## Chapter 37 – 04. As Long as It’s Not Me
+++
“Koryo Entertainment isn’t much. It’s a new company, and the trainees they have were recruited recently. They can’t afford things like sexual favors.”
“Agreed.”
Prosecutor Lee Na-eun concluded her assessment of Koryo Entertainment, following Rainbow Miracle.
Both agencies were cleared of charges.
No evidence of sexual favors or similar criminal activities was found.
The other prosecutors agreed and began organizing the data.
‘I thought she was just rigid and inflexible… Turns out she’s not so bad.’
‘She’s not that weird, is she? A bit stubborn, but the atmosphere around her is unique and good.’
‘Pretty.’
The fifteen prosecutors working with Lee Na-eun had developed a sense of camaraderie with her over the past few days.
Some were corrupt, and others disliked Lee Na-eun for pretending to be clean, but they were eventually won over by her passion and character.
She was somewhat dull, unyielding, and fixated on justice, but her actions shone brightly because of it.
Even the corrupt prosecutors felt their hearts swell when they saw her radiant back.
‘Maybe… it’s okay to have one prosecutor like this…?’
She might be an obstacle to their future, but they couldn’t help but feel she was dazzlingly cool.
Yes.
This is what a prosecutor should be.
She was the very embodiment of the ‘prosecutor’ to whom society had entrusted its duties.
A textbook example of a model prosecutor.
They even felt a sense of pride in having worked with her, even for a short time.
This wasn’t limited to the prosecutors.
External personnel who had joined the special investigation team, such as journalists and technicians, were also impressed by her excellence.
During a short break, while everyone else left to catch up on sleep, Reporter Yoon Ha-young approached with a cup of coffee.
“…Prosecutor, you’re truly amazing.”
“…?”
Lee Na-eun tilted her head.
Yoon Ha-young smiled faintly at the gesture, sipping her iced Americano.
“Even after what happened, you’re still working so hard for justice.”
“Ah.”
Lee Na-eun glanced at her left arm, which was immobilized in a stiff cast.
She hadn’t actually been injured, but it would have been suspicious if she had emerged unscathed from a situation where four employees had died.
So, it was arranged that she had been shot in the left arm by Soo-ah, sustaining a minor injury.
‘It hurt terribly… But I felt… a little good.’
A faint smile appeared as she recalled the moment.
Yoon Ha-young saw it and thought, once again, that Lee Na-eun was truly remarkable.
“Honestly, I’m wavering. I keep wondering if I’m doing the right thing… if this is the right path for me.”
Surprisingly, she was hesitating.
The woman who had walked a straight path as an unwavering force for justice, despite her shortcomings, was showing a crack.
“It’s a little surprising to hear that from the most dedicated reporter on our team.”
“That’s why I’m working so hard. To forget. I don’t want to see myself wavering.”
“Why are you wavering?”
“Because of me… The team leader ended up like that because of me. And then, like a child, I turned away from him because I couldn’t face him.”
“I see.”
“But he forgave me. He called and asked why I wasn’t coming in. He asked if my dream was only that small. I was actually terrified when you offered me a spot on the special investigation team, Prosecutor.”
“But you joined anyway.”
“…Because I thought someone had to do it. And seeing you, Prosecutor, I felt that it was something I couldn’t concede to anyone else. I wanted to be by your side… to work with you.”
Lee Na-eun smiled faintly.
The anticipation and pleasure began to creep up as she thought about what this woman would experience in the future and the expression she would wear when she learned the truth.
Her lips tingled.
For the first time in her life, she wanted to grin from ear to ear.
But she restrained herself.
“It encourages me to hear you say that.”
“But it’s funny, isn’t it? I came in with such determination, and now I’m wavering…”
“It’s not funny at all. I’m the same way.”
“Huh? You, Prosecutor?”
Yoon Ha-young, who had been looking down self-deprecatingly, raised her head.
“Everyone hesitates. It’s frightening and daunting. But we believe that at the end of that path, there will be a just society.”
“Prosecutor…!”
“You’re looking for that man, aren’t you? The ‘Young Master’ in the video.”
“! Yes… I want to find him. I want to hold him accountable.”
“Let’s work together. I…”
Lee Na-eun stopped herself from laughing.
“I’ll make sure to bring you to him. To that man.”
“Yes!”
+++
A phone call came.
An unexpected name was displayed on the screen.
– Go Ha-yan.
Ko Mu-yeol’s cousin,
And one of the people he was least close to, was calling.
Had she changed her mind about having dinner together after rejecting his offer before?
‘No way.’
The reason she despised Ko Mu-yeol was simple.
They used to be quite close, and she was practically the only one who looked after Ko Mu-yeol, who was an orphan at the time. But when Ko Mu-yeol reached puberty, he developed lustful feelings for her and did something he shouldn’t have.
He ejaculated into the orange juice she was about to drink.
If he was going to do something like that, he should have at least avoided getting caught, but she caught him red-handed.
‘A hopeless moron. Good riddance.’
Naturally, they became completely estranged after that, and now she was one of the least amicable among his siblings.
“Yes, Noona.”
She didn’t engage in small talk.
She got straight to the point.
– Did you do this?
It was clear what she was referring to.
“…I’m sorry for causing you unintended harm. It wasn’t intentional.”
– You….
She was silent.
He hadn’t considered it, but she, a major player in the advertising industry, must have suffered tremendous losses because of this.
With all the celebrities she had hired being exposed, the damage must have been enormous. Of course, she could recover the losses since the fault lay with them, but it was still damage nonetheless.
‘Does this make me worse than Ko Mu-yeol, who ejaculated in her drink when he was a kid?’
The monetary value was probably incomparable, though.
– Don’t forget what I said before. Your ads are my priority.
“…Thank you.”
– And stop embarrassing our family. It’s shameful, so try not to crawl around so much.
“Pardon?”
– I can’t even hold my head up because of you.
Go Ha-yan hung up after saying that.
“…What was that? Telling me not to crawl around? Was she insulting me?”
The meaning of her words became clear in the evening.
He was hanging out with the trainees after practice when Soo-ah came to him and said,
“Master, there’s an AV in front of our building…”
“?”
He went downstairs with her.
In front of their office, on an eight-lane road, a large AV was parked, taking up two lanes.
A well-dressed man in a suit standing next to it bowed.
“We greet the Young Master.”
“What is this?”
“Miss Go Ha-yan sent it. From today, she wants you to ride around in an AV instead of a car.”
“…”
Ah…
So, telling him not to crawl around meant not to drive a car?
But there were plenty of family members who drove cars, so why bring up shame?
Was she just making up an excuse to give him a gift?
“…Is there anything else you need to tell me?”
“No, that’s all.”
“Okay. I’ll pass on your message to Noona.”
“Yes. Stay well. Then, I’ll be on my way.”
The man in the suit bowed deeply and walked away down the street.
He called Ha-yan Noona.
She didn’t answer.
– Don’t call. I’m busy.
A text message arrived immediately.
He sent a thank you, but she left him on read.
“Wow. An AV…! Giving an AV as a family gift when it’s not even his birthday. As expected of the wealthy…”
Soo-ah was more excited than he was, looking all over the AV.
He smacked her bouncing butt.
“Kyaa – !”
“Don’t jump around, it’s distracting.”
“Ugh… Aren’t you happy, M- I mean, President? You got a free AV!”
“I’m happy.”
“Wow… I can’t feel any emotion at all.”
“Quiet, park this on the roof.”
“Yessir~.”
He had chosen a building with a landing pad in preparation for buying an AV in the future, and he was glad he did.
Otherwise, they would have had to continue blocking two lanes of traffic.
He didn’t really care about causing inconvenience, but he didn’t want Koryo Entertainment to get criticized because of it.
Whoosh.
The AV’s door closed and it rose into the air.
The cars that had been avoiding the two blocked lanes finally began to pass in the correct lanes.
‘Now that I have an AV, I can travel a bit further.’
Driving was too time-consuming and tiring, so he had mostly stayed in the Incheon-Greater Seoul area, but now he could go a bit further.
Watching the AV rise higher, he called Hyun-joo.
– Yes, Master.
“Are you getting along well with Reporter Yoon Ha-young?”
– …Yes. She avoided me at first, but she’s okay now. She listens to me better than before.
“Coax her into subtly leaking the list of agencies that were cleared of charges.”
– …Do you think she’ll do it?
“Who made you my fucktoy?”
– ….
“Tell her to upload a post on some online community, pretending to be drunk and rambling about being part of the special investigation team. Then, the certification photo she uploads will subtly include the list of agencies that were cleared of charges. The key is to delete it within a few minutes of posting. That’ll make it seem real.”
