The Mad Prosecutor Picked Up AI - Chapter 123



Only Krnovel

Episode 123: The Aesthetics of Waiting and the Moment

‘That kind of person is the epitome of a boss who abuses his power.’

[Everyone’s blood pressure is rising when they see this.]

‘You’re not human.’

[That’s what I’m saying.]

I asked No Cheon-seong again.

“But it’s true that you went to the mountain when the task force showed up that day. If you didn’t pick acorns, what did you do? Did it have something to do with birds?”

No Cheon-seong looked at me in surprise, as if my question had hit the nail on the head.

“Oh, how did you know?”

“Hey, I really didn’t think so. Did you really kill the bird?”

“Kill me? What kind of nonsense are you talking about?”

“You said earlier that going to the mountain was definitely related to the bird.”

No Cheon-seong responded curtly with a face of disbelief.

“What would a photographer do in the mountains? He takes pictures. He takes pictures of birds.”

“According to what I’ve found, you were gone for quite a few days?”

“A work of art is like a three-minute curry? It comes out in a snap? It takes a long time to make it.”

Despite his rude manners and lack of common sense, his pride as an artist was sky-high.

“Can I see the photos you took back then?”

“Is it a photo?”

“Yes. I was curious about the photos that our artist took with so much care.”

“Won-yeol-ah.”

No Cheon-seong coughed in vain, then sat back on the sofa while adjusting his clothes for no reason.

Yang Won-yeol approached me and bowed his head.

“This is a work of art that our teacher took back then. It won the grand prize at the recent Daemyung photo exhibition.”

“Oh, really?”

Even though he was responding insincerely, No Cheon-seong seemed very happy. He must have wanted to hear the news of his winning from someone else. He was really acting like a fool.

“The awards ceremony and exhibition will be held in two days. So the photos taken at that time have already been brought to the exhibition planning company.”

“That’s too bad.”

At that moment, Yang Won-yeol’s cell phone rang.

“Hello? Yes. Yes, that’s right. Oh, right. Right now? Oh, you have to check that yourself, teacher. Yes. Yes, I understand.”

Yang Won-yeol hung up the phone and spoke to Noh Cheon-seong.

“Teacher, the exhibition planning company contacted me. They asked me to confirm the final arrangement of the photo exhibition.”

“Ah. I have to see that myself.”

No Cheon-seong looked at me and said.

“Inspector, can I leave first? This is important, and I can’t just let that guy do whatever he wants.”

“yes.”

“If you have any more questions about the acorn case, ask him. I have nothing to hide anyway. Wonyeol, answer the prosecutors’ questions well.”

“Yes, sir.”

No Cheon-seong suddenly stood up from his seat and spoke to Yang Won-yeol as if something suddenly occurred to him.

“Oh, Mr. Kim, my business partner, said he would send a wreath. He said he sent it here, not to the exhibition hall. Please send me the address again later.”

“yes.”

No Cheon-seong went out as it was. I offered a seat to Yang Won-yeol, who was still standing.

“You must be tired. Please sit down.”

“it’s okay.”

While saying that, Yang Won-yeol sat across from us.

“Isn’t it hard working under the open sky?”

“uh.”

Yang Won-yeol looked at the door in surprise at my question. He seemed to be afraid of people talking behind his back as soon as he left.

Then, Wi Jun-woo, who was standing next to him, stepped forward.

“Is it hard? It will be hard. I know how you feel.”

“Oh, that’s it.”

“I also thought that our prosecutor was a difficult person to work with. What is this? Our prosecutor is no good at all.”

“Look at that. I’m an angel.”

“Hey. That doesn’t mean you’re an angel, Inspector. You have no conscience.”

Yang Won-yeol was watching us with a trembling face, so I quickly straightened up and asked again.

“Mr. Noh Cheon-seong is out of the office, so I will ask him instead.”

“yes.”

“You said earlier that going to the mountain had something to do with the birds.”

“Oh, my teacher mostly takes pictures of birds.”

Since he kept calling me teacher, I asked him something different this time.

“Did you learn a lot about photography from your teacher?”

“ah.”

Instead of answering, Yang Won-yeol just scratched his head. It doesn’t seem like someone with that kind of personality would be able to teach well, but it’s often said that personality and talent are separate things.

“I haven’t learned much yet.”

“How long have you been working under No Cheon-seong?”

“It’s been exactly three months. But, my teacher said that in the old days, people who wanted to learn martial arts spent three years chopping firewood and carrying water.”

“omg.”

So, before you teach me properly, you want to let me work for free for three years? What the heck? You’re a total beggar.

As we looked at each other in disbelief, Yang Won-yeol said.

“But, I’m thinking of quitting that job. I haven’t told the teacher yet. I’m planning on quitting tomorrow after I finish preparing for the exhibition.”

“You thought well. Wow, it’s great that you lasted three months.”

I only saw it briefly, but looking at the way No Cheon-seong was acting, I thought that 3 months might be the longest he’d lasted. Well, Kang Min-jong also learned a lot.

I asked because the mood seemed a little tense.

“You said that Wonyeol is also a photographer?”

“Yes. I still have a lot to learn.”

“Can I see the photos that Wonyeol took? I’m curious.”

“Would you like to see it?”

Yang Won-yeol quickly turned on the laptop on his desk and started looking through the folders. Then he displayed the photos he had taken on the screen.

These were pictures of insects and bugs.

Butterflies, ants, spiders, ticks.

“I guess you take pictures of small creatures.”

“Yes. Because I like this kind of thing.”

“Wow, how did you take this picture?”

“You just have to wait without moving until the scene you want comes up. If you make a wrong move, they get startled and run away.”

“How long does it take to take one picture of this?”

“You sit for hours at a time. You have to wait for days to get a good picture. They say that photography is all about waiting and the beauty of the moment. You have to wait patiently for a long time, and when you get the scene you want, you have to take the picture without missing the moment.”

A photo of a group of ants marching around carrying a large piece of bread, a photo of mites butting heads on a green leaf, a photo of a butterfly sitting on a flower with its mouth extended.

Yang Won-yeol’s face was shining brightly as he showed the photos he had taken.

“What is this picture? It could be in an animal guide or biology book.”

Yang Won-yeol smiled brightly as he gave praise.

“Photographers usually have a specific area of ​​expertise. Some specialize in portraits, others in wildlife, and others in astronomical objects. Among them, I mainly take pictures of insects and bugs.”

“That’s amazing.”

“Actually, the reason I decided to learn from Professor Noh Cheon-seong is because he specializes in nature photography. Although he is an amateur, he has won many awards at various award ceremonies.”

Come to think of it, the pictures that filled the wall were all of birds and flowers.

“But since you don’t seem to be teaching me anything, well, I’m going to quit without any regrets.”

“Still, did you gain anything from working as an assistant?”

“Not at all. The teacher even takes pictures by himself.”

“A photo?”

“When we go to the mountains, all I do is drive and carry the bag with the gear. When the chair and camera setup is done, they tell me to go down far away.”

That’s strange. Isn’t it supposed to be carried by the assistant’s side?

Yang Won-yeol, who guessed the question by looking at my face, said.

“Birds are very cautious and picky animals, so they shouldn’t be around a lot of people.”

“yes.”

I asked while looking at the photos taken by Yang Won-yeol.

“Can I see the photo Noh Cheon-seong took? It was taken that day on the mountain.”

I wanted to see just how great the photos were that were taken with such care.

“As I said before, all those photos are in the exhibition hall.”

“But wouldn’t there be a copy?”

“Oh, I think I printed it out a little smaller to make a catalog. But, what I have here is not the finished version, only a rough cut. Is that okay?”

“it’s okay.”

Yang Won-yeol searched through the office and brought out a roughly edited catalog. It was just A4 size with small photos printed on it without a cover.

“wow.”

“You deserve an award.”

“Yes. You have the skills.”

We couldn’t help but gape when we saw the photo. The clarity may be lower than the original photo, but the beauty contained in the photo can be felt even in a small size.

A small nest, perched proudly on a branch that has grown as pretty as a bonsai tree. Inside, the baby birds are opening their mouths, and the mother bird is flapping her wings next to them.

Wi Jun-woo was purely amazed.

“How did they build their nests on such thin branches? Birds are truly amazing.”

“Aren’t you worried that it might fall?”

“Isn’t it okay since birds have wings?”

“The mother bird may not know, but the baby bird can’t fly yet. And when it’s an egg, it has to be incubated. Why would it build a nest in such a dangerous place?”

“Yes, that’s right.”

“There’s no way they would have moved the nest on purpose to take a picture.”

“… … .”

As soon as we finished speaking, we stared at each other blankly.

Hey, no way. That’s what I was going to do.

“Now that I think about it, it’s a bit strange. Birds usually build their nests in places that aren’t easily visible. But this one is so obvious.”

As Yang Won-yeol pointed out, the nest was so out there that it said, ‘I’m here!’ There were no leaves or branches to obscure the surrounding area.

There was no shade, and the sun was beating down directly on us. If there were any snakes or wild animals targeting the eggs or baby birds, they would probably be eaten right away.

‘Did they cut off the tree branches that were blocking the surrounding area on purpose?’

[This photo doesn’t confirm this. I guess I’ll have to go to the site.]

I started to wonder if the photo shoot had been manipulated.

“Maybe they cut down all the branches to make the nest more visible?”

“Hmm. Sir, there was a saw in your equipment bag. Do you really think that was the case?”

Yang Won-yeol didn’t seem to want to believe it, but judging from the fact that he sent his assistant far away from the photo shoot site, it’s safe to assume that there was some dirty plan.

I flipped to the next photo. Two baby birds were flying with their wings touching each other, as if holding hands. Beside them, the mother bird was looking at her babies.

If this moment was actually captured, it would be a huge hit. It would be worthy of an award. But what if it wasn’t?

Once I had my doubts, everything seemed fake and manipulated.

“Can a bird fly so close that its wings touch each other like this?”

“Besides, it looks too young to fly on its own yet. How can it leave the nest and fly like that?”

The next photo showed several birds. Five or six baby birds were huddled together on a tall branch, while the mother bird was fluttering its wings and flying next to them.

The fluffy baby birds were sitting closely together rather than scattered about, and it was very cute to see.

“This photo is the work that won the grand prize this time. Other photos will be exhibited as well, but this is the grand prize winner.”

I’ve seen adult birds sitting on power lines, but this is the first time I’ve seen baby birds sitting so squatly.

Besides, don’t birds sitting on power lines keep their distance? They don’t sit so close together when they first meet, and it’s not like they’re sitting on subway seats.

But these baby birds were sitting so close together that their wings, not arms, were touching each other, and they could feel each other’s body heat.

While I was looking at the photos, feeling the mystery of nature, Aliotta spoke to me.

[Hyun-kwang. This is a bit strange.]

‘what?’

[Take a look here.]

It would have been better if it had been a larger original photo, but even at this size, there was no problem making out the details of the photo.

Aliotta showed a greatly enlarged view of the foot of the branch where the baby birds were sitting.

[Do you see this?]

The baby bird was holding on to a thick branch with its small feet, and Aliota zoomed in on the toes in particular.

It wasn’t visible at first glance, but when Aliotta zoomed in, something like a transparent water droplet was briefly visible between the bird’s three-pronged toes.

‘Is that water? Is that dew between your toes?’

[Judging by the astrology, it’s not water. It’s a halo. I think that’s adhesive.]

‘Glue? Bond?’

Wow. Waiting and the aesthetics of the moment are my shit.

It was the aesthetics of manipulation and craftsmanship!