The False Miracle Walks
At the same time, Jo Bongjun was left alone in the studio, broadcasting the footage captured by Choi Jonghyeon's camera of Lee Se-hyung striding out.
"Did Jesus drop by Korea for a visit? Oh right, Light and Salt is a Protestant foundation too. Man, how did He know to show up right at that moment and perform the miracle of making the lame walk?"
"Anyway, from the footage Jonghyeon hyung shot on-site, it looks like—at least right now—Lee Se-hyung can walk perfectly fine on both legs, unlike what everyone knows."
"Whether Lee Se-hyung was fine from the start and lied, or recovered at some point but kept faking it until now, this is straight-up a national fraud, right? This needs a proper investigation. Just from Lee Se-hyung alone, there's probably a truckload of people who donated to Light and Salt. And think about all the votes Minwoo Party picked up in the general election thanks to Lee Jeong-chan's improved image."
"Oh, Choi Jonghyeon reporter just called. The feed cut off after Lee Se-hyung's bodyguard chucked the camera, but seems like things have settled down now? Let's connect him."
"Hello?"
"Yeah, hello?"
"Viewers are going nuts right now? We just broke the all-time viewer record. Got ten thousand watching live. Say hi to the ten thousand, at least."
"Whoa, ten thousand? Awesome. Hi everyone, this is reporter Choi Jonghyeon."
"He doesn't know about that. He'd be embarrassed, so let's keep it secret."
"What don't I know?"
"Huh? Nothing~ Anyway. Can you tell us about the scene? What happened?"
"Everyone at the event evacuated without exception. Fire trucks came, but it doesn't look like there was actually a fire at the venue from how things went. Probably won't know the full details until tomorrow."
"So what's the situation?"
"No idea. Anyway, Lee Jeong-chan and Lee Se-hyung are nowhere to be seen. Probably bolted. The bodyguard covered Lee Se-hyung's face and took him somewhere? Walking just fine."
"Hahaha, this is wild. What's your take on capturing Lee Se-hyung walking out himself on camera?"
"Honestly skeptical at first, but seeing him walk out like that? Mind blown. Anyway, heading straight back to the studio now. ...Huh? Me? Oh, yeah. This is Choi Jonghyeon. Ah.... I'm just here covering the story, yeah...."
"Reporter Choi? What's going on?"
"Hold on. Cops are here, telling me to come with them? Think I'm being pegged as the arsonist? Fuck? Oh, not at you, officer—I'm on the phone right now, so...."
"Kekekeke, this is insane."
"Bongjun-ah, gotta hang up! Call you back!"
The call cut off with Choi Jonghyeon's frantic voice. After a brief silence, Jo Bongjun gestured at PD Kim Jeongu as if asking what happened, but Kim Jeongu had no idea. He just shrugged.
"Fuck, everyone. Is Jonghyeon hyung really getting dragged to the station?"
Jo Bongjun read the rapidly scrolling chat in silence, a sly smile creeping in as he thought of the crazy bastard he knew.
"Alright, alright, everyone. You're all wondering how we knew about this. First off, we did not start the fire at the venue. And like Pasong-song said, Jonghyeon hyung said it didn't seem like there was a fire."
As the chat heated up toward a fight, Jo Bongjun carefully opened his mouth to calm the crowd.
"We got a tip. Remember last time we gave out a number for tips? We got a call on it recently."
"Nogari-ya, why so angry? Cool off first—we've got proof of the tip, so shut up and listen. PD-nim, play that."
At Jo Bongjun's words, Kim Jeongu played the voice file open on his desktop.
> "Hello?"
> "Uh, is this Choi Jonghyeon or Jo Bongjun's contact?"
> "Yes. Who's this?"
> "Got a tip for you. Anonymously, please."
> "Go ahead."
> "This Wednesday, Light and Salt Disabled Welfare Foundation event. Lee Jeong-chan, Lee Se-hyung, bigwigs from politics and business, tons of rich folks."
> "Yeah."
> "Be at the back door on the first floor by 8:15 PM—you'll see Lee Se-hyung walk out on his own two legs."
> "Lee Se-hyung? Lee Jeong-chan of Minwoo Party's son, the one paralyzed from the waist down?"
> "Yes. Correct."
> "You said anonymous, but we need to verify you're legit. Who is this, exactly—"
> "Can't say. Don't believe me? Don't come. I'll tip a broadcaster instead. Hanging up—"
> "Wait, hold on. Not a prank, right? If this is a joke call—"
> "Not a joke. Believe or don't. Bye."
"The tipster used voice modulation from the start, so the audio's distorted. Jonghyeon hyung's probably at the station now—if needed, we'll hand this recording to the cops. Means it's not fabricated. If it was, we'd be the ones getting hauled in, arson or whatever."
"Anyway, we'll say again: we don't know the full details. Tipster wanted anonymity, so no speculating on their identity. But thanks to them choosing our broadcast, we caught Lee Se-hyung's miraculous walk. Grateful a huge scoop like this went to us instead of a network first."
"Liberty Justice Party statement? Where? Google it?"
At Jo Bongjun's words, Kim Jeongu switched the broadcast screen to the computer Jo Bongjun was watching. As soon as he hit the portal site, the top searches were all Lee Se-hyung and Lee Jeong-chan. Every main article featured a screenshot from Choi Jonghyeon's footage on Jo Bongjun's stream—Lee Se-hyung standing straight-faced like a fool.
"Oh, here it is."
First, we hope there are no casualties from the fire at today's Light and Salt Disabled Welfare Foundation event.
Today, footage aired on an internet broadcast showing Lee Se-hyung walking out under his own power from the fire scene.
Prior to the fire, Lee Se-hyung had been moving around the venue in an electric wheelchair.
How could Lee Se-hyung, supposedly paralyzed from the waist down, walk out on two legs from the fire? We cannot help but question this.
The public was deeply moved by Lee Se-hyung and his father Lee Jeong-chan's attitude of overcoming adversity—we cried and laughed together.
Was it all a play? Was Lee Se-hyung's disability a lie?
Minwoo Party leader Lee Jeong-chan, explain to the public immediately.
Liberty Justice Party Leader Lee Se-hwa
Not just Liberty Justice Party—other opposition parties issued statements demanding explanations one after another. It wouldn't be wrong to say every citizen of Korea was talking about Lee Jeong-chan.
And at the same time.
"Good work. Jeonghyeok, Junsang, Sanggil. And you too, Taesik."
Me, Taesik, and the MVPs of this op—Jeonghyeok, Junsang, and Sanggil—gathered in the office watching Jo Bongjun's broadcast. I'd played the innocent VIP guest, told the paramedics I was fine when they checked for injuries, and slipped out.
Oh, I did see Choi Jonghyeon getting into the cop car. But I couldn't step in—better to let him handle it.
If I'd gone as his lawyer, we'd look like accomplices. With Choi Jonghyeon and Jo Bongjun already blowing it up on air, Light and Salt couldn't not suspect anyone connected to them.
Plus, I was the guy who suddenly donated 500 million won and got a late invite—super suspicious.
"Jeonghyeok was in drama club, fooled even Lee Se-hyung and Lee Jeong-chan. As expected from our Jeonghyeok. Hahaha!"
Taesik, in high spirits, slapped Jeonghyeok's back hard. Jeonghyeok looked like it hurt like hell but forced a grin.
"Power outage hid my face, so it worked. Hahaha."
"Junsang timed it perfect too. Good job."
"No big deal, Lawyer-nim. Didn't do much."
Junsang scratched his cheek.
"What about me?"
Taesik poked his head in. He deserved credit too—got a burner phone, modulated his voice, and called us pretending to be the tipster. Just read the script I wrote, of course.
No need to mention him nearly botching it from excitement over acting.
"You did great too."
"Heh heh. Where's Kang Byeon?"
"Kang Byeon had a meeting, sent him off."
"Ah. Was gonna celebrate with drinks."
"Not yet. More bombs about to drop—we can't let our guard down till it's wrapped."
Now we wait on Lee Jeong-chan's move and plan our counter. He and Lee Se-hyung won't admit guilt easily. Expect some lame excuse. Can't wait to see what cheap lie they spin.