Chapter 17

CEO Kang Myeong-cheol (4)

!?

“Y-you, who the hell are you? How do you know that!!”

“Is that really important right now?”

“Fuck, don't tell me those bastards from the bereaved family sent you. How much!! I've got plenty of money. I'll pay you double, no, four times as much.”

Damn it.

This is what makes coming out of Resonance of Sin so troublesome.

Without realizing it, I start sympathizing with the victim, and that sympathy soon turns into anger toward the perpetrator. As a result, I end up saying things I don't need to say and doing things I don't need to do.

Just like now.

“Twenty-three years old.”

“What?”

“When that young man reached his limit, lost consciousness, and was dragged into the machine. What do you think it felt like to suffocate while his bones were being crushed?”

“Wh-what?”

“I'll tell you in advance. Compared to that pain, this won't even count as pain.”

There was no need for an answer.

I grabbed Kang Myeong-cheol by the back of his neck and dragged him toward the sink.

He was slightly taller than me, and his body was hardened by exercise. But his resistance was more helpless than a newborn's movements before the transcendent strength represented by the number 50.

—Whoooosh.

I turned the sink faucet all the way on.

Cold water began rising around his face, which I had forced into the sink.

“Mmph, mmmph!!”

The terror of the steadily rising water. Kang Myeong-cheol held his breath and struggled frantically. He flailed both arms, desperately trying to claw at my wrist, but it was useless. My skin, which had reached a Durability of 50 just like my Strength, wasn't damaged in the slightest by his fingernails.

—Gurgle, gurgle······

He could only hold his breath for so long.

Water began flooding into his nose and mouth. There were no screams. Only futile bubbles escaped. After thrashing and struggling for some time, Kang Myeong-cheol's body gradually lost its strength, until it finally went limp and fell completely still.

And at that moment, the terrible phantom pain that had been tormenting me also disappeared completely.

[Judgment has been completed. Karma will now be calculated.]

[Weight of the sins punished (Greed, debauchery, adultery, deception······): +1,200 Karma]

[Resonance of Sin Bonus (x1.1) applied ➔ 1,320 Karma]

[Final Calculation: 1,320 Karma acquired]

_____________

[Whoosh, pow! Hello, everyone! I'm Issue Detector, your favorite armchair news scavenger, just 80,000 subscribers away from reaching 100,000! Everyone, did you hear about the death of CEO Kang of Pony Foods yesterday? They say he ground a twenty-three-year-old young man into a machine, threw himself an acquittal party, and then died after cracking his head against a sink in the restroom!]

A sensational synthesized voice blared from the smartphone speaker.

On the screen, Kang Myeong-cheol's pixelated face appeared alongside large, flashing red letters reading, 'Divine Punishment? Or Judgment by the Dark Hero?'

[The pigs in blue... ah, I mean the police say it was a simple accidental fall after he got drunk, but doesn't something smell fishy here? The timing is absolutely insane, coming right after the Bucheon police chief's son kicked the bucket! Could a real 'dark hero' have appeared in Korea, someone who only goes after the trash the law refuses to punish? Am I the only one with this totally reasonable suspicion?!]

—Even for a nobody clickbait channel, making up bullshit theories for views is a bit much lol. Legendary stupidity.

—A guy gets drunk at a hostess club, falls over in the bathroom, and dies, and you're calling it an assassination? lol. Watching you desperately force this narrative is fucking pathetic;;

—Dark hero, my ass lol. You might as well say someone picked up a Death Note, you moron. No wonder you're stuck at 20,000 subscribers forever. Tsk, tsk.

—Bro... Are you having a hard time because your views have been down lately? Please go to a hospital... To show my support, I'll press the subscribe button twice again today. Later.

—Fact: It's not a dark hero. The physics engine is just bugged.

—But putting this clickbait parasite's wild theories aside, if a real dark hero showed up and started taking out every bastard those shitty judges let walk free, the dopamine rush would be insane lol. I'm seriously glad CEO Kang kicked the bucket. Burp.

______________

The National Forensic Service's Seoul branch.

Commonly known as the NFS.

Inside the chilly autopsy room, a weary-looking forensic pathologist handed a chart to the detective standing beside Kang Myeong-cheol's corpse on the silver autopsy table.

“To give you the conclusion first, drowning was indeed the cause of death. But the circumstances are rather strange.”

“You're saying it wasn't a simple accidental fall?”

“Yes. There are abrasions consistent with striking the sink, and the angle of the fall seems natural enough, but······ if you look at page two······.”

The forensic pathologist pointed to the subcutaneous tissue at the back of Kang Myeong-cheol's neck.

“There are severe compression marks, with ruptured muscles and ligaments inside the nape of his neck. Clear evidence of homicide. Someone grabbed him by the back of the neck and forcibly held his head underwater until he died.”

“They pressed him down with their hand?”

The detective's gaze lingered on Kang Myeong-cheol's corpse.

178 centimeters tall and weighing 80 kilograms.

Although he carried a little extra fat, his body was solid from exercise. Even intoxicated, he wouldn't have been an easy opponent. If someone had truly subdued him with their bare hands, identifying the suspect would become considerably easier.

“If the person pressing him down from behind were a world arm-wrestling champion or a World's Strongest Man champion, or perhaps an ape like a chimpanzee rather than a human, then it might be possible.”

“Doctor, please explain things a little more simply. Guys like us aren't that bright. If you put it that way, we'll actually start thinking the suspect is a world arm-wrestling champion.”

“I'm saying it probably wasn't done with human hands alone. Some kind of tool was likely used.”

“A tool? You're saying someone used a tool specifically to hold a man down from behind and drown him? Why on earth would they do that?”

The forensic pathologist shrugged at the detective's question.

“I don't know that either. That's precisely what you're supposed to find out, Detective. All I'm saying is that, from a forensic perspective, while these marks resemble the shape of a human hand, the grip strength involved is far beyond what an ordinary person could produce. If it really was a human, they'd have to be vastly beyond the average person. Not merely an athlete, but at least an Olympic medalist, and a heavyweight at that. In other words, someone whose grip strength approaches the very limits of human capability. That's what I'm saying.”

“Understood.”

“But why is the Special Investigation Headquarters interested in this case? Does it have something to do with the Im Seong-bin case?”

“Who knows? That's another thing I'll have to find out. Anyway, thank you. Please be sure to contact me if any more unusual bodies turn up.”

The detective bowed politely and left.

“Team Leader, what did they say inside?”

“Apparently, the culprit either has the strength of a world champion or used some kind of equipment.”

“Ha······. Then that makes it even more likely it really is the same bastard people are talking about online.”

“Online?”

“Yes, it's been absolute chaos lately. Some dark hero or whatever. Those clickbait vultures on the internet are having a field day.”

“Tsk. What kind of hero is a murderer who kills people?”

At his subordinate's words, the detective,

Gu Dae-cheol, who was in overall command of the Special Investigation Headquarters, furrowed his brow.

“So where are we going now?”

“Where else? We should start by visiting the lawyer.”

“Do you think that guy will know anything?”

“So what, if we just sit here doing nothing, will our brilliant Detective Park Chang-su, who apparently knows everything, provide me with the answer?”

“Aw, Team Leader. Why are you like this again? I was just talking. I've already entered the destination into the navigation system.”

“Just get moving. We've got plenty of people to meet besides him.”

“Yes, sir!!”

Gu Dae-cheol roughly pulled his seat belt across his chest and spoke.

“But Chang-su.”

“Yes, Team Leader.”

“What do you make of the fact that there were thirty-seven CCTV cameras installed at the entertainment establishment, yet not a single rat was caught on any of them?”

“There's a blind spot around the retaining wall at the back, isn't there? There were also areas inside without CCTV, along the routes used by the important guests.”

“Right, there were. But that's only the internal CCTV. To avoid the external cameras, the only possible escape route is over that five-meter retaining wall and into the mountain. And if the culprit's as strong as a world champion, he'd have to be a pretty big guy, wouldn't he?”

“Well, I suppose so.”

“You think a guy like that could climb over a five-meter retaining wall without any equipment?”

“Come on, how could he? Besides, didn't they say he might have used equipment even if he wasn't that strong? In that case, it makes more sense to assume he's someone who carries around a full set of specialized equipment.”

“I suppose it does.”

______________

“Ugh, my head.”

“Here, Attorney Park.”

“Ah, thank you, Manager Choi.”

“Just how much did you drink yesterday?”

“It was the day we won the case. You've got to drink on a day like that.”

“Even though it wasn't a case you particularly wanted to take.”

“Still, once you take a case, you have to win it. And once you've won, you have to be happy about it. That's how you'll get to manage some subordinates, and I'll get to hire a few associate attorneys and walk around with my head held high.”

Despite his words about being happy, his expression was somewhat bitter.

“And you'll be able to keep making donations to the orphanage too, Attorney Park?”

“I've told you countless times. I only make those donations for the tax benefits.”

“Attorney Park.”

“Huh?”

“You do know that I'm the one who handles the initial accounting for this office, right?”

“······.”

Without another word, Park Dong-yeop drained the cool honey water in one gulp and leaned back deeply into the sofa.

Manager Choi Yu-gyeong took the empty cup and spoke in a dry voice.

“But I'm afraid my dream of having subordinates to manage is going to be postponed for quite a while.”

“Why? We're getting a pretty handsome fee from this victory. And there's the appeal too. Not to mention all the future clients who'll come through that gentleman's connections······.”

“The fee will come in, certainly. But the appeal is gone. And so are those connections.”

“Why would the appeal be gone? There's no way the prosecution would give up on appealing. What? Don't tell me that gentleman is hiring someone else for the appeal. Just because I didn't go drinking with him yesterday?”

“No, it's nothing like that.”

Manager Choi slid the tablet she was holding across the table.

A breaking news article was displayed on the screen.

[Pony Foods CEO Kang Myeong-cheol Found Dead in Restroom of Upscale Seongbuk-dong Entertainment Establishment··· Police Suspect Accidental Fall Due to Heavy Intoxication]

Park Dong-yeop's brow furrowed sharply.

“······What the hell is this? This guy died yesterday?”

“Yes. Apparently, after the verdict yesterday, he went to that establishment in the evening, partied hard, then fell over and died in the restroom. They say he drowned. Face down in the sink.”

“Ha, fuck.”

Park Dong-yeop rubbed his face with both hands and roughly swept back his hair.

“I mean, it's not exactly right to speak ill of the dead, but fuck. After the trial yesterday, they kept pestering me to join them at a hostess club, and I refused. Then he goes and dies there? I forced myself to win a case I didn't even want to take in the first place. If this was how it was going to end, what the hell was I fighting so hard for······ Ugh.”

“Maybe that's why the comments are full of people saying they're relieved?”

“Relieved?”

“Yes. It's not exactly appropriate when someone's died, but anyone who saw the bereaved family crying yesterday would probably······. A lot of people are saying he got what he deserved.”

A bitter taste filled his mouth.

“There's no such thing as divine punishment in this world. And if heaven really had the will to intervene, it should have prevented a twenty-three-year-old kid from being ground to death in a machine in the first place.”

The face of the elderly mother who had wailed as though coughing up blood in the courthouse corridor yesterday flashed through Dong-yeop's mind.

“And I shouldn't be sitting here drinking honey water like this either.”

“Attorney Park······.”

—Knock, knock.

“Ah, looks like we have a visitor. Right!! Well, when someone leaves, someone else comes along. Manager Choi, let's get ourselves fired up and get back to work. If things really get bad, I can always increase my television appearances and somehow make ends meet, can't I?”

“You do remember that the television program asked you to take a few weeks off because defending CEO Kang hurt your public image, don't you?”

“But they haven't fired me.”

“Usually, I think asking someone to take a few weeks off is a polite way of telling them to quit······. Anyway, yes, understood.”

“Ah, enough!! Hurry up and go greet our new visitor.”

Park Dong-yeop straightened his clothes in the mirror as he waited for the new guest.

“Attorney Park. I'm here.”

“Huh? What are you doing here?”

It was Bareum.

© Myoyeop#12ipk

Author's Note

Thank you!!