Prosecutor Kim Seo-Jin - Chapter 194

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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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Your Past (7)
Kim Yun-hwan began to chuckle, then broke into full laughter, clutching his stomach. Tears streamed down his face.
He muttered between laughs, “This is rock bottom. Absolute rock bottom.”
And Kim Yun-hwan gazed at Seo Jin with eyes full of contempt.
‘Birds of a feather flock together.’
That’s what Kim Yun-hwan was thinking.
Since Seo Jin was such an idiot, of course he’d fit right in with the son of such a pathetic family.
After laughing for a long while, Kim Yun-hwan finally composed himself and opened his mouth.
“What’s there to console your friend about? The real victim is his father. He raised a cuckoo’s egg thinking it was his own child for thirty years, didn’t he? Shouldn’t he be the one grateful?”
What Seo Jin had shared was Kim Yun-hwan’s story, but he was mocking it without knowing the truth behind it.
In other words, he didn’t know his own past.
Seo Jin shook his head.
“Never mind. I was just looking for some advice.”
“Got it. Let me give you a serious answer then. This isn’t about emotions—you need to think rationally. Is your friend’s family wealthy?”
Seo Jin stared at Kim Yun-hwan with his arms crossed.
The household of the Prosecutor General.
A relative of the Jaejeong Construction chairman.
“Not just wealthy—they’re the kind of family with real power and influence.”
“Yeah? Do I know them?”
“You might.”
Kim Yun-hwan tilted his head.
From what Seo Jin said, it sounded like a powerful family. When he thought about it, there were plenty of dysfunctional families among the influential circles he knew.
Children born from affairs.
Marriages in name only.
Men over fifty sneaking into hotels with girls in their twenties, while their wives frequented host bars and kept young men on the side.
Kim Yun-hwan’s curiosity was piqued as he stared intently at Seo Jin.
But from Seo Jin’s expression, it was clear he had no intention of answering.
Kim Yun-hwan was curious about who this friend from that dysfunctional family was, but he didn’t press further and shared what he wanted to say.
“Then tell him to tear up the paternity test results. Just keep pretending not to know until his father dies, then at least he can inherit something.”
“What if they’re poor?”
“What’s there to think about? Obviously, he should reveal the secret of his birth. If he ends up supporting parents without money later, that’s a headache too. Why would he support a father he doesn’t share blood with? He should see it as an opportunity and cut ties cleanly.”
Seo Jin’s expression hardened.
“How can you say something like that? If you were in that position and heard someone judge your parents by money, how do you think you’d feel?”
“I think I’d be grateful?”
“What?”
“Sure, it’d feel bad at first. But that’s for my own good, isn’t it? I don’t need a friend who tells me sweet lies. A real friend is someone who tells me what I actually need to hear.”
Kim Yun-hwan continued speaking with a serious expression, unaware he was talking about himself.
Don’t dwell on momentary displeasure.
Think about what you can gain.
Consider your future.
I nodded, thinking I would return every word Kim Yun-hwan had spewed right back at him.
“Hearing what you said, it does seem to make sense. When we meet later, I’ll relay your message exactly as you told me.”
“Right, think rationally. If you get emotional and rush in, you could lose everything. Right now, who your biological parents are isn’t what matters—what matters is having rich parents.”
What expression would Kim Yun-hwan wear when every word he’d thrown out came back to him?
Would he be able to think as rationally then as the words he’d just spoken suggested?
I genuinely looked forward to that day that was drawing near.
I crossed my legs and continued speaking.
“But you have something you want to say, don’t you?”
“What?”
“Just now, even though Kim Young-jun’s Wife was holding you back, you came after me. That means you have something to say. If you want to talk, just say it.”
When I moved toward my room to escape the adults’ conversation and Kim Yun-hwan tried to follow, Kim Young-jun’s Wife grabbed his collar.
But Kim Yun-hwan slipped from her grasp and followed me.
At my direct question, Kim Yun-hwan laughed awkwardly.
“You’ve been a prosecutor for a few years and your eye for detail has gotten sharp?”
When I shrugged, Kim Yun-hwan continued in a subtle tone.
“Do you remember Jang Seok-min?”
“…Jang Seok-min?”
Jang Seok-min was Kim Yun-hwan’s friend and a subordinate of Kim Hyun-bong.
Now he was trying to run a security company and a detective agency under my direction.
Of course I knew.
But I pretended not to know and blinked.
“That friend you hung out with at the hotel on the day I came back to the country.”
“Ah… I remember.”
“He seems to have taken a liking to you. He wants to hang out with you again. How about it?”
When I said nothing, Kim Yun-hwan stood up and tapped my shoulder, continuing.
“Your amnesia is completely cured, right? Before you fell from that building, we had quite a good time together. Let’s have a good time again. We’re going to be together for life anyway.”
I laughed quietly.
“Let me know when you set up a time. I’ll make time for it.”
“Right, make sure you do.”
For just a moment, Kim Yun-hwan’s eyes gleamed with a sinister light.
He would think he was the one controlling the timing.
He would call a woman through Jang Seok-min and plan to plant drugs he held in my car.
But Jang Seok-min was in the palm of my hand.
Nothing would go according to Kim Yun-hwan’s plan.
Instead, that plan would become the noose around his neck.
*
*
*
A few days later, during lunch.
I was having a meal with Prosecutor Jang Ji-hyuk at a soup restaurant near the Seoul Central District Prosecutors’ Office.
Jang Ji-hyuk picked up his spoon and opened his mouth.
“Tonight.”
Jang Ji-hyuk had received a call from Koo Young-jin, who’d been caught trying to deliver drugs not long ago.
Tonight, 100 kilograms of high-purity narcotics would arrive at Incheon’s port, hidden inside a shipping container.
“…100 kilograms?”
I blinked.
While 100 kilograms might sound manageable, a single dose typically required only 0.03 grams.
But 100 kilograms.
And high-purity at that.
“They’re really committed to making money.”
“They said it’s coming in with goat meat, hidden inside the ship.”
The methods for smuggling drugs grew bolder with each passing day.
Buddha statues, fabric rolls, heavy machinery, granite, various meats.
“You’ve reported this?”
“Yeah. I reported it to the Chief Prosecutor, and the Prosecutor General and the Prosecutor General’s Office know about it too. I heard they’re planning a major media blitz the moment we sweep them up.”
Prosecutor General Kim Young-jun was working hard to boost his approval ratings.
He was conceding this presidential election to Congressman Baek Ki-ho, but he wanted to plant the image in the public’s mind that “Kim Young-jun was the real prosecutor.”
Everything was preparation to become the winner of the next presidential election.
“What’s the scale?”
“The National Intelligence Service seems to be helping, and it looks like every police officer in Incheon will be on standby.”
Jang Ji-hyuk glanced at my expression, then let out a short laugh.
“Hey, don’t worry about information leaking. We’re confiscating the phones of every police officer and investigator deployed in the operation and keeping them on standby for now. And this is a chance to crush everyone from the street-level dealers to the suppliers and rack up achievements—do you really think high-ranking officials like the Police Chief would let information slip? They’ll lock it down tight.”
“You’ll become a star.”
“Or I could get exiled.”
This case had two objectives.
The drug sweep and Kim Yun-hwan.
And within that, there were plenty of powerful figures and wealthy families’ children involved.
It was inevitable that Jang Ji-hyuk would become a thorn in their sides.
There was a real possibility he’d be exiled somewhere.
“If I quit, could I get a job in your father’s company’s Legal Team? I’d work hard if the pay’s decent.”
“Kim Yun-hwan works there.”
“Damn it. I’d rather be unemployed.”
Watching Jang Ji-hyuk grumble, I smiled faintly.
“That won’t happen.”
If Kim Yun-hwan’s name came to light, there was a strong chance Prosecutor General Kim Young-jun would make a deal with Jang Ji-hyuk.
In exchange for covering up Kim Yun-hwan’s name, he’d guarantee Jang Ji-hyuk’s safety.
Of course, that was just a prediction.
I didn’t know which way Prosecutor General Kim Young-jun would jump.
Jang Ji-hyuk set down his spoon with a tap and spoke.
“Anyway, you get some good rest tonight. I’ll drag the drug lord in by the collar. First, let’s eat.”
Prosecutor Jang Ji-hyuk smiled pleasantly and resumed eating.
*
*
*
That evening, 6 PM.
It was when Prosecutor Jang Ji-hyuk and a large contingent of investigators were moving to Incheon.
Seo Jin held his phone to his ear.
“Where are you?”
The person on the other end was Koo Young-jin, who had been caught delivering drugs and was now providing information.
“Come to Seocho District. Let’s grab a meal.”
-…Right now?
Koo Young-jin’s voice sounded reluctant.
He was a criminal, after all.
The request to come to Seocho District seemed to make him uneasy.
“I’m not going to arrest you while feeding you, so stop overthinking and just come.”
In a few hours, their organization would be completely dismantled.
There was a possibility that Koo Young-jin could be in danger in that situation.
I wanted to guarantee at least minimal safety for my informant.
And shortly after.
Seo Jin and Koo Young-jin sat across from each other at a Korean barbecue restaurant in Seocho District.
Koo Young-jin kept watching Seo Jin’s expression.
Seo Jin smiled quietly and opened his mouth with a gentle voice.
“I told you. I’m not arresting you. I asked you to come just in case. If things go south, I’ll put you in the Detention Center for about a month and then release you. Your life could be in danger, right?”
Drug organizations operate as criminal networks.
Without informants, they’re difficult to catch.
And it’s only natural that informants perform their role well when given trust.
My words and actions now are an unspoken rule between law enforcement and these criminals.
The moment we abandon them, they stop talking.
“Order whatever you want. Beef?”
“No, pork is enough. More than enough.”
“What about alcohol?”
“I like soju.”
Seo Jin ordered beef and soju made from distilled water.
Thirty thousand won a bottle.
Seo Jin poured soju into his glass and spoke.
“Drink up. You’ve worked hard.”
I did my best to smile warmly, but Koo Young-jin remained visibly uncomfortable throughout.
Seo Jin tapped his arm lightly.
“Relax. Or rather, even if you can’t relax, you’ll have to bear with it. Once your safety is guaranteed, I’ll let you go….”
That was when it happened.
My vision drained to black and white.
When the world regained its color, I laughed coldly.
The false smile I’d been wearing all this time—the mask of a good-natured man—vanished without a trace.
A devil, pure and simple.
I leaned forward toward Koo Young-jin, who was sipping his drink.
“You’ve lost your mind?”
“…What?”
Koo Young-jin felt a chill run down his spine at my sudden shift in demeanor.
*
*
*
“Did you confirm it?”
A short-haired woman in a mini skirt, appearing to be in her mid-thirties, sat in the back seat of the vehicle.
She posed the question while placing a cigarette between her lips.
As smoke curled from her crimson lips, a man’s voice came through.
-They’re all gathered in Incheon, ma’am.
The man’s voice filled the interior of the vehicle through Bluetooth.
The woman laughed in a sharp, cackling manner.
“That’s why our prosecutors and police are useless. When information comes in, you verify the facts. But they believe everything blindly without doing anything, and look at the mess they’ve made. Let them stay there. Crazy bastards.”
The woman was known as the godmother of the drug organization.
Koo Young-jin feared her more than the Prosecutor’s Office. No—he believed that if he stayed in her favor, he would enjoy wealth and glory.
That’s why he sought her out and confessed.
“I’ve made contact with the Prosecutor’s Office.”
Upon hearing that, she immediately changed her drug smuggling methods.
Using Koo Young-jin to create confusion in the investigation.
“So, what’s the current situation?”
-We made contact with a fishing vessel midway and will move to Jebu Port. We’ve secured a delivery truck, and once we arrive at the port, we’ll transfer and load everything. That’s it.
“Roger.”
A small dock on Jebu Island.
The Coast Guard exists at nearby Tando Port and Jungok Port, but not there.
The sea route only opens at low tide, which is a drawback, but the window is wide enough to move the drugs.
“I’ll head there too.”
The woman ended the call after confirming the plan.
A bright smile played across her lips.
But it was short-lived.
As she headed toward the sea route leading into Jebu Island, a police light bar blocked her path.
Police appeared in an instant, blocking all directions from nowhere.
A delivery driver already arrested, continuing to make excuses.
As her face stiffened, Prosecutor Jang Ji-hyuk, who should have been in Incheon, approached her vehicle with heavy footsteps.
Prosecutor Jang Ji-hyuk tapped on the window and spoke in a terrifying voice.
“Get down. Unless you want to die.”

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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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