We Have to Stop the Bad Deal (4)

Wow.

Is this real?

I looked around.

Not only the receptionist in front of me, but several of the staff here.

I could even see a future where all the students in the building got caught up in the explosion.

By the way, why are there so many accidents and incidents in this world?

Is this really right?

"Kang Noa?"

"Oh. Yes."

"You’re enrolling, right? Did you pass the written test?"

"No."

"Then there’s a written-test class too, but honestly, I wouldn’t recommend it."

You can pass the driver's license written test just by studying a workbook for a few days.

Hardly anyone enrolls in the written-test class at driving schools either.

"I can set it up for you if you want, but..."

"No. I’ll just study on my own."

"Yes. Then you can enroll after you pass the written test."

"I understand. But can I look around the school a bit? Ah, if you haven’t eaten yet... there’s a cafeteria on the first floor. Students can eat there too if they pay, but..."

She glanced around and said quietly,

"The food tastes like trash, so just go eat somewhere else."

She was dead serious.

I wasn't especially hungry, but since there was a cafeteria, I figured I might as well check it out.

The driving school's offices were on the second floor of a two-story building.

I went down to the first floor and walked along the hall a bit, and soon saw a cafeteria.

Yeah.

This is it.

This is where it explodes.

Peeking inside, I saw that it was something like a staff cafeteria, so there was even a kitchen.

Why the hell does a driving school have a kitchen like this?

Curious, I stepped outside and took a lap around the building.

Paint, oil drums.

And several LPG tanks too.

On top of that, all sorts of obvious fire hazards were stacked between the cafeteria and a single panel wall.

It was a disaster waiting to happen.

As I walked around the building, I saw a smoking room on the other side.

A few instructors were gathered there smoking, so I walked over and asked,

"They serve food here too, right?"

"Oh, yeah."

Apparently, not only the driving school's instructors but also the staff ate here.

"I heard this building used to be a big restaurant back in the day."

Originally, this building wasn't part of the driving school.

But the director expanded the place, bought the restaurant building too, and converted it into the driving school.

"Oh. I see. But... it's really old, isn't it? Even the cafeteria wall is just a partition?"

"Exactly. We've told him dozens of times that it needs proper repairs, but the director doesn't even care."

There had even been several fires in the cafeteria.

At this point, you'd think it should be suspended and shut down.

But the director just patches it up and keeps operating.

The only silver lining was that there had never been any food poisoning.

"Want to know the surprising part?"

"What is it?"

"That damn director makes everyone eat here no matter what... and the food isn't even good..."

Some people want to bring a lunch box or eat out.

But the director orders everyone to eat here, so they're paying up and choking down awful food against their will, he grumbled.

"This cafeteria is run by the director's wife."

"Hahaha..."

So the lousy cafeteria caused a gas explosion on top of everything else and made such a mess.

And they even set up a staff cafeteria just to extort wages...

Incredible! What a fine company!!

Anyway, thinking about this place turning to ashes in the flames worries me.

Of course, I could just ignore it and enroll at another school.

But I can't just let this terrible future slide.

But how am I supposed to stop this?

If I went straight to the director and told him this place was going to explode, I doubted he'd listen.

Even if we got past it this time, in this state it seemed like there'd be another fire or explosion before long...

If I didn't know, that would be one thing, but now that I do, I can't just let it go.

For now, I took a picture of the cafeteria.

Just then, one of the instructors shouted in a panic.

Seeing me take photos, he frowned sharply.

"Hey! You can't just take pictures whenever you want!"

"Ah. I'm a somewhat well-known streamer."

"S-streamer?"

"Yes. I'm planning to film a vlog and show this place too."

"Whoa? Really? You're super famous?"

"More or less."

"Then go ahead and take as many as you want!"

"But isn't this place way too old?"

"It's old, yeah. If you go inside the kitchen right now, you'll probably faint. But what can we do? The director's crazy about money and won't replace anything. They should just shut the place down."

"What if there's an accident like this?"

"I've told him that plenty of times myself. Officials actually came here and scolded them, too."

But he still didn't change it.

He said paying a few fines was cheaper.

"At this rate, it's really going to blow up big one day."

Of course, he hadn't seen the future.

But honestly, who wouldn't think that after seeing this place?

"If a student is that famous, won't something be done?"

"Haha. Well, it'll work out somehow."

Of course.

I had no intention of solving this through streaming or anything like that.

.

.

.

I know a lot of people in law enforcement.

Not only Police Officer Kang Injeong, but prosecutors from the Uijeongbu District Prosecutors' Office are here with me as well.

So I showed them the photo.

"Can't this be dealt with somehow?"

"...Did you have your fortune told?"

"Yes."

Kang Injeong's expression hardened.

And Gu Namcheol's did too.

Yang Wonju couldn't come because of work, but even he would have known it was dangerous if he'd seen this.

"Mr. Kim. This... does seem to be a problem. Tsk. To think something like this still exists in this day and age."

Gu Namcheol scratched the back of his head hard.

He said he'd been so busy these past few days that he'd barely even managed to shower, let alone go home, and then he stood up.

"I'll go take a look myself."

The driving school wasn't all that far from Uijeongbu, so just having him go and check might solve things to some extent.

"Could you flip it over once?"

"Eh? Yes."

Gu Namcheol flipped over the card.

When he looked at me as if expecting something, I shook my head.

Surprisingly, even after Gu Namcheol went, nothing was resolved.

"No, why...?!"

"It seems like the director has very strong connections."

"Is this really something connections can handle..."

I know the world doesn't always follow common sense.

Even back in the orphanage, fists were closer than the law.

"Then we'll have to try another way. For now, I'd like to meet that director."

I looked at Gu Namcheol.

"Could you come with me?"

He didn't refuse.

.

.

.

First, I had to pass the written test.

I bought a workbook, solved all the problems, memorized the answers by heart, and then took the test.

Fortunately, I passed on the first try.

There was no need to waste any more time, so I headed straight to the test site with the two of them.

"I'm Prosecutor Gu Namcheol of the Uijeongbu District Prosecutors' Office."

"Eeek!!"

Was it because a prosecutor had suddenly shown up?

The driving school's front desk froze instantly.

"Could I possibly see the director?"

"W-well, the director isn't here right now..."

"Then would you contact him for me?"

"Of course."

I wasn't sure what was going on, but everyone was frozen just because a prosecutor had shown up.

I already told them, so they'll contact us.

Gu Namcheol glanced at me and nodded.

"I'm here to enroll."

"Uh... y-yes..."

And just like that, I enrolled.

Since we were already here, Gu Namcheol waited for me so we could go together.

"Wow... that's no joke. It feels faster than a roller coaster..."

What I learned for the first time today was how to start the car and drive 100 meters forward.

I never realized it when I was riding in someone else's car, but when I tried driving myself, it was insanely fast.

After getting out of the car, I sat on a bench in an open area, and Gu Namcheol smiled and handed me a canned coffee.

There was no one around.

It was hard to believe an explosion would happen in such a quiet place.

When I glanced back at the academy building, it was amazing it hadn't exploded already.

"Teacher, I don't think you were even going 10 km/h..."

"Speed is relative, isn't it?"

If I felt it was fast, then it was fast.

"So what happened with that case?"

The case involving Kim Juhyung.

When I asked how they planned to resolve the match-fixing case, a smile appeared at the corner of his mouth.

"We caught him."

"Huh? Really?"

They caught him much faster than I expected.

"We got help from Player Kim Juhyung. I told him to spend money like crazy."

Kim Juhyung had become a hero at the WBC.

He normally didn't indulge in luxuries, but we needed to make it look like he had enough money that he'd be worth approaching for match-fixing.

"He bought watches, clothes, a car... and before long, they contacted him."

"Hah. Is that so?"

It's easy to see a hero fall from grace.

So it was only natural, in a way, that someone would approach him with a match-fixing offer.

"And the ringleader we caught is connected to a drug case."

"Oh."

"He was using students who'd dropped out to transport drugs."

They said they're investigating now, and if things go well, they may even catch the drug distribution ring too.

I hope it goes well.

"By the way, is it okay to tell me this?"

"I might need to ask you for cooperation again. Of course..."

"I know. You want it kept confidential."

Anyway, the two of us were quietly having canned coffee when an old man approached us.

"Oh my! What brings a prosecutor all the way out here...!!"

Is this him?

The plain-looking old man greeted Gu Namcheol with a sly smile.

"I heard you enrolled together. Is he perhaps your nephew?"

"He's an acquaintance."

"Ah. I see. Well then, were you perhaps satisfied with our school..."

The director looked at me as if he were about to start rubbing his hands together at any moment.

Watching him, I let out a sigh.

"Director?"

"Yes?"

"The school facilities are... quite old."

"Oh, this isn't even that old. Other places are probably about the same."

"From what I could find, you've been reported quite a few times for safety issues..."

"So we've prepared for all that and put every safety measure in place. There are no legal issues."

He said that, but I didn't go so far as to say I had nothing more to say.

"Could you flip over this card for me?"

"Eh? Yes."

He looked puzzled, but perhaps because I was with Gu Namcheol, he flipped the card over without saying much.

As expected, official authority really is useful.

"But why the card...?"

"You've made quite a lot of money."

"Haha. This old man can only do things like this..."

"You've been coughing a lot lately, haven't you?"

"I guess my health just isn't so great."

"Sometimes it's hard to breathe."

"When you're old, breathing gets hard anyway."

"And you've felt tightness in your chest too."

"...What are you trying to say?"

I looked at him and said,

"You have lung cancer. I strongly recommend you be hospitalized immediately."

The future changes.

To a future where he steps away from running the academy.

To a future where his son, who becomes the new director of the academy, overhauls that cafeteria from the ground up.