Goblin Library - Chapter 112
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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 112.
As Lim Sung-un led Choi Tae-sik out, Jang Ma-ru appeared from the side carrying a small 007 bag.
“This belongs to you, noona.”
Opening the bag as he spoke, inside were a smartphone, a watch, an earphone case identical to the one Choi Tae-sik carried, and a credit card.
“Whenever you need to spend money going forward, just use this credit card. And I’ll prepare an ID and business cards for separate use in a few days.”
“An ID?”
“Sometimes during operations you’ll need to use different identities. We launder the identities of missing persons and use those.”
“That’s impressive.”
“I’m quite impressive, aren’t I?”
Then he explained how to use the smartphone and watch.
“The watch activates once you put it on.”
“Activates?”
“Just to be clear, it’s not for surveillance—it’s activated for your protection.”
“Ah! So the watch tracks your location.”
“Location tracking and automatic recording. If you rapidly tap the screen repeatedly, a distress signal comes to me. And if there’s any problem with your heart rate, I get an alert too. Then I’ll decide whether to send Tae-sik or call the police. So please wear it whenever you go out.”
“Got it.”
Lee Hye-eun smiled and fastened the watch around her wrist, then looked at the card.
“What’s the credit limit on this?”
“Well, unless it’s a house, you could buy a car in full with it.”
“Oh, that’s quite a high limit.”
“During operations, there are times when we need to spend large sums.”
“But how does your organization fund itself? From what I can tell, it seems like you’re the one providing most of it.”
At Lee Hye-eun’s subtle question, Jang Ma-ru laughed.
“Most of it I do provide… but the people we deal with are those powerful enough to evade or obstruct legal judgment. And there’s something they all have in common—money.”
“Right! Those people have plenty of money. So you’re skimming from them?”
“We don’t touch legitimate funds. We take a portion of the illegal assets they’ve hidden away. The rest gets returned to the state treasury.”
“Hmm! That must add up to quite a bit?”
“It does. But we have many places where money goes out too.”
“I suppose running an organization like this requires spending money in many places.”
“There’s that, but… a lot of money goes toward helping crime victims.”
“Crime victims?”
“We help people who’ve suffered from crimes. Whether it’s medical support or legal assistance.”
Then Jang Ma-ru looked around and spoke.
“This factory here employs people who’ve been victims of crime and their families.”
“That’s good work.”
“Rather than good work… I hope the money is used properly. If it stayed with those people, it would be spent in the shadows, dirtily.”
“So you all don’t save money separately?”
“I’m not really collecting anything in particular…”
Jang Ma-ru whispered softly.
“I secretly made a separate pouch without my older brothers knowing.”
“Without them knowing?”
“Ah! But that doesn’t mean I’m saving it so I can live well and comfortably for myself.”
Jang Ma-ru playfully waved his hand and continued.
“My oldest brother has a respectable job, and even after retirement, he’ll probably open his own law practice. But Tae-sik hyung—he’s useless for anything except his fists.”
“That’s right. That Choi guy is useless for anything except his fists.”
Jang Ma-ru laughed as he watched Lee Hye-eun nodding in agreement.
“So when Tae-sik hyung retires, I’ve already prepared a farm in Gangwon Province so he can farm somewhere with nice scenery. And if Sung-un hyung decides he doesn’t want to practice law anymore later, he can come live with us too.”
“You really think about your brothers a lot.”
“Because they’re my brothers. When we retire later, Tae-sik hyung will farm, I’ll play games on my laptop in a pavilion or something… and when Sung-un hyung visits sometimes, we’ll grill meat and eat together.”
Jang Ma-ru smiled as he looked at Lee Hye-eun.
“That’s my dream.”
“Hmm… so you’re including me in that dream?”
“Would you like that? Besides, my dream didn’t have anyone to cook for anyway.”
Lee Hye-eun squinted her eyes.
“Are you trying to kill me? Who are you trying to turn into a housewife right now?”
“Hehe! That’s just how I meant it.”
Lee Hye-eun gently stroked Jang Ma-ru’s head as she watched him answer playfully.
“You’re still so young… you must have gone through a lot.”
At Lee Hye-eun’s words, Jang Ma-ru laughed brightly.
***
Prosecutors were gathering one by one in the Prosecutor’s Office Conference Room.
‘What’s Lim Sung-un calling a meeting for?’
‘It’s not really a meeting. He just said there’s a case he can’t handle alone and asked people who could help to gather.’
‘But what’s the case? You don’t know?’
‘Is he going after some conglomerate tycoon?’
‘If it’s Lim Sung-un, he’d do exactly that.’
‘Still, quite a few people showed up. I see a lot of Chief Prosecutors too.’
‘That’s not all. District Prosecutors General from other branches came as well.’
‘It must take time for them to come from the provinces. Why did they come?’
‘Probably because the emails were mostly sent out, and whether prosecutors are close to Lim Sung-un or not, they’re curious about what this is about, so the case would become public knowledge, right? So they probably came to find out first what kind of trouble this guy is trying to stir up.’
‘Still, impressive. Normally, superiors would ask you what trouble you’re trying to cause again, but seeing everyone gathered like this means he didn’t tell anyone.’
‘He’s not the type to tell anyone.’
‘Anyway, he must be quite a big shot. Judging by the fact that he’s summoned all these prosecutors. Things are going to get messy.’
‘There’ll be a storm of blood. Since he’s probably going public with a case that’s bound to draw external pressure if touched.’
The prosecutors who knew about Lim Sung-un murmured among themselves.
They sensed why Lim Sung-un had called them. They were all sharp people—they understood immediately.
And Chief Prosecutor Lee Gun-ak, listening to all this, felt a headache beginning to form.
Who was he trying to touch this time?
After receiving the email, I tried everything—coaxing, threatening, whatever I could do to find out.
But he absolutely refused to say anything. Just….
-I’m trying to report to the organization first because an incident seems likely to occur.
-Just don’t cause an incident then.
-I can’t do that as a prosecutor.
-Then at least report to me. Right now. Now!
-You know that’s not possible.
I had no choice but to come here because of these frustrating conversations.
If I could, I would have removed Lim Sung-un immediately. But I couldn’t.
Prosecutors have their factions too. And those factions are incredibly complicated.
Some are connected to conglomerates, some to politicians. Some ride both the politician and conglomerate lines….
Among those factions, there were those who viewed Lim Sung-un as a useful blade.
That’s why Lim Sung-un was still holding on.
Lee Gun-ak muttered inwardly, wondering why they didn’t realize that a sharp blade could cut their own hands.
After the prosecutors had filled most of the seats, Lim Sung-un appeared.
He climbed directly onto the podium without making eye contact with anyone in the conference room.
Then he bowed deeply to the gathered prosecutors.
Lim Sung-un raised his head, checked the microphone, and began to speak.
『I greet my esteemed seniors, juniors, and colleagues. I am Lim Sung-un. Now, let me get straight to the point. Recently, I received a box containing….』
He paused briefly, and as the prosecutors watched Lim Sung-un glance around at them, they swallowed hard.
Lim Sung-un’s words continued.
『Evidence of corruption and misconduct cases has been received. There are a total of fourteen individuals involved in corruption and misconduct. Given the large number of people and the difficulty of investigating alone, I’ve come here to request your assistance.』
A middle-aged prosecutor interjected.
『Prosecutor Lim, first let the higher-ups review that case….』
The middle-aged prosecutor had immediately sensed the situation. Those involved in this were… definitely major figures.
And not just one or two, but fourteen. Lim Sung-un was trying to touch fourteen major figures at once.
Regardless of who they were, if this continued, problems would definitely arise. That’s why he was trying to stop it here.
『Those fourteen people.』
As Lim Sung-un raised his hand with those words, the lights in the conference room went out and names and cases began appearing on the screen above the podium.
『Six former prosecutors, eight former police officers.』
The faces of the older prosecutors turned pale.
Among the prosecutors now displayed on the screen were former district prosecutors and former chief prosecutors.
Some of them had retired just a few months ago.
『Hey! Lim Sung-un, are you insane!』
Lim Sung-un shifted his gaze to the prosecutor who had shouted abruptly. He was a senior from one class ahead.
Looking at that senior prosecutor, Lim Sung-un spoke.
『The box I received contains clear evidence of misconduct and wrongdoing by the seniors here. As a prosecutor who has become aware of the case, I must investigate. However, I am also a prosecutor who belongs to the Prosecutor’s Office organization.』
Lim Sung-un looked at the white-haired prosecutor. He was the highest-ranking person present in the conference room.
『Knowing that this could damage the organization, I’ve prepared this meeting to seek opinions from my fellow senior prosecutors.』
Lim Sung-un pointed to the screen and continued his explanation.
『Lee Hak-do. Age 58. Fourteen instances of entertainment. Cash in a golf bag….』
Along with Lim Sung-un’s words, photos of a middle-aged man playing with a woman and images of a golf bag being loaded into a trunk appeared on the screen.
『Hey! Prosecutor Lim!』
Ignoring several prosecutors shouting, Lim Sung-un continued reading the evidence against the people on the list.
『That’s a violation of personal information!』
To someone’s outcry, Lim Sung-un paused momentarily and, looking at the people, spoke.
『It is not a violation of personal information. The reason is that we are prosecutors. There is no one here who is not a prosecutor. Everyone here is a prosecutor and each one is an investigative agency. We have gathered to consult about the investigation of suspects with criminal allegations.』
Lim Sung-un pointed at the screen and continued reading through the evidence. At his actions, the prosecutors who had intended to stop him exchanged uncomfortable glances with one another.
To block him here would inevitably appear as external pressure to the other prosecutors. Moreover, the evidence was far too conclusive.
Finally, after reading through all the evidence, Lim Sung-un addressed the prosecutors.
“If you tell me to bury this case, I will bury it.”
Lim Sung-un pointed at the screen.
“With evidence this clear and the suspect already identified, if my fellow prosecutors ask me to cover it up, I will cover it up. But I must ask: should this truly be buried?”
Lim Sung-un lifted his gaze toward one direction.
“Prosecutor General.”
At his words, the prosecutors gasped and turned in unison toward where he was looking. A man stood at the entrance of the conference room.
It was none other than the head of the Prosecutor’s Office—the Prosecutor General who commanded approximately 2,100 prosecutors across Korea.
All the prosecutors hurriedly rose to their feet and bowed their heads to the Prosecutor General.
The Prosecutor General, having surveyed the room of prosecutors, opened his mouth.
“Since a question was asked, an answer must be given. Anyone who believes this investigation should not proceed, remain seated.”
At the Prosecutor General’s words, the prosecutors exchanged glances with one another. Yet no one moved.
The Prosecutor General watched the prosecutors in silence.
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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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