The Congressman Bows Low

It might not have been much money to Goo Young-jin, but it would be to Cha Jae-rim.

For someone who lived in a rooftop room, the money that President Kim was offering was more than enough to make his mouth water.

‘So, what are you going to do?’

Goo Young-jin waited for Cha Jae-rim’s decision.

Cha Jae-rim smiled and gently pushed President Kim’s hand away with her own.

“I won’t accept it. Really, it’s okay.”

“Haha, well… They say that if the water is too clear, the fish won’t live in it. You have a lot to learn about the world, Mr. Jae-rim.”

“I’ll learn from you gradually, President Kim. Well then, I’ll be going.”

Cha Jae-rim bowed politely and turned away from President Kim.

Goo Young-jin clapped his hands with a satisfied expression.

[You have what it takes to be a politician.]

“Isn’t it those who accept bribes who have what it takes?”

[Nope. Even when it comes to bribes, you have to only accept the safe ones. Those who just accept bribes without thinking are never cut out to be politicians. In that regard, you have what it takes.]

“I didn’t refuse because it wasn’t safe. I wouldn’t accept it even if it was safe.”

[Everyone says that.]

Cha Jae-rim simply glared at him and didn’t respond.

After getting home, Cha Jae-rim took a refreshing shower.

After vigorously drying his half-damp hair with a towel, he draped the towel around his neck and collapsed on the floor.

It would be nice if he could just fall asleep like this.

Goo Young-jin noisily interrupted his thoughts.

[Watch the news before you sleep.]

“What’s the point? All they ever talk about is companies going bankrupt.”

[The news is essential for politicians. Turn it on quickly.]

“I don’t want to. If you ask me to do one more thing, I’m going to punch you.”

[Oh, is that how you’re going to be? You summon me whenever you need me, and then as soon as I become a bit of a nuisance, you try to get rid of me?]

Cha Jae-rim felt a pang of guilt at Goo Young-jin’s words.

Since what he was saying wasn’t wrong, Cha Jae-rim reluctantly picked up the remote and turned on the TV.

It was almost 9 o’clock.

The public broadcaster KBS operated two channels, Channel 1 and Channel 2.

9 o’clock was the time for the news.

All the other terrestrial channels broadcast the news at that time.

However, because there were two channels, the public broadcaster broadcast the news on Channel 1 while airing other programs on Channel 2.

The TV was tuned to Channel 2.

– Experiencing! The scene of Life –

With an indifferent expression, Cha Jae-rim took a can of beer out of the fridge and drank it.

Seeing that, Goo Young-jin added another comment.

[A towel around your waist, saggy boxers, a stretched-out T-shirt, and beer – that’s the quintessential unemployed look.]

“The important thing is that I’m not unemployed. I turned on the TV like you asked, so focus on the TV. Don’t pry into my life like that.”

[How touchy.]

Goo Young-jin turned his attention to the TV as Cha Jae-rim had requested.

A familiar voiceover began.

– 4 o’clock in the morning. When everyone else is asleep. Gilum-dong, Seongbuk-gu, Seoul.

[Oh, that’s around here.]

Gilum-dong was right next to Anam-dong, where Cha Jae-rim lived.

– There are those who light up these dark streets in the early hours. Who are they? The sanitation workers. Ah, but who is that?

The camera zoomed in on one of the sanitation workers among the group.

– Isn’t that Mayor Goh Jin of Seoul? Having just marked 100 days in office, the mayor of Seoul is experiencing the life of a sanitation worker for a day!

At that, Goo Young-jin’s eyes grew slightly wider.

[Oh, it’s Jin Goh. Long time no see. We used to eat together quite a lot.]

Mayor Goh Jin and Goo Young-jin were in the same party.

They didn’t have all that much to do with each other, but they saw each other often enough.

Goh Jin had become the so-called “Vice President” of Seoul, the mayor of the city, and Goo Young-jin was on his way to becoming a powerful figure within the party.

Their positions being what they were, they often met and developed a friendship.

Of course, it all meant nothing now.

Goo Young-jin smiled bitterly.

Goh Jin was simply diligently sweeping the streets at dawn alongside the sanitation workers.

Then, there was a scene where they all gathered in a circle and shared a simple breakfast of side dishes.

Goh Jin spoke to the sanitation workers.

He was talking to the sanitation workers, but he was really speaking to the people of Seoul.

– As the second popularly elected mayor of Seoul, I promise to work hard. Just as you clean these streets every single morning, I will diligently clean up all the wrongdoing that exists in every corner of Seoul.

These were the kinds of words that politicians always said, but they sounded different to Goo Young-jin’s ears.

‘So, what that jerk Manager Park said was true after all.’

100 days after taking office, the newly empowered Mayor of Seoul. And his schedule.

‘I will diligently clean up all the wrongdoing that exists in every corner of Seoul.’

Goo Young-jin gritted his teeth.

He watched the TV silently and thought,

‘Thank you, Goh Jin. As a former comrade, you’ve given me confidence.’

Power is like a sweet potato in winter.

It’s hottest when you first hold it in your hands.

Then it gradually cools down, and by the end of your term, it’s as cold as ice.

That’s why those in power are at their most decisive and strict when they first take office.

Goh Jin had now been in office for 100 days.

He could do whatever he wanted without anyone getting in his way.

At least within the Seoul metropolitan area.

The first thing that those who have just come to power do is carry out a large-scale purge and establish discipline.

They need to clean out the remnants of their predecessor’s influence in order for their own power to be fully felt throughout the organization.

And they need to fill those empty positions with their own people.

Only by establishing discipline and order in this way can they prevent their power from slowly fading away.

Those words that he spoke to the sanitation workers weren’t just something nice to say.

They were a chilling declaration.

Of course, nothing much applied to those at the bottom.

If they just kept their heads down, nothing would change for them.

However, there are always those who get caught up in the crossfire even though they did nothing wrong.

Those with something to hide inevitably become anxious.

‘People like Kang and Park.’

His thoughts were a complex tangle.

The person in question, Cha Jae-rim, seemed to be completely oblivious.

‘Well, I suppose it would be hard for him to think about all this just by looking at Mayor Goh’s face.’

Goo Young-jin had decided not to share this information with Cha Jae-rim after all.

The next day.

As soon as Cha Jae-rim got to work, he was summoned by Manager Kang.

Manager Kang said with a deeply displeased expression,

“Hey, I heard you were being difficult with President Kim yesterday.”

“Is that what President Kim said?”

“He set everything up for you, so why can’t you just play along? Accept the money he’s offering you and hang out with the woman he arranges for you. That’s how you build a relationship.”

“He was trying to do too much too soon for our first meeting. I didn’t accept it, but he was still very kind to me.”

“Don’t do that again next time. Anyway, draft a supply contract with Wonjin Office Supplies and submit it to me. I’ll be on vacation for two days starting tomorrow, so come back and get it approved.”

“Understood.”

After Manager Kang had left through the emergency exit, Cha Jae-rim remained standing still in his spot.

He spoke to Goo Young-jin next to him.

“Why is he like that?”

[Why is he like that, you ask?]

“I’m just a low-level civil servant, but even I can see that he’s strange, so why can’t you see it, even after serving six terms as a representative?”

Goo Young-jin chuckled.

[Will you do as I say?]

“Yes, unless you’re leading me to my death.”

[Good. For now, don’t submit the supply contract.]

“Manager Kang will scold me as soon as he gets back from vacation.”

[Don’t worry about that.]

Goo Young-jin knew that Manager Kang had three days left.

One day had already passed, so only two remained.

He planned to dodge responsibility by taking a vacation during those two days.

Something might break loose tomorrow or the day after, but whether the contract had been submitted or not was irrelevant.

From the point of view of Manager Kang and Manager Park, who were trying to frame Cha Jae-rim, it was better if the supply contract was submitted.

But time was not on their side.

Even if Cha Jae-rim dug in his heels and refused to submit the contract, they would still have to shout “go.”

Cha Jae-rim nodded in agreement with his advice.

“Alright, I won’t submit the contract. So, what next?”

[I think you’ll have to work overtime today.]

“Overtime?”

Goo Young-jin nodded.

[There’s something I need you to do in secret. I’ll tell you about it when night comes. Until then, will you let me sleep?]

“Sure.”

Cha Jae-rim gently flicked his fingers to put Goo Young-jin to sleep and returned to his desk.

And by the time Goo Young-jin opened his eyes again, the finance department office was deserted.

The last remaining employee looked at Cha Jae-rim.

“Mr. Jae-rim, aren’t you leaving?”

“I have some work to finish. I’ll leave as soon as I’m done.”

“Okay, then.”

The employee didn’t pay Cha Jae-rim much attention and left.

At 8 pm, the finance department office was empty save for one human and one ghost.

Cha Jae-rim looked at Goo Young-jin and said,

“Now it’s just the two of us.”

[This is the life. There isn’t a single CCTV in this huge office.]

“What should I do?”

[Let’s go to the archive.]

“The archive? Okay.”

Cha Jae-rim went into the archive.

1998 was a transitional period as analog was giving way to digital.

The archive was filled with piles of paper documents.

In the archive, which was jam-packed with rows and rows of bookshelves and towering piles of boxes, Goo Young-jin said,

[The company that Kang had his snout in, was that Taeyoungsa?]

“Yes.”

[It’ll be hard to go through all these documents, so let’s start with the disbursement decisions and supply estimates related to Taeyoungsa.]

“Why do you need these now?”

[It’s a long story, but I don’t think you have the time to listen to it right now. Just do as I say.]

“You’ll have to explain it to me when we get back to my place.”

Finance department, contracts division… supply estimates, disbursement decisions, Taeyoungsa, Taeyoungsa, Taeyoungsa.

Cha Jae-rim searched for the documents like a shaman casting a spell.

Goo Young-jin wasn’t idle either.

He didn’t have the physical ability to extract the documents, but he had an eye for them.

He rummaged through the archive, pointing out the documents he wanted with ease.

[This one, this one, this one, this one.]

Cha Jae-rim struggled to keep up with Goo Young-jin, pulling out the documents that he pointed to.

Cha Jae-rim looked at Goo Young-jin.

“You’re very skilled.”

[If you don’t make good use of your experience as a six-term National Assembly member, it would be a waste.]

During his illustrious days as a six-term Assembly member, he had been known as the grim reaper of government audits.

He would relentlessly demand outrageous amounts of data from the organizations being audited.

It was not uncommon for him to request and receive data that exceeded 10,000 pages.

He would then stay up all night with his aides to quickly read through the data.

He would find the problems and then grill the organizations mercilessly during the government audit.

Those skills hadn’t gone anywhere.

Compared to the heyday of his Councilman days, the document storage room of the district office finance department was like a playground.

Cha Jae-rim had an armful of documents related to Taeyoungsa.

He had expected this to some extent, but he hadn’t realized that Taeyoungsa was so deeply involved.

Cha Jae-rim was speechless.

“The hell.”

[Corruption is like that. Once you commit it, it grows like a snowball.]

Goo Young-jin replied indifferently.

Taeyoungsa had a hand in everything from minor office supplies to various items stocked by the district office.

Even though it was a government office responsible for the well-being of 500,000 citizens, the amount of supplies being procured from Taeyoungsa was excessive.

There were also a significant number of duplicate documents.

Goo Young-jin clicked his tongue in annoyance.

[They’ve marked up the unit prices on everything, too.]

The blind budget poured into Taeyoungsa.

Not like a slowly flowing trickle, but like the flooding of the Yellow River, gushing into the sea.

Like the Yellow River, the money was murky and dirty.

[Manager Park must have gotten a nice chunk of money out of this too.]

Manager Kang’s contracts department, the nerve center of the finance department, and Manager Park’s expenditure department.

The two formed a dream team, feasting on the district office budget.

Although the district office conducted regular internal audits, they were probably superficial at best.

That was especially true in 1998, before the turn of the millennium.

Even if the district office had conducted a thorough audit and uncovered the corruption, it would have done nothing but skin its own knees.

They couldn’t have been doing this for just a year or two, and if the truth had come out, there would have been a torrent of criticism, both internally and externally, asking why they had allowed this to go on for so long.

Managers of divisions where the incidents occur were never promoted.

In the same way, the responsibility for failing to manage subordinates was surprisingly heavy and thankless.

So, the audits were probably perfunctory at best.

Goo Young-jin said to Cha Jae-rim,

[Copy all of these.]

“It’s going to take a long time to copy all of these.”

[We’ve got time.]

Cha Jae-rim piled the documents on his desk and turned on the copy machine.