Chapter 69
A little while later, the police arrived at Yeonhwa Bodhisattva's shrine.
Along with a warrant.
As I watched her slump there with a vacant expression while being handcuffed, Kang In-jeong approached me.
"The Yeonju Personnel Office has been dealt with too, Mr. Kang."
"Thank you. You've worked hard."
"What do you mean, worked hard? That's what the police are for. More importantly, how did you end up here, Mr. Kang?"
Instead of answering, I looked at Mrs. Joo Yeo-min, who was standing in the corner with a dazed expression.
She seemed quite afraid of becoming involved in this incident.
Well, of course she was.
Her husband was a public official, and Jo Woon-seong was a public official too.
She wouldn't want to get tangled up in something like this and end up burdening her husband and son.
"It just happened. And that woman helped me."
"Oh... Wouldn't it have been better to request the police's cooperation?"
"I had to make Jang Mi-sook let her guard down."
That wasn't really the case, of course.
"And if it weren't for her, I wouldn't have known that Jang Mi-sook even existed."
"Ah... Did you happen to tell her fortune?"
"Yes."
"I see. Hmm. First of all, if you want to make sure that woman isn't involved in this incident..."
"That would be best. It isn't difficult to put Jang Mi-sook and her gang behind bars even without witnesses, right?"
"That's true."
As for the Yeonju Personnel Office...
The illegal proceeds in the basement here and the ledger beneath the shrine alone are enough to put everyone involved in this behind bars.
Kang In-jeong said this confidently.
"Anyway, thank you. I managed to add another achievement to my record thanks to you."
"Haha. But wasn't this under Dobong Police Station's jurisdiction?"
"I have a connection here. And the chief of Eunpyeong Police Station is my senior, so I got some help. Besides..."
Kang In-jeong glanced at Prosecutor Yang Won-ju.
He was giving orders while holding a stack of documents, but when our eyes met, he gave me a slight bow.
"Prosecutor Yang put in a lot of calls on our behalf."
"I see. I'm indebted to you."
"Haha. Neither Prosecutor Yang nor I consider this a debt."
We're doing this to make the country a better place, aren't we?
If it means taking down even one more of these people, this hard work is nothing.
"And I get promoted along the way."
"Hahaha."
"Thanks to you, I can finally breathe a little easier under the pressure to produce results. Haha. I'll definitely be promoted again at the next promotion round."
The future showed that it really would happen.
At the next promotion season, Kang In-jeong would be promoted in recognition of all her achievements.
"Then you should treat us to a promotion celebration."
"Of course."
A bright smile spread across her face.
.
.
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As I watched Yeonhwa Bodhisattva get arrested and dragged away, I took Mrs. Joo Yeo-min, who still hadn't recovered from the shock, to the café I frequented.
She remained silent until we entered the café.
"You were quite shocked, weren't you?"
"...M-Mr. Kang. What... what's going to happen now?"
The gracious, gentle woman who had always comforted me with her warm voice and manner was terrified.
She had even stopped calling me Noah and started calling me Mr. Kang.
That showed just how shocked she was.
I comforted her, who was trembling with fear.
It wasn't anything serious.
Since I had told them that she had helped me, both Prosecutor Yang and Kang In-jeong would probably try to help her husband and son instead.
"You don't need to worry so much."
"Um..."
"If you want, I can make sure you aren't involved in this incident."
They might ask her to testify.
But there were other victims as well, so they could use their testimony.
In other words, I could keep her completely uninvolved in this case.
Only then did Mrs. Joo Yeo-min let out a sigh of relief.
"...It's my fault. This foolish woman got her eyes turned by something strange..."
Now that she had calmed down a little, the sadness seemed to overwhelm her.
The dignified elderly woman began shedding tears.
Some of the people in the café started glancing over and whispering.
Oh, come on. It's not like that.
"Things like this happen in life. You didn't have any bad intentions, so don't blame yourself too much."
"I'm old enough that I should be preparing to die, but instead I'm doing strange things and causing trouble for the children... Sob..."
I raised my hand toward the manager.
A little while later, he brought over a handkerchief.
"Could I have another latte?"
"Certainly."
I handed her the handkerchief the manager had given me and finished sipping my remaining latte.
Once she had calmed down somewhat, she let out a heavy sigh.
"Thank you so much, Mr. Kang."
"Don't worry about it. And nothing bad will happen to your husband or Woon-seong hyung."
"...Thank you. Thank you so much."
She let out another heavy sigh.
"I don't think I'll go fortune-telling anymore..."
"Come on. You like that sort of thing. Just don't have a shamanic ritual. If you really want your fortune told, watch my broadcast."
"...Your broadcast, Mr. Kang?"
"Yes. Meeting in person limits my time, but on my broadcast, I pick ten people and tell their fortunes."
Of course, whether you get picked is a matter of luck.
Other than the cases that seem serious when I take a quick look, I choose people at random too.
"And, Mother, don't worry too much. Your daughter-in-law is going to have a child."
I saw Mrs. Joo Yeo-min's future.
I saw her embracing her pregnant daughter-in-law and weeping her eyes out.
"....Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Kang..."
She shed tears once again.
.
.
.
Jo Woon-seong declared that, as repayment, he would become my personal fitness trainer from then on.
No, wait. Why is the chief of the Jongno-gu Permit Division trying to become a fitness trainer instead of doing his job?
"Huff, huff..."
"Today's sweat will become tomorrow's muscles! Get up, Noah! Get up! You are the hope of Korea!!"
"Does it really have to go as far as calling me the hope of Korea...?"
After I finished my squats and slumped down onto the floor, he pulled me to my feet and forced me to do lunges too.
I barely escaped the torture known as repaying a favor, took a shower, and staggered out of the gym.
I was exercising to get healthy, but I was getting completely worn out like this every single day.
Is this right?
Is this really right?
"Sigh."
Still, when I looked in the mirror, it did seem like my body was definitely improving.
Muscles were filling out the body that had once been nothing but skin, bones, and fat.
Of course, my physique was still lacking compared to Cheolhon or the other bodyguards.
But no matter how well they protected me, I needed to be able to protect myself at a basic level, so I should stop complaining and work hard.
-Screeeech!!
I was heading home, lost in thought, when it happened.
A black sports car came roaring from the intersection and performed a drift.
The car stopped directly in front of me, as if it had come straight out of a cartoon.
Then the window rolled down.
"I'll explain later!! Get in, quick!!"
Inside, beyond the window...
A beautiful blonde woman wearing sunglasses was sitting in the driver's seat.
A real man would get in first and ask questions later in a situation like this, but I knew how important self-preservation was.
That was why I said,
"I have to go home and play games."
Then I immediately turned around and headed home.
I need to hurry home and play Dunsa.
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.
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The next day.
After breakfast, I went out for a walk, and a man in a black suit approached me.
He was a middle-aged man with gray hair and broad shoulders.
The man had a long scar across his face, and the atmosphere surrounding him was quite menacing.
"Mr. Kang. Step back."
"It's all right."
The expression of Cheolhon, who had been walking with me, hardened, but he didn't step forward when I restrained him.
"Mr. Kang."
He spoke fluent Korean.
When he removed his sunglasses, gray eyes similar in color to his hair were revealed.
I smiled at him and held out a card.
The man studied it carefully before cautiously turning it over.
The card showed the Seven of Spades.
"So you're Mr. Kalinin Dorbshiev. I explained why I didn't go with the subordinate you sent yesterday."
Right.
The woman who had tried to take me away so spectacularly yesterday that any man would have been swayed.
Her boss was this man, Kalinin.
"Yes. You said you were going to play a game, correct? I checked your records. But yesterday wasn't even a raid day..."
"Are you simply ignoring hunting? I'm disappointed. Go back and study Dunsa a little more before you return."
"Oh. I have been terribly rude. I made such a discourtesy because I've lived my entire life without anything to do with games. Please forgive me."
"I'll forgive you for that."
I'm a merciful man, after all.
Well, up to this point, it was nothing more than small talk to break the ice.
"So? Why has Russia's Foreign Intelligence Service come looking for me like this?"
"Haha. Even you, Mr. Kang, don't seem to know that much."
"I actually do. You were sent by Ivan Selet Borchishinin, the deputy director of Russian intelligence, weren't you?"
"......"
Kalinin didn't say a word.
All he did was twitch his eyebrows slightly.
"The reason... Hmm. It seems even you don't know, Mr. Kalinin."
"...I feel as though I've been stripped naked. Just as the information said. Yes. My superior wishes to meet Mr. Kang."
"Well, I don't mind meeting him, but I have no intention of going to Russia."
Not only was it far too distant, but when I saw Kalinin's future, I saw a future in which the Russian military abducted and imprisoned me.
Kalinin lost his life trying to protect me from them.
"...I see."
However, the moment I declared that I wouldn't go, that future changed.
Kalinin looked at me seriously.
"In that case, if he came in person, would you meet him?"
"Of course."
I don't turn away people who come to me.
Kalinin seemed satisfied with that alone, so he bowed politely and withdrew.
Cheolhon, who had watched everything from beginning to end, cautiously asked me,
"...That man. Is he Russian?"
"Yes."
"Why on earth would Russia...?"
"There's a treasure I want to find."
Right.
They had only one reason for looking for me.
They wanted to find Russia's treasure, which had vanished through a fantastic collaboration between the mafia and corrupt government officials.