IRLPLBIO Chapter 15 Part 2

The small pocket on the hospital gown was shallow. The envelope stood stiffly, but Hae-jun didn’t fold or crinkle it.

The contents of the envelope weren’t cash, but cheques. Five one-million-won cheques, totaling five million won.

After a quick calculation, Hae-jun’s heart pounded.

The culprit wasn’t Han Seong-cheol, but Chang-shik’s gang. Today’s incident wasn’t an instigation by Han Seong-cheol, deliberately targeting Jae-gu’s way home, but rather Jae-gu unluckily getting caught up in a rampage by members of Chang-shik’s gang.

Hae-jun, firmly inputting this into his mind, slightly revised his assessment of Han Seong-cheol. Han Seong-cheol was absurd, outrageous, and a lunatic, but if he gave this much money, Hae-jun thought getting hit on the head once by him wouldn’t be so bad.

That day’s events were beautifully fabricated. The narrative was that ‘Chang-shik’s gang’, whose faces they had only seen for a few minutes, attacked Jae-gu and Hae-jun while they were on their way home, trying to expand their territory, and Han Seong-cheol, who happened to see his friend get hurt, reported it to the police.

The affairs of Chang-shik’s gang became a huge chunk of performance credit for the police. Not only this assault, but also illegal activities at the loan shark operations run by Chang-shik’s gang and their nightclubs were exposed in abundance.

There was no reason for frontline police officers not to rush into a matter where a huge amount of dirt came rolling out with just a poke or two. Police, with eyes burning for promotion points, forgot day and night and immersed themselves in the investigation.

Even Dae-yeong Group’s support poured in generously for them. Ostensibly, it was gratitude for quietly handling Han Seong-cheol’s matter, but in reality, that wouldn’t have been the true intention.

The tactful, perceptive, and experienced police officers realized that this matter shouldn’t be handled simply. They had to act ‘well’, ‘nicely’, and ‘without offending the eyes of high-ranking individuals’. In any case, the police intensified their investigation, fueled by the nutritional supplements and late-night snacks they received.

Chang-shik’s gang’s excuse that ‘Han Seong-cheol first instigated them’ was dismissed as malicious false testimony intended to confuse the investigation. Just like that, a local crime syndicate that was only just beginning to grow was instantly dismantled.

“But why isn’t Han Seong-cheol showing up? Is he hiding after causing all this trouble?”

“I heard he manifested.”

“Huh?”

Hae-jun’s voice came out strangely.

Originally, manifestation wasn’t something that required hospital care. The only issue, if any, was a ‘manifestation fever’, which could be alleviated by resting at home.

Hae-jun, who had briefly worried that Han Seong-cheol might have been seriously injured since he wasn’t coming to school, felt his heart turn cold again.

“Wow, what a huge lie. Won’t he be embarrassed when we see him later?”

“If he had the sense to be embarrassed, he wouldn’t have tried it in the first place.”

“Well, that’s true. But why did he take you? To sponsor the school big shot?”

Even though Jae-gu no longer did anything that would earn him the title of ‘big shot’, Hae-jun kept chuckling.

Jae-gu’s gaze was full of pity. The thought that perhaps Hae-jun had been hit on the head too hard and become an idiot was fully evident in his expression.

“What’s with that look!”

“How could a guy like this become a lawyer?”

“What? A lawyer? Why, did that lawyer uncle from back then say he liked me a bit?”

Jae-gu, who had carelessly let slip an important remark, flinched. Fortunately, Hae-jun didn’t properly grasp it and instead his eyes sparkled with excitement over another part of the conversation.

“Tell him I can start working right after graduation! Then, how many years until I get promoted and become a lawyer? I’ll still be a lawyer by my mid-twenties, right?”

“…I still think his intelligence is a bit low.”

Jae-gu clicked his tongue, his expression peculiar.

What kind of promotion was he talking about? How could such an idiot, who didn’t even know that one had to pass the Judicial Examination to become a lawyer, have been called a competent lawyer in the past? It was truly baffling.