After Jeong-eun Lee reported to the Supreme Prosecutors' Office, coverage of Ilhyeon Card and Jeong-eun Lee began to disappear from the media at a startling clip — as though the reporters had only been waiting for a cue.

The card crisis itself remained unresolved, and news of credit delinquents hitting record highs kept flowing in a steady drumbeat, but none of it was being tied back to Ilhyeon Card or to Jeong-eun Lee anymore.

The stories now surfaced in scattered, disconnected fragments, as if there had never been any link between them, and some were reduced to brief blurbs that slipped right past the public eye.

The news of Jeong-eun Lee's arrest was no exception.

—Former Ilhyeon Card President Jeong-eun Lee has been taken into custody. The court, judging that there was a risk of flight and a real possibility of evidence tampering, has authorized her detention. This is expected to accelerate the investigation into the former president. And in other news. Wastewater is reported to have leaked from a treatment plant in Yeongdeungpo-gu, and residents say the stench has been keeping them awake at night. According to a representative of the treatment facility…

Tak-hyeon Lee, watching a television that had crammed Jeong-eun Lee's arrest into a passing item among the local-color stories, gestured toward Do-beom Hwang.

"You can turn it off now."

"Yes, sir."

The moment Do-beom Hwang switched off the set, Tak-hyeon Lee turned to Seong-ho Kim, seated across from him.

"You kept your promise well."

"There was no way I couldn't, given the circumstances."

Seong-ho Kim glanced at the dark screen and went on.

"Starting tomorrow, the news will be plastered wall to wall with World Cup coverage."

"That should put this whole business to rest, at least for now."

Tak-hyeon Lee leaned back in his chair and tilted his head slightly upward.

"This has cost us two heavyweight affiliates — Ilhyeon Card and Ilhyeon Fire & Marine. That's a loss on a scale you can't put a number on."

"I agree. The group's entire financial-affiliate wing is at risk of being shaken."

"Yes. One of the…