The Evidence
The thing in Kwak Min-sun's hand was a rollie pop phone. It was almost a national treasure.
The outer casing was covered in scratches. The original color had been rose gold, but now it was faded and dull. It was the kind of phone you’d toss in the trash and never look back at, yet Kwak Min-sun was clutching it like it was a gold bar. Was she afraid I’d steal it?
I had every intention of taking it.
“Hand it over and you’ll feel better.”
“What kind of nonsense is this all of a sudden?” (19 / 316 / 6 days ago)
“You need to hand it over to me right now if you want to stay safe, Kwak Min-sun.”
I was still applying pressure.
“If you refuse, I’ll bring that man with me when I visit next time.”
“…Are you a gangster?”
“And I’ll formally introduce him to your husband. I’ll show him exactly what you did with that man six days ago, down to the concrete evidence. If I have to, I can call him right now and bring him here.”
“You’re crazy!”
At first her grip tightened even more.
But that ironclad grip was itself the evidence of her worry. It was also proof that this phone was no ordinary trinket.
If she weren’t an idiot, she would have copied it. …No, surely she hadn’t.
I was debating whether to push the pressure further when a better idea suddenly occurred to me.
A method that would let me secure the evidence and still keep Kwak Min-sun as a card up my sleeve later.
“Then how about this?”
“…….”
“I’ll take care of it so that Kwak Min-sun can feel safe and surrender without hesitation.”
I studied Kwak Min-sun’s terrified face and turned on the smartphone’s voice-recording function.
Then, as if I’d rehearsed it, I started speaking.
“My name is Joo Sung-hyun. I have been instructed by Councilor Han Chae-kyung of Annam City. The instruction is to receive from Kwak Min-sun, a friend of Councilor Han Chae-kyung, evidence of sponsorship. That is, proof that during her university days she received monetary support from multiple men in exchange for spreading her legs for them.”
The recording ended. Then I sent the file to Kwak Min-sun. It was nothing in itself, but the picture and the exchange could be staged if necessary.
Kwak Min-sun stared at me blankly, as if she couldn’t understand what I was saying.
I reached out and lightly pinched two fingers on the upper part of the phone she was holding, repeating my request.
“This is the best I can do.”
“Who… who are you, exactly?”
“I am not a loyal subordinate of Councilor Han Chae-kyung. You mentioned that she is an old friend of yours, didn’t you? You should know what kind of person she is.”
“If it’s that bitch Han Chae-kyung… yes. She thinks everyone around her belongs to her.”
“So I will keep a portion of the evidence. And… what do you say we keep this fact between the two of us?”
The grip loosened just a fraction.
And Kwak Min-sun looked at me with a complicated expression. She was almost there.
“I am a civil servant at the Annam City Council office.”
“A civil servant? Really?”
“Grade 8. The lowest of the low. People don’t know this, but the personnel authority over the council office belongs to the council chairman, not the mayor. And… both Councilor Han Chae-kyung and her husband are power players who play above the council chairman’s head.”
“Ah.”
“And my father is a village-bus driver at the transportation company that Han Chae-kyung and her husband essentially own. …Do you understand what I mean?”
I worked my mouth hard, pretending to be pushed into the villain’s role because I had no choice with the real powers of Annam City.
Kwak Min-sun’s hand on the phone began, very slowly, to loosen its grip.
Still refusing to give up, she squeezed one last time, but the resistance lasted only a moment.
“What about telling your husband about that incident six days ago?”
I gave her a bitter smile and blackmailed her again.
In the end, the phone that had entered my possession, a model more than sixteen years old, was now in Kwak Min-sun’s hands.
Kwak Min-sun’s face became empty and she muttered.
“Chae-kyung… when she was a fourth-year university student, first semester, she managed three sponsors at the same time.”
Of course she had. Her Partner Count was 73.
“Magok-ssi, Uijeongbu-ssi, and Gangnam-ssi.”
“You must have been busy.”
“I once heard Chae-kyung complaining that Magok-ssi and Gangnam-ssi gave her the exact same gift once. A 1.2 million won tote bag. And then she gave me one of them. Honestly, even back then she was a shitty person, but at the time I was grateful. But.”
“But?”
“She said she was busy so she wanted me to sell one of them for her at a used price… and she asked me to do the errand. She promised me 200,000 won as compensation.”
200,000 won was more than generous for an errand fee, wasn’t it?
Still, I could guess what sore spot it had hit in Kwak Min-sun.
Inferiority complex, relative deprivation, and that indescribable, shitty feeling.
She ended things with casual one-night stands, yet she watched her friend Han Chae-kyung manage a few A-grade to S-grade sponsors and live lavishly. It was no wonder she was boiling inside.
I soothed Kwak Min-sun gently, knowing it was for later.
“Kwak Min-sun. One day Councilor Han Chae-kyung will get sick and hurt. She’ll pay for her karma.”
It was true. I would make sure of it.
“Really? She’s the kind of woman who wouldn’t die even if you stabbed her.” (19 / 316 / 6 days ago)
“We’ll see. Sorry, but today…”
After lowering my head, I parted ways with Kwak Min-sun.
And then I regretted it.
I should have bowed deeper to Kwak Min-sun. I should have been more sincere with my polite greetings.
“It was a golden phone.”
Kwak Min-sun’s phone contained data enough to stamp Han Chae-kyung with the mark of a whore and still have plenty left over.
First, the text messages.
=====
If you don’t want to end things with me, remember this.
Don’t keep saying “I can’t do this” or “that’s a bit” and so on
Accept it reasonably but always give the feeling that she is being specially favored
A little emotional ups and downs will make it stick
“I honestly didn’t have anyone else to talk to lately, but being with you makes me feel more at ease”
This alone can keep things going for another month lol
=====
Multiple messages teaching the tricks for handling men.
Countless photos of university-era Han Chae-kyung enjoying and flaunting her extravagant lifestyle.
Even this alone was enough circumstantial evidence.
But there was separate high-value information.
File name: IMG00081.jpg
Stored in: Hidden Album
Creation date: 2009.09.21 10:37 PM
Resolution: 640x480
Capacity: about 180 KB
2009. University third-year Han Chae-kyung… a photo taken of her.
The background of the photo was a luxurious lounge room.
A chandelier-style mood light hung from the ceiling, and the walls were velvet.
On the table were high-end wine and cake.
It was all ordinary, but there was one reason this photo was special.
Because she was with a man.
In the frame, in the corner of a luxurious sofa.
University student Han Chae-kyung was being kissed by an uncle-type older man.
Meanwhile, the man’s hand had slipped inside her skirt. It felt less like biting and more like stroking?
The drunk-looking older man with a flushed face laughed as he took the photo, glancing at the person taking it (Kwak Min-sun). On Han Chae-kyung’s face, eyes wide open, was written “Don’t take it!”
But Kwak Min-sun simply took it boldly and kept it.
It wasn’t a sex video, nor was it a photo of her taking off her clothes and dancing. Of course the photo was clear enough that it alone was damning.
But the real important part wasn’t the level of excitement, it was the people.
The sponsor man in the photo was a heavyweight.
A legal professional… now an ex-legal professional, but his influence remained strong. Perhaps he was one step above Han Chae-kyung’s husband.
That was enough.
I had secured everything I needed.
I had to hand over the phone now that I had made a promise to Han Chae-kyung.
Before that, though, I stopped by her house first to back up everything.
memo_0612.txt
msg_0703.txt
voice_100114.amr
photo_hidden_01.jpg
dcim/priv_snap/IMG00921.jpg
…
…
I decided to keep a few explosive pieces of evidence only for myself.
Now it was time to give Han Chae-kyung her gift.
[Joo] - I have secured it.
[Han] - Secured what?
[Joo] - It seems like I should tell you over a chat.
Han Chae-kyung soon sent the place and time for the handover.
I had obviously said, “I hope you will continue to treat me as usual this time,” but if she really believed that, she was an idiot. If she believed I would return the golden phone without even touching it, she was even more of an idiot.
A few hours later.
I met Han Chae-kyung and handed over the phone.
“Here it is.”
“Thank you for your hard work, Joo Sung-hyun. I have received a great favor from you.” (73 / 887 / 1 year 7 months ago)
Neither a debt nor help, but a favor.
A strangely awkward smile appeared on Han Chae-kyung’s face as she looked at me.
While she scrolled through the photos and messages saved in the phone and occasionally frowned or muttered “that bitch Kwak Min-sun…” she quickly smiled again.
It meant she understood the value of the work I had done.
It wasn’t because I wanted to greet a whore, but I decided to listen to what she had to say anyway.
“And… I’m sorry it’s late.”
“Councilor, you’re sorry?”
“I was too rough. I even ordered the busy policy team staff to prepare the inquiry materials and then scolded them for not doing it… even though Joo Sung-hyun explained the reason politely. I didn’t know and I was rude.”
“It’s already in the past.”
She apologized belatedly for being rude to me.
It really was late.
If Han Chae-kyung hadn’t been petty and shitty with small grievances from the start, I wouldn’t have dug into her 73 partners and 887 times.
It was already too late to cover it with an apology, but it was better than not receiving one at all.
Still, there was something impossible to forgive.
“I won’t mention any specific compensation.” (73 / 887 / 1 year 7 months ago)
“Of course you shouldn’t. I’m not an employment agency worker.”
“But… I will say only this. I will not forget the help Joo Sung-hyun provided. And I confirmed that you are an extremely capable person.”
She reached out for a handshake with that posture, as if she had regained her confidence.
It seemed Han Chae-kyung had some misunderstanding.
“You know I have no intention of resting on my laurels in the council, don’t you?”
“Of course.”
“You also don’t seem like the kind of person who will stay long in the council office. In my eyes you look like someone who could take on more important responsibilities.”
Did she mean that if I helped her now she would pull me up by the strings?
She already seemed to see me as her tool, and even seemed to think I wanted that.
Her head was full of flowers.
It was just something people did who were used to receiving favors.
She had received pocket money and gifts in exchange for sucking the cocks of her sponsor men when she was young, and now, while being cared for by a wealthy, older husband, she was involved in politics. She had lived like that for too long and had come to believe “I understand men’s hearts.”
Of course, I had no intention of becoming a whore’s close ally.
Still, I smiled.
“Yes, Councilor. I understand perfectly.”
I didn’t decide whether to use her as a weapon while pretending to be her enemy, or to drop her cleanly into the abyss.
“Will you please continue to rely on me?” (73 / 887 / 1 year 7 months ago)
Looking at it purely as profit, I found the latter more appealing.