The Inspector Is Getting Promoted! [EN]: Chapter 280

Poisoned or Not (4)

Mid to late December.

Not long after our first meeting, Sung Jin-hyun came to see me again.

Much faster than expected.

“I found it, the money trail.”

“Already?”

“Yes. Would you like to review the data?”

He triumphantly pulled out documents and handed them to me.

I examined the materials Sung Jin-hyun gave me with a skeptical eye.

The results were even more surprising.

It’s much more elaborate than I thought.

The structure is really solid.

At the same time, suspicion arose.

Sung Jin-hyun collected this in two weeks?

If Jang Ha-young or Chief Gong Sang-wook had done it, I might believe it, but it’s impossible for Prosecutor Sung Jin-hyun to gather this kind of data in two weeks.

Then the answer is obvious.

Sung Tae-hyun gave it to him directly.

To make Sung Jin-hyun gain my trust.

When I gave off the impression that I was testing him, he brought it right away so there would be no room for doubt.

It also raises expectations for Sung Jin-hyun.

Of course, the data he brought is likely to be spoiled [compromised or manipulated].

A trap is hidden, so either I get sick from eating it, or it ends inconclusively without reaching Sung Tae-hyun.

Nevertheless, the fact that it looks plausible on the surface is the problem.

Even if he’s his cousin, I didn’t think he would rate Sung Jin-hyun’s work ability this highly.

If he had coldly judged his abilities, he wouldn’t have disguised it as completing this kind of work so quickly.

It’s something you should never do in this industry.

It’s a political arena intertwined with school ties, regional ties, and family ties, but the end of those who don’t adhere to the absolute principle that even relatives should be coldly abandoned if their actual abilities don’t support them is obvious.

“Is the content okay?”

“Yes. It’s not bad.”

I closed the documents and looked at him.

I can already see what Sung Jin-hyun will say if I ask how he collected the data so quickly.

He’ll say he’s been collecting data since the past, or that he had a special source.

“You handled things faster than I thought.”

“Yes. When I have drinks with you, Hyung-nim [an honorific term used to address an older brother or close male friend], you often tell stories. I caught on to that and prepared in advance.”

Of course.

“I see.”

Sung Jin-hyun wore a confident expression.

“Now that there’s enough data, I’ll be on my way…….”

“No.”

I stopped him as he tried to get up.

“You should take this with you.”

When I handed the documents back to Sung Jin-hyun, he looked at me with a flustered face.

“……Yes?”

“Chief Sung should detonate it himself [take the lead in revealing the information].”

“Me?”

“Yes. I only gave instructions, and I couldn’t provide any assistance. It doesn’t make sense for me to receive this data.”

“No. I prepared this to help the Chief Prosecutor…….”

“No.”

I flatly refused.

“I never steal the credit of others.”

Seeing my firm stance, he said cautiously.

“Then…….”

“Chief Sung, detonate it yourself.”

“Sh-Should I do that?”

“Yes.”

I nodded and picked up the intercom.

And so that he couldn’t escape.

“Secretary, please prepare a press conference now. Prosecutor Sung Jin-hyun has important data to announce.”

A look of embarrassment filled Sung Jin-hyun’s face.

He came today to gauge my reaction through the data.

He never imagined that he would be in charge of the case himself, let alone hold a press conference.

But I have no intention of giving him any room to escape.

If you bring spoiled food, you should chew it and digest it yourself. How dare you try to pass it on to me?

Unsurprisingly, Sung Jin-hyun started sweating profusely.

“Are you not feeling well?”

“Ah, it’s not that, it’s just that I’m nervous because it’s my first time holding a press conference…….”

“There’s nothing to worry about. Just say the same things to the camera and reporters as you did to me, and it’s over.”

He pondered for a long time before finally opening his mouth.

“Then, I’ll pretend to handle the small cases first, and then reveal that it’s related to Sung Tae-hyun when the public’s attention is focused and the atmosphere is heightened.”

Then he’ll handle the case before attention is focused on it.

“Yes. Do that.”

I grabbed his hand tightly and said.

“I’m counting on you.”

***

As expected, the case was closed in less than a week.

Since he spoke on a very small scale at the press conference in the first place, it didn’t become a hot topic, and he wouldn’t have thought of making it bigger.

Even though the data seemed plausible at first, the more they investigated, the more it was proven to be unrelated to Sung Tae-hyun.

Of course, that’s because they had designed and prepared it that way from the beginning.

From an expert’s point of view, it was data that gave off the ‘smell’ of being related to the president, but there was no evidence at all, and it was worthless.

Then Sung Jin-hyun came to me with a very disappointed expression.

“I’m sorry. I tried, but it seems there were some flaws because I prepared too hastily.”

I comforted him with a straight face.

“You just didn’t have any luck. You’ll be able to handle it more reliably next time.”

“Thank you.”

Sung Jin-hyun bowed his head and cautiously opened his mouth.

“Ah, and Tae-hyun Hyung-nim contacted me separately when I was working on the case.”

“What did he say?”

“He told me to wrap it up at a reasonable level.”

He deliberately raised his tone to make it seem like he had obtained Sung Tae-hyun’s information.

“It seems certain that he was involved.”

Yes. I guess so.

But it doesn’t mean anything at all.

“That’s a shame.”

I put on a very regretful expression and then.

“But Sung Tae-hyun acting like that means he doesn’t suspect us at all, right?”

“That’s right.”

He lowered his voice and said seriously.

“Then let’s do some real work now.”

I saw him clenching his fist tightly under the table.

The game is slowly being set up.

Sung Tae-hyun must still think that I don’t trust Sung Jin-hyun 100%.

That’s why he’s subtly showing that I tested him.

And he’s putting on a show of starting real work because he passed the test.

In other words, he’s dispelling the suspicions.

Those guys who are suspicious like Sung Tae-hyun will definitely feel uncomfortable and uneasy if I readily accept the spy he sent.

That’s why I’m showing them that I’m accepting him as my own person after going through the process of verifying him.

By going through that process, Sung Tae-hyun himself will get rid of the doubts he has, and at the same time, he will naturally believe that he has successfully deceived Choi Seo-joon.

At least in the psychological warfare, I am one step ahead.

“What should I do?”

Sung Jin-hyun asked with sparkling eyes.

I took out an envelope from the drawer and handed it to him.

“Please investigate these people. Check all their SNS and emails to see if they have colluded with Sung Tae-hyun’s side, or if there are any suspicious points that can be linked to each political party.”

Sung Jin-hyun asked without much suspicion.

“Are they members of the National Assembly?”

“They are ordinary people.”

“…….”

He paused and asked with wide eyes.

“Isn’t that civilian surveillance?”

“If you put it grandly, yes. However, we are checking because there is a possibility that they are involved with politicians and political parties.”

It is civilian surveillance.

Surprise appeared on Sung Jin-hyun’s face.

But I said firmly.

“If it seems difficult, you can stop here. I won’t blame you anymore.”

“No.”

His eyes flashed.

“I will do it.”

There’s no way he’d give up this chance to witness Choi Seo-joon committing a crime right next to him.

“Thank you.”

I got up from my seat.

“From now on, please contact me by phone only. If we meet too often, Sung Tae-hyun’s side will be suspicious.”

“I understand.”

Sung Jin-hyun said with a determined expression.

“I will definitely find something.”

“Please.”

He shook hands firmly with me and left the office.

After confirming that Sung Jin-hyun had taken the envelope and left, Yoon Seol-ha immediately approached me and asked with a worried expression.

“Are you sure it’s okay? If civilian surveillance is revealed, there will definitely be a big backlash.”

“Of course. That’s why I chose it.”

“Yes?”

“There is no evidence left anywhere that I gave the instructions.”

Yoon Seol-ha murmured in a low voice, still worried.

“That’s true, but just in case…….”

“Sung Jin-hyun is Sung Tae-hyun’s blood relative. That’s something that can never be denied, no matter what happens.”

“Then, in the end, the mastermind behind the civilian surveillance is…….”

“Yes. It will be Sung Tae-hyun who ordered it.”

Her pupils widened.

“That’s why you asked for the documents to be manipulated.”

“That’s right.”

To be exact, Sung Tae-hyun will have delivered the documents to me through Sung Jin-hyun and ordered civilian surveillance.

“Of course, the revelation of those documents will coincide with the exposure of civilian surveillance next year.”

“But what if they break the case first? Wouldn’t that put the Chief Prosecutor in trouble? Civilian surveillance is definitely something that the media and citizens will see as a big problem…….”

“That’s not going to happen.”

I was confident about this.

“In the first place, the people I designated to be investigated are the targets of the blacklist set by the current government and the opposition of the MinGuk Party.”

In other words, if the targets of civilian surveillance are revealed, the government will naturally be the number one suspect.

Even if it is revealed that I gave the instructions, I am a member of the Prosecutor’s Office and work for a government agency.

He is also the president’s brother-in-law.

The arrow will naturally point to Sung Tae-hyun.

“Not only that. Most of all…….”

I twisted the corners of my lips bitterly.

“They won’t be able to figure out that I’m going to pin the blame for civilian surveillance on the Blue House [the South Korean presidential residence].”

“Ah!”

Through a series of processes, Sung Tae-hyun will think that I regard Sung Jin-hyun as his own person.

In other words, he will never imagine that I will use what Sung Jin-hyun did to catch Sung Tae-hyun and throw him in jail with him.

Until now, the human Choi Seo-joon has never betrayed my people.

Therefore, instead of questioning the civilian surveillance itself, he will be busy trying to find out what information I am trying to extract through the targets of the civilian surveillance.

Of course, no useful information will come out, so he will wander around for months and eventually fail.

“As expected, it’s difficult for me to understand all of the Chief Prosecutor’s intentions.”

I smiled and said.

“Sung Jin-hyun will bring the evidence that he conducted civilian surveillance to me himself. Seol-ha, all you have to do is file it and prepare for when it’s time to detonate it.”

“I understand, Chief Prosecutor.”

Yoon Seol-ha smiled brightly.

“I can slowly see Sung Tae-hyun collapsing.”

“You should.”

I twisted the corners of my lips lightly.

“We have become sworn enemies, so one of us must disappear, right?”