『A Siege at Midnight?』
『Attempt to breach hospital security with siege engines. An astonishing siege at a hospital.』
『…A vivid video capturing the hospital riot in Chungju is attracting the attention of netizens.
…
…
…
Person A expressed disbelief about the chaos, stating, “I can’t believe this happened in a country called advanced like Korea,” and added, “If I had seen the French Revolution up close, it might feel like this.”
The shocking acts of violence in the vivid footage resembled a siege, with various makeshift weapons being used, including the home-made siege engine, hurling broken bricks as projectiles, and using fire extinguishers to obscure visibility…
…
…』
The scene of madness that erupted at midnight had come to an end.
The victor of the siege was the hospital.
The hospital managed to hold out until the police arrived, and as soon as the police showed up, the journalists, who were already in a frenzy, were swiftly subdued.
Though they bore a menacing aura, the journalists, who hadn’t even properly trained physically, were quickly overpowered by the Chungju police, who were well-equipped to subdue the unruly crowds. It wasn’t that the journalists were submissively subdued, however.
They continued to resist by throwing stones from the bricks they smashed or hurling flower pots, shattering glass bottles to cover the floor with sharp shards of glass, leaving the police with no choice but to lead with shield-bearers and corner them before using nets to capture them.
And those who remained outside the net’s range or continued to resist excessively even after being captured were shot with tasers.
So the lines between winners and losers were drawn, and the winning hospital was praised, saying, “Despite the madmen attacking, we successfully protected our patients,” and “This hospital can definitely be trusted with security,” leading to a significant increase in the hospital’s value.
And the losing journalists…
“Why on earth did you do such a thing?”
“….”
“Answer me. Why did you cause all this trouble, like some prince rescuing a princess from a dragon when you’re just a journalist wanting to meet one person?”
They were dragged to the police station for questioning.
However, all the captured journalists seemed to have conspired to keep their mouths shut, refusing to cooperate with the police.
Even when the police warned them, half in a threat, that if they continued to be uncooperative, it wouldn’t end well for them, they remained tight-lipped as if glue had been applied to their lips, and when pushed to say anything, they insisted on exercising their right to remain silent until their lawyer arrived.
It was a maddening situation for the police.
Why.
What reason could there be for stirring up such a commotion just to meet Lee Jae-soon?
It couldn’t possibly be because they were journalists; not all of these journalists could be dependent upon Lee Jae-soon for their survival…
They wanted to know why they had committed such a mad act when tensions were already high due to a murder case, and then caused such a ridiculous incident that would make headlines across the nation.
But the journalists remained silent, as if they had all conspired.
The police could only pound their chests in frustration…
Did the heavens hear the police’s sentiments?
The police’s questions were soon answered.
Not by the journalists brought to the police station, but by other journalists.
『The main characters of the hospital siege in Chungju… turns out they are criminals?』
『Illegal gambling, drugs, inciting violence, bribery… did it all lead to a siege?』
Just after the journalists were captured at the police station, articles started pouring out one after another.
And these were not the well-thought-out and polished articles that took time to write but rather hastily thrown together exclusive stories, born from the intention of striking while the iron was hot.
The articles, published almost simultaneously, didn’t hide their anonymity but blatantly targeted certain groups.
“Whoa, what’s this… I was treated to drinks by a boss with ties to organized crime and wrote a story for him…?”
“Whoa! What’s this? This one seems more like a gambler than a journalist, using overseas assignments as an excuse for illegal gambling tours in Macau and betting on Japanese horse racing illegally, not to mention engaging in illegal betting at houses… And they’ve even placed bets worth millions on golf?
“There’s someone who extorted money, threatening to publish false articles? There’s a record of ruining businesses by posting false articles about places that didn’t pay up… Wow, what trash…”
The police were aghast at what the articles revealed.
Despite being journalists, whom they had respected, their reality was much more appalling than imagined.
Not only had they committed all kinds of illegal acts, but they had also spread rumors that led to the destruction of others’ businesses or pushed people to the brink of extreme choices.
Trash.
They were clearly trash.
『A criminal threatening another criminal… The new star, Lee Jae-soon.』
『The murderer who manipulated criminals, who is Lee Jae-soon?』
And there was someone who orchestrated these pieces of trash.
That person was the journalist currently hospitalized, Lee Jae-soon.
The police started to understand why this journalist had instigated a siege at a hospital at midnight.
“…It’s the end times. What kind of murderer threatens other criminals?”
“What are they, organized crime or the mafia?”
“And it’s not like they were extorting money or anything… Instead, they were using them to snatch their articles? What’s this… Hahaha. It’s absurd… A murderer threatening others just to get articles? That’s it?”
“Hey, they say Lee Jae-soon seems to have a psychotic disorder? Are they covering for him as fellow journalists?”
“Doesn’t seem like it. Looking at the videos coming up, it’s not just the journalists but celebrities and politicians too, all calling Lee Jae-soon a psychopath. Seems there might have been some mental issues after all.”
“Well, threatening them to do his bidding for articles certainly points to some mental instability.”
The police couldn’t help but marvel at the flood of articles coming in.
Respect for their peers or even the slightest cover was nowhere to be found.
“Wow… How much trashy stuff did they do that even fellow journalists aren’t defending them?”
“Look at this. They were just waiting for a chance to strike back, and then they attacked.”
For Lee Jae-soon, at least there was some minimal cover saying that he “wasn’t mentally sound.”
Although, with the thorough digging into his actions and the videos of people connected to him being interviewed… It was puzzling whether this could be viewed as proper cover at all.
But there was none of that for the journalists caught in the siege.
It was as if they had made enemies throughout their lives, as they were now dropping evidence that they had stored up just at the right time. Victims of their actions, as well as other journalists, all came pouring out their grievances.
How much resentment must they have accumulated to provoke such a backlash?
“…Ugh, I can’t stand it; I want to ask Lee Jae-soon what those guys were up to.”
“Are they still in a coma?”
“Yeah. They’re still out of it.”
“How did these journalists’ weaknesses get exposed, though, if they’re out cold?”
“Oh, probably just like in the movies. They set things up to trigger alerts if I don’t return for a while or have someone trustworthy report if they can’t reach me… You know, stuff like that.”
“Wow… What in the world are they doing… Did they learn how to commit crimes from movies? Ugh…. This is really absurd.”
It wasn’t like they were filming a spy movie.
What on earth was going on…
The police could only chuckle at the surreal situation.
*
Park Jinseong smiled.
“All matters must be tied up neatly, from the aftermath to the cleanup…”
Jinseong watched the articles filled with a will to socially crush the trash with the evidence he had gathered.
‘Informing journalists with grievances is proving quite effective.’
The police assumed that Lee Jae-soon had set a system where the journalists’ weaknesses would be reported automatically after a certain time.
But in reality, it was Jinseong himself who directly reported those weaknesses.
And not randomly, but specifically targeting journalists who harbored animosity toward those captured at the police station.
Of course, the journalists, who now held the weaknesses of people whom they had deep-seated grudges against, began to churn out articles.
They knew they might never get another chance to settle the score!
‘Since they’re stuck in the police station, even more so…’
Unless one was exceedingly foolish or indecisive, it was unlikely they’d want to let this opportunity slip away.
The concept of camaraderie means nothing in the face of grudges.
They wielded the information Jinseong sent like a sword, relishing the exhilarating flow of breaking news under the pretext of exclusivity. And with the subsequent surge of exclusives, other journalists began to hop on the bandwagon, thinking to rake in views now that the incident had broken.
The material was ample.
Though delayed, information about their “weaknesses” had been circulated to others.
And thus begins the chain reaction of exposing wrongdoings…
So the journalists caught at the police station met their social demise.
Moreover, this was just the beginning.
Jinseong had ready follow-up maneuvers.
“Maybe we’ll find something interesting if we conduct drug tests…”
If they acted in ways that defy common sense, there must be a cause behind it.
The reason the journalists incited a siege was because of Jinseong.
To be precise, it was the drugs that Jinseong had injected into them through insects.
Methylphenidate.
Levoamphetamine.
Dextroamphetamine.
Jinseong injected the substances typically used for the treatment of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) into the journalists’ bodies.
Under the effects of the drugs, the journalists exhibited an excessive level of focus and became overly agitated.
‘Didn’t anticipate it would escalate to a siege.’
Of course, the level of excitement exceeded Jinseong’s expectations.
In a good way.
He had only expected them to cause a ruckus…
But they banded together to conduct a siege.
But the more it became a hot topic, the better, right?
And within this heated issue, Lee Jae-soon met his social demise alongside the journalists, making it even more fortuitous.
‘Still, due to the articles written by those with grievances, the public sentiment toward Lee Jae-soon might be a tad lenient… But I think this sufficiently tramples his honor.’
This was not bad at all.
No, it could even prove more beneficial than a complete social death with no chance of compassion.
For Park Jinseong, this was a very satisfying outcome.
And….
“The value most cherished has vanished far away, and what was held has become soiled and muddy.”
It was a satisfying result for the possession sorcerer as well, who appeared on the appointed day.
“Though the flesh rots away after death, being alive while decaying is another matter. That’s pain and punishment… The erosion of honor and its butchering holds much deeper meaning before death than after it.”
The possession sorcerer gazed at Park Jinseong with a satisfied smile.
“I am very satisfied. I extend my deepest gratitude to you.”
