Prosecutor Kim Seo-Jin - Chapter 145

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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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Beneath the Surface (4)
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Anna Roux followed the Secretary through building after building, navigating an endless maze of corridors.
Only after a thorough body search could she finally stand before the empty office where Jeo Hoo-an waited.
“Go in.”
The Secretary’s voice was glacial, and Anna Roux stepped forward as though descending into hell itself.
Her eyes squeezed shut as her hand grasped the doorknob to the empty office where Jeo Hoo-an stood.
‘…How could he possibly follow me here?’
Seo Jin was pursuing her.
Yet no matter how she reasoned through it, the logic simply didn’t hold.
They had prioritized safety above all else, weaving between shopping complexes with meticulous care.
They’d even skirted past a construction site, constantly shifting through the labyrinth like phantoms.
Without a tracking device, it was impossible to find her through such a maze.
‘No, even if he found me, that’s the real problem.’
This shopping complex had roughly twenty thugs disguised as laborers guarding the perimeter.
She didn’t know how many men Seo Jin would bring, but reality was far different from cinema.
Breaking through the thugs with a small force was simply not feasible.
Anna Roux exhaled deeply.
Her future held only two possibilities.
Death or prison.
And Seo Jin had told her to trust him, no matter what moment came.
That was her only path to survival.
Anna Roux pulled the door open.
Jeo Hoo-an stood with his hands clasped behind his back, gazing out the window.
Sensing her entrance, he kept his eyes fixed on the view outside, his voice low and measured.
“We doubt in order to believe. And I doubt even myself. The only thing I trust is money.”
Boss Jeo Hoo-an turned to face her.
A thin smile crossed his lips as he continued.
“So I wondered—if I were in your position, what would I do? If I were you, I wouldn’t want to see my own face. You fear me, after all.”
“….”
“And if I were you, I’d have asked someone to stash my passport and money in a subway locker or a mart cabinet. With enough money, you can always find a boat to Japan, can’t you?”
Anna Roux’s face contorted with dread as Boss Jeo Hoo-an stepped closer, his voice relentless.
“So I became curious. You’re not stupid enough to miss such an obvious escape. Why did you insist on seeing me? What’s the reason?”
Anna Roux swallowed hard, her feet shuffling backward in retreat.
Boss Jeo Hoo-an closed the distance between them.
Then, with a sharp motion, his hand clamped around her throat, his voice turning desolate.
“Tell me. What’s the reason?”
Boss Jeo Hoo-an’s eyes burned with a clarity that was terrifying to behold.
His gaze seemed to pierce right through Anna Roux.
Her pupils trembled with fear.
When she couldn’t respond, Jeo Hoo-an let out a low, derisive chuckle and continued.
“Did you get tangled up with those filthy foreigners? Who? Seo Jin? You thought that worthless bastard would save you? Are you an idiot? Do you have no sense?”
“….”
“Think about your crimes. You entered as an illegal immigrant and engaged in prostitution with politicians. You took bribes and sold your body! And those illegal loans you were running yourself? You thought Seo Jin would overlook all that?”
“….”
“It’s all a lie. You’re being used.”
As Jeo Hoo-an tightened his grip around her throat, Anna Roux’s eyes flooded with crimson blood vessels.
From her lips came desperate gasps—”Gasp! Gasp!”—the sounds of death itself.
There was only one thing she could say.
“P-please… spare me. I have nothing to do with the Prosecutor’s Office.”
Jeo Hoo-an smirked and released the pressure on her throat.
As Anna Roux clutched her neck in agony, Jeo Hoo-an lit a cigarette and asked.
“Nothing to do with them? Fine. Then tell me this. Who’s the traitor? Your answer will determine what happens to you.”
“…I want to confirm my passport first.”
“Your passport?”
Jeo Hoo-an laughed harshly and shook his head.
“Are you stupid? There is no passport. And remember this—you’re not in a position to negotiate with me. You take orders and follow them. Always.”
“….”
“I’ve decided your fate has three options. Die peacefully, die in agony, or live wishing you were dead.”
“….”
“No answer? So you really were the traitor?”
Anna Roux didn’t respond this time either.
Rather, she couldn’t.
Anna Roux didn’t know who the traitor was herself.
If she had known, she would have spoken immediately.
Anna Roux was anxious and terrified.
She opened her mouth with a trembling voice.
“…If you give me my passport, I’ll tell you.”
Even now, in this situation, Anna Roux was following Seo Jin’s instructions.
Seo Jin had told her this.
“Keep demanding your passport. Say you’ll reveal the traitor only then. That way, he won’t be able to kill you.”
And at her demand for the passport, Jeo Hoo-an pressed his forehead and burst into incredulous laughter.
“Ha! This is insane.”
Jeo Hoo-an bent forward toward Anna Roux.
Then he grabbed her hair roughly and whispered in a low voice.
“Ungrateful bitch, clinging to foreigners after I raised you—I won’t kill you. Even if you beg for your life, you’ll live to see tomorrow. So speak. Otherwise, starting today, your role will be to satisfy our men’s desires….”
That was when it happened.
Crash!
The door burst open and the Secretary rushed in.
Jeo Hoo-an narrowed his brows at the Secretary’s panicked expression.
“What!”
“…I’m not sure if it’s the Prosecutor’s Office or the Police, but it seems an investigative agency has arrived.”
“What?”
At the Secretary’s words, Jeo Hoo-an’s eyes widened slightly.
Now that I thought about it, the outside was in chaos.
Crash! The sound of breaking glass rang out, followed by bang, bang—the sounds of violence echoing through the air.
Curses flew from every direction.
“You bastard!”
“Drop dead!”
“You damn dogs!”
Jeo Hoo-an released Anna Roux’s hair and walked toward the window.
His face twisted in fury.
The roadside was lined with sedans and vans.
Unfamiliar men were pouring out of them, wielding crowbars and other metal implements without hesitation.
Their numbers were incalculable.
What mattered was that they far exceeded the twenty people gathered in this shopping complex.
It was only a matter of time before they stormed this place.
‘Damn it.’
Jeo Hoo-an bit his lip, instantly recognizing their identities.
Police or investigators.
His gaze shifted to Anna Roux.
Seeing Anna Roux trembling, he issued an order to the Secretary.
“Drag her along. We’re getting out of here now.”
Jeo Hoo-an moved quickly.
The Secretary then grabbed Anna Roux by the hair.
“Come on!”
At the Secretary’s harsh voice, Anna Roux grimaced in pain and struggled to her feet.
Anna Roux had no choice but to be dragged along.
Once they left the office, they immediately headed for the emergency stairwell.
This was the fifth floor; just one flight up and they’d reach the rooftop.
And there was a reason this shopping complex had been chosen as the final meeting point.
Oddly enough, this shopping complex was pressed flush against the adjacent one in a way that didn’t violate fire safety codes.
In other words, by heading to the rooftop, they could escape to the neighboring shopping complex.
As Jeo Hoo-an climbed the emergency stairs toward the rooftop, he glanced back at Anna Roux.
‘How…’
The question nagged at him again.
Before Anna Roux arrived here, there had been no contact with the Prosecutor’s Office or the Police.
Moreover, despite a body search as thorough as airport security, nothing suspicious had been found.
But they found us like ghosts.
‘Is there really a traitor? It wasn’t Anna Roux?’
Jeo Hoo-an suspected Anna Roux until the very end.
But looking at the current situation, something felt off.
Without another traitor, the entire situation made no sense from beginning to end.
‘Regardless….’
What mattered now was escape.
As long as I wasn’t caught, those men who’d clashed with the Prosecutor’s Office here would face minimal punishment and walk free.
This country’s laws were a joke.
And I had confidence in my ability to flee.
Whether they were police or investigators, they kept pouring into this building.
They never considered that we’d cross the rooftop to another building.
‘Idiots.’
Jeo Hoo-an, his secretary, and Anna Roux stood on the rooftop.
The secretary moved to the adjacent building first.
Then Jeo Hoo-an shoved Anna Roux’s back.
“You go first.”
“What?”
The secretary had already crossed to the other building.
If Jeo Hoo-an moved first, Anna Roux would be left alone.
Then Anna Roux would surely turn herself in to the authorities.
That’s what Jeo Hoo-an believed.
“Jump, unless you want to fall to your death!”
Anna Roux stood at the rooftop railing.
The gap was narrow, but it was between two shopping complexes.
Her head spun and her legs trembled.
But she had to jump.
She’d be grateful just to survive the fall.
Anna Roux squeezed her eyes shut and leaped over the railing.
Jeo Hoo-an clicked his tongue and followed in her footsteps.
The three of them moved across the buildings that way.
And Jeo Hoo-an let out a quiet laugh.
Now I could relax.
Once I took the elevator down to the Underground Parking Lot and got into the prepared car, it would be over.
By the time the authorities subdued the thugs and searched for me, I’d be sitting in a hotel sipping wine.
Jeo Hoo-an exhaled smoke leisurely and asked Anna Roux.
“You know who the traitor is?”
“If you give me a passport….”
“Don’t parrot me—answer the question.”
Jeo Hoo-an grabbed Anna Roux’s cheek.
Then, with eyes that looked ready to kill, I glared at Anna Roux and spoke.
“Who is it? Who’s clinging to that side?”
But Anna Roux didn’t answer.
She only lowered her head with eyes that had abandoned everything.
Then, in a weak voice, she spoke.
“I do know. But I can’t tell you.”
“….”
“I’ll go to Japan and live quietly like a mouse. I won’t bring shame to the organization. So please….”
Anna Roux was still following Seo Jin’s instructions, uttering the word ‘passport’.
But she held no belief that Seo Jin would save her.
Seo Jin had used his wits as best he could, but he was no match for Jeo Hoo-an.
A man who trusted nothing but money.
Evil always knew how to mock the law.
Jeo Hoo-an had ultimately succeeded in his escape.
And he would hide for a while.
Whether it would be a month or a year, the investigative agencies of this country would certainly grow quiet as always.
The victor was Jeo Hoo-an.
So all Anna Roux could do now was plead desperately.
“Please. I just want to live an ordinary life.”
At Anna Roux’s continued voice, Jeo Hoo-an ran his hand through his hair.
Then, crushing out his cigarette butt, he opened his mouth in a gentle tone.
“I’d like to let you go, if I could. But you know I can’t, don’t you?”
“….”
“Let’s go talk. But I wish you had told me before you got hurt. You know, don’t you? We were quite good partners.”
“….”
“I hope I don’t have to pull your teeth and nails in front of me. I don’t want you to suffer humiliation at the hands of those men below. How could I bear to see tears flowing down this beautiful face?”
Jeo Hoo-an caressed Anna Roux’s cheek and smiled bitterly.
But Anna Roux knew.
It was a kind voice, but a perfect threat.
He wanted her to collapse on her own, imagining the torture that awaited her until she was dragged to the office.
A human facing torture is weak.
Touch that heart even slightly, and they will spill the truth.
With those words, Jeo Hoo-an headed toward the rooftop door.
The Secretary still gripped Anna Roux’s hair with cold eyes.
And so Anna Roux, her hair seized as if dragged by a leash, followed in Jeo Hoo-an’s wake.
Then Jeo Hoo-an turned the doorknob.
The rooftop door opened weakly.
Anna Roux gazed at the building across from where she had just been.
The sound of violence could still be heard from there.
While they slipped away from here so freely, the investigative agencies of Korea were merely grasping at air.
Yet Jeo Hoo-an wasn’t moving forward.
He remained rooted in place, his expression contorted.
Anna Roux wondered what was wrong.
So she turned her head toward the door, and a familiar voice reached her ears.
“Hey.”
It was Seo Jin.

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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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