Prosecutor Kim Seo-Jin - Chapter 10

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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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Rebirth (8)
“Defendant! Silence!”
“Aaaahhh!”
The Judge brought down the gavel, but Woo Su-jin did not stop.
“Defendant!”
“I didn’t kill them! I didn’t, I swear! Believe me!”
“Officer! Remove her!”
The courtroom officer rushed forward and dragged Woo Su-jin away.
She screamed as she was hauled out, thrashing and struggling against the restraint.
“Aaaahhh!”
Her voice faded into the distance.
The courtroom, now that she had departed, fell silent as though a tempest had ravaged it.
The Judge exhaled heavily and opened his mouth.
“We will recess for ten minutes. Prosecutor, we will decide on the admission of evidence after that.”
The three judges rose from their seats, and Seo Jin departed with Lee Jung-woo as well.
Only Koo Sang-jin remained in that place.
‘Damn it.’
In that brief moment, Koo Sang-jin’s face had darkened.
His eyelids trembled faintly, and his lips had grown parched and cracked.
He had witnessed Woo Su-jin thrashing about like a madwoman, and he felt it with certainty.
‘It’s over.’
This trial had been nothing but one-sided violence.
Without so much as a single argument, he had merely stammered and stumbled through to the end.
The problem was that his opponent was a mere novice whose identification card’s ink had scarcely dried.
His clients would doubt his competence and turn away, and the company would strip his desk from the office.
But Koo Sang-jin did not surrender.
There is a saying that even if a tiger bites you, you can survive if you keep your wits about you.
Driven to the edge of a cliff, he had contemplated his path to survival, and….
‘I found it.’
Koo Sang-jin’s eyes gleamed with light.
He turned his gaze toward the defendant’s seat.
Imagining Woo Su-jin sitting there, he muttered coldly.
‘If someone’s going down, it’ll be you alone! Not me!’
*
*
*
“Prosecutor, and Defense Counsel. Please come forward.”
Ten minutes later, the trial resumed.
Woo Su-jin, having returned, stood vacant-eyed with the look of one who had abandoned all hope, while Attorney Koo Sang-jin exhaled deeply and took his place before the Judge.
The Judge opened his mouth.
“We must now decide whether to admit the mobile phone as evidence. Proceed.”
I adjusted the phone’s volume to a level only they could hear.
Finding the recording file, I pressed play, and an unfamiliar man’s voice filled the courtroom.
-I hit him. But, ah, he still seems to be breathing. What do I do? Should I wait? If I wait, he’ll die anyway…. Ah, damn it. What if someone sees? Hey, Woo Su-jin! Three hundred million won. Got it. I’ll make sure he’s dead. So don’t forget.
The Judge, as well as Koo Sang-jin, swallowed hard.
Woo Su-jin’s name had been spoken, and the promised sum had been revealed.
This was conclusive.
I turned to face Koo Sang-jin.
“Counsel, you should recognize this voice belongs to Jang Dong-ik. What will you do?”
Since this evidence hadn’t been disclosed beforehand, he could object to its admission.
But rejection in this trial only meant it would certainly be admitted in the next one.
When Koo Sang-jin didn’t respond, I asked again.
“Will you proceed by the book?”
The standard approach was to reject the evidence and prepare rebuttal materials before the next trial.
Sometimes one had to work to invalidate the evidence itself.
But Koo Sang-jin didn’t follow protocol.
“I will concede.”
Koo Sang-jin had abandoned this case.
From now on, he intended to claim he’d thought this was merely a traffic accident.
‘That’s the only way to survive.’
Losing this trial meant losing his client.
But he couldn’t afford to lose public favor as well.
If he sacrificed even the income from television appearances, he’d be left with nothing.
Koo Sang-jin shuffled back to his seat.
Then the Judge spoke.
“The evidence is admitted. Prosecutor, continue.”
I held up the phone and stood before Woo Su-jin, looking down at her with cold eyes.
“Defendant, do you know whose phone this is?”
Woo Su-jin stared at me with unfocused eyes.
“…My brother’s, isn’t it?”
“Do you know what’s been recorded on it?”
Woo Su-jin didn’t answer. Watching her silence, I pressed the play button firmly.
-This bastard’s life is so damn stubborn. Still not dead. Ha… Su-jin, what will you do when you get the money? A handbag? You want a Chanel in this situation? Are you seriously insane? If I had three hundred million won….
Jang Dong-ik’s voice filled the courtroom, and people began murmuring.
“Did he really wait until he was dead?”
“That guy’s a psycho.”
“He killed his brother and bought a Chanel with the money?”
That was when it happened.
“Damn it!”
A man’s anguished cry shook the courtroom.
“How dare you call yourself human!”
The man in the factory jacket was Woo Su-kyung’s Husband, the deceased’s widower.
He lunged at Woo Su-jin with brutal force.
His bloodshot eyes blazed as he howled like a beast.
“Are you even human?!”
Living in poverty, desperate to feed the children, he had abandoned home and drifted from factory to factory.
But fortune had not favored him—wages fell behind, companies collapsed, and….
Yet his wife remained steadfast.
“Money doesn’t matter. We’re happy together, aren’t we? So why can’t you come home? Let’s be together starting next year. The children need their father. I’ll work harder.”
That voice still echoed in his ears.
Knowing full well she was suffering, he couldn’t even buy her a single piece of clothing.
“Drop dead! Damn it!”
The court bailiff seized the raging husband.
“Let go! Release me! Please….”
Woo Su-jin’s gaze turned slowly toward her husband.
She regarded him with cold, hollow eyes as she spoke.
Her voice was shameless.
“Su-kyung’s death is all your fault.”
“…What?”
“Why did you live apart? Why couldn’t you earn money? That’s why I took out insurance. I didn’t trust you, so I put it in my name! It’s all your fault!”
“Damn it!”
He thrashed against the bailiff’s grip, desperate to reach Woo Su-jin.
Unable to do anything, he was dragged away, flailing and struggling.
“Let go! Please! Please!”
His anguished cries fell silent, and the courtroom grew solemn. The only sound that broke the stillness was a sigh from the Judge.
The Judge wiped his forehead with a handkerchief.
Despite his long years on the bench, he had rarely presided over such a tumultuous trial.
He spoke in a weary voice.
“Counsel, do you wish to conduct cross-examination?”
“…No. I will not.”
The Judge continued as though he had anticipated this response.
“This concludes the first trial. The next hearing will be held in ten days at 2 p.m.”
The bench departed hastily, and the courtroom exhaled the tension that had gripped its spectators.
I began organizing my materials.
Koo Sang-jin glared from across the room, but I paid no mind, gathering my documents with an impassive expression before turning to leave.
I had no intention of engaging in further psychological warfare with the opposing counsel after the trial.
I walked through the corridor and checked my phone.
Several messages had arrived in the brief interim.
The first was from Lee Jung-woo.
-Something came up suddenly, so I’m heading out first.
I wanted to buy him a meal to thank him for bringing the evidence, but he left before I could ask what was so urgent.
Seo Jin continued scrolling through his phone.
The next message was from Lee Myung-soo.
-Call me when you’re done.
Seo Jin pressed the call button and brought the phone to his ear.
“Yes, Prosecutor. I just finished.”
-Did you? Any mistakes?
Lee Myung-soo hadn’t attended the trial, so he had no way of knowing what had transpired.
His only concern was whether Seo Jin had made any errors against the veteran attorney Koo Sang-jin.
And Seo Jin had no intention of explaining every detail.
The results would speak for themselves once they came out anyway.
“There were no mistakes….”
It was the moment I descended into the parking lot.
An enormous number of reporters who had been waiting for Seo Jin raised their cameras and turned their attention toward him.
And simultaneously, they pressed their shutters and fired rapid questions at him.
“We heard it was you, Prosecutor, who uncovered the suspicion of contract murder in what appeared to be a traffic accident! At what point did you sense something was amiss?”
“We heard this was your first case—did you face any difficulties?”
“Please say something!”
*
*
*
Seo Jin’s Father, Kim Jun-man, entered the house roughly loosening his necktie.
His mother, who had been sitting on the sofa drinking coffee, turned her head to look at him.
“What’s wrong? Did something happen?”
Father didn’t answer, and Mother’s gaze shifted to his hands.
They were full of newspapers.
There was only ever one reason Father came home carrying newspapers like this.
It was when major issues erupted—strikes or accidents at construction sites.
Father opened his mouth with a serious expression.
“Those damn reporters….”
“Are you all right?”
“The prosecutor….”
“What? If it’s a prosecution matter, I can ask your brother-in-law to….”
“Never mind. The prosecutor general isn’t the type to solve problems like this anyway. Forget it.”
Father furrowed his brow and spread out one of the newspapers wide.
The front page was filled with political news.
Father silently turned one page, then another.
As the paper rustled with anxious sound, Mother studied Father’s expression.
She saw tightly pressed lips and furrowed eyes.
Mother wanted to ask many questions, but she held them back.
I could only wait anxiously for my father’s explanation.
Then my father stopped turning the newspaper and pointed at a small article with his finger.
“Read this one out loud.”
My mother read the small text carefully, word by word.
“The Dongnam County murder-for-hire case that nearly went undetected as a traffic accident. The mother of two children would have left this world bearing her resentment. But Prosecutor Seo Jin harbored suspicion from the smallest clue….”
My mother looked up at my father.
“What is this?”
“What do you mean? Our son’s name appeared in the newspaper. Seo Jin.”
“Pardon?”
My father tapped the thick newspaper against his palm as he spoke.
“I’ve bought every newspaper that has my son’s name printed on it. This is the evening edition, and I’m going to buy all the morning editions tomorrow too. I’ve had Secretary Jung print out every article that’s appeared online as well.”
“Wasn’t there another problem?”
“A problem indeed! There are newspapers with my son’s face in them! With such a handsome son, I’m going to be flooded with calls from matchmakers trying to set him up. Do you think I can handle it all? Ahahaha!”
*
*
*
At that moment, at the Dongnam County Branch Office.
After leaving the courthouse, I stopped by the main office to finish an errand for Prosecutor Lee Myung-soo, and had only just arrived at the branch office.
Having concluded the first trial successfully, I needed to express my gratitude.
I bought coffee for the investigators, administrative staff, and Prosecutor Lee Myung-soo who had helped me throughout, packed them in my briefcase, and stepped into the elevator.
I pressed the button for the sixth floor where my office was located, and fell into thought as the elevator ascended.
‘What was that?’
It was this morning when I was riding to the courthouse with Lee Jung-woo.
While listening to Lee Jung-woo’s phone call, I experienced the psychometry phenomenon.
Until now, I had defined it as something that erupts when I touch a certain object.
But I needed to revise that understanding.
‘Does it trigger not just from touching an object, but even from hearing a related story?’
My eyes narrowed.
But then the elevator doors opened with a ding, and I had to stop my thoughts.
There was no point in worrying about it anyway—I wouldn’t find an answer.
I headed straight to the office and opened the door.
“I’m back.”
“Well done!”
The usually gruff Prosecutor Lee Myung-soo pulled me into a tight embrace.
The administrative staff and investigators beside him were clapping enthusiastically.

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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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