Chapter 45
Chapter 45
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 45
Chapter Title: Chivalrous Heo Pung-gae - [3]
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Heo Pung-gae figured it wouldn't be easy to slip out of this mess now that he'd been caught red-handed at the scene.
To the prosecutors, a martial world thug jumping in to "help" wasn't going to look good. And honestly, it seemed far more plausible that he'd shown up as backup for his accomplices rather than some random chivalrous wanderer purely out to lend a hand. No way they'd let him go without a fight.
Still, he didn't think they'd hold him forever. After the investigation and interrogation, they'd probably release him. After all, the facts of what he'd done there were crystal clear, thug or not.
The real issues were how long it'd take and whether this mess would torpedo his contract with the Mosan Sect just because he'd gotten tangled in some scandal.
Heo Pung-gae had steeled himself for as much when he stuck his nose into this affair. With the clock ticking on his ascension, every moment wasted was agony, getting stuck in detention was a gut punch, and losing a 120 billion won deal was straight-up nightmarish—but he'd endure it.
He hadn't even considered the possibility of being pegged as an accomplice and thrown in jail for real. Sure, the thought had crossed his mind, but he'd dismissed it as the absolute worst-case scenario.
And now, things were spiraling beyond even that nightmare.
The prosecutor who visited the hospital room barked in a low, menacing tone.
"The call logs show O Jin-baek phoned you right when the incident went down, don't they?"
He was referring to the head of the O Family Manor. They'd apparently called his number on purpose to tie him to their crew somehow.
"What'd you two talk about? Tell me."
The prosecutor kept pressing. What was the point of grilling him here in the hospital room when the suspect hadn't even seen his lawyer yet? He wasn't wearing his badge right now, but Heo Pung-gae remembered the name.
Yi Rok. The guy had shown up so often, and it was an easy name to stick in his head.
When Heo Pung-gae stayed silent, Prosecutor Yi Rok kept firing away.
"Exercising your right to remain silent? Not a smart move. Guilty or not, it just pisses off the investigators and builds bad blood. So why'd you go there?"
After some deliberation, Heo Pung-gae finally answered.
"To help."
"Who? O Jin-baek?"
"The three civilians who were being held there."
Prosecutor Yi Rok clicked his tongue.
"Those three ladies aren't saying that."
*******
Yi Pung burst into the hospital room yelling.
"Those fucking bitches—have they lost their minds?!"
The three women who'd been detained in the karaoke bar at the time hadn't given statements favorable to Heo Pung-gae. They just claimed they didn't remember much or that they'd been too terrified to do anything but shake.
None of them mentioned the young man who'd tried to help them even once.
He'd heard of attempted rape victims not testifying for the people who stepped in at the scene. Sometimes the good Samaritans ended up getting sued for assaulting the perp, or even framed as the real culprit.
But with three witnesses this time? It was one thing for one to act shamelessly, but all three? That defied belief.
Heo Pung-gae had even spoken to them on purpose to make it clear he was there to help. And yet they acted like he'd never existed and refused to back him up?
This went beyond infuriating—it was downright absurd. Heo Pung-gae didn't even know how to react.
"You got a lawyer?"
Yi Pung answered Heo Pung-gae's question.
"Yeah! The Martial Alliance threw a ton of money at it."
"And it's still not helping."
"It's insane! The lawyer tried pleading with all three witnesses, but they wouldn't even talk—just chased him off."
"All three? No CCTV footage of what I did?"
"Camera got shot up, so no dice. You believe that shit?"
Yi Pung fumed for a while before running out of steam, muttering in exhausted frustration.
"You think the bandits pulled some strings? Threatened those three or bribed them...?"
"What would they gain? Framing me as the bad guy doesn't make them the good guys."
"If they lock up a transcendent expert like you, that's a win, right?"
Heo Pung-gae thought it over and shook his head.
"Unlikely. The bandits are laying low as it is—no way they'd risk meeting victims to threaten or bribe them. This isn't the '80s."
"But if you're out of the picture, doesn't Gu Ja-seong get to dominate the Korean martial world?"
"No."
"Then what?"
Heo Pung-gae answered Yi Pung's question.
"Not the bandits. Someone else."
"Who?"
"Someone more dangerous than Gu Ja-seong."
"That guy?"
"Probably."
"Fuck..."
Yi Pung kept raging for a good while after that. He swore he'd pull every string with the Martial Alliance, then wrapped up with some consolation.
"Anyway, don't worry. We'll get you out somehow. Yi Do-hyeok's been busting his ass to help too."
"Do-hyeok?"
"Yeah. Gathering people for a public campaign or whatever—running around like crazy. Pretty impressive. I thought he was just a cheap disposable grunt at first, so I treated him well... but now he seems like..."
After Yi Pung left, Heo Pung-gae sat cross-legged and tried to meditate.
But even his usual training, which he stuck to through any crisis, wasn't clicking today. His mind was too rattled.
Anxiety clawed at his skull.
What if he ended up indicted and locked away? If things dragged on that far, it was game over.
Even if he somehow survived the sentence, it'd devour most of his remaining lifespan. No accumulating merit in prison, no earning money for elixirs. Time would just slip away, and he'd wither to dust.
That was worse than any death he could imagine. Waiting in a cell for the slow, inevitable end? Feeling mortality creep closer each day? He'd crack under that terror for sure.
Even if they burned him alive in agony or sawed off his limbs—it wouldn't compare.
The thought alone made his head spin. Heo Pung-gae broke off his meditation and squeezed his eyes shut.
Despite the dire straits, he didn't bolt from the room or try to escape. There was one last person he had to see.
That person, he suspected, was the one who'd pushed this mess to its brink—and the only one who could still help him.
The next day, Prosecutor Yi Rok showed up again.
He wasn't the ringleader, just tangled in the case, yet the guy visited with suspicious frequency.
"You run that acupuncture clinic, but you're away a lot, right? Hitman for martial world outfits on the side, using it as cover—true?"
Heo Pung-gae kept his mouth shut as the prosecutor grilled him on every angle.
"I told you, silence isn't smart, didn't I?"
Was he a rookie? His voice was rising.
Then the hospital room door flew open. A massive shadow filled the space.
Looking far younger than his years, with a build unfit for a corporate bigwig, President Park spoke.
"Working hard, eh? Good to see."
Prosecutor Yi Rok didn't flinch at the intruder. He stood, bowed deeply, and replied politely.
"Yes, sir. Doing my best."
President Park chuckled.
"No need with this one, though."
"Pardon?"
"He's my friend."
Prosecutor Yi Rok just blinked. President Park waved him off.
"What're you waiting for? Scram. Give us the room."
Yi Rok hesitated, then bowed low and left. Now it was just the two of them.
President Park said,
"Ignore that guy. Just doing his job."
Heo Pung-gae asked,
"One of your sponsored boys?"
"Yep. So what the hell were you doing sticking your neck in here? More chivalrous knight bullshit?"
"Something like that."
President Park narrowed his eyes.
"You think that flies in today's world?"
"Not after praise."
"Whatever your reasons, quit grandstanding when cops are around. Lucky for you, those punks were late to the party this time, so I've got nothing to gripe about..."
"Here to give advice?"
"Nah. Here to say I'll get you out."
"You can do that?"
"Can."
"Even with your pull in the prosecution, this mess seems tricky."
"Can't spring the O Family boss or the shooter, but a BB-gun slinger like you? Easy to keep off the indictment list."
"Then... thanks."
"Don't overdo the gratitude."
Truth be told, Heo Pung-gae wasn't all that thankful.
He asked what he'd suspected.
"You had those three women fake their testimony?"
"Yeah. My call."
Surprisingly, President Park admitted it outright.
"Don't hate me too much. Five hundred mil each? They'd have to be Mother Teresa to say no—karaoke hostesses?"
"Fair enough. But why blow a billion and a half?"
"You nearly wrecked my plans."
"Plans. Like when you sicced me on that TV station to blow it up, huh?"
"Damn right. Spotlight the incident, fan the martial world hate. Time to make politicians move their fat asses. Sound about right?"
President Park went on.
"This is two martial gangs stirring up civilian trouble with their filthy feud. That's what happened, so that's how it hits TV. But then some martial chivalrous type crashes the party and turns it into a hero saga? Can't have that."
"So you cooked the case. Same as the station raid that backfired, from what I hear."
"Not like I enjoy this. Making you the villain instead of the hero? Figure you'll cut me slack. You've got zero ego—guy who even got a biography, just laundering his rep... right? Master Heo Pung-gae."
Heo Pung-gae wasn't surprised. President Park knew who he was. His late father had been acquainted.
"Yeah."
"Least I kept your face out of the headlines. BB pellets everywhere tied it to Invincible BB Bullet, but broadcast won't touch it."
"Your doing?"
"Had to shut down his fans piping up... but it'll help you anyway. So, Master Heo Pung-gae? Go to the Mosan Sect."
"Will they still contract me now?"
"They will. I invested there, roped in other CEOs. Attended their meeting as their rep to keep your deal alive."
"That... I do owe you for."
President Park smiled and repeated himself.
"Go to the Mosan Sect."
He pressed on.
"Once you're there, don't come back. Train, gobble pricey elixirs. Stay clear of martial thugs. Getting this treatment in your old age—what a joke. Martial world's about to get ugly; stick around and you'll eat shit. Mosan Sect suits you."
Heo Pung-gae wanted that too, deep down.
But he didn't commit, so President Park sighed heavily and spoke.
"You know I despise martial thugs."
"I do."
"You're the exception. Plenty about you rubs me wrong, but I can't lump you in with those punk scum. My old man leaned on you hard—remember burying my dog with him that day? I was so grateful..."
Heo Pung-gae stared at President Park silently, then asked,
"One question."
"Shoot."
"You teamed up with that blonde Heavenly Demon?"
This time, President Park didn't answer right away. He paused, then nodded.
"Yes."
"Why?"
"To drive the martial thugs off this land, obviously."