Past Life Returner

“Please wait for a bit, Reporter Lee. I have something to take care of.”

Lee Soo-Won watched the prosecutor in charge leave the seat. The investigators in the room did not pay any attention to him.

This was the second time today. The prosecutor who called Lee Soo-Won to the office yesterday left his seat as soon as Lee Soo-Won came in and did not show up until it was time to go home, telling him to come back the next day.

It will be the same today…

Lee Soo-Won was aware of what was happening. It was taming. This was the technique often used by prosecutors when questioning people with social status. However, he couldn’t help but be impatient. Lee Soo-Won lowered his anxious gaze. He was holding a document he had brought with him today.

「Written request for attendance

Case number: 2018 number 124890

Recipient: Lee Soo-Won

There is something to inquire about the defamation case against you. Please attend our office, room 409, at 11 AM on October 24, 2018.

1. When attending, please bring this letter, your ID card (or driver’s license), stamp, and any other documents you believe are related to this case.

2. If you do not fully testify about this case…

Seoul Central District Prosecutors’ Office. Prosecutor Kim Jin-Seung」

As Lee Soo-Won was lost in thought while reading it, his phone briefly vibrated.

He said as he stood up, “I will be back. Just need to go smoke a cigarette.”

However, nobody in the office responded to him. It was obvious that there was a directive from the prosecutor in charge not to talk with him. Lee Soo-Won quickened his pace, feeling the noose tightening him. He found a bench to sit on and pulled out his phone.

<Lee Soo-Won: It’s me, sir. Reporter Lee.>

<You said the prosecutor in charge is Kim Jin-Seung, right?>

<Lee Soo-Won: Yes.>

<He is a young man who hasn’t been back long, but originally he was under Director Kwon’s line.>

<Lee Soo-Won: You mean Director Kwon of the Supreme Prosecutor’s Office?>

<Yes.>

<Lee Soo-Won: I heard all his followers have been wiped out, haven’t they?>

<That is true, but… Kim Jin-Seung returned with the backing of a powerful sponsor.>

<Lee Soo-Won: When you say “returned,” do you mean he has the support of the Blue House?>

<It’s even higher than that. Pyeongchang-dong.>

The President of Finance, the puppet master of Korean politics, lived in Pyeongchang-dong. As soon as the president was elected, the first place he visited was Pyeongchang-dong. It was basically the most sacred palace in this country. The prosecutor directly managed by the President of Finance was his prosecutor in charge.

Lee Soo-Won’s expression hardened even more.

<That is why I couldn’t find out more. Hope you understand.>

<Lee Soo-Won: Yes, that is fine. Thank you for your help.>

<There is nothing I can do but tell you to take care. I am sorry, Reporter Lee.>

The case number ‘2018 number 124890’ was an incident originating from an article written at the time when the 0.001% movement was spreading around the world. That was when the entire world was pouring attacks into the Jonathan Investment Finance Group and the Jeonil Group was the target of this country.

Lee Soo-Won and his colleagues had ridden that current. Jonathan Hunter was treated like a criminal only because he monopolized the world’s wealth.

However, he was now called a guardian of humanity. The numerous criticisms directed at the Jeonil Group had also disappeared. Therefore, Lee Soo-Won thought he had pulled out the sword of revenge by taking advantage of the Jeonil Group being quiet, but in the end, he was the only one who was called for it.

His seniors and juniors who were more deeply involved did not receive any documents from the prosecution office. Thus, it was clear.

This is not because of the Jeonil Group…

He wondered who would be in a higher position than the President of Finance in Korea.

Unless it’s Caliber’s son…

Lee Soo-Won realized that he could not avoid prosecution even though he asked for help from all his connections, so he seriously thought about the future. Prosecutors were not the people who lessened the sin. On the contrary, they were the top experts in making a non-existent crime exist.

Moreover, they had a knack for destroying a person’s pride. There was more than one person who had thrown their bodies out of the office window during the investigation process. Lee Soo-Won could predict the future that he would soon experience through his career as a reporter.

Although he was under the taming process, all kinds of personal attacks would start once he adapted to the step.

「Hyung, I heard you are in trouble. Stay strong.」

The text message he received did not help at all. The sender did not even pick up his call!

Lee Soo-Won remembered when his wife gave birth. His wife had insisted on vaginal childbirth, but ended up having a cesarean section due to difficult labor. It would be the same in the prosecutor’s office. He would go through the entire interrogation, and it would ultimately go as the prosecutor intended.

He decided to confess. It was scary, but in order for him to avoid being dragged to the World Awakened Association, he could only hope for a favorable arrangement.

***

“Ah, it’s already too late. Could you please come again tomorrow?”

Prosecutor Kim Jin-Seung appeared five minutes before 6 PM.

“I will tell you everything, Prosecutor,” Lee Soo-Won said with an embarrassed face.

Prosecutor Kim Jin-Seung simply replied, “I don’t understand what you are talking about. But I will let you speak. The rest of you can go home. Good job today, everyone. I will see you tomorrow.”

The officials left after saying bye to the prosecutor, then Lee Soo-Won and the prosecutor faced each other across the table.

The prosecutor opened his mouth first, “I heard your nephew has a special connection with the Caliber.”

“If you are talking about Kang Ja-Seong, yes.”

“Then, it is correct to say that you are also the family of an Awakened… Let’s put this away first.”

The prosecutor put aside the documents corresponding to the case. Then, he opened the lock of his drawer and pulled out a file. There was no title attached to it and only the official seal of the association was stamped big in the front.

Lee Soo-Won’s eyes became heavy the moment he saw the seal. Sure enough, it was a top-secret investigation in which the World Awakened Association and the Prosecution were cooperating on together.

The prosecutor continued, “You must know that it would be beneficial for your reputation to clarify everything here. I won’t say how it will proceed if the case goes to the association.”

Then, the prosecutor showed him a sheet of paper from the file. There were two images printed on it.

“Have you seen this or not?”

It was a picture of a species that did not exist on Earth. The creatures in the picture were tiny, but were so muscular that they could be mistaken for living on steroids. In one image, the dwarves were talking with officials from the association. In the other, a group of dwarves were moving devices that Lee Soo-Won had never seen before.

Lee Soo-Won said, “I received an email around the twenty-third. It was an encrypted email, and the email address used by the sender was also one I had never seen before.”

Lee Soo-Won wrote down the email address and handed it to the prosecutor. The prosecutor compared it with another document he pulled out from the file and nodded.

“It’s not that we placed an informant in the association. I am not capable of such a thing. That email was unexpected.”

The document the prosecutor was looking at was a printout of the email mentioned by Lee Soo-Won. Lee Soo-Won was never notified that a warrant had been issued. Yet the prosecutor placed it on the table without hiding what could be illegal evidence.

However, it did not matter to Lee Soo-Won whether it was illegally obtained or not. There were dozens of email addresses at the bottom. Each one was a primary email of foreign journalists, all of whom Lee Soo-Won knew very well. It seemed that the association had quickly cleaned up as soon as they noticed the leak of internal information. Not an investigative stage, but an investigation conclusion.

“The leaker specified in the email that ‘the World Awakened Association is bringing in mysterious facilities from outer space that look dangerous.’ The same phrase was found in the manuscript written by this journalist.”

Lee Soo-Won became speechless at that moment. It was possible that they had obtained the email by using the Korean company’s service, but the manuscript was stored on a Nanosoft cloud server.

Of course, given the unfair agreement the World Awakened Association had made with UN member countries, such surveillance could have been possible. That was why there had been so much talk about it.

Since Lee Soo-Won had directly experienced this, it felt as if his blood was drying up. If something went wrong here, then he would be branded as an accomplice. He would be put on trial at the association's court, and he would be dragged off to North America’s infamous association prison without any defense.

“Reporter Lee.”

“Yes, sir.”

“Do you have a manuscript stored on any other storage media besides the online server?”

“No, I did not write that manuscript with the intention of publishing it…”

“Then, why did you write such a thing?”

Suddenly, Lee Soo-Won realized that the prosecutor was not even taking notes. There was only a recorder on the table. From the lack of formal documentation, Lee Soo-Won had a hard time estimating how horrific this was.

The prosecutor’s investigation continued, and new documents kept popping out of the file. Not only posts on his private social media, but also past fine photos captured by speed cameras were there. Even his tax records and business trip reports that could be only found on the company intranet were there.

Lee Soo-Won was sitting in front of documents revealing every detail about him, from the past to the present.

A long time passed. Lee Soo-Won was just waiting for the prosecutor’s final notification. His gaze frequently turned to the window of the office with the thought of jumping out of the window if this case was really transferred to the association.

“There are bound to be those who only see bad things and distort the righteous businesses of the association into malicious actions. Without the association, people like you and me who make a living with a pen would be in the streets without a home or food. Remember that, and I will recommend to the superiors not to transfer this case to the association.”

The prosecutor’s announcement sounded like the heavenly voice of an angel to Lee Soo-Won.

“...I won’t even glance at the association,” Lee Soo-Won’s voice trembled.

“No overseas trips planned, right?” asked the prosecutor mildly.

Lee Soo-Won vigorously shook his head. “No.”

“Well, you won’t be able to go anyway, so stay home for now. The final decision is up to the association. If things go well this time, then make sure you clean up your surroundings so that you don’t get involved in such an unpleasant incident again. By the way…”

The prosecutor pulled out the documents that he had set aside earlier. It was the case 2018 number 124890 that had defamed Jeonil Group’s reputation. The prosecutor read over the documents, then glared at Lee Soo-Won with a suddenly changed sharp expression. The voice that the prosecutor let out struck Lee Soo-Won’s face.

“Lee Soo-Won! You are an asshole!”

Then, Lee Soo-Won remembered the fact that he had briefly forgotten: that the entire prosecutor’s office was loyal to the Jeonil Group.