The Inspector Is Getting Promoted! [EN]: Chapter 131

Prosecutor, You’re Going Places! – Episode 131 (131/341)

Invasion (1)

Mad Dog.

Although not certain, the ‘Mad Dog’ mentioned in the future text must be referring to Chief Prosecutor Park Jae-pil.

Until now, no one has explicitly called someone ‘Mad Dog’ in my presence.

However, confirmation was necessary.

“But why ‘Mad Dog’ of all things?”

Song Hyun-sung shook his head, explaining,

“It’s a nickname given because the Chief Prosecutor acts like he has rabies. I once heard from a colleague who worked at the Busan High Prosecutors’ Office that when Park Jae-pil was at the Busan District Prosecutors’ Office, one of his subordinates caused a major incident. Instead of covering for him, he got angry and personally sent him to jail.”

“What do you mean?”

“It wasn’t just any subordinate, but someone who had been loyal for nearly four years. They say he kicked him out without any remorse for tarnishing his reputation.”

I doubted my ears even after hearing it.

No matter how big the incident, it’s not easy to abandon someone from your own line, especially someone who has been loyal for almost four years.

But to not only remove him from his position as a prosecutor but also personally send him to jail shows just how furious he was.

Suddenly, the fact that he was pushed to the Busan District Prosecutors’ Office due to Kim Seok-won flashed through my mind.

“Wasn’t Park Jae-pil pushed out of the competition for Chief Prosecutor with Minister Kim Seok-won because of corruption?”

“Yeah. His right-hand man supposedly received a luxury watch from a construction company.”

That makes some sense.

Since he had a history of being pushed out of the competition due to a subordinate’s corruption, not his own, he must be sensitive about it.

Even so, it’s still a far cry from the usual way of thinking.

“It seems like he’s almost pathologically obsessed with corruption and scandals.”

“That’s why he came and made such a fuss when the Kang Joong-sik case was transferred to the Office of Inspection.”

“Ah, that could be it.”

Song Hyun-sung shook his head, looking disgusted.

“Even so, sending his own subordinate away is too much…”

Hearing his words, an uneasy thought flashed through my mind.

The contractor from the future text.

Could it be…?

This doesn’t feel right.

“Hyun-sung.”

“What?”

I lowered my voice and asked cautiously,

“What’s the probability that Park Jae-pil would be so angry that he would kill Kang Joong-sik?”

“He’s already dead, what do you mean kill?”

“No, I don’t mean ending his life as a prosecutor, but actually ending his life, as in death.”

Song Hyun-sung dismissed it as absurd.

“Hey, even if Chief Kang Joong-sik has fallen, he was the one who pushed you to the brink. No offense, but he fought well even though he lost. Besides, he’s already completely ruined, why would he bother killing him?”

“I guess so?”

Am I overthinking things?

Song Hyun-sung hesitated for a moment before continuing,

“Considering he’s a mad dog, I still don’t think so. What would he gain from doing that?”

“True. There’s no benefit for him to kill him.”

I think I’m going too far, but I can’t shake off this uneasy feeling.

“Don’t worry too much. Even if he kills Chief Kang, it won’t affect us.”

It won’t affect us.

No matter how I think about it, I’ve cut off even the smallest connection with him.

Chief Kang Joong-sik has a vague understanding of my background, so if he loses his life, it would benefit me, not harm me.

Bzzzz.

Song Hyun-sung, checking the vibration on his phone, let out a deep sigh.

“Hey, I’m being called upstairs. I’ll go up.”

“Okay, go ahead.”

Watching Song Hyun-sung’s back as he returned to the High Prosecutors’ Office, I lit another cigarette.

I slowly thought, inhaling the hazy smoke.

The future me was in a difficult situation because of a contractor.

Could Kang Joong-sik’s death create such a situation?

No, if anything, I would benefit from it, not be in danger.

But I couldn’t shake off this inexplicable anxiety.

That’s why I immediately called the Seoul Eastern Detention Center, where Chief Kang Joong-sik was being held.

-Yes, Prosecutor.

“Chief Kang Joong-sik is doing well inside, right?”

-Yes. He meets with his lawyer every day, but there’s nothing unusual.

“Just in case, please keep a close watch to prevent anyone from harming him.”

-Understood. We’ll make sure he gets a proper trial and rots in jail, so don’t worry. He’s not only in solitary confinement but also under 24-hour surveillance, so no one other than authorized personnel can approach him.

“Thank you for your continued attention.”

-Understood.

Only after repeatedly urging them on the phone did I feel relieved.

As long as he’s in the detention center, there shouldn’t be any special problems.

The sender of the future text is 33.

I just need to get through this year.

Just this year.

***

“You’re saying you’ve never used a contractor?”

“Yes. I’ve never heard of the Chief Prosecutor using a contractor during my time at the Busan District Prosecutors’ Office.”

“Me neither.”

Prosecutors Jung Hyun-woo and Hong Seok-jang gave the same response.

Because of the phrase ‘someone who went to Busan’ in the future text, I called both prosecutors who had experience in the Busan District Prosecutors’ Office to ask about the connection between Park Jae-pil and a contractor, but there were no special results.

Other than Song Hyun-sung’s words, there was no evidence that Chief Prosecutor Park Jae-pil was a mad dog.

Therefore, although I can’t be certain yet, I had to assume he was the mad dog and act accordingly, as there were no other clues about the mad dog.

“Let’s move on from that for now… Prosecutor Hong, I heard that Chief Prosecutor Park Jae-pil fired a subordinate at the Busan District Prosecutors’ Office. Can you tell me more about that?”

Prosecutor Hong Seok-jang immediately understood what I was talking about and explained,

“I remember Park Jae-pil firing anyone who did anything that could tarnish his reputation, regardless of whether they were in his line or not. It was rumored in the Busan District Prosecutors’ Office that he was very sensitive about his weaknesses or scandals.”

Regardless of whether Park Jae-pil is the mad dog or not, it’s undeniable that he’s quite sensitive about corruption and scandals, to the point that many people know about it.

If he’s obsessed with eliminating anything that smells fishy, to the extent that many people around him know about it, then it would be impossible to bring him down by digging into his past.

I had to find another way, not just look for his weaknesses.

It seemed like it would take quite a bit of effort to oust him, unlike when dealing with other prosecutors.

“Then let’s think more about the Chief Prosecutor later… Prosecutor Jung, do you have any additional matters to report?”

Prosecutor Jung Hyun-woo opened his notebook as if he had been waiting for this moment and said,

“Ah, Prosecutor Heo Hyung-jin will be promoted to Deputy Chief Prosecutor of the Seoul High Prosecutors’ Office in May.”

“Is that confirmed?”

“Yes. I heard it from a colleague in the Busan District Prosecutors’ Office. Heo Hyung-jin himself said it.”

When I turned my gaze to Prosecutor Hong Seok-jang, he immediately understood my intention without me saying anything and began to talk about Heo Hyung-jin.

“You can think of that Heo Hyung-jin as Park Jae-pil’s left-hand man in the Busan District Prosecutors’ Office.”

“Left-hand man…?”

“Yes. You can think of Kang Joong-sik as Park Jae-pil’s right-hand man and Heo Hyung-jin as his left-hand man in the Busan District Prosecutors’ Office. It seems that he’s calling him to reorganize his power in Seoul as Kang Joong-sik has stepped down.”

“Heo Hyung-jin is currently the Deputy Chief Prosecutor in the Busan District Prosecutors’ Office, right?”

“That’s right.”

“Get a detailed profile of him and bring it to me.”

“Understood.”

I grabbed the armrest and stood up from my seat.

“Go back and take care of your work, and report anything unusual.”

“Yes.”

Prosecutor Jung Hyun-woo immediately left the office.

However, Prosecutor Hong Seok-jang turned back and approached me again.

“Chief.”

“Yes, Prosecutor Hong.”

“This is just my personal opinion, but may I say something?”

His face showed that he had been contemplating whether to speak or not.

“Feel free to speak.”

Only then did Prosecutor Hong Seok-jang carefully raise his head.

“I think the reason Chief Prosecutor Park Jae-pil is fixated on you is because of Minister Kim Seok-won.”

At the sudden mention of Kim Seok-won’s name, I frowned without realizing it.

“What do you mean?”

“Chief Prosecutor Park Jae-pil had a lot of inferiority complex because he was pushed to the Busan District Prosecutors’ Office by Minister Kim Seok-won. I heard a lot about him from my seniors when I was in the Busan District Prosecutors’ Office. So I think he’s trying to attack you because you were very close to Minister Kim Seok-won.”

That was quite a plausible deduction.

As soon as I heard it, the pieces of the puzzle of my journey so far began to fall into place.

Given Chief Prosecutor Park Jae-pil’s personality, he must have harbored resentment for being pushed back by Kim Seok-won.

The timing of when the viper began to move in earnest to attack me was also right after Kim Seok-won confirmed his return to the legal profession as the Minister of Justice.

Just as Kang Joong-sik was to him, I am to Kim Seok-won. It wouldn’t be a mistake to think that his intention was to get rid of me, a close aide, first and then target Kim Seok-won in the end.

Considering that Minister Kim Seok-won actively helped me when I was in crisis because of the viper, Chief Prosecutor Park Jae-pil would try to drive me out even more.

It goes without saying, but I had no intention of letting Chief Prosecutor Park Jae-pil reach out to Kim Seok-won.

Knowing that he would continue to support me, as well as the fact that he had helped me so far, he had to firmly maintain his position as Minister.

Anyway, if Prosecutor Hong Seok-jang, of all people, is telling me this opinion, then there’s no need to doubt his loyalty any further.

Even though he’s from the Busan District Prosecutors’ Office, I can completely open my heart to him.

It’s time to bring him into my line for sure.

I smiled lightly and opened my mouth.

“I see. That’s a very possible scenario.”

“Yes. I’m grateful that you say so.”

Prosecutor Hong Seok-jang wore a proud smile, as if he felt that his abilities had been recognized.

“Then I’ll report back to you when the information on Deputy Chief Heo Hyung-jin comes out.”

“Okay.”

“Have a good rest.”

He bowed his head and turned towards the office door.

I called out to Prosecutor Hong Seok-jang, who was grabbing the doorknob, and turned him around.

“Ah, Prosecutor Hong.”

“Yes?”

“Say your goodbyes to the Western District Prosecutors’ Office.”

I smiled faintly at him, whose eyes widened.

“You’ll be moving to the Special Investigations Department next month. Prepare in advance.”

His eyes flashed, and he bowed 90 degrees.

“Thank you!”

“No need to thank me, I have to take care of my people.”

“I will be loyal to you for the rest of my life, Chief.”

His trembling voice echoed softly in the office.

***

May.

Prosecutor Hong Seok-jang’s thoughts were proven correct.

As soon as Deputy Chief Prosecutor Heo Hyung-jin, who came from the Busan District Prosecutors’ Office and was Chief Prosecutor Park Jae-pil’s left-hand man, came to the Seoul High Prosecutors’ Office, he conspicuously targeted Park Seung-soo and began to pressure the Office of Inspection.

On the other hand, Chief Prosecutor Park Jae-pil hasn’t shown any special movements to target me yet.

However, I had no intention of being relieved.

Considering Chief Prosecutor Park Jae-pil’s style, he was bound to strike in an unexpected way, so I couldn’t let my guard down.

Then one day, a phone call came.

The caller was Song Hyun-sung.

I immediately pressed the call button when the phone rang.

“Yes, this is Choi Seo-jun.”

-Hey, Seo-jun. We’re in big trouble.

Song Hyun-sung’s urgent voice came from the other side of the phone.

“What’s wrong?”

-It looks like the Special Investigations Department is going to be investigated.”

I felt like I had been struck by lightning out of the blue.

There had never been an investigation into the Special Investigations Department since I became the Chief Prosecutor.

“What happened?”

-Mad Dog suddenly called an emergency meeting just now, and you know the prosecutor who recently transferred from the Western District Prosecutors’ Office to your department?

“Prosecutor Hong Seok-jang?”

-Yeah, that’s right. It seems his wife received money.

Song Hyun-sung lowered his voice and added,

-Mad Dog says he accidentally stumbled upon a corruption case, but it seems like that bastard set a trap.