Tears That Shook the Nation
Lee Shin stood before the camera.
“Where should I begin? I’ll just start from the beginning, nice and easy. A few months ago—back when I was reflecting after causing trouble—I came across a guild. It didn’t live up to its prestigious name at all. It looked downright pitiful.”
“For some reason, I couldn’t look away. Standing at the threshold, making the wrong choice every time, failing, despairing… it was just like me. But that was arrogant of me. This guild never gave up. It never bowed. It was a hundred times cooler than me, who kept running away and giving up. That day, I fell in love with Mir Guild.”
“That’s how my trip to Busan began.”
He eliminated every trace of aggro. His diction was restrained to the utmost. The story flowed in a clean, unadorned voice.
Lee Shin transformed from the notorious national team troublemaker into a young man reflecting on his past, a pure-hearted youth who had descended alone to Busan to save his small guild, and finally into a fiery young man confronting the cartel of corrupt suppliers.
“Looking back now, something felt off from the start. Why was there a fixed supplier for each district? Why were they doing the inspections we were supposed to handle? Why were they handing over information about the products—like manufacturing processes or ingredient labels—as if they were doing us a favor? And what the hell was that ‘bulk allocation’ nonsense?”
“Even a rookie like me could see the structure was twisted. So I asked questions, but they snapped back, telling me I didn’t understand how the world worked, that I was being too picky when ‘good enough’ should’ve been fine. They accused me of throwing my weight around.”
Logical. Detached. Yet beneath it all, raw emotion burned.
He kept himself under control, projecting a calm, simmering anger.
“A lot of people assume suppliers are always the weaker party in their relationship with guilds. But suppliers use that very narrative to pressure guilds instead.”
“What’s even more despicable is that the guilds they target are the lower-league ones whose backs they can actually break. Strong against the weak. They only sink their teeth into those weaker than themselves.”
A gravitas he rarely showed. The weight only truth could carry.
Before long, people were moved by Lee Shin’s unprecedented persuasiveness—his maxed-out Charm stat of 101.
“I’ll say it plainly. Everything about this is wrong. I may be young and inexperienced, but I still know right from wrong. This… is not… fair.”
When the emotional crescendo finally reached its peak—
The climax of the story’s structure.
This was the moment for the tears he had prepared.
He clutched his chest as if in pain and tore the scroll hidden in his inner pocket.
“It’s wrong. Terribly, terribly wrong…”
Nausea and dizziness surged. Lee Shin clutched his head and bowed deeply. To any onlooker, it looked as though he were buckling under an overwhelming sorrow.
Lips bitten hard. A trembling chin.
It was heartbreaking.
He seemed so fragile, as if the slightest touch would send him collapsing.
Finally.
Just like that.
Plop—
A single tear broke free, and the dam he had desperately held back burst open.
His final words, barely forced out through the main broadcast feed:
“Wrongs… must be corrected.”
It was over.
The episode destined to become a legend at SBC’s Educational Programming Department had come to an end.
And now—
What happened when Charm 101 was fully focused on squeezing out every last drop of emotion?
That was only just beginning.
In an era where cable and OTT dominated and anything over 10% was cause for celebration, a dry investigative program that was neither variety nor drama had shattered the 20% mark.
Naturally, every broadcasting station was thrown into chaos.
“Look! If you’ve got eyes, watch this! Educational Programming hit 20.1%. What’s our weekend variety show at? 7.3%. And you still won’t book Lee Shin?”
“……I’m genuinely curious. While SBC is raking in massive ratings, what exactly have our oh-so-great and proud KBC folks been doing? I won’t waste words. Bring me Lee Shin.”
Of course it was all about Lee Shin. The minute-by-minute rating for the scene where he cried during the special had peaked at 31%! In just half a day, the YouTube Shorts clip had surpassed ten million views!
At this point, there was no doubt who the star of the special truly was.
While the networks fixated on the ratings, what truly set the public ablaze was Lee Shin’s tears.
Regardless of whether people liked or disliked him, the sight of the fearless troublemaker crying was shocking in itself. Naturally, that shock turned into intense interest in the incident.
Starting with YouTubers most sensitive to trending issues—
— “Guys, you see that? Lee Shin crying. Man, it was so gaslight—”
— “Today we’re talking about the deep-rooted corruption in the provinces……”
Newspapers, sensing blood in the water, joined in.
Even the networks that had been clutching their stomachs laughing at SBC’s success couldn’t stay silent.
The tears that began in Lee Shin’s eyes instantly became the dominant trend, an unstoppable wave of public opinion that set the entire internet ablaze.
And eventually, they reached their final destination—Yeouido……
The Prosecutor General, seated at the head of the table, slammed his desk with a rolled-up newspaper.
“So what are we doing about this?”
“……”
“……”
His blunt way of cutting straight to the point was jarring, but the prosecutors present were his direct juniors.
They instantly grasped the topic from the few visible words on the rolled newspaper.
[……absurdity…… anachronistic……]
Absurdity. Anachronistic. Combined with the hottest issue of the moment, the answer came immediately.
“If this is about the Supply Gate case, we’re preparing. Right?”
“Given the intense public interest, we’re running second and third verifications to make sure there are no loose ends. It’s taking a bit of time.”
“Kids, are we still going to beat around the bush even now? Do I have to say out loud that you’re dragging your feet to protect your own connections?”
“W-We’re sorry!”
“We’ll correct it immediately!”
The juniors bowed their heads at the Prosecutor General’s measured scolding.
The “Busan Supply Gate” had now become simply the “Supply Gate,” its regional label erased.
In just a few days, a corruption scandal once confined to a single region had spread nationwide thanks to public attention.
With the case this large, the prosecution had no choice but to proceed with extreme caution.
Especially for the “superiors” whose interests were entangled—like the two men here.
In that sense, they were in serious trouble. They just had to be stuck with a superior famous within their cohort for being obsessively clean—the very image of integrity.
“Kids, have I ever said anything when I saw you lining your pockets? As long as you keep it reasonable, I look the other way. Who doesn’t understand you taking care of your juniors down in the sticks? Huh?”
“That’s right.”
“Exactly!”
“Do you think I don’t know why you’re stalling? I know you’re trying to secure an exit route for your juniors. But this isn’t the time to wait for exits.”
The Prosecutor General’s calm eyes gleamed dangerously.
“You listen to the radio? The one I listen to on my way to work has been talking about this case nonstop. Turns out the networks are running specials too. Even my daughter asked me at lunch how this was going to play out.”
“Th-That’s, senior, we don’t need to be swayed by public opinion……”
“That’s right. In time, this will all……”
“And if something goes wrong, you’ll take responsibility?”
“……”
“……”
Even if it was in the provinces, could the prosecution really have been unaware of corruption on this scale?
—If things reached this point, it was a disaster for the prosecution either way.
If they knew, they became a hotbed of corruption. If they didn’t, they proved their incompetence. Either path led to hell.
“Realize how serious this is. People are already starting to talk. Why aren’t you investigating when something’s obviously off? If you keep hesitating, it’ll come back on us.”
“……”
“I’d like to give the kids some time to clean up if possible, but we’ve already passed the point where we can afford to test the waters. Just push it through for now. Once things quiet down, we’ll quietly pick up the ones who fall. Understood?”
“Understood.”
“Good. Let’s do this right.”
Go.
The two juniors bowed deeply and left at the dismissal.
It seemed the matter was settled.
But then—
The moment the Prosecutor General, now alone, showed a noticeable change in expression.
“Hoo, shit……”
A rather vulgar curse, coming from a mouth that had just been calmly lecturing his juniors.
But it was understandable.
The Prosecutor General was backed into a corner.
“How the hell did he find out?”
It all began a few days ago.
While spending the weekend evening with his family and indulging in his hobby in the study, he received a single phone call.
— “Hello. Prosecutor General Kim Cheol-jung, I presume? A pleasure. I’m Lee Shin, representative of Mir Guild. Have you eaten?”
Yes. Lee Shin.
This bastard was the root of the problem.
The same Lee Shin who had been shedding pitiful tears on TV just days ago was now threatening him with a knife to the tongue.
— “You must be feeling quite warm these days, Prosecutor General. That new highway we’re connecting—you skimmed quite a bit off it, didn’t you? You should be feeling warm.”
— “Hmm? Still haven’t taken off the mask?”
That was right.
Though known to everyone as a man of integrity, the truth was different once the mask was peeled back.
In reality, he was an ambitious man who hid his true nature completely while aiming for even greater heights.
— “I only take from the big fish like Lee Do Group. I’ve got the sales pitch down perfectly. It’s easier for both sides when the math is simple.”
— “Huh? Oh come on, blackmail? Prosecutor General, you’re underestimating me~ This is barely blackmail. Let’s be honest—how many people in the Supreme Prosecutors’ Office haven’t taken money from Lee Do Group?”
— “However.”
But the words that followed sent a chill down his spine.
— “You do know that lining your pockets with Girin Group money is a whole different story, right?”
There was an unwritten rule.
Those connected to Lee Do Group did not connect with Girin Group.
The reverse was also true. These two rival conglomerates had clear lines of allegiance, and anyone who broke this rule was famously punished by both sides.
Only then did he realize.
Who this brat really was.
The young master of the Lee Do family that moved this country.
The grandson of Lee Sang-byuk, the money demon.
— “I guess becoming Prosecutor General isn’t something just anyone can do. I knew you had ambition, but your guts are the size of the Pacific.”
— “How did I know? If you follow the story, it comes out eventually. There’s a scene where you get caught gambling after testing the waters…… whoops, that’s edited out. Forget I said that.”
He felt an emotion he had long forgotten—yet once desperately craved.
It was—
— “I won’t drag this out. Thoroughly investigate the Supply Gate case that’s come up. Thoroughly. If you do, this fact will never leave my mouth.”
The gap in status.
A gap he could never reach no matter how much he struggled—an insurmountable difference between Lee Shin and himself.
From this day forward, the Supply Gate case entered a new phase.