The blood-soaked students were rushed to the hospital. The flustered vice principal seemed to be calling someone.
“Yes, Prosecutor. Yes, yes. I will do as you say.”
The other students and Hong Jin-pyo were hospitalized, but as soon as I received basic treatment, I was dragged to the police station.
And then…
I was locked in a holding cell. Hyeon-seong’s father visited the holding cell.
“Mu-hyeok, this is not a case I can cover up for you this time. I’m sorry.”
“It’s all right, Father.”
“The other party is bad news. It seems like they’re trying to send you away by digging up old incidents. It looks like they’re already digging into it on the police chief’s orders.”
“What about my grandmother?”
Hyeon-seong’s father, Detective Park, looked at me with pity.
“Myeong-soo and Hyeon-seong are with your grandma. Don’t worry about her… worry about yourself. This is really serious.”
“Father, could I possibly make one phone call?”
“Huh?”
“Please let me use the phone just once.”
At my sudden words, Hyeon-seong’s father thought for a moment, then opened the cell door and led me to a phone.
“I can’t give you much time. Be quick.”
“Yes.”
I took the phone and called Manager Ha. After a few rings, a click was heard, followed by Manager Ha’s voice.
“Yes, Pyeongchang District.”
“Manager Ha, it’s Mu-hyeok.”
“The Chairman is meeting with someone right now. If it’s not urgent, could you tell me?”
“Um… A problem has come up.”
“A problem?”
“Well…”
Given the circumstances, I explained it briefly, but Manager Ha didn't even ask why things had turned out this way.
“Where are you right now?”
“Jung-gu Police Station in Busan.”
“Understood. I will report to the Chairman and head down immediately.”
“Yes, please.”
I hung up the phone.
“Who was that?”
“Someone who works with my maternal grandfather. He said he’s coming down. I’ll have to wait.”
“I hear… Hong Jin-pyo’s father is on his way here. Hah… of all people, why did you have to mess with a Chief Prosecutor’s son?”
“It’s fine. I’ll handle it myself. Don't get yourself in trouble by worrying about me, just pretend you don't know anything. All right?”
“...I’m sorry.”
“I know you’ve always cleaned up our messes. I’m grateful for everything you’ve done for us until now.”
Leaving Hyeon-seong’s father with a dark expression, I went back into the holding cell. The musty smell of the blanket and the stench of urine rising from the small toilet attached to the wall made it hard to breathe. I don’t know how much time had passed.
As I was gathering my thoughts in the windowless cell, the door opened and people flooded in.
“Salute!”
“Which bastard is it?”
“Over there…”
The conscript guarding the cell pointed his finger in my direction. The man whose gaze followed the finger stalked toward me, breathing heavily. He seemed to be Hong Jin-pyo’s father.
“Open the door.”
“But…”
“Hey! Open it. Do you not know who I am?”
The police chief acted as if he were serving a king. In the end, the conscript opened the cell door. As he stepped into the cell, he immediately covered his nose.
“Ah, fuck. What’s this smell?”
“Holding cells are normally like this.”
“Drag this bastard out.”
“Yes.”
Hong Jin-pyo’s father couldn't last even ten seconds and went back outside. Led by the hands of the police, I was dragged out of the cell and brought before him.
“You’re the one? The one who crippled my son’s arm?”
“His arm is crippled? It happened while we were fighting. I was alone, and Jin-pyo’s side had over ten people. Why was I the only one brought in?”
“What?”
“Isn’t that right? Anyone can see I was the one being ganged up on, so why am I the only one who was arrested? And who are you to come into a holding cell as you please?”
At that, Hong Jin-pyo’s father let out a scoff as if he were dumbfounded.
“Hah, this bastard is interesting. Let’s see how long you can keep speaking so clearly. Chief Kim, drag this punk to the interrogation room.”
“What? He’s still a minor.”
“If I say take him, you take him! I’ll handle it. Making a bastard like this quiet down is nothing. Send him to the interrogation room.”
“...Understood.”
“Hey, you. Let’s go have a slow chat about who I am. Hm?”
The police chief, following him, gestured to a few detectives nearby.
“Hah… Telling us to take this young kid to the interrogation room. Fuck, this sucks. Sorry, kid.”
But they had no choice but to follow orders and took me to the interrogation room in the farthest corner of the station. Only Jin-pyo’s father and I were left in the interrogation room.
“Name.”
“Kim Mu-hyeok.”
After some simple questions, he got straight to the point.
“Why did you do it? I looked into you, and you’ve been famous for a while. Did you really have to put those kids in the hospital?”
He was a former Public Prosecutor’s Office investigator, so I expected him to shout, but he didn't. Of course, it was still too early to let my guard down.
“I was only defending myself.”
“Hahaha, funny. You don’t know where you are, do you? This is a place where even perfectly fine people leave crawling on all fours. Let’s see how long you can keep talking so logically. I’ll ask you one more time. Why did you do it?”
“My friend was dragged away, so I went to save him, and Jin-pyo and his guys suddenly started beating me with baseball bats. So I had no choice but to fight back. Was I wrong?”
“...Time for a beating.”
Jin-pyo’s father took off his watch, stood up, and shouted outside.
“Hey! Get in here.”
Two sturdy men came in.
“Hold him.”
Detectives grabbed both of my arms. While I was held fast, Jin-pyo’s father slapped my cheeks repeatedly. The wounds that had stopped bleeding after some simple treatment burst open again, and the taste of blood filled my mouth.
“Say it again. Why did you do it?”
“It was self-defense.”
“Hahaha, this young punk has some poison in him. Hey! Soften him up a bit first. Let’s start after you’re done tenderizing him.”
At his words, the two detectives pushed me into a corner of the interrogation room and began to stomp on me indiscriminately. The assault continued for several minutes. I held back my screams and curled up my body as much as possible.
“Still don’t feel like talking?”
Jin-pyo’s father laughed while smoking a cigarette.
“Beat him until he begs for his life. And don’t knock him out like amateurs.”
“Yes!”
Several more minutes passed. Only when my body started to lose strength did the kicking stop.
“That’s enough. Sit him up.”
I was forcibly dragged back onto the chair. My face was already a mess of blood. Seeing this, Jin-pyo’s father frowned and threw a pack of tissues at me.
“Wipe it. It’s pathetic.”
I tore off a tissue and wiped the blood from my face. But once, twice, three times… no matter how many times I wiped, the blood flowing from my head and inside my mouth wouldn't stop.
“Speak. Why did you do it?”
“It… was… self… de… fense.”
The wounds in my mouth made it hard to even speak properly.
“Hah… this is driving me crazy. Resisting will only hurt you more. You get it? I’ll ask one last time. You unilaterally attacked the kids with a weapon. Yes, or no?”
“I… have told you the truth.”
At that, Jin-pyo’s father let out a smirk.
“Fuck, this brings back old memories. Hey, tie him to the chair. I need to do this properly.”
“What? You really want us to tie him up?”
“Don’t make me say it twice. Are you guys ignoring me too? Do I look like a pushover just because I came down to Busan?”
“N-no, sir. Understood.”
The detectives tied me to the chair with a rope, then pulled my hands and placed them on the desk.
“From now on, whatever you imagine, it will be worse. Right, you said your name was Kim Mu-hyeok? You brought this on yourself. Don’t resent me.”
He took a needle handed to him by a detective and approached me. Two detectives grabbed my wrists and applied pressure.
“Ddoo ddoo! Ddoo ddoo! Dda ra dda ra dda!”
Humming to himself, Jin-pyo’s father brought the needle toward my left middle finger.
“Here it goes! Bite down hard. You’ll bite your tongue.”
Just as the needle was about to enter, The interrogation room door burst open, and the police chief ran in, breathing heavily.
“Stop! Stop!”
“What? Why are you in here?”
“Sir. It’s just…”
A man entered behind the police chief.
“...Senior?”
Jin-pyo’s father tilted his head in confusion. The man who entered the interrogation room saw my condition and walked up to Jin-pyo’s father.
“What brings you all the way here, Senior?”
Slap!
The man slapped Jin-pyo’s father without warning.
“You crazy bastard! Do you think this is the Fifth Republic? And to do this to a minor?”
“Wait, Senior. Don’t just slap me, tell me what’s going on.”
“You’re finished now. I’m Kim Mu-hyeok’s lawyer. Understand? That means you’re fucked!”
“What?”
The man, his face red with rage, was losing his mind.
“Don’t act like you know me. I don’t want to be finished along with you. Do you know whose grandson you messed with? No, if you knew, you wouldn’t have done this to him.”
Just then, another person entered the interrogation room. It was the king of Busan’s prosecution, Chief Prosecutor Yoon Chang-ho. He too sighed upon seeing me.
“...Deputy Hong.”
Was it only then that he realized something had gone terribly wrong? The voice of Jin-pyo’s father trembled as he answered.
“Ch-Chief Prosecutor. Why is Chief Prosecutor Yoon here as well…?”
“Do you have a problem with me? If you want to die, die alone. Why did you have to come to Busan to do this? Don’t you know I have to go to Seoul soon?”
“No…”
In the meantime, the man who had identified himself as a lawyer untied the ropes around my body.
“Hello, I am Lawyer Moon Su-ho, Mr. Mu-hyeok’s legal counsel. I was sent from Pyeongchang District.”
“Ah… Thank you.”
Lawyer Moon took out a handkerchief and handed it to me, waiting silently by my side until I had wiped away all the blood. Meanwhile, Chief Prosecutor Yoon was tearing into Jin-pyo’s father.
“Hey, there’s a limit to fabricating things! How were you planning to handle a case where, by any common sense, eleven people with weapons attacked one person? And on top of that, you dragged the victim into the interrogation room! The former ace of the Public Prosecutor’s Office moved for a mere student fight?”
“My son’s arm was crippled, Chief Prosecutor.”
Jin-pyo’s father said with a sense of injustice, but it only served to fuel Chief Prosecutor Yoon’s anger.
“I knew you’d cause a huge incident one day. Isn't this because you spoiled Jin-pyo rotten! The problem isn’t Jin-pyo’s arm, it’s that you’re about to be crippled too!”
“No, who the hell is this brat that everyone is making such a fuss? Senior Moon, Chief Prosecutor Yoon…”
“You did it without knowing? Then again, would someone who knew have done it? He’s the grandson of the Chairman from Pyeongchang District. Chairman Cheon’s grandson!”
“What?”
Jin-pyo’s father’s face was a mask of disbelief.
“That can’t be… when I looked into him, there was no mention of that.”
“So you think I came all this way just to mess with you? And Senior Moon too? How in the world are you going to take responsibility for this!”
Jin-pyo’s father finally began to grasp the situation, his eyes filled with anxiety as he looked at me. Even with my busted face, I gave him a bright smile.
‘You’re finished now, you bastard.’
I didn’t say the words out loud, but his face turned deathly pale. A short while later, less than seven hours after my call, Manager Ha arrived. His expression turned grim when he saw my face.
“Young Master, are you all right?”
Manager Ha, who had always called me ‘Mu-hyeok-gun’ and never once ‘Young Master,’ had called me Young Master. Manager Ha was Chairman Cheon’s right-hand man. His words were the Chairman’s words.
“Chief Prosecutor, and you, Police Chief. We will never forget this incident. Our Chairman will be sure to repay you soon.”
At Manager Ha’s words, the faces of the police chief and Chief Prosecutor Yoon, who had been standing there not knowing what to do, also turned pale.
“Lawyer Moon, may I escort him to the hospital?”
“Yes, I will handle the rest.”
“Thank you. Young Master, let’s go to the hospital first. Your wounds are severe.”
I grabbed Manager Ha’s arm as he tried to support me.
“Just a moment. Could you ask everyone to step outside? Just for one minute. I have one last thing to say to Jin-pyo’s father.”
“...Yes.”
When Manager Ha looked at Lawyer Moon, Lawyer Moon led the others out. Now, only Manager Ha, myself, and Jin-pyo’s father remained in the interrogation room.
“Mister.”
“...”
“When you trample on people with your pathetic power, don’t forget that there’s always a higher power. Well, not that you’ll have that pathetic power anymore. Thanks to you, I’ve learned a valuable lesson, so I’ll repay you for the teaching. Look forward to it.”
I took in the sight of my throbbing wounds, the needle rolling on the desk, and the look of utter devastation on Jin-pyo's father's face. It was unfair, painful, and disgusting. In my past life, Myeong-soo must have felt like this.
I decided to remember this scene for a very long time.