CTL 2

It was the morning of Monday, October 28th, of last year. A video was released showing Shinhyun Motors’ Vice President, Ko Yoonchul, demanding sexual favors from his executives. At the time, with the extensive reporting by the media outlet that had obtained the video, the Republic of Korea was truly turned upside down.

In truth, there is likely no one who is unaware that the ones called the “higher-ups” engage in all sorts of dirty dealings, such as demanding sexual favors. However, Shinhyun Motors had been the first among South Korea’s major corporations to declare they would self-monitor this by forming a “Special Internal Audit Team” to eradicate the wrongly rooted culture of business entertainment, and because of this, the repercussions were all the greater.

People did not hesitate to sneer, saying it was a case of tripping over one’s own feet after making a big show of things, and that it would have been better not to have said anything at all. Furthermore, due to Vice President Ko Yoonchul’s statement in the video, “A man has no choice when doing business,” discussions criticizing the moral hazard of chaebol families were held ceaselessly, and comedians even used it as material for their acts.

As the situation grew uncontrollably, Vice President Ko Yoonchul personally came forward to issue an apology, and bowing his head deeply while promising to work harder to prevent such incidents from recurring, it seemed as though the matter would be quietly buried.

And then on Sunday, November 3rd, of this year, despite it being the weekend, an article exposing Vice President Ko Yoonchul’s drug use was delivered to the brightly lit Managing Director’s office.

Of course, it wasn’t just the article that was delivered. A person had been tagged along with it, and that reporter, quite audaciously, was looking squarely at the owner of this room, Yoongeon. Although, he was trembling so much with fear that his hands were shaking.

“…I see.”

Yoongeon spoke softly as he tapped his cigarette ash into the ashtray.

“So you’re saying that this article was written by you, Mr. Park Jinhoon?”

He picked up the file folder placed next to the article.

“Name Park Jinhoon, age 31… currently a reporter for Changseong Newspaper, I see. Ah, you graduated from the Department of Media at Yeonhan University. There’s a saying that graduates from that media department are unspeakably stiff. Also, your wife recently gave birth to a daughter. Belated congratulations. I was in such a state that I didn’t get to prepare a gift.”

Park Jinhoon did not reply to the words he uttered indifferently, but Yoongeon merely shrugged once. In any case, he was showing a certain degree of respect for the scrawny, anchovy-like, bookish reporter. For there to still be a reporter burning with a sense of justice in a world where true journalists no longer exist. On top of that, he was said to be called the “Mad Dog” in media circles, as he was surprisingly gutsy, though it was unclear what he was relying on.

And so, Yoongeon, who had at first expected a rather grotesque-looking figure, found upon sitting opposite him that this was no dog, not even a puppy, but a trembling goby fish.

“It couldn’t have been easy writing an article like this against a chaebol…. There’s no way it was approved from above.”

“Yes. I just went for it. There is nothing distorted in what I wrote, so why should I have to miss out on such an exclusive? Look, you’ll know when you see it, but everything written there is true. Since it’s about your older brother, you would know well.”

Park Jinhoon retorted quite aggressively. But belying that spirit, Yoongeon, sitting across from him, only let out a small yawn. It was a sign that working even on a weekend was not something he was fond of either.

“I don’t know why on earth you’re angry, but, yes. You wrote it properly. There are no distortions, either.”

At Yoongeon’s attitude, the reporter flared up and looked at him. But when Yoongeon glanced at him as if to say, “What are you looking at?”, he shriveled up and shrank back, even though nothing had been said.

“……”

I really can’t tell if that guy is gutsy or not. Yoongeon let out a small sigh.

“Secretary Im.”

“Yes, Managing Director. I am here.”

Yoongeon took the cell phone that Secretary Im handed him. The person on the other end must have been waiting for a while, because as soon as Yoongeon began with “Hello,” they immediately replied, “Hello, Managing Director.” The middle-aged man’s voice was filled with tense discipline. Yoongeon switched to speakerphone and placed the phone on the desk.

“Yes, have you been well?”

As if finding it absurd that he was suddenly making a call with him right there, Park Jinhoon’s eyes grew sharp. But that expression would probably change soon. Because the person Yoongeon was on the phone with was the president of the newspaper company that reporter belonged to.

“Have you eaten.”

[Yes, I have.]

“Ah, that’s a relief.”

Yoongeon, with a somewhat irritated face, took a drag from the cigarette resting on the ashtray. The piece of paper with “No Smoking” stuck behind him was of no use.

“I haven’t been able to eat anything from all the worrying, but I’m truly glad that at least you, Mr. President, have eaten well. Rather than both of us starving, wouldn’t it be better for at least one of us to eat well.”

[…]

“I’m currently reading the article written by reporter Park Jinhoon. He wrote it quite sharply and well. Have you seen it?”

[I apologize, that is….]

“‘The Unbraked Moral Hazard of Shinhyun Group, Is This Acceptable As Is?’, hmmm…. To be honest, I think it’s a bit bland for a headline, so it would probably be better to change the headline to something a bit more provocative. But the content isn’t bad. ‘The fall of a wolf in sheep’s clothing, who once loudly proclaimed to correct a wrongly rooted culture…’.”

[I apologize, Managing Director…. I will rectify it immediately. My management of the staff….]

“Drop it.”

[Yes, Managing Director.]

“Let’s meet next weekend. We have things to discuss over a meal.”

It was said without even asking about the other party’s schedule, but the president merely replied in a very trembling voice, “Yes, of course. Just let me know the time and I will make a reservation immediately.”

Even before the pitifully trembling voice could finish, Yoongeon ended the call and looked at the person before him. At that, the face of the reporter who had been listening to the conversation turned pale. It seemed he had figured out who it was without needing to be told.

When Yoongeon gestured to Secretary Im with his eyes, he was given an envelope of money. Staring blankly at the money envelope that came before him, Park Jinhoon’s face flushed crimson with indignation and he bit his lip firmly. Seeing this, Yoongeon let out a small sigh and said.

“I’m telling you this because it seems you’re misunderstanding something.”

“……”

“It’s not that I’m trying to placate you with money because you’re so formidable and scary, and that’s why I went to the trouble of calling you here. So you don’t need to act like someone whose noble convictions have been broken. I’m not giving this to you to break those convictions.”

“You’re not? Then what is it?”

Park Jinhoon retorted sharply.

“It’s not a matter that will end just by silencing me anyway. It’s bound to blow up eventually. All the reporters already know about it, and it’s just a matter of who fires the starting shot! You can’t cover the sky with the palm of your hand!”

“Haah….”

His voice is so damn loud…. I don’t know how someone so skinny has such a loud voice. Hearing the sudden loud noise gave me a throbbing headache.

“Besides, the Vice President is already cornered as much as he can be. It’s not like adding one more drug problem will be some huge blow!”

“You’re asking why I’m only blocking this one thing, is that it?”

“…Yes.”

Wasn’t the Vice President a rat in a corner anyway? Yes, that was correct, and Yoongeon knew it very well too.

“That’s right.”

“…Yes?”

“You probably know this well too, reporter. Vice President Ko Yoonchul’s demand for sexual favors, the personal slush fund issue that broke out much earlier than that, and even the assault issues that pop up every now and then…. He acts quite boldly despite knowing full well that the special investigation unit is watching him. I suppose it’s because he has something to fall back on.”

Yoongeon scoffed. Of course, since he did it without even smiling, it looked frightening.

“Do you really think that we were just standing by helplessly, watching, because we couldn’t stop it?”

“……”

A look of “just as I thought” flashed across the reporter’s face. As a reporter, he must have anticipated it to some extent, but having it confirmed for him, Park Jinhoon’s expression changed.

“…I had been curious for some time. Just why is no one trying to stop him, I wondered.”

Park Jinhoon said, letting out a hollow laugh.

“I couldn’t understand it. That a man who is the Vice President of a major corporation goes around causing so much trouble, yet not a single person steps up to try and stop him. No, there was just one person. That person alone tried to stop it.”

“……”

“I’m talking about the Chairman. He tried to stop the articles from being published several times. But every single time… they appeared in the media. The things about Vice President Ko Yoonchul.”

Yoongeon nodded his head as if to say, “go on.”

“But no matter how much I thought about it, I couldn’t think of anyone who could repeatedly thwart what Chairman Ko Sanghyun was trying to block. It would have to be someone with as much power as Chairman Ko Sanghyun, and someone who would harbor hostile feelings toward not only Shinhyun Motors but also the Shinhyun Group, so who on earth could fit those conditions? Ha…! But, I was thinking about it wrong.”

He naturally wouldn’t have realized it, since he had limited it from the start to someone with as much power and authority as Chairman Ko Sanghyun. Though, to be fair, that point had been used to his advantage.

“So it was you, Managing Director, who was managing the articles about Vice President Ko Yoonchul.”

“The time is not yet right, reporter. Isn’t it too early? There’s a thing called timing for everything.”

Yoongeon, who had been quietly smoking his cigarette while Park Jinhoon spoke, said as he stubbed out the shortened cigarette in the ashtray.

“Now is the time for the embers lit by the demand for sexual favors to grow a little bigger. As for the drugs, it would be best to release that when those embers are dying down a bit. Because the fire we’ve so carefully lit must not go out.”

“So,” Yoongeon said, motioning with his chin toward the money envelope in front of Park Jinhoon.

“I’ll contact you when the time comes. It would be best to refine the article a bit more bitingly then. You must have heard what I said earlier, so try to come up with a more provocative headline. Let’s have you get it approved by me, not them.”

“Is this a management succession battle?”

Park Jinhoon asked with a look of great suspicion. It seemed he was not at all keen on getting entangled in a chaebol’s succession battle. But Yoongeon merely raised an eyebrow.

“I don’t recall giving you permission to ask questions.”

“……”

The atmosphere turned cold in an instant.

“I didn’t permit any pointless questions back. You’d do well to shut your mouth.”

Yoongeon pressed his fingers firmly against his brow. He still hated those who didn’t know their place and tried to climb over him. The atmosphere instantly turned frigid at his words. Haah…. Yoongeon let out a sigh and continued.

“A small competition will be held soon. I will adjust things so the article can be released after that, so wait quietly. If you get bored waiting, well, go on a trip or something. I’ll cover all the expenses.”

“……”

“You will be contacted when the time comes. Secretary Im will give you a number later, so memorize it well. Ah, and don’t be an idiot and save it in your phone. I don’t think you’d be that stupid, but seeing you talk back makes me unnecessarily worried.”

Park Jinhoon had now been chosen as Yoongeon’s pawn. Right now, he might not like it because of that damned pride of his, but he would soon learn what it means to be Yoongeon’s man, even for a short while. If he received his choosing, he could at least keep his life. Once he learns the value of his life, this stiff bookworm won’t be able to look at him with such a face anymore.

“Think carefully. What you want and what I want are exactly the same. When the goal is the same, isn’t it much more efficient to move as a team.”

“……”

“You may answer.”

“…Please make it so that I can release that article as an exclusive.”

“Your name will also be on the news broadcast. All other outlets will have it 24 hours later.”

“…Yes.”

He was worried that someone so full of justice would be overly stiff, but he had a certain degree of flexibility. Then again, he probably has no choice now. In any case, this was fine. He passed. Yoongeon nodded his head.

“You may go. It’s the weekend, you should be resting.”

At the words telling him to get lost now that his business was done, Park Jinhoon bit his lip and stood up from his seat. Then, he turned and left with a tragic air. Seeing him look like someone whose great conviction had been broken, Yoongeon scoffed.

“He’s cooperating more meekly than I thought.”

“I told you he would.”

“How did you know that, Managing Director?”

Secretary Im looked at him with wondering eyes, but it wasn’t actually that difficult a problem.

No matter how full of justice a reporter is, one must know when to bend in order to last long. To be called a mad dog over there, it was obvious he had been charging ahead without looking back, which means it was time he had many enemies on all sides. The people who had praised him at first, saying he was full of justice and what not, would have slowly grown tired and left, so his standing would naturally have narrowed, and thus he would have become anxious himself. That, Yoongeon thought, was the reason Park Jinhoon had conceded a step to him.

Besides, one tends to compromise with the world when one has more to protect. There was no one on his side, yet two precious things to protect had appeared. In that case, there was really only one choice Park Jinhoon could make while sticking to this field as best he could. That was to become Yoongeon’s pawn.

Park Jinhoon was greedy for an exclusive report. It seemed he was trying to protect his position by breaking a scoop. Well, in any case, granting that was not a difficult matter for Yoongeon.

“I’ll be right back. Ah, by the way, an invitation to a banquet came from the White House. It’s said to be confidential for now, but shall we prepare an article in advance?”

“Not yet.”

It would be a pain if it were prepared in advance only to be leaked. With the flow of all money currently heading there, one should not easily disregard it, even if it is a country founded by Caucasians. It’s better not to do anything that could be found fault with in the first place.

“It will be reported in the media anyway, so wouldn’t it be good if we prepared it in advance on our side?”

“Just hurry up and go to that guy and come back.”

“Uhm, yes.”

But he didn’t explain it kindly. Secretary Im would figure out the situation soon enough, even if not right now, so he just had to wait. At Yoongeon’s order to leave, Secretary Im tilted his head and then quickly followed after Park Jinhoon. A short while later, Secretary Im, who had returned after giving him the number, said that he had given him a number that could not be traced.

“Right….”

Yoongeon stared blankly at Secretary Im, who was looking at him with eyes that said “I did well, right?”, and his words trailed off. It was because he suddenly seemed unfamiliar. Especially that guy wearing a suit without his hair in a topknot.

“Why are you looking at me like that?”

“No… no matter how I think about it….”

“Yes.”

“I think you’re just too pitiful.”

“Huh? Again? All of a sudden? You tell me I’m pitiful periodically, don’t you?”

Secretary Im looked as if he had heard something completely out of the blue. Well, he would think so. But Yoongeon truly felt that Secretary Im was extremely pitiful. It was a feeling Yoongeon did not often feel.

“Im Seonwoong.”

“Yes, sir!”

Right, this guy was Im Seonwoong. The very same Im Seonwoong who had served as his strategist until the end when he was Emperor Cheongwolmok. It felt like just yesterday that he was whining about how he was suffering his whole life as this guy’s strategist because he lived needlessly long.

“……”

How did I end up meeting this guy like this. Yoongeon let out a small sigh.

He had been reincarnated many times, but he had never met anyone again, with the exception of Seohwi. But in this life, for some reason, he had met a connection from the past, and he had even met this guy, Im Seonwoong, before Seohwi.

“…Go buy yourself something tasty to eat.”

“Wow!”

Thinking that this guy was suffering because of him, both now and in the past, he just couldn’t not give him his card. No matter how bloodless and tearless he was, Yoongeon was, in the end, human. When Yoongeon, unable to overcome his guilt, handed him the card, Im Seonwoong beamed with a wide, delighted smile.

“How much can I eat up to? Can my girlfriend eat with me too? Can my mom and dad eat too?”

Im Seonwoong had the same face, height, and even the same voice, but one thing, and only one thing, had changed: his personality. He seemed quite mature in the past. No, perhaps even then he had a somewhat silly personality, but he couldn’t dare to act his equal and had held it in.

“I’m so happy every time I get to max out your card, Managing Director. Aaargh!”

“……”

His strategist, met again after a long time, had changed to have a slightly cheeky personality. Even now, when given the card, he couldn’t contain his joy and yelled first, didn’t he? Daring to do so in front of him.

“Haah….”

So he was a bit bewildered at first, but he was quite used to it now. Yoongeon let out a small sigh.

“Gather all your second cousins twice removed and eat. It’s fine to go eat at that hotel buffet you’re always singing about, or you can buy that trashy tteokbokki you’re always eating.”

The silly Secretary Im would talk about what he did, what he was going to do, at all times, truly telling him every little detail. Thanks to that, Yoongeon knew a lot of information he didn’t particularly want to know, like that guy’s eating habits, the existence of his girlfriend, and the health of his parents.

“You have some frozen in your freezer right now, don’t you.”

For the record, this was information Yoongeon really did not want to know.

“Yes, of course. That’s my blood. I’ll die if my blood tteokbokki concentration gets too low.”

“Right. Eat a lot of that trash. Buy a lot and freeze it.”

“Heok…! The best boss…!”

Is he crazy? Even though Yoongeon had casually called his personal preference trash and even told him to eat it, Secretary Im, who had already received Yoongeon’s black card, just beamed happily. It was obvious he had filtered out and heard only what he wanted to hear from what Yoongeon had said.

“That’s not just tteokbokki, it’s Hell-Hell-Gehenna flavor tteokbokki, Managing Director. But this time I’m going to buy the Shocking Mala flavor tteokbokki.”

“Whether you eat hell flavor or gutter water flavor, do as you please.”

He had to cut this guy’s words off at some point. Because that guy’s mouth was so loose that if left alone, he would chatter on for two, even three hours.

“Even though I came to work today cursing you in my head in a hundred thousand ways? All that frustration is completely gone now, Managing Director.”

Right, like this. He says things he shouldn’t. Yoongeon glared at him.

“You cursed me again?”

“Of course. It would be disappointing if I didn’t.”

This bastard must have definitely cursed him while working in his past life too. His personality is the same now as it was then, so wasn’t it just that he was feigning modesty then and is being honest now? He was boiling inside. If only his head were a little dumber, he would get rid of him right away.

“Right, you did well.”

“Yes, of course.”

“……”

Ah, the headache…. Im Seonwoong, who held a significant share in Yoongeon’s headaches, grinned foolishly, oblivious to his boss’s churning stomach.

“Work is done for today, so get lost now. Go and use the card with your second cousins twice removed.”

“Yes sir!”

At the words to get lost, Secretary Im disappeared without a single look back. Along with Yoongeon’s black card….

“…No, no matter how I think about it, that bastard, he’s definitely doing that knowing everything.”

Should I really kill him? He thought it for a moment, but unfortunately, Im Seonwoong’s mind, both then and now, was too brilliant to throw away.

In the end, unable to do either, Yoongeon just let out a heavy sigh. This life feels so strange. Seohwi hasn’t appeared before him for an unusually long time, and he’s met someone he never expected to see again….

He remembered the first time he met Im Seonwoong again. He had been quite surprised then, unlike his usual self. To the point that when he, as a new secretary, had hesitantly entered the managing director’s office, he had choked on the tea he was drinking and coughed loudly.