Goblin Library - Chapter 111

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 111.

While Lee Hye-eun and Jang Ma-ru chatted over ice cream purchased from the Convenience Store, Choi Tae-sik’s car came to a stop beside a Factory.
“A Factory?”
“The official owner is someone else, but it’s mine.”
“You’re the owner?”
Lee Hye-eun asked in surprise, and Jang Ma-ru answered with a smile.
“We need somewhere to launder money, after all.”
Jang Ma-ru pointed toward the Factory and added with a satisfied tone.
“It’s not a large Factory, but it’s quite solid.”
“What do you manufacture?”
“Masks.”
“Masks?”
“When the epidemic spread widely before, mask factories sprang up all over the country.”
“I remember that news. Didn’t a lot of those factories go under?”
Back then, masks were needed so desperately that purchases were limited to two or three per person.
Even those with money couldn’t buy them, and those fortunate enough to get any had to pay exorbitant prices. That’s why so many mask factories were established at that time.
But as the epidemic began to subside, demand for masks plummeted.
Most people had no desire to wear masks unless the epidemic was raging. Consequently, many of those mask factories that had opened then shut down.
“I bought one of those factories that came out back then.”
The three of them exited the car and entered through a small door in the Warehouse beside the Factory.
Upon opening the door, stacked boxes of masks came into view.
Following Choi Tae-sik, who led the way, Lee Hye-eun saw another door appear before her.
Opening it revealed a space that seemed out of place in a Warehouse.
One wall was dominated by a large monitor, while the other was obscured by refrigerators and various snacks.
And in the center stood a table.
“This definitely feels like Maru’s hideout.”
“That’s right. My hideout.”
“But this looks like a Factory Warehouse—what if people come in?”
“This is a Warehouse the Factory doesn’t use. So there’s no reason for people to come in here. The entrance is also blocked off with a wall, making it hard for employees to find.”
“Hmm… but why so many refrigerators?”
At Lee Hye-eun’s question, Jang Ma-ru approached the refrigerators and tapped them lightly as he spoke.
“Each one contains different things. One has what I like, one has what Tae-sik hyung likes, one has what our boss hyung likes. Later, I’ll bring one for you too, noona. I’ll stock it with things you enjoy.”
“So you fill each refrigerator with your favorite foods… that’s excellent welfare.”
“The work is tough, so we should at least eat well.”
Lee Hye-eun nodded at Jang Ma-ru’s words and looked around.
“But I don’t see your boss anywhere.”
Before Lee Hye-eun could finish speaking, Lim Sung-un’s voice was heard.
“One last time, I’m asking. Will you work with us?”
Lee Hye-eun looked toward the direction of the voice. A wall separated them, so she couldn’t see the other person’s face.
“Or should you leave right now?”
“Once you see my face, you won’t be able to back out.”
“Ha! What kind of big shot are you? You’re really putting on quite the act.”
Then Lee Hye-eun approached the table and sat in a chair.
“Well then, let’s see.”
Soon the door opened and Lim Sung-un appeared. Upon seeing his face, Lee Hye-eun jumped up in surprise.
“Prosecutor Lim?”
As Lee Hye-eun recognized him, Lim Sung-un nodded and sat in a chair.
“Now do you understand what I meant?”
“Ha!”
Lee Hye-eun looked at him in bewilderment, then glanced around. Then she laughed.
“So that’s how it was.”
“Noona, what do you mean?”
“Prosecutor Lim is famous in this world.”
“I know that too.”
Jang Ma-ru’s words made Lee Hye-eun nod.
“But he’s not famous in a bad way. I’ve never seen anyone in prison cursing Prosecutor Lim.”
“Why? If you get caught by him, you’re one hundred percent going to prison for what you did, right?”
Lee Hye-eun turned to look at Lim Sung-un as she answered.
“Because he only punishes you for the crimes you actually committed.”
When Jang Ma-ru made a puzzled expression, Lee Hye-eun continued her explanation.
“Usually, people with money and power get away with their crimes, but if you get caught by Prosecutor Lim, you definitely go to prison. We really hate things like the wealthy getting off scot-free. It feels like discrimination.”
Then she addressed Lim Sung-un.
“I’ve mentioned your story a few times in prison.”
“My story?”
“There were criminals who got caught by you. Do you remember Manager Kim from Jongno?”
“I do. She was a loan shark, right? Was it assault on her husband’s mistress?”
“I’m not sure about all the details. But Manager Kim said it was really strange how Prosecutor Lim had her evidence. She said there’s no way a mere prosecutor could have found it.”
“A prosecutor isn’t a profession that should be called ‘mere.'”
“Of course, if they’re a proper prosecutor. But these days, I’ve hardly seen any prosecutors who don’t love money.”
At Lee Hye-eun’s words, Lim Sung-un closed his mouth.
In truth, if you want to make money, you shouldn’t choose the profession of prosecutor.
A prosecutor’s annual salary is around six million won. Even as seniority increases and rank rises, the salary doesn’t increase much. Compared to the effort required to obtain that position, it was absolutely not a lucrative profession.
“Besides Manager Kim, there were a few other wealthy women who got caught because of you, and they said the same thing. They said they hid their evidence well and destroyed it, but they couldn’t figure out how you found and proved it. Back then I thought it was because you guys were stupid, but…”
Lee Hye-eun looked at Jang Ma-ru and Choi Tae-sik.
“Seeing these two, I got the answer. With these two, you could have collected evidence that the law couldn’t obtain.”
Lim Sung-un nodded and spoke.
“I’ll explain what our work is about.”
With a firm voice as if to say that idle talk ended there, Lim Sung-un explained what they did.
Lee Hye-eun, who had been listening quietly to his explanation, nodded.
“So you punish bad people who try to escape the law through money and power according to the law.”
“That’s right.”
“But that method only applies to cases that come to the Police and Prosecutor’s Office, doesn’t it?”
After hearing Lim Sung-un’s explanation, Lee Hye-eun thought for a moment before speaking.
“I have a suggestion.”
“What is it?”
“According to what you said, you only catch cases that come to the Police and Prosecutor’s Office, right? Sometimes, even if an investigation hasn’t started yet, if we discover truly bad people, I’d like us to catch them.”
Jang Ma-ru answered with a smile at Lee Hye-eun’s words.
“Actually, we discussed that not long ago.”
“Really?”
Seeing the surprised Lee Hye-eun, Lim Sung-un nodded.
“Yes. We won’t deliberately search them out, but we’ve decided to take action against humans we spot with our own eyes.”
A smile played at the corners of Lee Hye-eun’s lips.
“What? You should have told me that beforehand.”
Then Lee Hye-eun looked around and spoke.
“But do you all stay here?”
Jang Ma-ru answered Lee Hye-eun’s question.
“We come here occasionally when we need to have meetings or gather. Usually, we each have our own places to stay.”
“Then where will I stay from now on?”
Lim Sung-un answered.
“Until that Organization matter is resolved, you stay here. There’s no place as safe as this.”
“Alone?”
At Lee Hye-eun’s question, Jang Ma-ru spoke with a smile.
“If you get bored, I’ll stay here too, noona.”
“Just the two of us?”
“There are lots of fun things here.”
At that, Lee Hye-eun let out a soft laugh and spoke.
“Fine. I’ll think of it as a few days of vacation.”
Then she looked around in a full circle.
“It’s a bit stuffy, but it’s not bad either.”
As Lee Hye-eun spoke and Jang Ma-ru nodded, Lim Sung-un rose from his seat.
“Maru, explain things to Lee Hye-eun.”
“Understood.”
Lim Sung-un gave a light nod to Choi Tae-sik.
“Let’s go.”
“Yes.”
Lim Sung-un left with Choi Tae-sik. After exiting through the small door they had entered, Lim Sung-un got into the car, and Choi Tae-sik took the driver’s seat.
“Where should we go?”
『The Company.』
『It seems you have quite a lot to investigate regarding that case box.』
『A former prosecutor, police involvement, and high-ranking officials are all tangled up in this case.』
At Lim Sung-un’s words, Choi Tae-sik started the car and made a suggestion.
『Then should Maru and I investigate the case?』
『This time, that won’t work.』
Lim Sung-un explained to a puzzled Choi Tae-sik.
『The fact that this case box came to me is definitely intentional.』
『Of course. You received over ten cases all at once, not just one or two.』
『Then there will be people watching this case. So for security reasons, both of you are sitting this one out.』
『But there are so many cases. Will you be alright?』
When Choi Tae-sik asked with concern in his voice, Lim Sung-un nodded.
『The evidence is all on their end anyway. So gathering evidence won’t take much time. However….』
Lim Sung-un paused to think before speaking.
『The dilemma is whether I should expose everything at once… or handle them one by one.』
『Is there a problem?』
『If I expose everything at once, this becomes what they’d call a Gate incident. The media would pay close attention and it would be easy to apprehend them. The downside is the fallout.』
At Lim Sung-un’s words, Choi Tae-sik chuckled softly.
『You’re not the type to worry about that kind of fallout, are you?』
Lim Sung-un didn’t answer Choi Tae-sik’s remark and fell into thought.
Though he moves alone like a child abandoned by the Prosecutor’s Office, he still operates within an organization.
And the box contained misconduct by former prosecutors. They were all retired individuals who had held high positions at the Prosecutor’s Office, so they still had connections within.
That’s why retired prosecutors turned lawyers were so popular—they could exert influence over the Prosecutor’s Office through their junior colleagues.
If he were to arrest those former prosecutors… he might end up working at some distant provincial branch office in the future.
He wasn’t afraid of his career path being blocked, but if that happened, it would become difficult to apprehend criminals going forward.
That’s why he was troubled.
『Your concerns seem quite deep.』
At Choi Tae-sik’s words, Lim Sung-un nodded and shared his worries. After hearing the story, Choi Tae-sik asked.
『Then what about exposing them one by one?』
『There will be external pressure.』
『You’re not someone who worries about external pressure, are you?』
『There are too many cases. If I do them one by one, they’ll eventually get swept away to somewhere else anyway.』
『So the conclusion is they’ll all get buried somewhere.』
『Right, exactly. The Prosecutor’s Office isn’t magnanimous enough to overlook someone who turns a blade against their own organization.』
At Lim Sung-un’s words, Choi Tae-sik thought for a moment before speaking.
『Then don’t take the blade alone—take it together with others.』
『Together with others?』
『Not all prosecutors are corrupt, are they?』
『That’s… true.』
『Then distribute the burden. If only one person turns a blade against the organization, they can target just that person, but if multiple people draw blades simultaneously, the organization won’t feel as threatened, will it?』
“Multiple people, then…”
Lim Sung-un, who had been silent, spoke up.
“Those kids are going to have a hard time too…”
“If they became prosecutors because they wanted to uphold justice, they’ll be able to handle the hardship.”
Lim Sung-un nodded at Choi Tae-sik’s words, then looked at him.
“Do you have feelings for Lee Hye-eun?”
“Cough! What are you talking about?”
Lim Sung-un laughed as he watched Choi Tae-sik choke in surprise and try to deny it.
“You always get snippy with people you like. You used to do that with me at first. And with Maru too.”
“That’s… different.”
“Right. Men and women are different, after all.”
Lim Sung-un said with a smile.
“Lee Hye-eun isn’t a bad person. Give it your best shot.”
“No, hyung. What do you mean by—”
“Phew! Wake me up when we arrive. I need to get some sleep.”
Lim Sung-un reclined his seat, pretending not to hear Choi Tae-sik’s words.
Choi Tae-sik looked at him, sighed, and drove the car toward the Prosecutor’s Office.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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