LIGHTNOVELONLINE Chapter 26
Chapter 26: Alumni Gathering
Even after returning home, studying was like trying to catch smoke with my bare hands.
I opened the internet and searched for “multi-level scam” as my keyword.
Among the many articles that popped up, I clicked the most recent one.
It was an article about a fraud ring that had swindled over 200 billion won from 3,000 investors by luring them with promises of high returns. They had been apprehended.
The article mentioned that the assets of the company were less than 1 billion won, leaving investors at risk of not getting back the remaining 199 billion.
They had issued a wanted notice for the representative, Mr. Park, who had fled abroad, but Si-hyun knew well that a scammer who had made up their mind to escape wouldn’t be caught easily.
‘Let’s just forget about it for now.’
Si-hyun took a deep breath and shut down his computer.
Worrying about this wouldn’t change anything.
For the time being, he had to focus on what needed to be done.
Si-hyun opened a book.
◈ ◈ ◈
The promotion exam at the middle school in Uiwang City ended precisely at noon on Saturday.
Si-hyun emerged from the exam with an okay expression.
There was one question he didn’t know, but he managed to solve the rest with ease.
It felt like a pass, practically.
If it weren’t for his father’s situation, he would have been purely happy.
Si-hyun fiddled with his phone, deep in thought.
He decided to wait at least until his father’s head wound healed before delving into that mess.
Given that his father was a patient under significant stress, he wanted to avoid adding any more triggers.
There was no raid scheduled.
Normally, he would have headed to the guild for a raid, but having taken a long leave for the first time in a while, he wanted to enjoy the weekend at a leisurely pace and had already informed them he wouldn’t join this week.
However, today there was one engagement.
There was an alumni gathering for the Corrections and Protection major he graduated from at 6 PM. Many of his former classmates lived around Seoul, so they chose a pub near Sinchon for the venue.
He had missed previous gatherings because he had work on those days, but now he had free time.
He had expressed his intention to attend, but now he was hesitating, wondering whether to call and say he couldn’t come due to a family issue.
‘No, I should just go.’
Si-hyun made up his mind.
He felt reluctant to cancel now that he had said he would attend.
Besides, since he was on leave, it could be refreshing to see some familiar faces after a long time.
◈ ◈ ◈
Si-hyun arrived at the venue for the alumni gathering without being late.
It was a surprisingly spacious pub at the entrance of the bustling Sinchon area.
Having heard it was on the second floor, Si-hyun went straight there without looking around the first floor.
As he reached the second floor, he spotted familiar faces.
Seeing more than ten people already there, it seemed almost all the classmates who could attend had arrived. It was a male-dominated department, so only about three female classmates were visible.
“Oh? Isn’t that Si-hyun?”
Several classmates noticed him first.
“It’s been a while.”
Si-hyun smiled back and greeted them warmly.
He sat next to Jong-hyuk and Seung-min, friends he had gotten close with during university.
“Hey, I watched the broadcast. They say the ratings topped 10%! You were totally the main character!”
Seung-min asked, as if he had been waiting for Si-hyun’s arrival.
He was wearing a mask, but it seemed the rumor mill among classmates had already churned out the news. As soon as the topic of the broadcast came up, everyone turned their curious gazes toward Si-hyun.
“Haha, I was actually a bit tired from that. Other broadcasting stations want me to appear, but of course, I turned them all down since I don’t want to become too recognized.”
“Wow… We have a star among us in our department!”
“Come on, don’t go overboard.”
Si-hyun waved his hand with a laugh.
“Don’t overdo it. Here, let’s drink. First round is a shot!”
Seung-min poured the beer.
Once the glass was filled, Si-hyun chugged it down to match the mood.
“How’s it working at Daehan Correctional Facility?”
While there was no guarantee that many students from the Corrections and Protection major ended up in correctional officer roles, it was natural for the conversation to steer toward prisons, especially since quite a few of Si-hyun’s classmates had become correctional and protection officers.
The topic of the working conditions in different facilities was of basic interest for officers.
“Hmm… it’s slightly tough? The metropolitan facilities are all like that.”
Si-hyun paused briefly to think before responding.
Given the high population density in the metropolitan areas, there were larger facilities there. Naturally, larger scales meant more work and a busy environment. Nonetheless, preference was relatively high due to the benefits of being located in the metropolitan area.
“Hey, just shut up about the metropolitan ones. Incheon is hell, I’m telling you, hell. You’ve heard the rumors, right?”
Jong-hyuk, who worked at the Incheon Detention Center, pouted.
Incheon had a notorious reputation.
It was due to drug offenders. They were notoriously hard to deal with, and Incheon had a significant number of such offenders.
“Uijeongbu is hell too. Our rotation schedule was messed up last month and I must have done so many hours of overtime… I was about to collapse.”
Another classmate working at the Uijeongbu Correctional Facility complained.
Uijeongbu was also famous for its poor conditions.
There were rumors that the correctional officers from Uijeongbu had the highest overtime pay.
“Just deal with it. These guys are strutting around in front of the blue pine tree.”
The Blue Pine, Cheongsong.
In public perception, Cheongsong meant prison; and prison meant Cheongsong.
It was a city with an astonishing four prisons.
Whether it was true or not, it was said that the rugged mountains surrounded Cheongsong, making it impossible for inmates to escape, which led to an accumulation of prisons in that area.
There were rumors that discipline was extremely strict in Cheongsong.
Of course, people had differing opinions on whether or not that was true.
But one thing was for certain.
That Cheongsong was the epitome of rurality.
It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that there was absolutely nothing for young correctional officers to engage in culturally. On top of that, transportation was incredibly inconvenient. If someone wanted to go somewhere, they had to plan ahead and take leave.
Young correctional officers were desperate to escape the boredom of Cheongsong where they felt like they had to pave the road to fun.
That’s why young officers were quickly replaced in Cheongsong.
Seeing a classmate from Cheongsong exclaiming he’d finally made it out on leave today, everyone suddenly wore solemn expressions.
“…Hope you escape soon.”
“Sorry. Eat a lot of side dishes.”
“Seriously, why didn’t everyone study a bit harder?”
From behind, a confident voice broke through.
It was a man dressed in luxurious clothes with horn-rimmed glasses.
“Wooong-jae, is that you?”
It was Jung Woong-jae, who had never let go of the top spot in their department during university.
With leisurely steps, he sat in front of Si-hyun.
“There’s a lot of buzz about reversals at the training center, right?”
“Yeah, that’s true. Hey, but c’mon… I studied hard! It’s just that everyone has different capabilities.”
Seung-min said from the side.
“Haha, sorry. Just kidding. Studying’s tough; it doesn’t always go your way.”
“So you’re at the Nambu Correctional Facility, huh? Level 7 too.”
Jong-hyuk looked at Woong-jae with envy.
Nambu Correctional Facility was known for its excellent facilities. It was reputed to have a really good working environment.
Because of that, only the top scorers in the writing exams and training academy got a chance to dream of working there.
Woong-jae enjoyed the envious gazes, looking at Si-hyun.
“I saw the broadcast, it was good.”
“Oh, really?”
“You handled the inmates well.”
“What do you mean?”
He seemed to be giving him a compliment, but his expression said otherwise.
His eyes hinted he was looking down slightly.
He hadn’t changed at all since university.
Si-hyun found that annoying, so he kept a certain distance from Woong-jae and avoided getting too close again.
“By the way,”
Woong-jae said, twisting his mouth into a sly smile as he began to speak.