Unable to hide his displeased expression, Oh Hyunwoo sat down in the seat Kim Cheolgeun had occupied earlier.

“Why are you so pissed off?”

“Because I’m disappointed in the Deputy Chief Prosecutor. Shouldn’t the first thing out of his mouth have been an apology? Instead he tried to settle it with money?”

Just looking at his face, I could tell he was full of dissatisfaction.

Looks like he was more disappointed than I expected.

I smiled and replied.

“Cool your head first and let’s eat.”

After calling over a server and ordering food, I asked:

“What’s Kim Cheolgeun’s reputation like inside the prosecution? I got the reports already, but I want to hear the judgment of someone actually inside.”

“Hm... I guess you could say he’s someone who never sticks out or causes friction anywhere. He’s not authoritarian, and he treats both juniors and seniors well. That’s why he’s considered the strongest candidate for the next Prosecutor General. He doesn’t really have enemies. Which is exactly why I’m even angrier. It means all of it was fake.”

“Well, everyone wears masks while living.”

At my words, Oh Hyunwoo frowned slightly and muttered quietly:

“Even so... that still isn’t right. Trying to solve everything with money isn’t the Deputy Chief Prosecutor I knew.”

While we talked, the ordered dishes were set on the table.

After the server left, I picked up my chopsticks first and grabbed some seasoned bean sprouts.

The perfectly balanced spicy-sour seasoning and the crisp snap of the bean sprouts spread pleasantly through my mouth.

“I really like the bean sprouts here.”

“What are you suddenly talking about?”

Oh Hyunwoo stared at me with an incredulous expression.

“I’m saying stop getting so worked up and eat first. You’ve gone hungry all day.”

At those words, Oh Hyunwoo quietly looked down at the table before picking up his spoon and chopsticks.

After finishing the meal while chatting, I sipped some cinnamon punch for dessert and asked:

“Feeling a little better now?”

Drinking his sweet rice punch, Oh Hyunwoo nodded with a noticeably calmer expression.

“The reason I’m leaving Kim Cheolgeun alone isn’t because I have some special attachment to him. It’s solely for Professor Kim’s reputation. That reputation helps with what Myungsoo is trying to do right now.”

“Still, I don’t want to see someone like that becoming Prosecutor General.”

“That won’t happen. Don’t worry about it.”

After meeting Kim Cheolgeun personally, I realized he wasn’t a card worth using.

I had no intention of letting someone like him become Prosecutor General.

“What are you planning to do?”

“Well... I’ll think of a method later. Satisfied now?”

“Yeah. That’s enough.”

Oh Hyunwoo nodded in satisfaction.

He knew it too.

Once I said something out loud, I always followed through.

Whether legally or illegally.

“Alright. Now talk.”

It was finally time to hear the real reason Oh Hyunwoo had been waiting in the room next door.

“This isn’t confirmed information yet, but apparently Hanminjok Daily is preparing a special investigative piece on you.”

“Hanminjok Daily?”

A special feature article?

The sudden statement made me narrow my eyes.

“Yeah. They’re even digging around through prosecution channels.”

I knew absolutely nothing about it.

If they were stirring things up inside the prosecution too, word should’ve reached my ears at least once.

“You’re sure they’re specifically targeting me?”

“That’s what I heard. Seems like they’re still moving quietly under the surface though...”

“Hm. What exactly are they thinking?”

“Muhyuk. You know they’re different from other newspapers, right? They don’t have an owner family.”

I nodded.

Hanminjok Daily, a progressive newspaper, had been founded by journalists who were fired under the military dictatorship.

Of course, they couldn’t launch the paper immediately.

The brutal dictatorship kept them under constant surveillance.

But after the June Democratic Uprising, the winds of democracy blew through the country, and those journalists were reinstated at their original media companies.

However, by then the media organizations had already become too entrenched in vested interests to cleanse themselves.

Journalists who couldn’t endure that reality gathered together and began raising funds to establish a new newspaper.

At the time, they raised the enormous sum of five billion won, and Hanminjok Daily was founded with that as its capital.

Hanminjok Daily didn’t want its editorial direction changing at the whim of a single individual.

So they strictly prohibited any person from owning more than one percent of the shares.

A newspaper free from power and capital.

That was the ideal Hanminjok Daily pursued at its founding.

“The newly appointed CEO personally gave the order.”

“The CEO... Bae Youngsik?”

“Yeah. Ever since taking office, he’s been ordering reporters to investigate you. Apparently all the mid-level managers opposed it.”

The moment I heard that, I immediately called for Manager Ma.

When he entered after opening the door, I asked:

“Manager Ma. I heard Hanminjok Daily has started investigating me. Have you heard anything?”

“No such information has been reported to me.”

“Really? Even you didn’t know. Hm... Tell the intelligence team to investigate. I want to know exactly how far their investigation has gone.”

“Yes. I’ll contact them immediately.”

After Manager Ma left the room, I turned back to Oh Hyunwoo. 𝗳𝚛𝚎𝚎𝘄𝕖𝕓𝕟𝕠𝚟𝚎𝕝.𝗰𝕠𝐦

“How did you hear about it?”

“I heard it from a junior prosecutor during drinks, so I looked into it separately. From what I know, they’re still investigating cautiously. And there are already quite a few sources media companies have gathered on you, right?”

I nodded.

It wasn’t like media companies had never investigated me before.

I had simply prevented the articles from being published.

Even if it was just the tip of the iceberg, once all those fragments were gathered together, the damage would obviously become considerable.

“Bae Youngsik can’t be acting alone. The opposition party must be involved too.”

“They’re probably preparing for next year’s presidential election.”

Hanminjok Daily had originally pursued journalism free from power and capital, but over time they too became part of the establishment.

If Koryeo Daily stood at the forefront of conservative media, then Hanminjok Daily stood at the head of progressive media.

“A presidential election, huh.”

“As long as the Centrist Party doesn’t split apart, everyone assumes the Centrist candidate will win the presidency. From the Progressive Party’s perspective, they’re in no position to care about methods anymore.”

The moment Yoon Changho became president, everything I knew lost meaning.

At this point, I didn’t even know who the Progressive Party’s presidential candidate would be next year.

And yet they were already preparing for the election.

“What should I do? Tell companies related to me to pull their advertisements?”

“Who knows. But if you want, we could launch a targeted prosecution investigation into Hanminjok Daily.”

“Let’s wait and watch for now.”

If there had been an owner family, I could’ve pressured or persuaded them into stopping the investigation.

But Hanminjok Daily wasn’t structured in a way that allowed that method.

“Still, thanks. I’ll look into this further myself first.”

If I hadn’t noticed it, that’d be one thing.

But now that I was aware of it, every single one of their movements would inevitably enter my eyes and ears.

Once I gathered enough information, a way to handle it would naturally present itself.

Oh Hyunwoo snorted softly and shrugged.

“No need to thank me.”

“Want a drink?”

“No. I should head home early today.”

“Alright then. Let’s go. Next time let’s gather everyone and have a drink together.”

We left the restaurant and parted ways.

Once I got into the car heading home, I gave instructions to Manager Ma.

“Manager Ma. Don’t just investigate Hanminjok Daily. Investigate the movements of all ten major daily newspapers.”

“Understood. I’ll look into all of them.”

The scenery outside the window sped by rapidly.

As Seoul’s night deepened, my thoughts deepened with it.

The next day.

I met Han Mugil again.

“Kim Junhyeok didn’t come to school today?”

“No. He didn’t.”

“I see. How’s your leg?”

Han Mugil let out a faint chuckle, stretched his leg out from under the chair, and shook it lightly.

“It’s just a slight sprain. I’ve had fractures before anyway.”

“I heard you fell down the stairs.”

“How did you know?”

“Because I met Kim Junhyeok yesterday.”

“Ah... did he skip school because he met you?”

“Who knows. But we did meet. I came today to tell you what we discussed.”

I briefly summarized my conversation with Kim Cheolgeun.

“He’s apologizing? Really?”

Han Mugil’s eyes widened as though he’d never expected anyone to actually listen to him.

“Yeah. He’ll apologize, and Kim Junhyeok won’t approach you again. If you want, we can even arrange a transfer. Either you transfer, or Kim Junhyeok does.”

“No. Then it’d feel like I’m the one running away. I’ll stay at the same school until the end. We can just pretend the other person doesn’t exist.”

“Alright. And you’ll probably receive compensation too.”

“I don’t need money. An apology is enough.”

Han Mugil firmly rejected the money.

I think I understood why he was acting like that.

I quietly called out to him.

“Mugil. Let me give you a piece of advice.”

“Yes.”

“If possible, accept the money. It’ll help you a lot. The compensation Kim Cheolgeun gives won’t be small.”

“But then it’ll feel like I forgave Kim Junhyeok because of money. Like having money means you’re allowed to do this kind of thing.”

Bold, but foolish.

He really was still a kid.

Pride doesn’t put food on the table.

He still wasn’t stained by reality yet.

“The Republic of Korea... no, the entire world runs on money. Money is class itself. You know that too, don’t you? Even inside Gyeonggi High School, people are divided into classes based on their parents’ abilities.”

Han Mugil quietly nodded.

“Who do you think sits at the very top of the hierarchy in your school? The ones even Kim Junhyeok can’t touch. The kids he has to watch carefully around. There are people like that, right?”

Apparently a few names immediately came to mind, because Han Mugil frowned.

“The ones you’re thinking of are probably correct. Right. Children of chaebol families. Kim Junhyeok’s father holds tremendous power. He can even investigate those chaebols. But he can’t do it easily. Know why?”

“That’s...”

“In the end, it all comes down to money. Power has an expiration date. Money doesn’t. That’s why even people with power can’t recklessly deal with people who have money. That’s the reality of Korea right now. So accept it. No matter how dirty the money may be.”

Han Mugil still hesitated, clearly unwilling.

But compared to before, his resistance had weakened considerably.

“That’s how this gets resolved cleanly. I already told you why I’m helping you, remember?”

“Yes.”

“Right. And for that reason too, you need to accept the compensation. And you need to promise that everything you suffered will go with you to the grave. The compensation is for that.”

After thinking for a moment, Han Mugil nodded.

“Good choice. Then shall we go receive the apology?”

“Today?”

“There’s a saying about striking while the iron’s hot. The meeting’s already arranged. Let’s go.”

I took Han Mugil to the Myeongdong office.

After getting out of the car, Han Mugil looked around and asked:

“Here?”

Instead of answering, I walked into the building.

A little while after entering my office, Kim Cheolgeun and Kim Junhyeok arrived.

The moment he entered my office, Kim Cheolgeun silently looked Han Mugil up and down.

His eyes were filled with clear displeasure.

Kim Junhyeok’s face beside him was horribly swollen.

Looks like he got beaten more after going home yesterday.

“So you’re Han Mugil?”

Han Mugil flinched at Kim Cheolgeun’s overbearing tone.

“Tsk.”

Seeing that, Kim Cheolgeun clicked his tongue.

“Please sit first, senior.”

At my gesture, Kim Cheolgeun sat opposite Han Mugil.

“What happened to Junhyeok’s face?”

“I disciplined him a little yesterday.”

“Hm...”

“I’ll handle my own son, so stay out of it.”

Well, raising a rotten brat was the parents’ responsibility after all.

I nodded and spoke.

“Then let’s settle this. Junhyeok, apologize first.”

Kim Junhyeok lowered his head and apologized.

Unlike yesterday, when he stubbornly protected his pride, the apology came out immediately.

“Mugil. I’m sorry. I won’t even act like I know you anymore. I’m sorry for everything until now.”

“......”

Han Mugil said nothing, only staring at the back of Kim Junhyeok’s head.

I could tell what he was thinking.

Was he really supposed to be satisfied with just this?

“Junhyeok?”

I had absolutely no intention of ending things at this level.

“Lift your head and kneel while apologizing. You said you were apologizing, didn’t you?”

“President Kim!”

The first person to react to my demand for kneeling was Kim Cheolgeun.

I looked straight at the shouting Kim Cheolgeun and slowly curled my lips upward.

“Senior. I clearly said a sincere apology.”

“......”

“If my words aren’t a joke to you, then apologize properly.”

Kim Cheolgeun glared at me with burning fury.

But I ignored him completely and casually jerked my chin.

“...Kneel.”

“D-Dad.”

“Kneel, you little bastard!”

At Kim Cheolgeun’s roar, Kim Junhyeok hurriedly moved aside and dropped to his knees.

“I’m sorry, Mugil. I won’t act like I know you ever again, and I’ll just—”

“That’s enough. This is enough. From now on, we’re strangers.”

Han Mugil cut him off.

Then, seemingly satisfied, he shut his mouth tightly.

Kim Cheolgeun’s eyebrow twitched at that.

Looks like even as a parent, he couldn’t tolerate seeing his son ignored.

I smiled inwardly and spoke.

“Then now it’s time for compensation.”

Clicking his tongue, Kim Cheolgeun pulled an envelope from his jacket.

“It’s ten million won. Take it.”

I raised an eyebrow while looking at the envelope he tossed onto the table.

“Senior. As far as I know, your financial situation isn’t exactly bad. What’s with this measly ten million won?”

“What?”

“How is that supposed to become compensation for keeping his mouth shut for life? Are you trying to swindle a kid who doesn’t understand the world?”

Kim Cheolgeun let out a hollow laugh, like he couldn’t believe what he was hearing.

Looks like he thought I was joking.

I stared at him coldly.

“It should be at least one hundred million won. Prepare one hundred million.”

“President Kim, that kind of money—”

“It’s cheap at that price. If this blows up later, even ten billion won won’t be enough to stop it.”