The Inspector Is Getting Promoted! [EN]: Chapter 98

The Wings (1)

Prime Minister Choi Gyu-hyun, perhaps a little embarrassed that his ambition had been exposed, rephrased his words.

“There’s a saying, ‘When the snipe and clam fight, the fisherman wins’?” [This proverb refers to a situation where two parties are so focused on fighting each other that a third party benefits.]

He nodded, continuing.

“If the clam and the snipe refuse to yield and are caught by a fisherman, the loss falls entirely on them.”

“That’s right.”

“Tell the Min-guk Party that I accept. Let’s keep the remaining election period clean.”

“Understood.”

He smirked.

“The Min-guk Party will welcome it.”

“They should.”

Prime Minister Choi Gyu-hyun wore a satisfied smile.

“Then, I’ll take my leave.”

“Alright, good work….”

As he rose from his seat, he called me back.

“Prosecutor Choi.”

“Yes?”

“If you harbor such wonderful ideas, let’s work together for a long, long time.”

“I will do my best to assist you, Prime Minister.”

***

-Kyung Dong-soo, candidate of the Min-guk Party, certain to win the 20th presidential election!

The TV screen showed Kyung Dong-soo, arms wide open, embracing and cheering with people from his election camp.

“You’ve worked hard, Chief!”

Deputy Chief Prosecutor Lee Doo-hyung, who was next to me, clenched his fist and stood up, while Yoon Seol-ha and Park Cheol-woong, Lee Doo-hyung’s investigators, applauded and cheered.

“It’s finally over.”

I also expressed my joy, reaching out and giving a vigorous high-five.

Success.

It ended cleanly.

Thanks to brokering the truce, no major upsets occurred until the final election.

In the actual vote count, Nam Moon-seok of the Daehan Party surpassed the Manse Party to take second place, but he couldn’t close the gap with Kyung Dong-soo.

The current vote count, with almost all ballots tallied, shows Kyung Dong-soo of the Min-guk Party at 36%, Nam Moon-seok of the Daehan Party at 31%, and Kim No-min of the Manse Party at 28%, which was a surprisingly small difference that gave me a real scare.

There was a chance the situation could have been reversed.

But even a narrow victory is still a victory.

I truly gained wings.

Candidate Kyung Dong-soo… no, as of this moment, he is the President.

Since the presidential seat has been vacant since the impeachment, he will ascend to the presidency directly, without a transition period.

Thus, I have risen as a key figure for President Kyung Dong-soo and, at the same time, succeeded in gaining Choi Gyu-hyun’s trust, giving me the reliable backing of both the blue dragon on the left and the white tiger on the right. [In Korean tradition, the Blue Dragon and White Tiger are guardian spirits, symbolizing powerful support from both sides.]

It’s like giving wings to a tiger.

There was nothing more I needed.

To get promoted from here, I don’t need connections, just experience.

I’ve gotten on the perfect line.

The feeling of having nothing to envy is palpable.

With this level of connections, I wouldn’t fear anyone in Korea trying to touch me.

“Chief, congratulations.”

“Thank you. Deputy Chief Lee, you’ve worked very hard.”

I patted his shoulder and turned to the investigators.

“Seol-ha and Section Chief Park, you’ve also done a great job.”

Yoon Seol-ha brightly gave a thumbs up, and Investigator Park Cheol-woong exclaimed, ‘Kuh!’ and applauded repeatedly.

“Now, you’ll rise beyond the youngest Chief Prosecutor to become the youngest Prosecutor General.”

“Hahahaha, I haven’t even become a Deputy Prosecutor yet. And it’s only been five months since I became a Chief Prosecutor.”

I waved my hand.

“Don’t count your chickens before they hatch.”

“Count my chickens?”

Investigator Park Cheol-woong waggled his eyebrows slyly.

“It’s a premonition.”

I couldn’t help the smile spreading across my face.

The youngest Prosecutor General.

To date, the youngest person to reach the Prosecutor General level in Korea was 46 years old.

Considering I’m thirty-two this year, I could potentially break that record in my early 40s.

The thought alone was delightful.

“Hahaha, let’s stop with the compliments and have a congratulatory party.”

I’d love to go out and have a boisterous drink, but my face is known, so if a picture of me enjoying myself gets posted on social media, it would be a disaster.

Most of the people on Line 1 are probably in a funeral home atmosphere right now. [Line 1 likely refers to a political faction or group that supported the previous administration.]

“Shall we pop some champagne?”

“Sounds good.”

Before I could finish speaking.

Pop!

Yoon Seol-ha shook the opened champagne in the air with a loud noise.

“Hahaha, when did you take that out?”

“I knew this would happen, so I prepared it in advance.”

“You have such a great sense.”

Yoon Seol-ha filled the glass that Investigator Park Cheol-woong handed over with champagne.

“Please understand that we can’t go out today because of other people’s eyes.”

“Of course.”

Yoon Seol-ha slyly shook the champagne again.

“I’m more excited now than I would be in a club.”

I can’t hate this woman.

“Alright, alright, let’s have a toast.”

Deputy Chief Prosecutor Lee Doo-hyung took the investigators and approached me, raising his glass high.

Then, he made a very embarrassing comment.

“To a new era, and Chief Prosecutor Choi Seo-joon’s continued success!”

It was embarrassing, but not entirely unpleasant.

So I immediately echoed the toast.

“Cheers!”

***

May 2020.

Choi Gyu-hyun stepped down from his position as Acting President, and Kyung Dong-soo entered the Blue House [The Blue House is the executive office and official residence of the South Korean president.], launching the new Kyung Dong-soo cabinet.

Choi Gyu-hyun couldn’t show it overtly, but there was a hint of disappointment about leaving the Blue House.

Kyung Dong-soo, in his inaugural address, emphasized his age of 53, appealing to many with the motto of a ‘young Republic of Korea.’

Whatever Choi Gyu-hyun’s purpose, the Nam Moon-seok he chose lost the presidential election, and Line 1 quickly lost its power.

Unlike before, when it was neck and neck with Line 2, they were now in a position to watch their step.

Of course, even in the midst of this, I firmly maintained my position.

No, I gained even greater prestige.

Even though the Special Investigation Department was completely controlled by Line 1, it was clear that President Kyung Dong-soo was strongly supporting it.

Unlike me, other prosecutors belonging to Line 1 had no choice but to shrink back, which made this side feel even larger.

Thanks to that, I was able to stand at the center of the Seoul Central District Prosecutor’s Office, surpassing even the Deputy Prosecutors from Line 1.

Even during the height of the 20th presidential election, I continued to visit Somangwon with Han Ji-yoo every two weeks for volunteer work.

Volunteer work is all about consistency.

Thanks to that, I became close enough to Director Lee Young-mi to exchange personal conversations, and I could feel that Chief Prosecutor Seo Gi-woong’s gaze softened when I occasionally met him.

I’m planning to have Han Ji-yoo donate my money soon, and if that happens, even Chief Prosecutor Seo Gi-woong won’t be able to resist opening his heart.

I thought that a peaceful and beautiful state of affairs would continue without anything more to wish for.

However, there was one person who threw a stone into this calm water.

Poisonous Snake Kang Joong-shik.

The head of the Public Security Department and the right-hand man of the High Prosecutor, who came up from Busan together.

He drew his fangs.

Of course, he didn’t draw them at me, but at a prosecutor in the Criminal Department of the Western District Prosecutor’s Office.

Now, with the new regime in place, it was a time of upheaval, with most district prosecutor’s offices undergoing a reshuffle.

The Seoul Central District Prosecutor’s Office and the Seoul High Prosecutor’s Office didn’t have a change of leadership since the Chief Prosecutors had been replaced earlier this year, but there were significant internal structural changes.

In other district prosecutor’s offices, personnel changes were happening one after another, starting with the Chief Prosecutor, and one junior prosecutor who was climbing the ranks under the new Chief Prosecutor line in the Western District Prosecutor’s Office was caught on Kang Joong-shik’s radar and was cut off.

That prosecutor was about to become a Deputy Chief Prosecutor but was exiled to the provinces.

He tried to hold on, but his own strength wasn’t enough, and he eventually couldn’t overcome it, so he came to me as a last resort.

Of course, he didn’t come recklessly, but approached through an intermediary named Prosecutor Sung Jin-hyun, who was working at the Western District Prosecutor’s Office.

“If you save me, I will do my best.”

Thirty-three years old this year, one year older than me.

His name is Jung Hyun-woo.

Because I took such an elite course, it might not seem like much, but being promoted to Deputy Chief Prosecutor at the age of thirty-three was a decent record among prosecutors.

Most people remain junior prosecutors and never even get a glimpse of promotion before retiring.

But he knew that if he stepped down here, it would be the end, so he didn’t care about age or face.

As evidence, he came down from the sofa and knelt on the floor.

“If you could help me just once, Chief, I would give my life to be loyal.”

He respectfully placed both hands on his knees.

“I have two children at home. My wife’s family also sided with the Manse Party this time and went bankrupt, so there’s nowhere to retreat. If I go down this time, I’ll have to rotate in the provinces and then open a private practice.”

Jung Hyun-woo’s voice was filled with desperation.

To be called ‘Chief’ by a university junior who is also younger than him, and to kneel and appeal to emotions like this, means he has truly given up everything.

I usually don’t waver with sympathy, but I wanted to reach out to him.

However, just because I feel sympathy doesn’t mean I can cloud my cold judgment.

No matter how strong the wings behind me are, this is a time of upheaval.

If I give an opening to those who are constantly looking for opportunities, I might lose the trust of Kyung Dong-soo and Choi Gyu-hyun that I worked so hard to gain.

However, according to Sung Jin-hyun’s assessment, it would be a waste of talent to be exiled to the provinces like this, and his loyalty is unparalleled.

That’s why he’s being cut off by the Poisonous Snake this time.

As such, if I can make him my ally, he will surely be a great help.

After finishing my thoughts, I called him in a cold voice.

“Prosecutor Jung.”

“Yes, Chief.”

“Get up.”

I grabbed his shoulder, pulled him up, and sat him on the sofa.

Prosecutor Jung Hyun-woo looked at me with desperate eyes.

“Let me ask you one thing.”

“Anything, please ask.”

“If I help you, can you be my shadow for the rest of your life?”

“Of course.”

He looked at me with sincere eyes.

“As you may know from Prosecutor Sung Jin-hyun, I never betray once I’m loyal.”

“I understand.”

Prosecutor Jung Hyun-woo’s eyes widened.

“But.”

I added.

“The timing is not good right now.”

“Then….”

“Just go down for a year.”

It wasn’t a lie.

I plan to bring him back up after things have completely stabilized in a year.

However, that’s only if the conditions I want are met.

“If you don’t collapse there in a year and continue to show your presence, I will bring you back.”

“Presence?”

“Yes. There’s something I’d like to ask you to do there.”

“What about my family….”

“It’s one year. If you’re confident, leave your family behind, and if you don’t think you can show your presence, go down with them.”

He decided immediately, as if there was nothing to think about.

“I’ll go alone.”

Without even asking about the destination, he answered immediately.

Prosecutor Jung Hyun-woo’s voice was filled with determination.

“Just tell me what to do.”

“I’ll trust you with it.”

I twisted my lips and placed my hand on the armrest.

“First, you will be going to the Busan District Prosecutor’s Office.”