The Issue at Hand
A peaceful stretch of days had followed my resolution of Kim Ho-chang's request.
"It goes 'all is well if one accepts it as it comes.' Just like that." (1 / 270 / 2 months ago)
"Yes, Father."
"Dear… you've said the same thing three times now. Jin Sung-hyun's going to hate that. If it were 'all is fine' instead of 'all is well,' wouldn't it seem like there's something missing?" (2 / 498 / 2 months ago)
Yesterday. My father had been selected as the Vehicle Management Excellence Agent at the company he'd worked for over twenty years.
A 500,000-won bonus plus a morning ceremony award.
The certificate was a scrap of paper, but the bonus was substantial.
We were having Korean beef right now, marking the occasion.
In truth I'd pushed half the consulting fee I received from Kim Ho-chang onto my father…
"Director, that guy should have seen his face. The company doesn't reward money often." (1 / 270 / 2 months ago)
"Eat your meat." (2 / 498 / 2 months ago)
I hadn't told him the truth. He looked so pleased; why should I ruin it.
"Long time no see." (1 / 270 / 2 months ago)
"You like it so much?" (2 / 498 / 2 months ago)
A toast with ginseng liquor. Still a good marriage between my parents.
I poured the glasses and raised my head, and—
The numbers floating above my parents' heads caught my eye again.
Father had 1, Mother had 2.
Two hundred for the father, nearly five hundred for the mother.
After losing the ability for a single day during my third-year of high school, I'd spent months tense over their number difference.
I heard it was my first love, but why… once it was revealed later and they divorced, what would I do then? What would I do?
It had once been my greatest worry in life.
I started dating my first female friend in the first year of college, learned sex and all sorts of other random things from her, and gradually sensed something.
The high possibility that her legs were mine.
That my father had simply closed his eyes in the competition and let it happen.
I hadn't dug deeper.
The other party wasn't just anyone; they were my parents. What was the point of knowing too much?
"To the health of the couple!" (1 / 270 / 2 months ago)
It was good that I could pay my respects through a mistress check, and the meat was delicious.
But something was missing.
…
The next day I was summoned to the market office as usual.
Annam City Mayor Min Sung-bae.
A man who liked to have sex in his office, attached office, and mini-shower room with his secretary Yoon Seo-young.
Fortunately it seemed he was avoiding backroom dealings in the office these days.
"You've changed the interior."
"……." (12 / 931 / 20 hours ago)
"You removed the noise-proof rug, recliner sofa, and blackout blinds… a wise judgment. You probably removed the love gel from the attached office too. Instead you added a treadmill and converted it to a health room…"
"Stop." (12 / 931 / 20 hours ago)
I knew where he and his female secretary were having secret meetings these days.
Under the pretext of an 'external meeting lounge,' a long-term leased business hotel suite.
Not paid with taxes, but donated by a sponsoring businessman for Min Sung-bae.
A wise judgment. Issue one keycard under a pseudonym, enter without going through the lobby, and access via the underground route—safer than the office.
"Far better than splitting your time between tasks."
"What do you know… No. It's fine." (12 / 931 / 20 hours ago)
The market, Min Sung-bae, stared at me with unease.
He hadn't liked me much anyway; why summon me?
"I… Joo Sung-hyun. Do you know Jeong Ki-hyeok, the director?"
"Pastor of Gangnam Hope Church, director of Seoul Wellness Hospital."
"How do you know?" (12 / 931 / 20 hours ago)
"I attended the wedding of a university junior woman. She was the groom's side householder."
"Ah… that wedding."
"Yes, that wedding. You saw the shorts."
Director Jeong Ki-hyeok was the father of Unicorn Jung Jae-ho.
It wasn't a coincidence that the name came up in Mayor Min's mouth.
"He brought in contacts from all over to ask me to look after you a bit. Not exactly a favor, but well, keep an eye on it."
"I've never made such a request to that person."
"Really?" (12 / 931 / 20 hours ago)
"Yes, Mayor. And you know, if I wanted an employment advantage, I wouldn't have dragged in the church pastor—I'd have directly asked you."
The man who helped me rescue Jung Jae-ho's son…
Actually it was only a slight boost to his will to live, but regardless, he had apparently tried to take care of me out of gratitude.
I didn't need that. I didn't think he was being meddlesome.
But there was something I was curious about.
"Mayor. You probably receive such requests several times a day, don't you? You could just ignore them, so why bother?"
"Are you scolding me?" (12 / 931 / 20 hours ago)
"I'm sorry."
"It's fine. Time is short."
Min Sung-bae stuck his hands in his pockets while still sitting.
It didn't seem he had summoned me to provoke me.
He didn't seem to have called me to warn me to stay quietly in the warehouse room, or to use his network to scold me about some pointless favor.
Rather, Min the mayor glanced at me slyly, gauging me.
"Hey, perhaps…" (12 / 931 / 20 hours ago)
"Say what you want, Mayor."
"Could I ask you to do some work for me later?"
He took a very friendly stance. I wanted to hear more.
"You probably know too, in Annam City no mayor has ever succeeded in a second term."
"All previous mayors served four years and then stepped down."
"But the election next year is a district election, right?"
I thought I understood what he meant.
The mayor of a city of 610,000 people…
A politician who had a seat dripping with honey wouldn't want to give up after just four years of tenure.
There was no way he would assign me some campaign slogan development.
Perhaps, Mayor Min wanted to let others experience what he himself had endured.
At that moment, a line I had involuntarily spat out hung there.
"Could you perhaps tell me who?"
The target. Mayor Min tilted his head.
"Who do you mean?" (12 / 931 / 21 hours ago)
"Don't you see? It's probably a politician who might compete in the party primary or general election, or the behind-the-scenes of their side you'd like me to investigate? Or, not just behind-the-scenes… you can leave the tight-lipped part to me; just tell me."
"Eh?"
"Speak freely. I won't leak it."
The matter was already decided; there was no reason to go around again.
But Mayor Min Sung-bae's reaction was odd.
"No, not that. I was thinking of asking for negative defense?"
"Ah…"
"You know my biggest weakness. When I was first promoted and sent to the annex I was anxious, but… you seem to have a heavy mouth. Admit it. It's hard to explain, but seeing you suddenly elevated someone onto your back shows both capability and skill."
"High praise."
It wasn't about tight-lipped work, but asking for support in negative defense (the affair with the female secretary).
And not now, but next year.
Next came specific instructions.
"Listen, think it over carefully, and decide." (12 / 931 / 21 hours ago)
When the district election starts next year, quietly resign.
And enter the camp.
If I succeed in re-election, I'll use you in a special post.
At least a grade five is guaranteed.
Thinking back on the humiliation I had suffered from Mayor Min, it was a good proposal.
The odds of re-election weren't high, but half—anyway, it showed that he valued my ability as a mere 7-grade manager. Whether it was Yoon Seo-young's sincere advice because she was in my faction… or whether Mayor Min had made the judgment himself, I couldn't tell.
The decision was mine. There was no coercion.
"Thank you. I'll think about it."
"Good. Now go quickly." (12 / 931 / 21 hours ago)
I bowed to Mayor Min Sung-bae, left the market office—which was now being used as a pure office, not a sex room—and greeted his female secretary Yoon Seo-young as well.
From behind came the two of them whispering.
"Isn't that secretary weird? Yeah. But it's better than letting him be our enemy, I hear, but whether I hear or not, I don't think the mayor will care…"
I simply returned to the warehouse room and prepared to go home.
…
Objectively, I was in a situation with nothing lacking.
There were businesses offering million-won part-time jobs, doctors who wanted to give me compensation instead of revenge for turning my son's wedding into a nightmare, and the administrative head of Annam City who held my employment power acknowledged my ability.
Yet I felt not satisfaction but an inexplicable emptiness.
I had said I didn't know what it was…
But thanks to Mayor Min, I was beginning to sense it.
In the past I could have used Han Chae-kyung to gain benefits, but I had simply sent her far away. I could have ignored Kim Yu-ra's tea-bagging but had buried it, too. I had carefully considered and, unable to hold back, done it.
Thinking about it now, the answer was set from the beginning.
Tight-lipped. Just watch.
'I have to restrain myself.'
At this point I had really decided to restrain myself.
After all, there was no one else. The things that took too long to lose my ability and for which I never gave quotes and abandoned, were now too easy.
It wasn't bad to quietly scan barcodes and destroy documents and pass the time.
"Going home?"
"Yes. Thank you for your hard work."
I greeted the facilities management team civil servant uncle and headed home.
I had planned to rest quietly at home.
…
The officetel I had been living in for three years, near Annam City Hall Station.
Like usual, I stopped by the convenience store then went home.
"Joo Sung-hyun, sir?"
The men who had parked their cars in front of the convenience store called out to me.
I immediately scanned them.
A man and a woman.
The woman wore a training top and shorts. The man's outfit was plain, but a tiny orchid tattoo had been inked beside his neck.
And they were openly wearing paired items and carrying unique swagger… people who were frequently seen in Annam City, where foreign workers abounded.
Though they were people, they weren't the type to be respected.
"You worked as Kim Ho-chang's errand, right? The civil servant side job prohibition is strict, so if you hide and rake in money, would your city hall seat stay? This time around…"
"Zjoseonjok."
The man clicked his tongue. "People talk. tsk."
It was a situation where I had been blackmailed by Zjoseonjok thugs on the way home.
They knew I had worked for Kim Ho-chang and received millions. If I stayed quiet, I might get disciplined for violating the part-time job rules.
"Behind-the-scenes investigation? I can explain."
"……?"
"Come on. Let's go now. Meet the people who sent you."
I decided to take active measures to avoid discipline.
****
"He's from Southeast Asia, so the bosses will like that he's not too loud. Simply set him to overstay in C-3 and introduce… why?"
"Mr. Boss… Joo Sung-hyun is coming with our guys?"
"What?"
"They came together. In their car."
Right now. Right here.