The Ultimate Inspector, Kang Ji-hyeok - Chapter 45



Only Noblemtl

Episode 45

A month has passed since then.

An unusually quick trial was set.

Moreover, the incident was spiraling out of control.

[Daehan Ilbo reporter Park Chan-jin’s wife Jung Yu-ra arrested on charges of kidnapping and murder]

Thankfully, they didn’t talk about it, but the journalists created a social atmosphere through their articles.

[Choi Hye-seong, Chief Prosecutor of the Western District, declares that he will stake his reputation as a prosecutor on this case]

Frequently featured on the front page of newspapers and on TV, Chief Prosecutor Choi Hye-sung rose to stardom overnight.

Two days before the trial, Chief Prosecutor Choi Hye-seong came to my office.

It was a late night.

The time when dawn approaches and moonlight streams in through the window.

“I bought you an iced Americano.”

“Thank you, Chief Inspector. I needed it anyway······.”

“I know very well that our Kang Ji-hyeok loves iced Americano. In that sense, I like beer.”

Tick.

Chief Prosecutor Choi Hye-seong opened a can of beer and took a big gulp.

It was a pleasant face.

It would make sense, since his appearance was reported everywhere, whether on TV or in the newspaper.

“Kang Ji-hyeok, are you confident?”

“Yes, Chief Inspector.”

He turns his head and looks at the white chalkboard filled with the situation.

“At first, I also filled the whiteboard with incidents.”

“Was it so?”

“I wanted to make this dirty society a little better to live in. I think all the prosecutors here did that.”

“It’s past tense.”

“Haha. It’s past tense after all.”

“It’s done now. Everything on that whiteboard has been completed in one drawing.”

“That complicated thing became one?”

“Yes, Chief Inspector.”

“The information I gave you about just two people has grown to this extent?”

“It didn’t get bigger.”

“Then? Was it an incident of that scale from the beginning?”

“Yes.”

Gulp.

A refreshing beer aroma permeated the air.

Chief Prosecutor Choi Hye-seong loosened his tie as if he was feeling suffocated.

“I mean, Kang Ji-hyeok. I want to work in a higher place. I want to have more power than I have now.”

“Your desire to create a slightly better world to live in remains unchanged, right?”

“Yeah. Even if I’m not a prosecutor, I want to make this shitty world a better place to live in.”

“I will work hard to back it up below.”

He looks at me over his beer can.

Those are sharp eyes.

I looked at him in surprise because he felt different from usual.

“Kang Ji-hyeok. What the hell are you?”

“I am a former prosecutor.”

“···Why are you pushing me so hard?”

“Did you say it was strong?”

“Yes. Even for a rookie prosecutor, it’s rare for him to go this far. He compromises within appropriate lines.”

“We are currently negotiating. Within reasonable limits.”

Chief Prosecutor Choi Hye-seong took a long gulp of beer.

I spoke to him carefully.

“To be honest, I would like to seek personal revenge.”

“Personal revenge?”

“Yes, that’s right.”

“Well, revenge is a sharp sword. It’s even more so when it’s personal······.”

Surprisingly, Chief Prosecutor Choi Hye-seong said that to me.

“Okay, fine. Kang Ji-hyeok. Whatever it is, feel free to take personal revenge. Just don’t go beyond the boundaries of the law.”

“It is enough. My black sword called the law can easily split even the strongest cartel.”

“Okay. That’s how it should be for a prosecutor. Even though it’s not a sword, a prosecutor who swings the law like a sword is the same.”

“Yes. The way I wield it will be directed at the wicked. Without making any mistakes.”

Take a sip of iced Americano.

This mind-clearing taste is so good.

“Swing it well. The sword called the law can sometimes become dull······.”

“I will keep that in mind, Chief Inspector.”

“As I get older, I get hungrier even from a can of beer. I should go back.”

He stood up from his seat.

He touched his tangled tie again and went out the door.

“Kang Ji-hyeok.”

“Yes, Chief Inspector.”

“I will protect you even if I go up, so swing the sword of the law as much as you want. But don’t cross the line of the law.”

“Thank you for the advice.”

“Okay. Maybe you can do it. But just don’t get tired, you punk. Got it?”

“All right.”

He walked down the hallway with a cheerful face.

A confident gait.

I stood there looking at that back view.

“I’ll let you go up. Just go all the way as you were. I’m sorry, but I’ll use you as much as I can.”

Chief Prosecutor Choi Hye-seong.

I need a strong side.

If we are going to fight a powerful cartel, we need to be just as strong on our side.

“I will put Park Chan-jin on the floor. So, step on him and step on him in one breath. Chief Prosecutor.”

There’s no way I’ll get tired.

I have the ability to heal.

Funny enough, that is.

* * *

[Choi Hye-seong, Chief Prosecutor of the Western District. Lee Jae-gang, CEO of a leading domestic construction company, and three others are urgently arrested!]

[Choi Hye-sung, Chief Prosecutor of the Western District, arrests three-term National Assembly member Huh Hwa-jin and Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Strategy and Finance Lee Han-kang at the airport]

[Shock! Japanese cult attacks South Korea with drugs!]

The day before the trial was to begin, the five biggest names on the list who had been meeting secretly at The Times Room Salon were quickly arrested.

“Are you giving me a gift before the trial?”

There was perfect evidence.

Jung Yu-ra recorded all of their meetings without fail to avoid being betrayed later.

I looked at each video.

“What? This highway selection and policy were all done based on what the shaman saw in her dream.”

As expected, a highway was connected to the place the shaman mentioned in the video.

“I guided them to move to the KTX station······.”

The congressman even put on a show by moving a KTX station that was planned for his district to another district.

The construction company tried to help them by doing everything from the feasibility study to the land purchase according to the shaman’s instructions.

Of course, all of these incidents were caused by Park Chan-jin shaping public opinion through his articles.

In order to form that public opinion, believers gathered from Bulgaksa Temple infiltrated the area and pretended to be local residents to create an atmosphere.

The number of fake Oumon believers, which had increased to over 30,000, was sufficient to play a variety of roles.

This means that they are increasingly nominating local assembly members who value public opinion, and even electing city council members or district council members.

“Finally, the Minister of Strategy and Finance agrees to pour money into such projects?”

A giant gate opened.

But the person standing at the end of this gate is Jeong Yu-ra, the madam of a room salon.

A mysterious cult blooming in the darkness. Hidden in the shadows is the secret world of illegal drug dealing. The story of their lawless world that began in a room salon, and the protagonist who is caught up in it.

This kind of story caught the attention of the Korean people, and the trial of the main culprit at the center of this case, Jung Yu-ra, was so crowded with TV cameras and reporters that even the stairs leading up to the trial were crowded with reporters.

I got out of the car, looked at them and said.

“Why is it that when an incident gets bigger, people become more free?”

Kim Hye-jin answered with a bitter smile.

“It’s such a big deal, we’re all scared to even touch it.”

“You’ve been famous for raising cases since your days as a military prosecutor······.”

“Was it like that? Since the military inspection?”

“Yes. It was no joke.”

They both glared at me.

I smiled as I sipped my iced Americano.

“Then, shall we go in?”

“You could have gone down to the basement, but why do you insist on going through those reporters?”

“Detective Kim Hye-jin. Stop talking nonsense and just listen to that box.”

“Yes, yes. That’s right.”

Walk among the reporters.

A detective followed me, carrying two huge boxes.

Usually, inspectors carry their data in silk bundles.

But I created interest by revealing this huge data in front of the press.

“Is that all the evidence?”

“Yes, all of these materials will be used in this trial.”

Clang.

The red lights of TV cameras flashed and reporters’ flashes continued.

“Prosecutor Kang Ji-hyeok. Are you going in alone today?”

“Isn’t Chief Prosecutor Choi Hye-seong coming?”

I looked at the reporters and answered with an embarrassed face.

“The chief prosecutor is busy with this gate. Not just anyone can interrogate politicians and businesspeople.”

“Are you, the chief prosecutor, personally conducting the interrogation and investigation?”

“Yes. Our chief prosecutor has not forgotten that he is still a prosecutor who must uphold justice.”

This was enough lip service for Chief Prosecutor Choi Hye-seong.

The great evil that has hung at the gates will be judged properly by him.

I was only in charge of the trial for this room salon kidnapping and murder case.

“Are you confident about this trial?”

“Of course. The evidence is overwhelming, and today, I intend to give the most severe punishment under the laws of the Republic of Korea to the mastermind, Jung Yu-ra, and his accomplice, Park Chan-jin.”

The reporters look on with surprised faces.

I turned my head and met their eyes.

“You can look forward to today’s scoop, reporters.”

We quickly climbed the stairs.

I bet you’ll take a nice picture of your back as you go in like that too, right?

“You’re handsome! Prosecutor Kang Ji-hyeok.”

“it’s awesome!”

The voices of ordinary audience members could be heard among the reporters.

“The fan club is here?”

“···Detective Kim Hye-jin. Join our fan club cafe.”

“Huh? You haven’t done it yet? I already signed up.”

“Wow. Detective Kim Ji-cheol. Did you really sign up?”

“Of course. My ID is······.”

This is what working together feels like.

As he entered the courtroom, he spoke to them firmly.

“Thank you for your hard work. From now on, I will fight alone, so watch over me.”

Park Chan-jin.

Shall we enjoy it from now on?

I’ve been waiting for this moment for quite some time.

〈Prosecutor Kang Ji-hyeok. The future system may change depending on the results of this trial. I look forward to it.〉

Long time no see, Guide.

I’ll change it for you.

So that your AI can make that world a little bit more livable.

“Yeah. Look forward to it. Guide.”

* * *

Jung Yu-ra and Park Chan-jin were sitting together in the suspect’s chair.

‘Those two are a bed of thorns, aren’t they?’

I looked at it with that thought in mind.

The lawyer was Cheon Je-gu.

“Attorney Cheon Je-gu. I guess we’ll finally meet here.”

“Prosecutor Kang Ji-hyeok. Did you really have to sit the two of them together like this?”

“Isn’t that convenient? Why bother with two trials?”

“You’re as vicious as they say. Really.”

“That rumor is thanks to an article that Park Chan-jin wrote when he was a reporter.”

Kwak.

The two shook hands.

Even in the midst of all this, Attorney Cheon Je-gu did not lose his smile.

“I’m honestly a bit surprised that the emergency arrest at the airport was also an opening for this trial.”

After greeting them like that, he placed the materials he had brought on the table.

I have it all memorized, but I still need to show an overwhelming amount of evidence, right?

Male.

Male.

The audience is buzzing around a pile of papers on a table.

“Oh my, that inspector is handsome.”

“Don’t you know? These days, if you don’t know Prosecutor Kang Ji-hyeok, you’re a spy.”

“Look at all that data over there.”

Meanwhile, the judges entered.

Black horn-rimmed glasses.

Gray hair.

Judge Kwak Ji-yong sat between the two associate judges.

“rising.”

All the audience members, including the lawyers, myself, and the defendants, stood up.

“Everyone, please take your seats. We will now begin the trial of case number 2008gohap387, the kidnapping and murder of a woman.”

In the case number, Gohap308, the letter ‘ㄱ’ is included, meaning that it is a first-instance trial, and the word ‘합’ means that the trial will be held through an agreement between three judges.

The 30 in ‘308’ means that it is the 30th case filed in 2008, and the remaining 8 are just numbers for search purposes.

“Then, the prosecution will explain the case and begin the trial.”

Although it is a collegial trial with three judges, Judge Kwak Ji-yong, sitting in the center, becomes the presiding judge.

The importance of the case was so great that this type of trial was initiated.

“Hello. This is Prosecutor Kang Ji-hyeok. This case is······.”

And so the trial began.

The whole story, from the cyber-cult’s luring of young women and drugging them to giving them to The Times, was revealed in court.

“I object. Even if everything else is the same, there is no evidence anywhere that Mr. Park Chan-jin is an accomplice······.”

Cheon Je-gu came forward to defend him.

The judge spoke to me, fingering his thick-rimmed glasses.

“The prosecutor, please submit the evidence.”