The Inspector Is Getting Promoted! [EN]: Chapter 142

The Bloom (2)

***

“Wow, Chief Choi, you look absolutely dashing!”

“Prosecutor Choi, your shoulders seem even broader today.”

“And just like that, another eligible bachelor bites the dust.”

The compliments poured in, and a smile never left my face.

“Thank you!”

“Congratulations. Live happily ever after.”

“Yes, Deputy Chief.”

Dignitaries from various ministries, along with figures from the political and business worlds, and prominent individuals from various fields, attended to celebrate my wedding.

Not only the people I invited, but Han Jiyu’s connections were also on an immense scale, making the wedding hall so crowded that there was barely any room to move.

As Han Jiyu was one of the top actresses in South Korea, famous celebrities and movie moguls from the film industry also attended.

It wasn’t intentional, but thanks to all the recognizable faces, it became more than just a wedding; it turned into a networking event where many people connected.

In fact, people were not only greeting each other after a long time but also discussing business.

“Chief, congratulations!”

“Oh, Du-hyung, you came?”

The prosecutors from the Special Investigation Department, including Deputy Chief Lee Du-hyung, were all in attendance, of course. There were even people from other departments trying to cozy up to the Special Investigation Department prosecutors, hoping to gain my favor.

Normally, I wouldn’t pay much attention, but on a day like today, I greeted everyone warmly.

Today should be filled with nothing but happiness.

A grand wedding attended by dozens of current and former members of the National Assembly [South Korea’s legislative branch].

Unfortunately, the current president, Kyung Dong-soo, did not attend.

Because there was so much public interest in my wedding, he couldn’t even send a congratulatory wreath, but instead sent a handwritten letter and congratulated me over the phone, which was enough for me to understand.

Outside the wedding hall, a huge number of reporters were gathered.

Not only entertainment reporters but also political and social affairs reporters were all camped out.

Even though they couldn’t enter the hall, it was no exaggeration to say that photos were being taken of everyone entering at the entrance, and articles were being uploaded to the internet in real-time.

Except for a few people who had to enter the underground parking lot discreetly because of controversies or the need to avoid being seen, everyone else entered proudly through the entrance, getting their pictures taken by reporters.

“Our Choi Seo-joon is finally blooming.”

Kim Seok-won chuckled and patted me on the shoulder.

“Your face is beaming.”

“Hahaha, thank you. It’s all thanks to you, Minister. I wouldn’t have been able to have a wedding with peace of mind if it weren’t for you.”

“You’re too modest. You’ve done a lot of good deeds, and now they’re paying off.”

“I’m just grateful that you say so.”

He laughed heartily and asked,

“Where are you going for your honeymoon?”

“We’re going to the Maldives. I’m going to enjoy a mojito.”

“The Maldives is nice.”

He gave a warm smile.

“Live happily.”

“I will!”

***

The grand wedding was coming to a smooth end.

The most challenging part of the day was undoubtedly greeting the guests at the buffet banquet after the wedding.

I had invited so many people, and they all brought several companions, so it felt like there were about 1,000 people, give or take a few.

As I changed into a hanbok [traditional Korean clothing] with Han Jiyu and headed to the banquet hall, she spoke first.

“So many people came.”

“I know, right? It’s a good thing we rented the entire wedding hall, or it would have been a disaster.”

Han Jiyu, who looked so beautiful today, gently patted my back.

“You worked hard.”

“No, you worked harder, Jiyu. How can you not be tired when your beauty is working so hard?”

She smiled brightly and brought up an important point.

“Which side should we greet first? The political figures are older and busier, so it would be better to go there first, right?”

“Are you sure it’s okay?”

“Yeah. I heard from my manager a little while ago that my guests are having a party since they haven’t seen each other in a long time. Everyone’s in a good mood, so it’s better to go slowly.”

“Then let’s do that.”

“Okay.”

Han Jiyu and I entered the banquet hall affectionately.

I had planned to greet the political figures first, but the moment I spotted one particular person, I completely changed my plans.

“Jiyu, there’s someone I need to greet first.”

“Huh?”

I nodded toward a man, grabbed a plate, filled it with tofu dishes such as fried tofu, braised tofu, tofu pancakes, and mapo tofu, and headed to a table on one side.

Then, I placed it in front of a man at the table and shouted,

“Shin Yong-ho, you son of a bitch!”

He smiled brightly and stood up.

“I clapped like crazy earlier, and you’re trying to make up for it with tofu?”

“Of course. You have to eat your fill of tofu today!”

Shin Yong-ho immediately stood up and gave me a warm hug.

My Korea University Law School classmates, including Song Hyun-sung, who were sitting at the same table, looked at Han Jiyu next to me and shouted at me.

“You bastard!”

“You’re a bad guy.”

“You’re a real scoundrel.”

Song Hyun-sung smiled and bumped hands with me.

“You’re a damn thief.”

“Why am I a thief?”

“You married such a beautiful sister-in-law, so you’re a thief.”

Han Jiyu cleverly responded from the side.

“That’s right. He’s a thief who stole my heart.”

At those words, my classmates exclaimed in admiration.

“Wow, I’m more jealous of Choi Seo-joon today than when he became a chief.”

“I know, right.”

Shin Yong-ho chuckled and slapped me on the back.

“Live happily. Don’t end up alone like me.”

“Never, you idiot.”

“Go on. You can’t come to us first. I see there are five ministers and vice-ministers at one table over there.”

“Okay. I’ll call you when it’s over.”

“Congratulations, Choi Seo-joon.”

“Thanks, you guys.”

***

“Chief, you look half your size.”

“Huh?”

“What happened on your honeymoon…”

Yoon Seol-ah gave a sly smile and then covered her mouth, laughing.

“You must love your wife very much.”

“Let’s work.”

Yoon Seol-ah smiled and handed me a cup of coffee.

“Have some coffee and then let’s talk. I came to talk to you today, Chief.”

“If it’s about the honeymoon, I’ll put you on a case right away.”

“Aww.”

She looked at me playfully, narrowing her eyes.

“Our chief must be very shy.”

I glared at her and changed the subject.

“I heard a drug organization that was active in the Philippines has crossed over. Do you want to investigate it?”

“No.”

Yoon Seol-ah calmly continued the conversation without batting an eye.

“Then, instead of the honeymoon, let’s talk about the wedding.”

“Sigh.”

I grabbed my forehead and shook my head.

“This time, I’m not kidding. I really want to ask you something serious.”

“What is it?”

Yoon Seol-ah put her arm on the table, leaned in, and asked.

“Did you see the Chief Prosecutor at the wedding?”

“Chief Prosecutor Park Jae-pil?”

“No. That guy is in jail right now. Ah, our chief must have put in too much effort on his honeymoon.”

She teased me and continued.

“I’m talking about Chief Prosecutor Seo Gi-woong. I think I’ve seen almost everyone from the Seoul Central District Prosecutors’ Office, but strangely, I’ve never seen Chief Prosecutor Seo Gi-woong. Other prosecutors haven’t seen him either.”

Slowly going through my memories, I realized that I really didn’t remember seeing Seo Gi-woong at the wedding.

Thanks to so many people attending, I could remember who came, but I couldn’t keep track of who didn’t attend, so I didn’t realize that Chief Prosecutor Seo Gi-woong hadn’t come at all.

“Did you happen to forget to send Chief Prosecutor Seo Gi-woong an invitation?”

“That’s impossible. When I sent out the invitations, I started with the Chief Prosecutor and went down the line.”

At that moment, a disturbing memory came to mind.

“There was one strange thing.”

“What is it?”

“At the time, I was so busy preparing for the wedding that I didn’t think much of it, but something felt different from usual.”

Until now, Seo Gi-woong had always greeted me warmly whenever I went to his office, but that time, he seemed displeased.

I thought I was just tired from driving out Chief Prosecutor Park Jae-pil and sensitive from preparing for the wedding, but looking at the situation now, that wasn’t the case.

Moreover, he hadn’t even called to apologize for not being able to attend, not even before the wedding or after the honeymoon.

If something came up and he couldn’t go, it was polite to at least call.

There was no way Chief Prosecutor Seo Gi-woong didn’t know that, and there was no reason for him not to do so.

“I haven’t been able to go to volunteer work with Jiyu since I got busy with the Park Jae-pil case. Is that why?”

“That’s not a reason for him not to come to the wedding. Especially not for the Chief Prosecutor.”

“This is getting unsettling…”

Yoon Seol-ah cautiously opened her mouth.

“I was worried that something might have happened, so I secretly investigated, and it turns out that the Chief Prosecutor and his wife were at Somangwon [a charitable organization] that day. There were no special events.”

Then we need to be even more suspicious.

There must be a reason.

“I think you need to look into this in detail.”

“Yes. Then I’ll check this as soon as possible.”

“Okay.”

***

“Did you have a good trip?”

Assemblyman Sung Tae-hyun smiled brightly and handed me a glass of wine.

“Yes. The Maldives was great. You should go sometime, Assemblyman.”

“Then I’ll make it my honeymoon destination… Haha!”

He seemed embarrassed by what he said and laughed it off.

“How is your love life going, Assemblyman?”

“Yes. I’m very happy these days.”

A smile naturally filled Sung Tae-hyun’s face.

“Watching you and Jiyu get married at the wedding made me want to get married soon too.”

“Why don’t you?”

I naturally led the conversation.

“People should get married when they’re most in love.”

“That’s true. But I have a record…”

He scratched his head, looking embarrassed.

“I want to live with her right away.”

“Get married soon. Brother-in-law.”

At the word “brother-in-law,” his lips twitched as if he couldn’t wait, and they kept twitching.

“Should I, brother?”

“Wow, that’s a nice title to hear.”

While we were talking, a man wandering around the penthouse caught my eye.

“Assemblyman Sung, was that person originally here?”

“Ah, Mayor Na?”

Na Kyung-joon, the Mayor of Seoul.

Until last year, he was the chairman of a volunteer organization, but after Kyung Dong-soo became president, he became the Mayor of Seoul through a by-election.

The citizens said that someone who worked in a volunteer organization had appeared in the political world like a comet, but those who knew the scene knew that he would jump into politics.

However, no one expected him to come to this line.

“I thought Mayor Na Kyung-joon was in the 3rd line.”

“Ah, that’s right. The volunteer organization he was in charge of was suspected of having connections with the police several times. But this time, Assemblyman Choi Gyu-hyun scouted him and brought him in when he became the Mayor of Seoul.”

An influential figure Choi Gyu-hyun planted…

That guy is not ordinary either.

Moreover, now that he has secured a line, he will have more power in the next Seoul mayoral election.

Above all, the Mayor of Seoul is one of the positions considered a stepping stone to becoming president.

I was planning to move slowly to put Sung Tae-hyun in the next Seoul mayoral position, but now that Na Kyung-joon has entered this line, I had to move faster than planned.

“Assemblyman Sung.”

“Yes, Prosecutor.”

I stared into his eyes and asked.

“Personally, I think you are more suitable for the position of Mayor of Seoul than Na Kyung-joon…”

At that moment, Sung Tae-hyun, who understood the meaning of my words, raised the corners of his mouth.

“Personally, I think it’s a very desirable position. I’m confident that I can do better than Na Kyung-joon.”

He wrinkled his nose and added.

“If you push me, Prosecutor, it’s worth a try.”

I twisted the corners of my mouth.

“It seems like the time has finally come for us to move together.”

At that moment, Sung Tae-hyun’s eyes flashed, and he held out his hand.

“I’ve been waiting for you to take my hand.”