Chapter 52: The Ripples Reach Seoul

I left the filming set behind and returned home early.

‘It definitely feels different from my days as a prosecutor.’

Helping someone who was pushed to the edge of a cliff mentally.

It made my heart feel even softer, especially since the person was a celebrity. Perhaps it was because they belonged to the same profession as the victim whose death I might have been able to prevent.

‘Now that I think about it, Lee Ji-hoon hasn’t appeared in my dreams lately.’

Back when I lived in Seoul, it was a nightmare I had almost every day. It was a dream I had experienced once even after moving down here.

“Unclie… Seol is sleepy…”

“Hm?”

I immediately snapped out of my thoughts. Looking down, I saw Seol-i rubbing her sleepy eyes repeatedly.

“Is our Seol-i sleepy?”

Well, it made sense. She had been scurrying all over the filming set and the luge track all day long.

‘Ten o’clock. It’s still a bit early for me to go to bed, but…’

To be honest, this was a situation I couldn’t have imagined in Seoul. Not only was it a time when I wouldn’t have even left the office, but on holidays, I would usually stay awake until 2:00 AM thinking about work. And then, without fail, I would wake up at 6:00 AM.

“Up we go! Shall we go to sleep with Uncle?”

“Mng…”

No sooner had I picked Seol-i up.

*Soft breathing.*

Perhaps my arms were quite comfortable, as Seol-i fell into a deep sleep at a frightening speed. It was a sight that naturally brought a smile to my lips.

‘Careful, careful.’

I cautiously laid my body down on the bed. Feeling a weight on my chest naturally brought back the nightmare of Lee Ji-hoon climbing on top of me…

*Vibrate!*

[Greetings. This is the Chief Secretary to Chairman Han Seung-ho.

We have made contact with the individual you requested us to find (the lawyer who departed for the Philippines).

We have confirmed that he is already on the Interpol wanted list. We will coordinate with the local consulate and police to arrest him as quickly as possible and repatriate him to Korea.]

‘Money really is a great thing.’

I let out a chuckle as I put down my phone. What was the point of investigating until your legs gave out? Once a criminal left the country, even a prosecutor with all that supposed power couldn’t do anything. Even if you shoved a warrant issued in Korea in their face, the other country would likely respond with a “So what?”

Even countries with extradition treaties were like that.

‘They make all sorts of excuses—political considerations, differences in judicial systems, conflicting national interests, or claiming the person needs protection because of dual citizenship.’

Anyway, the end was almost in sight. The day those who committed crimes would be punished.

‘Hang in there just a little longer, I-re. And… please wait just a little longer, Ji-hoon.’

Before long, my eyes slowly drifted shut. Surprisingly, sleep overcame me quickly.

“Zzzzzzzz.”

For the first time in a while, I fell into a very deep sleep.

‘Thank you, Prosecutor.’

I used that voice, which sounded like a hallucination, as my lullaby.

***

The next day.

“Hup!”

I stretched lightly after waking up from a long, restful sleep.

“Mng…”

Seol-i was still in a deep slumber. I left my incredibly adorable niece alone and quietly stepped out of the room.

“Sssip, haaa.”

I inhaled the fresh countryside dawn air several times.

“…I suppose I can start planting new crops now, right?”

Why stay idle? I might as well work since I felt so good. For the record, even though I had started so many projects with the flower beds and blueberries, there was still plenty of unused land around. Even the nameless neighborhood mountain behind the house belonged to my father. It was ancestral land passed down through generations since my great-grandfather’s time.

Most importantly, there was another reason why I wanted to increase the workload here.

“President Baek!”

Yesterday, before I left the set, CEO Han Yu-jin had hurriedly caught me.

“Not just the blueberries and edelweiss you’re currently growing—we want to actively support any crops you cultivate at Eoreumgol Farm in the future!”

“…Even other crops I’ll plant later?”

“Yes! Sekyung considers Eoreumgol Farm a truly important partner. In fact, this is something we want to ask of you.”

Well, if the variety of crops increased, Sekyung’s sales would naturally increase as well. I would be supplying that increased volume.

*Vibrate! Vibrate! Vibrate!*

Furthermore, Sekyung wasn’t the only one begging me to increase the work.

— President?

— Why haven’t you replied yet?

— You haven’t forgotten, have you? This is Shinhwa Department Store! A one billion KRW down payment! Free labor support is a bonus!

Since I hadn’t replied for several days, the Shinhwa side, including Assistant Manager Hwang Young-sik, was naturally in a panic.

‘I can leave this side to suffer a bit longer.’

When else would these people, who were always in the position of power, get to experience something like this?

“Anyway, my parents should be up by now.”

I headed straight for the main house. Even if I wanted to grow new crops, farming had its own cycles. And the expert in this field was, no matter what anyone said—

“Did you sleep well?”

“…?”

My father, who was about to enter the secret farm, paused. I could see that he had been feeling a bit lonely since yesterday. His precious Go partner had left at that time.

“You’re here again this early in the morning?”

“Do I need a reason to come give you my morning greetings, Father?”

“I’m saying that because your face doesn’t look like the face of someone just saying hello.”

As expected of my father. His intuition was no joke.

“I was thinking it might be time for me to have a secret farm of my own.”

“You’ve already started all this work, and you want to start more here?”

“For the flowers, Sekyung Department Store agreed to handle all the follow-up actions once I just make them bloom.”

“It’s not just the flowers. Right now, even the blueberry saplings look like a ton of work. Can you do it all by yourself?”

Well, if it were yesterday, it would have been something I’d have to do alone.

“The department store said they’d help with that too.”

“Eh?”

“It’s a condition they proposed first. In the name of investment, they’ll help with winter preparations and farming for other crops, as long as I give them ‘priority negotiation rights’ for those crops.”

“…Who?”

“Both Sekyung and Shinhwa.”

My father’s expression changed into one of someone looking at a fool.

“They call it priority negotiation rights, but doesn’t that just mean you can switch if someone else offers better terms later?”

“That’s right.”

“So it means they’re both complete suckers?”

“Doesn’t it mean I’m just that good at my job?”

“Stop being cheeky.”

After speaking, my father threw a new inspiration my way without a second of hesitation.

“Isn’t Eoreumgol famous for apples?”

“Ah!”

That was it. When people thought of Eoreumgol, they thought of apples!

“Well, it’s actually a bit late for this year. Aren’t apples usually in season in the autumn? Their sugar content will hit its peak soon, so how are you going to plant trees now that summer’s over and grow them in time? So, don’t be greedy this year and look toward next year while growing them slowly.”

The answer stayed inside me.

‘No.’

I don’t think that will be a problem at all, Father.

***

Perhaps it was because Actor Jo Woo-sun’s condition had improved so much? The filming, which lasted through the night, only ended after daybreak.

“Prosecutor!”

He must have been exhausted, yet Jo Woo-sun gave up on sleep and rushed to my house.

“Wh—What on earth did you give me?”

Since I had expected this, my answer came out immediately.

“A blueberry yogurt smoothie.”

“I beg your pardon…?”

Jo Woo-sun paused and wore a peculiar expression.

“It wasn’t just an ordinary blueberry yogurt smoothie, was it?”

“Why do you think that?”

“I felt it the moment I ate it. I knew it was something different.”

It was the reaction I had secretly hoped for. Even though the Snowflakes had picked them themselves, I hadn’t been able to confirm the effects of the King Blueberries yet.

“And the main investor told me as well. That besides me, many others have seen effects from eating the crops grown here.”

“I see.”

The corners of Jo Woo-sun’s eyes trembled.

“Does this… even make sense?”

“I can’t be certain if our crops really have such effects, but regardless, I’m glad it helped.”

“…”

After a brief silence, Jo Woo-sun bowed his head toward me.

“Thank you. Thanks to you, the filming will likely end sooner than expected. I had been the stumbling block until now.”

*Vibrate!*

“…Ah, one moment.”

I asked for his understanding and took the call immediately. The caller was Department Manager Lee Do-kyung from Sekyung Department Store.

“Yes, this is Baek Seo-jun.”

— President. I just sent over the new contract. I would appreciate it if you could check it.

“Yes, I’ll check it right away.”

After hanging up, I looked back at Jo Woo-sun.

“It seems you’ve stayed up all night. Let’s talk more later. For today, please head back and get some sleep. We can talk over a drink during the wrap party.”

“Yes! But by any chance…”

Had the call been too loud? Jo Woo-sun asked cautiously.

“Do you also do direct sales for the crops here?”

“Pardon? Ah, well, I am preparing for direct sales.”

“Then… would delivery to Seoul be impossible? Of course, I don’t mind paying for shipping!”

A smile naturally formed on my lips.

“Yes. If you need it, I’ll send it to you.”

***

Seoul Central District Prosecutors’ Office.

“Sir.”

An investigator quietly approached Deputy Chief Prosecutor Kang Dae-ho.

“Regarding what you said before—to report even the smallest matters.”

“Baek Seo-jun?”

“Yes.”

“Why? Did he cause some kind of trouble? When I talked to him recently, I didn’t get that impression.”

The investigator hesitated.

“…You spoke with him directly?”

“Yeah. He jokingly asked if he needed to report secondary employment because he was helping his parents with farming… Anyway, the kid isn’t a bad person. He’s a devoted son, a devoted son.”

“…”

The investigator fell silent for a moment before speaking.

“So, what did you tell him?”

“Hmm?”

“About the secondary employment report.”

“Why ask? I told him to just go ahead and do it, of course. He’s not causing trouble and he’s helping his parents with farming—how could that not look good to me?”

“…Even after seeing this?”

The investigator then held something out. It was a clipped internet news article.

“What is this…”

Kang Dae-ho’s voice trailed off as he fell silent.

[(Goseong News) Eoreumgol Farm in Daega-myeon Signs Massive Contract with Sekyung Department Store! Down Payment Alone Reaches 3 Billion KRW!

…(omitted) Goseong County Governor Jang Du-hyeon announced that he plans to award a certificate of merit to Mr. Baek Ji-gang of Eoreumgol Farm, who contributed significantly to the revitalization of the local economy, and expressed his sincere congratulations…]

“…”

Nothing else in the article caught his eye.

“…Three billion…?”

At that unrealistic number, Kang Dae-ho’s eyes gradually grew wide.

“You didn’t actually issue a secondary employment permit, right?”

“…With what authority? That’s at the discretion of the head of the agency.”

“That’s a relief at least. Then just act shamelessly. Ask him when you ever gave permission.”

“…He probably recorded it.”

“Pardon?”

“I told him to do it.”

“…”

Not only Kang Dae-ho, but the investigator’s face also turned serious.

“Sir. You should start preparing your explanation report.”

“…Why a whole explanation report? It’s his parents’ business anyway. And for 3 billion KRW, they obviously would have received it in a corporate account, not a personal one. If it’s an individual business, after labor costs and overheads, half of it would go to taxes anyway.”

“Isn’t that just what you want to believe?”

“…”

Kang Dae-ho fell silent again.

“Prosecutor Baek Seo-jun is leaving in a year anyway, but because of this, you might end up taking the fall and getting disciplined.”

“Hey.”

“Yes.”

Kang Dae-ho gave an awkward smile.

“Maybe I should just start preparing to return to farming too.”