Prosecutor Kim Seo-Jin - Chapter 131

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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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One Step at a Time (1)
Shin Ji-yeon stared at Seo Jin with wide, startled eyes.
Wondering if she’d misheard, she asked again.
“Did you say an affiliate company?”
“Yes.”
She hadn’t misheard.
Seo Jin wanted an affiliate company.
Shin Ji-yeon let out an involuntary laugh.
Just because Shin Il-seung had been arrested didn’t mean handing over that affiliate was easy.
It belonged to the Shin family, and she’d been taught that losing what you possessed was the mark of a loser.
‘But….’
It was difficult to refuse outright.
Seo Jin was a blade sharp enough to cut down Shin Il-seung.
Once Chairman Shin Moo-hak departed and the real battle for assets began, he would undoubtedly prove invaluable.
It would be wasteful to turn her back on Seo Jin over this matter.
‘What should I do….’
Shin Ji-yeon pondered.
She needed to keep Seo Jin close, coaxing and persuading him until she had control of Shinma Group.
“The things Il-seung had—construction and electricity, right? Which one do you want?”
“Construction.”
Shin Ji-yeon clearly sensed Seo Jin’s intention.
He planned to acquire Shinma Construction and merge it with Jaejeong Construction.
It would instantly claim the top ranking in contracts, and she couldn’t bear to see that happen.
“…Do you have the funds?”
An affiliate company wasn’t something you picked up for a hundred or two hundred won.
Even as the son of the Jaejeong Group, raising capital would be difficult.
She intended to decline indirectly.
But Seo Jin laughed as if bewildered and opened his mouth.
“Where would I get that kind of money?”
“…Then?”
“There’s a dark-haired foreigner named Jayden Kim. An old friend I’ve known for a long time—he wants to invest in Korea.”
Jayden Kim, a fictional person created by Do Gwang-hyun while laundering funds.
Shin Ji-yeon shook her head, exactly as Seo Jin had anticipated.
“I’m sorry, it won’t work. If it were my brother, maybe, but a dark-haired foreigner—I can’t trust that.”
But Seo Jin let her words pass over him and delivered what he wanted to say.
“I heard that at current prices, we could pick it up and hold about 10% in our hands.”
“10%? That’s not enough to acquire….”
“The department store you own holds a 20% stake in Shinma Construction. Combined with Jayden Kim, that’s 30%—enough to change the representative, I’d say.”
“Brother?”
“The company name won’t change. It will remain Shinma Construction.”
The moment the company name changes, Chairman Shin Moo-hak will make his move.
I must be cautious of that greed—he never spits out what he’s swallowed.
“The largest shareholder will remain your department store as well. Finally, we’ll appoint a professional manager with no ties to Jayden Kim.”
Shin Ji-yeon shook her head.
She had intended to refuse politely, but that wouldn’t work.
Now I needed to express my position clearly.
“It’s difficult. If an outsider comes in, the executives could resist.”
“Would someone like Shin Il-seung’s Secretary Director—someone the executives would acknowledge as CEO—work?”
“What?”
“Though his attempt to assist failed and Shin Il-seung ended up in prison, his career and experience should make them accept it.”
“Father will oppose it.”
“If you present the justification that we’ll hand it back to him when Shin Il-seung returns, the Chairman won’t object either.”
Seo Jin had prepared everything, and though Shin Ji-yeon had tried to find excuses, it was difficult.
Now I needed to refuse more firmly than before.
“I’m sorry, but a foreigner….”
“If construction falls into the hands of Shin Myung-jin and Shin Jong-seo, the balance will collapse.”
Shin Myung-jin and Shin Jong-seo—Shin Ji-yeon’s older and younger brothers.
Seo Jin asked in a strong voice toward Shin Ji-yeon, who blinked her eyes.
“Do you think they’ll stay still?”
Both of them would also strive to seize the subsidiaries that Shin Il-seung once held.
And the moment one of them acquires construction, Shin Ji-yeon’s control of Shinma Group becomes difficult.
“Jayden Kim will be on your side. And he only holds 10% of the shares. If you object, there’s nothing he can do. He must follow your words with your 20% stake.”
Shin Ji-yeon laughed as if absurd.
“Ha… Do you know who that foreigner is?”
“Don’t trust that person. Trust the power that 20% of shares holds. And Jayden Kim is an investor. He wants stock price increases and dividends, not management.”
Moreover, the professional manager to be appointed as CEO of construction is also Shin Il-seung’s Secretary Director.
He’s originally a Shinma Group person.
Faced with a situation where everything seemed prepared, Shin Ji-yeon narrowed her eyes.
Then, brushing back her hair, she asked.
“What does my younger brother gain from this?”
Based on everything said so far, there was nothing beneficial for Seo Jin.
It wasn’t as if he was ousting Shin Il-seung just to do someone else a favor.
I needed to clarify his intentions.
And Seo Jin had anticipated this far.
“To be honest, I’ve invested in Jayden Kim. I’ve set up a fund without violating any laws.”
Fund investment poses no problem.
Because it’s indirect investment, not direct investment.
Of course, if I provided investment information to the fund manager or helped them gain profits, it would violate the law, but nothing in my actions can be pinned down.
“Jayden Kim’s profit is your gain?”
“Yes.”
On the surface, it appeared to be an ideal arrangement—equity shares given away in exchange for investment capital.
But behind the fictional persona of Jayden Kim stood Seo Jin.
And the Secretary Director who would become representative would be manipulated entirely according to Seo Jin’s intentions.
Shinma Construction was falling into Seo Jin’s hands.
“I’ll think about it.”
Seo Jin brought the beer to his lips as he listened to Shin Ji-yeon’s words.
When the word “think” came from Shin Ji-yeon’s mouth, it was as good as a final decision.
And someday, she would regret this choice.
Because I would consume it all.
I gazed out at the night view and contemplated.
‘Bit by bit.’
It felt as though I could grasp it in my hands.
All of Seoul’s night, and all of that cityscape.
*
*
*
At that very moment, in Shin Moo-hak’s study room.
The mere presence of Shin Moo-hak seated there emanated an oppressive weight.
And standing there was Prosecutor General Kim Young-jun.
Shin Moo-hak furrowed his brow and opened his mouth.
“Prosecutor General, is it so wrong that I discipline my own son myself?”
“No, sir.”
“Then why did you do it?”
“The timing was unfortunate.”
“I didn’t call you here to hear excuses like that.”
Shin Moo-hak understood that Shin Il-seung’s arrest was unavoidable.
Everything had erupted all at once.
Yet the reason he had deliberately summoned Prosecutor General Kim Young-jun to his study was….
“Prosecutor General, don’t you ever lay a hand on my children again. Their education is my responsibility.”
A warning never to raise a blade against Shinma Group again.
A threat not to come at them next time under the guise of timing, public opinion, or justification.
“And the reason I’m ending this with a warning is simple.”
It wasn’t mercy. It wasn’t an attempt to win favor.
It was because the money he had poured into Prosecutor General Kim Young-jun felt wasted.
But it was a declaration that if he crossed the line, he would overturn everything.
“Do you understand?”
“Yes.”
“And… the one who orchestrated my son’s case.”
Shin Moo-hak began to mention Seo Jin.
As a mere prosecutor, he didn’t even bother to remember his name.
But in Chairman Shin Moo-hak’s eyes, Seo Jin was a dog baring its teeth at its master.
Once he appeared weak, that bastard would inevitably attack again.
Before that happened, I had to beat him down and make him feel fear.
That fear was respect.
But then Prosecutor General Kim Young-jun interrupted Chairman Shin Moo-hak and spoke.
“Regarding the search and seizure of the electricity and construction divisions that Shin Il-seung controlled—we won’t be conducting it.”
A glint of anger flickered in Chairman Shin Moo-hak’s eyes.
“…What?”
Prosecutor General Kim Young-jun was issuing a warning as well.
That if you reach into the Prosecutor’s Office, I won’t hold back.
As Chairman Shin Moo-hak laughed dismissively, Prosecutor General Kim Young-jun opened his mouth.
“Chairman, the Opposition Party is demanding the search and seizure. With the presidential election so close, Shin Il-seung’s case would be a major windfall. But we won’t do it.”
“So?”
“And please suspend the disposition of the directing prosecutor in this case. The timing isn’t right now.”
“Are you trying to make a deal with me right now?”
“No. I’m simply explaining the situation.”
Shin Il-seung was already spilled water.
Before any other water spilled, we needed to end this here.
Prosecutor General Kim Young-jun made it clear that fighting the Prosecutor’s Office would gain nothing.
And Chairman Shin Moo-hak was someone who, when it came to greed, was extremely rational to the point of extremity.
With just one word from Prosecutor General Kim Young-jun, the calculation of what would be profitable was already complete.
Prosecutor General Kim Young-jun bowed and straightened.
Then he opened his mouth, looking at Chairman Shin Moo-hak.
“Then I’ll take my leave.”
Prosecutor General Kim Young-jun turned his body and walked out.
Chairman Shin Moo-hak glared at Prosecutor General Kim Young-jun’s retreating figure with a menacing gaze.
“How dare….”
Another dog baring its teeth appeared before Chairman Shin Moo-hak.
As the study room door closed, Chairman Shin Moo-hak opened his mouth.
“Jun-tae.”
“Yes, Chairman.”
The Secretary Director, who had been standing like a mannequin in the back, stepped forward.
Chairman Shin Moo-hak stared at the closed door and continued speaking.
“You said things aren’t good between Baek Ki-ho and that bastard, right?”
*
*
*
“Shin Ji-yeon agreed to help. The stake we’ll secure is about 10%.”
-Yes. Before that, I’ll make a trip to the United States. I think I need to materialize the investment company we’ve set up there.
“Handle that yourself.”
A few days later.
I was driving while on a call with Do Gwang-hyun.
-Ah, Lee Sol-ah has been discharged from the hospital.
“Got it.”
-It looks like her contract with her agency ended because of this incident. I have a friend who handles a Chinese entertainment company, and I’m planning to get her signed with them.
“It’s not a shady place, is it?”
-Ah, absolutely not. Don’t you know I’ve gone straight? Even Lee Sol-ah calls me a con artist when she sees me.
“You are a con artist.”
-Prosecutor? You said I’ve gone straight….
“Hang up.”
I ended the call. Then I brought the car to a stop.
Police tape cordoned off the area, and officers filled the scene.
Last night, a fire had broken out in a residential area in Gangnam.
Four people were dead—a family living on the third floor.
But something was odd.
According to the autopsy results, they hadn’t died in the fire.
They were already dead from stab wounds before that.
I got out of the car.
Then I walked steadily toward the police tape.
“You can’t come any closer….”
“Prosecutor’s Office.”
When I showed my credentials, the officer blinked.
“A prosecutor?”
A prosecutor showing up at a crime scene—he’d never seen such a thing.
Actually, he’d heard about it somewhere.
The crazy prosecutor from Seoul Central District Prosecutor’s Office, Seo Jin.
‘Could it be….’
As the officer narrowed his eyes to look at me, I had already slipped past the tape.
“It’s an acquaintance. Most likely, he was the daughter’s boyfriend. The father opened the door, and he entered the house familiarly. Then he immediately swung the knife—from here to there. The father died at this location, and the perpetrator turned his body. The mother would have been over here.”
The person speaking now was Jung Min-woo.
A profiler who had appeared on broadcasts several times.
He had responded to a request for cooperation from the police and arrived at a crime scene where no evidence remained.
Jung Min-woo continued speaking.
“And one step, two steps. Here, he stabbed the person who had been his girlfriend. Looking at the autopsy results, he didn’t kill her in one strike but stabbed her multiple times, right? It was because he was agitated….”
Jung Min-woo, who had been continuing his explanation, blinked.
He had spotted a strange person touching and feeling around the charred remains.
“…Who is that person?”
At Jung Min-woo’s words, the officers’ gazes snapped toward the figure.
It was me.
Running my palms across the walls and then down to the floor, I was examining everything.
One of the police officers who recognized Seo Jin spoke up.
“…Prosecutor Kim Seo-jin?”
At those words, the other officers’ eyes widened as they turned toward Seo Jin.
“Really, it’s Prosecutor Kim Seo-jin? He actually works crime scenes?”
“Huh? I heard he was in anti-corruption, so why is he here for a criminal case?”
Jung Min-woo also recognized Seo Jin.
And in that moment, a smile played at the corners of his mouth.
‘If that bastard fumbles….’
Seo Jin was a prosecutor.
In other words, an elite.
Moreover, a figure whose name frequently appeared in the media as an expert in unsolved cases.
Jung Min-woo believed that if Seo Jin’s deductions proved wrong and his own predictions proved correct, and if he exposed that through the internet, his own insight would be highlighted all the more.
Jung Min-woo pulled out his phone and pressed the record button.
He intended to capture every word of his conversation with Seo Jin from this moment forward.
Then he approached Seo Jin and asked with the most benevolent smile imaginable.
“You’re a prosecutor, sir?”
“Yes.”
“What do you think, sir? About this case—who is the perpetrator….”
“Not someone the victim knew.”
Irritation flashed across Jung Min-woo’s face.
He had spent years in law enforcement and published papers multiple times on criminal psychology.
He had solved countless cases as a profiler.
Yet this man flatly denied his assessment from the very start.
Jung Min-woo forced himself to ask calmly.
“On what grounds….”
Seo Jin shook his head and brushed past Jung Min-woo.
Because Seo Jin could see through Jung Min-woo’s thoughts entirely.
But Jung Min-woo interpreted Seo Jin’s action as contempt toward him.
“Prosecutor! What’s your evidence? If it’s not someone the victim knew, a scene like this couldn’t happen!”
“It’s not someone the victim knew.”
Jung Min-woo didn’t know.
If profiling was a criminal expert’s specialty, then psychometry was to a prosecutor what fraud was—or rather, it was fraud itself.
“Prosecutor!”
Jung Min-woo shouted.
But Seo Jin ignored him and approached the group of police officers.
And he spoke to the detective standing in the middle among the four officers.
“Detective Jin Yu-kyung?”
A detective who had helped him greatly during the Seo Jun-kyung case.
Seo Jin had come here to meet her.

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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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