The Inspector Is Getting Promoted! [EN]: Chapter 227

Karma (3)

Moonlight Scent?

The future text I received after a long time contained only four letters, with no photos or videos.

No, it’s not a future text.

The sender is 28.

A text from the past.

As much as 9 years ago.

However, chronologically, it was when I was working at the Gwangju District Prosecutors’ Office.

An era when I knew nothing about Hong Tae-min, let alone the people around me now.

Could something I knew back then be related to this case?

But 9 years is too long.

Most of all, at that time, I was a junior prosecutor handling minor cases, so there weren’t many significant events or memorable incidents.

Perhaps I might find a clue by revisiting the rape cases I handled back then.

However, finding the cases will certainly not be easy.

Back then, I handled over 30 cases a day.

“Oppa, what are you doing?”

Then, Han Ji-yu suddenly reached out and grabbed my hand.

“Let’s walk more.”

“Oh, okay.”

I strolled along the Han River with Han Ji-yu again, slowly lost in thought.

First, let’s think about the text message.

Moonlight Scent.

There are no spaces at all.

So, I’m wondering if I should see it as one word, or if not, interpret it by syllable: Moon, Light, Scent.

All four syllables were letters with their own meanings.

Confusion began to increase in my head due to the completely unidentifiable text.

Until now, the future texts were either intuitively recognizable or gave explicit hints, but this time it was too vague.

Okay.

Let’s go back to square one.

Maybe I’m overthinking it.

It could be simple content like the previous texts, but I’m not grasping it.

Then, Han Ji-yu shook the arm that was holding my hand.

“I’m telling you to smell the water scent too. It’s really nice.”

At her urging, I reluctantly raised my head and took a breath.

A strong smell of water entered through my nose.

But at that moment.

One word flashed through my mind.

Scent?

Wait a minute.

Moonlight Scent.

In other words, the scent of the moon.

If you change this back to Chinese characters.

月香 [Wolhyang – Moon Scent].

Yes, it’s Wolhyang!

My fist clenched.

That this text was pointing to Wolhyang.

“Thank you, Ji-yu.”

I hugged Han Ji-yu tightly.

“Huh?”

Not knowing what was going on, she widened her eyes in surprise, then lightly hit my back as if embarrassed.

“People are staring…….”

“I remembered thanks to you.”

“Really?”

Han Ji-yu smiled brightly.

“That’s good.”

I took my son back from her and held him in my arms, saying.

“Shall we go in now?”

“Yeah. It’s getting cold.”

***

“Go in first.”

“Huh? Where are you going, oppa?”

“I think I have to go to the Prosecutor’s Office because something came up. Sorry.”

“Ah, really?”

She looked regretful, but didn’t hold me back because it was work.

“Then I can’t help it.”

“Yeah. It might be late, so go to sleep first.”

“Okay. Be careful.”

“Good night.”

After watching the elevator doors close with Han Ji-yu inside, I returned to the parking lot.

I entered ‘Hiteen’ in Gangnam into the navigation system and immediately stepped on the accelerator.

Hiteen is the establishment where Wolhyang is known to work.

I vividly remember Sung Tae-hyun being drunk right before the Mirs Airlines incident and coaxing me to go with him, saying that Wolhyang from Paju Yujeong was at Hiteen.

Quite a bit of time has passed since then, so I don’t know if she’s still there, but rather than tracking down her whereabouts and then going, it would be better to go directly now and see with my own eyes.

If I can’t find out her whereabouts there, I can track her down through other methods then.

If Moonlight Scent really means Wolhyang, it’s imperative to meet her as quickly as possible, as public resentment has reached its peak due to the Thunderbolt Gate [a major scandal].

***

“Did you come alone?”

As soon as I entered Hiteen, a classy-looking madam greeted me kindly.

“You look familiar… Are you a celebrity?”

When I stopped walking and glared at the madam coldly, she lowered her gaze and tucked her tail [became submissive].

“C, come this way.”

As we approached the room, the madam cautiously asked.

“Do you have a specific girl in mind?”

“Wolhyang.”

“Oh, that girl is in another room right now…….”

The madam gave a fox-like smile.

“I’ll put in a prettier and more shapely girl than Wolhyang. There’s an industry NF [new face] that just came in…….”

Thinking that she was going to talk too long, I took out my wallet from my pocket and showed the madam my prosecutor ID.

“Heuk [gasp]…….”

The madam gasped and took a step back.

Then, she looked at my face and realized that I was Choi Seo-joon, and let out a short exclamation.

“Ah…….”

I folded my wallet and said coldly.

“If you bring her within 10 minutes, I’ll quietly meet Wolhyang and leave, but if you delay any longer, know that your business will be closed as of today.”

The madam swallowed hard and nodded repeatedly.

“I understand.”

She hurriedly closed the door and ran somewhere.

“Hoo.”

I was alone in the room, lost in thought again.

There is a possibility that the future text does not refer to Wolhyang.

There is no guarantee that I interpreted it correctly.

But if it’s Wolhyang, then why?

I had no idea at all.

I didn’t even know of Wolhyang’s existence 9 years ago, and I don’t even know if she was in the entertainment industry or not.

Is it just a meaning to approach Hong Tae-min using Wolhyang?

That won’t be it.

No matter if she is a person in the entertainment industry, it’s like asking her to sacrifice herself sexually.

There is no compensation, so it’s not prostitution, but I don’t want to make others do such a thing or see it.

In the first place, no matter how urgent I am, I would never even consider doing such a thing.

At least I am keeping the justice and good that I think of.

Since I’m sure to think this way, the future text must have been sent to me with a different purpose.

Then what is it for?

I’ve been racking my brain since I got here, but I haven’t come to any conclusions.

I think I’ll have to meet Wolhyang in person to find out.

Knock knock.

Then, a familiar voice was heard along with the knock.

“May I come in?”

It’s Wolhyang.

“Yes, come in.”

The door opened and Wolhyang carefully entered the room.

I don’t know how many years it’s been since I’ve seen her, but her face hasn’t changed much, only her makeup has changed a little.

“It’s been a while, Prosecutor.”

“Please sit down.”

“Yes.”

Seeing that her cheeks are flushed, she must have had quite a few drinks.

“Are you drunk by any chance?”

“No. I had a few drinks, but not that much.”

“That’s a relief.”

“But what brings you here…….”

I held out a photo of Chief Secretary Heo Seung-gun to her, who was looking up at me cautiously.

“Do you know this person?”

Wolhyang looked at the photo carefully, but shook her head.

“No. I’ve seen him on the news, but I’ve never seen him in person.”

“Then…….”

Secondly, I took out a photo of Vice Chairman Hong Tae-min and showed it to her.

“Have you ever seen this person?”

At that moment, her pupils began to shake.

But she gave an unexpected answer.

“No, I don’t know him.”

With those firm words, she put down the picture.

I cautiously called her.

“Ms. Wolhyang.”

“I don’t know him!”

She spat out the words nervously and turned her head.

Seeing her overreact like this, there’s definitely something going on.

It’s clear that they know each other, but it doesn’t seem like they’re on good terms.

If it’s a bad memory for Wolhyang, I was worried about bringing it up, but in the current situation, her help was desperate.

I took a long breath and slowly opened my mouth.

“Do you know about the Thunderbolt incident?”

Wolhyang nodded silently.

“To be honest, the real culprit of that incident is Vice Chairman Hong Tae-min.”

Only then did she raise her head in surprise.

“Really?”

“Yes. It hasn’t been reported in the media, but the actual victim is also pointing to Hong Tae-min as the culprit. This is top secret, so you must not leak it to the outside.”

“Ah…….”

“If you know anything, please tell me. He is a shameless rapist who drugs people and even commits rape. If you help me, I will definitely repay you.”

“…….”

A long silence followed as she seemed to be contemplating.

Only after a long time did Wolhyang open her mouth quietly.

“Because I received a lot of help from the prosecutor…….”

She looked up at me.

“Please don’t tell anyone else. Only the prosecutor, only the prosecutor…….”

“I understand. I’ll keep it a secret.”

However, Wolhyang couldn’t open her mouth easily, so she poured whiskey into a glass and drank several shots straight, then opened her mouth with difficulty.

“It was 9 years ago, when I was twenty years old. When I first came to Seoul, I didn’t know anything about the world and was clueless.”

9 years ago, when I was twenty-eight years old.

It exactly matches the sender of the future text.

“I had a lot of things I wanted to do, but I didn’t have any money. Then, I met that bastard.”

Wolhyang chuckled.

“He told me to have a sponsor relationship [a transactional relationship for financial support]. When I was young, that man looked handsome, and it was a time when I had a lot of sexual desire…….”

She bit her lip as if she felt it was an excuse, and then continued.

“Yes. I actually needed money. He gave me millions of won for sleeping with him a few times a month. I thought that was a good thing back then.”

Wolhyang grabbed her glass again.

“How many months had passed like that? The level that guy wanted gradually increased. Then one time…….”

She emptied her glass again.

“He told me to film a video. He said he would only keep it and would give me twice as much money. In my young mind…… no, I was blinded by money, so I said yes.”

Wolhyang continued without raising her head.

“It was once…… just once. Until then, I thought nothing would happen. After about a year after that, I wanted to live a normal life. I wanted to be honest with others. So I told that man that I would cut off the relationship. But…….”

Wolhyang’s hands began to tremble.

“The video was uploaded on the internet.”

A tear ran down her cheek, and she showed a self-deprecating look as if she was laughing and crying.

“It felt like everyone recognized me even when I was just walking down the street, and my video started circulating in my school classmates’ group chat room. Even my family turned away and pointed fingers at me. They called me a slut and a whore who smeared dirt on my parents’ faces…….”

I couldn’t bring myself to say anything, so I handed her a handkerchief.

“At first, I thought about killing myself. But I didn’t have the courage. And I was wronged. Why do I have to die…….”

She just held the handkerchief tightly and continued.

“Besides, they say that if I die, it will be floating around on the internet under the name of my last work. Because I imagined that my naked body would be circulating on the internet again after I committed suicide…….”

Wolhyang shook her head.

“I couldn’t do it. Because it’s like being beheaded even after death.”

I couldn’t listen to it with a clear mind, so I poured whiskey into a glass and drank it straight.

“Is it that hard to live like others? Why can’t I be happy? What did I do so wrong to receive this punishment?”

Tears streamed down her cheeks.

“So I decided. Let’s get plastic surgery. Let’s live as a completely new person. So I changed my name and borrowed money to get plastic surgery. When I had a new face that I didn’t even know, I felt like I could finally breathe.”

Wolhyang gave herself a sneer.

“But that was only for a moment, and then a new hell unfolded. I borrowed money for plastic surgery with a situation that didn’t even make sense, so of course I couldn’t handle the debt. I was chased by loan sharks and caught at the end of my escape, and they said they would send me abroad. I thought I would never be able to come back to Korea, so in the end…….”

Tears dripped onto her clothes.

“I entered the entertainment industry.”

She said, looking at her body.

“Since then, I haven’t been able to get out of here and I’m in this shape, in this state.”

After a moment of silence, Wolhyang raised her head towards me.

“If I can’t stop Hong Tae-min here, there will be more victims like me. No, maybe it’s happening now. The Thunderbolt victim you mentioned must be suffering from the same pain and anxiety as me…….”

Wolhyang clenched her fist as if she was angry.

“If it wasn’t for that bastard, I wouldn’t have set foot in this dirty entertainment industry, and my life wouldn’t have been ruined like this…….”

A savage energy began to fill her eyes.

“I want to kill that son of a bitch.”

Wolhyang said desperately to me.

“I’ll help you. No, let me help you. I want to bring down that bastard who ruined my life this time.”

She looked at me desperately with eyes that were so bloodshot that tears were pouring out.

Then she grabbed me with both hands and said.

“Please, I beg you. Let me help you ruin that bastard.”