Stopping the Wrong Deal (2)
"Those bastards I want to catch right now...!!"
"Let's solve this issue first. And it seems like there's some misunderstanding..."
I see people's futures.
I knew the location of the Chorongpa boss because Go Il-nam had put in the effort to catch him.
"Even if you want to grab the Red Bird Gang and Incheon Alliance bosses right away, you can't catch them without any investigative efforts."
"Damn..."
A future caught through effort.
Or a future caught by luck.
If no such future exists, they can't be caught.
He looked a bit disappointed.
But that didn't last long.
"Fine! As long as they can be caught!!"
He seemed extremely satisfied just knowing it wasn't some vague future.
"So... it's a match-fixing incident. Hmm. There were guys who pulled similar stunts before."
Back then, it wasn't baseball—it was StarCraft.
"Among the illegal private toto operators, there are guys like this."
They hype up some event, whatever it is, to expand the betting pool.
Then they sneak in and manipulate it.
"I caught them before."
"Oh ho."
"And back when StarCraft was huge, even when Han Jin-ho got swept 3-0, I suspected it."
"Oh ho."
"But it was real. Man, I ordered chicken, and it ended before delivery even arrived."
The real shocker was there wasn't a hint of match-fixing.
Gu Namchul, who was cheering for Han Jin-ho, apparently cried tears of blood and focused on studying after that.
"StarCraft, huh. I played quite a bit myself."
"Yeah, yeah. Nowadays they call it an old folks' game, but back in our day..."
Gu Namchul and Kang Injeong dove deep into reminiscing about the past.
I didn't know much about it.
"I don't know much about StarCraft... but that Ullari unit..."
"Ullari?!"
"Isn't that what it's called?"
"No! Where'd you get that baseless abbreviation from...!"
Gu Namchul huffed and puffed, then let out a sigh.
"Anyway, this is my specialty. I'll catch them properly for you."
"Looking forward to it."
The prosecutor and the cop joined forces.
I even told them when the match-fixing broker would show up.
And that's not all.
Since Kim Juhyeong, the target, would cooperate fully, it should go smoothly.
Just to be sure, I checked Gu Namchul's future.
It works out fine.
Kang Injeong, Gu Namchul, and Kim Juhyeong team up to nab not just the match-fixing broker, but the whole illegal private toto organization behind him.
The one downside: they don't catch the boss.
I told them what I'd seen.
"Why can't you catch the boss?"
"Well, manpower shortage. It's too much for one person. You should team up with another prosecutor."
"Team up..."
"You can't save the world alone. This case—you can't do it solo."
"Hmm..."
He pondered, then pulled something from his desk.
It was a list of prosecutors at the Uijeongbu District Prosecutors' Office who had bandwidth to collaborate.
One name caught my eye.
"How about this guy?"
Yang Wonju.
Gu Namchul's classmate.
Gu Namchul's face hardened at my words.
"We're not on good terms."
"But teaming up with anyone else doesn't show a future where you catch them."
After agonizing, Gu Namchul had no choice but to nod.
What can you do if you can't get the head?
Prosecutor Yang Wonju at the Uijeongbu District Prosecutors' Office was floored.
By the man in front of him.
"...Got something to say?"
"Nah."
His Judicial Research and Training Institute classmate and rival.
The guy whose work style he despised hadn't left the room for 30 minutes.
"If you have something to say, spit it out and go."
He hated Gu Namchul.
Not just because he was a rival.
His methods were too aggressive.
The law is sacred.
Especially for those enforcing it—they must uphold it strictly.
But Gu Namchul knew the law inside out and danced right on the edge.
The messes that caused? The office had to clean them up. How could he look favorably on that?
"Hey."
"What."
"That... sigh. How do I even say this."
And it wasn't just that.
Back at a company dinner.
They'd had a massive fight.
He still hadn't properly apologized since.
That stuck in Yang Wonju's chest.
"That thing from two years ago."
Yang Wonju paused while flipping through documents.
Two years ago.
The day things completely soured between them.
"At that dinner. What I said."
"......"
"Sorry. I apologize."
"Words only?"
"Argh! Fine! Fine!"
Gu Namchul straightened up.
Then.
He bowed.
Yang Wonju was stunned.
The guy's pride pierced the heavens.
Yet here he was, bowing.
To a senior prosecutor, no less, where he was always stiff.
"I was wrong. Sure, I was drunk, but not apologizing till now—I'm truly sorry. It wasn't something to say so carelessly."
"Then say it."
"...What?"
Yang Wonju set down his documents.
"'Notte is the best, strongest team, and they'll win the championship in five years.' Come on. Shout it. Strongest Notte."
"...But no matter how you look at it, Notte isn't the best or strongest, right? 'Disband already this season, you bastards,' or 'I should go thank those guys personally. Thank you, you fucking bastards'—that's what I..."
"Shout it."
"Ugh."
Gu Namchul squeezed his eyes shut.
He was a Kia Tigers fan from birth.
For him, calling his arch-rival Lotte the best and strongest was enough to shatter his heart.
But.
He had to do it.
Catching criminals mattered more than this.
"The... strongest Notte. They'll win... in five years."
"Good."
Yang Wonju grinned.
That prideful guy's apology.
And hearing a rival fan cheer his team—it eased some grudge against Gu Namchul.
The hatred wasn't gone, of course.
But one stone in his chest had been lifted for sure.
This might be a chance for a better relationship.
'We'll see about that.'
"So? What's the sudden reason for coming?"
"Ah, well."
Gu Namchul cautiously started explaining.
Yang Wonju was dumbfounded after listening.
What?
A fortune teller?
Has he lost his mind?
"No! He nails everything! He even pinpointed where that Chorongpa boss bastard is!!"
"Hmm."
That was intriguing.
So Yang Wonju went with Gu Namchul to meet him.
There he saw.
A composed twenty-something guy.
A young man just shedding his boyish look, smiling faintly.
"You're Kang Noah?"
"Nice to meet you. Prosecutor Yang Wonju."
"Hah. I don't know what you told this guy, but honestly, I find it hard to believe."
"Want to draw one?"
He offered a tarot card.
Yang Wonju reluctantly drew one.
It was the Empress reversed.
Expecting nonsense, Yang Wonju fell silent at what came next.
"The chairman of Jenam Construction is hiding slush funds through a paper company called Louisville Company. Investigate that, and you can catch him."
Jenam Construction.
A regional builder recently busted for bribery, plus vanishing without paying construction fees, employee salaries, or severance.
Claims he's broke, company bankrupt.
But Yang Wonju knew these types always stashed money away.
He just hadn't found it yet.
"How do you..."
"You catch him through your own efforts, Prosecutor Yang Wonju."
I saw his future.
My own future.
He said it casually.
Yang Wonju clenched his fist without realizing.
In short, Yang Wonju agreed to join us.
He just disliked Gu Namchul—deep down, he burned to catch criminals too.
Anyway, I'd done all I could.
With Yang Wonju on board, I saw a future where they even nabbed the boss—no major twists should change that.
Now with two prosecutors in my corner, things would be way easier moving forward, right?
I rode back home with Kang Injeong and crashed on the bed to rest.
Running around all day had worn me out.
Ring ring!!
Who calls at this hour?
Phone said it was PD Jang.
"Yes, PD Jang."
-Hello! Teacher Kang. Doing well?
"If I'm well, I am; if not, I'm not. What's up?"
-Someone wants to meet you.
"Me?"
Who would a broadcasting PD introduce?
A celebrity?
Or someone from the station?
-Joanna.
"...Who's that?"
-Huh? You don't know Joanna?
"I don't follow celebs much..."
-The one who sang Silver Rain. Amazing composer and singer.
Ah, Silver Rain.
I know it.
Korean-American singer.
Back at the orphanage, the older brothers and sisters played it nonstop.
He gushed about how incredible she was as a singer and composer—real fanboy stuff.
"She's American. Why would an American come here...?"
-She arrived in Korea yesterday and is resting.
"Aha. But why her?"
-She's into the occult.
She saw me blowing up online and fell hard.
Desperate to meet, no way to reach me—someone tipped her off about me filming with PD Jang, so she called.
"She could just request on the show."
-She applied multiple times but never got picked.
Oof. Yeah, can't help that.
"Sure, let's meet."
.
.
.
Two days later.
Normally, our neighborhood cafe—but that's gone now.
So, Sagniel Hotel, where Joanna was staying.
The place where I worked part-time, and Han Yuna did too.
"Whoa!! Noah hyung!!"
I was in the VVIP lounge, sipping a cafe latte, when it happened.
A flashy blonde mixed-race woman approached with a big smile.
A pretty singer calling me hyung.
...Is this for real?
"Nice to meet you. I'm Kang Noah. Your Korean's great."
"Ehehe. Mom's Korean, so I learned young. Anyway, be casual! Hyung! I'm a fan! Sign this!!"
A world-famous pop artist fanning a 300k-sub streamer.
Not bad.
I smiled and signed the T-shirt she handed me.
"Yum!! Best!! Aww! Alice should've come too!"
"Alice?"
"Our company president. When I said I was vacationing here, she worried I'd cause trouble and tagged along. She's boozing at a bar right now."
"Yeah? Bit rude right off the bat, but here."
I offered a card.
She shook her head at the tarot.
"No hwatu fortune-telling?"
"Why not."
She beamed, pulled hwatu from her bag, and flipped one.
It was Eight of Light.
Not the best for someone beaming like that, but...
"You should break ties with Alice."
Her company president and producer since her debut as a singer.
Her face twisted at the name.
"....Why?"
"She'll steal your song."
"........"
And hand it to a singer Joanna despises.
That singer will top Billboard for months.
Furious, Joanna sues but loses, battered by public opinion.
"...No way."
"She's trashier than you think."