The Inspector Is Getting Promoted! [EN]: Chapter 216

Prosecutor, You’re Going Places! – Episode 216

Kindling (5)

Kim Hak-min, the chief of staff, swallowed hard at Deputy Director Lee Doo-hyung’s sharp voice.

He could feel a chilling aura in his eyes.

He had a gut feeling that if he answered carelessly, he wouldn’t even be able to recover his bones.

The current conversation wasn’t just a chat with Deputy Director Lee Doo-hyung.

It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that he could vaguely see Chief Prosecutor Choi Seo-jun’s silhouette in him.

“I’m…”

Kim Hak-min swallowed hard and chose his words carefully.

“I came because I really want to live.”

“What do you mean?”

“In the Thunderbolt sexual assault case that’s currently exploding in the media, the actual sexual assault is being buried, and attention is being focused on drug and club operation issues, isn’t it?”

Indeed, as he said, the media was even changing the name of the Thunderbolt sexual assault case to Thunderbolt Gate.

Lee Doo-hyung listened to Kim Hak-min’s story quietly, with his arms crossed.

“As stated in the data I gave to the Chief Prosecutor, I am the intermediate distributor of the drugs used in this Thunderbolt case. Of course, the profits went to President Choi Gyu-hyun.”

Kim Hak-min confessed everything without hiding anything.

“And the reason the case is unfolding like this is to hide the real criminal, the VIP, by constantly obscuring the essence and putting forward a fake culprit to be punished before quietly sweeping it under the rug. If the issue of drug distribution comes to light, I’ll be the one taking the blame.”

He continued bitterly.

“They’ll make up some pretentious story about how I distributed drugs using his name even after being kicked out by the President. And of course, the Republic of Korea will believe it.”

Lee Doo-hyung took a deep breath and asked.

“Who is this VIP?”

“…”

A moment of silence followed.

Then, Kim Hak-min shook his head.

“I don’t really know either.”

“Tell me the truth.”

“I’m serious.”

Lee Doo-hyung couldn’t yet tell whether his words were sincere or not.

Kim Hak-min continued, as if pleading.

“Didn’t I tell you? I came out because I want to live. If I stayed there, I’d obviously be used and then discarded… So I went to see the Chief Prosecutor to save my life.”

Having said this much, Lee Doo-hyung knew from his long experience as a prosecutor that there was no point in pressing him further, so he didn’t push.

However, there was a way to confirm whether he had come to act as a mole or to really save his life.

“What if we don’t protect you?”

There was no emotion in Lee Doo-hyung’s voice.

His attitude and words instilled in Kim Hak-min the fear that he might be abandoned if he wasn’t helpful.

After hesitating for a moment, Kim Hak-min clenched his fist and said earnestly.

“The data I gave to the Chief Prosecutor is solid. You’ll know if you review it. If there’s a problem, I can bring supplementary data immediately…”

Lee Doo-hyung interrupted Kim Hak-min and said sternly.

“I asked what you would do if we didn’t protect you.”

“In that case…”

Kim Hak-min lowered his head as if resigned.

“I’d have to flee overseas or hide on an island. If I just hold out for the five years until Choi Gyu-hyun’s term ends, I’ll be able to manage somehow…”

He sighed as he spoke.

“But I probably won’t be able to hold out.”

“Then why did you hand over the data without even getting a promise of protection?”

Kim Hak-min drooped his shoulders as if he had lost strength.

“Whether I hand over the information to the Chief Prosecutor or not, Choi Gyu-hyun will try to kill me anyway.”

Considering Choi Gyu-hyun’s usual personality, Kim Hak-min’s words were not wrong.

“Moreover, considering the power of the current regime, most people can’t resist Choi Gyu-hyun. No, they don’t even dare to stand up to him.”

Lee Doo-hyung nodded very slightly.

The fact that he wasn’t desperately resisting even when cornered like this showed how desperate Kim Hak-min was.

If he had colluded with Choi Gyu-hyun and approached intentionally, he would never have shown such an attitude.

Lee Doo-hyung finished his thoughts and opened his mouth.

“So, is Kim’s ultimate goal to impeach Choi Gyu-hyun?”

“No.”

Kim Hak-min shook his head.

“It’s literally survival. If I’m seen to have joined hands with Chief Prosecutor Choi Seo-jun, at least they won’t be able to touch me.”

In the end, his intention was fully revealed.

He had joined Choi Seo-jun for the sake of ‘survival’.

No matter how solid the evidence, considering the current regime, the word ‘impeachment’ would be blocked from being mentioned by suppressing and manipulating the media.

But if the goal is simply survival, the story is different.

Chief Prosecutor Choi Seo-jun doesn’t need to go overboard to reveal the evidence, and just holding onto it will prevent Choi Gyu-hyun from touching him.

Protecting Kim Hak-min would become a means for Chief Prosecutor Choi Seo-jun to protect himself.

It was a perfect opportunity to use him as a bridge to hold out until Choi Gyu-hyun’s power wanes and Choi Seo-jun regains his strength.

However, what should not be forgotten here is that while it is certain that it will be helpful to Choi Seo-jun’s team, it is Kim Hak-min who is in a desperate position.

Choi Seo-jun had taught him that there was no need to reach out and lower himself to an equal position from a position of power.

Therefore, Lee Doo-hyung did not give a long answer.

“I understand.”

He got up from the hot water.

“I’ll contact you again.”

With those words, Lee Doo-hyung left the sauna first.

***

“It seems that Kim Hak-min was sincere.”

“Really?”

“Yes. After finishing the conversation with him yesterday, I contacted the police in Seoul and Incheon to check, and there were no lies in Kim Hak-min’s explanation regarding drug distribution. The results of my personal investigation into his situation were also correct.”

“So that means…”

I slowly stroked my chin.

There were no visible problems with the documents Kim Hak-min handed over yesterday. Of course, it wasn’t certain because it was checked in a short amount of time, so a verification process was needed, and Yoon Seol-ha is currently reviewing it.

If Lee Doo-hyung said this much, I could believe that Choi Gyu-hyun didn’t send him.

In other words, if I don’t protect him, Kim Hak-min will disappear without a trace like Jang Young-soon by Choi Gyu-hyun.

Therefore, I had to put him under my protection.

It wasn’t simply because of a personal connection with Kim Hak-min.

Rather, considering the old ties of him sticking with Choi Gyu-hyun and tormenting me, it would be right to get rid of him right away.

However, he is begging for his life by bringing information about the person who used to be his superior.

And I’m going to get rid of him here?

There’s no way other people wouldn’t notice this.

Then, people who were going to betray their superiors and stick with me later would see this case and try to be loyal to their original positions instead.

But if I protect him, the story is different.

If I generously accept the person who was the right-hand man of my greatest enemy, Choi Gyu-hyun, it means that I will embrace anyone else who brings me satisfactory information.

It will be an example of showing that I think about the greater good without being swayed by personal feelings.

I shouldn’t just look at the trees in front of me, but look at the forest.

And taking it a step further, I have to look beyond the forest to the mountain range.

That’s what politics is.

Knock knock.

Yoon Seol-ha came in with a knock.

“This is the file summarizing Choi Gyu-hyun’s bribery list.”

“Thank you for your hard work.”

“I will report as soon as the additional verification is completed.”

“Okay.”

She bowed and left the office.

As I looked through Choi Gyu-hyun’s documents, I couldn’t help but laugh.

“He’s been eating a lot [taking bribes].”

I don’t know how much money this guy is making in the underworld.

In my opinion, the richest person in Korea is not the chairman of a chaebol [large family-owned conglomerate] group, but Choi Gyu-hyun.

All these documents in my hand are kindling.

Kindling that will obviously burn brightly if put into a stoked furnace.

However, the fire in the furnace only burns hot inside and cannot swallow the forest.

If the flames die down, it’s just a waste of kindling.

Instead of wasting it like that, it’s better to hold the kindling in your hand.

You can use it as fuel at any time.

However, you can’t hold the kindling forever.

It can get damp and unusable, or rot.

In other words, before the kindling becomes unusable, you have to create a fire demon yourself or find new kindling.

The expiration date of the kindling obtained from Kim Hak-min is two years.

If I don’t detonate the information I got from him, Choi Gyu-hyun will render the evidence I have useless by overhauling the documents within at least two years.

He has enough ability to do that.

But again, that also means that Choi Gyu-hyun can’t easily touch me for two years.

Of course, I can’t touch him carelessly either.

In the end, the next two years will be a cold war.

But the important thing is that my term as Chief Prosecutor is also two years.

Whether I want it or not, I will have to be transferred to another place in two years.

But by the time my term ends, Choi Gyu-hyun will have finished laundering the data Kim Hak-min gave him.

In the end, he will use the power of the President to put pressure on me to retire from the prosecution after serving as the Chief Prosecutor of the Seoul Central District Prosecutors’ Office.

It goes without saying, but I have no intention of stepping down willingly.

I’m a person who needs to go all the way up to the Prosecutor General.

Then there is only one way to prevent Choi Gyu-hyun from keeping me in check.

To detonate a big case within two years.

After finding and detonating a powerful and impactful case like the Munso Station Stabbing Incident that can regain absolute support from the public, I have to make it so that Choi Gyu-hyun has no choice but to promote me.

That’s how I can survive.

I will survive.

Longer than Choi Gyu-hyun.

***

“Chief Prosecutor.”

“Yes, Seol-ha.”

“Kim Hak-min contacted me and asked if it would be a good idea to go to a quiet island in the countryside so as not to be noticed by Choi Gyu-hyun.”

“Isn’t that a perfect place to die without a trace?”

Yoon Seol-ha nodded.

“I’ll tell him to stay in Seoul.”

“It’s not enough to just stay close.”

I twisted the corners of my mouth into a smirk.