The Inspector Is Getting Promoted! [EN]: Chapter 15

Prosecutor, You’re Going Places! – Episode 15 (15/341)

Negotiation (4)

He leaned forward and said,

“At this point, wouldn’t you at least be able to tarnish the Prosecutor General’s reputation, if not completely remove him? The Supreme Prosecutors’ Office will surely be paying attention… Well, I’m not too sure about the details there.”

He glared at me.

“Are you threatening me?”

“Threatening? How could a mere junior prosecutor like me threaten the Prosecutor General? That’s absurd.”

I feigned innocence and continued,

“I’m suggesting a negotiation. After all, this year is the last for the bar exam; wouldn’t it be better for the legal profession as a whole if things passed quietly?”

The Prosecutor General gripped the armrest of the sofa tightly.

His expression didn’t change at all, but his emotions were easy to read.

“So, what do you want?”

“Didn’t I say it already? Abandon Im Seong-jin and save Jo Won-hyung.”

“What if I refuse?”

He’s coming on pretty strong.

But he knows very well that I, not him, have the upper hand in this situation.

If I don’t know how to use this, I need to relearn how to negotiate.

“Then I’ll have to blow it up. As you said earlier, I’m just a country bumpkin from the provinces, so I don’t know how to read the room. Who knows, maybe blowing this up will cause a whole string of things to pop out? Then I’ll rise to become a star prosecutor overnight.”

I didn’t stop there and showed my guts.

“I have nothing to lose. I’m just a country bumpkin who came up from the provinces; even if I get messed up for touching this, what’s the worst that can happen? I’ll just get kicked back to the provinces. It’s just going back to where I was.”

Only then did he release his grip on the sofa armrest.

“Alright, fine. I’ll think about it.”

“That won’t do.”

I said firmly.

“What?”

“Please decide now.”

A vein popped out on his forehead.

“How can I trust that you won’t contact Chief Im Seong-jin after you leave?”

“The person in front of you is the Prosecutor General.”

“And I have a weapon that can tarnish the Prosecutor General.”

“A weak weapon.”

“I told you, a good negotiator doesn’t show all their cards.”

I smiled faintly and waited for his answer.

He sank back into the sofa.

After a moment.

“Alright.”

Prosecutor General Im Ju-young chuckled and nodded.

“Very good. It’s been a while since I’ve met such an interesting fellow. This is what makes being a prosecutor worthwhile. Don’t you think?”

“That’s right.”

“If Im Seong-jin gets the axe, he’ll definitely fight back. You’ll have to handle that.”

“He won’t be able to. I’m going to expose the bar exam rigging.”

His brow furrowed.

“Ah, of course, I won’t mention the Prosecutor General. It has to end with Im Seong-jin. Im Seong-jin wouldn’t drag the Prosecutor General into it, would he?”

No matter how crazy Im Seong-jin is, he wouldn’t bark like a mad dog at a place he shouldn’t.

“There was corruption, so we can’t just let it go, can we? A prosecutor who knows about the bar exam corruption that tens of thousands of people are risking their lives for and just lets it go. Is this even a country?”

“Hahahahahahahahaha!”

He suddenly burst into laughter.

I didn’t understand the situation and quietly watched him laugh for a long time.

After the burst of laughter subsided, Prosecutor General Im Ju-young leaned towards me with a serious look.

“When is your transfer to the Inspection Department?”

“Next week.”

“After this is over, would you consider coming under me?”

Is he out of his mind?

That can’t be.

“Didn’t you say earlier that it would be difficult to take in someone who took down Im Seong-jin?”

“That was before I knew your true colors. Now that I know you’re such a bold fellow, it makes me want to get rid of Im Seong-jin and have you by my side. Im Seong-jin was good at his job, but he was too greedy.”

“I tried to bite the Prosecutor General.”

“At least if you’re under me, you won’t bark at your owner.”

For a moment, I was tempted, but there was no need to think about it for long.

Stepping into Chief Prosecutor Kim Seok-won’s line and then immediately switching sides would only increase the chances of getting targeted by the High Prosecutors’ Office.

It’s best not to be too greedy.

“I’m sorry.”

“If you change your mind, let me know soon. The door won’t be open forever.”

“I understand.”

I probably won’t be going under him.

“So, should I promote Jo Won-hyung to the chief position?”

“No.”

This time, he couldn’t hide his surprise.

“You said you’d save Jo Won-hyung?”

“I said I’d save him, but I didn’t say I’d leave him in the Economic Crimes Investigation Department. Even a demotion to a local position would be a blessing for him.”

He was the one who played a part in sending Shin Yong-ho to a local position.

All the prosecutors in the Economic Crimes Investigation Department need to be purged to properly repay Yong-ho.

“So, as long as Im Seong-jin can’t touch Jo Won-hyung?”

“Yes, that’s right.”

I finished the conversation and stood up, and he followed suit.

“Thank you, and I look forward to working with you.”

The Prosecutor General shook my hand again.

“Can I assume that you and I have joined hands now?”

I took his hand and replied,

“More of a negotiation than an alliance… let’s leave it at that.”

***

After finishing the conversation and coming out, the night was already deep.

Fatigue washed over me, and as much as I wanted to go home and collapse into bed, there was still work left to do.

The person who sent the document envelope during the day.

I have to meet her.

The day is too long.

I drove to Uijeolsa Shrine in Sayuksin Park [a park in Seoul dedicated to six martyred ministers of the Joseon Dynasty].

The current time is 11:40 PM.

There was still time until the appointment, so I found a suitable place to sit.

How long had I been waiting? I heard a rustling sound from behind.

I turned my head and saw a figure of about 165cm wearing a hood coming up towards me.

“Let’s go.”

A woman’s voice.

I couldn’t see her face because of the hood, but I had a gut feeling.

The owner of the ID I saw in the text message.

It must be her.

We stood on the opposite side of the park, out of sight, and started talking.

The streetlights didn’t reach this spot, so I couldn’t see her face.

She must have chosen this place with that in mind.

Quite meticulous.

I probably would have been quite frustrated if I hadn’t received the text message.

I’m still fifty-fifty on my thoughts.

If she’s the type to unconditionally do what the higher-ups tell her to do, and if she’s still alive after being caught with a weakness by Im Seong-jin, then I can trust her tenacity.

If she made a decision with that tenacity, there’s a good chance she betrayed Im Seong-jin and came over to me.

I need to find out what this woman’s weakness is without revealing my intentions.

That’s the only way to find out her true feelings.

She spoke first.

“You need information, right?”

As expected, she went straight to the point.

“I do. What do you want?”

She answered my question without the slightest hesitation.

“The downfall of Im Seong-jin.”

There was venom in her voice.

But I can’t trust that alone.

“You’re giving me those materials without anything in return?”

“Yes.”

“Why?”

“Because I want Im Seong-jin to fall.”

“Tell me what you really want.”

“I’ll hand them over if I’m sure that I can bring that bastard down.”

“How do I know there’s no poison in those materials? Even if just one problem arises from the materials you give me, they could accuse me of a shoddy investigation.”

“Then don’t do it.”

She finished speaking and turned around.

She’s coming on pretty strong.

I called out to her as she took a step away.

“Ms. Yoon Seol-ha.”

Her feet stopped reflexively.

As expected, it’s Yoon Seol-ha, it’s her.

“Be honest.”

“…….”

“You’ll only make things harder for yourself if you go like this, you know?”

“Why is that?”

“An investigator who betrayed their supervising prosecutor. What do you think the prosecutors will think if the rumor spreads?”

Even if other prosecutors dislike Im Seong-jin, they’ll have no choice but to avoid her if the fact that her immediate subordinate betrayed her spreads.

They’ll think that she can stab them in the back at any time if they’re in danger.

No matter how secure a civil servant’s position is, once they’re marked like this, they’ll have no choice but to live a life of constant wandering or resign.

Yoon Seol-ha let out a deep sigh and asked.

“Is that a threat?”

I don’t know how many times I’ve heard the word “threat” today.

“Let’s talk while looking at each other’s faces.”

“Haa.”

She let out a deep sigh and turned around.

And when she took off her hood, her long black hair flowed down.

She’s pretty.

She’s much prettier in person than in the ID photo I saw.

A face that Im Seong-jin would be greedy for.

I could see why he would take advantage of her weakness and drag her around.

“You’re not ordinary, just like the prosecutor who cornered Chief Im. How did you know it was me?”

“It’s a trade secret.”

I lightly raised my eyebrows and turned the topic back to the original story.

“I need to be able to trust you to move. I don’t want to eat anything without knowing if it’s rice cake or poison and die.”

Yoon Seol-ha fell into thought, and a moment of silence flowed.

Perhaps sensing that there was no way out, she bit her lip and lowered her gaze.

“…I caused an accident.”

She continued the story with difficulty.

“I needed money, so I messed with the documents and got caught. I was being threatened with that.”

Messed with the documents, huh.

This is quite dangerous.

Perhaps reading my thoughts, she immediately added an explanation.

“It wasn’t anything terrible. It was something that the higher-ups told me to cover up, but I secretly inserted it.”

Considering that it’s the Economic Crimes Investigation Department, it must be that a competing company of the target being investigated by the department asked to mess with them, and it got caught by the prosecutor.

Since they were going to take care of it among themselves anyway, she secretly tried to have some fun, but she was unlucky and got caught.

If it’s this level, it’s not a big problem.

It’s not like she created a crime that didn’t exist; she just tried to add a matter that the higher-ups were actually trying to remove, but she failed.

“So, you came to me because you’ll be free if Im Seong-jin gets his head cut off.”

“You could say that.”

“If that’s the case, there’s no problem. Hand over the materials.”

She took out a document envelope from her arms.

I reached out, but she held the document envelope tightly and didn’t hand it over.

“I have a request too.”

“In times like these, you say ‘request,’ not ‘demand.'”

“…….”

She raised her head and said.

“I heard there’s a vacancy for an investigator.”

Was she aiming for this from the start?

I held back the urge to laugh.

She was someone I had been wanting since I heard about Yoon Seol-ha from Jo Ah-ra.

If she had been under Im Seong-jin from the start, I would have tried to persuade her to come under me.

But there’s no need for persuasion; since she’s saying she’ll come in on her own, there’s no need to refuse.

Yoon Seol-ha raised the corners of her lips and said.

“I’m better at my job than you think.”

It was just one sentence, but her expression showed plenty of confidence.

I snatched the document envelope from her hand and put it in my arms.

I want Yoon Seol-ha as an investigator, but there was no need to allow it right away.

In negotiations, the side that shows their intentions first is always the weaker one.

“I’ll think about it.”

I winked at her and said.

“I’ll make good use of the evidence.”

I turned my back on her, who was taking a deep breath, and came down the stairs first.