After securing evidence through a search and seizure, the branch office prosecutors gathered to discuss which direction to take the case.
“If we slip up even a little, those bastards from the main office will come barging in, so keep your heads straight.”
The Branch Office Chief didn’t want to lose a major case to the higher office. Case-related discussions took place in a meeting room that only relevant people could enter, and phones had to be turned off during that time.
After finishing the meeting, Jaeha forgot he had turned off his cell phone and immersed himself in the case again in his office. After instructing his staff on documents to prepare and evidence to secure, he took out his cell phone to look at the evidence he had photographed beforehand.
“I had it turned off.”
When he belatedly turned on his cell phone, dozens of missed call lists poured out all at once. Some were from people related to the case, but most were from Jung Kyungwoo.
“Why is this bastard suddenly like this?”
He thought there must be some urgent matter. Since he couldn’t talk with Taeryoung’s Jung Kyungwoo where his staff were, Jaeha went to the vending machine.
“Prosecutor Seo, coffee?”
“No, I’ll have some later.”
Colleagues mobilized for overnight interrogation of witnesses crowded in front of the vending machine. The bathroom was the same. Jaeha had no choice but to leave the building and head to the parking lot. Because the parking lot suddenly became crowded due to the case, Jaeha had no choice but to park his car in an alley outside the branch office.
As soon as he found his car and sat in the driver’s seat, he made a call.
Ring ring ring.
The other party answered before the signal even rang properly.
—Seo Jaeha! What were you doing that you didn’t answer!
“I was in a meeting. What? I can’t divulge case-related information.”
—Where are you now?
“Where else, the office.”
—Inside the building?
“No, in a nearby alley.”
—Get into the building right now. Don’t leave your office.
“What are you suddenly talking about?”
That’s when it happened. Someone knocked on Jaeha’s car window. The person who appeared from the pitch-black darkness was none other than Dohyun.
“Ms. Choi Dohyun?”
Jaeha got out of the car. Dohyun spoke to Jaeha with an excessively serious attitude.
“Let’s get inside the building right now.”
“What are you suddenly saying?”
“That’s…”
At that moment, four men in black suits appeared from over there.
“Prosecutor Seo Jaeha?”
“But who are you people?”
“Prosecutor, don’t answer and quickly get inside the branch office.”
Choi Dohyun abruptly pushed Jaeha toward the building. A middle-aged man he’d never seen before stepped out from among the men.
“I came on the Chairman’s orders. Please spare us a moment of your time.”
“Which chairman are you talking about, doing this in the middle of the night?”
“You’ll know when you go.”
Unlike the polite words asking to spare a moment, the four of them rushed at once, pushed Dohyun aside, and tried to grab Jaeha.
“Ugh!”
Dohyun subdued one of the men. Having twisted the arm of the man now rolling on the ground behind his back, she shot a gas gun at another man.
“Ahhhhh!”
The man rolled around covering his face with both hands. The other two men covered Choi Dohyun from behind and subdued her.
“Choi Dohyun!”
“You’ll both get hurt. It’ll just be a moment. There’s no problem if Prosecutor Seo just comes along.”
“Don’t go, Prosecutor Seo.”
As she said that, men appeared swarming from somewhere again. There was no way to match them in numbers.
—Seo Jaeha! What’s going on! Seo Jaeha!
Kyungwoo shouted from the other end of the phone. Jaeha, holding the phone to his ear, stared at the middle-aged man who had been standing still, watching this way from earlier.
“It’s something I’d experience once someday. But I didn’t know it would be like this.”
—Don’t go. Hold out until I get there.
“No, it’s fine. I’ll handle my own business.”
Jaeha hung up the phone and spoke to the middle-aged man.
“Let Ms. Choi Dohyun go. Is this how you treat family?”
At those words, the two men subduing her let go.
“I was planning to meet the Chairman once someday. Well, let’s make it today. Let’s go.”
Jaeha headed toward the car the middle-aged man pointed to. He thought it would be an SUV like they were hauling cargo, but instead it was a luxury sedan.
Dohyun looked at Jaeha, who had gotten into the upper seat, with serious eyes. Jaeha rolled down the window and instructed her.
“Tell him to come up and see me. I think he’ll cause a scene if I call.”
“Ah, yes.”
Leaving her behind, the sedan departed. When the car sped up past a certain speed, the door auto-locked. Somehow it felt eerie.
The place they arrived at after driving for about two hours was on the outskirts of the metropolitan area where there were almost no lights nearby. Even though it was in the mountains, the road was so well-maintained that he wondered if, and sure enough it was.
On the front of the clubhouse, after elaborate rhetoric with all the adjectives that the privileged class would like—Special Premium Prestige Noblesse—it said Golf Club.
Although the lights were on in the building, the party that had semi-forcibly kidnapped Jaeha headed not to the building but to the field. Someone was holding the electric cart steering wheel, and in the back seat sat the middle-aged man in charge and Jaeha.
Large lights were turned on throughout for night rounds. Still, it wasn’t enough to cover the darkness of the surrounding foothills.
Not long after, they reached the starting point, the tee box. Black-suited guys were swarming there, and the only man wearing golf wear kept hitting tee shots alone.
Whoosh!
Thwack!
The fluorescent ball disappeared somewhere toward that distant green.
Clap clap clap.
The black suits around them applauded without saying a word. When the man holding the heavy wood driver took his setup stance, someone quickly placed a ball on the tee and stuck it in the ground.
Whoosh!
Thwack!
He could feel anger in the form of the man vigorously hitting tee shots alone without a round partner.
“Chairman, I’ve brought him.”
Whoosh! Thwack! Whoosh! Thwack!
Even after the person in charge reported, the Chairman’s tee shots filled with fury continued two or three more times. The balls disappearing somewhere into the night field where darkness and light mingled seemed like someone’s head.
“Mm. The balls are flying particularly straight today.”
Finally straightening his back, he turned around. A staff member approached to receive the golf club, but he refused. Still wearing his golf glove, he slowly approached this way using the long wood as a cane.
“I’m Jung Taeho.”
A hand wearing a white sheepskin glove was suddenly extended.
“I’m Seo Jaeha.”
When their hands met, he felt the weighty strength unique to a chaebol chairman who had gone through turbulent years. Though smaller in build than Jaeha, Taeho, whose torso was considerably thick, looked Jaeha up and down with sharp eyes. Jaeha took the gaze, like a giant sword, straight on.
Even while shaking hands, he didn’t budge his head even one millimeter. Because he was an opponent he had no reason to bow to.
“Your posture is upright. Much more manly than I thought. You’ve got guts.”
“Thank you.”
“You have guts, but you seem to still lack the sense to distinguish where to show guts and where not to.”
Still shaking hands, Taeho smirked. Jaeha did the same. It was that smile his parents had told him to consciously soften since childhood because when someone as big as him smiled like that, it looked particularly wicked and mean.
“Couldn’t you just teach me what I’m lacking?”
Taeho withdrew his smile and pulled his hand back. Then he looked at Jaeha intently.
“Teach? Ha. If I teach, are you confident you can follow along?”
“We won’t know until we try, will we?”
Then Taeho burst into hearty laughter.
“Was this your plan from the start, acting up? Did you need my attention?”
“That’s not it. But when I receive attention, I have to accept it.”
“I thought you were a pine caterpillar acting recklessly without considering consequences, but you’re a loach. But what to do?”
As he said that, Taeho took his setup stance again. A staff member quickly stuck a ball in the ground.
“I only accept imugi with the ability to ascend.”
Whoosh! Thwack!
“We don’t know yet whether I’m an imugi or not, do we?”
“Why wouldn’t I know? No matter how much a big one in a small pond imitates a dragon’s movements, it’s just an earthworm.”
Whoosh! Thwack!
When a staff member tried to stick in the tee again, Taeho gestured with his chin.
“Give it to that guy.”
Jaeha received the tee and ball extended before him.
“I don’t raise dragons, but I do raise a few loaches. How about it? How’s being a loach in a fishbowl? I’ll feed you and give you a big bowl. At a glance, some loaches even grow to half a meter.”
Jaeha headed before the grinning Taeho, went to the tee box, and stuck the tee and ball in place. Perhaps thinking it a sign of submission, Taeho tapped the shoulder of Jaeha, who was bent over sticking the tee in with the wood head.
“You’re not completely ignorant of your place.”
The end of the hard golf club hurt where it touched his shoulder bone. But more painful than that was his disrespected pride. Jaeha suddenly snatched the wood shaft hitting his shoulder. At the same time, he jumped up from his position.
“This bastard?”
Having had his golf club stolen, Taeho glared at Jaeha. Staff members approached as if they would rush at him any moment.
“Move aside.”
Having pushed Taeho away, Jaeha took his setup stance and swung with all his might, whether the nearby man created a safe distance or not.
Whooosh! Thwack!
The wood, receiving all the power from his tall frame and flexible waist, accurately lifted the ball’s center of gravity.
Whoosh.
The ball that disappeared cutting through the air landed on the 1st hole green with just the tee shot. Though they seemed to have deliberately made the hole intervals short to excite the higher-ups, it wasn’t an easy feat anyway.
“I’m not the type to be anyone’s ball boy.”
He extended the club toward Taeho, who had fallen awkwardly backward trying to hastily step back to avoid being hit by Jaeha’s swinging club.
“The club is short for my height, but it has a nice feel. As expected, expensive clubs seem to be good.”
“This… impudent!”
Having stood up with a staff member’s support, Taeho snatched the golf club from Jaeha’s hand.
“Next time, don’t summon people in the middle of the night without a gift. I came running thinking it would be good, but really. What a waste of time.”
“Your guts have jumped out of your belly!”
It was the moment Taeho was about to hold the golf club with both hands and swing it with all his might.
“Honey!”
A sharp cry flew from behind.
