The Inspector Is Getting Promoted! [EN]: Chapter 199

Prosecutor’s Success – Episode 199

Trust in This Industry (2)

“Hoo-ooo.”

Jang Young-soon exhaled a long stream of cigarette smoke, leaning back in her rocking chair.

Already the fourth cigarette in a chain.

The pure white smoke escaping her lips filled the house, making it hazy.

‘Did Choi Gyu-hyun stab me in the back?’

The possibility wasn’t zero.

No, he’s more than capable of it.

I’ve experienced the same thing in the past.

Jang Young-soon squeezed her eyes shut.

The memory of nine years ago, when she obediently accepted the sentence without appealing, trusting Choi Gyu-hyun’s promise to get her out, flooded her mind.

‘Choi Gyu-hyun…….’

She repeated his name in her head.

When she realized in prison that Choi Gyu-hyun had abandoned her, she thought she would never get involved with him again, but time dulled the painful memory.

‘What is it about this damn attachment, really…….’

About 40 years ago, during the military regime, Choi Gyu-hyun was the man she had an affair with when she was a glamorous queen bee in Gangnam [a wealthy district in Seoul].

In the meantime, when she stumbled and then recovered, she thought Choi Gyu-hyun was helping her again and building trust, but that was short-lived.

Nine years ago, she trusted only Choi Gyu-hyun and got betrayed.

She lost all the money she had saved up to him.

However, after being released from prison, Choi Gyu-hyun approached her again as she was preparing for another big score.

She decided that she couldn’t just trust him and was being cautious when Shin Sung-ho appeared.

Whether this situation, with her having to meet Choi Seo-joon tomorrow, will be a blessing or a curse is unknown.

But what is certain is that she can’t overturn everything now and back down.

From Jang Young-soon’s perspective, it was all or nothing.

She’s already seventy-one, no longer young.

Either she reverses everything in one shot and spends her later years comfortably and luxuriously, or she ends her life miserably back in prison with the stigma of being the infamous Gangnam queen bee swindler.

She’s standing at that crossroads.

She had to be absolutely careful.

In a situation where even James Kim, whom Choi Gyu-hyun had assigned as her right-hand man, was suspicious, it goes without saying that she didn’t trust Shin Sung-ho either.

From her own investigation, Shin Sung-ho is a man who, after being released from prison on a special pardon, is now running a large business and enjoying great success.

Is it because she’s seventy-one years old and has been out of touch with society due to her long imprisonment, dulling her senses?

Jang Young-soon speculated that Shin Sung-ho had grown with the support of Choi Gyu-hyun.

That’s because, with her lack of capital and almost non-existent connections, it was impossible for her to find out on her own what steps Shin Sung-ho, before he changed his name, had taken as Shin Yong-ho.

Of course, she didn’t ask James Kim.

She could find out to some extent through him, but the fact that she asked about him would surely reach Choi Gyu-hyun’s ears.

If Shin Sung-ho’s words were true, if Choi Gyu-hyun knew about this situation, both Shin Sung-ho and she would be finished.

In the end, all Jang Young-soon can do in this situation is one thing.

Meet Choi Seo-joon directly and see how it plays out.

Through her conversation with him, she must see through Shin Sung-ho and Choi Gyu-hyun’s true intentions.

That was her only way out.

Chiiik-.

Jang Young-soon lit another match and lit her cigarette.

The cigarette smoke filling her small room only became thicker, to the point where she couldn’t see an inch in front of her.

***

“Come in.”

“Yes.”

Jang Young-soon entered the room with a large black carrier.

“Give it to me.”

“It’s alright.”

She was holding the bag as if it were her lifeline, precious and heavy.

Just by looking at it, it was clear that the weight was considerable, and it must contain something very important.

“Would you like a glass of liquor?”

“Just cold water will do.”

Following Jang Young-soon’s request, I brought her a glass of ice water, placed it on the table, and sat down on the sofa.

She tried to maintain a calm demeanor on her face, but her anxiety kept peeking through.

It must be thanks to Shin Yong-ho shaking things up yesterday.

In times like these, it’s best to push forward.

Without dragging it out, I went straight to the point.

“I heard you want to invest.”

“Yes.”

Jang Young-soon’s eyes sparkled.

“I want to invest in both you, Prosecutor, and Assemblyman Jo Hyun-woong.”

She continued with a slick explanation.

“If the policy I mentioned is implemented, our Queen Investment will…….”

I didn’t even focus because it was completely worthless.

After all, it’s a game that Choi Gyu-hyun has set up.

After Jang Young-soon had been explaining for about five minutes, I picked at my ear and cut her off.

“Enough.”

I leaned my upper body towards her.

“How are you going to give me the money?”

“I’ll give it to you right away.”

With a confident expression, Jang Young-soon placed the carrier she had brought between us.

“It’s 10 billion won [approximately $7.5 million USD].”

The carrier looks big, but it’s not big enough to hold 10 billion won.

10 billion won would require at least 10 apple boxes.

“Are you kidding me?”

At my sharp voice, she silently got up from her seat and laid the bag on the floor.

Then, she opened the zipper and spread the carrier open on the floor.

“What the…….”

I barely managed to stop myself from cursing at the contents.

Because everything in the bag was department store gift certificates.

“20,000 certificates worth 500,000 won [approximately $375 USD] each. It’ll cost a bit in fees to cash them out…….”

“How am I supposed to cash out all this?”

I couldn’t help but mix an agitated tone into my voice.

However, Jang Young-soon said in an unavoidable tone.

“This was the only way to raise the money through the company. We were short on time.”

In fact, it was common to exchange gift certificates when exchanging black money like this.

If you were to cash them out, you could process them with a fee of as little as 5% or as much as 10%.

Above all, it was the easiest way for a businessman to prepare money.

It was one of the easiest and safest ways to create slush funds through a corporation.

But 10 billion won is a different story.

It’s not just a small amount; this much money requires a laundering process, and the time and fees involved are not insignificant.

Generally, it’s about 15%.

If I use my acquaintances and the routes I know, it’s possible at around 12%.

Frankly speaking, it’s not receiving 10 billion won, but receiving 8.8 billion won.

However, losing 1.2 billion won is not important.

The most important thing is that there should be absolutely no mistakes in this process.

Choi Gyu-hyun probably ordered me to prepare gift certificates directly to avoid handing over the money to me willingly.

“The presidential election is in ten days.”

Jang Young-soon said with a relaxed expression.

“That’s enough time to launder it.”

She tapped the carrier.

“Don’t you need this?”

“Hoo.”

I let out a deep sigh and buried myself in the sofa.

“What would you do if I didn’t accept this?”

“If you don’t accept it…….”

Jang Young-soon took out a small recorder from the pocket on her chest.

“We’ll have to die together.”

The pen-shaped recorder had a red light on.

That meant everything had been recorded.

I expected this much.

I knew she would have some kind of insurance for herself.

She probably has a recording of her conversation with Choi Gyu-hyun as well.

Jang Young-soon is coming on strong, but I know better than anyone that this is a bluff.

She knows she’s standing on the edge of a cliff right now.

If I refuse, Jang Young-soon will have no choice but to return to Choi Gyu-hyun.

But in a situation where I planted the seeds of distrust in Choi Gyu-hyun yesterday through Shin Yong-ho.

In the end, she has nowhere to go.

Jang Young-soon, who has no idea that I’m thinking this, is still bluffing.

“Would that really be the case? If the public finds out about this…….”

I cut off Jang Young-soon’s words again.

“I’m a man with many options.”

“……What do you mean?”

“I have another appointment here in an hour.”

I lightly raised my eyebrows.

“I’m meeting a young businessman.”

Her brow twitched.

“If Madam Jang Soon-ok refuses, I’ll go with him.”

“…….”

I could clearly see her mind racing.

I deliberately mentioned the keyword ‘young businessman’.

Then the result is obvious.

Shin Sung-ho, whom she met yesterday, must have come to Jang Young-soon’s mind.

She must have investigated him in her own way, but because I had instilled suspicion about James Kim, it would have been impossible for her to fully grasp Shin Yong-ho.

If she had known in detail from the beginning, she wouldn’t have come here.

In the end, Jang Young-soon can judge that if I meet Shin Yong-ho without making a decision, she will be out of the picture.

“Make a decision, Madam Jang Soon-ok.”

She bit her lip tightly.

Shin Sung-ho, whom she met yesterday, had been glibly telling her to figure out a way to live together, but in fact, he was looking for a way to save himself behind her back.

Since Jang Young-soon was starting to waver, I had to push her even harder.

I leaned back on the sofa, crossed my legs, and added a word.

“Or should I call you Madam Jang Young-soon?”

Her face, which had been struggling to maintain a poker face, instantly contorted.

The wrinkles that appeared soon created deep grooves like a Hahoe mask [a traditional Korean mask] and began to be etched in.

“I understand.”

I snatched the pen-shaped recorder she was holding.

“To cooperate, I don’t allow such insurance.”

I lightly threw it on the floor and.

“I’m worried about getting stabbed in the back.”

I stomped on it until it made a cracking sound.

The recorder, which shattered in an instant, was completely destroyed beyond recognition.

Jang Young-soon’s fist clenched.

“I’ll ask you just one thing.”

“Go ahead.”

“How did you know?”

She’s asking how I knew her name.

“Our Gangnam queen bee has been rotting in prison for too long, so she doesn’t know…….”

I looked down at her and said.

“I’m Choi Seo-joon.”

“…….”

“I know everything. I have to know to get this far.”

I smiled brightly and added a word.

“Even that Assemblyman Choi Gyu-hyun is behind you.”

Jang Young-soon gritted her teeth.

She’s feeling a sense of profound change, and she’s feeling her limitations, and all sorts of thoughts are flashing through her mind.

Suspicion of Choi Gyu-hyun.

A threat to her safety.

An overwhelming difference in mental agility.

These three things forced Jang Young-soon to make one choice.

“I’ll do whatever the prosecutor tells me to do.”

Knowing that Choi Gyu-hyun is behind her means that I’m already one step ahead.

Sticking with me was the best choice she could make in this situation.

In the meantime, she can’t not know that sticking with Choi Gyu-hyun will lead to her downfall as well.

“What do you want me to do?”

“Ms. Jang Young-soon, all you have to do is what I tell you to do.”

“If I do that, I…….”

She’s looking for something.

This old woman, she still doesn’t know her situation.

From the moment she joined hands with Choi Gyu-hyun after her release, there was no longer a flower path in her future.

So I have no intention of giving her any lip service.

Running to avoid hell will set your feet on fire more than running towards heaven.

“I can’t guarantee the same wealth and fame as before…….”

No, I have no intention of giving it to her.

“But I’ll make sure you don’t go back to prison.”

I winked.

“You don’t want to spend the rest of your life in a cold prison cell, do you?”

She closed her eyes tightly as if resigned.

“I understand.”