Chapter 20

Chapter 20. Whale Hunting (3)

"Who do you think sold my article to them?"

At Harok's words, Yubin looked at Choi Minjung in shock.

Choi Minjung's face flushed red and blue with anger.

"Hey, Baek Harok. You think you can say whatever the hell you want?"

"Why are you getting so worked up, Senior? Did that hit a nerve?"

Phew.

Choi Minjung let out a long sigh.

"I heard you caused a huge incident at the company and got completely marked. Even if I've left, isn't this a little too disrespectful toward a senior?"

Kim Hyeongseok quickly grabbed Choi Minjung's arm to stop him.

"Hey, Deputy Chief Choi. That's enough. Reporter Baek, I'm sorry."

Kim Hyeongseok bowed first.

"It's fine. There's nothing for you to apologize for. We'll simply do our jobs as journalists and write an article based on verified facts. Of course, we'll give you a chance to respond as well."

From Handong Group's perspective, the meeting ended without accomplishing anything.

"Hey, Baek Harok! You think you're the only righteous person in the world?! If you keep standing that stiff and straight, one day you're going to snap."

Even as they parted, Choi Minjung continued scolding him.

"Then I hope you keep bending nicely and live a long, long life, Senior."

"Senior, he was still your senior from the company. Why were you so harsh with him?"

After parting ways with Handong Group's PR team, Harok and Yubin stopped at a coffee shop for some time alone.

Yubin thought Harok had gone a little too far.

"The more I think about it, the angrier I get. After what happened with the dumpling article, I made up my mind. Anyone who sells one of my articles isn't someone I'll treat like a human being."

Only then did Yubin understand how he felt.

She had watched firsthand what Harok had gone through because his article was leaked.

"But even if Kwon Jaegwan is under investigation, can we really report his name? The editor-in-chief won't stay quiet."

"On top of that, the law firm Kwon Jaegwan hired is Taesan."

"What?"

Yubin was startled.

The law firm protecting a shameless bastard like Kwon Jaegwan was her father's company.

"Naming Kwon Jaegwan while the investigation is still ongoing carries a lot of risk. They'll probably start shouting about disclosure of suspected criminal facts and file a defamation suit immediately."

"Then what do we do? This is exactly the kind of article where the 'who' matters, like you taught me."

"Obviously. If Kwon Jaegwan's name doesn't appear, there isn't much of a story."

"Handong will scream defamation, and the company will try to stop the article too... We're trapped from both sides."

As things stood, the chance of publication was zero.

Three years ago, Kim Yeonghwan had blocked a social affairs article even when he was only head of the industry department.

Now he was the editor-in-chief.

The story wouldn't even make it past the entrance.

"He'll definitely stop it."

Yubin became slightly irritated by Harok's dry response.

"Why are you talking like this is someone else's article? This is our problem. We need to write a follow-up right now."

"Reporter Seol Yubin."

Harok suddenly lowered his voice and became serious.

Yubin, who had been speaking half-jokingly, tensed when she saw his expression.

"Y-Yes?"

"Is this really the time to worry about whether the article can be published? Have you confirmed that Kwon Jaegwan actually used drugs? Have you confirmed how far the police investigation has gone?"

"Well... considering how Handong Group is acting, it's obvious."

Phewww.

Harok let out a long sigh.

"What did I tell you was the most important thing in reporting?"

"...Direct confirmation."

"I'll ask again. Did the police confirm that Kwon Jaegwan used drugs?"

"...No."

"Then why are you worrying about publication first? Once you finish reporting, it might turn out not to be true."

"But..."

Gulp.

Harok drained the iced Americano in front of him in one go.

"Confirm the facts first. Then worry about the next step."

"...Yes."

"Deputy Chief Choi, what the hell was that?"

"I never really got along with Baek Harok. He's always looked down on seniors in the industry department."

Kim Hyeongseok was irritated with Choi Minjung for ruining the meeting.

"...Let's report to the executive director first."

He immediately made the call.

"How did it go?"

"Baek Harok is extremely stubborn. He says they're going to write it."

"Hmm."

Mun Byeonggeol let out a low groan.

"So he's still the same even after three years. You didn't provoke him unnecessarily, did you?"

"Well... To be fair, I can understand Deputy Chief Choi's position."

Kim Hyeongseok gave a detailed account of the meeting with Harok.

"Deputy Chief Choi still hasn't completely lost his reporter instincts. Even if Harok is his junior, he's still an active journalist. He should've held himself back."

"I'm sorry."

"Where are you now?"

"Near Daehan Daily."

"Chu Jiyeong is our assigned reporter, right?"

"Yes."

"Tell Reporter Chu that I want to meet the head of the industry department. Let's see... it's one-thirty now. Tell her I'll come by at three."

"Understood."

Kim Hyeongseok and the others contacted Chu Jiyeong and asked to meet first.

"Senior Minjung, it's been a while."

"Jiyeong, you doing well?"

"Hello, Reporter Chu."

Chu Jiyeong had been covering a source near the company when Choi Minjung called, so she came over.

"You met Harok?"

"Talking to him was impossible."

"That guy is a complete lunatic even the company can't control right now. He got a three-month salary cut for transmitting an article without authorization."

Chu Jiyeong shook her head.

"Weren't you his first-line senior when he was a trainee?"

"He's stubborn as a rock and acts like he's the only noble crane in the world. And somehow he's become even ruder over time."

"What about Reporter Seol Yubin?"

Kim Hyeongseok asked.

Since Seol Yubin was the one actually doing the reporting, he wanted to know how capable she was.

"She only just finished her trainee period. Of course she's overflowing with enthusiasm."

"If she's good enough to investigate alongside Reporter Baek, isn't she pretty capable?"

There was something strange about Kim Hyeongseok's tone.

It almost sounded like he was saying Baek Harok was a capable journalist while Chu Jiyeong, who socialized with corporate PR teams, was a second-rate reporter.

Chu Jiyeong immediately bristled.

"I don't know whether she's a capable reporter, but her family background is certainly impressive."

"Her family?"

"She's the granddaughter of the founder of Taesan Law Firm, one of the top one or two firms among Korea's four major law firms."

"What? Is that true?"

Kim Hyeongseok's expression subtly changed.

"Why are you so surprised?"

"Taesan is representing us."

"Oh, really? Then wouldn't it be faster to make the request through them?"

"I'll keep that in mind."

"If she's hanging around with Baek Harok, she's probably crazy too. The fact that Taesan's granddaughter became a reporter in the first place..."

Without realizing it, Choi Minjung had just insulted journalists.

"Senior, I think you just misspoke."

Insulting journalists in front of an active reporter?

Chu Jiyeong had been putting up with him because he was her senior, but even she openly showed her displeasure.

Kim Hyeongseok became flustered.

He'd told Choi Minjung to come to his old newsroom and break the ice.

Instead, he was freezing the whole room.

"Hey, Choi Minjung. Get a grip."

His voice cracked like a whip.

"S-Sorry."

"Apologize to Reporter Chu."

Choi Minjung hesitated.

Apparently, apologizing to a junior hurt his pride.

"It's fine. No need to apologize."

Chu Jiyeong tried to wave it off.

Choi Minjung was about to let it go too, but Kim Hyeongseok remained firm.

"Apologize."

"Sorry, Jiyeong."

Bzzz.

The automatic doors from the hallway into the newsroom slid open.

Guided by Chu Jiyeong, Mun Byeonggeol, Kim Hyeongseok, and Choi Minjung moved toward the industry department.

The moment Industry Department Head Wi Seongman spotted Mun Byeonggeol from a distance, his face lit up.

"My goodness, what brings the head of Handong Group's PR office all the way here?"

"Have you been well?"

Wi Seongman clasped both of Mun Byeonggeol's hands tightly.

A walking bundle of money had entered the newsroom on its own.

Wi Seongman practically wanted to dance.

His performance numbers for the month had been a little weak, and the editor-in-chief had been pressuring him since morning.

Wi Seongman immediately guided Mun Byeonggeol into an empty conference room.

Wi Seongman and Chu Jiyeong sat on one side.

Mun Byeonggeol's group sat opposite them.

Three years earlier, suppressing the abuse-of-power assault case had directly cost one hundred million won.

Once a newspaper received new advertising money from a company, that advertiser became a permanent target.

The newspaper would demand similar sponsorship every year.

Reducing advertising spending after it had once increased was extremely difficult.

Trying to cut it unilaterally meant preparing for war with the newspaper.

In other words, Handong Group was still paying the price for burying Kwon Jaegwan's assault scandal.

And this time, the incident was far bigger.

Drugs.

If this exploded publicly, avoiding arrest would be difficult.

How much can we get this time?

Wi Seongman screamed with joy internally.

"So, what brings you here?"

He asked with a sly smile despite already knowing.

"You may or may not have heard, but our Vice President Kwon Jaegwan suffers from a chronic condition. It isn't widely known, and because it's hereditary..."

Mun Byeonggeol had decided to frame the drug use as medication taken to ease the suffering caused by illness.

"Oh, I see."

Wi Seongman played along.

"In that process, he slightly overused psychotropic medication, and the police are now investigating."

"The police must think they've caught themselves a big one."

"Our vice president is scheduled to be promoted to president at the end of this year, and the succession process is supposed to begin in earnest next year. We can't allow something like this to hold him back."

Succession begins next year?

To Wi Seongman's ears, all he heard was the price going up.

"How can I help?"

"The Daehan Daily social affairs department is digging deeply into the matter right now. Our owner had no choice but to take psychotropic medication for unavoidable reasons. Regardless, if this becomes public, it could even affect the company's external credibility..."

He could have simply called them drugs.

But Mun Byeonggeol stubbornly kept saying psychotropic medication.

"Who in the social affairs department?"

"Reporter Baek Harok appears to be the one digging into it."

The moment Wi Seongman heard the name Baek Harok, he burst into laughter.

"Hahaha! Don't worry too much. Baek Harok is about to be reassigned. Does he think he's going to remain a social affairs reporter forever?"

Mun Byeonggeol already knew that.

But he still couldn't relax.

Seol Yubin was continuing to dig into the case.

"Actually, Reporter Seol Yubin is investigating it under Baek Harok's direction."

"Seol Yubin?"

"Department Head, you know the trainee who just finished this year. Her father is Seol Chunggyeong of Taesan."

At Chu Jiyeong's explanation, Wi Seongman nodded repeatedly.

"Ah, right, right. Lee Taesan's granddaughter, Seol Yubin."

Wi Seongman waved a hand dismissively.

"Once Baek Harok leaves the social affairs department, what can she possibly investigate alone? Don't worry."

"Even so, we'd appreciate it if you made absolutely certain."

Scrape.

Wi Seongman pulled his chair closer to the table.

Then he leaned forward as if sharing a secret and lowered his voice.

"You know how this works. Since our newspaper broke the scoop, we can't completely stop follow-up reporting."

"We understand. That's why we're only asking you to stop at the celebrities."

"I'll speak to the head of the social affairs department. And when you greet the editor-in-chief, mention it again."

"Thank you."

Rustle.

Feeling that the problem had finally been solved, Mun Byeonggeol pulled a notebook from his inner pocket.

"...Department Head, give me a date. We should play a round sometime."

Wi Seongman took out his phone and opened his calendar.

"Let's see... July... October, November..."

His calendar was filled with golf appointments.

"I don't have a single free Saturday until early December."

As expected of a newspaper industry department head, his calendar was packed with entertainment golf through December.

"Sunday works too. Or even a weekday."

"Weekdays are a little awkward for me at the company... I do have one free Sunday in August, but it'll be the peak of summer. Would that be okay?"

Mun Byeonggeol laughed heartily as if the heat were nothing.

"If it's peak summer, we'll just go somewhere cool in Gangwon Province. I'll arrange a good course around Pyeongchang."

"Who are the members?"

"It'll be me and Director Kim Hyeongseok from our side. Reporter Chu, do you play?"

August?

It was midsummer, hot enough to sweat just standing still.

Her makeup would completely melt away.

Showing her bare face was absolutely not happening.

Chu Jiyeong politely declined.

"I'm still not very good. Wouldn't it be better to bring Social Affairs Department Head Lee Munhong instead?"

Mun Byeonggeol almost wanted to hug Chu Jiyeong and dance.

He had already wanted to arrange a round with the social affairs department head to build a relationship.

She had scratched exactly where he itched.

"That would be excellent."

"Department Head, ask Department Head Lee Munhong. I'll gather Senior Minjung and some younger reporters for a separate round when the weather cools down."

The meeting ended in a warm, cheerful atmosphere.

But there was one pair of eyes watching them like a hawk as they emerged from the conference room smiling brightly.

Baek Harok.

Harok had been watching Mun Byeonggeol without taking his eyes off him from the moment he entered the conference room.

Laugh as much as you want right now.

I'll make sure you're crying soon.