NOVEL NEXT Chapter 134
Chapter 134
Si-hyun was casually sipping an Americano at a window seat on the second floor of the cafe while pretending to look at his phone.
But in reality, he was all ears, perked up and eavesdropping on the conversation of the couple sitting beside him.
The couple, in their late twenties, sat awkwardly across from each other, apparently on a blind date set up by a mutual acquaintance.
“So you’re a civil servant…?”
After some formal pleasantries, the woman took a sip from the glass of water on the table and hesitated before speaking again.
“Ah, yes. I’m a Level 9 Civil Servant.”
“Where do you work?”
The man scratched the back of his hand absentmindedly, slightly pondering how to respond.
Si-hyun sensed a familiar vibe from him.
Could he be… family?
Just as Si-hyun thought that, the man replied again.
“I’m a civil servant at the Ministry of Justice.”
The chances of them being family skyrocketed.
If he were a prosecutor or working in the prison service, he wouldn’t have answered like that, so more likely he worked in either the protective custody or correctional departments.
“Ah, I see. The Ministry of Justice.”
The woman nodded with a polite smile, continuing the conversation.
“Excuse me, but may I ask where exactly in the Ministry you work?”
“Excuse? No, it’s fine. To be honest, I probably should have been clearer from the start. I work in the Correctional Service.”
So he was family after all.
“Oh, you’re in the Correctional Service? Hmm, but what does that… entail?”
It was a natural reaction.
Most ordinary folks had little to no idea about what the Correctional Service did.
In fact, most probably didn’t even know such a job series existed.
Heck, Si-hyun even heard someone in their cohort wonder if being a civil servant meant working as a document proofreader.
But if you called it something else, people understood perfectly.
“I’m a Correctional Officer.”
“…Oh.”
The woman’s face momentarily stiffened, betraying her discontent with his job.
Well, at least she didn’t make it too obvious.
‘Yep, this is a dead-end.’
Si-hyun clicked his tongue.
When would people’s perceptions of us improve…?
There’s a law called the “Law of Crime Saturation,” proposed by criminologist Enrico Ferri, which states that a certain amount of crime is inevitable in any society.
Without needing to cite such laws, everyone knew that correctional officers were a necessary profession in any society.
Yet, their public perception was nearly rock bottom among civil servants.
‘What can you do…’
This wasn’t something that could be changed by just a few individuals working hard; it wouldn’t change overnight either.
Si-hyun checked the time on his phone.
It was about time to leave.
‘Hang in there.’
With that little encouragement for his family in mind, he got up from his seat.
◈ ◈ ◈
“Is he not coming again this year?”
Woong-jae muttered to himself.
Jong-hyuk, who was drinking beer, put his glass down and asked, “Who?”
“Who else? It’s Section Chief Lee Si-hyun.”
Woong-jae emphasized the title of ‘Section Chief’ for a college buddy, clearly trying to be sarcastic.
Jong-hyuk made an expression that said, ‘as expected.’
Woong-jae used to be the highest-ranking among their college friends who became civil servants, as he was the only one who passed the Level 7 exam.
But after a certain incident a few years back, thanks to the media, he learned that Si-hyun’s rank had reached Level 6.
And on top of that, he heard that Si-hyun had awakened and was now working in a Special Detention Center.
From that moment on, Woong-jae’s feelings about Si-hyun seemed to take a turn for the worse.
Considering Woong-jae’s personality, it would have stung his pride once he realized he wasn’t the most successful among his peers.
“Well, he probably has his reasons.”
“Reasons? Oh, I suppose being a Section Chief makes a difference. He’s probably super busy. Very busy indeed.”
“….”
Jong-hyuk smirked at Woong-jae’s blatant thoughts spilling out.
Just then, someone came in, making a fuss and cheerily exclaimed, “Oh? Isn’t that Si-hyun? Wow… it’s been ages! So glad to see you!”
“You’ve really blossomed, huh? Successful people shine differently.”
“I’ve missed you! Why haven’t you come around all this time?”
Woong-jae and Jong-hyuk turned their heads toward the direction of the commotion.
They could see Si-hyun greeting his old college buddies.
“Si-hyun is here.”
Jong-hyuk wore a delighted expression.
“Yeah.”
Woong-jae’s face subtly shifted into a tense one.
“Si-hyun, over here.”
Seung-min, who was beside Jong-hyuk, stood up and gestured him over.
Si-hyun smiled as he approached them.
“Wow, it’s great to see you!”
Seung-min happily hugged him.
Then, he hugged Jong-hyuk as well.
Woong-jae awkwardly remained seated, missing out on the group hugs.
“Long time no see, Woong-jae.”
Si-hyun reached out first for a handshake.
“Uh… yeah, it has been a while.”
Woong-jae took the handshake a bit stiffly.
“Have a drink!”
“Thanks.”
Seung-min filled Si-hyun’s glass with beer.
“But how do you not look a day older? What’s your secret?”
“I’m totally aging here, man.”
“Come on, no joking! You look like you’re in your late twenties.”
“Please, don’t say such things elsewhere. I’ll get cursed out, I will.”
Si-hyun let out a chuckle at Seung-min’s teasing response.
“No, seriously. Half of that is true; I mean it!”
“Alright, alright, let’s drop it.”
Feeling thirsty, Si-hyun quickly finished his beer.
This time, Jong-hyuk poured more into the empty glass and asked, “So, you’re still really busy, huh? Considering how long it’s been since we last saw you.”
“As you guys know, how busy can a correctional officer really be? But strangely enough, it always seems to happen that I get sent for short overseas training during alumni gatherings.”
Si-hyun explained his situation.
“Overseas training?”
Jong-hyuk, Seung-min, and Woong-jae were all correctional officers.
So they all understood what Si-hyun meant by ‘overseas training’.
“Dude, they don’t just send anyone for that.”
Jong-hyuk looked at Si-hyun with an astonished expression.
Overseas training was a program implemented by the Correctional Headquarters aimed at internationalization of corrections, enhanced mutual exchanges, studying advanced foreign systems, and boosting the morale of correctional officers.
And of course, state funds were involved, so they wouldn’t send just anyone for it.
They selected correctional officers who were recommended by their institutions.
For an ordinary correctional officer, getting a recommendation was like finding a star in the sky.
“Well, that’s true…”
Si-hyun scratched his head awkwardly.
“So you’ve been going for these short overseas trainings continuously?”
Seung-min asked, having a hard time believing it.
“Yeah, first it was in Kyushu, Japan. Then in Brandenburg, Germany. And this time, I went to Texas, USA, visiting Win Prison and Bird Prison and… well, a bunch of other places.”
“So this year too?”
“Yeah, I went in the first half, so I could come to this reunion now.”
“Wow… our Si-hyun is really thriving, huh?”
Just once could be a stroke of luck to receive a recommendation.
But three years in a row? That clearly showed the higher-ups were openly backing him.
“Phew… while we’ve been sweatily grinding it out in the ward, you were essentially lounging around overseas. Lucky, lucky guy.”
Jong-hyuk shamelessly remarked, guzzling down more soju in envy.
Though it was called training, it could easily be considered a vacation overseas.
During free time outside of the program schedule, they were allowed to enjoy sightseeing.
Jong-hyuk had seen a correctional officer who went on an overseas training trip proudly post photos of their sightseeing adventures in Japan on social media.
Plus, representing the Korean Correctional Headquarters, there was no way they’d skimp on accommodations.
They’d stay at nice places and enjoy their time to the fullest.
“….”
Woong-jae silently gulped his drink.
He was obviously trying to manage his expression.
A few years back at a reunion, he had let out a biting comment towards Si-hyun, which now felt like it was backfiring on him.
– I mean, being a Level 9, he could never make it to Seoul or the Headquarters; he’d only be able to climb up to Level 6, and maybe just stay in the Security Department, which wouldn’t really trouble him much.
‘Grr.’
He had boasted to look all tough, but now Si-hyun was already cruising along at Level 6.
The taste of alcohol was bitter.
Really bitter.
“Hey, you went with a girl too, right? Man, I’m envious,” Jong-hyuk kept eyeing him in jealousy.
“Dude, they were all old ladies.”
Si-hyun replied, chuckling at the ridiculousness.
Then suddenly he recalled something from earlier and brought it up.
“Speaking of girls, it seems the perception of correctional officers is still pretty negative.”
And he explained the scene he had witnessed at the cafe earlier.
“Ugh, the atmosphere turned sour because of the job, huh? I can’t say I’m not familiar with that.”
Jong-hyuk shook his head in agreement as if he had his own share of similar experiences.
Seung-min twisted his lips into a wry smile.
“I just transferred to Seoul Detention Center, and wow, there are so many eligible bachelors. Even being in the capital region, this many? I was genuinely shocked. Just the other day, a 40-something senior who’d suffered a lot with women at a get-together tearfully declared he was giving up on marriage, saying we didn’t need to introduce any girls to him anymore.”
“…Let’s never give up.”
Jong-hyuk gripped Seung-min’s hand tight.
“Absolutely.”
Seung-min responded, sharing a knowing glance, and they clasped hands firmly.
From the looks of it, neither Jong-hyuk nor Seung-min had girlfriends at the moment.
Woong-jae cast a sideways glance and quickly checked for any rings on Si-hyun’s left hand, but found none.
Then he finally spoke up after a long silence.
“…But correctional officers are still public servants; isn’t it the job that’s the issue? What’s really important is the person themselves.”
“Really?”
Si-hyun turned to Woong-jae.
“I see correctional officers around me who have no trouble meeting girls and getting married. Of course, they’re all decent people, though. They either have looks, humor, good character, or lots of money. The bottom line is, blaming the job is just an excuse.”
“Hey, are you fanning the flames of a fire here?”
Jong-hyuk shot him a resentful look.
“I’m just sharing my thoughts. And I don’t think I’m wrong here. Even in my case…”
Woong-jae started to open up.
“Huh? Did you get married? I don’t think I received an invitation.”
Si-hyun bit the bait.
Unknowingly, a smile crept onto Woong-jae’s face.
“Ah, no, not married. I’ve been dating someone lately, and that’s what I was talking about.”
“Oh, really? Congrats! I’m envious.”
Whether it was sincere or not, when the words of envy slipped from Si-hyun’s mouth, Woong-jae’s smile widened.
After all, he was now 35 and still single.
Well, it had been clear that Si-hyun had always been better looking than him.
No amount of quick promotions could change that sad fact.
In the game of life, Si-hyun was the real winner.
As each year went by, he would soon find that the pool of women he’d meet was tightening up.
In the end, he might end up marrying some random average woman.
While he, in contrast, would build a family everyone would envy with his brilliant and beautiful girlfriend who was seven years younger and working in a big corporation.
“Thanks. In a way, she’s a bit too good for me. She’s younger, beautiful, and has a great job.”
As Woong-jae bragged, he casually fiddled with his phone and then presented it to Si-hyun.
“What do you think? Do we make a good match?”
It was a photo with his girlfriend.
Woong-jae was confident.
His girlfriend was undeniably pretty, no matter how one looked at her.
“You look great together! She definitely looks younger. How old is she?”
“Ah, she’s seven years younger than me.”
“Twenty-eight? Wow, that’s impressive.”
“Nah, what are you saying.”
Despite his dismissive words, Woong-jae’s face clearly showed he was pleased.
Then he slyly asked, “Si-hyun, you don’t have a girlfriend, do you?”
“Ah, well…”
Should I play along or not?
It was clear to Si-hyun that Woong-jae was fishing for information.
It would be odd if he managed to miss such a blatant hint.
What to do?
It could be fun to play along, but…
Si-hyun inwardly chuckled as he pondered.