The Cop Is Too Strong [EN]: Chapter 243

< #243. Meeting of the Division Leader and the Mayfly >

Kim Cheong-won sensed something was off. Shin Hae-soo was in the passenger seat, but the driver and Secretary Hong next to him were staring straight ahead as if they were blind and deaf.

It was the same behavior he exhibited when he was fooling around with female employees in the back seat.

That meant only one thing.

“These, these sons of bitches…!”

“You’re the son of a bitch.”

Shin Hae-soo had uncovered data indicating that Kim Cheong-won was closely tied to companies affiliated with the Chilseong Group [a powerful South Korean conglomerate, similar to a chaebol].

Moreover, according to newly acquired information, he had been using company employees as his personal thugs.

Therefore, he was essentially a member of the Chilseong Group.

Hae-soo glared at him, her eyes flashing.

“You’re a dog of Teacher Cheon.”

“S-Shut up!”

What courage had he suddenly found to do such a foolish thing? Kim Cheong-won instinctively grabbed the fountain pen in his pocket and swung it at Hae-soo.

Thwack-

Hae-soo blocked his clumsy attack with her forearm, grabbed his neck with her other hand, and slammed him against the window.

Crash!

“Gurgle.”

Kim Cheong-won rolled his eyes back and fainted from the impact.

Hae-soo shook the blood off her hand, looked ahead, and said,

“Secretary Hong, let’s go.”

“…Yes.”

* * *

Kim Cheong-won had countless charges even with a cursory search. Major charges included incitement to murder, bribery, and illegal trading, among others.

Hae-soo assigned the Kim Cheong-won case to District Attorney Kang Ji-tae of the Eastern District Prosecutors’ Office, who was nicknamed ‘Hwang Si-mok’ [a reference to a character known for his incorruptibility and sharp intellect in the Korean drama “Stranger”].

Despite his unwavering integrity, he had been promoted to senior prosecutor this year. That meant he was competent.

Immediately after taking the case, District Attorney Kang Ji-tae moved swiftly.

A special law applies to members of the National Assembly [South Korea’s legislative branch].

During a National Assembly session, even with a charge of incitement to murder, arrest was impossible unless it was an active crime.

To make an arrest, the consent of the National Assembly had to be obtained, which was political poison to Kim Cheong-won.

Before the news articles were even published, all of Kim Cheong-won’s crimes were exposed to all the members of the National Assembly.

With clear evidence presented, no one took Kim Cheong-won’s side.

[0 votes against]

“Do you think you’ll be safe if you do this? You’ll regret it!”

Kim Cheong-won was kicked out of the National Assembly for threatening the members.

Immediately handed over to the prosecution for investigation, Kim Cheong-won reached out to the members of the Chilseong Group.

However, even as the most supported political figure by Teacher Cheon, with Teacher Cheon absent, no one helped him.

No one used this as an opportunity to attack him, but everyone remained silent.

“What have I done for you until now!! I’m going to kill you all. I’m going to kill you all!!”

Kim Cheong-won’s desperate curse echoed emptily within the courtroom.

Shin Hae-soo and Ahn Seo-eun quietly watched his retreating figure.

“How pathetic. Is this the end of the desire for power… Will Father become like that too?”

Hae-soo paused for a moment before opening her mouth.

“Having a bad child was the starting point. Chairman Ahn doesn’t seem like he would do that.”

Ahn Seo-eun gave a faint smile at Hae-soo’s words.

* * *

An office with a refreshing view of a green lawn outside the window.

There, Teacher Cheon was playing Go [a strategic board game popular in East Asia] with a middle-aged man in a neat suit.

Click.

Teacher Cheon placed a stone, and the middle-aged man picked up a Go stone but couldn’t place it immediately, falling into deep thought. His brow furrowed deeply.

“Is it because of Assemblyman Kim Cheong-won’s matter?”

The middle-aged man put aside his thoughts and turned his gaze to Teacher Cheon.

“…Even if the National Assembly is like that, I didn’t expect the members to abandon him so readily. I’m very disappointed. He was someone I cherished.”

Teacher Cheon stood up, turned his back to him, and said,

“The wealthy fear fists more than the law. I should meet them once.”

A strange light flashed in the middle-aged man’s eyes.

“You mean you’ll go yourself, Teacher?”

Teacher Cheon looked out the window without answering. In the distance, buildings soared high into the sky.

* * *

Meanwhile, Chairman Ahn, the wealthy businessman Teacher Cheon was referring to, a current member of the Chilseong Group, and also Hae-soo’s spy, was watching TV.

A giant screen showed Ahn Seo-eun’s face so large that even her pores were visible.

“Are you watching it again?”

Secretary Kim came in and spoke.

Chairman Ahn had initially opposed Ahn Seo-eun appearing on an entertainment program, but now he had watched it dozens of times.

Secretary Kim was pleased with the change in Chairman Ahn, who had begun to look back at his family after letting go of his desire for power and wealth, and he was now assisting him with more sincerity than before.

Chairman Ahn smiled as he looked at Seo-eun’s face.

“I always knew she was talented because she takes after me, but she looks good on screen. Don’t you think?”

“Yes, I heard she already has a fan cafe.”

Chairman Ahn’s head turned slightly.

“Fan cafe?”

“Yes, are you going to join?”

“Ahem, what is that? I’m not a kid…”

Chairman Ahn cleared his throat and continued watching TV.

“Seeing Seo-eun on TV like this, I think it was a national loss that I stopped her from becoming a celebrity because of my greed.”

“It wasn’t Chairman’s greed; she said she didn’t want to do it herself.”

Chairman Ahn narrowed his eyes and looked at him as Secretary Kim stated the facts.

“Aren’t you going home?”

“Ah, I’ll be going. Thank you for your hard work today.”

After Secretary Kim left, Chairman Ahn looked around to make sure no one was there and sat in front of the computer.

[Ahn Seo-eun Fan Cafe]

Click.

-Our CEO Ahn’s work outfit

-CEO Ahn’s bodyguard class

-Will our CEO Ahn appear on another entertainment show?

-What is Daesung Entertainment doing? They’re not casting CEO Ahn in a drama!

-I love CEO Ahn!!

-What do I have to do to marry CEO Ahn?

-I’m buying new CEO Ahn photos. 50,000 won per photo

It was a fairly large fan cafe with 30,000 members. It was decorated with Ahn Seo-eun’s photos from the background to the bulletin board.

Ahn Seo-eun was a non-celebrity and didn’t post photos on social media like other celebrities, so there were many people who craved her photos.

“These, these bastards…!”

Chairman Ahn clicked on a bulletin board with fire in his eyes, but he was met with a message that he had to join to view it, and he naturally joined the fan cafe.

And there, he learned that Ahn Seo-eun still enjoyed the game Exit Mobile.

-CEO Ahn playing games at the cafe (photo)

-CEO Ahn, a true gamer who refused to film a promotional CF [commercial film] for Exit, saying she didn’t need that kind of thing

-I partied with CEO Ahn in Exit yesterday

-I’m starting Exit today too

“Exit…”

Chairman Ahn vaguely recalled the game she played when he had confined Seo-eun in the past.

After searching, it was the same game as then.

“What’s so great about a game…”

Contrary to his words, Chairman Ahn’s finger was pressing the Exit Mobile PC version download button.

If they played the game together, they would have a lot to talk about on the same topic, and he wondered if he could recover their distant relationship even a little.

“Huh?”

“Oh.”

“Hmm!”

Without Chairman Ahn realizing it, the outside of the window darkened and then the golden sun rose again.

“Chairman? When did you get here?”

When Secretary Kim opened the door and entered, Chairman Ahn finally realized that he had stayed up all night.

“Oh, yes. Where is this game company located? It’s more fun than I thought.”

Secretary Kim approached Chairman Ahn and smiled slightly at the Exit game reflected on the monitor.

* * *

The Division Leader was even more addicted to the game these days. Recently, the number of new Exit users had exploded, further increasing his sense of superiority as an existing game user.

To feel that superiority even closer, he went to the newbie zone to find beginners and helped them with various things.

-SeoeuniJjang: Wow, thank you! Division Leader, you’re so strong?

-AhnLeaderLuv: Thank you, Division Leader. I hope I can level up quickly and become as strong as you.

-SeoeunNyampyeon: Wow, I died three times, but Division Leader caught it in one hit, the best!

“Hoo hoo hoo hoo~”

As he was humming a tune, lost in his sense of superiority, strolling through the newbie zone, he discovered a character wearing flashy equipment that reminded him of a nightmare.

[SeoeunBest]

He was also a so-called ‘Ahn Seo-eun fan’ nickname that was often seen these days.

He was slaughtering the newbie zone, wearing all the cash items currently available for his level.

But he was still just a newbie, not comparable to the Division Leader.

The Division Leader felt like breaking the nose of that arrogant newbie.

-DivisionLeader: SeoeunBest?

-SeoeunBest: ?

The Division Leader flinched at his reaction. The reaction was so similar that he wondered if it was the same person.

He calmed his surprised heart and carefully typed.

-DivisionLeader: Just by looking at you, I can tell you used your dad’s credit card to fill up on cash items, but as a high-level Exit user, I can’t stand by and watch a newbie go down the wrong path. If you catch it easily with cash items, you can’t feel the charm of this game, the thrill of winning with control, and the fun of growing your character with the items you get from catching bosses!

The Division Leader left a chat full of boomer vibes [referring to attitudes or behaviors associated with the baby boomer generation, often seen as outdated or out of touch] and watched the other person’s reaction.

If the reaction was the same as before, he was going to ignore it and go to the hunting grounds.

-SeoeunBest: You’re right. Teacher, people these days don’t know because they haven’t experienced the hardship of coming up from the bottom. I was playing the game with a lax attitude. I regret it.

“Ooh?”

But the reaction was quite good. The Division Leader couldn’t help but be surprised and changed his mind.

-DivisionLeader: You’re a rare young man with upright values. You can’t turn back what you’ve already spent, so I’ll specially escort you so you can enjoy the game even now!

-SeoeunBest: If you’re not busy, I’d appreciate it if you could help me, Teacher.

The Division Leader took him to the mid-level zone and told him about the hunting grounds and bosses suitable for his current combat power.

-SeoeunBest: …I don’t know how to repay this kindness, thank you so much. If you could tell me your name or phone number, I’ll send you a small gift.

-DivisionLeader: Just enjoy this game, that’s all I need.

The Division Leader was tempted, but he couldn’t bear to receive something from a newbie, so he coolly turned around. And at the moment he was about to leave.

-Harusari: ?

He encountered the worst possible relationship. The Division Leader immediately pulled out his weapon and shield and hid SeoeunBest with his back.

-DivisionLeader: Disciple! Don’t ask anything and run away quickly! Leave this to me!

-SeoeunBest: What is that…?”

Swoosh-

At that moment, Harusari flashed past the Division Leader and stabbed SeoeunBest in the heart.

-SeoeunBest: …?

-DivisionLeader: You, you bad bastard!!!

The Division Leader doped himself with all sorts of buff skills, expensive buff potions, and scrolls, and charged at Harusari.

Clang clang! Stab stab!

[DivisionLeader has died.]

However, he was eventually killed by Harusari before long.

The Division Leader, Gwak Ban-jang, stared blankly at the black and white screen.

“Harusari… that bastard.”

The Division Leader was furious. He was furious at Harusari’s ruthless unsportsmanlike PK [Player Killing, referring to attacking other players in a game], who had mercilessly trampled on a growing sprout who was just trying to get out of being a newbie, let alone himself.

-DivisionLeader: Why did you kill SeoeunBest? Did you have to… did you have to kill everyone to feel better?!!!

-Harusari: ?

-Harusari: You said he was your disciple?

The Division Leader took his hand off the keyboard at his answer. It was because of him. He should have stayed still, but he shouted that he was his disciple, so he died too.

However, that doesn’t quell his anger.

The Division Leader rekindled his fighting spirit and pounded on the keyboard.

-DivisionLeader: You come out

-Harusari: You’re in the village, come out

-DivisionLeader: No, really come out, let’s see your face once, I won’t do anything like punching, so don’t be scared

-Harusari: Not scared? Call

Gwak Ban-jang gritted his teeth.

Harusari accepted Gwak Ban-jang’s challenge so easily that it was absurd, as if he didn’t even think about what he had been tormenting him with.

The two of them set the place and time by whispering and personal letters in the game without exchanging phone numbers, as gamers would.

The place was in front of the cafe at Gobong Bookstore intersection.

It happened to be in a similar area.

Gwak Ban-jang’s heart was complicated as he approached the meeting place.

‘What if he’s a childish kid when I actually meet him? Should I flick him on the forehead and buy him something to eat? No, I don’t want to do that, but what if he’s a surprisingly big gangster… Should I arrest him?’

With a trembling heart, he arrived at the meeting place, one step at a time, as if he were going on his first blind date.

But someone was already there.

“Huh?”

He, or rather she, widened her eyes when she saw Gwak Ban-jang.

Gwak Ban-jang also pointed at her with his index finger and opened his mouth.

“…Could it be?”

“Perhaps?”

A cafe banner sign was visible between them.