The Inspector Is Getting Promoted! [EN]: Chapter 337

“They met?”

“Yes. It was quite a long meeting, about two hours.”

While it was true that the campaign rallies had to be suspended due to the rain, the fact that Candidate Seo Hyun-mi and Shin Dong-hyun had met was a different matter altogether.

“The location was quite discreet as well. There were no media outlets tailing them. We wouldn’t have known if we hadn’t planted someone within the Manse Party.”

They were moving deliberately.

Moreover, even though several hours had passed since dawn, Shin Dong-hyun showed no sign of telling me about it.

In the end, there was only one answer.

That bastard was planning to stab me in the back.

Probably a candidate merger.

The very thing I feared was about to become reality.

It’s not that I didn’t anticipate this situation at all.

However, I cannot control the human psyche as it twists due to changing approval ratings and desires, so the best I can do is act accordingly.

I had already prepared countermeasures.

One of them being Prosecutor Gong Sang-wook.

“Looks like things are going to get complicated.”

Shin Dong-hyun’s 35% approval rating plus Manse Party candidate Seo Hyun-mi’s 16% adds up to 51%.

Purely based on calculations, that’s higher than my 49%.

Even considering defectors, Shin Dong-hyun must have thought it was a fight worth trying.

Until now, the Manse Party had never merged candidates, but considering Seo Hyun-mi’s animosity towards me in this election, there was a good chance of a merger.

That’s why he must have made a gamble.

The only consolation was that Candidate Kim Kang-jin had already withdrawn and was supporting me.

If Shin Dong-hyun had stabbed me in the back first, Candidate Kim Kang-jin might not have supported me either.

Besides, there are still 7 days left until the election.

Seven days is enough time to crush the opponent or completely dismantle their support base.

However, I must not forget that it is also enough time for Shin Dong-hyun to attack me.

“Go Pro, got a cigarette?”

“Yes.”

I took the cigarette that Go Joong-hyuk offered and put it in my mouth.

A cigarette I had quit for over a month due to my image as a presidential candidate.

I lit it and took a deep drag.

The nicotine rushing in made my head spin.

“Hoo….”

As I exhaled, the cigarette smoke thickly veiled my vision.

Closing my eyes and clearing my head, the headache that had been nagging me since morning gradually subsided.

It seemed that my sensitivity had reached its peak due to worrying about where Shin Dong-hyun might jump.

Of course, the headache didn’t completely disappear.

Nevertheless, my mind slowly cleared.

Right.

It would be better to face a 1:1 showdown than a 2:1 fight in a three-way race.

I can definitely do this.

I put out the cigarette and took out my phone to call Prosecutor Gong Sang-wook.

-Yes, Candidate.

“Can you release all the data you showed me yesterday?”

-If you say the word, I can do it right now.

“Have it ready tonight. Release it as soon as I signal.”

-Understood. I’ll have it perfectly prepared!

***

Politics is not easy.

Shin Dong-hyun made me so angry that I wanted to go up to Seoul right now and beat him to a pulp, but while campaigning, I have to meet with citizens and put on a bright smile.

“Choi Seo-joon, candidate number 4.”

I shouted with a big smile.

“I will create a healthy Republic of Korea. Please give me your support!”

“Choi Seo-joon! Choi Seo-joon!”

“Thank you, thank you! I will dedicate myself to the citizens of Honam!”

“Waaaah!”

Assemblyman Kim Kang-jin also spared no praise for me and joined the campaign.

“Everyone, this is national prosecutor Choi Seo-joon. What more needs to be said? Besides, this friend’s hometown is Gwangju!”

I also shouted energetically.

“I was born and raised in Gwangju. My first assignment as a prosecutor was also in Gwangju. My father also lives in Gwangju. Choi Seo-joon, the son of Gwangju! I will do everything for Gwangju….”

From Gwangju.

Moreover, a candidate verified and supported by Kim Kang-jin, the leader of the Daehan Party.

Thanks to this, the response in the Bitgoeul market was beyond my expectations.

It felt like I was receiving energy.

“Thank you, thank you!”

But in the middle of the campaign.

Go Joong-hyuk urgently came to find me.

“Candidate, there’s something you need to check.”

He whispered in a serious voice.

“It looks like you need to go up to Seoul.”

“There’s still campaign time left, isn’t there?”

“Shin Dong-hyun has called a press conference.”

“What?”

The press conference time I had agreed upon was 9 PM.

Even if he were to announce a merger with the Manse Party, I thought he would do it then, but he’s going to announce the merger while I’m campaigning, and that too in the Bitgoeul market, the heart of the Daehan Party.

Beyond stabbing me in the back, he’s openly telling me to screw myself over.

He’s going to take this to the end.

I suppressed my rising anger and spoke calmly.

“Continue the campaign for now. Going now would make me look rushed and foolish.”

“Understood.”

I gritted my teeth again and smiled.

“Choi Seo-joon, candidate number 4, son of Honam!”

***

“Hello, this is Seo Hyun-mi of the Manse Party.”

The person who opened the press conference today was Shin Dong-hyun of the Minguk Party.

However, Shin Dong-hyun simply stepped back from the podium, clasped his hands, and waited quietly.

In this unexpected situation and unforeseen combination, the reporters began to press the shutter, doubting their eyes.

“I stand here as the leader of the Manse Party and a presidential candidate.”

She abandoned her characteristic sharp tone and began to speak calmly.

“For over 20 years, I have been involved with the Manse Party, leading its development. And I challenged the presidential election to create the ideal society that the Manse Party envisions. And through several discussions and interviews, I learned about the direction that Minguk Party President Shin Dong-hyun, who is behind me, plans for the Republic of Korea to take over the next four years.”

Seo Hyun-mi used the title “President” instead of “candidate” for Shin Dong-hyun.

This was also to instill the image of a president.

“This was very close to the ideal that the Manse Party envisions. And President Shin Dong-hyun has determined that if he is elected once more, leveraging his experience in the Blue House [the executive office and official residence of the South Korean president] over the past four years, he will be able to realize all of these political beliefs.”

She slowly raised her head.

“After much deliberation, the Manse Party and I have concluded that the only person who can achieve a society where the people are happiest is Candidate Shin Dong-hyun!”

Seo Hyun-mi put strength into her voice and shouted.

“Therefore, I, Seo Hyun-mi, hereby announce that I am withdrawing from the presidential candidacy and will support Candidate Shin Dong-hyun to help Candidate Shin Dong-hyun, number 1, get elected.”

She came out to the side of the podium, bowed, and passed the baton to Shin Dong-hyun.

Shin Dong-hyun immediately approached the microphone and opened his mouth.

“Hello, this is Shin Dong-hyun.”

The hands of the reporters gathered at the conference became even faster.

“First of all, I would like to express my gratitude to Candidate Seo Hyun-mi and the members of the Manse Party for trusting me and making concessions.”

He gave a brief greeting and continued.

“Please think about the next four years, not just the past four years. I will skillfully lead the Republic of Korea with the knowledge and political experience I have gained through my experiences. I will do my best to further develop the domestic economy to make Korea a prosperous nation, and I will create a society where ‘equality’ takes precedence over ‘justice.’”

Shin Dong-hyun began to subtly criticize Choi Seo-joon as planned.

“Politics must be done by someone who has experience in politics. Starting with the head of SV Group, I know how to deal with economic and international affairs. In addition, I have gradually built my career from being a member of the National Assembly, and as president, I have handled all diplomatic issues well for four years. On the other hand, if a candidate with no experience, not even a member of the National Assembly, rises to the position of president, the head of state, it would be like an immature child shaking the country….”

He didn’t stop at an appropriate level.

“Also, I received a proposal for a merger from Candidate Choi Seo-joon. This was after the Daehan Party had already declared its support. From my point of view, this action was taken as nothing less than an attempt to openly raise his approval rating to 80% and carry out a dictatorship. So I….”

Shin Dong-hyun waged a final battle against Choi Seo-joon.

***

“What a son of a bitch!”

I had expected the merger, but seeing it in person made me curse without realizing it.

He was not simply announcing a merger with the Manse Party, but openly targeting the word ‘justice’ that I used during the merger with Assemblyman Kim Kang-jin, and belittling my policies.

In addition, he was mocking me as an ‘immature child,’ pointing out that I had no political experience.

To be frank, it’s true that I don’t have an official career as a member of the National Assembly, but I did all sorts of tightrope walking during my time as a prosecutor, and it’s true that I wielded political power.

What’s even more absurd is that all of Shin Dong-hyun’s so-called political experience was something I helped him build.

That’s not all.

He touched on a taboo that should not have been touched.

Even if he stabbed me in the back, he shouldn’t have said that I proposed the merger.

This would shake even the people in the Daehan Party who support me.

But the fact that he brought this up at the press conference means, in a word.

He’s going to take this to the end.

He wouldn’t have said that unless he was prepared to die.

This is a chicken game [a situation in which two parties engage in a reckless or dangerous contest, where neither wants to yield].

Either I die or Shin Dong-hyun dies.

The survivor will definitely kill the other.

“Candidate Choi, are you okay?”

Kim Kang-jin asked cautiously, as if worried.

“If they come out like this, they won’t be easy to deal with.”

“I know.”

I clenched my fist tightly.

“I’ve been preparing countermeasures for a long time, just in case.”

It’s not that I didn’t have anything to diss him with, so I was holding back on the negative attacks.

I was holding back to finish things nicely.

I was holding back to appease and coax him, thinking about a bloodless entry.

But Shin Dong-hyun broke the suppressor first.

Now there’s no need to look back.

“There’s no choice now.”

I gritted my teeth and said.

“I have no choice but to get elected.”

There is only one way to survive.

Certainly.

No matter what.

No matter what it takes.

I must win this presidential election.

I have to.

I immediately took out my cell phone.

Then I called Prosecutor Gong Sang-wook.

-Yes, Candidate.

“Start releasing them sequentially right now.”

-Understood!

After pressing the end call button, I immediately called Minnow.

“Get ready to post the article right away. The data will be sent over in 10 minutes.”

-Yes!

Candidate Kim Kang-jin also closed his eyes and nodded.

“The Daehan Party will have data that it has gathered. I’ll pass it all on to you.”

“Thank you.”

“Now that things have come to this, I have no way out either. You must be elected.”

I replied in a determined voice.

“I will definitely do it.”