Prosecutor Kim Seo-Jin - Chapter 127

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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 (6)
*
*
*
“How much does a car like this cost? Around five million?”
Shin Il-seung sat in the passenger seat of my vehicle.
Despite being driven to the Prosecutor’s Office, he seemed as relaxed as if we were out for a leisurely drive.
“I’m bored. Answer me. How much is this car?”
“Three million. Probably around that.”
My automobile was a domestic mid-size sedan.
Yet Shin Il-seung’s expression shifted to genuine astonishment.
“Three million? There are cars that cost three million? Wow, that’s cheaper than my watch. How fascinating. It sounds like something from National Geographic.”
“I wonder how much the prison uniform you’ll be wearing costs.”
At my sarcasm, Shin Il-seung furrowed his brow and shook his head before speaking.
“Listen, Prosecutor. Be honest with me. You’re only arresting me because I’m a chaebol, right? Looking at the comments online, everyone says chaebols are inherently evil. But think about it—I do plenty of good things too. Poor people commit crimes all the time. There are plenty of guys without money who kill people. But I don’t kill just because I lack money.”
“Listen?”
“What, tell me. Isn’t what I’m saying true?”
“You’re going to the Prosecutor’s Office not because you’re a chaebol, but because you broke the law. So be quiet and let’s go.”
“Wow, every word you say is so cringeworthy.”
He wasn’t coming to his senses.
He still believed in his father.
He thought that a few swings of a golf club could resolve any crime.
When we hit a red light, I exhaled heavily and gripped my phone.
Then I found Kim Young-jun’s number.
*
It was past nine in the evening.
Kim Young-jun sat in a Korean traditional restaurant in Jongno, drinking with politicians.
“Baek Ki-ho is gathering people. He’s trying to abandon us and form his own faction!”
“I heard Baek Ki-ho is meeting with civic organizations. They say he’s distributing massive donations, but where could that money possibly come from? Investigate that!”
“Are you just going to sit idle?”
The lawmakers were pressing Kim Young-jun to take action.
To investigate Congressman Baek Ki-ho.
But Kim Young-jun didn’t respond.
He simply brought the glass to his lips in silence.
“Prosecutor General! Give us an answer!”
The lawmakers’ voices were agitated.
Yet Kim Young-jun remained remarkably composed.
Not a flicker of disturbance crossed his face.
He merely studied each lawmaker’s expression while sipping his drink.
It was inevitable that factions would form whenever people gathered.
Their gathering was largely divided into two factions: one led by Representative Baek Ki-ho and the other by Prosecutor General Kim Young-jun.
There were three reasons why Prosecutor General Kim Young-jun, who wasn’t even a politician, had taken the helm of these factions.
-Prosecutor General Kim Young-jun had no connections to the political world.
-He was someone who could be disposed of at any time if they grew dissatisfied.
-If they made Kim Young-jun Prosecutor General, they could eliminate anyone who opposed them.
That’s what they believed.
But there was one thing they hadn’t considered while keeping Representative Baek Ki-ho in check.
In any organization, authority resides with the leader.
That authority transforms into power in an instant, and Prosecutor General Kim Young-jun was precisely the kind of man who knew how to wield such power.
Right now, they were voicing their grievances.
But grievances aren’t solved by addressing them.
External enemies are merely a tool to strengthen internal unity.
“Prosecutor General!”
At that moment, Prosecutor General Kim Young-jun’s phone vibrated.
He slipped his hand into his pocket and gripped the phone.
“Yes, Seo Jin.”
But Prosecutor General Kim Young-jun’s movements froze entirely.
“What… what did you just say?”
Prosecutor General Kim Young-jun rose hastily and opened his mouth toward the representatives.
“My apologies. An urgent matter has come up at the District Prosecutor’s Office.”
The representatives blinked as they watched Prosecutor General Kim Young-jun hurry out.
His face, which never wavered in any circumstance, had gone rigid.
*
*
*
Saturday was a time one could afford to spend in leisurely rest.
But the Seoul Central District Prosecutors’ Office was different.
Vehicles continued to arrive, and Chief Prosecutors descended with grave expressions.
Even when their eyes met, they offered nothing more than a slight bow in greeting.
They proceeded silently toward the building.
The prosecution staff on duty were also on high alert.
They conversed anxiously while smoking cigarettes.
“Do you know why the Chief Prosecutors were summoned? Prosecutor Seo Jin arrested Shin Il-seung—right after Lee Sol-ah confessed. The guy’s fearless.”
“Seriously… I think I need antacids. I support Prosecutor Seo Jin, but it seems like he acts without thinking things through. How does he just charge ahead like that?”
“But what happens now? Will Shin Il-seung also be added to Prosecutor Seo Jin’s record?”
“How could he? Shin Il-seung—the son of Shinma Group! Even if Prosecutor Seo Jin performs miracles, it won’t work. They’ll drag it out without detention, then claim insufficient evidence or hand down a suspended sentence. Have you ever seen a chaebol slip up on drug charges?”
“There might be a few cases…”
*
The atmosphere in the conference room was frozen.
Like a bomb had detonated, they exchanged only glances in the chilling silence.
Arresting Shin Il-seung itself wasn’t the problem.
If someone committed a crime, the Prosecutor’s Office would bring them in—that was simply how it worked.
The problem was the timing.
The moment Lee Sol-ah confessed, they’d swooped in as if they’d been waiting.
The Shin Group Chairman would feel as though his youngest son had been deliberately targeted.
“Sigh….”
Sighs escaped from the lips of the deputy chiefs and chief prosecutors.
And in that suffocating atmosphere, one chief prosecutor finally spoke.
“By the way, when is the Prosecutor General arriving?”
*
The Prosecutor General’s Office.
Kim Young-jun, the Prosecutor General, exhaled cigarette smoke and lifted his head.
Before him stood Seo Jin.
“…You have a way to resolve this?”
“Yes.”
Prosecutor General Kim Young-jun already knew that Seo Jin was investigating Shin Il-seung.
He’d heard it from Shin Il-seung’s older sister, Shin Ji-yeon.
But their agreement had always been to handle it quietly.
When a chaebol’s secrets were exposed, the world became chaotic.
If the Shin Group Chairman stepped outside his home and made waves, there was no telling what might happen.
But now it was too late for quiet.
An actress—and one famous for her innocent image at that—Lee Sol-ah had confessed to drug use and assault without hesitation.
Already, every community website was plastered with Shin Il-seung’s name.
Yet Seo Jin claimed to have a solution.
“Tell me.”
*
At that moment.
Shin Il-seung sat in the Interrogation Room.
The door clicked open and a prosecutor entered.
Han Chang-hee, the prosecutor who’d received pocket money from Shin Il-seung.
Seeing him, Shin Il-seung broke into a bright smile.
“Is it okay for you to come in here?”
“I’ve turned off the CCTV. I told the staff behind the glass partition to step out for a moment.”
“That’s my guy!”
Shin Il-seung thrust his thumb upward. Then, giggling, he continued.
“So, how’s the digging going on your end?”
Shin Il-seung had instructed Han Chang-hee to hunt down Seo Jin.
But Han Chang-hee let out a sigh.
“That bastard Kim Seo-jin is clean. I’ve dug into everything, but….”
“Heh, my guy’s got it all wrong again. Who told you to find crimes that Kim Seo-jin actually committed and destroy him? What does the Prosecutor’s Office do? We fabricate crimes that don’t exist! I said hunting! Hunting! And the payment is one big bill!”
Shin Il-seung chuckled quietly and crossed his legs. He continued speaking.
“Seo Jin thinks I’ve shown all my cards. But I haven’t. Not even close. I enjoy this sort of thing, you see. I let it play out. And when Seo Jin thinks he’s won and is feeling pleased….”
Shin Il-seung raised his hand and mimicked a plane plummeting from the sky.
And then.
“Boom! I send the plane crashing down and watch him die. That’s what I want to see. I’m so curious what expression Seo Jin will have on his face. I hope he’ll beg for his life in front of me.”
“….”
“Prosecutor Han, I’ll put up three big ones. So let’s make this certain. Make that bastard Seo Jin kneel before me. Should we settle on a number? 30 billion won.”
“…!”
Han Chang-hee’s mouth fell open.
With 30 billion won, he could do anything he wanted.
It was enough money to leave the Prosecutor’s Office, join a political party, buy a proportional representation seat, and still have plenty left over.
“Oh, that’s not all. If you’re worried about finding work after leaving the Prosecutor’s Office, I’ll put you on as a consultant at our company. You’ll make decent pocket money there, won’t you?”
Shin Il-seung had learned something from his father.
When moving people, throw an amount they could never anticipate.
Then they’ll always come crawling, rubbing their palms together.
“What do you say?”
*
*
*
-Popular actress Lee Sol-ah has allegedly been using drugs….
Click! The television turned off.
Shin Ji-yeon, the eldest daughter of Shinma Group, rose from the sofa.
She walked toward the window, her high heels clicking sharply against the floor.
Shin Ji-yeon gazed at the night view of the Han River and moved her crimson lips.
“Seo Jin… this guy is interesting.”
Shin Ji-yeon had joined hands with Seo Jin to catch Shin Il-seung, and in the process had even sought out Prosecutor General Kim Young-jun to help.
“But is this how it’s going to proceed?”
There were only two things Shin Ji-yeon wanted from Seo Jin.
To arrest Shin Il-seung.
To do it as ‘quietly’ as possible.
“How noisy.”
Just then, the phone on the table vibrated.
As Shin Ji-yeon reached for it, her secretary picked it up and handed it to her.
“Who is it?”
“It’s Prosecutor Seo Jin.”
Shin Ji-yeon shook her head and brought the phone to her ear.
She opened her mouth with her usual composed tone.
“First of all… I’m grateful that you caught our youngest brother. But I’m feeling like I’ve been stabbed in the back right now. What’s going on?”
-I’d like to explain in person.
“When?”
—now.
At that same moment, a knock sounded at the hotel room door. Knock, knock, knock.
The secretary approached the door and opened her mouth.
“Who is it…?”
“It’s Seo Jin.”
The secretary furrowed her brow and turned to look at Shin Ji-yeon.
Shin Ji-yeon lowered her phone and nodded.
“Let him in.”
The door swung open and I stepped inside.
Then I turned to the secretary.
“Could you step out for a moment?”
As the secretary looked to Shin Ji-yeon for confirmation, she nodded.
“You can go.”
The secretary left the room.
Then Shin Ji-yeon held up a wine glass and spoke.
“Care for a drink?”
“Please.”
Shin Ji-yeon poured wine from the decanter into a glass, swirling it as she spoke.
“I asked for discretion—said I didn’t want the celebrity nonsense to blow up. Yet my handsome younger brother ignored my wishes. I was just thinking about how to punish you for that.”
“I regret what happened with Lee Sol-ah. I didn’t anticipate she would act so recklessly.”
“Really? I concluded that you dangled the bait and she took it. Yet you’re speaking as if that’s not the case?”
Shin Ji-yeon was convinced I had orchestrated some scheme.
But I shook my head.
“I did dangle the bait, but I never predicted she would act this way.”
“…”
“Lee Sol-ah’s sentence would be at most two years or suspended. Of course, her image is ruined, so activities in Korea would be difficult. But overseas work would have been possible.”
“…”
“The moment she exposes information about Shin Il-seung, that opportunity disappears entirely. That’s why I never expected her to go this far.”
A prepared excuse.
I had moved Lee Sol-ah, and I had even guaranteed her future.
It was a promise between us alone.
But Shin Ji-yeon was no fool.
“There’s a saying: the longer the excuse, the greater the lie.”
“…!”
She didn’t believe my words.
As I furrowed my brow, Shin Ji-yeon set a wine glass before me and continued.
“Enough. The water’s already spilled. Tell me the solution instead. I didn’t ask to meet because I wanted excuses—I want to hear how you’ll fix this.”
“Report Lee Sol-ah’s actions to the Chairman as a personal indiscretion.”
“And what do I gain from this?”
“I’ll keep Shin Il-seung locked away for at least ten years.”
Shin Ji-yeon burst into laughter.
She treated Seo Jin’s words as nonsense.
“Ten years? Do you really think that’s possible? My father will stop it. Once he steps in, the Prosecutor’s Office and the courts will all be on our side.”
“The sentence is my concern. What you should be thinking about, Ms. Shin Ji-yeon, is….”
Seo Jin pulled documents from his pocket, placed them on the table, and continued.
“I heard that Shin Il-seung and you have different mothers. But Shin Il-seung’s mother secretly created shell accounts.”
“…!”
“And the slush funds Shin Il-seung accumulated through stock manipulation—they’re also being managed under shell accounts. Why would he need so much money?”
Seo Jin tapped a specific section of the documents with his finger as he spoke.
“He’s been quietly accumulating shares in Shin Ma Holdings.”
“…!”
Shin Ji-yeon’s face hardened.
The youngest brother she’d dismissed as a naive fool had been hiding his claws all along.
As Shin Ji-yeon licked her dry lips, Seo Jin continued speaking.
“I want to keep working with you. I’ll take down Shin Il-seung, and you’ll secure this money.”
A deal is about giving the other party what they want.
Shin Ji-yeon desires control of the Shinma Group.
And Shin Ji-yeon smiled enigmatically.
She now had a desperate reason to keep Shin Il-seung contained.
Shin Ji-yeon smiled with her crimson lips and spoke.
“Want to be secret friends with your older sister?”

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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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