The Inspector Is Getting Promoted! [EN]: Chapter 79

Aftermath (4)

On TV, Han Ji-yu began speaking in a soft voice, a stark contrast to her earlier appearance, which had conveyed both pity and resolve.

-Also, these events have led me to personally admire Prosecutor Choi Seo-jun.

The sound of reporters stirring instantly traveled from beyond the TV.

It wasn’t just my imagination; the camera flashes seemed even more frequent than when I exposed Chief Kang Hyun-soo.

The commotion wasn’t limited to the TV; it was the same in the office.

“Oh my, this is huge.”

“Girl crush.”

Yun Seol-ha and Jo Ara’s eyes sparkled as if they were housewives engrossed in a morning drama.

-While privately nurturing my feelings, I was cast as the lead in the movie , and coincidentally, Prosecutor Choi Seo-jun took on the role of the movie’s advisor. That connection led me to confess my feelings, and we began a serious relationship.

It was insurance.

Very solid insurance.

To prevent any misunderstanding that I might be wrongly associated with her regarding sexual favors, I preemptively revealed that we were dating, nipping such possibilities in the bud.

Frankly, revealing that she and I were dating didn’t matter much to me personally.

However, the problem was that her popularity might decline if she was in a relationship, given her profession.

So, I completely entrusted her with the timing of the announcement, and Han Ji-yu decided to make it public today.

-I would like to clarify that Choi Seo-jun and I have been dating for less than three months, and I am saying this in the hope that today’s press conference will not cause him any harm.

Han Ji-yu bowed as she rose from her seat.

-Thank you.

With that greeting, the press conference ended.

I took my eyes off the TV and returned to my seat.

“Case closed,” Yun Seol-ha said, turning her chair to face me.

“Looks like there’s nothing for us to prepare or do?”

“Yes. I knew it would be somewhat resolved with the press conference, but I didn’t expect it to end this perfectly.”

All that remained was a matter of time.

The Inspection Department wouldn’t even have grounds to investigate me further.

Chief Kang Hyun-soo wouldn’t be let off easy even if he resigned right away.

It was none other than Han Ji-yu, after all.

Even if he resigned, the public would deliver their own judgment in place of the law.

If her fandom rose up, it wouldn’t be surprising if all sorts of attacks against Chief Kang Hyun-soo occurred.

Yun Seol-ha grinned.

“By the way, Prosecutor, you’ve been branded.”

“Pardon?”

“Branded as Han Ji-yu’s boyfriend. That’ll follow you for life, you know?”

Jo Ara, who had been watching with a lecherous gaze, added fuel to the fire.

“The only way to erase that brand is to get married.”

“But then you’ll be branded as her husband.”

“That’s right, that’s right.”

They were going back and forth, creating a whole commotion among themselves.

“Now that you know everything you’re curious about, we’re done talking about Han Ji-yu in the office, right?”

“That’s a bit of a shame.”

“We still have so many questions.”

“Seriously, these people……”

My cellphone vibrated.

The caller was Han Ji-yu.

I thought these two women would cause another uproar if I answered the phone here, so I went outside the office to take the call.

“Hey, Ji-yu. I watched the press conference. You did great.”

-Was it okay?

“Yeah. It must have been hard to tell the truth, but you made a really big decision.”

-No, it was actually a relief. It felt like I was putting down a heavy burden. It’s all thanks to you, Oppa [term of endearment used by a younger woman to an older man].

I could feel a sense of relief in Han Ji-yu’s voice.

I resisted the urge to see her bright face right away.

-Oh, and I thought it might cause problems later if it was revealed that you and I were dating, so I announced it in advance.

“You did well.”

-Oppa, you’re completely stamped now.

“Stamped?”

-Stamped as mine.

Following Yun Seol-ha, even she’s saying embarrassing things.

-Now that you’re completely branded, you can’t cheat, right?

“Haha, I guess so.”

-Huh?

She said in a playful tone.

-You sound a little disappointed?

“Not at all.”

-You worked hard today, so let’s have dinner together.

“Sure. It’ll be a bit late by the time I finish this case, is that okay?”

-Yeah. Should I wait at your place?

“You can. I’ll probably be done around 8.”

-Okay. See you then.

“Bye.”

As I hung up, I noticed in the reflection of the window that a smile was spreading across my face.

I should probably wrap up the Kang Hyun-soo case as soon as possible.

***

Due to Han Ji-yu’s confession and revelation of her relationship just before the premiere, her movie, , which I was an advisor for, unintentionally achieved the pinnacle of noise marketing [using controversy to generate publicity], and it succeeded in surpassing ten million viewers before a month had passed since its release.

What was even more surprising was that her fan base actually increased even after she revealed her relationship.

The love story between her and me was so dramatic and like a drama that many people were cheering for the relationship itself.

Thanks to that, a strange phenomenon occurred where I became more recognized by teenagers and those in their twenties than by people who watched the news.

Chief Kang Hyun-soo was determined to go down completely, so the original plan was disrupted, but Han Ji-yu revealed that she had been forced to give sexual favors, which led to the case being resolved even faster than planned.

Immediately after the press conference, the Cheong Wa Dae [South Korean presidential residence] National Petition and the Seoul Central District Prosecutors’ Office’s Public Communication Room page were completely paralyzed, so Chief Kang Hyun-soo couldn’t hold out for long and resigned in just two days.

Naturally, the two chief prosecutors who were the heads of the Economic Crime Investigation Department and the Financial Crime Special Department, who had been following him, also resigned following Chief Kang Hyun-soo.

Thanks to their departure, interest in SL Group Vice Chairman Park Hyun-jo naturally disappeared, and he was in the perfect environment to realize the chaebol’s [large family-owned business conglomerate] invincibility 3-5 formula [a Korean saying that refers to the belief that chaebols are above the law and can get away with anything after 3-5 years].

Everyone except the three chief prosecutors could laugh, so to speak.

Thanks to this, a strange phenomenon occurred at the Seoul Central District Prosecutors’ Office, where more than three chief prosecutor positions became vacant at once for the first time in 20 years.

Thanks to the vacancy in the special investigation department, the authority of the chief of the special investigation department naturally came down to me.

As things stood, I naturally thought I could move up to chief prosecutor.

The higher-ups were saying that it wasn’t good for three chief prosecutor positions to be vacant for so long, and they were telling me to fill the chief prosecutor positions quickly.

But a rather unwelcome situation arose.

Chief Prosecutor Kim Jae-wook, this guy, whether his animosity toward me had grown due to this incident, was delaying the appointment of the chief prosecutor of the special investigation department.

“I wonder if the chief prosecutor has other ideas?”

Prosecutor Lee Doo-hyung couldn’t hide his worried expression.

“They’ve already brought in chief prosecutors from other district prosecutor’s offices for both the Economic Crime Investigation Department and the Financial Crime Special Department……”

Even if he didn’t say it, I was feeling a sense of crisis.

Out of the three vacancies, two were filled by bringing in people from outside rather than promoting from within.

In other words, this was laying the groundwork to argue that it would be okay to bring in the chief prosecutor of the special investigation department from somewhere else.

“Chief Prosecutor Kim Jae-wook, isn’t this bastard up to something?”

“Maybe.”

I had heard something from Sung Tae-hyun’s cousin, Sung Jin-hyun, so I couldn’t take it lightly.

At that moment, there was a knock on the office door.

“Yes, come in.”

Creak.

A man who didn’t fit in here entered very slowly.

A face I’d never seen before.

However, judging by the meanness in his eyes, I could tell at a glance that he was someone who had been rolling around in this world for several years.

“Oh, aren’t you Prosecutor Choi Seo-jun?”

He spread his hands wide to the sides, feigning delight.

“Who are you?”

“Ah, I haven’t introduced myself yet.”

He wrinkled his nose and said,

“I’m Han Tae-min, the chief prosecutor of the Fair Trade and Corporate Crime Division of the Western District Prosecutors’ Office.”

Han Tae-min!

The guy who had sided with Chief Prosecutor Kim Jae-wook.

I heard from Sung Jin-hyun that he was putting in so much effort to be in charge of the next special investigation department.

Before I could frown, he continued,

“To reintroduce myself, I’m the next chief prosecutor of the Special Investigation Department of the Seoul Central District Prosecutors’ Office. It’ll be a while before the appointment is made, but I should see it as certain since I finished talking with Chief Prosecutor Kim Jae-wook today.”

He wore an arrogant expression, as if the match had already been decided.

“I stopped by to get acquainted before I officially come.”

Chief Prosecutor Kim Jae-wook, this bastard.

Even while watching his right-hand man, Chief Prosecutor Kang Hyun-soo, get cut off, he’s coming out like this.

His liver is really outside his belly [idiom meaning he’s incredibly bold or reckless].

Does he really want to play a chicken game with me?

Is he going to go all the way?

Before I could calm my anger toward Chief Prosecutor Kim Jae-wook, Han Tae-min reached out his hand to me and said,

“Well, you’ll be working under me from now on. Let’s get along well in the future.”

He put a lot of emphasis on the two words ‘under me’.

Has this bastard lost his mind?

At this point, it really feels like he’s trying to fight.

I pushed aside Prosecutor Lee Doo-hyung, who was fidgeting next to me, and approached Han Tae-min.

Of course, I neatly ignored the hand he extended.

“You said you were the chief prosecutor of the Public Investigation Department?”

“For now, yes.”

He smiled slyly.

I became even more enraged by Han Tae-min’s brazen attitude.

I said in a cynical voice,

“Just stay in the Western District Prosecutors’ Office.”

But he didn’t even pretend to listen and shrugged his shoulders.

“Why would I?”

I could tell just by looking at his eyes.

He came to humiliate me.

This bastard came all the way here to make fun of me.

That’s why he came with the excuse of getting acquainted like this before the appointment.

Now that I knew this much, I didn’t need to be humble anymore.

“Are you really coming up here?”

I looked down at him and asked.

“It’s a spot I’ve been eyeing. I can’t guarantee what will happen if you take my spot.”

“Hey now.”

He waved his hand dismissively.

“Why are you being like this to me? I’m just doing what I was told to do from above. I’m coming because I was told to come here, so what do you mean by taking it? It’s not even worth considering. It’s not like I stole it.”

I was beyond dumbfounded.

“So that’s how you’re going to come out?”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

Han Tae-min shrugged his shoulders, chuckling at my threat.

“I came to say hello, but I’m going to catch someone if I’m not careful.”

I clenched my fist tightly and said,

“So don’t say hello and go back.”

Only then did he twist his lips into a smirk.

“Then I’ll see you later.”

He stopped suddenly as he was about to leave and looked at me.

“Ah, wasn’t it a two-year term? When I take office, I’ll just see your face in passing and you’ll be transferred somewhere else.”

Han Tae-min added mockingly.

“Rot in the provinces and come back. Take good care of your beautiful love too.”

He chuckled and left the office.

A typical sycophant style.

A person who does whatever he’s told to do from above.

They’re literally the guys called ‘fake’.

Rather than those small fries, I was even more enraged at Chief Prosecutor Kim Jae-wook, who was trying to promote Han Tae-min to chief prosecutor in order to keep me in check even in this situation where my momentum was soaring.

“Are you okay?”

Prosecutor Lee Doo-hyung, who was next to me, asked worriedly.

“You don’t look good. Please calm down.”

I slowly took a deep breath.

“Doo-hyung.”

“Yes, Senior.”

“I think it’s time to blow the whistle on Chief Prosecutor Kim Jae-wook.”

Only then did Prosecutor Lee Doo-hyung twist his lips and sparkle his eyes.

“I understand. I’ll prepare it right away.”