Artifact Reading Inspector-Chapter 119: The Enemy Inside (2)

“What did you say? I should send it back?”

“Yes. You have stolen what belongs to others, so of course, you should send it back!”

He yelled with anger as if Haejin was stopping him from doing what was right.

“Do you even know what it is?”

“Of course, I do. You think I came here without knowing what it is?”

Haejin was so shocked that he started laughing.

“Ha… but how did you find out about the Double Dragon Sword?”

“That is none of your business.”

Actually, Haejin thought about using magic. If the aide hadn’t been there, Haejin would have made him confess the truth.

The young aide spoke this time.

“You said you haven’t stolen the Double Dragon Sword, but you mentioned it first. If that isn’t proof, what is?”

He must have thought it was a sharp question, but Haejin had made his mind about it when they started to accuse him of stealing.

“It is the only artifact I’ve brought into Korea. I have bought it legally. I can let you talk to the seller if you want.”

Dongcheol frowned hard.

“Nonsense! I already know you’ve stolen it. You think lying would work on me? I am Lee Dongcheol, the representative of the People’s Happiness Party!”

“Apart from who you are, I’ve never done robbed a grave, and I am not going to sell it back. The Double Dragon Soul has the soul of the Koreans. It is ours, it was Ogura Tekenoske who stole it!”

“That was a century ago, and Ogura Takenoske was a good man. If he hadn’t stopped Korean artifacts from being sent abroad, our artifacts would be wandering around the world now! You dug up such a man’s grave and you don’t even feel guilty!”

Haejin had never thought he would ever get to see a Korean defending Ogura Takenoske.

He thought only Japanese could speak for him. Satou Akiho, the former director of Tokyo Museum, once said Ogura Takenoske collected Korean artifacts because he loved history and Korean traditions.

He even said Ogura collected Korean artifacts to protect them from being sent abroad, so Dongcheol’s logic was the same as Satou’s.

“I never dug Ogura’s grave, but even if I had, I don’t think I would feel guilty at all. That fxxking bastard stole more than a thousand Korean artifacts. Do you know that? And you are speaking for him? Is that the opinion of your party?”

Haejin got enraged and raised his voice.

Dongcheol then yelled, “What? What do you know, huh? We are now living decently all because Japan put railroads and built power plants! You, young people, don’t know that… anyway, give it to me! Now!”

He was so confident as if he was asking for something that belonged to him.

“Huh! It’s already too late. We’ve informed the reporters.”

Eunhae had sent him to say the press conference had been sent and the information about the sword had been released.

“What? Are you crazy?”

“Stop it if you have the power to do that. You must have gotten info from the NIS, so you must have the power to stop that press release.”

Haejin wasn’t bragging. He thought Dongcheol really had that much power. He was provoking him because even though Dongcheol could stop this press release, he could not make the next move.

Once the public found out that the Double Dragon Sword was back in Korea, people would never allow it to be sent to Japan again. Politicians knew that as well.

That’s why Haejin was sure Dongcheol couldn’t stop the press conference. Information about the sword had been released already, if Dongcheol stopped the press conference, he would have to solely handle the consequences.

Then, Dongcheol’s aide saw something on his phone and was surprised. He showed it to Dongcheol.

“Sir, you should see this.”

Dongcheol put on his glasses and looked. He was shocked. Haejin also got curious, so he took out his phone and used the internet. This was what he saw first.

[General Lee Sunsin’s Double Dragon Sword has been found. The press conference will be done soon. (Breaking News)]

Eunhae had taken care of it fast. Things were over now. Would Dongcheol admit it and move on?

“You, I won’t let you get away with this!”

“I’ll keep that in mind. If you are finished, you should go now.”

“You…”

Dongcheol fumed for some time and then banged the door as he left.

Haejin thought about staying there, but he left to see Eunhae who was preparing for the press conference. However, Dongcheol was hesitating at the main gate.

Haejin wondered what it was about and went there. A reporter saw Dongcheol and ran to him.

“Oh, Senator Lee! Have you led the retrieval of General Lee Sunsin’s Double Dragon Sword?”

The reporter excitedly asked. Dongcheol was surprised, he couldn’t say anything. He hadn’t thought he would run into reporters.

Haejin talked to that reporter on purpose.

“Are you a reporter? You are about to hear some amazing news. A great man has done a miracle.”

As Haejin talked about a great man in front of the representative of the ruling party, of course, the reporter thought he meant Dongcheol.

He naturally clanged onto Dongcheol.

“Really? Wow… sir, please say something!”

“Oh, that’s… I…”

Dongcheol hesitated. Then, he saw cars coming in one by one.

He couldn’t see well as it was dark, but they were small vans, and something was written on them.

They were clearly the vans of media companies.

Dongcheol’s aide was worried about his senator making a mistake. He saw the other media vans coming and quickly said, “Sir, we should go now.”

He sounded urgent. Dongcheol nodded and apologized to the reporter in front of him.

“I’m sorry, but I have to go. I hope you write a good article… okay? I’ll see you later…”

Dongcheol tried to leave, but he couldn’t.

“Hup!”

“Sir? Why?”

Haejin had cast a magic on him that made one get diarrhea.

His stomach boiled, and he was about to relieve himself, so he couldn’t run away.

If he failed to restrain himself, and the reporters found out about it, getting humiliated would not even be the main problem. His political life would be over.

Think about it. Who would vote for a politician who defecated in his pants? He would become a laughingstock, and the people would say he was losing his mind.

Dongcheol tried to hang on, but the media vans arrived, and the reporters poured out from them.

They spotted Dongcheol and lunged at him like hyenas who spotted a prey.

After seeing the reporter who was putting a mike under Dongcheol’s nose right in front of him, others thought they couldn’t let him get the exclusive report. They tried their best to make Dongcheol speak.

“Sir! Is it true that you contributed greatly in bringing the Double Dragon Sword?”

“Senator Lee, please tell us how you found the sword!”

“Senator Lee! Please tell us what you think about this great achievement!” 𝑓re𝘦𝔀𝗲𝘣𝘯𝘰νℯ𝒍.c𝗼ｍ

The press conference of the museum didn’t even start yet, but reporters just guessed and were excited.

However, Dongcheol didn’t even care about it. The problem was their attitude.

When reporters throw questions to get an exclusive report or information about an important social issue, they push hard, put mikes in front of the interviewee, and even drag that person.

In short, the interviewee gets swung from side to side like a laver floating on waves, but now, Dongcheol had to be really careful.

He couldn’t say a word. His face was pale, he just leaned on his aide’s shoulder and moaned.

“Uh… uh…”

“Senator, please say something.”

“Sir!”

The reporters didn’t know Dongcheol’s pain. They mercilessly put a mike in front of his mouth and bumped into him.

The aide was worried to see his senator suddenly stop and turn pale. He just kept saying, ‘sir, are you okay?’ and lost precious time. The next moment…

“Uhh… ah…”

With a weird moan, Dongcheol’s face started to return to its usual color. And…

“Sniff, sniff… what smell is this?”

“Huh? I smell poop. Did a septic tank leak nearby?”

“There are no septic tanks these days. But, where is this coming from?”

The reporters surrounded Dongcheol and tried to find the source of the smell. Haejin couldn’t let Dongcheol escape, so he finished it.

“Huh? There’s a stain on the senator’s pants…”

He didn’t speak loudly. He whispered so that only the reporter right next to him could hear it, but the reporter didn’t worry how Haejin had seen it in the darkness. Instead, he wiggled into the crowd and checked Dongcheol’s pants.

“Oh, sir…”

The reporter looked at Dongcheol with surprise. The other reporters felt something was wrong and instinctively realized the smell was coming from Dongcheol.

If this had been all, it could have been fine. Dongcheol could find a way to make them keep the secret.

“Oh, Senator Lee!”

“Sir, are you giving today’s press conference?”

More reporters kept coming in, and like a virus that spread in a flash, they found out what Dongcheol had done and started to awkwardly glance at each other.

There was a good reason for that. Writing articles about this situation would win them great attention, but they couldn’t afford it.

Nevertheless, they couldn’t give up the ‘Exclusive’ mark, so they had no choice but to keep glancing at each other, but then, Haejin looked into the museum and yelled.

“Hey, sir! The press conference hasn’t even started yet. Where are you going?”

Actually, no reporter went into the museum. However, after that yell, the reporters all scattered in a second.

“Hey! Reporter Lim! Reporter Choi! Where are you going?”

Dongcheol panicked and tried to call the reporters, but no one answered.

“Sir… what…”

The aide also realized what was going on. He was almost about to cry, but there was nothing he could do about it.

“Oh…”

“Sir!”

Dongcheol’s legs lost strength in shock. His aide quickly supported him. However, funnily enough, he couldn’t hold him properly. He was pushing him from the back, he didn’t want to touch Dongcheol’s pants.

“Quick… the reporters…”

“It’s too later. Articles must have been released by now.”

Decades ago, he would have pressed newspaper companies and broadcast stations, but now, it was the era of the internet. Reporters of high position could instantly upload articles with the ‘exclusive’ mark without permission from their boss.

Haejin tried not to laugh and took out his phone to use the internet. There was an article that caught his eyes.

[Senator Lee Dongcheol relieved himself in his pants before a press conference.]

“Oh…”

Dongcheol saw it as well. He moaned and ran away with his aide.