The inspector is getting promoted!

-Do you agree that the chaebols are also accomplices?

I’m sorry. In the future, better…

-Don’t beat around the bush, do you agree that the conglomerates are also accomplices as the people are shouting?

We are taking the public’s opinion very seriously and reflecting on it.

-Can we accept it as an admission of being an accomplice?

-I will strive to show you a better version of myself.

-Please say a word of apology to the people.

-I am reflecting on many things due to this incident. I sincerely apologize for causing concern to the public due to this unfortunate incident.

– Will you promise to break the ties between politics and business?

It seems like I have done many thoughtless things. Looking back on everything so far…

I asked if they would break the link between politics and business.

-From now on, I will not yield to any pressure or coercion and will strive to consistently present the image of a good company.

-Do you mean you’re going to break the link between politics and business?

-Yes, I will hang up now.

Cool.

Damn, that’s cool.

The head of the WG Group, which is said to be the most successful in Korea, can’t even refute that man and is trembling in fear.

The gold badge hanging from the collar.

That badge explains the man’s position.

That’s power.

The one thing that cannot be defeated by the fists or money wielded by local bullies or delinquents is power.

That is capturing modern society.

The top of the top.

The best of the best.

That’s exactly what power is.

True power is not money, but authority.

Money simply attracts more money, but power naturally attracts money.

I don’t want to become a member of the National Assembly.

If it’s just about wielding power, I’d do anything.

The power to properly hold and shake people in your hands.

However, being a member of the National Assembly or the president is still a story too far removed from me.

What can I do?

What paths do I have to choose from right now?

I don’t want to be satisfied with just being a city councilor or mayor in the local area.

We need to move up to a higher level.

Police?

No, you can’t even move an inch with the prosecution.

Prosecutors.

Yeah, the prosecution.

Among those who hold power, there is no one who doesn’t have a speck of dust on them.

To maintain that power, they have to crawl on their knees to the prosecutors. Otherwise, they’ll shake off the dust and throw you in prison.

A prosecutor who can catch and shake even those who have seized power.

A prosecutor who can even bring down a member of the National Assembly holding a hearing.

That’s true power.

So I became a prosecutor.

Mysterious text (1)

Clang!

In the air, the glasses clink, producing a clear and cheerful sound.

“Congratulations!”

“Thank you.”

The man sitting across from me, scratching his head shyly and tilting his glass, is Shin Yong-ho.

He is a friend who was my high school classmate, college peer, and even a fellow trainee at the Judicial Research and Training Institute.

Beyond just being close friends, like family.

He has been newly assigned to the Seoul Central District Prosecutors’ Office this time.

I came to have a drink together to celebrate this.

I thought we would rot together at the Gwangju District Prosecutor’s Office for life, but you ended up rising to the top like this.

I’m envious, but I don’t resent it. I sincerely congratulate you, and I am genuinely happy as if it were my own achievement.

“When are you going up?”

“The official appointment is in two weeks, but I need to find a place to live and take care of other things, so I’ll take a week’s leave starting next week and go right away.”

“Kid, you’ve really made it big.” Good for you.

“You were lucky.” If the opportunity arises later, I’ll help you out.

“Hahaha, that’s enough of that, just pay for the drinks today.”

“Of course, man.” Of course, I’ll take full responsibility for the second round, and even the third round.

“Good!”

I dipped the ribeye steak in the salt sauce and put it in my mouth.

It was tender and juicy, and even though I barely chewed it a few times, it melted in my mouth and slid down my throat.

I used to eat pork belly every day, but now that my friend has made it big, I’m getting to try Hanwoo sirloin like this.

Success.

The act of rising to a high social status or becoming famous, as the word literally means.

Like any other prosecutor, I too, with lofty dreams of achieving success and fame, dove into the judicial examination and finally passed.

When I passed, it was customary to hold a celebration in the village, and banners were hung all over the neighborhood and at my middle and high schools. I also thought I had become a part of the power structure of South Korea.

However, in reality, there was nothing special, especially for the judges who were assigned to the provinces.

Handling miscellaneous cases such as theft, drunk driving, prostitution, and fraud, the workload is beyond imagination. If you break it down by time, I have to handle one case every 15 minutes.

On the surface, it seems good, but with a civil servant’s salary, it’s not only low pay, but sometimes even when I handle things according to the law, I get cursed at by victims with insults I’ve never heard before, causing immense mental stress.

At first, I thought everything would be over once I became a prosecutor, but the reality for prosecutors like me, who have no money or connections, is like this.

Living like this, not only will I not get promoted to chief prosecutor, but if I can’t get promoted because of my age, I’ll just open a law firm and provide legal services.

It’s really just a case of all show and no substance.

The prosecutors who have been assigned to the provinces carry dreams of success in their hearts, but they forget their aspirations as they are blocked by the wall of reality.

I, too, was running around in a daze trying to adapt to this Gwangju District Prosecutor’s Office where I received my first appointment, and in the meantime, the spark in my heart to truly seize power gradually faded.

To be precise, it didn’t just fade away; I made it fade away.

As a matter of course, I devoted my entire life to success and studied for over ten years to become a prosecutor.

Not just me, but most of the prosecutors as well.

There are just differences in the desire for success; it’s impossible for anyone to completely forget and eliminate this feeling.

I, too, still couldn’t shake off my ambition for success and kept it tucked away in my heart, but I was trying hard to ignore it.

Otherwise, I would be the only one suffering from the gap between the path to success I had dreamed of and the reality. Because I dreamed of success and longed for it more than anyone else.

Shin Yong-ho was the one who was closest to me and my best friend.

When I heard the news that he, whom I thought I would spend my entire life with at the Gwangju District Prosecutors’ Office, was being transferred to the Seoul Central District Prosecutors’ Office, the spark of ambition I had been suppressing in my heart began to reignite.

The flames that began to blaze in an instant grew so large that they became uncontrollable, to the point where it seemed impossible to ignore these emotions and ambitions.

It was clear that it wouldn’t be easy.

Among the prosecutors who, as they keep looking, can’t forget the painful dream and try hard to turn away, Shin Yong-ho, who was promoted to the Seoul Central District Prosecutors’ Office, is just an unusual case.

“By the way, how on earth did you end up getting transferred?”

“Ah, it’s a bit embarrassing to talk about this…”

“It’s okay.” “Where’s the embarrassment between us?”

Shin Yong-ho looked around and then leaned his body towards me.

“Seojun, you really have to keep this a secret.”

“Okay, go ahead.”

“I’m telling you this because I trust you.”

“Go ahead and say it.”

He looked around once more and lowered his voice.

“Do you know Gwak Tae-won?”

“Our high school classmate?” I heard he started a business.

“No, not him, Gwangju Mayor Kwak Tae-won.”

“Oh, the mayor of Gwangju.” I know, I saw his face once at the inauguration ceremony before. Why that guy?

“I told you I got a new investigator this time, right?”

Shin Yong-ho even put down his chopsticks and spoke seriously.

“I was surprised that he came in as an investigator even though he was a level 9.”

“That’s right.” “Usually, investigators are at level 7.”

While talking about Gwak Tae-won, I was puzzled by the sudden mention of an investigator, but I decided to listen further for now.

“Still, it’s not that 9th grade is rare; it’s just not common.”

“That’s true.” But after working with him, he seemed really off. “Something seemed off, so I checked the records and it turns out he was a special hire.”

There’s a suspicious smell.

“As it turns out, he’s the nephew of Gwak Tae-won.” The kid has been taking the civil service exam for 10 years and keeps failing, so it seems like his parents asked Gwak Tae-won for help.

“Isn’t that totally corrupt?”

“Of course it’s suspicious.” It seems like they deliberately made him a prosecutor to avoid being caught if they took him to the city hall. But it’s not just the corruption that’s the problem. If we leave it as it is, even if we set aside the fact that it’s a special appointment, he does his job terribly. I felt so frustrated thinking about working with a fool who’s even older than me. So I was just going to expose the corruption, you know?

I started to get immersed in the story without even realizing it.

“Do you know Chief Prosecutor Lim Sung-jin from Seoul?” Suddenly, he contacted me and asked to meet? When I talked to him, he turned out to be a senior from the 10th class of the Judicial Research and Training Institute and also a senior from our university. And then he asked me.

In a recruitment scandal that isn’t even a big deal, the name of the most prominent chief prosecutor in Seoul is being mentioned.

It feels like peering into the back of power intricately connected like a spider’s web.

“I guess it turns out that Gwak Tae-won had some kind of connection with that person.”

“So, did you ask?”

“I heard that if you ask, they’ll take you to their line.” To be honest, how could I pass up this opportunity? These days, the performance isn’t good, and if things go wrong, I might end up losing my job here. I have to go up. If you were born with a penis, shouldn’t you at least try to succeed? We all became prosecutors to do just that.

That’s right.

I didn’t become a prosecutor out of a burning sense of justice or a grand mission to create a righteous world; I became a prosecutor simply because I envied power and wanted to taste it with my own hands.

I would have made the same choice as Shin Yong-ho.

It’s just that such an opportunity hasn’t come to me yet.

He earnestly urged me once again.

“If this leaks out, I’m really done for.” Not just me, but the entire Im Seong-jin line will be wiped out.

“Don’t worry.” Would I let information leak outside if I were crazy? I don’t want to see you die either.

“Thank you.”

Shin Yong-ho grinned and leaned back against the seat again.

“Actually, my mouth was itching to say something, but I couldn’t tell anyone.” I’m really glad to have you around.

“Yeah, man.” We have to trust each other; otherwise, who else can we trust?

“That’s right.”

He filled the empty glass with a relieved expression.

“Doesn’t your sister-in-law say anything?” If you say you’re going to Seoul, I think she’ll be really happy.

“He’s overjoyed and can’t contain himself.” As soon as I mentioned it, my wife immediately called her parents’ house, and her father said he would buy us an apartment without even thinking about it. All this time, they called me the prosecutor’s son-in-law, but it seems they didn’t really like me because I was stuck in the countryside. Now, it seems like they finally see me in a better light.

“That’s great.”

I forcefully swallowed the envy that kept rising towards him and clinked my glass.

I don’t want to become a petty person who turns envy into jealousy and resents their friends.

Please provide the text you would like to have translated.

Shin Yong-ho went up to Seoul.

Sometimes we contact each other by phone, and that place is like a whole new world.

Unlike before, we no longer deal with petty cases but instead focus on resolving major ones, sometimes even making it into internet articles and newspapers.

Not long ago, they even held a press conference after busting a drug smuggling organization, so it definitely seems like they’re doing well.

He said he was so happy and joyful, and that once he settled down, he would definitely help me out.

I say thank you, but I don’t expect it.

Not only do I not wish for a stroke of luck, but I also don’t want to.

I know better than anyone that having expectations only makes things harder.

It was all about just going with the flow and getting swept up in life.

Shin Yong-ho is a special case; most prosecutors in South Korea live their lives without drawing attention, just like me, by deeply examining documents.

However, the spark of ambition he ignited in my heart had not yet extinguished and was still burning fiercely, which was a bit frustrating and difficult for me.

As time passed, contact with Shin Yong-ho gradually decreased, and then one day, it stopped completely.

Shin Yong-ho will be busy working as a prosecutor and being the head of the household, and I am busy with work as usual.

That’s how friends are. Even if we don’t stay in touch, it’s enough that we can meet anytime and talk comfortably.

About two years after Shin Yong-ho moved to Seoul, his phone rang during work.

There’s no one to contact.

Looking at my phone, there was a message from an unknown person.

-Sender: 29

-Contact Shin Yong-ho.