The Inspector Is Getting Promoted! [EN]: Chapter 264

Taming (2)

“How have you been?”

“Great, thanks to someone.”

Song Hyun-sung raised his eyebrows, smiled, and looked around the office.

“Wow, this office is really nice.”

“Of course. It’s not just a district prosecutor’s office, it’s a high prosecutor’s office.”

“When will I ever hear the title of chief prosecutor?”

“As the deputy chief of the high prosecutor’s office, you’re practically a chief prosecutor. You have more power than most district chiefs, right?”

“That’s true.”

He nodded slyly and leaned back on the sofa.

“But the feeling is different depending on the title. Even if you’re a high prosecutor general and then go to the Supreme Prosecutors’ Office and hear the title of deputy, you’ll feel strange, right?”

“Everyone’s been saying that.”

“Anyway.”

Unlike his playful demeanor until now, Song Hyun-sung’s expression turned serious, and he sat up straight.

“So, have you made plans to become the chief?”

“Of course.”

“That’s Choi Seo-joon for you.”

He nodded as if he expected it.

“Is there anything I can help you with?”

“Help me keep the High Prosecutors’ Office running smoothly. If I get too caught up in politics, I don’t think I’ll be able to take care of the High Prosecutors’ Office properly.”

“You little rascal, did you bring me in as the deputy chief prosecutor to pass off your annoying work to me?”

“Did you figure it out?”

“Hahahaha, you.”

He confidently nudged my arm.

“Don’t worry. This *hyung* [older brother/male friend] knows the High Prosecutors’ Office inside and out. If you add up all the time I’ve been here, it’ll be longer than you.”

“Okay, please do me a favor.”

“Got it.”

“By the way, Yong-ho seems to be really grinding his teeth this time?”

“Did you meet him?”

“Yeah. I had a drink with him the other day, and he was completely worked up. I heard he lost about 4 billion won [approximately $3 million USD] this time?”

“That much?”

I knew it was in the billions, but I didn’t know it was that much.

“So, he’s doing a lot of M&A [mergers and acquisitions] right now to recover it. He’s really determined to crush them with money?”

“Was it that bad?”

“Yeah. But the problem is that it takes at least three or four years for a lame duck period, so it takes too long.”

“That’s usually the case.”

I lightly curved the corners of my lips.

“You won’t have to wait that long.”

Without realizing it, my voice was filled with murderous intent.

“I’ll crush him before that.”

Knock knock.

The sound of knocking.

It must be Yoon Seol-ha’s signal that she has confirmed the announcement of the new city construction project and is ready.

I got up from my seat right away.

“Let’s have a meal together soon. Today is the first day of the second half of the year, so I’m busy.”

“Okay, I got it.”

I lightly shook hands with Song Hyun-sung and sent him out.

Yoon Seol-ha entered the chief prosecutor’s office as if she were passing the baton to him.

“Chief Prosecutor, I have confirmed the announcement of the new city construction, and I have confirmed that various documents, including the land register, are registered under the name of Minister Park Chang-sik as of today.”

That means our operation hasn’t been leaked.

Unlike the bad weather, things are going very smoothly.

I twisted the corners of my lips lightly and said.

“Tell Department Head Jang Ha-young to give the signal for the hitman to move. The report will be released in an hour.”

“Understood.”

I immediately picked up my cell phone and called Mudfish.

Of course, with a 2G burner phone.

As promised, I heard his voice before the third ring.

-Yes, Prosecutor. I have confirmed the announcement.

“The data is ready, right?”

-Of course. I can detonate it right away if you tell me to.

“Detonate it in an hour. Make sure all the media is focused on Park Chang-sik.”

-Understood.

Just before ending the call, I heard the sound of a keyboard moving quickly over the phone.

After interviewing a couple of newly appointed prosecutors, the media will be in an uproar.

Of course, the hitman also secured the data in advance.

If I go through the minor procedures, the hitman, Prosecutor Gong Sang-wook, will be in charge of this case.

Operation, burglary.

Finally, the first step begins.

***

As predicted, an hour later.

Mudfish began to move.

The time was around 11 a.m., when lunchtime was slowly starting.

A single press release was posted on the Internet and SNS [Social Networking Services].

-[Exclusive!] The biggest beneficiary of the 2027 second half new city construction project is the ‘Minister of Justice!’

-The areas for the 2027 second half new city construction project in Gyeonggi Province have been confirmed and reported, drawing a lot of attention. The areas where new city construction has been confirmed are Onam-eup in Namyangju-si, Seoksu-dong in Anyang-si, and Jungsan-dong in Goyang-si, for a total of three locations.

However, it has been revealed that the person who benefits the most from these three new city constructions is Minister of Justice Park Chang-sik.

Park Chang-sik, the Minister of Justice, was one of the first cabinet members announced by the Sung Tae-hyun administration, promising clean public officials.

But he basically engaged in ‘land speculation.’

Speculation is a crime and corruption unique to the privileged class who use their position as public officials. According to experts who have analyzed past cases and data, Minister Park Chang-sik is expected to gain at least 5 billion won or more in market gains from this new city construction.

In just one year, he earned money that ordinary people can’t even touch in their lifetime!

According to an insider, it is suspected that he used his power as a minister to put pressure on the Gyeonggi Provincial Office.

If not, since he worked at the Ministry of Justice even before becoming a minister, it seems very likely that he received sources about the new city in advance.

I sincerely hope that the suspicion is not true.

-International Reporting Reporter Kwon Hyuk-jong

Reporter Kwon Hyuk-jong.

I’ve never even heard of a company called International Reporting.

If I don’t know, it means it’s minor among minors.

However, with the power of Mudfish, traffic will soon increase dramatically, and even if it doesn’t become a major outlet, it will at least grow into a mid-sized media company.

Of course, these minor details are not important.

Because I really liked the article.

It implicitly mentions the difference between ordinary people and emphasizes deprivation, while at the same time bringing up Sung Tae-hyun’s promises to lower the credibility of the current government.

Of course, Park Chang-sik will be chewed up and spat out by many office workers who are having lunch.

The media will cover it as a special report and start criticizing the government, which will spread like wildfire and become uncontrollable in an instant.

Looking at the speed at which it is spreading on SNS and the Internet articles, it will never be possible to get rid of the suspicion with just a moderate explanation.

All real-time search terms are also dominated by words related to this incident, such as ‘new city,’ ‘Goyang-si,’ ‘Minister of Justice,’ ‘Park Chang-sik,’ and ‘market gains.’

Things may proceed much more smoothly than expected.

Mudfish’s skills are considerable.

If the first button is buttoned up well, I should contact Go Seong-tak, who introduced me to Mudfish, to thank him.

***

Regardless of the external situation, I continued to carry out internal schedules.

I have to look even more calm because it has to look like it has nothing to do with it.

“Okay, then let’s wrap up the meeting here…”

I turned off the beam projector and put my hand on the podium.

“You all know that there was a public official corruption case related to land speculation that broke out this afternoon, right?”

Everyone coughed or turned their heads to avoid my gaze.

Everyone here knows that the person I’m talking about is none other than the Minister of Justice.

The Minister of Justice is above all prosecutors.

That’s why they can’t easily agree, and they can’t oppose it because they’re aware of my mood.

“I’m not trying to criticize anyone.”

I smiled and said.

“We are not prosecutors working at the District Prosecutors’ Office, but prosecutors working at the High Prosecutors’ Office. That means we are one step above ordinary prosecutors. So, I mean to be more vigilant and focus on our work.”

Only then did the prosecutors answer in a low voice, “Yes.”

“Yes. Then, let’s wrap up the first meeting with this. I look forward to working with you in the future.”

The meeting disguised as a meeting ended with applause.

I shook hands with the prosecutors one by one and saw them all off.

And the last person left in the conference room was none other than Yoon Seol-ha.

She looked at me primly and asked.

“Aren’t you going to shake hands with me?”

I let out a hollow laugh and shook hands with her.

At the same time, I heard her low voice.

“I received a call from Prosecutor Gong Sang-wook.”

I naturally pulled her to the back where other people’s eyes couldn’t reach.

“How did it go?”

Yoon Seol-ha’s lips curled up.

“He took the case. Completely exclusively.”

“He succeeded.”

“Yes.”

She conveyed the contents received from Department Head Jang Ha-young as they were.

“He said he was being called and cursed at from above, but he ignored them all and came out.”

“I guess so. It’s clear that the director and department head will be nagging, so he’ll have to ignore them all and go into hiding.”

“He told Department Head Jang Ha-young that he would be out of contact until tomorrow.”

“If you get a call, tell him to turn off his cell phone and get a good night’s sleep today. He’ll be thoroughly scolded by his superiors tomorrow.”

“Because of the Chief Prosecutor?”

“You should say thanks to him.”

Yoon Seol-ha smiled and guided me.

“Let’s go. Department Head Jang Ha-young is waiting in the Chief Prosecutor’s office.”

***

“It’s the rainy season.”

The rain became heavier as time passed.

The raindrops hit the leaves and fell to the ground, accumulating with a splash.

Before heading to the parking lot, I stopped in front of the prosecutor’s office and said.

“Seol-ha, go straight home today.”

“Yes?”

“How are you going to commute all the way to Hannam-dong on a day like this? I can drive you myself.”

“Are you okay?”

Yoon Seol-ha looked at me with a worried expression.

“You haven’t looked good all day… You must have been quite tired from the interviews and meetings, right?”

“Was I the only one who was tired? Seol-ha is the same.”

I patted her arm lightly.

“Go in. See you tomorrow.”

I took an umbrella and headed to the parking lot.

Yoon Seol-ha didn’t turn around, as if something was bothering her, and was looking at my back.

I’m always grateful for her driving me, but on a day like today, I felt uncomfortable thinking about her taking the bus home alone without even bringing her car, so it was easier to go alone.

Because she refuses even if I give her money to take a taxi.

I hurried into the driver’s seat before getting wet in the rain.

“Hoo.”

But why do I feel so uneasy?

The start of the operation was successful.

Mudfish successfully gathered the media, and the hitman succeeded in taking over the case.

The interviews with the newly assigned prosecutors today were also satisfactory.

Everything is successful.

But why is this happening?

Is it really because of the weather?

It wasn’t like this even when it rained… Is it because I’m in my ninth year?

I think I need to go home and get some rest soon.