The Congressman Bows Low

“Well, what I mean is, there are a lot of different places you could have gone. Why didn’t you go to the District Office where you work?”

“…If I had gone to the District Office, do you think it would have been resolved properly?”

“Well, you never know until you try.”

This guy really didn’t make any sense.

Cha Jae-rim sighed lightly and brushed his bangs back.

Goo Young-jin crossed his arms and chuckled.

[Well, thanks to these lazy bastards, I had an easy time in politics. But when I’m actually experiencing it firsthand, it’s a pain in the ass. Anyway, it doesn’t matter if the police don’t cooperate. There’s no need for you to get angry.]

Cha Jae-rim lowered his voice at Goo Young-jin’s words.

“Isn’t it the police’s duty to diligently investigate illegal activities?”

“That’s true. But don’t they also learn that the principle is to resolve issues internally if they arise? Don’t civil servants also receive some kind of new employee training?”

“So?”

“I understand why you can’t raise issues internally. It’s because you’re afraid.”

“…”

“But I’m curious. Since you’re the kind of person who would even consider suicide, why couldn’t you fight them internally instead of coming to the police? I’m just curious.”

By this point, even Cha Jae-rim couldn’t just respond indifferently.

“I’m afraid. Of course I’m afraid. What can I do to fight them when I’m in a situation where I could be labeled a whistleblower?”

“Is that so? If that’s the case.”

The policeman nodded dryly, with a smirk on his face.

Cha Jae-rim’s lips twisted slightly.

“What are you trying to say?”

“No… just to be honest, I doubt whether your superiors actually committed this embezzlement.”

Cha Jae-rim chuckled.

“You think I’m trying to frame my innocent superiors by committing the embezzlement myself?”

“Anything is possible, isn’t it? We need to keep that possibility open and investigate from all angles in order to get to the truth.”

“Go ahead. Investigate from all angles or whatever. Don’t waste your breath talking nonsense in front of the ‘whistleblower’.”

“What? Nonsense?”

The policeman frowned as the young punk talked back to him.

“Why? Do you expect me to behave like a submissive servant and just nod my head when I’m being insulted to my face?”

“You should know that the whistleblower’s tone and demeanor can have a significant impact on the credibility of the report.”

“So you’re saying that if the whistleblower is a good-for-nothing, then the report is automatically false?”

“Don’t twist my words. We’ll investigate, so you can go home for now. And don’t go running off to the mountains to hang yourself again.”

The policeman tried to send Cha Jae-rim away.

This was not something he wanted to deal with on a nice, sunny weekend, and he planned to pawn it off on his subordinates on Monday.

But his luck for the day was not that good.

Reporter Han Ho walked into the police station.

The policeman’s face crumpled slightly when he saw him.

“Captain Seong, what brings you here on a weekend? Dealing with a citizen’s complaint?”

“Well… what brings a reporter all the way out here?”

“I’m here to get the scoop.”

“This isn’t a rookie beat. Didn’t they assign you to the political desk?”

“Yes, but I’ve come across a fascinating little tidbit.”

“A fascinating tidbit, huh?”

“This fella over here.”

Reporter Han Ho rested his chin on Jae-rim’s shoulder.

Goo Young-jin chuckled.

[Now he’s acting all chummy, as if he’s met you a hundred times.]

Still, Han Ho made a reliable ally for the moment.

The police officer’s expression hardened.

This sly fox had already spilled the beans to the press.

Chuckling, Han Ho took out his phone and dialed a number.

As soon as the phone began to ring, he handed it to the captain.

The captain asked with a gesture who was calling.

Han Ho replied, still smiling.

“It’s the chief.”

“What!?”

The captain snatched the phone and held it to his ear. He stood up automatically.

“C-chief! This is Captain Seong! Yes, sir! No, sir! Oh… the mayor? Yes, sir! I’ll do just that. Please come in! Yes, sir!”

Captain Seong swallowed hard and gave the phone back to Reporter Han Ho.

He straightened his back as he sat down again.

Inspector Seong looked at Cha Jae-rim with the eyes of a ‘true’ police officer.

“Mr. Cha Jae-rim, let’s start over. So, from the time you were first assigned to the Seongbuk-gu Office last year…”

As Captain Seong diligently typed away, Han Ho stood close to Cha Jae-rim, his hand resting on his shoulder. Captain Seong listened to Jae-rim’s account, glancing at Han Ho every now and again.

By the time he had finished speaking.

Slam! Reporter Han Ho closed his notebook and turned to Captain Seong.

“Captain, I’m going to publish this in tomorrow’s morning edition. You did hear that from the chief, didn’t you?”

“…Yes.”

“If any other companies get wind of this before it’s released through the Far East, there’ll be trouble, big trouble.”

“I understand that much.”

“Yes, I’m sure you do. Please take care of the rest as you see fit, as per the chief’s instructions.”

Captain Seong nodded slightly, his eyes half-closed.

Captain Seong, whose sunny weekend had been ruined, immediately summoned his subordinates.

Several police officers had to rush to work despite the beautiful weekend.

Even so, they were relatively fortunate compared to Manager Kang and Park, for whom this sunny weekend would be their last.

*

The next morning.

The day for a new public servant begins with placing the delivered newspapers on their superior’s desk.

With Cha Jae-rim sidelined from his duties, the task fell to his immediate senior.

Cha Jae-rim, who had previously been responsible for this task, was now indefinitely on standby in a cramped room in the corner of the finance department.

Of course, Cha Jae-rim, who knew the storm that was about to hit, didn’t look particularly gloomy.

Goo Young-jin chuckled contentedly.

[You should probably head out now, right? It’ll be hard to find a spectacle like this anywhere else. Don’t want to miss it.]

“Don’t worry. We’ll hear all about it from here once it starts.”

[They’re dropping a bomb. Aren’t you scared?]

“Scared, yes. But also excited.”

Goo Young-jin giggled at Cha Jae-rim’s nonchalance.

The newspapers delivered to the district office included major dailies, economic newspapers, and local newspapers.

Naturally, the Far East Daily was among them.

Grumbling, the senior spread out the Far East Daily on top of the others and placed it on the finance department director’s desk.

And there, on the front page of the Far East Daily, was an article of considerable size.

Seongbuk District Office Official Reports ‘Multi-million Corruption’ with Death… Calls for Serious Scrutiny of Ethical Integrity in Public Sector

A 20-year-old civil servant, Mr. A, from Seongbuk District Office attempted suicide at Bukhansan… Dramatically Rescued by Fellow Hikers

District Office Official and Local Businesses Embezzle Millions in Taxpayer Money Through False Deliveries Over Years… Police Vow to Investigate ‘Serious Corruption’ Thoroughly

‘People dutifully fulfill their tax obligations while tightening their belts. Please do not forgive the thieves who stole our precious taxpayers money. I hope my death will not be in vain.’

The will of the official prepared for death was poignant. Mr. A (24), a civil servant currently employed at Seongbuk District Office, wrote a note exposing internal corruption and attempted suicide by hanging himself at khansan. Fortunately, he was rescued by passing hikers.

The Seongbuk Police Station has pledged a thorough investigation based on Mr. A’s revelations.

Seongbuk Police Chief Oh Jeongnam stated, “The police will risk their lives to investigate this corruption that risked his life,” and announced that he would apply to the court for an arrest warrant and a search and seizure warrant.

▶Continued on Page A11

The article that continued on page A11, the social affairs page, was written very emotionally considering the atmosphere at the time.

Since the incident itself was not particularly significant, all sorts of emotional appeals were used to stir the public’s emotions.

And several more articles with heavy titles were lined up on page A11.

‘Is Public Servant Corruption Acceptable?’

‘Tax Thieves’ Devouring the Depleted National Treasury… The Mayor Himself Must Intervene’

The finance department director, who had been scanning the paper with a sullen expression, felt his pupils dilate wildly.

“Wh-what is this!?”

The director exclaimed in a loud voice.

He sprang from his seat like a jack-in-the-box.

“Hey! What is this!?”

The finance department employees’ gazes shot towards him at the sound of his voice.

Manager Kang blinked innocently and asked the director,

“What’s going on?”

Before the director could answer, the head of the district office, who had also been reading the paper, rushed down to the finance department.

All the employees rose and bowed to the district head.

The district head didn’t even notice their greeting.

“Hey! What is this!?”

The district head repeated the finance director’s words back to him.

Before the finance director could answer again, the police stormed into the district office.

Captain Seong gave a curt nod to the district head and approached Manager Kang.

“Mr. Kang Oseok.”

“…Yes?”

Manager Kang, who knew he was guilty of some wrongdoing, instinctively sensed misfortune.

“You’ll have to come with us to the station.”

All eyes turned to Manager Kang.

His voice trembled slightly.

“Th-the station? Why me?”

“Haven’t you seen the newspaper yet?”

The district head’s gaze wavered at that.

If the district head’s gaze was a magnitude 3.0 earthquake, the finance director’s was a magnitude 5.0.

The finance director’s face turned ashen.

“Manager Kang, is that you… in this article?”

The district head interjected and spoke to Captain Seong.

“Excuse me. How can this be legal? You should investigate and then publish an article. How can you arrest someone after the article comes out!?”

“The Far East Daily must have known about this in advance to publish an article this quickly. How can we stop them from running their mouths?”

“No, even so…!”

Just as he was about to protest more vehemently, the district head’s phone rang.

It was a call from a follower of the mayor.

“Hello? Huh, Director Choi? What? Just a moment.”

The district head glanced at Manager Kang, then at Captain Seong, and stepped aside.

The follower conveyed the mayor’s message that he was watching this matter closely.

The district head nodded.

If it were one of his own trusted confidants, he might have tried to talk him out of it, but a mere section manager was no more than a fingernail or toenail to him.

If the nail becomes dirty, it was best to cut it off.

The district head sent his man to the finance director.

He whispered something in the finance director’s ear.

Meanwhile, Manager Kang fiercely resisted.

Even though he was just a fingernail or toenail to some, he was still precious to himself.

“Is this how someone in your position handles things? Do you have a warrant? Bring a warrant if you’re going to arrest me!”

The finance director shouted at Manager Kang’s back.

“Hey! What are you doing!?”

“Director! This is unjust!”

“If you’re innocent, shouldn’t you just go and clear your name?”

The person who was just as flustered as Manager Kang by this sudden turn of events was Expenditure division’s Manager Park.

Although only Manager Kang was being arrested at the moment, it was clear that if things continued like this, he too would be caught in the crossfire.

Manager Park rose from his seat and spoke to the finance director.

“Director, are you just going to stand there and watch while the police arrest Manager Kang without a warrant?”

“What?”

“We’re both civil servants, after all. For the police to arrest him without a warrant is like them trampling all over your authority.”