Actually, Dad Was a Hero

Chapter 41: Disposal

“Protection?”

Lee Sang-Jun asked back, sounding surprised.

[Yes.]

“Is there a problem?”

[…… Not really, but I’m a little worried.]

Jin Beom-Min’s voice over the phone sounded strange.

However, his request wasn’t unreasonable.

Since Jin Beom-Min himself was a VVIP of the NIS, his children were also considered VIPs.

In the current situation, with the whole world in an uproar due to the monster crisis, they could provide protection services for their safety.

“Alright. I’ll prepare it.”

[Thank you.]

Lee Sang-Jun tilted his head and hung up the phone.

“What’s going on?”

Agent Kang Jin-Woo, who was visiting Lee Sang-Jun for a regular report, asked.

“Well, I don’t know what’s going on, but Mr. Jin Beom-Min requested protection for his children.”

“Ah, well, that makes sense, doesn’t it?”

“Does it?”

“The situation is getting more serious these days. Besides, there was that… incident a few days ago, right? It’s natural to be worried.”

The ‘incident’ Kang Jin-Woo was referring to was the conspiracy orchestrated by the NIS Director and the 1st and 2nd Department Heads.

On the day Kuen interrogated Noh Min-Gu, Kang Jin-Woo was also sitting in the driver’s seat of the van and heard everything.

“Hmm… well, I hope it’s nothing. You can take charge of the security personnel deployment.”

“Yes, sir.”

Ring―

Lee Sang-Jun’s phone rang again.

“The phone’s busy today.”

Lee Sang-Jun picked up the phone casually, and his expression subtly changed.

“Should I leave?”

Kang Jin-Woo asked perceptively, and Lee Sang-Jun nodded.

As Kang Jin-Woo carefully closed the door and left the room, Lee Sang-Jun pressed the call button.

“Yes, Minister.”

[Ah, Lee. I received the file you sent me the other day. It seems to have scared them quite a bit.]

“We had to secure evidence.”

[How did you handle the aftermath?]

“You don’t have to worry about it.”

Noh Min-Gu took a week off after being interrogated by Kuen.

As one of the leaders of the NIS, he couldn’t go to work with his face swollen from being beaten.

A week of treatment wouldn’t completely heal his broken fingers and nasal bone, but it would give him time to organize his thoughts.

And as he organized his thoughts, he would realize that he was completely ruined.

Anyway, Lee Sang-Jun asked Jin Beom-Min not to reveal Kuen’s existence for a while. Just in case Noh Min-Gu found out the monster’s identity and tried to pull something.

[…… I can’t leave those incompetent fools who damage national interests with their shallow thinking.]

“What are you planning to do?”

[Well, I’m thinking of promoting them for now.]

“Promote… them?”

Lee Sang-Jun had no choice but to ask if he had heard correctly.

[I’m thinking of offering Kim Gil-Ho, the NIS Director, a position in the Presidential Secretariat. And Yoon Pil-Ju, the 1st Department Head, will be promoted to NIS Director.]

“…… I don’t quite understand what you mean.”

Clearly, Shim Jung-Min called them incompetent fools. Then why promote them?

Lee Sang-Jun couldn’t understand. Did his promise to cooperate in punishing the traitors turn out to be a lie?

[As you know, to enter the Blue House, you have to resign from your current position first. Don’t you?]

“…… Yes.”

[And right before they get promoted to the Blue House… let’s say about 2-3 days before, a scandal will break out.]

“A scandal?”

[You know it well, right? The online comment manipulation team that was operated during the presidential election a few years ago.]

“…… I know it well.”

He had no choice but to know. It was Lee Sang-Jun who was involved in recruiting and managing the comment manipulation team under Kim Gil-Ho’s orders.

[The press will be the first to attack. Then, of course, the appointment to the Secretariat will be canceled. And the prosecution will proceed with the indictment swiftly.]

“Then… wouldn’t that be a problem for the President as well?”

No matter what anyone said, Shim Jung-Min, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, was the closest aide to the current President. It was hard to understand why he would cause a scandal that could even put the President in trouble.

[It doesn’t matter. It’s just that the expected lame duck period will come a little earlier. The timeline until the next presidential election is all set, so there’s no need to worry.]

Lee Sang-Jun could understand the hidden meaning behind those words. It was ‘I will be the next President.’

And the probability of Shim Jung-Min being elected as the next president was very high.

He was fundamentally conservative but also popular among young people, and he had managed his image well so far.

In this situation, if Shim Jung-Min played a key role in announcing the UN resolution, there would probably be no one who could stop him.

“I understand. Then, the 1st Department Head…?”

[There’s one thing he has to go through to become the NIS Director. Do you know what that is?]

“…… The confirmation hearing…”

[That’s right. Hehehe.]

The NIS Director was appointed directly by the President, but the personnel confirmation hearing at the National Assembly was a process that had to be undergone.

Usually, due to the nature of the work performed by the NIS, the National Assembly members would just let it slide…

[It’s going to be quite a show. All we have to do is throw some information to the opposition lawmakers who are full of venom these days.]

“…… Do you need any information?”

[Ah, it would be even better if you could help. I’ll let you know later.]

“Yes, sir.”

[Coincidentally, Kim Gil-Ho’s scandal is scheduled to break out around the same time as Yoon Pil-Ju’s confirmation hearing. The country will be in an uproar.]

“…… You’re amazing.”

[You flatter me. Anyway, the rest is up to you. If you coordinate things well… the picture will be even prettier.]

Lee Sang-Jun knew very well about the wrongdoings of Kim Gil-Ho and Yoon Pil-Ju. If he provided the right information to the right person at the right time, he could escalate the situation as much as he wanted.

“…… It would be best if they both exposed each other’s corruption to save themselves.”

[That’s right. You know it well.]

“I understand. I’ll prepare in advance so you don’t have to worry.”

[Ah, and…]

Shim Jung-Min paused for a moment, as if his memory was hazy, and continued.

[That… 2nd Department Head. Noh Jin-Gu… no, Noh Min-Gu.]

“Yes. Noh Min-Gu.”

[Well, you know… how should I put it? Affairs are like that, aren’t they? They always get exposed.]

“…… That’s true.”

[Who was it again…? Manager Yoon? Anyway, a very formidable lawyer will be assigned to Manager Yoon’s husband.]

Currently, under Korean criminal law, adultery could not be punished criminally.

However, it was possible to file a lawsuit for alimony due to divorce, and if a good lawyer was involved, it was possible to drive the other party to bankruptcy.

Moreover, Noh Min-Gu was a current public official. He would definitely be disciplined for violating the code of conduct for public officials. He could even lose his retirement pension.

That would be a huge blow, enough to make it difficult for him to recover.

“You’re amazing. Honestly… I’m impressed.”

[Haha, you flatter me.]

While admiring Shim Jung-Min’s handling of the situation, Lee Sang-Jun felt a sense of fear. Now that they were on the same boat, he was a reliable ally, but if he were to become an enemy… it was a scary thought.

[There’s not much time left until the UN resolution announcement. Until then, handle things well so you don’t have to ask me for anything else.]

“Yes, sir. Thank you.”

As always, Shim Jung-Min abruptly hung up the phone without saying goodbye.

Lee Sang-Jun looked at the phone with mixed feelings. Perhaps he had made the wrong choice.

But now that things had come to this, there was nothing he could do. In the end, both Jin Beom-Min and Shim Jung-Min were people he had chosen.

And for the ultimate goal that Lee Sang-Jun dreamed of, he could no longer get off the tiger he had already mounted.

***

Shopping is the answer when you’re feeling down.

Jin Beom-Min repeated it to himself as he got out of the taxi.

He hadn’t felt good all day since meeting that man at the amusement park yesterday.

Wherever he went with the kids, it felt like someone was watching them, and even after dropping the kids off at school, he couldn’t feel at ease.

The NIS acted quickly and sent bodyguards, but there were limits to what they could do. To begin with, the kids didn’t even know that Jin Beom-Min worked for the NIS.

And secret protection, as the name suggested, was inefficient.

He couldn’t feel reassured just by having them watch from afar and intervene when a problem arose.

He couldn’t follow the kids around all day either, so he had to accept reality for now.

Anyway, for that reason, Jin Beom-Min was feeling down and needed a change of mood.

And he also needed a car.

“Welcome, sir! Oh? Sir, what brings you…?”

The skinny salesman stared at Jin Beom-Min with wide eyes.

“Is there something wrong with the car?”

The salesman asked with a puzzled look, peering out the window. It was natural for him to be curious since the customer who had bought the car a few days ago came into the store in a taxi without a car.

Jin Beom-Min tried his best to sound normal as he spoke.

“Ah, well… the car broke down… so I’m here to buy another one.”

“What? A breakdown? If you leave it at our service center…”

“No, it’s not a breakdown…”

Jin Beom-Min sighed and said.

“It’s completely destroyed. It burned down.”

“What? In four days? How did that…?”

“…It happened.”

“Did you contact the insurance company?”

There’s no way he did. In the first place, the car he could show to the insurance company was in North Korea. As a pile of ashes.

If he told the insurance company as it was, they would probably think he was a crazy guy trying to commit insurance fraud.

‘I drove the car I bought four days ago to North Korea, got attacked by a monster, and it broke down so I burned it.’

Even to Jin Beom-Min’s ears, it sounded crazy.

“…It’s a long story. Just show me the car.”

“Ah, well… we don’t have the exact same car anymore.”

“You don’t?”

“If you order now, it will take six months to import and clear customs.”

“Oh…”

This was a setback. Jin Beom-Min really liked that car.

‘I should have just borrowed a car from the NIS…’

It was pointless to regret it now. At that time, it was the best choice.

It was fortunate that the NIS compensated him for the price of the car. Otherwise, he would have lost 140 million won.

“We have cars with different options and colors…”

“Oh, really? That’s a relief.”

“But the price… is a little higher. Because it has tuning options.”

“Can I see it?”

“This way, please.”

The salesman led him to the garage at the back of the showroom.

Inside the spacious garage, trucks and RVs of various colors were lined up. This was not a showroom, but a place to store cars for delivery to customers.

The salesman pointed to a red truck parked on one side and said.

“This is it.”

“Ah, the exterior is the same.”

“Yes. The color is just Crimson Red. It has tuning for the intake, exhaust, and suspension, so the performance is better. It’s 512 horsepower.”

If the black truck he had purchased before was like a ferocious warhorse, this sleek red one was like a noble dragon.

Of course, that meant he really liked it.

“Actually, a customer ordered this last year… but the delivery was canceled. His business didn’t go well… Thanks to that, we couldn’t even receive the penalty and we were left with a huge loss.”

“Then can I buy it now?”

“Of course. Originally, it was 175 million won including the tuning options… but since this is your second purchase, I’ll give you a discount.”

Jin Beom-Min nodded. Shouldn’t a customer who buys two cars in four days get a discount?

“Then…”

“You’re asking if you can take it today?”

The salesman asked perceptively and continued with a grin.

“I’ll get it ready right away.”