Prosecutor Kim Seo-Jin - Chapter 172

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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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Preparation (3)
The way he spoke of wanting a son-in-law if he had a daughter—uttering such words about his hidden daughter Lee So-hee—was truly repugnant.
But I didn’t let it show and lowered my head.
“Thank you for thinking so highly of me.”
“Don’t mention it.”
Glasses clinked back and forth.
Nothing of substance was discussed between them.
Just pleasantries, idle talk about life, and stories from Congressman Baek Ki-ho’s days as a judge.
I chimed in occasionally, matching the congressman’s mood.
To an outsider, it would have looked like old acquaintances catching up and deepening their bond.
The aide, who had been on edge since I arrived, finally seemed to relax.
He loosened his tie slightly and exhaled a breath of relief.
It was when several bottles of liquor had been placed on the table.
Congressman Baek Ki-ho set down his glass and opened his mouth.
“I’d like to drink with you often going forward and reminisce about old times.”
“Whenever you call, I’ll come running.”
“Since this is our first meeting, I’d like to give you a gift. Would you be willing to accept it?”
At those words, the aide placed a document envelope on the table.
“Take a look.”
Congressman Baek Ki-ho smiled faintly and put a cigarette in his mouth as I reached for the envelope.
The sensation of touching it felt as eerie as grasping a blade.
An envelope like this could only mean one thing.
‘A contract.’
He was treating me as a blade for hire.
Asking me to kill someone.
But I couldn’t hesitate. I needed to know what my opponent was doing to plan my next move.
I pulled out the contents without reservation.
“…!”
Materials on Congressman Yeo Dong-soo, who had held secret talks with Chief Prosecutor Jung Jun-woo—his corruption files.
From his son’s illegal admission to law school to accepting bribes from various small business owners.
And finally, creating undervalued contracts to evade taxes.
It was filled with petty misconduct.
As I slowly raised my gaze, Congressman Baek Ki-ho tapped ash from his cigarette and spoke.
“This parliamentary session has ended, so you don’t need to worry about parliamentary immunity. Use this to take down Yeo Dong-soo.”
“….”
“After the serial poisoner, if you bring down Yeo Dong-soo as well, that’s quite a compelling narrative, isn’t it? I want to see you succeed.”
Congressman Yeo Dong-soo was part of Congressman Baek Ki-ho’s faction.
He must have received considerable help from Congressman Yeo Dong-soo on his rise to this position.
But Congressman Baek Ki-ho was casting him aside without mercy.
Because he knew Congressman Yeo Dong-soo was finished.
I had become a target of Prosecutor General Kim Young-jun, and Chief Prosecutor Jung Jun-woo, who had sided with him, was now in custody.
Congressman Yeo Dong-soo had no escape route.
In other words, this document now in my hands was nothing more than cutting off the lizard’s tail and taking credit for it.
Congressman Yeo Dong-soo’s final usefulness—after all the suffering he endured under Congressman Baek Ki-ho—was a gift to me.
Politics was truly contemptible.
It felt like witnessing the depths of human desire.
But I lowered my head, concealing my emotions once more.
*
*
*
I rose from my seat first.
Congressman Baek Ki-ho’s aide cautiously opened his mouth toward the congressman, who remained seated and smoking.
“Still… Congressman Yeo Dong-soo really is pitiful.”
Congressman Yeo Dong-soo had been Congressman Baek Ki-ho’s right hand, rising steadily through the ranks.
Yet his end was destined to have his throat cut by a blade wielded by a young prosecutor.
That was what he meant by pitiful, and Congressman Baek Ki-ho exhaled cigarette smoke while gazing at his aide.
And then.
“At least he’s still alive.”
At that dry remark, the aide felt a chill run down his spine.
*
*
*
I sat in the Hotel lobby instead of heading home.
I was waiting for my younger brother Jin-young, who worked at the Italian restaurant in this hotel.
I sat scrolling through my phone, searching this and that, when I heard a familiar voice from behind.
“Hyung!”
We lived in the same house, yet it had been ages since I’d seen his face.
He was like a sworn enemy, but seeing him like this felt refreshing.
The unease I’d felt from meeting Congressman Baek Ki-ho seemed to wash away completely.
Jin-young approached me and sniffed the air, asking.
“What’s this? Have you been drinking?”
“A little.”
“You waited for me to drive, didn’t you?”
“You know me well.”
I chuckled and tossed the car keys in my hand to him.
Jin-young caught the keys and laughed.
“But you came all the way here and ate somewhere else? That’s not right, is it?”
“Hey, I didn’t make the reservation.”
“Your voice sounds fine? So you really didn’t drink that much?”
“Why? Should we have another round?”
“Hehe, I’ll call Mom and tell her I’m coming home late after meeting my brother. You’re buying the drinks, right? You know how it is—I’m just a poor chef.”
Every time Seo Jin saw Jin-young, he found himself amazed.
A man born into wealth who took public transportation and started from the bottom in a restaurant kitchen.
He wore designer clothes, but they were hand-me-downs from his mother. Given his family’s fortune, it was genuinely frugal.
Seo Jin draped an arm across Jin-young’s shoulder.
“Let’s go. My treat. What do you want to eat?”
“Grilled intestines.”
“Sounds good.”
*
*
*
After parking at home, we stopped by a nearby grilled intestine restaurant.
Unlike when I’d faced Congressman Baek Ki-ho, the alcohol tasted sweet here.
Though the food and drinks at that previous place had cost hundreds of thousands of won, the soju and grilled intestines before me now tasted far better.
The two brothers chatted idly, their conversation wandering without direction.
Then.
“I know you hate it when I bring this up…”
“Then don’t bring it up.”
“No, just hear me out without misunderstanding.”
“If it’s about my marriage, absolutely not.”
“It’s not that.”
“Then what is it?”
Jin-young’s eyes grew serious.
Seo Jin stopped joking and looked at his brother intently.
Jin-young drained his glass completely, then spoke with weight in his voice.
“I’m… thinking of quitting.”
“Quitting what?”
“Cooking.”
“…!”
It was something I never expected to hear.
As Seo Jin frowned, Jin-young continued, fidgeting with his empty glass.
“Kim Yun-hwan’s coming into the company.”
“I heard.”
“He seems desperate to join Father’s company.”
“I heard that too.”
“So I’m thinking of playing the conglomerate game myself. I can’t let Yun-hwan outdo me, right? He’ll definitely ruin everything anyway.” Jin-young smiled bitterly and continued. “Don’t worry about it, hyung. Just stay where you are. I’ll handle Father’s company. If we ever need to divide things up later through inheritance, I’ll split it equally with you. That’s why I said not to misunderstand. I don’t want it to look like I’m after Father’s wealth and joining the company for that. And quitting cooking—it’s not just because of this. When I think about it, I don’t think I have the talent for it.”
Jin-young continued with a bitter smile.
“Don’t worry about it, hyung. I’ll take care of Father’s company. If we need to handle inheritance or anything like that later, I’ll split it equally with you. That’s why I’m telling you not to misunderstand. I don’t want it to look like I’m after Father’s fortune and joining the company for that reason. And about quitting cooking—it’s not just because of this situation. When I think about it, I don’t think I have the talent for it.”
“Hey…”
“I’ve been thinking about this for a long time.”
Jin-young once said something like that about his father’s company.
He said not to play around with some half-baked conglomerate business, but to leave it to professional managers.
But that thinking had changed.
The existence of Kim Yun-hwan, who would return soon.
It was because of him.
And once he entered the company, it was predictable.
He would tear down everything their father had built like a sandcastle.
I felt Jin-young’s heart.
I could understand the ache in his chest when he had to leave behind the time he’d endured through long dreams.
I opened my mouth quietly.
“That idea you had back then about leaving it to professional managers—do you still feel the same way?”
“What would I know? I’m just spouting off. I’ve never done a day’s work since my discharge. It’s because of Kim Yun-hwan.”
I laughed quietly and picked up the bottle, then filled Jin-young’s glass as I spoke.
“Then that’s settled. Don’t worry. Just focus on your own thing. Keep holding that frying pan.”
“I’ve been thinking about this for a long time, you know?”
“There’s not much I can do for you as your older brother, but I’ll take care of Kim Yun-hwan.”
“Huh?”
“I’m a prosecutor.”
Jin-young blinked. He didn’t understand what I meant by “take care of.”
Then he burst out laughing.
“Brother, Yun-hwan’s father is the Prosecutor General.”
“Yeah, in a few months he’ll be unemployed. I’ll keep being a prosecutor.”
“Wow! The audacity of a regular prosecutor!”
Jin-young laughed, holding his stomach.
But he felt that my words weren’t nonsense.
After laughing for a while, Jin-young asked.
“Really, it’s okay if I keep holding that frying pan?”
“Yeah. Until you open a restaurant under your own name later.”
My words were trustworthy.
Jin-young nodded and returned to his usual self.
“But when are you getting married? Can I go first?”
“Why? Do you have someone to marry?”
“Tsk… look at you, not even interested in your younger brother. Want me to show you? Check out the photo. Isn’t she pretty?”
“Hmm…”
When my response was lukewarm, Jin-young pressed again.
“Not pretty?”
“She’s got charm. She’s got eyes, a nose, and a mouth.”
“Brother!”
“I’m joking. She’s pretty.”
The night was joyful for the two brothers.
*
*
*
A few days later, in Congressman Yeo Dong-soo’s office.
Congressman Yeo Dong-soo was gnawing at his fingernails.
“…Seo Jin?”
His aide standing beside him nodded with a grim expression.
“Yes, according to the rumors, it seems Seo Jin has taken the reins.”
A serial killer using poison, a stage prepared to sabotage the summit.
The Opposition Party had placed Congressman Yeo Dong-soo on the chopping block.
And they withdrew, claiming they had no involvement whatsoever.
The Ruling Party compromised at that point.
Prosecutor General Kim Young-jun, who had acted as though he would sweep everything away, also stopped there.
The reason Prosecutor General Kim Young-jun stopped is unknown, but the Ruling Party’s reason is singular.
They feared the political turmoil that would ensue.
The news of the summit efforts needed to be known to gain advantage in the presidential election.
Whether Ruling or Opposition, it was all a show for the presidential election.
The problem was.
“…Me? Sacrificed to some upstart?”
It wasn’t even Prosecutor General Kim Young-jun who stepped forward.
There was no instruction from the Central District Prosecutor’s Office.
I was simply meant to disappear as a sacrifice to a single upstart.
This was humiliation.
“Damn it!”
After spewing curses for a long while, Congressman Yeo Dong-soo’s movements suddenly ceased.
“…That’s right.”
A path had revealed itself.
“It could be an opportunity, couldn’t it?”
Congressman Yeo Dong-soo’s gaze slowly turned toward his aide.
Gone from those eyes was the anxiety that had filled them until now.
“Just a mere prosecutor.”
A mere prosecutor—someone with high ambition but still lacking in skill and authority.
Among the achievements Seo Jin had accomplished, or rather those publicly revealed, there was none involving confrontation with a powerful figure.
At most, a police chief and a prosecutor.
Just murder cases.
Congressman Yeo Dong-soo clenched his fist.
The absence of experience was significant.
He believed someone like Seo Jin could be controlled easily.
The expected sentence of around five years could be drastically reduced depending on how the case was presented. “Or it could even end with a suspended sentence or insufficient evidence! So think about what we can use against him. His family, Jaejeong Construction, right? It’s strange if there are no problems in a dusty family like that. Start digging from there.”
There’s even a possibility it could end with a suspended sentence or insufficient evidence! So think about what we can grab onto. His family runs Jaejeong Construction, right? It’d be strange if there were no problems in a dusty operation like that. Start digging into them.
Yeo Dong-soo was a congressman.
The case would proceed without detention.
Time was on their side.
As the world grew quiet in the interim, if a deal could be struck, everything would unfold exactly as planned.
“Find something! A woman problem, family issues—anything!”
“Yes, sir!”
The aide turned to leave.
If the congressman fell, the aide would lose his position as well.
To remain in the National Assembly, he had to do everything in his power to prevent it, however slim the odds.
There were two primary ways a congressman could lose his seat.
First, imprisonment for election law violations or a fine exceeding one million won.
Of course, this case wasn’t an election law violation, so even tens of millions in fines wouldn’t matter.
But this was a criminal case.
If he received a sentence of imprisonment or higher, he’d have to leave the National Assembly.
Conversely, as long as he avoided imprisonment, he could remain.
‘It’s possible.’
The aide thought the same as he opened the door, only to find a secretary with an uncomfortable expression standing before the office.
There was something unsettling about that face.
The aide’s eyes slowly shifted to look behind the secretary.
“I came to escort him personally. I thought he wouldn’t come if we just summoned him.”
Seo Jin stood behind the secretary.
At the same moment, Congressman Yeo Dong-soo erupted.
“How dare you!”
But Seo Jin remained unflinching.
He brushed past the aide and strode toward Congressman Yeo Dong-soo.
Standing before him, he opened his mouth.
“Eat in moderation. You’ve consumed quite a lot.”
“That was legitimate political funding. The receipts were processed….”
“Receipts processed?”
“Yes, the receipts are being processed, so….”
Suddenly, Seo Jin leaned his face close to Congressman Yeo Dong-soo.
Then he whispered into his ear.
“Calm yourself, sir. I didn’t come here to process you like receipts. I came to propose a deal.”
“What?”
“A deal. A deal.”

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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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