Prosecutor Kim Seo-Jin - Chapter 180

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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 (6)
“…What? Hair roots?”
Seo Jin nodded calmly, and Lee So-hee’s face filled with bewilderment.
Out of nowhere, he was asking for a strand of hair with the roots still attached.
It seemed like absolute madness.
But in that moment, Lee So-hee’s mind conjured up the scenario where hair would be needed.
A paternity test.
Lee So-hee’s already large eyes widened further.
“…Se, surely not?”
Seo Jin shook his head.
“Don’t speculate—nothing is certain yet. And don’t ask why.”
“Huh? Yeah. Got it.”
Lee So-hee brought the coffee to her lips, her throat parched. Then she studied Seo Jin slowly.
Seo Jin wasn’t the type to make such a request without solid grounds.
There had to be something behind it.
Lee So-hee was curious about the context, but she honored Seo Jin’s request and didn’t press.
Given her own complicated family circumstances, she believed prying into someone else’s would be disrespectful.
“But… how are you going to get the hair?”
That was the problem.
Obtaining a strand of hair with roots intact wasn’t easy.
To get it, the hair had to be pulled out.
Days ago, when I’d had drinks with Kim Yun-hwan at the Hotel, I’d watched for such an opportunity but failed.
As Seo Jin pondered seriously, Lee So-hee laughed playfully and continued.
“You said you’d spit and curse at him earlier, right? After that, should we grab his hair and fight?”
“Huh?”
“Like this.”
“That could work. But even if we fight, don’t touch Kim Yun-hwan’s face.”
“Why? I was taught to aim for the face.”
Lee So-hee clenched her small fist and mimicked punching Kim Yun-hwan’s face.
Seo Jin shook his head.
“Kim Young-jun’s Wife is particular about that. The moment a single scratch appears on her son’s face… you’re dead.”
“That serious?”
“Why do you think I oppose your marriage to Kim Yun-hwan? It’s because of Kim Young-jun’s Wife. You’ll experience what true in-law suffering really means. Want to wake up at 4 AM on Sundays to greet her?”
“If I want to sleep in, I should definitely spit at him then.”
Seo Jin and Lee So-hee continued their light banter about Kim Young-jun’s Wife.
It was a way to clear my mind momentarily while thinking about how to obtain Kim Yun-hwan’s hair.
But still, no solution emerged.
As I continued turning the problem over in my mind, Lee So-hee shrugged and asked.
“If Kim Yun-hwan’s mother is like that, what about your mother?”
“My mother?”
“Yeah.”
Seo Jin wondered why she suddenly asked about his mother, but he continued the joke without making a big deal of it.
“Well… compared to my aunt, she’s an angel? But the problem in our house isn’t my mother—it’s my father.”
Seo Jin talked about the box stuffed with his articles, and Lee So-hee laughed, clutching her stomach.
“What’s that about?”
“Ah, my younger brother’s a problem too. He’s a demon. When he called you last time…”
As Lee So-hee listened to Seo Jin’s family stories, she felt a pang of envy.
A family where parents love their children and love each other, where they support and rely on one another.
To Lee So-hee, who hadn’t grown up normally, Seo Jin’s family seemed ideal.
‘I’m jealous.’
And so Kim Yun-hwan and Lee So-hee’s promised time came to an end.
Lee So-hee checked her wristwatch and spoke.
“I’ll figure out the hair on my own.”
“Don’t overdo it.”
“I think I can manage.”
Lee So-hee’s voice was filled with confidence.
She flashed a smile at Seo Jin before leaving the Coffee Shop.
Seo Jin also slung his bag over his shoulder and headed toward the Restroom.
He couldn’t just let Lee So-hee go alone.
He needed to watch how she obtained the hair.
If anything unsavory happened, he had to stop her.
After entering the Restroom, Seo Jin changed clothes and pulled a hat down over his head.
A style he didn’t normally wear.
Jeans and a light t-shirt.
If he sat a little distance away wearing sunglasses, he’d be hard to recognize.
As Seo Jin adjusted his appearance in the mirror, he recalled the faces of Prosecutor General Kim Young-jun and Kim Yun-hwan.
Come to think of it, they didn’t look alike.
Their personalities were even different.
‘Clearly…’
There was something between the two of them.
Kim Young-jun’s Wife’s past, Prosecutor General Kim Young-jun’s actions.
Seo Jin wanted to know the truth.
*
*
*
“I’m Kim Yun-hwan.”
“I’m Lee So-hee.”
Kim Yun-hwan’s face was flushed. Lee So-hee’s face was even more beautiful in person than in the photograph.
He spoke confidently.
“I was a prosecutor too. I was your senior.”
“Ah, I heard about it.”
“But having Father upstairs made me uncomfortable. That’s why I had to take my clothes off.”
Lee So-hee had been at the Gangwon District Prosecutors’ Office when Kim Yun-hwan caused the incident. She was even one of the people who helped Seo Jin bring Kim Yun-hwan down.
Lee So-hee knew exactly what had happened, but she nodded as if she didn’t.
Lee So-hee said nothing in particular, yet Kim Yun-hwan found even that appealing.
And he continued to lead the conversation.
“I heard your father is at the New York Stock Exchange District. Then your mother is here in Korea with you, So-hee?”
“Yes.”
Kim Yun-hwan listed the fabricated information about Lee So-hee.
Lee So-hee, who had been quietly listening to Kim Yun-hwan’s story, smiled faintly and asked.
“You seem to know me quite well?”
“Did I? I apologize. Since we hadn’t even met face-to-face before marriage came up, I made a point of checking the details rather thoroughly.”
“And what did you think?”
“This might make me sound materialistic, but I thought you had quite impressive credentials. Your family, your profession, and your appearance.”
Kim Yun-hwan added “and your appearance” at the end and affected an awkward shyness that didn’t suit him.
And Seo Jin, watching Kim Yun-hwan from a distance, wore an expression of contempt.
‘Crazy bastard.’
Seo Jin continued to observe the atmosphere between the two.
I was curious how Lee So-hee would manage to obtain Kim Yun-hwan’s hair.
The mood between them right now was quite good.
Of course, Kim Yun-hwan was doing all the talking unilaterally, but Lee So-hee was occasionally smiling, keeping his spirits high.
But there was no obvious timing to pluck out his hair.
‘Is she really thinking of grabbing him by the hair?’
Otherwise, I couldn’t see another way.
It wasn’t as if reverting to childhood and asking something childish like “want to have a hair-pulling fight?” would work.
Seo Jin hoped Lee So-hee wouldn’t strain herself.
Kim Yun-hwan would be in Korea, and there would be plenty of opportunities ahead.
Finally, Kim Yun-hwan and Lee So-hee rose from the table.
They’d had tea, so it was time for a meal.
Seo Jin took out his phone and composed a message.
It said to call him without hesitation if anything came up.
But that was when it happened.
Lee So-hee stood behind Kim Yun-hwan as he walked ahead.
And she slowly reached toward the back of his head, then effortlessly plucked out a single strand of his hair.
Feeling the slight sting, Kim Yun-hwan turned his head to look at Lee So-hee.
Lee So-hee then wore an embarrassed expression and smiled.
“Ah… I’m sorry. I thought something was stuck on you.”
“Is that so? It’s fine. If anything, I’m grateful you were concerned. Haha.”
Kim Yun-hwan laughed heartily as if it were nothing.
Seo Jin had been seriously deliberating over methods, but for a beautiful woman to pluck out a single strand of a man’s hair was nothing at all.
All the countless plans I’d made up until now seemed absurd and embarrassing.
“I need to use the restroom.”
“Of course. Take your time.”
Lee So-hee bowed her head slightly to Kim Yun-hwan before turning away.
As she passed by the table where I sat, she spoke in a low voice.
“Come with me.”
*
*
*
The restroom in the building where the Coffee Shop was located.
Lee So-hee handed me a strand of hair she’d plucked out.
“Didn’t I tell you I could do it?”
“Thanks. But how did you know it was me?”
“Know what?”
“That it was me.”
I wore a hat and sunglasses, completely concealing my face.
On top of that, I’d been sitting far away.
Even my parents would have had difficulty recognizing me.
Yet Lee So-hee blinked as if she didn’t understand my question.
“Why? Anyone could tell it was you. I was so worried Kim Yun-hwan might notice you….”
“Really? I’ll have to wear a mask next time too. Anyway, thanks.”
What mattered was that I’d obtained a hair with the root intact.
Once I get a sample from Attorney General Kim Young-jun, I can see the truth.
*
*
*
That afternoon.
Kim Yun-hwan returned home and began chattering to his mother about what had happened that day.
How he thought it might be okay to get married, how it seemed Lee So-hee was fond of him.
Attorney General Kim Young-jun listened to his son’s voice while reading a book, a satisfied smile playing at his lips.
*
*
*
A few days later.
I was meeting with Jang Seok-min, Kim Yun-hwan’s friend.
It wasn’t about Kim Yun-hwan that we’d met.
He let out an exasperated sigh and spoke.
“You’re leaving me out of this, right?”
“We’ll see.”
The place we met was a China Restaurant, decorated with striking red accents.
Jang Seok-min exhaled a long sigh and picked up the bottle of liquor.
I waved my hand dismissively.
“I’m on duty. No drinking.”
“Ah, yes.”
“I don’t have much time left for lunch, so speak quickly.”
I picked up my chopsticks to fill my stomach.
Jang Seok-min put the bottle away, filled his own glass, and swallowed the strong liquor in one gulp.
But it seemed insufficient.
Whatever he was trying to say, he drained his glass several more times.
And when his face had flushed red, he opened his mouth with a heavy voice.
“I heard that one of the Qian Zhus in our organization made a request.”
“What?”
“…To do something about you, Prosecutor.”
Jang Seok-min watched for my reaction, but my expression remained unmoved.
I simply set down my chopsticks and crossed my legs, signaling with my eyes for him to continue.
Jang Seok-min swallowed hard and went on.
“Of course, since the target is you, Prosecutor, they won’t move directly. They’ll hire someone else. There are foreigners from various countries in Ansan, and one of our organization members is from that area.”
There was only one reason Jang Seok-min was sharing this information.
The recording device I had taken from the hotel—Jang Seok-min’s voice was recorded on it, and it would be made public.
Then Jang Seok-min would die.
Not by gangsters, but by Kim Young-jun’s hand.
Perhaps being stabbed and thrown into a reservoir would be a mercy.
So he was spilling everything he knew.
Indeed, there was no loyalty even in their world.
For his own safety, he was pushing those around him into the abyss.
When his mouth finally closed, I laughed as if it were absurd.
“These days, gangsters have really lost their nerve. This is actually entertaining.”
To Jang Seok-min, my laughter sounded like a threat: ‘I’ll kill you.’
And my sinister voice continued.
“That Qian Zhu… Eom Seon-ju, right? The loan shark.”
“…!”
Jang Seok-min’s eyes widened in shock.
He hadn’t intended to reveal the Qian Zhu’s name, but I already knew it.
“H-how did you….”
From psychometry last time.
Kim Young-jun’s Wife had met with Eom Seon-ju and instructed him to kill me. Then she came to me and asked me to destroy Eom Seon-ju.
Whether one or both of them died didn’t matter to her.
That plan had begun.
Without knowing that I would ride Eom Seon-ju to target Kim Young-jun’s Wife’s throat.
I smiled faintly.
The praise I’d hear from Kim Young-jun’s Wife when I trampled Eom Seon-ju.
The expression I could see when that blade swung toward me.
‘And….’
By trampling the thugs and shaking hands with those connected to them—I could get my hands on the next target, Congressman Hwang Yun-sung.
A case with considerable gains in multiple ways.
I was already beginning to anticipate it.
Seo Jin picked up the bottle and filled Jang Seok-min’s glass as he spoke.
“Your organization will disappear. It’ll be annihilated.”
If anyone else had said it, he wouldn’t have believed it.
Uprooting a deeply entrenched criminal organization was a difficult task.
But the person speaking was Kim Seo-jin.
The words were thrown casually, but they landed with weight.
The man who had torn apart Jeo Hu-an’s Criminal Organization, which had seemed impossible to dismantle.
The organization Jang Seok-min belonged to could very well disappear just as he said.
“Are you asking me to be excluded?”
“…Yes.”
“Lightly two years, suspended sentence if you behave. How about it?”
Jang Seok-min felt it once more as he looked into Seo Jin’s eyes.
A demon.
And he thought: he couldn’t understand why that idiot Kim Young-jun was trying to do something so insane against Seo Jin.

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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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