Han Yu-na did not refuse her father's instructions.
Yes, that's Han Yu-na—someone who knows how to distinguish personal and professional matters.
.
.
.
The day after I went fishing with Chairman Han Jun-ho and Han Yu-na.
The news came out.
It concerned a massive drug scandal.
-It wasn't simply a matter of good luck. This time, we received a tip.
The person appearing on the news to give the briefing was the deputy chief prosecutor from the Uijeongbu District Prosecutors' Office whom I'd seen before.
It was Prosecutor Woo Sang-mun.
He spoke firmly.
-The Gangwon Province pension drug-party case will be resolved fairly and rigorously this time, in accordance with the will of the people and to uphold the legal order.
-Is it true that Ms. Lee Haru of Namhyeong Group is involved in this case?
-That's right. And not only her...
Every name that came from his mouth belonged to someone important.
A famous actor.
A famous singer.
Even a member of a chaebol family and the child of a high-ranking public official.
It was an enormous mess.
Perhaps because it even included the child of a ruling-party lawmaker, statements were being issued left and right throughout the political world.
Well, they'd handle it themselves.
There was certainly external pressure, but perhaps the opposition wanted to deal a blow to the ruling party. They, too, appeared to be joining hands with Prosecutor Woo Sang-mun.
Things were going to stay noisy for quite a while.
I turned off the news and picked up my phone.
This Wednesday, the second-year students at Gangneung High School were going on a school trip.
If so, should I time my movements to coincide with that?
-Bzzz!!
"Oh. Ms. Si-yeon."
-Noah~! Did you get back safely?!
"Haha. Yes, I did. How about you, Ms. Si-yeon? Are you done with your busy work?"
-Yes. It's more or less taken care of. So? When are we going on our trip?
"Ah. I think this week will be difficult. I have to go to Japan on Wednesday."
I explained the situation to her when she looked puzzled.
When I said I was going to Japan to save someone, Hong Si-yeon burst into giggles.
-Wow. I don't even know what to say except that you're amazing, Noah. Great! I'll go, too!
"It won't be all that much fun."
And there was an event I wanted to attend separately, too.
-I wasn't planning to treat rescuing people as entertainment. If I go with you, won't that give you more options to work with?
That was certainly true.
If Hong Si-yeon came, her bodyguards could move as well.
Rachel and the other bodyguards were all quite capable, too...
"Then I'll gratefully accept your help."
-Yes! Then I'll see you at the airport on Wednesday!
"Yep."
In the end, Hong Si-yeon decided to join this trip.
And so, Wednesday arrived.
After bringing Cheolhon along, I arrived at Gimpo Airport, where Ms. Si-yeon was already waiting for me.
"Welcome~! Noah~!"
"You don't have any luggage today, either."
"We can buy anything we need once we get there. But since we're going to Japan this time, aren't you going to contact Old Man Kim Seok-chun?"
"I did, but apparently he's somewhere else right now."
"Somewhere else?"
"Yes. Apparently, he went to Hong Kong. He said he was taking his younger sibling, nephew, and grandchild to Disneyland."
"Wow. That sounds fun."
"I know. Anyway, we won't be getting Old Man Kim Seok-chun's help this time."
"Then are we handling it just among ourselves?"
"Of course not."
Kim Seok-chun wasn't the only person I knew in Japan.
"Then are we going to ask Old Man Sakamoto Ryusuke for help?"
"Yes."
I had formed a connection with Old Man Ryusuke over the matter concerning his grandchild.
When I contacted him, one of Japan's wealthiest men said he would help in any way he could.
Of course, he wasn't going to send yakuza or anything like that.
He said he would send police officers and prosecutors he knew, as well as lawyers to file the necessary complaints and charges.
If handled properly, butsukari, or shoulder-checking, could be punished as assault.
People usually let it go because it was troublesome, or because they were worried that some lunatic might run amok.
But if they made up their minds to catch someone, they could certainly do so.
So why not use the power of the authorities?
It wasn't as if we could put that power aside and boil soup with it later.
"I spoke with Old Man Ryusuke yesterday, and he said they were having quite a headache with butsukari in Japan as well."
In any case, wasn't it an act that severely lowered the country's prestige?
This time, he planned to teach them a proper lesson and warn anyone who committed such acts at will.
"That's good to hear."
"Yes. But we're not going there to have fun. Is it really all right for you to come along?"
She smiled faintly at my question.
"What matters is that we're together."
If that's how she put it, I might as well gratefully accept her help.
.
.
.
We arrived at Kansai Airport and traveled to Namba Station.
After we entered a hotel near Namba Station, someone came looking for us.
"He says his name is Yatsuushi Keigo... Apparently, he's a prosecutor working at the Osaka District Prosecutors' Office."
A middle-aged man smiled and handed me his business card.
Looking into his past and future, I saw an ordinary, straightforwardly righteous prosecutor with nothing particularly special about him.
He had especially strong negative feelings about shoulder-checking.
His daughter had once been shoulder-checked and returned home sobbing, complaining to him about how unfair it was.
"Nice to meet you. I'm Kang Noah."
"I've heard a great deal about Teacher Kang Noah. This incident is... truly shameful."
"No. We can't know for certain whether it was actually butsukari."
What I had seen was only Yoo I-myeong being struck from behind by someone and falling onto the train tracks.
I would have to see who it was myself.
"I'll station undercover police nearby."
"And we plan to station a few more people on our side as well."
"Support?"
"You could say that."
Hong Si-yeon's bodyguards, aside from Rachel, and Cheolhon would be joining us.
The place was already crowded enough.
We didn't know whether the culprit was a woman or a man, or how they would try to escape, so it would be best to use numbers to apprehend them as safely as possible.
"Good. Then what will you call the operation?"
"Huh? You do that sort of thing, too?"
"Of course. It's important."
This guy was serious.
Hong Si-yeon also looked at me with interest.
Hmm. An operation name.
There was only one possible choice.
"Let's call it 'Proper Education.'".