Prosecutor Kim Seo-Jin - Chapter 101

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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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Honor (4)
The moment Shin Ju-eon heard his father’s name, his face flushed crimson and his grip on my collar tightened with raw force.
But I remained unmoved.
“You asked, didn’t you? What your father does for a living.”
Shin Ju-eon’s father operated several coin-operated karaoke rooms, arcades, and coin laundromats.
Some might dismiss it as a retirement hobby, but he hadn’t chosen that line of work to earn honest money.
“There’s only one reason—it’s an industry where massive amounts of cash flow through. Right?”
When Shin Ju-eon accepted bribes, the money funneled directly into his father’s businesses.
And what was actually a bribe transformed seamlessly into legitimate earnings.
In other words, money laundering.
My lips twisted into a smile.
“But you should’ve been more careful. Even that slipped through your fingers, you bastard.”
Fury erupted in Shin Ju-eon’s eyes.
He’d only known me for a few days.
Yet in that short span, I’d stripped bare not just his relatives but his father too.
It was clear from the start—I’d targeted him and approached deliberately.
“You son of a bitch!”
Shin Ju-eon raised his fist.
But I remained composed.
“What? Going to hit me? Please do. I’d love to add assaulting a prosecutor to your charges.”
“Hey!”
At that moment, my phone vibrated.
I pulled it out, checked the caller ID, and turned the screen toward Shin Ju-eon.
Assemblyman Song Won-tae
Shin Ju-eon’s movements froze instantly.
His pupils trembled with anxious hope.
Yet even now, he clung to one final hope—that Assemblyman Song Won-tae would intervene.
‘He’s calling to stop the investigation into me, isn’t he? Of course. If I go down, it’s bad for the Assemblyman too, right? That has to be it. After all the time we’ve spent together….’
I smiled faintly and pressed the speakerphone button.
Assemblyman Song Won-tae’s voice came through.
And in that same instant, Shin Ju-eon’s final hope shattered into pieces.
-Prosecutor Kim, I’ve just called the reporters and told them that Shin Ju-eon took bribes.
Shin Ju-eon’s face drained of all color.
He mumbled without thinking.
“A-Assemblyman….”
Hearing that voice, Assemblyman Song Won-tae’s tone turned bitter.
-Prosecutor Kim, were you with Shin Ju-eon? Shin Ju-eon, you filthy bastard. Prosecutor Kim, arrest him immediately!
When I was Seo Jun-kyung, I would have gritted my teeth and refused any politician’s orders.
But an order like this….
“I will comply.”
The call ended.
I slipped my phone into my pocket and turned back toward Shin Ju-eon.
Savoring the sight of his hollow, vacant expression, I opened my mouth.
“I thought it would take three days, but you work fast.”
Shin Ju-eon didn’t answer.
Only his hand, still gripping my collar, trembled uncontrollably.
There was nothing left to hope for.
A hellish future had simply been decided.
‘Wait—there’s one thing!’
Shin Ju-eon’s eyes suddenly gleamed.
He released his grip on my collar and dropped to his knees, slamming his forehead against the ground.
Then he poured out a desperate voice.
“I’m sorry, I’m so sorry. I’ll take it all on myself.”
“…!”
“So please, end it with me. My father was a tenant farmer in the countryside. He knew nothing. I did it all, and he simply followed my lead.”
“….”
“His health isn’t good to begin with, and at his age, going back and forth to the Courtroom….”
It was all lies.
His father did live in the countryside, but he lived well and comfortably.
His health was nothing to worry about.
Yet Shin Ju-eon wept as though every word were gospel truth.
“My older brother and my cousin are the same way. They were just helping with farm work and knew nothing. They only followed my orders. So please, just take me! Please… please!”
He sobbed so violently his whole body shook.
“You have parents too, Prosecutor! Think about it. If they had to stand in the Courtroom….”
Shin Ju-eon lifted his head, his expression pitiful, and studied my face.
My eyes were bitter.
He crawled across the floor toward me and grabbed at my pant leg.
Then he spoke in an even more pathetic voice.
“Prosecutor, Prosecutor!”
Shin Ju-eon wept profusely, licking his parched lips.
‘That should do it.’
He believed that just a little more appeal to sympathy would work.
A prosecutor is human too. It’s only natural that emotions waver when parents are mentioned.
That’s what he thought….
“Sorry.”
“What?”
Shin Ju-eon looked up at me in confusion.
I shook my head with an unwavering voice.
“I’m sorry.”
“W-wait, Prosecutor…?”
“If your brother and father survive, you can pocket the money, and then you can hire a decent lawyer to slash the sentence, right? That’s what you’re thinking? How pathetic. It’s written all over your face.”
Seo Jin slowly lowered his posture and locked eyes with Shin Ju-eon.
There was no warmth in Seo Jin’s gaze.
Only a frigid stare pierced through Shin Ju-eon.
“Go beg that to a judge. I’m a prosecutor. If there’s guilt, I catch it. If there isn’t, so be it.”
“…!”
“But your family has guilt. So I have to catch you. That’s what I’m paid to do.”
“….”
“So stop struggling. You’re finished.”
Seo Jin’s voice thundered in his ears.
But he didn’t give up.
He thrashed even harder than before.
“Prosecutor, just this once! You have parents too, don’t you? Why are you going this far? Why?”
“Why I’m going this far? Seo Jun-kyung’s revenge.”
“What?”
Seo Jin brought his face close to his ear.
“You had the audacity to touch the Prosecutor’s Office. So I’m punishing you for it.”
The color drained from Shin Ju-eon’s face, and his pale lips trembled uncontrollably.
He realized that no words would get through.
‘It’s over….’
Everything was over.
A life lived like a dog, chasing only party nominations, crumbled to dust.
‘This bastard Seo Jin is the reason.’
In that instant, something snapped inside him.
He bolted upright and lunged at Seo Jin with raw ferocity.
“You bastard!”
He swung his fist at Seo Jin.
But this was a man who had done nothing but study his entire life.
Seo Jin sidestepped effortlessly and clenched his fist.
Then he drove his knuckles into his abdomen.
Thwack!
He gasped and staggered backward.
He waved his hand in a gesture to stop, breathing painfully.
Seo Jin closed his eyes tightly at the pathetic sight.
The shame of being bested by someone like that kept him awake at night.
If only it had been Song Won-tae! If only it had been someone of high rank! At least that would make sense….
‘Sigh….’
Seo Jun-kyung had lived with genuine dedication.
He graduated from the Korea National Open University while working at construction sites, and he gritted his teeth preparing for the bar exam.
Though he became a prosecutor at an age later than most, he chose to live not for success, but for the weak like himself.
All of it had fallen apart because of this worthless bastard.
I had no desire to look at him any longer.
“Let’s end this now.”
I twisted my body and pulled the door open with a sharp creak.
Then Lee Dong-young, who had been waiting outside, strode in with heavy footsteps.
Jin Yun-hee’s eyes widened.
“W-what…?”
As Jin Yun-hee adjusted her clothes in embarrassment, Lee Dong-young wrenched Shin Ju-eon’s arm and pulled out handcuffs.
Shin Ju-eon’s face darkened with despair at the sight of the cuffs.
“Let go, let go!”
“Shin Ju-eon, you are under arrest for accepting bribes and money laundering…”
Lee Dong-young paused mid-sentence, his voice remaining clinical.
Then he continued, as if venting his frustration.
“…and for the murder of Prosecutor Seo Jun-kyung. You have the right to retain an attorney…”
Shin Ju-eon’s eyes went wide.
“…Murder? That wasn’t me! It wasn’t me!”
Lee Dong-young pressed down hard on Shin Ju-eon.
He crashed to the ground with a thud.
Yet even in this situation, he opened his bloodshot eyes and raised his voice relentlessly.
“It wasn’t me! I have evidence!”
Lee Dong-young turned toward Jin Yun-hee.
“Don’t you feel sorry for the Prosecutor? Since we’ve come this far, stop lying.”
“I… I don’t know anything.”
“Speak!”
“I don’t know!”
Jin Yun-hee averted her gaze.
She had no intention of saying more.
I stepped forward in front of her and opened my mouth.
“It doesn’t matter if you don’t speak. Everything will come out anyway. But you know this, right? If you cooperate with the investigation, we can reduce your sentence somewhat. Social ruin is inevitable, but at least being outside is better than prison, isn’t it?”
I stood directly in front of Jin Yun-hee and continued in a low voice.
“Answer me. Do you want to challenge life imprisonment alongside that bastard? Or would you rather breathe fresh air in just one year? Oh, should we also shake down your entire family?”
My eyes were demonic, and Jin Yun-hee’s choice came swiftly.
“He said there was an illegal immigrant who kills people professionally! He gave him money…!”
Shin Ju-eon’s head snapped around.
“Damn it! What are you saying!”
*
*
*
Shin Ju-eon’s case was settled as if he had been arrested on Assemblyman Song Won-tae’s complaint.
But the world’s attention was not focused on Shin Ju-eon’s bribery case.
But there was something far more shocking.
Lee Eun-ha and the other reporters she worked with had released an article.
Late Prosecutor Seo Jun-kyung’s Name Cleared!
Sexual Assault Against Staff Member: Late Prosecutor Seo Jun-kyung, Staff Member’s Belated Confession Reveals Everything Was a Lie
Late Prosecutor Seo Jun-kyung’s Death Not Suicide But Suspected Murder!
The article seized control of every portal site, and the comments section erupted into chaos.
-No way. What is this?
-Is the staff member Shin Ju-eon? Sounds like he took money and backstabbed everyone.
-That’s why… A man who passed the judicial exam wouldn’t commit sexual assault so openly, right? And then suddenly suicide? I never believed it from the start.
└Bullshit lol
-But is Shin Ju-eon someone with power? Never heard of him before.
└He was Assemblyman Song Won-tae’s aide.
└Does an aide have that much power? Enough to manipulate the narrative?
└The media smelled blood and rushed in. They didn’t bother fact-checking.
└I heard through the grapevine that he was in cahoots with the Jongno Police Station Chief, playing footsie to make it all go away.
-Everyone who badmouthed Seo Jun-kyung until now, go bang your heads and repent.
-Only the dead deserve pity.
-Prosecutor Seo Jun-kyung, we’re sorry for calling you “Sex Check”!
Seo Jin’s name appeared occasionally in the comments as well.
-But isn’t this also Seo Jin’s doing?
└Yeah, the unsolved case specialist.
└I heard he can hear the voices of the dead.
└Insane lol
└Logically, how is that possible? Where would you find a prosecutor who devours unsolved cases like this? It’s like he’s actually hearing the voices of the dead.
-Seeing the staff member cry was so satisfying! Prosecutor Seo Jin, fighting!
-I was in the same class as Seo Jin in high school. I’m getting asked about it.
The Prosecutor’s Office was also in a frenzy of excitement.
Until now, the name Seo Jun-kyung had remained a disgrace to the Prosecutor’s Office.
Looking at internet comments, you’d often see things like “You prosecutors should just do your jobs. Stop committing sexual assault. You’re a dog with shit on you.”
But now that suspicion had been cleared.
When prosecutors gathered, they couldn’t stop talking about Seo Jun-kyung.
“Wow, Prosecutor Seo Jun-kyung… He must have been so wronged. We all just believed the staff member’s word and pretended not to know anything.”
“I feel bad about it….”
The prosecutors exhaled smoke with bitter expressions on their faces.
Then.
“Is it Seo Jin again this time?”
“Yeah. What the hell is that bastard? How long has he even been here?”
“At this rate, he’s going to step on his seniors for promotion and make us all resign.”
“It’s… good that Seo Jin is doing well, but what does promotion even mean anymore…. My heart aches.”
“Yeah, you’re gonna get stepped on. That’s how it is.”
The prosecutors chuckled amongst themselves.
“Wait, what happens to Lee Dong-young then?”
“What? Lee Dong-young?”
“He made such a fuss about clearing Seo Jun-kyung’s suspicions, then got exiled, didn’t he?”
*
*
*
At that moment, Seo Jin was climbing the stairs.
The columbarium where his ashes rested—a place he had never visited once.
Upon entering the enshrinement room, he caught sight of Lee Dong-young’s silhouette.
Fists clenched, the investigator gazed at Seo Jun-kyung’s photograph.
“Prosecutor Seo Jun-kyung… I’m sorry. At last, at last your honor has been restored. I should have done this sooner…”
Lee Dong-young’s heart poured forth without reservation.
Seo Jin bowed his head slightly toward the investigator.
Then he stood beside Lee Dong-young and gently touched his back.
At that, Lee Dong-young’s tears burst forth.
He tried to hold them back, tried not to cry, biting his lip so hard blood seeped through, yet the tears streamed down relentlessly.
And Seo Jin’s gaze, too, turned toward Seo Jun-kyung’s photograph.
He could see his own smiling face.
‘I’m here.’

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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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