Free Web NovelEven after that, Lee Myungsoo’s moves were relentless.
“Hyunwoo. Over here!”
Lee Myungsoo smiled and greeted Oh Hyunwoo as he came in through the door.
“What? Why are you here so early?”
“I’ve got more freedom than a salaried office worker like you.”
“Hah, look at this bastard?”
Oh Hyunwoo let out a hollow laugh and sat down.
“I was surprised you wanted to meet alone. Don’t you know the rumor’s all over Seocho-dong these days that you threw away the secretary-general post and have been running around nonstop?”
“Really? People in Seocho-dong are tracking my movements now?”
“You know there was a problem with the MOU you signed in Sierra Leone, right?”
At the mention of Sierra Leone, Myungsoo’s face stiffened slightly.
He quickly relaxed it and asked,
“Yeah. How’s it going?”
“Everyone involved has already started being called in for questioning. We asked the press for an embargo, but... I don’t know how long we can keep it buried.”
“It couldn’t be helped. I almost stepped on a landmine without even realizing it.”
“Exactly. Good thing Kim Muhyuk caught it quickly and cleaned it up. Otherwise it really could’ve become a disaster.”
Just then, the door opened and the manager came in.
“Sir! It’s been a while.”
Maybe because this was one of Oh Hyunwoo’s regular places, the manager recognized him instantly.
“Manager Seo. Long time no see.”
“Haha. I thought you’d forgotten our place. Shall I bring your usual?”
At the manager’s question, Oh Hyunwoo turned to Myungsoo.
“What do you want to eat?”
“I’ll have whatever you’re having.”
Oh Hyunwoo nodded and said to the manager,
“Manager Seo. Two of the usual, and add soy sauce marinated crab too.”
“Yes, sir. Would you like any drinks?”
“Hmm...”
Before the hesitating Oh Hyunwoo could answer, Myungsoo spoke first.
“One bottle of soju and two beers, please.”
“Yes, sir. I’ll bring it right away.”
The manager bowed and left, closing the door behind him.
“Hey, what kind of drinking is this in broad daylight? I have to head back to the Prosecutors’ Office.”
“Then I’ll drink alone.”
“What is it? Are things that rough?”
At Oh Hyunwoo’s worried question, Myungsoo shrugged with a smile.
“I’ve been feeling a bit disillusioned.”
“That’s politics for you. It’s the same over here. Every time we try to do anything, the people upstairs start throwing a fit, so I’m sick of it too.”
Soon the full spread of dishes was brought in.
Myungsoo didn’t even glance at the table. He immediately poured soju and beer into a beer glass and downed it in one shot.
“Hey! Slow down. And pour me one too.”
Myungsoo smirked and handed him a glass.
The two tilted their glasses and kept talking over the meal.
By the time the empty bottles had piled up and both their faces were flushed red, Myungsoo set down his chopsticks.
“Hyunwoo.”
“Yeah?”
“Do me one favor.”
“A favor? What kind?”
Myungsoo drained his glass in one go, set it down, then pulled a sheet of paper out of the briefcase beside him.
“You know our party’s floor leader, Kang Taehyun, right?”
“I do. Why?”
“He needs to go.”
“What? You’re saying you’re going to take out your own party’s floor leader?”
“Yeah. This bastard was one of the ones plotting to kill me too. No proof, though.”
As Oh Hyunwoo accepted the paper, he muttered,
“Hmm... He wasn’t in the material I got.”
“He’s not the kind of man to step forward himself. He’s the type who keeps dozens of snakes in his belly.”
Myungsoo jerked his chin toward the paper.
“This should be enough to bring him down.”
Still doubtful, Oh Hyunwoo looked it over—and his eyes widened.
“This is real?”
“Yeah. It’s from the ledger Muhyuk gave me, so it should be.”
The paper Myungsoo handed over contained a date-by-date record of the tributes Kang Taehyun had received.
Money, of course, but also real estate, and even records of women arranged for him at room salons—it was all there.
“Huh. Didn’t think he was this kind of man, but he plays pretty filthy.”
“To survive in politics, everyone needs a source of money. It’s the same for prosecutors, isn’t it? Though you can get by without dirtying yourself.”
Oh Hyunwoo smacked his lips and looked over the paper again in detail.
“This is more than enough to summon him. But are you sure? This’ll hit your party directly.”
“That’s exactly why I’m doing it. I need to make it clear who I am.”
At Myungsoo’s words, Oh Hyunwoo looked genuinely surprised.
“You’ve changed. This isn’t your style.”
“Muhyuk told me this—power is something you can never share. If I don’t come down hard, they’ll keep attacking like this to take what I have.”
“Well, you were way too soft before. But are you sure? This will definitely make enemies.”
At the question, Myungsoo answered firmly.
“I’m fine with that. I’m finally going to use the knife Muhyuk put in my hand properly.”
Even his presence felt different than usual. But Oh Hyunwoo didn’t dislike the change in Myungsoo.
There had been plenty of times when he’d been frustratingly too kind.
“What do you need me to do?”
“Leak it through the press first, then announce the summons. While that’s happening, I’ll pressure him inside the party to step down as floor leader.”
“How far are you planning to go?”
“I’m taking his lawmaker seat too. I’m going to make sure he never sets foot in politics again.”
After quickly calculating the situation, Oh Hyunwoo nodded.
“Okay. Then I’ll set it up that way. The article will be out within a week.”
“Thanks.”
“What’s with the thanks? Friends help each other out. It’s not like you’ll pretend not to know me later, right?”
As if it were the most obvious thing in the world, Myungsoo nodded and raised his glass one last time.
“Let’s finish this and get up. I’m going to be pretty busy starting today too. I need to meet some people.”
The glasses of Oh Hyunwoo and Lee Myungsoo clinked in the air.
* * *
“He’s doing well.”
I smiled as I watched Myungsoo’s merciless advance.
Using the ledgers I’d given him, Myungsoo had begun forcing people into submission.
Things he would have hesitated over in the past, he now used without hesitation if they could help him build power.
It got to the point where even Yoon Changho called me and asked me to rein him in.
— President Kim. Assemblyman Lee is making far too many enemies. You need to step in and talk to him.
But I had no intention of stopping Myungsoo.
“It’ll be good for the President too. So just pretend not to notice. That blade will never be pointed at you.”
I rejected Yoon Changho’s request outright.
Then, out of nowhere, Floor Leader Kang Taehyun came to my office.
“President Kim. Please save me.”
“Representative Kang. Please stand up. What are you doing?”
“The only person who can stop Assemblyman Lee Myungsoo is you. I was wrong about everything. Please save me.”
The exclusive Koryeo Daily article exposing Kang Taehyun’s bribery and sexual tribute scandal had already been published.
On the very day the article broke, the prosecution announced it was already under internal investigation and could not provide details.
“Please stand up first. What exactly are you doing? You came here without an appointment and started this—I don’t even understand why.”
It wasn’t exactly pleasant to watch a man well past sixty kneeling in front of me and begging for his life.
I helped him up and sat him on the sofa.
“I saw the article about the allegations. Judging by the fact that you came all the way here, I suppose it’s true.”
“......”
“But shouldn’t you be going to Assemblyman Lee Myungsoo instead of me? I think you came to the wrong person.”
“......He’s refusing to meet me.”
Looks like Myungsoo really hardened his heart.
“I heard he’s meeting with everyone except me.”
“Ah, I heard the freshman lawmakers are already passing around a petition demanding your resignation as floor leader.”
“I can step down as floor leader anytime. But at this rate, I could lose ◆ Nоvеlіgһt ◆ (Only on Nоvеlіgһt) my Assembly seat too. So please, talk him down.”
Not a shred of reflection on what he’d done, and here he was clinging like this. Shameless.
“I have no intention of stopping Assemblyman Lee Myungsoo. You should have behaved yourself when all you had to do was hold the blade without swinging it.”
“......”
“Just because you stay still doesn’t mean the cards in your hand disappear. If it had been someone else, would you have treated him the same way? Wasn’t it because you looked down on him for being young?”
“I was wrong about everything. If he wants me to become his dog, I’ll do it. Just please save me.”
With all the evidence already secured, once the prosecution’s investigation officially began, arrest was simply the natural next step.
He still had parliamentary immunity, but if Myungsoo was determined to bring him down, the arrest motion had a high chance of passing the National Assembly. frёewebηovel.cѳm
Even in a legislature that treated protecting its own as routine, if Myungsoo chose to display this level of power, opposing it would be politically burdensome for the others.
“Hmm... For now, are you willing to step down as floor leader?”
“I’ll do whatever you say. Just save me.”
“Wait here.” freёwebnoѵel.com
I pulled out my phone and called Myungsoo.
Then I put it on speaker so Kang Taehyun could hear too.
— Oh, Muhyuk.
“Busy?”
“Busy?”
— Things have been crazy lately. Why? Something up?
“Kang Taehyun came to see me.”
— What? Why would that old man go there?
“He says he wants to live. He wants me to talk you down.”
— Haha, old man must really be feeling the heat.
At that moment, Kang Taehyun hurriedly cut in.
“Assemblyman Lee. It’s Kang Taehyun.”
— .......
“Please save me. I was wrong. I’ll do anything you ask, just let me keep my Assembly seat.”
— Representative Kang, I have no idea what you’re talking about. How exactly am I supposed to save you?
At Myungsoo’s words, Kang Taehyun hurriedly said,
“Stop pretending. I already know everything.”
— Representative.
“Please save me. Then I’ll be loyal to you.”
— Hmm. Don’t do this there. Come over here instead. Let’s talk face to face.
“Ah, understood. Where should I go?”
Once Myungsoo gave him the location, Kang Taehyun hurriedly stood up.
“President Kim. I’ll be going now. Thank you. I won’t forget this favor.”
After Kang Taehyun left, I continued the call.
— If it’s on speaker, tell me it’s on speaker. You scared the hell out of me, you bastard!
“I wanted to see you panic. But what are you planning to do?”
— I’ll decide after I meet him. If he was desperate enough to come all the way to you, he must really be on the ropes.
“You’re going to let him off?”
— If he says he’ll become my dog, letting him live isn’t a bad option. But I’m still making him step down as floor leader. I’m running for it.
I let out a quiet sound of admiration at Myungsoo’s words. He’d really made up his mind.
“Oh? So you’ve decided?”
— Yeah. I’m going to put the entire party firmly in my grasp. That’s why I’ve been going to drinking gatherings every night lately. Meeting lawmakers, coaxing them, threatening them, pulling them to my side.
“Good. If you need help, let me know anytime.”
— Yeah. Let’s have a drink next time.
Myungsoo hung up.
His changed in Myungsoo felt unfamiliar, but it wasn’t bad.
A smile naturally rose to my lips.
“You bastard. Now you finally look like a politician.”
* * *
A few days after Kang Taehyun sought out Kim Muhyuk, he resigned as floor leader.
Inside the Centrist Party, several people declared their candidacy for the new floor leader position.
But one by one, every candidate who had thrown their hat in withdrew over the course of a few days.
The only one left was Lee Myungsoo.
Hours before the Centrist Party’s general caucus began in Conference Room 4 of the National Assembly’s main building, reporters had already gathered outside.
“Assemblyman! Is Assemblyman Lee Myungsoo taking the floor leader seat today?”
“Assemblyman! Please say something about the mood inside the party! Isn’t he the sole candidate?”
The reporters shouted questions every time a Centrist Party lawmaker entered the room, but not a single one got an answer.
“It’s Assemblyman Lee Myungsoo!”
Then the reporters rushed toward Lee Myungsoo as he walked in from the distance.
“Assemblyman! You’re running uncontested for floor leader—is it already decided?”
“Assemblyman Lee! Why are you running for floor leader only a month after resigning as secretary-general over the Guinea incident?”
Questions flew from every direction, but Myungsoo said nothing. He simply pushed through the reporters and entered the conference room.
“What the hell? Why is no one saying anything?”
The reporters grumbled, but not a single Centrist Party lawmaker answered them.
And in the caucus that followed, Lee Myungsoo was elevated to floor leader without even a vote.
The first floor leader in his thirties in constitutional history.
