A few days after the secret meeting with Choi Taeuk, Choi Seohyeon called for his chief secretary.
“Hyukjin.”
“Yes, Candidate.”
For the first time in a long while, Choi Seohyeon called him by name.
“Yes, Candidate?”
“Call me hyung like you used to.”
“......”
“I've treated you coldly lately, haven't I?”
“No, sir.”
“I'm sorry. The presidency is right in front of my eyes, but things haven't been going the way I want, so I've been a little sensitive.”
Kim Hyukjin silently looked at him before shaking his head.
“I exist to make you President. You don't need to think like that.”
“Right. When I enter the Blue House, you'll be entering with me.”
After speaking, Choi Seohyeon took out a note from the drawer and handed it over.
An address was written on it.
“This is......”
“Tomorrow at midnight, go to that location. Someone will be waiting there. Take what he gives you and move it to the officetel.”
“......Campaign funds?”
Choi Seohyeon nodded.
Then, in a serious tone, he said,
“You're the only person I can trust. You can do this, right, Hyukjin?”
“Yes......”
Kim Hyukjin lowered his head and answered weakly.
He chewed on his lips while sinking into thought.
Normally, dirty work like this was never entrusted to one's closest aide.
The unspoken rule in politics was to leave it to someone whose tail could be cut off at any time if something went wrong.
Yet Choi Seohyeon had entrusted him with this task.
Which meant he was nothing more than a disposable card.
Still, he couldn't refuse.
Otherwise, he would completely fall out of Choi Seohyeon's favor.
The next day.
Kim Hyukjin arrived at a quiet parking lot on the outskirts of Seoul late at night.
His palms were sweaty from nervousness, and his heart beat rapidly.
Sitting in the car, he let out a deep sigh while continuously scanning his surroundings anxiously.
Then, he saw headlights blinking from a box truck parked in one corner of the lot.
Kim Hyukjin flashed his own headlights several times in response.
A few moments later, a man got out of the truck and knocked on the window of his car.
Kim Hyukjin lowered the window slightly.
“Chief Secretary Kim?”
“Yes, that's right.”
“Blue sky.”
The man suddenly uttered a strange phrase.
“Clear river.”
Kim Hyukjin answered calmly with the password he'd been given earlier that day.
The man nodded.
“Good. I'll hand over the cargo.”
Kim Hyukjin got out.
Without exchanging another word, the two headed to the rear of the truck.
When the man opened the doors, Kim Hyukjin's eyes widened.
The truck was filled with boxes of apples.
“It's all cash. Exactly thirty billion won.”
Kim Hyukjin nodded and opened one of the boxes.
Bundles of ten-thousand-won bills were neatly stacked inside.
He took out one bundle and inspected it.
After checking it, he put it back and closed the box.
“I've confirmed it. Give me the keys.”
The man handed him the truck keys.
“One box will remain. That's your share. I was told to say it's compensation for your efforts.”
“......”
“Drive carefully.”
The man raised his hand.
From a dark corner of the parking lot came the sound of a car engine starting.
The man boarded that vehicle and left.
After they disappeared from view, Kim Hyukjin climbed into the truck.
His hands trembled slightly on the steering wheel.
Thirty billion won.
An amount he had never touched in his life sat inside the vehicle.
‘Should I just run away with it?’
For a moment, greed surfaced.
But Kim Hyukjin recalled Choi Seohyeon's final instructions.
“Never let yourself be followed. If anything suspicious appears, keep changing routes and check. This is something important that will lead us to victory. If anything goes wrong...... then both you and I die together. Understand?”
Letting out a sigh, Kim Hyukjin started the engine and slowly left the parking lot.
Checking his rearview mirror repeatedly, he changed routes several times according to the plan before heading to his destination.
About an hour later, he arrived at the underground parking lot of a luxury officetel in Gangnam.
After turning off the engine, he checked his surroundings again.
Nobody was there.
Getting out, Kim Hyukjin brought over the cart he had prepared in advance and started moving the apple boxes.
As time passed, both his face and dress shirt became soaked with sweat.
It took thirty minutes to move everything.
After putting down the last box, he wiped the sweat from his forehead and took a deep breath.
He immediately called Choi Seohyeon.
“Everything has been moved.”
— Really? Any tails?
“I checked repeatedly while changing routes as planned. Nobody followed me.”
— Good work, Hyukjin. I knew you'd do well. I trusted you. Go home and get some rest, and let's talk in the morning. Don't tell anyone.
“Yes, Candidate.”
After hanging up, Kim Hyukjin looked back one last time at the mountain of boxes.
Suppressing the greed that kept surfacing was harder than he expected.
Leaving the officetel, he drove the truck back to the same parking lot where they'd first met.
Parking beside his own car, he opened the trunk and moved the one remaining apple box into it.
“......This is my rightful share.”
One hundred million won had fallen into his lap after only a few hours.
As the election progressed, the amount of campaign funds he could get involved with would only increase.
Satisfied with merely enjoying the crumbs, he headed home.
Never once did Kim Hyukjin realize that another group had recorded him from beginning to end.
* * *
“Boss. Choi Seohyeon accepted the thirty billion.”
“Not even realizing it was bait, he swallowed it.”
Choi Taeuk had received ten billion won in funding through Baltiche's direct line.
Along with it came orders to secure the remaining twenty billion himself.
However, Choi Taeuk had no way of raising twenty billion in such a short time.
Contrary to my expectations, he hadn't accumulated much slush money.
Most IT company founders had created secret funds in various ways, but he'd managed his company normally.
“The twenty billion we provided was also made to look like money from Baltiche, right?”
“Yes. We deliberately avoided using the cash in the underground vault. The money was brought into Korea through one of the shell companies overseas. Naturally, after sending the money, the shell company erased every trace.”
“Good. Now let's see how well Choi Seohyeon uses the bait we've thrown.”
Plans had already been prepared so we could counterattack the moment Choi Seohyeon released the documents.
Having the prosecution directly investigate a presidential candidate was an enormous burden, but Oh Hyunwoo had volunteered to personally shoulder the responsibility.
Everything was ready.
All that remained was to watch Choi Seohyeon's downfall.
At the same time, the secret organization called Baltiche would be exposed to the world.
* * *
Choi Seohyeon held a press conference in a hotel convention center instead of the National Assembly Press Hall.
Not only domestic media, but foreign reporters as well packed the venue.
The mere fact that a leading presidential candidate at the center of the controversy was holding a press conference had attracted attention from all over Korea and the world.
Choi Seohyeon stepped onto the podium.
His expression was grave, and determination burned in his eyes.
“Respected citizens and members of the press. Today, I stand before you to reveal an extremely shocking and serious truth.”
The moment he began speaking, the hall, which had been noisy with camera shutters and typing sounds, instantly became silent.
Every camera focused on him.
“I have obtained evidence proving that Kim Muhyuk used illegal slush funds to support politicians.”
The reporters erupted in commotion.
After taking a breath, Choi Seohyeon continued.
“I will show you concrete evidence.”
He signaled to his chief secretary.
Soon, various documents and photographs appeared on the large screen.
“These are account statements for Kim Muhyuk's slush funds. Over the past ten years, tens of billions of won have entered Korea through suspicious channels.”
One by one, Choi Seohyeon explained the “evidence.”
Bank records, overseas account information, and photographs of suspicious meetings were displayed.
“What's even more shocking is that much of this money was used to influence decisions regarding key national projects.”
For quite some time, Choi Seohyeon attacked Kim Muhyuk and the people who had received his slush funds.
After his explanation ended, questions flooded in.
“Is it true these ‘pieces of evidence’ are related to President Kim Muhyuk? His name doesn't appear even once in the materials.”
“Did you personally confirm this with President Kim Muhyuk?”
“Do you plan to request a prosecution investigation?”
The barrage of questions temporarily halted the press conference.
Once the confusion settled, Choi Seohyeon spoke again.
“Please ask one at a time. I will answer as many as possible.”
Reporters raised their hands, and the chief secretary personally selected them.
The first question concerned the source of the evidence.
“This information came from an internal whistleblower burdened by guilt. To protect the informant, I cannot reveal further details. However, we've already confirmed through multiple channels that these accounts are related to Kim Muhyuk.”
The second question pointed out that corruption involving both the previous and current administrations meant the Progressive Party could not escape responsibility either.
“Our Progressive Party is not exempt. However, we will not protect anyone involved. Whoever committed wrongdoing must face the law.”
After numerous questions and answers, Choi Seohyeon began his closing statement.
“Kim Muhyuk must immediately return to Korea and explain these allegations. I also demand a thorough investigation by the prosecution. This is not merely a case of personal corruption. It is a serious issue that threatens our democracy and economic system. I will devote every effort until the truth is fully uncovered.”
Leaving those final words behind, he departed.
The reporters followed him, but he refused to say anything more.
Following the press conference, public opinion turned around.
Those who had defended Kim Muhyuk disappeared and demanded explanations from him.
With the exception of Koryeo Daily, most media outlets focused heavily on Choi Seohyeon's accusations.
The situation moved against Kim Muhyuk.
Yet Kim Muhyuk failed to appear anywhere for several days and offered no explanation whatsoever.
The longer he remained silent, the larger the suspicions grew.
Eventually, the sparks spread to the ruling party and even the Blue House.
While South Korea was in upheaval, Koryeo Daily released an exclusive article.
[Candidate Choi Seohyeon's Revelations—Were They Fake Information?]
Last week, Candidate Choi Seohyeon held a press conference exposing corruption and misconduct by Kim Muhyuk, President of Dreamhigh Korea, creating enormous repercussions.
However, according to our exclusive investigation, signs have emerged suggesting that the evidence presented by Candidate Choi may have been fabricated.
Candidate Choi claimed that President Kim provided illegal funds to politicians and presented specific evidence.
Koryeo Daily spent several days thoroughly examining his allegations.
And we discovered a shocking truth.
The documents revealed by Candidate Choi were submitted to professional analytical institutions for verification.
The results showed that multiple transaction records and account information did not match reality, and certain financial flows simply did not exist.
In particular, several financial institutions allegedly connected to President Kim confirmed that no such transactions had ever taken place.
Candidate Choi's camp strongly rejected our inquiries, stating, “The claim that the materials released to expose Kim Muhyuk's corruption were fabricated is absurd,” and further declaring, “Koryeo Daily should stop cooperating with President Kim's smear campaign.”
However, Candidate Choi's side avoided giving clear answers regarding the source of the documents.
Should Candidate Choi's revelations prove false, his political position is expected to suffer greatly.
Likewise, negative public sentiment toward President Kim may also reverse.
Our special investigative team is gathering additional information and plans to release more concrete reports soon.
Whether Candidate Choi's revelations are truth or merely a political conspiracy will be determined by future investigations.
Koryeo Daily promises to thoroughly investigate this matter and deliver the truth to its readers.
Koryeo Daily's article was more than enough to push the scandal that had shaken South Korea into an entirely new phase.
