Free Web NovelBusan Mayor An Youngsoo suddenly received a call from Han Jiho.
— Mayor An. It’s Han Jiho.
“Yes, Chairman. This is An Youngsoo.”
— No major issues with city administration, right?
“Of course not. This isn’t my first term—this is already my third. Everything’s running smoothly.”
— That’s good to hear······.
After checking in, Han Jiho trailed off. Hearing the hesitation in his voice, An Youngsoo read the room and spoke first.
“Is there something you wanted to say to me, Chairman?”
— Do you have plans this evening?
“I do have a dinner scheduled with some local leaders. But if there’s something you need, Chairman, I can cancel.”
It was an important engagement, but if Chairman Han Jiho asked, it was more than worth canceling.
— Then······. You know Kim Muhyuk, right?
“You mean Secretary-General Lee Myungsoo’s friend? Yes, I received a report. I heard there’s a seventieth birthday banquet for his grandmother. I intended ❀ Nоvеlігht ❀ (Don’t copy, read here) to attend, but I was informed—politely—that politicians and business leaders would not be attending.”
— I know that as well. But I have something important I need to discuss with that young man. And who can I trust for something like this? You’re the only one, aren’t you?
It wasn’t some grave matter, yet Han Jiho was trying to use him as nothing more than a messenger. Anger flared up inside An Youngsoo.
Swallowing a bitter laugh, An Youngsoo asked back,
“······Are you telling me to go in person and deliver your message, Chairman?”
— Could you do that for me? It’s truly important to me.
Han Jiho answered shamelessly. Rage surged again, but An Youngsoo forced it down and replied,
“Understood. I’ll do it. It’s been a while—I suppose I’ll take the opportunity to see Secretary-General Lee Myungsoo as well.”
— Thank you. What you need to tell him is······.
His insides were boiling, but if this was a personal request from Chairman Han Jiho, there would surely be some scraps left over for him.
An Youngsoo bit his lip slowly, engraving every word into his mind.
— I’ll be counting on you. I won’t forget what you did for me today.
After the call ended, An Youngsoo stared at the phone and muttered,
“That bastard sends me out for this kind of bullshit.”
Roughly raking his fingers through his disheveled hair, An Youngsoo pressed the intercom and called his chief secretary.
“You called for me, Mayor?”
“Push tonight’s dinner back.”
At the irritation dripping from An Youngsoo’s voice, the secretary flinched and asked,
“Pardon? Weren’t you the one who said these were very difficult people to arrange and that we should prepare thoroughly?”
“Hey, you bastard! Who the hell told you to talk back? If I say postpone it, you postpone it! We’re heading to a hotel in Seomyeon instead, so prepare accordingly.”
Tonight’s dinner had been with construction company presidents from Busan and Gyeongnam.
Canceling something he’d been preparing for months just to play carrier pigeon made his stomach burn.
“What should I tell them?”
“Make up a good excuse yourself. Apologize for postponing and tell them there’ll be compensation to match.”
“Understood. I’ll contact them immediately.”
“We leave in thirty minutes. Have the car ready.”
After the secretary bowed and left, An Youngsoo picked up the cigarette pack on his desk.
Pulling a cigarette out with his lips, he flicked it lightly and hummed,
“Since I’m going anyway, what should I squeeze out of this, hmm······.”
The cigarette flared briefly, and thick smoke soon filled the office.
Muttering to himself, An Youngsoo sank into deep thought.
* * *
The seventieth birthday banquet was proceeding without a hitch.
When Cheon Jiyoung grabbed the microphone and sang a trot song to liven things up, guests came forward and began dancing.
It felt just like a neighborhood celebration—everyone was enjoying themselves.
Grandma’s face was in full bloom with smiles, and seeing that made me smile without realizing it.
But only for a moment. Uninvited guests suddenly barged in and shattered the mood.
“You can’t do that!”
“Do you even know who this person is?”
“Even so, you can’t come in.”
A commotion broke out near the entrance of the banquet hall.
Manager Ma and the security guards were blocking the entrance, facing off against someone.
On a day like this, which bastard was ruining everything?
As I frowned and stood up, Grandma grabbed my hand.
“Muhyuk.”
I quickly relaxed my expression, smiled, and patted the back of her hand a couple of times.
“Grandma, I’ll just go check what’s going on.”
Looking down at her with an intentionally gentle smile, I waited until she nodded and let go.
When Lee Myungsoo and Park Hyunseong saw me heading toward the entrance, they followed behind me.
I asked Manager Ma, who was controlling the guards with his usual stiff expression,
“What’s going on?”
“Boss. The Mayor of Busan says he’s here to attend.”
“Mayor An Youngsoo?”
“Yes.”
At those words, the one who spoke was Lee Myungsoo behind me.
As soon as I heard it, I had a pretty good idea of how things had unfolded, and my brow furrowed.
This was an extension of what Myungsoo mentioned earlier.
He said Han Jiho would be contacting me soon, but I had no intention of taking that call.
Han Jiho surely knew that. That was why he’d sent someone else to deliver his message.
‘But he picked the wrong day.’
Today was Grandma’s seventieth birthday.
For today, at least, I wanted to put everything down and just be her grandson.
That was why I had strictly excluded politicians and business leaders and invited mostly Grandma’s acquaintances.
The only people here with any public recognition were a few of my university friends.
Today, I wasn’t Kim Muhyuk of Myeongdong—I was Kim Muhyuk of Busan.
I was irritated, but with neighborhood folks and city officials watching, I couldn’t just explode.
“Step aside. I’ll meet him myself.”
At my order, the guards moved aside.
Only then did the people in front come into view.
“Hello. I’m the chief secretary to Mayor An Youngsoo. The Mayor will be coming up shortly.”
The man announced himself as if he were delivering some sort of notice.
We’d already declined his attendance, and yet he was acting like he mattered?
Before I could say anything, Lee Myungsoo snapped first.
“What do you think you’re doing? We clearly informed everyone that politicians would not be attending today.”
The stiff-faced secretary sucked in a breath when he saw Myungsoo’s face.
But he quickly composed himself and replied shamelessly,
“I don’t know anything about that. I was just told suddenly that the Mayor would be attending and to prepare.”
“We clearly told you we were declining. On what authority are you insisting on attending here?”
“Even if you say that to me······.”
At that moment, a group of people stepped off the elevator.
“Ha ha! I’m a bit late, aren’t I? Have you all been waiting long?” freewebnøvel.com
Mayor An Youngsoo hadn’t come alone—he arrived leading a whole group of senior Busan City officials.
He greeted everyone with a hearty laugh, but the atmosphere only grew colder.
Sensing the unusual mood, An Youngsoo quickly looked around. When he spotted Lee Myungsoo, he smiled and spoke.
“Well, well—look who it is. Secretary-General, isn’t it? Long time no see. First time since the local elections ended, right?”
“Mayor An Youngsoo. What exactly do you think you’re doing?”
Lee Myungsoo didn’t even return the greeting, asking stiffly with a hardened face.
“I didn’t come to a place I’m not allowed, so what’s with that attitude? There’s nowhere in Busan I can’t go. Everywhere has citizens I need to embrace. I attend gatherings like this all the time. I’m not that authoritarian. What do you think I am? And you—are you not a politician yourself?”
“To those people, I’m not politician Lee Myungsoo. I’m just Lee Myungsoo from the neighborhood. These are people I’ve known since I was a snot-nosed kid.”
“Heh heh. Why so sharp?”
He kept smiling as if relaxed, but with Lee Myungsoo’s continued resistance, veins bulged on An Youngsoo’s forehead.
“Please leave. If you have something to say, I’ll contact you tomorrow.”
At Myungsoo’s repeated dismissal, An Youngsoo’s mask finally shattered.
“Assemblyman Lee. What do you think you’re doing? I’ve been in politics for decades longer than you! I’m your senior in politics and far older as well. How dare a youngster tell me where to go and where not to go! You need to learn manners before politics.”
“Mayor. I believe you’re the one who needs to learn manners. You dragged people to a place you weren’t invited to and are making a scene. As you said, you’re well along in years—this is rude.”
Was this really the Myungsoo I knew? This was nothing like the carefree guy he always was around us.
Even facing the Mayor of Busan, he didn’t back down at all.
Park Hyunseong and the others stared at Myungsoo in shock.
“Is that any way to speak to the Mayor?”
At that moment, someone behind An Youngsoo stepped forward and pointed at Myungsoo.
There’s always someone like that—overzealous loyalty, making things worse.
But Myungsoo didn’t even glance at him, keeping his eyes locked on An Youngsoo.
“Hah······. Assemblyman Lee. Fine. If I was rude, I’ll apologize. But I didn’t come here for you—I came to see President Kim Muhyuk.”
“So that means······.”
Myungsoo tried to continue, but I raised my hand to stop him.
He frowned at me, but I slowly shook my head.
Raising voices in a place with this many eyes would only damage his image.
Realizing my intent, Myungsoo swallowed his anger and stepped back.
“You were looking for me? This is the first time I’ve ever met you, Mayor.”
“Ha ha. Nice to meet you. I’ve heard a lot about the name Kim Muhyuk. I’m An Youngsoo, responsible for Busan Metropolitan City.”
An Youngsoo smiled like a friendly man and extended his hand, but I didn’t take it.
Instead, I spoke coldly.
“State your business quickly and leave.”
The veins on An Youngsoo’s forehead darkened further.
“You’re even more ill-mannered than I’d heard.”
He must be used to National Assembly members groveling at his feet.
Regardless of what he said, I stayed silent, intent only on hearing the point.
After a short sigh, An Youngsoo stepped back.
“I’d like to speak privately. Could you spare me some time?”
Whatever Han Jiho wanted to say, I supposed it was worth hearing.
I glanced briefly at the people behind me and nodded.
“Fine. Let’s go. I have a hotel room reserved separately.”
Then I turned to Myungsoo and Hyunseong and spoke earnestly.
“I’ll talk for a bit and come back. Please look after Grandma for me. Tell her not to worry—I’ll be back soon.”
“Muhyuk······.”
“I’ll handle it. It’s a good day—there’s no need to raise voices.”
After hesitating, Myungsoo nodded.
He knew as well as I did that refusing further would only make things noisier.
I didn’t want to stain Grandma’s birthday with bad memories.
“Everyone else, please leave. Only the Mayor should follow me.”
I dismissed the others who had come with An Youngsoo.
A murmur ran through them.
“What······.”
“If you make this any more disruptive, you’ll all be forcibly removed. Will you leave quietly, or be dragged out?”
As I spoke firmly, the security guards stepped forward.
Their imposing presence made the officials visibly flinch.
“That’s enough. All of you, go down and wait.”
At An Youngsoo’s order, they bowed and disappeared back into the elevator.
“Let’s go. Follow me.”
Without looking back, I turned and boarded the elevator with An Youngsoo, pressing the floor where the reserved room was.
“Did Chairman Han Jiho send you?”
As the numbers climbed, I asked without even looking his way.
“What?”
“I asked whether you’re Chairman Han Jiho’s messenger.”
“I’m not some mere messenger—”
“Don’t play word games, Mayor An Youngsoo. Do I look like I’m joking right now? If today hadn’t been my grandmother’s seventieth birthday, you wouldn’t even be meeting me.”
Humiliation flashed across his face, and An Youngsoo ground his teeth.
The elevator chimed and opened, and I stepped out.
But An Youngsoo didn’t move, just stared at me.
“What are you doing? Come along. Or would you rather go back down to the first floor?”
I looked at An Youngsoo, who stood frozen, with eyes utterly devoid of emotion.
