The next day, I went to Gyeonggi High School.

“The appointment with Deputy Chief Prosecutor Kim Cheolgeun is tonight, right?”

“Yes, Boss.”

I had never met Kim Cheolgeun before. So rather than contacting him directly out of nowhere, I decided to arrange the meeting through Oh Hyunwoo.

Maybe school had just ended, because students were starting to trickle out through the front gate one by one.

Maybe because so many wealthy kids attended the school, expensive cars lined the street outside the gates.

“That over there is Kim Junhyeok, right?”

I spotted Kim Junhyeok in the distance.

He was walking out of the school gates laughing together with his friends.

Han Mugil was among them too.

“Tsk.”

Han Mugil was limping slightly, like something was bothering him.

Looks like something happened again in just one day.

The people watching Kim Junhyeok’s group fell into two categories.

Those who didn’t care at all, and those who stole glances while carefully watching the mood around them.

The first group were probably from families either richer than his or on the same level.

The second group were the types afraid the bullying directed at Han Mugil might someday be turned on them instead.

Even inside this tiny school, social classes were divided according to parental power.

“Bring him.”

“Yes, Boss.”

Manager Ma got out of the car and moved together with the staff.

Manager Ma and the employees blocked Kim Junhyeok’s path.

I watched the whole thing from inside the car.

Junhyeok’s group seemed to be mouthing off at Manager Ma about something.

But before long, the staff restrained them, and Manager Ma resumed speaking with Kim Junhyeok.

A moment later, Manager Ma brought him over.

“You may get in.”

Wearing a deep scowl, Kim Junhyeok climbed into the seat beside me. The moment he got in, he sized me up from head to toe.

“You know my father?”

“Not personally. We just arranged to meet today. We’re also seniors and juniors from Korea National University.”

“Really? Then why did you want to see me?”

Just judging from the way he talked, I could already tell what kind of brat he was. His sharp, biting tone reeked of arrogance.

“You’ll find out soon enough. The reason I’m meeting the Deputy Chief Prosecutor today is because of you.”

“Huh?”

“Let’s get going first. Manager Ma, take us to the reservation.”

The car slowly started moving.

Kim Junhyeok sat there with his arms crossed and a sour look on his face.

“You seem curious why I came looking for you.”

“......”

“You know Professor Kim Hyeonsik is currently serving as the Centrist Party’s nomination committee chairman, right?”

“What does that have to do with me?”

“It has a lot to do with you. By the way, mind if I speak casually?”

“No!”

Kim Junhyeok snapped sharply and glared at me.

Completely different from Han Mugil’s reaction.

“Alright then. I’ll keep talking like this.”

Ignoring him entirely, I continued smiling as I spoke.

“Politics is a terrifying thing. Something that would normally pass without issue can end up getting stripped down to the underwear the moment it gets tangled up in politics. And it just so happens that a student is at the center of school bullying, which citizens hate more than anything.”

“What are you talking about?”

Kim Junhyeok spoke in a puzzled voice, acting like he had no idea what I meant.

He looked so shamelessly confident that if you didn’t know the circumstances, you might actually believe him.

“Who am I bullying? I could never do something like that.”

“Really? Then that’s good. So you’re saying you genuinely haven’t bullied anyone?”

“Right. I get along with everyone.”

“I see. Make sure you say the exact same thing in front of the Deputy Chief Prosecutor.”

There was no longer any need for me to continue talking with Kim Junhyeok.

But apparently he felt differently.

“Of course I can say the same thing in front of my father. But are you really going to be okay after treating me like this in front of him? Do you know how proud my father is of me?”

Looks like his father is his whole world.

“Yeah. I’m sure the Deputy Chief Prosecutor is going to scold me.”

“He definitely will. But I’ll try talking to him for you.”

Kids these days really are scary.

I stared at Kim Junhyeok for a moment before bursting into loud laughter.

“Hahaha, excellent, Junhyeok. Please do.”

By the time we finished talking, we had arrived at the restaurant.

I entered together with Kim Junhyeok.

After being guided by the manager, we went into the reserved private room.

Kim Cheolgeun hadn’t arrived yet.

A little later, the door opened.

Kim Cheolgeun, who had been about to walk inside, froze the moment he saw Kim Junhyeok sitting beside me.

“What the hell? Junhyeok, why are you here?”

“I don’t know. This mister brought me here.”

“What?”

Kim Cheolgeun narrowed his eyes and looked at me.

His gaze clearly demanded an explanation.

“For now, close the door and come in, senior.”

At my words, Kim Cheolgeun let out a low grunt, glanced around, then entered the room.

“This is our first time meeting face to face, isn’t it? I’m Kim Muhyuk.”

“I know who you are. But... why is my son here?”

“The reason we’re meeting today is because of your son. Please sit. Junhyeok, you too. Go sit beside your father.”

Kim Cheolgeun and Kim Junhyeok sat down side by side.

With them sitting together, the resemblance between the two was striking.

“I’ll skip the unnecessary parts and get straight to the point. Deputy Chief Prosecutor. You know Professor Kim Hyeonsik is serving as the nomination committee chairman, and you know he’s swinging his blade without sacred cows, correct?”

Instead of replying, Kim Cheolgeun nodded.

“The people getting cut down by that blade are looking for Professor Kim Hyeonsik’s weakness. And that weakness happens to be your son sitting beside you.”

Kim Cheolgeun whipped his head toward Kim Junhyeok.

His expression was savage enough to look like he might explode at any second.

“Dad. No. I don’t know anything.”

“Junhyeok, what the hell have you been doing?!”

“I told you, it’s not true!”

Things were escalating already, and I was still sitting here.

I interrupted the two of them.

“Please hear the rest first.”

I picked up the glass of water in front of me, took a sip, then continued.

“You know this too, senior. Politics is ruthless. Blowing things out of proportion is routine.”

No one understood better than Kim Cheolgeun that politics and the prosecution could never be separated.

Maybe he sensed that what I was about to say wasn’t trivial, because his expression gradually darkened.

“But this isn’t some minor issue. Your son has been leading a group in bullying another student. Do you know the reason? Because the boy’s grades were higher than his. Can you understand that? Probably not. I can’t understand it either, so do you think the public will?”

“What?”

The moment he heard the words group bullying, Kim Cheolgeun’s voice shot up.

Then he turned toward Kim Junhyeok with a murderous glare.

“It’s not true! Dad, I never did that!”

He had acted so confident earlier.

Watching Kim Junhyeok shrink back now, I let out a cold smile.

“Senior. I assume you know what kind of person I am. I don’t speak nonsense.”

“......”

“Everything I’ve said is true. And I came looking for you like this because I wanted to resolve the matter quietly.”

“What gives you the right—!”

Raising his voice, Kim Junhyeok started to lunge at me.

The one who grabbed him first was Kim Cheolgeun.

Smack!

Kim Cheolgeun stood up and slapped Kim Junhyeok across the face.

The sharp impact rang out, and Junhyeok tumbled from his chair onto the floor.

“D-Dad.”

Maybe because the shock was so great, Kim Junhyeok stared up at him while trembling violently.

Between the hands clutching his cheek, I could see the skin swelling bright red.

“Get up.”

“D-Dad. No. It really isn’t true.”

“I said get up.”

At Kim Cheolgeun’s icy voice, Kim Junhyeok shakily rose to his feet.

“What the hell have you been doing?! What? Bullying someone? Are you out of your mind? One careless move from you could block my entire future!”

“Dad! I said it’s not true!”

Kim Junhyeok sounded wronged and on the verge of tears, but Kim Cheolgeun ignored him and removed the watch from his wrist.

“I’ve never hit you even once before, have I? Do you know why? Because I trusted you. Because you never disappointed us. But now you stab me in the back like this?”

Kim Junhyeok kept insisting it wasn’t true, but Kim Cheolgeun didn’t listen to a single excuse.

After taking off his watch, he continuously slapped Kim Junhyeok across the face.

Unable to withstand the brutal beating, Kim Junhyeok eventually collapsed to the floor.

Every time he did, Kim Cheolgeun coldly repeated:

“Get up.”

Kim Junhyeok kept rising while trembling violently.

Both cheeks were swollen, tears streaming endlessly down his face.

Maybe it should have looked pitiful.

But perhaps because it felt like a rehearsed act between father and son, I felt absolutely nothing.

After watching the farce for quite a while, I finally called out to Kim Cheolgeun.

“Senior. That’s enough of the show. Or should I take him myself and turn him into a proper human being? That’s my specialty.”

Only then did Kim Cheolgeun stop and glare at me.

“Sit down. If beating Kim Junhyeok could solve this, I wouldn’t have come here in the first place.”

Kim Cheolgeun let out a deep sigh and sat back down.

“I don’t even want to look at you anymore, so go home and wait.”

As Kim Cheolgeun tried to send Kim Junhyeok away, I spoke up.

“The person involved needs to stay if this is going to be resolved.”

“I’ll handle it myself.”

“No. He needs to stay.”

“Do you know the kid who was bullied?”

“No. I only learned about him recently. We’ve never even met before this.”

Sounding irritated, Kim Cheolgeun asked sharply:

“Then can’t we just bury this quietly? Why make things complicated?”

“Because if you bury it, it’ll explode someday. Things like this should be cleaned up properly. That’s better for Professor Kim Hyeonsik and for you too.”

“......”

“I heard you have political ambitions as well, senior. Or am I wrong?”

Kim Cheolgeun couldn’t answer immediately.

How did Professor Kim end up producing bastards like this?

“Even if you have no interest in politics, if you want to become Prosecutor General someday, it’s best to clean this kind of thing up properly now. You’re not planning to kill the kid, are you? How long do you think you can keep his mouth shut? So let’s clean this up neatly and move on.”

Still unable to grasp my meaning, Kim Cheolgeun frowned and asked:

“What exactly are you suggesting?”

“Let’s keep it simple. Kim Junhyeok gives a sincere apology, provides material compensation, and promises never to get involved with the boy again.”

“What?”

“That’s ridiculous—”

Kim Cheolgeun and Kim Junhyeok spoke at the same time.

Ignoring their reactions, I continued.

“The victim’s name is Han Mugil. Both his parents are dead, and his grandmother is raising him while working at a restaurant.”

I explained Han Mugil’s situation in detail.

But even after hearing everything, Kim Cheolgeun still tried to solve things with money.

“Let’s just compensate him financially.”

“Dad. I really didn’t do anything.”

And Kim Junhyeok still hadn’t come to his senses.

I called for Manager Ma, who was waiting outside.

The door opened and Manager Ma entered.

“Manager Ma. Please hand that over to the Deputy Chief Prosecutor.”

Manager Ma handed the document envelope he was carrying to Kim Cheolgeun.

“Take a look through that first, then we’ll continue talking.”

Manager Ma left the room, and Kim Cheolgeun reluctantly opened the envelope.

Then he started reviewing the contents.

“I didn’t even investigate that deeply, yet this much already came out.”

As he read through the documents, Kim Cheolgeun’s expression changed by the second.

At one point, his cheeks were trembling from rage.

“Y-You... you little bastard!”

Realizing things were far more serious than expected, Kim Cheolgeun hurled the envelope straight at Kim Junhyeok’s face.

His eyes looked savage enough to kill someone.

Hearing something and seeing evidence with your own eyes were completely different matters.

“D-Dad.”

“What the hell have you been doing outside?! Are you even human?!”

Kim Cheolgeun raised his hand again.

“You can discipline your son later at home. For now, let’s discuss countermeasures.”

Kim Cheolgeun hesitated, then lowered his hand.

“...How many people know about this?”

“Probably most people at the school. And this is what came out from a rough investigation. If someone really dug into it, it’d probably be far worse. What are you going to do?”

“For now, I’ll meet with the boy.”

Still not getting it, huh?

If he handled it that way, it would just become another weakness later.

“No. I told you not to try suppressing this with power. I already met him and talked with him. He doesn’t want money. All he wants is an apology from your son and for them never to get involved again.”

“You mean transfer schools?”

“I mean exactly what I said. He says he needs nothing. They can simply act like the other person doesn’t exist. But I saw your son dragging Han Mugil around again today.”

I turned toward Kim Junhyeok.

“Junhyeok, did anything seem different about Han Mugil today?”

“......”

“Hm. Maybe I should go easy on you since you’re still a student. But I dislike people who don’t answer my questions.”

At my words, Kim Cheolgeun hurriedly cut in.

“Answer him.”

“...He was the same. Didn’t show anything.”

“When I saw him leaving school earlier, he was limping. Did you assault him again today?”

Apparently my continued formal speech was bothering Kim Cheolgeun, because he finally spoke up. 𝐟𝐫𝕖𝗲𝘄𝚎𝗯𝕟𝐨𝕧𝐞𝚕.𝕔𝕠𝐦

“Talk comfortably. Why are you using honorifics with a kid so much younger than you?”

“Your son insisted on it.”

“......That was my mistake.”

“Then I’ll speak casually.”

I turned back toward Kim Junhyeok.

“Junhyeok. Answer the question.”

“...He fell down the stairs by himself earlier.”

“Fell down the stairs by himself? Still lying to the end, huh. If I really put my mind to it, I could find out the truth in less than an hour. Is that really what you want?”

“...I told someone to push him.”

“Good. From now on, stop lying and speak honestly.”

Kim Junhyeok lowered his head deeply.

Looks like he still had some pride left.

I looked at Kim Cheolgeun and spoke.

“You see now? If this isn’t resolved properly, something even bigger could happen later. Make him apologize immediately and promise it’ll never happen again. They said they don’t need money, but giving compensation won’t hurt. Show sincerity.”

“I’ll do that.”

With a pleasant smile, I spoke gently.

“I’m sorry for troubling you over something like this, senior. I’ll treat you properly another time. I’m sure you have a lot to discuss with your son today.”

“Very well then. May I leave now?”

“Yes. I’ll arrange a separate meeting with the victim. Until then, don’t approach him on your own.”

Kim Cheolgeun flinched midway through standing up.

He definitely intended to go pressure the kid personally.

People like him all think the same way.

“This isn’t a request. It’s a warning. Why create more weaknesses for yourself? If anything like that happens, I’ll take it as you declaring war against me, senior.”

“......I promise.”

“Then take your son and leave.”

Kim Cheolgeun left together with Kim Junhyeok.

Unlike before, the atmosphere between the two was ice cold.

After they left, Manager Ma opened the door and entered.

“Shall I bring Prosecutor Oh Hyunwoo in, Boss?”

“Yes. Tell him he can come in now.”

Oh Hyunwoo had been waiting in the room next door.

A moment later, the door opened and he walked in.

His twisted expression made it obvious he was uncomfortable.

“You heard everything, right?”

“Hey, fuck. Is this seriously okay?”