The Inspector Is Getting Promoted! [EN]: Chapter 2

A Mysterious Text (2)

-Sender: 29

-Contact Shin Yong-ho.

What’s with this guy?

These days, phones shouldn’t even have the *option* to change the outgoing number.

And this guy is going through the trouble of using a computer to do it.

I brushed it off and refocused on my work.

“Ugh.”

The sound of an investigator stretching echoed through the silent office.

“Are you tired?”

“No, you’re the one working hard, Prosecutor.”

“Shall we go out for a smoke?”

“Sounds good.”

I went outside with the investigator and lit a cigarette.

“Aren’t you lonely, Prosecutor? You should get married and settle down soon.”

“I haven’t thought about it yet. There’s no suitable woman either.”

“Come on, with your credentials [specifications], women would be lining up. A graduate of Korea University who passed the bar exam. Not only that, but you’re tall and handsome too.”

Well, it was true, so I didn’t deny it.

It wasn’t a lie; women *were* actually lining up.

When the banner celebrating my passing the bar exam was hung in the neighborhood, I received countless offers for arranged meetings [formal introductions] through my parents.

Teachers and public officials couldn’t even *dare* to consider meeting me, and I received many offers from those with glamorous credentials, such as doctors and announcers.

However, I rejected all those offers.

I thought that as a prosecutor of Korea, I could meet my true love and support her.

Looking back, I can’t believe how naive I was.

After being assigned to a *jibang* [rural or provincial office], and not standing out in *cheong* [a district or central office], the arranged meetings gradually decreased, and I didn’t have time to meet women because I was so busy with work.

I later learned that most of the outstanding people in the Judicial Research and Training Institute married into families with influence in the political and business circles.

I was ashamed of my arrogance for becoming a prosecutor with good grades from the Judicial Research and Training Institute.

That’s how the current situation came to be.

Even though it’s not as much as when I first became a prosecutor, I still receive arranged meeting offers from various professions such as teachers, stewardesses, public officials, and nurses, but I don’t want to go on arranged meetings now.

It’s not because the professions are “worse” than before, but because I don’t want to start a family right now.

In the past, I used to envy Yong-ho, who got married to a doctor’s family right after passing the bar exam and lived happily ever after, but I can’t even *stand* to see that these days.

It’s funny to think about going on arranged meetings now after rejecting them for so long.

I exhaled white cigarette smoke into the cold night air.

On days when I felt inexplicably bitter, it was my pleasure to have a drink with Shin Yong-ho.

I wonder how Yong-ho is doing.

Thinking of him, I suddenly remembered the text I received during the day.

“Ah, Investigator. There’s a guy who’s still sending texts by modifying the sender’s number these days.”

“What kind of text did you receive?”

“Yes. It was very strange. It told me to contact my friend. I think someone who knows me is playing a prank.”

I rummaged through my pocket, took out my phone, and went into the message inbox.

Huh?

The message is not visible.

Where did it go?

Did I block it as spam out of habit?

I *think* I put it down because I was busy and went back to work.

“Why isn’t it here?”

Just in case, I went into the call history.

It shows all call and text records here. It should still be there even if it’s marked as spam.

I can’t find it no matter how hard I look.

Why isn’t it there?

Did I see something that wasn’t there?

That can’t be.

As I frowned and rummaged through my phone, the investigator said as if it was nothing.

“I think you deleted it and forgot, Prosecutor. You were very busy today.”

“Was I?”

“You probably were.”

Am I being too sensitive?

The investigator didn’t take it seriously and changed the subject, rubbing his stomach.

“Aren’t you hungry, Prosecutor?”

It’s already 7 PM.

It’s already past dinner time.

I’m burning Friday night with work.

“Shall we go get dinner?”

“No. Let’s just have a snack and leave before 9 PM. I’ll go quickly and buy some *bunsik* [Korean snack foods]. *Tteokbokki* [spicy rice cakes] and *twigim* [fried foods] sound good?”

“Sounds good to me.”

“I’ll be back.”

“Thank you.”

After the investigator went to the snack bar, I rummaged through my phone for a long time, but strangely, there was no record of the text at all.

Even if I deleted it, my memory is usually good enough that I wouldn’t forget.

That’s strange.

***

“Go in carefully.”

“Yes, have a good night, Prosecutor!”

The investigator smiled brightly, bowed his head, and hurried to the subway.

As I got into my car, I suddenly wondered how Yong-ho was doing today.

Is it because of the text?

I should call him after a long time.

If I do, he’ll probably just brag again.

I chuckled at the thought of chatting with him on the phone.

I should call him while I remember.

I called him right away.

Just as I was about to put down my phone because it rang for a long time without him answering, I heard Shin Yong-ho’s voice from the other side of the phone.

-Hello…

A voice full of hoarseness.

It’s only 9 PM, how long has he been at a *hoesik* [company dinner] to be this drunk?

“Yong-ho, are you at a *hoesik*?”

-No, I’m just at home.

He’s at home, but his voice is like this?

“Did you just wake up?”

-No, tell me.

There’s no energy in his voice.

This is the first time I’ve seen him so listless since he went to Seoul.

“I was just wondering how you’re doing. Even if Seoul is good, why don’t you ever contact your friend?”

After a moment of silence, I heard Shin Yong-ho’s voice, heavily opening his mouth.

-I’m not in Seoul.

“Where are you?”

-Boseong.

“Jeollanam-do Boseong? Why are you there?”

-I’ve been assigned to the Boseong Branch.

What is this nonsense?

Judging from his pronunciation and tone, he doesn’t seem drunk.

“What happened?”

-Seo-joon…

“Yeah, tell me.”

Shin Yong-ho couldn’t open his mouth for a long time, then he struggled to open his mouth and said in a trembling voice.

-I’m having such a hard time.

***

“You have to go to work tomorrow, how did you come here?”

“Tomorrow is Saturday, you idiot. Get a grip.”

Shin Yong-ho’s appearance, with his hair disheveled, his beard growing out, and wearing only underwear and a undershirt, was the epitome of a *pyaein* [a person who has withdrawn from society].

He sighed deeply and let me in.

The living room was small.

No, the house itself was small.

A small living room and one room next to it were all there was.

It was embarrassing to even call it a two-room.

In this *jibang*, a house like this wouldn’t even cost 50 million won.

Why is this guy, who married into a doctor’s family, like this?

No, wait a minute. The person who *should* be here is not here.

“Hey, where did *jesu-ssi* [term for a friend’s wife] go?”

“She’s in Seoul.”

He smiled bitterly and brought a bottle of soju [Korean distilled spirit] and two glasses that weren’t even in the refrigerator.

“I have nothing but alcohol to give you.”

I silently accepted the alcohol he poured and downed it in one gulp.

The lukewarm, bitter alcohol scent stung my mouth.

“Should I get you some ice?”

“It’s okay.”

I grabbed his shoulder and asked.

“What the hell happened?”

“What do you mean, can’t you tell just by looking?”

He laughed hollowly.

“I’m screwed. I got kicked out of Seoul.”

“No, what happened? Even if you came, *jesu-ssi* should have come with you. Why are you here alone?”

“My wife hates *jibang* and told me to go alone. She doesn’t even want to see my face.”

Shin Yong-ho, whom I met after two years, was completely broken.

His mentality was shattered.

“Tell me slowly. I’m sleeping here tonight, so tell me everything.”

“…*X-bal* [Korean curse word].”

He spat out a curse word and began to sob, shrugging his shoulders.

“Ah, I shouldn’t be like this. How embarrassing.”

Shin Yong-ho wiped away his tears and told me what happened in Seoul.

In the first place, the reason he went up to Seoul was thanks to catching the eye of Im Seong-jin’s line by chance.

At first, he was active in Chief Prosecutor Im Seong-jin’s line.

As he said, the department itself planned the cases, set traps, and caught them, and if they solved them, they would be featured in the newspapers.

He thought he would be able to rise to the position of chief prosecutor without any problems.

However, no matter how much he rode the line, there was a limit to him.

Even though he married a doctor’s family, his father-in-law was just a regular doctor, and his wife was just a housewife, so Shin Yong-ho had no reliable backing.

He didn’t have the so-called ‘*kkeutbal*’ [influence or power].

Nevertheless, he persevered and survived.

Like that, a year passed.

Naturally, new people came into Im Seong-jin’s line, and he began to be pushed back.

At that time, a problem arose in Im Seong-jin’s line, and Shin Yong-ho took the blame for everything and was demoted to *jibang*.

They said they would bring him back when time passed, but before a month had even passed, his position had already disappeared.

His wife didn’t just not come down because she hated *jibang*.

While he was preparing to make a comeback here, he became suspicious of his wife’s behavior and had someone check it out, and it turned out that she was already having an affair with a foreign English teacher.

In the end, Shin Yong-ho couldn’t overcome all these situations and collapsed, and he spent three months in this small house, enduring each day drunk on alcohol and sleep.

“I want to die, my friend.”

It’s infuriating to hear that this happened to my childhood friend, but seeing him struggling so much that he even said he wanted to die, I really couldn’t stand it.

“You crazy bastard, if you die here, you’ll really be a loser. You have to stand up and stand in front of those bastards. Right?”

“I can’t.”

He wore a hollow smile as if he had lost his mind.

“I’m done for. Even if I try to make a comeback, those bastards will stop me.”

I clenched my fist in anger, but I just felt pathetic that I couldn’t do anything.

“After I came here, I’ve thought about committing suicide hundreds of times and even went up to the rooftop of a nearby apartment.”

“Hey!”

“But I couldn’t commit suicide.”

He lowered his gaze with a blank expression.

“Not because I’m scared, but because I’m embarrassed. And I can’t because I’m frustrated.”

“Then you have to stand up. What are you dying for!”

“If I’m going to die, we all have to die together. I’m so frustrated that I can’t die alone.”

He grabbed my hands tightly with both hands and looked up at me with pitiful eyes.

“Seo-joon.”

“……”

“Please help me just once. Even if I collapse, I have to grab those bastards and collapse together as *mulgwishin* [water ghosts, spirits of drowned people who try to pull others into the water]. I can’t die alone. I can’t die because I’m frustrated.”

“How can a prosecutor like me take down those guys?”

“I’ll tell you.”

He said, trembling desperately.

“I have all the ledgers. I have the recordings of those bastards and enough evidence. I can take them all down. I’ll be an internal whistleblower. If I stay like this, I’ll have to take off my clothes [resign] in three months anyway. You take those bastards’ heads and go up. Go all the way up and become king.”