The Disgrace of the Powerful
"Why can't you bring me something I can actually use! Is that old man really that clean? That’s impossible!"
The head of a government agency. It was a sight rarely seen—the director standing before his subordinates, bellowing at the top of his lungs. Yet, it was happening right now at the National Tax Service. These were men who, if they merely contacted a conglomerate, would be treated to lavish banquets—men who could easily walk away with gold nuggets as gifts. And yet, they were being ruthlessly berated by Heo Cheong-won.
Thwack!
"Ugh!"
The Director of the Corporate Tax Bureau, having had his shin kicked, clutched his leg and dropped to one knee.
"You bastard!"
As he reached down to rub his shin, his arm naturally drifted near his other leg. Heo Cheong-won didn't care; he delivered another vicious kick to the joint of that arm.
"Gaaah!!"
If the leg bone was this painful, the thinner arm bone must have been agonizing. It was undoubtedly fractured, but seeing that their superior had no intention of showing mercy, the Director of the Corporate Tax Bureau scrambled to regain his posture, sobbing.
"I, I apologize."
"Who asked for your apology?!"
The Director of the Individual Tax Bureau, standing nearby, suddenly found his own shin being kicked. Having witnessed what happened to his colleague, he bit his tongue and suppressed a groan with all his might.
"Why! Why on earth can't you find any dirt, huh? And you call yourselves the elites of the South Korean National Tax Service?"
At Heo Cheong-won's roar, the Director of the Investigation Bureau, who was on relatively good terms with him, finally spoke up.
"Commissioner, may I ask if you believe that targeting Samwoo alone is insufficient?"
The power of friendship is great indeed. Heo Cheong-won spat his reply at the Director of the Investigation Bureau.
"Hey! What’s the point of tearing down a measly top-100 group? That old man's main base is YK! Huh? Don't you agree?"
In truth, most people believed Choi Ki-hyun's true stronghold was YK. The Director of the Investigation Bureau nodded, speaking on behalf of his colleagues.
"Actually, it’s not that we haven't found any dirt at all."
"What? Hey, you bastard! Then you should have told me that sooner!"
However, the Director of the Investigation Bureau shook his head and continued his report.
"As you know, Commissioner, YK is a group with incredibly sharp brains. All the dirt currently available is connected to the higher-ups. I believe you are aware of that fact as well."
"Grrr...! So you're saying I should find dirt that isn't connected to them!"
"How about this approach?"
The Director of the Investigation Bureau offered a suggestion. Heo Cheong-won's momentum softened slightly.
"What kind of suggestion?"
"You designate the people who absolutely must not be touched. We exclude the dirt related to them and package the remaining dirt to hit the group hard. If it's you, Commissioner, wouldn't you be able to suppress any complaints?"
"Hmm..."
Heo Cheong-won fell into deep thought. 'I can't win the presidency anyway, and given the President's personality, I'll surely be cast off to a dead-end position. If that's the case, I might as well make sure I get my revenge...'
As Heo Cheong-won was lost in thought, the Director of the Investigation Bureau spoke again.
"And there is something urgent I must tell you."
Eventually, Heo Cheong-won dismissed everyone except the Director of the Investigation Bureau.
"Get out!"
The Director of the Investigation Bureau quickly approached Heo Cheong-won. Following the Director's whisper, Heo Cheong-won shouted to his departing subordinates—specifically, the Director of the Corporate Tax Bureau.
"Director Kim Wang-pyo! Go to the hospital quickly! I was just a bit excited, so come see me separately after you're treated!"
The face of the Director of the Corporate Tax Bureau, who had been writhing in pain, brightened slightly at the fact that his boss remembered his name. Soon, only Heo Cheong-won and the Director of the Investigation Bureau remained in the room.
"It's thanks to you."
"Not at all. Under normal circumstances, this is a thought you would have easily reached yourself, Commissioner. Rather, I am the one who is currently furious."
A smile bloomed on Heo Cheong-won's face as he looked at the Director of the Investigation Bureau, who was buttering him up as if he had oil on his tongue.
"Why is that?"
"Because they dared to make you suffer like this. Honestly, isn't the fact that you were demoted to such a dead-end position a disgrace to you, Commissioner?"
"Yes, that's right... That is why I want revenge even more."
"That is why I said I had something urgent to tell you. Commissioner, I say this with the utmost respect, but are you planning to retire from politics after this?"
It was a question no one would dare ask. But because Heo Cheong-won had listened to the Director of the Investigation Bureau even while he was throwing a tantrum earlier, he didn't get angry, even if he did furrow his brow.
"It's an unavoidable situation. This is my last stand. Well, it might be possible to keep sitting here, but I've already drawn my sword."
It meant that touching YK was the same as committing suicide. The Director of the Investigation Bureau spoke carefully.
"Then, how about including the 'Director of the ANSP'?"
"What...?"
"Honestly speaking, digging up minor dirt won't have much meaning. If we're going to dig, shouldn't we at least aim for the Director of the ANSP?"
"You... do you even know what you're saying right now?"
"I say this because I am truly devoted to you, Commissioner. If you step down while claiming that everything was done under your orders, I will take responsibility and shake YK to its core."
"Even if I take the fall and leave, it won't be easy for you to get out unscathed, will it?"
Suddenly, the Director of the Investigation Bureau wore a wicked smile.
"Commissioner."
"What?"
"You remember the Director of the Corporate Tax Bureau from earlier, right?"
"Yes, what about him?"
"Let that guy lead this operation. I will assist him from the side."
In an instant, a wicked smile bloomed on the faces of both Heo Cheong-won and the Director of the Investigation Bureau. They had agreed on a sinister plan to pin all the responsibility on the Director of the Corporate Tax Bureau.
"You bastard... you really are worth trusting."
"You flatter me. I only came up with this for your sake, Commissioner."
"Good. I already told him to come see me tonight, so I'll just pour him some drinks and coax him. I'll leave all the details to you. Take responsibility and tear YK apart."
"Understood!"
Heo Cheong-won was crossing a line without even realizing it.
JSD, who checked the newspaper in the morning, had an expression of sheer absurdity.
"No, have these guys lost their minds?"
It wasn't on the front page, but the large article was aiming directly at him.
"These crazy bastards..."
JSD, now beyond absurdity, immediately stood up and summoned his secretary.
"I was standing by, knowing you would call."
"You knew I would call?"
The secretary, a competent man with a sharp impression under JSD's command, nodded at him.
"I called the newspaper in question, and they said they had no choice because of pressure from the Commissioner of the National Tax Service. They said that if they didn't run the article, they would face various disadvantages, including high-intensity tax audits."
"Wait, then that means the Commissioner of the National Tax Service has made me his target from the start?"
"That is correct. I suspect this is retaliation for the report you made to the President regarding that matter the other day."
"So, because he couldn't find any dirt worth touching even after tearing into YK, he decided to touch me—the easiest target among the big ones?"
"That is correct."
The secretary answered calmly, but it was precisely because of this demeanor that he and JSD were on the same wavelength.
"Isn't this guy just a total lunatic?"
"I believe you have to make a choice, Chief."
"What choice?"
"Logically, even if the Commissioner of the National Tax Service ordered it, there is no idiot who would dare touch the Chief Security Officer and the Director of the ANSP."
"That's true."
JSD's words, spoken with the weight of a certainty, were true. The ANSP was a place that citizens in the 80s feared more than hell itself. It was said that even independence activists who endured the torture of the Japanese military police during the colonial era could not withstand the torture of the ANSP.
"The guy currently leading the operation under the Commissioner's command at the National Tax Service is likely someone who knows nothing. Someone next to him must be whispering in his ear. Of course, the Commissioner is likely helping as well."
"Hmm..."
"Therefore, you must choose one of three options."
"Explain."
"One is to simply stay still."
"You want me to stay still after being treated like this?"
The secretary nodded.
"Even if you stay still, you likely won't suffer a fatal blow. No matter how much the Commissioner is one of the 'Three Heos,' he cannot simply ignore you. Your