26. Adultery

South Korea had 226 local government heads. Among them, there had to be more than one or two mayors, county governors, or district chiefs sleeping with their female secretaries.

Getting caught happened to one or two a year…

But right now, there were probably a dozen or so local leaders still in affairs with their subordinates.

Some affairs born from delusion ("Why is this person so nice to me? Could they ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠be…?"), others mutually beneficial arrangements, some where the local boss attached a sponsor-type secretary as a special position. And rarely, though it happened, there were genuine lovers.

I didn't yet know which type Min Sung-bae and his secretary fell into.

They clearly hadn't expected anyone else to catch them. The mayor's explosive rage made that obvious.

Despite the secretary's pleas, Min Sung-bae's eyes had gone wild as he fumbled across his own desk. What his hand grabbed ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠was a wireless mouse.

The next instant, with a whoosh, the mouse flew toward me.

I didn't dodge. The man had apparently regained his senses just before throwing it, hesitating and tossing it timidly near my feet. It hit the floor with a sharp crack and skittered away.

I'd deliberately provoked a reaction, but it was more intense than I'd expected.

The adulterous secretary Yoon Seo-young was sobbing, gripping Mayor Min Sung-bae's wrist tightly.

Informal speech, and an impossibly narrow distance between them.

But most telling was the mayor's expression — puffed up with anger one moment, then his arm going limp as he looked at Yoon Seo-young's face.

They were far more deeply involved than I'd assumed. At least a year-long relationship.

Maybe he'd decorated the office like this from the start, planning to sleep with her behind everyone's back.

That worked in my favor. The information I'd obtained was even more valuable now.

I stared at the two of them, nearly close enough to kiss, then suddenly walked toward the annex room.

A secret space accessible only through the main office.

The adulterous couple stared at me with bewildered expressions, but I didn't stop. Min Sung-bae tried to grab me, but I politely shook him off.

"You've done it in here too, haven't you."

"We're talking right now."

I opened the annex room door.

As expected, this place was optimized for sex too.

A small sofa bed. No corner furniture — just a round table. Wood acoustic panels lined the walls, and… a small drawer cabinet was locked.

If snacks or anything like that were inside, they wouldn't have locked it.

"By any chance, does this contain condoms and lubricant?"

I forced the drawer open with strength, and various types of lubricant were inside. Surprisingly, there were only a few specialty condoms.

"You don't keep a secretary on standby in the annex — you use it only as a trysting place. That's a sound judgment."

Mayor Min Sung-bae, who'd just thrown a mouse at my feet, now stared at me blankly with a noticeably calmer demeanor…

Meanwhile, his adulterous girlfriend had dashed over and locked the main office door.

She'd intuitively grasped that being caught by me was bad enough — having others discover them being humiliated would be even worse. From their perspective, they were already screwed, but there were still ways to resolve this favorably.

"Mayor, I apologize for the disrespect."

This time, I opened the shower room door.

A 1.5-pyeong makeshift shower room… this was also a sex room.

The space was cramped, but it had everything.

A plastic folding bed, a diffuser, two types of shower gel (one of them probably lubricant), high-quality towels with excellent cushioning… and a mirror far too large for the shower room's size.

Main office, annex room, makeshift shower room.

Each room had a clear concept. Quick sex with just panties down in the office, full foreplay in the annex, and the shower room for aftercare and longer sessions.

"I understand why you were surprised. This setup actually makes it harder to get caught. If you just assign overseas trip duties to another secretary, it's perfect."

"Don't you think it's too late for excuses?"

The adulterous couple's faces darkened sharply.

A vein bulged on Min Sung-bae's forehead, and Yoon Seo-young's face flushed red with shame as she trembled…

Even so, the two of them held each other's hands tightly. They no longer even seemed to think about hiding it. Or perhaps the situation was so urgent they hadn't even realized they were holding hands.

I'd learned enough.

I'd uncovered the doggy-style session from lunchtime today, and by methodically inspecting the three sex rooms, I'd confirmed the depth of their relationship.

I hadn't started this just to humiliate them.

Because my opponent was the sitting mayor.

The representative of a city with over 600,000 residents.

Honestly, he ran the city affairs competently enough. He was a mid-level politician who'd climbed from three terms as a provincial assemblyman to mayor.

A veteran like him would naturally know what would happen to him if a scandal with his secretary broke out at this point.

"Fortunately, Mayor, you won't be publicly humiliated like former councilor Han Chae-kyung."

A mayor or county governor sleeping with his female secretary. Far too common compared to a prostitute councilor.

Annam City's reputation might take a hit combined with the Han Chae-kyung scandal, but Min Sung-bae personally wouldn't face serious consequences. Unless there was coercion — but there wasn't.

But his political career was definitely over.

"You know that's not an excuse, Mayor."

"Because I've seen your sex rooms with my own eyes. How will the world see a mayor who's been enjoying himself thoroughly with his female secretary in the office, annex, and shower room?"

A sixty-year-old mayor, a secretary in her early thirties.

If Mayor Min Sung-bae was stupid enough to claim this was no big deal, our conversation would get difficult — but fortunately, he seemed to have regained his reason. He'd even patted his adulterous girlfriend Yoon Seo-young's shoulder.

And finally, he showed a conciliatory attitude toward me.

"I'll forget about the mouse-throwing. I was rude too."

"I'll forget that much. Nothing else."

Now it was time for negotiation.

Mayor Min Sung-bae, seemingly understanding my intentions, wiped the sweat from his forehead with a handkerchief and nodded, but he said he had something to say to me first.

"That's how it would look externally. What would you like to say?"

He'd realized I wasn't just unluckily entangled in the Han Chae-kyung couple's downfall.

Maybe because he was the mayor, he was a bit sharper than a city councilor.

He didn't even ask me questions like "How did you know we were having an affair?"

Of course, he was probably very curious inside. How I'd figured out the affair just from the remaining lipstick mark on the table and the interior design.

But Min Sung-bae didn't ask pointless questions.

He seemed to understand that how I knew didn't matter. Besides, I wouldn't tell him even if he asked.

"Mayor, could you get me a cup of tea? I think this conversation will take a while."

The mayor led me back to the main office with a twisted expression, and the secretary, looking dazed, staggered to make coffee.

In the meantime, she hastily wiped away the remaining lipstick mark on the table with her sleeve.

She really did think that's what gave them away.

…

Was he exhausted from being thoroughly humiliated by me? Mayor Min Sung-bae's face had grown haggard, and he just sipped the coffee his girlfriend had made.

From "6 hours ago" to "7 hours ago."

I couldn't stay until night, so I gave him a signal at the appropriate moment.

The signal was glancing at the "August Transfer Plan Preparation Status" document that had appeared on Mayor Min Sung-bae's desk.

Up to this point, it looked like he'd completely resigned himself and was about to give in to me.

But the proposal he threw out a moment later was too practical.

A proposal to transfer me to a core department at best.

This would have the effect of accelerating my promotion. The environment would be better than the days of running errands for city councilors and being bossed around. But… I got the sense that our mayor was taking the situation too lightly. Just a department transfer?

I pulled out my smartphone to indicate that wasn't what I wanted.

"Justifications can be created."

Promotion from grade 8 to grade 7.

It was a difficult request, that was true.

But a justification could be arranged adequately. I could use part of the Han Chae-kyung recording file (the section where she'd refused her husband's request to investigate) to package me as an honest, trouble-free employee.

And there was something even more important than the promotion.

"After the promotion, I'd be grateful if you sent me to the headquarters Records Management Team."

"A dead-end position. I understand it's essentially a department where one person works alone."

The Records Management Team was a position where you spent the whole day buried in the storage room (essentially a warehouse).

Given the situation I was in, I didn't need to argue over whether a position was important or dead-end.

It was safer to move to a department with no errands and no interference. It would be much easier to move around avoiding people's eyes.

Promotion, and department transfer.

For the price of turning a blind eye to an office affair, this was really cheap.

Even the mayor who liked having sex in the office ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠seemed to agree.