Prosecutor Kim Seo-Jin - Chapter 196

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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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Bluff (2)
“…!”
Choi Sun-hye, who had witnessed countless people intoxicated by drugs over the years, recognized it instantly.
Seo Jin’s pupils were wild.
Something that transcended drug-induced madness.
Eyes that said he would devour anyone, regardless of who they were.
‘What… what is this….’
Seo Jin slid the phone he’d placed on the table toward Choi Sun-hye.
“Open it. Whether it’s Pandora’s box or whatever, I’ll verify it.”
Choi Sun-hye’s eyes alone moved to look at the phone.
Seeing her hesitant gaze, Seo Jin growled in a low voice.
“Don’t even think about holding out to the end. There’s only one thing you need to consider: cooperating with the investigation to reduce your sentence even slightly.”
Choi Sun-hye’s pupils wavered.
In truth, she had no intention of showing the phone.
She was planning to devise an escape plan while the Prosecutor’s Office collected evidence through digital forensics.
But Seo Jin’s next words derailed her plan.
“You said it yourself, right? Whether other people’s children suffer or die doesn’t matter—as long as my child is happy. That’s what those people think.”
“…!”
“If I were those people, I’d kill you first. If I just slit your mouth, there’d be no one left to talk, would there? A dead you stays silent, and my child lives. If you want to live, don’t give those people any time.”
Seo Jin tapped the phone with his finger as he continued.
“If you understand what I’m saying, open it.”
“You… won’t regret this?”
“I appreciate the concern, but that’s something I’ll handle myself, so stop worrying.”
Choi Sun-hye exhaled a sigh, then picked up the phone and unlocked it with her password and fingerprint.
Taking the phone, Seo Jin scrolled through the contacts, committing them to memory.
The records of clients were documented in considerable detail.
Big names, just as Choi Sun-hye had said.
At the lighter end: popular celebrities, children of corporate executives, children of politicians, prominent figures and their sons and daughters from various regions.
Seeing Seo Jin’s hardened expression, Choi Sun-hye spoke in a businesslike tone.
“A person who stole a few eggs because they were hungry received one year and six months, didn’t they? So how many years will those people who touched drugs receive? Should I predict it?”
“….”
“Three years in the first trial, watching the media’s reaction. But in the second trial when the world has quieted down, three years with four years suspended.”
Seo Jin’s gaze shifted from the phone to Choi Sun-hye.
Then Choi Sun-hye smiled faintly and continued.
“The person who stole eggs has to spend one year and six months in prison, but our clients will enjoy their social life happily.”
“Look… you don’t need to worry about that either.”
“What?”
“I know what you’re thinking, but not all prosecutors are as corrupt as you believe. The corrupt ones are a minority. The majority tries to catch them no matter what. Regardless of who they are. So have faith. I’ll put every name in here away.”
Seo Jin stood up, waving Choi Sun-hye’s phone. Then he continued.
“Anyway, thanks for this. And as a special service, I’ll set up a bed for you. Sleep here tonight.”
“…You want me to sleep?”
“Yeah.”
Choi Sun-hye was taken aback by Seo Jin’s attitude.
First he demanded her phone, and now this sudden talk about providing a bed.
In that moment, the nerve game she’d been playing to assert her superiority as a prosecutor felt absurd.
“Wait, Prosecutor? What about the interrogation?”
“An interrogation at 3 a.m.? The interrogation starts tomorrow. Of course, the prosecutor in charge won’t be me—it’ll be Prosecutor Jang Ji-hyuk, who brought you in.”
“Then what about my phone?”
“Evidence verification. Thanks again.”
Choi Sun-hye sat there dazed until Seo Jin left.
She had no idea what had just happened, but she felt thoroughly outmaneuvered.
*
Seo Jin connected Choi Sun-hye’s phone to his laptop and printed out her entire contact list.
After going through it meticulously, Kim Yun-hwan’s name was nowhere to be found, as expected.
He hadn’t dirtied his own hands.
‘Which means he borrowed someone else’s hands…’
The lackey who’d purchased the drugs on Kim Yun-hwan’s behalf.
I had to find that person.
Once I caught the connected link, extracting Kim Yun-hwan would be simple.
I set down the contact list on my desk and checked the time.
‘5 a.m…’
Dawn was breaking outside.
*
*
*
The next day.
Seo Jin came into the office with a towel draped around his neck after a quick wash.
Lee Dong-young, who had arrived for work in the meantime, was organizing his desk.
“Could you look into the call history for these phone numbers?”
When Seo Jin set down a slip of paper with several contact numbers, Lee Dong-young tilted his head in confusion.
“…Whose numbers are these?”
“I’m not entirely sure myself.”
“Pardon?”
I’d spent the night verifying the contact list and narrowed down several numbers that appeared to be connected to Kim Yun-hwan.
Similar age, people who’d attended school in the same area as Kim Yun-hwan, people I could reach through one connection.
Three candidates emerged from that screening—the link had to be among them.
Of course, if I checked Kim Yun-hwan’s own call history instead, I could identify the person immediately.
But the moment an investigation began, it would definitely reach Chancellor Kim Young-jun’s ears.
Even if I confirmed it privately without a warrant, the risk factor remained.
I was carefully testing the waters to catch Kim Yun-hwan.
There’s no harm in being cautious in this world.
And Lee Dong-young had sensed what was on Seo Jin’s mind.
He opened his mouth while checking the contact information written on the note.
“There’s no warrant, correct?”
“That’s right.”
“I’ll confirm it by this afternoon.”
Hearing Lee Dong-young’s refreshingly decisive response, I returned to my desk.
*
It was when I, having filled my stomach during lunch, was heading back up to the office.
Lee So-hee called.
-I’m going insane. Kim Yun-hwan’s face keeps appearing in my dreams. Yesterday he showed up in my dream again and….
Lee So-hee continued speaking as if utterly fed up.
Apparently, Kim Yun-hwan has been calling at all hours lately, spouting absolute nonsense.
-What are you doing? If you’re having any difficulties, tell me. I’m your senior prosecutor, after all.
-When did you become so beautiful, Lee So-hee? Ah, I saw this line in a drama. Haha.
-I’m thinking of decorating the newlywed home in a Scandinavian style, but I prefer American style….
In the end, Kim Yun-hwan appeared in her dream.
The dream was set on a wedding day—Lee So-hee was crying in her dress while Kim Yun-hwan was smiling brilliantly.
Lee So-hee spoke weakly.
-It was truly horrifying. I thought I was having sleep paralysis.
I let out a slight laugh.
How much must she dislike him for him to appear even in her dreams?
“I should buy a lottery ticket.”
-Hey… why would you buy a lottery ticket?
“Dreams are the opposite, right? Bad dreams are a sign that good things will happen. Let me start by buying a lottery ticket.”
My relaxed voice seemed like hope to Lee So-hee.
-That’s right, isn’t it? It has to be. I really hope so. Just thinking about it makes me sick.
“I told you I’d make it happen. So enjoy this situation. Ask him to buy you whatever bag you want while you’re at it.”
At my confident voice assuring her that the marriage could absolutely never happen, Lee So-hee seemed to find some relief.
-So I just need to enjoy it?
“Yeah, trust me.”
I’m someone who has accomplished the impossible—Lee So-hee decided to believe those words with desperate hope.
-I’ll trust you.
After ending the call, I entered the office.
Then Lee Dong-young handed me a stack of documents and spoke.
“The results came back.”
The call records of the three people I’d requested this morning.
“Thank you.”
“But shouldn’t you get some sleep?”
My eyes were bloodshot.
The endless overtime and all-nighters continued. Lee Dong-young asked with concern, and I simply shrugged.
“I’m fine.”
“You’ll get sick doing this.”
“Well, I should be able to leave early today.”
I sat down and scanned through the records, searching for the person who had called Kim Yun-hwan.
And I found him.
‘Kim Gwang-won.’
The man owned a building worth two billion won.
Mid-thirties, occupation: building management, hobby: golf.
The type who lucked into good parents and coasted through life while others worked hard.
This man was connected to Kim Yun-hwan.
I immediately picked up the phone.
“Prosecutor Jang Ji-hyuk, you’ve started the witness interviews, right? Please bring in someone named Kim Gwang-won first.”
-Kim Gwang-won?
Prosecutor Jang Ji-hyuk had also received the contact list from the phone.
Everyone on that list would be summoned to the Prosecutor’s Office and subjected to drug testing under the guise of witness interviews.
-Okay. I’ll call him right away.
If Kim Gwang-won’s mouth let slip the name Kim Yun-hwan, I’d finally get to see Prosecutor General Kim Young-jun’s troubled expression again.
*
*
*
The next day, it took only a moment for Kim Gwang-won to mention Kim Yun-hwan’s name.
Without me even asking, the man dragged into Prosecutor Jang Ji-hyuk’s office readily admitted to drug trafficking and said this.
“You know Kim Yun-hwan?”
Even Choi Sun-hye, who had been called the drug queen, was arrogant, but this man was worse if anything.
Sitting across from me and Prosecutor Jang Ji-hyuk, he bounced his leg and grinned unpleasantly.
“Yun-hwan’s father is the Prosecutor General, right? If you arrest me, shouldn’t you arrest Yun-hwan too? Can you do that? What if you lock me up and let Yun-hwan go—can you handle what comes after?”
He mimicked typing on a keyboard as he continued.
“I’ll post it online: ‘Wealth brings innocence, poverty brings guilt.’ It’ll be chaos. You know how scary internet users are these days? Your personal information could be exposed.”
I grabbed the man’s phone from the table and checked the call logs.
“If you’re so confident, why didn’t you contact Yun-hwan when you got arrested? But you didn’t call him, did you?”
The man’s lips twisted into a grin.
“Don’t you know about hidden cards? You save the important stuff for last. Anyway, if we’re done talking, can I go?”
“Sit down. Don’t be disrespectful.”
“Why? No matter what, the result will be the same anyway. Let’s just follow procedure.”
In that instant, a sharp crack echoed, and Kim Gwang-won let out a shriek.
Prosecutor Jang Ji-hyuk had struck the back of his head.
Really hard.
Kim Gwang-won glared at Prosecutor Jang Ji-hyuk with blazing eyes.
“You hit me? You just hit me, didn’t you?”
But Prosecutor Jang Ji-hyuk stared at him more menacingly and spoke.
“Precedent? Listening to you, it sounds like nonsense worthy of a thesis. Then you don’t know the precedent that drug dealers deserve a beating?”
“Damn it, do you know who I am….”
Prosecutor Jang Ji-hyuk bent at the waist and locked eyes with the man. Then he continued with a chilling tone.
“Listen here, you bastard. Think about it. Why do you think I called you here instead of the Interrogation Room? It’s because I can beat you here.”
Prosecutor Jang Ji-hyuk’s appearance was intimidating.
Short hair, a massive frame, and fists clenched so tightly the tendons bulged.
Kim Gwang-won’s eyes dropped downward.
“I’ll sue you,” he muttered.
But hearing those words, Prosecutor Jang Ji-hyuk chuckled.
“Sue? Go ahead. My office has no CCTV and no recorder. But do you think a judge will believe a drug dealer’s word? You’re the type who claims lasers shoot out of your fingertips. So let’s do this—I’ll beat you now. I’ll make sure no medical report comes out of it.”
Carrot and stick—the menacing-looking Prosecutor Jang Ji-hyuk setting the tone while the kind-faced Seo Jin soothes him.
Most criminals fall for this routine.
Seo Jin opened his mouth as if to stop Prosecutor Jang Ji-hyuk.
“Prosecutor, why are you doing this?”
“Get out of the way. This bastard needs a beating to come to his senses.”
As Prosecutor Jang Ji-hyuk’s menacing voice continued, Seo Jin wrapped an arm around Kim Gwang-won’s shoulder and whispered.
“Hey, write down the list quickly. Who you sold drugs to and who you worked with. Precedent isn’t something we decide—it comes from above. So write down your hidden card too. Then you’re good.”
Seo Jin coaxed him in a friendly voice and handed him paper. Then he urged him on.
“Hurry.”
Kim Gwang-won gripped the pen in his hand.
And muttering “We’ll see about this,” he wrote the name of Kim Yun-hwan—the hidden card—at the very top.
In large letters: ‘Kim Yun-hwan.’
Seeing those letters, a satisfied smile played at the corners of Seo Jin’s mouth.
Moments later, Seo Jin stepped out of Prosecutor Jang Ji-hyuk’s office and called Jang Seok-min.
“Set up a meeting with Kim Yun-hwan.”
Now it was time to hear Kim Yun-hwan’s screams.

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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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