Chapter 16

Chapter 16. Kwon Jaegwan, I've Been Waiting for You

"Who asked you to do it?"

When Harok asked who had complained about the article, Chu Jiyeong hesitated.

Harok had always wondered what exactly industry reporters thought they were doing.

Whenever something happened at a company and the social affairs department tried to write about it, industry reporters would come running.

Then they would ask for the company's name to be removed.

Sometimes it was hard to tell whether they were journalists or employees of that company's PR department.

And then, before anyone knew it, they would leave journalism, join that same company, and suddenly have titles like department head or executive director.

As the journalism industry became less attractive than before, quite a few reporters had been recruited early by corporations.

This happened especially often at mid-sized newspapers like Daehan Daily, where reporters frequently moved to companies for higher salaries.

"Senior, why aren't you answering?"

"Why are you so curious?"

Didn't you check the byline?

A major fact had suddenly disappeared from a perfectly good article.

Of course Harok wanted to know why.

"Didn't you see who wrote that article?"

"I know you wrote it. But this was a company-level decision."

"Ah, come on. Are you kidding me? Even when you edit someone else's article, there's basic courtesy. You should've at least asked me first. What kind of bullshit is 'a company-level decision'?"

Chu Jiyeong flinched.

She knew very well how explosive Harok's temper could be.

"Are you getting angry at me right now?"

"How could I not be angry? Stop changing the subject and tell me where the complaint came from."

By now, everyone knew Harok had openly clashed with the editor-in-chief.

If he was willing to lose his mind and go after the editor-in-chief himself, what was a senior only two years above him?

"Well..."

"If I start asking around, do you really think I won't find out which company it was? And if I find out on my own, don't you think that company might have a hard time dealing with me afterward?"

It was practically a threat.

Chu Jiyeong knew how good Harok was at reporting.

And this was the same lunatic who had transmitted a killed article without authorization.

After hesitating for a while, she finally answered.

"Handong Group..."

Handong Group?

Kwon Jaegwan?

There was only one person in Handong Group likely to get involved in a drug scandal.

Kwon Jaegwan.

"Did Executive Director Mun Byeonggeol call you personally?"

"How do you know Executive Director Mun?"

"I've got some history with that place."

"Ah..."

"Senior Chu, thanks for telling me. I'll contact Mun Byeonggeol myself."

Click.

Was this heaven arranging things for him?

Kwon Jaegwan.

The spoiled bastard who had beaten his driver.

Even in Harok's previous life, Kwon Jaegwan had remained like a tumor stuck in his head, something he could never completely forget.

There was a saying.

A leaking bucket never leaks only once.

He had gotten lucky last time.

This time, it wouldn't be so easy.

If Mun Byeonggeol himself had called, then it was almost certainly Kwon Jaegwan.

First, Harok needed confirmation from the police.

When it came to narcotics, Kim Jongcheol, head of the Incheon Metropolitan Police Agency's Narcotics Investigation Division, was one of the most knowledgeable people around.

The same Kim Jongcheol who had gotten thoroughly scolded after staring at Yubin's chest.

Harok immediately pulled out his phone and called him.

"Hey, Producer Baek. What brings you to me? I saw the article."

"Thanks for helping my junior."

"She was quite a beauty. Whew."

This guy still hasn't learned his lesson.

Even after Yubin chewed him out, he was still acting like this.

"Hyung, of all people, how can you sexually harass my junior? If you do that one more time, I'm not going to let it slide."

Harok deliberately used the strong phrase sexual harassment.

Kim Jongcheol knew Harok's personality well enough to flinch.

Harok was not the kind of soft reporter who overlooked wrongdoing just because he knew someone personally.

"No, Reporter Seol just reminded me of my daughter..."

"You stare at your daughter's chest like that? Isn't that even worse?"

"Ahem. Ahem. Did you call just to argue about that?"

Kim Jongcheol's voice became hostile.

Pressing him any further would offer no tactical advantage.

That was enough for now.

"No. I only mentioned it because we're already talking. I called for something else."

"What?"

"Hyung, why did you tell Yubin everything except the most important fact?"

"What are you talking about?"

"Handong Group. Kwon Jaegwan."

The moment Kwon Jaegwan's name came up, Kim Jongcheol went silent.

"...Where did you hear that?"

"Handong Group contacted us yesterday. We didn't even use initials. We just wrote that a second-generation heir from one of the country's major conglomerates was involved, and they asked us to remove it."

"Handong made a huge mistake. If they had looked at the reporter's name, they shouldn't have responded so naively... Tsk, tsk."

"So it is Kwon Jaegwan, right?"

"...Hold on. Calm down. Reporter Baek, if you publish this immediately, you could be in trouble."

"Why?"

"Taesan Law Firm is representing them now. They're threatening to sue everyone for disclosure of suspected criminal facts if his name gets published."

Taesan Law Firm?

One of the absolute giants of South Korea's legal industry.

Officially one of the country's four largest law firms, but in reality it competed with Kim & Song for the top two positions.

If Harok wrote carelessly, he could get crushed.

He needed to confirm the facts beyond dispute before going after Kwon Jaegwan properly.

Kwon Jaegwan, just wait.

If this drug case gets exposed, I'll drag that assault case from three years ago back into the spotlight too.

"What disclosure of suspected criminal facts? This is called public-interest reporting. Since when has this country hidden suspects' identities in cases like this?"

"Well, do whatever you want. But I can't confirm it directly."

"Fine. I'll check with the Metropolitan Investigation Unit."

"...Do you really have to?"

Why is everyone bending over backward to protect this piece of trash?

"If someone like Kwon Jaegwan ends up running Handong Group, the company will collapse. I don't care if the Kwon family goes down, but what crime did the employees commit?"

"Reporter Baek, since when were you such a humanitarian? Anyway, I'm no-comment from now on."

"Fine."

Two more days passed after Harok's disciplinary punishment was finalized.

Still, not a single department had shown any interest in taking him.

Editor-in-Chief Kim Yeonghwan was a terrible journalist, but he had made enormous contributions to company revenue.

That was what happened when someone sold out juniors' articles for a little advertising money.

His second term as editor-in-chief was practically guaranteed.

Every executive in the newsroom watched his mood carefully.

For Harok, coming to work every day had become torture.

To kill time, he kept digging into the drug investigation involving Kwon Jaegwan.

Six in the evening.

It's already this late.

At least time passed quickly when he was absorbed in something.

Forget it. I'm leaving on time.

Just as he was gathering his belongings, Yu Seongun approached from behind.

"Vice Baek, our department head wants to have dinner together. Want to come?"

Harok immediately sensed it.

The rope from heaven has finally come down.

Jang Junyeol.

Head of the culture department.

An art-specialist journalist who had spent more than thirty years working only in the culture department after joining the company.

He was one year senior even to Editor-in-Chief Kim Yeonghwan.

He was also the only department head in the newsroom who didn't care about the editor-in-chief's mood.

The three went to a Korean restaurant in Insadong.

"This place used to be Master Ahn Jingeol of Haedam's regular spot. He and I..."

Every time Jang Junyeol spotted something in Insadong, he began recalling memories involving one painter or another.

He looked more like a poet than a journalist.

Eventually, they entered a makgeolli bar that looked more like a traditional teahouse from the outside.

"I've been an art reporter for thirty years. The entire history of Korean art is in my head."

Even now, Jang Junyeol actively maintained relationships with painters and continued expanding his network.

His expertise was respected enough that he participated in shaping government art policy.

Naturally, nobody in South Korea's art world could afford to ignore him.

"Want to join our department?"

There it is.

Finally, an offer.

"The editor-in-chief hates me. Are you really okay with taking me?"

Jang Junyeol snorted.

"Editor-in-Chief Kim is wearing a hat far too big for his ability. He always had rotten instincts, but I never thought he'd damage a newspaper this badly."

That was an awfully strong statement, even if he was senior to the editor-in-chief.

Yu Seongun didn't even react.

Apparently, he was used to hearing things like that from Jang Junyeol.

"The social affairs department isn't the whole world. Other places are interesting too."

"That's true."

"This is just an aside, but there are only two truly desirable beats left in journalism today. One is golf reporting. The other is specialist art reporting."

If you became a golf reporter, you could openly play golf in the middle of a weekday.

You got to interact with professional golfers.

You could even receive expensive lessons from them for free.

Naturally, people lined up for the chance to become golf reporters.

"I understand golf. But why art...?"

"For example, whenever I interview painters, they give me their paintings as gifts."

"What am I supposed to do with paintings?"

Jang Junyeol and Yu Seongun burst out laughing as though Harok had said something ridiculous.

"H-Hahaha. Fair enough. Fair enough..."

Harok looked confused.

Did I say something strange?

"Harok, the painters Department Head Jang meets aren't people drawing portraits on street corners. They're top-class Korean artists."

Yu Seongun kindly explained.

"Ah. Then their paintings must be expensive."

"Anyway, painters give you their work. When you visit their studios, there are paintings everywhere. They tell you to choose one of a reasonable size and take it."

"Just like that?"

"Of course."

"Isn't that a gift or bribe? Doesn't it cause problems?"

Again, Jang Junyeol and Yu Seongun laughed at Harok's innocence.

"Artwork that hasn't entered the market has no official price. So you can't really call it a bribe."

"Ah..."

"I've turned one room in my house into storage for all the artwork I've collected. I'm planning to leave it to my kids someday. I don't have much other wealth from working as a journalist, so I should at least give them that."

"I see."

Harok answered indifferently.

He didn't know much about art prices, so he failed to grasp the meaning behind Jang Junyeol's words.

"You don't seem to understand. The current appraised value of the art I own is somewhere between three and four billion won. Give it a few more years and it'll probably pass ten billion."

Harok's mouth dropped open.

"Th-That much? Isn't that basically bribery?"

"Like I said, the pieces had no market price when I received them. And when an artist dies, the value of their work can multiply several times. In another twenty years, my collection could be worth twenty billion won."

It sounded like a completely different world.

Harok's world was Gotham City, where murder, robbery, embezzlement, rape, and violent crime were everyday occurrences.

Yet in the exact same city, this elegant world also existed.

It felt like living in parallel universes.

"Seongun recommended you. Think you can work on the Popular Culture Team?"

Was Harok really in a position to be picky?

In his previous life, he had already written more entertainment news than he ever wanted.

And back then, much of it had been rewritten from other outlets.

Now, he would have more chances to do actual reporting.

He could even interview celebrities he liked.

Sounds good.

On top of that, he could travel overseas for K-pop performances.

He could almost hear the roaring cheers of fans filling concert venues.

This wouldn't break his promise to heaven about becoming a righteous journalist either.

This situation was unavoidable.

So this is how life can work out.

"If you'll take me, Department Head, I'll work myself to the bone and devote my life to the department."

"Hahaha. You don't need to work yourself to the bone or sacrifice your life in the culture department."

And just like that, Harok's transfer to the culture department's Popular Culture Team was decided.

Harok drank heavily with Jang Junyeol and Yu Seongun through a second round.

It was already well past eleven.

Yu Seongun tempted Harok to go somewhere and "smell some perfume."

"Senior, I don't like that kind of perfume."

"Ah, right. You refused last time too. Strange guy. Looking at things like this, you're practically a model citizen. Hahaha."

Harok bowed and said he was going home.

Rustle, rustle.

Jang Junyeol quickly opened his wallet and pulled out two fifty-thousand-won bills.

"Use this for your taxi."

People really are generous when their barns are full.

Back in the social affairs department, even when a senior gave taxi money, it was usually only twenty or thirty thousand won.

Rejecting a senior's kindness would be rude.

Besides, Harok was facing three months of reduced pay.

He should accept things like this and use them carefully.

"Thank you."

Harok got into a taxi and headed home in a cheerful mood.

Ring, ring.

Seol Yubin.

Why is she calling this late?

"Senior, where are you?"

"Yeah, I had drinks with some seniors from the culture department. I'm heading home now. What's up? Did something happen with the investigation?"

"Hmph. Do you really like it when I only call you about work?"

"..."

What's with her now?

Harok could practically smell the alcohol through the phone.

"You've been drinking?"

"Today's the satsumari team dinner. Looks like you've already forgotten Friday dinners now that you're leaving."

"Who's leaving? I'm being kicked out. Don't make it sound like I'm choosing to leave."

"You can't just go like that. Have a farewell dinner with me."

"You sound like you've already had quite a bit."

"Don't you know Seol Yubin, the woman who can drink endlessly? I need at least this much of a handicap before I can drink head-to-head with you."

...That was actually true.

Trying to match Yubin drink for drink while she was sober was practically suicide.

Still, they had worked hard together.

And Harok really was grateful for how much she had looked after him.

Besides, they needed to talk about the drug investigation.

Yubin would now have to take the lead on the follow-up reporting into Kwon Jaegwan.

"Where are you?"

"I'll come near your place."