Episode 87 – What is Right (7)
“There is.”
Jeong Chan-hyuk screamed in surprise, reacting foolishly. It proved that something was hidden. Aria, who couldn’t believe it was this sloppy, confidently approached the computer.
“Stop! What are you doing?!”
He yelled randomly, urging his aides. But no matter how hard they rushed in, ordinary people couldn’t even defeat a D-ranked Magical Girl.
“Ah. Let go of me.”
She shoved aside one aide who was urgently trying to strangle her from behind, making him tumble to the ground.
Naturally, that aide crashed to the floor, rolling around and groaning in pain. Aria looked down at him, unbothered. They were criminals after all. They were villains.
In fact, it wasn’t impossible to take action.
She even kicked someone trying to smash the computer away.
“Takilas once said this: If you have nothing to hide, you don’t need to fear the Magical Girls. But it seems you guys are not in that position?”
“You filthy bitch! Are you really doing this after hooking up with that crazy woman?! Your personal information is already stored in national agencies. I want to see your parents suffer because of you!”
“…Sorry, but I don’t have a family.”
Whether it was the chaos of the situation or if he was still slow to grasp it, Jeong Chan-hyuk’s noisy blabber only made Aria feel more cynical.
Moreover, the fact that Jeong Chan-hyuk was boasting about himself without truly understanding anything made her lose all restraint.
“And don’t test my patience. Can you talk like that in front of Takilas?”
“?!”
At her sharp retort, Jeong Chan-hyuk immediately shut his mouth. The strong-weak dynamic had been one of the convictions he upheld all his life.
“Disgusting. I can never agree with such a way of surviving.”
Aria frowned in revulsion at the ugly sight.
“Damn, this is nonsense. The courtroom will never recognize evidence gathered like this. This is a free democratic nation.”
“That doesn’t matter.”
Jeong Chan-hyuk, subdued by the aides, watched as Aria secured the confiscated phones and computer disks.
However, she just laughed at it.
“Whether the court recognizes the evidence or not, what you did is the truth. Do you think people will care about that? They’d only blame the court instead.”
“You, are you serious…”
When Aria mentioned public opinion, Jeong Chan-hyuk finally turned pale, realizing her true intention.
“I’m screwed!”
He trembled more than ever before.
In fact, the computers and phones in the office only had minor evidence of malfeasance; there was no data related to The One Road or Lee Jong-pil, which he truly needed to protect at all costs.
But if she was pushing for public outrage over that, it was a different story. There were mountains of work to do, and if they incited public resentment like this, it would be almost the same as leaking top-secret information.
Without public support, no matter how much backing they received, their plans would get tangled right from the start, as this country was, after all, a free democratic nation.
“This crazy bitch…”
“Why are you so surprised? We just caught ‘criminals’ who are ‘corrupted politicians.’ Just like the Magical Girls who punish evil, as we’ve always done.”
Aria liked his reaction and smiled faintly. It was such a rare expression that even Lulu, who was silently by her side, was taken aback.
“So, the outcome will be good, right? The biggest concern is that the police and the press might not do their jobs.”
“Don’t worry, we’ll do our best, Eun-seo.”
At dawn, as daylight broke, Aria stood on the rooftop of the Management Bureau with Oh Yoon-seo.
Last night, several police departments were turned upside down. The Magical Girls had stormed in, publicly accusing several politicians while gathering evidence of embezzlement and bribery.
Now, it just needed to spread through the media. The Frontier had already tipped off the news outlets.
“But by taking such actions, the politicians will likely harbor more resentment toward us.”
“The important thing is the citizens. Let’s trust them. Besides, there are definitely politicians who don’t dislike you. Think of those who are clean and care about the greater good.”
Oh Yoon-seo tried to comfort Aria, knowing she had changed recently, and wanting to support her as much as possible.
“This may be the last time. But I’ll trust you. I still don’t want to see Takilas smiling as if he was right.”
Aria was no longer a child. She had long been weary, worn down by the harsh reality and the bitter taste of the world.
She desperately hoped that the world would answer her cries, so she wouldn’t lose her beliefs.
*
“What on earth is happening?”
“Calm down, Representative Park. And please don’t talk too much; I have no idea how many people have come to me this morning.”
The events from last night erupted with intensity as the dawn broke. Particularly, Lee Jong-pil barely got any sleep, receiving calls from all directions before the sun even rose.
“They pulled off such a cute yet audacious act… Casilena moved too, but so did other Magical Girls who were opposing them. The Management Bureau tried to claim those girls went out of control, but does that make sense?”
“That’s not the problem, sir. The media outlets we managed to get on board have contacted us first, but articles are starting to pop up online through smaller media outlets!”
“Nothing to worry about. This is actually good. If they dared to challenge us with existing political laws!”
Unlike the anxious party leader, Lee Jong-pil even chuckled. Regardless of the situation, he had been in the political game for decades.
Recently, the support he and his faction received to dominate Korea’s political landscape was vast. Money for influencing the media and public officials, numerous citizen organizations established in advance, and The One Road.
Based on his experience, he confidently simulated this battle, convinced he wouldn’t lose against an opponent who dared to challenge him.
“More than half of the opposing party’s internal members, including the president’s aides, are now in our faction. This is an unbeatable game. Representative Park, you too should work diligently. Let’s first silence the media. I’ll take care of the police.”
“Is it possible to completely silence the media?”
“Hmm. An incident happening at a time like this would be just perfect. If nothing happens, we can just create one. It can’t be trivial; we need something significant.”
He mumbled while stroking his bristly beard. It was too familiar to him… a given, really.
“Sir, I believe personal security is still necessary, right?”
“Hah. What are you talking about?”
After Representative Park left, Lee Jong-pil leisurely had breakfast, raising his teacup with his son, who was also a Member of Parliament, just like he was in the past.
“But those crazy girls disregard common sense and law, causing havoc.”
“Our faction alone had 15 members attacked last night. This is a direct threat to us, to me. But have you thought about why they didn’t come to me last night, knowing who I am?”
“That’s…”
“You need to be cautious as well. This fight cannot afford public condemnation. In other words, it means we don’t want to give them any ammunition. We can’t allow them to frame it as political manipulation.”
As he reprimanded his son, he leisurely sipped his coffee.
“But it doesn’t matter. Our speakers are overwhelming. The public’s opinion is still half and half, so if we push The One Road and their achievements, framing it as a lawless group, we win.”
“If that’s the case, we won’t attack, right? Huh.”
Lee Soo-chan finally let out a sigh of relief, feeling reassured.
“Are you just now realizing that? You dimwit… so you should be even busier. Since those thunder-struck fools haven’t attacked you, use it to build a clean politician image…”
“Do you really think so?”
However, just as Lee Jong-pil clicked his tongue and was about to give his son advice on future moves.
A clear and beautiful woman’s voice softly echoed in the living room, where only the father and son were.
“You…”
“Yikes! W-How!!”
From what seemed to be an empty space, a figure began to materialize, as if a blurry screen had come into focus.
A fluttering golden dress and short hair, with faintly shining blue eyes, calmly gazing down at them. A message engraved on her slender wrist, glowing prominently.
“It would be wise not to misinterpret this. The reason we didn’t seek you out last night was not because you were special or anything.”
With the sound of clicking heels, Rene stepped forward and opened her mouth again.
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