The Inspector Is Getting Promoted! [EN]: Chapter 274

My mind started racing.

Only one opponent.

I’d heard Prosecutor Gong Sang-wook was skilled in martial arts, so if it was just hand-to-hand combat, I could subdue him alone.

The problem was the possibility that he might be hiding a weapon or have other accomplices.

In that case, I’d have to either follow Gong Sang-wook while alerting the team below or rush down and report to the police.

But that wasn’t the right answer.

Others might think it’s a leisurely thought in this urgent situation, but this was an opportunity.

A chance that the Future Text had foreseen and created for me.

A golden opportunity to not only completely win over the Minister of Justice but also to captivate Deputy Chief Prosecutor Min Ho-sun, who was with him.

I had to think carefully.

I needed to use this incident to strengthen my relationship with them even further.

If I called people or the police right now, I might be able to save the child safely, but Minister Park Chang-sik would just be relieved and wouldn’t think it was thanks to me.

So, I had to make the situation more dramatic.

If I stepped in and saved the child, Minister Park Chang-sik would be completely and eternally on my side, unless I held a knife to his throat.

Of course, the child’s safety was the top priority. I couldn’t deny that as a father with a son, a young child’s life was more important than my career advancement.

If the situation became urgent, I would step forward before Minister Park Chang-sik or anyone else.

However, the fact that the Future Text had informed me meant that I should seize this opportunity for advancement.

In other words, there was a high probability that this situation wouldn’t escalate to the extreme.

That’s always been the case.

Gong Sang-wook wasn’t the type to act recklessly, so I should wait until I heard from him.

Then, I had to act flexibly depending on the situation.

“Hoo.”

I erased all the emotions from my face and returned to my poker face.

I hadn’t seen anything.

Not at all.

After walking down for a while and arriving near the accommodation, the group was coming back up towards me with slightly worried faces.

“Chief Prosecutor Choi!”

The first one to call me was Go Ah-mi, Minister Park Chang-sik’s daughter-in-law and Park Gyu-tae’s mother.

Her eyes were anxiously trembling.

“Have you seen our Gyu-tae by any chance?”

“Gyu-tae?”

“Yes. I definitely saw him coming down with the other kids on the sled, but he hasn’t come down yet.”

“I didn’t see him on the way….”

“……Ah.”

A sense of foreboding spread across Go Ah-mi’s face.

“It’s getting dark, what should we do…….”

“Hasn’t he come down yet?”

“No. The kids said they definitely saw him start sledding down.”

Behind her, Minister Park Chang-sik and the other adults, including Han Ji-yu, were coming up together.

“Chief Prosecutor Choi, have you seen my grandson?”

“I’ll go look for him now.”

“Hmph…….”

Minister Park Chang-sik also hurried his steps with an uneasy expression.

Deputy Chief Min Ho-sun, realizing the seriousness of the situation, contacted the security office and raised his voice.

“A child has disappeared. Send all the staff out right now!”

Beep, beep.

A text message arrived just in time.

-Sender: Prosecutor Gong Sang-wook.

-The culprit has entered a hideout near the ski resort. It has been confirmed that there are no accomplices, and the culprit doesn’t seem like he will harm the child, but the culprit doesn’t seem mentally stable, so I will continue to monitor him. I will mark the location with GPS.

-Location information sent by ‘Prosecutor Gong Sang-wook.’

Not far from here.

However, it wasn’t inside the ski resort but outside, and Gong Sang-wook used the word ‘hideout,’ so it wouldn’t be easy to find.

As I closed my phone, Han Ji-yu approached and grabbed my arm.

“Oppa, did you see Gyu-tae on the sledding line when you came down?”

“I thought the kids had gone down first, so I didn’t pay attention.”

“What should we do? It seems like the child is lost…….”

“What about Ji-hoon?”

“The kids are all waiting at the accommodation. Deputy Chief Min’s wife is taking care of them, so you don’t have to worry.”

“Okay. Let’s go find him.”

“Okay.”

***

The day was completely dark.

It even started snowing, so the temperature dropped rapidly, and the visibility narrowed.

We searched for a long time and tried to search more, but the staff persuaded us that we could be in danger, so we eventually returned to the accommodation.

Everyone’s faces were filled with worry and anxiety.

Among them, the most serious was.

“He must be cold…….”

Park Gyu-tae’s mother, Minister Park Chang-sik’s daughter-in-law, was pacing back and forth, unable to take her eyes off the window.

“We’ll find him soon. The staff are searching the entire ski resort…….”

“It’s already past 11 o’clock.”

She was holding onto her husband with a face and voice that seemed like she was about to cry.

Minister Park Chang-sik couldn’t express it, but he was just sighing deeply.

Amidst all these worries, I was the only one with a light heart.

Of course, on the outside, I was acting worried, unable to open my mouth and lost in thought.

But inside, I was lightly waiting for the right timing to speak.

The reason was simple.

I had already received a message from Prosecutor Gong Sang-wook that the situation had been resolved.

-Sender: Prosecutor Gong Sang-wook

-I saw an opening, so I went in and subdued the culprit and secured the child’s safety. The child seems to be deeply asleep from the drugs, so you can come slowly.

It had been more than two hours since the text message arrived.

Combining it with the previous text message he sent, the situation was roughly as follows.

About 30 minutes after the culprit took the child and hid in the hideout.

When the child, who had fainted from shock, woke up and started crying, the culprit tried to put the child to sleep using drugs.

Gong Sang-wook, who saw this through the window, jumped in and subdued the culprit.

However, the child was already asleep, so he didn’t see it.

Gong Sang-wook was also sheltering indoors, so he wasn’t shivering from the cold, so there was no time limit, but the snow outside was getting heavier, so I had to slowly find the timing to go out.

If a blizzard started, we could be trapped here, and Gong Sang-wook could be in danger.

At that moment, Gong Sang-wook’s youngest daughter came out of the room, rubbing her eyes while holding a rabbit doll.

“Mom.”

“Oh, honey. What’s wrong?”

“Where’s Daddy?”

“Huh?”

Only then did Gong Sang-wook’s wife look around and frown.

She was so focused on Minister Park Chang-sik’s grandson disappearing that she didn’t even notice her husband wasn’t there.

Now was the perfect timing.

I took out my phone and shouted.

“Minister!”

As Han Ji-yu taught me, I raised my eyebrows, widened my eyes, and raised my voice tone.

“I just received a call from Prosecutor Gong Sang-wook. He said he found the place where the culprit is hiding with Gyu-tae.”

“What?”

Minister Park Chang-sik jumped up from his seat.

“Really?”

Everyone else’s attention was focused on me.

“Yes. I think we can go right now.”

***

A two-story cabin not far beyond the ski resort fence.

The first floor was dark, but the lights on the second floor were brightly lit.

Unlike the first floor, where some moonlight was coming in, the second floor had curtains drawn, so the inside was not visible at all.

The silhouette that was visible was also standing still without moving.

“Where’s Prosecutor Gong?”

“He said he’s infiltrated the first floor.”

“Has there been any contact from the police yet?”

“They said it’ll take a little longer because of the snow.”

“Damn it.”

Minister Park Chang-sik cursed.

Before the silence could fade, I said as if I had made up my mind.

“I’ll go in.”

“Chief Prosecutor Choi?”

“Yes. He said there’s only one culprit, so if I go in with Prosecutor Gong, we can subdue him.”

This was a scenario that Prosecutor Gong had created.

I don’t know why, but he left a message saying I should come in alone first.

“I’ll bring him back safely.”

Deputy Chief Prosecutor, who was over 50, and Park Chang-sik, who was over sixty, couldn’t dare to enter.

They had no information about the culprit.

“Are you sure you’ll be okay?”

“Yes.”

Han Ji-yu unexpectedly let me go easily.

“I’ll be back soon.”

I entered the cabin without making a sound.

When I opened the door and went inside, there were piles of junk stacked up like mountains.

It seemed like the first floor was mostly used as a warehouse.

After barely finishing dark adaptation, I found the stairs with difficulty and stood in front of them.

Then, in a small voice.

“Prosecutor Gong. It’s me.”

Soon, I heard a rustling sound, and at the same time, a black silhouette peeked out from above.

“Chief Prosecutor?”

“Phew…….”

I let out a sigh of relief and climbed up the stairs.

The second floor felt like a small attic. However, various living products were scattered haphazardly, as if to prove that they ate, slept, and lived here.

“Where’s the culprit?”

“I’ve completely subdued him.”

When I looked at where he was pointing, I saw a long-haired man tied up tightly with ropes.

Thanks to his eyes being covered, I couldn’t tell how much time had passed.

“He’s been unconscious and hasn’t woken up yet.”

Then it would be even easier to deceive in terms of time.

Prosecutor Gong Sang-wook turned his gaze towards the old sofa.

“Gyu-tae is safe. I don’t know what he was trying to do, though.”

“You’ve worked hard, Prosecutor Gong. Good job.”

“No, I just followed the Chief Prosecutor’s instructions.”

“You did it all, what…….”

“Ah, and.”

He smiled and pointed his chin at the culprit.

“Let’s say the Chief Prosecutor subdued that guy.”

“What?”

I frowned.

“Do you see me as someone who steals achievements from my juniors?”

“That’s not it.”

Prosecutor Gong Sang-wook strongly denied it.

“If the Chief Prosecutor does well, you’ll lead me, won’t you? Above all, I know that today’s meeting with Minister Park Chang-sik is very important…….”

He continued slyly.

“It’s better for me if the Chief Prosecutor catches the Minister’s eye than if I’m the one who’s active.”

So, that’s why he told me to come in first.

Prosecutor Gong Sang-wook, his social skills are amazing.

No, I should say he knows how to steal people’s hearts properly.

I don’t like stealing achievements, but as he said, in this situation, it’s helpful to me and him if I’m the one who’s active.

I also won’t forget Prosecutor Gong Sang-wook’s contribution.

“Okay. I’ll definitely reward you.”

“Thank you.”

Prosecutor Gong Sang-wook bowed his head and rummaged through his pockets.

Then, he took out a kitchen knife hidden in his waist, made the culprit hold it once to get his fingerprints on it, and dropped it on the ground.

“What are you doing?”

“Isn’t it more dramatic this way?”

He smiled slyly and winked.

“Chief Prosecutor Choi Seo-joon subduing a knife-wielding culprit and saving the Minister’s grandson. Wouldn’t Minister Park Chang-sik fall for that?”

“Huh…… Where did the knife come from?”

“I picked it up from the bottom.”

The corners of Prosecutor Gong Sang-wook’s lips turned up.

I wondered what he was doing hiding here for two hours, but it seems he was researching how to create this situation.

“It’s going to be a little noisy for a while.”

Prosecutor Gong Sang-wook raised his eyebrows.

He stomped on the floor and hit the wall with metal several times to make a loud noise.

The loud banging echoed loudly not only inside but also outside.

It seemed like he was trying to make it look like I went in and subdued him.

After about a minute of silence.

“Then I’ll go out.”

He immediately ran down the stairs.