Congressman Hwang's Fatal Affair
“Chairman, have you been well?”
“What did I tell you to call me last time?”
“Yes. Sorry. Father.”
Pretending to be a fake son-in-law—even if it wasn't real—the word "Father" still didn't roll off my tongue easily, leading to yet another slip-up. The chairman seemed irked by it, immediately scolding me as soon as I spoke, and I had no choice but to apologize.
“Alright. So what's this sudden visit about?”
“Dad, he says that guy's cheating again.”
“They say old habits die hard, huh? Again?”
“Looks like he went after some office girl this time, but got caught by the city police intel officer.”
“Is it true?”
“Yes. I met with Heo Sang-do from city police intel this morning after he contacted me.”
“So what do you plan to do?”
“I've sealed the intel officer's mouth for now, but the reporters are the problem. Congressman Hwang shouldn't come down to Busan for a while.”
“Park, you run. I'll get Hwang a nomination in Seoul.”
“I'm not ready yet...”
“You can start preparing now. Just create a pretext for Hwang to move to Seoul, and hand his district over to you. That'll do it.”
“Still, if the congressman suddenly leaves his district, the party members will get rattled...”
“Isn't soothing them your specialty? I'll back you fully with whatever you need, so don't worry—just get ready to take over the district properly.”
“Yes. Understood, Father.”
In the end, the chairman was treating my candidacy as a done deal because of this incident. He'd handle shifting Hwang's district to Seoul and passing the current one to me. With his full support, challenging the next general election didn't feel like a reckless gamble anymore.
“And what was the name of that intel officer again?”
“Heo Sang-do.”
“If he's telling you without reporting up the chain, he must like you. Swing by Busan sometime soon and set up a meeting with him for me.”
“Yes, I'll do that.”
True to a chaebol chairman, he handled things decisively. After the meeting, with Eun-mi seeing me off, I boarded the train to Busan in high spirits. She looked like she wanted me to stay the night in Seoul, but with urgent matters piling up, I promised we'd meet again soon and left.
At that moment, Congressman Hwang was gasping for breath under Jeong-ah's body. She rode him like it was her job, shaking her hips wildly like a woman obsessed with work, cooking him up good.
“Jeong-ah, slow down~”
“Ah~ No way~”
“Please~ You're killing me.”
“Ha~ang, so good~ You like it too, right, oppa~”
“Uh~ Yeah~ Ha~ah~”
“Ha~aang~ Oppa~ Feels amazing~”
“Ugh!”
Suddenly, Hwang's body went rigid. Jeong-ah, lost in her rhythm on top, sat up and shook him frantically.
“Congressman! Congressman, what's wrong?”
Hwang's body was already cooling. Jeong-ah pressed her hand to his chest to check his heartbeat, then his neck, and instinctively knew he was gone.
“Oppa.”
“Yeah. What's up?”
“The congressman's dead.”
“What?”
“Hwang's dead.”
“Where are you?”
“Paradise Hotel, room 1203.”
“Stay put and don't touch anything. I'm coming right now.”
“Okay. Hurry.”
I got the call from Jeong-ah on my way from Busan Station to the office. Hearing he'd died with her at the hotel, I figured it was a death during sex, so I called Seoul first to speak with the chairman.
“Chairman, it's Park Maru.”
“Made it to Busan okay?”
“Yes. But it looks like the congressman passed away.”
“What do you mean?”
“Just got a call from that girl I mentioned. Sounds like a heart attack. Her background's in hospital aide work, so it'll probably check out.”
“Death during sex?”
“Likely.”
“How are you handling it?”
“Covering it up first. I'll ask Heo for help and get the hospital director at Gil Hospital—who knows him—to assist.”
“Keep it from the press for now. I'm heading to Busan.”
“Yes. Could you tell Eun-mi, Father?”
“Will do.”
After hanging up with the chairman, I called Heo Sang-do. I explained the situation and asked for cooperation; he agreed readily, and we set to meet at the hotel. Then I called the Gil Hospital director, explained again, and requested a reliable doctor and ambulance.
“What happened?”
“Oppa, what do we do?”
“Calm down first and explain.”
“He called me over, we were doing it, and suddenly his body stiffened—a heart attack. Now what?”
“Ambulance is on the way. We'll take him to the hospital and sort it there.”
“Won't rumors spread?”
“Nothing special. We'll say heart attack from overwork.”
As I talked with Jeong-ah, Heo rang the doorbell. She jumped at the sound and clung to me, but I assured her it was either hospital staff or the intel officer, calmed her, and opened the door.
Heo came alone, without other cops. Wondering if Haeundae station officers shouldn't be present, I asked.
“Come in. You came alone?”
“Easier to process it as death at the hospital.”
“Ambulance is coming soon. We can discuss with the doctor.”
True to his veteran status, Heo had come solo to frame it as a hospital death and avoid escalation. Grateful for his thoughtfulness I hadn't anticipated, we chatted briefly until the Gil Hospital doctor and EMTs arrived with a stretcher.
“Sorry to bother you so late. I'm Park Maru, secretary to Congressman Hwang Seong-tae. The director passed on your help.”
“Yes, I heard. If we declare death here at the hotel, weird rumors will fly. Better to take him to the ER and pronounce there.”
“That'd be a huge help.”
We dressed the already stiff Hwang in a hotel robe, loaded him on the stretcher, stuck an IV in his arm, rushed out to the ambulance, and headed to Gil Hospital. Heo, Jeong-ah, and I followed behind.
At the hospital ER, the doctor who'd transported Hwang moved the body to a curtained bed and performed CPR on the lifeless form. Heo and I watched.
“November 25, 2015, 10:30 PM. Patient Hwang Seong-tae pronounced dead.”
The attending physician finally declared Congressman Hwang Seong-tae's death. His body, face covered by a white sheet, went to the morgue. I bid him farewell at the entrance, gave the doctor some instructions, then had Heo and Jeong-ah wait at the basement coffee shop while I went up to see the director.
“Thank you for the help.”
“Not a big deal.”
“Since you're staying late anyway, could you wait a bit longer?”
“More business?”
“The congressman's father-in-law is on his way down. Thought you might want to meet him before heading home?”
“Daesan Group chairman?”
“Yes. He's the one who made Hwang a congressman.”
“Then of course. Have some tea with me while you wait.”
“People waiting for me downstairs. I'll bring the chairman up when he arrives.”
“Ah, got it. I'll be here.”
After thanking the director, I headed to the basement coffee shop to meet Heo and Jeong-ah.
“All sorted?”
“Yeah. Sorry to keep you so late, Officer Heo.”
“No worries. Now it's just a matter of you getting that congressman badge back, Park Secretary. Don't forget me later.”
“Come on. If you're not in a rush, could you wait a little?”
“Why? Need me for something else?”
“No. Congressman Hwang's father-in-law, Chairman Lee Hoe-jang, is coming down. Figured you'd want to meet him.”
“Then definitely. For someone like me, meeting a man like that is an honor.”
Heo readily agreed to wait for an introduction to the chairman. As he said, for a mid-level cop, a one-on-one with a chaebol head was a rare privilege. I excused myself from Heo and left the hospital to drop Jeong-ah home.