Prosecutor Kim Seo-Jin - Chapter 161

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————

Hidden Secrets (6)
Seo Jin blinked as Kim Young-jun’s Wife appeared out of nowhere, uttering words he hadn’t anticipated.
He’d encountered countless thugs and con artists throughout his life, but she operated on an entirely different level.
Kim Young-jun’s Wife was a woman of power and wealth.
She’d witnessed every dirty power struggle from her position beside Prosecutor General Kim Young-jun.
I had to assume she was at least one step ahead of me.
If I followed her words without understanding her true intentions, I’d end up in the gutter.
I needed to understand why she’d sought me out and revealed her hand.
‘The warehouse being ransacked last night has to be the trigger….’
It was difficult to predict what changes that incident had caused in Eom Seon-ju and Kim Young-jun’s Wife’s daily lives.
Of course, I could speculate, but speculation was merely possibility—not fact.
When dealing with an opponent of her caliber, you had to test every stone bridge before crossing.
Acting on mere possibility was madness.
I licked my dry lips and studied the hand gripping mine so tightly.
Since beginning my second life, Kim Young-jun’s Wife had never once shown warmth.
‘Yet….’
The hand holding me now appeared desperate.
Her anxious eyes and parched lips conveyed the same message.
I couldn’t detect any artifice.
At least, she was performing it flawlessly.
‘What’s the reason?’
That’s when it happened.
My vision flooded with grey.
I’d never been more grateful for my psychometry ability than in this moment.
*
*
*
It was a small coffee shop with three tables.
In a space empty of other customers, Seo Jin’s Aunt sat across from someone else, sipping coffee.
“…Miss.”
The man who’d called her that studied Seo Jin’s Aunt.
She shook her head and opened her mouth.
“Ninety-seven billion won. That’s what I lost this time. That money was for Yoon-hwan. I thought it would ease my guilt. But they burned it? Do you really think that’s possible? Seon-ju isn’t the type to make that kind of mistake.”
“….”
“She did it on purpose—to embezzle my money. It’s always been like that. Middle school, maybe? There was a cat I brought home to raise. Seon-ju adored it, but I told her not to touch it. It was my cat. I was the owner, so I thought only I should have its affection.”
“….”
“But after a couple of days, when I came back from school, the cat was gone. I asked Seon-ju, and she said it ran away while I was at school. But later, I found out she was secretly keeping it in her room. That’s the kind of person she is. If she wants something, she’ll do whatever it takes to get it.”
The man regarded Seo Jin’s Aunt with complicated eyes.
But her gaze remained cold and unforgiving.
“Do you know what Seon-ju said to me just now? She said she’d expose everything. Some crazy woman invested in illegal loans, and that woman was the Prosecutor General’s wife. Hundreds of billions of won! That’s what she threatened to tell everyone!”
Even now, hours later, Eom Seon-ju’s venomous voice echoed vividly in my mind, her lips twisted into a cruel sneer.
My aunt continued speaking.
“I don’t care who devours whom. They’re both vicious. Neither will back down easily. Even if one wins, they’ll be wounded.”
“….”
“A hollow victory, tainted glory. It would be perfect if both died, but if not, I could just break the limbs of whoever’s left standing. Is that really so difficult?”
“….”
“Just keep Father out of it. Tell him not to interfere—it’s a family matter. I’ll handle the rest.”
The man’s throat parched, he drained the iced coffee in one gulp.
Then, hesitantly, he opened his mouth.
“…You want me to stop the Chairman, ma’am?”
My aunt laughed coldly and continued.
“You can do at least this much for me, can’t you?”
“Miss….”
“I remember. You’re one of the bastards who destroyed my life. So you can’t even do this—just keep Father from interfering? Do it! You killed me!”
My aunt’s voice cut through the air like a blade.
The man glanced urgently at the counter, confirmed the owner wasn’t there, then turned back to my aunt.
“That wasn’t something I….”
The man swallowed his words.
He realized that nothing he said would reach her.
With a troubled expression, the man finished his remaining coffee and nodded.
“Understood.”
My aunt, satisfied with the answer she’d received, laughed quietly.
“I’ll take care of Seo Jin myself.”
*
*
*
My aunt’s face filled my vision.
Those eyes still watching me with feigned anxiety.
But now it was clear.
Just as I’d suspected, that expression was nothing but an act.
She gazed at me with the eyes of a doting aunt, but beneath that facade dwelt a monster gorging itself on greed.
I smiled quietly.
Now that I understood her intentions, there was no reason to hesitate.
In a way, she’d walked straight into the tiger’s mouth, underestimating me.
I know what my aunt intends, but she has no idea what lies beneath my surface.
All I need to do is wait and devour her.
And once this matter comes to light, I’ll have justification to strike at my aunt.
She attacked me first—I was merely responding in kind.
With that justification established, even Kim Young-jun as Prosecutor General would find it difficult to intervene.
Having organized my thoughts, I nodded.
“Aunt, you must have been so worried all this time. Let me handle this quietly. I’ll keep it out of the media, away from the other prosecutors….”
“Yes, it’s a family matter. And it won’t do you any good to have it known that our side of the family had deep pockets. I’m sorry for putting you in this position.”
“It’s not a burden…. Really, it’s fine.”
My aunt smiled faintly at my kind words.
Then she released the hand she’d been holding and spoke.
“There’s one more thing I need to ask.”
“Of course.”
“Can we keep this between the two of us?”
“Naturally. Don’t worry.”
My aunt and I exchanged a look brimming with trust.
*
*
*
Moments later, I was heading back to the District Prosecutor’s Office.
My mind was deep in thought.
Through psychometry, I’d sensed the discord between my aunt and Eom Seon-ju clearly enough.
My aunt’s money had been stacked in that warehouse too.
The two sisters, who had never truly trusted each other, turned their backs coldly the moment their mutual interests dried up.
‘Will Eom Seon-ju move according to my aunt’s wishes?’
Eom Seon-ju wasn’t the type to obey meekly in the palm of my aunt’s hand.
She’d be gnawing her nails raw, searching for a way out of this crisis.
‘Can I use that?’
In a sense, Eom Seon-ju was backed into a corner.
She’d lost the money and her relationship with my aunt had crumbled.
On top of that, the investigative authorities were probing from all sides, claiming they were mopping up Jeo Hoo-an’s remnants.
There was a real possibility she’d grab at a straw if I offered one.
‘I’ll think about that later….’
I recalled the psychometry again.
The final conversation between my aunt and the unknown man.
“Do it! You’re the one who killed them!”
“That wasn’t me….”
I muttered, remembering that voice.
‘One of the people who ruined my life? You’re the one who killed them?’
I stopped dead in my tracks.
‘Killed? Who?’
My eyes narrowed.
I felt as though I’d found another hidden fragment of my aunt’s past.
*
*
*
Seo Jin’s Aunt said she would provide information about Eom Seon-ju.
I waited for that information while drowning in accumulated work.
Documents piled endlessly, day after day without respite.
The papers stacked like mountains on my desk showed no signs of diminishing.
And the money we pulled from Eom Seon-ju’s warehouse came to approximately 230 billion won.
After purchasing shares in Shinma Construction, Do Gwang-hyun—who had been grumbling about having no money—was grinning from ear to ear.
He said he’d secured the basement of a shopping complex, moved the money there, and would live there until the money laundering was complete.
“Prosecutor?”
The administrative staff member holding the phone turned toward me.
As I looked up from my work to meet her gaze, she covered the receiver with her hand and opened her mouth.
“Chief Prosecutor Jo is calling for you.”
I stepped into the hallway to head to Chief Prosecutor Jo Woo-jae’s office and checked my wristwatch.
‘At this hour?’
With the change in Prosecutor General, meeting with Chief Prosecutor Jo Woo-jae wasn’t easy.
Ever since the Prosecutor General had gathered all the prosecutors in the auditorium and issued stern orders, everyone had been keeping their distance.
So aside from scheduled meetings, there was no reason to see him—this sudden summons was unexpected.
“You called for me?”
As I opened the office door and entered, Chief Prosecutor Jo Woo-jae, sitting with a grave expression, pointed to the adjoining room.
“Come in.”
As I entered the room, Chief Prosecutor Jo Woo-jae opened the window and placed a cigarette between his lips.
He exhaled thick smoke, his expression still serious.
I waited quietly for Chief Prosecutor Jo Woo-jae to speak.
It had been a long time since I’d seen him wear such an expression.
A face full of frustration and hesitation.
My own expression grew serious in turn.
The recent events surrounding me had been so absurd.
My aunt and Eom Seon-ju.
‘Could it be that my aunt has also reached out to Chief Prosecutor Jo Woo-jae? Is she asking him to do something about me?’
It was possible.
On the surface, Chief Prosecutor Jo Woo-jae was one of Chairman Kim Young-jun’s lapdogs.
Since he didn’t know I had him on a leash, he was someone I could easily manipulate.
There was no one better than Chief Prosecutor Jo Woo-jae to pressure me from all sides.
“Go ahead.”
I laid out the welcome mat.
After all, Chief Prosecutor Jo Woo-jae was my man.
Tens of billions of won hanging around his neck controlled his every action.
But what came out of Chief Prosecutor Jo Woo-jae’s mouth was different from what I expected.
“Read this.”
Chief Prosecutor Jo Woo-jae tapped a document on the table.
A woman who collapsed at a jjimjilbang two years ago.
His body convulsed, foam frothing from his lips before death claimed him.
The next document detailed a woman who died in a Coffee Shop two years ago.
The cause of death was identical.
Then there was a man who died on a bus a year ago.
Again, convulsions and foam.
The next case, and the one after that—all the same.
An indiscriminate number of people had died exhibiting identical symptoms.
“The hospital determined it was poisoning from potassium cyanide.”
Police had investigated the Jjimjilbang owner, staff, and even every customer present at the time, but found no suspects.
“Then the same method of death occurred again at the Coffee Shop and Jjimjilbang. So far, eleven people have died this way, with no connection between them. A serial killer targeting random victims.”
“….”
“A public investigation is impossible.”
A public investigation would be impossible.
Through the diplomatic efforts of Lee Sung-yoon, a prominent politician, representatives and executives from various countries were gathering in Korea.
That conference was less than a month away.
“The Prosecutor General instructed us not to pour cold water on the event with a serial poisoning case.”
Chief Prosecutor Jo Woo-jae stubbed out his cigarette in the ashtray and rubbed his face.
He continued speaking.
“The case falls under our District Prosecutor’s Office jurisdiction. We need to coordinate with Gangnam Police Station and close this before the conference.”
If the media hyenas caught the scent or the Opposition Party learned of this, they would escalate it into an extreme situation.
They would certainly incite the public to stop drinking beverages altogether.
“That’s why the Prosecutor General called us in.”
The deputy prosecutors and chief prosecutors exchanged glances with one another.
None of them could bring themselves to volunteer.
“But one guy said something—that the unsolved case belongs to Kim Seo-jin, didn’t it….”
It was only natural that as recognition grew, so did envious gazes.
There were prosecutors who viewed Seo Jin unfavorably.
They were trying to push Seo Jin to the edge of a cliff.
They planned to heap endless criticism on him through a single failure.
“I naturally opposed it. This is something Criminal Division should handle. But the Prosecutor General heard your name and immediately accepted. He has expectations. He wants to package this case well and gain the favor of the Prosecutor General and the political establishment.”
Chief Prosecutor Jo Woo-jae stared at the documents with worried eyes.
Even for an unsolved case specialist, this was impossible.
A crime targeting indiscriminate victims.
No evidence.
No suspects.
Police had pursued this for two years, yet the perpetrator remained hidden.
All that had been revealed was potassium cyanide—that was everything.
He had to begin the investigation with only that single fact.
“If you can’t do it, say so. Damn it, why should we handle work that Criminal Division should be doing?”
Chief Prosecutor Jo Woo-jae’s voice was filled with anger.
This isn’t about protecting Seo Jin or not.
It’s an abuse of authority that crosses departmental lines.
Yet Seo Jin took the documents in hand and nodded lightly.
“I’ll do it.”
“What?”
“I’ll give it a try. But….”
“But?”
“Could you reduce my other cases a bit?”
With fewer cases to handle, I could focus on Eom Seon-ju and Kim Young-jun’s Wife.
Besides, the Prosecutor General—a man skilled in calculating advantage—it was time to grow closer to him as well.
I smiled faintly.
But that smile was devilish.

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————