Prosecutor Kim Seo-Jin - Chapter 157

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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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Hidden Secrets (2)
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Do Gwang-hyun repeated Seo Jin’s words verbatim.
“Anna Roux suggested it. She said we should dismantle Eom Seon-ju’s Organization the same way.”
Jeo Hu-an’s Criminal Organization no longer even had a name left.
Jeo Hu-an and the key figures had been arrested, and the remaining members were being hunted by investigative agencies.
The South Korean investigative agencies, which they had underestimated, proved relentless, and Jeo Hu-an’s Criminal Organization was uprooted completely.
Self-retaliation was difficult. No—it was nearly impossible.
“Anna Roux seems to have been thinking of using barbarians against barbarians.”
Using barbarians against barbarians—an ancient strategy of turning enemies against each other.
“Both the Prosecutor’s Office and Eom Seon-ju are Korean. If they fight and tear into each other, it could be quite the spectacle, wouldn’t it? You don’t lift a finger—you just watch from the sidelines.”
Jeo Hu-an wiped his lips.
Not a bad plan.
The problem was….
“How exactly will you connect this to the Prosecutor’s Office?”
“I’m a lawyer. I know a few prosecutors as friends.”
Jeo Hu-an’s gaze shifted back to Eom Seon-ju’s records.
Smiling to their face while shaking hands with Kim Seo-jin behind their back and stabbing them in the back.
Even now, thinking about it made his hands tremble.
After suppressing his rage for a moment, Jeo Hu-an spoke.
“We shook hands, but I didn’t know about their family problems. We only shared profits and information—we were completely separate organizations.”
With those words, Jeo Hu-an fell silent, and the air grew heavy with frustration.
Jeo Hu-an’s eyes moved as he sank into thought, while Do Gwang-hyun simply watched him quietly.
‘Jeo Hu-an said he didn’t know much about the problems within Eom Seon-ju’s Organization.’
It was natural, given that they managed different organizations.
Do Gwang-hyun swallowed hard.
After coming this far, the thought that they might leave empty-handed gnawed at him.
In that moment, Jeo Hu-an reached out and spoke.
“This one knows.”
What Jeo Hu-an held was a photograph—Eom Seon-ju’s bodyguard, that man’s face.
Jeo Hu-an waved the photograph and continued.
“This bastard enjoys killing. At the Yangju Factory, he’s built an incinerator there.”
“…!”
“Yes. Tell them to start with that incinerator. Then his tail will be caught.”
“…!”
“What do you think he’s been burning in that incinerator? He’s been throwing human remains into it on Eom Seon-ju’s orders.”
With those words, Jeo Hu-an lit a cigarette.
Gray smoke curled from his lips as he continued in a bitter voice.
“Tell Anna Roux I’m sorry.”
“Understood.”
There was nothing left to say.
Do Gwang-hyun rose to his feet and bowed his head.
As he turned toward the door.
“Wait.”
Jeo Hu-an stopped Do Gwang-hyun in his tracks.
Do Gwang-hyun tilted his head and turned around, and Jeo Hu-an spoke.
“So… Eom Seon-ju said that in the illegal loan shark market, the customer list matters more than the money? She secured my client roster?”
“Yes, that’s right.”
I’d simply thrown it out without much thought—just to plant a seed of doubt in Jeo Hu-an’s mind.
But Jeo Hu-an began laughing as if it were absurd, and soon a sinister tone followed from his lips.
“Crazy bitch.”
Jeo Hu-an’s eyes transformed.
They burned with vengeance.
To Jeo Hu-an now, Eom Seon-ju was his enemy.
A lunatic who dragged the Prosecutor’s Office into the organization’s affairs.
Someone he wouldn’t mind killing.
Jeo Hu-an’s distorted gaze seemed to care nothing for consequences.
“There’s a warehouse in Geomodo, Siheung, Gyeonggi Province, where we store lamb meat.”
“Lamb meat?”
“That’s what we reported it as, but in reality, it’s where Eom Seon-ju keeps her cash. Whether you take that money and use it, burn it in an incinerator, report it to the Prosecutor’s Office and turn it into government funds—handle it however you like. If the amount suits you, you can even defend me in court.”
Jeo Hu-an began laughing with a chilling, deliberate tone.
Then, exhaling cigarette smoke, he delivered his final words.
“Teach Eom Seon-ju that money matters more than a customer list.”
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Outside the building, Do Gwang-hyun removed his earpiece and stared at me with vacant eyes.
“Prosecutor?”
“I heard everything.”
“So free money is rolling in, right?”
Do Gwang-hyun’s eyes gleamed.
Ever since acquiring shares in Shinma Construction, my cash reserves had been dwindling.
But now money was appearing again.
And not just any money—the slush funds of Eom Seon-ju, a big player’s daughter.
Whatever the amount, it wouldn’t be insignificant.
“I was trying to live righteously…”
“If you launder it and use it for good causes, that’s being righteous. That’s what makes someone a good person.”
Do Gwang-hyun was elated.
I clenched and unclenched my fists, imagining the astronomical sum that might be hidden away. It was maddening.
“A billion won? Two billion? No, wait—she’s the daughter of a big player, so she’d have stashed away at least ten billion. Hell, even one billion would be enough….”
One billion won wasn’t pocket change, yet Do Gwang-hyun kept muttering about it obsessively.
I patted Do Gwang-hyun’s back as he beamed with excitement and opened my mouth.
“Stop counting your chickens before they hatch. First, find out where the slush fund is hidden and locate the crematorium they use to dispose of bodies. We can plan the rest later.”
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Central District Prosecutors’ Office Grand Hall.
Prosecutors summoned by the Central District Prosecutors’ Office filled the seats.
The number easily exceeded two hundred.
Yet the Prosecutor General who had summoned them had not yet appeared.
The seated prosecutors whispered among themselves.
“I’m swamped with work—why call everyone in? And all prosecutors at that?”
“It’s the Prosecutor General’s style. After taking office, he’s been quietly observing, and now he’s cracking down on problems he’s documented.”
“Ugh, I thought things would get easier after Kim Young-jun left, but now we’re back to walking on thorns?”
“It won’t be you who suffers—it’ll be that bastard.”
The prosecutors’ gazes shifted.
Their target was Seo Jin, seated in the corner.
The nephew of Prosecutor General Kim Young-jun, who had received every conceivable privilege.
The one who had acted recklessly from the pseudo-religious cult case onward, stepping over his seniors’ heads.
The results had been good, fortunately—otherwise, the Central District Prosecutors’ Office might have been utterly disgraced.
“Our Prosecutor General isn’t from Prosecutor General Kim Young-jun’s faction. The Minister of Justice appointed him. So he can strip Seo Jin bare if he wants.”
“Is he going to run crying to his uncle? Tell him the Prosecutor General scolded him?”
They snickered.
Then.
“Be quiet.”
At the heavy voice, their gazes shifted.
Jang Ji-hyuk, seated behind them, looked down at them with contempt.
“You’ve been educated enough to know better than to chatter like middle schoolers. Seo Jin is your junior prosecutor too. You’re all prosecutors, your seniority is similar, and if you don’t leave the profession, you’ll be working together going forward. Get along with him, you bastards.”
Jang Ji-hyuk clicked his tongue.
The prosecutors who had been mocking Seo Jin lowered their eyes and murmured apologies, then faced forward.
But they had only apologized because Jang Ji-hyuk was their senior.
Those facing forward were biting their lips.
And Jo Woo-jae, the Chief Prosecutor, felt those gazes too.
Jo Woo-jae tapped Seo Jin’s shoulder reassuringly and spoke with confidence.
“Just trust me.”
Jo Woo-jae was a Chief Prosecutor.
He had been given multiple opportunities to meet privately with the Prosecutor General and was confident he had made a good impression.
“Besides, worthless bastards always envy people who are doing well. Don’t mind them. Got it?”
“Yes.”
Seo Jin answered curtly.
I had never cared about it from the start.
Human relationships are such that for every person who views you favorably, there exists someone who does not.
But I couldn’t understand why everyone around me was making such a fuss.
Then.
“The Prosecutor General is entering.”
At that announcement, everyone rose from their seats.
The Prosecutor General of the Seoul Central District Prosecutors’ Office was walking toward the podium.
The Prosecutor General stood silently before the microphone.
Then he opened his mouth with a dry tone.
“Now that you’ve become part of this family, I wanted to see your faces and shake your hands. But before that, I have something to say.”
The Prosecutor General conveyed his vision for the future of the Seoul Central District Prosecutors’ Office.
Fight with all your might.
Always be kind to the people.
But become a demon to criminals.
The Prosecutor General is the king of the Seoul Central District Prosecutors’ Office.
Right now, his voice sets the standard for investigations.
The prosecutors listened intently to the Prosecutor General’s remarks.
And the Prosecutor General descended from the podium.
He shook hands with the Vice Chief Prosecutor first, then the Chief Prosecutors, in order of rank.
One by one.
But suddenly the atmosphere began to freeze.
“Prosecutor Yoon Ki-hwa!”
“You speak informally to an older investigator?”
“What?”
“The investigator isn’t your friend!”
At the thunderous rebuke that crackled through the air, the prosecutor hastily bowed his head.
“I’m so, so sorry.”
The next one was no different.
“Park Tae-kyung!”
“You’re a finance expert?”
“Ah, yes.”
“So your job is to meet with financial company employees and drink?”
“What?”
“Keep it moderate, keep it moderate. Don’t come stumbling in here drinking from the middle of the day!”
Since taking office, there had been nothing unusual about the Prosecutor General’s conduct.
All he did was shut himself away quietly in his office.
The Prosecutor General was not part of Kim Young-jun’s faction.
He was an outsider brought up by the Minister of Justice to counterbalance Kim Young-jun.
So I was preparing for the moment when I could seize control of an elite group numbering well over two hundred.
“I-I’m terribly sorry!”
The Prosecutor General’s thunderous rebukes continued to echo through the Grand Hall, and with each one, the prosecutors had to bow their heads in submission.
And then that moment came for me.
The prosecutors who resented me suddenly turned their heads.
Their eyes gleamed with anticipation.
They were eager to see what would befall me.
But.
“Seo Jin?”
“Yes, Prosecutor Seo Jin.”
Yet the thunderous rebuke and humiliation they had anticipated never came my way.
The Prosecutor General grasped my hand and spoke quietly, lowering his voice so those around us couldn’t hear.
“Just keep doing what you’re doing. The Chancellor told me—you’re the one who touched on the recruitment irregularities, aren’t you? He said he owes his position to you?”
“I beg your pardon?”
“I’d like to benefit from your work too. So I’m looking forward to what comes next—what else you’ll bring. This time, I’d prefer you brought it directly to me instead of the Chancellor.”
I blinked for a moment.
There had been times in the past when we’d crossed paths briefly.
A man who used to merely nod now suddenly had much to say.
But there was no time for deeper reflection, and I had to bow quickly.
“For the discourtesy of visiting the Supreme Prosecutors’ Office without reporting first….”
“I’m not blaming you for that. He’s your uncle, after all. A gift of that magnitude is perfectly acceptable.”
The Prosecutor General was a man who had risen to the Central District Prosecutors’ Office through the Ministry of Justice.
But he had already become Kim Young-jun’s man.
And in the Prosecutor General’s gaze fixed upon me was nothing but expectation.
An intense look that pleaded: please bring me what I desire.
“What I want comes next.”
The Prosecutor General had no intention whatsoever of slaughtering the goose that laid golden eggs.
Rather, he wanted to give it wings and let it soar freely.
His lingering presence before me was one reason for that.
A message to all the prosecutors.
That he was paying attention to me.
So that others wouldn’t dare act carelessly.
The Prosecutor General tapped my shoulder twice, then moved to the side.
I shifted my gaze and watched his profile.
A man who had shaken hands with the Minister of Justice before scurrying over to Kim Young-jun.
Some would call him a bat, others would say he was sensitive to profit and loss calculations.
But to me, he was the perfect person for my plans ahead.
And the prosecutors who resented me.
They were too far away to discern what conversation had passed between us.
But one thing was certain.
Their attitude toward the others and the way they looked at Seo Jin were polar opposites.
The Prosecutor General had conversed warmly with Seo Jin, and his path forward was destined to remain smooth.
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After the greeting with the Prosecutor General ended and all the prosecutors returned to their offices, I was walking through the hallway.
I continued down the corridor.
But feeling my phone vibrate in my pocket, I changed direction and slipped outside.
The caller was Do Gwang-hyun.
I moved to an empty spot and brought the phone to my ear.
“Yeah, go ahead.”
-I’ve located both places. But the security is tighter than expected.
During this time, Do Gwang-hyun had been investigating the serial killer’s incinerator and Eom Seon-ju’s slush fund warehouse.
“Tight? How tight?”
-From what I’ve seen, there are eight men at the slush fund warehouse and four at the incinerator. They keep rotating through those numbers even at night. Constantly, without pause.
Eom Seon-ju was prioritizing security above all else.
But the safer one feels, the more vulnerabilities exist.
If I poke through those cracks and slip inside, I can strip them of what’s theirs.
“Okay, let’s hit Eom Seon-ju’s warehouse first.”
“The slush fund first?”
“Yeah.”
If I touched the serial killer’s incinerator first, there was a high chance they’d go into hiding.
They’d hold their breath beneath the surface and wait until the world grew quiet again.
But money was different.
It was human nature to want to recover what was lost.
Desperation bred reckless moves, and the more they thrashed about, the more their traces would surface.
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A few days later, at night.
Seo Jin and Do Gwang-hyun stood on a rural road without a single streetlight.
In the distance lay the slush fund warehouse.
Do Gwang-hyun brushed his chest and laughed quietly.
“I’m nervous.”
“Let’s sweep them clean.”

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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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