Lee Jae-soon, who received a gift from the fairy, behaved as if he had nothing to lose.
“Hehehe, now I’m the best. The very best…!”
He became arrogant as he held his notebook. He looked down on his companions who went out to gather information, considering their efforts to be trivial, and every time he saw his seniors use their connections to acquire intel, he greedily thought about taking all those connections for himself.
Such was the sight of Lee Jae-soon, not a particularly pleasant one.
Especially since Lee Jae-soon was incredibly clumsy at hiding his true self, making his thoughts all too transparent.
To exaggerate, it seemed like he walked around with a big sign on his face looking down on others.
However, even with his blatant disrespect shining through, no one dared to speak up against him.
“Hoh, hoh, hoh. So actress A is said to be straddling three relationships right now? She’s often cast in first love movies due to her innocent image; this is quite surprising!”
“And there’s an even crazier story! You know singer C, right? I heard she’s living in two places with different partners! What? Did I say something wrong? No, it’s true. They are cleverly alternating their cohabitation by using their busy schedules as an excuse! Isn’t that just amazing? And no one even caught a whiff of it. If this blows up, things might get loud, don’t you think?”
“And remember Jung Hoon-sang, whom you wrote an article about? He’s holed up in his house, just drinking non-stop. But apparently, he’s only drinking expensive booze… isn’t that a bit peculiar?”
“Oh dear, have you heard about the rising entertainer T? His hand habits are quite concerning. No, it’s not gambling or illegal stuff. He has the habit of swiping little things from his companions and sneakily pocketing items at convenience stores and supermarkets. It’s baffling that he, with so much money, still resorts to this. I heard he feels a rush every time he successfully steals something—it’s quite a sight, really.”
Lee Jae-soon had grown too big to be recklessly talked about.
“Exclusive: Actress A and her three relationships exposed.”
“Exclusive: Will actress A’s femme fatale antics end with three partners?”
“Anonymous tipster: ‘Is A straddling three? Honestly, I think there’s more.'”
Using the information dropped by the divine object, Lee Jae-soon wrote countless articles.
“Two-house cohabitation that shocked everyone? What’s the identity of the woman moving between two houses?!”
“Breaking news: Singer C is living in two households. Surprisingly, her partners are oblivious to her cheating….”
“The secret of two-house living: meticulous planning and acting skills? Netizens: ‘Why such bad acting on dramas with skills like that?'”
“Singer C’s partners refuse to comment, but the reason is…?”
Each article could easily be called an exclusive piece, and every time they erupted, they created waves throughout the Republic of Korea.
Moreover, this wasn’t going to end with just one or two articles.
It was as if he possessed a magical mortar from which information continuously spilled out, relentlessly writing articles, again and again. Thanks to this, Lee Jae-soon ultimately became the center of power that one absolutely couldn’t offend or let relations deteriorate with in the entertainment section.
Seniors and juniors?
There’s a limit to such things.
With the level of abilities Lee Jae-soon displayed, what good would those distinctions even serve?
With someone churning out exclusives almost daily, there simply weren’t any reporters in the entertainment section who would nitpick and lecture him.
Instead, they groveled close to Lee Jae-soon, wanting to maintain a friendship, using those connections to extract his secrets on how he got his information. Some even tried to figure out who he was getting tips from by pouring booze down his throat, while others offered gifts, trying to negotiate some information in a more transactional manner.
Thus, Lee Jae-soon soared in the entertainment section by his own desires.
The brief stagnation after his use of the notebook seemed merely like an illusion.
Using the information gleaned from various sources, he ascended, continuously and continuously.
And finally.
“Hello, everyone. I’m Lee Jae-soon, and I will now be working in the society department.”
He successfully returned to his former glory.
Back where he wanted to be—the society department.
With countless connections made, his abilities proven.
Expressing his desire to go back to the society department constantly.
After that relentless effort, he finally returned, back to the section where he longed to be.
The place he dreamed of while being demoted to the entertainment department, a place that wasn’t just a joke but a respected position where he could be treated as worthy.
He had arrived at the place he had longed for so much.
“I’ll continue to drop some big news, so I’ll be counting on you all.”
*
“Signs of abnormal weather this year…. Pest emergence has clearly come sooner than last year.”
“Flowering pests booming. Grape farmers in distress. Farmers blame the government.”
“The government remains idle despite the anticipated poor harvest…. Farmers’ discontent grows.”
“Are the acts destroying crops related to FTA negotiations?”
“Hehe.”
Jinseong smirked as he read the newspaper.
“They’re really bucking wild, aren’t they?”
Countless articles surfacing on the internet.
Contents about harmful creatures, grievances against the FTA, and criticisms against the sluggish government response….
All those contents were typical articles one might find in the society category, and while they had similar yet distinct topics,
They all shared one commonality.
“Lee Jae-soon, reporter.”
Every single one of those articles was written by Lee Jae-soon.
‘Even though I figured he’d still be rampaging like a wild beast in the society department, looks like he’s showing a completely opposite sight compared to when he was in entertainment. He’s gradually tightening the net and capturing the prey.’
The articles were all aggressive, using the weak as shields to hammer away at the government, sowing seeds of anxiety about the administration.
Yet, when one took a closer look, it was evident that the sharp points of those articles had a specific direction.
FTA, politicians closely tied to agriculture.
He was targeting politician Jung Joong-woo.
‘That’s good, quite good.’
Lee Jae-soon was clever.
Unlike in the entertainment department, where he could just blow things up without care, he quickly understood the nature of the society department which faced live powers. Instead of causing chaos willy-nilly, he peeled away the thick skin on the politician like a hard fruit, waiting for the perfect moment to strike once they were sufficiently weakened.
And the fruits of such efforts….
Would surely not be small.
Absolutely not.
It would yield far more than just attacking mere celebrities as gossip.
And this formidable ripple effect was something Jinseong also yearned for.
‘How delightful it is to have someone drawing attention.’
As Lee Jae-soon poked at the powers that be, the gaze of those who held power would inevitably turn towards the enormous whirlwind he created, allowing Jinseong to roam freely throughout the Republic of Korea.
Jinseong watched the words “Lee Jae-soon, reporter” at the end of the articles with satisfaction and turned off his smartphone. Then he slowly rose from his seat.
Creak.
As he stood up, the weight pressed down on the pile of branches and leaves, causing a rustling sound, and as if waiting for that moment, a chilly wind passed by him.
Tasting that breeze, he slowly turned his head.
What greeted his sight was the distant cityscape glowing in the night.
Yellow streetlights burned like matchsticks, and the headlights of cars flickered around like fireflies.
Too distant to see people moving, but the gleams from the smartphones they held sparkled like flashes, signifying their existence, while the relatively unpolluted sky compared to Seoul was sprinkled with shining stars.
The twinkling sparks moved sluggishly, as if trapped in sticky slime, flowing from the bustling city, continuously heading toward the desolate mountain where Jinseong was located.
If one were to compare that sight to a snake fed with sparks, would it be a disrespectful analogy?
In the deep depths of pitch-black darkness, he looked up at the sky and smiled.
“Let’s see. The celestial bodies are in disarray, blinding each other with their light, suggesting it’s an opportune time for the vile to act. With the energy and the evil astral currents converging upon us, the trees must be quite cold.”
Crunch.
Creak.
Jinseong began to move slowly from his vantage point.
His movements grotesquely resembled a giant insect walking on two legs, pretending to be human.
“Ego. Oh trees, oh trees, trees that hold the weight of the years. With your lofty height, I shall grant you a name, so become a vile being filled with life.”
