Concerned Soldier? Concerned Officer! (2)
“What?”
Jang Gab-soo was startled when he received the urgent report.
“A prosecutor barged in?”
“Yes, Colonel.”
“Why?”
“I don’t know, sir.”
“Damn it!”
He had been trying every possible way to withdraw the case and change the testimony, and now a prosecutor shows up out of nowhere. What does this mean?
“Who is that guy? Why wasn’t there a summons issued?”
“I don’t know. I found out he’s a rookie who just arrived.”
“A rookie? Looks like this punk doesn’t even know the ranks and is acting all tough.”
Jang Gab-soo gritted his teeth. It was already annoying enough with a clueless sergeant causing a ruckus, and now there’s a prosecutor too.
“Let’s go.”
“Excuse me?”
“Let’s go. I heard he’s in a conversation with that woman?”
“Yes.”
“We need to intimidate him.”
Usually, prosecutors have significant power. Therefore, they are generally treated as if they are two ranks higher. In other words, if he is a lieutenant, he is treated like a major. But he is a colonel. That’s a considerable difference.
“Colonel Jang! Wait a moment.”
When he hurriedly reported and arrived at the place where Noh Hyeong-jin was, Noh Hyeong-jin had just finished listening.
“Understood. I’m in charge of this case, so if you need anything, just call…”
“Who the hell are you?!”
A man barged in just as he was saying his farewell. Noh Hyeong-jin looked at him blankly.
“Who are you?”
“Me? I’m Colonel Jang Gab-soo. Who the hell do you think you are?”
“Nice to meet you. I’m Noh Hyeong-jin, the prosecutor in charge of your case, Colonel Jang Gab-soo.”
“Who the hell are you to come here?!”
“What do you mean?”
“Who told you to come to the front line and cause a ruckus?! Huh? Do you want to die?”
Jang Gab-soo was furious. A mere lieutenant coming here to investigate.
“I’m acting based on my work regulations…”
“Work regulations? What a load of crap! You think you can just get fired and come back as a private to learn your lesson? You want to die? Fine, I’ll kill you, you bastard!”
‘Hah…’
Noh Hyeong-jin sighed.
‘This is ridiculous.’
In the military, chaos is inevitable. And the top dog here is none other than him. So, he must have lived like a king for years, and now he has become this arrogant.
“Enough.”
“What do you mean enough, you bastard?!”
“I’m a prosecutor, so I have the authority to investigate.”
“Then why did you send such a poor report?!”
“That report is too inadequate. Additional investigation is necessary.”
Jang Gab-soo was irritated. Among the new recruits, there are sometimes those who are excessively righteous.
“This bastard!”
Jang Gab-soo approached to intimidate him. He couldn’t let Noh Hyeong-jin take away the results of his investigation.
“Hey! Take his bag!”
“Excuse me?”
The sergeant standing behind him was startled.
“What are you doing?! Take that bastard’s bag!”
“Commander?”
“Are you not listening to me? Do you want to die? This is disobeying orders, you bastards! Do you want to be tried on the spot?!”
As Jang Gab-soo raged, the soldiers awkwardly surrounded Noh Hyeong-jin. Watching this, Noh Hyeong-jin clicked his tongue.
‘This unit is a complete mess.’
Not out of virtue or ethics, but out of fear. It was clear that they were ruling with a kind of military discipline that was far from ideal. So, they were moving in this way.
“First, according to current law, immediate punishment is not recognized. Second, I have conducted a proper investigation according to the law. If you forcibly take this investigation data, it will be considered theft of military data under current law.”
Hearing that, the soldiers who were approaching flinched.
“Bastards! Take it!”
“Third! Since the prosecutor enforcing the law is being obstructed and threatened physically in the course of duty, I will formally request support from the military. Please call the military police.”
The last statement was directed at the officers, not the soldiers. The soldiers wouldn’t know the military police’s phone number.
“……”
The officers were left speechless, their mouths agape. The commander ordered them to capture him. The prosecutor ordered them to call the military police. The two orders conflicted.
“This is an official request. If you refuse, you will have to bear the responsibility.”
“Ugh…”
The words that officers hate the most. Responsibility. They began to waver between the orders of the commander and the prosecutor.
“I will record this as a refusal. Sergeant Yoon, please call the military police. Say that you have been obstructed and that there was an attempt to steal military data.”
At those words, Yoon Bo-mi took out her phone. Seeing that, Jang Gab-soo’s eyes widened.
“Take it! What are you doing, you bastards?!”
Hearing that, the soldiers awkwardly moved toward Yoon Bo-mi.
“Try to touch her. I will charge all of you with harassment against a female officer.”
The soldiers, who were approaching Sergeant Yoon Bo-mi, froze at Noh Hyeong-jin’s words. It wasn’t just ordinary harassment; if the soldiers harassed a female sergeant, it wouldn’t be something that could be easily overlooked.
“……”
“Communication security.”
As Yoon Bo-mi’s voice went over the phone, Jang Gab-soo could only frown.
In the end, Noh Hyeong-jin left the unit under the protection of the military police. And as soon as he arrived, someone called for him.
“Loyalty! Lieutenant Noh Hyeong-jin, I have called for you.”
“Please sit.”
The person who called him was none other than the head of the inspection department.
“What have you done?”
“What do you mean?”
“Why did you go there to investigate?”
“The place of investigation can be chosen by the prosecutor, can’t it?”
“Do you not know who your opponent is?”
“I do know. Colonel Jang Gab-soo. His ability as a soldier is questionable.”
“Bastard! That person is the brother of the governor of Gyeonggi Province!”
“So?”
“Do you know how many calls are coming from above right now?”
“So?”
“What?”
“The military prosecutor has exclusive prosecutorial authority. They are not the ones prosecuting, I am.”
“Are you really saying that…? This is the military! The military! A place to protect the country!”
Hearing those words, Noh Hyeong-jin suddenly smiled. It reminded him of an incident from middle school. When he was trying to protect a rapist, not the victim, at school.
“This is a place to protect the country, not to protect rapists.”
“What?”
“After investigating today, I found that there are missing records. It’s not just sexual harassment; there was also an attempt at oral sex. Strictly speaking, this is attempted rape. However, in the records I reviewed, it was manipulated to be reported as sexual harassment.”
“Ugh…”
“I will change the charges.”
This was the reason Noh Hyeong-jin came in person. The military organization is very closed and merciless to whistleblowers. It was clear that he came knowing that, but it was absurd to think that a sergeant would report a colonel for a single instance of sexual harassment. As expected, a drunken Jang Gab-soo had ordered Sergeant Oh Yoon-mi to perform oral sex, and when Sergeant Oh refused, he slapped her. However, there was no mention in the investigation records that he had ordered oral sex.
“Are you crazy?”
“No.”
“Then why are you escalating the situation?”
“I’m not escalating the situation; I’m just doing my job properly.”
“This is the military!”
“Yes, it is the military, not a training ground for rapists.”
The head of the inspection department turned pale. He realized that a real lunatic had come in.
“I will go to work now.”
“Uh, this…”
Seeing the trembling head of the department, Noh Hyeong-jin couldn’t help but smile.
“This is truly ridiculous.”
“This is the most ridiculous of all.”
“There’s no solution.”
Noh Hyeong-jin’s actions had thrown the inspection department into chaos.
“Are you not understanding?”
“I don’t understand. It seems he’s not even considering long-term service.”
“Damn it.”
Wherever there are idiots, it’s bound to be exhausting. Moreover, this is the inspection department. In other words, the people working here are those who know a lot, if not everything, about the law.
“They can’t just fire him.”
It’s not a job; it’s an obligation. This is not a place where they can fire someone just because they don’t like them.
“Where did such a lunatic come from…”
They had given him a case that was quite burdensome to tame, but instead, they ended up with a nemesis like this.
“Is there really no way?”
“Hmm… for now, we can only wait and see.”
Since the prosecutorial authority lies with him, there was nothing they could do.
“Lieutenant Noh.”
“Yes?”
“Have you heard the rumors?”
“Am I in a situation to hear rumors?”
‘True.’
Rumors are usually heard from close acquaintances. But since he detonated a nuclear bomb right from the start, who would want to get close to him?
‘He probably knows that.’
Yet, Noh Hyeong-jin continued to smile and chat as usual. As if he were someone completely unrelated to this world.
“Well, it’s obvious. There must be a commotion because a lunatic came in.”
“Do you know?”
“Is there anything more to say?”
“But are you really planning to continue like this?”
“I will.”
No matter who the opponent is, the law must always be fair. If the virtue of a lawyer is victory, then the virtue of a prosecutor is justice.
“But…”
The opponent is too formidable. A colonel from the military academy, the brother of the governor of Gyeonggi Province.
“It doesn’t matter.”
Noh Hyeong-jin smiled.
“By the way, how is the request for detention going?”
“Well…”
“Honestly, I didn’t expect much.”
He had applied for a detention warrant based on the recorded materials and Jang Gab-soo’s actions, but as expected, the detention warrant did not come through. Hyeong-jin was not particularly disappointed. He had anticipated that.
“I’m sorry.”
“Eh, Sergeant Yoon doesn’t need to feel sorry.”
Not detaining is the judge’s decision.
‘I need to come up with a special measure.’
In the end, no matter how good the lawyer is, no matter how well the prosecutor writes, the one making the judgment is the judge. And given the nature of the military, it is safe to say that the judge is unlikely to impose a penalty on him.
‘I have to do something.’
Most people want to become judges or prosecutors after leaving. To do that, they need to have connections in politics, but in such situations, there’s no way they would punish him.
‘From the looks of it, it doesn’t seem like this is the first time for him.’
No matter how drunk he was, forcing someone to perform oral sex in a karaoke bar is not something that is done just once.
‘By the way, if this continues, I’ll be at a disadvantage.’
Even if the judges outside are corrupt, they still try to appear neutral externally. But this is not the case here. If the higher-ups say to cover it up, then there’s no choice but to do so. So, no matter how perfectly he prepares the documents and evidence, if the judge decides to acquit, it’s all over.
‘For now, I’ll do my best. If it doesn’t work…’
If it doesn’t work, there are other ways, but Noh Hyeong-jin didn’t want to resort to that.
“Name.”
“Bastard.”
“Age.”
“Eighteen.”
As the formal investigation began, Jang Gab-soo looked at Noh Hyeong-jin. He cursed to provoke him, but Noh Hyeong-jin was not going to fall for such provocation.
“Alright, so, bastard, do you know that you were brought in for attempting to rape Sergeant Oh Yoon-mi at the karaoke on the ○○ day of the ○○ month? Your case falls under attempted rape. I believe your background needs to be investigated. Therefore, I am planning to investigate the sergeants who worked under you. What do you think about that? Of course, this process will also be communicated to your lawyer. You won’t need to participate in this.”
Noh Hyeong-jin spoke very kindly. But the problem was the name. In every part that should mention a name, the term “bastard” was inserted.
“What did you just say?”
“I will guide you through the legal process that will take place.”
“Are you cursing at me?!”
“When did I curse? I’m just calling you by the name you mentioned, right? Isn’t that so, bastard?”
He kept calling him “bastard” as if his name had become that.
“This bastard is really!”
“I’m just calling you by the name you mentioned, bastard.”
“Ugh.”
He wanted to say something in anger, but he couldn’t win.
“So, bastard, please answer.”