The Wise Cleaning Life Of A Returning Genius Hunter [EN]: Chapter 222

221

221

A café in Pohang.

Section Chief Go Bae-soo, Director Lee Ah-young, and Team Leader Lee Sang-woo met with Congressman Kang Jong-gu there.

They thought they would have to go back up to Seoul, but fortunately, Congressman Kang was in Pohang on a business trip, which saved them the trouble.

Section Chief Go hurriedly approached Congressman Kang and requested an interview, and after some back-and-forth, they were granted 30 minutes.

“So… what do you want to say that’s so important you’re holding up a busy person like me?”

Congressman Kang Jong-gu sounded displeased as he spoke.

Then, Section Chief Go smiled slyly.

“I think you know very well.”

“…….”

“I’m talking about the resort development project. The land that had already been bid on went to GT Construction overnight. No matter how I look at it, it doesn’t seem like a scale that GT Construction or the Congressman could handle alone…….”

Section Chief Go’s eyes flashed.

“Is there someone else backing the Congressman?”

“…Hahaha.”

Congressman Kang Jong-hyuk offered a tight-lipped smile and continued. “What, are you trying to say that I’m working with someone to push this project forward?”

“And someone died in the process.”

“……CEO Joo Se-hoon?”

When Section Chief Go nodded, Congressman Kang burst into laughter.

“That’s strange. I thought that case was closed?”

“…….”

“Has the reinvestigation been approved? I don’t think your station chief would be too happy about that.”

Go Bae-soo bit his lip tightly at the threatening remark.

And then.

“We’re not investigating CEO Joo’s case, but another one.”

Director Lee Ah-young, who was also present, spoke up.

“Another one…?”

“We received a tip that someone is running an illegal hunter organization [referring to individuals with supernatural abilities]. And we suspect that person is also connected to Congressman Kang Jong-gu.”

“…….”

For a fleeting moment, a look of bewilderment crossed his face.

But it was only for a moment.

“What’s the evidence?”

Congressman Kang quickly regained his composure and asked, “If you’re trying to involve me in such a big case, you must have evidence, right?”

“…….”

Section Chief Go Bae-soo looked at Director Lee Ah-young.

But she couldn’t speak easily either.

It was only natural.

There was no concrete evidence in the first place.

It was a case that had been twisted and turned to prevent anyone from finding the truth.

And it wasn’t just one or two people who had been dragged into this.

The fact that Congressman Kang was involved in this was ultimately just a suspicion, not a definitive piece of evidence.

“Seriously, are you allowed to just spout such malicious accusations without any evidence?”

“…….”

“It doesn’t seem like there’s any need to talk further. I’ll be on my way.”

In the end, Congressman Kang Jong-gu got up from his seat.

He was about to leave the café in a hurry when.

“Yes, Director Ha.”

Just then, Director Lee Ah-young’s phone rang.

It was a call from Director Ha Seong-il.

Lee Ah-young quickly put the call on speakerphone so that everyone could hear.

「My sister asked someone in the Strategic Planning Division, and… it’s true.」

Director Ha Seong-il’s voice echoed throughout the café.

「The Future Democratic Party is pushing for it. GT Construction was originally planning to promote it in Busan…….」

He lowered his voice and continued. 「The Future Democratic Party lobbied for it. They asked to promote it in Pohang.」

“Who is it?”

「…Congressman Kang Jong-gu.」

The moment his name was called, Director Lee Ah-young smiled.

「But they said it couldn’t be done because the site had already been bid on, but they said there would be someone to help with that part separately. But who that is…….」

“I’ll look into it from there. Thanks for your hard work.”

「Yes, please contact me if you need anything else.」

After ending the call, everyone looked at Congressman Kang Jong-gu.

His face was already pale.

“How about this, is this enough evidence?”

“……”

“Well, even with just this, it seems like there’s enough reason to put handcuffs on you…….”

Director Lee Ah-young approached Congressman Kang and continued, “While you’re going, wouldn’t it be better to go quietly?”

“…I, I don’t know anything about this.”

In the end, Congressman Kang Jong-gu, cornered, spoke up. “That’s what that person told me to do! He just said he would help; I never thought he would kill someone! Really!”

“So, who is that person?”

“…….”

Congressman Kang swallowed hard.

“Congressman Jung Hoon of the Future Democratic Party…….”

He spat out the name.

At the same time, Director Lee Ah-young’s expression hardened.

She was lost in thought for a moment at the unexpected name.

“Well, let’s talk about the details at the station.”

Soon, Section Chief Go Bae-soo handcuffed Congressman Kang Jong-gu and led him outside.

But at that moment.

Bang—!!!

With a powerful explosion that came from somewhere, the two men disappeared from Director Lee Ah-young’s sight.

***

“What is it?!”

A university hospital in Pohang.

I received a call from Director Lee Ah-young and immediately went to the emergency room, where I found her waiting with an anxious expression.

“An explosion? What on earth… ?”

“I don’t know. The explosion suddenly happened the moment Section Chief Go was about to arrest Congressman Kang…….”

Her gaze turned to two beds.

The beds where two men were lying were covered with all sorts of machines.

Both seemed to be unconscious, and their condition seemed quite serious.

I lowered my voice and asked, “How did you meet Congressman Kang?”

“I couldn’t just sit still, so I was looking into it in my own way. Just in time, CEO Joo’s body was found, and evidence of him using his ability was confirmed, so I persuaded the violent crimes unit chief to investigate the people involved in the illegal hunter organization case. But…….”

She trailed off.

Well, I didn’t think she would really sit still if I told her to, given her personality.

I expected her to move on her own, but…….

‘An explosion at this timing…….’

And Congressman Kang Jong-gu, who was the only link besides Choi Jong-hyuk.

Should I really see this as a coincidence?

“But I did find out. The congressman who helped Congressman Kang…….”

“Congressman Jung Hoon. I know.”

She looked quite surprised at my immediate answer.

“Choi Jong-hyuk was the regional team leader of the hunter organization. I was lucky enough to get in touch with him, and he gave me the name without much difficulty after I scared him a little.”

“So Choi Jong-hyuk was the one who killed CEO Joo…….”

“That’s the situation, but there’s no evidence yet. In the first place, the investigation has been closed, so we can’t dig any further.”

“No.”

At that time, Min Yu-jin, who had a serious expression on her face, spoke up.

“We can’t leave this alone any longer. If we don’t catch the culprit, there will continue to be victims.”

“It’s an order from above, right? Then there’s nothing we can do.”

“I’ll try to persuade the station chief.”

“It’ll be difficult.”

“How do you know that?”

“Well, your station chief…….”

It was the moment I said those words.

“What the hell is going on! Where’s Section Chief Go?”

A well-built middle-aged man entered the emergency room.

He seemed to know Min Yu-jin, and after greeting her familiarly, he headed straight for the beds.

He looked at the two men alternately with a stern expression, then sighed deeply and turned his head.

“I’m Ji Seon-woong, the chief of the Pohang Southern Police Station.”

He introduced himself as he approached me and Lee Ah-young.

“Station chief… ?”

“I contacted him.”

When I asked back with a puzzled expression, Min Yu-jin answered.

Soon, Chief Ji Seon-woong approached me and shook my hand.

“Are you CEO Kim Jun-woo? I heard the story roughly on the way here.”

“Is that so.”

“So… is it certain? That CEO Cho’s death, the operation of the illegal hunter organization, and the resort project are all related.”

“There’s one more thing.”

“What… ?”

I looked at the two men lying in bed and said, “Including the explosion that just happened.”

“…….”

At that moment, Chief Ji Seon-woong’s eyebrows twitched.

To think that the station chief would come in person.

If this is the case, I saved myself the trouble of having to go find him, but there was something I needed to confirm before asking him to reopen the investigation.

I looked him straight in the eye and asked, “Congressman Jung Hoon. It’s the name that one of the illegal organization members told me. That person is at the center of everything. But… doesn’t that name sound familiar?”

“……!”

“Isn’t it the same name as the person who ordered the termination of the investigation into CEO Cho’s case to the station chief?”

When I asked, his face stiffened.

At the same time, the gazes of the violent crimes unit detectives, including Min Yu-jin, turned to him all at once.

Chief Ji Seon-woong began to look around at the people there.

He looked like he was wondering whether to pretend he didn’t know or to confess honestly.

After hesitating for a long time.

“The position of station chief is… quite ambiguous.”

He finally spoke.

“I couldn’t understand it at all when I was younger… but now that I’m in this position, there are relationships that I can’t ignore.”

He sighed deeply and continued. “You’re right. Congressman Jung Hoon… that person ordered the termination of the investigation. He used his influence and issued the order directly, so there was nothing I could do.”

“I understand. With a promotion ahead of you, there’s no reason to make an enemy of an important person. However…….”

I took another step towards him.

“Hasn’t the situation changed now?”

“…….”

“Congressman Jung Hoon’s involvement, which had been hidden, has been revealed, so he will try to cover his tracks. If he leaves any loose ends, all the charges could be exposed.”

“…That’s right.”

“But we don’t have many ways to prove Congressman Jung Hoon’s charges. At best, we’ll be investigating Choi Jong-hyuk and Congressman Kang Jong-gu. But since the investigation has been closed, it’s impossible to catch Choi Jong-hyuk, so what’s left is…….”

“Congressman Kang Jong-gu…….”

Lee Ah-young finished my sentence.

Then the station chief asked with an incredulous expression, “You don’t mean… he tried to eliminate Kang to cover his tracks? No matter what, to target a current member of the National Assembly like that…….”

“Let’s see what actually happened. We’ve now lost all the leads to approach Congressman Jung Hoon. Choi Jong-hyuk will hide again, and Congressman Kang, the only witness, is in that state.”

“Then what now…….”

“However, there is one mistake that Congressman Jung Hoon made.”

I continued in a very serious voice.

“He incurred the station chief’s wrath.”

“……!”

At that moment, Chief Ji Seon-woong’s eyebrows twitched.

“The police were attacked. This wouldn’t have happened in the first place if CEO Cho’s case had been thoroughly investigated.”

“…….”

“So, what are you going to do? Are you going to use your subordinate’s sacrifice as a stepping stone to get ahead, or are you going to fulfill your duty as a police officer with dignity?”

I threw the dice with this.

The rest depends on Chief Ji Seon-woong’s choice.

If he ignores my words, he’ll get some criticism, but he’ll probably have a guaranteed path until retirement.

But on the other side, there’s no reward. Rather, he may have to walk through fire until retirement while protecting his pride.

It was an obvious choice to anyone, but Chief Ji hesitated for a long time.

“……From now on, CEO Cho’s death will be treated as a murder case.”

He turned to the police officers in the emergency room and spoke.

“Yes, yes?”

“Does that mean…….”

“Reopen the investigation.”

Soon, the order I had been waiting for came from his mouth.

“Tie those four cases together and form a special investigation team. Team 2, start over from CEO Cho’s disappearance and the investigation of the people around him! Team 3, track down the illegal hunter organization based on the testimonies of these people, and the intelligence team, find out about the GT Construction lobbying!”

“Yes, yes!”

“Ah, I understand!”

“Don’t spare any support and put in all the available personnel. What are you doing! Move quickly!”

As soon as the station chief’s instructions were given, everyone moved in an orderly fashion.

But Chief Ji Seon-woong still didn’t leave the emergency room.

Looking at his expression, it seemed like he still had something to say to me.

“I… can I ask you for a favor?”

As expected, he looked at me and spoke with difficulty.

“Please do.”

“If it’s really a hunter organization… our guys alone won’t be enough. I was wondering if Karma [referring to Kim Jun-woo’s hunter group] could lend a hand.”

“I’m sorry, but this is a case I’m looking into personally, so it’s difficult to officially deploy an operation team.”

“……Is that so.”

His head went down.

An expression mixed with worry and anxiety.

I smiled at the sight.

“Instead, let’s find out about the employees who are on vacation.”

“……!”

Behind the station chief, who was changing his expression, I immediately took out my cell phone and called that guy.

“Hey, are you busy?”

「No. Are you having fun?」

“Of course, it’s very fun.”

「…….」

Well, that’s not important right now.

“Take a few days off.”

「……Yes?」

“I’ll explain it later, so come to Pohang right now.”

「Yes, yes.」

“Oh, and bring Han Yu-bin with you too.”

Because it’s going to get a little intense.

“Then I’ll have reinforcements…….”

I ended the call and continued.

“Let’s wipe them all out.”