Chapter 69
Chapter 69
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Translator : M.N 1391
Chapter: 69
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Kyung-wan lay back down again with the attitude of, ‘Fine, let’s see how long you guys can tolerate this,’ and watching him, the NIS agents let out another sigh before joining forces to lift him up and carry him inside.
But it wasn’t easy. This time, instead of struggling, he went completely limp, his entire body melting like slime and slipping out of their grasp in a wobbly, gooey slide.
At Kyung-wan’s stubborn antics, someone finally let out a sigh.
“Ahh~. Damn.”
“What? Damn?”
Kyung-wan latched onto it like he’d caught the perfect bait, and the NIS agents, sick to death of dealing with him, tried desperately not to react as they hurried to drag him inside.
Someone walking out spotted them and spoke in a nagging old-man tone.
“What on earth is this mess?”
Recognizing the familiar voice, Kyung-wan, still in his pseudo-slime state, tormenting the NIS staff, lifted his head and greeted him.
“Oh! Look who’s here. The guy who sold me off to Japan.”
At that thug-like attitude, Lee Gwan-young frowned slightly, but what could he do? Dealing with this lunatic was his assigned job…
So he tried threatening Kyung-wan first.
“Do you have any idea the higher-ups are in an uproar because of you?”
“The higher-ups? North Korea? I’ve never been there though?”
If Kyung-wan had gone to North Korea, would it have only been an uproar?
Feeling a sudden rush of headache, Lee Gwan-young shrieked. The thought of having to deal with this rabid mutt from now on flooded him with stress.
“Not North Korea, the government!”
“North Korea is the government? Wow, look at this, NIS suddenly declaring defection?”
“That’s not what I meant! The Blue House! The National Assembly is in chaos!”
Kyung-wan’s nonsense made Lee Gwan-young’s blood pressure spike until he couldn’t help but scream.
But Kyung-wan showed no signs of stopping.
“Since when was the NIS so dedicated to national affairs? Ah! You were hard-working enough to run a comment-manipulation squad, so I guess that counts.”
Politically, yes, very hardworking indeed.
“.. You’re trying to screw me over on purpose, aren’t you?”
“I mean, I do know the NIS screwed me over.”
When Kyung-wan’s crazy ranting refused to calm down, Lee Gwan-young stepped back a little.
“Look, I’m sorry I left you alone in Japan. But you weren’t exactly blameless either, were you?”
“Not blameless? My ass! I helped with the investigation you guys ordered, where you sold out Korean-Japanese folks, I beat the crap out of that far-right anti-Korean esper and raised the nation’s dignity, and sure, I held a hostage situation, BUT is that my fault? You couldn’t even assign one damn person to check if I was at least eating? I don’t speak a word of Japanese!”
Kyung-wan exaggerated his injustice, but Lee also had his own.
“Hey! Did you really have to punch people there?!”
Come on, there were other ways. Record everything and file a complaint later, get a public apology, use media pressure to destroy that Kawaguchi-or-Tamagotchi guy. The Japanese government publicly wanted to pick a fight with Korea but secretly wanted economic cooperation, plenty of ways to screw them back.
But Kyung-wan was shameless and confident.
“What, am I supposed to let an anti-Korean right-wing bastard go untouched? I already thought something was fishy when you guys took money from Japan. Sir, are you really Korean? Or are you a Japanese spy embedded in the NIS?”
When Kyung-wan mentioned “Japanese money,” Lee went pale and tried to cut him off with a frantic, “What nonsense are you talking about?!” But Kyung-wan ignored him completely and kept going.
Seeing the strange looks around them, Lee gritted his teeth and snapped at him.
“Stop talking crap and follow me!”
He dismissed everything as lies, nonsense, and bullshit, and hurried to drag Kyung-wan somewhere with fewer witnesses, a sealed room.
“Wow. Look at him backpedaling.”
Of course, Kyung-wan kept digging at his nerves until they reached the NIS safehouse’s panic room, which luckily wasn’t far.
“Everyone out. This is classified. Out, all of you!”
After sending out the worried staff, Lee was finally alone with Kyung-wan. Then he dropped to his knees with a thud and pleaded.
“Please! Why are you doing this to me?! Spare me!”
Normally, he would never kneel like this. But what Kyung-wan had done was simply too big. So big, Japan’s government couldn’t vent its anger on Kyung-wan alone, they even wondered if Lee himself had betrayed their trust and intentionally sent such a lunatic to sabotage relations.
Despite the fact that they asked for him in the first place. But idiots with hollow heads and inflated pride often scored own-goals and blamed others for it. Just look at their self-inflicted trade sanctions.
Either way, Lee had served as the hotline between the two nations until now, but thanks to Kyung-wan, furious Japanese officials were now doubting him and shaking that foundation.
Like being struck by lightning just for standing next to the guy who actually deserved it.
And if Kyung-wan started talking more about Japanese bribes, it would be catastrophic.
Losing his job would be the best outcome. Worst case, he’d end up riding in an unwanted “red Matiz.” Plenty of people were tied to Japanese cash…
Looking down at the begging Lee, Kyung-wan spoke.
“Give me back half of what you got.”
“.. What?”
“So I get 75% of the money Japan gave you?”
“Hey!”
Lee finally raised his voice.
Money wasn’t the issue, there was always plenty of taxpayer cash to shuffle around. The real headache was creating justification for that budget. With justification, funds could be arranged through political horse-trading.
Meaning: what Kyung-wan was asking for essentially tore up their entire unspoken agreement and demanded more.
For someone like Lee, who wasn’t supposed to be political but lived knee-deep in politics, the destruction of trust was poison. The more covert the deal, the more vital trust became.
One American political scientist had classified Korean corruption patterns as “elite cartel.”
“Really can’t do it?”
“I’d rather slit my own stomach!”
Lee was resolute. Whether his stomach was cut open or he got suicided in a red Matiz, dead was dead.
“Then do something for me.”
“.. What is it?”
Now that negotiation seemed possible, Lee softened slightly. But inside, he was desperate for even a sliver of hope.
“I thought about it, and honestly… I won’t really have chances to spend that money. And I don’t have much to spend it on anyway.”
House? Stability? Luxury flexing? None of that mattered to him.
So he chose to settle an old emotional debt.
“You know the orphanage where I used to live, Happy Home?”
“....”
Lee nodded. He already knew from the background check.
“Give 80% of what I’m owed to fund its operations. And clean out all the gangsters involved with it. If you do that, I’ll cancel my demand for half.”
At that, Lee’s ears perked up.
“That’s all?”
“That’s all, but it won’t be easy. They’re tied to the local police. You’ll have to clean that up too.”
“Hmmm…”
Lee fell silent in thought. Of course Kyung-wan wouldn’t ask for merely 25% without a catch. Smart, sharp, and psychotic, that was him.
But Lee’s political instincts quickly calculated the potential returns.
Kyung-wan’s chaos in Japan was already spreading online to Korea, and the higher-ups hated hearing his name right now. A crackdown on gang-linked corrupt police could divert public attention and boost approval ratings.
Solve Kyung-wan’s demand, please the higher-ups, free the orphanage from gang influence, and give the public a corruption purge to cheer for.
Everyone wins.
Gangsters? Corrupt cops? Who cared what happened to those bastards?
Lee’s own survival and interests mattered infinitely more.
Seeing his expression shift, Kyung-wan pushed him.
“Deal?”
“Deal.”
Lee nodded, and Kyung-wan moved on.
“Then why exactly did you rush to drag me back from the U.S.?”
At that, Lee rose from his kneeling posture and sat on the sofa, expression grave.
“A psychic terrorist has appeared.”
“Where? In Korea?”
Kyung-wan tilted his head. If a terror attack had happened, Korean portals wouldn’t be this quiet.
Lee continued.
“It’s being treated as a hate crime targeting high-ranking members of society.”
“And?”
“And? Do you not understand the chaos this could cause?”
Lee raised his voice, demanding empathy. This wasn’t an easy case. Solving it would require commitment and duty.
But Kyung-wan remained indifferent.
“I mean, there must’ve been some reason for the hatred, right? Something serious enough that even with high-ranking victims, the media kept their mouths shut.”
Lee’s eyes trembled. This freak… how did he guess that?
Forcing composure, he made a gentle offer.
“That’s why I want your help resolving this.”
“Stop dodging the question. What’s the background? Who’s involved, some next presidential candidate or the second generation of a big media tycoon?”
“···.”
Lee closed his mouth again.
The insight was terrifying. The victims were a powerful politician from Yeouido’s legal faction and the grandson of a very famous media mogul.
Kyung-wan asked again.
“So did they die?”
“They didn’t die, but…”
“But?”
“Their genitals were cut off. They can’t function as men anymore.”
Kyung-wan grimaced.
“Ehh… then why the hell drag me back in such a hurry for something like that?”
“‘Something like that?!’ A man’s thing getting chopped off is ‘something like that’?!”
“Please. There are countless young men in this country who can’t use theirs even though they still have them. If someone waved it around wrong and got it cut off, why is everyone making such a fuss?”
He wasn’t wrong, he even instantly guessed the victims “played wrong” with their bits.
Lee raised his voice again.
“It’s not over yet!”
“More people are involved? Wow. What, were they having some group drug orgy party at a secluded villa?”
“···.”
“They did, didn’t they. Alright, I’m out. Not doing it.”
Kyung-wan clicked his tongue and refused, and Lee shot up in panic.