He is a legendary prison guard

Episode 26 
Alumni Gathering

Even after returning home, studying didn’t come easily to me.

I turned on the internet and searched for the keyword “multi-level marketing scam.”

Among the many articles that appeared, I clicked on the most recent one.

The article reported that a group had been arrested for scamming over 3,000 investors out of more than $200 billion won by luring them with promises of high returns.

I noticed a line stating that the company’s assets didn’t even reach 1 billion won, putting the investors at risk of not recovering the remaining 199 billion won.

Although they had issued a wanted notice for the representative, Park, who had fled abroad, I knew that a scammer who was determined to escape wouldn’t be easily caught.

“Just forget it for now.”

I regained my composure and turned off the computer.

Worrying about this wouldn’t change anything.

It was time to focus on what I needed to do.

I opened a book.

<0x18> <0xCD> ◈

The promotion exam held at a middle school in Uiwang ended exactly at noon on Saturday.

As I came out of the exam, my expression was fine.

There was one question I didn’t know, but I managed to solve the others easily.

I felt like I had passed.

If it weren’t for my father’s situation, I would have been purely happy.

I fiddled with my phone with a complicated expression.

For now, I thought I would wait until my father’s head injury healed before dealing with his matters.

He was a patient, and given that he was under a lot of stress, I wanted to avoid causing him any more agitation.

There were no raid schedules either.

Normally, I would have headed to the guild for a raid, but since I was on a long vacation for the first time in a while, I decided to skip the raid this weekend.

However, there was one event today.

The alumni gathering for my major in Corrections and Protection at Kyonggi University was scheduled for 6 PM. Since many of my classmates lived around Seoul, the venue was set at a pub near Sinchon.

I had missed previous gatherings due to work, but this time I had free time.

I had expressed my intention to attend, but now I was hesitating, wondering if I should call to say I couldn’t make it due to family matters.

“No, I’ll just go.”

I made up my mind.

I didn’t want to cancel my attendance after saying I would go.

And since I had time off, it would be nice to refresh myself by seeing familiar faces after a long time.

<0x18> <0xCD> ◈

I arrived at the venue for the alumni gathering without being late.

It was a fairly spacious pub located at the entrance of the bustling Sinchon area.

Since I had heard it was on the second floor, I didn’t linger on the first floor and went straight up.

Upon reaching the second floor, I saw some familiar faces.

With more than ten attendees, it seemed that almost all the classmates who could come had already arrived.
Since it was a male-dominated major, I only spotted about three female classmates.

“Hey, isn’t that Siyun?”

A few classmates recognized me first.

“It’s been a while.”

I smiled and wished them warmly.

I sat next to Jonghyuk and Seungmin, whom I had been close with during university.

“Hey, I saw you on TV. They said the ratings were over 10%. You looked like a total star!”

Seungmin asked as if he had been waiting for me to arrive.

Even though I was wearing a mask, it seemed the news had already spread among my classmates. As soon as the topic of the show came up, everyone looked at me with curiosity.

“Haha, it’s been a bit tiring because of that. Other broadcasters have been asking me to appear too, but I turned them down because I don’t want to be in the spotlight.”

“Wow, you’ve become a star from our major!”

“Let’s not exaggerate.”

I waved my hand with a laugh.

“Exaggerate? Come on, drink up. The first round is a shot!”

Seungmin poured the beer.

As the glass filled, I downed it in one go to fit in with the atmosphere.

“How’s it working at the correctional facility?”

Since our major was Corrections and Protection, it was natural for many of my classmates to have become correctional officers or probation officers.

It was common for the topic of prisons to come up.

Especially since the working conditions varied greatly between facilities, it was a basic curiosity for correctional officers to have about other facilities.

“Um, it’s a bit tough? But that’s how it is for all facilities in the metropolitan area.”

I thought for a moment before answering.

Due to the high population in the metropolitan area, there were large facilities, which meant more work and busyness. However, despite that, facilities in the metropolitan area were generally preferred because of their location.

“Hey, not all metropolitan facilities are the same. Incheon is hell, absolute hell. You’ve heard the rumors, right?”

Jonghyuk pouted, working at Incheon Prison.

Incheon was notorious.

It was known for its drug offenders. It was almost a public secret among correctional officers that drug offenders were particularly difficult to manage, and Incheon was a facility that housed many of them.

“Uijeongbu is hell too. Damn, last month, I didn’t get a single day off, and I worked so many overtime hours. I almost collapsed.”

A classmate working at Uijeongbu Prison complained.

Uijeongbu has also gained a bad reputation recently.

There were rumors that the correctional officers from Uijeongbu had the highest overtime pay.

“Just keep quiet about the metropolitan area. Look at these guys acting all high and mighty in front of the Blue Pine.”

The Blue Pine, Cheongsong.

In public perception, Cheongsong was synonymous with prisons, and prisons were synonymous with Cheongsong.

It was home to four prisons, to the extent that it was widely recognized.

Whether true or not, there were stories that the rugged mountains surrounding Cheongsong made it impossible for inmates to escape, leading to the concentration of prisons there.

Cheongsong was rumored to have a strict atmosphere.

Of course, people had different opinions, so it was hard to know the truth.

But one thing was certain.

Cheongsong was a remote area in the countryside.

It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that there was nothing for young correctional officers to enjoy in terms of cultural activities. Plus, transportation was extremely inconvenient. To go out to other areas, they had to plan and take vacation days.

In such a dull place like Cheongsong, young correctional officers were eager to escape.

That was the reason why young correctional officers were quickly rotated out of Cheongsong.

When a classmate who had finally managed to come up from Cheongsong spoke up, everyone suddenly became solemn.

“Hope you escape soon.”

“Sorry. Make sure to eat plenty of side dishes.”

“Seriously, why didn’t you all study harder back then?”

A confident voice came from behind.

It was a man dressed in luxurious clothes and wearing horn-rimmed glasses.

“Is that Woongjae?”

It was Jeong Woongjae, who had never once dropped from the top of our major during university.

He walked leisurely and sat down in front of me.

“Things can change a lot at the training center, right?”

“Yeah, that’s true. But hey… I did study hard. It’s just that everyone has different abilities.”

Seungmin replied from the side.

“Haha, sorry, I was just joking. Studying is tough, even if you try hard.”

“Are you at Nambu Prison? And you’re a level seven?”

Jonghyuk looked at Woongjae with envy.

Nambu Prison was known for its good facilities. The working environment was also said to be very good.

That’s why only those who ranked at the top in written exams and training could even dream of working there.

Woongjae enjoyed the envious gazes and looked at me.

“I saw you on TV.”

“Oh?”

“You handled the inmates well.”

“What do you mean?”

It sounded like a compliment, but his expression didn’t match.

His eyes seemed to look down on me as if he hadn’t changed at all since university.

That bothered me, so I kept my distance from Woongjae and didn’t try to get closer.

“But speaking of which,”

Woongjae said, twisting his lips into a sly smile as he began to speak.