Oh Changhoon was lying in bed together with Ha Eunbin.

“Mr. Mayor.”

At Ha Eunbin’s call, Oh Changhoon turned his head to look at her.

“President Lee Jongseong says he absolutely wants to meet you.”

“Lee Jongseong?”

“Yes. He says there’s something he absolutely has to tell you.”

“How do you know that?”

“I met him yesterday.”

At the mention that she had met Lee Jongseong yesterday, a smile appeared on the corners of Oh Changhoon’s lips.

“Really? This must be about the Guryong Village issue.”

“Yes. He said he’d take care of it himself and asked for a little more time, but I told him it’d be difficult. Still, he keeps begging me to arrange a meeting with you.”

“No. The party has already started tearing apart the Guryong Village issue. Too many people are tangled up in this for me to move carelessly.”

“Aww, just this once. Please?”

Ha Eunbin burrowed into Oh Changhoon’s arms and acted cute.

“Just meet him once.”

The more Ha Eunbin pressed him, the more fury boiled inside Oh Changhoon.

But like the seasoned politician he was, he didn’t show it on his face.

“I’ll think about it. So stop talking about it.”

There was an old saying about pillow talk.

It referred to a wife whispering her wishes to her husband in bed.

Up until now, there had never been a single time Oh Changhoon had refused one of Ha Eunbin’s requests.

Especially at times like this.

Ha Eunbin smiled sweetly and buried her face against his chest.

“Think carefully about it. It’ll be a huge help for us too.”

Same bed, different dreams.

Oh Changhoon and Ha Eunbin lay in the same bed while thinking completely different thoughts.

* * *

After meeting Oh Changhoon, I immediately revised the plan.

“First, find any financial transactions or bribes exchanged between Ha Eunbin and Lee Jongseong. Start digging from there.”

“We’ll begin investigating immediately.”

“And tail Lee Jongseong and Ha Eunbin. Monitor every single thing they do.”

I decided to use Ha Eunbin as bait to catch Lee Jongseong.

For now, Oh Changhoon still hadn’t completely abandoned his trust in Ha Eunbin.

But the small stone I had thrown would undoubtedly return as massive ripples.

Suspicion, once it takes root, never disappears.

Instead, it only grows bigger from the smallest words and actions.

Eventually, Oh Changhoon would throw Ha Eunbin away.

No— even if he never intended to, I would make sure it happened.

“This operation is going to be pretty large-scale. Manager Ma, you’ll take responsibility for it.”

“Yes. I’ll handle it.”

At that moment, news about the replacement of the Senior Presidential Secretary for Political Affairs and the Senior Presidential Secretary for Civil Affairs appeared on TV.

I asked Manager Ma, who was standing beside me,

“Hm? Did you know about this?”

“I never received any report related to it.”

“Find out who’s replacing them.”

The Senior Presidential Secretary for Civil Affairs was one of the core positions within Blue House power.

The office had authority to inspect and oversee investigative agencies, making it an extremely important post.

And now they were replacing that position?

Had discussions with the party already concluded?

I immediately picked up my phone and called Myungsoo.

“Myungsoo. Did you know about this?”

— No. I just got informed myself.

“Really? Why all of a sudden? Is there a reason the President would replace the Senior Civil Affairs Secretary?”

The ruling Centrist Party had achieved an overwhelming victory in the local elections.

There was no need to reshuffle the cabinet just to refresh public sentiment.

Which meant there was another reason.

Why hadn’t they informed me beforehand?

— For now, all the leadership figures are gathering for a meeting. I’ll call you once there’s a result.

“Alright. Let’s talk later.”

After ending the call with Myungsoo, I immediately spoke to Manager Ma.

“Contact the Blue House and tell them I want to arrange a meeting with the President.”

“Understood, Boss.”

Was he finally planning to push through the prosecution reform he had postponed?

Ever since Yoon Changho became President, Oh Jeongseok’s people had continuously occupied the Senior Civil Affairs Secretary position.

There had been two replacements, but both successors were still Oh Jeongseok’s people, and because of that, the legal cartel had only grown stronger.

“...Is he trying to shake that up?”

I figured I wouldn’t know until I met the President personally.

* * *

I visited the Blue House unofficially.

“Come in. I’ve been waiting for you.”

“Where is the First Lady?”

“She had something to take care of back home, so she’s staying in her hometown for a few days.”

“You must feel lonely.”

“Haha, I don’t even have the luxury of feeling lonely. Come in first.”

The moment I sat across from the President, he spoke first.

“You came because of the Senior Civil Affairs Secretary replacement, didn’t you?”

“Yes. I heard it was a sudden replacement made without even consulting the party.”

Yoon Changho nodded and called out to me.

“President Kim.”

“Yes, Mr. President.”

“My term has less than two years left now. By next year, all political power will shift toward the presidential candidates.”

Once the presidential race began, nobody paid attention to a lame-duck Blue House anymore.

Investigative agencies, including the prosecution, would start watching for chances to align themselves with the next administration, while central government officials would slowly stop listening to the Blue House.

“For my final years, I want to carry out the reforms I truly want.”

“The reforms you truly want? Are you talking about prosecution reform?”

“Well. Even so, I’m still a former Prosecutor General. I don’t particularly want to weaken the prosecution that much.”

“Then what exactly...?”

Prosecution reform was already progressing slowly.

The power concentrated within the Supreme Prosecutors’ Office Central Investigation Department had been redistributed toward the Seoul Central District Prosecutors’ Office, creating a system where both sides could keep each other in check.

“I want to reform the pension system.”

I narrowed my eyes.

The sudden mention of pension reform made it impossible to grasp Yoon Changho’s true intentions.

“You’re bringing this up out of nowhere?”

“I originally had no thoughts about it either. But after sitting in this position, I’ve seen and heard many things.”

As the leader of a nation, the President’s perspective was different.

Still, that alone didn’t fully explain it.

“This is the kind of reform that has to be carried out while approval ratings are high and the term is nearing its end.”

“If you want pension reform, why replace the Senior Civil Affairs Secretary?”

“Because I need a blade I can wield freely. In just a few months, we’ll enter the presidential election phase. If I don’t hold the blade then, my hands and feet will be tied.”

“Doesn’t the current Senior Civil Affairs Secretary already follow your orders well enough?”

Yoon Changho let out a low murmur.

“To be precise, he values the interests of the legal world more than mine.”

“So you’re saying you intend to break your alliance with them? Even for a President, it won’t be easy to push things forward without their support. I still don’t understand why you’re forcing such a risky move.”

Yoon Changho’s lips twitched slightly before he lifted the teacup in front of him.

After taking a sip, he spoke.

“What if I said it’s all for the future? Would you believe me?”

“No.”

I answered immediately.

Yoon Changho wasn’t some saint.

He wasn’t the type of person who would do something like this purely for the future.

“Hahaha! That’s exactly why I like you, President Kim. It’s for the friend who’ll take the next administration. I don’t want that person to be manipulated the way I was.”

“By whom?”

“By anyone.”

By anyone, huh.

For some reason, it felt like that arrow was aimed at me too, and I couldn’t help but chuckle.

“Are you trying to keep me in check?”

“What reason would I have to keep you in check? Even after I step down, my relationship with you won’t end. I just want to settle what needs settling before I leave. If my approval ratings were low, I wouldn’t even be thinking like this.”

Yoon Changho’s resolve was firm.

Even after talking with him, I still couldn’t fully understand his thinking.

But if there was something he wanted to do, I wanted to let him have this final chance.

“Is there anything I can help with?”

“You’re not going to ask any more questions?”

“As long as it doesn’t affect me negatively, go ahead and do whatever you want for your final act, Mr. President.”

“President Kim must be getting older too. Lee Seongbo thinking emotionally instead of rationally.”

Emotionally, huh.

Maybe that was true.

Shrugging my shoulders, I answered,

“More importantly, none of this will affect me anyway.”

Yoon Changho smiled softly once more and nodded.

“Please block some of the backlash from the legal cartel. If I crush them with force, then all my energy will be spent suppressing resistance instead. And if that happens, I’ll lose the momentum for reform. I don’t want that.”

“That’s all you need?”

“I’ll personally handle the political side myself.”

“Understood. Then I’ll meet separately with the Chief Justice and talk things through.”

The smile lingering on Yoon Changho’s lips looked strangely detached.

“Thank you.”

“Unless something major happens, I probably won’t visit you again while you’re President. After you retire, let’s sit down comfortably and share a drink of makgeolli.”

“Sounds good! Then I’ll leave it in your hands.”

I left the Blue House after the short meeting with Yoon Changho.

Immediately afterward, I called Oh Hyunwoo and arranged to meet him the next day.

* * *

“What’s going on?”

“You heard about the Senior Civil Affairs Secretary replacement, right?”

After finishing his conversation with me, Yoon Changho announced that he would appoint his Judicial Research and Training Institute classmate, a former lawyer, as the next Senior Civil Affairs Secretary.

“Ha. The atmosphere in the prosecution is awful.”

No surprise there.

From their perspective, the President had stabbed them squarely in the back.

“What about you?”

“Me? Whatever.”

“You’re going to be appointed deputy chief prosecutor of the Seoul Central District Prosecutors’ Office Special Investigations Division during the upcoming regular personnel reshuffle.”

“What?”

Apparently hearing it for the first time, Oh Hyunwoo tilted his head.

“The President replacing the Senior Civil Affairs Secretary doesn’t mean he wants to fight the prosecution. It’s a signal telling the prosecution to become his blade.”

“Even so, appointing a human rights lawyer instead of a former prosecutor as Senior Civil Affairs Secretary...”

“I know. But the President must have his own thoughts. So I need you to step in and direct traffic.”

“Ha... Why’s he doing this?”

I roughly explained what the President was trying to accomplish.

“Did he develop dementia or something? Why pension reform all of a sudden?”

“No idea. But if it’s the last thing he wants to do, we should let him do it. You know how these kinds of things trigger huge backlash. Even so, I want to help him.”

“Sigh. Alright, I get it now. Sounds like he’s really made up his mind. I can handle some traffic control, but I can’t suppress every little backlash too. You know that, right?”

I nodded.

Even with Oh Hyunwoo stepping in, it wouldn’t be easy.

But since he was Oh Jeongseok’s successor, most objections could probably be suppressed if they came from him.

“So that’s why I was getting assigned to Special Investigations.”

“That’s because I need you there.”

“What? What are you planning this time?”

“I’ll tell you later. It’s going to be huge. A major gate involving not only politics and business, but also the legal world.”

I couldn’t reveal everything yet.

But perhaps because he’d been with me for so long, Oh Hyunwoo had become much sharper.

“Wow. This sounds way bigger than the Senior Civil Affairs Secretary replacement.”

“Probably. Chairman Byeon Heebong is involved.”

“Byeon Heebong? Who’s that?”

“He never approached you?”

Apparently hearing the name for the first time, Oh Hyunwoo shook his head.

“That’s strange. If I were him, I would’ve approached you first.”

“Hey, what’re you talking about? I’m not some easy man.”

I snorted softly at Oh Hyunwoo’s joke.

“Anyway, there’s someone named Chairman Byeon Heebong. He’s the chairman of a construction company based in Busan...”

I roughly explained who Byeon Heebong was.

After hearing the explanation, Oh Hyunwoo’s expression turned grim.

“There’s really someone like that?”

“There are probably quite a few people inside the prosecution who’ve taken his money too. He’s someone who’s very good at keeping mouths shut.”

“Alright. Once you’ve got a rough roadmap, share it with me. I’ll prepare in advance too.”

“Sure. But first, clean up this Senior Civil Affairs Secretary replacement issue. Or should I move personally?”

Shrugging, Oh Hyunwoo shook his head.

“No, I’ll handle it for now. I’ll let you know if I need your help.”

“Thanks.”

“No need for thanks. We help each other. Besides, if the President says there’s one last thing he wants to do, we should let him do it.”

A few days passed after meeting Oh Hyunwoo.

In the end, both the Senior Civil Affairs Secretary and Senior Political Affairs Secretary were replaced, along with several other key positions.

Meanwhile, I received reports about Ha Eunbin’s movements.

“Who’s this man?”

“He’s Ha Eunbin’s lover.”

“What? She’s seeing another man separately?”

“Yes. They meet about once a week. Apparently they met at a host bar.”

Now this was a guaranteed card that would make Oh Changhoon throw Ha Eunbin away.

“Arrange a meeting with Mayor Oh Changhoon. What’s Lee Jongseong doing right now?”

“He’s meeting with the Federation of Urban Poor Tenants.”

“Looks like he’s trying to get the Federation to withdraw from Guryong Village first.”

This move was way too obvious.

“Contact Hong Jinpyo and tell him to hold out no matter what.”

“Yes. I’ll pass the message along.”

It was finally time to catch Lee Jongseong.