You Only Listen When You Get Smacked
"So where are we going?"
"You'll see when we get there."
Jinhui shot me a glare, but I had no intention of answering. I turned the wheel and merged onto the main road. It was a quiet Saturday morning, so traffic was light.
The place Uchan and Yejin had told us about was a large hospital right in the heart of the city. A general hospital that housed the psychiatric ward, internal medicine, and surgery all in one building.
It was perfectly located—so perfectly that even the rich and powerful could come and go without anyone batting an eye. They could make up any excuse they wanted: treatment, check-ups, health management. The site selection was brilliant.
The more complicated a network like this is, the weaker its connections become. Because they're all tangled together, one good tug in the right place and they start cutting off their own tails. After all, bastards who are busy trying to save their own skins aren't going to protect each other.
I parked the car in the hospital lot. The moment I killed the engine, Jinhui got out first. Her eyes were fixed upward, staring at the building.
"You've been here before, haven't you?"
Jinhui nodded without saying a word. Even if she had come before, she probably hadn't found anything. Psychiatric medical records don't open without the patient's consent.
There was only one thing different from back then. The person standing beside her had changed.
We crossed the lobby. I got us into the elevator before the receptionist could even look our way. I gently pushed Jinhui in first and pressed the button for the upper floors.
We weren't headed to a patient room. The floor we needed was the one with the hospital director's office.
When we stepped out of the elevator, the hallway was quiet. At the far end stood a wooden door. The woman sitting at the counter stood up and raised her hand as we approached.
"Excuse me, do you have an appoint—"
I ignored her and opened the door.
"Hey!"
Jinhui hurried in after me from behind.
"Lock the door."
"What?"
"Hurry."
Jinhui shoved the secretary—who was trying to follow us in—back out and closed the door. The lock clicked into place. The sound of the secretary knocking faded from the other side.
It was a spacious office. The city sprawled out below the floor-to-ceiling windows. The man sitting behind the desk set his phone down and looked up. His neck, thick with rolls of fat, spilled over the collar of his dress shirt. He'd gotten so fat that he had two chins.
"Who the hell are you?"
I walked up and stood in front of his desk, looking down at him.
"Director, it's time to shut down your little business."
The man's face twisted. He shot up from his chair and shouted.
"Who are these people? Get them out of here right now!"
His blustering attitude made me laugh.
"Calm down. You're fucked."
The man froze. His yelling mouth snapped shut. His eyes narrowed as he looked me over, clearly trying to figure out who I belonged to and who was backing me.
"Who are you?"
"You don't need to know that. Just stay quiet and behave."
When I saw his hand move toward the phone, I grabbed it first. I pinned his thick forearm down with one hand. He struggled, but that was all he could do.
I took the phone from him, set it on the desk, and turned to Jinhui.
She was standing by the door, eyes wide. Her face said she couldn't quite process what was happening.
"Slap him."
"...What?"
"I said slap him."
Jinhui's gaze shifted to the man. His shiny bald head, the folds of fat on his neck, the sweat starting to bead on his terrified forehead. This was the bastard who'd been forging medical records for criminals. Jinhui's hand slowly rose.
Slap.
Her palm struck the top of his bald head.
"Aaaagh!"
The man clutched his head and collapsed to the floor. Jinhui's hand was trembling.
I chuckled at the sight.
"Good job."
At that moment, a loud bang came from behind us.
The office door shattered inward as several men burst into the room. The man in the lead, wearing a suit, held up his ID.
"This is the prosecution. We are beginning an on-site search and seizure for charges of falsifying medical records and illegal distribution of narcotics."
"What the—!"
The men swarmed in and grabbed the director by both arms, hauling him to his feet. His thrashing body was dragged out. His screams of protest faded down the hallway.
The man in the suit approached me with a sly grin.
"Jinho. This is solid, right?"
"Of course."
"The higher-ups are probably going to throw a fit."
"I'll talk to my grandfather."
"Alright, I trust you."
He patted my shoulder a couple of times and nodded. His eyes shifted to the side. Jinhui was standing there, still struggling to digest everything.
The man winked.
"What, is this your sister-in-law?"
"Does it look like it?"
With a soft laugh, he pulled a business card from his inner pocket and held it out to Jinhui.
"I'm Cha Jeong-woo, Chief Prosecutor at the Central District Prosecutors' Office. If you need any information regarding this case, feel free to contact me anytime."
Jinhui took the card. The tips of her fingers were trembling slightly. She bowed her head and answered.
"Ah... Yes."
Her eyes turned toward me. They were waiting for an explanation. But I had no intention of giving her one. I didn't want to drag her any deeper into this mess than necessary.
Jeong-woo brushed his hands off and turned around.
"Well, I'm off. I only rushed over to secure the scene, so they'll probably wrap this up soon. Take care of the rest yourself."
"Got it. Thanks, hyung."
"You'd better tell the Chairman."
"Don't worry."
"Then—"
Half-turned, Jeong-woo glanced at Jinhui one more time and gave a light wave.
"See you later, sister-in-law."
The tips of Jinhui's ears turned bright red. Her gaze dropped to the floor, then rose again. Her lips moved, but no sound came out.
Once Jeong-woo left, only the two of us remained in the office. The messy desk, scattered documents, and broken door. Jinhui looked at me.
"What are you smiling about?"
"I'm not!"
She whipped her head away. Her ears were still red.
"Anyway, let's go find the kids."
"But what the hell is going on?"
I answered as we walked down the hallway.
"What else? To cut off the tail, you have to shake the head first."
"What?"
Jinhui stopped in her tracks. We were in front of the elevator. Her eyes, looking up at me, were filled with a mix of emotions—surprise, confusion, and a kind of emptiness at the fact that the door she'd slammed against so many times had been casually kicked open by me.
The elevator doors opened. I stepped in first and pressed the button. Jinhui followed a moment later. As the doors closed, I could feel her gaze lingering on the side of my face.
We went down to the lobby.
The hospital lobby was surprisingly quiet. Unrelated to what had happened upstairs, people were lined up at the reception desk and waiting numbers were being called. Since the hospital was still operating normally on the surface, causing a scene would have been more suspicious. The prosecution had only touched the director's office and the administrative wing. The treatment areas were untouched.
Arresting the director now was just buying time for revenge. While the head was being shaken and the underlings collapsed, we still had work to do.
I led Jinhui into the inpatient ward. After passing the outpatient area and reaching the patient rooms at the end of the hallway, I spotted two familiar backs of heads through the glass window. I opened the door.
In the double room with two beds, Uchan and Yejin were sitting side by side. They had their hands awkwardly placed on their knees, doing absolutely nothing. The air was thick with discomfort.
"You've been through a lot."
At the sound of my voice, Uchan jumped to his feet.
"Jinho!"
Yejin also stood up carefully. Both of their gazes shifted to the person beside me. At the same time, they froze.
"M... Ms. Seo?!"
Uchan's voice trembled. Yejin looked equally flustered, unsure where to direct her eyes.
Jinhui stepped into the room. When her eyes met Uchan and Yejin's, she paused.
"Um... Kids."
The three of them stared awkwardly at each other, their gazes tangling in the air. Uchan looked back and forth between me and Jinhui, clearly waiting for an explanation.
"Ms. Seo had some business here, that's all."
At Jinhui's words, Uchan's mouth opened and then closed again.
Footsteps echoed in the hallway. Two prosecution officers walked past the room and glanced inside. The moment they tried to step in after seeing Uchan and Yejin, Jeong-woo's voice came from behind them.
"Not them. Leave them be."
The officers nodded and continued on. They pretended not to notice. I lightly poked Jinhui in the side with my fingertip. She caught on and immediately slipped back into her usual teacher persona.
"You two, wait in the lobby."
Uchan and Yejin hesitated. They glanced at me nervously before slowly getting up. Uchan turned back at the door one last time. His eyes were full of question marks as he looked between me and Jinhui.
I leaned in close to Uchan's ear.
"Pay attention to Yejin."
A look of realization spread across Uchan's face. He quickly turned to look at Yejin and hurried after her.
What a frustrating guy.
I shook my head and looked at Jinhui.
"Shall we go meet the people involved now?"
"Ah, right."
Jinhui, who had been watching the two of them disappear down the hallway, suddenly snapped out of it and started walking.
We moved deeper into the ward. A few prosecution officers were going in and out of several rooms. Most were quiet. Only one was different. Shouts were leaking out from the end of the hallway.
The door to the patient room was half open. When I looked inside, I saw a familiar face.
Taewook, dressed in a hospital gown, was sitting on the bed throwing a tantrum. Two prosecution officers were trying to grab both of his arms while Taewook twisted one arm free and shouted something into the phone clutched in his other hand.
"Don't touch me!"
What the hell? Why is this idiot here?
I gestured for Jinhui to go on ahead. She tilted her head in confusion but didn't ask any questions and disappeared further down the hallway.
I entered the room. Before Taewook could recognize me, I snatched the phone from his hand. His eyes widened as it slipped through his fingers.
"What the—!"
I grabbed the yelling Taewook's face with one hand and slammed him onto the bed. His shoulders, exposed above the hospital gown, thrashed around, but he didn't have the strength. I pinned his head down with one arm and held the phone to my ear.
"Taewook! Taewook!"
A voice came through. It was quite elegant. Urgent, but not shrill.
"Hello."
There was a moment of silence. It seemed the other person couldn't immediately process my voice.
"...Who are you?"
The voice had turned cold. The corner of my mouth lifted.
"We're at the hospital. It looks like Taewook is about to be taken away."
"..."
There was no answer for a moment.
"...Sigh."
A sigh escaped.
"The prosecution?"
"No."
Another silence. This one was shorter. The other person was organizing their options quickly.
"Then if you let Taewook go right now, I'll compensate you handsomely."
"Do you know who I am?"
"You're the one who orchestrated this whole thing."
She hadn't missed a single word. The fact that the director had been arrested, that Taewook had been at the scene, and that the person holding the phone was the one who had set up this entire board. She'd figured it all out from just a few sentences.
What an interesting woman.
"Let's meet later. Goodbye."
"Yes, thank you."
The call ended. From under my arm, Taewook groaned and struggled. I let him go. Taewook sat up on the bed, his face flushed red, and glared at me.
"You son of a bitch—"
I slapped him across the face.
Slap.
Taewook rolled off the bed. Sprawled on the floor, he clutched his cheek and looked up at me.
I turned to the officers.
"Just let this guy go."
They frowned but only nodded. He hadn't been injected yet. They probably knew there wasn't a clear justification to hold him.
I lightly tapped the head of the groaning Taewook on the floor.
"Be more careful next time."
"You fucking—"
When I raised my hand, Taewook flinched. His mouth shut.
I slowly stroked his head. Like petting a dog. I could hear Taewook grinding his teeth.
"Some dogs only listen when you smack them."
I stood up. Taewook's curses followed me from behind, but I didn't care. The owner of that phone would take care of cleaning up the mess.
When I followed after Jinhui, who had gone ahead, I saw her standing blankly in front of one of the patient rooms.
