Free Web NovelAfter finishing the first round of dinner with Kim Woongrae at the restaurant, we moved on to a room salon in Gangnam run by the Geukseong Group for the second round, drinking and talking at length.
“Well then, Senior. I’ll see you again.”
“Of course, of course. Let’s meet again, Junior.”
Flushed from drink, Kim Woongrae laughed heartily.
Once the car carrying him drove off, I turned to Oh Hyunwoo beside me.
“Let’s walk a bit and talk, clear our heads.”
“Sure.”
We left the noisy nightlife district filled with drunkards’ shouting and stepped onto a quieter main road.
The cold winter wind brushed past my face, cooling the alcohol’s heat.
“Hyunwoo, keep a close eye on Director Kim. We can’t fully trust him.”
“Got it.”
He nodded without a word. His lack of questions made me more curious.
“You’re not going to ask?”
“Ask what? About Director Kim? No need. I’m sure you have your reasons.”
“You’ve heard the rumors too, haven’t you?”
“About you?”
When I nodded, Hyunwoo chuckled faintly.
“I’ve heard things here and there. But what does it matter? You’re still my friend. Maybe Myungsoo’s brainwashing worked on me.”
He spoke jokingly, but I knew he must have wrestled with it.
Coming from a family of jurists for three generations, he had tried to understand me—the man trying to move Korea from behind the curtain.
“I’ll promise you this much: I’ll never do anything that goes against the nation’s interest.”
“Suit yourself. I don’t care. I’m not interested in politics. I’ll bury my bones in the prosecution. Don’t tell me to get into politics. I’ll never do it.”
“What about Minkyung? Her thoughts might be different.”
In my past life, Han Minkyung had stepped into politics. But who knew what she thought now.
When I hinted at it, Hyunwoo shrugged.
“Maybe. Minkyung is Minkyung, I’m me. Even if we marry, we’ll still be different. But if she wants to do politics, I’ll support her. Me? No way. I really mean it. Don’t try to lure me.”
He spoke of politics with deep loathing. Seeing him tremble with distaste, I simply nodded.
“I won’t force you to do something you hate. But tell me, why do you despise politics that much?”
“I’ve seen too much political corruption in Central Investigation. And we can’t even investigate freely. Every time a case file gets shelved in a cabinet, the self-loathing... you can’t imagine. I ask myself, did I become a prosecutor for this? Lately I’ve been thinking a lot.”
The truth was, I hadn’t had many deep talks with Hyunwoo.
I knew he’d risen swiftly in the prosecution thanks to his grandfather’s halo, but beyond that, not much.
“I see. You’ve had it rough too, Hyunwoo.”
“It’s unavoidable. To rise, you have to be a political prosecutor. I know it, and I still close my eyes to it. Without my grandfather’s halo, could I have built my career in Central Investigation with this personality? No. I’d probably have been stuck at the outskirts until I resigned.”
His words carried a heavy sigh. I stopped walking.
“Want another drink, just the two of us?”
“I’m fine. I’m just venting to a friend while drunk. I don’t tell anyone else this. Not even family. Keep it secret.”
“That’s what drinking is for. Come to my place. I’ll host you.”
“Now that you mention it, I’ve never been to your house. Maybe I should.”
I nodded and raised my hand. Manager Ma, who had been following from afar, approached.
“Call the Madam and have her prepare drinks and food.”
“Yes, Boss.”
“And bring someone to drive his car home. Hyunwoo, give me your keys. We’ll ride together.”
Hyunwoo nodded, took out his keys, and handed them to me. I gave them to Manager Ma.
We rode together toward Pyeongchang-dong. As soon as we got in, he pulled out his phone.
“Let me call Minkyung.”
I nodded slightly. He gave an awkward smile and called.
“Hey, Minkyung. I’m having another drink at Muhyuk’s place. I’ll sleep there and go to work straight from there.”
I couldn’t hear her, but from his words, I guessed the gist of their conversation.
It made me smile—what a good sight.
“Yeah, yeah. Don’t worry. I’ll drink moderately. Have you ever seen me blackout drunk? Okay. See you tomorrow evening.”
He hung up, embarrassed.
“Ha... I’m already living under her thumb.”
“That’s how it is. But I never heard how you two started. When did it begin?”
“You don’t know?”
Then Hyunwoo, with a happy face, told me how he and Han Minkyung had begun dating.
He talked from the car ride until we arrived in Pyeongchang-dong.
I poked his side.
“We’re here. Enough. I’m jealous. Some of us can’t even date, and you’re bragging nonstop.”
“You asked first.”
“Not for this long.”
“I haven’t even told half.”
He kept bragging all the way into the house. I could only shake my head, smiling faintly.
“Welcome home, sir.”
“Sorry for being late.”
“It’s fine.”
“Go get some rest. We’ll eat quickly and turn in.”
Even as I told her it was fine, the Madam looked like she wanted to prepare more.
“Should I stay on standby, just in case?”
“It makes me uncomfortable. Go rest. Just prepare hangover soup for tomorrow morning.”
“Yes, sir. Call if you need anything.”
After she left, I turned to Manager Ma.
“Go rest too. I’ll call if I need you.”
“No, sir.”
“I want to drink comfortably with a friend.”
“...Understood. I’ll be on standby.”
Only then did he bow and go to his room.
“Doesn’t he seem too stiff? Like a bear. I’ve never seen him smile.”
“Stop talking nonsense and sit down.”
On the living room table, side dishes and liquor were set.
We sat facing each other. I opened a whiskey bottle and poured Hyunwoo a drink.
“Here.”
“Thanks.”
He lifted his glass of ice, and I filled it. Then I poured mine, raised my glass.
We clinked lightly and drank in one go.
“Oh, this is good.”
“Expensive stuff.”
“Really? It’s good.”
“I’ll give you one to take home.”
“No. Even between friends, gifts like that cause problems later. Just pour me another.”
Half-joking, half-serious. I nodded and poured again.
“Turns out Director Kim is just another political prosecutor. Tsk... I thought maybe ❖ Nоvеl𝚒ght ❖ (Exclusive on Nоvеl𝚒ght) not, since he’s investigating the president’s aides.”
“He had no choice. To become Head of Central Investigation, you need political sense. Without it, impossible.”
Hyunwoo swirled his glass, smiling bitterly.
“Will our prosecution ever shake off the label of being the regime’s dogs? Even during Governor Yoon’s time, from the outside it looked like he opposed the regime. But inside, it was all political maneuvering.”
I said nothing, just listened.
“Sometimes I think about quitting and opening a law office.”
“Then the Chief Justice would kill you.”
“Hah, true.”
“You chose this path. Endure. Change it when you become Prosecutor General.”
He looked at me instead of answering. I smiled gently.
“I know it’s funny for me to say, but you chose. You gave up the judge’s path for prosecution. And you’re walking an easier path thanks to your grandfather.” freёweɓnovel.com
“People always say it’s just because of him. I won’t deny it—he helped me. But hearing that every time... the self-loathing builds.”
I knew his hidden unease.
In my past life, I too had been nothing but my grandfather’s name. And it killed me.
“I’m the same. Without my grandfather’s shadow, would I be here?”
“Honestly, your ability outshines Chairman Cheon’s shadow. Who looks at you now and sees him?”
“But it’s still true I didn’t start from the same line. Without his money, it would’ve taken longer.”
“Sounds like you’d have made it anyway. I envy that confidence.”
He tried to make it sound like a joke, but there was bitterness. I swirled my drink, thinking.
‘Should I tell him my plan?’
Only Myungsoo and Hyunseong knew.
Maybe I was just using Hyunwoo and the others.
Perhaps sensing this, he spoke first.
“Funny, this is the first time we’re drinking just the two of us.”
“Yeah.”
“You know what? Unlike with Myungsoo and Hyunseong, you’re hard to get close to.”
“I know.”
“You were always hard to approach. Back in college, even now.”
I raised my glass to him. The clink echoed softly.
I watched him drink, while I only stared.
“I made you feel that way.”
“I get it. We met in college, unlike the others. Still, sometimes I feel left out. You created our group, but you rarely show up, and you’ve never really told us what you’re planning.”
“...”
“Forget it. I’m just drunk and rambling. Don’t take it to heart.”
A friend who kept his distance. Seeing him laugh awkwardly, I made up my mind.
I set my glass down.
“Hyunwoo.”
“Hm?”
He froze with his glass at his lips.
“From now on, listen carefully. If you hear this, you’re someone who has to go all the way with me. Can you promise that?”
He set down his glass, his expression turning serious. His eyes locked with mine.
“From the day we made that group, I thought we were going all the way. Wasn’t that the point?”
He was right. I had gathered people I needed, people who needed me.
I nodded.
“True. But this is different. If this gets out, Korea will flip upside down.”
“Hm...”
He groaned, thinking. I waited silently.
“Fine. I promise.”
I downed my drink to wet my lips.
Then I slowly told him the plan I had long prepared.
He asked questions here and there, and I explained fully, even about the future I envisioned.
“I’ll tell Minkyung and Jaeha myself. Until then, don’t tell anyone. Not even Minkyung.”
“Understood.”
“Go get some rest.”
I showed him to the room I had lived in as a child, then closed the door.
As I walked away, my thoughts deepened.
The next morning.
After breakfasting on hangover soup prepared by the Madam, Hyunwoo left Pyeongchang-dong early.
“Manager.”
“Yes, Boss.”
“Raise surveillance on Oh Hyunwoo to the highest level. Report daily.”
“Yes, sir.”
Through the study window, I watched his car drive off.
When it shrank to a dot and vanished, only then did I turn away.
