The inspector is getting promoted!

He leaned forward, speaking.

“With this, I may not be able to take down the Chief Prosecutor, but surely I can leave a mark, don’t you think? The Supreme Prosecutors’ Office will likely take notice… though I don’t know all the details about that.”

His eyes widened.

“Are you threatening me?”

“Threatening? How could a lowly prosecutor like me threaten the Chief Prosecutor? That’s not possible.”

I continued, feigning innocence.

“I’m suggesting a negotiation. After all, this is the last year for the Judicial Examination. Wouldn’t it be better for the entire legal community if it quietly passed by without any drama?”

The Chief Prosecutor gripped the armrest of the sofa tightly.

Though his expression didn’t change, it was too easy to read his emotions.

“So, what do you want me to do?”

“As I’ve said, abandon Im Seong-jin and save Jo Won-hyung.”

“What if I can’t do that?”

He came back strong.

However, I knew very well that the advantage was mine in this situation, not his.

If I didn’t know how to leverage this, I’d need to learn negotiation again.

“I’ll have to expose it. As you mentioned earlier, I’m just a country bumpkin from the provinces, so I might not fully understand the intricacies. But who knows? If I blow this up, maybe something else will come out with it. Then I’ll rise up overnight as a star prosecutor.”

I didn’t stop there and showed my confidence.

“I’ve got nothing to lose. After all, I’m just a country bumpkin from the provinces. If I get ruined, I’ll just be sent back to where I came from. I’ll go back to my original place.”

Finally, he released the armrest of the sofa.

“Alright, fine. I’ll think about it.”

“It’s no use.”

I said firmly.

“What?”

“Decide now.”

A vein popped out on his forehead.

“How can I trust you won’t contact Im Seong-jin after I leave?”

“You’re speaking to the Chief Prosecutor here.”

“I have a weapon in my hand to damage your reputation.”

“A weak weapon.”

“I told you, a good negotiator doesn’t reveal all their cards.”

I smiled slightly and waited for his response.

He sat back down, his body half-risen from the sofa, before sinking back into it.

After a moment, he spoke.

“Alright.”

Im Joo-young chuckled and nodded.

“Very good. It’s been a while since I’ve met someone interesting. This is how a prosecutor should act, right?”

“Exactly.”

“If Im Seong-jin gets hit, he’ll definitely fight back. You’ll have to handle that.”

“I won’t be able to. I’ll bury the Judicial Examination scandal.”

His brow furrowed.

“Ah, of course, I won’t bring up the Chief Prosecutor. We’ll end it at Im Seong-jin. He won’t go as far as dragging the Chief Prosecutor into this, will he?”

No matter how reckless Im Seong-jin is, he won’t dare to attack someone he shouldn’t.

“You can’t just let the corruption slide, can you? A prosecutor who knows about the corruption in the Judicial Examination, with tens of thousands of people risking their lives over it, and yet just lets it slide—this is what kind of country are we living in?”

“Hahahahahahaha!”

Suddenly, he burst out laughing.

I silently observed him as he laughed for quite some time, not understanding the situation.

After the laughter subsided, Im Joo-young leaned forward with a serious look in his eyes.

“When will your Inspection Division transfer be?”

“Next week.”

“After this is done, are you thinking of coming under me?”

Has he lost his mind?

It can’t be true.

“Earlier, you said it would be hard to accept someone who discarded Im Seong-jin, didn’t you?”

“That was before I knew your true nature. Now that I see how bold you are, it makes me want to throw Im Seong-jin aside and bring you to sit by my side. Im Seong-jin does his job well, but he’s too greedy.”

“I was trying to bite you, Chief Prosecutor.”

“At least if you were under me, you wouldn’t bite the hand that feeds you.”

For a moment, I was tempted, but there was no need to think about it for long.

If I joined Kim Seok-won’s line, it would likely get me noticed by the High Prosecutors’ Office. There’s a higher chance of being targeted than gaining anything useful.

It’s better not to be too greedy.

“I’m sorry.”

“If you’re thinking about it, let me know soon. The door won’t be open forever.”

“I understand.”

I probably won’t end up working under him.

“Then, should I promote Jo Won-hyung to Chief Prosecutor?”

“No.”

This time, he couldn’t hide his surprise.

“You said Jo Won-hyung would be saved?”

“I said I’d save him, but I didn’t say I’d leave him in the Economic Crime Investigation Department. He’d probably be grateful for even a provincial demotion.”

He was one of those who helped send Shin Yong-ho to the provinces.

To properly repay Yong-ho, all the prosecutors in the Economic Crime Investigation Department must be removed.

“So, all you need to do is make sure Im Seong-jin doesn’t touch Jo Won-hyung, right?”

“Yes, that’s correct.”

After finishing the conversation, I stood up, and he followed suit, getting up from the sofa.

“Thank you, I’ll be counting on you.”

The Chief Prosecutor once again extended his hand for a handshake.

“Should I think that you and I are now on the same side?”

I shook his hand and answered.

“More of a negotiation than an alliance… Let’s keep it at that.”

After finishing the conversation, it was already late into the night.

Fatigue hit me, and I just wanted to get home as quickly as possible and collapse into bed, but there was still work to be done.

The person I had sent the envelope to earlier today.

I needed to meet her.

The day felt incredibly long.

I drove to the Eojeolsa Temple in the Saeryuksin Park.

The time was 11:40 PM.

With time to spare until the scheduled meeting, I found a place to sit.

How long had I been waiting? Suddenly, a rustling sound came from behind.

Turning my head, a figure around 165 cm tall, wearing a hood, approached me.

“Let’s go.”

It was a woman’s voice.

Although her face wasn’t visible due to the hood, I knew immediately.

The person from the ID in the text message.

It was definitely her.

She stood on the opposite side of the park, out of sight, and started speaking.

There was no streetlight where she stood, so her face was in darkness.

She had likely chosen this location deliberately.

Quite meticulous.

If I hadn’t received the message, I would have been in quite a frustrating position.

My thoughts were still mixed.

If she was the type to follow orders from her superiors without question, and if she had managed to survive despite Im Seong-jin having dirt on her, I could trust that she had some guts.

With those guts, if she made up her mind, there was a real chance she could betray Im Seong-jin and switch sides.

I had to find out her weakness without revealing my intentions.

That way, I could understand her true motives.

She spoke first.

“You need information, right?”

As expected, she went straight to the point.

“Right. Do you have any conditions?”

She answered without hesitation.

“Im Seong-jin’s downfall.”

There was venom in her voice.

But even then, I couldn’t trust her completely.

“You’re going to hand over those materials without any compensation?”

“Yes.”

“Why?”

“Because I want Im Seong-jin to fall.”

“Tell me what you really want.”

“If I’m sure I can bring him down, I’ll hand it over.”

“How can I trust that there’s nothing dangerous in those materials? If anything goes wrong, they could turn it into a shoddy investigation and make me the one who’s blamed.”

“If you don’t want it, don’t take it.”

She turned her back as she finished speaking.

She was being quite forceful.

I called out to her as she took a step away.

“Yoon Seol-ha.”

Her steps instinctively halted.

So, it was Yoon Seol-ha after all.

“Be honest.”

“…….”

“If you let this go, you’ll be the only one who suffers, you know?”

“Why?”

“A prosecutor’s investigator who betrayed their supervising prosecutor. What do you think other prosecutors will think if that rumor spreads?”

If it got out that a subordinate had betrayed her boss, no matter how much other prosecutors disliked Im Seong-jin, they would surely start avoiding her.

They would see her as someone who could betray them the moment it became convenient for her.

Even though she was a civil servant, once she got this kind of reputation, she would either be constantly moving around or forced to resign.

Yoon Seol-ha let out a deep sigh and asked.

“Is that a threat?”

I’d lost count of how many times I’d been called a threat today.

“Let’s talk face to face.”

“Hah.”

She sighed deeply and turned around.

Then she removed her hood, and her long black hair cascaded down.

She was beautiful.

Her appearance was far more striking than in the ID photo I’d seen.

Im Seong-jin would have definitely found her appearance appealing.

It was clear now that he hadn’t just kept her around for no reason.

“As expected, just like the prosecutor who cornered Director Im, you’re something else. How did you know it was me?”

“Trade secret.”

She merely raised an eyebrow before turning the topic back to the original subject.

“I need to trust you before I can act. I don’t want to die after accepting whatever comes my way without knowing if it’s rice cake or poison.”

Yoon Seol-ha fell into thought, and a brief silence passed.

Realizing that there was no way out, she bit her lip and lowered her gaze.

“…I made a mistake.”

She reluctantly continued.

“I needed money, so I tampered with some documents and got caught. That’s what I’ve been blackmailed over.”

Tampering with documents.

That was risky.

She seemed to read my thoughts, and quickly added more details.

“It wasn’t some garbage act. I secretly inserted something that my superiors wanted to cover up.”

Given that she was from the Economic Crime Investigation Department, it seemed like one of the targeted companies had paid a prosecutor to harm a competitor, and she got caught in the process.

They probably just wanted to take advantage of the situation, and she got unlucky.

It didn’t seem like a huge problem.

She didn’t create false evidence, and it was just a failed attempt to add something that her superiors had tried to remove.

“So, if Im Seong-jin gets removed, you’ll be free and can come to me.”

“That’s about it.”

“In that case, I have no problem with it. Hand over the materials.”

She took an envelope from her bag.

I reached for it, but she held the envelope tightly and didn’t let go.

“I have a request, too.”

“At times like this, you’re supposed to say it’s a favor, not a request.”

“…….”

She lifted her head and spoke.

“I heard there’s an opening for an investigator.”

Had she been aiming for this from the start?

I had to hold back a laugh.

Ever since I heard about Yoon Seol-ha from Jo Ah-ra, I had been intrigued by her.

If she had originally been under Im Seong-jin, I would have tried to convince her to join me.

But now that she was willing to come on her own, there was no need to refuse.

Yoon Seol-ha flashed a sly grin.

“She’s better than I thought.”

It was just one sentence, but her expression showed plenty of confidence.

I grabbed the envelope from her hand and tucked it into my coat.

While I wanted her as an investigator, there was no rush to agree right away.

In negotiations, the one who reveals their intentions first ends up in a weaker position.

“I’ll think about it.”

I winked at her.

“I’ll make sure to use the evidence properly.”

She took a deep breath as I turned and descended the stairs first.