The Cop Is Too Strong [EN]: Chapter 253

< Side Story 2. The Rapidly Changing Daesung Group >

Chairman Ahn Gi-won of Daesung Group belatedly turned over a new leaf, spurred by Shin Hae-soo’s gentle coercion and his love for his daughter, Ahn Seo-eun. However, this didn’t erase the misdeeds he had committed as a key figure in the Chilseong Society [a powerful, likely corrupt, organization].

In a spacious living room, two men sat facing each other across a coffee table.

Strangely, the older man wore a guilty expression and slightly bowed his head, while the younger man across from him stared with a stern face.

The older man’s lips parted with difficulty.

“I… I will turn myself in. Could you give me a little time?”

“…I will wait.”

Chairman Ahn made his promise, and Hae-soo stood up.

He was showing the utmost respect and consideration for both the chairman and his daughter, Ahn Seo-eun.

* * *

A few days later, at the hideout.

– …Is the substitute ready?

Chairman Ahn’s troubled voice echoed in the hideout.

At the sound, Jung Young-soo put on the headset around his neck, and Hae-soo moved closer, placing one side of the earphone in his ear.

Young-soo glanced at Hae-soo, lowered the external speaker volume, and increased the earphone volume.

Hae-soo’s expression remained calm.

He had decided to be considerate of Chairman Ahn, but he didn’t fully trust him. Someone who had strayed onto the wrong path could easily return, or might still be acting deceptively.

Hae-soo had installed a wiretapping device on Chairman Ahn’s cell phone and was monitoring him until he appeared at the police station.

“Substitute…”

Hae-soo’s brow furrowed slightly at the word ‘substitute.’ In this context, it could only be interpreted negatively.

At that moment, the secretary’s voice was heard.

– Yes, Chairman…

– Are you sure of his abilities?

– Yes, there will be no problem. But… do you really have to do this?

The secretary’s voice trembled at the end. Hae-soo hoped that Chairman Ahn would heed the secretary’s plea.

However, Chairman Ahn’s voice that followed was resolute.

– Haven’t you known me for a long time? I never change my mind once I’ve decided. That’s how Ahn Gi-won, Daesung Group, was able to rise to this position.

– …I understand. I will proceed with the transfer.

– Okay, give him enough money. People don’t work properly if they don’t have enough money.

– Yes… Chairman.

The conversation between Chairman Ahn and his secretary ended, followed by silence.

Listening to the exchange, it seemed almost certain: he was planning to pay someone to impersonate Chairman Ahn and confess to the crimes, or to take the fall for him.

Hae-soo looked down at the cold stone floor, his eyes troubled.

Young-soo carefully observed his expression and cautiously spoke.

“Shin… are you alright?”

Hae-soo didn’t respond to Young-soo’s question. He remained still for a moment, then washed his face with both hands and stood up.

“I have to be okay. Find out who that substitute is, and contact Jjoksae [slang for ‘snipe,’ likely a surveillance expert] to tail Chairman Ahn’s secretary. I’m going to meet Jang-soo.”

“…Yes, I understand.”

As Young-soo swiveled his chair and placed his hands back on the keyboard, Hae-soo paused and turned back.

“And, nothing is certain yet, so don’t take any action. Just prepare.”

“Yes, I will.”

Young-soo detected a glimmer of hope in Hae-soo’s order and answered with a touch of bitterness.

* * *

These days, Hwang Jang-soo had been setting aside his usual hideout work to focus on guarding Ahn Seo-eun. Occasionally, he would also guard Chairman Ahn during special events. Rumors circulated that he had a close relationship with Chairman Ahn, which surprised many.

Jang-soo, having heard the story of Chairman Ahn from Hae-soo, tilted his head.

“…Huh? The old man wouldn’t do that, would he?”

“Don’t talk nonsense. Before I met you, countless people suffered because of Chairman Ahn.”

“Hmm… Well, I was a son of a bitch in the past. But I’m pretty good at judging people. The current Chairman Ahn wouldn’t do that. Let’s watch a little longer.”

Hae-soo was silent for a moment, studying Jang-soo’s confident gaze.

“I… I hope your gut feeling is right. Anyway, let me know if anything comes up.”

Jang-soo made a mock salute with his index and middle fingers and picked up the banana milk on the table.

“Okay, I’ll do my best as a spy, slurping.”

* * *

It was less than 24 hours before Jung Young-soo located the person Chairman Ahn had referred to as a substitute.

He was definitely someone who could be called a substitute, having directly contacted the secretary and even signed a contract.

But something felt off.

Hae-soo frowned as he examined the photo of the supposed substitute.

“How old is he?”

“Thirty-one. His career is a bit strange too… I think we’re barking up the wrong tree. Considering the secretary met him directly at a local cafe…”

“He’s meticulous…”

Hae-soo and Young-soo suspected a decoy. There had to be someone else pulling the strings. However, Young-soo’s further searches yielded no other suspect.

* * *

A few days later.

Daesung Group held a press conference, and Shin Hae-soo was present.

The reporters were buzzing with curiosity, as Daesung Group had summoned them without providing any details.

“What’s going on today? They’ve called the most reporters ever.”

“Is there a major merger or something? With JK Group?”

“They only said it was a very big deal, but I have no idea.”

“I’m dying of curiosity.”

“If it turns out to be nothing, Daesung, prepare for the backlash.”

At that moment…

Step, step, step.

Amidst the reporters’ anticipation, the star of the day appeared.

It was Chairman Ahn himself, accompanied by his secretary and executives.

Hae-soo looked at Chairman Ahn with slight surprise when he appeared without the supposed substitute.

But it was too early to draw conclusions. Everything hinged on what he said.

Thud.

Chairman Ahn took a seat in the center of the conference hall, bowed his head once, sat down, and brought the microphone to his mouth.

“Hello, this is Ahn Gi-won, Chairman of Daesung Group…”

Hae-soo clenched his fist and watched Chairman Ahn intently.

‘Let me see what you choose…’ he thought.

Finally, Chairman Ahn spoke.

“Our Daesung, no, I, Ahn Gi-won… have committed many sins. I cooperated with Chun Teacher [likely a corrupt spiritual leader], who held me in his grasp, because I felt I had no choice, and I caused trouble for the Republic of Korea.”

Chatter! Chatter chatter chatter!

It was an explosive statement. The reporters’ eyes widened, and they began snapping photos, even before the specific charges were listed.

“The documents that our executives are distributing to the reporters now list the illegal acts that have been committed, and this USB drive I am holding contains detailed information. All of this was permitted and directed by me, Ahn Gi-won, and I promise to accept the punishment accordingly in this place. To the people of the Republic of Korea, I am sorry.”

As if on cue, he and the executives stood up from their seats and bowed deeply in unison.

In this unprecedented situation, the reporters frantically took pictures and videos. Chairman Ahn, after bowing for a few seconds, straightened his back and held up the USB drive.

“I will hand this over to the fairest and most fearsome police officer in the Republic of Korea right away and turn myself in.”

He suddenly moved away from the conference table and approached the reporters. They parted like the Red Sea, their eyes fixed on his destination. At the end of the aisle stood a large man wearing a black hat, looking like a criminal.

“Please accept this. Detective.”

Hae-soo was stunned by Chairman Ahn’s shocking move. He took off his hat and stood up when he saw the USB drive being held out to him.

He looked at the chairman and the USB drive a few times, then accepted it with both hands.

In that way, the press conference confession of the head of a major corporation, an unprecedented event, came to a close.

* * *

As a result of Hae-soo immediately going to the police station, under the watchful eyes of numerous reporters, the contents of the USB drive proved substantial, and the evidence was presented in an easy-to-understand manner.

The most remarkable aspect was the evidence demonstrating Chairman Ahn’s involvement in all illegal activities without exception.

Hae-soo reflected on his past doubts about Chairman Ahn’s sincerity.

“Then… what about the substitute?”

Hae-soo learned the truth about the substitute from Secretary Kim in the interrogation room.

“…Ah, do you know Exit Mobile, Detective Shin?”

Hae-soo suddenly remembered the game that Haru was working hard on. It seemed to have a similar name.

“These days, the chairman is so into that game that he’s been spending a lot of time on it for several months.”

“…The chairman?”

“Yes, the chairman foresaw the future and hired a substitute to level up his character while he was serving his sentence. Of course, he signed a contract and hired him fairly, so there wouldn’t be any legal issues.”

Hae-soo let out a hollow laugh.

Now he understood the identity and background of the substitute. He was ostensibly unemployed but had extensive experience in the gaming industry…

“It was a game. What is Exit…”

Hae-soo felt a sudden urge to experience the Exit game for himself.

* * *

Ahn’s actual sentence was relatively minor compared to the content and impact of the press conference.

Instead, the compensation and restitution for the victims were enormous.

It was decided to provide compensation based on the nature, extent, and timing of the damages suffered by each victim.

Furthermore, the actions of Daesung Group were so transparent that even the furious netizens who had demanded a retrial and a heavier sentence immediately after the verdict nodded in agreement.

People who were unaware they had even been harmed were delighted to receive unexpected compensation, as if they had received free money, and the public sentiment slowly shifted and soared.

Daesung Group, its image thoroughly laundered by Ahn’s sentence and the substantial compensation, was reborn as a fairer and more transparent company.

Daesung Group, whose stock price had plummeted to rock bottom and was on the verge of bankruptcy after the press conference, almost fully recovered in just two years.

However, the crisis for Daesung, or rather for Daesung E&M’s CEO Ahn Seo-eun, came from an unexpected source.

Bang!

As Ahn Seo-eun jumped up from her seat, the chair fell back roughly.

“Sam-EN?!”

Secretary Kang, who had never seen Ahn Seo-eun so agitated, continued to speak, sweating profusely.

“Yes, yes… it seems that Exit Mobile is showing signs of success in the global market, so they’ve started aggressive acquisition efforts.”

Ahn Seo-eun narrowed her big eyes and muttered.

“Even though Exit is my first game, I’ve heard so much about Sam-EN’s bad reputation from our guild members that my ears are bleeding. They’re famous for making games that force you to spend money!”

“That’s right. According to our investigation, Sam-EN’s games introduce things like gacha [a lottery-based system] with a probability of less than 0.001 and cash items that disappear completely if you fail to enhance them. If you don’t do that, you’ll continue to fall behind, so you painfully pay not to get stronger, but to survive. That’s why they have so few users but high sales.”

Seo-eun crumpled the documents about Sam-EN that she was holding and growled softly.

“If it’s taken over by Sam-EN… Exit Mobile will definitely introduce such a BM [Business Model] system and slowly become contaminated. Users will leave… and eventually I’ll have to quit the game, which is the worst situation…”

Seo-eun, who has enough financial power to take first place in the entire server if she wanted to, isn’t afraid of the BM system itself.

She’s afraid that the fun of the game will diminish, users will leave, and the game will fail because of the predatory BM system.

Bang!

Seo-eun slammed her small hand on the desk and said with a determined look.

“Let’s acquire Exit Mobile.”