A Strange Religion
A Strange Religion
The start of a new semester just felt like any other day now.
How many times had he despaired at the unchanging fate, even after offering prayers to the heavens for just one more day of rest?
Well, he could use the ultimate move of skipping classes, but using it on the very first day of the semester was no different from asking to be killed.
So he obediently went to school, listened to his lectures, and now it was time to go home.
"But wouldn't you be fine just dropping out?"
"You two are the same."
What were a chaebol heir and someone just as wealthy talking about?
If anything, a man like him had to work even harder.
Of course, he'd make more money if he dropped out of school and became a full-time Qtuber.
Even if he didn't make money, A-ra would support him, and he had some investments that generated enough passive income to live on.
Still, he wanted to go to college.
His mom had been so happy when she heard he got into a university in Seoul.
"Anyway, he gets all the credit for being the filial son."
"Honestly, your younger sister and younger brother are more filial than you."
"Hey, that's not true."
It wasn't about who was more filial, but he didn't think he'd fallen so far behind.
He hadn't moved out to be independent and caused them worry, or run away from home like someone else!
"But you left home three years earlier and just called. You never visited."
"Keuk........"
"Your mother probably wanted to take care of you more?"
That was probably true...
Where else in the world was there someone as soft-hearted as his mom?
Wait, why was the conversation going in this direction?
It had already been years.
"Alright, enough. Let's just go have a meal today."
"What about your wife?"
"Noona is running a bit late today. There's nothing to do at home anyway."
He had come out fully intending to hang out, so he left a huge pile of food for Kkomul, Pipsqueak, and Tiny.
It was enough to last them until tomorrow.
"Are you treating?"
"I'm planning to go somewhere a bit pricey, so I should pay."
"Oh.... Then I have to come along."
Jeong Hwan-yi, who loved meat, nodded his head.
This guy said he could only eat seafood at home, so how pitiful was that?
"Then can I invite Minji?"
"Huh? Minji?"
Why was he suddenly asking to invite Minji?
Come to think of it, did Minji say she was staying home today?
"....I told you before."
"Ah~"
Right. They said they were dating.
He should have teased Minji about it too, but he completely forgot.
"Well, we'll just make her grill the meat."
"Are we going to a meat restaurant?"
"For some reason, I really feel like grilling some beef over charcoal today, you know?"
You have to have spent money to know how to spend it well.
The only thing he knew how to spend money on was buying meat.
Well, even then, he kept it under a million won per outing.
"Minji likes beef too."
"Hmm... Then we'll go with beef."
This was totally different from how Min-ho treated his last girlfriend.
Of course, if he'd treated her the same way, Seong-hwan would've torn him a new one, whether they were dating or not.
"So where are we going?"
"You know Hoje Galbi?"
"...Hey, isn't that place incredibly expensive? It's like several hundred thousand won per serving, right?"
"I went there with A-ra Noona recently and it was really delicious."
With food, the more expensive it gets, the worse the cost-effectiveness is.
Because beyond a certain high price point, the taste and experience don't differ that much.
So even if you pour in double or triple the money, the improvement in taste and experience is less than 10 percent.
He'd heard there were places that charged 500,000 won per serving... but that was crossing the line.
"This time, Lee Min-ho, you should film a bit and upload it."
"Huh? Can I really?"
"If the big brother says it's okay, what's the problem? Let's hurry up and go."
As soon as they reached the parking lot, they got into their respective cars and left the school.
But they were already in their third year...
In just two more years, they'd graduate from college.
Time really flew.
*
"Oppa."
"Huh?"
"No, not Lee Min-ho oppa. Seong-hwan oppa."
Minji ignored her boyfriend who answered first and called out to him.
He told her to order anything she wanted.
"Why are you calling me?"
"I think I just saw a wanted criminal."
What on earth was she talking about?
A wanted criminal was leisurely dining at Hoje Galbi?
If they had that kind of money, they'd be hiding deep in the countryside and never come out.
There was a limit to how stupid someone could be.
"Look over there."
"That person?"
The person Minji pointed out was a woman who looked to be in her 30s.
She looked very natural wrapping beef in her naengmyeon.
She was clearly not an amateur.
"Not her, the one next to her, right? The one who looks a bit dangerous."
"But Minji, do you memorize things like that?"
"No! That person was on 'I Want to Know That Guy' yesterday."
"Oh my god..."
If they were on a program like that, weren't they a truly vicious criminal?
That show usually only handled unresolved, cold case-level crimes.
Recently, they even caused a huge stir by airing a broadcast related to the true culprit of a serial case.
"What do we do... Should I report it to the police?"
"I'll text them. We'll probably need plainclothes officers."
"Text? Do the police come if you text them?"
"They do these days~"
It was his first time doing something like this, but he knew a police officer who had helped him with several lawsuits before.
They were the ones from when he destroyed the company that tried to use Hojun as a disposable tool.
- Sergeant. I think there's a wanted person in front of us, how should we respond?
- [Web Message] Your mobile phone location has been queried for emergency rescue.
He was momentarily surprised.
He'd heard the police could track a reporter's location via mobile phone.
So that's how they used it.
"Oppa?"
"Huh? Ah, I just called and they'll be here soon."
"Oppa really knows a lot of people..."
"Seriously... Seong-hwan, what have you been up to lately that you know a police officer?"
"I know them from my younger brother's situation, so don't get the wrong idea."
Were they trying to see him as some sort of delinquent?
He got caught up in a lot of crimes, but he was always the victim.
*
"Haa... Thank you very much for the quick report."
"No, I'm not the one who reported it, it's my younger sister."
Afterward, plainclothes officers entered and blocked both the front and back doors of the restaurant.
Rather than approaching directly, they chose to block all escape routes and pounce at once.
And so, the wanted person and two accomplices who were there were arrested.
He'd worried something big might happen when they swung a knife from their pocket, but the officers simply subdued them with a taser.
No matter how superhumanly strong a woman was, one taser shot was all it took to pacify her.
The advancement of science was truly amazing.
"Then, may I have your younger sister's name and contact information?"
"A-are you talking about me?"
Usually, in cases like this, you'd receive a certificate of commendation in the name of the police chief or some high-ranking person.
Like the Brave Citizen Award.
And he knew that a reward was given for decisive tips leading to a wanted person's arrest.
He heard the wanted person Minji reported was on a Class A wanted list and was also on an Interpol Red Notice because they might have fled overseas.
The reward had to be at least 80 million won.
All the officers left, and the restaurant apparently decided to cancel all remaining reservations for the day.
It made sense, since a wanted criminal was caught inside their establishment.
"Well, we can still finish our food, at least."
Jeong Hwan-yi acted as if it didn't matter and pressed the bell to order more meat.
He had to order a proper meal too.
***
"Um.....it's been a while?"
"It really has been a while, Seong-hwan ssi."
He came out for a walk with Kkomul and Pipsqueak and ran into someone with a small camera hanging around their neck.
This was the reporter who had come to cover A-ra before and ended up interviewing him instead.
She had sent various gifts since then, but it had been a long time since she'd visited in person.
Wasn't it almost a year?
"Don't tell me you're here because of the wanted criminal?"
"You know well."
"But I wasn't the one who reported it, it was my younger sister..."
"This time, rather than an interview, I just wanted to know a bit about what happened at the time."
Then she handed him her business card.
It was a little different from the one he'd received before.
"Oh, you're the PD for 'I Want to Know That Guy'?"
"Yes, I was in the investigative reporting department before, but I moved about half a year ago."
So that's why she came looking for him.
That made sense.
In fact, he felt almost respectful that she came to him before going to Minji.
This person was different from other reporters.
"I was eating at a meat restaurant with my friends and my younger sister... and my sister said she thought she spotted a wanted criminal."
"Yes, yes."
"So I reported it to a police officer I knew. And it turned out she was right."
"So you didn't know at first, Seong-hwan ssi."
"Yes. At the time, only my younger sister knew that person was wanted."
He and his friends knew nothing.
In the first place, they only watched 'I Want to Know That Guy' when it popped up on Qtube occasionally.
But judging by the reporter's visit, they really must have done something huge.
Anyway, criminals sure caused trouble for a lot of people.
What kind of bastard was he?
If he was featured on 'I Want to Know That Guy', it must have been something he'd heard about at least once.
He worried about getting retaliated against for no reason.