Chapter 107 – Result – Part 15

Chapter 107 – Result – Part 15

Kim Cheolung stroked his chin and quietly stared at Choi Gibaek, who was sitting in front of him.

“Assaulting a detective, wage arrears. Is that all?”

“Prosecutor, I really…”

Choi Gibaek raised his voice as if he was being unfairly accused. However, the fierce look he had when observing the workers at the site was gone, replaced by a timid expression.

“It wasn’t assault…”

Kim Cheolung opened his mouth, massaging Choi Gibaek’s shoulder with one hand.

“Mr. Choi Gibaek, I really dislike people who create work for me. Conversely, I like making people serve time proportionate to the work I put in.”

Kim Cheolung, who had been walking around him with his arms crossed, subtly smiled.

“Okay. It’s my treat! I’ll drop the detective assault charge. All the articles published under SH Construction’s name are being taken down. But now, articles about Mirae Industry, where you are the CEO, are popping up one after another. You know what this means, right?”

Choi Gibaek’s eyes trembled like aspen leaves.

“Statements about wage arrears, wrongful termination, and assaulting union members are also coming out. You know what this means, right?”

Choi Gibaek sighed deeply and closed his eyes.

It was true that he had invested SH Construction’s money in stocks, but not all of it.

The unfair dismissal of union members was entirely at the direction of the main contractor.

There were a few other things, but that wasn’t the important part.

Now, Lee Yohwan was trying to pin all the blame on him.

“Our Mr. Choi Gibaek has so many charges. Embezzlement, assault…”

Choi Gibaek’s gaze turned to the right.

Woojin was there, looking through the case records.

He’s a really strange guy.

Really…

He had the illusion that all of this was happening because of that guy.

“Prosecutor, am I the bait?”

Kim Cheolung shook his head.

“My man, you’re the tail. And you’re being cut off right now.”

“That bastard Lee Yohwan is a drug addict.”

“Are you sure?”

“Detective, you said you’d drop the assault charge…”

“This bastard… How did you know Lee Yohwan was doing drugs?”

“I went on an errand…”

To summarize his words simply, he said that Lee Yohwan used drugs at parties held regularly.

Kim Cheolung couldn’t even smile much due to the seriousness of the case, and Woojin nodded his head.

“Investigator, please order a GukbapIra for him too. Eat and organize your thoughts well. You could rot in prison until you’re 60.”

As the Investigator took Choi Gibaek out, Kim Cheolung gave a hollow smile.

He had pressured Choi Gibaek, but it felt like he was poking a hornet’s nest.

But it was something that had to be done.

If he only thought about his own comfort, he would never be able to move up.

“Prosecutor Kim, it’s just the beginning.”

Kim Cheolung scratched his cheek at Woojin’s sudden words.

“Wow… I’m really taking on a big shot.”

“The pressure will be intense.”

Kim Cheolung replied to Woojin as if making a promise.

“Still, I have to do it.”

“It might be difficult.”

“I was in the Marine Corps.”

“You might get frustrated.”

“I’ve already crossed the line. Once I cross the line, there’s no turning back.”

“I knew that, so I started first.”

Woojin handed the cellphone he was holding to Kim Cheolung.

Rather than articles about Mirae Industry, where Choi Gibaek was the CEO, articles were pouring out under the name of SH Construction.

Kim Cheolung blinked and said,

Isn’t he swaying public opinion?

And a student at that…

“Woojin, what do you usually do?”

“I live ordinarily.”

“Of course. Hahahaha!”

Kim Cheolung, who had been laughing loudly, hardened his gaze and continued,

“Let’s go all out.”

Just then, Kim Cheolung’s cellphone rang.

It was the Deputy Chief Prosecutor.

Kim Cheolung picked up his cellphone and said,

“See, I told you I already crossed the line!”

***

Woojin, who had exited the building, immediately boarded the bus.

As the person who had boarded the bus before him took the last empty seat, Woojin let out a disappointed remark.

“Too bad.”

While Kim Taehyun, Choi Gicheol, Lee Hyerim, and Kim Cheolung were extremely tense, Woojin’s mind was utterly calm.

This was because he didn’t think about worries at all.

Worry could be described as the anxiety that approaches in the future.

However, Woojin thought and acted in a way that prevented worries from arising, so that everything could go as he intended.

From the moment he left the Warehouse until now, Woojin had been learning about the world.

Although he still had many questions and many things he wanted to try, people living in this era shared a few clear commonalities.

One of them was that people wanted to predict the future.

They wanted to predict many things like stocks, promotions, and relationships, but most of them stopped at just thinking.

This was because the Limbic System, which whispered to them to be faithful only to instincts like comfort, ease, and immediate rewards, had tied a string to their shoulders.

They were no different from puppets of the Primitive Limbic System.

A brain that does nothing, enjoying imagining surprising things that will never happen.

In other words, if you cut that string, you can predict the future with a high probability. No, you can design the future.

If you consistently delve into and pursue what you want to achieve, you can predict the future.

You can’t help but move in that way.

Once a righteous path becomes predictable, the body moves on its own.

Just like how thinking about a very sour lemon makes your mouth water.

Furthermore, based on the reward system, one couldn’t help but put things into practice.

Conversely, perceiving worry as fear and anxiety was also a good method.

Since fear and anxiety are directly related to the Limbic System, they awaken a sleeping person.

There was a really big difference between recognizing the brain and not recognizing it.

The most important thing in the brain’s recognition process is.

It would be helpful to classify myself and my brain as separate entities.

Thus, Woojin always leaned towards choosing the former over the latter.

“Oh?”

At the woman’s slightly surprised voice, Woojin’s head turned to the side.

Woojin’s eyes quickly scanned her.

It was past evening now.

The woman’s hair was wavy, and her makeup, though light, showed signs of being touched up.

She had recently applied perfume, and the scent of shampoo lingered.

Judging by her skin and the Righteous Path of her wrinkles, she was in her mid-twenties, like a Candle.

Her black pupils were dilating as if absorbing light, as if to examine things more closely.

Her mouth slightly opened, and her body froze.

It was a look and a bodily reaction that showed she recognized him.

She soon brought a finger to her lips and spoke.

Considering the situation inside the bus, it was an unconscious sexual appeal.

“Aren’t you Actor Unknown?”

“I hear that a lot. So it’s a bit of an awkward situation.”

At Woojin’s unyielding words, she slightly bowed her head.

“I apologize.”

In fact, Woojin’s cellphone was also overflowing with messages.

They were messages from students in the same department.

-You’re really not him, are you? lol

-You really look like him!

-But we know Woojin’s voice lol

-Aren’t people going to stop you on the street and ask?

Woojin still felt the need to address it, so he immediately sent a message.

[Not me, really not me.]

Woojin put his cellphone back in his pocket and calmly looked at the scenery inside the bus.

Everyone’s eyes were fixed on their cellphones, unable to look away.

Some seemed to be glancing back and forth between their cellphones and him, but Woojin paid no mind to those gazes and looked at the passing scenery.

As December drew closer, people’s clothes were getting thicker.

Will it snow this Christmas?

The past, present, and the flow of climate began to stream through Woojin’s mind.

Woojin’s expression, feeling the warmth of people, was peaceful, and his gaze was directed at the world.

Woojin’s lips parted.

“One, Two
“

Hiss-

As the bus door opened, Woojin whispered again.

“Three.”

The woman who had spoken to Woojin got off at the Downtown bus stop.

* * *

Woojin got off the bus and found a snack bar not far from the bus stop.

“Woojin, it’s been a while, hasn’t it?”

“Yes. Hello. I’d like one serving of spicy rice cakes, four skewered rice cakes, two rolls of seaweed rice, two servings of fish cakes, and one serving of blood sausage, please.”

“You’re going to eat with your sibling, aren’t you? I hear your sibling is very good at studying? It’s the talk of the neighborhood.”

“Yes.”

“Just a moment, and I’ll pack it up for you quickly.”

“Thank you.”

Woojin, standing outside, scanned the inside of the snack bar.

Fewer and fewer customers were visible.

While others might simply think it was going out of business, Woojin thought differently.

The main age group using this snack bar was teenagers and people in their twenties.

As time passed, those who lived in the neighborhood spent less time at home.

Middle school students became high school students and moved schools, and some became university students and then office workers, so they spent more and more time outside than in the neighborhood.

They would eat all their meals outside.

Of course, there were still people who came to Ujeong Bunsik for snacks, but demand was steadily decreasing.

“I won’t be seeing student Woojin anymore, either.”

“Huh? Why not?”

The auntie smiled bitterly and said,

“I’m going to stop doing business in December. It’s too hard to even cover the rent now.”

Woojin’s eyes trembled slightly.

Ujeong Bunsik not only had good food, but it was also a place of memories for Woojin.

It was the first snack bar he encountered when he came out of the place he was confined in, and the taste was an indescribable righteous path.

To others, it might just be a snack bar they passed by, but to Woojin, it was special.

Very much so, in fact.

But now it’s disappearing.

Because of the rent.

The auntie playfully held out the packaged food.

“Here you go, your takeout is ready. I added extra as a service, so enjoy your meal.”

Woojin took the black plastic bag with the food without a word, paid, and then turned around.

And turned his body.

No, he turned his head back to look at the auntie.

Her rough hands, a tired expression, and worry that hadn’t been visible moments before.

Many things were complexly etched on the auntie’s face.

With the hands that raised two children alone, she patted her waist.

Woojin turned his body and opened his mouth.

“You have two sons, right? One is 15, the other is 17.”

“Huh? How did you know that?”

“I knew. Have a tough time.”

Woojin bowed and headed straight home.

“Brother, you’re home?”

Woojin held up the envelope to Bomi, who was smiling brightly.

“JMT Party.”

That night.

Woojin was making a phone call somewhere.

It was Park Inhyeok, the protagonist of Synesthete.

As he answered the phone cheerfully, Woojin spoke.

“Are you doing well with Observation?”

-It seems difficult. I understand it in my head, but it doesn’t seem easy. By the way, our movie is going to hit ten million viewers. Shouldn’t we watch it sometime?

“That’s why I called. Also, to tell you more about Observation.”

-Then I’m grateful.

Because the Observation Woojin was talking about was truly fascinating to Park Inhyeok.

“When are you free?”

-This week is fine. I think I’ll be busy with commercials starting next week. No, if Woojin sets the time, I’ll adjust to it.

“How about tomorrow?”

-Tomorrow? What time?

“Six o’clock sounds good.”

-Okay… Where should we meet?

“Snack Bar.”

-Huh?

“Snack Bar.”