Chapter 18: 1993: A New Beginning

On February 25, 1993, a new government was inaugurated with the inauguration of President Kim Man-sam, a civilian, not from a military background.

To differentiate from the previous administration, the Kim Man-sam government immediately disclosed the assets of the President himself and his family, and urged high-ranking officials to disclose their assets.

The Cheongpung Group is probably taking a step back and observing the new president’s actions.

Meanwhile, spring was approaching for me as well.

“It’s truly an honor to have this opportunity to speak before you, the new students entering Korea University.”

Well, well, if it isn’t that guy.

Lee Han-su, advisor to the Goryeo Daily.

The mouth of Cheongpung Group, their loudspeaker.

He was one of the Cheongpung Group members I knew.

“Finally, the military regime has ended, and a new civilian government has been established. This is the power and resilience of our citizens. As the elite of South Korea, I urge you to do your best for our nation. We must ensure that a military regime can never take root in this land again.”

I didn’t know back then.

A journalist known as a democratic activist under the military regime.

That Lee Han-su was a member of the Cheongpung Group.

The rather long congratulatory speech finally ended.

Myeong-su, who was standing next to me, yawned and said,

“Yawn~ He sure talks a lot. What are you up to today?”

“Nothing much. Why?”

“Wanna head to Apgujeong-dong together?”

“Didn’t I say I wouldn’t drink with you?”

“It was a mistake, I said! I won’t do it again, let’s go!”

“Is partying all you think about? Aren’t you going to prepare for the bar exam? What about our promise?”

“I am! I’ll pass the first round of the bar exam within two years! Let’s just have some fun today!”

* * *

A month ago, at Myeong-su’s house in Seoul

“I need some help, but it’s related to a goal I have. I’ll need you guys to help me out.”

As the atmosphere turned serious, Myeong-su and Hyeon-seong straightened up and focused on the conversation.

“What? Why so serious?”

“Well…”

I briefly explained the background of my plan.

“I want to investigate my parents’ deaths. They say it was a robbery-homicide, but we still don’t know who did it, and it’s strange that my grandfather didn’t know about my mom’s death.”

“…”

Myeong-su and Hyeon-seong looked at each other.

They knew I’d lost my parents when I was young, but I’d never talked about it like this before.

“Anyway, I plan to start by finding the killers who murdered my mom and dad. And no matter who’s behind it all, I’m going to fight to the end.”

Myeong-su, who had been silently watching me, spoke up.

“So you’re saying there might be some conspiracy behind your parents’ deaths? And you want us to help you uncover it and catch the culprits, right?”

“Yeah, I think it might be a bit easier if you guys help. Will you?”

Myeong-su’s response was far from what I wanted to hear.

“Help my ass.”

Hyeon-seong nodded in agreement.

“This bastard’s trying to act all cool by himself! Mu-hyeok! Damn it! Your parents are my parents, and my parents are your parents. We’re not just helping, we’re in this together, right, Hyeon-seong?”

“Of course.”

“Ah! Shit, you scared me.”

Myeong-su grinned at me as I clutched my chest.

“Alright then, what do you want us to do?”

“For now, I plan to work under my grandfather and build up my own strength. Even if it takes a long time, I want to get revenge with my own power. If I’m right, my uncles are likely involved.”

Myeong-su and Hyeon-seong’s eyes widened in surprise.

“Your uncles? Your mom’s brothers?”

“Yeah, otherwise, there’s no way my grandfather wouldn’t have heard about mom’s death. Someone must have blocked that information, and the only ones who could do that are my uncles… It could be one of them, or both.”

“Hmm…”

“Anyway, that’s why I don’t have time to take the bar exam. It’ll take years to enter law school, finish training, and all that. It’s more important for me to gain my grandfather’s trust in that time.”

“Then why did you come to law school?”

“First, to win my grandfather’s approval. Second, to make connections.”

“Tsk, some people get in even when others can’t.”

Myeong-su chuckled.

“So, what do you want me to do?”

“Myeong-su, I want you to pass the bar exam as soon as possible. Once you pass and enter the Judicial Research and Training Institute, become a prosecutor no matter what. You can help me from there.”

“Damn it, the bar exam isn’t some walk in the park. You think I can just pass it and become a prosecutor just like that?”

“You can do it. You’ll do well.”

He’ll do well, I’m sure.

In my previous life, after Myeong-su disappeared from Busan due to his injured leg, I saw him again.

It was on the TV news.

Myeong-su had entered Korea University, passed the bar exam in just three years, and became a prosecutor.

From then on, he made a name for himself as a prosecutor who went after gangsters.

A few years later, he brought down Hong Jin-pyo and his son, who had crippled his leg, and then quit being a prosecutor and vanished.

The Crazy Prosecutor, the Gangster Prosecutor, the Prosecutor with No Retreat.

These were Lee Myeong-su’s nicknames at the time.

“Should I say thanks for believing in me? Sigh… There goes my golden college life. It’s over.”

Hyeon-seong, who had been listening, looked at me.

“And Hyeon-seong…”

I explained what Hyeon-seong needed to do as well.

I couldn’t explain everything, but it was reassuring to have friends who would stick with me.

* * *

“Oh, come on, Mu-hyeok! Let’s go to Apgujeong-dong!”

“Sigh… Alright, but we’re just having a quick drink, okay?”

“Of course!”

Seeing Myeong-su’s face light up at the mention of Apgujeong-dong, I couldn’t help but smile.

“Hey! Kim Mu-hyeok!”

A sharp female voice called out from behind.

I turned to see someone running towards us. Myeong-su, standing next to me, bowed his head to the woman.

But the woman who approached ignored Myeong-su and glared at me.

“Why didn’t you come to the pre-meeting?”

“Pre-meeting?”

“We sent out a notice about new students gathering before the entrance ceremony to get to know each other and greet the seniors. The guy next to you came, so why didn’t you?”

“I thought it was voluntary?”

It seemed she was a senior from the student council.

“Ha, this kid’s funny. You got the top score in the country with a perfect score, so you don’t need to meet your classmates?”

“I understand more than half of the law students didn’t attend. I had something to do, so I couldn’t make it. There’s still the welcome party, orientation, and MT, right? I’ll try my best to attend those. Isn’t that enough?”

“Sigh… I’ll see you at the welcome party.”

She glared at me one last time before turning away.

I quietly asked Myeong-su,

“Who’s that?”

“A second-year senior.”

“Did everyone else attend?”

“No, not even half showed up.”

“Then why is she making a fuss about me?”

“Dunno, maybe she wants attention? Forget it, let’s hurry to Apgujeong-dong.”

“What did you do there?”

“Nothing much. We greeted our classmates, introduced ourselves to the second-year seniors, that’s about it. We just got to know each other briefly, then went to a nearby restaurant for drinks. That’s all!”

“Sounds pretty uneventful.”

“Exactly! Now let’s go, we can’t be too late.”

Apgujeong-dong was like a mecca for young people in the early 1990s.

It was the center of entertainment, filled with rock cafes, nightclubs, and more. A place where the ‘Orange Tribe’ and ‘Tangerine Tribe’ gathered.

We arrived before sunset, but the roads were already packed with cars. After searching for a while, we finally found a spot to park.

“Ah, the smell of youth! This is the life!”

“What do you want to eat?”

“Let’s just grab something quick and head to a rock cafe. I heard there’s a killer one. What was its name again? Anyway, it’s there.”

“Sigh… Alright, we’ll have fun today, but you better study after this, got it?”

“I know, man! We need to relieve stress sometimes too. Studying all the time will make our brains explode.”

“Two years, remember? Two years.”

“Ah! Stop nagging! I said I got it!”

We quickly grabbed a bite at a nearby restaurant and then headed to the rock cafe.

There was already a line of people waiting to get in.

“Hurry up!”

Myeong-su, excited about something, ran to get in line. I followed him at a walking pace.

At the entrance, I saw quite a few people being turned away. The man managing the entrance looked me and Myeong-su over before saying,

“Go up to the third floor.”

“Thank you!”

Myeong-su and I went up to the third floor.

The interior was filled with loud music. People were standing up from their seats to dance, drinks in hand.

We were guided to our seats.

Myeong-su couldn’t stop smiling as he looked around.

“There’s nothing like this in Busan. It’s different from nightclubs, you know? Here, people just get up from their tables and dance, everyone does their own thing. It’s more advanced than nightclubs.”

“Really?”

“Look, everyone’s up dancing. It’s a pure atmosphere of enjoyment, without waiters or anything like that.”

Myeong-su was saying this was more advanced than nightclubs.

But that wasn’t true.

Rock cafes were places that cleverly skirted the law to do business.

The moment a crackdown begins, the flashy lights and loud music all change, and the place transforms into a restaurant as if by magic.

While it’s true that the atmosphere is freer, probably because most of the customers are college students,

In my previous life, I never visited a place like this during my college years, so it felt a bit awkward.

Myeong-su was already up from his seat, swaying to the music.

As I sat drinking and watching Myeong-su dance, he came over and said,

“Are you just going to sit there?”

“Yeah, I’ll drink a bit first.”

At my words, Myeong-su went back to swaying his body while looking around.

Unlike Myeong-su, who was enjoying himself by talking to the women at the next table and making silly jokes, I just sat quietly drinking.

“What’s this? I thought you were a model student, but you come to places like this too? Interesting.”

I turned towards the voice and saw someone I recognized looking at me with her group.

It was that senior who had scolded me earlier.

“Why aren’t you saying anything? Feeling embarrassed about getting caught?”

“Do I need to answer?”

“You have time to come out drinking, but no time to participate in school events?”

“I’ll manage my own time, thanks. Don’t worry about me and enjoy your night out.”

The women who came with the senior looked at my face and asked her,

“Who is he? He’s handsome.”

“Just an annoying junior.”

“From law school?”

“Yeah.”

“Oh! A handsome face and in law school?”

“But I feel like I’ve seen his face before. Where was it?”

“You probably saw him on TV.”

“TV?”

“Last year’s top scorer in the college entrance exam. ‘Studying was the easiest thing,’ said that annoying guy, remember?”

“Ah! That crazy guy?”

…What are they doing, talking like this right in front of me?

Seeing my expression, one of the senior’s friends apologized,

“Oh, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to…”

“It’s fine. Don’t mind me, just enjoy yourselves. I’m about to leave anyway.”

“Don’t be like that. Would you like to join us?”

“No, really, I’m heading home soon.”

At that, the women looked at the senior with pleading eyes.

“Come on, join us. What about your friend?”

“I’ll do whatever Mu-hyeok wants.”

Thanks to Myeong-su’s quick retreat, I was put in an awkward position.

“…Alright, I’ll sit for a bit before I go. Please, have a seat.”

Three women sat down across from us.

“So your names are Kim Mu-hyeok and Lee Myeong-su?”

“Yes.”

“Hey, talk comfortably! I’m Lee Su-jeong, she’s Hong Seo-yeon, and she’s your senior, so you don’t need to introduce yourself, right?”

“Song Yu-ri.”

“Nice to meet you.”

I looked at Myeong-su, annoyed, and he subtly avoided my gaze.

“…I’m Kim Mu-hyeok.”

Everyone held up their beer bottles and continued the conversation while drinking freely.

“Were you two friends before?”

“Yes, we’ve been friends since we were young.”

“Us too. The three of us, me, Seo-yeon, and Yu-ri, have been in the same school since elementary.”

The conversation was mainly led by Myeong-su and the woman called Su-jeong.

“Is Mu-hyeok always this quiet? Why are you just sitting there?”

“This guy might look cool, but he’s actually pretty innocent. He’s just shy.”

“Hey! Your accent is super cute!”

“You think so?”

“Yeah, I’ve only lived in Seoul, so I find accents adorable. Mu-hyeok doesn’t use an accent, huh?”

“This guy’s just weird. Don’t mind him.”

“Why? He’s handsome! That’s all that matters. It’s okay if he’s quiet, Mu-hyeok can be like that.”

“Stop it. What are you doing with these kids?”

Yu-ri, the senior, scolded Su-jeong and tried to stop her.

“What’s wrong with calling a handsome guy handsome?”

Just then, someone behind Yu-ri’s group called out to them.

“Oh~ Yu-ri, Su-jeong, Seo-yeon! Fancy seeing you all here!”

It was a voice I’d heard many times before.

I turned around, and sure enough, it was Cheon Ji-soo.

“What the hell is this bastard doing here?”

Cheon Ji-soo, who had instinctively taken a step back upon seeing me, quickly tried to act tough and glared at me.

“This bastard, acting all innocent but already out drinking? Typical of people with nothing…”

“Oppa! That’s going too far!”

Su-jeong stood up and yelled at Cheon Ji-soo.

But Cheon Ji-soo just sneered, twisting the corner of his mouth.

“You too? What are you doing hanging out with guys like these? Tsk… Talk about lowering your standards.”

“What?”

Lee Su-jeong glared at him with fire in her eyes.

Looks like another fight’s about to break out.

Somehow, every time I try to have a drink, I get caught up in this kind of situation.

“Hyung, why don’t you stop?”

I tried to defuse the situation.

But the stupid Cheon Ji-soo just got more worked up.

“What? Didn’t I tell you not to call me hyung, you bastard?”

“Come on, Ji-soo, that’s enough.”

“What? ‘Ji-soo’? Are you trying to act like we’re equals now?”

“Alright, I’m done here. I’m leaving now, so carry on with what you were doing. Myeong-su, let’s go. Seniors, we’re leaving now.”

“Huh? Oh, okay.”

Myeong-su got up from his seat, and the women started gathering their bags and coats.

“Where do you think you’re going? Kim Mu-hyeok, do you really wantto die?”

Why has this coward suddenly become so brave?

“You told me not to call you hyung, and now you’re mad when I call you Ji-soo. What do you want me to do? I thought we agreed to pretend we don’t know each other because it’s embarrassing for both of us.”

“Hahaha, you crazy bastard. You really want to get beaten up today. Hey! Hyeon-woo!”

As Ji-soo called out the name, three men approached.

So that’s why he’s acting so brave.

“What? We were having fun, why’d you call? What’s going on? Who’s this guy?”

“Teach this bastard a lesson. I’ll treat you to the full course today.”

“Do we look like thugs to you?”

“You don’t want to?”

With the three men joining in, Cheon Ji-soo was getting out of control.

The men sighed in irritation.

“Sigh, just rough him up a bit, right? You’ll take care of the aftermath, got it?”

“Yeah, don’t worry. This isn’t the first time, is it?”

So that’s what this is about… Cheon Ji-soo, you pathetic bastard.

“Myeong-su, take the seniors out first. I’ll talk with them and then come out.”

“Will you be okay?”

“I’m Kim Mu-hyeok, remember?”

“No, that’s not what I mean… Just go easy on them.”

Myeong-su left with the women.

“Acting all cool by yourself, huh? What are you going to do alone? Come on, Hyeon-woo.”

The three sighed and approached me.

“Sorry, man. Ji-soo’s always like this.”

“I know. You guys are Cheon Ji-soo’s lapdogs, right?”

“…This bastard’s lost his mind!”

The guy called Hyeon-woo got riled up and lunged at me.