By Zephyria 
-Mr. Kim Jun-gu. Are you planning to take the fall all by yourself?
-…….
-Did your Hyung tell you not to worry? Do you think they’ll treat you like a hero if you take the hit alone?
-That’s not it….
-Then what is it?
-My wife is in the hospital. She was hit by a car while working because she’s pregnant…. If I go to prison, what happens to my wife?
-And you’re certain the organization will take care of her?
-…….
-Think carefully. If you go on like this, you’ll never see your wife’s face again until the day you die.
-…….
-I’ll help you. I’ll save your wife and reduce your sentence. How does that sound?
I’m pretty sure that’s how it went. He said he’d help. Did he keep that promise back then? No, more importantly, was it already time for this bastard to be released? How many years did the judge give him back then? Ah, fuck. I can’t remember.
“Fuck!! Die!! You son of a bitch!!”
While dodging the man lunging at him with a knife, Hee-shin’s foot slipped. The moment he fell flat on his back, the man climbed on top of him. Just before the tip of the knife touched his throat, Hee-shin grabbed the man’s arm to restrain him. The moment he saw the man’s spite-filled face, the memory returned.
The fact that the man’s wife had died in the hospital.
The doctor had said it couldn’t be helped, that the sepsis had worsened and it was a miracle she had held on as long as she did.
Of course, he had informed the man of that fact. And he thought it was over.
“You said you’d save her! You said you’d save her, you piece of shit! You said you’d save her!!”
The screaming man’s face looked like a demon. The tip of the knife pressed close against his chin, and the hand defending him trembled violently. The moment he turned his head to the side, a fist-sized stone caught his eye. Hee-shin reached out, grabbed the stone, and instantly slammed it into the side of the man’s head.
Ack! After pushing away the man who was reeling while clutching his head, Hee-shin kicked him.
He hurriedly fled down the stairs, but the man chased after him, blood streaming down his face.
“Stop right there! I told you to stop!”
Hee-shin took out his phone and dialed 112.
“Don’t come any closer! If you come near me, you’re fucking dead, seriously!”
“Bring my wife back! Bring Su-jeong back!! You son of a bitch!!”
Listening to this, Hee-shin’s temper flared to the point where he couldn’t stand it.
Instead of calling the police, Hee-shin stopped halfway down the stairs and whipped around.
“Hey, fuck! Get your facts straight, you bastard! Was that my fault? I tried to save her too! I even paid the hospital bills! I did everything I could! Am I a god? What the hell was I supposed to do when even the doctors couldn’t fix her! In the first place, fuck, if you had just lived your life properly, this wouldn’t have happened! Then your wife wouldn’t have been hit by a car while working!”
As he screamed, the man’s face distorted miserably. Wondering if he had another knife hidden somewhere, Hee-shin stepped back, but the man lunged straight down. He screamed that he would kill him! That he would kill him and go to heaven to meet his wife!
Crazy bastard. Neither you nor I are getting into heaven. Why can’t you realize that?
It seemed the man wanted to target an innocent prosecutor instead of the boss who had instigated the crime. With eyes flipped, the man charged like a bison and threw his body forward. Thanks to a quick dodge, Hee-shin avoided the collision, but he lost his balance and tilted to the side.
“Hey!”
He reached out to grab him, but he was a step too late. He could only watch as the large man tumbled down the stairs. Ah, that idiot! He ran down the stairs to check the man’s condition, and bright red blood began to flow from his head, staining the white snow.
Panicked by the severity of the condition, he shook the man’s body.
“Mr. Kim Jun-gu! Hey, Kim Jun-gu! Hey! Wake up, you bastard!”
The man didn’t move or even groan. Kang Hee-shin rubbed his face, which had become a mess because of the snow. He placed his trembling hand under the man’s nose, but he couldn’t feel any breath.
Fuck…. He hurriedly took out his phone and dialed 119. Just before pressing the call button, Hee-shin bit his lip hard. Countless thoughts raced through his mind. His boss’s words, telling him to behave since it was a critical period, flashed by.
Even if it was self-defense, would this be tolerated?
What about Yoon Se-na?
Wasn’t he already an unwelcome son-in-law in that house?
But if he left it like this?
Looking up and confirming there were no people or CCTV cameras around, Hee-shin picked up a fallen umbrella and began to back away. As he turned around, the snow began to pour down so heavily that he could no longer see ahead. His heart beat rapidly, and his breath grew shallow.
Let’s get out of here first. Let’s think after leaving.
As he walked down the alley toward his car, a message arrived.
-Oppa, what are you doing…?
His pace gradually slowed.
-Be careful not to catch a cold. I heard the flu is going around these days.
Hee-shin stopped halfway, unable to make it to the car.
The next message that arrived gripped his ankles.
-I want to grow up quickly and become an adult like you, Oppa.
Damn it….
He closed his eyes tight and couldn’t move an inch from that spot. A single text from his sister froze him as if he had been doused in ice water. Snow piled up over his head and the whole world turned white, but his heart reeked of rot, as if it had been covered in filth.
After a moment, he turned around and ran back the way he came, but the snowfall grew even heavier.
He took out his phone and called 119, the call he hadn’t been able to make earlier.
-Yes, this is the 119 emergency room.
“It’s a fall accident on some stairs. Please send one ambulance to this location. The address is,”
He stopped dead in his tracks just as he was about to give the address. Kim Jun-gu, who had been lying at the bottom of the stairs until a moment ago, had vanished without a trace. Had he been buried in the snow in that short time? He went closer to check, but he couldn’t find him anywhere. Looking around with a panicked face, he spotted footprints and ran toward them. Tire tracks were clearly imprinted leading down the hill.
“When on earth….”
There had definitely been no one there. Looking back, he realized too late that there was a blind spot inside the alley. Snow had only just begun to pile up where the vehicle had been parked.
How long had they been there? No, more importantly, who was it?
The first thing that came to mind was the organization the man belonged to.
But would they have a reason to follow him all the way here and wait until the man lost consciousness in an accident?
At the point leading to the main road, a security camera was watching this area.
Since he had an acquaintance in the control center’s situation room, couldn’t he find out right now? And then? While he struggled to organize the situation in his head, his phone vibrated. With a tense expression, he opened the message to find a photo attached from a restricted sender.
A photo of himself looking down at the fallen Kim Jun-gu.
His breath hitched. His devastated face after the accident was captured vividly. It would have been better if they had targeted Kim Jun-gu. It would have been better if they had just dragged him away and buried him.
But unfortunately, the prey was not Kim Jun-gu.
<The Apostle of Justice Fighting Against Evil>
He stood blankly, staring at the message. It was the title of an article about himself he had seen once. As if mocking that, another close-up of his face arrived. He shoved the phone into his coat pocket. Then, he looked up at the sky. The snow, which had been pouring down so heavily that he couldn’t see, was gradually subsiding.
As he took a deep breath, white steam scattered in the air. After repeating this several times, he walked back up the way he came. His steps were heavy, as if someone were clinging to his ankles, but that wasn’t an unfamiliar sensation.
Because it was something he had been accustomed to his whole life. Because he had lived his whole life feeling this wretched thing.
I’ve only just tried to escape, I can’t let it end like this….
In the end, he couldn’t make it to the car and slumped down in front of the stairs.
The hand pulling out a hidden cigarette trembled slightly. He couldn’t bring himself to light it, and the cigarette became crumpled. He sat there for a long time, burying his face between his legs powerlessly. Everything around him was deathly silent. Then, he lifted his head and stared straight ahead. His anxious gaze began to harden.
“Fuck…. So you want to play this game?”
Having made up his mind, he brushed himself off, stood up, and took out his phone as he walked back.
And this time, without hesitation, he dialed 112.
-There was an incident where a current prosecutor was attacked in the middle of the night. Reporter Kim Seon-young is at the scene. Shall we connect, Reporter Kim Seon-young?
-Two days ago, an incident occurred here where a current prosecutor, Mr. Kang, was attacked, shocking the citizens. It has been revealed that the suspect was the main culprit in a case Prosecutor Kang handled three years ago, and had been threatening Prosecutor Kang by continuously contacting him after his release.
-I heard the reason for the threats was the suspect’s deceased wife.
-Yes, that is correct. According to statements from acquaintances, suspect Mr. Kim harbored deep resentment regarding the death of his wife, who was battling an illness in the hospital at the time of his detention.
-So he believes he ended up in this situation because the prosecutor detained him?
-Yes, that’s correct. However, a fact we discovered during our reporting was different from this. It is that Prosecutor Kang took responsibility for a significant portion of the hospital bills for Mr. Kim’s wife.
-That is truly a shocking incident. A sincerely offered kindness returned as a blade of revenge? He took in a black-haired beast only for it to betray his grace. I hear the prosecution is also viewing this incident very seriously?
-Yes, Prosecutor General Jang In-cheol stated in a briefing this afternoon that any challenge to public authority will not be tolerated, and that they will do their best to arrest the fugitive Mr. Kim and punish him severely after his arrest.
“Young Master?”
While he was focusing on the news, someone called Im Gyeong.
In front of him stood a man in a neat suit holding a passport.
“It is boarding time.”
Im Gyeong shifted his gaze to his phone. Praises for the prosecutor were continuously uploaded in the real-time comments of the news. Ridiculously, photos of Kang Hee-shin were attached between the comments, and praises for his face followed. Watching silently, Im Gyeong reached out his hand toward the man.
After receiving the passport, he pulled out the issued plane ticket and handed it back to the man.
“Tell my mother. That I want to stay here longer.”
A look of embarrassment flashed across the man’s face.
Im Seong-hee, Im Gyeong’s mother, did not like her son staying in Korea for long.
“But, the Madam,”
“Tatsuki.”
Im Gyeong cut the man off.
Then, he put on sunglasses and smiled thinly.
“Please do not ruin my pleasure.”