Villain Detective is a Chaebol - Chapter 23

Chapter 23

The next day.

Hyunsoo, sitting in the corner of the cafe, was looking at the photos on the table. In the photo, there was a figure of a young man with a fat body.

“Lee Yoonjae, president of Daesang Construction.…….”

With cold eyes, Hyunsoo picked up the man’s photo. The man’s face was strangely similar to Hyunsoo.

“He is the son of Father’s brother.”

The man in charge of Daesang Construction was also a bloodline of Daesang Group’s chaebol family.

He was Hyunsoo’s cousin.

Soon after, Hyunsoo picked up another photo. This time it was a photo of an older man.

A stern face, a long gold necklace.

“Seo Jinsang, president of Sangma Construction.”

Hyunsoo overlapped the two photos on the table.

Daesang Construction, a conglomerate, and Sangma Construction, which had a close relationship with Daesang Construction.

‘There must be a connection.’

Hyunsoo drank cold water as he put the photos in his pocket.

At that time.

“Over here!”

The cafe door opened with the sound of the bell. Soon after, Hyunsoo raised his hand. The person he greeted was none other than Reporter Seo Gaeun.

“You kicked me out last time, but now you’re very welcome.”

“Things have changed a bit. What would you like to have?”

Reporter Seo Gaeun, with a coy expression, skimmed through the menu.

“Americano, please.”

“One coffee? Do you want me to order you a cake?”

“Well, that’s good, too.”

* * *

“I didn’t know you were so close with Senior Inspector Shin Miye-nim.”

Coffee and cake were served, and Hyunsoo naturally spat out his words.

“Senior Inspector Shin readily accepted the interview I requested, unlike someone else.”

Reporter Seo Gaeun’s narrowed eyes turned to Hyunsoo.

“Ahaha, I also answered. To Reporter Seo’s question.”

“You answered just one question, you can’t see that as an interview.”

“All right, I’ll be sure to let you interview me when this is all over.”

Reporter Seo Gaeun’s eyes sparkled at Hyunsoo’s words.

“Really?”

“Really.”

“Okay!”

Reporter Seo Gaeun, with a bright smile, put down the fork she was eating cake with and took out documents from her bag.

“You said you were curious about the Sangma Construction suicide case, right?”

“Yes, when I asked Senior Inspector Shin, she said that I would be able to find out a lot of such information through Reporter Seo.”

“Well, that’s my specialty. So I looked it up. The weird thing about the article yesterday is…….”

Reporter Seo Gaeun, who was taking out several files, stopped and lowered her voice.

“There was obviously a breaking news yesterday, but it seemed like it was embargoed.”

“Embargo?”

“But an indefinite embargo.”

Embargo refers to the suspension of reporting on an article by a certain time. However, an indefinite embargo.

“In other words, someone silenced the media with money. But fortunately, I saw the news, and there was something I was looking into before that…….”

As she spoke, she spread the materials she had pulled out on the table.

“This one.”

Reporter Seo Gaeun pointed to the blue file folder, and Hyunsoo picked up the file.

“The person who committed suicide was Park Jangwon, the head manager of Sangma Construction.”

The news he heard at the pub yesterday. The story of Head Manager Park, who committed suicide at a construction company.

“According to rumors, Head Manager Park Jangwon, who had been ostracized at work, ended his life on his own because he couldn’t stand his company life. However…….”

Reporter Seo Gaeun took out the file at the bottom of the documents on the table and opened it.

“This is data on a whistleblower case a few years ago.”

Hyunsoo read the document.

Head Manager Park Jangwon of Sangma Construction committed suicide a few days ago. The same Head Manager Park Jangwon had filed a whistleblower complaint against Sangma Construction to the Board of Audit and Inspection a few years ago.

‘The whistleblower complaint that Senior Inspector Shin talked about.…….’

Hyunsoo rolled his eyes.

“They intentionally ostracized him because of this whistleblower complaint?”

“I think that’s the case.”

To file a whistleblower complaint was to be a traitor to the company.

If the identity of the whistleblower was revealed and everyone in the company knew that Head Manager Park Jangwon reported the whistleblower complaint…….

Hyunsoo shook his head.

“By the way…… Isn’t it strange?”

“What’s strange?”

“Sangma Construction. It is a small and medium-sized construction company with a very low subcontracting ranking and little recognition.”

“And?”

“If the identity of the whistleblower was revealed, it means that the company has connections inside the Board of Audit and Inspection.…….”

“That’s true.”

“I don’t think the punishment the construction company received would have been so great if it was a whistleblower complaint that was not widely known to people. But to the extent of deliberately being bullied and even committing suicide……?”

What kind of whistleblower was it that he had to be ostracized and driven to death?

“I know. There must be something we don’t know.”

“You don’t know exactly what the whistleblower complaint was, do you?”

“Yes.”

Reporter Seo Gaeun shook her head, and Hyunsoo tapped the table with his fingers.

“Whistleblower…… whistleblower…….”

Soon after, Hyunsoo took out his cell phone. Then, he searched for ‘Sangma Construction’s whistleblower’.

“There’s nothing…….”

Subsequently, keywords such as ‘Sangma Construction’, ‘Sangma Construction Corruption’, and ‘Sangma Construction Suicide’ were searched. However, there were no results that were different from yesterday.

Hyunsoo put his hands on his forehead.

A case that had already happened.

Hyunsoo might not be able to use his ability to see future events. What was more, if the case was hidden from the media,…….

‘It’s going to be a harder case than the others.’

Hyunsoo raised his head.

“It seems clear that something is hidden behind it.”

He had to know exactly what was hidden and what kind of case it was. For himself and for those affected by this incident, he had to dig into the whole story.

‘Construction company, workplace harassment, suicide…… And whistleblowing.’

The details of the case did not come out in the media. It was definitely a case that smelled suspicious. But the obvious thing was, there was an innocent victim.

Hyunsoo intended to do anything to relieve the injustice.

* * *

“Sangma Construction?”

After a while, Commissioner Kim Taek’s room.

Hyunsoo, who sat opposite him, nodded.

“Yes, how do you feel about it?”

“Well, I don’t have much connection with the company, so I don’t think it matters.…… But why are you here all of a sudden?”

“Although Commissioner Go Junhwan was arrested, the image of the police deteriorated a lot because of the incident, in order to restore that image.…….”

Hyunsoo, who had stopped talking for a moment, leaned his upper body and continued.

“It will also help Commissioner-nim to take the position of Commissioner General. I don’t know what they’re hiding, but if you relieve the grudge of an office worker who died unjustly…….”

At Hyunsoo’s words, Commissioner Kim Taek’s mouth slowly rose.

“Good, give it a try.”

* * *

The next day.

The president’s office of Sangma Construction.

“What?! Where was it being reported?! You said you blocked the media!”

A middle-aged man who looked hot-tempered and a man who looked slightly younger than him were sitting on the sofa.

“How much money did I spend trying to shut up the press!”

“It seems that the reporter below did not receive the message well and sent it out as breaking news. I deleted all the articles in a hurry…….”

The hesitant young man continued.

“In the worst case scenario, there could be an investigation from the police…….”

The middle-aged man who turned his head with a glare of anger, he was the president of Sangma Construction.

The younger man sat down in a hurry and bent down at the president’s apparently angry behavior.

“I’m, I’m sorry!”

Then.

Something heavy flew over his head.

“What the hell are you bastard doing! Can’t you manage that one thing?!!”

“I’m sorry! I’m sorry!”

He was hit by an ashtray. The man was seeing stars but he did not stop apologizing.

How many times did he bow down?

The president, who was sweeping his face, stopped him with his hands lifted. Then he poked the man in the shoulder and opened his mouth.

“Why would I have you sitting here when you can’t even use your body.”

“…….”

“I have you here to use your brain, you idiot!! But what am I supposed to do if you take care of things like this!”

“I, I’ll do my best from now on! I’m sorry!”

“Ha…….”

The president, who had his hair disheveled, glared fiercely at the man. But glaring like this didn’t solve the problem. With a sigh, he opened his mouth.

“Just in case, keep an eye out for the police station, they might squeeze in to build up their performance.”

“Yes! But if…… they start an investigation…….”

The president rubbed his chin at the man’s words. Sangma Construction, which he had been running, was a company that was firmly rooted in construction corruption such as improper solicitation and illegal subcontracting.

The only thing he was most confident about, was money.

The president raised his chin and spat out the words.

“Then slip them some behind the back.”

“How, how much……?”

“It doesn’t matter how much, so give them as much as they ask. Those bastard police are always hungry and suffering. If you hand over as much as they ask, they’ll come rushing at you thinking they have hit the jackpot.”

“Yes, yes…….”

“It’s better to have that weakness. There’s a lot of use for the police mole.”

The president smiled faintly, and his eyes flashed.

This could be an opportunity rather than a crisis. A chance to jump into the bigger sea with the police backing them.

The president grabbed the man’s shoulder.

“Sangdeok-ah, let’s get our act together.”

“…….”

“If the investigation into this case goes properly, if everything is really revealed, we all go through it. You’ve been working for me all your life, and you don’t want to go to prison, do you?”

“……Yes, yes!”

“So let’s do it right.”

The man nodded with all his might.

Tapping him on the shoulder, the president stood up.

“Anyway, don’t let a single police get near the company. Don’t let those fools smell anything.”

“Yes, sir!”

He didn’t like the clumsy-looking man, but the president still thought there was nothing that couldn’t be solved with money.

It didn’t matter who was interested in the case, dug it up or whatever. No matter how thirsty a detective was for justice, he would lose his senses when a large amount of money flickered in front of him.

With a wry smile, the president walked to the door. And when he was about to grab the doorknob.

Slam! The door opened.

“W, what……?”

At the open door stood a young man.

It was Hyunsoo.

The president’s brow furrowed at the unfamiliar face.

“Who, who are you, standing here as you like!”

Then Hyunsoo raised the corners of his mouth wide.

“Me? Police.”