Chapter 6

Prosecutor, you're on the rise! - Episode 6 (6/341)

Whistleblower (4)

"Who is this person, anyway?"

Song Hyun-seong asked with wide eyes, but I couldn't answer.

"I can't say, or I'll be in danger too."

"Are you not trying to expose and take him down?"

"Well, I am."

I forced a guilty expression.

"But I need to have some safety measures in place. This person has a lot of connections. If it gets to his ears, you'll be dead, and I'll be dead too."

"You can trust me, though... but then again, even my superiors are hard to trust. No matter how much I'm in the Inspection Department, I can't read their minds. I don't know how many snakes they're hiding in their hearts."

Song Hyun-seong sighed and shook his head.

Considering he gave me Song Hyun-seong's contact, he should be trustworthy.

However, I couldn't trust the text enough to lay all my cards on the table.

"So, what do you want to do? You can't expose this alone. You're not in Seoul, but in a local area."

"That's right. I came to you because I can't do it alone."

I explained my purpose for coming to Song Hyun-seong.

"Gather people from the Inspection Department. Only those you trust. And they need to have the power to take down a deputy prosecutor."

"What next?"

"I'll give a briefing directly when they're all gathered."

"Someone you can trust..."

After a moment's thought, he nodded.

It seemed he had a list of people in his head.

"Got it. I'll do my best. But in return, you need to have solid evidence."

I smiled and replied.

"Of course."

***

"Will you be okay?"

"What do you mean?"

"If this comes to light, you'll have to go to jail too."

As the operation approached, I couldn't help but worry about Shin Yong-ho.

If this case breaks, it will be hard for Shin Yong-ho to avoid a real sentence.

"I'll die before I go."

"Damn, don't say that!"

I glared, but Shin Yong-ho didn't even look at me as he replied.

"Just kidding, man."

Was his tone really just a joke?

"Don't die. If you feel like you're going to die, I'll back out of this."

"I won't die, man. Do I look like I'd commit suicide?"

Shin Yong-ho laughed playfully but lifted his head, and I could sense he had already let go of many things.

"But anyway..."

After a moment of silence, he filled his glass and spoke.

"Can we catch Im Sung-jin with this?"

"We have to. With this level of evidence, we could even impeach the president."

"Hahaha, right?"

"Right, man."

Shin Yong-ho's slumped shoulders looked even smaller today.

I felt annoyed and slammed the table with my chopsticks.

"Stand up straight, kid. I'll take care of everything. Just trust me."

He finally smiled and straightened his shoulders.

"Got it, thanks."

"Even if you're involved, you're a whistleblower. If it weren't for you, this would have been buried. I'll do my best to minimize your sentence. No, I'll make it happen."

"But in Korea, plea bargaining is illegal, right?"

"So, have you ever seen a plea bargain not work?"

"True."

He gulped down the soju.

"Once I'm in, make sure my commissary account is well-funded."

"I'll make sure you have enough to live comfortably, you bastard."

***

Song Hyun-seong contacted me.

He said he had passed the information to a trusted person among the core members of the Inspection Department, maintaining strict security.

Of course, the fact that I have the information is still a secret, and others believe Song Hyun-seong is giving the briefing directly.

There might be someone with connections to Im Sung-jin among them, but at this point, I have no choice but to trust them.

If the news reaches Im Sung-jin, I have a last resort: Shin Yong-ho will hold a press conference, but that's only in the worst-case scenario.

I can only hope Im Sung-jin's influence doesn't reach the people Song Hyun-seong chose.

Once the case starts, I'll head to Seoul, but Shin Yong-ho will stay in the local area for now.

Our card will only appear when the stage is set.

Of course, once the case breaks, Im Sung-jin's team will quickly realize Shin Yong-ho is involved, but by then it will be too late.

-Do well and come back.

"Sure, don't worry, take it easy."

When I arrived at the prosecutor's office on time, Song Hyun-seong greeted me.

"Thanks for coming. It took you a while, didn't it?"

"KTX is fast. You did all the hard work."

He chuckled and sat down.

"Since this is a big case, I didn't gather too many people. The more people involved, the more likely the information will leak."

Indeed, he's wise.

"So, who are the people coming?"

He smiled and began to explain.

"Deputy Prosecutor Kim Seok-won. Heard of him?"

"The Cha Moon-seok scandal?"

"You know him."

In the early 2000s, Kim Seok-won, as the deputy prosecutor, severed the deep ties between politics and business, stemming from Prime Minister Cha Moon-seok, and became a famous figure.

He is the deputy prosecutor of the Seoul High Prosecutors' Office and is a strong candidate for the next chief prosecutor.

If you don't know him in the prosecutor's world, you might as well be a spy.

He is a top-tier prosecutor, admired and envied by his peers, a model of success.

"He's a candidate for chief prosecutor, right?"

"Right. The current chief prosecutor is retiring at the end of the year, so it's the season for promotions. Deputy Prosecutor Kim is eager to take on a big case. It was tough to bring him here without others knowing."

"Still, impressive. How did you get someone of his caliber?"

"Thanks to this guy."

He pointed to Park Seung-soo on the organizational chart.

"He's the deputy head of the Inspection Department, my direct superior. He's part of the Kim Seok-won line."

"You connected with Deputy Prosecutor Kim through Park Seung-soo?"

"Right. He's close to becoming a chief prosecutor himself. Honestly, if we pull this off, I might get into the Kim Seok-won line too."

He laughed awkwardly.

"I want to get a piece of the pie too."

Do you find Song Hyun-seong annoying?

No, I find him reassuring.

He's better than those who try to take over a case and mess it up.

Moreover, since he has his own interests, he'll be more motivated to make this successful, solidifying our alliance.

Those who sacrifice for the greater good without personal gain don't survive in this world.

This place only moves when everyone has something to gain.

"Are they the only two?"

"Yeah. With the evidence you have, Deputy Prosecutor Kim will take action. Then the others will naturally follow."

Knock, knock.

When I answered, one of Song Hyun-seong's subordinates entered.

"Prosecutor, the meeting starts in 10 minutes."

"Ah, thanks, Ji-yeon."

She bowed and left, and we stood up.

"Let's go."

"Sure."

***

As soon as the briefing preparations were complete, Song Hyun-seong brought in Deputy Prosecutor Kim Seok-won and Deputy Head Park Seung-soo to the meeting room.

"Hello, I'm Choi Seo-jun."

Instead of a warm smile, Kim Seok-won extended his hand with a completely blank expression.

"Nice to meet you."

The atmosphere became heavy.

Just a simple greeting, and I already felt overwhelmed.

His charisma is indescribable.

No wonder he's a candidate for chief prosecutor.

Despite his calm demeanor, his presence alone can command respect.

"Honored to meet you."

He nodded and headed to his seat, followed by Park Seung-soo.

"I'm Choi Seo-jun from the Gwangju District Prosecutors' Office."

"I'm Park Seung-soo."

He gave a brief, curt greeting and sat down.

I felt a rare sense of nervousness, something I hadn't felt in years.

Huh.

Calm down.

You can do this.

Just as I was about to start the briefing, Kim Seok-won placed his interlocked hands on the table and asked.

"You're the one who's up for deputy prosecutor, right?"

"Yes."

After confirming the door was closed, Song Hyun-seong sensibly lowered the blinds.

I displayed the prepared photos on the screen and began.

"Deputy Prosecutor Im Sung-jin from the Economic Crime Investigation Department of the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office."

Kim Seok-won nodded in satisfaction, and I started the briefing.

"The summarized points are..."

I pointed to the PowerPoint slides.

"As you can see, they include bribery, sexual favors, improper requests, and favoritism in investigations. If you include the smaller incidents, it's hard to count on one hand."

Song Hyun-seong, as if on cue, handed copies of the evidence I prepared to Kim Seok-won and Park Seung-soo.

I waited for them to read through the documents.

Park Seung-soo let out a hollow laugh at the solid evidence, but Kim Seok-won continued to read with a blank expression.

Song Hyun-seong, seeing the complete evidence for the first time, was visibly shocked.

Swallowing hard, I looked at Kim Seok-won, whose lips curled into a faint smile.

His tongue, protruding greedily, licked his lips.

Like a fierce predator savoring its prey.

Enough.

It seems the evidence was enough to satisfy his greed.

"Finding such perfect evidence must have been difficult."

Kim Seok-won looked up and asked me directly.

"Whistleblower?"

Indeed, Kim Seok-won.

To deduce that just from the documents.

"Yes, for now."

"I figured."

He chuckled and placed the documents on the table.

"What if such a dirty person exists in our prosecution?"

Is he asking for a response?

No, he's not.

I waited silently, and he continued.

"We'll be treated as dirty trash. Those who disgrace the prosecution must be... "

Kim Seok-won fiddled with the ring on his left hand.

"Destroyed."

I flinched involuntarily at his last words.

Damn, I promised myself not to be intimidated.

"Park Deputy Head, have you finished reading?"

"Yes, I have."

Kim Seok-won turned back to me.

"Continue the briefing."