As Long As It's Not Me
"Goryeo Entertainment doesn't have much going on. It's a new company to begin with, and even the trainees they have were only recently scouted. They don't have the luxury to run something like sex-for-favours schemes."
"I agree."
Prosecutor Inaeun wrapped up her assessment of Goryeo Entertainment, following her judgment on Rainbow Miracle. Both agencies were cleared. No traces of sex-for-favours or any similar criminal activity whatsoever.
The other prosecutors nodded in agreement as they packed away the files.
I thought she was just a rigid, by-the-book type... but she's not half bad.
She's not that weird, right? A bit stubborn, sure. But the vibe is unique... and kinda nice.
She's hot.
The fifteen prosecutors working alongside Inaeun had grown inwardly close to her over the past few days. Some were corrupt themselves, others had resented her for pretending to be pure while flying solo, but in the end, they'd all fallen for her passion and character. She might have been a bit boring—unbending, obsessed solely with justice—but that very quality lent a glow to her actions.
Even a crooked prosecutor like them would feel their chest swell watching her radiant back. It's okay to have at least one... like her, right? She might get in the way of their future someday, but damn, she was dazzlingly cool. Yeah. This was a prosecutor. The textbook model, straight out of a manual. Just having worked with her, even briefly, filled them with pride.
And it wasn't just the prosecutors. The external personnel who'd joined the special investigation team—journalists, technicians, and the like—were equally impressed by her excellence.
During a short break, as everyone stepped away to catch up on lost sleep, reporter Yoon Ha-young approached with a coffee in hand.
"...Prosecutor, you're really something else."
"...?"
Inaeun tilted her head, and Yoon Ha-young smiled faintly at the sight, taking a sip of her iced Americano.
"Even after what happened, you're still fighting for justice like this."
"Ah."
Inaeun glanced briefly at her left arm, fixed rigidly in a hard cast. She'd taken no real injury originally, but with four staff members dead, staying unscathed would have raised suspicions. So she'd been "processed" as having caught a light wound(?) from Sua's gunshot to the arm.
It hurt like hell... but it felt kinda good, in a way.
She smiled faintly at the memory. Yoon Ha-young watched and thought, Yeah, Prosecutor Inaeun really is amazing.
"Honestly, I'm wavering. Wondering if I should keep going like this... if this path is right."
Surprisingly, she was hesitating. The woman who'd walked a straight path of unwavering justice—talent aside—was showing a crack.
"It's surprising to hear that from the reporter on our team who's been working the hardest."
"That's why I'm working so hard. To forget. I don't want to see myself shaking."
"Why are you shaking?"
"Because of me... the team leader ended up like that. And then I turned away from him like a child, saying I had no face to show."
"I see."
"But he forgave me. Called me up and said it outright. Asked why I wasn't showing up, if my dream was really just that small. When you offered me a spot on the special team, Prosecutor, I was shaking so bad."
"But you came anyway."
"...Someone had to do it. And watching you, I realized it was something I couldn't pass off to anyone else. I wanted to... be by your side."
Inaeun smiled faintly. Thinking of what this woman would face ahead—and the expression she'd show once she learned the truth—stirred a creeping mix of anticipation and pleasure. Her lips itched. For the first time in her life, she wanted to grin ear-to-ear. But she held it back.
"Hearing that gives me strength too."
"Funny, right? I swore I'd commit when I joined, and now here I am, wavering..."
"Not funny at all. Me too."
"Huh? Y-you, Prosecutor?"
Yoon Ha-young, who'd bowed her head in self-mockery, looked up.
"Everyone hesitates. It's scary, daunting. But you believe there's something at the end of that path. A just society."
"Prosecutor...!"
"You're looking for that man, right? The 'young master' from the video."
"! Yes... I want to find him. Hold him accountable for his crimes."
"Let's do our best together. I'll..."
Inaeun paused mid-sentence, swallowing a burst of laughter.
"I'll make sure to bring him right to you. That man."
"Yes!"
+++
The phone rang. A surprising name lit up the screen.
- Gohayan.
Go Mu-yeol's cousin and one of the people he got along with the least had called.
Shed rejected his dinner invite before—had she changed her mind now?
No way.
The reason she despised Go Mu-yeol was simple. They'd been close once; as an orphan, he'd been practically the only one she looked after like a sister. But as puberty hit, he'd harbored lust for her and done the unforgivable: spiked her orange juice with his semen.
And he'd gotten caught red-handed by her.
What a hopeless, retarded fuck. Good riddance he died.
Needless to say, they'd been estranged ever since, worst among the siblings.
"Yes, sis."
She skipped the small talk and cut straight to it.
- You did it, right?
What she meant was obvious.
"...I'm sorry for the unintended damage. It wasn't deliberate."
- You...
She went silent. It hadn't crossed his mind, but as a big shot in advertising, she'd taken massive losses from this. Every celeb she'd booked for ads had blown up—no telling the scale of the hit. Sure, they'd bear the blame and pay up, but damage was damage.
Does this make me worse than kid-me who jizzed in her drink?
Money-wise, probably not comparable.
- Don't forget what I said before. My ads come first.
"...Thank you."
- And you, stop dragging the family name through the mud. It's embarrassing, so quit crawling around.
"Pardon?"
- Because of you, I can't even show my face.
Gohayan hung up.
"...What the hell. Quit crawling? Is she calling me a loser?"
The meaning hit that evening. He was hanging with trainees after practice when Sua came over.
"Master, there's an AV parked in front of our building..."
"?"
He went down with her. Their office fronted an eight-lane road, and a massive AV was hogging two full lanes. A neatly suited man bowed beside it.
"Greetings, young master."
"What's this?"
"A gift from Miss Gohayan. From today, ride this instead of a car."
"..."
Ah... "quit crawling" meant ditch the car?
But plenty of family rode cars—why the embarrassment angle? Probably just an excuse to dump the gift without reason.
"...Anything else to relay?"
"No, sir. That's all."
"Got it. I'll pass it on to sis."
"Yes. Stay well. I'll be off."
The suited man bowed again and vanished down the street.
He called white sis. No answer.
- Don't call. Busy.
Followed by a text. He sent thanks—read and ignored.
"Whoa, an AV...! Not even your birthday, and family gifts you one. Chaebol life, huh..."
Sua, more excited than him, poked around the AV. He smacked her jiggling ass.
"Kyaa-!"
"Don't bounce around like an idiot."
"Uw... M-master... I mean, President, aren't you happy? Free AV!"
"I am."
"Whoa... zero emotion."
"Shut up and park it on the roof."
"Yessir~."
Good call picking a building with a landing pad for future AVs. Otherwise, it'd keep being a two-lane nuisance.
He didn't mind the nuisance, but bad press for Goryeo Entertainment? No thanks.
Vrooom. The AV door shut and lifted off. Traffic, detouring around the blockage, finally flowed right.
With an AV, I can go farther now.
Cars took too long and sucked for Incheon-capital trips. Now, longer jaunts were feasible.
Gazing at the rising AV, he called Hyun-ju.
- Yes, Master.
"Getting along with reporter Yoon Ha-young?"
- ...Yes. She avoided me at first, but now it's fine. Obeys better than before.
"Have her casually leak the list of cleared agencies to communities."
- ...Will she?
"Who made her your pussy house?"
- ...
"Tell her to post as some drunk special team insider rambling online. Slip the cleared list into a proof pic. Key is deleting it minutes after posting. Makes it real."