Chapter 267
Stepping into the room, I was greeted by a pleasant scent, just as Kang the manager had promised—someone had clearly cleaned it thoroughly. The bedding looked freshly aired, and spare clothes were neatly stowed in the built-in closet. On the desk sat a laptop I hadn't noticed earlier. The bathroom was something else entirely; true to Kang Minjae's word, an assortment of toothpastes lined the shelves, along with various skin creams and lotions. It had seemed absurd when I'd first heard about it, but seeing it now brought a faint smile to my lips.
After washing up, I sat at the desk and checked a few portal sites. Even amid the swirling rumors, there was no mention anywhere of Lee Jeongchan's death. A search on the major portals turned up nothing as well.
"……Hmm."
Kang the manager had told me earlier that the embargo would lift three days from now, at 5 a.m. They were likely holding off until after meticulous preparations, anticipating the massive public backlash. The funeral would then proceed as a five-day affair, delayed because all the prospective chief mourners—his children—were currently behind bars. Since neither son was a violent criminal, they'd probably get permission for time out of prison. No major issues there. Not that I had any business worrying about someone else's problems right now.
—Lawyer, may I come in?
A knock at the door was followed by Kang's voice.
"Come in."
Kang Minjae entered, holding an unfamiliar burner phone and a plate of neatly sliced fruit.
"I was on my way to bring you the burner phone that Su-il hyung prepared, and Madam said to give you some fruit, so I grabbed it."
He sat on the bed and set the fruit plate on the desk.
"He said you can use that phone without worry."
"Thanks."
"No problem. Eat up quick."
I'd planned to eat once he left, but he showed no signs of going. He speared a piece of apple with a fork and handed it to me, then started eating his own.
Crunch, munch. In the quiet room, filled only with the sound of Kang Minjae chewing his apple, I finally spoke.
"Not leaving?"
"……Huh, me?"
"Got other business?"
"Nope?"
"Then what."
"Well, just, y'know……."
As Kang Minjae hemmed and hawed, I felt it again: making him stay in this house really was about wanting to feel like a friend crashing over every day.
"I wanted to hear about your plans going forward."
"What plans."
"You're not just gonna give up here, right? You need to clear your name."
"True."
"So you must have some plan for that."
"Nope."
Kang Minjae's eyes widened in surprise at my answer. All we had so far was that Lee Jeongchan was dead, the last person he'd contacted—and met—was me, and the meeting spot was where his body was found, a perfect place for a murder. Narrowing the suspect down to me wasn't a stretch. Of course, it wasn't critical evidence pinning me as the culprit, so there were ways to refute it. I'd already explained that much to Kang on the way here.
"None at all?"
He asked again, as if he couldn't believe it.
"You're not telling me even now? That's too much."
"It's not that I'm not telling you—there really isn't one."
"No way. You always come up with a plan the second you take a case!"
Well, sure—in my previous life, I already knew the cases. And they were other people's problems. I could judge if a client approaching me was truly innocent or lying, then map out exactly how to prove it. Plus, most cases that came my way had been ongoing for a while, so there were always suspicious loose ends. I'd prioritize investigating the discrepancies from what the truth-telling clients said. Or if it was a case I'd orchestrated from the start, of course I had a plan.
But things were different now. The case hadn't even properly unfolded yet. I'd wanted to confront it head-on, but seeing Park Younggi so agitated and urging caution, I'd decided to watch and wait a bit longer. What plan was there in a situation like that? It was an event that never happened in my previous life—I had no idea how it would play out.
"This time, there's really nothing."
This might be the real test, three years into this new life. If some absolute being truly existed, granting me this ability and sending me back in time—what if it was to see if I could handle something like this, after strutting around on past knowledge and my power so far?
Pure delusion, of course. But one thing was clear: this case would be a turning point.
"The case hasn't ripened yet. We wait till it does."
"Like acne?"
"……We have fruit as a metaphor right here—did you have to go with that one?"
"It just popped into my head. Haha. But it's fun, right? Kinda like Taesik."
"Don't hang out with him so much. It's rubbing off."
"Why? Taesik's cute."
Everyone said that, but I always got chills when Taesik threw a tantrum my way. Same with Kang Minjae.
"Anyway, no plan right now. Just wait."
"It's weird hearing you say that. You always divvied up tasks the moment a case landed."
Kang Minjae smacked his lips in disappointment. I looked back at him and said,
"This time, since I'm the one tied up, I might not be able to assign anything."
"Then what?"
"You might have to find work for yourself. Oh, assuming you're helping me, of course."
"Of course I'd help you!"
"Everyone's telling me to lay low, so I won't be able to step foot outside. That means gathering evidence, meeting people—you'll have to handle it."
I figured he'd light up and spin off into his wild theories, but instead, he looked worried.
"……Kinda nervous."
"About what?"
"If I can pull it off."
"You've done great so far."
"Sure, but cases this big were always on your orders. The ones I handled solo were small stuff."
"You improve by doing. No one's good from the start."
"Bet you were."
He seemed to genuinely believe it. Even my old nickname, FM Robot, from my prosecutor days when I didn't even know about it, made that assumption reasonable.
"I messed up plenty as a trainee. I'm human, you know."
"Didn't think you were."
"Then what am I."
"A robot."
I was speechless at his matter-of-fact reply.
"It won't be hard. Don't overthink size— that'll just tense you up. Do it like always: take in the situation, dig into anything suspicious, meet relevant people, check their backgrounds. Piece it together, and something'll turn up. You can come here, show me, ask me anything. You've got this—plenty. I always took the lead, so you never got the chance."
"You really think I can?"
"Yes."
Kang Minjae's face lit up with genuine emotion. A sudden dread hit me—he might hug me, or call me "Juhan hyung" again. I scooted my chair back, putting some distance between us. He yelped, "Ah, I won't do anything!" looking utterly wronged.
"Once we wrap this up clean, you'll still go after Wooshin, right?"
He popped the last apple slice into his mouth, his tone laced with real concern. On the surface, this was just Wooshin framing me for murder. But I couldn't shake the sense they'd planned to feed both Lee Jeongchan and me to the fishes. Clearing my name wouldn't end it—if I kept pursuing Wooshin, it'd mean fighting to the death.
"Have to."
"Why?"
"Don't like 'em."
"What about them?"
"What they do."
My parents were alive now, but in my previous life, they'd died. Sometimes I wondered if this world was really the same one. Maybe it was a parallel universe, different from the one I'd known. In that case, the parents who'd raised me for over thirty years were gone, and these ones I'd only reunited with three years ago were the only living ones.
Of course, I hoped it was just time rewound physically, like a spring. Either way, Wooshin had killed my parents, countless others with the same illness, and my colleague. That much hadn't changed. Sure, revenge on this world's Wooshin wouldn't touch the one from my old universe. But I needed an outlet for the rage I'd nursed so long, and this Wooshin was no different in its deeds. Even if I'd altered things here, I couldn't stop walking toward its destruction.
I'd crossed back through time; my body and age had changed. But the core of me was continuous from both lives. Mentally, I wasn't thirty-seven—I was forty-seven.
"Did Wooshin do something to you?"
Kang Minjae said it half-jokingly, but an impulse struck me. The urge to spill it, just once. And before I could stop myself, it burst out.
"Yeah."
"What? Wooshin did something bad to you?"
"Yeah, they did."
"What'd they do?"
"Something really bad."
"……If it's hard to talk about, I won't pry. Is that why you left the prosecutors?"
"Pretty much."
"When? Back when you were a prosecutor?"
He stared at me, shock and worry mingling on his face.
"This is my second go-round at life. Happened in the first one."
"Ah, come on."
Thinking I'd tricked him again, he huffed and shot to his feet.
"Keep messing around and I'm out."
Not messing.
"Night."
"……Yeah. You too—get some rest. It'll all work out."
Kang Minjae picked up the empty plate and left the room. As the door clicked shut, I turned off the light. It was past midnight already. Time to sleep; tomorrow, I needed to update Oh the office manager, Choi Jonghyeon, and Jo Bongjun on my situation. Oh, and Taesik too—since I'd be assigning him to Kang Minjae.
Tired.
I lay on the bed, staring at the ceiling. Still, confessing felt a little relieving. Even if he doesn't know it.