EMATEC Chapter 172

172

He thought the preparations were perfect.

Starting by laying the groundwork to eliminate Ahn Hyeongsik's opposition, Yoon Doyoon steadily presented strategies tailored perfectly to his tastes.

At the same time, he subtly sowed discord among the subordinates who watched him with suspicion as he built Ahn Hyeongsik's trust at an alarming speed, using Ahn Hyeongsik's own hands to dispose of them.

Yoon Doyoon did not rush.

When you slowly encroach from the bottom up, cracks are bound to appear.

All he had to do was wait for them.

However, the one who ended up exploiting that opening, ironically enough, was not Yoon Doyoon.

"Ah, over here. CEO Yoon & Mi's son."

"…Who are you?"

Wherever Yoon Doyoon went, people assigned by both Ahn Hyeongsik and his mother always followed closely behind him.

However, as Yoon Doyoon gradually earned Ahn Hyeongsik's trust while subtly driving a wedge between him and his mother, tensions had already begun to arise among the people each of them had planted around him.

"We're here to interview an informant. You submitted a report regarding corruption involving Assemblyman Ahn Hyeongsik, correct?"

"……"

Through the crack Yoon Doyoon had created, detectives stepped in. One of them casually waved the very evidence Yoon Doyoon had secretly collected over time, materials he had submitted to the prosecution.

"When a tip is this high-quality, no matter what identity it's sent under, you can usually guess right away who it came from."

With a friendly smile, the man extended his hand and introduced himself as Bae Junghoon, a detective from the Violent Crimes Unit, Team 3.

Standing beside him with a disgruntled expression was another man, who introduced himself as Han Daejin, a newly assigned rookie detective.

"Most of the materials related to Assemblyman Ahn Hyeongsik's campaign funds and money laundering are things no one could even access unless they were part of Yoon & Mi's top leadership. Did it never cross your mind that we'd be able to figure it out, even if you didn't come forward yourself?"

"It did."

"Then why submit it so openly? Do you have any idea how much trouble you've put us in because of your report?"

At Han Daejin's words, Yoon Doyoon narrowed his eyes and replied calmly.

"So even the police in this country are rotten. If a single report is enough to put your positions on the line, that says it all."

Sparks flew between Yoon Doyoon and Han Daejin.

Sensing the tension, Detective Bae Junghoon quickly stepped between them.

"Haha. Assemblyman Ahn Hyeongsik is a very big fish. The plan was to conduct only a superficial investigation, but once we accepted this report, we had no choice but to proceed in earnest."

"If you don't want to do it, then don't. I didn't submit that report expecting you to take Ahn Hyeongsik down with it anyway."

Yoon Doyoon's completely detached tone made Han Daejin tremble, as if he were about to lunge at him.

"Then why did you submit the report in the first place? Because of you, we're about to lose ground in the investigation into Ahn Hyeongsik-!"

"Hey, hey, calm down! Hey! I'm the team leader here!"

Bae Junghoon cut off the agitated Han Daejin.

"We've been digging into Ahn Hyeongsik for a long time. Not just Detective Han here, every single member of our team has lost someone precious because of him."

"……."

"Ahn Hyeongsik's close associates either stay loyal to him… or they get eliminated. You're the only person who's ever shown this kind of movement, actually landing a blow against him, Yoon Doyoon."

The desperation boiling in Bae Junghoon's eyes and voice was unmistakable.

The cold hatred and fury within him were the same kind Yoon Doyoon carried himself, he could tell instantly.

"To get close to you like this, we took a gamble. We were prepared to face disciplinary action over it. So please, Yoon Doyoon… help us."

"You can't put that man behind bars."

"…!"

"Not under this country's laws."

"I don't know what kind of story you have that makes you so desperate to take Ahn Hyeongsik down, but I submitted that report because I wanted to survive."

If the materials he'd gathered were enough to imprison Ahn Hyeongsik, it would've happened long ago.

But Ahn Hyeongsik's reach extended throughout every corner of the country.

The world Ahn Hyeongsik envisioned was one ruled solely by himself.

And the time he'd meticulously invested to build that world far exceeded the time Yoon Doyoon had spent preparing to escape from him.

"With this report, at the very least, the assemblyman will be forced to show up for a token appearance. All I needed was a bit of time, enough to slip away while Ahn Hyeongsik's attention was elsewhere."

"You think you can leave this country while avoiding Ahn Hyeongsik's eyes?"

"With my abilities, that much is possible. Or at least, that's what I believed, if you hadn't shown up like this."

Yoon Doyoon frowned, clearly caught off guard.

"I never thought there'd be people like you."

The possibility that others, harboring just as deep a grudge against Ahn Hyeongsik as himself, were actively trying to take him down had never even crossed his mind.

As Yoon Doyoon considered how to deal with this unexpected variable.

"Would you help us?"

"…Hey, Daejin!"

"If you help with the investigation into Ahn Hyeongsik, we can absolve you of everything you've done up until now. With this report, couldn't we secretly recruit Yoon Doyoon as a special appointment?"

"That's not something we can just decide on our own!"

"Then figure it out somehow! You have to offer at least that much if you want his cooperation! Were you planning to ask him to help us for free, Team Leader?"

"You little-! Hey! I'm your senior! I'm the team leader!"

Right in front of Yoon Doyoon, the two detectives began arguing.

They'd claimed they were prepared to face punishment just to approach him, but for people that determined, they were far too sloppy, far too driven by emotion.

"Haa…"

A deep sigh slipped from between Yoon Doyoon's lips.

A variable had emerged in what he believed to be a perfect plan. Controlling it wouldn't be difficult, but the problem was that he couldn't gauge just how capable these people really were.

"I can't decide whether it's safe to hand this over to you."

"…!"

"I'll do the undercover work myself. Just grant me one request."

At his words, both men's eyes lit up, as if they'd caught sight of hope.

"We'll do it!"

"Hey, do you think special recruitment is something you can just hand out like treats to any random person's dog or cow?"

"Just say you'll do it! If you can't even manage that, how are you planning to catch Ahn Hyeongsik?"

"You little-! Talking back to your senior?!"

Yoon Doyoon shook his head as if thoroughly fed up, then continued.

"Soon, there'll be a kid graduating top of their class from the police academy who's going to go berserk trying to catch Ahn Hyeongsik."

"Huh?"

"No matter how much you try to stop them, they'll throw themselves into the investigation using any means necessary, so protect that kid."