Prosecutor Kim Seo-Jin - Chapter 126

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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 Chaebols’ Son (5)
I regarded Shin Il-seung with emotionless eyes.
He set down his wine glass and smiled.
“Come, sit closer. Let me see your face properly.”
As he spoke, Shin Il-seung lit a cigarette and exhaled smoke.
No—the smell was different.
‘Cannabis.’
He was brazenly smoking cannabis right in front of a prosecutor.
It was clear how little he respected the law.
I walked toward Shin Il-seung with heavy steps.
“Put it out.”
“Why? Are you going to arrest me? Fine, fine. Now I understand what they mean about lasers shooting from your eyes.”
Shin Il-seung stubbed out the cannabis in an ashtray.
Then he pointed to the seat across from him with his finger.
“Sit down. I think we have a few things to discuss.”
I didn’t sit.
I paused for a moment and surveyed my surroundings.
Children of the financial and political elite—seventeen in total.
All of them twisted their lips as they looked at me.
None of them viewed me favorably.
‘If you’d been born to the right parents, you’d just manage some building and live comfortably. Why make life so unnecessarily difficult?’
‘Ugh, this exhausting style—not even a beggar, but still so tiresome.’
I could feel their emotions clearly.
Utter contempt. Naked hostility.
Yet a smile spread across my lips.
‘I like this.’
They say a promising tree reveals itself even from its first leaves.
If I left these people alone, they would become beasts.
They would surely come to see the weak as something to trample and teach a lesson.
I would crush them all.
That was my decision.
As I sat on the sofa, Shin Il-seung lit another cigarette and spoke.
“Cigarettes are fine with you, right?”
“Yeah.”
“I heard you were planning to arrest me on drug charges?”
I narrowed my eyes.
Shin Il-seung burst into laughter at my questioning gaze and continued.
“Why are you playing dumb? You arrested Lee Sol-ah, didn’t you? And you told her about me meeting with her? You bastard—if you’re a man, shouldn’t you keep pillow talk confidential?”
“….”
“Anyway, look. Whether I smoke cannabis or shoot heroin until I drop dead, what exactly are you going to do about it?”
Shin Il-seung exhaled a plume of cigarette smoke directly into my face with a “pssh” and continued speaking.
“You can arrest me? Then go ahead. You brought handcuffs, didn’t you?”
Shin Il-seung extended his wrist toward me.
I simply stared at his wrist without moving.
The men around him burst into raucous laughter at the sight.
“Can’t arrest him?”
“How could you? The Prosecutor’s Office won’t allow it.”
“Besides, aren’t you all just people drawing salaries from our taxes?”
The children of chaebols and powerful figures—they received remarkably similar sentences when arrested for drug offenses.
Suspended sentences. Even those involved in drug distribution received suspended sentences.
They had something to rely on.
Shin Il-seung continued smirking while smoking his cigarette.
“Prosecutor, let’s enjoy life together. You only live once. The common people live as commoners, we live as ourselves, and we draw the line between us—that’s how it works, right? Am I causing anyone harm?”
Shin Il-seung flicked a card onto the desk in front of me.
As my eyes shifted toward the card, he spoke.
“I usually give ordinary prosecutors about ten million won as pocket money, but you’re not ordinary, so I put some thought into it. Use that card however you like.”
“….”
“This is your last chance, so forget about arresting me and take that card. Don’t bother thanking me.”
I picked up the card.
Then Shin Il-seung burst into loud laughter.
“That’s right, you made the smart choice. I knew you were a man of sense. Let’s be like brothers. Since I’m younger, I’ll call you hyung.”
“….”
“And let’s stick together till the end. You control the Prosecutor’s Office and I’ll control the business world! When our circle takes over politics! Then we’ll…. Hey, what are you doing?”
Shin Il-seung’s face contorted.
I was crumpling the card.
“What are you doing?!”
In the same instant, I hurled the crumpled card at Shin Il-seung.
The card grazed his face and struck the wall with a sharp “crack!”
The room fell silent.
No one had ever done such a thing to Shin Il-seung before.
Shin Il-seung muttered a curse under his breath, his eyes burning with rage as he glared at me.
But I simply brushed off my hands with casual indifference and spoke.
“I missed. I was aiming for your face.”
“You bastard….”
“I was willing to listen further, but I can’t. It’s pathetic and childish.”
“Ha! Are you insane right now?”
“You’re the insane one.”
He had spoken of it.
Controlling the Prosecutor’s Office, seizing the business world, dominating politics.
And he was already harboring such ambitions at his young age.
Seo Jin crossed his legs and stared at Shin Il-seung.
Then he grabbed the marijuana cigarette on the table and waved it toward Shin Il-seung.
“I heard you like gambling. Want to make a bet? Whether you’ll walk free on probation, or spend ten years or more in prison getting a real education?”
Shin Il-seung shook his head.
“There’s a line from movies, right? ‘That’s ridiculous.’ Ha… it’s actually true. Is it because you’re the son of a laborer that you don’t understand the world? Want to see that company collapse in ten minutes?”
Seo Jin crushed the marijuana cigarette in his grip and laughed.
“This should be fun. Want to see who goes down?”
But in that moment, Seo Jin’s vision faded to black and white.
*
“You can take the VIP-exclusive elevator. When do you think you’ll arrive?”
Lee Jung-ho, the minister’s son, was on the phone with Seo Jin.
He lowered the phone and turned his head.
In front of him were Shin Il-seung and the others who had come to this gathering.
“Looks like it’ll take about two hours?”
Shin Il-seung nodded while smoking marijuana.
Then he clapped his hands together.
The secretary entered carrying a briefcase.
When the briefcase opened, it was packed with bundles of cash.
As Shin Il-seung waved the money bundles in his hand, everyone’s eyes gleamed.
They all knew that money would soon find its way into their pockets.
Shin Il-seung smiled slightly and opened his mouth.
“I don’t usually say things like this, but I want to ask one favor. You know my situation’s been messy lately, right? Not long ago, some incompetent lawyer attached himself to me and filed a lawsuit.”
Attorney Lee Du-jin had moved, and began restricting Shin Il-seung’s movements on charges of stock manipulation.
“And that bastard, Kim Seo-jin. He’s been emptying my pockets? Because of that crazy bastard, I even broke up with Lee Sol-ah.”
When Seo Jin’s name came up, the secretary flinched, but fortunately no one noticed.
Shin Il-seung continued speaking.
“Of course, if I tell my father, it’ll all be solved in one go. But the moment I tell him, I’ll be dragged back home.”
It’s not just being dragged home.
I might even be thrown abroad under the guise of studying overseas.
Then the funding for these gatherings dries up.
The occasional allowance disappears.
Tension settled in everyone’s eyes.
“So I want some help.”
“What kind?”
“If things get rough, make some calls for me to your folks.”
He wanted to borrow the power their parents possessed.
“A few calls from your parents and even the prosecutor general will turn a blind eye. Then what could Kim Seo-jin possibly do?”
“….”
“Brother, sister, and friends. Choose wisely. There’s nothing to gain from knowing some prosecutor. But I’m different.”
Shin Il-seung waved the money bundles.
At that moment, a man raised his hand slightly.
Shin Il-seung’s gaze shifted toward him.
“Why?”
“I’ll help. But forget the money—give me Lee Sol-ah.”
“Huh? Lee Sol-ah? I’m dating her.”
“Don’t care. She’s pretty, right? And since you’ve already dated her, it’ll be convenient to make up a reason when we break up later.”
The bastard laughed viciously.
Lee Sol-ah was the embodiment of innocent charm—he’d wanted to experience her at least once.
But starting with that remark, other men began raising their hands one after another.
“I’m next.”
“Then me.”
The women glared at them.
“God, disgusting bastards.”
Shin Il-seung’s gaze turned toward the women.
“I’ll buy each of you a designer bag. Or should I call in a male actor instead?”
“Fine. The bag.”
“Deal.”
Shin Il-seung laughed pleasantly and exhaled marijuana smoke.
*
The psychometry had ended.
I shook my head.
Watching him drool filthy words about Lee Sol-ah felt like observing the animal kingdom.
In any case.
‘Their only backing was… their parents?’
There was always one thing I heard when meeting with these people.
‘I’m the child of so-and-so’—that introduction.
How utterly bankrupt must you be to parade your parents’ names?
Without their parents’ names, what could they possibly use to package themselves?
They’d been fortunate enough to be born to the right parents, lived in nice homes, and received expensive tutoring.
Even university was secured through their parents’ influence.
Employment too—and when they started businesses, they did so with the mindset that failure didn’t matter.
Their entire lives were built on connections.
Starting from third base, they’d accomplished nothing through their own strength.
That’s what intrigued me.
What would remain if you stripped away their parents’ names?
My gaze shifted forward.
Shin Il-seung was still spouting nonsense.
“Prosecutor, even the presidents of our company’s subsidiaries don’t act like this in front of me. You know why?”
I had no intention of listening to more of his drivel.
I slammed my palm against the table with a sharp *bang*.
And then.
“Shin Il-seung, I’m placing you under emergency arrest under the Narcotics Control Act. You have the right to retain a lawyer, and you may exercise your right to remain silent….”
“Arrest? Ar-rest? What kind of stupid nonsense are you spouting right now?”
Shin Il-seung sneered.
The men around him laughed as well.
“Retaining a lawyer and the right to remain silent—that’s stuff you see a lot in movies, right?”
“Wow, I’ve never seen it before. So they really do it like that.”
“Seeing it in person is kind of cringey.”
They showed no tension whatsoever.
They thought Seo Jin was throwing an egg at a rock.
And then they pulled out their phones.
To call their mothers and fathers.
Shin Il-seung leaned toward Seo Jin with a wild grin spreading across his face.
“Hey, you were a loner in school, weren’t you? There were always kids like you who couldn’t read the room and acted out. You know the type—told to sing only the first verse but keeps going on with the second and third until they get beaten down. Right?”
Seo Jin turned his head and looked around.
They were searching through their phone contacts.
Now they would call their parents and tell them.
“Dad, this prosecutor named Kim Seo-jin is arresting Shin Il-seung….”
Of course their parents would choose Shin Il-seung over me.
Because there was much to gain from building connections with a chaebol.
And many of them found me troublesome.
Right now I was sheltered under Kim Young-jun’s umbrella, so they left me alone, but my teeth were sharp.
I’d taken down detectives, the Police Chief, prosecutors—even trampled the aide of Song Won-tae.
They were anxious, not knowing when those teeth might turn toward them.
They would certainly want to use Shin Il-seung’s hand to cut my throat before that happened.
It was the moment they were about to press the call button.
I opened my bag and scattered the documents inside toward them.
As paper fragments suddenly flew through the air, they blinked.
In that instant, I spoke in a low voice.
“Put the phone down before I release that ledger.”
A copy of the bribery ledger obtained from the pseudo-religious cult.
Their parents’ names were clearly stamped on it.
Their hands trembled faintly as they stared at the ledger with shocked eyes.
If it had been an ordinary bribery ledger, they would have ignored it.
But a pseudo-religious cult—public sentiment was not favorable.
Victims kept emerging.
If this were exposed… all eyes in the world would focus on it.
‘This can’t happen.’
They swallowed hard.
Then my voice came again.
“Put the phone down.”
Their decision came swiftly.
They tucked their phones away with embarrassed expressions.
Playing around with Shin Il-seung, fitting into this gathering—none of it was possible without their parents present.
They understood that.
Seo Jin rose to his feet and walked slowly around them.
Like herding prey—methodical, unhurried.
“The moment any one of you breathes a word about this ledger to anyone, I’m releasing everything. Your parents won’t even know. Unless you want to watch them buried in the ground.”
Seo Jin continued his slow walk, hands clasped behind his back.
Yet the seventeen gathered here felt it.
The sensation of being cornered at a cliff’s edge, and Seo Jin’s low, measured voice became the growl of a predator.
They averted their eyes from his gaze, heads bowed.
Like dogs cowering with their tails tucked, trembling in fear.
It was exactly as Seo Jin had anticipated.
Without their parents’ power, these seventeen were nothing—they’d be nothing even if there were a hundred of them.
That’s when it happened.
“This is insane.”
Shin Il-seung’s voice cut through.
All eyes turned toward him.
Shin Il-seung still had composure.
He held his forehead in his hand, laughing with a genuinely bewildered expression.
Then Shin Il-seung opened his mouth, looking at Seo Jin.
“So you’re going to humiliate me? Go ahead. Yeah, let’s see this through to the end. Do your worst before we all drop dead.”
Yet Seo Jin’s eyes showed no disturbance whatall.
He simply regarded Shin Il-seung with contempt.
That’s when Seo Jin’s phone vibrated.
Shin Il-seung was still spewing curses, but Seo Jin let the words pass through one ear and out the other, pulling out his phone with an indifferent gaze.
A message from Lee Eun-ha.
-It’s started.
Seo Jin picked up the remote and pressed the power button.
Shin Il-seung’s brow furrowed at Seo Jin’s sudden action.
The television screen flickered to life, and beneath it, the text “Breaking News: Lee Sol-ah Turns Herself In” appeared.
Shin Il-seung’s eyes widened.
At the same moment, Lee Sol-ah removed her sunglasses in front of the reporters.
Her face was dark with bruises. She opened her mouth with a trembling voice.
-I… I have been…
Silence fell.
Not even the sound of breathing could be heard.
Only Lee Sol-ah’s voice echoed through that silence.
-I have used drugs.
Everyone had anticipated it.
Who was behind Lee Sol-ah’s drug use and the beating.
And when Shin Il-seung nervously lit a cigarette, Lee Sol-ah spat out his name.
-…The person who wielded the knife, the man I once loved—it’s Shin Il-seung.
Shin Il-seung shot to his feet.
“Damn it!”
Shin Il-seung’s father, the chairman of Shinma Group, has one thing he always says.
Do whatever you want, just keep it ‘quiet’.
As long as the rabble don’t make noise, everything can be solved with money.
But now, it had become loud.
Tears streamed down Lee Sol-ah’s sorrowful eyes, and the reporters wouldn’t miss a moment of it.
The people Shin Il-seung treats like dogs and beggars would rise up.
I turned off the television and shifted my gaze toward Shin Il-seung.
Shin Il-seung’s eyes were intense.
Crimson veins covered the whites of his eyes, and murderous intent dripped from his gaze as if he could kill Lee Sol-ah on the spot.
I opened my mouth.
“Assault charges will be added too. Or wait—since he wielded a knife, is it attempted murder?”
Shin Il-seung slowly turned his head toward me.
“You suggested a bet earlier, didn’t you? Non-detention with a suspended sentence. I want to bet on that, so what are you betting on?”
I let out a low chuckle.
“Sorry, but you’re not a big player. So stop pretending to be one and come down here to experience the bottom. I’ll teach you humility.”
“You bastard!”
“A suspended sentence? You’re delusional.”

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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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