The Inspector Is Getting Promoted! [EN]: Chapter 44

After changing into the suit I had prepared in the car, I entered the hospital.

It wasn’t a large hospital, so finding the operating room wasn’t difficult.

“Officer Lim Hwan-jung?”

“Are you Mr. Choi Seo-jun?”

“Yes, that’s right. Hello.”

“Why are you so late?”

“I apologize. The traffic was heavy during the commute.”

I greeted the police officer waiting in front of the operating room and handed him my business card.

Officer Lim Hwan-jung, upon receiving my card, couldn’t hide his surprise.

“Ah, you’re a prosecutor?”

“Yes, that’s correct.”

Instantly, the power dynamic shifted.

I had no intention of abusing my position, but his voice, which had been raised due to my late arrival, softened immediately.

“How is Bae Jin-soo’s condition?”

“It’s not good. At first, it didn’t seem serious, but it seems his condition worsened during the surgery.”

“Ah.”

Officer Lim Hwan-jung cautiously asked,

“May I ask what your relationship is?”

“I’ve spoken to him on the phone a few times for the investigation. I’ve met him in person once or twice.”

“Ah, then…”

“I’ve contacted Mr. Bae’s company, so someone from there should be arriving soon.”

“I see.”

He nodded and led me towards the chairs.

“Please, have a seat.”

“Yes, thank you.”

Not long after, a man who introduced himself as the head of the political and social affairs department of Political District No. 1 appeared, and we exchanged greetings.

The police checked some documents with Bae Jin-soo’s superior, said they would return when Bae Jin-soo woke up, and left.

Now, it was just the two of us.

The man, with slightly receding hair, cautiously approached me.

“Hello, Prosecutor. My name is Kang Won-tae.”

“Ah, yes. I’m Choi Seo-jun.”

He looked around and lowered his voice.

“Do you have the materials with you?”

“I have both the original and the copies.”

“Ah, that’s a relief.”

He sighed deeply.

“We’ve invested quite a bit in this… Hehe.”

Department Head Kang Won-tae gave an awkward smile and smoothed back his hair.

“It seems Jin-soo’s condition isn’t very good right now…”

Bae Jin-soo’s life is hanging by a thread, but the department head seems more worried about losing the information.

Tsk tsk.

Even so, a person’s life should be more important.

This guy seems blinded by ambition too.

“I’ll hand over all the materials when Bae Jin-soo wakes up, and even if something happens to Reporter Bae, I’ll proceed with Political District No. 1, so don’t worry.”

“Ah, yes. Thank you.”

Only then did Department Head Kang Won-tae smile and sigh in relief.

“However, as I mentioned before, I’ll decide when the incident breaks.”

“Of course, don’t worry.”

Unlike when we first spoke on the phone, it seems the internal surgery situation is quite bad.

I even heard that I should prepare for the worst.

I thought it wasn’t a big accident since he fell from the bridge, but according to the police, he crashed head-on into the ground next to the river from the overpass.

The front of the car was completely crushed like a tin can, so it seems Bae Jin-soo’s life can’t be guaranteed.

This situation is flowing in a strange way.

***

How much time had passed?

The operating room door opened, and a doctor wearing a mask walked out.

“What’s the result?”

Department Head Kang Won-tae hurriedly approached and asked, and the doctor slowly removed his mask.

The doctor’s expression wasn’t good.

I had a bad feeling.

“I’m very sorry.”

The doctor spoke with a regretful voice.

“Bae Jin-soo passed away at 9:52 AM on Thursday, November 29th.”

“Oh, no.”

Department Head Kang Won-tae slapped his forehead and sighed.

This can’t be happening.

Instantly, all sorts of unpleasant emotions filled my head.

He died.

He died so meaninglessly.

Damn it.

Did I kill him?

It wasn’t wrong to think that he sped because I lied about the police coming, and he died while running away, misunderstanding that the police were chasing him for speeding.

If I hadn’t intervened, Bae Jin-soo might have been alive.

But if that were the case, Wol-hyang would have been murdered by Bae Jin-soo.

Damn it.

I can’t even judge whether I did the right thing or the wrong thing.

Was there no way to save both of them?

Was I too hasty in drawing the picture [planning the scenario]?

Could I have saved both of them if I had drawn a different scenario?

My head is throbbing severely.

Did I move too rashly after seeing the future text [the information about future events]?

I thought about it carefully, but that wasn’t it.

If I hadn’t moved, Wol-hyang would be buried somewhere in the cold ground instead of being on a train to Busan.

It’s not a wrong action.

It’s not a wrong purpose either.

It’s just that it led to an unfortunate result.

If I had to trace the cause and effect, what I did was just one of many causes.

It was his choice to speed, and it was also his fault that he slipped because he was unskilled at driving.

Damn it.

A person died, and I’m blaming him.

Choi Seo-jun, get a grip.

You have to think straight.

Before my head could calm down, my phone rang.

I pressed my temples and went outside, barely regaining my senses, and answered the phone.

“Yes, this is Choi Seo-jun.”

-Prosecutor, we’ve secured the bag.

Yoon Seol-ha’s voice, reporting the successful mission.

-Detective Jung Hyung-joon drew their attention, so the police didn’t notice anything, and we completed the transfer to the detective’s vehicle without any problems.

“Thank you for your hard work. Please thank Detective Jung for me.”

-Yes. Should I take the bag to the district prosecutors’ office?

“No. Take it to Seol-ha’s house. I’ll give you separate instructions later.”

-Understood. I’ll see you later.”

“Yes. I’ll call you.”

After hanging up, I went outside, and white snow began to fall again.

Was it because of the strong wind, or because the cold snow was piling up on my head?

I don’t know which is the reason, but my head slowly began to cool down.

There is such a thing as fate.

One person was destined to die, and if you wanted to save that person, another person had to die.

Today may have been the day of fate.

Bae Jin-soo didn’t actually kill Wol-hyang, but the fact that he knocked her unconscious did happen in reality.

Even that alone makes it undeniable that he is an attempted murderer.

If I hadn’t stopped him, Bae Jin-soo would have succeeded in killing her for sure.

Maybe Wol-hyang would have been forgotten, frozen to death in an unknown mountain.

I can’t weigh whose life is more valuable and precious.

However, if I had to choose between the death of an innocent person by another and the accidental death of the perpetrator, I had to prevent the former.

Let’s think that way.

Let’s assume again.

If I could go back to yesterday, and if the same situation unfolded, would I wait or would I just wait for Wol-hyang’s death? I would make the same choice again.

It’s not a wrong choice.

It’s not about who is more important, but if you look at which is the better choice, I would choose the death of an attempted murderer over the death of an innocent woman.

Even if that’s not justice, that’s the conclusion I’ve come to after taking the prosecutor’s oath and living as a prosecutor for many years.

Let’s not blame ourselves anymore.

Even if I suffer, I can’t help the life that has already left.

To hold Bae Jin-soo’s funeral directly and help him leave in peace.

That’s the best I can do.

***

Bae Jin-soo’s funeral, who had no family, ended quite modestly.

Even though someone close to me died, the world didn’t change.

It’s just that the number of people who knew about what happened at Paju Yojung [a location mentioned earlier in the story] was reduced from three to two.

That was all.

Early December.

I met Detective Jung Hyung-joon, who helped me collect the money from Bae Jin-soo’s car, at my officetel [a studio apartment, often used as an office].

“How have you been?”

“Yes. By the way, Prosecutor, you don’t look too good.”

“Ah, a friend passed away, so I couldn’t sleep properly for the past few days because I was holding a funeral.”

“Oh, I’m sorry to hear that. May he rest in peace.”

“Thank you.”

I bowed my head and handed him the bag that was under the chair.

“This is…”

I gestured to him, his eyes wide.

“Open it.”

He swallowed hard and carefully opened the bag.

“Oh.”

His eyes widened at the yellow bundles of money filling the bag.

“T, this is…”

“This is a token of appreciation for your help with this matter, and a sign of asking for your continued support.”

“How much is this?”

He picked up a bundle of money with a flustered look.

“It’s 250 million won [approximately $190,000 USD].”

“2, 250 million won?”

“Yes. 50 million of that is for the people who helped with the vehicle access this time, and I hope you can use the remaining 200 million to help with the lives of you and the people who help you.”

“Oh, you didn’t have to give me this much…”

I twisted my lips and said.

“It’s a meaning to ask for your continued support.”

“In the future…”

Detective Jung Hyung-joon repeated my words and showed a big smile spreading across his face.

“I will serve you diligently.”

“I’ll ask you from time to time.”

“Just say the word anytime. I’ll drop everything and run.”

“Hahaha, you don’t have to go that far.”

I closed the bag myself and handed it to him.

“Go carefully.”

“Thank you, thank you so much.”

When you work as a detective, you might get some crumbs, but you wouldn’t get this kind of scale.

There’s nothing better than money to buy people.

“Rest well.”

“Yes. Drive safely.”

“I understand.”

Detective Jung Hyung-joon bowed 90 degrees to me before leaving the officetel.

After the door closed, I went to the window of the officetel and stood there.

The lights that decorate the city.

The white snow covering it calmed my mind.

I had been struggling with the Bae Jin-soo case for the past few days, but now my head is somewhat clear.

The self-loathing that had overwhelmed me at first had disappeared, and my mind was gradually stabilizing.

I thought I could go back to my daily life now.

No, I had to go back now.

The Bae Jin-soo case is a pity, but the living must live.

Just as I was about to finish organizing my thoughts and go home.

Bee-beep.

My phone rang.

An unknown number.

I don’t have anyone who would call me at this hour.

I cleared my throat and carefully answered the phone.

“Yes, this is Choi Seo-jun.”

-Hey, Prosecutor Choi. Long time no see.

An informal tone and a low, baritone voice.

I could tell who it was right away.

“Yes, Mr. President.”

-Is the work going well?

“Yes, it is.”

-That’s a relief.

President Kwon Jae-cheol exhaled slowly over the phone and said.

-I have a favor to ask of you this time.

I naturally pictured him twisting up the corners of his mouth in my head.

-How about it, can you solve it for me?