Translator: Elisia
Editor/Proofreader: Wojo
━━━━━━♡♥♡━━━━━━
When you work as a detective for a long time, you end up seeing all kinds of dirty things.
Physically, biologically, and politically, it became too easy to see how everything was rotting in plain sight everywhere.
Narrow and dirty alleys were actually better.
Even though crimes happened, we could catch everyone involved.
There was no reason for anyone to cover things up or for a judge to be lenient in those places.
The punishment would just follow based on the crime the individual committed.
But, the more grand and flashy a place was, the more things tended to get twisted.
Even if we managed to catch someone, they’d get released on insufficient evidence, or even if they were prosecuted, they’d only receive the minimum sentence thanks to expensive lawyers.
In many cases, the whole thing would get stalled due to bribes being passed up the chain.
Just like what happened last time with that girl.
“Well, I’d like to have a private consultation. Would that be alright?”
That’s what the district office official had said.
It was obvious the police higher-ups would cut the case off, so they somehow escalated it all the way to the district office to bring me here.
My boss had been furious, but I actually thought it was for the best.
I was planning to quit soon anyway, so this was just for a little longer.
…I’m not saying that people with a lot of money are always criminals, but the bigger the crime, the more likely the person had a lot of money.
After finishing this case, I thought I could finally live without looking at these kinds of things.
I just felt sorry for the youngest one following me around.
Even if she belonged to the world’s richest family, and was one of the wealthiest teenagers on the planet, in the end, she was just a girl in her mid-teens.
From the anxious look in her eyes, it was clear there was something more going on here.
He sincerely hoped that the girl would tell him everything honestly.
*
Ha, damn, how much should I say?
As I climbed the stairs to my room, I thought anxiously.
Of course, I knew this was a good opportunity.
It was a chance to get back at Choi Na-kyung.
But the problem was, I had a lot of things to be guilty about too.
Wouldn’t it seem strange for a teenager to be giving out tens of millions of won to friends at school?
Helping a friend bribe the school and using hundreds of millions in salary to hire a friend as a maid…
Wow, thinking about it, each one of those things is completely insane.
‘You thought of all of them.’
That’s true.
It was likely that my sense of money was completely numb.
Knowing my fortune was in the trillions, I started thinking it wasn’t a big deal to spend a few billion.
‘…Is that weird?’
And there was someone here with an even more broken sense of money.
No, in her case, it was more accurate to say she never had any sense of money to begin with.
She’d probably never had a chance to spend money properly.
‘…’
That must have been it.
The place I led the district office official into was my room.
“…Uh…”
The official lost her words for a moment as she looked at my room.
Seeing a room bigger than most houses would leave anyone speechless — I thought, then saw her gaze fix on the enormous bed and the second bed.
“…”
Uh, could this be dangerous?
…She’s not thinking something strange about the beds, is she?
On second thought, this world was a place where even scandals between women could happen.
She might take the fact that there were two beds, or even just one big bed, in a weird direction.
Although, considering the way Choi Na-kyung looks at Sara, it might not be entirely wrong.
At least, thanks to that, I avoided sitting on the bed out of habit, like I usually did.
Feeling slightly awkward, I headed toward the table.
The official followed quietly, glancing around.
Standing by the table, I hesitated, wondering what to do next.
Should I offer her to sit first?
But since she was just silently waiting, I sat down first, feeling a little unsure.
“So then,”
As soon as I sat down, the official also found a seat and opened the notebook she was holding in one hand.
“My name is Kim Seul-gi, and I’m from the Social Welfare Counseling Center. It’s nice to meet you.”
She introduced herself in a soft voice.
“Oh, yes, nice to meet you…”
I answered a little awkwardly, and she smiled kindly before continuing.
“As I explained downstairs, we’re here because we received a report of domestic violence. May I ask you a few questions related to that?”
“…Yes.”
She spoke in a consistently gentle tone, as if to reassure me, and I nodded.
Though I thought there wasn’t really a need to go that far, it made sense since she genuinely didn’t know about me and had received a report about violence.
“You might have to recall some painful memories.”
…Will you be okay with that?
I asked Sara.
‘What do you mean?’
Sara asked as if she genuinely didn’t understand.
You might have to talk about your past.
Of course, I didn’t plan to tell them everything here.
Right now, the more I got involved with these people, the more tangled things would become.
Even if Choi Na-kyung were to be judged by the law later, I couldn’t just spill everything without a plan.
“Well then, first…”
She clicked her pen and asked.
“Have you been hurt recently?”
“Hurt?”
Is she indirectly asking if Choi Na-kyung hit me?
“No.”
I shook my head.
At least, I hadn’t been hit.
That’s what I’d told Sara during our talks at night as well.
While the emotional abuse was severe, there hadn’t been any physical violence.
…Wait, is emotional abuse considered violence too?
Noticing the brief troubled look on my face, Kim Seul-gi jotted something down in her notebook.
She then glanced around the room again and asked.
“Have you ever been touched unnecessarily by your stepmother?”
“…Pardon?”
At that dizzying question, I blinked and asked again.
Oh, right, of course.
This is a world where same-sex relationships are relatively accepted.
I’m not sure exactly since when, but for a long time, homosexuality has been something naturally accepted here.
And, naturally, sex crimes are probably dealt with regardless of gender.
If friends around the same age hug each other, that’s considered friendship, but if an older adult hugs and rubs against a child, that’s pedophilia.
“…”
And Choi Na-kyung had done just that.
…Thinking back, it was incredibly serious.
As I hesitated to respond, the official’s eyes sharpened.
‘…You…’
And, I was angry at myself.
What Choi Na-kyung wanted was Sara’s body.
While she hadn’t done anything immediate, a situation where that could happen was always possible.
Even if Sara wanted to fall into Choi Na-kyung’s arms, I should have stopped it.
Isn’t it weird for someone to hug their foster daughter, stroke her thighs, wrap their arms around her waist, and touch her face?
If it had been a man instead of a woman, I would have refused.
Though Choi Na-kyung was objectively beautiful… sex crimes aren’t based on looks.
‘Hey, I’m okay with it…’
Sara said quietly, but I shook my head.
I’m not okay with it.
Even if it was for the sake of memories, I couldn’t leave Sara with Choi Na-kyung.
Nothing serious had happened so far, but I had no idea what she might do in the future.
She was someone who made a high schooler wear a wedding dress.
There was a real risk she could take things too far.
“Is there something going on?”
The official asked.
But…
Could I say yes here?
I didn’t have any solid evidence yet.
And I likely never would.
I was going to make sure nothing like that happened.
“…”
As I stayed silent, she eventually smiled at me warmly, as if giving up.
“If it’s hard to talk about, you don’t have to say everything now. We can always wait. When you feel ready, you can tell us.”
Hearing that, I sighed in relief inwardly.
I had made it through today somehow.
“Just in case, we’ll come by regularly to check on Sara and make sure she’s safe. Is that okay?”
“What?”
I asked, startled by her unexpected words, and she just nodded, seeming to think I was happy about it.
…I was really screwed.
*
After finishing what barely passed as a counseling session, I went downstairs, only to be met with another problem.
Two police officers were sitting there with grim expressions.
Ha-neul, So-hee, and Soo-ah were all fidgeting nervously, while Yang Hye-in just stood there with a blank face.
…What the hell is this?
Did they get into a fight with the police or something?