Chapter 81
I went straight to see Jang Taesik without calling ahead. He had a habit of showing up out of nowhere himself, so I figured it was time he felt how rude that could be.
But the instant I pushed open the door to his detective agency, I caught sight of something unpleasant.
"Whoa, hyungnim. This is seriously no joke."
"Looks like he's on drugs or something. Damn, this guy's lost his mind. This is lifetime-embarrassment level."
"Holy shit, he's really gone off the rails, hyungnim. Stamina out the ass. Popped a Viagra or what? Heh."
Taesik and his crew were all clustered on the sofa in the middle of the office, huddling around a single laptop as they watched a video. Jeong Yeongjun's video, at that.
"Taesik-ah."
They were so glued to it, they didn't even hear my voice. Kang Minjae shot me a look that said, What do we do now?
I let out a sigh.
Kang Minjae, who'd been dying to watch it but trying to hide it. Jang Taesik, not bothering to conceal his enthusiasm one bit. I couldn't help but wonder why my life was full of people like this.
Well, at least Kang Minjae knew that even watching something like this counted as victim-blaming.
Taesik clearly had no clue.
"Taesik-ah."
My voice got drowned out by the sounds coming from the laptop, and "Huh? That voice sounds like a total punk."
"Must be your imagination, hyungnim."
Taesik seemed to catch the muffled words anyway—he nodded at his employee's response. But he still didn't bother turning around.
"Guess they usually call you 'punk' behind your back, Counselor," Kang Minjae said with a smirk.
I had no choice but to walk over to them. I picked up the laptop sitting on Taesik's knee.
"What the fu—... Oh, hello, Counselor."
"Yeah, punk's doing just fine."
I stared down at Taesik, whose face had gone pale, and snapped the laptop shut.
"No, no, punk? Who the hell called you punk, Counselor? Who was it? You? Huh? Was it you?"
"Sounded like your voice to me. Guess I was wrong."
"Oh, right, yeah. Couldn't have been me. No way I'd call you punk!"
"Sure. Then maybe it was Daechul who called me punk."
"Me? N-no, not me!"
"Oh? Then Sanggil?"
"H-hyangnim said it, Counselor! Hyungnim did!"
Sanggil yelled it out and bolted back to his desk. The other employees scattered just like him.
"...Fuck, these assholes."
Left alone, Taesik glared at them for a moment before turning to me as I sat down across from him. Then he started slapping his own mouth.
"This damn mouth! Such a punk-ass mouth!"
By the time his lip swelled up red, Kang Minjae quietly pulled Taesik's hand away from his face.
"...Anyway, what brings a fancy guest like you to our humble digs?"
"Yeah, I bet you're wondering why a lowly guy like me showed up."
"No, no! Slip of the tongue. Hyungnim—er, Counselor. For real this time."
He'd said the exact same thing last time, but it wasn't important. Time to get to the point.
"Good thing you're already watching the video. Saves time."
"No, Counselor, I'm sorry. I couldn't help it—it was too intriguing. I chewed out Daechul for getting the video, told him it was wrong, but ha..."
That wasn't what I'd meant to say.
"I said it was wrong, but he kept pushing to watch. Daechul's a real dog."
Off in the distance, Daechul jumped up, gesturing wildly like he was protesting his innocence.
"Not that. Taesik-ssi, our client for this case is the guy in that video."
I'd been planning to let Taesik's one-man show drag on a bit longer, but Kang Minjae jumped in.
"Pardon?"
"Jeong Yeongjun hired us. That's why we came to ask for your help."
Taesik looked at me, his face screaming for real? I nodded.
"But isn't spreading videos like that a cop thing? Why are you handling it, Counselor?"
He didn't know the video had put Jeong Yeongjun on the brink of divorce. Gossip was always like that—people craved the juicy bits but couldn't care less about the victim's suffering or how the story actually played out.
"His wife is demanding a divorce."
"From YJ Convenience?"
"Yeah, more precisely the parent company, Yangjin Group. Anyway, that's why they hired us. But Jeong Yeongjun claims someone made that video to smear him."
Kang Minjae explained the situation to Taesik.
Once he'd heard everything, Taesik crossed his arms and let out a groan.
"Well, yeah, I'd demand a divorce too. Who wouldn't lose their shit? Finding out your husband's not just cheating but a total perv. If Jeong Yeongjun's telling the truth, he'd feel pretty damn wronged too. But how do we know if he's really skipped town or just genuinely innocent?"
Taesik asked. Kang Minjae shook his head. He still wasn't fully convinced of Jeong Yeongjun's innocence either.
Only I could be sure, thanks to my ability piercing right to his true intentions.
There was nothing I could do about it directly—I just had to push the case forward until he earned their trust himself.
I brushed it off curtly. "If we don't believe the client, whose word do we believe?"
"Fair point. But if it's not his kink, he's never done it, has no memory of it—how's he holding up without going nuts? Whole country's seen his naked ass flopping around. And now everyone knows his face. How's he supposed to step outside? Man, I'd just off myself."
"Enough. Anyway, you've got work to do, so get ready."
I knew what Taesik was going to say. Hell, I'd thought the same thing.
That's why I'd urged him to see a doctor.
"Whatever you say goes, Counselor. What's the job?"
Seemed like he was thrilled at the prospect of new paying work—Taesik grinned.
Then Kang Minjae spoke up. "We need you to look into someone for us."
"Oh, now that's right up my alley. Keeps saying it, and my mouth's getting sore. Who do you need checked out?"
"Name's Im Hyeong-o, 38 years old. He ran an Italian joint called Viva Pasta near Korea University with Jeong until seven years ago. Jeong says they were seniors and juniors from Hansu High School."
"Hm, more specific than I expected. Got a phone number?"
"Yeah, but someone else picked up. I texted you a photo—it's him with Jeong Yeongjun, but it's from an old phone, so quality's crap."
"Eh, graduation albums can fill in the gaps. Shitty photo's no biggie."
Taesik nodded confidently. With details this solid—not some vague description—he'd track the guy down no problem.
"Jeong said he got busy after marriage and never kept in touch, so he doesn't even know if Viva Pasta's still open."
"They were partners, right? So investment split down the middle?" I asked. Kang Minjae nodded.
"Yeah. Jeong said once he got married, they couldn't keep partnering up, so they paid him back his share and refinanced the rest with loans."
"Any bad blood in the process?"
"Nah, he said Im was cool about it. Hasn't talked to him since, but swears he's a great guy—no need to suspect him."
With no clue who was behind it, it wasn't weird to suspect everyone around him. Even the little brother he'd come to the office holding hands with.
But Jeong still had some trust left in people. Sadly, that made guys like him easy targets—they seemed like pushovers.
"Alright, I'll dig into this Im Hyeong-o. Contact info, address, job— that kinda stuff?"
"Yep. Thanks a ton."
The two shook hands, beaming.
Taesik double-checked the notes he'd jotted down while Kang Minjae talked, then stood up briskly.
"That it? You two eat yet? Thinking Chinese. Join us?"
No sooner had he said it than Daechul scurried over, flipping open his phone and standing by. Ready to dial the Chinese place and rattle off the order the second the word came.
"Sweet. Jjapchae rice for me."
"Kang wants jjapchae rice. I'll take yusanseul rice. You, Counselor?"
"I'll have NIS."
"Pardon?"
They both turned to stare, like I'd spouted nonsense.
"NIS. Your friend."
"My buddy NIS? ...NIS? Wait, how do you know that guy, Counselor?"
Taesik gawked at me.
"You got someone tailing me, Counselor? How'd you know me and NIS pounded soju at a pork belly joint last week?"
Even in my previous life, Taesik had introduced me to Gukjeongwon. Though back then, like him, it hadn't happened until much later.
As far as I recalled, they'd known each other since around when Taesik started the agency—so yeah, they'd be tight by now.
I hadn't expected them to have met just last week, though.
"Yusanseul rice can wait. I need to see Gukjeongwon."
"Why him, Counselor? Hacking's the only thing that guy's good for making a living. If you're thinking of throwing him in jail or something, even if it's you, I can't let a friend—"
"Keep forgetting—I'm not a prosecutor anymore. I'm a lawyer."
"Oh, right."
I tossed him the car keys Kang Minjae had set on the table.
"Let's go see Gukjeongwon. Lead the way."