Chapter 221
As expected, Minwoo Party issued no statement whatsoever afterward. Lee Jung-chan must have anticipated reporters hounding him everywhere, because he canceled all his external schedules. The ones dying on the hill were the assembly members affiliated with Minwoo Party. Wherever they went, reporters stuck to them like glue, shoving microphones in their faces and asking only one thing: "What do you think about Lee Se-hyung?"
Among them, a memorable quote was born.
In any case, Minwoo Party's moves were unfolding exactly as predicted. Just as Sang-gil had overheard on the wiretap not long ago, they had decided to stay completely silent and offer no position at all.
From a purely moral standpoint, it would be right for them to apologize and beg forgiveness even now. But politically speaking, silence was the correct play. There were surely people who had bought their initial explanation, and weren't they the ones out there defending Lee Jung-chan and Lee Se-hyung like it was their personal crusade?
Besides, if Choi Jong-hyeon and Jo Bong-jun's bluff fell through? If Lee Jung-chan and Lee Se-hyung came clean and apologized for everything, only for Choi and Jo to say, "Nah, that never happened," they'd look like idiots in a heartbeat.
In truth, we knew they would stick to stony silence all the way. In a word, this was just setting the stage to drop fresh evidence.
Still, deep down, I had hoped. Hoped for a scenario where, without us lifting a finger, he would cleanly admit his wrongs and apologize.
"Sigh, what a mess. We've given them a few days' grace period, but neither Lee Jung-chan nor Minwoo Party has made a move."
Jo Bong-jun smacked his lips in apparent regret as he took a sip of bottled water.
"Hey, it's not like I'm dying to talk. We genuinely hoped Lee Jung-chan and Lee Se-hyung would apologize for the revealed truth and show real remorse. That would've been the happiest ending, right?"
"Exactly. The ones most deceived and hurt by this are Lee Jung-chan's supporters. If he and Minwoo Party truly cared about them, wouldn't they have admitted it ages ago?"
"Anyway, it's bittersweet. Sure, we started this broadcast to reveal the truth to you all, but we're voters in this country too. It pisses us off that the top presidential contender decided to deceive the public like this."
"Enough already, fuck it. Let's see the evidence. PD, roll it."
At Choi Jong-hyeon's words, Kim Jeongu nodded once and hit play on the audio player.
As the audio flowed, the chat exploded with question marks.
Jo Bong-jun paused the playback briefly to check the confused chat and added an explanation.
"This audio is a recording of a conversation between Lee Se-hyung and the driver of the handicap-accessible van he rides around in."
"Damn, so much chatter. Kids, have we ever used shady stuff? Just keep listening."
Lee Se-hyung being rude was surprising enough, but plenty of viewers wondered what this had to do with his faked disability. Most people watching this broadcast were either getting a thrill from the exposés or deeply into current events. Yet here they were, picking fights before even a few seconds had played—probably Minwoo Party bots managing the chat.
Whatever. The real meat came next.
At this point, Choi Jong-hyeon paused the audio again.
"This was recorded the week before the Light and Salt Foundation event. In short, it proves Lee Se-hyung planned to leave the country for surgery right after the event. Let's continue."
The recording ended there. Jo Bong-jun picked up.
"Lee Se-hyung's attitude is trash, but let's confirm the facts first. At the end, he says, 'Even I, with my fucked-up legs, would do better than you.' That means, at the time of this recording—the week before the event—he was still pretending to have lower-body paralysis to the public."
"If Minwoo Party's explanation was true, he should've already had surgery and been in rehab by then."
"But up front, he mentions leaving for surgery the Friday after the Wednesday event. So, their explanation is a lie."
"Great summary from Haptic. Spot on."
"We puzzled over this too. Here's my take: Him planning to 'go abroad for surgery' wasn't to actually get it—it was to pretend he did."
"Then fake a slow recovery, and boom—right around election time, 'Now I can walk straight!' Perfect narrative."
"In summary: Lee Se-hyung never had a disability but faked having one."
As Choi Jong-hyeon and Jo Bong-jun neatly wrapped it up, the chat went berserk, scrolling too fast to read individually.
Then, someone raised a question.
A couple started steering the topic, and quiet watchers chimed in. Was breaking the law okay for truth? They began tying down Choi and Jo.
Veteran viewers jumped in too.
Internet broadcasts have perks, but this was a clear downside. A few agitators in chat could snowball opinions into a brawl. BJ's were powerless then.
"PD, freeze chat."
No end in sight, so Choi Jong-hyeon iced the chat.
"We don't collect evidence illegally. We report legally and take tips. But we don't air illegally obtained tips. Meaning, this is legal. I'll explain how—stop fighting."
"Unfreezing chat now. Fighters get perma-banned."
The tip first came when we were prepping our second broadcast—the infrared camera footage.
Choi Jong-hyeon called me at the office.
—Cha Lawyer. Just got a tip.
"A tip?"
—Claims to be Lee Se-hyung's former driver. Says he has something on Lee Se-hyung's lies. Wants to meet.
Lee Se-hyung's driver? I recalled the convo Taesik's wiretap had caught.
"Set up a meeting ASAP."
If that contract term held, the driver was likely fired by now. That evening, he showed at the studio.
"Hello."
"Welcome! Have a seat here."
He greeted awkwardly with a smile; Choi Jong-hyeon and Jo Bong-jun met him at the door and sat him at the table. I hadn't seen his face, but the voice matched the bug perfectly.
"Eaten yet, sir? It's late."
"Yeah, ate before coming."
"Good. Coffee?"
"Instant's fine. Heh."
He was a kindly middle-aged man, face etched with fine wrinkles—old enough to be Lee Se-hyung's dad. And Lee Se-hyung had hurled banmal insults and curses at him.
Some family upbringing.
"Who's this...?"
He eyed me cautiously. Choi Jong-hyeon set down his coffee and answered.
"Our consulting lawyer. Just in case."
"Ah, got it. First time learning about internet broadcasts from the news—didn't know it was this legit."
"We were shocked you contacted us. We aired the first Lee Se-hyung vid, but elders don't usually find us easy."
"My daughter told me. Said stations and papers are all Team Lee Jung-chan—might backfire."
"Smart girl. Oh, the contract?"
"Yes."
He pulled a crumpled envelope from his jacket. Choi Jong-hyeon handed it to me for review. Decent pay, and yep—NDA clause.