The Inspector Is Getting Promoted! [EN]: Chapter 164

Prosecutor, You’re Going Places! – Episode 165 (164/341)

Marionette (3)

There are no listening devices or cameras in the room.

I could tell, both from my extensive experience using fairies [a type of surveillance or information-gathering technique, likely magical in nature] and from my instincts as a prosecutor.

But no matter how soundproof the room is, if we shout and fight inside, the sound is bound to leak out.

“Even if there are things you don’t like, we nurtured you in our line. How can you leave without a word?”

I rebuked Assemblyman Seong Tae-hyeon.

“Isn’t that a betrayal, plain and simple?”

Assemblyman Seong Tae-hyeon also responded very passionately, following the script I had laid out.

“The line nurtured me, not you. Why are you getting involved and making a fuss?”

“Making a fuss? I’m part of the line, so I have every right to speak. I’m here to see you on behalf of Assemblyman Choi Gyu-hyeon!”

We started raising our voices, spitting out curses.

The language became rough, and honorifics were naturally dropped, replaced by casual speech.

Of course, it was all an act.

“Then go and tell him clearly. I can’t work with your line, which is a hotbed of all sorts of corruption.”

“Assemblyman Seong, you’ll regret this.”

“Regret? You’re the one who needs to come to your senses. How can a prosecutor act like Choi Gyu-hyeon’s dog, a puppet of political power?”

I suppressed the satisfied smile that threatened to appear at his realistic acting and continued my performance.

“I even introduced you to my sister-in-law, and you’re saying this?”

“Are you trying to threaten me with Ji-soo now?”

Assemblyman Seong Tae-hyeon scoffed and put his hand on his hip.

“No matter what you say, Han Ji-soo will side with me, not her brother-in-law.”

“So you’re going to use Han Ji-yoo too?”

“Yeah, of course! I don’t want to see your face every holiday, you traitor.”

He slammed the glass he was holding on the table with a bang!

“I came here today to have a good talk, but you’re acting like this?”

“You were the one who started cursing first!”

“I’m cursing because you deserve it, aren’t you?”

“How dare you speak like that to a prosecutor of the Republic of Korea…”

“It’s all said and done when that prosecutor is acting as a puppet.”

I pointed my finger at him and warned him.

“You’ll regret those words.”

I pretended to be unable to contain my anger and stood up abruptly.

“Tsk, you’re not even worth talking to!”

Of course, Seong Tae-hyeon didn’t stop me, and I flung the door open as if to break it and stormed out.

Sure enough, the employees of the establishment were watching us from not far away.

When I glared at them, the employees quickly scattered.

“Bring the car keys!”

I shouted as if I was so angry that I was about to drive myself, but the madam [the owner or manager of the establishment], who was nearby, ran over and tried to calm me down.

“Chief, relax. There are DUI checkpoints just a little further from here. Our employee will drive you right away, so calm down and go safely in the back seat.”

The employees, realizing the situation, rushed out and brought the car before a minute had passed since I came out.

I pretended that my excitement hadn’t subsided, exhaled sharply, and after taking a few deep breaths, I barely calmed down and said.

“I’m sorry. I’m not usually this excitable, but that guy was being so brazen…”

“It’s okay. I understand. I know the situation roughly, and it’s bad that Assemblyman Seong Tae-hyeon betrayed you. Chief, let your anger out and go home to rest.”

I glanced at the room where Seong Tae-hyeon was and let out a deep sigh before heading to the car roughly.

“I’m leaving.”

“Drive safely, Chief.”

Without replying to those words, I got into the car right away, and the madam closed my car door with a welcoming smile, even telling the employee to drive safely and see me off.

She’ll probably treat Assemblyman Seong Tae-hyeon the same way she treated me when she gets back.

That’s her job, so I don’t really care.

No, it would be strange if she didn’t.

First of all, since this driver is also an employee of the establishment, I leaned back in my seat and turned my gaze to the window, still pretending to calm my anger.

I slowly cooled my head and replayed the scenes from entering to leaving the establishment in my head.

That was enough acting.

There were more than a few people watching from afar.

In the meantime, the madam came out herself and helped with the aftermath, so she would ask the other employees about the before and after situation, and she would know that Seong Tae-hyeon and I had clashed.

And this content will be conveyed to Assemblyman Choi Gyu-hyeon as it is.

I don’t know if the conversation will be conveyed or not, but that doesn’t matter.

At a meeting where Seong Tae-hyeon and I secretly met, voices were raised and curses were exchanged, and I stormed out without resolving the situation.

And if we don’t show a reconciliation after that, Choi Gyu-hyeon will not only be sure that I’m not behind Seong Tae-hyeon, but also think that trust between the two has been broken.

They’ll be contacting each other with burner phones, so there won’t be any separate contact, and Han Ji-yoo and Han Ji-soo also know about this, so they’ll act like they’re getting awkward.

It’s a situation without any room for doubt.

If I just endure for four more months until the local elections in June, I can give the No. 1 line [likely refers to the dominant faction within a political party or organization] a proper blow and get out.

Ultimately, it will also be possible for Seong Tae-hyeon to be elected.

The moment I thought that there would be no problem with the Seoul mayoral seat if things continued like this, and the tension in my body was about to be released.

Flash.

The light emitted from the headlights of the car behind me was reflected in the side mirror and entered my eyes.

Come to think of it, it seems like there’s been a car behind me ever since I left the establishment.

I asked the employee in the driver’s seat.

“Is that car behind us following us?”

The employee, who had glanced at the rearview mirror, replied with a dubious expression.

“There’s been a black sedan behind us since earlier, but I can’t see the license plate, so I don’t know if it’s the same car or not.”

So it’s not just my imagination.

A smirk twisted my lips.

Yeah, that’s right.

There’s no way Choi Gyu-hyeon wouldn’t have people tailing me.

Maybe they were tailing me during the day too, but I didn’t notice because they were mixed in with other cars in the bright daylight.

Of course, it’s also because Choi Gyu-hyeon assigned a highly skilled person.

But since it was evening and the road was deserted, it was impossible not to notice.

Even so, I pretended not to know, took my eyes off the side mirror, and closed my eyes.

“When the traffic light turns red, check the license plate. If you can see how many people are in the rearview mirror, take a look.”

“Yes, sir.”

About 10 minutes later, the employee said to me.

“It’s 43ga 1314, and there’s one person in the driver’s seat and one in the passenger seat. It seems like they’re not following us, but going in the same direction.”

Going in the same direction is something you can easily fake.

More than anything, it’s not easy to hide your presence on a dark and deserted road like this, even for a veteran.

I took out a few 50,000 won bills from my wallet and handed them to the employee who was driving, placing them on the gear.

Instantly, his eyes sparkled.

“Even if someone asks, the conversation we just had never happened. Forget about the cars or people following us.”

“Yes, sir, thank you!”

“Okay, drive.”

“Yes.”

What I had been thinking and guessing just now turned into certainty.

Soon, Choi Gyu-hyeon will have no choice but to erase his distrust of me.

Seong Tae-hyeon will start criticizing the People’s Party and the people belonging to the No. 1 line again from tomorrow as if he’s gone wild, so my help will be needed to attack him.

Choi Gyu-hyeon will definitely call me within a week.

***

“You must have been really desperate.”

Yun Seol-ha smiled leisurely and handed me my coat.

“I guess so. I didn’t expect him to come in person.”

Choi Gyu-hyeon made a trip all the way to Gangnam [a wealthy district in Seoul] and requested a meeting with me.

Of course, on the surface, he said he was meeting me because he had business to do, but anyone could see that the level of Seong Tae-hyeon’s criticism and exposure of the People’s Party was getting worse, so he was trying to get my help to stop it.

“Have a good trip.”

“Leave work on time if you can.”

“Yes, Chief.”

I left the Seoul Central District Prosecutors’ Office very leisurely, leaving Yun Seol-ha behind.

Because the more they waited, the more anxious Choi Gyu-hyeon’s side would be.

When I arrived at an officetel [a building with both office and residential units] in Gangnam, Choi Gyu-hyeon was waiting for me alone inside.

“Oh, Prosecutor Choi is here?”

“Greetings, Assemblyman.”

“Sit down.”

Choi Gyu-hyeon got straight to the point without hesitation.

“You don’t have good feelings for Seong Tae-hyeon either, do you?”

“Yes.”

I said, pretending to be honest.

“Actually, I met Assemblyman Seong Tae-hyeon alone a few days ago.”

“Alone?”

Choi Gyu-hyeon clearly already knew, but he acted as if he was hearing it for the first time.

“When?”

“The day before yesterday. When I heard about it, it seemed like the People’s Party had put some wind in his sails [encouraged or motivated him].”

“Put wind in his sails?”

“That’s…”

When I acted like I was hesitating to speak, Choi Gyu-hyeon cleverly induced me to speak.

“I trust Prosecutor Choi 100%. Isn’t trust the most solid thing between us? Feel free to tell me.”

To talk about trust when he sent someone to check on me.

I barely suppressed the scoff that was about to come out.

“I understand.”

It would be good to leak a source at this point.

I took a deep breath as if I had made up my mind and opened my mouth.

“It seems like he’s aiming for the Seoul mayoral seat.”

“Seoul mayor?”

His eyebrows twitched as if he hadn’t expected it at all.

“Yes. It seems like the People’s Party is pushing Seong Tae-hyeon as a new candidate for Seoul mayor.”

“Huh…”

Choi Gyu-hyeon let out a hollow laugh as if he was dumbfounded.

His head became complicated, and he repeatedly frowned and unfrowned as he pondered.

Seeing that, I had a feeling that things were going according to my plan.

Seong Tae-hyeon’s candidacy for Seoul mayor was something he hadn’t expected at all, as I had thought.

Now is the time when leaking this source can have the greatest effect.

Because I’m giving him information that he doesn’t know in this situation where trust in me has been somewhat restored and animosity towards Seong Tae-hyeon has grown.

In other words, it will feel like he wouldn’t have had any idea if I hadn’t told him.

Taking this one step further, if I had thought of Seong Tae-hyeon changing his party affiliation, it’s information that I would never leak to him… no, information that I shouldn’t leak.

It’s removing any lingering doubts about the fact that I set up this whole thing.

In short, it’s trapping Choi Gyu-hyeon in a swamp.

From his point of view, I just raised my voice and fought with Seong Tae-hyeon, and then leaked the source about his candidacy for Seoul mayor and am trying to prevent his election in order to get revenge on him.

Naturally, he has no choice but to join hands with me.

Once you fall into this swamp of thought, you can’t have other thoughts.

No, even if you try to have them, you have no choice but to shake your head.

Thinking that I’m suspicious after a long time means admitting that your past judgment was wrong.

Then, in order to deny your own mistakes, you rationalize yourself and fall deeper into this swamp, and eventually you can’t get out.

I added again, as if emphasizing.

“Seong Tae-hyeon’s goal was to run for Seoul mayor. He left the party because of that vain ambition.”

“Well, if he was promised a nomination from the People’s Party, it’s definitely worth challenging…”

“I’ll make sure he’s defeated.”

I said to him with a glint in my eyes.

“I’ll help Seong Tae-hyeon not get elected.”

“You’ll help?”

“Yes. I know his weaknesses well because I’ve been with Seong Tae-hyeon for a long time. If I use this as an excuse to threaten him, I can at least stop the media play that’s currently cutting down our line people.”

He grabbed my hand with shining eyes.

“Will you do that?”

“I’ll not only stop Seong Tae-hyeon’s rampage, but also help Mayor Na Gyeong-jun, who the Assemblyman is pushing, succeed in re-election.”

If I help Mayor Na Gyeong-jun’s election, I can find out in advance what their strategy is.

Then, even if they do negative campaigning, I can find out in advance and prepare a way to deal with it, and I can leak good election strategies in advance and have Seong Tae-hyeon’s side steal them.

Assemblyman Choi Gyu-hyeon, who had no idea about these intentions, was already smiling contentedly as if he was reassured.

“Okay, I’ll trust only Prosecutor Choi.”

“Yes. Please trust me.”

The corners of my lips twisted into a smirk.

“I will do my best to ensure that Na Gyeong-jun succeeds in his re-election as Seoul mayor.”