Don't raise your voice
The three chiefs remained silent in an awkward posture.
The person who broke the silence was Woo Young-sik.
"What do you mean? A Chinese spy? You don't know who we are? And you kill us?"
"I know very well. Chief of Civil Affairs Woo Young-sik. You are the key senior secretaries of the Blue House power."
"But you're accusing us of being spies? Who are you? Are you from the National Intelligence Service?"
National Intelligence Service? Isn't that such a cliché question?
I sat down casually at the top of the table and shrugged my shoulders.
"It doesn't matter who I am. What matters more is that there is a traitor among you who is passing on information from the Blue House to China."
"Hey! What the hell are you doing······."
At that moment, Banjangwoo grabbed the arm of Wooyoungsik, who was jumping up from his seat.
Woo Young-sik stopped talking and looked at Banjang-woo.
"Please sit down, Chief Woo."
"No, sir. This is not it. Are we the ones being dragged in like this? Not one, but three?"
"Calm down and listen to the story."
I watched them with interest, listening to their conversation.
"No, sir. Do you know that man? Who is he?"
"Please sit down for now. I'll explain everything later."
Ban Jang-woo consoled Woo Young-sik without wavering.
Woo Young-sik saw those eyes and sat down hesitantly.
"This case can't just go away! Whether it's the National Intelligence Service or someone else, I'll take it all the way to the end."
Although Ban Jang-woo stopped him and his spirits were dampened, his momentum was not extinguished.
Woo Young-sik, who spoke stubbornly, glared at me.
"Well then. Now, let's get to the point."
Director Ma placed the documents he had prepared on the table.
I pointed to one of them and unfolded it.
"Public Relations Chief Kim Gap-su."
"······."
There was no answer, but I continued talking.
"Your son is studying abroad in China."
"What does that have to do with this matter?"
"Your son is quite friendly with many high-ranking Chinese officials."
"Do I have to get involved in my son's friendships? I have nothing to do with my grown child."
Advertisements
I looked closely at each and every one of Kim Gap-su's responses to my questions without missing a single one.
"That's right. It's impossible for parents to go into every single one of their adult friends' relationships. But I heard you talk to your son on the phone often. More than five times a week."
"······This is illegal."
Kim Gap-su coughed in vain as if he was uncomfortable, but I raised one corner of my mouth and smiled.
"It was illegal for me to bring you here, sir. So please answer my questions. Is it normal for you to talk to your grown son so often?"
"······."
"No matter how close the relationship between father and son is, they don't talk this often. So I'll ask again. Have you never told your son about what happened at the Blue House?"
"······."
Kim Gap-su just kept his mouth shut. No matter how long he waited, he showed no sign of answering.
Silence will not provide an answer.
"Okay, fine. If you don't want to answer, then don't answer. Then you can ask your son."
As I made a slight gesture, Director Ma, who had been standing silently behind me, came closer.
"Sir. Order the immediate acquisition of Chief Kim's son. And make him open his mouth by any means necessary."
"Yes. I will contact you right away."
Director Ma lowered his head and turned around. Kim Gap-soo spoke in a flustered voice at the ominous atmosphere.
"Now, just a moment!"
I raised my hand and called out to Manager Ma, who was about to go outside.
"Are you ready to answer the questions now?"
"My son did nothing wrong."
"That is not for you to decide, sir. It is for me to decide. Let me ask you again. Have you really never passed on to China what happened at the Blue House?"
"I have done favors, but they were not in the national interest at all."
What favor? Kim Gap-soo looked at him with one eyebrow raised, hesitated, and then continued.
"There have been several instances in Korea where high-ranking Chinese officials were arrested by the police for drug or assault cases and were released without anyone knowing. That's all."
I handed over the paper and pen. Kim Gap-su looked back and forth between me and the paper as if he was puzzled.
"Write down exactly when, who asked you to do it, and what you did. I'll trust you."
"······."
"But if there is even the slightest lie, neither you nor your son in China will be safe."
It was not uncommon for the Blue House chief of staff to exert pressure on the police.
This is especially true if the children of high-ranking Chinese officials are arrested for drug-related reasons.
Chinese officials hoped to cover up the incident itself so that no record of the drug case would remain.
This was because China is a country that strictly punishes drugs.
If we could move Kim Gap-su through his son who was studying abroad in China, we could solve the problem without leaving any evidence.
"Write it down."
He put down Kim Gap-soo's documents and picked up Woo Young-sik's documents.
"Chief of Civil Affairs Woo Young-sik."
Advertisements
As expected, there was no answer.
"I heard you had a fun meeting today."
"what?"
"You had a meal with Kim Seok-jae, the 3rd deputy chief of the Central District Prosecutors' Office, and several other prosecutors. What did you talk about?"
"Hey! Do you want to die?"
Woo Young-sik wasn't afraid of me.
I raised one corner of my mouth as I looked at him like that.
"I think the President would be happy if he knew that Senior Civil Affairs Officer, who is in charge of personnel verification, met with Deputy Chief Prosecutor Kim Seok-jae, who has been nominated as the head of the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office."
"You dare threaten me?!"
Woo Young-sik raised his voice again. People who are hurt tend to speak loudly.
I looked at the class president with a smirk.
"To this extent, threatening? Chief Ban Jang-woo. What kind of person am I?"
"······He is a person who keeps his word."
Ban Jang-woo answered, avoiding my gaze.
"That's right. I keep my word. I don't care if it's in front of the Chief of Civil Affairs, the Chief of Public Relations, or the Chief of Staff. So don't raise your voice in front of me."
"Chief. What on earth is this kid doing to say something like this······."
"Please! Please! Shut your mouth! Can't you read the mood?"
Ban Jang-woo shouted.
Woo Young-sik's eyes widened at Ban Jang-woo's actions.
"I'm begging you, so please shut up and answer my questions. I don't want to die."
Fear flashed through Ban Jang-woo's eyes as he spoke earnestly.
Woo Young-sik responded with a look of bewilderment at those eyes.
"Who is this kid······."
"Please! I told you not to talk nonsense!"
Once again, Ban Jang-woo showed a strong reaction. Woo Young-sik looked at me again and asked.
"Let me ask you one thing. Who are you?"
"This is Kim Mu-hyeok from Myeongdong. I didn't know it would be the first time we met."
"What? Kim Moo-hyuk?"
Kim Kap-soo and Woo Young-sik reacted at the same time.
"You are that Kim Mu-hyuk."
Even though he heard my name, Woo Young-sik looked me up and down. He must be a big guy.
On the contrary, Kim Gap-su froze with his hands still.
"What does the head of public relations do? Do you write it down? Or should I ask your son?"
"Oh, no. All of it······. I'll write it all down."
Kim Gap-su picked up his pen in a hurry. He started writing something at a speed incomparable to that of before.
Advertisements
"Chief Woo. Now you know who I am, and you know that what I am saying is not a lie. I wanted to bring you here with solid evidence, if possible. But now I only have circumstantial evidence, and no evidence. That is why I brought you here."
I continued speaking, looking straight into Woo Young-sik's eyes, which were still full of resentment.
"I didn't want to take a rude approach, but I couldn't help it given the circumstances. Please understand. Well, even if you were forced to invite me, you can still have a conversation, right? So let's try to resolve this through conversation like gentlemen."
"What, this······."
"Whether Chief Woo takes control of the prosecution or not is none of my concern. Do what you want. What I'm curious about is what kind of relationship you have with China. There have been circumstances where you have been in frequent contact with the Chinese side. Do you have anything to say about this?"
Woo Young-sik spoke with a distorted face as if he was sneezing.
"Should I tell you about my private life?"
"Yes, the reason for the chief of the chief is to find out."
"Why the three of us? And how did you know there was a spy in the Blue House?"
"I investigated all the senior secretaries and secretaries working at the Blue House. I have already caught some of the secretaries. Sometimes, I thought that a simpler method would be better, so I brought in three people who I have a close relationship with. You know, Chief Woo, right? They were in the prosecution."
Woo Young-sik didn't say anything and just smiled.
"Let me ask you again. Why on earth have you been in constant contact with the Chinese? If they don't respond this time, we'll have to use another method."
"······I've heard a lot about President Kim Moo-hyeok. But I'm the Senior Civil Affairs Officer at the Blue House. Do you think such threats would work against me?"
"Well, to me, it feels the same whether I'm a civil affairs chief or a beggar wandering the street."
Woo Young-sik glared at me fiercely with mocking words.
"Please tell me. Then I can clear my name."
"Is this the President's order?"
"Would the President have encouraged such an illegal act? And I am not the one taking orders from the President."
"The President would be disappointed if he found out. Do you know about my relationship with the President?"
"Of course I know. That's why I'm even more disappointed. That someone who is supposed to be the President's friend is disappointing the President."
I shook my head exaggeratedly, deliberately.
Regardless of whether he was a Chinese spy or not, Woo Young-sik was now moving in a way completely different from the President's intentions.
The very idea of taking control of the prosecution by making one of your own henchmen the chief prosecutor is tantamount to rebelling against the president.
"Would you believe me if I said no?"
"If you only tell the truth."
Woo Young-sik let out a deep sigh. He looked very tired in the short time he had spent there, and he spoke softly.
"I'll talk to you alone at the end. Just promise me this. I'm not a Chinese spy. I've never once passed any secrets to China."
"Is that so?"
"I'll explain everything separately. So let's talk about it later, just the two of us."
I nodded slightly. I also hoped that Woo Young-sik wasn't a spy.
If he was really a spy, this wouldn't be a big deal.
"Yeah."
I closed Woo Young-sik's documents and then looked at Ban Jang-woo's documents last.
"Mr. Security Chief."
"I will tell you everything. So just let me live."
Advertisements
Ban Jang-woo suddenly knelt on the floor.
Kim Kap-soo and Woo Young-sik's eyes were drawn to Ban Jang-woo due to his sudden actions.
"Did the National Security Chief pass on information to China?"
"I had no choice. They grabbed my weak point and shook me······."
"What is that weakness? Is it so big that you could sell out your country?"
"······."
"What on earth is it?"
Ban Jang-woo closed his eyes tightly, closed his mouth, and shook his head.
I let out a deep sigh and called Director Ma.
"Sir, please give each of us a separate room."
"Yes, I will do that."
"No. I need to hear it too."
At that moment, Woo Young-sik intervened.
"A person called the Chief of National Security would sell national secrets? No matter what the circumstances, that's not right! I need to know that too."
Woo Young-sik glared at the class president.
"Mr. National Security Chief. I am disappointed. How can someone other than the Chief of Foreign Affairs and National Security sell out confidential information?"
"······."
"I heard you meet the Chinese ambassador so often. I thought you were doing it to resolve this situation."
Woo Young-sik shook his head as he poured out harsh criticism.
"President Kim Moo-hyuk. I need to hear that too. This isn't something that can just be overlooked."
I could guess why Woo Young-sik was acting like that.
But for a sincere conversation, it would be better if they all disappeared.
"I will listen alone. Please go inside. The charges against you, sir, have not been dropped."
"I have another reason······."
"Well, I'll tell you the reason separately. Come on in."
Chief Ma and his subordinates moved and guided the two people to a room on the second floor.
After I confirmed that everyone was gone, I asked Ban Jang-woo.
"Now tell me. What is your weakness, and when did you become a dog of China? This is your last chance."
"that is······."
Ban Jang-woo slowly opened his mouth with a trembling voice.
< Don't Raise Your Voice > End
< This method was the best >