Pressure
I know how to handle men.
Han Chae-kyung believed that. She had always believed it, and she still did.
That confidence was why she'd extended her hand to Joo Sung-hyun with a smile.
"I'll be counting on you, Officer Joo Sung-hyun."
Joo Sung-hyun shook her hand with both of his, properly.
Ordinary. You could tell he'd worked hard at life, but at the end of the day, he was just a low-level clerk.
Grade 8 local government employee. A native of Annam City, born and raised. His father drove a village bus for the transportation company owned by Chae-kyung's husband. His mother was a housewife.
By Han Chae-kyung's standards, there was nothing special about him at all.
"Yes, Councilor. I'll do my best."
"Tomorrow's schedule, I think it's…"
"The first regular session is scheduled. It's the policy question period."
"Thank you."
But after this incident, Han Chae-kyung's opinion had changed.
'Joo Sung-hyun. Surprisingly useful.'
The chipped, worn-out phone now in her hands was proof.
The phone that Kwak Min-sun, her former handmaiden, had kept like a treasure.
She hadn't expected something like that to still exist.
A gloomy bitch. How long has it been since she graduated college, and she's still holding onto this?
And Joo Sung-hyun was the man who had acquired that phone in just one day.
That meant he knew how to work quietly and efficiently. A hidden talent had revealed itself, and there was no reason not to favor him.
Of course… Han Chae-kyung did have her concerns.
'That man wants something too.'
He wasn't a fool, and he certainly wouldn't handle something this sensitive for free.
Fortunately, Han Chae-kyung had a talent for figuring out what men wanted.
She'd picked it up over the years, sleeping with not just a few men but quite a lot of them before meeting her current husband.
It wasn't a skill you gained by mindlessly spreading your legs or nodding along soullessly while eating someone's food. Men didn't support dozens of women for no reason.
It required a nuanced approach, tailored to each man's disposition.
For men whose goal was sex, she'd allow only light touching until the third meeting, using the excuse that she wanted to be remembered as beautiful, naturally guiding them toward high spending.
For men who wanted to play boyfriend, she'd sweetly celebrate 50-day and 100-day anniversaries, holding hands on dates in areas with less exposure.
For men with strong desires to dominate, she'd deliberately make small requests to fill their egos, and use jealousy-inducing flirting for long-term training.
It had been quite a while since Han Chae-kyung had quit her life as a sponsor girl, but the instincts remained.
So she could figure out Joo Sung-hyun's objective too.
Advancement.
Joo Sung-hyun, a civil servant who would likely retire at Grade 5 if he just built his career steadily, seemed to dream of climbing higher.
He didn't want her body. That much was certain. He wasn't stupid enough to demand money from a politician.
'Then the only thing left is advancement.'
The motivations that moved men ultimately came down to women, money, and power. Unless you were insane, it was all the same.
Fortunately, Han Chae-kyung had both the will and the ability to satisfy Joo Sung-hyun's desires.
She wasn't entirely comfortable with it. Using someone who knew even a fragment of her past, if not the whole thing.
But she was a politician.
She'd first entered the city council in 2018, and it was already her eighth year.
Out of the 600 contacts stored across her two phones, about 100 were filthy people she wouldn't even want to associate with, and another 100 were creatures whose thoughts she couldn't fathom. And Han Chae-kyung was cooperating with all of them.
If you couldn't drive them away, you might as well make them your own.
With that resolve hardened, Han Chae-kyung returned home.
A 50-pyeong mixed-use complex in Gojin-dong. It was a modest house considering her husband's wealth.
"Honey. I'm a bit late, right?"
She returned to daily life as if nothing had happened.
6:00 AM the next morning.
The time Han Chae-kyung's day began.
Her first schedule was Pilates.
"Councilor, breathe first. Then slowly rise. One, two, three…"
Following the trainer's instructions, Han Chae-kyung extended her arms, tensed her abs, and lifted her body.
Tight sleeveless top and high-waisted leggings.
Her figure didn't look bad at all compared to the trainer instructing her. If anything, her volume was superior.
She'd spent no small amount of money maintaining her appearance over the years.
She didn't mind. It was all her husband's money anyway.
"Now let's try the hip bridge position? Hold your ankles and slowly—put your strength in your hips."
"Hnngh!"
After that, Han Chae-kyung worked through her 10-minute interval schedule as planned.
Breakfast with a National Assembly member.
Calming down a constituent whining about getting a job at her husband's company.
A brief meeting with cadres from a dispute-support group she was recruiting as an outer organization for next year's local elections.
Everything went smoothly.
As if nothing had happened at all.
And then she went to work. At the city council building, on the first floor, she happened to run into Joo Sung-hyun.
It was a bit awkward, but she'd decided to treat him as an ally, so she didn't forget to greet him with a light nod and a smile.
She couldn't act too warmly because of the surrounding eyes, but this much was fine. Pretending not to notice him would be a bit much too.
But Joo Sung-hyun's reaction was strange.
He was glaring at her with a look that seemed to say she was pathetic.
"Councilor. I didn't expect there to be more."
"What?"
"This is ridiculous."
After spitting out some incomprehensible words, Joo Sung-hyun walked past her without another word.
What the hell? What's wrong with that bastard?
Han Chae-kyung stared at Joo Sung-hyun with a dazed expression.
They'd agreed to work together. She had no idea why his attitude had suddenly flipped.
Above all, she couldn't figure out what "I didn't expect there to be more" meant. And that scowling expression, as if it wasn't even worth talking about—what was that?
The only thing she was certain of right now was that she couldn't just let Joo Sung-hyun walk away.
"Officer Joo Sung-hyun? Can I have a moment of your time?"
He'd hooked her again. Han Chae-kyung looked panicked as she led him into her office.
"What are you trying to do right now?"
As soon as the office door closed, Han Chae-kyung put her hands on her hips and pressed him.
Instead of answering, he scanned her up and down.
Usually she wore revealing office wear to give him an eyeful, but today—probably because she was planning to attend the policy question period—she was dressed elegantly.
Even her skirt was midi-length. Judging by the shell alone, she didn't look like a prostitute.
"Officer Joo Sung-hyun. I thought we had an agreement?"
She snapped again. Han Chae-kyung's expression grew increasingly serious.
Honestly, it was natural for her to be pissed.
She'd thought the recruitment was basically complete. She'd thought they could live in a symbiotic relationship, with him pushing and pulling at the right times. And now he was acting strangely. By now, she was probably thinking of him as an unpredictable bastard in her head.
He let the silence stretch for a while before suddenly speaking.
"Councilor, how many were there, exactly?"
"What?"
"I'm asking how many 'older boyfriends' you had, exactly."
"Why are you suddenly asking about that?"
"When I went to persuade Ms. Kwak Min-sun at your request, and when I inspected the phone she gave me, I thought there were at most six or seven. Including the conditions. Seven is a lot, but… I figured it was a manageable number."
Han Chae-kyung's hand, which had been gripping his collar, went limp. She seemed to think another informant had appeared.
He brushed her hand away irritably.
"Fifteen? Sixteen?"
"I don't know where you're hearing this or what you're talking about."
"I doubt it's twenty. You're not a rag."
"……."
Han Chae-kyung, now understanding why he was acting cocky, shrank back slightly.
She looked like she wanted to ask him for his source, but he had no intention of letting her ask questions.
"Councilor. I'm sorry, but I'm canceling the agreement we made yesterday."
"Wait. Calm down and listen to me…!"
"You said you didn't plan to settle for the city council, right? I'm sorry, but you're a walking risk. You could be exposed as a sponsor girl tomorrow and it wouldn't be surprising. With all the mess you've spread around, how can you even…"
"Officer Joo Sung-hyun. Watch your mouth."
"Councilor, you should have been more careful with your lower half."
He gave a short notification and gestured with his chin for her to move aside.
A somewhat harsh declaration of cutting ties.
Han Chae-kyung didn't step aside. Instead, she gripped the door handle tightly, as if to block him.
"Officer Joo Sung-hyun. It sounds like you've heard something… Could Min-sun have done it again?"
"I said I can't help you."
"You're already involved. The moment you went to Min-sun and said you'd help me…"
"You bitch."
"What?"
The profanity, thrown out as if accidental. Han Chae-kyung's eyes widened in shock, not expecting to be cursed at.
He pretended to suppress his anger, then…
He pushed Han Chae-kyung's shoulder aside. Not with his hand, but with the back of his hand. As if casually brushing something dirty out of his way.
Treated like less than human, Han Chae-kyung still didn't get angry. She just endured it.
"You're not going to let me go like this, are you?"
"Aren't you going to the meeting? It's the main session, isn't it?"
"There's still some time left. …Officer Joo Sung-hyun, I understand why you're doing this. I understand. But seeing me like a ticking time bomb is the wrong way to think. When I was first elected, I was the youngest local councilor in Gyeonggi Province, and I even appeared on news programs. Nothing happened then either."
"I'm not interested."
"It won't come out, I promise. As long as you cooperate."
Han Chae-kyung looked at him with a forced smile.
There was no calmness in her. She looked like she thought sponsor girl news could break tomorrow if he walked away right now.
"Councilor. Do you really want my cooperation?"
The prostitute nodded silently.
He stared at her for a moment, then pretended to have a moment of panic and looked off into space.
As if he'd gotten tangled in an overwhelming situation and was backed into a corner.
As if he wanted to escape but had realized he'd already stepped into the swamp and was now in despair. Han Chae-kyung watched his expression with trembling lips. The atmosphere had ripened enough.
"I can't trust you, Councilor."
"What do you mean?"
"You just threatened me, didn't you? So I need to find my own way out. First, I need to meet with Ms. Kwak Min-sun again and…"
As soon as the name Kwak Min-sun came up, Han Chae-kyung grabbed his forearm tightly. Her grip was strong for a woman. Of course, shaking her off would be easy…
But he let her hold on for now.
He wanted to see how Han Chae-kyung would handle being backed into a corner, and above all, how she would treat him.
If she showed promise, he'd consider using her long-term while keeping her political life intact. As a scapegoat or whatever.
If she clumsily tried to threaten him, he'd send her to a good place within a few days.
"Officer Joo Sung-hyun. Don't do that, please listen to me."
Click. Han Chae-kyung locked the office door and slowly turned to face him.
It was exactly 30 minutes before the main session began.
Han Chae-kyung couldn't miss it. She had the policy question period scheduled against the Annam City mayor.
"Councilor Han Chae-kyung. What are you trying to do right now?"
The prostitute councilor's future would be decided in the next 30 minutes.