Prosecutor Kim Seo-Jin - Chapter 167

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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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No Different (6)
Camera shutters clicked incessantly, and every journalist’s gaze fixed upon me.
They waited for the words I would speak.
After exchanging greetings, I stepped before the microphone.
“I will now begin the briefing on the serial poisoning murder case.”
My low voice resonated through the briefing room, and the murmuring crowd fell silent as if it had never existed.
The journalists held their breath, straining to catch every single word that would fall from my lips.
The poisoning murder case that had proceeded in secrecy until now.
Chief Prosecutor Jung Jun-woo was even holding a press conference at Shinma Hotel, insisting on conspiracy theories.
It was material rich enough to make the journalists salivate.
But as I continued speaking, they were shocked.
The victims were people who had shared only brief encounters through university, fitness clubs, various volunteer activities, and flash meetings on community websites.
Kim Seo-young selected her targets from among them, planned the crimes, and observed the victims.
“The defendant feigned coincidence to meet the victims and offered them poisoned coffee.”
Most of them were mere acquaintances who had never even exchanged contact information.
But the location—an alley where they met by apparent chance—created the illusion of a special connection, and the brief conversation they shared there added an air of familiarity.
Moreover, looking at Kim Seo-young’s kind and beautiful face, no one could harbor any suspicion.
The number of victims who died this way: eleven.
“This office of prosecution….”
*
*
*
“Turn it off.”
It was Congressman Baek’s office, one of the real powers in the Opposition Party.
Congressman Baek’s cold voice echoed through the space.
Simultaneously, the television screen went black.
Baek Ki-ho—a former judge turned congressman, one of those redrawing the power map alongside Prosecutor General Kim Young-jun.
Rumors were circulating everywhere that he was aiming for the next presidential election, or the one after that.
Congressman Baek put a cigarette in his mouth and laughed with an expression of disbelief, shaking his head.
“I thought it would be easy, but nothing ever is.”
If this summit were recorded as the ruling party’s blunder that mocked the people, the presidential election would be as good as in his hands—the Opposition Party’s primary would effectively become the presidential election itself.
But then this bastard Seo Jin suddenly appeared and threw everything back into chaos.
It didn’t matter.
Everyone knew that the path to the presidency was thorny.
It was a place where things were overturned again and again, and the one who laughed last was the victor.
“Who made contact with that bastard Jung Jun-woo?”
Even in this situation, Congressman Baek’s expression and voice were eerily rational and composed.
His aide found that demeanor frightening, but he expressed nothing and opened his mouth calmly.
“Congressman Yeo Dong-soo.”
“Yeo Dong-soo?”
Congressman Baek exhaled cigarette smoke, his mind conjuring the image of that legislator.
He was performing calculations in his head.
Whether he’d be needed until the end, or if he could be discarded without consequence.
And that calculation took mere moments.
Congressman Baek tapped the ash from his cigarette and spoke with casual indifference.
“Prosecutor General Kim Young-jun will climb over him. Dispose of him before that happens.”
“…!”
“Yeo Dong-soo’s son just got into law school this year. You know there are serious problems with that admission. If he doesn’t want to ruin his son’s future, tell him to quietly retire.”
The aide didn’t answer easily.
Simply cutting out Congressman Yeo Dong-soo wouldn’t solve the problem.
The opponent wasn’t the Ruling Party—it was the Prosecutor’s Office. If they wielded their blade, there was no telling how much blood would be spilled.
The aide, who had fallen into thought for a moment, licked his dry lips and spoke with difficulty.
“Congressman, I believe the real problem is Chief Prosecutor Jung Jun-woo.”
The aide picked up the remote and turned the television back on.
The face of Chief Prosecutor Jung Jun-woo standing at the podium came into view.
His complexion had turned ashen, and his eyes couldn’t focus.
“He’s cornered.”
Chief Prosecutor Jung Jun-woo was a rat trapped in a corner.
There was no telling what he might do.
“He could hand over all the records of his communications and meetings with Congressman Yeo Dong-soo to Prosecutor General Kim Young-jun.”
Prosecutor General Kim Young-jun had a strained relationship with Congressman Baek.
If Prosecutor General Kim Young-jun came at them with teeth gritted, it would be terrifying.
But Congressman Baek remained composed this time as well.
“You handle Jung Jun-woo. I’ve become interested in meeting someone.”
“C-Congressman?”
“No matter how much I think about it, something feels off….”
Congressman Baek drew a smile of inexplicable origin.
The image of Seo Jin surfaced in his mind.
All of Seo Jin’s movements thus far.
And the inconsistencies.
“Something’s off….”
Congressman Baek finished his thoughts and picked up his phone, scrolling through his contacts.
Then his finger stopped at the phone number of Lee So-hee, Seo Jin’s classmate at the Gangwon District Prosecutors’ Office.
*
*
*
And at the Supreme Prosecutors’ Office.
Prosecutor General Kim Young-jun sat at the table, leisurely sipping tea.
While watching the pathetic face of Chief Prosecutor Jung Jun-woo displayed on the television screen.
Reporters were hurling questions at him, but Chief Prosecutor Jung Jun-woo couldn’t offer any response.
All he could do was dart his eyes back and forth.
“One must know one’s own limits to live in peace….”
Prosecutor General Kim Young-jun chuckled softly.
Chief Prosecutor Jung Jun-woo was undoubtedly an elite.
He’d graduated from the nation’s finest universities, passed the bar examination, and entered the Prosecutor’s Office.
And he’d even attained the considerable title of Chief Prosecutor at the Seoul Central District Prosecutors’ Office.
To the uninformed observer, he was a winner in life.
But the Prosecutor’s Office was a place where only such people gathered.
Among them, Chief Prosecutor Jung Jun-woo had to confront the boundaries of his own capabilities.
He’d fallen behind in promotions compared to his peers, and even to his juniors—unable to ascend any further.
It was humiliation. It was disgrace.
So he’d dreamed of Yeouido, hoping to leap above them in a single bound.
He believed that donning the golden badge of a congressman would compensate for all he’d lost.
As a result, he’d had to surrender everything.
Even the honor he’d accumulated over all these years.
As Prosecutor General Kim Young-jun shook his head, his phone vibrated.
The caller was Seo Jin.
He was calling to report that the briefing had concluded.
“You’ve done well.”
-I merely did what was necessary.
“You must be exhausted, but we need to see this through to the end, don’t we?”
-It’s fine. What are your orders?
“First, bring in Jung Jun-woo. Attach whatever charges you can—he’s accumulated plenty of them over the years, so it shouldn’t be difficult. And… I’ll instruct you on the next steps afterward.”
-Understood.
Hearing Seo Jin’s crisp affirmation, Prosecutor General Kim Young-jun lowered his phone.
Then he slowly turned his gaze toward the window.
A fierce wind was blowing outside.
It felt as though the scent of blood was woven into that wind.
‘It was something that had to be done eventually.’
Ever since hearing that Chief Prosecutor Jung Jun-woo had joined hands with the Opposition Party, he’d been investigating their movements.
There were Opposition Party members within Prosecutor General Kim Young-jun’s own network, and identifying those involved had been no difficult task.
‘Now….’
All that remained was to pin inescapable charges on Chief Prosecutor Jung Jun-woo.
Prosecutor General Kim Young-jun muttered with a bitter expression.
“Congressman Baek Ki-ho….”
*
*
*
The atmosphere at the Seoul Central District Prosecutors’ Office was stirring with anticipation.
No one had expected Seo Jin to resolve this case.
For two years, the case had remained unsolved, and there was even a statute of limitations hanging over it.
Yet I had resolved it.
The prosecutors who’d envied me fell silent, while others extended their thumbs in approval.
But I had no time to bask in that atmosphere.
Prosecutor General Kim Young-jun’s orders had come through.
Bring in Chief Prosecutor Jung Jun-woo.
“But sir, do we really need this many investigators just to bring in Chief Prosecutor Jung Jun-woo?”
An investigator boarding the Prosecutor’s Office van posed the question, and I shrugged.
“Good question.”
Two or three people would have been sufficient to apprehend a single chief prosecutor.
Yet three vans were mobilizing.
Investigators were piling into them in droves.
This was Prosecutor General Kim Young-jun’s spectacle.
A demonstration to the public that he would not tolerate misconduct among prosecutors.
In other words, a calculated move to boost his approval ratings.
And a declaration of war against the Opposition Party—a signal that he would expose everyone connected to Chief Prosecutor Jung Jun-woo, and a warning to brace for the hell that awaited.
That’s what I thought.
But Prosecutor General Kim Young-jun harbored another intention I hadn’t anticipated.
*
*
*
The entrance to Shinma Hotel.
As the Prosecutor’s Office vehicles arrived, journalists swarmed forward.
There had been many reporters in the briefing room, but the throng before me now made that seem insignificant.
The sheer numbers would have been believable if a famous foreign actor had just arrived in the country.
They thrust their microphones toward me in unison.
“Prosecutor Seo Jin! We heard you’ve caught the perpetrator! How did you solve a case that remained unsolved for two years?”
“According to police interviews, you personally went through the garbage. What was your reasoning?”
“Prosecutor!”
Behind me stood the numerous investigators who’d come with me; before me stretched an even greater sea of journalists.
The image of me broadcast on television was more than enough to seem like a major figure.
Prosecutor General Kim Young-jun was making good on his promise to make me a hero.
-Isn’t this too humane? Just catch what you haven’t caught in two years? But does he have a handsome face too? Are you tall too? Since you’re a prosecutor, you must have studied well, right? lol
└Seems like you don’t know much about Seo Jin.
└Should I?
└He’s loaded too. His father is Kim Jun-man, the CEO of Jaejeong Construction. Looks, height, education, job, money, ability, and he’s not even married. A man who has it all.
I’m going to drink to forget this dirty world.
-With a face like that, it’s like a movie. Seeing those investigators descend in the background during the interview gave me chills.
└I thought I was watching a movie too.
-Seo Jin’s face has only appeared in brief news segments until now? Is he going straight to the 9 o’clock news opening?
└Will it just be 9 o’clock news? He’s dominating every news outlet.
-I thought that guy would blow up.
└Me too, me too.
└Is he a celebrity? Going viral?
└The person above is jealous again. With that face, I’d approve even if he quit being a prosecutor and became an actor.
-A modern-day boy detective. The culprit is in this frame.
└If you’re next to Seo Jin, you’re the culprit.
└If you pass by and run into Seo Jin, be careful. There’s a serial killer in his vicinity.
When I’d resolved unsolved cases or pseudo-religious cults before, my name had merely grazed the headlines—the media focused on the cases and perpetrators, not on me.
But this time was different.
The CCTV installed on the rooftop to catch the thief stealing undergarments had captured the exact moment of the culprit’s arrest.
That is, the scene of me grabbing the wrist of a man attempting suicide and dragging him down.
Prosecutor General Kim Young-jun had released that footage without hesitation, and my face and name continued to circulate through the media and portals.
I headed toward Chief Prosecutor Jung Jun-woo’s location, accompanied by investigators and reporters.
The reporters’ cameras were still intensely capturing my every move.
‘This is suffocating….’
I felt tension for the first time in a while.
No matter how hard I tried to ignore the cameras, it was difficult with so many eyes fixed on me.
It wasn’t just my problem.
The investigators walking beside me were also tense.
We were heading to apprehend a single person, yet we were acting like we were raiding a gang hideout.
And with a ‘click’, the waiting room door opened.
Chief Prosecutor Jung Jun-woo, who had been sitting, widened his eyes and stared at me.
At the same time, seeing the narrow doorway and the many investigators standing behind me, he shouted furiously.
“What the… Why did you bring so many people! Damn it, did I commit murder or something?”
“Let’s go.”
“You bastard, if you came, at least tell me the charges!”
I had no intention of saying more.
I signaled to the investigators with my eyes.
Then the investigators approached Chief Prosecutor Jung Jun-woo and grabbed his arms.
“Chief Prosecutor, let’s go.”
The investigators spoke as courteously as possible.
After all, he was someone who had served as Chief Prosecutor at the Seoul Central District Prosecutors’ Office, so they were showing him respect.
But Chief Prosecutor Jung Jun-woo resisted and ranted.
“Let go! You bastards! Tell me! What crime did I….”
Chief Prosecutor Jung Jun-woo’s voice quickly diminished.
He’d seen the countless cameras behind the investigators.
“…commit.”
I leaned slowly toward Chief Prosecutor Jung Jun-woo and whispered.
“What crime you committed—shall I expose it? Should I start with the bribes you received? Don’t do that. You should think of your family. If I open my mouth here, the entire nation will know.”
Chief Prosecutor Jung Jun-woo’s face flushed a deep crimson.
But that was all.
He gnawed at his lips, refusing to spill any further curses.
He was simply dragged away by the investigators, his footsteps shuffling.
Just moments ago, Chief Prosecutor Jung Jun-woo had ascended the podium like a star, cradling dreams of heading to Yeouido.
He’d gazed only at the blueprint unfolding before his eyes.
Yet the final image of a prosecutor who’d abandoned his principles and rushed toward power was pitiful.
Seo Jin fixed a cold stare upon Chief Prosecutor Jung Jun-woo’s retreating figure as the investigators hauled him away.
‘One down.’
Starting with Chief Prosecutor Jung Jun-woo, I intend to sever the lifelines of every politician involved.
Until then, I’ll wield Prosecutor General Kim Young-jun’s power.
And in the end, I’ll bring down Prosecutor General Kim Young-jun as well.
However many screams echo and suffering unfolds in that process, that’s how blood is wrung out.
But it was when Chief Prosecutor Jung Jun-woo was boarding the van.
My phone vibrated. A message.
-This is Park Jung-gil, chief aide to Congressman Baek’s office.
Contact had come from Congressman Baek Ki-ho, who stood on the opposite side from Prosecutor General Kim Young-jun.

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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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