Prosecutor Kim Seo-Jin - Chapter 103

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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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Dedicated Team (2)
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At that moment, I was walking down the hallway.
‘He must have accepted.’
I had brought up the idea of making Seo Jun-kyung a hero to Chief Prosecutor Jo Woo-jae.
And Kim Young-jun, the prosecutor general, would have approved it.
‘Kim Young-jun’s primary objective is the position of Prosecutor General.’
The image of the Prosecution Service was not good right now.
Calls for prosecution reform were gathering from both ruling and opposition parties.
—Political prosecution.
—Unchecked power.
The political establishment sought to check the power of the Prosecution Service.
They feared the prosecution’s blade turning toward them.
But the problem wasn’t the politicians.
Even the public was backing their claims.
The Prosecution Service had never earned the people’s trust.
‘But if making Seo Jun-kyung a hero succeeds, and the people recognize him?’
The image of the Prosecution Service could transform entirely.
And if that happened, the next Prosecutor General would likely become an unprecedented power broker.
‘He could look beyond the position itself, toward what lies beyond.’
From Seocho-dong to Yeouido, and then to Samcheong-dong.
That was the final destination Kim Young-jun envisioned.
But I shook my head.
‘A pipe dream.’
I slipped my hand into my jacket pocket.
The notebook brushed against my fingers.
Inside this notebook lay an unplayed card from the Seoul Central District Prosecutor’s Office.
‘The drug route at the room salon that Madam told me about.’
I planned to hand this card to Jeon Dong-guk, the prosecutor general at the Eastern District Prosecutor’s Office.
Jeon Dong-guk was once the district chief of the Dongnam District Prosecutor’s Office.
A prosecutor who had been exiled for crying out for justice in the law.
I would make Jeon Dong-guk a star, elevating him as a formidable rival to Kim Young-jun.
Kim Young-jun would be flustered by this unexpected obstacle, but I would gain another powerful backer besides him.
‘Perfect.’
A plan where I had nothing to lose.
Seo Jun-kyung’s name would be etched into history by their own hands.
And the more backers one has, the better.
‘Uncle, sorry.’
Seo Jin walked down the hallway with a subtle smile.
He opened the door to the office designated for the dedicated team’s use.
Chief Prosecutor Jo Woo-jae had said, “I don’t know. Criminal Division 3 said they’d send someone,” but there were two people visible inside the office.
One had a menacing appearance with sparse stubble, while the other possessed refined features.
“…What? Seo Jin?”
The man with the menacing face spoke.
“Hello.”
Seo Jin bowed his head respectfully.
They knew his face and name.
But he did not know them.
When Prosecutor Seo Jun-kyung was at the Seoul Central District Prosecutor’s Office, many of the people there had since changed positions.
Moreover, having only recently been assigned, it was difficult to remember all two hundred prosecutors.
“I’m Jang Ji-hyuk from Criminal Division 3.”
That was the menacing man’s name.
Next, the refined-looking man spoke.
“I’m Oh Min-wook from Public Trial Division 4.”
Seo Jin tried to commit both names to memory, but nothing came to mind.
After the introductions, Seo Jin sat down and fell into thought.
The trial this dedicated team would handle was a murder case that Criminal Division 3 had been managing.
The trial itself wouldn’t be a concern, but from Criminal Division 3’s perspective, they must be furious.
Chief Prosecutor Jo Woo-jae had unexpectedly taken over the case they’d meticulously prepared.
‘Would they have sent a reasonable person to the team?’
It was natural to bring someone from Criminal Division 3 who knew the case well when forming the dedicated team.
The problem was that the chief prosecutor of Criminal Division 3 had a difficult personality.
It was quite likely he’d recommended Jang Ji-hyuk with the thought of, ‘Let’s give them a taste of trouble.’
Seo Jin lifted his head and subtly observed Prosecutor Jang Ji-hyuk’s menacing face.
His head was buzzed short, and his physique looked excellent—clearly someone who trained regularly.
Yet he was muttering, “Damn it, they’re all Seoul guys.”
‘This guy’s not reasonable at all.’
Suddenly, Seo Jin’s eyes met Jang Ji-hyuk’s.
He offered a gentle smile, but the man’s eyes narrowed.
Then he strode toward Seo Jin.
‘Is this prosecutor going to pick a fight just because our eyes met?’ Seo Jin thought, when suddenly Jang Ji-hyuk draped an arm around his shoulder in a familiar manner.
“They said you’re the unsolved case specialist, right?”
“Not exactly a specialist, but I do hear such things.”
“Well, anyway. I think we’ll get along. In my view, that bastard isn’t the culprit.”
“Excuse me?”
“I smell it. The stench of a sewer. That smell is telling me the guy isn’t the culprit.”
Prosecutor Oh Min-wook from Public Trial Division 4 chuckled and shook his head.
“Prosecutor Jang Ji-hyuk, why do you keep saying that? All the evidence points to him. His fingerprints are on the murder weapon, he’s captured on CCTV…”
“The murder scene wasn’t even captured on film!”
Oh Min-wook exhaled sharply.
“Please, think about this logically.”
“Damn it, what you see isn’t everything!”
“That’s true. But if what your eyes see is a lie, you should visit an ophthalmologist first.”
This was the first meeting of the Dedicated Team.
Yet from the start, the atmosphere felt ominous.
Fierce glares were being exchanged.
“Oh Min-wook, you bastard….”
Just as Jang Ji-hyuk was growling, the door clicked open and Chief Prosecutor Jo Woo-jae entered.
His flushed face suggested he’d received approval for the “Making Seo Jun-kyung a Hero” project.
Chief Prosecutor Jo Woo-jae surveyed the office.
Though he sensed the frigid atmosphere, Chief Prosecutor Jo Woo-jae paid it no particular mind.
“With me, that makes four of us?”
Chief Prosecutor Jo Woo-jae murmured casually and took the seat of honor.
Once everyone was seated, Chief Prosecutor Jo Woo-jae spoke.
“As you all know, this isn’t a difficult case. The evidence is clear and the target is set.”
“….”
“But it’s not easy either. Our goal is capital punishment—at minimum, life imprisonment. If he receives ten or fifteen years, we’ve lost.”
“….”
“It’s a violent crime. He killed his girlfriend brutally simply because she wanted to break up. Savagely.”
-The defendant’s name is Kim In-yong.
-When his girlfriend asked to break up, he kidnapped and brutally murdered her.
-To conceal his crime, he dismembered the body with a saw and knife, then abandoned the remains in Sihwa Lake in Ansan, Gyeonggi Province.
“Once the trial begins, the media will be watching us. So let’s not embarrass ourselves. Understood?”
Everyone answered, “Yes!”
Then Chief Prosecutor Jo Woo-jae’s gaze shifted to Jang Ji-hyuk.
“Your name?”
“Jang Ji-hyuk, Criminal Division 3.”
“Since you’re already well-versed in this case, Prosecutor Oh and Prosecutor Kim will provide support….”
Chief Prosecutor Jo Woo-jae continued speaking.
In essence: ‘I’ll just listen to reports, so you all work hard.’
Chief Prosecutor Jo Woo-jae had no time to wrestle with a case that was already all but decided.
What Chief Prosecutor Jo Woo-jae needed to do now was twofold.
-Observe Seo Jin.
-Make Seo Jun-kyung a hero.
Chief Prosecutor Jo Woo-jae considered such crude work beneath him—something for the prosecutors below to handle diligently—and had no interest in it.
So he was about to wrap up and leave when—
“Chief Prosecutor, the perpetrator of this case may not be Kim In-yong.”
Jang Ji-hyuk raised an objection.
Chief Prosecutor Jo Woo-jae’s brow furrowed.
‘Lee Sung-sik, this bastard….’
Lee Sung-sik was the Chief Prosecutor of Criminal Division 3.
Chief Prosecutor Jo Woo-jae grasped his nature from a single remark by Prosecutor Jang Ji-hyuk.
‘He’s stirred up trouble.’
I had anticipated that Chief Prosecutor Lee Sung-sik wouldn’t let the case pass easily.
But to throw such a madman at me.
Chief Prosecutor Jo Woo-jae had no desire to exchange further words with this lunatic.
In situations like this, you had to suppress them with force.
“Was it Jung Ji-hyuk?”
“It’s Jang Ji-hyuk.”
“Right, Prosecutor Jang Ji-hyuk. We found fingerprints on the murder weapon.”
“The real perpetrator could easily have fabricated….”
“Are you a defense attorney?”
Prosecutor Jang Ji-hyuk opened his mouth as if aggrieved.
“Chief Prosecutor! It’s not a defense—it’s solid evidence that…!”
“Fingerprints and CCTV footage—what else do you need? If that’s not solid evidence, what is? Do we need to witness someone being stabbed and dismembered with a saw?”
“Kim In-yong has consistently denied it! And there are gaps in the evidence from that testimony!”
“Shut your mouth before I tear your lips off.”
Prosecutor Jang Ji-hyuk bit his lip.
Chief Prosecutor Jo Woo-jae pushed himself up from the table with his hand, fixing Prosecutor Jang Ji-hyuk with a murderous glare.
“And listen well, Prosecutor Jang Ji-hyuk. It doesn’t matter whether Kim In-yong is the perpetrator or not. You’re not a defense attorney—you’re a prosecutor. Your job is one thing: make the judge’s mouth utter the word ‘death sentence.'”
Chief Prosecutor Jo Woo-jae turned his body.
Then he threw out the words “Damn it, wasting time on useless things” and stormed out.
Seo Jin observed Prosecutor Jang Ji-hyuk and Prosecutor Oh Min-wook.
Prosecutor Oh Min-wook rose with a smile that said ‘I knew it would be like this,’ while Prosecutor Jang Ji-hyuk remained seated, his face flushed with indignation, his fists clenched.
If it had ended here, it might have passed quietly.
But at that moment, Prosecutor Jang Ji-hyuk suddenly bolted to his feet.
Without time to stop him, he burst through the door into the hallway and, watching Chief Prosecutor Jo Woo-jae’s retreating figure, shouted roughly:
“Chief Prosecutor! I will catch the real culprit! And if Kim In-yong really is the perpetrator, you can slap me then!”
It was insane just to hear it.
A mere prosecutor spouting such nonsense to a chief prosecutor.
Naturally, Chief Prosecutor Jo Woo-jae’s thunderous voice echoed through the hallway.
“You crazy bastard! Damn it, Lee Sung-sik, you really planned to mess with me! Sending such a lunatic to the Dedicated Team! Do whatever you want! You bastard!”
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Joining the Dedicated Team didn’t mean less work.
It meant one more task was added.
Chief Prosecutor Jo Woo-jae had said “Take a vacation, take it easy,” but if an inexperienced prosecutor relaxed as much as a chief prosecutor, there would be serious consequences.
Documents piled endlessly on Seo Jin’s desk.
By 11 PM.
I rubbed the back of my neck and pulled out a travel bag.
I hadn’t been home in days.
If I didn’t go home tonight, my parents would worry.
I opened the bag and stuffed documents inside with quick, practiced motions.
I planned to finish the remaining work at home—while most people dragged these bags around for flights, for prosecutors they were nothing more than mobile filing cabinets.
I dragged the bag toward the Parking Lot.
I opened the trunk, tossed the bag in, and settled into the driver’s seat.
I turned on the engine and began steering when I suddenly hesitated.
‘Wait a moment….’
I had intended to go home.
But before that, somewhere else came to mind.
I tapped the address into the navigation system.
The crime scene of the Kim In-yong murder case.
Shortly after, I entered Gimpo, Gyeonggi Province, drove along a Rural Road for some time, and arrived at a Warehouse.
-Originally a Warehouse for storing Chinese food products.
-The company had closed, and the place had sat abandoned for three years since.
-Similar Warehouses surrounded the area.
I got out of the car and surveyed my surroundings.
During the day, it would have been bustling with people using the other Warehouses, but night changed everything.
The area was nothing but fields, with no one passing through.
Even if someone screamed, no one would hear it.
Moreover, when the car’s headlights went off, the darkness became so complete that I couldn’t see what was directly in front of me.
‘A perfect place to kill someone.’
I used my phone’s flashlight to illuminate the ground as I moved toward the Warehouse.
And I recalled the police investigation.
-Kim In-yong had worked at the Chinese food company that used this Warehouse.
-He would certainly have known the layout well.
-CCTV from other Warehouses had captured Kim In-yong coming and going from this place.
-Kim In-yong had abducted his girlfriend from Daechi-dong, brought her to this Warehouse, and murdered her.
That was the conclusion.
‘But why is Jang Ji-hyuk so certain it wasn’t him?’
Even if someone acts brutishly, they’ve still become a prosecutor.
Without reason, there would be no cause to oppose so extremely.
‘Why?’
I walked along the building without entering the Warehouse.
I was checking whether there was a way inside that avoided the CCTV.
That was when it happened.
Someone from behind me wrapped their arm around my neck in a chokehold.
And I tightened my grip around his neck, my voice dripping with murderous intent.
“You bastard! I knew you’d show up!”
I contorted my face in fury.
I tried to move my hand to grab his head, but his hair was too short. I couldn’t get a grip.
‘Damn it!’
I didn’t know why he’d suddenly attacked, but I needed to break free first.
I drove the heel of my shoe hard into his shin with all my strength.
“Ugh!”
With his cry, the hand around my neck loosened.
I immediately twisted my body, seized his collar, and slammed him down.
Crash!
He hit the floor hard, clutching his waist and thrashing about.
“Argh!”
I straddled him immediately.
And I clenched my fist tightly, but….
“Huh?”
I recognized the face.
“…Prosecutor Jang Ji-hyuk?”

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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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