Prosecutor Kim Seo-Jin - Chapter 146

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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 (5)
Seo Jin smiled faintly and continued speaking.
“So you really did run here?”
Jeo Hoo-an’s heart sank.
He had thought his escape plan—moving between the shopping complex and its rooftop—was flawless, with no room for failure.
Yet here was Seo Jin, leaning casually against the emergency exit.
‘Could this be a spy too? Did he find out through a spy?’
Jeo Hoo-an quickly shook his head.
That was impossible.
He hadn’t breathed a word about the plan in front of Anna Roux.
That left only the secretary.
But the secretary had been by Jeo Hoo-an’s side all day, except for when he went to the restroom.
‘Wait… the restroom?’
Jeo Hoo-an bit his lip.
That brief moment in the restroom was more than enough time to send a message.
‘Damn it!’
Jeo Hoo-an’s eyes turned cold and vicious as the realization settled in.
A betrayal from a trusted ally was the cruelest blow of all.
Even if he was dragged away by the Prosecutor’s Office, the traitor had to be eliminated.
That was the rule of this world.
Only then could the organization remain intact after he served his time.
“Was it you?”
Jeo Hoo-an’s voice dropped to a menacing whisper.
But the secretary shook his head desperately.
“…No, it wasn’t me.”
“Then who!”
Jeo Hoo-an’s eyes flashed with deadly intent as he glared at the secretary.
The atmosphere suggested he might slit the secretary’s throat right then and there.
As the secretary began to back away under that murderous gaze, Seo Jin—who had remained silent until now—finally spoke.
“It wasn’t him.”
At those words, Jeo Hoo-an’s gaze snapped toward Anna Roux.
Then Seo Jin chuckled softly.
“It wasn’t her either.”
“…!”
“Curious?”
*
*
*
Thirty minutes earlier.
Seo Jin had confirmed through surveillance that Anna Roux had gotten out of a taxi.
But that was where the problem lay.
Anna Roux had entered a small coffee shop across the street, and then went silent.
I parked my car about three minutes’ drive past where Anna Roux had gotten out.
Then I unfolded a map and continued my analysis.
‘If I were Jeo Hoo-an….’
He was paranoid by nature.
Moreover, he suspected the presence of a spy.
‘He’d want to verify everything with his own eyes.’
He would have been watching from a vantage point where he could observe Anna Roux getting out of the taxi and survey the entire surrounding area.
‘He wouldn’t have taken her to a place where construction was actively ongoing.’
There would be actual workers there, increasing the number of potential witnesses.
So the shopping complex he’d choose would be one where construction was over ninety percent complete.
Or one that was fully completed but not yet leased out.
I drove the car again, surveying the area where Anna Roux had gotten out.
‘There are only two places that meet all these conditions.’
I immediately asked the bodyguard who had come with me.
To find a shopping complex with an unusually high number of workers.
After a short while, the bodyguard called me back and spoke urgently.
“It’s the shopping complex with the red banner. There are people moving around there, but they don’t seem to be working—they look like they’re surveilling the area. Based on their build, they’re not workers but thugs.”
I also confirmed the shopping complex and agreed with the bodyguard’s report.
But I didn’t move immediately.
My mind was running simulations of every possible scenario that could unfold.
Once a situation begins, you cannot control everything.
To maintain control, thinking and rethinking, preparing meticulously—that’s the only way to minimize failure.
‘What if that shopping complex was a decoy? What if he left those thugs there and is meeting Anna Roux somewhere else?’
Only after I had organized every possible scenario in my mind did I contact Chief Prosecutor Jo Woo-jae.
Then the investigators waiting in the vicinity moved into the shopping complex.
The sounds of curses and violence echoed out.
But I remained vigilant until the end.
‘He would have secured an escape route. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have arranged to meet at a place like this.’
And now, I was facing them.
*
*
*
I smiled faintly and opened my mouth.
“Want to know how I found this place?”
…
“I heard it from her.”
I slowly raised my finger.
Everyone’s attention fixed on that finger.
Jeo Hoo-an, his secretary, and even Anna Roux—they were all curious about the identity of that spy who had single-handedly destroyed such a formidable organization in an instant.
But my finger was pointing directly at Jeo Hoo-an.
“What?”
Jeo Hoo-an watched me with tense eyes while tilting his head in confusion.
And he asked back.
“…Me?”
If Jeo Hoo-an had been the type to act on impulse, I would have had to account for countless variables and unpredictable factors.
But since he was a calculating man, he fell within my range of prediction.
“Thanks for your cooperation. Let’s go.”
I said nothing more.
I pulled out handcuffs from my pocket and walked briskly toward Jeo Hoo-an.
“Don’t come any closer!”
Jeo Hoo-an quickly drew a knife.
He scowled fiercely and brandished the blade.
“You pathetic bastard!”
His eyes held a murderous gleam, as if he would stab me the moment I came closer.
That was when it happened.
Bang bang! The sound of someone pounding on the emergency exit echoed out.
Jeo Hoo-an’s gaze shifted toward the source of the noise.
Jo Woo-jae appeared there.
Jo Woo-jae spoke with an incredulous laugh.
“What kind of insane bastard doesn’t understand the situation? Do you realize where you are right now, waving a knife at a prosecutor of the Republic of Korea? Put the knife down, you bastard!”
Jo Woo-jae’s resonant voice thundered across the rooftop.
Behind him, dozens of investigators were ascending.
The investigators’ hands were filled with various construction tools.
Crowbars, pry bars, hammers—things like that.
Jeo Hoo-an’s hand holding the knife trembled.
He couldn’t win against so many investigators.
Moreover, if word got out that he had brandished a knife at a prosecutor, the organization would truly be finished.
Jeo Hoo-an muttered in a voice of despair, “Damn it,” and dropped the knife with a thud.
Then he raised both hands in surrender.
Handcuffs were placed on Jeo Hoo-an and his secretary, and they were dragged down from the rooftop by the investigators.
Then I approached Anna Roux.
Anna Roux weakly extended her hand.
I placed handcuffs on Anna Roux’s wrist and spoke quietly.
“Keep your promise.”
Five years in prison.
The price for helping me arrest Jeo Hoo-an.
But Anna Roux didn’t answer.
She only nodded her head.
Five years is not a short time in one’s life.
Now Anna Roux had to wait in a daze for her release—a time that seemed distant, bleak, and as though it would never come.
I turned my body.
Anna Roux was a woman; a female investigator had to escort her.
But Anna Roux asked urgently.
“Wait, just a moment.”
I turned back toward Anna Roux.
“Why?”
“…Who was the spy?”
She seemed quite curious about that.
I smiled faintly and opened my mouth.
“It’s a secret.”
*
*
*
The rooftop, which had been chaotic, fell silent.
Chief Prosecutor Jo Woo-jae placed a cigarette between his lips and exhaled a hazy plume of smoke.
Then he opened his mouth quietly.
“In all my years as a prosecutor, I’ve met all kinds of people, but you’re a first.”
“….”
“How did you know he’d flee here?”
The Prosecutor’s Office is one of the places where the nation’s elite gather.
But it’s not easy to accomplish the unexpected like Seo Jin does.
Chief Prosecutor Jo Woo-jae had been watching Seo Jin’s actions all this time.
And he was beginning to think that the noose around his own neck was perhaps inevitable.
The method of placing your opponent in the palm of your hand and playing with them like a toy….
‘Ah, there’s one more like that.’
Chief Prosecutor Jo Woo-jae suddenly recalled Prosecutor General Kim Young-jun.
And with a bitter smile, he exhaled cigarette smoke along with the words, “Truly, blood tells.”
‘But….’
Compared to Prosecutor General Kim Young-jun, Seo Jin was still weak.
Prosecutor General Kim Young-jun abandons even family if he deems them unfit for his purpose.
If they suit his purpose, he joins hands with any villain.
Chief Prosecutor Jo Woo-jae thought Seo Jin had not yet reached that level.
And I silently shifted my gaze downward, watching Jeo Hoo-an’s organization members being dragged away one after another.
‘Not yet.’
The fact that Jeo Hoo-an was caught doesn’t mean the matter is finished.
Japanese funds and Korean big players.
They will begin to be more wary of me.
I might truly find myself in real danger.
Striking first is one of the simplest tactics in warfare.
But I felt no tension.
‘I’m grateful they came first.’
Because drawing out those hiding in the shadows was far more difficult.
I smiled quietly.
It was a windy day.
A banner advertising rental inquiries fluttered in the breeze, and dust filled the road.
I murmured as I watched the occasional passing vehicles.
“My uncle will become Prosecutor General.”
*
*
*
-Jeo Hoo-an, the head of a massive criminal organization engaged in illegal loan sharking and contract killings, was apprehended by the Prosecution Service this afternoon at approximately 1 p.m. Prosecutor Seo Jin of the Seoul Central District Prosecutors’ Office….
Television and every media outlet were covering Jeo Hoo-an’s arrest prominently.
No matter which channel I switched to, my accomplishments dominated the airwaves.
-Jeo Hoo-an entered the country in 2008 on a short-term tourist visa and has since remained in illegal status….
The comments were in an uproar.
It was common knowledge that foreign criminal organizations operated domestically.
But apprehending an executive-level member of a criminal organization—especially one known to be the leader—was something possible only in movies.
-Jackpot, jackpot, jackpot!
-Solved cold cases, caught the arsonist, and now gangsters too? What’s next?
└Politicians are saying, ‘Are you shaking?’
-The criminal is in here!
Are you a detective or something? lol
-Please, hurry up and catch them all!
A prosecutor is a profession spent buried in the office, wrestling with documents all day.
People who know criminals but sigh before the constraints of the law.
But the prosecutor people want is one who decisively captures criminals and brings them to their knees.
Yet even so, it was rare for news of criminals to saturate every media outlet like this.
The reason was that Kim Young-jun, the Prosecutor General, acted swiftly.
The Prosecution Service was awaiting a new Prosecutor General, and the Blue House was deliberating between Kim Young-jun and another candidate for the position.
But at just the right moment, I, belonging to the Central District Prosecutors’ Office, achieved results.
It was natural that my achievements would be added to Kim Young-jun’s record.
Kim Young-jun pressured each media outlet, and the Blue House’s attention was now focused on him.
*
*
*
-Congratulations in advance, Prosecutor General.
-I look forward to working with you going forward.
-Don’t worry about the confirmation hearing. Hahaha.
Prosecutor General’s Office.
Kim Young-jun’s phone continued to vibrate incessantly.
Congratulatory messages were pouring in from people across all sectors.
Even a message arrived suggesting his appointment as a secretary to the Blue House was nearly confirmed.
-It appears the President will be summoning you to the Blue House soon.
Kim Young-jun set down his phone and looked at Seo Jin standing before him.
“You did well.”
Kim Young-jun smiled warmly at Seo Jin.
Thanks to Seo Jin, I had moved one step closer to becoming Prosecutor General.
Now, barring any unforeseen circumstances, becoming Prosecutor General was inevitable.
And I needed to treat Seo Jin, who had played such a crucial role, as a meritorious contributor.
“Tell me if there’s anything you want or desire.”
Seo Jin shook his head firmly.
“There’s nothing.”
“Should I arrange a position for you at the Supreme Prosecutors’ Office?”
Seo Jin didn’t answer.
I had something in mind, but I couldn’t voice it just yet.
The person before me was Kim Young-jun.
For now, I needed to smile awkwardly, as if I’d simply done what was necessary.
“It’s fine.”
“Take your time thinking about it. And clear your schedule for this evening. If something good happens, family should celebrate together over a meal.”
*
*
*
That evening.
Seo Jin left work early for the first time in a while.
“I’m almost there. I’ll park and head in.”
The destination was Kim Young-jun’s House.
Kim Young-jun had used my accomplishments as an excuse to organize a family gathering.
My parents had already arrived, and even my younger brother Jin-young, who had been whining about not wanting to come, was there.
I parked my car at a nearby Public Parking Lot and walked toward Kim Young-jun’s House.
Kim Young-jun’s House was a detached home, and with my parents’ and Jin-young’s cars already parked there, there was no more room.
‘I’m curious.’
Truth be told, I wasn’t thrilled about today’s gathering.
The matters concerning Jeo Hoo-an, his secretary, and Anna Roux alone meant I’d be pulling all-nighters for days to come.
But there was one reason I came in good spirits.
‘Kim Young-jun’s Wife….’
Kim Young-jun’s Wife was connected to those people in some way, whether deeply or superficially, and she knew that if this case expanded, my blade would turn toward her.
Yet through this incident, Kim Young-jun now stood on the threshold of becoming Prosecutor General.
‘Will she be pleased? Or not?’
A blade drawing near would surely inspire fear.
But my husband becoming Prosecutor General could only bring joy.
Because I could lean on that power and influence.
An ironic situation—delighted yet unable to show delight.
I was genuinely curious about Kim Young-jun’s Wife’s expression and behavior.
So I arrived at Kim Young-jun’s House and pressed the doorbell.
The gate opened, revealing a stone-paved path leading to the house.
I walked briskly toward the house.
With a soft creak, the front door opened.
‘Huh?’
Normally, the household help would have answered the door.
But today, Kim Young-jun’s Wife appeared instead.

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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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