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Chapter 330. The Witch of Greed (10)

"That didn’t happen!” Judge Jeong shouted in frustration as he hung up the phone. He didn’t know how the reporters had sniffed the information out, but they continued to ask whether he and Chairman Jang had ever been to a Japanese restaurant.

Judge Jeong naturally responded that they had met by chance, but went their separate ways as soon as they encountered each other without having a long conversation.

However, the reporters kept asking persistently. Many people wanted to tarnish Judge Jeong’s fair image. Judge Yang, his rival in the war of nerves over who would be appointed to the Supreme Court, was one such person.

Judge Jeong sighed as he tried to think of who the culprit might be, as this had happened at a critical time that could decide who would become a Supreme Court justice. In the end, he recognized that even if he kept thinking about it, it would be impossible to solve the mystery.

In order to protect his image and secure his promotion as a Supreme Court justice, he had to sentence Chairman Jang for at least a few months. Without the presence of Judge Yang, there would have been no need to do that, but it was starting to become difficult to hide that he was being backed by a great deal of capital.

However, he couldn’t turn a blind eye, since he had already received the money. It wasn’t for Chairman Jang’s sake, but for his own. Who would give him bribes if they were sentenced to prison even after giving him money?

Judge Jeong agonized over his dilemma for some time before thinking of a solution. He called Chairman Jang.

Crackle, buzz, crackle.

The phone seemed a little staticky, but that could have been because it was old. Judge Jeong began to think, I should buy a new phone tomorrow. He maintained his image, no matter how trivial the detail, so there was no need for him to be carrying around a phone with issues.

Just then, the call went through.

-Hello.

"Ah, Chairman Jang. It’s me, Judge Jeong."

-Aigoo, Judge Jeong, why did you call?

The voice seemed a little strange, but Judge Jeong ignored it, assuming his phone really was out of date. "Actually, a problem has arisen."

-What?! What do you mean?!

Judge Jeong inwardly clicked his tongue, thinking that the hot-tempered Chairman Jang was getting too heated again. However, he decided to let Chairman Jang’s anger slide, since he was in the position of asking a favor for the sake of his image.

He replied, "Huh-huh, Chairman Jang, please calm down. Chairman Jang, you know about it too, right? Pictures of us coming out of the Japanese restaurant are going around."

-...Yes, I know.

Chairman Jang’s tone was rather blunt and seemingly dissatisfied, but Judge Jeong understood. He was a learned man who was able to hide such feelings, but wasn’t Chairman Jang an ignorant man who just had a lot of money?

"It’s good that you know about it. Actually, that’s why I called you,” he continued.

-So?

Judge Jeong was displeased with Chairman Jang’s irritable tone, but he endured it and said, "I’m sorry, but in the first trial, the sentence..."

-What?! Isn’t this different from your promise?!

Even before Judge Jeong had finished speaking, the one on the other end of the phone call cut him off with a shout.

Judge Jeong continued to speak, holding back the urge to curse Chairman Jang’s uncouth behavior. "Chairman Jang, there’s nothing we can do about it. I’ll give you the probation I promised you somehow."

-What do you think you’re doing right now?!

They continued arguing for a long time, but Judge Jeong kept trying to smooth over the situation. "Chairman Jang. Calm down and listen to me."

-How can you say ‘listen’?! Throw up the money I gave you right now!

Eventually, Judge Jeong revealed his true intentions after Chairman Jang kept being obstinate and angrily throwing out personal attacks. "If you keep going on like that, it’ll be disadvantageous for you, Chairman Jang."

-Are you threatening me right now?!

The voice on the other end became more flustered and angry, and Judge Jeong realized that he had gone too far. He quickly said, "It’s not that. I’m asking for your understanding."

Still, it felt as if Chairman Jang eventually calmed down a little, well aware that he was at a disadvantage.

-Kkeung...! Fine, I’m listening.

Judge Jeong rejoiced at the fact that the other side had let go of his temper. However, he spoke calmly without revealing his true feelings. "It’s all because I’m lacking, Chairman Jang."

-If you know that, then do better.

Judge Jeong’s patience almost lapsed again for a moment, but he barely managed to endure it.

He tried to convince Chairman Jang that a prison sentence was necessary in the first trial, but that he would personally work to reduce the sentence to probation immediately in the second trial, before it even had to be served.

At the same time, he suggested that it would be best to have a Supreme Court justice as an acquaintance. Despite that, he also implied through veiled threats that nothing good would happen if Chairman Jang didn’t listen.

Finally, Chairman Jang spoke in a subdued voice, as if he understood.

-I see. Then you’re going to get me out right away, right?

Judge Jeong sighed and said, "Yes, of course. Of course I have to. I want to continue having a good relationship with Chairman Jang."

-Hahaha. All right.

Judge Jeong had managed to persuade Chairman Jang, but he was sweating bullets as he ended the call. Then he threw his phone onto the floor, yelling, "If I say to do something, he should shut his mouth and do it! That insect!” The phone broke into pieces when it hit the ground.

Some people approached Judge Jeong, surprised by the sound of the cell phone breaking. One asked, "What’s wrong?"

"It’s nothing. Please go about your business." Judge Jeong held his head in one hand and shook the other as he told them to leave. I should buy a new phone today, not tomorrow, he thought.

* * *

While playing golf, Chairman Jang received a call. He asked for some understanding from the company director he was with, and headed to a corner to answer his phone. "Hello."

-Ah, Chairman Jang. It’s me, Judge Jeong.

The voice Chairman Jang heard over the phone was slightly distorted by noise. He wondered why the snake had called, inwardly cursing Judge Jeong as a homeless person for not changing his phone.

Still, he spoke politely without revealing his true feelings. “Yes, Judge Jeong. Why did you call all of a sudden?” he asked.

In truth, he had some idea of why the judge was calling him. Perhaps it was because of the photo of the two of them coming out of a Japanese restaurant, which was circulating on the internet.

-Actually, it’s because of the picture on the internet.

"Picture?” Chairman Jang’s mood dropped quickly, as his fears seemed to have been realized. His hot-tempered personality made him want to shout, but he decided to hear Judge Jeong out.

-Yes. I’m calling you because I thought you might be worried, just in case you suspected me of having ulterior motives because of the picture.

Chairman Jang calmed down, because for some reason, the way Judge Jeong was talking was different from what he had feared. He asked, "Oh, is that so?"

-Yes. I’m calling to tell you not to worry, because we’ll work toward probation as planned.

"Really?" Chairman Jang replied, his tone brightening. He exchanged well-wishes and chatted for a while before ending the call.

"Chairman Jang, did something good happen?” the director of the other company asked.

Chairman Jang smiled and waved his hand, saying, "Haha, something like that happened."

He grabbed a golf club and swung at a golf ball. The ball’s smooth flight felt like his future, and he couldn’t stop laughing.

* * *

I removed the voice modulator attached to my phone and sent the recorded calls to my computer. They would be very useful.

* * *

Judge Jeong thought to himself that the prosecution and the defense were eagerly exchanging blows in a trial that had already been decided. He found the trial boring and only half-heartedly pretended to participate.

When the trial concluded, he read the sentence. "...As such, this judge sentences the defendant to one year in prison."

Chairman Jang, who had been sitting in the defendant’s seat, turned red.

Judge Jeong thought it was admirable that Chairman Jang was putting on an act to make it look better for him. After all, he would become a Supreme Court justice, and eventually the Chief Justice, in the future. Chairman Jang could be an actor at this rate, he thought as he laughed.

"Are you laughing?! Hey! Are you laughing?! Are you laughing after taking two billion won from me?!" Chairman Jang cried angrily.

Judge Jeong’s expression stiffened. At the same time, the trial room was filled with murmurs. He decided he would have to calm the situation. He shouted back, "If I had been paid, would I have sentenced you to prison?"

Chairman Jang became suspicious. He shouted as if he had been wrongly accused, "That bastard took my money!"

However, the doubtful gazes in the room were directed only toward Chairman Jang, not Judge Jeong. After all, Judge Jeong had definitely handed down a prison sentence.

Just then, Judge Jeong’s voice emerged from a speaker that had been placed in an empty audience seat.

-Huh-huh, Chairman Jang, please calm down. Chairman Jang, you know about it too, right? Pictures of us coming out of the Japanese restaurant are going around.

The conversation continued, as a voice that presumably belonged to Chairman Jang followed. It revealed that in order to become a Supreme Court justice, Judge Jeong would hand down a prison sentence initially, but he would work hard to change it to probation in the second trial before Chairman Jang would have to carry it out.

"No! It’s a lie! Security! What are you doing!? Turn off the speaker!" Judge Jeong cried. However, everyone who heard the conversation looked at him with suspicion.

* * *

Good. As expected, a dagger in the back would be more shocking if a trusted person stuck it in, and even more so if one truly believed in that person.

Now, all my preparations to catch those bastards were ready.

Through the sex scandal, my father’s personal connections had naturally been cut off. I had also handed over information that could be used to catch my father to the prosecution. In addition, thanks to Judge Jeong, several personal connections related to his corruption would be revealed one after another.

The combination of Chief Editor Kim’s information and Judge Jeong’s corrupt connections could have an exceptionally strong synergistic effect.

Of course, I naturally had to hand over even more information to the prosecution so things could go in the direction I wanted, but I could do that readily to catch the bastard.

* * *

Prosecutor Joo clutched his head as he pondered the situation he was in.

Before he caught Chief Editor Kim, he had already been satisfied with the number of cases he had handled for his performance assessment.

Prosecutor Joo had arrested Chief Editor Kim and collected evidence as usual. Naturally, that evidence included Chief Editor Kim’s computer. He had pressured Chief Editor Kim to reveal the password needed to unlock the computer. However, Chief Editor Kim had stubbornly refused, acting as if the computer contained his life.

Prosecutor Joo was angered by Chief Editor Kim’s attitude, so he tried to crack the password himself. But perhaps because the encryption was special, he was unable to. After trying for some time, he gave up. There was already enough evidence circulating on the internet to put Chief Editor Kim behind bars.

However, it was regrettable that he had to give up on the computer, which could contain information on the person who tied together figures such as the city mayor and the police chief. If he had enough time, he could probably open it.

But when Judge Jeong was arrested, as if an emergency had broken out in the prosecution’s upper office, Prosecutor Joo had been ordered to deal with it quickly. Considering Judge Jeong’s influence in the legal field as a candidate for the position of Supreme Court justice, it wasn’t all that strange.

Prosecutor Joo slammed his fists on the keyboard in frustration, not knowing what to do. Suddenly, the computer screen turned on, and the phrase "User is logging in" appeared on the screen.

"What? What’s the password?" he mumbled. He didn’t know what was happening, because he had just hit the keyboard. He was flustered, but he still checked the computer. Since this had happened somehow, he decided to look for evidence anyway.

Prosecutor Joo skimmed through various files with his mouse. He stared at the monitor without moving, as if he had even forgotten to breathe.

Chief Editor Kim’s computer contained records on the corruption of an important figure he had never even thought of. If this blew up, it would be on a scale that a single prosecutor like himself couldn’t handle. If this information got out, it would either result in a rapid promotion, or an equally rapid demotion.

As Prosecutor Joo contemplated his options, the news began playing on the TV.

-It has come to light that Judge Jeong, who caused a social stir by taking bribes to change a prison sentence to probation, has been continuously receiving funds from someone.

Prosecutor Joo checked Chief Editor Kim’s computer again in a flash while listening to the news. The files on it seemed to be pointing to the source of the very funds being referred to.

* * *

A star prosecutor was being born on TV.

A sex scandal, an overseas gambling case, and a rare case involving a corrupt judge had combined ‘coincidentally’ into an arrow directed toward the head of a leading conglomerate.

As it happened, that large conglomerate served as the landlord in the area where I lived, and the trash that shared blood with me had been living as an ass in lion’s skin by being devoted to that landlord.

The head of that large conglomerate naturally had to put forward something to block the arrow that had been shot at him. As such, he would put forward a scapegoat in his stead.

Naturally, the scapegoat would begin to rebel in order to survive. But ‘coincidentally’, the scapegoat’s corruption would be discovered, unrelated to the conglomerate, leaving no way out.

There was one last thing left.

* * *

Prisoner 6811 screamed angrily in his cell. Because of the fuss he had created in this unbelievable situation, he had been confined to a small solitary room.

Obviously, he was the one who had given money to Judge Jeong. However, he had only done it as an errand for the chairman.

The prosecutor who had indicted Prisoner 6811 and the judge who had given the ruling were well aware of that fact. As evidence of that, Prisoner 6811’s application for an appeal had repeatedly been rejected.

There was still a chance. Prisoner 6811 recalled his secret funds as he reflected on his situation. With the money he had saved up while working as the personal assistant to the head of a large conglomerate, it would be possible to hire a strong lawyer and start a new business after his release. If it didn’t work out, he could also take his only son with him and flee abroad.

Even in despair, Prisoner 6811 didn’t let go of that faint thread of hope. However, he didn’t know...

...that the hope contained in Pandora’s box would actually turn out to be despair.

"Prisoner 6811, a letter arrived for you." A dull-voiced prison guard pushed an envelope through the gap in the solitary room and disappeared as if nothing had happened.

Prisoner 6811 carefully picked up the paper envelope on the floor, slowly reading the documents within. The envelope’s contents were all related to his funds under an assumed name, as well as his secret offshore accounts. As such, he urgently checked through them.

"Ha, haha, hahahaha...” He began laughing. In every one of those documents, the ‘Balance’ field was marked with a zero.

"Haha, ha, ah, ahhhhhhhhhhh!" Prisoner 6811 screamed, clenching the documents.

* * *

It had been a long time. I stroked an old notebook.

Now, following my mother’s last wishes, I should at least become a civil servant the way she had wanted. First, after graduating from high school, I would go to a decently well-known university, take a Class V civil servant exam, and live safely. The money my father had left would be enough to live the rest of my life without having to work as a hacker.

I stroked my face, feeling slightly fatigued, and realized that my beard had grown shaggy. There had been no one to point that out, because after my mother died, I had stopped going to school. I hadn’t noticed because I had accidentally and impulsively broken all the mirrors in my house.

I started shaving using only my razor blade, without even a mirror.

"Ouch,” I exclaimed as I cut my chin with the razor. White shaving cream mixed with red blood, dripping from my face. It fell into a puddle, creating a ripple.

It hurts.

It wasn’t the cut from the razor blade. My whole body felt sick.

Rain falling down, white bubbles bursting from a beer can, the blinding headlights of a truck... Red blood, spreading in the rain...

Oh, have I been seeing ‘memories’ all this time? Looking back on one’s life is such a ****.

I laughed cynically. The smile reflected in the puddle wasn’t my usual twisted smile, but rather a bright smile. Perhaps due to the rainfall, that twisted smile had itself been distorted into such a bright smile?

Then let’s be thankful for the rain, I thought as my consciousness grew distant.

The blood that belonged to that person—me—felt infinitely cold as it flowed across the ground. No matter how hard I tried, that blood wouldn’t become warm again... not unless I died and was born again.

That day, I found a bandage and thought about putting it on the cut. I should go to school tomorrow. Because my mother would want it. She would want me to sincerely smile brightly.

I reached out my hands to the light that shone on me.

My red-stained hand...

* * *

...reached out.

"Ehew! How!?” The Witch of Greed, whose abdomen had been penetrated by my hand, was shocked. "You shouldn’t have been able to escape from the illusion without killing yourself...!”

My whole body was overflowing with energy. It was overflowing with power that couldn’t be compared to before, when my mana had been depleted.

I shouted, pulling my arm out of the Witch of Greed’s abdomen, "It’s a reincarnation truck, you bastard!”

I wondered, how was I smiling right now? Was it the bright smile that had been reflected in the puddle? Or was it still that twisted smile? I couldn’t know.