Chapter 123: Unlike the Pale-Faced Bureau Chief
Unlike the bureau chief, who had gone pale as a ghost, Choi Jonghyeon calmly turned to look at Kim Jeongu, who had appeared from behind.
The bureau chief rubbed his eyes. There was no way to know why Kim Jeongu, who was supposed to be dead, was here. It had to be a trick of the dark surroundings. The bureau chief slowly approached Kim Jeongu and shone his phone light on the man's face. He recoiled in shock once more, dropping the phone to the floor.
With trembling lips that he barely managed to steady, he slowly opened his mouth.
"……Reporter Kim."
"Yes, Bureau Chief."
"Is that really you, Reporter Kim? I heard you died……."
He glanced at Choi Jonghyeon. Seeing the man's still-calm expression, things were starting to make sense. If Choi Jonghyeon had truly believed Kim Jeongu was dead, he couldn't help but be startled by the sudden appearance. But Kim Jeongu wasn't dead. And Choi Jonghyeon knew it.
"As you can see, Jeongu is alive and well," Choi Jonghyeon answered in his place.
The bureau chief stared piercingly at Kim Jeongu, unable to hide his confusion. Flailing his hands in the air as if searching for words, he finally muttered in disbelief.
"Then why the hell did you skip work today?"
"I had a high fever since dawn and ended up in the ER. By the time it broke, it was nearly noon, so I couldn't call ahead. I'm sorry. I'll submit a doctor's note tomorrow. But, Bureau Chief."
Kim Jeongu shifted the topic, glancing at the laptop.
"Is it true that a suicide note was found—one I never wrote?"
Kim Jeongu slowly approached the bureau chief and stood in front of the laptop.
"No, Reporter Kim…… What are you talking about? You didn't write it?"
The bureau chief feigned ignorance. He quickly sized up the two men, his mind racing. He agonized over how to handle this.
There's no evidence I directly manipulated Kim Jeongu's laptop to forge the note.
He had to stay calm. Getting caught off-guard here could lead to who-knows-what trouble. The bureau chief swallowed dryly. Choi Jonghyeon had only heard the keyboard clacking—he hadn't seen the actual typing. He couldn't completely escape suspicion from these two, but there was surely a way out.
"Yes. I've never written a suicide note."
"……Reporter Choi. Around lunchtime, you rushed out after hearing Reporter Kim had jumped, right? And then you said you'd lost contact with the family…… that you were waiting to enter the city morgue? What the hell is going on? And what is this note!"
The bureau chief shouted, as if utterly baffled.
"It turns out the body wasn't Jeongu's," Choi Jonghyeon replied coolly.
"Hah, you expect me to buy that? Sure, there might've been a brief misunderstanding. If the body was too badly damaged to even check fingerprints. But—"
"Yes, it was in that state. We found what we thought were Reporter Kim's belongings on it, leading to the mix-up. But we just got in touch with him and confirmed it's not."
Choi Jonghyeon answered shamelessly, as if he'd been waiting for the question.
The bureau chief let out a hollow laugh. This was blatant mockery. His relationship with Choi Jonghyeon had never been bad—on the surface, at least, they'd maintained a cordial rapport, even if they didn't truly like each other. For Choi Jonghyeon to come out swinging like this meant there was a clear reason.
And the bureau chief could think of only one: He'd found out about the threats against Kim Jeongu all this time.
Gripping the back of his chair with sweat-slicked hands, the bureau chief forced a smile. It wasn't certain yet—he needed to observe and figure out his next move. Since this all stemmed from the editor-in-chief's orders, he should consult him first.
"……I see. Glad to hear Reporter Kim is alive. But if he didn't write it, then who did?"
The bureau chief steadied his shaking voice and asked nonchalantly.
"Beats me," Kim Jeongu replied.
The bureau chief sighed deeply.
"What about the content? It claims Reporter Choi has been harassing you. Even if you didn't write it, as a manager, I have to look into it."
Play it natural, he repeated to himself.
"Nothing like that happened, Bureau Chief. Reporter Choi has always treated me well."
Dragging this out wouldn't benefit him. Better to escape this room first.
"Is that so? ……That's odd."
"Tell me about it."
The bureau chief shot a glance at Choi Jonghyeon, whose sarcasm dripped obviously. He closed Kim Jeongu's laptop as he spoke.
"It's too late to check the CCTV now, so let's do it tomorrow morning. No way to figure it out tonight. The document was dated last Friday— we can see who was at your desk then…… Yeah, that sounds good."
Choi Jonghyeon and Kim Jeongu exchanged a brief look, then nodded agreeably.
"Got it. Sorry for worrying you over nothing."
"No, no. I'm just relieved you're back safe and sound. I was so shaken I had a drink…… Now I can go home and sleep easy."
The bureau chief patted Kim Jeongu's shoulder, brushed past them, and hurried out of the office. Waiting for the elevator, an uneasy feeling gnawed at him; he kept glancing back toward the office. Pacing restlessly, he opted for the stairwell instead, descending rapidly to the first floor.
No one followed, but his heart still pounded.
The next morning, social affairs reporters swarmed around Kim Jeongu's desk like clouds.
"Reporter Kim, you're a sight for sore eyes. I nearly passed out yesterday. What happened—why didn't you show?"
"Sudden high fever hit at dawn; I was in the ER. Out of it, missed all my calls, and this mess happened. Sorry for the worry. Haha."
Kim Jeongu scratched his cheek sheepishly. The reporter waved it off.
"What do you have to be sorry for? Rumors of your death everywhere, no obituary. We were baffled. Glad you're okay."
Even reporters he barely knew approached with drinks or snacks, offering words of encouragement. Kim Jeongu bowed repeatedly, awkwardly thanking them for their concern.
The incident seemed destined to fade as a simple mishap—until someone spotted the anonymous company board post and shouted.
"Reporter Jo, check the internal board!"
"The internal board?"
The intranet messenger exploded with messages, all urgently directing people to the latest post on the anonymous board, like breaking news alerts.
The document lists contacts, then rapidly types new content:
[I don't want to live anymore. Why has my life turned out like this……]
A suicide note lamenting his life and blaming senior reporter Choi Jonghyeon.
The post labels the author as Reporter Kim XX, but anyone at Iljungilbo could infer it meant Kim Jeongu.
Timestamp on the taskbar: 2009-11-03 3:18 AM.
Before questions could arise about why a note for the "dead" Kim Jeongu was created, the video switched. In a dark office, a middle-aged man's face gleamed in the monitor's reflection.
"Isn't that the editing bureau chief?"
Reporters murmured. The angle and quality suggested a laptop webcam. Behind him, the wall clock on the office pillar read clearly: [2009-11-03 Tue AM 3：13].
Suddenly, the bureau chief—deep in typing—turned in alarm. Choi Jonghyeon appeared on screen, peering at the laptop. They talked, and soon Kim Jeongu entered, ending the video.
Dear fellow journalists of Iljungilbo,
You likely heard yesterday that Social Affairs Reporter Kim XX had jumped to his death. Thankfully, it was all a misunderstanding, and Kim XX has returned to us healthy and whole.
But I can't stay silent about the shocking truth behind this incident.
The attached video was recorded on Kim XX's laptop. The initial footage is from the webcam; the following document screen was captured at the same time.
The morning after news of Kim XX's supposed suicide spread, the editing bureau chief used Kim XX's laptop to draft what appears to be a suicide note. As shown, it claims the main reason was enduring harassment from me, his senior.
But there's no feud between Kim XX and me—nor did he attempt suicide.
Had the suicide been real and this video nonexistent, everyone would've believed that note was his. I'd have been branded the one who drove him to death, saddled with eternal disgrace.
[Photos follow: Screenshots of phone text inbox clearly showing messages from the bureau chief's number.]
This post details how Kim Jeongu has been threatened by the bureau chief to halt his reporting—targeting Wooshin Group and Minwoo Party leader Lee Jeongchan.
Esteemed colleagues of Iljungilbo,
As Korea's premier newspaper, Iljungilbo has stood at the forefront since the colonial era, uncovering truths and rooting out corruption. We journalists have a duty to report the facts.
Yet our own editing bureau chief obstructs reporting and inflicts unfair harm on junior staff to do so. Is this acceptable?
I strongly condemn the bureau chief's actions and demand Iljungilbo fully investigate the truth.
Fellow journalists of Iljung, I earnestly ask for your support.
November 3, 2009
Social Affairs, Choi Jonghyeon
(Compensation demanded)
The reporters, having read to the end, turned their gazes as one toward the deepest corner of the office. There sat the editing bureau chief's room, blinds drawn all the way to the floor.