A Child Who Resembles Me [EN]: Chapter 142

142. Who Turned It On?

A long time ago, after dealing with Kim Jin-gu, Chae Eun-yeop took his cell phone.

He debated whether to throw it in the river or smash and burn it, but he kept it because he didn’t know what kind of data it contained. Eun-yeop figured that once his father became the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court and the urgent matters settled down, he would have to unlock the phone.

So, he kept the phone. He always kept it hidden, even turning it on and setting it to airplane mode.

He couldn’t understand how that phone ended up in the hands of the police.

He had hidden it even more securely after Eun-bi found it.

‘Could it be… Chae Eun-bi?’

That couldn’t be. It shouldn’t be.

He did all this because of Chae Eun-bi!

.*. *. *. *. *. *.

Thirty minutes passed in confusion. The confirmation hearing resumed.

After his son was taken away, Chae Seo-bok clutched his pounding heart and returned to his seat. He felt as if he had lost an arm and a leg.

“A big thing happened during the 30-minute break.”

The chairman opened his mouth first.

“Candidate Chae Seo-bok’s son has been arrested. And the charges… not just creating a slush fund [a secret fund, often used for illegal activities], but suspicion of commissioning a murder.”

“…It’s not accurate yet.”

Chae Seo-bok tried to calm his devastated heart and answered in a low voice.

The congressmen all had venomous eyes. Even the congressmen who had received money from his son had similar expressions.

“Have you received an accurate explanation from the police about the slush fund?”

“They say it’s under investigation,” a congressman replied to the chairman’s question.

“If there’s no definite answer, doesn’t that mean there’s some suspicion?”

“We must stop immediately.”

“It seems difficult to continue the confirmation hearing as it is.”

“Let’s stop. We can’t do it anymore.”

The congressmen said in unison. The chairman had to make a difficult decision.

“With the unanimous agreement of the members of the Special Committee on Confirmation Hearings, we will suspend the confirmation hearing.”

The chairman declared, having received everyone’s opinion.

Suspension of the confirmation hearing. It was an unprecedented event in history.

Chae Seo-bok, who had been preparing a toast for his inauguration as Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, left the National Assembly a wreck.

The world seemed to collapse. He couldn’t even lift his head, but it was miserable and painful to have to hold his head high and move forward as if he were confident.

Reporters flocked to him during his most shameful walk in his life.

“The first-ever suspension of a confirmation hearing in the history of the Republic of Korea has occurred. What are your feelings right now? Did you hear anything separately from your son?”

“Is it true that Chae Eun-yeop commissioned the murder?”

“My son is not the kind of person who would do that!”

Chae Seo-bok shouted as if screaming.

.*. *. *. *. *. *.

Several hours ago.

The counselor Ji-heon hired contacted him.

[I’m sorry to bother you when you’re busy. I’ve identified the car that was chasing Kim Jin-gu, so I’m contacting you.]

“It’s okay. Tell me.”

[Do you know an organization called Cheolwangpa?]

“No. It’s the first time I’ve heard of it.”

[It was a car owned by that organization. I went to the site and checked it myself, and I’ve sent you the photos by email.]

“Did you find out about the relationship between Kim Jin-gu and Cheolwangpa?”

[According to the investigation, there was no relationship at all. But, I heard that Cheolwangpa does contract killings.]

“…Are you talking about the possibility of murder?”

[It’s a cautious prediction.]

“Yes. I understand. I’ll check the email.”

[And I’ve also identified the identity of the employee at the genetic research center that Chae Eun-yeop bought off. I’ve also attached the details in the email.]

“Yes. Thank you very much.”

After finishing the call with the counselor, Ji-heon immediately checked his email.

Along with the identity of the employee at the genetic research center that Chae Eun-yeop had bribed, he also confirmed that the vehicle that had been chasing Kim Jin-gu the day before his death was owned by an organization called ‘Cheolwangpa’.

What should he do with this?

As for Cheolwangpa, he could look into it after dealing with Ham Dae-geun and Chae Eun-yeop first.

But what if Cheolwangpa and Chae Eun-yeop are related? It was something he should never miss, and it would be good to resolve it today if possible.

As Ji-heon was contemplating, Bae-il appeared unexpectedly. And Bae-il said firmly that if he needed help, he should talk to him. Was it just his imagination that it felt like Bae-il wanted Ji-heon to ask for help?

After confronting Ham Dae-geun, Ji-heon confessed the past incident to Bae-il, whom he met again, while confiding his concerns.

Kim Jin-gu, who had been released from prison, had threatened Chae Eun-bi. Kim Jin-gu thought Ji-heon was chasing him for some reason, and Ji-heon learned that he had received an email from Kim Jin-gu on the day Kim Jin-gu died, and that email contained information about someone chasing Kim Jin-gu.

“This isn’t an ordinary case, is it? Kim Jin-gu was treated as an accidental death.”

“Ah, did I mention that it was treated as an accidental death?”

“…Yeah. You said it earlier.”

Bae-il replied in a lowered voice. Ji-heon easily agreed because he was out of his mind. After that, Ji-heon even revealed that the car that had been chasing Kim Jin-gu was owned by Cheolwangpa.

Bae-il believed everything Ji-heon said. That alone made Ji-heon feel reassured.

Bae-il took Ji-heon back to the Criminal Affairs Division and scanned the computer data on Kim Jin-gu’s death.

“The cell phone disappeared from the scene. It’s likely to have sunk into the reservoir.”

“That’s what I heard.”

“Have you ever called this number after Kim Jin-gu died?”

Bae-il asked, pointing to Kim Jin-gu’s phone number. Ji-heon smiled, thinking Bae-il’s question was absurd, and replied.

“Even if I call, it’ll say it’s a non-existent number or that the power is off.”

Still, his fingertips were pressing Kim Jin-gu’s phone number. It was a natural action. But.

Ring ring. Ring ring.

“…Huh?”

“…”

“It’s ringing?”

Ji-heon, who had called without thinking, was also flustered. A call waiting tone was playing. But no one answered the phone, and the call went to voicemail.

“…I can’t answer the phone, so I’ve been connected to voicemail.”

“Someone might have just taken over Kim Jin-gu’s phone number. If not…”

“…”

“The person who took the phone may have turned it on by accident.”

Ji-heon felt a chill down his spine at Bae-il’s nonchalant opinion.

Bae-il immediately tracked the location of Kim Jin-gu’s cell phone. The location was Seoul. It was a building Ji-heon knew.

“…It’s Chae Eun-yeop’s house.”

He couldn’t tell which floor, but it was exactly the mansion where Eun-yeop lived.

At Ji-heon’s confirmation, Bae-il immediately got up from his seat. Bae-il, who had heard all the circumstances from Ji-heon, also became reasonably suspicious.

“I’ll hand over the case to the team in charge and go straight to Cheolwangpa. The team in charge will find out why Kim Jin-gu’s cell phone is there, and if they don’t get a proper answer, they’ll search this building right away.”

Ji-heon was momentarily stunned by Bae-il’s quick action, then clenched his fist like Bae-il.

The smart and energetic boy from a long time ago had become a reliable, intelligent, and quick-acting police officer.

“Thank you. Thank you so much.”

“I’m just doing what’s natural.”

“…”

“It’s going to be a long day. I hope you have a safe one.”

Bae-il said goodbye and left immediately.

After contacting Cheolwangpa in two hours, Bae-il immediately secured a statement about Kim Jin-gu. Bae-il was as quick as if he had been holding onto the organization’s various weaknesses and biding his time for today. As expected, Cheolwangpa was acting on Chae Eun-yeop’s orders.

The police, who had secured Cheolwangpa’s statement, immediately searched Chae Eun-yeop’s house. Kim Jin-gu’s cell phone was sealed inside the air conditioner.

There were traces of careful concealment, but there was a very stupid mistake. The phone was turned on. That’s why they found it so quickly.

Ji-heon, who had secured the evidence and watched the situation until Chae Eun-yeop was arrested, was left with a big question mark in his head.

‘Did Chae Eun-yeop really turn it on?’

A cell phone that was turned on. There was no way the meticulous Chae Eun-yeop would make such a mistake.

It was like a message saying, ‘Please look at me, arrest me.’

Chae Eun-yeop wasn’t that kind of guy.

Then who on earth turned it on?

Another surprising thing was that all the things that hadn’t been solved were solved in just one day. Of course, it was largely thanks to Ji-heon pushing the work while staying at the police station.

Everything went smoothly as if everything was already prepared. It was as if the heavens had opened the way for Jung Ji-heon.

It was too miraculous, like a miracle, to be a coincidence.

.*. *. *. *. *. *.

「Chae Seo-bok’s eldest son, Chae Eun-yeop, arrested on charges of commissioning murder」

「Unprecedented in history, confirmation hearing for Supreme Court Chief Justice nominee suspended」

「Supreme Court Chief Justice nominee Chae Seo-bok, ousted from the National Assembly, feigns ignorance of slush funds」

「Which congressman was bribed by Chae Eun-yeop?」

The world, which had been plastered with news articles about Seryun Group, quickly changed its clothes. All newspapers prominently featured articles about Chae Eun-yeop and Chae Seo-bok.

The public, which had been clamoring for a boycott of Seryun Foods, was now seething, demanding a special investigation into Chae Seo-bok.

In the midst of the commotion, evening came.

Bae-il seemed busy sorting out the events that had happened today. Ji-heon left the police station without even thanking Bae-il.

He had handed over the criminal charges to the police, but there was still work to be done at the company. Ji-heon couldn’t go straight home and went to the headquarters to discuss with the group’s executives how to wrap up the incidents.

Tonight, the group’s affiliates will release their final statements on the series of events, and all of them will be reported in the news. Everything will be settled by tomorrow morning.

Ji-heon, who had finished the meeting, took a deep breath with a relieved expression. His brother Ji-tae patted him on the shoulder, saying he had worked hard. After that, Chairman Jung Jae-gwang gave instructions with a satisfied expression.

“Stop working at the advertising company and come to the group headquarters.”

“Pardon?”

The relaxed expression tightened again.

In an instant, he realized he had gone too far. He had forgotten for a moment.

He had been pursuing a leisurely life, always revealing only half of his abilities, but he had lived his best life for a week.

Ji-heon shook his head wildly in shock.

“No way. I can’t do it.”

“Why?”

“Father, I only met Jung-oh after 7 years.”

“That’s why I got you married so you could stick together.”

“I did it on my own, you didn’t make me!”

“Anyway, it’s enough to stick together at home. Do you have to stick together at the company too?”

“If I go to headquarters, you’ll keep making me work. I won’t even be able to go home.”

Ji-heon’s suddenly desperate voice went hoarse.

“Absolutely not. I have no ability. I don’t have the qualities of a leader like my brother.”

“Don’t say nonsense and get it sorted out.”

Jae-gwang, who had been watching Ji-heon closely, did not budge. Jae-gwang’s insight, which knew how to put people in the right place, was the reason why Seryun Foods, which started as a snack factory, had grown into a large company today. Jae-gwang was confident in his gut feeling this time as well. Ji-heon was an excellent talent.

“I’ll get rid of your position at that company by next month.”

As Ji-heon insisted, Jae-gwang had no choice but to be stubborn as well. Ji-heon, who had been staring at his father with narrowed eyes for a long time, smiled bitterly and raised one corner of his lips.

“Father, you shouldn’t do that to me, should you?”

“What else can’t I do? What are you?”

“I’m Yena’s dad.”

“…”

“You shouldn’t do that to Yena’s dad, should you?”

“…”

“Don’t you want to contact your granddaughter in the future?”

Jae-gwang’s eyes widened for a moment at Ji-heon’s provocation. But his voice soon softened as if he was nervous.

“…Is Yena doing well?”

“I have to go check now. I think she’s sulking because I couldn’t say hello when she went to daycare for the past few days…”

“Oh my. How cute…”

The dad is worried that the child seems to be sulking, but the grandfather’s heart is tickled by imagining the cute appearance of the sulking child.

Granddaughter love, world peace.

Anyway, Ji-heon escaped the crisis thanks to his child.

“Come and play with Yena. You can stay overnight.”

Jae-gwang conveyed a simple wish to Ji-heon, who was about to leave.

“Yes.”

A long day.

The fight is over and now I’m going home.