Chapter 102 – Result – Part 10

Chapter 102 – Result – Part 10

Kim Cheolung asked with a puzzled expression,

“A case?”

“Yes.”

Kim Cheolung looked at Woojin and fell into thought for a moment.

Woojin was always full of surprises, like wanting to eat Gukbap in the interrogation room or bringing a criminal to the hotel restaurant, so it was impossible to guess what he was thinking.

Kim Cheolung then signaled to Park Jonghoon and spoke.

“Should we tie this gangster to the unsolved case and get it in the media?”

Kim Cheolung chuckled at his own foolish thought.

Using such a small fry to sway public opinion would have no impact whatsoever.

On the other hand, Park Jonghoon’s eyes were trembling like an aspen leaf.

“Prosecutor! I’m just an errand runner! Please believe me! And making up crimes that don’t exist is a crime…”

“Shh! Quiet, will you?”

“Yes…”

Woojin fixed his gaze on the cowering Park Jonghoon and said,

“Hyerim’s older brother put someone on his sister. And a person with two prior convictions for violence. It reeks of crime, Mr. Park Jonghoon.”

He glanced at Woojin.

“Who is Chief Choi?”

“That is…”

Seeing his hesitation, Kim Cheolung started counting again.

“One, two…”

“U-um, he’s a Chief who mediates transportation materials and manages services!”

“His name?”

“Choi Gibaek.”

“Subcontractor?”

“Yes.”

“Which main company has an agreement with them?”

“It’s SH Construction.”

“That’s a Shinhwa Group affiliate, isn’t it? Is Choi Gibaek a gangster with a record, like you?”

“Huh?”

Kim Cheolung took a deep breath, closing his eyes as if to calm his anger.

“If you keep making me ask twice… Choi Gibaek, he has a criminal record, right?”

“Yes, yes… Prosecutor, I didn’t say anything. If it gets out that I spoke, I’m truly dead.”

Woojin slowly nodded his head.

Hyerim’s younger brother at SH Construction had a relationship with a subcontractor, and the CEO of that subcontractor was a Chief who managed the services, and had a criminal record at that.

“Where is the site?”

“Why do you ask…?”

“Because I want to be a laborer.”

***

Early the next morning.

Woojin changed into his work clothes in the communal bathroom.

He was able to get a job easily.

It was Park Jonghoon’s influence at work.

Of course, he never mentioned to his superiors that he had been taken in by the Prosecution.

This was possible thanks to Kim Cheolung’s heavily blackmailing words.

Their usual talk of living and dying by loyalty was useless in front of the Prosecutor.

Soon, Woojin got into a van with others and looked at the streets where darkness had not yet lifted.

People walking quickly, others waiting for buses.

They are people with various occupations.

Thus, while humans are made of magnesium, chloride, potassium, sodium, sulfur, calcium, phosphorus, nitrogen, carbon, oxygen, and hydrogen, they all lead different lives.

From birth, a person’s design begins, and influenced by environment and culture, they think and live in their own different ways.

They are made of the same matter, yet they are different.

But all humans are the same.

Therefore, by understanding an individual’s designed brain, one can predict their future.

After an hour’s drive, Woojin arrived at the site.

Unfinished buildings and people smoking cigarettes and drinking coffee here and there caught Woojin’s eye.

Woojin turned his gaze to a large container box.

Mirae Industry

As Park Jonghoon said, it was where Choi Gibaek was the CEO.

He was only CEO by title; he was clearly the Chief of Ira.

A subcontractor that could disappear at any time.

“How old are you, by the way?”

A middle-aged man, appearing to be in his mid-fifties, asked as he lit a cigarette.

He was the team leader of Woojin’s five-person team.

“I’m 21.”

“Did you come to earn some pocket money?”

“I wanted to gain some experience.”

“Wow… Young people these days don’t want to do difficult work, but you look strong too.”

“I will work hard.”

“Working hard is good, but the first priority here is not getting hurt. Have a cigarette.”

“I don’t smoke cigarettes.”

He had tried it before.

But he didn’t feel the need to smoke, and not smoking didn’t make him less ordinary.

After a while, work began.

As Woojin went up to the second floor, he saw a forklift approaching from below.

There were piles of formwork, and the man in his mid-forties said,

“You said this was your first time doing manual labor, right? Well… you got stuck with hard work from the start. What we have to do is called formwork countering. The forklift lifts it up, and we receive it and set it down. It’s heavy, so be careful. Look, you grab it like this and pull it out diagonally…”

Woojin listened to him and looked at the ‘Mirae Industry’ container.

He saw a staff member entering, but the description didn’t match Choi Gibaek.

“All right, want to give it a try?”

Candle workers are usually told to catch it in the middle…

Woojin, as he said, grabbed the formwork lifted by the forklift and lightly tossed it diagonally.

“Oh, you’re good.”

“Thank you. I’ll do my best.”

“Alright, they say even Librarians suffer when they’re young, so do your best.”

Woojin diligently threw formwork to him for about ten minutes, then the man, who quickly caught and put down the formwork, urgently said,

“Woojin! Woojin!”

Woojin threw the formwork to him and replied,

“Yes?”

“Too fast. Slow down, slow down.”

He didn’t have time to receive the formwork Woojin was throwing.

As soon as he put down the formwork and turned his head, another piece of formwork was already flying right in front of him.

“Isn’t faster better?”

“If you finish work quickly, you have to do other work… No! You might get hurt if you do it too fast, so slow down. Okay? Slowly?”

“Understood.”

Woojin’s body began to move slowly.

Woojin’s movements were as slow as a slug, to the point where the Righteous Path, who would normally stand idly by after receiving one piece of formwork, was now waiting.

“A little faster. No. You catch it.”

Woojin went behind him and began to catch and stack the formwork.

The formwork, the main culprit of construction worker’s muscle soreness, went back and forth between Woojin and him several times.

Seeing him neatly stacking the formwork he caught, the man asked,

“Is this really your first time?”

He looked at Woojin’s hands suspiciously.

The way he caught with his hands low was not typical of a Candle worker.

Candle workers often make the mistake of raising their hands high to catch formwork, which can lead to injuries like finger fractures.

But there was no sign of that from Woojin at all.

His demeanor showed he wasn’t a Mr. Cotton Swab who had done this once or twice.

His skill at stacking was incredible, like laying out a mat.

“It’s my first time.”

“Wow…! Is this the next generation’s rising star of Formwork Countering?”

“I wanted to try it.”

He was sincere.

Even if it wasn’t Formwork Countering, he wanted to break a sweat doing this kind of manual labor.

He wanted to move until he sweated, but his surroundings wouldn’t let him.

Time passed, and at lunchtime, food was delivered.

“Oh…”

When he opened the lid, there was a lot of rice and the side dishes were good.

The main dish was Spicy Pork Stir-fry.

“Eat well, everyone.”

“Enjoy your meal.”

Woojin sat on a styrofoam box and began to eat.

“Is this why people do manual labor…”

Having worked physically since early morning, even just eating rice felt sweet.

Of course, it meant his body craved energy.

Since this was not a common opportunity, Woojin quickly mixed the rice and Spicy Pork Stir-fry.

He carefully moved his spoon with the sole intention of coating every grain of rice with sauce.

Then he took a big bite.

Woojin shook his head in satisfaction.

His jaw joint moved on its own, beyond the control of his consciousness.

“It’s so delicious…”

The people around Woojin burst out laughing.

“A great restaurant! A great restaurant! Hahahaha!”

“Food tastes best after a hard day’s work!”

While they exchanged a few words, lunchtime ended. No, they quickly devoured their food.

“Alright, let’s start after a short nap.”

Woojin lay flat on the Styrofoam.

The best part of manual labor was taking a nap during lunchtime after eating.

And delicious snacks would arrive at 3 PM.

Woojin lay there on the Styrofoam, wondering what kind of snack would come.

“Brother, how about a drink of Soju after work today? I have something to talk about.”

“Not today. I promised my daughter we’d go see a movie called Synesthete or something.”

“Wow… Kids these days don’t usually like hanging out with their dads.”

“I heard it’s the most interesting movie these days, so I suggested we go see it. We haven’t had much time to talk face-to-face lately.”

At those words, a faint smile seemed to appear on Woojin’s lips.

“Miyeon has a good dad. But did you hear? I heard the material suppliers haven’t been paid for two months, and the transport side formed a union, but their leaders were all fired, right? It seems like they’re about to protest. We’re people who live day to day, and our daily wages have been delayed for two days now.”

Woojin’s eyes slowly opened.

It was partly because of what they said, but also because he heard the sound of a car entering the construction site.

It wasn’t a construction vehicle, but the sound of a sedan.

Woojin got up and immediately looked down.

A man in a suit, who had gotten out of a black foreign car, was entering the Mirae Industry Office.

He appeared to be about 175 cm tall and was estimated to weigh around 70 kg.

Woojin immediately got up and went downstairs.

And without hesitation, he knocked on the door of Mirae Industry and went inside.

There were two people inside.

“What’s going on?”

The staff member who first spoke to Woojin was the one who had initially joined Mirae Industry.

And the thug sitting in front of the PC.

He had the same appearance that Park Jonghoon had described.

He had faint eyebrows and a hooked nose.

Choi Gibaek, in his forties.

He glanced at Woojin for a moment, then fixed his gaze back on the documents.

Woojin replied to the person who appeared to be a subordinate.

“Could I have a cup of coffee?”

The subordinate’s brows furrowed.

“There’s some out there for the construction workers, isn’t there?”

“I didn’t know that at first. Since I’m here, could I have a cup? How much does each packet of instant coffee cost?”

As the subordinate made an incredulous expression, Choi Gibaek waved his hand.

“Make it quickly and send him out.”

The subordinate started making coffee, and Woojin briefly looked around.

The office was simple.

Only the large map posted behind Choi Gibaek stood out.

“Here, now leave.”

“Thank you for the drink.”

As Woojin received the coffee, Choi Gibaek, who had been focused on his documents, suddenly asked.

“You seem young. Is the work manageable?”

“Yes. The food is delicious.”

He offered a smile like someone from the neighborhood.

“It’s good, isn’t it? It’s my uncle’s restaurant; of course the food is delicious.”

Woojin nodded.

It seemed he had, in many ways, given him a ‘straw’ to drink from, as they say.

“Work hard. No slacking off.”

“Yes. But, Director Choi Gibaek, you seem to have a lot of unpaid wages. Will I be able to get paid for my day’s work today?”

Choi Gibaek, whose gaze had fallen on the documents, now pierced Woojin like an arrow.

He stared at Woojin with a hardened expression, then opened his mouth with a murderous smile, completely different from before.

“Ha… This bastard, you. You didn’t come here to drink coffee, did you?”