The students, covered in blood, were urgently transported to the hospital.
The vice principal, flustered, seemed to be making a phone call to someone.
“Yes, Prosecutor. Yes, yes. I will do that.”
Other students and Hong Jinpyo were admitted for treatment, but as soon as my basic treatment was finished, I was dragged to the police station. And then... I was locked in a holding cell.
Hyunsung's father visited the holding cell.
“Muhyeok, this is not a case I can cover up this time. I'm sorry.”
“No, Father.”
“The other party is not good. They seem to be trying to send you away, even bringing up old matters. It looks like the chief is already investigating.”
“What about Grandmother?”
Hyunsung's father, Park Inspector, looked at me with a sympathetic gaze.
“Mingsu and Hyunsung are staying with Grandmother. Don't worry about her... just worry about yourself. It's a really big deal.”
“Father, could I make one phone call?”
“Huh?”
“Please let me make one phone call.”
Surprised by my sudden request, Hyunsung's father thought for a moment, then opened the holding cell door and led me to the phone.
“I can't give you much time. Be quick.”
“Yes.”
I took the phone and called Mr. Ha.
After a few rings, there was a click, and Mr. Ha's voice came through.
“Yes, this is Pyeongchang-dong.”
“Mr. Ha, it's Muhyeok.”
“The chairman is meeting someone right now. If it's not urgent, could you tell me what it's about?”
“Um... I have a problem.”
“A problem?”
“It's... like this...”
Given the situation, I gave a brief explanation, but Mr. Ha didn't ask why it had come to this.
“Where are you now?”
“I'm at the Busan Jung District Police Station.”
“Understood. I'll report to the chairman and come down immediately.”
“Yes, please do.”
I hung up the phone.
“Who was that?”
“A person who works with my grandfather. He's coming down. We'll have to wait and see.”
“Right now... I heard that Hong Jinpyo's father is on his way here. Ha... you really picked a fight with the son of a chief prosecutor.”
“I'm fine. I'll handle it. If you worry about me, you might get into trouble. Just pretend you don't know. Got it?”
“...I'm sorry.”
“I know you've always cleaned up after us. I'm grateful for everything you've done.”
With a dark expression, Hyunsung's father left the holding cell.
The musty smell of the blanket and the stench from the small toilet on the wall made it hard to breathe.
How much time had passed?
In the holding cell without a clock, I was organizing my thoughts when the door opened and people rushed in.
“Attention!”
“Who is it?”
“Over there...”
The finger of the guard who was watching the holding cell pointed in my direction. The man who followed the finger's direction approached me with a sneer.
He seemed to be Hong Jinpyo's father.
“Open the door.”
“But...”
“Hey! Open it. Don't you know who I am?”
The police chief acted like a servant. Eventually, the guard opened the holding cell door.
As he entered the holding cell, he immediately covered his nose.
“Ah, damn. What's that smell?”
“The holding cell is always like this.”
“Bring this kid out.”
“Yes.”
Hong Jinpyo's father couldn't stand it for more than 10 seconds and left the holding cell.
Led by the police, I was dragged out and brought to him.
“Is it you? Did you make my son's arm crippled?”
“Did his arm become crippled? It happened during the fight. I was alone, and Jinpyo's side had over ten people. Why was I the only one brought in?”
“What?”
“Isn't that right? It's clear that I was attacked by a group. Why was I the only one brought in? And who are you to come into the holding cell like this?”
Hong Jinpyo's father laughed in disbelief.
“Ha, you're funny. Let's see how long you can keep talking like that. Chief Kim, take this kid to the interrogation room.”
“What? I'm still a minor.”
“Take him! I'll handle it. It's no big deal to teach this kid a lesson. Take him to the interrogation room.”
“...Understood.”
“Hey, go and find out who I am. Got it?”
The chief followed him, nodding to a few detectives nearby.
“Ha... Take this kid to the interrogation room. Damn, what a mess. I'm sorry.”
But they had no choice but to follow the orders and took me to the interrogation room, the farthest corner of the police station.
In the interrogation room, only Jinpyo's father and I were left.
“Name.”
“I'm Kim Muhyeok.”
After a brief introduction, he got straight to the point.
“Why did you do it? I heard you were already famous. Did you have to make those kids end up in the hospital?”
I thought he would yell at me, given his background as a public prosecutor.
Of course, it was too early to let my guard down.
“I was just defending myself.”
“Hahaha, you're funny. Do you know where you are? This is a place where even innocent people crawl out. Let's see how long you can keep talking logically. I'll ask you again. Why did you do it?”
“My friend was being taken away, so I went to save him. Then, Jinpyo and his friends suddenly attacked me with baseball bats. I had no choice but to fight back. Did I do something wrong?”
“...Let's see.”
Jinpyo's father took off his watch, stood up, and shouted outside.
“Hey! Come in.”
Two burly men entered.
“Hold him.”
The detectives grabbed my arms.
Unable to move, Jinpyo's father slapped me several times. The wounds that had been treated and weren't bleeding started to bleed again, and the taste of blood filled my mouth.
“Say it again. Why did you do it?”
“It was self-defense.”
“Hahaha, you have some guts, kid. Hey! Give him a beating first. We'll start after that.”
The two detectives pushed me into the corner of the interrogation room and started kicking me randomly.
The beating went on for a few minutes. I held back my screams and curled up as much as I could.
“Do you still want to talk?”
Jinpyo's father laughed while smoking.
“Keep beating him until he begs for mercy. Don't knock him out like an amateur.”
“Yes!”
A few more minutes passed. When I could barely move, the kicking stopped.
“Stop and sit him down.”
I was forced back into the chair.
My face was covered in blood. Seeing this, Jinpyo's father frowned and threw a tissue at me.
“Clean yourself up. You look disgusting.”
I tore the tissue and wiped the blood off my face.
But once, twice, three times... the blood from my head and mouth wouldn't stop.
“Say it again. Why did you do it?”
“It was... self... defense.”
The wounds in my mouth made it hard to speak.
“Ha... I'm going crazy. You're just hurting yourself. This is your last chance. You attacked those kids unilaterally, with a weapon. Is that right, or not?”
“I told the truth.”
Jinpyo's father chuckled.
“Damn, you're making me feel like old times. Hey, tie him to the chair. We need to do this properly.”
“What? Really tie him up?”
“Don't make me say it twice. Are you ignoring me too? Do you think I'm easy to mess with just because I came to Busan?”
“No, no. I understand.”
The detectives tied me to the chair with a rope and pulled my hands up onto the table.
“From now on, whatever you imagine, it will be worse. So, you're Kim Muhyeok, right? This is your doing. Don't blame anyone.”
He took the needle from the detective and approached me. The two detectives held my wrists tightly.
“Tut tut! Follow, follow, follow!”
Jinpyo's father, humming to himself, brought the needle to my left middle finger.
“It's going in! Bite down hard. You'll bite your tongue.”
Just as the needle was about to enter, the interrogation room door opened, and the chief, breathing heavily, rushed in.
“Stop! Stop!”
“What? Why are you here?”
“Sir, it's...”
Behind the chief, a man entered.
“...Senior?”
Jinpyo's father tilted his head.
The man who entered the interrogation room looked at me, then approached Jinpyo's father.
“What are you doing here, Senior?”
Smack!
The man slapped Jinpyo's father across the face.
“You crazy bastard! Do you think this is the Fifth Republic? And you're doing this to a minor?”
“No, Senior. You shouldn't have hit me without listening. Please explain.”
“You're finished. I'm Kim Muhyeok's lawyer. Got it? You're done!”
“What?”
The man's face was red with anger.
“Don't act like you don't know. I don't want to end up like you. Do you know whose grandson he is? If you knew, you wouldn't have done this.”
Jinpyo's father, holding his cheek, looked bewildered.
Another person entered the interrogation room. It was the top dog of the Busan prosecution, Chief Prosecutor Yoon Changho.
He sighed after looking at me.
“...Chief Hong.”
Did he finally realize something was seriously wrong? Jinpyo's father's voice trembled.
“Chief, Chief Prosecutor Yoon, why are you here...”
“Do you have a problem with me? If you want to die, do it alone. Why did you come to Busan and do this? Don't you know I have to go to Seoul soon?”
“No...”
Meanwhile, the man who claimed to be a lawyer untied the ropes on my body.
“Hello, I'm Muhyeok's lawyer, Moon Sooho. I was sent by Pyeongchang-dong.”
“Ah... Thank you.”
Mr. Moon, who handed me a handkerchief, stood silently by my side until I finished cleaning the blood.
On the side, Chief Prosecutor Yoon was scolding Jinpyo's father.
“Hey, there's a limit to how much you can mess with people! How do you plan to handle a case where eleven people with weapons attacked one person? And you brought the victim to the interrogation room! Just for a student fight, the former head of the public security department got involved?”
“My son's arm is crippled, Chief Prosecutor.”
Jinpyo's father's complaint only made Chief Prosecutor Yoon angrier.
“I always knew you'd cause trouble one day. It's because you spoiled Jinpyo! It's not just Jinpyo's arm; you're the one who's going to be crippled!”
“But, who is this kid to cause such a fuss? Even Senior Moon and Chief Prosecutor Yoon...”
“Didn't you know? Or did you think you could get away with it? He's the grandson of the chairman of Pyeongchang-dong. The grandson of Chairman Cheon!”
“What?”
Jinpyo's father's face turned pale.
“No way... I didn't hear anything like that when I looked into it.”
“Do you think I came here to play with you? Even Senior Moon? How do you plan to take responsibility for this?”
Jinpyo's father finally realized the situation and looked at me with a nervous gaze.
I smiled brightly at him, despite my swollen face.
‘You're finished, kid.’
I didn't say it out loud, but his face turned ashen.
A short while later, less than seven hours after I made the call, Mr. Ha arrived. He looked at my face and his expression turned grim.
“Young Master, are you alright?”
Mr. Ha, who had always called me ‘Muhyeok’ and never ‘Young Master,’ now called me ‘Young Master.’
Mr. Ha is a trusted confidant of Chairman Cheon. His words are the chairman's words.
“Chief Prosecutor, and Chief, I will never forget this. Our chairman will repay you soon.”
At Mr. Ha's words, the faces of the police chief and Chief Prosecutor Yoon, who were standing there helplessly, turned pale.
“Mr. Moon, can we take him to the hospital?”
“Yes, I'll take care of the rest.”
“Thank you. Young Master, let's go to the hospital. You have many injuries.”
I grabbed Mr. Ha's arm, which was trying to support me.
“Wait, could you all step outside for a moment? Just one minute. I have something to say to Jinpyo's father.”
“...Yes.”
Mr. Ha looked at Mr. Moon, who then led the others out. Now, only Mr. Ha, me, and Jinpyo's father were left in the interrogation room.
“Sir.”
“...”
“Don't forget that there are higher powers than your own when you use your limited power to oppress others. Well, you won't have that limited power anymore. Thanks to you, I learned something valuable, and I'll repay you for what you taught me. Look forward to it.”
I took in the throbbing pain, the needle on the table, and Jinpyo's father's devastated expression.
I felt wronged, in pain, and disgusted.
In my previous life, Mingsu must have felt this way.