The Lucky Swindler

I already knew who I had to catch, and I had written down all the keywords to find their locations in my notebook.

As long as I didn't get lazy, catching twenty people in thirty days would be easier than taking candy from a baby.

Or so I believed, before I actually got started.

"A thirty-kilometer radius. This is a bit..."

Only after I officially began the job did I realize it was no walk in the park.

Being at Level 1, my achievement rate was still low.

Consequently, the range of information provided to me was narrow.

Seoul is roughly thirty-six kilometers from east to west, and thirty kilometers from north to south. Seongam-si was about half that size.

The problem was that the people I was looking for were wanted fugitives who had ignored court summonses, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠scattered across the country, and were living as quietly as mice.

"At least the search radius expands every time I catch one of them. Thank goodness for that."

After arresting the first wanted fugitive, the search radius expanded ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠to thirty-five kilometers.

The second time it changed to forty, and the next to forty-five.

It increased by five kilometers each time.

It felt bleak at first, but I was gradually gaining confidence.

It was like playing Minesweeper.

Once you find one, the rest becomes easier.

"As long as I stay diligent, this mission is entirely doable."

The rewards were massive.

If things went well, I could even hope for a special promotion.

Was there any reason not to give it my all?

"Who's next?"

I opened my densely packed ledger and began entering the resident registration numbers of the remaining fugitives into the keyword search one by one.

Then, the navigation system locked onto one of their locations.

"Resident registration number, born April 12, 1987..."

His current location was Paju.

Time to head to Paju to catch my eighth wanted fugitive!

Growl.

"Ah, I haven't eaten yet."

"Sir, over here!"

As soon as he entered the cafe, a young man in a suit stood up and waved.

Ban Gyucheol, who had retired from teaching this year, instinctively knew that this was the man who had called to set up the meeting.

"Are you the one who called me this morning...?"

"Yes, that's me. Allow me to formally introduce myself. I am James Yang, the CEO of the incorporated association, One Pick Edu."

"I'm Ban Gyucheol."

No matter how one looked at him, he was a native Korean, yet he introduced himself as James.

Had it not been for the mention of a referral from the Gyeonggi Province Superintendent of Education, Ban Gyucheol would never have accepted an invitation from a stranger.

He decided to ask his most pressing question first.

"What is your relationship with the Superintendent?"

"He was my elementary school mentor."

"Ah."

"When I asked him to recommend someone with an unwavering educational philosophy and rich leadership experience, he highly recommended you, Mr. Ban."

"The Superintendent recommended me?"

"Yes. He said you were someone more than qualified to serve as a vice principal or principal, but because you lacked personal greed, you chose to retire as a regular teacher. Would you like to speak with the Superintendent on the phone right now?"

Yang Chimok pulled out his phone and pretended to look up the number.

Ban Gyucheol had nothing to say to the Superintendent.

He only knew the man by name; they had never actually met.

"No need for a call. What business do you have with me?"

"First, let me explain what kind of company One Pick Edu is."

The red-haired woman sitting beside Yang Chimok like a folding screen pulled a pamphlet out of her bag.

"This is Amy. She used to work at Mera in the United States."

"Hi, I'm Amy. Glad to meet you."

Amy introduced herself in English that even an elementary schooler would know, extending her hand to Ban Gyucheol.

"Ah, yes. Nice to meet you."

Amy's hand was incredibly soft and moist.

Ban Gyucheol held her hand, unable to easily tear his eyes away.

With a smirk playing on his lips, Yang Chimok asked him,

"Sir, do you happen to know what kind of company Mera is?"

"Isn't it the IT company founded by Mike Judgerberg? I heard they've been making strides in AI recently."

Even as a history major, Ban Gyucheol knew the basic concept of AI, though his humanities background meant his knowledge was only skin-deep.

"Oh, you do! Amy was a lead developer at Mera, heading the LLM—that is, the Large Language Model—research team."

"Her brains are as impressive as her beauty."

This was exactly why a pretty woman was so useful when running a scam on a man.

"I had quite a hard time scouting her. She is currently the vice president of One Pick Edu."

"Ah! She looks like she's in her twenties at most, yet she's already a vice president. Amazing."

"Her twenties? Wow, that is a massive compliment."

Yang Chimok whispered something in Amy's ear, and only then did she smile with her eyes, understanding the cue.

"Thank you, sir."

A beautiful woman's smile had the power to instantly melt the heart of a man pushing sixty.

Once the mark's guard was down, Yang Chimok steered the conversation back to his pitch.

"As shown in the pamphlet, we are a startup developing AI digital textbooks."

"Didn't the government postpone the implementation of AI digital textbooks?"

"Strictly speaking, they delayed it because they lacked the competence to make a decision. We are living in an era where AI is no longer an option, but a necessity. Whether it's industry, culture, art, or education, anyone who fails to adopt AI will fall behind in the competition."

"...Yes."

Ban Gyucheol, who had only recently retired, had heard these arguments plenty of times during his active teaching days.

"We at One Pick Edu have developed a curriculum where animated characters conduct early childhood education."

"Animated characters?"

"Yes. In fact, they're already about to hit the market. Titles like 'Fun Multiplication Play with Hochuping' or 'Exciting English Adventure with the Popy Rescue Team.'"

"Ah."

"For middle school students, famous idols will appear as teachers to instruct them in math, English, national history, and so on."

"Idols teaching students?"

"Of course, real idols can't teach. But virtual avatars created with AI are not only cheaper, but they are also smarter than university professors and never make mistakes. They also have the advantage of maximizing student engagement."

"Ah, I see."

"We also have AI instructors that have fully analyzed and replicated the teaching methods of Daechi-dong's top star tutors. Those will be used for high school students."

"Wow! That is brilliant."

An exclamation of admiration escaped Ban Gyucheol's lips.

Now was the time to turn that admiration into greed.

"The government will seriously review the implementation of AI textbooks in the second half of this year. Honestly, even if they decide not to adopt them, it doesn't matter to us. The private education market is several times larger than public education anyway."

"True."

"One Pick Edu is fully prepared. The only thing we lack is an outstanding educator to serve as the face of our company. The education market is, ultimately, a battle of images."

"Indeed."

"We need the clean, upright image you've built over your thirty-five years of service. Please become a registered board member of One Pick Edu."

He was offering him an executive position.

Without a moment's hesitation, Mr. Ban corrected him.

"Thirty-seven years."

"Pardon?"

"The time I spent in the teaching profession."

"Ah, yes. Of course."

Mr. Ban's expression showed he had already made up his mind.

But Yang Chimok had no intention of signing the contract just yet.

"I've placed my business card inside the pamphlet. Take some time to think it over, and give me a call when you've made your decision. We can discuss the details then."

Yang Chimok picked up his bag and stood up.

But the real discussion is just starting?

Tilting his head in confusion, Mr. Ban asked,

"Why, are you leaving already?"

"Yes. I have quite a few people to meet today."

"...By any chance, are there other candidates besides me?"

"Ah, yes. I apologize, but it would be difficult for us if our marketing schedule got delayed. We plan to meet a few more people just in case."

"Ah, of course. I understand."

"As of right now, you are my number one choice, Mr. Ban. Please review it carefully and give me a call. Well then, I'll take my leave."

Yang Chimok walked out without looking back.

A short while later, at a restaurant on the outskirts of Paju.

Yang Chimok and Amy were sitting in a private room, ordering via the table tablet and waiting for their food.

"Oppa. Why did you let him go instead of making him sign right then and there? He looked completely hooked to me."

"This is why you're still an amateur. If we closed the deal today, we'd only get the money currently sitting in his bank account."

"...What's wrong with that?"

"If we give him a few days, he'll scrape together money from his wife, his kids, and even his relatives to beg us for more shares. Why rush and eat half-cooked rice?"

"Wow, you absolute bastard."

"What?"

Amy playfully tapped Yang Chimok's chest with her fist, her eyes curling into a smile.

"You're probably the sexiest bastard in the world, Oppa."

"Hmm. That's an oddly flattering insult."

"But when did you learn all that stuff, Oppa? LLM? AI? You're totally caught up on government policies too."

"Do you think it's easy to empty someone's pockets using nothing but your mouth? In our line of work, you have to study to the bone just to fool one out of ten people."

"From what I see, you could easily pull off eight out of ten, Oppa."

"Of course. Look at how many years I've dedicated to this."

"Do you think someone uneducated like me could do what you do?"

"Have some confidence. Scamming is all about effort and momentum. You're Amy, a hotshot from Silicon Valley, not Park Bongja. You know what I'm saying?"

"What the hell? Why bring up Bongja all of a sudden!"

"Hey! Don't just lose your temper, look at the context of the conversation. Bongja isn't the point; I'm telling you to immerse yourself in the character. Do you still not get it?"

"Why does it have to be so complicated?"

"If it's too hard, just shut up and do what you're told. I'll handle the rest."

"Fine, Oppa. I'll trust you. But isn't that Mr. Ban we met today too smart to be scammed?"

"Teachers and professors act all high and mighty in front of students, but once they step out into society, they're the perfect marks to strip clean."

"Civil servants too?"

"No different. The moment they leave the safety of their organizations, they're my prey. Civil servants, teachers, professors—these types are the easiest to fool. Okay?"

"Okay."

"One more thing. Soldiers are also very easy to trick, but they tend to chase you to the ends of the earth if you steal their money, so it's best to avoid them."

"Okay, skip the jarheads too."

"The type you have to be most careful of is..."

"Oppa, hold on. I need to write this down somewhere. I'll go to the counter and borrow a notepad."

"It's only a few words, just memorize it. Hurry back. The food is almost ready."

"Okay."

Park Bongja ran out, leaving behind a strong trail of perfume.

"If it weren't for her pretty face, I'd have absolutely no reason to keep her around..."

Yang Chimok drooled as he admired Park Bongja's figure from behind.

To him, the world was incredibly easy.

Even after defrauding retired civil servants in Busan of a whopping 4.4 billion won three years ago, no one had managed to find him.

The TV and media had made a huge fuss at first, but now, barely anyone remembered.

Thinking he was in the clear, he had simply changed his hairstyle slightly and was now working his magic in Paju.

He didn't even bother covering his face with a hat or a mask.

Experience had taught him that as long as you acted confident, no one would suspect a thing.

Lately, he had even gained a disciple in Bongja, doubling his fun.

"She's empty-headed, so she's easy to control. I'll play around with her for a bit, and once I get tired of her..."

"Oppa!"

"Huh? Yeah."

Bongja had returned sooner than expected, looking somewhat anxious.

She didn't hear me trash-talking her just now, did she?

"Why are you empty-handed? Where's the notepad?"

"That's not important right now. Oppa, you know my intuition is really sharp, right?"

"Yeah, I know."

"That guy we saw at the cafe earlier? He's here too."

"Which guy?"

"You know, that handsome guy. I mean, it's not like I stared at him just because he was handsome, but he stood out so much that I couldn't help but..."

As Bongja rambled, Yang Chimok replied dismissively, thinking it was nothing.

"Our paths probably just crossed by chance. Don't worry about it."

"But he was showing a notebook to the server and asking if they'd seen this person. Isn't that super suspicious? Or am I just being paranoid?"

"Is he still at the counter?"

"He just went up to the second floor."

"...Is he a cop?"

It wasn't just strange; it was almost a certainty.

In times like this, running away first was the best policy.

"Let's get out of ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠here!"

As Yang Chimok opened the door to leave, he ran straight into a server carrying their food.

"Sir, your food is ready."

"Move. We don't have time to eat that."

"Then, should I pack it to go...?"

"I said, get out of the way!"

Yang Chimok shoved the server blocking his path and walked briskly toward the entrance.

Just before he opened the exit door, he saw a man walking down the stairs from the second floor while looking at his phone.

That's him!

He could understand a little why Bongja had kept her eyes on him.

His face was far too pretty to belong to a detective.

But...

A solid, well-balanced physique.

Clearly defined forearms visible beneath rolled-up sleeves.

And heavily worn-out sneaker soles.

Yang Chimok was certain the man was a detective.

Keeping his head low, he slipped outside and started his car.

"Why is she taking so long?"

The slow-moving Bongja finally came out, four or five steps behind him.

"Get in, quick!"

"Uh, Oppa. I think we can take our time."

"Why?"

"That guy is eating the food we ordered."

"...What?"

"He asked the server if it was paid for, and then he just plopped down in the seat. He must have been starving. He was practically inhaling it."

"What a lunatic. Put your seatbelt on!"

Was it luck?

While the hungry ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠hunter filled his stomach, Yang Chimok was able to flee as far away as possible.