The Inspector Is Getting Promoted! [EN]: Chapter 125

Reversal (5)

“Hey, Officer Kim. Long time no see.”

“Senior!”

Officer Kim Howon jumped up from his station and greeted Inspector Jung Hyungjoon.

“What brings you here, Senior?”

“Ah, I was just passing by and thought I’d drop in.”

“Hahaha, it’s great having you nearby.”

Officer Kim Howon smiled, happy to see Inspector Jung Hyungjoon after a long time.

“Would you like a cup of coffee?”

“Sure.”

He made a cup of instant mix coffee and sat down at the table, starting a casual conversation about recent events.

“How’s work going?”

“Ugh, it’s killing me. It’s early March, so school has started again. We’re getting tons of reports related to high school students.”

“Oh, really?”

“Yes. I don’t know why these kids smoke so much… Ugh, and it’s not just that. People who moved in during January and February and have been putting up with noise between floors are starting to explode, so we’re getting a lot of related reports and complaints.”

“Officer Kim, you’re going through a lot.”

“Eh, but it’s rewarding. It’s all thanks to you, Senior.”

“Oh, come on, what did I do?”

“Really. Who do you think I became a police officer because of?”

“Hahaha, well then…”

They chatted away from 8 PM.

Around 9 PM…

“Senior, is it okay for you to be here this late? What about your wife…?”

“Ah, it’s fine. She thinks I’m on duty tonight.”

Then, the precinct chief approached with a smile.

“In that case, Officer Jung, why don’t you and I sneak out for a drink later…?”

But before he could finish his sentence, the phone rang.

Officer Kim Howon quickly ran to answer it.

“Yes, this is the Yeoksam Precinct.”

He nodded with a serious expression, wrote something down, and immediately stood up.

“We received a report of a assault at a bar.”

The precinct chief clicked his tongue with a disappointed look.

“I was going to have a drink, but it’s ruined. A assault at a bar. Everyone should drink in moderation, considering we have to work tomorrow.”

“That’s right.”

Inspector Jung Hyungjoon chimed in, then casually asked.

“Officer Kim, where did the report come from?”

“It’s from Mohimit, right in front of us. It’s a Korean BBQ place, and they say someone broke a bottle and it’s a mess.”

“Is that so?”

Inspector Jung Hyungjoon stood up with a serious expression.

“Isn’t that dangerous?”

“Yes. That’s why I need to go right away. Senior, have a good time and get home safely.”

“No way. I can’t let Officer Kim go to such a dangerous place alone.”

“Pardon?”

“I’ll go with you. I came all this way, so I’ll stop by there and head home. My car is in the parking lot nearby anyway.”

“Eh, you must be tired. You really don’t have to go that far…”

“No, I want to see Officer Kim at work.”

The precinct chief gestured and said.

“Instead of arguing, hurry up and go. If you both take the patrol car, it won’t even take two minutes.”

“Understood.”

***

“Whoa, so you’re saying they threw chopsticks first?”

Officer Kim Howon assessed the situation according to procedure.

After a brief on-site investigation, he spoke to the burly men first.

“Let’s go to the precinct and write statements. You’ll come willingly, right?”

“Yes.”

“The two of you in suits will also come willingly, right?”

Unlike the burly men, Chief Kang Joongshik shook his head with an uncomfortable expression.

“If it’s voluntary, I don’t have to go, do I?”

Inspector Jung Hyungjoon, who had been quietly observing his indifferent attitude, jumped in as if he had been waiting for this.

“I heard you’re with the Prosecutor’s Office. Or are you not?”

“I am… but that’s not the point, is it?”

“Then you know it’s better to go and handle this cleanly, right?”

At that moment, the eyes of Chief Kang Joongshik and Inspector Jung Hyungjoon clashed sharply.

As if waiting for this moment, Prosecutor Hong Seokjang shouted.

“Officer, what’s your affiliation?”

When asked about his affiliation, Inspector Jung Hyungjoon pretended to be intimidated and cleared his throat.

“Ahem.”

Chief Kang Joongshik gave Prosecutor Hong Seokjang a look of praise for doing well.

Inspector Jung Hyungjoon pretended to struggle with his expression and said.

“Then let’s do a search. It’s a mutual assault, but we don’t know if it was a one-sided assault or if they were prepared to cause harm.”

He explained the reason with a straight face.

“Sometimes, after we leave, they suddenly change their attitude and retaliate, so we need to handle this thoroughly to avoid any trouble later.”

At those words, Prosecutor Hong Seokjang pretended to think hard and then lowered his voice to speak to Kang Joongshik.

“Chief, if we drag this out, it’ll get noisy. It’s better to just cooperate with the search and get out of here. It seems like these cops are just trying to save face…”

Chief Kang Joongshik slowly nodded.

“Let’s do that.”

The burly men were excluded from the search because they had agreed to go to the precinct voluntarily, and Prosecutor Hong Seokjang immediately took everything out of his pockets.

As expected, he passed through without any major issues, and next was the problematic Chief Kang Joongshik.

He fumbled in his pockets and placed his wallet, phone, and handkerchief on the table.

Inspector Jung Hyungjoon stepped in like a ghost.

“Aren’t you going to check your pants pockets?”

“No, I don’t put anything in my pants pockets…”

Chief Kang Joongshik frowned and put his hand in his pocket.

But contrary to his expectation that it would be empty, he felt something.

“What’s this?”

He took out a folded piece of paper from his pocket.

Inspector Jung Hyungjoon caught it like a ghost and unfolded it.

Immediately, white powder was revealed under the light.

“Why is this in my pocket?”

Chief Kang Joongshik still didn’t understand the seriousness of the situation.

But Inspector Jung Hyungjoon raised his pinky finger, lightly touched the powder, and put it on his tongue.

At the same time, his face contorted.

“Ptooey!”

He spat out all the white powder on his tongue and confidently shouted at Chief Kang Joongshik.

“This is drugs, isn’t it?”

“What?”

Chief Kang Joongshik scoffed at the absurd accusation.

“Drugs out of nowhere…”

But Inspector Jung Hyungjoon called Officer Kim Howon without hesitation.

“Officer Kim, I think we need to make an emergency arrest, not just a voluntary escort.”

After exchanging a few words, Inspector Jung Hyungjoon solemnly informed Chief Kang Joongshik of his Miranda rights.

“You are under emergency arrest without a warrant for violating the Narcotics Control Act. You have the right to an attorney and to request a review of the legality of your arrest. If you have anything to say, you can say it now.”

“Are you some kind of drug expert? Besides, I’m a chief prosecutor. Does it make sense that drugs would come out of my pocket when I’m out for a drink after work?”

“Are you done with your explanation?”

Inspector Jung Hyungjoon raised his eyebrows and said.

“I’m placing you under emergency arrest for possession of drugs.”

Before Chief Kang Joongshik could come to his senses, Inspector Jung Hyungjoon quickly handcuffed him.

“What kind of messed up situation is this?”

“I’m with the narcotics investigation team, so I know well. It’s 100 percent methamphetamine.”

“This isn’t mine! Do you know who I am? I’m Kang Joongshik, the chief prosecutor of the Public Security Department!”

“Yes. You can say that when we’re filling out the report at the station. Even a member of the National Assembly can be arrested if they’re caught in the act.”

Chief Kang Joongshik was so dumbfounded that he couldn’t speak.

Having been unexpectedly placed under emergency arrest, Chief Kang Joongshik couldn’t hide his confusion and stammered, finally regaining his senses and speaking to Prosecutor Hong Seokjang.

“Prosecutor Hong, say something. Drugs? Does that even make sense?”

“Oh, Chief.”

At that moment, Prosecutor Hong Seokjang instantly wiped away his flattering expression and gave him a look of disgust, as if looking at a bug.

“How could a member of the Republic of Korea’s Prosecutor’s Office… especially the chief prosecutor of the Public Security Department of the Seoul Central District Prosecutor’s Office… possess drugs! Methamphetamine, no less?”

He spoke loudly on purpose, aware that citizens were watching nearby.

“I’m so disappointed. I’m ashamed that I respected and served someone like you!”

At that moment, Chief Kang Joongshik sobered up instantly, and all the surrounding sights came into view.

And he belatedly grasped the situation.

‘I’ve been had!’

He had fallen for Choi Seojun’s plan from beginning to end.

“Hong Seokjang, how dare you!”

He felt a strong sense of betrayal, like Caesar betrayed by Brutus.

He trembled and clenched his fists, but the situation was already irreversible.

Even if he realized it was a trap after falling into it, there was no way out.

Inspector Jung Hyungjoon tightened the handcuffs and said.

“You know that if you’re under emergency arrest, you have to go to the police station regardless of whether you consent to voluntary accompaniment, right?”

In this situation, he continued to speak in a mocking tone, as if teasing Chief Kang Joongshik.

“Everyone is filming now. You should smile. If you frown, all your wrinkles will show up on the internet. You can make a V sign or shout ‘kimchi’.”

Of course, he said it so that it wouldn’t be caught on camera and only Chief Kang Joongshik could hear it, but the effect was tremendous.

“Those drugs aren’t mine!”

Chief Kang Joongshik resisted fiercely.

“This is blatant drug planting!”

“Yes, yes, let’s talk about the details at the station. We’ll hear where you got the drugs, how much you’ve taken, and what purpose you had for possessing them. Oh, of course, the station I’m talking about is the precinct. I’m telling you this in case our old man is too stiff-necked from being a prosecutor and has never been to a precinct.”

Chief Kang Joongshik, feeling as if he had been hit in the back of the head several times, was dumbfounded and couldn’t resist any further, and was dragged by Inspector Jung Hyungjoon to the patrol car in the parking lot.

And as he came outside, he made eye contact with a tall man waiting next to the patrol car.

“Oh, Chief, what are you doing here?”

“You son of a bitch…”

As soon as he saw him, Chief Kang Joongshik could only grind his teeth.

Because the man smiling in front of him was Choi Seojun, who had designed this whole scheme.

“I was just passing by and heard a commotion, and they said a prosecutor was in possession of drugs… Was that you, Chief Kang?”

Choi Seojun still didn’t use the title of senior and called him Chief Kang Joongshik.

The appearance of the star prosecutor drew even more attention from the citizens.

They were now even taking photos and videos with their phones.

Choi Seojun even thought that a photo of him and the venomous Chief Kang Joongshik might soon appear as a news photo.

“You bastard, do you think you’ll be safe after this?”

Despite Chief Kang Joongshik’s threat, Choi Seojun answered without hesitation.

“Yes.”

He twisted his lips and lowered his voice so that the citizens couldn’t hear, speaking only to Chief Kang Joongshik in a small voice.

“It’s usually scary when someone threatens you with a weapon, but there’s nothing as adorable as someone threatening you without anything in their hands, right?”

“You used to sell out your friends to survive…”

“Hey, isn’t that what you misunderstood, Chief?”

He retorted with a straight face and then lowered his voice again.

“I told you, it’s not that everyone is pretending not to know, it’s that they know but can’t touch it. Everyone knows that they’ll be screwed if they touch it, but you’re the only one who doesn’t know and is attacking me. I warned you, but you still attacked me, so you’ll have to face a miserable end.”

Choi Seojun shrugged casually and then clapped his hands as if he had remembered something, adding.

“Ah, and Chief. You’ll be taking off your robe this time and opening a practice [referring to losing his position as prosecutor and becoming a private attorney], so I was thinking of finding another job.”

He looked down on Chief Kang Joongshik with contempt and said.

“I was thinking of becoming a snake catcher. I’m a complete master at snake hunting… especially at catching venomous snakes.”

The moment Chief Kang Joongshik glared at Choi Seojun and tried to threaten him again.

“Drug offender, stop talking and get in.”

Inspector Jung Hyungjoon pushed Chief Kang Joongshik into the patrol car.

The corners of Choi Seojun’s mouth twisted as he watched this.

The venomous snake was collapsing perfectly before his eyes.

All that remained was to thoroughly trample him and make him a wreck so that he could never recover.

Choi Seojun was more confident than anyone else in the world about that.

‘Go ahead and experience hell while you’re alive.’