Living together with so many people created one minor problem for me.
“Riu. Thanks for moving the table for me.”
“Um… Prosecutor. I’m Jinwoo.”
“Oh. My apologies.”
I bowed my head quickly.
I didn’t think it was necessary to memorize every single guy’s stage name, but it was common courtesy to greet them when we crossed paths. However, I kept making mistakes like this. I really needed to learn their faces as soon as possible.
‘I’m certain about at least one of them, though.’
The leader, Jaejun, was the big brother who reminded me of a golden retriever.
‘Maybe I should just memorize them all by their characteristics.’
While sitting on the wooden bench, I watched the members eating intently.
“Ah! Brother! Don’t steal mine too!”
The maknae with the impressive deer-like eyes was Hyeseong, also known as Bambi.
“Honestly, I never get tired of the food here, no matter how much I eat.”
That prickly-looking guy was the main rapper, Riu. Or “Hannam the Hill.” Or “My Gracious Future Sucker.”
“You pig. Eat in moderation, will you?”
The friendly-looking fellow always bickering with Riu was the sub-vocalist, Jinwoo. Since he was a prickly-suppressor, I decided to call him the Crocodile Bird.
“…”
Finally, there was the youthful young man who was still silently eating his food.
‘Was he the main dancer, Jea?’
Come to think of it, I hadn’t seen him open his mouth even once.
‘Let’s go with Monk for him.’
He felt like he was practicing a vow of silence.
‘Oh. I can memorize them all instantly this way.’
Once I set my mind to it, it was easier than I thought.
“I’m so jealous of Seol-yi,” Min Haru muttered while brushing Seol-yi’s hair. “She suddenly has so many handsome older brothers.”
“!”
Like a pack of meerkats, the Revive members stopped eating and turned to look at Seol-yi simultaneously. Even the Monk had a strange look of anticipation in his eyes.
“Seol-yi! Who’s the most handsome among us?”
“…?”
Naturally, men couldn’t resist that question. Seol-yi looked closely at each of the Revive members one by one.
“Drumroll, please…”
Just as Min Haru was building anticipation with vocal drum noises…
“Evewyone’s ugly.”
“!”
Seol-yi’s voice rang out like a bolt from the blue.
“Ugh…”
The Golden Retriever clutched his heart.
“Hmph.”
Bambi hung his head with a dejected expression.
“Sigh.”
The prickly one let out a deep breath.
*Pat, pat.*
The Crocodile Bird patted the prickly one’s back.
“Wait, why are you comforting me? You’re included in the people Seol-yi called ugly too.”
“Huh? No, no. Seol-yi wasn’t looking at my face. I saw it clearly; she looked at you the longest.”
“You want a piece of me?”
The prickly one and the Crocodile Bird bickered as usual. The most unexpected reaction came from the Monk.
“…Dear Lord.”
Hmm. Maybe I shouldn’t call him a monk anymore.
“Uncle!”
“Yeah?”
“Uncle is the best!”
Suddenly, Seol-yi ran over and jumped into my arms.
“…”
At the same time, the faces of the Revive members grew even more depressed.
“We lost…”
In the gloomy atmosphere, the Saintess, Shin Hyeseo, appeared as a relief pitcher.
“Um… You all have your own personalities and charms, so I don’t think you need to be that depressed.”
“I guess we look ugly to kids, Director…”
Just then, Min Haru delivered the final blow.
“To be honest, the Prosecutor is my type too. He’s manly and handsome.”
“Wow. Our hearts are already aching! That’s too much, Haru.”
No, the real finishing move was something else.
“Uncle is the vewy best!!!”
“…”
Wait a minute. I understand the Revive members, but why are you two ladies looking at me with those eyes?
‘I feel like my enemies are increasing as time goes on…’
It was all because our Seol-yi was just too cute and lovely. While I was having such idle thoughts…
“Prosecutor.”
Suddenly, the Golden Retriever, Jaejun, knelt down with a very serious expression.
“Why…?”
It wasn’t just the leader, Jaejun. Before I knew it, all the Revive members were kneeling in a line before me. And if that wasn’t enough…
*Thump!*
They even slammed their heads onto the wooden bench.
“Why are you all doing this suddenly?”
“We’re late with our thanks. Thank you sincerely for saving Jaejun.”
That was the beginning.
“We will treat you as our benefactor for the rest of our lives.”
“You are the savior of our group, Revive.”
“We will call you Master from now on.”
“Dear Lord…”
Putting everything else aside.
“A title like Master makes me sound too old. Can’t we just be brothers?”
“…”
Naturally, everyone’s eyes turned to the leader. This alone showed how much the members trusted Jaejun.
*Shake, shake.*
Jaejun shook his head slightly.
“That is out of the question!”
At that response, the Crocodile Bird shouted as if he had been waiting.
“They say the moment you become comfortable enough to be casual brothers, you’re bound to make a mistake with that person.”
“That’s why senior actors like Lee Jung-jae and Jung Woo-sung still use formal speech with each other.”
“Even if we succeed, we will live our lives honoring you as our noble benefactor.”
A sigh escaped my lips.
“It’s a bit burdensome.”
“!”
“And, it’s very uncomfortable.”
“…”
“I really hate feeling this way in my own home… Do you all want to move out right now?”
Only then did the members carefully glance at one another.
“Then… should we just call you Big Brother?”
“Yes, I think that would be more comfortable.”
“We understand, Big Brother!”
Instead of the still-hesitating leader, the Crocodile Bird answered quickly. The other members were busy nodding their heads repeatedly. It seemed they didn’t want to be kicked out.
“Good grief.”
Seok-gu, who had been watching the scene from a distance, approached and whispered right next to me.
“Aren’t you sweet? I feel this every time, but isn’t the temperature difference between you in Seoul and you here too extreme?”
“Are you the same at work as you are at home?”
“Well, no, but still…”
Seok-gu laughed awkwardly.
“Who would look at you now and think you were the mad dog that the history of the prosecution will never see again?”
Even a mad dog isn’t scary if it barks all the time. You have to bark only when necessary and bite the opponent’s throat in an instant.
“I feel like I’m looking at Baron Ashura or something.”
I decided to ignore Seok-gu’s last comment.
***
Around sunset.
“…?”
I paused as I was about to check the state of the fields in the backyard.
“What are you doing here?”
“…Ah!”
In a secluded corner, a place where no one would see unless they looked closely, Jaejun was sitting with his head hung low.
“Prosecutor! When did you get here?”
“Just now.”
Hmm. As I approached, I saw that Jaejun’s two eyes were bloodshot and red.
“You have a lot on your mind lately, don’t you?”
I quietly crouched down beside him.
“…I’ve shown you a pathetic side of myself again.”
“Yes.”
“This appearance… Honestly, it’s an eyesore, isn’t it?”
“To be honest, yes.”
Jaejun looked dumbfounded.
“Prosecutor. You’re even more honest than I thought.”
We sat side by side, staring at the setting sun without saying a word.
“…It’s beautiful.”
After we spent quite a while dazedly admiring nature…
“I thought my skills weren’t too bad until now.”
“I see.”
“I was too arrogant. Whatever else happened, Director Bang’s ability to scout trainees was truly amazing.”
Only then did I glance back at Jaejun.
“You have no peace of mind and too many thoughts, right?”
“…Yes.”
“Then, shall we start by clearing our heads?”
I stood up without even waiting for an answer.
“It’s tomorrow at dawn. Be prepared.”
“Huh? Prosecutor, what do you mean…?”
I left the spot as soon as I finished speaking. First, I had acquired one worker.
***
‘Before it gets any later, I should start preparing too.’
There was nothing more irresponsible than starting something and then abandoning it. Although I said it was indefinite, I couldn’t keep a large corporation waiting forever. Thus, I intended to expand the fields starting now. For the record, there was quite a lot of idle land around my house. My father was something of a local influential figure, after all.
‘I’ll have to start with the reclamation work first.’
I scanned the vast land for a moment. I needed to turn over the thick clods of dirt, cut off the weed roots, and neatly pick out the stones. After that, I had to sprinkle lime to neutralize the soil’s acidity and add plenty of compost before it would finally be ready for seeds.
“With this much land, my father’s cultivator won’t be enough. I’ll need a large tractor…”
*Vroom, vroom, vroom!*
Just then, the sound of a combine harvester echoed from afar.
“I should ask Mr. Minsik for a favor after all.”
I headed straight for my destination.
“Mr. Minsik! Are you there?”
“Who is it?”
A simple-looking middle-aged man in his 50s poked his head out from inside the shop. Soon, his face lit up with joy.
“Who is this? Isn’t it Seojun?”
“How have you been?”
“It’s really good to see you, you rascal!”
It was Mr. Minsik, who sold and rented out agricultural machinery. He was quite the big shot in the region.
“I came to borrow a large tractor.”
“Ho… Your father is losing his strength now and wouldn’t want to increase the workload. Are you planning to properly return to farming this time?”
“Something like that. How much is the rental fee?”
“Hmm…”
After thinking for a moment, Mr. Minsik suddenly clapped his hands.
“Seojun. I actually heard about your exploits yesterday.”
“Pardon?”
“That ice-selling guy, Mr. Jang… he was bragging everywhere about how his relationship with his daughter has improved immensely thanks to you.”
…So it was Mr. Jang’s own story after all. Come to think of it, those two had been childhood friends.
“I’m proud of you. You saved a poor ‘goose dad’.”
“I wouldn’t say I saved him; I just gave him a little advice…”
“I need that little bit of advice too. Please do me a favor. If you do, the rental fee for the tractor for one month is free!”
Oh!
“I’m all ears.”
“Seojun, you know, don’t you? That my wife is Vietnamese.”
International couples were very common in rural areas like this. Mr. Minsik himself had gotten married when he was nearly 50. They probably hadn’t even been married for a few years yet. Which meant they were still technically newlyweds.
‘He married well before it was too late.’
Like a true country person, Mr. Minsik was very simple-hearted. To the point where he would be an easy target for a scam if he went to the city.
“My wife… suddenly hasn’t been reachable since yesterday. I was wondering if it’s okay for me to report this to the police.”
“…Excuse me?”
For a moment, my thought process came to a halt.
“Oh, I’m sure nothing happened, but the sun is setting and I’m starting to worry. I’ve looked for her all day, but she’s nowhere to be found.”
A sigh leaked out involuntarily. Why did people in the countryside find reporting to the police so difficult?
‘It’s probably because the neighborhood is so small.’
If something bad happened in one house, the whole town would hear about it in no time. Thinking that way, I understood Mr. Minsik’s heart. However…
“…By any chance.”
Suddenly, a new sense of anxiety washed over my heart.
“Minsik. Do you remember how long it’s been since you got married?”
“Hmm…”
Mr. Minsik tilted his head for a moment before answering honestly.
“It’ll be exactly 2 years this year. Since we got married around this time the year before last.”
“…And during that time, has your wife lived in Korea the whole time?”
“Huh? Of course. She’s lived under the same roof as me the whole time.”
My bad feeling grew even stronger.
“Minsik.”
“Yeah?”
“Don’t report it to the police for now; I’ll look into this matter myself.”
“Oh? You will, Seojun?”
“Yes. It won’t take long. I’ve become quite close with the local police officers recently.”
Instantly, Mr. Minsik’s face brightened significantly.
“Will you really? If you help me, I’ll feel so relieved! Thank you so much!”
“It’s nothing between us. You taught me how to drive a tractor for free, and you let me handle all sorts of agricultural machines.”
“I knew you had potential since you were a kid… Seojun, you’re the best. Hahahaha!”
Mr. Minsik was so happy he even did a little dance. He must have been suffering a lot.
“Just take the tractor and any other machines you need! I’ll let you use them for free!”
Mr. Minsik said with a simple smile. He suddenly approached and gave me a tight hug.
“Later, just fill up the tank before you return them. Got it?”
“…First, I’ll go make a quick call.”
“Yeah, yeah. Please. Oh! My wife’s name is Le Thi Hanh.”
“Got it.”
Once I was far enough away, I immediately called Chief Han Seojin. After several rings…
— Oh, Prosecutor. I’m so glad to hear from you.
“Chief. How is your health lately?”
— Hahaha. Thanks to you, I recovered completely long ago. I should have contacted you first; I have no excuse.
Judging by his voice, things had luckily worked out well for him in the meantime.
“I’m sorry for only calling when I need something, but I actually have something urgent to discuss.”
— Oh, please say anything. Speak freely.
“Then… by any chance…”
I trailed off for a moment and sighed. If my guess was correct, this wasn’t just a simple missing person case.
“Could you check her wanted record for me?”