Now With U (Living In The Past - Book 2) (WheeByul)

CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR

"That was how it was supposed to look like," the Commissioner spoke. "The truth is, Won-jae was a special recruit. He applied to the local police academy and his brother had his first brush with the law not long after his enrollment. The Senior Inspector that handled the case at that time was a friend of mine. He alerted me of this incident and, after talks with our superiors, we decided that it would be the perfect opportunity to get someone inside Ji-sub's organization. He wasn't at his peak yet, back then, but we had always known that he was a threat."

"So you approached Won-jae and when he agreed, you put a rookie inside a dangerous organization?" Solar asked her father in surprise.

"He got special training. While his brother kept gambling out of control, Won-jae not only went to college to get a degree in accounting but he was also training at the academy. His parents didn't know. They thought he was just staying at the dorm like a regular student."

"Wait. This all took place in Suncheon, right? I read Won-jae's file. He graduated from Suncheon University."

"That's right," said the Commissioner.

"But Ji-sub's main business has always been in Seoul."

"He only shifted his focus to Seoul a couple of years after we recruited Won-jae. Before that, he traveled everywhere he could be broadening his network. He couldn't have risen to such power by only focusing on one city. There's a reason Ji-sub became who he is today, Captain. I thought you knew that?"

"I do. I just thought that people like Eun Ji-won were small fry to him. Useless."

"They are. But small fry could be bait for bigger fishes. Ji-won brought him Won-jae, a smart accountant he employed for years. Who knows how much more benefit he managed to gain from these seemingly useless people he got under his control? Don't forget, the whole fiasco with that dead corrupt judge and the planting of listening devices in our buildings were all done with these people's help."

"You're right." Solar exhaled. "Please continue, Sir."

"Well, the rest was quite predictable and easy. Ji-won's first arrest was never recorded. The charges were dropped and he went to the army for his mandatory service. A couple of years later, he finally crossed the line and landed in prison. We had his sentence reduced for good behavior, knowing that he hadn't stopped gambling at all even while doing time. As expected, he fell right back into it, got himself in trouble and Won-jae repeatedly tried to save his brother," the Commissioner said.

"So all those years, you let Ji-won gamble his life away so you could put his brother inside Ji-sub's organization?"

"Won-jae tried to make his brother stop but he just wouldn't listen. He disappeared so often and almost threw his entire career away." The man knew why his daughter was frowning at him. "No one ever told Ji-won to keep gambling. He did that all on his own. We didn't sacrifice him on purpose so we could get Won-jae in."

"Yet no one stopped him."

"Won-jae tried."

"But it would be better to not have Ji-won stop, right?" Solar disliked politics and games. She never could understand the concept of sacrificing something for the sake of another, supposedly greater, cause.

Her father knew that and they had their share of arguments over the years regarding this matter.

"This happened a long time ago and Won-jae was fully aware of everything. Besides, it turned out great. Ji-won finally quit his addiction when he saw what it did to his family."