Chapter 26

Beast Jo Mu-seong (1)

“Yes, the Ansan abandoned building assault-death case that recently turned the Republic of Korea upside down!! As the police investigation continues, the truth behind the case is being revealed piece by piece. And the more that truth comes to light, the more the public's emotions are truly boiling over. Today, we'll be speaking with Attorney Park Dong-yeop, who until recently represented Student Y, who had been detained as the prime suspect in the case. Hello, Attorney Park.”

“Yes, hello. It's been a while.”

A broadcasting station studio.

Attorney Park Dong-yeop, neatly dressed with his Windsor-knotted tie pulled all the way up to his neck for the first time in quite a while, gave a slight bow.

“At first, this case was known simply as an assault resulting in death between classmates. But after it was revealed that there was another person truly behind the incident, criticism has been mounting against the police for their poor initial investigation. What are your thoughts, Attorney?”

At the host's question, Park Dong-yeop adjusted his posture and opened his mouth.

“The suspect confessed right in front of them, and all of the witnesses gave matching testimony, so they stopped trying to look any deeper into what truth might have been hidden behind it. That complacency and convenience-driven attitude of the investigative authorities! As both the attorney who personally met that child and as an ordinary citizen, it makes my blood boil!”

“I imagine it would. Especially since you personally represented Student Y in that case.”

“Yes. Frankly, I feel like stripping every officer at that local police station of their badge right this second. At least, that's how Park Dong-yeop the citizen feels.”

Park Dong-yeop paused for a moment and stared directly into the studio's main camera.

The atmosphere suddenly settled.

“But I'm sure the production staff didn't sit me here just to play the role of an ordinary citizen, so although some of you may not want to hear it, I'll now play the role of Park Dong-yeop the attorney, who studied law for three years in graduate school and has spent eight years working in the field.”

“At present, one violent crimes detective in the Republic of Korea handles an average of 9.5 cases per month. The average number of cases simultaneously assigned to a single police investigator at any given time is 27.6. On top of that, violent crime cases impose a level of work fatigue entirely different from ordinary cases.”

“Yes, of course it would be ideal if, even when a suspect confesses and witnesses give perfectly consistent statements, investigators could still uncover the invisible truth hidden behind them. But in the end, that requires manpower and time. Unfortunately, the Korean police simply don't have enough of either. It's a bitter reality, isn't it?”

The studio was silent.

No one could refute Park Dong-yeop as he spoke with a bitter expression.

And amid that atmosphere, Park Dong-yeop abruptly sprang to his feet.

The main camera hurriedly followed him.

“Yes, that's right. The net of the law is looser than we think. And the investigative authorities responsible for driving criminals into that net are suffering under crushing workloads. That means unjust blind spots will inevitably exist. Then are we simply supposed to endure that injustice?”

Park Dong-yeop shook his head fiercely.

“No. Absolutely not. It is precisely for moments like those that lawyers like me exist by your side. The truth hidden behind documents the state failed to examine. The real truth investigative agencies missed because of manpower limitations. Clinging to it until the very end and dragging it into the courtroom no matter what—that is the reason criminal defense attorneys like me exist.”

A strange heat filled the room.

The host responded to Park Dong-yeop with a slightly flustered expression.

“Uh, Attorney? If you advertise yourself that openly on the program······.”

At last, the atmosphere in the studio loosened.

That softened atmosphere traveled beyond the wall-mounted TV screen and into this small law office.

“Attorney Park.”

“Hm?”

“Congratulations on returning to television.”

At Manager Choi's indifferent greeting, Park Dong-yeop gave a faint, bitter smile.

“Thank you. This is really······. Coming back like this because of a bastard I cursed so much. It's a little embarrassing.”

“What's embarrassing about it? Whatever the outcome may have been, you were the one who intended to save Ji-hun all the way to the end in the first place. You should think of this as being rewarded for that.”

“······Maybe so.”

“Well, even if that's not the case, at least you don't have to worry about the office's operating expenses anymore.”

“Haha, yes. That is probably the biggest gain.”

“Which is why, Attorney.”

Manager Choi pulled one bundle from the stack of documents piled beside her desk and handed it to Park Dong-yeop.

“It's about that jeonse fraud case you agreed to take before. If you only accepted it back then because you were desperate for money and willing to take anything, now that you have some breathing room, how about handing it over to a firm specializing in civil litigation?”

“Hmm······.”

“Considering the manpower at our office, it'd already be difficult to turn this into a class-action-style suit. And even if we did, I don't know how much we'd actually gain from it······. To be honest, you accepted this because you thought it'd generate some publicity for the office, didn't you?”

At Manager Choi's words, Park Dong-yeop ran his palm over the bundle of documents he'd received and smiled bitterly.

“Yes, well, that's true. I did accept it because I thought it'd get us some publicity. Honestly, I don't run this business by digging money out of the ground. If we land one of these cases properly and get some media attention, there's no better advertising for the office.”

“Attorney, you know I'm not criticizing you. You've already gotten more than enough publicity from appearing on television again. I'm saying there isn't really any need to take this one anymore.”

He leaned deeply against the backrest.

“Yes, Manager Choi, you're right. You are. Yes, you're right······.”

A brief silence.

Choi Yu-gyeong let out a deep sigh.

“But you still just want to do it.”

“······Yes.”

“Well, if that's what you want, then there's nothing we can do.”

“Huh? You're not going to oppose it?”

“What would opposing it accomplish? You're the one responsible for the office anyway. I'm just some salaried employee who gets paid every month.”

“Manager Choi, what are you saying? You know better than anyone that I've never thought of you that way.”

“I'm joking. Just joking.”

Her cold expression looked nothing like a joke.

“Well, it's true we've gained some breathing room thanks to that dark hero or whatever he is. We'll probably manage somehow. We even have a capable part-timer over there.”

“That dark hero or whatever. Personally, I really don't like the bastard. But in the end, I've benefited from him, so I don't even know what to say.”

“You're not the only one who benefited.”

“Right. The people who truly benefited were the victims······. Ha, this is frustrating. The more this happens, the more people will start asking why they should bother obeying the law at all. And in the end, that's a road leading to mutual destruction.”

“Grand problems like that are for the important people up above to worry about. And the people I said benefited weren't the victims.”

“Then who?”

“YouTubers. Apparently that YouTuber's footage is even showing up on terrestrial broadcasts these days. Didn't you see it?”

“Ah!! I think I did. His name was definitely······.”

____________

“Ah, brothers! Today we've hit a lethal dose of dopamine. Get ready for your brains to explode! The true journalist of this era who deals only in facts!! Issue Detector is here to greet you hard. Pew-pew-boom!”

Between the flashy captions filling the screen, the YouTuber Issue Detector rummaged around and pulled out a box.

It was a Silver Play Button.

“Wow, brothers! My channel spent two whole years clinging to life support at thirty thousand subscribers, but ever since CEO Kang dropped dead, it started taking off, and now after this billiard hall incident, in just fifteen days—one hundred thousand! Never thought I'd live to unbox a Silver Play Button. Damn!!”

Live chat messages began pouring up the right side of the smartphone screen at a frantic pace.

—RNG trash game lol, luck carried your ass hard

—That dark hero coin is sweet as hell lol

—Honestly it's a fact you caught the bus perfectly lolol

—Motherfucker hit 100k riding for free and still won't shut the fuck up

At the ridicule in the chat, Issue Detector put down the Silver Play Button, turned serious, and pointed accusingly at the camera.

“Brothers! Luck? Free ride? Wow, I almost cried just now because I'm genuinely hurt. Let's be real. When the Bucheon police chief's son died, and when Myeong-cheol turned up dead in that restroom! When all of you—including the cops—were barking up the wrong tree, who was the first to connect them and say, ‘Same culprit. A dark hero has finally appeared’? Who was it? Me! It was me! This is the result of my insane instincts and analytical skills. How is that luck?!”

At his smug expression, the live chat went wild again.

“All right, all right, calm down. To celebrate hitting one hundred thousand, I'm dropping another exclusive tip today. Brothers, apparently the police have a separate codename they use internally for our dark hero bro. Any guesses what it might be?”

—Ansan Doomguy?

—Korean Punisher lol

—Joint Breaker?

—Bone Crusher damn

—Physical Therapist Sensei?

Issue Detector shook his head as he read through the flood of messages.

“Come on, brothers. You don't understand cop sensibilities at all. The Seobang Gang because they came from Seobang-myeon. The Daeho Gang because their base was Daeho Café. The Baechajang Gang because the bus stop was called Baechajang Station. That's police naming sense. So what do they call our dark hero bro!!”

—Old man naming sense is absolute trash lololol

—What the fuck is the Seobang Gang, boomer lol

—This buildup is fucking insane -_-

—So what is it, stop dragging it out and spit it out already lololol

—I'm getting dizzy, hurry up and say it

“Daiso Mask. Pfft, yes. Apparently it's Daiso Mask. Why Daiso Mask? Well, you know those white masks they sell at Daiso? Apparently our bro wears one of those when he gives the kids their lessons, so they call him Daiso Mask.”

—lololol Daiso Mask, fuck, that's lame as hell

—Budget murderer, top tier value lololol

—He's supposed to be a dark hero, where's the fucking cool factor lololol

—The name smells like old man lol

[Daiso Legal Team donated 10,000 won.]

A donation effect burst across the top of the screen as a dry mechanical voice read the message aloud.

[Issue, aren't you scared of getting sued by a major corporation? Daiso's legal team is coming lololol.]

The instant the mechanical voice finished, Issue Detector pretended to jump in fright and waved both hands.

“Oh my, thank you for the ten-thousand-won donation, Legal Team bro. But I, YouTuber Issue Detector, wouldn't be standing here today if I were afraid of lawsuits from giant corporations. Why would I be unable to say the name of some Daitto? Daitto!! Daitto!!! Huh? What? Brothers, did you hear that just now? Why is it coming out as Dai, tto!? Ah, looks like YouTube AI is auto-filtering it because it's a major corporate trademark. Wow, that's actually creepy. Shame, but nothing we can do. From now on, our dark hero bro's official name will forever be Daitto Mask.”

—Scared? lololol

—YouTube filtering my ass lololol

—That acting is fucking terrible, seriously lol

—But Daitto Mask actually rolls off the tongue like crazy lololol

“All right, all right. Now that the mood's heated up, let's ride this momentum. Our Daitto Mask's next lesson target!! Let's predict who it's going to be. Brothers, who do you think the next target will······.”

[PhysicalTherapyExplainsEverything donated 100,000 won.]

A Super Chat exploded in the center of the screen with a flashy effect.

[Jo Mu-seong]

“Jo Mu-seong! Yo, brothers! This bro seriously knows exactly what hits the spot. He slammed the dopamine button perfectly!! Who is Jo Mu-seong! That motherfucker who made mothers all across the Republic of Korea shed tears of blood twelve years ago! The demon bastard who got his sentence reduced due to diminished capacity because he claimed he couldn't remember anything after getting drunk, served only twelve years, and recently crawled back out healthy as ever!!”

Issue Detector pounded the desk, veins bulging on his neck.

At his incitement, the chat began moving three times faster.

—Jo Mu-seong let's go~!!!

—Daitto hyung please give Jo Mu-seong some physical therapy

—If Daitto really folds Jo Mu-seong in half, I'm joining the Church of Daitto that day lololol

—Can hear the judges' skulls cracking from here, right?

—Jo Mu-seong is valid

On the screen, Issue Detector leaned his face right up toward the camera lens.

“Will our Daitto Mask's next piece of garbage for sorting be Jo Mu-seong?! Starting today, I, true journalist Issue Detector, will heroically pitch a tent in front of Jo Mu-seong's house, order jajangmyeon, and livestream that lesson live!! All of you can simply sit comfortably at home, subscribe, like, and turn on notifications to watch the scene together!!”

Click.

The moment I touched the smartphone screen, the YouTube app closed.

“Jo Mu-seong······.”

© Myoyeop#12ipk

Author's Note

There will be an adjustment to the serialization schedule.

Tomorrow, I'll see you a little earlier, at 10:20 a.m.

Thank you!!