Prosecutor Kim Seo-Jin - Chapter 113

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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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A Dog with Shit on Its Tail (1)
Moments later, I slipped out.
Chief Prosecutor Kim Young-jun lit a cigarette and smiled bitterly.
‘…If only Kim Yun-hwan were even half like that.’
What I embodied was everything Kim Yun-hwan lacked.
The execution to act without hesitation or intimidation regardless of the opponent, backed by genuine competence and unwavering confidence.
I forge my own path without leaning on anyone.
But Kim Yun-hwan was different.
He always sought the easy way out.
He relied on Chief Prosecutor Kim Young-jun’s power or schemed for shortcuts.
Even now, it was the same.
He refused to choose the difficult path.
He whined and coveted a position at Jaejeong Construction.
‘Sigh….’
Chief Prosecutor Kim Young-jun shook his head, comparing my image with Kim Yun-hwan’s.
‘I raised him wrong.’
*
*
*
I was in my office.
I was reviewing the documents on my desk and the evidence I’d brought out from inside Buwun Church.
First and foremost….
‘Embezzlement.’
Shin Ji-seok had created a church with nothing but a sign and hidden funds there.
He’d created numerous shell accounts using the names of homeless people and others to launder the money.
‘That’s good for five years.’
But I had no intention of stopping at five years.
This time, I held the notebook—the ledger documenting bribes given to those in power.
I opened the notebook and read through it, shaking my head.
‘It’ll be difficult to use.’
Once powerful figures are implicated, it becomes a mudslinging match.
Because they’ll certainly cry out when they see the ledger.
“It’s all a political conspiracy! It’s a lie!”
There’s a possibility that all the evidence could become worthless scraps and disappear.
The monsters of this era have more than enough power to make that happen.
‘Punk bastards.’
Most of the politicians I’d encountered so far were similar.
They laughed while watching the people get ground down.
But they wept and suffered over a tiny splinter lodged in their own hand.
They were afraid precisely because they had so much to lose.
With even a small weakness, one can seize someone by the hair and drag them up the ladder of power.
‘I cannot rely solely on Kim Young-jun.’
Kim Young-jun’s authority is formidable, but it remains incomplete.
In his ascent to Prosecutor General, he made many enemies and faces opposing factions.
Particularly through this pseudo-religious cult case, there’s a strong possibility he’s fallen out with Baek Ki-ho.
I opened my desk drawer and tossed out the bribery ledger.
‘I’ll use this.’
Then I seized the next piece of evidence.
The list of believers—Lee So-hee had filtered out the missing and deceased and sent it to me.
‘Thirty-two mysterious deaths, forty-seven missing persons.’
Once I place their deaths on Shin Ji-seok’s shoulders, the game is over.
‘The problem is.’
My gaze shifted to the whiteboard placed beside me.
Photographs of attorney Kang Seok-ryong and his team members were pinned there.
They formed a brain trust of thirteen defense attorneys.
‘Thirteen on their side.’
But I stand alone.
No dedicated prosecution team has been assembled for this case.
Kang Seok-ryong prefers battles fought behind the courtroom rather than legal arguments.
He excels at digging up prosecutors’ weaknesses and exploiting misconduct to turn them into prey.
That’s why more people mean more danger. Being alone is simpler.
Suddenly, as I stared at Kang Seok-ryong’s photograph, a faint smile crossed my lips.
‘Well, I also enjoy fighting behind the courtroom. Let’s play dirty. I’m curious who’s the bigger bastard.’
*
*
*
Law Firm J&S.
Attorney Kang Seok-ryong stood in the conference room, his eyes gleaming with intensity.
“You all know the representative has taken an interest in this case, right?”
Twelve attorneys seated in the conference room wore satisfied smiles.
They were anticipating hefty bonuses following their victory.
“A billion-won case. A billion won!”
A sum that rarely emerges outside of inheritance disputes among the ultra-wealthy.
“We’re taking this case.”
Kang Seok-ryong slammed both hands on the table and began issuing orders.
“Attorney Park Sung-woo! Dig through Seo Jin’s past trials. Find out exactly how he conducts his cases—every detail.”
“Yes!”
“And Attorney Kim Young-hyun! The prosecution’s final evidence will center on murder and disappearances. They say the ringleader fled—secure him before the police do. We keep him in hand until after the trial concludes!”
“Yes!”
The orders continued without pause.
“Dig into the Judge’s background! Meet with him, wine and dine him. Then take him to a Room Salon. Have Attorney Jang meet the Judge’s wife there. And get him a Mercedes through a lease agreement. If he refuses, go find his mother-in-law, his wife’s mother. Keep pushing until someone accepts—even if you have to work through his wife’s distant relatives!”
“…!”
“You investigate Seo Jin’s personal assets. Profile everyone he meets. Check if he’s been involved in school violence or anything like that from kindergarten to now! Especially his relationships with women—focus on that. That bastard’s got a pretty face, right? There’s definitely something dirty there.”
“….”
“And Attorney Shin Do-yul, Seo Jin’s house was built by Jaejeong Construction, right? Shake that tree. There’s never a construction site without some dust flying.”
Attorney Kang Seok-ryong was thinking to himself.
You enter a trial only after you’ve already secured victory.
There’s no one who won’t shake loose some dirt when you dig hard enough.
Attorney Kang Seok-ryong continued speaking as he walked toward the window, hands clasped behind his back.
“Seo Jin is famous for being a lucky prosecutor. But luck doesn’t last forever. It always runs out eventually. And that time is now.”
“….”
“In this trial, we’re going to strip him bare. We’ll show this man—who’s lived a smooth life thanks to his father and uncle Baek—exactly what the bottom looks like!”
Attorney Kang Seok-ryong’s voice continued on.
That’s when Attorney Shin Do-yul’s phone vibrated.
He was the one Kang Seok-ryong had just ordered to investigate Jaejeong Construction.
Attorney Shin Do-yul glanced around before picking up his phone.
A message appeared.
-Let’s grab a meal.
Attorney Shin Do-yul was thinking “Who is this?” when—
-It’s Seo Jin.
His eyes went wide. He was about to report that Seo Jin had contacted him.
But then came the next moment.
-Your daughter got into college through fraudulent admission, didn’t she?
Attorney Shin Do-yul’s body went rigid.
His pupils dilated.
Another message came through.
-She’s quite pretty too. The reporters would love this story. If I don’t hear from you within one minute, I’m releasing it.
Attorney Shin Do-yul felt as though he’d encountered the devil himself as he frantically typed a response.
-Where should we meet?
That’s when Attorney Kang Seok-ryong’s voice came down like thunder.
“Attorney Shin Do-yul, pay attention!”
“Ah, my apologies.”
Attorney Shin Do-yul quickly hid his phone in his pocket.
*
*
*
At that same moment.
I looked up after confirming the message had been delivered to Attorney Shin Do-yul.
I was sitting in a Coffee Shop in the Lobby of the Hotel where Jin-young worked.
‘Quite the formidable opponent.’
Jaejeong Construction wasn’t a conglomerate-scale enterprise.
But it had enough wealth for someone to spend their entire life in leisure, buying whatever they desired with money to spare.
Yet the son of that household worked in a hotel kitchen.
He’d started from the very bottom and was delighted to be holding a frying pan.
It was while I was thinking about Jin-young that it happened.
My face tingled as I felt the weight of surrounding gazes.
Passersby kept stealing glances at me.
I could hear their voices too.
“That’s him, right?”
“Yeah, that’s him. Kim Seo-jin.”
People had started recognizing me over the past few days.
My face had appeared in the media before, but no one paid close attention to a prosecutor giving a briefing.
But things changed once the pseudo-religious cult case began.
Apparently, catching the cult leader and pastor through solo action made me look like a hero.
A zombie movie article even had a comment saying, “Our country will be fine because Kim Seo-jin will catch the zombie hosts.”
‘Damn it.’
I was wondering if I’d need to wear a hat everywhere from now on when I picked up my coffee.
Jin-young pulled out a chair and sat across from me.
I pushed the coffee I’d ordered for him forward and asked.
“Did I pull you away from something busy?”
“Oh, I’m on break right now. It’s fine.”
Jin-young’s face was different from how he looked at home. His expression, usually bright while working, appeared exhausted.
Jin-young brought the coffee to his lips and spoke.
“But why? What’s going on?”
“I came to ask you something.”
“What is it?”
“My past. What kind of person was I in high school and middle school? Did I have a girlfriend?”
I had to face attorney Kang Seok-ryong.
He was a petty man who dug up forgotten pasts and pushed his opponents into an abyss.
The problem was that I didn’t know what kind of life I had lived.
An unknown past could become a variable and lead me into crisis.
That’s why I’d come to Jin-young to ask about it.
Jin-young crossed his arms as he saw my serious expression.
Then he murmured, “The past, huh…” and opened his mouth.
“You know I hung out with Yun-hwan after becoming a prosecutor, right?”
“Yeah.”
The drinking and playing the rich kid games.
But that didn’t seem like it would be a problem.
The original me—not the current me—had a purpose in following Kim Yun-hwan’s footsteps.
A man with a purpose wouldn’t have dragged his shameful secrets around carelessly.
Jin-young set down the coffee and continued speaking with a dark expression.
“When you were in school, hyung… you had a lot of problems.”
Seo Jin’s face hardened.
If he’d made it all the way to becoming a prosecutor, there was a high chance he’d spent his life doing nothing but studying.
So I’d only meant to confirm roughly how he’d lived, but it seemed that wasn’t the case.
Depending on Jin-young’s answer, I might need to reconsider my fight with Kang Seok-ryong.
Jin-young continued.
“He liked girls too. Got into a lot of fights. Mom and Dad were so worried back then….”
It was an unexpected revelation.
Seo Jin looked at Jin-young with a face full of concern.
“…Really?”
But then Jin-young suddenly grabbed his stomach and burst out laughing.
“Just kidding, kidding. Relax your face. After academy, I’d just come home and read books.”
“Huh?”
“Dad used to say a man should know how to rebel too, and he’d even tell me to go to a PC Bang. He once tore up my books over it. I remember thinking about telling him that hyung had hidden some adult manga back then. Hahaha.”
Seo Jin laughed in relief and relaxed his tension.
Fortunately, it seemed there was nothing for lawyer Kang Seok-ryong to uncover from the past.
*
*
*
That night, in an apartment in Gangnam.
Lawyer Kang Seok-ryong stepped out of his car.
His phone rang incessantly.
Lawyer Kang Seok-ryong inserted his Bluetooth earpiece and answered the call.
“Seo Jin meets with Jo Woo-jae often? Fine. That bastard has nothing worth digging into. He’s a nobody. Focus on his family. Oh, and forget about Prosecutor Kim Young-jun. That direction is too risky for us.”
Lawyer Kang Seok-ryong stepped into the elevator.
He ended the call as he ascended to the top floor.
With a soft chime, the elevator doors opened, and he stood before his front door.
He entered the code and went inside, where his wife was waiting.
But her expression was bright.
“Why are you in such a good mood? Did you buy a bag?”
“We have a visitor. Why didn’t you answer your phone?”
“A visitor? Who?”
His wife pulled lawyer Kang Seok-ryong’s arm and spoke.
“That famous prosecutor, you know? What was his name again?”
“…A prosecutor?”
“He came to ask if he could join J&S Law Firm through you. He even brought nice gifts.”
Lawyer Kang Seok-ryong tilted his head in confusion.
Faces of famous prosecutors flashed through his mind.
‘Who is it?’
To secure a key position at J&S Law Firm, one had to be at least a Chief Prosecutor at the Seoul Central District Prosecutor’s Office.
Those who fell short had no choice but to come crawling like this, offering bribes and groveling.
“You don’t need to come.”
After stopping his wife, Attorney Kang Seok-ryong walked down the long hallway leading to the reception room.
But then.
“Oh my, you’ve arrived? You’re working quite late, aren’t you?”
It was Seo Jin who greeted Attorney Kang Seok-ryong.
Attorney Kang Seok-ryong’s eyes narrowed.
“…Prosecutor Seo Jin?”
“Have a seat. Attorney life doesn’t seem easy either, does it?”
Seo Jin asked in a melancholic voice, but Attorney Kang Seok-ryong remained guarded and spoke quietly.
“Wait, did you really come here because you want to join our firm?”
Seo Jin chuckled and waved his hand dismissively.
“Of course not.”
“Then?”
“I came to teach you that when you touch someone else’s family, your own family can suffer the same fate.”
“What?”
“Your son is studying abroad in America, right? He came back to Korea not long ago—you didn’t know?”
Seo Jin pulled a photograph from his bag and tossed it onto the table.
“It’s a hotel with a rooftop swimming pool. He rented out the entire rooftop, completely unaware that his father is working so hard late into the night to earn money. Quite the ungrateful son.”
“…!”
“These kids here are entertainment trainees. I’m not sure if they’re minors or adults… but I wonder if they’ve been using drugs?”
Fury erupted across Attorney Kang Seok-ryong’s face.
He glared at Seo Jin as if he wanted to kill him and opened his mouth.
“What the hell are you doing right now?”
“That’s what your son is doing.”
“You bastard….”
“Don’t curse.”
“Hey!”
“Don’t raise your voice either.”
Seo Jin’s expression transformed completely. The gentle facade vanished, leaving only a chilling smile.
Seo Jin stepped toward Attorney Kang Seok-ryong with measured strides.
He brushed away the dust clinging to the attorney’s jacket and spoke.
“Attorney Kang Seok-ryong, when you brush off someone else’s dust, you have to be prepared for your own dust to be brushed off as well. The goal of this trial is naturally Shin Ji-seok’s life sentence… and I’m thinking of going after you too.”
“…!”
“I’ve caught prosecutors and criminals before, but I haven’t caught a lawyer yet.”
Bloodshot veins appeared in Attorney Kang Seok-ryong’s eyes.
This was the first time he’d experienced such disrespect.
Prosecutors and judges all bowed and scraped, yet such words came from the mouth of this green, inexperienced brat.
But Seo Jin ignored the man’s murderous gaze.
I leaned forward toward Kang Seok-ryong, whose fists were clenched tight as he fought to contain his rage, and continued speaking.
“If you so much as lay a finger on my family, you won’t be the only one going to prison. You’ll be seeing your son in the cell next door. Unless you want to receive filial piety in prison, let’s keep this fair and square.”
“…!”
I smiled wickedly and gave Kang Seok-ryong’s shoulder a couple of light pats.
And then.
“Mrs. Kang, thanks for the hospitality!”
I called out loudly and brushed past Kang Seok-ryong.
With that, I slipped out of the house, and soon the sound of the front door closing echoed behind me.
At the same moment, Kang Seok-ryong let out a scream.
“You son of a bitch!”
Kang Seok-ryong began hurling objects from the table without restraint.
And when there was nothing left to throw, he tore at his own hair and shrieked.
“Arrrrrgh!”

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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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