Chapter 273 (1/2)
The policeman stomped on the ground. The people in the holding cell competed to see who had the most desperate life but had to shut up when the policeman shouted. However, that only lasted a moment and they started talking again.
“You know… I… I mean, I lived quite a pitiful life.”
The girl that stuttered revealed that she worked at a bar. Her stuttering made her look awkward. Someone interrupted her words midway through.
“Just shut up already! I can’t sleep because of all the noise, ” one of the youths, who was sleeping against the wall, suddenly shouted. His scary eyes scanned his surroundings. The other people in the cell whispered amongst each other so that the youth could not hear them.
“You’re in a place like this at your age. Don’t you pity your kids at home?”
When the youth shouted, the policeman, who was doing his work near the holding cell, frowned and stood up. He tapped on the bars of the cell with his file.
“Hey you, why don’t you stay quiet? Huh? You’re a frigging regular here. Why don’t you turn over a new leaf for your father and mother? Aren’t you tired of coming here every time? You’ll be going to the detention center at this rate, you know?”
“...I didn’t do anything that bad.”
“That’s even more of a problem then!”
The youth was a lion inside the holding cell, but was no more than a rabbit in front of the policeman. When the policeman left, the delinquent bared his fans again, but the people inside only snorted at him. They realized the delinquent’s true nature.
“You lil’ bahstaaard!” Suddenly, someone spoke with a slurred tongue.
A man giving off the stench of soju was swaying as he approached the delinquent. The delinquent seemed afraid of the man whose eyes were out of focus and flinched back.
“When I was your age, huh! You know? Uh… huh!”
Perhaps he was too drunk to speak, or maybe he had other circumstances, but the drunk man kept repeating his ‘huh’s. After that continued for a while, the drunkard just collapsed onto the floor. His voice was loud, but his actions were no different from an actual drunkard.
The collapsed drunkard moved his hand around the floor before grabbing onto a thin ankle. The girl whose ankle was grabbed was a woman wearing a suit. She had darkened skin and was clearly annoyed as she tried to shake the hand off her ankle.
“I really shouldn’t be here. Hello, prosecutor? I’m a woman related to Daeyang Corp. If you keep me tied here, you will regret it. You know about Daeyang Corp. don’t you? It’s the indisputable top company in the country! Aren’t you scared of the consequences of keeping me here?”
“Someone who tried to run after getting the commission fee is actually related to Daeyang Corp? Let me hear it then. Who from which department are you related to? The chairman? The president? One of the directors? Who is it?”
“Wh-who says I tried to run after getting the commission fee? I just had some business at the bank so I was getting it for them and I was caught just as I withdrew the money. It’s a misunderstanding!”
“Like hell it’s a misunderstanding.”
“But it is!”
“Geez, if you’re so unjustified, then you’ll see the victims tomorrow so talk to them.”
“I told you to let me out, not call those people!”
“Do you think what you’re saying makes any sense? If you keep being annoying, you’ll be moved to one of the inner cells. Don’t you see those people working over there? They’re working hard to take care of the complaints. Geez.”
The scammer puffed her cheeks at the policeman that just went away after clicking his tongue. The scammer called for the policeman several times after that, but the police didn’t even listen and focused on his work. The scammer became tired of her actions and just sat down.
“You should’ve aimed it big if you were trying to scam someone. What’s a meager commission fee gonna do?”
The man sitting opposite her spoke. The man wearing a neat suit looked at the scammer with a tired expression. The scammer then started blabbing again.
“Who the hell is a scammer? You’re a funny one. Hey, watch your words, alright? I don’t know who you are and where you work, but it won’t be fun if you treat me like this here. I really am not a person that should be here. Why doesn’t anyone understand?”
“Such a well-off woman is wearing such cheap clothes?”
“Cheap clothes? These are brand name ones! Well, not like a person like you would know anything about brands.”
“Brand name? You mean something like this?” Saying that, the man showed her the watch on his wrist.
The scammer widened her eyes and had a close look at the watch.
“That’s obviously fake, isn’t it?”
“You have bad eyes. Rather than that, tell me this Daeyang group guy you know.”
“Why? It won’t do you any good sucking up to me at this point, you know?”
The man shrugged and just stayed quiet. The scammer crossed her arms in victory. Just as she felt victorious, the policeman passed by next to her and approached the man.
“You’ll get to leave tomorrow at 9 when business hours start. People calling themselves your subordinates are here, do you want to meet them?”
“I’m good, thanks. Oh, rather than that, how was the guy with the swollen face?”
“We had a hard time turning him away since he was kneeling down and apologizing. And this is some food that he bought for you. Usually, it would be given out during meal time, but I’m giving it to you early because you’ll be leaving early tomorrow.”
The police pushed half a block of tofu between the gaps of the cell. Seeing that, the hostess spoke,
“He just came in, what’s up with the tofu?”
Her voice was much clearer than before. The policeman ignored the hostess and turned around. The salaryman smiled in disdain.
“It’s quite funny, you know? I’m the one who hit him, and he’s the one giving me presents and apologizing. Do you know the saying, money turns crime into innocence and the lack of money turns innocence into crime?” The salaryman spoke as he looked around with the bowl of tofu in hand.
The people in the cell looked at the salaryman with dejected eyes. It wasn’t a surprise since they just heard from the policeman that a subordinate of his was kneeling in front of the police station. It was likely that he was in a high position, and nothing good would come out of getting on his bad side. Although they were people who were put in cells because of violating the law, they were capable of common sense.
“It’s quite funny when you think about it. That subordinate said the right thing. Meaning, he used forthright words. Isn’t there a saying that you should keep a man that speaks bitter words nearby? That he is the most loyal subordinate? But you know? There’s a limit to being bitter. Can’t it be a little sweeter? Who the hell is he to tell me what to do? You don’t live in society with your mouth. This world is all about power, authority, and lastly, politics. You should know how to suck up to people, and mix lies within your words so that you can survive in this jungle like company. The young ones are only full of spirit. They only know about justice! Does justice give you food?”
The salaryman ate the tofu after laughing.
“Looks like he knows his stuff now. How good is that? He gets to enjoy life by giving up just a little. I do feel relieved since he kneeled down in front of the police station… but I can’t forgive him that easily since he’s the one who put me here.”
The salaryman’s face clearly had ‘obstinate’ written all over it as he ate the tofu. While everyone stayed quiet, the hostess approached the salaryman.
“You look like you’re someone good, oppa.”
The salaryman glanced at the hostess that had a smile on her face and spoke.
“I do go to Daeyang Corp. Though, I’m not in any position high. I’m just in the right position for my age.”
“Oh my god, you’re so cool, oppa! I work near here. Come around some time. I’ll give you some free service.”
The hostess licked her lips as she said that. At the same time, people around them started laughing. Why were they laughing? She didn’t know. It was quite a peculiar scene, but everyone returned to their bitter faces again.
“Hey, ahjumma.”
“Who the hell is an ahjumma?”
“Then what, should I call you a scammer?”