Chapter 65
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 65
Chapter Title: The Mayor and Interrogation
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Neo Incheon Detention Center Visiting Room.
The only confinement facility permitted by the state. A legal kidnapping space.
ZZZT-
The fluorescent light flickered with a buzz.
Across the table sat me, Kang Hyunwoo, and a man named Kim Jintae.
The ringleader of the Catopia truck terror incident. Today's star of the show.
There are two kinds of people in this world: those who interrogate and those who are interrogated.
Today, I was playing the role of the interrogator.
Of course, I set aside the self-deprecating thought that my entire life has been one long interrogation under the question, "Why must I suffer like this?"
I wore my gentlest smile. A benevolent expression, like a god looking down mercifully on sinful humanity. The kind and compassionate mayor. Good cop.
In contrast, Kang Hyunwoo beside me was just... Kang Hyunwoo. Expressionless. Emotionless. A human weapon exuding intimidation simply by existing. Probably born a bad cop.
Alright, time to begin.
THUD!
Kang Hyunwoo slammed the file folder he'd brought onto the table with a loud bang.
At the sound, Kim Jintae's shoulders twitched in a spasm.
This was a declaration of war. A silent pressure implying that his life would be as heavy and dark as the thickness of that folder.
As expected of a trained professional. Or rather, he probably came out of the womb like that.
"Catopia terror involvement. Evidence is ironclad. No need for a trial—you're looking at a maximum of 15 years for sure."
Kang Hyunwoo's voice was like shards of ice. Kim Jintae's face drained of color.
"Mayor...!"
He looked at me with pitiful eyes, pleading for salvation.
Now it was my turn. Time for the good mayor to step up.
"Enforcer Kang. Go easy on him."
I gently restrained Kang Hyunwoo.
"Mr. Kim Jintae must have his reasons. Right?"
I unscrewed the cap of a prepared water bottle and handed it to him. Kim Jintae accepted the water with trembling hands.
"Take your time and tell us. Why did you get involved in something so dangerous? I'm here to listen to a citizen's story."
At my warm voice, moisture welled up in Kim Jintae's eyes.
Yes, cry. Cry your heart out and spill everything.
Your tears won't prove your innocence, but they'll be a huge help to my impeachment plan.
"Mayor... I'm just... I'm just a marginalized resident. In the village... discriminated against... surveilled... the village head's gang took all the good stuff... people like us...!"
"Good stuff? What exactly do you mean by that?"
As I carefully probed, Kim Jintae clamped his mouth shut.
"Well... that is..."
He's hesitating. Time for the bad cop again.
Kang Hyunwoo silently pulled a photo from his pocket and slid it across the table. A picture of a young girl smiling brightly. Kim Jintae's daughter.
"Your daughter is awfully cute. Just started elementary school, right?"
Kang Hyunwoo's voice remained cold, but the threat laced within it was like deadly venom.
"If she finds out her dad's a terrorist, she'll be pointed at for life. Kids' worlds are far crueler than adults think. You sure that's okay?"
Wow, that guy is a real devil.
How can he spout lines like that so casually? Maybe he should get a psychopath evaluation.
"No! Please... don't touch my kids! Please!"
Kim Jintae wailed almost hysterically. Is this what a father's heart feels like? Well, if someone touched my slush fund, I'd probably wail like that too.
"Enforcer Kang! That's enough! Even so, dragging family into this is too much!"
I pretended to scold Kang Hyunwoo while soothing Kim Jintae. Decent acting, if I do say so myself. Maybe I'm a natural.
"Mr. Kim Jintae. Tell the truth, and I'll help however I can. Don't worry about your family. I, Lee Garam, promise you as mayor that I'll protect them."
The weight of the mayor title sure comes in handy.
Under our tag-team pressure, Kim Jintae finally crumbled.
"More than money... I wanted to send a message."
"A message?"
"Park Chunbae's gang, the village head and his cronies... I hated their greed as the privileged elite so much... I wanted to expose their corruption to the world."
"Ah, so it wasn't about the money?"
With an innocent expression, I asked. Kim Jintae hesitated.
"No... I did... receive money."
Unbelievable. Turns out he was trash who took money after all.
I clicked my tongue inwardly. Almost got suckered into feeling sympathy.
"Frontier Development prepared the truck too, and promised a fat payout if it succeeded..."
Kang Hyunwoo tapped his wristwatch.
"Time's up. Spill everything now, or it's aggravated punishment. Your entire criminal record is right here. Choose."
Ultimatum.
I gently placed my hand on his shoulder one last time.
"Mr. Kim Jintae. Come clean now. What did they monopolize? What was this 'good stuff'?"
To my soft persuasion, Kim Jintae finally opened up as if abandoning all hope.
The word from his mouth completely exceeded my expectations.
"...Superpowers... Superpower tutoring."
For a moment, Kang Hyunwoo and I exchanged glances in midair.
Kang Hyunwoo flipped on a small recorder under the table, his face impassive.
The true secret of Magpie Village.
It was a "superpower academy."
Park Chunbae's gang was running a special awakening program for the village kids.
Tuition: 5 million won per month.
"They kept squeezing money out of us, saying even kids without powers had potential that could awaken. My daughter attended for three years... but no powers manifested."
If no powers appeared? They blamed the child's weak will and shifted responsibility to the parents. In reality, it was just typical tutoring mixed with some psychological counseling—a classic scam.
But it wasn't entirely a scam.
"There's this 'Spirit Spring Water' bubbling up all over the village. Drinking it actually helps superpowers grow. And there are a few 'auspicious sites' with special energy. Training there doubles or triples the effects."
Spirit Spring Water? Auspicious sites? What is this, a wuxia novel?
But in this world where heroes and villains fly around, it's plausible enough.
So that's why Magpie Village had an unusually high rate of superpowered people.
Park Chunbae's crew was monopolizing the village's hidden blessings and profiting off them. That's why they stubbornly opposed redevelopment. Magpie Village made them far more money.
"But that's not all. Underground... there's something bigger underground. A ruin, presumed to be the source of the Spirit Spring Water and auspicious sites."
At that moment, sorrow clouded Kim Jintae's face.
"Because of that ruin... my friends... the young folks resisting Park Chunbae's gang started disappearing one by one."
"Disappeared?"
"At the hands of Park Chunbae's crew... probably dragged underground. To make them investigate the underground ruin..."
Underground ruin.
It felt like the final puzzle piece clicking into place.
Frontier Development—or rather, their backer, Mirai Corporation—wasn't after simple land. It was the unknown ruin slumbering beneath Magpie Village.
And the villagers were fighting to protect it—or monopolize it.
Both sides were the same trash.
"So the truck terror was for revenge on your friends?"
"For the sacrificed friends... I wanted to draw the world's attention somehow. When Frontier Development approached, I thought it was an opportunity. They gave money, a truck... a chance to expose the village's truth. But in the end, I was just used."
Kim Jintae's confession ended.
He looked at me with a face full of resignation.
"I... I told you everything. Now... you'll let me go, right?"
I turned my head instead of answering.
Kang Hyunwoo spoke in a cold voice.
"Who said anything about letting you go? Plea deals are the prosecutor's domain. We've just secured your statement. You'll be indicted for conspiracy to commit terror as planned. If you're lucky, mitigating factors might shave off a few years."
Despair spread across Kim Jintae's face. Well, what can you do? Crime demands punishment.
On the way out of the detention center, the cold night air felt refreshing.
"Come to think of it, that Nero kid kept sniffing around Magpie Village, digging like crazy. Especially guarded around the well..."
Kang Hyunwoo reacted to my musing.
"Something underground seems certain."
"Yeah. Enforcer Kang. I have a special mission for you."
I patted his shoulder.
"I'll lend you Nero. Thoroughly investigate Magpie Village underground. He's no ordinary cat—he'll be useful."
"Understood. I'll identify the underground ruin and track the missing residents. I'll also commission scientific analysis of the Spirit Spring Water and auspicious sites."
As expected of Kang Hyunwoo. Quick on the uptake.
Frontier Development is trash, Magpie Village residents' council is trash. A true trash extravaganza.
I might get dragged into something bigger if I'm not careful.
But... whatever.
Bigger chaos means bigger opportunities.
The larger the mess, the greater the chance of my impeachment.
That afternoon. Mayor's office.
Everything was going smoothly.
Magpie Village and Frontier Development.
The two factions were at each other's throats, thanks to my delicate and artistic stoking—not mediation.
Each saw the other as the axis of evil, an enemy to be destroyed.
And at the center was me, Lee Garam.
To both sides, I appeared as a lifeline of salvation, but really, I was the noose around their necks.
"Mayor."
A cold voice cracked my sweet delusion.
"Why not just step in directly when you have all the evidence in hand?"
"Hm?"
"Evidence of illegal tutoring by the Magpie Village council, Frontier Development's slush funds and councilor bribes. You have it all. Hand it to the Special Task Force or Hero Association, and it's over cleanly."
Seria's turquoise eyes seemed to pierce right through me.
"Miss Seria. You wouldn't understand yet. Politics requires aesthetics."
I said with my most profound expression.
"Simply resolving incidents is third-rate work. Elevating conflict to the realm of art and imparting lessons to the citizens within it—that's the way of a first-class politician."
Of course, my real thoughts were different.
'If I resolve it like that, I'll be the hero again! Praise, acclaim, approval ratings skyrocketing! No way! My goal is impeachment!'
Seria looked at me with utter pity.
"Mayor, your intelligence seems to skyrocket only when you're flipping the board and making a mess. Normally, you just look dumb."
"A mess? Such cheap word choice! This is high-level political maneuvering, a process that gives citizens the chance to judge the truth themselves and grow!"
"Yes, yes. If you say so."
Seria gave a soulless reply as she poured tea into my cup.
But Seria wasn't entirely wrong.
The fight was intensifying, media and public attention at a peak.
But... something was missing.
As is, it might drag into a pointless war of attrition.
One side could tire first and collapse, or they might compromise at some mediocre line.
That won't do.
I don't want that lukewarm ending.
Both sides need to crash irreparably into the abyss. And in that process, I—the one manipulating them—must be branded as "the worst bat mayor in history."
I need a finishing blow.
A flashy, dramatic finale to end this boring standoff in one shot.
Yeah, dopamine shortage.
"Miss Seria."
"Yes, Mayor."
"Contact MC Jo Youngseok."
"...Pardon?"
"60 Minutes Frontal Breakthrough. Time for another appearance."
She eyed me narrowly.
"MC Jo Youngseok has been grinding his teeth at you since the last live broadcast. He won't take kindly to the mayor who turned his show into a circus, escaping his control. He's surely plotting to humiliate you on air."
"I know."
I flashed a confident smile.
"That's why it's perfect. The more hostile he is, the fairer the broadcast. Citizens prefer raw Lee Garam over the polished version anyway."
Seria nodded without further questions.
"Understood. I'll arrange the appearance."
Alright, stage set.
Now to recruit the actors.
I first called Frontier Development's Division Chief Jung Jaehyuk.
[Mayor! What's up!]
"Chief Jung. It's time to settle this."
I said in a grave tone.
"In front of the media and citizens, rip off those shameless bastards' masks. NNC's flagship: 60 Minutes Frontal Breakthrough."
[Live debate?]
"Exactly. Prepare all the info I gave you. Expose their illegal occupation, violence—everything to the world. Show the power of truth."
Jung Jaehyuk's voice trembled with excitement.
[Got it, Mayor! I'll trust only you!]
Good. Hooked one.
Next, Magpie Village's Park Chunbae.
"Village Head! Time for the media's judgment! Go on public airwaves and expose all of Frontier Development's corruption! Their slush funds, councilor bribes, deceiving citizens—report it all!"
[Well, me on such a show, speaking well...]
"Don't worry! Bring all the evidence I told you about! Truth will be your strongest weapon!"
[Alright! With you behind me, Mayor, I feel solid! I'll tell the world their dirty deeds!]
Now both actors firmly believe they're apostles of justice.
They'll stab each other's hearts with the weaknesses I provided. Without dreaming who profits most.
The next day, before heading to the studio.
I practiced expressions in the mayor's office mirror.
"Ahem. The righteous mayor standing with innocent citizens..."
Slightly upturned lips, eyes filled with concern.
"Caught in a conspiracy, bewildered but agonizing to reveal the truth..."
Furrowed brow, bitten lip. Hamlet-esque.
"And... the shock and horror when it's revealed I orchestrated it all from behind..."
Nah, no need to practice the last one. That'll be genuine.
"Really, it's embarrassing just to watch."
Seria, who'd snuck up, fired a barb.
"How long will you keep up this garish one-man show? Citizens already see through you without the acting. So relax and be your usual dumb self. That's the most natural—and mayor-like."
Dumb self? Such insolence.
"Shh! Don't ruin the mood. This isn't acting, Seria. It's a journey to find the true me!"
"Haa..."
Seria sighed deeply, as if bearing the world's weariness.
Abandoning words, she strode toward me.
"Wh-what? Gonna hit me? This frail, precious mayor!?"
I covered my face with exaggerated reaction.
But instead of violence, Seria chose something else.
Without a word, she reached out and straightened my crooked tie.
Swish-
Her pale, slender fingers brushed my collar, sending chills each time.
Heart racing. Tension? From the broadcast today?
Yeah, must be. Nothing else. Absolutely.
She nodded, satisfied with the adjusted tie.
"There. At least you look like the city head now. As long as no one discovers your head is empty."
"Praise or insult?"
"You decide. If you have the brains for it."
Today marks the end of this tiresome mayor game.
Before the watching citizens, my bat-like antics will be laid bare, and I'll lose all trust.
Impeachment sentiment will spread like wildfire, and I'll finally escape this prison into freedom.
I turned, coat flapping dramatically.
Time to head out. To the public execution ground.