The Inspector Is Getting Promoted! [EN]: Chapter 166

Prosecutor, You’re Going Places! – Episode 167

Marionette (5)

“When I realized that Go Seong-tak was ‘Hand of God,’ you, Chief, were quite busy, so I dug into Go Seong-tak, thinking I’d investigate a bit more. After digging for a few days, strangely, instead of Naegok-dong in Seocho-gu, where the National Intelligence Service is located, it kept circling around Dobong-gu.”

Dobong-gu is Seong Tae-hyun’s district and the location of his personal office.

“As a result, I confirmed him secretly contacting Chief Jo last night.”

“Hong Prosecutor, you saw it with your own eyes?”

“Yes. I couldn’t assign anyone, so I followed him myself. To be exact, I witnessed him entering Assemblyman Seong Tae-hyun’s office with Chief Jo after 11 PM.”

“Was Assemblyman Seong Tae-hyun in the office at that time?”

“No. It was confirmed that Assemblyman Seong had left work. I’m sure because the office lights were off when I watched from outside.”

“Then you couldn’t hear what they were talking about?”

“I’m sorry. I couldn’t get that far…”

“No, that’s enough.”

I sank into the sofa and pondered slowly.

Hand of God contacted Seong Tae-hyun.

This shouldn’t be taken lightly.

Even though he receives instructions from above after entering the National Intelligence Service, it’s impossible to trust that the higher-ups are trustworthy.

Even if the President appoints the Director of the National Intelligence Service, and the National Intelligence Service operates as the President’s intelligence agency, it doesn’t mean everyone there is Kyung-dong-soo’s person.

If Kyung-dong-soo had moved, I would have received information in advance.

He knows how close Seong Tae-hyun and I are.

It’s certain that the 2nd line didn’t move.

Assemblyman Jo Hyun-woong of the 2nd line, who is in a position to carry out the grand plan together and has clearly joined hands with me through the future text [a prophetic document], couldn’t have done this.

Then the answer is obvious.

The 1st line moved.

Among them, not a small fry, but someone who needs to keep Seong Tae-hyun in check.

In the end, only one answer remains.

Choi Gyu-hyun.

He influenced the Hand of God.

Above all, the guys below wouldn’t even know the existence of the person called Hand of God.

It’s been exactly a week since I told Choi Gyu-hyun that Seong Tae-hyun is running for Seoul Mayor.

But the fact that he contacted Seong Tae-hyun already means that he knew about the person called Hand of God in advance.

Only someone like Choi Gyu-hyun could grasp that level of intelligence.

He’s the one for sure.

The fact that Hand of God has started to move means that Choi Gyu-hyun is trying to control Seong Tae-hyun, utilizing his area of expertise.

If he was trying to frame him, Go Seong-tak wouldn’t have needed to meet Chief Jo directly, and above all, I know that Choi Gyu-hyun’s personality wouldn’t make him step down in that way.

In short, he’s hedging his bets.

In the event that Na Kyung-joon loses the Seoul mayoral election, he intends to cut him off and attach himself to Seong Tae-hyun, manipulating him like a marionette.

I still think it’s Choi Gyu-hyun.

He wants things to go his way, but he’s preparing for the situation in case things go wrong.

Now that I’ve figured out his intentions, there’s no need to just stand by and watch.

No, isn’t it only right to thwart his attempts and rather take advantage of him?

To survive in this world, you have to see one step further than your opponent.

“Hong Prosecutor.”

“Yes, Chief.”

“You haven’t told anyone about this, have you?”

“Of course. Even my investigator doesn’t know.”

“Good job.”

I patted him on the shoulder and continued.

“From now on, it’s just the two of us. Even if you tell Investigator Yoon Seol-ha later, you can’t say anything until I give the order.”

Prosecutor Hong Seok-jang replied with a determined expression.

“I will protect it even if a knife is held to my throat.”

“Good, that’s good.”

I slowly nodded and lifted my upper body from the sofa.

“You’re not busy with the Fair Trade Investigation Department, are you?”

“Yes. Thanks to your consideration, Chief, I’m doing well.”

“Yes, we shouldn’t let our hearts grow apart just because our departments have grown apart.”

“Of course. Even though my body is in the Fair Trade Investigation Department, my heart remains in the Special Investigation Department. Please tell me if you need anything.”

“Okay, Hong Prosecutor.”

He smiled with satisfaction and then said as if he remembered something.

“Oh, right. I’ve also tracked the movements of the Hand of God. Would you like to take a look?”

It seems he wants to show me as much information as he has gathered.

Just looking at this, I could tell that his loyalty had reached its peak.

“Okay. Give it to me.”

Prosecutor Hong Seok-jang immediately took out the documents from his bag and handed them to me.

“Should I continue to watch the Hand of God?”

“No, Hong Prosecutor can step back now.”

I twisted the corners of my mouth and continued.

“Now it’s my turn to move.”

“You mean…”

“Yes. I need to meet the Hand of God in person.”

***

-Ah, is that so?

Assemblyman Seong Tae-hyun, who received the information about the Hand of God, continued with a surprised voice.

-I heard from Chief Jo yesterday that someone had approached him, but I didn’t know there were such hidden circumstances.

“It’s good that you know now. From what I’ve heard, Go Seong-tak’s eloquence is so outstanding that people are swayed even if they know.”

-You don’t have to worry that much.

He added with a sly tone.

-I’m Seong Tae-hyun.

I laughed lightly and replied.

“That’s why I’m not too worried.”

I was serious.

It would be different if it were another ordinary person, but it’s Seong Tae-hyun.

A person who will become the future president.

If he didn’t know about Go Seong-tak’s identity, it would be one thing, but if he’s swayed by him after knowing in advance, he’s not someone who deserves to be president.

If he doesn’t come to his senses here and wavers, I’ll have to switch sides even if the future text marks him as a presidential candidate.

That’s how much I don’t think Assemblyman Seong Tae-hyun will be swayed by Go Seong-tak.

-Then, should I pretend not to know his intentions, reject him, and make sure he doesn’t appear around me?

“No. You must keep Go Seong-tak by your side, Assemblyman.”

He took a short breath and asked.

-Why?

“As I said earlier, Choi Gyu-hyun is behind him. Even if Assemblyman Seong rejects him, he won’t give up easily. If you push him away, he’ll stick to someone around you and try to extend his influence.”

-I see.

Assemblyman Seong Tae-hyun understood and asked slowly.

-Then I’ll keep him by my side, pretend not to know, and watch him coldly.

“Just in case, be careful of Chief Jo for the time being. If he’s already been 넘어갔다면 [ 넘어갔다면 is a Korean expression that means ‘if he’s already been bought off/turned’], it could become a headache.”

-I understand.

He asked cautiously, as if worried.

-Are we going to go all the way to the election like this?

“Of course not. There’s no need to hold on to a risk factor.”

I got up from my seat and added.

“I’m going to meet him in person today and talk to him.”

-In person?

Assemblyman Seong Tae-hyun couldn’t hide his surprised voice.

-Isn’t it too dangerous? What if Choi Gyu-hyun finds out…

“It’s okay.”

I was confident.

The Hand of God I saw in the future text is a trustworthy person.

If I don’t make a mistake today, he’ll come over to my side.

“Even if things go wrong, I can handle it on my own, so don’t worry.”

-If you say so, I can put down the burden in my heart. I’ll trust you and proceed.

“Yes. Then I’ll have to contact you again after contacting the Hand of God. Would around midnight be okay?”

-Yes. I’ll probably be at home, so feel free to call.

Since we were only contacting each other with burner phones, we had to coordinate in advance like this.

Unless we set it up in advance like this, we had to coordinate the time via text message to talk safely.

“There are many inconveniences because I’m calling outside of Choi Gyu-hyun’s surveillance.”

-But it’s better to go safely. It’s all for us, so we can endure this much inconvenience, right?

I smiled lightly and replied.

“You’ll be fully compensated for this effort when you’re elected as the Mayor of Seoul.”

-I’m counting on you, Prosecutor.

“Let’s talk again later.”

-Yes, thank you for your hard work.

I ended the call with him and immediately left the office.

As I opened the door and came out, Administrative Officer Jo Ah-ra, who was working right in front of me, got up from her seat and asked.

“Are you going out on business?”

“Yes. I’ll probably go home right after work. You can go home when you have time, too, Officer.”

“Okay. Have a safe trip.”

I immediately went down to the parking lot and started the car.

It’s past 5 PM, but the sunset hasn’t set yet.

You can feel that spring is slowly approaching.

Nevertheless, it will be completely dark when I arrive.

I immediately started the car and turned on the radio news.

Then, familiar content flowed out through the speaker.

-A person who fell into a coma and lived as a vegetative human being woke up after 25 years, and is receiving attention from the medical community.

I immediately turned up the radio volume.

-Medically, if a person does not wake up from a coma for 1 to 3 months, it is considered difficult to recover from a vegetative state, but there have been cases of people waking up after many years. However, a person who woke up after 25 years is a rare case that can be counted on the fingers of the world.

A person who woke up after 25 years.

It’s definitely the story of Jung Cheol-woong.

-It is said that the person who woke up after living as a vegetative human being for more than 20 years is the first since a woman in the United States who woke up after 23 years of vegetative state 6 years ago. As a result, not only domestically but also globally…

The radio continued to broadcast stories about Jung Cheol-woong, but nowhere did it mention the reason why he became a vegetative human being or his family history.

Everything is flowing as directed.

It seems that Deputy Director Lee Doo-hyung is doing his job properly.

For now, we should only focus on the fact that Jung Cheol-woong has woken up, and Na Kyung-joon and the military corruption should not be 주목을 받아선 안 되니까 [a Korean expression that means ‘should not receive attention’].

First of all, I need to meet the Hand of God and figure out how Choi Gyu-hyun is coming out.

***

Beep beep beep-.

A strange man’s voice was heard behind Yoon Seol-ha, who was pressing the door lock button.

“Ms. Yoon Seol-ha?”

Surprised, she took her hand off the door lock and turned around warily.

The man, wearing a hat pulled down low, was looking at her while maintaining a distance from Yoon Seol-ha.

“Who are you?”

“I came to talk to you.”

The man who wanted to talk still didn’t reveal his face, wearing his hat pulled down low.

“You have to reveal your identity first before we can talk.”

Yoon Seol-ha made a sharp voice.

“If you suddenly come to someone else’s house and want to talk, what woman would be crazy enough to say, ‘Yes, come in’?”

“I’m sorry. I’m in a position where I can’t reveal my identity.”

“Then I can’t talk. Come back later after you make a business card.”

She refused firmly and opened the door lock while covering it with her body.

She had her hand in her pocket, pressing 112 [the emergency call number in South Korea] in case of an unknown situation.

She was going to call the police if necessary.

Before pressing the door lock button, Yoon Seol-ha said to the man.

“Please go back. I’m tired today and want to go home and rest.”

“I’m sorry, what should I do? I don’t think you’ll be able to rest early because you have to talk to me.”

The man gave a bitter smile.

Thinking that this wouldn’t work anymore, Yoon Seol-ha said with a serious face.

“I’ve been patient enough. I’ll report you to the police if you don’t back down.”

“Choi Seo-joon.”

At that moment, a sharp voice flowed from the man’s mouth.

“I want to talk about him.”

“…”

“It won’t be bad for Ms. Yoon Seol-ha either. No, it can only be beneficial.”

The man twisted the corners of his mouth roughly and pushed up his glasses.

At that moment, a piece of metal flashed in his sleeve.

“It’ll only take a moment. Let’s go inside and talk.”

Yoon Seol-ha couldn’t help but realize that he was no ordinary person.

Also, that there was a possibility of a tragedy occurring if she continued to argue here.

Biting her lip, she closed the phone she had typed 112 on and opened the door lock.

“Come in.”

“Thank you.”

The man twisted the corners of his mouth slyly and followed Yoon Seol-ha inside.