The Inspector Is Getting Promoted! [EN]: Chapter 162

Marionette (1)

-…Thus, I declare my departure from the Grand Korea Party and change my party affiliation to the People’s Party.

Despite Sung Tae-hyun’s declaration of changing his party affiliation, the reaction was far smaller than expected.

“It seems quite successful, doesn’t it?”

“Indeed. It seems to be thanks to the controversies Choi Gyu-hyun has been spreading.”

With the police’s large-scale investigation announcement, Choi Gyu-hyun began spreading all sorts of celebrity scandals and rumors to prevent the Grand Korea Party from being mentioned by citizens.

He changed his party affiliation, taking advantage of the chaotic times to minimize media attention, and the situation is even more effective than we aimed for.

“You said Assemblyman Sung Tae-hyun would definitely receive the Seoul mayoral nomination if he switched over, right?”

“That’s why he switched. If it were uncertain, I would have stopped him.”

Yoon Seol-ha slowly nodded and asked.

“So, will Assemblyman Sung Tae-hyun remain quiet until the Seoul mayoral election?”

“No. Once the heated media cools down, we need to start moving in earnest.”

“In what way?”

I smiled lightly and explained.

“We need to criticize the Grand Korea Party. We need to show that his move to the People’s Party wasn’t just for power, but to implement correct political ideologies and move for the sake of justice in Korea.”

In the process, the fact that he moved to the People’s Party will naturally be imprinted on the public.

It was a grand plan for the Seoul mayoral election.

However, Yoon Seol-ha seemed worried and asked cautiously.

“Assemblyman Sung Tae-hyun and Chief Choi are close, and Assemblyman Choi Gyu-hyun knows that… Won’t it be too obvious that we’re behind this? He’s already out of favor because of the Grand Kyo incident.”

“That’s why he won’t suspect it more.”

I twisted my lips into a smirk at her tilting head.

“Choi Gyu-hyun is someone who thinks very highly of me. He won’t think I’d move so openly and simply.”

I’ve been incredibly meticulous until now.

Therefore, he will only be guarding the top of the high fortress.

Even if I open the gates and enter confidently, Choi Gyu-hyun will definitely not notice.

***

-The Grand Korea Party is rotten! How can you call yourselves members of the National Assembly leading the liberal democratic Republic of Korea when all the good positions are filled with relatives, pushing and pulling each other?

Assemblyman Sung Tae-hyun slammed the podium and continued.

-If I had stayed there, I could have secured a good position too. I could have lived comfortably as a member of the National Assembly for the rest of my life. But that’s not what I wanted. I didn’t become a member of the National Assembly to live well. I came to the National Assembly to help our people live better lives!

As the citizens applauded, Sung Tae-hyun continued his powerful speech.

-I moved to the People’s Party not for the ideologies of progress and conservatism, but to create an equal Korea and realize justice. Even if I came here, I swear that I will never neglect or mistreat the residents of Dobong-gu.

He even raised his hand and declared.

-I will not do politics, but serve. It’s not about the Grand Korea Party or the People’s Party, but about making Dobong-gu a place where the residents of Dobong-gu want to live, a place where they don’t want to move away from, a place where they want to put down roots and settle for life, a place full of happiness. Thank you.

The TV turned off the moment Assemblyman Sung Tae-hyun came to the side of the podium to bow.

“That damn bastard.”

Choi Gyu-hyun, who was sitting on the sofa watching the screen, threw the remote control away, irritated.

“I raised a guy who bowed his head to me, saying he wanted to do politics, and now what? The Grand Korea Party is rotten?”

Kim, his secretary, bowed his head, fidgeting at Choi Gyu-hyun’s angry tone.

“I should have grasped it in advance… I couldn’t pay attention because I was dealing with the Grand Kyo incident. I’m sorry.”

“I heard he left without saying a word to the other members. You couldn’t have grasped it. That bastard is a son of a bitch, it’s not anyone’s fault.”

He tried to calm down as much as possible, but his voice didn’t lose its anger.

He would have thought it was resentful enough that he moved without saying a word, but criticizing his former party like that right after changing his party affiliation was not within his expectations.

‘It’s not only against business ethics, but he also betrayed my grace.’

It was clear that he didn’t come to this conclusion after thinking about it for a day or two.

It was clear that he had been thinking about it and preparing for it for a long time.

He was even more enraged when he remembered the sight of him meeting himself at the Dobi Hotel a few days ago, greeting him politely and smiling shamelessly.

“I’m curious what he’s going to say when we meet in the National Assembly.”

Secretary Kim carefully opened his mouth, criticizing Assemblyman Sung Tae-hyun.

“I don’t think Sung Tae-hyun would have done such a bold thing alone… I think Chief Prosecutor Choi Seo-joon might be behind this.”

“Choi Seo-joon?”

“Yes. Choi Seo-joon, doesn’t that guy have hundreds of snakes in his stomach? He’s one of the closest people to Assemblyman Sung Tae-hyun in our line, so there’s no way he wouldn’t have known about the transfer.”

Choi Seo-joon.

The moment he heard the news of Sung Tae-hyun’s party affiliation change, Choi Gyu-hyun also thought of him.

He knew that the two were close.

“Above all, isn’t Sung Tae-hyun meeting Choi Seo-joon’s sister-in-law? There’s no way Chief Prosecutor Choi wouldn’t know.”

However, Assemblyman Choi Gyu-hyun disagreed with Secretary Kim’s opinion.

He slowly shook his head, rested his chin, and buried himself in the sofa.

“Would Choi Seo-joon have moved so openly?”

“Yes?”

“As Secretary Kim said, Choi Seo-joon is someone you can never know what he’s thinking. But the important thing is that he’s very shrewd and cunning.”

“You mean….”

“In short, there’s no way he would have moved so obviously.”

Assemblyman Choi Gyu-hyun took his eyes off Secretary Kim and continued.

“He’s the guy who came to me a few days ago and swore allegiance. Whether he actually intended to be loyal or not, he wouldn’t have come all the way here if he was going to stab me in the back in a few days.”

“Ah, I see.”

“Yes. This isn’t Choi Seo-joon behind the scenes. Sung Tae-hyun is going crazy. The Choi Seo-joon I know isn’t the type to do something so obvious.”

He was convinced.

If Choi Seo-joon was going to stab him in the back, he would have fought with Grand Kyo [likely a scandal or incident].

It would have been too wasteful to blow up Grand Kyo just to quietly transfer Sung Tae-hyun.

Choi Gyu-hyun could not help but make this judgment because he never thought that Choi Seo-joon would push Sung Tae-hyun and appear as a candidate for the Seoul mayoral position that he was pushing for.

It’s not just the Governor of Gyeonggi Province or the Mayor of Incheon, but the Seoul mayoral position that even the People’s Party can’t dare to take.

No matter how much Choi Seo-joon is, it was an overreach for a mere chief prosecutor to make the mayor of Seoul.

Besides, Choi Gyu-hyun thought that Choi Seo-joon had no reason to abandon it when he was already on a successful path.

However, Secretary Kim was still worried and asked carefully.

“If, if, just in case. What if Choi Seo-joon really ordered it?”

“If a puppy doesn’t know how scary a tiger is and acts up, we have to show him the difference in power.”

“I see.”

However, Choi Gyu-hyun snorted as if he didn’t have to consider it that far.

“Put yourself in Choi Seo-joon’s shoes. If it was obvious that Sung Tae-hyun was going to change his party affiliation, would he have blown up Grand Kyo to make me suspicious?”

“Well, I don’t think he would have. If anything, he would have changed the order….”

“Yes. If he was going to turn his back on me, he would have shaken me up by blowing up Grand Kyo after the party affiliation change. It’s not like Choi Seo-joon to detonate the party affiliation change at a time when Grand Kyo is already being wrapped up. It’s too sloppy.”

“That’s right.”

“Besides, Choi Seo-joon is bound to rise to the position of chief prosecutor just by staying by my side, so there’s no reason to abandon it.”

Secretary Kim nodded as if he understood, but Choi Gyu-hyun smiled at him and asked.

“You still seem worried about Choi Seo-joon, even after saying all this?”

Secretary Kim flinched, having his inner thoughts figured out, and replied.

“…I’m sorry. I think I’m thinking too much.”

“It’s okay. It’s understandable enough. Choi Seo-joon is a dangerous guy.”

Choi Gyu-hyun continued as if he understood.

“There are three types of crazy people in this industry. Do you know how they are divided?”

“I don’t know.”

“The first is a crazy person for women. They are third-rate. These guys are not worth dealing with. They are wrapped in skirts and can’t even pick up the rice cake in front of them.”

He clicked his tongue as if he was pathetic and continued to explain.

“The second is a crazy person for money. They are second-rate. Their financial power is no joke as much as they are crazy about money. It’s quite a headache to turn them into enemies. But most of them are destroyed by being blinded by money. There’s no need to deal with these guys either.”

“Then the last one….”

“The third is the most dangerous guys. They are the ones who are crazy about success. These guys are so obsessed with success that they will sell out all their close aides and climb up. These guys don’t care about money or women, they only run for success.”

“Choi Seo-joon is a crazy person for success.”

“That’s right. He’s a guy who can draw beyond what we imagine. We need to be careful about guys like Choi Seo-joon, as if we’re tapping on a stepping stone before crossing.”

Choi Gyu-hyun twisted his lips arrogantly.

“Since you’re so worried, it seems right to have at least minimal insurance.”

“How should we proceed?”

“Put people on Choi Seo-joon and Sung Tae-hyun. Find the best guys in this industry so they don’t figure it out. Find out what kind of contact they had with each other, and how much.”

“I understand.”

***

-Yes, Chief Prosecutor.

“I saw the contents of your speech to the residents of Dobong-gu being reported on TV. Well done.”

-No. It’s all the content I discussed with you, Chief Prosecutor.

Sung Tae-hyun smiled lightly and continued.

-I can slowly see the stories coming out from the Grand Korea Party. I think Choi Gyu-hyun will move soon.

“Yes. It’s obvious, but they will be suspicious of your party affiliation change this time and put people on you.”

-You decided to stay in line 1 until the local elections, is that okay?

“Of course. However, it’s better not to have contact that reveals our friendship on the surface anymore.”

-Then, should we exchange stories through Ji-soo and my sister-in-law?

“No. That will make them more suspicious. I will tell my sister-in-law and Ji-yoo to contact each other indifferently, unlike usual, and you and I will only contact each other by cell phone. Of course, a burner phone.”

I took out the burner phone from my inside pocket and said.

“You should never use the burner phone outside. Only use it at your home and office with the curtains closed. Of course, you shouldn’t contact anyone else. The burner phone must remain the medium through which only you and I contact each other so that Choi Gyu-hyun’s side will not be able to figure it out.”

-I understand. I will always carry it with me.

“Good.”

-Then, it will be impossible to actually see each other until June.

“That’s not true.”

-Yes?

I twisted my lips into a smirk and continued.

“We need to meet once and show a performance.”

-A performance….

“It’s a performance to deceive Choi Gyu-hyun’s side.”

Sung Tae-hyun, who understood the meaning of the performance I was talking about, smiled faintly.

-A *yujeong* [Korean-style restaurant] is a good place.

“That’s right. Choi Gyu-hyun is close to the *yujeong* madam, so the news of the performance will go straight to his ears.”