The Inspector Is Getting Promoted! [EN]: Chapter 178

A Rising Star -179

Growth (2)

-I think Seong Tae-hyun has noticed I’m playing him.

“He found out?”

My brow furrowed involuntarily.

Seong Tae-hyun knows very well what Go Seong-tak does and what he’s good at.

The moment he becomes wary, failure is inevitable.

It’s not just that; our relationship with Seong Tae-hyun could be completely ruined.

It was hard to suppress the irritation in my voice.

“You should have moved more carefully.”

-I’m sorry. But it’s not certain yet. I just wanted to let you know in advance, just in case.

“What exactly did Mayor Seong do?”

-You know I’ve been working with the Seoul Metropolitan Government in earnest since the beginning of last year, right?

“Yes.”

I’ve been operating under the guise of subtly helping Seong Tae-hyun from behind using the power of the National Intelligence Service [NIS; South Korea’s primary intelligence agency].

Even before I became a Senior Prosecutor, he had been working by Seong Tae-hyun’s side for nearly a year and nine months.

-I told you that to brainwash someone like a puppet, you first need to gain their absolute trust, right? I was showing him a sacrificial image to achieve that, but he told me that I didn’t need to neglect my personal life to help him.

“Wouldn’t it be unreasonable to think he suspects Director Go based on that alone?”

-If it ended there, I wouldn’t know, but I found out that he asked the National Intelligence Service through his secretary what my main mission was.

That’s a problem.

It means he feels I’m helping him, but it’s excessive.

-Of course, thanks to you telling the National Intelligence Service in advance, it went smoothly, but the fact that Seong Tae-hyun even had doubts is dangerous.

It’s not exactly a seed of suspicion, but the very act of tilting his head and rethinking is something that shouldn’t happen.

There’s no one as quick to catch on as a politician.

Fortunately, Seong Tae-hyun doesn’t seem to want to make an issue of it yet.

It’s still in the stage of curiosity, not doubt.

“Lay low for the time being. But don’t back off too much. Suddenly distancing yourself will make him think it’s even stranger.”

-Understood.

“Our goal is the 2030 presidential election. There are still over five years left, so don’t act hastily. Otherwise, we’ll both be screwed.”

-I’m sorry. I’ll start preparing again from the beginning, step by step.

“I’ll meet with Mayor Seong today to ease his suspicions, so move more carefully.”

-I’m really sorry for causing you concern.

“Take a rest and let’s meet soon.”

-Goodbye.

I hung up the phone and slowly closed my eyes.

I needed to eliminate his suspicion of Go Seong-tak.

It’s actually a good thing that I’m having dinner with Mayor Seong Tae-hyun’s family today.

I should have a drink with him and subtly bring it up.

“Hoo.”

I took a deep breath, cleared my head, and got out of the car.

As I was walking into the restaurant, I heard someone calling me from the side.

“Brother-in-law!”

I turned around and saw Seong Tae-hyun and Han Ji-soo approaching, each holding one of the twins.

“Sister-in-law, it’s been a while, Madam.”

“Brother, how have you been?”

“I’m good.”

I shook his hand lightly and waved at the two children.

“It’s been a while, twins.”

I stroked the heads of my adorable nephews, who were awkwardly pronouncing “Uncle.”

“Where’s your sister?”

“She went inside to wait.”

I immediately entered the restaurant with my sister-in-law’s family.

Before I could even finish greeting them, Han Ji-soo glanced at her two children and my son and said frankly.

“By the way, Ji-hoon is three months younger, but he’s taller. Is it because my brother-in-law is so tall?”

Knowing it was a joke, Seong Tae-hyun next to her burst out laughing, and I waved my hand and said.

“Ah, twins are usually a little slower than regular babies until they’re three or four years old. They’ll catch up soon.”

Seong Tae-hyun opened the menu with a smile.

“Let’s order first and then talk. I’m a mayor, so I’m very hungry. I feel like going to the market and eating rice soup.”

“…Are you already drunk?”

***

“Go in first. I’m going to have another drink with Madam [his wife].”

“Don’t come home too late, you have to go to work tomorrow.”

“Okay. Go carefully.”

Seong Tae-hyun and I saw off our wives and children and headed to a nearby private bar.

I had already had a drink with dinner, but I needed time to find out what he thought about Go Seong-tak and ease his suspicions.

We ordered a glass of whiskey and started talking seriously.

Of course, I couldn’t bring up Go Seong-tak right away, so I naturally started with politics.

“How do you see this presidential election, Mayor?”

“Well, it’s not entirely hopeful… I think you probably have similar thoughts, Prosecutor.”

As Seong Tae-hyun married Han Ji-soo, the titles they used for each other gradually increased, but unless they were with family or in a special situation, he still used the same titles as before.

He raised his glass of whiskey and said.

“Since Grand Gyo, Choi Gyu-hyun has completely dominated the Daehan Party… and the MinGuk Party still doesn’t have any outstanding talent.”

“That’s right. It’s hard to rely on President Kyung Dong-soo now that he’s in a lame-duck state.”

With only half a year left until the 21st presidential election in May 2025.

The MinGuk Party should be starting to nominate and support a presidential candidate, but there are many people who are greedy without having outstanding abilities, so progress is not being made and it is stagnating.

“I wish I could step up myself…”

He took a sip of whiskey and put it down.

“I know it’s not the right time yet, so I’m lying low.”

“You’ve made a good decision. Considering the timing, the most perfect scenario is to be re-elected as mayor once more and run in the 22nd presidential election.”

“Of course.”

He looked at me with a glint in his eyes.

“I know very well that if I just walk the path you’ve prepared for me, Prosecutor, a flower path will unfold [a Korean idiom for a path of good fortune and success].”

For a very brief moment, the corner of Seong Tae-hyun’s mouth twisted unnaturally.

I wondered if it was because of the alcohol, but when I closed and opened my eyes, his face had returned to a very gentle expression.

I didn’t sleep well last night, and I drank alcohol, so I guess I’m quite tired.

I pressed the space between my eyes and chased away the sleepiness.

“Ah, by the way…”

Then, Seong Tae-hyun put his arm on the table and turned his body towards me.

“Director Go has been a little suspicious lately.”

Unexpectedly, Seong Tae-hyun brought up Go Seong-tak before I could.

Thanks to that, I wouldn’t be suspected.

I asked innocently.

“Did something happen?”

“Nothing special, but… lately, he seems to be helping me even at the expense of his own work.”

“Isn’t that what we originally agreed to do since the beginning of last year?”

“That’s true, but for some reason, I feel like he’s trying to give me advice beyond what I think…”

To put it nicely, it’s advice, but to put it badly, it means he’s overstepping his boundaries.

It seems Go Seong-tak felt it too.

I needed to give him a little more caution.

Before that, I had to alleviate Seong Tae-hyun’s suspicions.

“Maybe he’s just become sensitive because of the stress of raising children. I heard your sister-in-law is pregnant with her third child.”

“Could that be it?”

“Yes. Director Go isn’t the type to interfere excessively without a reason, is he?”

“I guess…”

He nodded slowly.

“I think you’re right, Prosecutor. It’s probably a combination of things related to the children, the stress of the upcoming presidential election, and the burden of work.”

“He’ll be fine soon. I’ll talk to Assemblyman Jo Hyun-woong about the presidential election and try to prepare quickly, so don’t feel too burdened and just focus on capturing the public opinion of the Seoul citizens.”

“Understood.”

***

“Let’s go for the third round, the third round!”

Seong Tae-hyun, heavily drunk, waved his hand in the air.

I had been drinking glass after glass to subtly eliminate his suspicion of Go Seong-tak, so I was barely holding on to my sanity as well.

“You should go home now. Your sister-in-law will be waiting.”

“It’s only 2 a.m.”

He smiled with a flushed face.

“Ah, Prosecutor. Shall we go to a good place just the two of us for the first time in a while?”

I couldn’t help but frown at his words.

“You’re drunk, Mayor.”

When I called him by his family title with a cold, forceful tone, Seong Tae-hyun waved his hand.

“I’m just kidding, just kidding.”

He seems to be overly drunk.

He had been stressed because he had been tightening his mind because of Go Seong-tak, but it seems that the tension he had been holding so tightly was released when he met me.

Seong Tae-hyun, still unable to suppress his drunkenness, made excuses—not excuses, unlike his usual self, who would have ended it appropriately.

“I really didn’t mean to go. I suddenly remembered hearing from Assemblyman Park that a great girl named Wolhyang had joined Gangnam High Teen recently, and I was just purely curious about what kind of girl she was…”

At that moment, I sobered up.

I doubted my ears, but the words I heard were clear.

“What did you just say?”

“No, I’m just kidding. I haven’t even thought about another woman since I met Ji-soo. I guess I just said it without realizing it because I was drunk…”

“Didn’t you just say Wolhyang?”

“Ah, yes. Have you been there too, Prosecutor?”

The corner of his mouth twisted slyly.

“I heard that she’s from a fairy house in Paju [brothel], so she’s been verified. She’s just amazing…”

Looking back at my memory, I never told Seong Tae-hyun about handling the Wolhyang case.

He doesn’t know that Wolhyang is related to me.

That means that Wolhyang actually works at a place called Gangnam High Teen.

Of course, it won’t affect me even if he knows that, but it’s not a welcome thing.

More than any other reason, it’s because Senior Prosecutor Park Jae-pil, whom she screwed over, was still alive even in prison.

Ring-.

At that moment, Seong Tae-hyun’s phone started ringing.

“Who is it at this hour?”

He staggered, took out his phone, and blinked at the screen.

“Chief Jo?”

Chief Jo is his chief of staff.

If he’s calling at 2 a.m., it must be something serious.

I have a bad feeling about this.

“Hello?”

He couldn’t hear well because he was drunk, so he turned the speaker volume to the maximum, and thanks to that, I could hear Chief Jo’s voice.

-It’s a disaster, Mayor.

“What’s wrong?”

-There’s been an accident where a Mirs Airlines plane crashed in the West Sea. I heard that more than 100 Koreans were on board.

Plane crash!

The little bit of drunkenness that remained completely disappeared, and I woke up with a start.

The content I saw through the future text.

And the sender was 36, so this year is the perfect time.

Seong Tae-hyun’s eyes, which had been clouded with drunkenness, also opened wide.

“I think I need to go.”

“I’ll go too.”

We exchanged brief greetings and each grabbed a taxi to head to the office.