Chapter 167
A somewhat sobered Kang Minjae in tow, I was heading back into the Gangnam Police Station. A detective hurrying down the hallway, absorbed in some documents, suddenly addressed me.
"Prosecutor Cha? Oh, wait—you're a lawyer now, right? Fancy running into you here, Counselor."
"Ah, Detective Park. Good to see you."
"Yeah, you too. It's been ages. Three years?"
"About that."
Gangnam Station fell under the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office jurisdiction, so we were well acquainted.
"I've been following your news. Impressive stuff."
"You're too kind."
"And who's this...? Oh, you're a lawyer too, right? I think I've seen you on TV. The one who came out of court with him after that Go Yunseong trial?"
Detective Park nodded familiarly at Kang Minjae, who was standing blankly beside me. Kang Minjae's face flushed as he bowed awkwardly.
"Ah, yes. Hello. I'm Lawyer Kang Minjae. I should give you my card, but my wallet's..."
As Kang Minjae fumbled in his leather jacket pocket, mumbling, Detective Park quickly clocked that he was drunk. What else would a hammered guy and a lawyer be doing at the station in the dead of night? He smirked subtly, as if he had the gist.
"You two had a fight, huh."
"...Something like that."
"There was a group of college kids who came in earlier for causing a scene. Not them, I hope...?"
He asked, but his expression said no way. Kang Minjae hid behind me in embarrassment, and I let out a short sigh.
"It just... happened."
"Well... They seem to have calmed down now. Hope it wraps up smoothly. Would love to grab a coffee since it's been so long, but I'm headed somewhere."
"Sure. Thanks for your hard work. Let's catch up next time."
Detective Park bowed and hurried off down the corridor. Kang Minjae clamped his mouth shut and bowed deeply to me.
"Sorry. You must be mortified..."
He apologized in a small voice, but it barely registered. He'd embarrassed me plenty before. Especially that time in front of his grandfather, shoving plates of abalone and eel my way. This was nothing.
"Forget it. Let's wrap this up and go. It's the weekend tomorrow—get some rest."
"...Okay."
As Detective Park had said, the mood had shifted dramatically when we returned. The sprawled-out group was now sitting up straight, the booze evidently worn off. Even the guy who'd been yelling his head off was subdued. The weary officer's face had brightened too, suggesting things were mostly settled.
We'd been outside maybe thirty minutes—how had it resolved so quickly? The cops hardly seemed the intervening type.
"Here they are."
As we appeared, they jerked their chins our way.
"Those are the guys."
One of them explained us to someone out of sight, obscured by the water cooler from this angle.
"Huh?"
The figure shot up, revealing himself first. His eyes widened in surprise as he stared at me. I was just as shocked.
It was Kim Chan-young.
"From the smoking area earlier, right?"
He approached with a friendly smile.
"I'm friends with these guys. We were supposed to meet at the club, but they ended up here, so I came over."
"I see."
"You must be the one who clashed with my friends...?"
Kim Chan-young glanced between me and Kang Minjae.
"This one's my colleague, and he's the one involved."
"Ah, so you called a lawyer... Planning to press charges?"
He eyed Kang Minjae awkwardly.
"No. If we can talk it out, no need for that. I'm here as his guardian. Both sides admit fault, right? Shouldn't drag it out if we align on that. No serious injuries either."
I replied, scanning the group. The ones who'd snarled at the mere sight of Kang Minjae now looked like leashed dogs, meek as lambs.
"From what I heard, my friends messed up first. Sorry about that. We tried to grab a table too, but it was full, so we bailed. Then this guy... What should I call you?"
"Lawyer Kang Minjae."
"Oh, a lawyer? They kept saying 'lawyer this, lawyer that'—turns out that's your job. No wonder you didn't want to fight. My friends' fault, clearly."
"No, he told us to shut up and fuck off too..."
The instigator muttered from behind Kim Chan-young. But Kim turned with a smile that didn't reach his eyes.
"You started it, so he got pissed. You were wrong first, right? Just apologize properly. Stop grumbling."
The words were ice-cold despite the smile.
"Anyway, they couldn't get a table, and you snagged a big one solo—that bruised their egos, I guess. They were wasted, out of their minds. Truly sorry."
Kim Chan-young neatly summarized and bowed to us.
"Isungjin, apologize now."
He nodded at the guy who'd hit Kang Minjae, still seated. Not rude among friends, but there was a subtle hierarchy. It fit what I knew of him.
In my past life, Kim Chan-young had surfaced while digging into Go Sangjun—never directly connected to me. Per the records, he'd graduated from a top university on his own merits, charting a path unrelated to his father. Sure, Go Sangjun's support let him live richly. But he had zero ties to the legitimate kids or Wooshin itself.
I hadn't even suspected he was Go Sangjun's illegitimate son at first.
What stuck with me about him was simple: one of the corruption dossiers on Go Sangjun and his family traced back to Kim Chan-young.
"Sorry."
Isungjin bowed curtly.
"No, my bad too."
Kang Minjae bobbed his head in return.
Kim Chan-young, looking pleased, approached the officer. "We've settled—can we go?"
"Just sign the report. Even with a settlement, it'll go to your registered address."
"That's fine."
Isungjin replied readily, but Kang Minjae looked anything but. These docs typically mailed to the family registry address—and his was Kang Gwanung's home. He'd called me instead of his manager precisely to dodge Grandpa. Tough luck.
"Can it go to my office?"
"Afraid not—has to be the registered one."
The cop was firm. More fidgety than the twenty-something Isungjin, who was dodging parents.
"...Fuck, I'm screwed."
Kang Minjae slumped.
"Kang Minjae first, then. You both hit each other—victim and perp rolled into one. It'll say victim-perpetrator on the report. Resident ID?"
Kang Minjae recited glumly.
"Current job?"
"Lawyer..."
His turn done, Isungjin stepped up. Mingyun University student, same cohort as Kim Chan-young and the crew, apparently.
"Glad you settled. Next time, hold back even if you're buzzed and pissed. Kids, don't hit adults no matter how mad."
The cop chided. Kim Chan-young playfully smacked Isungjin's shoulder.
"Lawyer, sorry again."
Isungjin bowed once more to Kang Minjae, who accepted the repeated apologies awkwardly. From rowdy punks to meek sheep—it felt off-putting to him.
"You're free to go."
Procedures wrapped, dawn was breaking. I watched Kim Chan-young chatting with his group.
He harbored deep resentment toward his father, Go Sangjun. That grudge likely birthed the corruption dossiers he'd anonymously leaked on Go Sangjun and the legit kids—meticulously sourced and laundered.
Standard for an illegitimate child, spilling over to the wife's spawn. He'd even taken his mother's surname, shunning his father's.
Hiding his lineage, unable to fraternize openly—that life must've been bleak.
Surprisingly, Go Sangjun doted on him. Considering his soft spot for trash like Go Yunseong, affection for Kim Chan-young wasn't odd. He'd gifted him shares and slotted maternal relatives into affiliates.
Kim Chan-young loathed Go Sangjun; Go Sangjun cherished Kim Chan-young. Add his airtight leaks aimed at Daddy's arrest. Perfect fit for my plans.
He'd been on my radar from this life's outset. I'd planned later contact, given his student status—but this coincidence? No harm in accelerating.
"Hey, we're hitting that gamjatang spot nearby for hangover soup. Join us?"
Kim Chan-young approached.
"Nah, we're good—"
"Perfect timing. He needs it too."
I cut off Kang Minjae. Normally I'd bail without looking back, but Kim Chan-young changed the equation.
Kang Minjae eyed me like I'd grown a second head.
"They're the ones who scrapped with you—better safe than sorry. Feed 'em and send 'em off clean."
Couldn't spill the full story, so I bullshitted. Decent excuse.
"Counselor, thinking of me like that... I'm seriously touched. Twice in one night."
I hadn't pegged him for getting misty-eyed over this.