The Congressman Bows Low

Seoul, 2008.

“You son of a bitch! Die!”

As Goo Young-jin stepped out of his car, an egg came flying at him.

Launched from an unknown hand, the egg followed a parabolic trajectory, landing squarely on the face of its intended target.

Thud!

The egg exploded with a dull thud.

Egg yolk and albumen cascaded down the face in a sickening stream.

An acrid stench permeated the air.

It was a rotten egg, one deliberately left to putrefy in order to inflict this olfactory assault.

Goo Young-jin gazed ahead with an impassive expression. He yearned to set his eyes upon the face of the egg-thrower.

But it was impossible.

The crowd was too thick to discern the perpetrator.

Camera flashes erupted in a frenzy.

[Disgraced Politician Goo Young-jin, Resign!]

[Out with the Corrupt Lawmaker Goo Young-jin!]

[How Much Did You Embezzle?]

Picket signs emblazoned with gaudy lettering clamored for attention.

And a horde of reporters surged forward, desperate to snatch a morsel of commentary.

Their presence formed an impenetrable barrier, shielding the egg-thrower from identification.

Goo Young-jin was gently pushed forward until he stood before the photo line.

There was little he could say at this juncture.

“I will cooperate fully with the special investigation.”

He managed to utter these words, his throat constricted by an unseen hand.

Then Goo Young-jin set off towards the special prosecutor’s office.

In the background, a reporter delivered a live report.

“Congressman Goo Young-jin has just entered the special prosecutor’s office in Seocho-dong. This incident, dubbed the ‘Goo Young-jin Gate,’ is expected to hinge upon the interrogation of Congressman Goo.”

Goo Young-jin was escorted to the interrogation room.

A hard chair was provided.

The desk in front of him was designed such that the interrogator’s view was unobstructed, while the subject’s was obscured. It compelled an undesired sense of deference and formality.

Goo Young-jin pushed back his chair and crossed his legs.

“Vice-Chairman, I regret to have to meet you under these unfortunate circumstances.”

The voice came from behind him.

Goo Young-jin responded without turning around.

“Song Byun, you should’ve retired and let your grandkids dote on you. Why did you bother coming back to the field? For politics?”

“Oh, come on, what politics?”

The man addressed as Song Byun was the special prosecutor assigned to this case.

He casually tossed a handkerchief in front of Goo Young-jin and sat down facing him.

As he did, he slid the desk that Goo Young-jin had pushed back towards him once more.

His knees collided with the cold barrier of the desk.

Goo Young-jin picked up the handkerchief and slowly wiped his face.

In the process, the lingering stench of rotten egg yolk sent shivers down his spine.

Song Byun took a sip of coffee from the paper cup in his hand and fixed his gaze upon Goo Young-jin.

“What can I do if they insist that I’m the only one for the job? When the call to the reserves goes out, there’s nothing I can do but answer. Oh, the egg has gone bad. Hey, someone air this place out.”

At the special prosecutor’s instruction, someone behind him quickly opened a window.

Then, after receiving a nod from the special prosecutor, he bowed his head and left.

Thud.

The special prosecutor set down his paper cup.

At the same time, any trace of human kindness evaporated from his voice.

“You’re a six-term lawmaker who’s held numerous high-ranking positions and is currently the Vice-Chairman of the National Assembly. But from now on, let’s drop the titles and formalities and call each other Goo Young-jin and Song Byun, shall we?”

“Hoho, how curt. Shouldn’t you sugarcoat your words a little, if you want me to cooperate?”

“That’s fine. I’ve already gathered enough evidence to send you to prison, Mr. Goo.”

Goo Young-jin chuckled mirthlessly.

“Well, that’s a relief. I was planning on exercising my right to remain silent from now on.”

“Are you really that afraid of prison? What do you have to fear at this point? You sold out your daughter, had her arrested in your stead, and then she committed suicide by swallowing pills.”

“…..”

Goo Young-jin’s Adam’s apple bobbed in his throat.

“Your wife divorced you, you were expelled from your party, and you’ve become a laughingstock. So tell me… at this point, are you really afraid of prison?”

“…..”

“Mr. Goo, what you’re feeling now is despair. You’re at your wit’s end. So just confess and repent. Whether you get a few more or less years, you’re more likely to die a natural death than you are to be released. Unless you receive a presidential pardon, you’re destined to die on the cold floor of a prison cell.”

“…..”

“Just tell us everything. Then, even if your sentence is longer here, your sentence in hell will be a little shorter, won’t it?”

The special prosecutor’s words pounded against his heart so hard that Goo Young-jin could barely sit still.

This treatment was unbearable.

But what was even more unbearable was the fact that there wasn’t a shred of falsehood in the special prosecutor’s words.

The special prosecutor continued to stare at Goo Young-jin, then rose from his seat.

“You can keep your mouth shut if you wish. Hey, tell the next guy to come in.”

With those words, he exchanged places with the prosecutor, who was much younger than him.

This prosecutor was also an old acquaintance of Goo Young-jin’s.

“Father-in-law, I regret having to meet you like this.”

“…..”

Goo Young-jin’s carefully controlled expression in front of the special prosecutor Song Byun crumbled like a sheet of paper.

“Since this is a work-related matter, I’ll address you as Mr. Goo. My apologies.”

“That’s not what you should be apologizing for.”

“What is it, then? Oh, Seung-hee? Did I kill Seung-hee? Mr. Goo, you’re the one who killed her.”

Goo Young-jin glared at Prosecutor Jang.

“How could you betray your wife as soon as the scandal broke and join your father-in-law’s special prosecution team?”

“I’m not interested in hearing that from someone who sold out his daughter and dragged her into the special prosecution.”

“You son of a…”

Goo Young-jin shoved his chair aside and lunged at Prosecutor Jang, grabbing him by the collar.

Prosecutor Jang chuckled.

“Father-in-law, you’ve really lost your marbles. Getting this worked up over something so trivial.”

“I never should have let a bastard like you into our family.”

“Well, you shouldn’t have fallen from grace so disgracefully. If you hadn’t, you’d still be living comfortably right now.”

“You rotten son of a…”

“Let’s not waste each other’s time. You’ve ruined my career too, Mr. Goo, but do you see me complaining?”

“You won’t die a good death either.”

“Thank you for your concern, but now is not the time to worry about others, Mr. Goo.”

Prosecutor Jang gave Goo Young-jin a light push on the chest.

His legs gave out, and Goo Young-jin collapsed onto the chair.

Goo Young-jin fought back the tears that threatened to burst forth.

He couldn’t let that bastard see him cry.

And he had no right to cry.

He couldn’t possibly cry about being abandoned by everyone when his own wrongdoings were so clear.

For months now.

It had felt like he was a player waiting his turn at Go, only for his turn never to come.

He’d had to sit there with his hands and feet bound, watching as the enemy pieces slowly but surely encroached upon his territory.

The enemy pieces advanced relentlessly towards his palace.

Check! Check!

He could only listen in terror as the alarm was raised.

The king of Go cannot leave the palace.

He tried to escape here and there, and each time a general was called, he sacrificed his advisor instead of the king.

His daughter had been his advisor.

In a desperate attempt to survive, he had shifted the blame onto his daughter, but then she had died.

He had once planned to seek revenge against those who had brought him down and clear his daughter’s name.

But now he realized how naive that idea had been.

Once a piece falls into the enemy’s hands, it is lost forever.

After devouring the advisor, the enemy stones had invaded his palace as if it were their own home.

‘It’s checkmate now…’

There was nowhere left to run.

Even if he had been reduced to a pitiful state, he had no family to take him in.

The political power he had once wielded like a whip was now gone without a trace.

And there were no supporters who would blindly trust him, no matter what he did.

Now, the only place he had left to rest his weary body was a cold prison cell, or…

Goo Young-jin’s body trembled as he gripped his thighs tightly.

He squeezed his eyes shut and then opened them again.

“Um… I need to go pee.”

“You don’t need to go. Are you wetting yourself because you’re scared of the special prosecutor?”

“…”

“I guess so. I mean, the egg smell is already killing me, so I don’t think I could handle the smell of your piss too.”

Goo Young-jin swallowed hard and stood up.

Prosecutor Jang watched him go to the bathroom, snickering to himself.

The special prosecutor’s office was on the 10th floor.

And there was a small window in the bathroom that led to the outside.

It would be difficult for someone with a large frame to get out, but Goo Young-jin was relatively thin.

Fortunately.

Goo Young-jin carefully took off the shoes his daughter had bought for him.

Then he glanced out the window.

As he contemplated jumping to his death, Goo Young-jin thought it over carefully.

If he died right here, right now, his last words would be, “I need to go pee.”

No matter what he said, it couldn’t possibly be a more pathetic final statement than that.

Goo Young-jin muttered to himself, just loud enough to be heard by his own ears.

“I’m going to die with my head smashed in…”

He put one leg out the window.

“It’s better to die than live like a pathetic worm. Die…”

He squeezed his eyes shut and threw himself out.

His body plunged downwards, and an all-consuming pain engulfed him before everything went black.

“Breaking news. Former lawmaker Goo Young-jin, who was under investigation by the special prosecutor’s office, has jumped to his death from the 10th floor of the Seocho-dong building that houses the special prosecutor’s office. The police are investigating the incident as a suicide, but they have not ruled out the possibility of foul play……”