Perfect Agent [EN]: Chapter 22

22. A Secret Temptation (3)

“I’ll be right there!”

At the word ‘scoop,’ Lee Soo-min rushed over as soon as the call ended.

It had only been about an hour since she hung up.

I wasn’t familiar with the neighborhood yet, so I didn’t know what stores were where.

So, I chose the most convenient fast-food restaurant.

As soon as I brought the burgers, Lee Soo-min asked,

“What’s the scoop?”

“Let’s eat first.”

“Just tell me what it is.”

Lee Soo-min didn’t even glance at the burger and just stared at my face.

“What do you think it is?”

“Hyun-woo! I’m serious right now.”

I could feel her impatience in her voice.

I looked around and lowered my voice.

“A player I know was offered a match-fixing deal.”

“What? Match-fixing?”

Lee Soo-min’s voice involuntarily grew louder.

Realizing her mistake, she belatedly looked around at the people around her.

“Is it real?”

I nodded and told her about the information I had gathered.

“This is all that’s been accurately confirmed so far.”

“It hasn’t already happened, has it?”

“I’m 100% sure that’s the case. But who knows? Maybe I don’t know yet.”

“Then… how did you find out about this?”

How should I answer?

Even if I told her about my ability, she probably wouldn’t believe me.

“That’s still a secret. I have to protect my source.”

“It’s a reliable source, right?”

If I brought up match-fixing without presenting any evidence, she would definitely think it was strange.

“You don’t have to doubt that. It’s already been thoroughly verified. If there’s a problem, I’ll take full responsibility.”

“Hmm… I guess I have to believe you. It’s Hyun-woo.”

Lee Soo-min slowly nodded at my resolute expression.

“Now, eat something. Your burger’s getting cold.”

I gestured for Lee Soo-min to eat and took a bite of my burger.

Then, I suddenly noticed that the burger Lee Soo-min was holding was less than half the size of mine.

“But is that enough? It looks like something kids would eat.”

“I actually came from lunch.”

“Oh, then why didn’t you finish eating before rushing over here?”

“How could I eat comfortably when I heard there was a scoop?”

I nodded at her words.

“Being a reporter isn’t an easy job.”

“What job is easy in this world? But… you’re not going to report this to other media outlets, are you?”

“Of course not. I have Lee Soo-min. Instead, please agree to this one condition.”

“What is it?”

“It has to be resolved within this week.”

“What?”

“If that’s difficult, I’ll have no choice but to ask somewhere else.”

“Oh, no way.”

Lee Soo-min burst out laughing, but seeing my serious expression, she realized I wasn’t joking and put down the burger she was eating.

“Hmm… this week? It has to be done no matter what?”

“Yes. No matter what. Is it possible?”

In fact, it would be stranger if she gave me a definite answer as soon as she heard this information.

“Let’s give it a try.”

Lee Soo-min said, flipping through her notebook.

“So, all we know for sure about this Lee Joo-ho is his name?”

“That’s about it.”

“The name is definitely correct, right?”

The information window had never been wrong before.

Especially the name.

“It’s never been wrong.”

“What does that mean?”

Lee Soo-min tilted her head and asked.

“Ah! I misspoke. I meant it’s definitely correct.”

I flinched for a moment but brushed it off with a smile.

* * *

Lee Soo-min went straight to the team leader’s office after arriving at the office.

Usually, she would finish her reporting alone and then get the article approved.

But this time was different.

Match-fixing was a huge issue that threatened the very existence of domestic professional baseball.

If inaccurate information was included by mistake, the reporter who wrote the article, as well as the company, could be involved in a lawsuit.

It was needless to say that they would receive enormous criticism from baseball officials and enthusiastic fans.

Therefore, this report had to be perfect without a single error.

To do that, support from the company was essential.

Knock. Knock. Knock.

-Come in.

When she heard the answer from inside, Lee Soo-min carefully opened the door to the team leader’s office and entered.

“Soo-min. What’s going on?”

“Team leader. I have something urgent to report.”

“What kind of report all of a sudden?”

“I just received a huge tip.”

“A huge tip?”

The team leader’s eyebrows twitched, and he straightened his posture.

After a while, Lee Soo-min finished her explanation.

“Are you really sure? Match-fixing is not something to be touched carelessly.”

“Of course. He wouldn’t have said anything without any basis. It’s Kang Hyun-woo.”

“Hmm… let’s think about it a little. It’s not easy to uncover it in a short amount of time with the information we have now.”

After saying that, the team leader tapped the table and finally nodded vigorously as if he had made up his mind.

“Okay. I’ll support you with everything we can. Let’s get to it properly.”

Then, he jumped up from his seat and shouted at the rest of the team members.

“Sports team. Stop everything you’re doing and prepare for a meeting right away!”

“Uh…? Yes!”

At the team leader’s sudden shout, the team members moved quickly as if they had made a promise.

In the meantime, the team leader picked up the phone and called someone.

“Team leader Kim. I need to see you urgently. Are you at your desk?”

Soon, the team leader’s face lit up, and he clenched his fist.

“Okay, I’ll be right there. Don’t go anywhere and stay at your desk.”

After finishing the call, the team leader immediately grabbed his suit jacket and headed out as if he were running.

“Our whole team is going to a meeting with the social affairs department. Pack up as quickly as possible and follow me!”

At those words, Lee Soo-min also hurriedly followed the team leader.

* * *

That night, I met Lee Soo-min again.

“How’s it going?”

At my question, Lee Soo-min answered with sparkling eyes.

“Our company’s social affairs department is currently investigating. They’ll send you the related materials as they’re updated.”

“Oh! That’s fast. Thank you.”

“It’s just the beginning. Oh, and I contacted the police. We agreed to meet here. Is that okay?”

“I welcome it.”

It was then.

Weeing-

Lee Soo-min’s smartphone rang.

Lee Soo-min answered the phone and said with a bright smile.

“Speak of the devil, and he shall appear. He said he’s already arrived.”

Then, she got up from her seat and looked around the entrance.

“Here!”

Lee Soo-min waved her hand as if she had found the police officer who was supposed to come.

Then, a man with a fierce look approached.

When I made eye contact with him, I couldn’t help but look back on myself to see if I had done anything wrong.

“Detective Yang, thank you for taking the time out of your busy schedule.”

Lee Soo-min greeted the man first.

“Nice to meet you. I’m Kang Hyun-woo.”

I also sent my greetings.

“Nice to meet you. I’m Yang Dong-soo, a police captain from the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency’s Special Investigation Unit.”

As he shook my hand, Yang Dong-soo gave it strength.

Unfortunately, he wasn’t a baseball official, so I couldn’t see anything above his head.

We finished our greetings and sat down.

“We’re busy, so let’s get straight to the point. I’ve heard the story to some extent.”

“Before that, I have a question to ask.”

“What is it?”

At my question, Yang Dong-soo glanced at me.

“If he contacted a broker but didn’t receive any money and hasn’t participated in match-fixing yet, what is the punishment for that?”

“If he’s not an accomplice, he’ll be able to avoid punishment.”

“Then, what if he received an advance payment but didn’t carry it out and returned it?”

It was a question considering that Choi Jung-hwan might have received money.

“Well, that depends on the situation. If money has been exchanged, it’s likely that it will be difficult to completely avoid punishment.”

“Then, is there a way to help that person avoid punishment?”

“If he plays an important role in arresting the criminal, I think leniency is possible.”

“Thank you. Then let’s catch the bad guy now.”

I felt a little relieved that there was at least one way to help Choi Jung-hwan.

“But you know.”

Suddenly, Yang Dong-soo looked straight into my eyes and asked.

“We are also receiving intelligence through various channels. But we haven’t found anything related to the person you mentioned. We’ve searched everything other than sports, but there’s nothing.”

“Nothing? That can’t be. You checked with Lee Joo-ho, right? L. EE. J. OO. H. O.”

“I checked correctly. With the information we have so far, there is nothing.”

I thought it would be easy to catch him since I knew his name accurately, but it was an unexpected answer.

What should I do now?

“This time, let me ask you one thing. What evidence do you have that made you report that he is the culprit?”

“That’s…”

How can I explain this in a way that makes sense?

At that moment, another piece of information I saw in the information window that day came to my mind.

-Recently started operating an illegal gambling site in secret.

It was clear that there was no information yet because it had just started recently.

“Ah! There’s no data because he recently opened the site!”

“Recently… then do you have any basis for that statement?”

I was speechless for a moment.

Currently, there was no evidence I could show.

As I couldn’t answer for a while, Yang Dong-soo sighed deeply and clasped his hands together.

“Kang Hyun-woo, have you thought about what the consequences of what you just said will be?”

“That’s…”

“If you weren’t a well-known person, I would have considered you to have falsely accused an innocent person without any evidence.”

After finishing his words, Yang Dong-soo jumped up from his seat.

“If you have nothing more to say, I’m busy, so I’ll be on my way.”

“No, that’s…”

I froze in my spot with a blank expression.

I couldn’t think of a rebuttal right away.

Haa….

The situation was getting strangely twisted.