Prosecutor Kim Seo-Jin - Chapter 125

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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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The Chaebol’s Son (4)
And Do Gwang-hyun stood beside me.
Do Gwang-hyun, who had been smiling faintly until now, removed his sunglasses and wore a somewhat serious expression.
“…The Chief Secretary seems to have no choice but to help us, but the problem is President Shin Ji-yeon. Can we trust her?”
Shin Ji-yeon, the eldest daughter of the Shinma Group chairman.
She joined hands with me to catch Shin Il-seung.
But.
“I can’t trust her.”
The reason Shin Ji-yeon helps me isn’t some abstract word like ‘justice’.
It’s purely a fight over assets.
More subsidiaries, more shares, and more money.
The motive is greed.
She’s using me for that reason.
And I knew that reason too.
“Once we catch Shin Il-seung, she’ll turn on us.”
Shin Ji-yeon doesn’t want Shin Il-seung to go to prison.
She hopes to use him as her hidden card.
“When Shin Il-seung comes to the Prosecutor’s Office, Shin Ji-yeon will make her real move. And she’ll try to negotiate with Shin Il-seung.”
“Hand over your shares. Then I’ll get you out.”
Shin Ji-yeon has the power to do that.
She’s probably preparing for it right now.
And if she succeeds, Shin Ji-yeon will catch two birds with one stone.
-She can obtain Shin Il-seung’s shares.
-She can gain recognition from the Shinma Group chairman.
Even if she’s an ally now, she’ll be an enemy then.
I need to prepare for that too.
“By then, even if the Chief Secretary exposes Shin Il-seung’s crimes, she won’t take any damage. Through the media, she’ll treat the Chief Secretary like a madman. And she’ll meet with a few vocal victims of stock manipulation and give them money to keep quiet.”
“….”
“After that, she’ll exert influence over the Prosecutor’s Office. Once it reaches that point, the game is over. No one will care about Shin Il-seung’s crimes anymore.”
Do Gwang-hyun’s face hardened as he listened to my words.
In this society, the title of chaebol is one of absolute powers.
Moreover, Shin Ji-yeon is different from Shin Il-seung.
Shin Il-seung isn’t even thirty yet.
A chaebol just beginning.
But Shin Ji-yeon is over fifty.
Her wealth, power, and character are nearly complete.
Do Gwang-hyun’s gaze shifted to me.
No matter how fearless a prosecutor I am, there are things I can and cannot do.
Shin Ji-yeon is such an existence.
Yet I wasn’t tense.
Instead, I let out a quiet laugh and opened my mouth.
“Don’t worry. You win the fight first, then you fight.”
“Pardon?”
“When I told Shin Ji-yeon that Shin Il-seung was using drugs, she said something like this.”
“You can just say he used it instead of painkillers because his body wasn’t feeling well. Then it’s over. Don’t you know?”
The excuses of those caught with drugs are varied.
Among them, two are commonly used.
-I didn’t know it was drugs.
-I received a proper prescription. It’s medicine.
“But what excuse will they make when it’s revealed that he consumed drugs like vitamins? That’s really making me curious.”
I left behind those cryptic words and trudged down the stairs.
*
*
*
Boom! Boom!
A place where music blared loudly—a massive building operated entirely as a club from basement level 1 through the 5th floor above ground.
A waiter hurriedly emerged from the crowd of people waiting in line to enter.
Without hesitation, he turned directly into the alley behind the building.
A man wearing a pulled-down hat stood there.
The man, recognizing the waiter, walked over briskly.
“1.8 grams, enough for about 60 people. When injected into a vein, the effect lasts six to ten hours.”
“High purity?”
“Our ice is reliable, you know. They’ll be pleased if you tell them it’s fresh stuff that came in from Mexico yesterday.”
Ice was slang for methamphetamine.
A small vinyl packet—methamphetamine—passed between their hands.
And just as the waiter turned his body while waving the vinyl packet.
“Hey.”
An unfamiliar voice was heard.
Turning his head, a strange shadow walked toward them.
“Did you just deal drugs?”
It was Seo Jin.
The waiter narrowed his eyes and asked.
“…Who are you?”
“Prosecutor.”
Both men’s eyes widened.
They turned to flee.
“Hey, don’t go that way. There are scary detectives guarding there. You know how scary the Drug Investigation Unit is, right?”
At my words, the two men exchanged glances.
And their choice was swift.
They turned again and rushed toward me.
Whether you’re a prosecutor or whatever, if you run, it’s over.
And there are two of them.
“Get out of the way, you bastard!”
Yet as the two men rushed toward me, I opened my mouth in a leisurely tone, as if I were out on a pleasant outing.
“Come in.”
“You crazy son of a bitch!”
The man in the hat thought I had lost my mind.
Normally, when someone charges like this, even detectives get frightened.
They might be carrying a knife, after all.
But I was different.
Even in this situation, I was brimming with composure.
‘What’s this?’
It was the moment the thought crossed my mind.
The bodyguards hidden in the shadows descended upon them, and with a sharp crack, the man and the Waiter slammed into the ground.
There was no time for gasps or flailing.
The bodyguards swiftly subdued both the man and the Waiter.
All the two could do was spew curses from their mouths.
“Damn it!”
Then I slowly approached the man, removed his hat, and spoke.
“A drug dealer, huh?”
You can tell just by looking at the eyes.
People who have been addicted to drugs for a long time have different pupils.
I rolled up the man’s sleeve.
It was covered with injection marks.
“My goodness, you’ve even been injecting?”
Drugs typically start with consumption—mixed into beer or other beverages.
But the fate of a drug addict is to crave ever-stronger stimulation.
Eventually, they find a vein and plunge the needle in.
Once you reach this point, you’re a true addict.
“I don’t know anything! I’m telling you, I don’t know!”
I tapped the man’s cheek lightly as I spoke.
“I understand. Wait.”
This time, I rolled up the Waiter’s sleeve.
His arm was clean.
At least he was someone I could reason with.
“I-I didn’t know what this was. This person just suddenly gave it to me…”
Of course, “could reason with” was relative to the drug addict.
He too was spouting incoherent excuses.
I placed a cigarette between the Waiter’s lips and spoke.
“Don’t worry. I’m not trying to find out who’s above you through you two.”
“…Of course?”
The Waiter blinked.
As long as it didn’t touch the higher-ups, it didn’t matter who got arrested.
Otherwise, anyone’s name could be spilled.
Seo Jin knew their habits well and pulled out his phone, showing it to the Waiter.
“You know this woman?”
The man’s eyes widened.
Seo Jin patted the Waiter’s shoulder lightly and continued.
“Let’s do a job.”
*
*
*
A few days later, at a drama filming set.
The actress finished her work and boarded a luxury van.
Lee Sol-ah, the woman Shin Il-seung from Shinma Group has been seeing lately.
“Take me to the Hotel.”
Lee Sol-ah opened her mouth while fiddling with her phone, her tired face showing, but her manager’s expression was displeased.
“You know your name’s been appearing in the gossip columns lately? Just be a little careful….”
“Stop. If you keep talking, I’m seriously going to disappear.”
“Unnie!”
“Does Shinma Group seem unable to control one entertainment reporter? Don’t worry about it and just drive.”
The manager sighed.
And then, very carefully, opened her mouth again.
“Unnie, the rumors about Shin Il-seung aren’t good. Whatever he’s whispering to you, it’s all lies….”
“Say one more word. I’m really going to disappear.”
Lee Sol-ah’s eyes turned cold.
The manager said nothing more and gripped the steering wheel.
The vehicle moved forward.
Lee Sol-ah stared only at her phone.
Occasionally, she furrowed her brow.
She’d sent Shin Il-seung several messages, but he hadn’t replied.
‘Is he busy?’
And shortly after.
The manager driving tilted her head in confusion.
It was because of the car ahead.
“Did that bastard drink?”
This was a Rural Road.
Not a place for cars to travel at this late hour.
Yet the car ahead was moving frustratingly slowly.
Then it came to a complete stop.
“What the—?”
This was a single-lane road.
There was no way to swerve around.
The manager honked the horn, but the car ahead showed no sign of moving.
“Damn it, what kind of lunatic is this?”
The manager opened his door and stepped out.
He approached the sedan ahead.
He rapped his knuckles against the driver’s window and spoke.
“Hey! You there!”
The driver’s window rolled down smoothly.
Just as the manager was about to open his mouth with a scowl—
“Lee Sol-ah is in the car behind you, isn’t she?”
It was Seo Jin.
But the manager, not recognizing him, furrowed his brow.
“A stalker? What kind of psycho are you?”
Fury saturated the manager’s voice.
Yet Seo Jin calmly produced his identification.
In that instant, the manager’s face went pale.
“A… a prosecutor?”
“I need to speak with Lee Sol-ah. Could you arrange that for me? Or would you prefer I summon her to the Prosecutor’s Office for questioning? The press would love that—’Innocent Actress Called in by Prosecutors.’ What do you say?”
“What’s this about?”
“You don’t need to know. I’m just here to verify something, so a brief conversation will suffice. What’ll it be?”
The manager stared hard at Seo Jin’s face.
He couldn’t believe a prosecutor would block traffic like this.
But looking more carefully, he recognized the face from the news.
The manager exhaled a sigh and nodded.
*
Seo Jin climbed into Lee Sol-ah’s vehicle.
Lee Sol-ah didn’t even glance at him, her eyes fixed on her phone as she spoke.
“What brings you here, Prosecutor?”
“I’m curious about something.”
“What?”
“Are you planning to marry Shin Il-seung?”
At the unexpected question, irritation flashed across Lee Sol-ah’s eyes.
Shin Il-seung hadn’t even called her, and now this prosecutor suddenly appears asking such a thing.
Her sharp gaze turned toward Seo Jin.
“Ha! You’re not actually a prosecutor, are you?”
Seo Jin remained composed.
He had anticipated this reaction from Lee Sol-ah.
And the sharper her edge, the more it played into exactly what I wanted.
“Has Shinma Group ever accepted an entertainer as a daughter-in-law?”
“Hey!”
“They won’t even take entertainers as mistresses. And now Shinma Group is arranging a marriage with a woman who used drugs? That’s ridiculous.”
“…What did you just say? What? Drugs?”
“Yeah, drugs.”
I activated the recording app on my phone.
The waiter’s recorded voice played.
-Lee Sol-ah? Well… I shouldn’t be saying this, but she comes once a week. She goes to the VIP Room looking for ice, you know? So ice is….
Lee Sol-ah’s movements froze.
She turned her head toward me, struggling to hide the anxiety in her eyes.
“What… are you doing right now?”
Despite the recording of drug use and a prosecutor standing right there, Lee Sol-ah showed no panic.
She trusted Shin Il-seung.
She knew the power of Shinma Group.
Lee Sol-ah’s fingers moved frantically as she pressed the call button.
She was calling Shin Il-seung.
She believed that once he answered, everything would be resolved.
But I shook my head.
“He won’t answer.”
“…!”
I spoke as though I knew everything.
And just as I said.
-The call cannot be connected….
Lee Sol-ah’s eyes turned back toward me.
I continued.
“Elmi? I heard there’s an idol singer by that name. Anyway, that singer just entered the hotel where Shin Il-seung is. I don’t know what they’re doing, but it certainly isn’t playing children’s games.”
I turned on my phone and showed a photo of the idol singer Elmi, famous for her physique.
And she was heading toward the hotel’s VIP-exclusive elevator.
Where she was going was obvious.
Lee Sol-ah’s eyes wavered.
Feeling the betrayal, she bit her lip so hard it drew blood.
And I didn’t miss that look in her eyes.
“Check it out. And if you want revenge or want to destroy Shin Il-seung’s life, or if you need that kind of help, contact me.”
Lee Sol-ah didn’t answer.
She stared ahead with furious eyes.
*
*
*
-You can take the VIP-exclusive elevator. When will you arrive?
It was December 27th, when little remained of the year.
Seo Jin was taking a call from Lee Jung-ho, the Minister’s son.
“I don’t think I’ll be able to make it for another two hours. I’m still swamped with work.”
-You’re working hard even on the weekend. Take your time.
Today was the gathering of the powerful men’s son and daughter, along with Shin Il-seung.
Finally, I would see Shin Il-seung’s face.
Seo Jin set the documents on his desk and gazed out the window.
‘Let me see this expensive face for once.’
But that would have to wait until work was finished.
Seo Jin resumed reading through the documents.
Then, needing to verify something, he accessed a portal site.
But then.
‘Huh?’
A breaking news alert appeared.
-Lee Sol-ah, vanishes.
He immediately checked the article.
The story was that Lee Sol-ah had skipped drama filming and disappeared.
At the same moment, Seo Jin’s phone vibrated.
“Yes, this is Kim Seo-jin….”
-You saw it, right?
It was Lee Sol-ah.
She was speaking casually without any formality.
“Where are you right now?”
-Did you see the article?!
“Yeah.”
After I gave her the answer she wanted, silence stretched out.
Seo Jin waited for her voice.
And after a moment passed, her voice came through, drained of energy.
-…You told me to contact you if I needed help, right? I need it. I need help.
Seo Jin gripped his car keys and rose to his feet.
*
When I met Lee Sol-ah again, she was at a villa in Yangpyeong, Gyeonggi Province.
She looked nothing like she had a few days ago.
Back then she’d seemed exhausted, but her face had been quite beautiful.
“…Could she have been assaulted?”
Even with sunglasses on, I could see her nose and cheekbones darkened with bruises.
And when Lee Sol-ah nodded and removed her sunglasses, it was truly devastating.
I didn’t need to hear what happened to understand.
Lee Sol-ah must have pressed Shin Il-seung about his women.
And Shin Il-seung had used violence.
Brutally.
Lee Sol-ah placed her sunglasses on the table and opened her mouth.
“I did drugs. I’ll admit it.”
Lee Sol-ah’s voice was genuinely chilling.
The old saying that when a woman harbors resentment, frost falls even in summer felt viscerally true.
“But I didn’t do it alone. I did it ‘with’ Shin Il-seung.”
“….”
“Why aren’t you answering? You said to contact you if I wanted to ruin that bastard’s life?”
“….”
“Can’t you? Having second thoughts? Because that bastard’s a chaebol?”
“….”
“Damn it! Answer me!”
Lee Sol-ah’s eyes blazed with cold fury.
And Seo Jin nodded.
“Can you do whatever I tell you to?”
*
*
*
“A famous person has arrived!”
It was a VIP Room where a gathering was taking place.
As Seo Jin entered, the men welcomed him.
Already drunk, they swayed and spouted nonsense.
But Seo Jin had no interest in them.
Only.
‘Shin Il-seung.’
The man who would soon be destroyed sat on the sofa with an arrogant expression, watching Seo Jin.
He raised a wine glass and spoke.
“Prosecutor, you know who I am, right?”

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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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