The Bear, the Boar, and the Red Pill (2): The Family Scam

I told her straight up during the stream: her uncle was planning to scam her. She froze for a long moment before muttering, "I... I can't believe it..." Family. How could family try to deceive and profit off their own blood like that?

"Whether you believe it or not, the choice is yours. All I can tell you is that the cards showed me exactly that."

"....."

Normally, if someone dropped a story like this, the viewers would've all piled on telling them to stop spitting nonsense. But this time was different.

The viewers were losing their minds. My coworkers watched in dead silence. Yu Heung squeezed her eyes shut.

"...Okay... I understand."

Her only choice was to believe.

"Thanks for your hard work!!"

The ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠broadcast wrapped up without a single hitch. There wasn't much that could've gone wrong anyway. My only real concern was Yu Heung, the last one.

She was going to get scammed by her uncle, fall into despair, and end up a complete wreck. She was a good person who donated a lot. I couldn't just ignore something like that.

"But seriously, you're incredible. I had no idea you'd be able to read the viewers' pasts and futures too."

"Gotta do at least this much to eat," I replied.

Hong Su-yeon flashed a bright smile. Maybe word had spread, because the real-time viewer count had shot past five thousand. She was thrilled, saying that even if it wasn't an all-time record, it was easily top ten.

"It's trending on real-time search too."

Hong Si-yeon, standing beside her, showed me her phone. Sure enough, there it was. Currently sitting at number seven. I refreshed and it climbed even higher.

"What are you going to do? Everyone seems to want you to start your own streams, Teacher."

"I've come this far. No way I'm backing out now."

"Understood. Then should we prepare a separate studio...?"

"No need. I'll just broadcast from home."

I didn't need any fancy setup anyway. A camera and mic would be plenty.

"You know how to set it up, right?"

"Easy enough."

"Then I'll have the equipment sent to your place."

...

One broadcast appearance and I walked away with a nice haul. Not just the appearance fee but company incentives on top of it. And the broadcasting gear was included. Setting it up wasn't hard at all. A quick search pulled up all the instructions I needed.

People said it was better to build a soundproof room if you were going to stream, but I wasn't planning on yelling or anything, so it didn't seem necessary.

"Let's see here..."

I logged into Chzzk using the account ID Hong Si-yeon had given me. Zero members. Zero subscribers. Clean slate.

The ID "KangNoah"... Huh? Someone was already using it?

Damn. The world's a scary place.

Alright then... "-RealKangNoah-" That should work.

I created the account and started the stream. Obviously there weren't any viewers yet. In that case, I'd borrow Hong Su-yeon's name here.

The second I sent the message, a subscriber popped up. The ID belonged to Hong Su-yeon, PpeuniHani.

...

Figures. With over six hundred thousand subscribers, the moment she subbed, viewers flooded in.

The viewer count climbed fast. A hundred people in the blink of an eye. I watched the chat scroll upward at light speed and spoke.

"I only read for ten people a day."

The moment the words left my mouth, an alert sounded.

This guy wasn't even trying to hide his identity. Oh well. He'd paid the fee, so I'd give him a reading.

NC.A's future... I laid out the tarot cards, flipped a few at random, and delivered the answer.

"This album will succeed. A massive success, actually."

The chat was full of arguments. But it really would succeed. It would even hit the Billboard charts.

NC.A fans and antis kept going at it in the chat, but I ignored them.

"Next."

Wife having an affair? When I looked into KalaRil's future, I saw him catching his wife in the act and the marriage falling apart.

"Your wife is currently working the night shift at a convenience store. She's a good woman who's working extra hard without letting you see how tight your salary situation is. Treat her right."

Deny it all you want. I can still see it.

"She's at the CU near Exit 1 of Gijang Station. Go see for yourself."

No response. He might have already run out the door.

The chat went quiet for a second. Then it exploded.

Dozens of requests flooded in. But I was the one picking.

"CoolVibe. Your girlfriend hasn't even been born yet."

The guy was single. And he'd stay that way.

"KriTomass. Your father's surgery will go well. Don't worry too much."

I gave the son who was terrified about his father's operation a little hope.

Things like that. Trivial to outsiders, life-changing to the people involved.

That's when it happened.

DobongPoliceOfficerGang. The username itself was suspicious.

"DobongPoliceOfficerGang. Join me on Discord."

I sent the message, created a private room, and he entered.

"I already know what it is. You want to catch the Dobong Stray, right?"

No answer. But I could see it clearly. Gang In-jeong, detective and leader of the second criminal division at Dobong Police Station. He was desperate to catch the serial thief terrorizing the Dobong area.

I heard the shock in his voice as I looked further into his future. The Dobong Stray would eventually be caught, but only after seven more theft victims and two murder victims.

"The culprit is Yang Kyung-soo. Forty-one years old. No prior record."

That was why the entire Dobong station had been investigating without identifying him as a suspect.

"He currently lives in Room 101 of Edville in Yangju. His next target is four days from now at eleven p.m. Unit 604 in Building 201 of Dobong Remian Apartments."

That should be enough for him to work with.

After that, the rest were just ordinary requests.

"Alright. That's all for today."

The last guy could go die for all I cared.

Gang In-jeong, team leader of the second criminal division at Dobong Police Station, was deep in thought.

A bizarre character had shown up on the VTuber stream he secretly watched. A fortune teller who could read the heavens and see the future.

At first he'd thought the concept was ridiculously over-the-top.

But the longer the broadcast went on, the more shocked he became. The guy was getting everything right.

'Is this man actually the real thing?'

It had reached the point where even Gang In-jeong—who normally didn't believe in this stuff—was starting to wonder.

If he really was legitimate, maybe he could help catch the Balbari bastard, the biggest headache in the entire Dobong district right now.

So he waited. Until the man started streaming. The second fortunes were being taken, he made his request.

And the answer had been immediate and perfect. What he was worrying about. Where that worry was located. Everything.

"Team ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Leader. Team Leader."

"Hm? Ah, yes."

"What did the chief say?"

His subordinate detective wore a worried expression. The man looked scarier than most gangsters at first glance, but the sense of justice burning in his chest was unmatched.

Which was why...

"Come with me for a bit."

"Sir? Where to? Shouldn't we be going after Balbari?"

"That's exactly what we're doing."

He took his subordinate, Detective ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Seo Ik-jun, and headed to the location the masked man had given him.

In front of Building 201 of the Dobong Remian Apartments.

When they arrived, Seo Ik-jun simply tilted his head in confusion. It was a luxury apartment complex. Why had they come to a place like this?

"Follow me."

He went up to the eighth floor with his subordinate. Then they leaned against the emergency stairwell wall, holding their breath, and waited.

The time the man had mentioned was almost here.

Step. Step.

Footsteps. Someone climbing the stairs. The sound stopped on the seventh floor.

Seo Ik-jun stayed silent too. Only tension remained. And a strange thrill. Those were the only things wrapping around them.

The footsteps started again, this time heading down. They stopped on the sixth floor. Soon after, the faint clicking of lockpicking tools echoed through the quiet emergency staircase.

And then—

"Now."

Gang In-jeong and Seo Ik-jun moved at once. They saw a perfectly ordinary-looking man holding lockpicking tools, his face frozen in panic.

...

The arrest itself wasn't difficult. He was carrying a knife, but he didn't have the guts to take on two detectives who were both over 190 centimeters tall and more than a hundred kilos each.

The owner of the luxury apartment that had nearly been burglarized was overjoyed.

"Thank you! Thank you so much!"

"We're the ones who should apologize. We should have caught him sooner..."

"No, no!! But you're from Dobong Station, correct?"

"Yes."

"I'm actually close with your chief... I'll be sure to put in a good word."

The happy homeowner. The even happier Seo Ik-jun. But Gang In-jeong couldn't fully celebrate. The reason they'd caught this guy was because of a civilian named Kang Noah.

'Just who the hell is that man?'

It was the only question left in his mind. Still, for now he could be satisfied with the fact that they'd caught a piece of human garbage who had been tormenting innocent lives in the act.

The broadcast had just ended when a direct message arrived on Discord.

"Don't mention it. I wouldn't have helped if you were a bad person..."

Gang In-jeong was a good man. Not just some cop going through the motions, but someone who risked his life to save others. If I wasn't going to help a person like that, who would I help?

A favor, huh. Forming a connection with the police wasn't a bad ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠move for me either. I could see the future, but as a civilian there were limits to what I could do. Having access to official authority wouldn't hurt at all.

"Sounds good."

"It feels like we'll be working together for a long time, Detective Gang."

And so, two days later. At a small café near my house, I listened to the serious request from the rugged giant of a man.

"...I want to catch the serial arsonist."

That one? Yeah. That one I had to catch.