CH115 | VOC

10:00 AM,
the day Assemblyman Lee An-jin raised suspicions about the gold collection campaign.

“That son of a bitch!” Song Young-mo, CEO of MG Trading, threw a document at his secretary after seeing the news.

“That’s Assemblyman Lee An-jin, a four-term member of the opposition party,” the secretary said, scrambling to pick up the papers.

“I don’t care who he is! Why is he causing trouble?! What was Assemblyman Kim Soon-jae doing?! He can’t even control his own party members!”

Kim Soon-jae was the floor leader of the opposition party, a powerful figure with his own faction, and he was also the Assemblyman who had colluded with the trading companies.

“Which faction does that bastard belong to? He’s a four-term Assemblyman, doesn’t he understand the situation?”

“He’s… a party hopper.”

Song Young-mo looked puzzled. “A party hopper?”

“Yes, he switches parties whenever it benefits him, especially during nominations.”

“A party hopper who’s been elected four times?”

Even within the same party, factions fought fiercely over nominations. It was remarkable for a party hopper with no strong backing to win four elections.

But despite his achievement, Lee An-jin was a relatively obscure figure in the National Assembly.

Even Song Young-mo, who had met countless Assembly members, had never heard of him.

“A four-term Assemblyman, and I’ve never heard of him? No, that’s not important. What did he reveal?”

“He’s claiming there’s evidence of tax evasion using the gold collected through the gold collection campaign.”

Song Young-mo sighed in relief. “That’s not so bad.”

He had anticipated rumors like that, considering the leaks from the shell companies.

He hadn’t expected an Assemblyman to raise the issue directly, but it was within the realm of possibility, and they had prepared a response.

“Issue a rebuttal! Do we have a scapegoat ready?”

The secretary nodded. “We’re preparing a department head.”

It was standard procedure.

They would blame it on an employee’s embezzlement.

“Just have them ready. We can always cancel it if things work out. And arrange a meeting with Floor Leader Kim Soon-jae immediately! We have to persuade Lee An-jin to retract his statement!”

* * *

1:00 PM the next day.

“Assemblyman Lee is a reasonable man.”

Lee An-jin and Kim Soon-jae were having a friendly conversation.

“We were all just trying to do what’s best for the country. I understand. I was mistaken.”

Kim Soon-jae patted his shoulder. “We have to save the large corporations to save the small businesses, and we have to save the small businesses to save the people. Of course, the process isn’t always clean, but we can’t run a country by revealing everything. Just like the NIS has classified operations, there are things we can’t tell the public.”

Lee An-jin nodded. “You’re right. I was too hasty in raising suspicions. We have to save the large corporations first. The gold collection campaign is about earning foreign currency, and if the public knows it’s also helping the corporations, they’ll applaud us.”

“If only I had known how wise you are, Assemblyman Lee…”

Lee An-jin whispered, “So… my nomination is secure?”

Kim Soon-jae said confidently, “Of course! Trust me. Why don’t you join our faction? I’ll get you a position on the Business Innovation Committee.”

“Your… faction? And the Business Innovation Committee?”

The Business Innovation Committee was a prestigious committee, reserved for influential Assembly members.

“You’re a four-term Assemblyman, you deserve better treatment. You’re a senior member in our faction.”

Lee An-jin was overwhelmed with emotion.

He had been fighting a lonely battle for nominations ever since he entered politics.

He had worked hard, but no one had acknowledged him. He had even been forced to run in the ruling party’s stronghold after losing his nomination.

‘Finally… finally, I’m getting recognition. Thank you, CEO Park.’

Just then, his secretary burst into the room, his face pale.

“Assemblyman! Assemblyman! We have a problem!”

“What’s with the commotion? Assemblyman Kim Soon-jae is here.”

The secretary shouted, ignoring his reprimand, “The witness!”

“What?”

“He’s in front of our office!!!”

* * *

1:30 PM.

A man approached the reporters gathered in front of Assemblyman Lee An-jin’s office, covering the gold collection campaign scandal.

“Hello.”

A reporter glanced at him dismissively.

“Yes?”

“Are you covering the gold collection campaign?”

“Yes, why?”

The man was Oh Jin-mo.

“I’m Oh Jin-mo, and I’m here to expose the truth about the gold collection campaign!”

“What?”

As the reporter looked at him, dumbfounded, Oh Jin-mo held up the Taegeukgi gold bar and shouted,

“This gold bar was donated to the gold collection campaign a week ago by 20 prominent figures, including Assemblyman Lee An-jin! And it was found circulating within Korea, not overseas! This is evidence of corruption, and I, Oh Jin-mo, am here to expose it!”

The reporters’ eyes lit up.

“This is a scoop!!!”

* * *

1:45 PM.

Lee An-jin, who had rushed out of his office with Kim Soon-jae, was speechless.

“This gold bar is in my possession! It proves that Assemblyman Lee’s accusations were true! This is a betrayal of the Korean people! I couldn’t stand for it! How could this happen in our beautiful country! I had to do something! But I was afraid. What power do I have against these giant corporations…?”

A reporter spotted Lee An-jin, who was staring blankly at Oh Jin-mo’s speech.

“It’s Assemblyman Lee An-jin!”

The reporters swarmed him, bombarding him with questions.

“Did you have a prior agreement with the witness?”

“How do you feel now that the evidence has emerged?”

“How did you discover this scandal?”

As his aides tried to shield him from the reporters, Oh Jin-mo shouted,

“That’s right! I was afraid! But someone gave me courage! A flower blooming in this corrupt nation! Thanks to him, I’m here today!”

He pointed at Lee An-jin.

“It’s Assemblyman Lee An-jin!”

Lee An-jin pointed at himself. “…Me?”

Kim Soon-jae, standing behind him, gritted his teeth. “Assemblyman Lee, what is the meaning of this? You promised you could prevent the witness from coming forward!”

“W-well, it’s just that…”

Oh Jin-mo, excited, waved the Taegeukgi gold bar and shouted,

“Justice prevails! Thank you, Assemblyman Lee An-jin, for your courage! As long as the East Sea’s waters and Mount Baekdu stand tall, God bless Korea!”

He winked at Lee An-jin.

‘We’re… colleagues.’

‘Why is this lunatic dragging me into this?! What’s with the wink?! Does he want praise?!’

The reporters, oblivious to their conflicting thoughts, snapped photos frantically.

“The witness came forward thanks to Assemblyman Lee!”

“Witness Oh Jin-mo reveals evidence!”

“This is a scoop!”

“Assemblyman Lee, the witness said he gained courage thanks to you! How do you feel about being instrumental in exposing this scandal?!”

Kim Soon-jae was fuming behind him, the reporters were clamoring for a scoop in front of him, and Oh Jin-mo was winking at him.

‘What should I do? Should I deny it? But the witness and the evidence are right here. Should I double down? But what about the Business Innovation Committee? They promised me a position. What should I do?’

His mind raced, becoming a blank slate.

“How do you feel?!”

“Say something!”

He stopped thinking.

“Corruption…”

“What?”

He glared and declared,

“Corruption must be eradicated! We can’t let the people be fooled by a scam like the gold collection campaign!”

He forgot about Kim Soon-jae behind him and shouted,

“As a representative of the people, elected by their precious votes, I, Lee An-jin, demand a thorough investigation into the gold collection campaign!”

* * *

3:00 PM.

Han Jong-oh, a first-term opposition party Assemblyman, was bombarded with questions from reporters who had barged into his office.

“An hour ago, evidence of corruption in the gold collection campaign was revealed in front of Assemblyman Lee An-jin’s office. Your name was on the evidence! The gold bar you personally donated was found circulating within Korea, not overseas! How do you feel?”

He had already seen the news.

The Taegeukgi gold bar he had donated a week ago, after being invited to the Park Sol Foundation event and paying 100,000 won, had become the evidence.

‘This is my chance to be on TV!’

For a publicity-hungry first-term Assemblyman, this was a golden opportunity.

He said with an excited expression,

“Th-this is a national scandal! The gold we donated to help our country is being used for private gain! The government must be held accountable!”

* * *

“Hehehehehe, kikikikikikiki.”

I clutched my stomach and laughed, watching the news.

“This is so much fun! This is what I’ve been waiting for! Destroy them all! Fight!”

The news was broadcasting interviews with the people whose names were on the Taegeukgi gold bar.

The trading companies’ rebuttals were being ignored.

If Oh Jin-mo had acted alone, the trading companies could have controlled the media. But everything had happened too quickly, too suddenly.

“Serves them right!”

Maru chuckled. “Now we just sit back and watch.”

“That’s right! Why should we do all the dirty work? Hehehe, the gold collection campaign is ours now.”

“But what if the trading companies win? They’re on the defensive now, but they could turn things around if they regain their composure.”

Park Jong-bum nodded in agreement with Maru’s concern.

“That’s right. Assemblyman Lee has to win for us to take over the gold collection campaign. But he and the other first-term Assembly members, along with Oh Jin-mo, aren’t powerful enough.”

I laughed. “We just need to give them more power. Spread a rumor in the Myeongdong gold market.”

“A rumor? What kind of rumor?”

I smirked.

“Tell them the gold collection campaign will be shut down due to the scandal, and Chunha Trading will take over. And if Chunha Trading takes over, we’ll outsource the gold processing to the Myeongdong gold dealers.”

The gold dealers’ main complaint had been that the trading companies weren’t giving them any work.

There were countless tasks that could be outsourced, from melting down the gold to obtaining international certification, but the trading companies were hoarding everything.

If that bottleneck was removed…

Many gold dealers had profited from the leaks, but the trading companies’ crackdown had been hurting their business. And now, Chunha Trading was offering them a new opportunity.

The real battle was about to begin.

“Gold dealers and minor Assembly members versus the trading companies. It’s a blockbuster match! Let the mudslinging begin. Do you think the trading companies can silence thousands of people?”