Chapter 90
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: penny
Chapter: 90
Chapter Title: The Mayor and the Trap
-----------------------------------------------------------------
No.
No, no.
No, no, no.
Hold on. Stop. Time. Pause. The World. Stop.
What the hell is this situation right now?
A disconnect had formed between the reality I understood and the reality unfolding before my eyes.
Had the dimensions twisted? Or had the worldline I lived in just leaped into another parallel universe?
The great plan? The purge? The sting operation?
Each word was perfectly comprehensible on its own.
But the moment they combined into sentences prefixed by "Lee Garam," they transformed into some meaningless cipher.
"No, wait, Reporter Moon. There's some huge misunderstanding here..."
"Misunderstanding? No way, Mayor! I'm seeing it with my own two eyes! This is the moment every true journalist of our era has dreamed of!"
Reporter Moon Hyeji's eyes sparkled.
No. Not those eyes!
I could plainly see reverence and admiration in her pupils. No, outright fanaticism.
"I'm telling you, it's not! This isn't some grand sting operation! It's just a plain, dirty bribery scene! Got it?"
I shouted desperately.
"Exactly! Just as you said, Mayor!"
Oh.
Ooh?
Did she finally get it?
My true feelings. My corrupt nature.
Had my dark inner thoughts finally reached the mind of this righteous reporter?
"You're saying this is the historic moment where you're personally catching these corrupt, villainous corporate crooks red-handed with bribes?"
Kraaaah!
My desperate tone hadn't reached her. Far from it—it had only fueled her fanaticism.
To break this chain of misunderstandings, I needed stronger facts.
Overwhelming evidence to prove my ugliness!
"That guy over there, Daejin Technomics CEO Kim Daejin! Illegal subcontracting and wage theft are his basics, but his specialty is siphoning off raw materials and reselling them!"
"Wh-what are you saying?!"
Kim Daejin jumped in shock, waving his hands frantically.
I pointed at each of the greasy faces on the table one by one, screaming.
"And that one! Vision Biotech Executive Director Park! His company fakes clinical trial data and sells ineffective arthritis drugs to the elderly as a 'miracle cure'! That one, Future Systems Director Choi! Setting up shell companies for tax evasion is their annual event! And over there, Lake Apparel! Their hero costumes are riddled with cheap dyes that cause atopic dermatitis!"
"Gasp!"
The executives quacked like ducks.
No, not ducks—pigs being dragged to the slaughterhouse.
No, not even pigs. Just meat. Rotting chunks of meat.
"Wow... wow... This is real scoop material!"
At my exposé, Reporter Moon Hyeji's hand moved busily.
"And that one, Hodong Construction Chairman Jeong! Shoddy construction is standard, bribing inspectors is optional! And then he goes around saying crap like 'Shoddy work and backroom deals are Korean tradition!'"
"Korean... tradition...?"
Reporter Moon Hyeji paused her pen and muttered. Shock and anger flashed across her face.
"My god... How could he say something like that..."
I fired away without even breathing.
See? I'm the even bigger trash hanging out with these scumbags!
"See? I was eating with these guys and trying to take their money! I'm a bad guy, right? Total scum, right? Impeachable, right?"
Click! Click!
She excitedly zoomed in on each executive's face, snapping photos.
"My god... my god... To have grasped the specifics of their corruption in such detail... Our team investigated relentlessly for years but gave up without a lead... Incredible. I respect you. No, I worship you!"
I'm done for. Screwed again.
Why. Why.
All I wanted was to be a normally corrupt politician.
Why does the world keep turning me into a dark hero and apostle of justice?
Losing my reason, I pulled out my final resort.
"Fine! I'll spill everything! Reporter Moon, didn't you get an anonymous tip email this morning? About a 'horrific deal' at the Aqua Vita VIP party room!"
Yes, self-destruct. Confessing that I orchestrated the whole thing.
That all of this was a self-staged drama to tank my approval ratings!
Bribery was off the table, but this should get me buried in accusations of manipulation and incitement, sending my ratings into freefall!
Reporter Moon Hyeji's eyes widened.
"How did you... know about that...?"
Disbelief rose on her face.
"No way... That tip email... You sent it yourself, Mayor?"
"Yes! It was me! This whole thing was a show!"
Did it finally land?
I pleaded inwardly. Please write that article about me. Slam me and reveal my true colors to the citizens!
"Now do you get it? I'm just an attention-seeker who pulled off this crazy stunt for the spotlight..."
"My god!"
Reporter Moon Hyeji cut me off with an exclamation.
"You were testing me! Seeing if I'm a real reporter worthy of reporting the truth, or a fake who'd bow to corporate pressure!"
But she just gazed at me with eyes glistening with emotion.
"It felt off. The Nero photo attached to the email was from an angle only possible in your private space with Nero—never released to any media. I suspected it might be a trap... but I couldn't ignore a journalist's instinct for truth!"
No.
I'm telling you, no.
I just picked the most plausible cute Nero pic from my smartphone. Seria wouldn't give a fun reaction anyway.
"So it was you, Mayor! A thoroughly planned purge from the start! And you chose me as the final puzzle piece!"
I was speechless.
"Risking your image being ruined, branded as the kingpin of collusion, ending your political career! Using yourself as bait to hook the city's corrupt businessmen! If Zhuge Liang reincarnated, he'd look just like you! This spirit of self-sacrifice! Aaah, it brings tears to my eyes!"
She bowed deeply to me, nearly in tears.
I stood frozen, staring into space.
Ah. It's happening again.
Again.
I turned to look at Nero, a step away.
Meow~
Nero glanced at me with a bored expression, then shook its head.
As if saying, 'Give up. It's easier that way.'
"Lee Garam! You bastard! How dare you trick us!"
CEO Kim Daejin bellowed, his face beet red.
Trick you?
No. I didn't trick anyone.
I was just faithful to my desires. The pure desire to be a villainous mayor.
I just wanted money, and you just wanted to give it.
How pure a give-and-take is that?
Our meeting held not a shred of deceit.
"It was a trap! All of it, a trap dug by Lee Garam!"
"Damn it! That devil!"
"Run! We gotta get out of here!"
The executives snapped to attention and surged toward the exit en masse.
15 greasy bodies shoving and pulling to squeeze through a narrow door.
Unfortunately, this was a waterside restaurant.
What they faced was a vast canal.
Their only escape: the gondola they'd arrived in.
"Gondola! Call the gondola!"
Kim Daejin bellowed toward the dock.
"Hey! Turn that boat around now! I'll pay whatever!"
Then, a gondola glided silently into view.
Striped shirt. Mustache. Mediterranean vibe.
It was Antonio, the gondolier who'd ferried me last time.
"Buon giorno! Ah, sorry, but no can do."
"What? What the hell are you saying?!"
"Signore, you're on the blacklist."
"What? Blacklist? What bullshit is that?!"
"You told me to shut up earlier. And no tip at all."
"N-no. Tips? In Korea, who tips?!"
"I don't ferry rude guests. That's Antonio's pride."
"H-hey! My bad! I apologize! How much? A million won? Five million?!"
"Can't buy my pride with money, signore."
Antonio replied curtly and rowed away.
Kim Daejin ran desperately toward other gondolas, face blank with despair.
"You there! Get over here now! Double the money! No, triple!"
But the other gondoliers shook their heads in unison, as if by agreement.
"If Antonio says no, so do we. That's the code of Neo Incheon's gondoliers!"
Kim Daejin's face twisted in despair.
He suddenly whipped around to me with eyes full of horror.
"Wait... Come to think of it, that mustached gondolier earlier... said he'd carried the mayor recently..."
...What the hell?
"No way... You pre-arranged even the gondoliers? Chose this spot calculating our escape routes? All of this... playing out in the palm of Lee Garam's hand?"
I gaped at his creative delusion.
I just came back because the food with Seria was good last time.
"Schemer Lee Garam! He's a monster in human skin..."
Overhearing his mutter, Reporter Moon Hyeji gasped in admiration again.
"Wow... Even sealing off escape routes perfectly. Mayor, how far ahead do you see?"
Weeeen— weeeen— weeeen—
The aquatic police sirens.
Growing louder and clearer, heading straight for our little island.
Reporter Moon Hyeji gripped her mic and shouted at the camera.
"I called them!"
She grinned triumphantly.
"To ensure no one interferes with your great operation, I made the emergency call in advance."
No, I'm telling you, it's not a great operation.
The executives' faces drained white.
That was when it happened.
"Wait! It's not over yet!"
Executive Director Park yelled. His eyes gleamed wickedly.
Ooh?
What's with that confidence? Still got an ace up his sleeve?
Yes! Squirm more! Make this mess even dirtier and uglier!
"We're fine! We factored in this possibility! Take out this one reporter, renegotiate with the mayor—easy!"
He pulled out his smartphone.
"Heard of the Kurokumo Clan? That terrifying assassin family that came over from Japan recently?"
Descendants of a ninja clan from the Edo period.
Kurokumo. Black Cloud. Middle-school syndrome vibes just from the name.
Ninjas!
Ninjas in modern society!
How anachronistic and violent!
Perfect! Ninjas burst in and obliterate Lee Garam's ratings! Bonus if they take out the mayor too!
Ring ring— ring ring—
Two rings, then connected.
"Moshi moshi, Elder? It's me. Dispatch immediately..."
But from the phone came not a cold assassin's voice.
[Kyaahahaha!]
[T-tasukete! (Help!)]
[Nigero! (Run!) It's the Fire Dragon! The Fire Dragon's here!]
Screams. Desperate, gut-wrenching screams.
Footsteps of people fleeing something, the crash of collapsing buildings.
And the roar of flames.
[Jin Yeonhwa! The Hero Association President, that psycho woman's burning our hideout!]
Aaah. Right, I remember.
A few days ago, what did I tell her?
'Blood Moon, Bad Ending Club, and the Kurokumo Clan...'
One-shot extra villains from the original story.
Mooks with zero presence and a handful of lines.
And Jin Yeonhwa actually tracked one down?
[We just settled in Neo Incheon, only you guys know us. How the hell did the Hero Association raid us?]
Then an enraged old man's voice exploded from the phone.
[Aah... Wakatta... It was you bastards!]
No, it was me. Well, more coincidence than anything...
[You filthy traitors! Give us the job, then snitch to the Hero Association? Weren't we dealing with you Joseonjing scum? No honor at all! Every time clouds gather, every time the wind blows, remember the grudge of Kurokumo...!]
Click— click— click—
Call ended.
The smartphone slipped powerlessly from Executive Director Park's hand.
His last lifeline vanished in the Hero Association President's fireworks.
In the end, the aquatic police stormed in, and the 15 executives were hauled off without resistance.
Soon, reporters who'd heard the news swarmed the restaurant.
Mics and cameras turned toward me.
Of course, snagging prime spot in front was Hero Daily's Moon Hyeji.
"Yes! This is Moon Hyeji of Hero Daily! I'm standing at the heart of Neo Incheon's corruption! Witnessing the historic moment where Mayor Lee Garam's great resolve bears fruit!"
No. Not great.
Not resolve.
Just a failed self-staged farce.
Reporter Moon Hyeji continued her live report in an impassioned voice.
Then, suddenly, the camera veered off-target.
Nyerooong~
Nero dashing from the kitchen, a huge fish in its mouth.
Taking advantage of the chaos, it had snuck in and snatched a whole sea bream the chef was about to prep.
Click! Click! Click!
"Oh my gosh!"
"Thief cat Nero! Too cute!"
"Gonna eat the whole thing!"
All cameras swung to Nero.
Reporters snapped continuous shots of Nero fleeing triumphantly with the fish.
"Ah! Folks, take a look! Our little hero, Nero! Even in this chaos, casually claiming spoils with such poise! Isn't it just adorable?!"
"Reporter Moon! Not Nero, over here! Film me!"
I shouted desperately.
"The root of all this corruption! The axis of evil! The villainous Mayor Lee Garam—film his face!"
"Yes! Mayor! Filming you now!"
I narrowed my eyes and twisted my lips to look as evil as possible.
"Ah, and here we have today's hero, Mayor Lee Garam! What a visage of tormented heroism! The face of a lonely guardian who risked himself for the city's peace! Viewers, remember this face!"
"Aah..."
Why.
Why.
Why did it end up like this?
Take bribes. Get caught. Ratings plummet. Impeached.
Happy ending.
What a simple, clear four-step plot.
"My plan... was perfect."
I blankly alternated glances between the hauled-off executives, the gleefully reporting Moon Hyeji, and Nero leisurely munching fish beside her.
Chomp chomp. Gulp. Nyam~
Nero swallowed the rest in one go, looking utterly satisfied.