Prosecutor Kim Seo-Jin - Chapter 109

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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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300 Billion (1)
Chief Prosecutor Jo Woo-jae blinked rapidly.
“Sir, Prosecutor General….”
Chief Prosecutor Jo Woo-jae had assumed that Prosecutor General Kim Young-jun was uncomfortable with Buwun Church.
He believed that reputation mattered on the path to becoming Prosecutor General.
The Buwun Church matter could easily leave nothing but the stigma of religious persecution.
But that assumption was wrong.
For Prosecutor General Kim Young-jun, public opinion was irrelevant.
The Prosecutor General wasn’t elected by vote—they were chosen by the hands of those in power.
What mattered was only the breath of the political world.
Reputation was something that faded away after just a day or two in this world.
“Begin!”
At Prosecutor General Kim Young-jun’s resolute voice, Chief Prosecutor Jo Woo-jae bowed his head.
He had to comply.
After Chief Prosecutor Jo Woo-jae left, Prosecutor General Kim Young-jun picked up his phone.
He flipped through his contacts, searching for a congressman’s number.
‘Baek Ki-ho.’
Baek Ki-ho was a four-term congressman with the image of a principled judge-turned-politician.
But the reality was different.
He would shake hands with any thug for the sake of power.
And he was one of the congressmen who had threatened that Buwun Church should not be touched.
That was why Prosecutor General Kim Young-jun had left Buwun Church alone.
Prosecutor General Kim Young-jun, lost in thought for a moment, pressed the call button firmly.
Then his voice came through.
-Prosecutor General, it’s been a while.
Congressman Baek’s tone was warm.
But Prosecutor General Kim Young-jun threw cold water on it.
“Congressman, I’m afraid I must do something regrettable.”
-If it’s regrettable, don’t do it. Why would someone of your standing do such a thing?
“Buwun Church… I need to end this.”
A bewildered laugh came through the receiver.
-Prosecutor General, didn’t you want to become Prosecutor General?
“I do.”
-Then why are you doing this now?
“I’ve heard a rumor. I don’t know who yet, but there’s talk that a certain congressman has a daughter.”
-…Which one?
“Yes.”
At the same time, silence fell on the other end of the line.
According to official records, Congressman Baek Ki-ho had only a son as children.
A daughter did not exist.
But that’s merely official documentation.
Congressman Baek Ki-ho has a hidden daughter, and Prosecutor General Kim Young-jun is currently using her as leverage.
I had intended to use this at a more decisive moment, but Seo Jin takes priority now.
“I’m aware that the girl’s mother is a member of Buwun Church. However, I’m not entirely certain who the father is.”
-….
“I plan to extract the mother from Buwun Church. We’ll incinerate all remaining documents. All for that congressman whose identity remains unknown to us.”
No response came from the other end of the line.
Then came a chilling, creeping laugh.
But Prosecutor General Kim Young-jun spoke without hesitation.
“There will be no harm to you, Congressman. I look forward to our continued cooperation.”
-I’ll be watching.
With those words, Congressman Baek Ki-ho abruptly hung up.
Prosecutor General Kim Young-jun lowered his phone and turned his gaze toward the window.
Prosecutor General Kim Young-jun’s eyes were cold and lifeless.
“You buttoned your shirt wrong from the start too.”
To Prosecutor General Kim Young-jun, Congressman Baek Ki-ho was someone to be eliminated.
I couldn’t bear to watch him swagger above my head.
Suddenly, my phone vibrated.
It was my wife again.
I didn’t answer.
It stopped, then rang again.
The calls kept coming relentlessly, as if possessed.
Prosecutor General Kim Young-jun stared at his phone with bitter eyes and muttered.
“I buttoned mine wrong too.”
Congressman Baek’s Office.
Congressman Baek Ki-ho was smiling.
Yet his face showed neither alarm nor anger.
He simply smiled quietly.
Then he opened a drawer and retrieved a file folder.
Lee So-hee’s face appeared.
Turning the page, Seo Jin’s personal history was written there.
-The man who was with Lee So-hee since Dongnam County.
-Prosecutor General Kim Young-jun’s nephew.
Congressman Baek Ki-ho tapped Seo Jin’s photograph with his finger and smiled knowingly.
“Quite handsome.”
*
*
*
At that moment, Seo Jin stood in the hallway.
His attention was fixed on the enormous screen visible through the open doorway.
For them, today was a time called “weekday service.”
Whether it was a live stream or recorded footage, the believers were praying while watching Shin Ji-seok on the screen.
-That day is coming! I will grant eternal life, so cast away the greed in your hearts, the sins you’ve accumulated in life! Abandon everything! You will become new people, worthy of welcoming that day!
Shin Ji-seok on the screen prayed while folding and unfolding a brilliantly colored fan like a shaman.
He bounced around as if possessed, looking like he might even walk on a tightrope.
-Cast it away! When that day comes, the world’s money will be meaningless—offer it to God and prove your faith now! That is eternal life and salvation…!
In that moment, the screen opened like an automatic door, and white smoke billowed out.
Then Shin Ji-seok appeared, dressed entirely in white.
At the same time, the people who had been praying erupted into chaos.
“Master! Master!”
“Wow!”
Shin Ji-seok approached the microphone and snapped his fan open.
Then he brought his mouth to the microphone and spoke in a serious voice.
-When that day comes, those who boast of their petty success! They will kneel before you believers and beg! Save me! Grant me salvation! The world will be turned upside down. That’s when you’ll have your turn! Your current hardships are temporary. But!
I tilted my head as I listened to that bastard’s voice.
‘People believe in this?’
I tried to understand it somehow.
But it was difficult.
Then Lee So-hee stood beside me.
“Success.”
“You got it?”
“Yeah. Got photos of the member list. I was so nervous I thought I’d die.”
It was while I was meeting with Seo Dong-sik.
Lee So-hee had infiltrated Seo Dong-sik’s room and secured the list.
“Good work.”
“I need to find death reports and missing persons reports first. And then I’ll meet with their families.”
“No, you’re done now.”
“What?”
“Hand over the list you secured to me and go home. Then take your mother and lay low for a while.”
“What are you talking about?”
Lee So-hee’s brow furrowed.
I shook my head.
“It’s a cult. A vicious one at that.”
The distorted actions of people caught in cults are easy to find.
-Murdered a three-year-old child, claiming a demon possessed them.
-Murdered an entire family, claiming they obstructed the church’s expansion.
-Murdered those who tried to leave.
-And that’s not all—rape, loan sharking, assault.
All things that actually happened.
Once a full investigation begins, their target will likely be Lee So-hee, whose everything has been exposed.
“It’s dangerous. I’ll assign security to you, so stay put.”
“But….”
“For your mother’s sake. For yours too.”
My gaze shifted back to Shin Ji-seok.
Then I turned to Lee So-hee and spoke.
“Trust me. I’ll handle it. I’ll show you that he’s just an ordinary man.”
Shortly after, I arrived at the District Prosecutor’s Office.
As I stepped into the elevator, my phone vibrated.
“Yes, Chief Prosecutor.”
-Where are you?
“At the District Prosecutor’s Office.”
-Could you come to my office for a moment?
I reached out and pressed the floor where Chief Prosecutor Jo Woo-jae’s office was located.
Then I headed toward his office.
Chief Prosecutor Jo Woo-jae greeted me with a hesitant expression.
“Please, speak freely.”
As I sat on the sofa, Chief Prosecutor Jo Woo-jae licked his dry lips and opened his mouth.
“Buwun Church—we’re conducting a search and seizure tomorrow morning.”
An investigation that had been stalled until now.
Yet suddenly it was accelerating.
Chief Prosecutor Jo Woo-jae spoke carefully, gauging my reaction.
“I reported it to the Prosecutor General….”
A smile played at my lips.
I could roughly anticipate what had happened.
Chief Prosecutor Jo Woo-jae must have reported it out of concern for my safety.
And thanks to that, I had earned the complete trust of Prosecutor General Kim Young-jun.
A nephew who rushed into danger for his sake.
A nephew the Prosecution Service could trust and rely on.
This order for the search and seizure was clearly meant to be executed before I fell into danger.
Even if the search and seizure of the cult failed, my safety could be guaranteed.
‘Excellent.’
Through Prosecutor General Kim Young-jun’s actions, I could now expect two forms of compensation.
One was trust, which it seemed I had already achieved.
‘The other is….’
Touching a large cult organization is a difficult task.
Even if the police raided it, evidence would have disappeared.
The prosecutors would surely be at a loss.
But if I resolved it?
I nodded to myself.
*
*
*
Shin Ji-seok watered the flowers in his office.
The door swung open and Seo Dong-sik entered roughly.
Shin Ji-seok’s eyes shifted toward Seo Dong-sik.
“Why that expression? What’s happened?”
“I apologize.”
“Apologize?”
Shin Ji-seok set down the spray bottle.
Seo Dong-sik then picked up the remote and pressed the power button.
The television flickered to life, the announcer’s voice urgent and sharp.
-The Prosecution Service has obtained an arrest warrant for Shin Ji-seok and has simultaneously executed two warrants: one for his arrest and another for a search and seizure of the religious organization.
It was undoubtedly a grave situation.
Yet Shin Ji-seok’s expression betrayed no anxiety whatsoever.
“Dong-sik, why do you look so troubled?”
“Sir?”
“The investigation’s focus is predictable. Murder and my personal misconduct.”
Seven people had been mauled to death by dogs, and they were all members of Buwun Church—that was the problem.
And the public was enraged that human beings had become dog food.
But.
“Can they prove the charges? Impossible. And personal misconduct? What else is there besides examining my accounts and the church’s ledgers?”
Without decisive evidence, prosecution would be difficult.
Besides, the slush funds were meticulously managed through shell companies and dummy accounts tied to the church.
They would never find it.
Shin Ji-seok’s gaze drifted toward the window.
Believers passed by below.
Those who recognized Shin Ji-seok bowed respectfully.
Shin Ji-seok waved toward them and spoke.
“They believe dying for me is martyrdom. The more the Prosecution Service persecutes, the more they’ll believe it.”
“…!”
“Gather every believer you can. Block the entrances. If the Prosecution Service attempts forced search and seizure, have someone die. Then tell the media the Prosecution Service killed them.”
“…!”
“This is why the Prosecution Service has never succeeded in touching religion.”
Shin Ji-seok picked up the spray bottle again and resumed watering the flowers.
He spoke quietly.
“Don’t be alarmed. Just prepare a funeral for those who will die this time. Make it as grand as possible.”
“Understood.”
Seo Dong-sik bowed and left the office.
Standing in the hallway, Seo Dong-sik pressed his hand to his chest.
‘Hah….’
The money I received from Seo Jin was at stake.
I’d planned to quietly pocket it and handle it discreetly, but the investigation was moving faster than expected.
Seo Dong-sik, who had been pondering for a moment, shook his head.
‘It should be fine.’
Seo Jin was a prosecutor.
He would never set foot in the church again.
The account that received the money was a shell account anyway—there was nothing to trace.
*
*
*
The next morning.
The air around Buwun Church was tense.
Seven hundred police officers, and countless believers flooding the entrance to seal it off.
The believers raised placards and shrieked their chants.
“Violent mobs, get out! Stop this illegal intrusion!”
“Religious persecution—no way!”
Only the swarm of media outlets seemed delighted.
They alternated between filming the police and the believers, anticipating the bloody clash about to unfold.
Chief Prosecutor Jo Woo-jae, watching them all, stubbed out his cigarette.
‘Already two hours…’
For two hours, nothing had been accomplished.
The believers’ resistance was too fierce.
But fighting with the intent to crush them was also difficult—the cameras were watching.
Chief Prosecutor Jo Woo-jae sighed and stepped forward toward them.
“Believers, we’re not trying to persecute your religion—we’re investigating a murder case…”
“Get lost! You disgusting bastard!”
They hurled trash at Chief Prosecutor Jo Woo-jae while spewing insults.
Chief Prosecutor Jo Woo-jae had to retreat.
‘Damn it…’
Now he had to wait for the police to successfully breach the church through the perimeter.
If that failed too, they’d have to force their way in.
“Ugh… I’m losing my mind.”
Chief Prosecutor Jo Woo-jae clutched his head and scanned the surroundings.
But Seo Jin was nowhere to be seen.
He’d been right beside me just moments ago.
“Hey, where’s Seo Jin?”
He asked another prosecutor.
But that prosecutor didn’t know either.
“Prosecutor Seo Jin? I’m not sure.”
That was when it happened.
“Chief Prosecutor! Chief Prosecutor!”
An investigator came rushing in, breathless and frantic.
Chief Prosecutor Jo Woo-jae’s eyes widened at the man’s grave expression.
“What is it? What?”
“Prosecutor Seo Jin has….”
“Seo Jin? What about him?”
“He scaled the wall.”
Outside was a warzone, but inside the cult compound was different.
Nearly everyone barricaded the entrance, and the interior was suffused with an eerie silence—the calm before a storm.
And there was a room with a sign reading “Master.”
Shin Ji-seok gazed out the window, then clasped his hands in prayer.
“Today, several of our believers will journey to God’s side. Have mercy on their souls….”
Shin Ji-seok wanted someone to die.
Only then would peace come.
Public opinion would shift, and they would curse the Prosecution Service.
That was when it happened.
The door burst open.
He turned his head, wondering if it was Seo Dong-sik….
‘Huh?’
An unfamiliar face stood there, breathing heavily.
It was Seo Jin.
Seo Jin steadied his breathing and stepped forward toward Shin Ji-seok.
“My apologies. I had to avoid the others, so I’m afraid I’m not presentable.”
“Who are you?”
“Prosecutor Kim Seo Jin.”
Shin Ji-seok’s eyes filled with wariness.
Seo Jin shook his head.
“Ah, since I only recently joined, you wouldn’t know me, but I’m a believer here too.”
“A believer?”
“I understand it’s difficult to trust me given the current situation. So… I’m not here for anything else—I came to show Master a way to escape. I want to be chosen as well. It was quite difficult sneaking in….”
Seo Jin spoke as naively as possible while subtly observing Shin Ji-seok’s expression.
But Shin Ji-seok remained guarded.
Seo Jin stopped walking and scratched his head as he spoke.
“You don’t check the membership applications yourself? I donated 300 million won just yesterday.”
“…300 million?”
There was no way Shin Ji-seok wouldn’t know of a believer who donated 300 million won.
A sum that large would certainly have been reported to him.
Seo Jin blinked as he spoke.
“Would you like me to show you?”
Seo Jin displayed his phone screen.
A deposit record appears on the screen.
The recipient is….
“Kang Young-beom? We don’t have anyone by that name in our congregation….”
“Pardon? You don’t have him? But this is the account Seo Dong-sik gave me?”
Shin Ji-seok’s face contorted.
These people were built on misaligned faith.
Create a crack, and they’ll crumble like a sandcastle.
First, I’ll destroy Seo Dong-sik.
Use an enemy to catch an enemy.
As I thought this, Shin Ji-seok approached me.
He grasped both my hands and opened his mouth.
“Could you explain in more detail?”
“Yes, the police are blocking the perimeter, but there’s a way for the Master to escape….”
“No, the money. Or rather, the account. Is this really the account Teacher Seo Dong-sik gave you?”
He was smiling as much as he could, but his eyes burned with fury.
I nodded with the most bewildered expression I could muster.
But in that moment, my vision flooded with black and white.
And through psychometry, I saw it.
The burner account hidden in his bookshelf, and what it contained….
‘…300 billion won?’

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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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