The Inspector Is Getting Promoted! [EN]: Chapter 214

Prosecutor, You’re Going Places! – 214

Kindling (3)

“What in the world is going on?”

Even as I asked, Sung Tae-hyun rubbed his temples as if his head was throbbing, shaking his head.

“I don’t know either. I suddenly received a call from a guy I hadn’t heard from in weeks… It seems like he’s being chased by someone right now.”

The case Sung Jin-hyun was investigating must be the Thunderbolt drug rape case.

When I called him, he clearly said he was investigating that case himself.

Hearing that it hasn’t been revealed despite being a hot topic and reported in the media every day, I knew it wasn’t an ordinary case, but I never thought Sung Jin-hyun would be harmed.

Everyone in the prosecution knows he’s the Seoul Mayor’s cousin.

In other words, they knew that and still messed with him.

I had a feeling that the VIP at the club was beyond the level I imagined.

How long had I been racking my brain, thinking about people who might be involved in this case?

Sung Tae-hyun, who had a serious expression, suddenly stood up from his seat.

“Jin-hyun!”

Awakening from my thoughts at his voice, I saw Sung Jin-hyun approaching us.

“Prosecutor Sung?”

I hadn’t seen him for a few months, but he had changed noticeably.

His cheeks were sunken, dark circles reached down to his cheekbones, and his eyes were hollow, making him look like a skeleton.

He was already skinny, but this was serious.

I wasn’t the only one surprised; Sung Tae-hyun was too.

“How much weight have you lost in the past month?”

Sung Jin-hyun plopped down in his seat and opened his mouth.

“Not a month, a week.”

“A week?”

“Yes.”

Sung Jin-hyun downed the wine in front of Sung Tae-hyun in one gulp.

Then, he roughly wiped his mouth with the back of his hand and looked at me.

“Chief Prosecutor, do you remember talking to me last week?”

“Yes. I think it was a week ago when I asked you about Thunderbolt… Did that cause a problem?”

“It’s not because of you, Chief Prosecutor. I was investigating it personally anyway…”

He adjusted his posture and spoke again.

“But from that evening, someone started tailing me. Not just casual tailing, but 24-hour surveillance.”

“24 hours…”

“That’s right. They even installed hidden cameras in my house.”

Installing cameras in his residence meant they had been working on it for days, not just because of my call.

It’s definitely not something an ordinary person could do.

“I’ve been so on edge that I haven’t been able to sleep or eat properly for days…”

Sung Jin-hyun pointed to his body.

“That’s how I ended up like this.”

“Are you okay?”

“Yes. You don’t have to worry about that. I often end up like this after a few sleepless nights.”

Then, Sung Tae-hyun cautiously asked me.

“By the way, if he’s being followed, does that mean this hotel is too…?”

I waved my hand.

“It’s okay. They’ll be blocked at the entrance anyway, and these windows are completely blocked from the outside, so they can’t see in.”

“Isn’t it dangerous if the location of our meeting leaks out?”

“Those who need to know already know.”

I glanced around at the people in the room and said.

“There’s probably a spy from Line 1 [referring to a specific faction or group within the prosecution] among us.”

“Is that so?”

He looked around at the people nearby, surprised.

“Yes. We know the location of the people from Line 2, don’t we? We can’t touch each other anyway, so we just leave it as is.”

“Come to think of it, that’s true.”

Only then did Sung Tae-hyun let out a sigh of relief.

“Anyway, Jin-hyun, what’s going on?”

At his question, Sung Jin-hyun picked up a few pieces of food from the table and opened his mouth.

“Ah, that’s…”

I raised my hand to stop him.

“You can talk after you finish eating.”

“It’s okay.”

He swallowed the food in his mouth and chuckled.

“The food is actually going down my throat now that no one’s watching.”

He adjusted his posture and started talking.

“About ten days ago… so about three days before I received a call from Chief Prosecutor Choi Seo-joon, I was summoned by the Chief Prosecutor of our Western District Prosecutors’ Office.”

Ten days ago would be the very beginning of the case.

“So I went in, and he started yelling at me, asking why I was poking around, and told me to cover up this case.”

“The Thunderbolt case?”

“Yes. He didn’t give me a reason, just said it would be buried soon, so don’t touch it and leave it alone. I told him I was the head of the Criminal Affairs Department, but I received a support request from the Women and Juvenile Crime Investigation Department, and he said that he had already finished talking with them.”

That’s impossible to settle.

It was reported in the news just yesterday. And it was reported that the prosecution and police were cooperating and actively investigating.

But the prosecution is ending it?

That doesn’t make sense.

“Since it was the Chief Prosecutor’s order, I couldn’t argue and said I understood. After that, I continued the investigation separately with only the people I trusted, and it seems like they put people on our entire team.”

Since he didn’t listen to him, he started monitoring him because he didn’t know how he would move.

“And sure enough, just like he said, a case broke out today.”

“Radon, I presume.”

“That’s right.”

There’s one piece of data that suddenly surfaced today.

An article that started being reported by all the media outlets within an hour of becoming a scoop.

It was an article stating that radon [a radioactive gas] was detected in some of the rice produced in Icheon, Gyeonggi Province.

Radon is a radioactive substance and a deadly carcinogen.

Naturally, the public was in an uproar.

All the attention was focused on that, and naturally, the articles about Thunderbolt started to be buried.

If I remember correctly, there was also a speculative article that it was almost impossible for radon to be detected in rice, but it was carried by the westerlies from China and mixed into the rice.

Icheon is one of the most famous rice-producing areas in Korea.

But that was a lie.

In short, it’s like telling the rice farmers to all go out and die so he can live.

It’s not only fatal to the farmers in Icheon, but it will also have a negative impact on other farmers in Korea.

This is an unconscionable act that goes beyond common sense.

“So I thought something would happen to me if I stayed like this, so I contacted Tae-hyun hyung [older brother or close male friend] and came here.”

“You did well.”

I patted Sung Jin-hyun on the shoulder and pushed the plates of food towards him.

“Thank you.”

Seriously, this is no ordinary matter.

Whatever else, one thing is certain.

The four major district prosecutors’ offices in Seoul, including the Western District Prosecutors’ Office, are in Choi Kyu-hyun’s grasp.

Since he’s such a dirty guy, there’s a high possibility that he’s colluding with the main figures in this case.

No, if the Chief Prosecutor of the Western District Prosecutors’ Office came out like that, it’s almost certain.

Even if the Chief Prosecutor of the Western District Prosecutors’ Office has ties to the business world, he wouldn’t have the guts to bury such a big case after being newly appointed for less than three months.

However, it’s impossible to know how far Choi Kyu-hyun is connected.

Since I knew he was involved in the first place, I couldn’t move rashly.

Sung Tae-hyun cautiously looked at me and asked.

“Could you possibly take Jin-hyun with you, Prosecutor…?”

In this situation, one thing is certain: the rape victim exists, and the criminal must be punished.

No matter who the other party is, I couldn’t bury this kind of case.

To do that, it was right to bring Sung Jin-hyun to the Central District Prosecutors’ Office so he wouldn’t be pressured.

Since he even wants it, there’s no need to hesitate any longer.

Of course, it would be good to look like I’m being generous.

“Yes. Come to the Central District Prosecutors’ Office.”

“Would that be okay?”

Sung Jin-hyun put down the cherry pie he was holding and asked.

“If it seems like it will harm you, Chief Prosecutor…”

“No. This is when we should help each other.”

I looked at him kindly and said.

“Tell them you’ll cover up the case. But keep all the data. I’ll make a position for you within three days. It probably won’t be a department head position, but maybe a deputy head…”

“Yes, that’s fine. It’s better to take a break than to hold onto a department head position and have it taken away entirely.”

“I’d appreciate it if you thought that way. Think of it as a temporary break, and I’ll look into the next position for you.”

“Thank you.”

Following Sung Jin-hyun, Sung Tae-hyun also grabbed my hands with both of his.

“Thank you, Prosecutor.”

“You’re welcome.”

Sung Jin-hyun suddenly clapped his hands as if he had thought of something.

“Ah, now that I think about it, I was so caught up in explaining the situation that I didn’t tell you about the case.”

“You can tell me slowly.”

“Yes.”

He put another cherry pie in his mouth, swallowed it, and opened his mouth.

“I’ve been investigating the Thunderbolt case, and the media is talking about the problems with the club’s operation, right?”

“That’s right.”

They probably mentioned crimes such as tax evasion and embezzlement.

“Frankly speaking, aren’t tax evasion and embezzlement common crimes in such entertainment establishments?”

That’s true.

There probably isn’t an entertainment establishment that operates honestly in Seoul, at least.

That’s why police officers consider police stations near entertainment districts to be the best places to work to get bribes.

“But this is all a smokescreen. The important thing is the drugs.”

He continued seriously.

“I’ve confirmed that Thunderbolt didn’t distribute drugs, at least. So I started tracking where this GHB [gamma-hydroxybutyrate, a depressant drug], water pill [a type of diuretic], came from.”

“Did you find anything?”

“Yes. It came from overseas through the Samdu Group, a domestic drug organization.”

If it’s the Samdu Group, it’s one of the largest organizations that deals with all kinds of drugs, including methamphetamine, marijuana, and water pills.

“If the Samdu Group is involved…”

“That’s right. It came from Shanghai.”

Drugs from Shanghai are one of the most troublesome problems for the Drug Investigation Department of the Central District Prosecutors’ Office.

“But I found a serious problem here.”

“What is it?”

“I was investigating the whereabouts of the funds flowing out of the Samdu Group, and Chief Kim Hak-min came up.”

The moment I heard that name, I was taken aback.

“Is that the Chief Kim I know?”

“Yes, that’s right.”

Chief Kim Hak-min.

Choi Kyu-hyun’s former right-hand man and the person in charge of all his miscellaneous tasks.

He was expected to enter the Blue House [the executive office and official residence of the South Korean president] due to Choi Kyu-hyun’s election, but he was pushed out after the position of Chief of Staff was taken by the polar bear, Jung Seung-min.

I thought he was helping him in the shadows since he wasn’t seen in the media, but I never thought he would be involved in drug trafficking.

Even if it’s right to help Choi Kyu-hyun’s financial backers, I didn’t know he would fall this far.

It seems like Choi Kyu-hyun is not just entrusting him with dirty work, but is trying to squeeze the last bit of juice out of Chief Kim and throw him away.

This is going to make Chief Kim quite pathetic.

But then.

Vibration.

The phone suddenly rang.

It was a call from Han Ji-yu.

“Just a moment.”

I excused myself to Sung Tae-hyun and Sung Jin-hyun and picked up the phone.

“Hey, Ji-yu.”

-Oppa [term of endearment used by a younger woman to address an older brother or male friend], when are you coming home?

I could feel anxiety in her voice, and as a result, worry began to rise in me as well.

“Why, what’s wrong?”

-There’s someone in front of the house. I pretended no one was home, but they’re still waiting and not leaving… What should I do?