Chapter 29
Chapter 29
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Translator : M.N 1391
Chapter: 29
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Hong, the warden, once again followed protocol and threw Kyung-wan into solitary confinement to block any journalist interviews. It was the best choice he could make. All he could do was hope time would resolve the issue.
But even after a month, the public’s interest didn’t cool, and visitation requests didn’t stop.
Visitations were a prisoner’s right. Although limited by regulations, a warden couldn’t block them without a legitimate reason. Especially not now, when the public’s attention was focused on the case.
In the end, overwhelmed by the flood of visitation requests, Warden Hong had no choice but to approve the requests for Kyung-wan. Most were from the press, and antagonizing the media would be difficult.
“Hello.”
“Hello, I’m Reporter Choi Choong-gon from the Auction Daily.”
Reporter Choi trembled with excitement. He was finally about to meet the prisoner everyone was talking about. And he would be the very first to interview him!
A scoop, an exclusive, his excitement surged, but he knew better than to show it to the interviewee. Shockingly enough, a reporter had to earn trust from a prisoner or interview subject to hear anything genuine. And no one trusted someone who reeked of excitement.
“I’m Lee Kyung-wan.”
Reporter Choi’s first impression of Kyung-wan was that he was surprisingly polite. His face was clean, neither ugly nor plain. In fact, rather handsome. Choi thought that, like other attractive criminals before, Kyung-wan might spark a public craze if someone polished him up a little.
What? Isn’t that wrong for a reporter to think?
No. A reporter merely throws questions into society. Or so Choi believed. He prided himself on being different from dogmatic elite journalists who believed they had to “educate” the public.
“Thank you for allowing this interview.”
“Not at all…”
“So, may I ask, was there a reason you accepted my visitation request?”
“I was hoping for outside food.”
“Outside food?”
“Did you come empty-handed, by any chance?”
Reporter Choi was flustered. Honestly, he expected a prisoner with nothing but time to gladly accept a reporter’s request with no complaint. He hadn’t expected demands.
But disappointing the interviewee might ruin everything.
“I’ll deposit some money into your commissary account as soon as I leave.”
“I appreciate the thought, but you can’t buy fried chicken with commissary funds.”
“Sorry? Fried chicken?”
For a moment, Choi’s mind flashed with the thought, ‘A prisoner, not knowing his place, demanding fried chicken?’ But he managed his expression.
“I’ll bring some next time I visit.”
“I’d be grateful.”
“Then, may I ask you a few questions?”
“Yes.”
“I tried to see you before, but it wasn’t allowed for a while. Were you in solitary confinement?”
“Yes.”
“May I ask why you were placed there? If that’s not too rude.”
“That story… I think it should be told over fried chicken.”
“Ah.”
Choi was disappointed, but he felt no urge to push further. Kyung-wan’s calm, faint smile looked as if he were saying, ‘Pay the fee if you want the story.’
Choi grew frantic. But forcing the question wouldn’t make Kyung-wan talk. So he made one request.
“Then next time, I’ll bring chicken.”
“Then we’ll talk next time.”
“Alright. Until then…”
“I’ll be waiting only for you, Reporter Choi.”
As if reading the reporter’s hesitation, Kyung-wan answered with a smile. Hearing that, Choi nearly leaped with joy but still made Kyung-wan promise several times.
And a week later, the following special feature was published:
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[They Did Not Receive the Punishment They Deserved]
-Do you remember the recent assault incident inside a prison that drew public attention? This reporter was extremely fortunate to obtain an interview with the person involved.
-Hello.
○○○: Hello.
-The first thing I felt when I met him was that he was far too polite and well-mannered to suit a prison uniform. It was hard to believe he had inflicted such grievous injuries on another person.
-You were inaccessible for a while. Were you in solitary confinement?
○○○: Yes.
-May I ask why?
○○○: I cleaned up some leftovers.
-Leftovers? Could you be more specific?
○○○: I disposed of the trash society failed to dispose of.
-By “trash,” do you mean Mr. A and Mr. B?
○○○: What an undeserved luxury of a name for such trash.
-His calm expression showed no malice toward the men he’d injured. Naturally, the motive behind his actions intrigued me.
-Why go that far?
○○○: If they were destined to rot in prison forever, I wouldn’t have bothered. But they were getting absurdly light sentences. They were going to walk free just when their victims were barely beginning to heal. I lived with them, I know. They feel no guilt, no remorse. Only excuses like “I was unlucky,” “Why me?” And the sentences they got… Honestly, it felt like dereliction of duty by lawmakers and judges. That’s why I called it garbage disposal. For the sake of the victims the system ignored.
-For the victims? Why? You have no connection to them.
○○○: Come on, reporter. With empathy that low, how do you even write articles? Don’t you pity the victims? When those two bastards get out, do you think the victims will sleep soundly, unafraid, unresentful?
-I realized he was no ordinary violent offender. In fact, the reason he entered prison in the first place was that he fought multiple gangsters and one died. Was it gang warfare? Surprisingly, no. At the time, ○○○ was homeless.
-But this could lengthen your sentence. Don’t you regret it?
○○○: I’m proud of it, actually.
-Proud?
○○○: I did something good.
-…Calling it “good” feels a bit much.
-He laughed brightly, as if he’d heard a joke.
○○○: Ha ha ha! Reporter, you know better than anyone. There are harmful pests wearing human skin.
-Even if it was “good,” you gained nothing personally.
○○○: Before gaining anything, I want to pay my debts first.
-I don’t understand.
○○○: My bed, my meals, they’re all paid with taxpayers’ money. I know that. I’m grateful to the good people whose taxes support me, even though I’ve never met them.
-But the disabled victims also paid taxes.
○○○: It’s fine to eat those trash’s money and then wipe your mouth clean.
-I wanted to continue, but visitation time is short. So the interview ended there, and I scheduled a second meeting.
-We felt even more intrigued by him. He showed empathy toward strangers, especially victims. It felt altruistic, not selfish.
-How could such a man end up in a prison full of serious offenders? Why did he have no drive to improve his life? I sought the answers in his past.
-I discovered astonishing things.
-He was the hero of the “six-high-schooler assault case,” where he saved a female student from rape. He was a bullied outcast who once fought back with a weapon against delinquents who came to his home. He was a poor child who nearly died in a double suicide attempt with his father.
-Despite all that, he risked himself to save a stranger and expressed gratitude for the kindness of people he’d never met.
-Perhaps the reason this young man is in prison, and lacked the will to change his life, lies in our society that failed to help him when he needed it most.
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Warden Hong shut the news tab in irritation. The article painted Lee Kyung-wan as if he were some tragic victim of society.
The impact was enormous. A rabid fan café had already formed, the media condemned the lenient sentencing standards, and Kyung-wan’s commissary account was already filled to the limit with donations.
The men Kyung-wan “handled,” their victims’ families had sent money to thank him.
And that wasn’t all, some even tried to request visitation to thank him personally. If Kyung-wan hadn’t caused another incident, the warden would’ve had no choice but to allow those problematic visits. And if those visits made it into the news…
Warden Hong refused to imagine the fallout and instead recalled Kyung-wan’s latest “incident.”
This time, the target was a scammer. A man who stole fifty billion won. Not all at once, little five-billion bites over thirteen years, adding up to that monstrous sum.
A scammer so skilled at changing identities that he ran from the law for thirteen years.