By Zephyria 
Baepsae’s face darkened rapidly as he examined the safe.
“This won’t work. I can’t do it.”
“Why?”
“It’s set up to send an immediate notification to the owner the moment the safe is opened.”
Hee-shin smiled and gave Baepsae’s shoulder a firm pat.
“That’s why I brought you. Hurry up and crack it.”
“Thirty minutes isn’t nearly enough!”
“No, it is. You can do it.”
“If we’re unlucky, both the prosecutor and I are fucked!”
“You know what?”
“What?”
“We’re fucked even if you don’t open it. So open it, fast.”
Baepsae let out a sigh. Once this was over, he was seriously emigrating. He would move abroad and live happily where this man couldn’t find him. He pulled the equipment from his coat and connected it. As time passed, beads of sweat dripped from Baepsae’s forehead. In the meantime, Hee-shin looked around President Park’s office.
CCTV cameras were installed only on the opposite side of the hallway; there was nothing here. That in itself suggested there were plenty of dirty secrets to hide. Various items were displayed around the room, ranging from certificates of appointment to medals, suggesting he might have been an athlete in his youth. There were also several photos of him receiving appointment letters or joining various committees.
“This bastard sure lives a busy life.”
Then, he spotted a sculpture. He crossed his arms and stared at it silently. The sculpture, shaped like a long box, was completely inscrutable in its symbolism. The artist’s name and the title of the work were written beneath it.
As he stepped closer and lightly lifted the top, it separated more easily than expected. What is this? When he set the lid aside, he saw a pile of syringes inside.
Haha. Look at this guy. He was doing drugs right here.
Judging by the state of the syringes, they seemed to have been used recently. He had heard rumors that drugs were circulating here, but he never dreamed he would confirm it with his own eyes. However, even after taking evidentiary photos and searching the surrounding area further, he strangely couldn’t find any actual drugs.
After replacing the sculpture’s lid, he began rifling through the drawers. While he was filming and photographing everything that could serve as evidence, a beep sounded. He looked up to see Baepsae standing there, having successfully cracked the safe.
But something was off. Baepsae looked completely dazed.
Hee-shin strode toward the safe.
“As expected. I knew you’d succeed. You’re the best techni—”
Ah, he realized why the guy had lost his mind. Through the open door of the safe, gold bars and bundles of cash were packed tightly. Imagine it: cash and gold piled as high as a person. Instead of being swept away by the sight, Hee-shin flicked Baepsae’s forehead with a sharp snap. Ow! Coming back to his senses, Baepsae instinctively recoiled a step.
“H-how much is all this?”
“Who knows. Probably an astronomical amount.”
Hee-shin examined the contents one by one before crouching in front of the very last compartment. When he opened it, USB drives with tags appeared. The tags had names and dates on them, ranging from celebrities to politicians and figures in the business world.
He felt he now understood why President Park had managed to slip through the cracks of the law every time, despite being called a hotbed of illegality. Since there were many people he was already interested in, he wanted to take them all. But doing so would likely expose the theft. So, suppressing his greed, he took the one belonging to Im Gyeong, Chairman Shim of Guyoung Construction, and one other person he knew.
“Prosecutor, time’s up. We have to leave.”
Baepsae was already by the exit. As Hee-shin closed the safe, the locking mechanism clicked into place. The two managed to exit the building safely three minutes before the CCTV cameras were reactivated. Afterward, they crossed the street, chatting casually as if nothing had happened. The police nearby paid them no mind.
Once they reached the other side, they got into the car, and Hee-shin tossed aside the hat he had been using to cover his face. In the backseat, Kim Min-jeong was fast asleep, her hands still cuffed. Seeing this, Baepsae shook his head.
“She sure is carefree. I don’t know if she’s just young and immature or if she’s just brainless. How can she sleep in this situation?”
“Don’t you remember? You were just like that. I ordered you jajangmyeon, and after stuffing your face, you were nodding off in your chair.”
Baepsae quickly covered Kang Hee-shin’s mouth, asking why he was bringing up old stories. Then, just as he thought they were heading home, the car turned in a completely different direction. Baepsae, in the passenger seat, looked at him with an anxious gaze.
“Where are we going?”
“Get some sleep. I’ll wake you when we arrive.”
“Where are we going?”
“The airport.”
“…Why the airport?”
“Shh. Be quiet. You’ll wake the one in the back.”
Baepsae looked out the window with a bewildered expression. Since it was night, there weren’t many cars, and after crossing the Yeongjong Bridge, airplanes taking off into the sky were frequently spotted. As a sign for Incheon Airport came into view, the woman sleeping in the back finally woke up.
Waking up late, the woman asked where they were going. When he didn’t answer, she threw a fit, claiming this wasn’t what they agreed upon and demanding to be let out immediately. Since she was acting so hysterical, he had no choice but to pull the car over to the shoulder and turn on the hazard lights.
“Ms. Kim Min-jeong. Listen to me carefully. I’ll drop you off at the airport, so get on a plane immediately. Do you understand?”
The woman’s face twisted as if she had chewed on something bitter.
“Are you crazy? Ah, fuck, I knew this would happen! You act like you’re helping me, and now you suddenly tell me to go abroad! A plane isn’t a bus! Do you think I can just hop on one whenever I want?!”
Hee-shin handed her the passport and plane ticket he had prepared in advance.
“Go to Vietnam. You know Hanoi, right? I’ve made arrangements with an acquaintance there.”
Kim Min-jeong looked absolutely flabbergasted.
“Hah, where did you get my passport? I wondered why it wasn’t in my room! I thought someone stole it, but it was you!”
She began screaming at the top of her lungs, shouting that a prosecutor was nothing but a thief and that this was a crime. It felt like his eardrums were going to burst, but for now, getting her out—even if it meant coaxing her—was the priority.
“Let’s not call it a crime; let’s call it protection.”
“Shut up! You kept your promise, so let me out!”
The moment she tried to open the door, he engaged the child lock.
Kim Min-jeong glared at him fiercely, and the smile vanished from Hee-shin’s face.
“If President Park finds out things are missing from his safe, who do you think he’ll suspect first?”
Kim Min-jeong’s face turned pale.
“D-did you really steal them? You stole from there?”
“So do as I say. Don’t stay here and die a dog’s death for nothing.”
Even without President Park, there were many people who wanted Kim Min-jeong dead. First, Choi Yoon-oh. It might seem like he let her go quietly because Im Gyeong caught him, but he wasn’t that kind of man. Once things settled down, he would be the first to hunt down Kim Min-jeong and Kim Jin-seok to kill them. He was exactly that kind of person.
“Are you threatening me right now?”
“I’m telling you the facts. The choice is yours.”
“Haha. Fuck! The pot calling the kettle black!”
Not a pot, but a rat… He decided against correcting her and drove the car toward the airport. Kim Min-jeong, who had been throwing a tantrum, grew quiet, seemingly lost in thought. When they stopped in front of the airport, she remained stubbornly seated. Eventually, as if giving up, she unleashed a torrent of curses and grabbed her passport.
In the meantime, Hee-shin pulled a bundle of 50,000-won bills from his coat and handed them to the backseat.
“Take this. You’ll need it.”
Without asking any further questions, Kim Min-jeong glared at him, grabbed the money, and got out. After confirming that she had stomped off into the airport, he moved the car. In the distance, Kim Min-jeong’s figure appeared and disappeared repeatedly inside the terminal. Seeing this, Baepsae spoke up, sounding worried.
“Is it okay to just let her go? What if she bolts somewhere else?”
“She’s shrewd; she knows exactly what her situation is. Her flight is in three hours, so let’s wait nearby.”
“But where did you get the money? Do you have some left over from selling the watch?”
“…….”
Baepsae asked with a look of suspicion.
“…You didn’t steal it from there, did you?”
“…….”
Seeing that Kang Hee-shin didn’t deny it, Baepsae was speechless.
“Wow—is a prosecutor allowed to do that? Just taking other people’s money—”
Hee-shin pulled out another bundle and tossed it at Baepsae.
Catching the money reflexively, Baepsae started to say something but quickly shut his mouth.
“I mean, you didn’t have to give me some too…”
As he spoke, he subtly reached out and felt Hee-shin’s chest.
“You took more, didn’t you? Be honest.”
Wait, does the prosecutor work out? His chest is surprisingly firm. I thought he just sat around looking at documents.
Hee-shin frowned as the hand started drifting lower.
“Go any lower and you’re dead.”
Baepsae withdrew his hand and looked at the bundle of money with a conflicted expression.
“Still, I mean, what are we supposed to do if you just bring this stuff back?”
“You’re being confusing. Either like it or refuse it; just pick one.”
“I like it. I definitely like it. But still, why give some to that woman? You should’ve just given it to me. Honestly, I’m the one who suffered. And that woman even tried to seduce you; why take care of her? Are you a woman-obsessed freak? Is it because she’s pretty? Wake up. Your life almost went down the drain because of her.”
Hee-shin replied nonchalantly.
“What’s a woman-obsessed freak? A mother bird? Since I’m a man, wouldn’t I be a father bird?”
Baepsae shuddered in disgust.
“Holy shit, now I know why she was cursing you out earlier.”
“Baepsae.”
“What now?”
“Do you know why money is scary?”
“Why else? Because money is power.”
“Right. But if you don’t have it, life becomes incredibly hard and miserable. When you’re truly at the point of death, you start seeing people as money. That girl is twenty-three and has hundreds of millions in debt. Do you think she ever saw me as a human being?”
It was the same for the designated drivers. There was no one who wouldn’t be swayed by temptation in the face of mounting hospital bills. That didn’t mean they were innocent. They deserved punishment, but not right now. He had simply decided that Kim Min-jeong was worth smuggling out because of her value as a witness. He could call her back to stand in court whenever necessary.
Three hours later, after confirming that Kim Min-jeong had departed, Hee-shin drove back to Seoul. After dropping Baepsae off safely and returning the rental car, he went to the prosecutor’s office and tried to catch a few hours of sleep, but sleep didn’t come easily. He should have checked the USBs as soon as he arrived, but he couldn’t even bring himself to attempt it.