The Inspector Is Getting Promoted! [EN]: Chapter 309

Sword Dance (4)

With the arrest of former Chief Prosecutor Gwak Ju-hong, the prosecutorial reform entered its final stages.

And that weekend.

I didn’t set an alarm, hoping to sleep in and catch up on rest, but my deep sleep was interrupted by a phone call.

It was early, barely past 7 AM.

Barely able to open my eyes, I picked up my phone.

“Yes, this is Choi Seo-jun.”

My voice was completely hoarse, and a familiar voice responded.

– “Chief Prosecutor, this is Yoon Seol-ha. I’m sorry to wake you.”

“It’s alright. What’s the matter?”

– “Yes. I was getting ready to go out when I saw an article and wanted to let you know.”

She continued cautiously.

– “I just sent you a link. Could you check it?”

“Just a moment.”

I struggled to sit up and checked my phone screen.

I clicked on the link Yoon Seol-ha sent, and an article with the headline “Exclusive!” popped up.

– [Exclusive!] Chief Prosecutor Choi Seo-jun, Affair Allegations↑ Suspected Mistress is Secretary…

– Choi Seo-jun, who has been called the ‘People’s Prosecutor’ while serving as Chief Prosecutor, is facing growing rumors of an affair. Reports have come in that Choi Seo-jun and Yoon Seol-ha, known to be his closest aide, have been seen together around Gangnam. It’s not common for a secretary to fall in love with their boss like in dramas, but it does happen occasionally. However, the fact that a married couple with children is involved in an affair is shocking news. Choi Seo-jun and Yoon Seol-ha have been known to be together every step of the way, but many people never imagined it would lead to an affair. Above all, it is shocking that Choi Seo-jun did not take heed, even after his brother-in-law, former President Seong Tae-hyeon, committed suicide due to an affair. Choi Seo-jun pushed for prosecutorial reform, hoping for a just prosecution, but it seems he couldn’t maintain justice in his own home. One wonders about his definition of justice. This reporter is currently receiving tips related to Choi Seo-jun’s affair. [email protected]

– Choi Young-man, Hanhoe Daily

A hollow laugh escaped me at the imaginative article.

If you’re going to write an article, at least do some proper research.

She’s not my secretary, she’s a public prosecutor.

There are tons of people who don’t know anything about the prosecution and call public prosecutors, investigators, and administrative staff ‘prosecutor’s secretaries’ and get chewed out for it…

And an affair is bull [nonsense].

Me having an affair with Yoon Seol-ha.

I wasn’t even angry.

This wasn’t just unfair, it was downright absurd.

Besides, the article proudly proclaimed “Exclusive!” but it was filled with nothing but speculation without a shred of evidence. I didn’t even know what to say.

And most importantly, the reporter’s news outlet.

Hanhoe Daily.

In short, it’s a newspaper that is in collusion with the Daehan Party, writing articles from their perspective during various elections and even in normal times.

In other words, this article was leaked by the Daehan Party.

“What is going on?”

– “I was getting ready to go out and suddenly saw it, so I canceled my plans.”

She continued, sounding just as dumbfounded.

– “It wouldn’t be so bad if there was something going on. Don’t you think?”

“You’re telling me.”

I kept looking at the article and said.

“Looking at the comments, it seems like we need to clarify something.”

The comment section was a mess.

– It’s apparently a somewhat known fact in political circles.

– Han Ji-yu is crying tears of blood, lol [laughing out loud].

– Wow, I trusted only Choi Seo-jun…

– Guys, what are you even believing? He has Han Ji-yu at home, why would he have an affair?

– They say men will cheat even if they have Kim Tae-hui at home.

– They’re calling it an affair but there isn’t a single photo, how can you believe it?

– Show us the evidence. If there’s no evidence, it’s just speculation.

– But does the Han family have bad luck? Why are their husbands always like this?

– Why are you guys believing this lol? It’s obvious they’re trying to divert attention because the economy is tanking and the president’s approval rating is plummeting! They’re spreading fake news!

– ㄴ I agree. I don’t know why the government is releasing such obvious articles to cover things up, lol.

– Honestly, I thought he could revive the economy since he’s from a business family, but I didn’t know things would get this bad.

– Don’t let the president run for a second term!

– Not only are they covering up issues with celebrity news, but now they’re using prosecutor affair rumors? lol

– Wait, why is Seong Tae-hyeon suddenly being mentioned?

– That’s defamation of the deceased. Let’s not touch Seong Tae-hyeon, honestly.

– Seong Tae-hyeon didn’t die because of an affair.

– Why are you suddenly talking about Seong Tae-hyeon in an article about Choi Seo-jun’s affair?

– It’s all related.

– I’ll wait for Choi Seo-jun’s explanation.

They were all speculating, saying it was true, or that it was an article to cover something up.

– Yes. So, I think we need to have a meeting, but if we meet on the weekend, there will be rumors about an affair or something.

“Well, let me get cleaned up and I’ll call you back. I’m still half asleep.”

– “Alright. I’ll be waiting.”

It seems like I won’t be able to rest even on the weekend.

More than anything, the content itself was something that Han Ji-yu could get very upset about, so I had a headache.

If she misunderstood, it would be very difficult for me in the future.

I pressed my temples, and Han Ji-yu, who was next to me, asked.

“What’s wrong? Is something the matter?”

“I think you should see this too.”

“An article?”

“Yeah.”

She rubbed her eyes and sat up.

“What article is it?”

I showed Han Ji-yu the article, and after reading a few lines, she burst out laughing.

“Hahaha! What is this?”

I felt like a criminal for no reason and said cautiously.

“You know it’s not true, right?”

“Of course. You don’t need to explain it to me.”

Han Ji-yu leaned on my arm and said.

“There’s no way someone so devoted to his family would have an affair. You’re always working; you don’t even have time to have an affair.”

“Thank you for believing me.”

“It’s obvious.”

Looking at her expression, she was sincere.

Not even a hint of suspicion or worry.

Han Ji-yu said with a gentle smile.

“Instead of this, why don’t you tell Seol-ha to come over?”

“Huh?”

“You said you needed to have a meeting.”

“Wouldn’t it be more dangerous for her to come to the house?”

“What does it matter if I’m here? Tell her to come over for a meal. What if you two meet outside and get photographed again, and they say it’s an affair?”

She got out of bed and said.

“I know more about this kind of thing because of the paparazzi that follow celebrities. Do that.”

Han Ji-yu was right.

In this situation, meeting outside would easily attract attention and cause misunderstandings.

The same goes for the prosecutor’s office. It would be troublesome if I suddenly went there on a weekend when I don’t usually go to work and got photographed by reporters lurking at the entrance.

“Then I’ll call her.”

“Okay. I should prepare something delicious.”

***

“What are we going to do about our Seol-ha not being able to get married?”

Han Ji-yu continued with a sorry face.

“It seems like my husband is blocking her marriage prospects. I’m sorry.”

“It’s alright. I wasn’t planning on getting married anyway. Rather, I’m sorry that you’re caught up in a controversy because of me.”

Yoon Seol-ha lowered her head and continued in a composed tone.

“There really wasn’t anything to worry about…”

“Don’t say you’re sorry. It’s not your fault.”

Han Ji-yu comforted her in a gentle voice.

“Besides, an article related to it has already been posted, so it will be resolved soon.”

Before calling Yoon Seol-ha, I had Park Su-hyeong release a statement through a reporter that the affair article was completely unfounded.

There was no evidence, so there wasn’t much to clarify, but it was to avoid suspicion from growing if we dragged it out.

“Thank you for understanding.”

Han Ji-yu smiled lightly and said casually.

“Instead of this, I think it would be resolved quickly if I posted a photo on my SNS [social networking service].”

Posting a photo of the three of us would definitely help.

Before I could say anything, Han Ji-yu had already taken out her phone and turned on the camera app.

Click-.

She uploaded it to her SNS in less than 5 minutes.

Not as a clarification, but as an update.

She even made it seem like it was happening in real-time.

She even added that she is always working hard by my side.

Considering Han Ji-yu’s millions of followers, the affair rumors would soon spread everywhere and die down.

The immediate fire was put out.

Actually, it’s a bit much to call it a fire… more like a matchstick was lit.

“You two said you needed to have a meeting, right?”

Han Ji-yu subtly made way for us.

“Sort things out well. I’m going to go check on Ji-hoon for a bit.”

She was worried that if she was there, we wouldn’t be able to have a proper strategy meeting.

I was grateful that she didn’t misunderstand in this situation and even showed consideration.

Yoon Seol-ha also nodded.

“Thank you, ma’am.”

“You’re welcome. You two talk.”

Only after Han Ji-yu went into her son’s room did we begin to talk in earnest.

“Did you check the news outlet?”

“Yes. Seeing that it came from Hanhoe Daily, it seems certain that the Daehan Party is behind it…”

What Yoon Seol-ha and I were worried about wasn’t just this article.

Depending on who was behind it, most people know that they can’t just try to screw me over with false affair rumors.

If a big shot from the Daehan Party was involved, there’s a high possibility that they’re planning something, using this article as a stepping stone.

“I also made some guesses on the way here.”

Yoon Seol-ha carefully opened her mouth.

“I suspect it might be Min Hyeong-taek.”

“Former Gyeonggi Province Governor Min Hyeong-taek?”

“Yes. The Daehan Party hasn’t shown any signs of trying to directly target you in recent months, have they?”

That was true.

Thanks to the fact that the world economy had problems as soon as Shin Dong-hyeon took office, and the domestic economy was recording negative growth, the president’s and the ruling party’s approval ratings were falling even if they did nothing, and the Daehan Party was growing.

In this situation, there was no need for them to step forward and bother me.

“But if Min Hyeong-taek stepped in, it’s a slightly different story…”

I remembered him threatening me over the phone a few days ago.

But I thought it was just empty bluster without anything behind it…

“Didn’t Min Hyeong-taek misunderstand us before?”

He even put his hand on Yoon Seol-ha’s shoulder and stroked it, so I acted that way on purpose to stop him from making a fool of himself.

Everything was starting to fit together.

If the Daehan Party moved, it might be for something in the future, but if they thought the affair was real, it would be a different story.

If it was a real affair, it would be enough to bring me down.

In short, he was upset that I didn’t let him fall into the abyss and wanted to screw me over, but he couldn’t bring up the Olympics because of his son, so he was trying to screw me over with the affair he knew about.

It was literally showing that even a worm squirms when stepped on.

But even if it squirms, a worm is still a worm.

It can’t harm people.

Yoon Seol-ha asked cautiously.

“How are you going to move? If we leave it alone, other Daehan Party guys will crawl up again.”

I slowly nodded.

“If a worm squirms, you have to stomp on it and kill it completely. So it can’t squirm.”

I roughly twisted the corners of my mouth.

“Contact the Hanhoe Daily reporter who wrote the affair article. Tell them I have something to report.”