Department Head Lee Jinyeol was not a painter who only wanted a pretty picture for the news.
He was a man who secretly painted a picture where the slice of the pie for reporters grew within the broadcasting station, and where programs led and produced by reporters increased.
‘This is it!’
The item Lee Hyeonwook brought was something that could paint the picture he envisioned.
It reeked of an exclusive scoop that couldn’t be found at any other station.
To air something like this as just one segment of the 9 o’clock news?
Or to end it with a studio appearance during a time slot with lower ratings than the 9 o’clock news?
That was unthinkable.
This item was worth pushing onto the production department.
Having gone to the production department, Lee Jinyeol promptly shoved Lee Hyeonwook into a current affairs exposé program produced by the PDs.
Even the production manager, who hated having his territory invaded as much as he hated death, couldn’t easily refuse.
Because it was far more powerful than the items the production team had been preparing.
Although it was normally absurd for a reporter to hitch a ride on a program where the PD handled the production, reporting, and appearance personally.
‘Let’s defend the viewership ratings first.’
As it was, they had been falling behind other stations in terms of buzz and ratings lately.
A grand consensus was reached: the fight over their rice bowls could wait.
In this process, Kim Dusik had no voice anywhere.
Inside the sub-control room of Recording Studio C-1 at KCN Broadcasting Station.
Dozens of monitors were lit up across the front of the dark interior, and on the screens were two men sitting on the set reading the broadcast script.
They were PD Ji Minsu, the main host of <Tracking Report 60 Minutes>, and Lee Hyeonwook.
“Three minutes to recording.”
“Title is ready.”
“Audio check complete.”
“VCR subtitle rendering complete. News graphics are ready.”
Sitting in the studio, I listened to the final check signals from the staff through the in-ear monitors.
“Reporter Lee, don’t be nervous. Just think of it as delivering the reported content like a news report. It’s a recording anyway, so if you make a mistake, we can just cut it and do it again.”
PD Ji Minsu gave me advice with a kind expression, as I was appearing on a current affairs program for the first time.
He likely thought that since I was a rookie reporter, such a program would be unfamiliar to me.
‘I’m just glad to see you, senior.’
Having the chance to record a current affairs program side-by-side with PD Ji Minsu after my regression brought back a flood of emotions.
I had misunderstood PD Ji Minsu, who led the broadcasts while embracing rookie juniors without any territorial hostility.
I had thought he was an incompetent PD who was just a “nice guy” with no ambition for success.
This was because he had joined the company as a peer of Reporter Kim Dusik, and while Kim Dusik was riding a wave of success, Ji Minsu had remained in the same place.
He had been cast out after being held responsible for planning a sensitive broadcast item that touched the government’s raw nerve.
I had regarded his courageous decision to push through with the broadcast as reckless bravado, and I thought the sight of his retreating back as he was kicked out was pathetic.
Back then, when I blamed PD Ji Minsu’s incompetence, I was no different from an ignorant person pointing fingers at a fraud victim, calling them a fool.
“I look forward to working with you, senior. I’ll do my best.”
“Today’s item is really great. So just do what you’ve been doing. I’m well aware of Reporter Lee Hyeonwook’s exploits. I could even say I’m just tagging along for today’s recording. Hahaha.”
— Starting recording.
— Title start.
— 5 seconds until title ends.
— Camera 1 standby.
— Cue!
The voice of the PD in the sub-control room flowed through the in-ear monitor.
Then, PD Ji Minsu composed his expression and began the opening remarks.
“Hello, viewers. This is Ji Minsu of <Tracking Report 60 Minutes>, a time to face the fundamental problems our society confronts beyond simple incidents.”
The recording had finally begun.
Once this broadcast aired, Jin Hwaju would be sentenced to prison, and Kim Dusik and Jin Woo-il would become nervous.
‘For now, just stay nervous.’
I decided not to corner Jin Woo-il just yet.
Because if I sent him away now, the price for his sins would still be infinitely too light.
“Today’s story begins with the tale of a woman who abused her own daughter. However, please pay attention to what truth lies beyond the child abuse. Reporter Lee Hyeonwook, who uncovered this story himself, is here in the studio. Hello, Reporter Lee.”
“Hello. I am Lee Hyeonwook.”
“The first keyword is already unusual. Child abuse, instigating child abuse. What is the content?”
#ChildAbuse #InstigatingChildAbuse
#MachineChurch #TextDirectives #AbnormalOfferings
I went through the keywords one by one, delivering the build-up of Jin Hwaju’s crimes.
Although it was mosaicked, Jin Hwaju’s voice, pressuring people to give offerings, pierced through the VCR screen.
— Brothers. Sisters. It is time to show our sincerity to our Holy Lord. The world is changing more chaotically by the day. In times like these, we must keep our wits about us and focus on what we desire. Giving offerings and praying is the best action we can take right now, everyone!
I could faintly hear the PD in charge muttering to himself through the in-ear monitor.
— If offerings are sincerity, then sincerity must have gone extinct in this world, fuck.
Next followed a vivid interview with a victim.
— I feel as if I’ve died twice. I was out of my mind after losing my child first. My husband urged me to seek psychiatric treatment, saying the living must survive. I didn’t want to make things harder for my husband, so I went to the hospital. And that’s where I met that woman.
Her face was darkened so it couldn’t be seen, but her gaunt body and the hand trembling as it gripped a handkerchief allowed one to imagine her devastated life.
— She said I could meet my child. She said that while she couldn’t bring the child back to life, she could make it so I could meet them every day in my subconscious while I slept. She said it was possible if I gave offerings and attended the prayer meetings. I know. I know it’s crazy. But the heart of a mother who has lost her child, who wants to see them even in a dream… it’s something you just can’t help.
The hand gripping the handkerchief did not move toward the tear-filled eyes.
Instead, it moved to her chest, weakly thumping it, a sight that made the viewer’s heart ache even more.
— I gave offerings as much as I wanted to see my child. I had money saved since the child was born. I gathered all the gold rings and pocket money given by both sets of parents, created a stock account, and set up savings. I emptied all that money for offerings. Later, I even downsized my home to raise money, but that still wasn’t enough for her, so she offered to introduce me to a loan shark.
“Looking at the video, I can’t close my mouth. Isn’t Jin Hwaju connecting victims to loan sharks essentially telling them to give up on life?”
PD Ji Minsu focused not on the sensational scale of the victim’s loss, but on the perpetrator’s cruel rampage.
.
.
.
By the time I felt I had delivered all the prepared content, PD Ji asked the final question.
“Reporter Lee Hyeonwook, you must have felt a lot while conducting undercover reporting and meeting the victims directly to hear their stories. As we wrap up the episode ‘The Leader of the Machine Church was a Washing Machine’ of <Tracking Report 60 Minutes>, is there anything you’d like to say for the last time?”
There was.
I definitely wanted to say something that would make Kim Dusik nervous and signal to Assemblyman Jin Woo-il that I would continue to keep a close eye on him.
“Anyone can become a victim. We often forget that fact. The way to prevent victims from appearing is not to simply distrust people. It is to turn our gaze toward the perpetrators to ensure they do not commit crimes again, and to monitor whether they are deceiving someone. For this, severe punishment for the perpetrators is necessary. I will watch until the end to see what punishment Jin Hwaju receives. And I do not intend to withdraw my gaze from searching for whether there are other perpetrators behind Jin Hwaju. I ask the viewers watching this broadcast to keep watch with me. Thank you.”
The day after the broadcast aired, the viewer reaction was explosive.
Not only was it a real-time trending search term, but other media outlets were busy writing articles based on the content of the ‘The Leader of the Machine Church was a Washing Machine’ episode.
Such articles spread rapidly across the internet.
[Cult? Don’t make me laugh. It’s just a crime.]
└ [The government absolutely cannot stay still.]
└ [Always bringing up the government.]
└ [Cult leader, you can’t be doing this here.]
[Please, don’t touch the children.]
└ [I’m the mother of a 5-year-old. I watched the broadcast sobbing. T_T]
└ [Not letting a child sleep, spicy ramen, and a swing in the scorching sun for a child who shouldn’t even be hit with a flower. This actually happened?]
The reaction in my fan cafe was also hot.
[I’m proud that the first fan cafe I joined is Reporter Lee’s.]
[The only news I trust and watch is Reporter Lee’s news.]
[Instead of just seeing you briefly in the news, can’t you keep appearing on Tracking Report 60 Minutes?]
[I came on a pilgrimage because I heard there was a tip-off post here.]
[I should send my news tips here from now on.]
There was another reaction more noteworthy than these.
[Please agree to the ‘Petition for the Enactment of a Special Act for the Severe Punishment of Pseudo-Religious Organizations.’ Click the link to the National Petition board.]
The angry people gradually increased their firepower and posted on the National Petition board.
Several members of the National Assembly also left posts on social media, stating that they viewed the incident with gravity.
Now, this case had scaled up from the individual crime of Jin Hwaju to a social problem.
Since she was receiving punishment including interest for what she didn’t get in my previous life, she had no reason to feel wronged.
And since the money she scammed wasn’t hers to begin with, she shouldn’t feel any heartache.
Of course, she might only barely have such thoughts after spending a long time in prison.
The Social Affairs Department was in a festive mood.
Department Head Lee Jinyeol gave a long speech, arguing that they should ride this momentum to establish a program produced internally by the News Bureau.
He grew heated, claiming that among the viewership ratings <Tracking Report 60 Minutes> had received over the last six months, the ‘The Leader of the Machine Church was a Washing Machine’ episode I appeared in was number one.
After I barely calmed down Department Head Lee, who looked ready to pat me on the backside in praise, he rushed off to the Head of the News Division.
My colleagues were excited in various ways.
There were admirable people like Seo Suyeon, who wanted to create news that didn’t stop at exposure but influenced the severe punishment of the perpetrator.
And there were people like No Seungsik, who harbored a greater dissatisfaction with me receiving all the attention.
And then there was Kim Dusik, who had tried to win me over only to be stabbed in the back.
He would be tormented by Jin Woo-il for a while.
Jin Woo-il would monitor him to ensure I didn’t say anything reckless, and tell him he wouldn’t let it slide if his name leaked even a little.
Ignoring Kim Dusik’s murderous gaze, I opened my reporting notebook.
[September 18, 20XX. Oh Yeong-i, who killed her own daughter. Jin Hwaju, who extorted 120 million won after proselytizing the Machine Church to Oh and ordered her to kill her daughter, sentenced to 8 years in prison. +1 accumulated. Total +3 Points. A bonus will be granted soon.]
Ah, so a bonus is given when you collect 3 points?
Meaning, if I correct the contents of three reporting notebooks, a bonus is given that provides important information…
‘I have no choice but to work harder.’
Anyway, it seems the prosecutor has decided on the sentencing request.
Since the victim’s damages were not recovered and it’s obvious that a settlement cannot be reached, the judge seems likely to hand down a relatively high sentence.
Now the problem is how to cut out Kim Dusik and catch Jin Woo-il…
— Ding!
While I was sitting at my desk fiddling with a ballpoint pen, a company intranet chat window popped up.
[Reporter Lee, to the rooftop right now.]
It was a chat from PD Ji Minsu.
Thinking it might be a thank-you for the good ratings, I went to the rooftop with a light heart.
“An internal audition for the <9 O’Clock News Prime> anchor will be held soon. Reporter Lee, take the audition.”
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