Chapter 342: It’s Time to Face Reality

I turned off my computer and stretched, checking the wall clock.

“Hmm…”

Lowering my arm, I rang the bell next to me. Manager Ma opened the door and stepped in.

“Manager, what has Ji-young been up to lately?”

“I heard she’s currently filming a movie.”

“She seems to be busy. I should visit her after such a long time. Can you check her location?”

“Understood.”

Before long, Manager Ma returned with Ji-young’s schedule in hand.

“She’s filming in Pocheon, Gyeonggi Province.”

I glanced at the clock again and nodded.

“I can’t just go empty-handed after a long absence.”

“It’s not right to just drop by. Please call Myeong-dong Hotel and arrange for a catering service to arrive by dinner. Six o’clock should be good. And let Ji-young’s manager know, but don’t tell Ji-young about it.”

“Yes, I’ll take care of it.”

While I was talking to Manager Ma, there was a knock at the door. No one else should be coming in at this hour.

I looked at the door curiously, and just then, it opened to reveal Myeong-su waving as he walked in.

“Mu-hyeok!!”

I stood up, surprised, and asked, “What are you doing here at this time?”

“I had some errands nearby and thought I’d stop by for lunch. Do you have any plans?”

“No, I don’t. If I did, I’d cancel it.”

“That’s the spirit. Let’s grab a quick bite. I don’t have much time. How about ordering from a Chinese place?”

Myeong-su smiled and casually flopped onto the sofa, so I sat across from him.

“Sweet and sour pork? Jjamppong?”

“Jjamppong. I need something hearty. I’ve been drinking every day lately, especially with the election coming up.”

“Yeah, it sounds rough. Manager, let’s get two bowls of jjamppong and an order of sweet and sour pork. You can order for the staff, right?”

“Yes, understood.”

As Manager Ma left, Myeong-su rummaged through his pocket and pulled out a cigarette.

“Mind if I smoke?”

“You said you quit smoking. Are you back at it again?”

“I need at least this to get by, or I’d probably lose it from the stress.”

I got up and opened the window, then filled a cup with water to place beside Myeong-su before sitting down again.

“I don’t smoke, so I don’t have an ashtray. Just flick the ashes there.”

“Thanks.”

Myeong-su lit the cigarette and took a deep drag, the fatigue evident on his face as the smoke curled around him.

“Feeling overwhelmed?”

“Yeah, this job brings a lot of stress. Honestly, it feels tougher than being a prosecutor.”

“I’m sorry to hear that.”

“Don’t be. There’s plenty to be sorry about. You asked me to take this on, but ultimately, I made the choice. I’m a politician now.”

He took another drag, inhaling deeply until his cheeks hollowed out, then exhaled a thick cloud of smoke as he spoke.

“Since you mentioned that, I’ve noticed the party elders have been holding meetings frequently. Chairman Yoon seems to be watching quietly without a word.”

“Really?”

“Yeah. The gatherings among senior members have definitely increased. I even heard some first-term lawmakers are getting involved. Those kinds of people are the real problem, not knowing Chairman Yoon’s intentions.”

Myeong-su, looking frustrated, smoked several cigarettes in a row.

I frowned at the sight; it seemed his anxiety was weighing heavily on him.

“They claim they want to create new politics by forming a moderate party, but their actions are the same old political games. It’s maddening.”

Disillusionment was evident on Myeong-su’s face.

I had no interest in the so-called new politics.

I simply wished for a leader I could support, someone who could do what I wanted, which is why I aligned with Yoon Chang-ho.

Myeong-su might aspire to new politics, but it was time for him to face reality.

“Myeong-su, reality is harsh. Ultimately, to seize power, they fight, bite, and trample on others to survive. You need to come to terms with it now.”

Myeong-su didn’t respond, extinguishing the cigarette and slowly nodding.

“To alert Chairman Yoon, I should take action against one of his close aides. Have you had any trouble with any lawmakers lately?”

“None of Yoon’s closest aides are openly hostile toward me. We’re still communicating, so it’s all good.”

“Oh really? Then which senior lawmaker would you like to see disappear?”

I asked casually, but shock crossed Myeong-su’s face.

“Hey, what are you plotting? You’re not serious, are you?”

“What do you mean not serious?”

“Are you asking this to kill someone?”

I couldn’t help but burst into laughter. What on earth did he think of me to ask such a question? It’s absurd.

“Do I look like a maniac to you?”

“Weren’t you? Or rather, I’d prefer if you weren’t.”

“Killing a politician in Korea? That’s practically impossible. But I can make someone’s career die politically by using the prosecution, you know.”

Myeong-su sighed in relief but soon paused to think before speaking up.

“Hmm…then we could target Jung Chan-sung. He’s the one I clalash with the most. He is an old schoolmate and a senior prosecutor, so it drives me insane sometimes.”

“Jung Chan-sung?”?”

“Yeah. He’s a three-term lawmaker known for being an aggressive speaker. He has no filter, not even with Chairman Yoon, a senior prosecutor.”

I tried to recall Jung Chan-sung but struggled to plplace him in my memory. Perhaps he wasn’t significant enough to remember.

“Alright then. We’ll aim for him.”

“You think the prosecution will act on it? The Progressive Party and Conservative Party are gearing up for primaries soon; it won’t be easy to maneuver in this atmosphere. Any political investigation would cause a commotion in the media, right?”

“Leave that to me.”

Just then, Manager Ma entered with the food, and I gave a light nod at him as he placed the jjamppong and sweet and sour pork on the newspaper-lined table.

“It’s almost time to eat, right? I’ll cover the bill today, so take the staff out for a meal.”

“Yes, understood.”

“Oh, and be sure to gather all the information about Jung Chan-sung for me as well.”.”

With his head lowered, Manager Ma exited, and I began to eat with Myeong-su.

I separated the wooden chopsticks and rubbed them together, peeling the film off the jjamppong before speaking.

This moment reminded me of my university days as we set the delivery food on the table.

Myeong-su seemed to feel the same, breaking the silence first.

“It’s been a while since it was just the two of us eating takeout like this.”

“For sure, it’s really been a while.”

“This reminds me of the good old days.”

“You mean during college? Remember the time you got slapped for snatching the sweet and sour pork?”

As I mentioned this embarrassing story, Myeong-su shot me an eye-roll and then started to eat his jjamppong. I followed suit and took my own bite.

“This is better than I expected. What do you think?”

Myeong-su nodded and grabbed a piece of sweet and sour pork to nibble on.

“Not bad at all. I think I’m finally starting to feel full.”

“That’s good. Enjoy your meal.”

We finished our meal chatting about trivial things. Myeong-su left half his noodles, but polished off the broth.

“You sure that’s enough?”

“It’s plenty. I have dinner and drinks planned later, anyway. You see my belly? It’s all beer belly.”

He lifted up his dress shirt to show off his belly humorously as I burst out laughing.

“Make sure to get some exercise.”

“I will, once the elections are over. If I keep this up, I might end up needing medical attention. Did you want to go for a cigarette?”

I nodded, putting my chopsticks down.

“Yeah.”

“Mind if I grab a cup of coffee?”

“Sure. Let’s make some instant coffee. It’s been a while since I had a cup made by you, Mu-hyeok.”

As Myeong-su lit his cigarette, I stood up and headed to the water cooler.

I poured hot water into a paper cup with coffee and couldn’t help but chuckle as I did so.

Being around Myeong-su always reminded me of my student days, even though I hadn’t been particularly diligent back then.

“Thanks. This coffee is a rare treat these days.”

“Right? I used to drink this every day to cure my hangover.”

Even while drinking coffee, Myeong-su continued to smoke one cigarette after another.

He downed his slightly cooled coffee in one gulp, set the cup down, and stood up.

“I’m full and satisfied. I’ll be heading out now. This has cleared my head a bit.”

“If you’re ever struggling, come back. We’re friends, right?”

“What are you saying? Anyway, see you next time. And about that person we talked about, I’ll make arrangements soon.”

“Okay, got it.”

After exchanging farewells, Myeong-su waved and left without a second thought.

Soon after, Manager Ma and his subordinates came in to clear the table.

“It seems Myeong-su is having a tough time. Did I push my friend too hard?”

Manager Ma looked up at me, concern in his eyes.

The expression made me instinctively defend myself as I added, “The political world is brutal. It’s impressive he’s holding up as well as he is, considering his background.”

“Is that so? I think the Secretary General is doing an amazing job, considering he’s under the support of the Boss. Even a young first-term lawmaker managing his role successfully is quite the feat. You probably don’t have to worry too much about him.”

“Really?”

I was unexpectedly pleased to hear Manager Ma praise Myeong-su. A smile crept onto my face.

“Yes. Those are things a friend can share. Complaining about how hard it is, how overwhelmed he feels—all that stuff. That’s how I see it.”

As expected of Manager Ma. Even his simple comments brought me comfort.

I finally nodded, my expression relaxed.

“Let’s clean this up and look over the materials about Jung Chan-sung. We still have a cocouple of hours before we need to head to Ji-young’s location.”

“Understood.”

In the meantime, Manager Ma and his colleagues worked together to clear the table.

I powered on my computer and typed Jung Chan-sung’s name into the porortal search and hit enter.

A surprisingly large number of articles popped up. He was a typical politician who had once been a prosecutor.

He’d served three terms in Pohang and had switched from the Conservative Party to the Moderate Party. He didn’t seem significant enough to be called a senior politician.

As I combed through the internet for information on Jung Chan-sung, Manager Ma entereded holding a document.

I looked up and accepted the document from Manager Ma.

“What kind of person is he?”

“He’s a typical prosecutor turned politician.”

“Has he ever taken money from our side?”

“I passed on a few times.”

Nodding, I unfolded the document. A laugh escaped me as I read it.

They mentioned he was aggressive, but it turns out he accepted money quite openly.

“Was it because he comes from a poor background that his money dealings are so complicated? He’s taking money from chaebols while solving public complaints.”

“How many lawmakers in the National Assembly can claim they haven’t taken funds from large companies? Even now, things have improved, but in the past, it was all political and electoral funding.”

“Hmm, this isn’t enough…”

It wasn’t sufficient to bring him down, considering the leniency of the bribery laws in Korea.

“Is he on any lists claiming to have taken sexual favors or drugs?”

“That kind of information can’t be confirmed from here.”

“Phew… In that case, I’ll need to go to Pyeongchang-dong tonight to gather that information. Contact the intelligence team to investigate the interest rates too.”

I closed the document. There was no point in acting hastily since his status as a lawmaker made it easy for him to evade consequences.

If I was going to warn Yoon Chang-ho, I needed to avoid making ineffective moves.

I stood and grabbed my coat.

“Shall we head out? Let’s take Manager Ma with us to keep things quiet.”

I stepped out of the Myeong-dong office alongside Manager Ma.

By the time I arrived at the filming location of the movie Ji-young was in, the sun was setting.

They seemed to be filming on a constructed set, which looked quite grand.

“This is quite impressive in scale.”

The restaurant area was bustling, indicating that the catering was already here from Myeong-dong Hotel.

I slowly walked around, looking for Ji-young’s manager.

“Boss, you’ve arrived!”

Ji-young’s manager ran over to me and bowed his head.

Though a few eyes turned towards us, I ignored them and looked around.

“Where’s Ji-young?”

“She should be out shortly.”

“You didn’t tell her I was coming, right?”

“No, I kept it a secret as you instructed.”

Just then, I spotted Ji-young stepping out of the set, scanning the noisy surroundings while she looked my way.

I waved as I watched her approach.

“Oh? Oppa!”

Ji-young quickly ran over. I had told her to be careful, but it seemed she wasn’t paying attention to anyone as she slipped her arm into mine, chattering away.

“Why didn’t you tell me you were coming? When did you arrive? Oh, was this sent by you?”