Chapter 15. A Narrow Escape
Two days later.
The result of Harok's disciplinary action was supposed to be announced at noon.
But for some reason, it was delayed.
Speculation immediately began flying around the newsroom.
"The HR chief took the disciplinary decision to the president's office, but the president rejected it."
As usual, Han Seungjin from the political affairs department began sharing inside information.
"Deputy Chief Han, does that make any sense? Our president is someone who strictly protects the newsroom's independence. Why would he interfere? I don't get it."
Park Mungyu challenged Han Seungjin's claim.
Han Seungjin had reclined so far back in his chair that it looked ready to tip over. He lazily waved a finger.
"Mungyu, where do you think my information comes from? I heard this directly from Secretary Seo in the president's office. And what does this have to do with newsroom independence? It's a legitimate exercise of personnel authority."
Before becoming a deputy chief in the political affairs department, Han Seungjin had briefly worked in the president's office.
It wasn't unusual for reporters at media companies to spend some time there.
Journalists could often get things processed much faster than ordinary employees because of their networks.
"Apparently, someone close to the president, and someone with a lot of influence, made a strong request. They asked him to minimize Harok's punishment."
Harok has connections like that?
Park Mungyu glanced toward Harok, who was sitting at the very end of the social affairs desk under suspension.
There wasn't anything special on his personnel record...
Was he secretly born with a silver spoon?
"Hey, Baek Harok. What does your father do?"
Harok had planned to go on vacation as soon as Yubin finished the drug article.
But a call from his mother two days earlier had forced him to drastically change those plans.
She had delivered devastating news.
Jihyeon's tuition wasn't easy to cover, so from now on, Harok was supposed to take responsibility for it.
Harok had resisted strongly.
His mother said that if he didn't want to pay, then he could move in with his younger sister and combine their living expenses.
In the end, Harok surrendered.
He now had even more expenses to worry about.
If the company hit him with severe disciplinary action, he was finished.
He couldn't afford to make the company hate him any more than it already did.
So Harok immediately returned to work and entered full obedient-newlywed mode, quietly pretending to reflect on his actions.
"He's unemployed."
"What did he do before becoming unemployed?"
"He worked for a company. Since taking voluntary retirement, he's been a poor retired husband who spends all day watching Mom's mood at home."
Park Mungyu tilted his head.
"Then do you have any relatives who know our president?"
"No. Why?"
"Ah, nothing. Just curious."
Judging by that answer, it clearly wasn't anyone in Harok's family.
But if Han Seungjin's information was correct, then who had intervened?
Park Mungyu looked puzzled.
Harok was also pretending not to listen while carefully following the conversation between Park Mungyu and Han Seungjin.
Who the hell pressured the president?
Could it have been one of Harok's sources?
Among his contacts were the Prosecutor General, the Minister of Justice, and even the Commissioner General of the National Police Agency.
But even if they were friendly with him, they were still outsiders.
Why would they go out of their way to stop his disciplinary action?
Did they even know he was being disciplined?
If Han Seungjin was right, then someone was acting like Harok's mysterious benefactor.
"Baek Harok, come here."
Lee Munhong, head of the social affairs department, called Harok into a conference room.
"Yes, Department Head."
"Sit there."
Harok sat in front of Lee Munhong while deliberately putting on a thoroughly dejected expression.
"I don't know whether you've heard the rumors, but your disciplinary punishment has been changed. Originally, it was six months' suspension, followed by an additional six months of salary reduction."
Harok's mouth dropped open.
Six months' suspension was one of the harshest punishments short of outright dismissal.
And then another six months of reduced pay on top of that?
Isn't that basically saying they'll kill me without technically firing me?
He'd almost rather be dismissed.
Maybe they had been afraid that firing him would lead to a wrongful termination lawsuit.
"But it was changed to a three-month salary reduction. That's considered light disciplinary action. It won't even interfere with you becoming a deputy chief later."
Harok could hardly believe it.
The company president had overturned the disciplinary committee's decision.
As Park Mungyu had said, that was highly unusual.
"However, separately from the disciplinary action, you'll still be transferred."
"By transferred, you mean I'll have to move departments..."
"Right. That's the editor-in-chief's decision. Even the president can't interfere with that. Department assignments are the editor-in-chief's authority."
Kim Yeonghwan, you bastard.
So you're determined to keep tormenting me until the end?
But what was he supposed to do?
Leaving the social affairs department was something Harok had dreamed about.
I wanted to cry, and you slapped me across the face.
Thank you very much, you bastard.
"The problem is that someone inside the newsroom has to be willing to take you. If every department refuses, you could end up in the Advertising Bureau or Business Bureau."
In other words, he could lose the title of reporter altogether.
That was serious.
At a media company, everything revolved around the newsroom, where the reporters worked.
Departments like Advertising, Business, and Management Support existed mainly as staff organizations supporting the newsroom.
Because of that, there was an unspoken hierarchy between reporters and ordinary employees.
If journalists were the highest-ranking aristocracy, then regular employees were several classes below them.
"I hope there's at least one department willing to take you. You were one of my guys, after all..."
Look at the cat worrying about the mouse.
"Can you tell me who asked the president to reduce my punishment?"
"Ask the president yourself next time. He wouldn't tell me."
Who the hell was it?
"That's such a relief, Senior."
Yubin smiled brightly, showing her white teeth.
She had stopped by the newsroom for the afternoon satsumari meeting.
At around three in the afternoon, Harok's disciplinary result had been posted on the internal intranet.
Just as Lee Munhong had told him, it was a three-month salary reduction.
After learning what the original punishment had been, Harok felt an enormous sense of relief.
At the same time, a headache hit him when he thought about tightening his belt for the next three months.
His expenses weren't going to shrink just because his paycheck did.
Journalists normally had very small base salaries.
A large portion of their income came from various allowances, including reporting allowances that weren't taxed in the same way.
The crime reporting and legal affairs teams received particularly generous reporting allowances.
They also had access to corporate cards they could use personally for work-related expenses.
But now one-third of Harok's base salary was gone.
And if he was expelled from the social affairs department, his reporting allowance would fall to less than half.
In simple terms, his total monthly income was about to be cut by nearly half.
"I'm going to starve for three months, and you call that lucky?"
"You're exaggerating. I'll buy you meals often enough that you won't starve."
"I'd rather go into Mount Suyang and dig up kudzu roots than have you feed me."
"...Have they decided which department you're going to?"
Harok was actually more worried about the transfer than the salary reduction.
What if nobody wanted him?
He had won journalism awards and Scoop of the Year prizes almost every year.
Wouldn't it be absurd for someone with that record to end up selling ads?
"At this rate, I might end up in Advertising doing sales."
"There's no way."
"I realized something this time. The editor-in-chief's pettiness is on a completely different level. He's desperate to kick me out of the newsroom. Do you really think all those cowardly department heads are going to..."
"Even if you go somewhere else, you'll still be my number-one reporter."
Harok stared at Yubin as if she had just said something ridiculous.
"What are you talking about?"
"Even with what we're investigating now... Once you're someone's number-one reporter, you're always their number-one reporter."
"Oh, right. What happened to the drug article? You finished it, didn't you? Why haven't you pitched it?"
Harok had been so consumed by his disciplinary hearing that he hadn't had time to think about it.
"It's running tomorrow. Chief praised me like crazy. He said I wrote it really well..."
"Next time, make sure you write it that well with your own ability. Top of the social affairs page?"
