As Nam Ju-hyeon requested, I brought a laptop and tossed it to her. Nam Ju-hyeon, with her dry hair tied up high, immediately opened a document.
While furiously typing on the keyboard, Nam Ju-hyeon said:
“I roughly have an idea of what to do.”
“How?”
“We just need to make people inevitably interested in this matter.”
Nam Ju-hyeon posted articles incessantly. Is she planning to just shout on the internet that Hyeonmu Pharmaceuticals are bad guys? It doesn’t seem like such methods will accomplish anything.
At first, the posts Nam Ju-hyeon uploaded received no attention.
Even with her unique writing skills, the content was unimpressive to begin with.
Part-time job reviews at Hyeonmu Pharmaceuticals, or confessions of former employees. Though she used sensational titles, the posts lacked important substance.
She wrote that Hyeonmu Pharmaceuticals were bad guys, but didn’t write how bad they were, so it was barely worth treating as a conspiracy theory that had been floating around until now.
People ignored those posts too. At first, it was just groundless questions. But as time passed, those questions gradually began to gain substance.
Nam Ju-hyeon was quick. She was a genius at multitasking and could upload dozens of posts simultaneously with just one laptop.
Sometimes as a college student in her early 20s, sometimes as a housewife in her late 40s, and sometimes as a professor in his 60s, Nam Ju-hyeon spread dozens of posts.
She called it groundwork for the future.
Meanwhile, I went back and forth between Nam Ju-hyeon and our main base, ferrying necessary items.
“What on earth are you doing with that reporter?”
“I don’t know either, not yet.”
I answered Han Seo-hyeon’s grumbling like that. Even when I asked Nam Ju-hyeon what exactly she was doing, she didn’t give a clear answer.
She said she’d show through actions rather than words.
“Isn’t she sending an SOS signal somewhere?”
“Aren’t you still monitoring her?”
“That’s true, but she could somehow contact the outside while evading my surveillance!”
Han Seo-hyeon still seems to not trust Nam Ju-hyeon at all. Well, Han Seo-hyeon has always been particularly shy with strangers.
Our kid is so nice but shy with strangers… Doesn’t that description fit Han Seo-hyeon perfectly?
“Don’t worry. She knows she’s a dead person if she goes outside.”
“Hmm.”
Even if she escapes from us, there are people targeting her life outside. Those who missed Nam Ju-hyeon right in front of them must be all worked up now. They must have seen the warning I left too, so I wonder if they’re trembling.
They didn’t even report the incident, probably wanting to quietly bury this matter.
Anyway, I spent several days going back and forth between the two groups.
Contrary to our worries, Nam Ju-hyeon just clung to her laptop and made no attempt to leave this place. She did often ask for errands like buying coffee or Dojima rolls.
Perhaps those efforts over several days bore fruit.
The seeds Nam Ju-hyeon sowed began to sprout.
「Seeing the HM Pharmaceuticals story that was posted a few days ago reminded me. I had a friend who entered HM Pharmaceuticals and they said there were definitely a lot of strange internal rules in the company」
「HM Pharmaceuticals is definitely strange」
「So what exactly is the problem with HM Pharmaceuticals? Everyone just says there’s a problem but no one explains clearly what it is」
「Are there really idiots who believe such conspiracy theories?」
「Isn’t it natural for a pharmaceutical company to control information? What if industrial spies come in? You all should wash your feet and go to sleep instead of talking nonsense」
But this is all. After all, it’s just talk without any proper evidence. At best, creating controversy like this is the limit.
“Do you really think this will be of any use?”
“Yes.”
Nam Ju-hyeon, who said that, continued speaking with her gaze still fixed on the laptop.
“You’re right. That nothing can be changed by my will alone. The media and capital have been tied together for a long time, so no matter what article I write, it won’t go up.”
Nam Ju-hyeon quickly grasped her situation. As if it was a lie that she had acted like an ignorant child just a few days ago, she spoke with quite a serious face.
“But these people are different. You can’t brainwash all these people. If I can just make these people my allies, even those guys won’t be able to act recklessly.”
Hmm, you can’t brainwash all the people. That sentence resonated quite a bit with me, who has special thoughts about the word ‘brainwash’.
Nam Ju-hyeon continued speaking.
“Capitalists often misunderstand. They think that because they can easily eliminate one person in front of them, they can do the same with the public. Because they easily dominated one person in front of them, they think they can do the same with the rest of the people. But the public is different. Capitalists should fear the public.”
After saying that, Nam Ju-hyeon quickly released the information she had collected and the information I had given her.
“What I’m doing is throwing a stone into the lake in front of those masses. Desperately hoping they’ll see the ripples spreading in the lake.”
Confidential information that only Hyeonmu Pharmaceuticals insiders could know, the dirty parts they had kept hidden, began to spread across the internet world.
The sprout Nam Ju-hyeon had germinated formed a flower bud. Just as that flower was about to bloom, Assemblyman Kim Seong-deuk’s people moved.
The information she had uploaded was deleted not long after. Quite a lot of people saw the information Nam Ju-hyeon uploaded, but that information was soon controlled.
The numerous SNS accounts Nam Ju-hyeon had used were all suspended, and the pages she had uploaded soon became inaccessible.
「Gasp, all the images I just saw were deleted; Is this real?」
「Isn’t it because it’s not real that it was deleted so quickly?」
「The information seemed too real for that; The photos uploaded earlier were exactly the same as HM Pharmaceuticals’ internal facilities shown in other media before;」
「What is it? I didn’t see anything」
「Scary;; Is there really a problem with HM Pharmaceuticals?」
「HM Pharmaceuticals has a problem?」
It’s certainly better than earlier when it couldn’t even become a conspiracy theory, but at this rate. The result is the same.
“The public doesn’t move recklessly.”
It’s not like I haven’t tried methods like this before. As countless stories flow on the internet, they cool down instantly. We can’t even blame it on mob mentality. Isn’t it natural for a paper boat that hasn’t even properly anchored to be swept away by strong currents?
At my words, Nam Ju-hyeon said:
“That’s why we need a proper wedge.”
If the stones Nam Ju-hyeon throws create thousands and tens of thousands of ripples, we needed someone to turn these ripples into waves.
“We need Inspector Do Chae-hee.”
At those words from Nam Ju-hyeon, I frowned.
“You need Do Chae-hee?”
At my lukewarm reaction, Nam Ju-hyeon quickly continued:
“Yes, ah! Of course, I understand why you’re wary of that person. Uh, she’s a complete hardliner, right? Her motto is never compromising with criminals.”
Nam Ju-hyeon watched my reaction. It was an extremely dangerous thing to say that we need Do Chae-hee from the Awakener Crimes Department in front of Weltschmerz, who are quite vicious criminals.
—Should we say she has no sense of fear?
I opened my mouth while sighing internally.
“I don’t care who you bring in if it’s necessary. But I need to hear why that person is needed.”
At my words, Nam Ju-hyeon swallowed hard and continued:
“While investigating Assemblyman Kim Seong-deuk this time, I thought. To hide such corruption, other sides must be connected too. The prosecutors, the police, even the Awakener Crimes Department. Everyone must have pretended not to know about this.”
I blinked at Nam Ju-hyeon’s sharp interpretation. Nam Ju-hyeon probably can’t read my expression hidden behind the mask, but honestly, I’m quite surprised right now.
Should I say it’s insight worthy of the person who first noticed Seol Rok-jin’s abnormality? Well, thinking about it, it’s a natural thing.
“Among them, the one evaluated as the most incompetent is the Awakener Crimes Department. Partly because the department itself was recently established, but even before that, the Awakener Crimes team was incompetence itself. The current head of the Awakener Crimes Department, Director Park Cheol-wan, is someone who doesn’t even try to escape that incompetence. In fact, I think that’s why someone like Park Cheol-wan became the director.”
After saying that, Nam Ju-hyeon continued.
The Awakener Crimes Department has only three teams. The number of people in each team is between five and ten. Though it was elevated to an Awakener Crimes ‘Department’, in reality it’s not even big enough to be called a department.
The official reason for such a small number of personnel is that they can’t recruit.
Certainly, people who want to become civil servants after becoming awakeners are rare, but the benefits of being a civil servant aren’t too bad either. Yet the fact that they continue to be understaffed clearly shows someone’s intention.
“An outsider can’t do anything about internal rot. But team leader Do Chae-hee is different. As befits her nickname ‘mad dog’, she has no backing.”
After saying that, Nam Ju-hyeon listed Do Chae-hee’s shortcomings to me. Her vision is narrow, she’s prone to sudden outbursts, and she has absolutely no compromise with villains.
She often disregards the presumption of innocence and unconditionally attacks anyone she thinks is a villain.
But that’s why we need her, she says.
“If the Awakener Crimes Department doesn’t stand properly, we can’t break this triangle of corruption. And the only person who can break that corruption is team leader Do Chae-hee.”
“So you’ll draw her into this matter?”
“Yes. It would be good to make her an ally with this incident. She can dig into the inside and I’ll dig into the outside. If we do that, don’t you think we can properly hit those guys from behind someday?”
Cooperation with Do Chae-hee. As someone who’s already been marked as a villain by Do Chae-hee, it’s a method I absolutely can’t use. Hmm. Thinking about it, it doesn’t seem too bad.
But there was a point to be cautious about.
“If you’re going to approach that person, you absolutely can’t let her find out you’re associated with me.”
Because Do Chae-hee is the type who has no forgiveness for villains. I’m already marked as the worst of villains by her, so if she finds out Nam Ju-hyeon is cooperating with me, she’ll lock up Nam Ju-hyeon too.
“Th-that! I’ll have to somehow deceive her well.”
Can I really trust this person?
“Do you have a plan?”
“Huh?”
“You said you want to draw that person in. I’m asking if you’ve thought about what you’ll do after drawing her in.”
At my words, Nam Ju-hyeon nodded and revealed her plan to me.
After quietly listening to that plan, I said to Nam Ju-hyeon:
“That’s not enough.”
Her plan was too naive. It’s good to believe in people’s power. But we shouldn’t underestimate the power of evil.
So I modified the plan. To a version with a slightly more fiery climax.
Nam Ju-hyeon’s face turned pale after hearing my plan.
“T-to that extent?”
I nodded. At my calm nod, Nam Ju-hyeon kept swallowing nervously with a tense face.
“Of course, if things go well and your plan succeeds, there’ll be no need for me to step in.”
Honestly, I didn’t really want to step in either.
Not because it’s troublesome, but because I wanted to see such a naive plan succeed at least once.
Anyway, it’s Do Chae-hee.
If we’re going to draw her in, Nam Ju-hyeon will need a proper partner too.
“There’s somewhere we need to go first.”