If I recall, it was in February, for our graduation ceremony, 

"I'm not going into the prosecution." 

"Why ?"

"It's corrupt." she had bluntly stated.

"Come on, don't give me that , I know you couldn't care less about that."

"I don't want to be mixed up in all that anti-corruption masquerade."

"No really, I remember you giving night classes to those wanting to knock off some taxes. This is absolutely your cup of tea." 

"Funny you brought that up..." she had laughed it off and lost herself in her thoughts.

"So you were afraid to be caught up in that temptation ? You're smarter than that, you know where the line is."

"That's precisely because I'm smarter that I chose something else entirely. Entering the prosecution is a choice one makes. You either want to get promoted so you cross the line, pay someone and use another or you abide by the law and blindly trust the system only to get swallowed. Well,you, like so many others, will delude yourself into believing you're that one righteous prosecutor but eventually you'll want to go up. I, on the other side like to see myself as a line walker."

"So what, you're going to become a lawyer? Isn't that even worse? They do tend to follow the money ..."

"Nope"

"Then what ?"

"NTS"

"National Tax Service?"

I had been stunned at first, but then I had understood.

Soomin had always been that way, never looking for the most presitigious but for the most satisfying, not for the best but for the most fitting. She had never been at the top of the class, quite the average student actually, but when we had to partner up for mock cases she had always been everyone's first pick. She had learned law the opposite way all of us did. Instead of just learning, she took an act, a case and tweeked it, twisted it in all ways, tried to find the way to exploit it. So she looked at everything from a different angle. She understood how criminals thought because she had always strived to look at the law the same way they did. She was an investigator. She had no love for politics nor did she had a particular calling for justice. She enjoyed digging around in files and logs to find the missing key. Such delicacy couldn't be found in gruesome crimes or in a scrutinized environnement, but money, money offers that volatility, that subtelty she loved. 

"How ironic"

"It is isn't it?"

We had laughed for a while. 

"So let me guess: International Investigation Bureau in Seoul right?"

She had looked dejected for a moment, then had shrugged "No, it's harder to get a spot in Seoul in the NTS, I'll be in Busan"

"Busan ?"

"Yeah, I'll be in the investigation bureau of Busan regional tax office. But don't worry, I'll be back soon."

"I trust you"

And I had meant it. I had just forgotten that Busan wasn't just another city, that she wouldn't just investigate ordinary tax payers. Busan was a city in the South: she had just stepped in the Busan-Daegu-Gwanggu ring.

I never saw her again.

Until today.

In the newspaper.

She was in the group picture, surrounded by men, holding an elegant man's arm. It could have been an ordinary picture, if not for the way she looked at another, if not for the title above it:

" One star falls, dragons rises from its ashes"​​​​​

 

A.N: External point of view, won't be a major character 

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• So this is my first fic ;)

I really wanted to try a story where the main is not that good of a person nor that bad. 

I'll depict South Korea way worse than it actually is (or I believe it to be  anymways). I'll overplay corruption and crime and other things.

I'll use real firm names (sometimes), real gang names and some of the Yakuza organisation chart but about how a gang actually works I'll make my own world (the lead is a woman first of all ^^)

 

• Just a few things maybe, so we have:

- Main lead: Yoo Soomin

She works at the Investigation Bureau for NTS in Busan. She's recruited by the Chil Sung Pa but others have their eyes on her...

- The Chil Sung Pa (Seven Stars) gang: has an organisation similar to a Yakuza clan: with the Oyabun (leader), Kobun (child of the leader) and the Kaikei (accountant) working with the Shingiin (taking care of legal matters) under the Saiki-komon (administration leader) and others.

Min Yoongi (Kobun)

 Park Jimin (Kaikei)

- The SsangYong Pa (Two dragons) 

(These are real gangs but I'm just borrowing the names)

 

- Busan police

 Kim Seokjin

- Unknown affiliation 

Kim Namjoon

 Kim Taehyun 

 Jung Hoseok

Jeon Jungkook

 

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I'll come back here and add some more details

Feel free to ask me anything ! :)