Fake Law, Real Manners
“Thank you, young man. But I’m worried I’ve caused you trouble because of me. What should I do? I’m so sorry. Maybe I should call the police right now…”
The cashier who had been scanning the barcode looked at me with a worried expression.
“No, it’s fine. Don’t worry about it. I’ll handle this myself.”
Even if a whole truckload of guys like that showed up, I wouldn’t be scared.
I handed over my credit card with a gentle smile, then picked up the shopping bags and headed for the exit.
The tattooed man who had been waiting outside quickly approached.
“Hey, you son of a bitch. Follow me.”
“Why the hell would I follow you, you bastard?”
When he pointed at me with his index finger, I threw the exact same words right back at him.
“What? You little shit. Still talking down to me?”
“You’re the one who started with the casual talk, so I’m matching it.”
“This crazy bastard. You really want to die?”
He grabbed me by the collar and yanked me up.
The condition of the tattoos on his forearms, the calluses on the backs of his hands, the way his muscles moved—I saw all of it.
He’s strong, I’ll give him that.
Fine. Kill me. Kill me already. I’m going to die anyway—whether it’s now or a year from now doesn’t matter.
But before I go, I might as well teach this bastard some manners.
The moment I slowly raised my hand and grabbed his wrist—
“Let go of him right now! Let go this instant!”
A sharp, fiery woman’s voice rang out from behind me.
I turned my head to see a young woman in a mart vest standing with both hands on her hips, glaring at us.
Then she pointed somewhere with one hand and continued.
“See those CCTV cameras? Should I call the police? Grabbing someone by the collar and threatening them is clearly assault under Article 260 of the Criminal Act! And on top of that, you threatened him by asking if he wanted to die—so intimidation under Article 283 applies too.”
She walked toward us, enunciating every word with crisp, precise clarity.
Criminal law, all of a sudden?
“And from the start you’ve been using casual speech and swearing. Yelling like that in a public place could even get you charged with insult under Article 311. It’s all on CCTV, and there are plenty of witnesses—so what now?”
She glared venomously at the tattooed man and slowly laid it out.
“Should I call the police? Or will you apologize and leave?”
After she stormed through the criminal code like a hurricane, the tattooed man slowly released my collar and began backing away step by step.
“Ah, well… sorry about that.”
The woman beside him whispered for him to hurry up and apologize, and only then did he give a half-hearted bow before vanishing as if fleeing the scene.
Clap clap clap!
Ohhh! That’s more like it! Worth it!
People and employees inside the mart clapped and cheered in our direction.
I returned a sheepish smile and a slight bow, then turned to leave again.
“Wait a moment.”
This time the criminal-law girl stepped in front of me.
“Thank you. For helping my aunt.”
“Oh—your aunt?”
I spoke with mild surprise. She quickly waved her hands.
“Not my real aunt. I work at the mart too.”
“Ah, I see. Still, you know the law surprisingly well…”
“Ah! Haha. I may not look it, but I’m a law student. I work part-time here for tuition.”
She said it with a sudden bashfulness.
Attending law school while working a mart job—she was a hardworking young woman.
It would be wonderful if students like her became prosecutors or lawyers and made our country a little more just…
“Oh. Is that so? Impressive. And you even cited the exact articles in detail.”
“Ah, that? Haha! I just made up random numbers. Haha… But idiots like him don’t know the difference.”
“Ah, right. I see. You almost had me fooled too.”
“…”
We both fell silent for a moment, staring at each other.
“I didn’t mean you were the idiot…”
She said, flustered. I just smiled to show it was fine.
Her flustered look was rather cute. Her face had a certain charm to it as well.
“I know. Anyway, thank you for helping me too. I’ll be going now.”
I gave a light nod and started to turn away.
“Next time, don’t jump in so recklessly. It’s dangerous.”
“Sure. Whatever.”
I gave her a gentle smile and walked on.
The criminal-law girl watched me for a long while, then smacked her lips as if something felt unfinished and headed back into the mart.
“Ah… maybe I should have asked for her number.”
The next day.
Sunday morning.
In Seongsu-dong, Seoul, there stood a grand mansion nestled in the woods where the LK Group chairman’s family lived.
It was so enormous that the word “mansion” barely did it justice, and the surrounding gardens were so vast and meticulously tended that one could easily mistake them for a forest.
The estate was divided into four buildings in total; Kang Bitna lived on the second floor of Building 4 of Yehyang, on the right side.
Having snuck home early Saturday morning, Kang Bitna had not left her room until Sunday arrived.
Thud!
“Augh! So embarrassing!”
Even after waking up today, she was thrashing under the covers, kicking the blanket in frustration.
“Ugh, why did I do that?”
She had drunk with a man she barely knew and even blacked out.
Something that should never have happened in her life.
On top of that, she had spent the night with that man in a motel, clothes off.
Granted, she had been wearing underwear and a bathrobe, but with no memory of what happened, how was she supposed to know?
“Ah, how am I supposed to go to work? Should I just quit? How can I face that guy at the company!”
She buried her face in the blanket and cried out.
But she couldn’t quit.
If she walked out of another company, her grandfather had threatened to cut off all financial support.
She wasn’t exactly a big spender, but she wasn’t frugal either.
“Haa… No choice. It’s not like I committed a crime, right? I have nothing to be ashamed of!”
She clenched both fists and declared it out loud.
In that instant, the previous night’s memories flashed through her mind like photographs.
Falling while drunk, being caught in that man’s arms, and finally… on his clothes…
“Or did I mess up? Aaaaaargh! I’m going crazy!”
She screamed and began rolling around on the bed.
At the same time.
It was a refreshing morning.
After finishing my shower, I made toast with fried eggs, cheese, lettuce, and bacon on toasted bread and ate it.
Washed down with milk, it was incredibly satisfying.
After cleaning the kitchen neatly, I stared quietly at the medicine bag.
Should I take it? Or throw it away?
After a brief moment of thought, I left it as it was and headed out for a light walk.
As I circled the neighborhood, my mind drifted back to the news I had watched the previous evening. Politics, economy, culture—thoughts branched out in every direction, one leading to the next.
Since when had I started eating breakfast properly and taking walks while thinking about all sorts of things?
On weekends I used to just sprawl in bed and roll around.
Now that my life had an expiration date, was I unconsciously realizing how precious each day was?
I really needed to live a long life to see these things. Wait—no, I wasn’t going to live long.
I was about to head home when I noticed the lights were on in a bookstore.
So bookstores open even on Sundays. But these days, how many people still buy books from actual stores?
In an era of reading e-books on smartphones, I had heard the number of bookstores had dwindled significantly.
“Huh?”
By the time I came to my senses, I was already pushing open the bookstore door and walking inside.
Wait, why am I…?
Since I was already in, I headed toward the bestseller section to see what kinds of books were selling well these days.
Looking around, I saw quite a few customers sitting on the floor with stacks of books, reading. Some things never change, past or present.
I didn’t view it negatively. The more people who read, the more books would sell.
I just hoped they wouldn’t mistreat the books or bother other customers.
The bestseller section had a fair number of regular novels, but most of the titles were self-help and books about economics.
Perhaps that was only natural. In an era that changes this quickly, people’s interests shift accordingly.
Then one book caught my eye.
It was titled Money and Psychology, and it seemed to have sold well—only the bottom of the shelf remained.
My hand reached out unconsciously toward the single last copy lying there.
But from somewhere, another hand shot out faster and snatched the Money and Psychology book away.
Huh?
I looked up and found myself facing a woman in her mid-thirties wearing thick horn-rimmed glasses.
Chipped nail polish at the tips of her nails, heavy and awkward makeup, a T-shirt plastered with oversized luxury brand logos.
The type who cares about how others see her but neglects actual self-care. Wants attention yet finds other people’s gazes uncomfortable.
She plopped straight down on the opposite floor, leaned against the bookshelf, and began reading.
Beside her was a large pile of books, and on top of them sat a plastic cup that looked like an iced Americano.
She was using the books like a shelf, and water rings had already formed on them.
What kind of inconsiderate…
Feeling awkward for no reason, I checked whether there were any more copies of Money and Psychology, but unfortunately there weren’t. Left with no choice, I spoke to the woman flipping pages on the floor.
“Excuse me, are you planning to buy that book?”
At my question she looked up at me with narrowed eyes, then turned her gaze back to the book. Completely ignored.
“I’d like to buy that book. It seems to be the only one left.”
“Can’t you see I’m reading it right now? What a weirdo. Seriously.”
She glared at me again and snapped sharply.
I took a small step back. Judging by the vibe she gave off, she wasn’t an ordinary person.
Then I noticed two children hovering near her.
Apparently the books they wanted were on the shelf she was leaning against.
But she completely ignored their gazes and kept reading stubbornly.
I couldn’t just walk past this.
I was fine, but I couldn’t stand the kids being hurt by it too.
I went straight to a clerk and whispered something in their ear.
Then I returned, crouched to the children’s eye level, and asked,
“Is the book you want to look at over there?”
The kids glanced nervously at the woman and nodded. Their faces were on the verge of tears—they must have been waiting a long time.
“Excuse me. The kids want to look at a book over there. Could you move aside a little?”
I approached her and spoke in a somewhat raised voice. She frowned and looked up at me.
“What business is it of yours? Such a busybody. Do you know how hard I worked to get this spot…!”
“Reading is fine, but bothering other people is rude. Please move. Acting like this toward children—what kind of disgraceful behavior is that?”
When I spoke calmly, the woman’s face slowly twisted.
“What? You’re seriously ridiculous. Is this bookstore yours? What does it matter where I sit?”
As expected, she raised her voice and started arguing. Other customers browsing the store all turned to look our way.
I glanced at the pile of books she had stacked beside her and the plastic cup resting on top. Then I pointed at the cup and continued in a clear, loud voice.
“And if you leave a plastic cup on top of the books like that, it leaves water stains. If you’re not going to buy those books, you shouldn’t do that. If you damage them, are you going to take responsibility?”
“Who the hell are you to tell me what to do? Huh? Are you the owner? Whether I put coffee here or not is none of your—”
“The owner just arrived.”
I looked toward the opposite side and said flatly.
Before coming over, I had already asked the clerk to call the owner.
I had more or less anticipated something like this would happen.
The woman looked back and forth between the owner and me with somewhat flustered eyes. Then the owner spoke with a slightly bitter expression.
“I…”