Oh Changhoon was lying in bed together with Ha Eunbin.
“Mr. Mayor.”
At Ha Eunbin’s call, Oh Changhoon turned his head to look at her.
“President Lee Jongseong says he absolutely wants to et you.”
“Lee Jongseong?”
“Yes. He says there’s sothing he absolutely has to tell you.”
“How do you know that?”
“I t him yesterday.”
At the ntion that she had t Lee Jongseong yesterday, a smile appeared on the corners of Oh Changhoon’s lips.
“Really? This must be about the Guryong Village issue.”
“Yes. He said he’d take care of it himself and asked for a little more ti, but I told him it’d be difficult. Still, he keeps begging to arrange a eting with you.”
“No. The party has already started tearing apart the Guryong Village issue. Too many people are tangled up in this for to move carelessly.”
“Aww, just this once. Please?”
Ha Eunbin burrowed into Oh Changhoon’s arms and acted cute.
“Just et him once.”
The more Ha Eunbin pressed him, the more fury boiled inside Oh Changhoon.
But like the seasoned politician he was, he didn’t show it on his face.
“I’ll think about it. So stop talking about it.”
There was an old saying about pillow talk.
It referred to a wife whispering her wishes to her husband in bed.
Up until now, there had never been a single ti Oh Changhoon had refused one of Ha Eunbin’s requests.
Especially at tis like this.
Ha Eunbin smiled sweetly and buried her face against his chest.
“Think carefully about it. It’ll be a huge help for us too.”
Sa bed, different dreams.
Oh Changhoon and Ha Eunbin lay in the sa bed while thinking completely different thoughts.
* * *
After eting Oh Changhoon, I imdiately revised the plan.
“First, find any financial transactions or bribes exchanged between Ha Eunbin and Lee Jongseong. Start digging from there.”
“We’ll begin investigating imdiately.”
“And tail Lee Jongseong and Ha Eunbin. Monitor every single thing they do.”
I decided to use Ha Eunbin as bait to catch Lee Jongseong.
For now, Oh Changhoon still hadn’t completely abandoned his trust in Ha Eunbin.
But the small stone I had thrown would undoubtedly return as massive ripples.
Suspicion, once it takes root, never disappears.
Instead, it only grows bigger from the smallest words and actions.
Eventually, Oh Changhoon would throw Ha Eunbin away.
No— even if he never intended to, I would make sure it happened.
“This operation is going to be pretty large-scale. Manager Ma, you’ll take responsibility for it.”
“Yes. I’ll handle it.”
At that mont, news about the replacent of the Senior Presidential Secretary for Political Affairs and the Senior Presidential Secretary for Civil Affairs appeared on TV.
I asked Manager Ma, who was standing beside ,
“Hm? Did you know about this?”
“I never received any report related to it.”
“Find out who’s replacing them.”
The Senior Presidential Secretary for Civil Affairs was one of the core positions within Blue House power.
The office had authority to inspect and oversee investigative agencies, making it an extrely important post.
And now they were replacing that position?
Had discussions with the party already concluded?
I imdiately picked up my phone and called Myungsoo.
“Myungsoo. Did you know about this?”
— No. I just got inford myself.
“Really? Why all of a sudden? Is there a reason the President would replace the Senior Civil Affairs Secretary?”
The ruling Centrist Party had achieved an overwhelming victory in the local elections.
There was no need to reshuffle the cabinet just to refresh public sentint.
Which ant there was another reason.
Why hadn’t they inford beforehand?
— For now, all the leadership figures are gathering for a eting. I’ll call you once there’s a result.
“Alright. Let’s talk later.”
After ending the call with Myungsoo, I imdiately spoke to Manager Ma.
“Contact the Blue House and tell them I want to arrange a eting with the President.”
“Understood, Boss.”
Was he finally planning to push through the prosecution reform he had postponed?
Ever since Yoon Changho beca President, Oh Jeongseok’s people had continuously occupied the Senior Civil Affairs Secretary position.
There had been two replacents, but both successors were still Oh Jeongseok’s people, and because of that, the legal cartel had only grown stronger.
“...Is he trying to shake that up?”
I figured I wouldn’t know until I t the President personally.
* * *
I visited the Blue House unofficially.
“Co in. I’ve been waiting for you.”
“Where is the First Lady?”
“She had sothing to take care of back ho, so she’s staying in her hotown for a few days.”
“You must feel lonely.”
“Haha, I don’t even have the luxury of feeling lonely. Co in first.”
The mont I sat across from the President, he spoke first.
“You ca because of the Senior Civil Affairs Secretary replacent, didn’t you?”
“Yes. I heard it was a sudden replacent made without even consulting the party.”
Yoon Changho nodded and called out to .
“President Kim.”
“Yes, Mr. President.”
“My term has less than two years left now. By next year, all political power will shift toward the presidential candidates.”
Once the presidential race began, nobody paid attention to a la-duck Blue House anymore.
Investigative agencies, including the prosecution, would start watching for chances to align themselves with the next administration, while central governnt officials would slowly stop listening to the Blue House.
“For my final years, I want to carry out the reforms I truly want.”
“The reforms you truly want? Are you talking about prosecution reform?”
“Well. Even so, I’m still a forr Prosecutor General. I don’t particularly want to weaken the prosecution that much.”
“Then what exactly...?”
Prosecution reform was already progressing slowly.
The power concentrated within the Supre Prosecutors’ Office Central Investigation Departnt had been redistributed toward the Seoul Central District Prosecutors’ Office, creating a system where both sides could keep each other in check.
“I want to reform the pension system.”
I narrowed my eyes.
The sudden ntion of pension reform made it impossible to grasp Yoon Changho’s true intentions.
“You’re bringing this up out of nowhere?”
“I originally had no thoughts about it either. But after sitting in this position, I’ve seen and heard many things.”
As the leader of a nation, the President’s perspective was different.
Still, that alone didn’t fully explain it.
“This is the kind of reform that has to be carried out while approval ratings are high and the term is nearing its end.”
“If you want pension reform, why replace the Senior Civil Affairs Secretary?”
“Because I need a blade I can wield freely. In just a few months, we’ll enter the presidential election phase. If I don’t hold the blade then, my hands and feet will be tied.”
“Doesn’t the current Senior Civil Affairs Secretary already follow your orders well enough?”
Yoon Changho let out a low murmur.
“To be precise, he values the interests of the legal world more than mine.”
“So you’re saying you intend to break your alliance with them? Even for a President, it won’t be easy to push things forward without their support. I still don’t understand why you’re forcing such a risky move.”
Yoon Changho’s lips twitched slightly before he lifted the teacup in front of him.
After taking a sip, he spoke.
“What if I said it’s all for the future? Would you believe ?”
“No.”
I answered imdiately.
Yoon Changho wasn’t so saint.
He wasn’t the type of person who would do sothing like this purely for the future.
“Hahaha! That’s exactly why I like you, President Kim. It’s for the friend who’ll take the next administration. I don’t want that person to be manipulated the way I was.”
“By whom?”
“By anyone.”
By anyone, huh.
For so reason, it felt like that arrow was aid at too, and I couldn’t help but chuckle.
“Are you trying to keep in check?”
“What reason would I have to keep you in check? Even after I step down, my relationship with you won’t end. I just want to settle what needs settling before I leave. If my approval ratings were low, I wouldn’t even be thinking like this.”
Yoon Changho’s resolve was firm.
Even after talking with him, I still couldn’t fully understand his thinking.
But if there was sothing he wanted to do, I wanted to let him have this final chance.
“Is there anything I can help with?”
“You’re not going to ask any more questions?”
“As long as it doesn’t affect negatively, go ahead and do whatever you want for your final act, Mr. President.”
“President Kim must be getting older too. Lee Seongbo thinking emotionally instead of rationally.”
Emotionally, huh.
Maybe that was true.
Shrugging my shoulders, I answered,
“More importantly, none of this will affect anyway.”
Yoon Changho smiled softly once more and nodded.
“Please block so of the backlash from the legal cartel. If I crush them with force, then all my energy will be spent suppressing resistance instead. And if that happens, I’ll lose the montum for reform. I don’t want that.”
“That’s all you need?”
“I’ll personally handle the political side myself.”
“Understood. Then I’ll et separately with the Chief Justice and talk things through.”
The smile lingering on Yoon Changho’s lips looked strangely detached.
“Thank you.”
“Unless sothing major happens, I probably won’t visit you again while you’re President. After you retire, let’s sit down comfortably and share a drink of makgeolli.”
“Sounds good! Then I’ll leave it in your hands.”
I left the Blue House after the short eting with Yoon Changho.
Imdiately afterward, I called Oh Hyunwoo and arranged to et him the next day.
* * *
“What’s going on?”
“You heard about the Senior Civil Affairs Secretary replacent, right?”
After finishing his conversation with , Yoon Changho announced that he would appoint his Judicial Research and Training Institute classmate, a forr lawyer, as the next Senior Civil Affairs Secretary.
“Ha. The atmosphere in the prosecution is awful.”
No surprise there.
From their perspective, the President had stabbed them squarely in the back.
“What about you?”
“? Whatever.”
“You’re going to be appointed deputy chief prosecutor of the Seoul Central District Prosecutors’ Office Special Investigations Division during the upcoming regular personnel reshuffle.”
“What?”
Apparently hearing it for the first ti, Oh Hyunwoo tilted his head.
“The President replacing the Senior Civil Affairs Secretary doesn’t an he wants to fight the prosecution. It’s a signal telling the prosecution to beco his blade.”
“Even so, appointing a human rights lawyer instead of a forr prosecutor as Senior Civil Affairs Secretary...”
“I know. But the President must have his own thoughts. So I need you to step in and direct traffic.”
“Ha... Why’s he doing this?”
I roughly explained what the President was trying to accomplish.
“Did he develop dentia or sothing? Why pension reform all of a sudden?”
“No idea. But if it’s the last thing he wants to do, we should let him do it. You know how these kinds of things trigger huge backlash. Even so, I want to help him.”
“Sigh. Alright, I get it now. Sounds like he’s really made up his mind. I can handle so traffic control, but I can’t suppress every little backlash too. You know that, right?”
I nodded.
Even with Oh Hyunwoo stepping in, it wouldn’t be easy.
But since he was Oh Jeongseok’s successor, most objections could probably be suppressed if they ca from him.
“So that’s why I was getting assigned to Special Investigations.”
“That’s because I need you there.”
“What? What are you planning this ti?”
“I’ll tell you later. It’s going to be huge. A major gate involving not only politics and business, but also the legal world.”
I couldn’t reveal everything yet.
But perhaps because he’d been with for so long, Oh Hyunwoo had beco much sharper.
“Wow. This sounds way bigger than the Senior Civil Affairs Secretary replacent.”
“Probably. Chairman Byeon Heebong is involved.”
“Byeon Heebong? Who’s that?”
“He never approached you?”
Apparently hearing the na for the first ti, Oh Hyunwoo shook his head.
“That’s strange. If I were him, I would’ve approached you first.”
“Hey, what’re you talking about? I’m not so easy man.”
I snorted softly at Oh Hyunwoo’s joke.
“Anyway, there’s soone nad Chairman Byeon Heebong. He’s the chairman of a construction company based in Busan...”
I roughly explained who Byeon Heebong was.
After hearing the explanation, Oh Hyunwoo’s expression turned grim.
“There’s really soone like that?”
“There are probably quite a few people inside the prosecution who’ve taken his money too. He’s soone who’s very good at keeping mouths shut.”
“Alright. Once you’ve got a rough roadmap, share it with . I’ll prepare in advance too.”
“Sure. But first, clean up this Senior Civil Affairs Secretary replacent issue. Or should I move personally?”
Shrugging, Oh Hyunwoo shook his head.
“No, I’ll handle it for now. I’ll let you know if I need your help.”
“Thanks.”
“No need for thanks. We help each other. Besides, if the President says there’s one last thing he wants to do, we should let him do it.”
A few days passed after eting Oh Hyunwoo.
In the end, both the Senior Civil Affairs Secretary and Senior Political Affairs Secretary were replaced, along with several other key positions.
anwhile, I received reports about Ha Eunbin’s movents.
“Who’s this man?”
“He’s Ha Eunbin’s lover.”
“What? She’s seeing another man separately?”
“Yes. They et about once a week. Apparently they t at a host bar.”
Now this was a guaranteed card that would make Oh Changhoon throw Ha Eunbin away.
“Arrange a eting with Mayor Oh Changhoon. What’s Lee Jongseong doing right now?”
“He’s eting with the Federation of Urban Poor Tenants.”
“Looks like he’s trying to get the Federation to withdraw from Guryong Village first.”
This move was way too obvious.
“Contact Hong Jinpyo and tell him to hold out no matter what.”
“Yes. I’ll pass the ssage along.”
It was finally ti to catch Lee Jongseong.
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