The Inspector Is Getting Promoted! [EN]: Chapter 230

Showdown (1)

Ding-dong.

I opened the door to the sound of the doorbell and familiar faces were waiting for me.

“Good morning, Chief Prosecutor!”

“Oh, what brings you here so early in the morning?”

“We’ve come to give our New Year’s greetings.”

They bowed their heads respectfully in unison.

“We wish you a very happy New Year.”

“Hahaha, thank you. Happy New Year to you all too.”

I laughed heartily and led them inside.

“Come in.”

“We’ll take our leave shortly.”

Lee Doo-hyung, Jang Ha-young, and other so-called ace prosecutors from the Special Investigation Department came to my house.

“Welcome, prosecutors.”

Han Ji-yu, who was cooking, greeted them cheerfully with an apron on.

“Good morning, ma’am.”

“How have you been?”

“I’ve been well.”

“How do you manage to become more beautiful every time we see you, ma’am?”

“Oh, stop it.”

Han Ji-yu touched her cheeks as if she was embarrassed.

“Have you had breakfast?”

“Not yet, but…”

I said to them, who were hesitating.

“Then you can join us. I was just preparing breakfast anyway.”

Prosecutor Jang Ha-young clapped her hands and was delighted at my words.

“I wondered where that delicious smell was coming from.”

Deputy Chief Lee Doo-hyung asked cautiously.

“Would it be alright?”

Han Ji-yu gladly accepted.

“Of course, it would.”

“Alright, everyone, sit down. Come this way.”

Since there were quite a few prosecutors, I led them to the living room instead of the dining table.

“Ma’am, let me help you.”

Jang Ha-young got up from her seat and headed to Han Ji-yu in the kitchen.

“No, Deputy Head… I mean, Head now.”

Han Ji-yu waved her hand and refused.

“Please, sit down.”

“No, but…”

“I’d feel uncomfortable if you worked when you’re a guest.”

I gestured to Jang Ha-young.

“Yes, Head Jang, come and sit down.”

Eventually, Jang Ha-young returned to the living room with an apologetic expression.

At that moment, Lee Doo-hyung glanced around and asked.

“Is Ji-hoon still sleeping?”

“Yeah. He’s at the perfect age for sleeping.”

“That’s right.”

Lee Doo-hyung clicked his tongue as if he was disappointed.

“I wanted to give him some pocket money since it’s been a while.”

“Oh, no need for pocket money. It’s alright.”

“No, I promised Ji-hoon I’d buy him a robot when I got promoted to Senior Prosecutor.”

“Really?”

“Yes. Hahaha.”

In the New Year of 2026, Lee Doo-hyung succeeded in rising to the position of Senior Prosecutor.

Because of the record I had set, he wasn’t the youngest Senior Prosecutor, but he was the youngest of the four Senior Prosecutors currently in the Seoul Central District Prosecutors’ Office.

He was following in my footsteps, taking over the Third Senior Prosecutor position that I had held in the past.

It wasn’t just Lee Doo-hyung who got promoted.

Jang Ha-young followed him and rose to the position of Head of the Special Investigation Department, and Prosecutor Nam Min-je rose to the position of Deputy Head.

Soon, Prosecutor Nam Min-je would select someone to succeed him and report to Lee Doo-hyung, and our position would become even more solid because of them.

From the Chief Prosecutor to the Senior Prosecutor, the Head of the Department, the Deputy Head, and the junior prosecutors.

A Special Investigation Department cartel was naturally formed.

A very powerful cartel that would never be broken.

The most talked-about promotion in these personnel changes was Jang Ha-young’s.

Even though Lee Doo-hyung’s promotion to Senior Prosecutor at a young age in the Seoul Central District Prosecutors’ Office, despite being from a local university, was also a hot topic, it couldn’t surpass Prosecutor Jang Ha-young.

Since the Special Investigation Department was established, a female prosecutor had never risen to the position of Head of the Special Investigation Department.

Thanks to that, she even had an interview with the media and became a role model for many female prosecutors across the country.

While the prosecutors were talking for a while, Han Ji-yu finished cooking and set the table with a generous spread.

In fact, she had expected the prosecutors to come for New Year’s greetings to some extent and had prepared generously, so there was no shortage of food.

“It’s not much, but please enjoy it.”

“No, it’s all our favorite foods… I’m suddenly envious of the Chief Prosecutor. This is why you need to marry well.”

“That’s right. Your cooking skills are really… Every time we come to greet you and go home, I don’t even want to eat the food my wife makes.”

“Oh, you’ve all gotten better at lying.”

Han Ji-yu smiled brightly and sat down.

“Eat as much as you want, and tell me if you need anything. There’s plenty.”

“Alright, let’s eat.”

“Thank you for the meal.”

As soon as we started eating, Lee Doo-hyung put a spoonful in his mouth and his eyes widened.

“Wow, it’s even more delicious than before?”

I laughed and said to him.

“Why don’t you try the side dishes before you say that?”

“How can I when just the rice is fantastic?”

“Oh, Senior Prosecutor, you’ve gotten better at talking since your promotion.”

“I’m serious. It’s so delicious.”

In the middle of the meal, the door to the small room opened and my son came out of the room, rubbing his eyes.

“Mom.”

“Oh, Ji-hoon, you’re awake?”

“Yeah. But the uncles are here too.”

“Hello, Ji-hoon.”

The prosecutors looked at Ji-hoon with fatherly smiles.

“Oh, he’s even cuter.”

“He’s grown a lot.”

“How have you been, Ji-hoon?”

“Good.”

He answered briefly and said to Han Ji-yu.

“But Mom, look at this. In the room…”

Han Ji-yu immediately got up from her seat.

“Please, continue eating.”

She took Ji-hoon into the room.

Senior Prosecutor Lee Doo-hyung looked at me with envious eyes.

“Ji-hoon looks a lot like the Chief Prosecutor. Handsome and smart.”

“You have a son as your third child, right?”

“Yes, that’s right. I just wish he was half as good as Ji-hoon. He’s handsome and smart.”

“You must have come here today with your lips thoroughly moistened [flattering].”

“Ah, is it that obvious?”

He smiled and bowed his head.

As we continued eating, Senior Prosecutor Lee Doo-hyung glanced at the room Han Ji-yu had entered and cautiously opened his mouth.

“Ah, by the way.”

“What is it?”

“There’s been a strange rumor going around recently.”

“What is it?”

“Mad Dog. They say that former High Prosecutor Park Jae-pil is returning to the prosecution.”

I had heard about it.

That’s why I had Yoon Seol-ha investigate him separately since he was released from prison, but there was no information, so I decided to hold off on taking action.

“I sent someone to investigate, and they saw the Prosecutor General [Choi Gyu-hyun, often referred to as ‘the Bear’], the Bear, and Park Jae-pil staying at the same hotel recently.”

“Really?”

He must have moved after confirming that Yoon Seol-ha had stopped monitoring him.

“Yes. But in my personal opinion…”

Senior Prosecutor Lee Doo-hyung continued cautiously.

“The position of the Western District Prosecutor is currently vacant, isn’t it? Could this position be for him…?”

That made perfect sense.

In fact, in the New Year’s greetings this January, the Western District Prosecutor was transferred to the Legal Research and Training Institute as a research commissioner as a disciplinary measure, and he immediately submitted his resignation.

The head of the Legal Research and Training Institute is a higher position than the Chief Prosecutor, but the research commissioner is close to a powerless exile.

So I watched to see who would fill the position, but strangely, Choi Gyu-hyun left the position vacant and didn’t promote anyone.

It wasn’t that Choi Gyu-hyun didn’t have anyone to fill the position. No, he had more than enough.

Thanks to that, Song Hyun-sung, the Deputy Chief Prosecutor of the Western District Prosecutors’ Office, is acting as the Chief Prosecutor and receiving upgraded treatment and protocol.

In short, it was a bonanza [windfall].

After talking to Song Hyun-sung separately, it seemed that even the Western District Prosecutors’ Office didn’t know the details.

But if Choi Gyu-hyun was trying to bring Park Jae-pil back to the prosecution as Lee Doo-hyung said, then the pieces fit together.

“Personally, even if Park Jae-pil is a former High Prosecutor, he has a red line drawn on him [a negative mark], so I wonder if it’s possible to bring him back…”

“It’s definitely possible.”

I nodded slowly.

“Unless it’s a serious crime, it’s just perjury.”

The perjury charge was also taken into consideration in the second and third trials, and the sentence was reduced considerably.

“Even if trust is important to a prosecutor, if the president decides to step in and package it [spin it positively], it can be covered up. And more than anything…”

I put down my spoon and continued.

“Choi Gyu-hyun is the kind of guy who will do anything to keep me in check.”

“I see.”

If there was anything I didn’t like about the situation, it was that even if I knew Park Jae-pil was returning, there was nothing I could do.

Although the size of the Central District Prosecutors’ Office had grown a lot after handling the Thunderbolt Gate case, it wasn’t a situation where I could strike Choi Gyu-hyun first.

The right explanation would be that a tense situation was still being maintained.

So, it means that I can’t move unless they touch me first.

At this point, I feel like the scene where Park Jae-pil appeared in the past text I received earlier might have been predicting his return.

Choi Gyu-hyun bringing in Park Jae-pil, a prosecutor who had served time in prison, means that he’s willing to take the risk and fight me.

It seems like a big clash will happen soon.

“Senior Prosecutor Lee should start preparing too.”

“Preparing…?”

“A big whirlpool will unfold soon.”

You have to survive there.

Now that things have come to this, the other evidence, including the data that Secretary Kim brought, will be of little use.

You just have to bet everything on this game.

“If we win this time, Choi Gyu-hyun won’t be able to touch us anymore.”

The Special Investigation Department prosecutors who were listening swallowed hard.

“It means that it’s confirmed that we’ll go all the way to the top.”

I twisted the corners of my lips into a smirk.

“Let’s make a name for ourselves.”

***

“Hello, Mr. President.”

Park Jae-pil bowed his head respectfully and extended his hand.

“Oh, hello. Prosecutor Park.”

Choi Gyu-hyun smiled kindly and shook his hand.

“Is this the first time we’ve met in person?”

“Yes, it is.”

“Sit down.”

Choi Gyu-hyun leaned back on the sofa and crossed his legs.

“You must have heard the story through our Chief Secretary.”

“Yes. About going to the Western District Prosecutor’s Office…”

“Yes. It will be announced in the March spring personnel changes. I’ll talk about it separately in a national address, so don’t worry about the legitimacy.”

“Thank you.”

“Then let’s get straight to the point.”

Choi Gyu-hyun clasped his hands together and placed them on his knees, then asked Park Jae-pil.

“Have you made a plan?”

“Yes.”

Park Jae-pil said with a determined expression.

“As you know, Choi Seo-joon is a very cunning and sly guy.”

“That’s right.”

“On top of that, the power of the Central District Prosecutors’ Office has become too strong through this Thunderbolt Gate. Choi Seo-joon’s faction is at its peak, so it won’t be easy to deal with him directly.”

Choi Gyu-hyun nodded slowly.

“Well, you were defeated even when you were a High Prosecutor, so it would be difficult if you faced him as the Western District Prosecutor.”

Park Jae-pil didn’t make any excuses, even though it was a statement that scratched his pride.

Even if he said he was careless or that Shin Yong-ho stepped in and things went wrong, it wouldn’t change the fact that he had been defeated by Choi Seo-joon.

Even his confidant, Viper, was killed, but in the end, he ended up in prison.

Park Jae-pil took a deep breath and opened his mouth again.

“So, I’m going to tie up his hands and feet and use that to strike him.”

Interest was revealed on Choi Gyu-hyun’s face.

“His right-hand man is a guy named Lee Doo-hyung. He’s been brought in and raised by Choi Seo-joon since he joined the Special Investigation Department, so his loyalty is exceptional.”

“You’re saying you’re going to get rid of him first?”

“That’s right. I’m going to strike Senior Prosecutor Lee Doo-hyung, overturn the Special Investigation Department in the process, and take advantage of the turmoil in Choi Seo-joon’s faction to hold a knife to Choi Seo-joon’s throat. To explain…”

After hearing Park Jae-pil’s detailed plan, Choi Gyu-hyun’s lips twisted into a smirk.

“Not bad.”

“Thank you.”

He slowly inhaled.

“It will be the last fight to decide whether he wins or I win.”

Soon, Choi Gyu-hyun’s eyes gleamed evilly.

“Let’s humiliate that Choi Seo-joon.”