Chapter 23

Chapter 023: Limit (2)

Hee-soo finished his appeal to the members of the Public Administration and Security Committee with complete sincerity.

"My work, and Suseong's work, will contribute to the development of the fire service and, beyond that, to strengthening public safety."

"I promise that here, in front of the representatives of the people."

"The proof of that promise is me, personally working in the fire service."

The assembly members continued questioning him afterward.

However, most of their comments were now praise for Hee-soo's efforts.

Dobong Fire Station, rescue team office.

Captain Gu Seung-tae of Rescue Team 3 was staring out the window.

Deputy Captain Park Eun-hyuk walked over.

"Captain."

"Maybe Hee-soo really isn't working with the rescue team because he has some hidden motive."

"Maybe he genuinely believes in what he's doing."

Captain Gu didn't answer easily.

After a long silence, he finally spoke.

"Seems like it."

But he couldn't continue.

The deputy captain sensed something strange and immediately looked at his face.

"Are you crying?"

Captain Gu exploded.

"WHO'S CRYING?!"

The deputy captain grinned as though he'd discovered something incredible.

He immediately shouted toward the team.

"Hey!"

"Captain Gu is crying!"

"He's so moved by Hee-soo that he's crying!"

However, none of the others joined in teasing him.

"Haah."

"I never imagined Hee-soo thought like that."

"We should've treated him better."

"We do this because it's our profession."

"Why?"

"We also started because we had a sense of duty."

"We still do, of course..."

"But it's true that it's not as strong as it used to be."

The YouTube comments under the national audit broadcast were beyond heated.

They were practically on fire.

[What do I do? I'm crying.]

[He's completely different from the chaebol heirs I imagined.]

[No. There has to be something behind it. A chaebol can't possibly be like that.]

[I save others to save myself. What could possibly be hidden behind that? His motivation is pure, his actions prove it, and the results are real.]

[A third-generation chaebol heir personally experiences the act of saving lives, then stakes his company's future on turning that experience into technology. And his reason is to save himself. Is this fantasy?]

The national audit had shocked people in many ways.

Chief Jang patted Hee-soo's shoulder when he returned to the waiting room.

Hee-soo was looking at his watch.

"You were incredible today."

"Suseong's stock price rose three percent while the national audit was being broadcast."

Hee-soo gave a light smile.

"Thank you."

"Are you going home?"

"My work shift isn't over yet."

"I need to return to the fire station."

"All right."

Someone knocked on the waiting room door.

"Yes."

"Come in."

The person who entered was Assemblywoman Kim Ga-eul.

Hee-soo had been preparing to leave immediately.

The moment he saw Ga-eul, his brows narrowed slightly.

I'm busy.

Why is she here?

He quickly hid his irritation and greeted her with a smile.

"Assemblywoman."

"You worked hard today."

"What brings you all the way here?"

"First, I believe I owe you an apology."

"An apology?"

"For what?"

"I was extremely suspicious about the fact that a chaebol heir was working as a firefighter."

"That's normal."

Hee-soo answered casually, as though he'd expected it.

He wasn't thinking much about her.

He simply wanted the conversation to finish so he could return to work.

However, Hee-soo's indifferent response hurt Ga-eul's pride.

"So I was included among those ordinary people."

Hee-soo could hear the thorns in her words.

For some reason, anger suddenly rose from deep inside his chest.

"You were also included among those ordinary assembly members."

"If you don't have anything else to say, I need to return to work."

"What?"

His short response carried many meanings.

Ga-eul suppressed her surprise.

"I don't think what you said in the audit was everything."

"I came because I wanted to hear more from you personally."

One corner of Hee-soo's mouth rose in a mocking smile.

"Assemblywoman Kim Ga-eul."

"You're a first-term proportional representative on the Public Administration and Security Committee."

"You spent a short period working as a police officer."

"You became famous after protesting unfair orders that were given to police officers responsible for public safety."

"Because of that, you received number ten on the proportional representation list and entered the National Assembly."

"Yes, that's correct, but..."

Ga-eul became increasingly irritated by his sarcastic tone.

Hee-soo noticed, but continued anyway.

"And since entering the National Assembly, you've continued increasing your public recognition through legislative work and field activities."

"Well, that's only natural for an assembly member."

"But I don't like first-term assembly members."

"I communicate much better with people who have served three terms or more."

"What's the point of having a serious discussion with people who simply raise their hands according to whatever position their party decides?"

Ga-eul's voice sharpened immediately.

"Isn't that extremely rude?"

"You're calling first-term lawmakers nothing more than voting machines?"

Hee-soo responded calmly, but his voice was cold.

"Shouldn't you first consider whether your own attitude toward a citizen was rude?"

"Especially when you're speaking with someone like me, who understands the internal affairs of your party extremely well."

Hee-soo's patience had reached its limit.

"I believe returning to work would be more productive than continuing this unproductive conversation."

"Then I'll excuse myself."

He stood and left the waiting room.

Chief Jang, who had watched everything, looked slightly worried.

"She's still an assembly member of the auditing body."

"Weren't you a little too harsh?"

"I don't have time to deal with a chick that just hatched."

"What exactly can that assemblywoman even do?"

"She probably doesn't even understand the problems within the fire service."

"I already gave her a lot of consideration because she's an elected representative of the people."

"And the people being audited are the senior officials."

"Not me."

"That's true."

Meanwhile, Ga-eul returned to her office.

She was so angry that she couldn't focus on work.

Aide Yoo asked,

"What happened?"

"Why are you so angry?"

"Ah! Seriously!"

"Why is that man so rude?"

"Who?"

"Choi Hee-soo!"

Ga-eul told him what had happened in the waiting room.

Yoo Seok-in listened to the entire story.

Then he spoke with a serious expression.

"Even if he's a director at Suseong, that was extremely rude toward an assembly member."

"Exactly!"

Yoo carefully watched Ga-eul's expression.

"However..."

"Assemblywoman Kim, you were also a little excessive."

"What?"

"What did I do?"

"Director Choi was summoned here even though he didn't actually do anything wrong."

"He was already working hard and contributing to society."

"But you approached the issue as though there must be some conspiracy behind what he was doing."

"That's why I went to apologize!"

"I even thought I'd listen if he had some request."

Yoo carefully continued.

"But think about it."

"How many senior lawmakers do you think have connections to Suseong?"

"It's probably safe to say that almost every lawmaker with four or more terms has some connection."

"Most likely, they had contact with his father or grandfather."

"They've also received plenty of political support."

"And among lawmakers with three or more terms, it's difficult to find anyone who hasn't received some kind of help from Suseong."

"So you're saying Suseong will submit requests through them?"

"Suseong doesn't need to submit requests."

Yoo shook his head.

"The lawmakers themselves will think they hit the jackpot."

"They'll raise issues and begin pressuring the government on their own."

"They'll probably be very grateful to you for creating this opportunity."

"Why?"

"Because this gives them an opportunity to gain favor with Suseong without giving Suseong any special business benefit."

"In other words, they can help Suseong without doing anything corrupt."

"And there's even a public cause behind it."

Ga-eul looked as though she'd been struck in the back of the head.

"Haah."

"So that's how it is."

"Exactly."

"You turned the issue into a major public story and drew media attention to it."

"But you're not taking the benefits for yourself."

"Your senior lawmakers are going to adore you."

"You're very good at politics."

"Hahaha."

Ga-eul still had a bitter taste in her mouth.

Before getting out of the car, Hee-soo spoke to Chief Jang.

"Chief Jang."

"Try building a connection with Assemblywoman Kim Ga-eul."

"Why?"

"Actually, after thinking about it, I think working with her might produce better results than I expected."

"Why do you think that?"

"She doesn't seem to have much personal ambition or greed as an assembly member."

"She seems like someone who entered politics because she genuinely wanted to work."

"Hahaha."

"So you liked her?"

"Not that much."

"Understood."

"Go inside."

When Hee-soo entered the office, the firefighters greeted him.

"Good work today."

"Go take care of your work."

"The National Assembly must have nothing better to do."

"Calling a probationary firefighter all the way there."

"Seriously."

"And those people make money doing that."

"Life must be easy for them."

"We're the only ones working ourselves to death."

Everyone tried to comfort Hee-soo.

Their attitude toward him had clearly changed.

Hee-soo found the new warmth difficult to get used to.

After changing into his station uniform, Hee-soo quickly went outside.

While checking his phone, his senior partner Jae-sik came out.

"Hee-soo."

"Sorry to bother you while you're resting, but there's something I'm curious about."

"Can I ask?"

Hee-soo looked slightly cautious.

"Yes."

"Go ahead."

"The thing I understand least after watching you is this."

"How do you always know exactly where the victims are?"

Hee-soo turned his eyes back toward his phone with an indifferent expression.

"The angel tells me."

"What?"

"The angel tells me where the victims are."

Jae-sik froze at Hee-soo's completely natural expression.

"A-an angel?"

"Yes."

"An angel."

"Uh."

"R-right."

"Yes."

"O-okay."

Jae-sik returned to the office.

The deputy captain immediately looked at him with shining eyes.

"So?"

"Did you ask him?"

"Yes."

Seeing Jae-sik's troubled expression, he asked,

"What?"

"He didn't tell you?"

"Well..."

"Did he tell you?"

"I don't know whether that counts as telling me or not."

"What does that mean?"

Jae-sik hesitated for a long time.

"Apparently..."

"An angel tells him."

"An angel?"

The firefighters who had all been curious reacted exactly like Jae-sik.

The deputy captain stared at him in disbelief.

When nobody believed him, Jae-sik emphasized it again.

"That's what Hee-soo said."

"Was Choi Hee-soo Christian?"

"I don't think so."

"The Suseong family has traditionally attended Buddhist temples for generations."

"Still, Choi Hee-soo spent a lot of time in America when he was young."

"Maybe he became Christian."

"I don't know about that."

"But he definitely said an angel tells him."

Captain Gu clicked his tongue.

"He probably means instinct."

"Why are you obsessing over it?"

"Some people just have unusually good instincts."

Min-ah had overheard the conversation.

She approached.

"How can an angel be telling him?"

"Hee-soo doesn't even believe in Christianity."

"Who knows?"

"That guy never talks about himself."

"How am I supposed to know what's going on in his head?"

"Should I go ask him?"