NOVPUBBy evening, the media monitoring continued, and the public’s obsession with the junket room scandal showed no signs of dying down.
└ "Damn, I was really looking forward to her upcoming movie. This is f*cking ridiculous."
└ "What the hell, TenTen? Your comeback is literally around the corner!"
└ "Sh*t, without Bang Ja-wook, who's gonna carry the Blue Dragons? There goes our autumn baseball hopes. ㅠ"
└ "What do you mean? It’s f*cked."
└ (Insert meme of something crashing and burning.)
└ "Oh great, another one of those face-reading geniuses."
└ "But for real, sometimes you can just tell. LOL."
Among all the discussions, two topics burned the hottest.
The first was the junket rooms themselves.
└ "Dude, just Google it. Are your fingers just for decoration?"
└ "It’s basically a VIP gambling den for high-rollers, mostly for overseas gamblers. But now people just use the term for any illegal high-stakes gambling operation."
└ "Yeah, it's always the same—the poor stay poor, the rich keep getting richer."
The second was White Gold and Baekgeum-pa.
└ "Maybe they ran out of money."
└ "Wait, is there some political scandal going on right now?"
└ "Yeah, no randoms in that mix. LOL."
Jo Jin-hwi, keeping an eye on the discussions, commented:
"Everyone’s attention is locked on Baekgeum-pa and the junket rooms."
Su-ho nodded.
"Because everything else has already been exposed. The only mystery left is this. People won’t stop speculating until the prosecution makes an official statement."
"What about Son Baek-geum?"
"He’ll show up when the prosecution calls him in."
That meant he’d have to go to the Suwon District Prosecutor’s Office.
This entire case had originated in Suwon, so it had to be handled there.
That way, Kim Seung-hwan could keep things under control.
Once Son Baek-geum was dragged into the spotlight, it would be the perfect moment to reveal the redevelopment cartel scandal alongside Park Gyu-min’s involvement.
Jo Jin-hwi nodded.
"Should we publish the Park Gyu-min article now?"
Su-ho smirked.
"Let’s do it."
At this point, everything had been sufficiently warmed up.
When Su-ho gave the signal, Jo Jin-hwi began publishing the article.
Breaking News: Grand Hunter Association Vice President Park Gyu-min Listed in the Junket Room Scandal!
A simple title, yet the "Exclusive" tag at the front made it irresistible clickbait.
This was, after all, the biggest ongoing scandal in the country right now.
The internet exploded.
Not surprising.
It was a cultural norm at this point—yell first, analyze later.
But the real reactions would come next.
└ "Why not? He’s a high-ranking figure."
└ "Don’t underestimate him. He’s a four-term National Assembly member."
└ "Dude, just because he’s a politician doesn’t mean he’s rich. He’s not some corporate mogul. Where would he even get that kind of money? Even if his net worth is high, this place runs on cold hard cash."
└ "Probably bribery money. Use your brain. He’s been in politics for ages—there’s no way he hasn’t been pocketing cash."
└ "So what’s the deal with this guy?"
└ "No idea."
Doubt was creeping in.
Just as planned.
Seeing the conversation shift, Su-ho smiled.
But Jo Jin-hwi frowned.
"It’s moving in the right direction, but it’s still a bit weak."
Su-ho nodded.
"Because all we did was reveal a name. We need to follow up at the right moment with another article."
Exactly.
Right now, people were questioning rather than reacting emotionally.
To drive the nail in, they needed a final push.
And they had just the thing prepared.
After letting the discussion simmer for another two to three hours, Su-ho spoke.
"Alright. Time to drop the next article."
Jo Jin-hwi grinned.
"On it."
└ "Joke’s on you."
└ "Joke’s on all of us."
└ "God, this is so not funny."
└ "Dumbass, you think Baekgeum-pa wastes time on blackmail? If they had leverage on him, they’d just bury him in cement—it’s cheaper."
└ ???: "Bring the saw. Bring the saw. Vice President-nim, why the hell are you doing things we didn’t ask for?"
└ "That’s true. So what’s the deal?"
└ "Yeah, no sh*t, genius. But the real question is—why was he there?"
└ "Oh, sh*t. That theory actually makes sense."
Speculation ran wild.
And every new theory pushed things exactly where Su-ho wanted them to go.
Seeing the discussion unfold, Su-ho smirked. 𝖓𝔬𝖛𝔭𝔲𝖇.𝔠𝔬𝖒
"This should be enough for today’s work."
Jo Jin-hwi sighed in relief.
"So... can I finally go to sleep now? I’m seriously about to drop dead."
"Yeah, go ahead. Rest up and we’ll continue after you wake up."
Healing and Recovery weren’t miracle cures, but they were still better than any energy drink.
Still, no matter how much he spammed healing spells, nothing could replace proper sleep.
Just as Jo Jin-hwi messaged his team and collapsed into bed—
Bzzzz!
Su-ho’s phone buzzed.
The caller ID read: Kim Seung-hwan.
Answering the call, Su-ho spoke.
If you are reading this translation anywhere other than Novelight.net or SilkRoadTL, it has been stolen.
"Yes, Prosecutor?"
– "Hunter-nim, pressure just came in from above."
"Pressure?"
– "Yes. Orders to transfer the entire Baekgeum-pa case—including Park Gyu-min—to Seoul."
Already?
Su-ho had expected this eventually, but he hadn’t thought it would come this fast.
Letting out a scoff, he asked:
"Whose orders?"
– "No specifics. Just that it’s ‘too much of a burden.’ The powers that be don’t want to deal with this. The people involved are too big, so they want us to toss it up the chain."
"Oh, please. Since when did the prosecution worry about a case being ‘too big’? If anything, a high-profile case like this should be a golden opportunity for them to boost their records."
– "Exactly. That’s why I called it ‘pressure.’"
"Did they say when to transfer the case?"
– "By morning."
Su-ho checked the time.
Evening.
There were still several hours before dawn.
More than enough.
"If the case moves to Seoul, we’ll lose control. That means we need to blow this up right now."
"But if you suddenly leak the story right after getting those transfer orders, it’ll look suspicious. I’ll handle the release instead."
– "No, I’ll do it."
"What?"
– "We both know this needs to come out. And I trust you, Hunter-nim. So I’ll personally drop the bomb. I’ve got my own trusted reporters."
Kim Seung-hwan paused before adding:
– "Besides, I already preemptively summoned Son Baek-geum. He’s nearly here."
"You what?"
– "I’ll take his statement on the redevelopment cartel and release the articles immediately."
"You realize this means you’re going to get some serious flak, right?"
– "Hunter-nim, we both know who’s behind this pressure. It’s Pi Seong-yeol. He’s panicking."
– "And let’s not pretend you didn’t orchestrate this whole thing just to get me into a special investigation unit once the independent counsel bill passes."
– "If I let fear stop me now, I don’t deserve to be a prosecutor."
Hearing Kim Seung-hwan’s bold declaration, Su-ho couldn’t help but smile.
"Damn, Prosecutor. You’re more of a ‘man’s man’ than I expected."
– "What can I say? I was born for this sh*t. A true gambler at heart."
"Alright then. Do your thing. I’ll be ready on my end."
The call ended.
Su-ho glanced at the time, then turned to the bed where Jo Jin-hwi lay passed out.
"Reporter-nim?"
"......"
"Reporter-nim?"
"Hngh... huh... wha—?"
"Kim Prosecutor just called. Pressure came in from above, so we’re dropping the redevelopment scandal as soon as Son Baek-geum arrives."
Jo Jin-hwi, eyes bloodshot, stared at Su-ho—then at the clock.
"...Right now?"
"Right now."
"F*ck."
He buried his face in his hands.
"So much for sleep... fine. I’ll just nap in front of my laptop."
"Good call. Meanwhile, I’m heading to Suwon District Prosecutor’s Office—just in case."
"Haa... got it."
As Su-ho turned to leave, he paused.
Raising a hand, he cast another healing spell.
A warm golden glow enveloped Jo Jin-hwi once again.
