Prosecutor Kim Seo-Jin - Chapter 176

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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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A Dangerous Meeting (2)
“…Love for your son?”
Lee So-hee was quick to read the room.
From my single remark, she grasped what was about to unfold.
-My aunt discovering the truth about my family circumstances.
-Her mounting fierce resistance, denouncing the illegitimate child and all.
Of course, Lee So-hee’s family troubles alone wouldn’t destroy the marriage.
Those men’s lust for power would easily crush my aunt’s objections beneath their heel.
But that was merely the beginning of what I had planned.
I gripped the wine glass and asked.
“Do you hate it?”
“No. I don’t mind. In a world where lies become truth without raising an eyebrow, fabricating a story that’s not entirely false isn’t so bad, is it? It’s better than being sold off.”
Lee So-hee brought the glass to her lips. Then, tucking her fallen hair behind her ear, she spoke with a worried tone.
“…But will you be alright?”
The marriage between Lee So-hee and Kim Yun-hwan was a merger of two colossal powers—Kim Young-jun and Baek Ki-ho.
It was the kind of event some would call historic, capable of shaking South Korea’s future.
Yet I intended to destroy their marriage.
If word of that reached Kim Young-jun’s ears, there was no telling what horrors might unfold.
Power is something not even shared with one’s own children; the backlash would be severe, and I could be hurt.
Lee So-hee’s concern was natural.
But I smiled calmly, a faint grin on my face.
The plan was already set.
I had already devised ways to move while avoiding Kim Young-jun’s gaze.
All I had to do was quietly observe the discord within that household; the gifts I would present to Kim Yun-hwan upon his return were accumulating steadily, and that alone brought me joy.
I gripped the wine glass and opened my mouth.
“Even if she wants to marry, she won’t be able to. So just act like you two are a fitting match.”
*
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Shortly after, I arrived home.
Watching the hired driver unfold an umbrella after receiving his payment, I made my way to the elevator.
The rain shows no sign of letting up.
It pours down relentlessly, heavy and unceasing.
Upon entering, my father and mother were seated in the living room, sipping wine.
Apparently, there’s something romantic about viewing the rain-soaked Han River.
As I bowed in greeting, my father pulled out another wine glass and spoke.
“You should have a drink, no? Hmm, looks like you’ve already had one?”
“It’s fine. I can have more. I actually had something I wanted to tell you as well, Father.”
“Is that so? Come, sit down.”
My father smiled broadly and set a wine glass before me.
I settled into my seat, savoring the dry wine’s subtle bitterness as I gazed at my parents’ faces.
An emotion I never knew existed before I had a family.
Parents. A younger brother. Family.
The most precious thing to protect above all else.
And to protect them, I needed power.
I set down my wine glass and opened my mouth.
“Father, there’s something I’d like to ask of you.”
I spoke with a serious expression, but Father burst into laughter.
I couldn’t understand his sudden amusement and simply waited, watching him carefully.
Then Father said,
“When was the last time you asked me for something? Back in fourth grade when you whined about buying you a bicycle. That’s the first time since then. Jin-young, on the other hand, pestered me every single day—buy me this, buy me that. But you just buried yourself in books. Alright, tell me. I’ll give you anything I can. A car? A house? Whatever you want.”
Father drained his wine glass in one gulp and set it down with a sharp clink, his eyes fixed on me with clarity.
He seemed to think I wanted something material.
For a moment, I was tempted to joke that I probably had more cash than he did, but I suppressed the thought.
Then I spoke.
“I want to acquire people.”
Father’s eyes narrowed. My request had exceeded his expectations.
“…People?”
“Yes.”
Father is the chairman of Jaejeong Construction.
In the process of building enterprises—digging earth, laying cement—getting one’s hands dirty is inevitable, and connections with politicians and high-ranking government officials are absolutely essential.
“I want to acquire those people.”
My goal was to control everything.
But there was no need to take the long way around.
With Father’s help, I could reach that goal much faster.
“People, you say…”
Father poured himself more wine in silence and drank.
In this moment, the face of Kim Young-jun flashed through his mind.
He knew well the methods Kim Young-jun had used to reach his position.
But he couldn’t say that path had ended well.
The trust between brothers barely held together, and family happiness was cast aside.
If I chose to walk that same path, I might become like Kim Young-jun.
The thought crossed his mind that though Jin-young and I were close brothers now, we might one day drift apart.
“Seo Jin…”
“You don’t need to worry.”
I had no intention of becoming a monster like Kim Young-jun.
My goal was to transcend that.
Father nodded at the determination in my eyes.
“Come by the office when you have time.”
*
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Kim Young-jun’s House.
The sprawling mansion, with its first floor alone exceeding fifty pyeong, fell into an eerie silence. The vast living room was devoid of warmth.
The household help had clocked out for the day, leaving only Seo Jin’s Aunt seated on the sofa, tilting a bottle of potent liquor to her lips.
She raised glass after glass to her mouth in relentless succession.
“Insane woman….”
Not long ago, the money she had entrusted to her younger sister, Eom Seon-ju, had vanished in a fire.
“What kind of money was that….”
Unbearable rage churned ceaselessly through her mind.
Then came the sound of the front door opening.
She didn’t turn her gaze. Surely it was Kim Young-jun arriving home, she thought, and raised another glass to her lips.
And her assumption proved correct. Kim Young-jun sat down across from her, loosening his necktie.
He tossed the loosened necktie aside and opened his mouth.
“Stop drinking. How many bottles is that already?”
His voice was dry, as though speaking to a stranger.
Seo Jin’s Aunt laughed shrilly.
“Pretending to care? But if you don’t want to deal with a corpse, just leave me alone. You know I can’t live without this. But… you’ve been drinking too, haven’t you? Where were you today? Were the girls pretty? What about their figures? How old were they? Since you didn’t come home this morning, should I give you some praise?”
At her continued barrage, Kim Young-jun’s brow furrowed.
But this wasn’t a time for quarreling.
There was something more pressing to discuss.
“Tell Yun-hwan to wrap up his affairs over there and come home tomorrow.”
“What?”
Seo Jin’s Aunt’s hand froze mid-sip. Only her eyes shifted toward Kim Young-jun.
“…Tomorrow?”
“I’m going to have Yun-hwan married off. He’s old enough now—it’s time he started acting like a proper person.”
Marriage, suddenly? Seo Jin’s Aunt tilted her head in confusion.
“…Do you have someone in mind? Who is it?”
“She’s a relative of Congressman Baek Ki-ho. She’s a prosecutor, and her family is respectable.”
“Baek Ki-ho?”
Even those indifferent to politics knew the name of Congressman Baek Ki-ho.
A former judge turned politician and a strong presidential candidate from the opposition.
“…But a relative? What do her parents do?”
Seo Jin’s Aunt set down her glass and pulled her hair back tightly, straightening her posture.
This was a matter concerning Kim Yun-hwan’s marriage. She couldn’t listen to such important news in a disheveled state.
Kim Young-jun gazed at her now-alert eyes and spoke.
“Her father seems to work in New York’s financial sector. The family has decent assets and respectable educational credentials. Since Congressman Baek Ki-ho is close to them, Yun-hwan could also pursue a political career. I’ve already received assurances on that front.”
Of course, it was all fabricated credentials and family connections.
But Kim Young-jun and Congressman Baek Ki-ho possessed the ability to package lies as truth.
Once the two of them kept silent, no one would ever know the truth about Lee So-hee’s family background.
Kim Young-jun relayed the lie without hesitation, his conviction unwavering.
“…Politics?”
Kim Young-jun’s Wife seized upon the word.
Her cherished son, Kim Yun-hwan, adorned with a congressional badge, commanding attention in Yeouido—the image bloomed vividly in her mind.
Perhaps party chairman. Perhaps even president.
With a son as capable as hers, anything seemed possible.
Kim Young-jun’s lips curved into a subtle smile as he observed the softening in his wife’s expression.
He withdrew his phone and placed it on the table.
“Take a look at her face.”
The screen displayed a photograph of Lee So-hee.
Beautiful. A face that would not pale even beside an actress.
Moreover, a prosecutor with an exceptional intellect.
It would be strange to find fault with her.
She was entirely worthy of becoming Kim Yun-hwan’s wife.
Color bloomed across Kim Young-jun’s Wife’s face.
Her earlier displeasure, the drinking with that sour expression, seemed never to have existed.
“She’s quite something….”
“Once the schedule is set, I’m thinking of arranging the marriage within three months. After that, Congressman Baek Ki-ho will be consumed with presidential campaign preparations anyway. It’s somewhat rushed, but… what do you think?”
“If Yun-hwan is happy with it, I’m fine with it.”
Kim Young-jun’s Wife stared intently at Lee So-hee’s face on the screen while Kim Young-jun placed a cigarette between his lips.
Pale smoke curled from his mouth.
Kim Young-jun anticipated not Lee So-hee herself, who might become his daughter-in-law, but rather the dowry she would bring—Congressman Baek Ki-ho’s corruption.
*
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*
At that moment, I stood before the wall, holding the bookshelf open.
The original Seo Jin’s scribbles.
I picked up a pen and inscribed new characters in that space.
Of course, incomprehensible to anyone else’s eyes.
Abbreviations only I could decipher.
‘Lee So-hee.’
Lee So-hee was never part of my plan.
But through Congressman Baek Ki-ho’s hunger for power, she has entered this game.
‘Through So-hee, I can finally light the fuse on the powder keg.’
Kim Young-jun must have fabricated Lee So-hee’s credentials.
If he’d been honest, Kim Young-jun’s Wife would never have accepted her.
‘But….’
Once his wife discovers the truth, the shell of distrust she’s endured all this time will detonate.
I don’t know how far the shrapnel will scatter, but it will be enough to shake Kim Young-jun to his core.
‘I cannot step forward myself.’
It would be difficult for me to act directly.
I had no intention of dying from shrapnel while setting explosives.
My plan was to attack them thoroughly from beneath the surface.
And so I had chosen a specific person.
‘Eom Seon-ju.’
I wrote Eom Seon-ju’s name in the empty space and drew an arrow connecting it to Lee So-hee’s name.
Eom Seon-ju was Kim Young-jun’s Wife’s younger sister.
A person who harbored deep feelings of inferiority toward Kim Young-jun’s Wife.
‘Eom Seon-ju is consumed by jealousy.’
On the surface, Kim Young-jun’s Wife was a woman of success.
The wife of the Prosecutor General, she wielded not only power but also vast wealth.
Moreover, she moved within the elite circles of ultra-luxury society, the social networks that flourished there.
It was not a circle one could simply enter with money.
Eom Seon-ju envied everything about Kim Young-jun’s Wife.
‘What if word of Lee So-hee’s family troubles reached Eom Seon-ju’s ears?’
Eom Seon-ju would act. And under the guise of concern for Kim Young-jun’s Wife, wearing every mask of hypocrisy, she would undoubtedly stir her emotions.
‘Everything would explode.’
I would seize that moment.
When Kim Young-jun’s household began to crumble, when his vision narrowed.
The marriage would collapse, and Kim Yun-hwan would be dragged to prison.
I picked up the pen again and wrote down Congressman Yeo Dong-soo, then Congressman Hwang Yun-sung—the next target he had revealed to me—and finally Shin Ji-yeon of Shinma Group.
I didn’t know whose hands had brought down the original Seo Jin.
But I knew exactly why he had died.
Because he had been exposed before he could build his power.
Because he had been weaker than them.
The world called power does not side with the weak.
When weakness shows itself, that world descends like insects, tearing and devouring.
‘I will be different.’
I had already experienced death while fighting against power.
I had fallen once, but I would not fall again.
This time, I would certainly bring them down and stand at the summit.
I set down the pen and quietly picked up my phone.
The person on the other end was Prosecutor Jang Ji-hyuk.
After a brief ring tone, Prosecutor Jang Ji-hyuk’s voice came through.
“I apologize for calling so late.”
-No, it’s fine. Go ahead. Don’t worry.
“I wanted to know Eom Seon-ju’s schedule.”
-Eom Seon-ju?
“Yes.”
As I listened to Prosecutor Jang Ji-hyuk’s voice, I turned my gaze toward the window outside.
The rain still falls fiercely, as if weeping against the windowpane.
It felt like the tears Kim Yun-hwan would soon shed.

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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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