The Inspector Is Getting Promoted! [EN]: Chapter 167

Prosecutor, You’re Going Places! – Episode 168 (167/341)

Marionette (6)

But… why?

The question filled my head all night.

Why would Yoon Seol-ha meet God’s Hand, Go Seong-tak?

Last night, I went to see God’s Hand himself to talk to him directly.

To be precise, I was going to meet him on his way home from work.

Prosecutor Hong Seok-jang had reported that he heads straight home after work unless he has something special to do.

However, after work, Go Seong-tak headed to Yoon Seol-ha’s house, not his own.

If my memory isn’t wrong, I’ve never mentioned God’s Hand to Yoon Seol-ha before.

Neither has Prosecutor Hong Seok-jang.

He didn’t even tell his investigators, so I clearly heard with my own ears that they suffered, working on foot for that long period.

But Go Seong-tak is visiting Yoon Seol-ha himself.

And not at a regular cafe or outside, but at her house.

Due to the apartment’s layout, I couldn’t see them meeting directly, but considering that only two or three households live on one floor, it’s certain that Go Seong-tak visited Yoon Seol-ha.

Not for a short time, but for over an hour.

Did Yoon Seol-ha already know about God’s Hand?

The thought that she might have already made contact complicated my mind.

If so, all plans would be ruined.

She also knows that I contacted Seong Tae-hyun.

Most of all, the biggest shock was that the person I trusted the most, the person I considered my right-hand man, might be preparing a scheme behind my back without my knowledge.

How should I respond?

While I was deep in thought, Yoon Seol-ha came in after knocking.

“Sir, are you busy?”

I looked at her with the most nonchalant expression I could muster.

“No, what’s the matter?”

“I have something important to tell you.”

Yoon Seol-ha’s expression was unusual.

Unlike her usual energetic and confident demeanor, she seemed serious.

Is it because of God’s Hand?

However, it’s not a good idea for me to probe first in this situation.

It’s better to find out for sure and then induce her to confess the truth.

“Let’s sit down and talk.”

“Yes.”

I instructed Administrative Officer Jo Ah-ra not to let anyone in and guided Yoon Seol-ha to the sofa.

“You look serious. Is something wrong?”

“Yes, there is.”

Yoon Seol-ha answered seriously and then cautiously looked at me.

“You might suspect me, sir, but I thought I should tell you honestly, so I came here as soon as I got to work.”

Wait a minute.

Did she notice that I was tailing God’s Hand yesterday?

Is that why God’s Hand went to see Yoon Seol-ha?

First, I listened to her story, trying to appear as calm as possible.

“A man named Go Seong-tak came to see me yesterday.”

“Go Seong-tak?”

“Yes. He said he works for the National Intelligence Service (NIS).”

So far, so good.

“But he suddenly came and said he wanted information about you, sir.”

“Information about me?”

“Yes. And he had a piece of metal that looked like a weapon, whether it was a knife or something, inside his sleeve, so I couldn’t refuse.”

She bowed her head to me with an apologetic expression.

“So, I decided to give him the information.”

I frowned and asked.

“How much did you give him?”

“I haven’t given it to him yet.”

Yoon Seol-ha stared at me with wide eyes.

“I managed to gloss over it by saying I was too tired and out of it, so we decided to meet again soon to hand over the information. In the first place, I couldn’t prepare the information he needed on the spot.”

“Then why didn’t you call me right away, even in the early morning?”

“Well, the man came all the way into my house, so I didn’t contact you because I thought there might be a listening device installed. Even if I went outside, there was a risk of meeting him again.”

I’ve worked with her for a long time, so I could tell by looking at her eyes.

Everything Yoon Seol-ha is saying must be true.

Unlike usual, he had barged into her house, so it’s understandable that she didn’t even think about texting or other methods.

I was relieved that Yoon Seol-ha wasn’t secretly plotting behind my back, which I had been worried about.

However, a new problem has arisen.

Go Seong-tak has started digging into me…

This is quite a tricky problem.

Seeing him approach in this way, I can tell that Choi Gyu-hyun only requested Seong Tae-hyun, if nothing else.

However, if he starts digging into me while investigating Assemblyman Seong Tae-hyun, my connection with him might be revealed.

I should meet Go Seong-tak and not just test the waters, but negotiate.

Yoon Seol-ha asked cautiously.

“What should I do?”

“First, I’ll tell you about that guy. His name is Go Seong-tak. He’s a guy with the nickname God’s Hand.”

“God’s Hand?”

“Yes. He’s actually affiliated with the National Intelligence Service…”

After briefly explaining about him, I even told her the story of how I followed him yesterday and ended up at Yoon Seol-ha’s house, and she looked startled.

“I almost made a big mistake if I had lied.”

“I know you wouldn’t anyway.”

She smiled lightly.

I could feel the strong trust emanating from her eyes, even without her saying it.

“How did he say he would get the information about me?”

“I received a list of the information he wants. He said he would contact me and pick it up after I prepared it in advance.”

“Without any compensation?”

Even if he initially obtained the information by threatening her with a weapon, it wouldn’t work the second time.

As he’s called God’s Hand, he wouldn’t be foolish enough to act without any preparation.

“No. He said he would give me 1 billion won [approximately $750,000 USD].”

“1 billion won?”

“Yes. He gave me a down payment of 100 million won [approximately $75,000 USD] on the spot. He said he would give me 100 million won each time I provided additional information, so we would meet a total of nine times.”

She opened the bag she had brought and showed me a stack of 5 million won bills.

I checked just in case, but it was real money, not counterfeit.

I couldn’t help but laugh as soon as I saw it.

The fact that he gave her 100 million won in cash proves that he can give her 1 billion won.

As much as 1 billion won.

Maybe for a prosecutor, but Yoon Seol-ha is just an investigator under me.

From the perspective of a civil servant who rarely receives bonuses, she couldn’t help but be tempted.

Above all, he even had a weapon.

In a psychologically intimidated situation, if he shows her money, it’s common for an ordinary person to rationalize that they’re not betraying their master because of money, but because they’re forced to by threats.

Go Seong-tak, this guy is quite smart and dangerous.

I was just grateful that Yoon Seol-ha didn’t fall for it.

She opened her mouth, looking at me.

“I’m telling you this in case you misunderstand, but I definitely didn’t accept it because I was tempted by the money. What you give me is more than enough, sir.”

“Yes. I’m not worried about that at all.”

At that moment, Yoon Seol-ha’s cell phone rang.

A call with a restricted caller ID.

Yoon Seol-ha showed me the screen and said.

“It’s probably him.”

“He’s moving faster than I thought, even though he said soon.”

“Should I not answer it?”

“No. Answer it.”

She pressed the call button and simultaneously pressed the speakerphone and recording buttons.

“Hello?”

-Nonhyeon-dong Expressive Cafe, 8 PM sharp.

The call ended with a short message.

Yoon Seol-ha checked if the call had ended and scoffed as if she was dumbfounded.

“He really just stated his purpose and hung up…”

“That’s his voice, right?”

“Yes. I’m sure of it.”

She held up her cell phone and asked.

“Should we try to track it? I don’t think it’ll work, but…”

“It’s okay. Even if we track it through the police, it’s a burner phone, so it’s made to be difficult to track properly.”

“Then what should we do? If we bring the police, he’ll probably call a proxy [a stand-in], so it doesn’t seem to make much sense.”

“No, he’ll come himself.”

I smiled lightly.

“According to what I’ve found out, he’s not the type to use people.”

“Then should we call the police?”

“No. We have to hand over the information.”

When I said it casually, Yoon Seol-ha’s eyes widened.

“Are you sure? The list of information he wants includes your personal life, sir.”

“Don’t worry. Instead…”

I twisted the corners of my lips and added.

“I’m not the one who’s going to deliver the information; it’s me. I’m going myself.”

Yoon Seol-ha couldn’t hide her surprised expression, but in fact, I had decided to confront him directly after hearing her story last night.

In fact, the answer is already set in situations like this.

Above all, it’s a strong move that I can make because I know he’ll join hands with me.

It’s a head-on breakthrough.

I have to meet him directly, negotiate, and make him my man.

That’s the only way I can deal with the enormous figure of Choi Gyu-hyun.

And above all, I’m confident that I can persuade Go Seong-tak.

I smiled lightly and got up from my seat.

“Prepare the data. It’ll be tight to prepare the information on the list before you leave work.”

***

As soon as I got off work, I headed straight to the meeting place that Go Seong-tak had called.

While I was racking my brains, guessing what he would say when we met, I received a call from someone who could clear my head.

“Hello?”

-Hey, Chief Choi. Aren’t you acting too expensive these days? I’m sad that you haven’t even called me.

“Hahaha, you bastard. You were busy too, but you’re blaming me.”

-You should call first. How dare I call you, Chief?

“Shin Yong-ho is starting a business, so you’ve become quite the slick one?”

The caller was none other than Shin Yong-ho.

I was even happier because I had been so busy with Grand Kyo, Line, and Seong Tae-hyun for the past few months that I hadn’t even been able to keep in touch.

“Oh, should I call you Shin Seong-ho from now on?”

-Call me whatever you want, you bastard. For your information, I made my business card with Shin Seong-ho.”

“Okay. By the way, I think you said you were going to start a business soon. How’s it going?”

-I’m having a grand opening tomorrow. I’m not expecting you to come, but I called to get a word of blessing.

“Do well, you bastard. You know whose money it is, right?”

He burst out laughing.

-That’s why I’m going to spend it without worry.

“You bad guy.”

-Anyway, thanks.

“Thanks for what? Send me the address. I’ll send you a wreath tomorrow.”

-Okay. I’ll definitely succeed and help you later, so look forward to it.

“Don’t go bankrupt and beg me for money, you bastard.”

-Hey, you. Just try to resign later and ask me to hire you as a special employee.”

I smiled lightly and said.

“I’m looking forward to it. Do well.”

-Okay.

“I think you’re in the car. Are you leaving work now?”

“No, I’m going out for work, not just working overtime.”

-Hahaha, have a hard time.

“Okay, fighting [a Korean expression of encouragement, like ‘good luck’].”

-Yeah.

I realized that there was a smile on my face after I finished the call.

Having a friend like that is a great fortune in life.

In the meantime, the car arrived at the place designated by Go Seong-tak, and I parked the car far away and went into the cafe.

There were still almost two hours left until the appointment time, but I decided to wait inside.

If I go in late, he might be watching outside and notice that I’ve arrived and run away.

***

8 PM sharp.

Sure enough, a man wearing a hat pulled down low came into the cafe without a minute’s delay.

I sat in the corner and stared at him intently, and he made eye contact with me as he looked around the inside.

I couldn’t see his expression because it was covered by his hat, but I could tell that he was flustered just by the twitching of his fingers.

The moment he noticed that Yoon Seol-ha wasn’t there and tried to leave, I got up from my seat and raised my hand high.

“Hey, over here!”

When I shouted, other people’s attention naturally turned to me.

Some of the customers even recognized me and looked surprised, so he couldn’t leave and eventually came to the table where I was.

“Sit down.”

“…”

He looked down at me coldly, but he had no choice but to sit down.

“I ordered an Americano; I don’t know if it’ll suit your taste.”

I handed him the Americano that I had ordered in advance, acting nonchalant.

“Yoon Seol-ha told you everything, I see.”

“Didn’t you move while taking this much risk?”

He scoffed and twisted the corners of his lips.

“It’s a miscalculation if you think you can catch me with this.”

As the man spoke as if he was threatening me, I leaned forward with a calm expression and said.

“It’s not polite to cover your face and talk. Shouldn’t we at least look each other in the eye and talk?”

Then, I looked straight at the man and winked, adding a word.

“Isn’t that right, Mr. Go Seong-tak?”

I could feel him freezing for a moment.

However, I added a word with a relaxed expression.

“Oh, should I call you God’s Hand to make the conversation easier?”

His lower face, which the hat couldn’t cover, instantly crumpled.