Prosecutor Kim Seo-Jin - Chapter 198

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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 (4)
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“You understand, right? Huh? You must understand, yes?”
Jang Seok-min muttered nervously as he paced down the hallway.
Then he descended to the floor below and entered the room where the women were.
Three women who had been waiting while fidgeting with their phones looked up.
“Is he coming up?”
“No, he said to come up in ten minutes.”
The women nodded and buried their gazes back into their phones.
“Hey, I need to ask you something….”
When the women turned their eyes with a questioning look, Jang Seok-min let out an exasperated sigh and spoke.
“BDK MO.”
“Pardon?”
“What do you think this means?”
“B-D-K… what is it?”
Jang Seok-min tore off a piece of memo paper, wrote ‘BDK MO’ on it, and showed it to the women.
“What do you think this means?”
The women stared quietly at the letters written on the memo.
“An initial consonant riddle?”
“Try to guess.”
“Is there a prize?”
“I’ll give you one if you get it right.”
Jang Seok-min waited for the women’s answer with a tense expression.
If the women figured it out, then Seo Jin would definitely catch on too.
But.
“Hmm… roasted chicken? What is this?”
“Huh? That’s what it looks like? Doesn’t it look like vodka drug… like this?”
“How would we know that?”
The women laughed brightly, and Jang Seok-min’s face grew even more serious.
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Kim Yun-hwan poured alcohol into a glass filled with ice and set it down in front of me.
“Drink.”
I stared blankly at the glass placed before me.
‘That note Jang Seok-min passed me….’
I couldn’t discern its contents, but I could feel the urgency behind it.
The plan had fallen apart.
An unexpected variable had emerged.
‘What could have happened….’
My eyes drifted toward the corner of the table.
Jang Seok-min’s phone lay there.
It meant he trusted nothing and controlled all information.
‘He’s actually using his head.’
I smiled faintly and gripped the glass in my hand. Then I studied Kim Yun-hwan’s expression.
The muscles in Kim Yun-hwan’s face twitched. He desperately wanted me to drink.
He was even intoxicated with the sense of victory.
My eyes shifted toward the bottle.
‘Vodka….’
It is the initial consonant of ‘ㅂㄷㅋ’ written by Jang Seok-min.
‘What did they do to the alcohol?’
I moved my gaze to absorb more information.
Nothing else was visible, but something nagged at me.
‘Drugs.’
The initial sound of ‘ㅁㅇ’ is drug.
Drugs mixed into the vodka.
That’s what I suspected.
“What? Can’t you drink it? Scared it’s too strong? A man can’t handle one drink like this?”
When I picked up the glass and remained still, Kim Yun-hwan provoked me.
Watching that expression only confirmed my suspicion.
Kim Yun-hwan had tampered with this drink.
“Don’t you have beer?”
“What?”
“I have to go to work tomorrow, and vodka is way too strong.”
“It’s just one glass. One glass!”
I set the glass down.
Kim Yun-hwan’s face contorted.
“Hey, it’s been so long since we’ve had a drink together, and you’re throwing away the drink I poured? That’s too much.”
I shook my head. Then, with a truly serious expression, I brushed my hair back and looked at Kim Yun-hwan.
“Do you know why I was late today?”
“Why? Did someone drag you in? Chief Prosecutor Jo Woo-jae?”
“You know that woman Choi Sun-hye who was messing around with drugs got caught?”
Kim Yun-hwan’s movements faltered.
He had thought Choi Sun-hye’s case had nothing to do with him until now.
But the moment her name came from my lips, he felt his heart clench.
“…Why?”
“Your name is on the list.”
“…!”
Kim Yun-hwan’s face stiffened in an instant.
I leaned forward, continuing in a low voice.
“There’s this guy named Kim Gwang-won who owns a building in Gangnam. He sold you out, didn’t he?”
“Sold out? What are you talking about!”
Kim Yun-hwan slammed the table with a sharp crack, glaring at me with menacing eyes.
“I just hung out with him a few times. That’s all. But he’s the one selling me out?”
“I… I don’t believe it either, but he apparently gave you drugs. There’s a list, and there are call records between you two on his phone.”
“You’re actually believing that!”
Extreme denial often signals the truth. Kim Yun-hwan bit his lip, thinking he’d gotten too worked up.
I studied his expression carefully and provoked him once more with a cautious tone.
“Right?”
“Why? You’re going to investigate based on some drug dealer’s word?”
“Yeah, of course not. I believe you. But they’ll probably still investigate. It’ll be informal, but they’ll at least check the drug test and the interior of the vehicle. So if there’s anything suspicious at all…”
“There’s nothing like that.”
Kim Yun-hwan clicked his tongue and lit a cigarette.
He exhaled smoke, acting as if nothing was wrong.
But his mind was racing with anxiety.
The thought of drugging me had long since vanished.
Now he was thinking about whether there was anything that could possibly incriminate him.
‘Hanging out with a drug dealer isn’t a crime.’
Simply being associated with someone wasn’t a crime.
Besides, since he’d never actually used drugs, a random urine test wouldn’t be a problem.
As these thoughts continued, Kim Yun-hwan’s eyes widened.
‘Shit… shit…’
It suddenly came to him—the drugs hidden in his car.
The ones he was supposed to move to my car today.
Kim Yun-hwan urgently twisted his wrist to check the time.
’11:10.’
The time for investigators to arrive had already passed.
While nighttime search warrants existed, they were heavily restricted, and no one would hesitate to move against the son of the Prosecutor General.
‘Right now…’
He had to move them to my car immediately.
Then everything would be solved.
Even if investigators came tomorrow morning, he could handle it with ease.
That’s what he was thinking.
“Really… hyung, there’s nothing suspicious, right?”
“How many times do I have to tell you no?”
“Yeah, that’s a relief.”
Kim Yun-hwan stubbed out his cigarette and looked at me.
There was something unsettling about my expression.
“Why? What’s going on now?”
“Your uncle is the Prosecutor General. If it leaks to the press, they’re moving at night without the reporters knowing.”
“…What?”
“It’s a courtesy. Cour-tesy.”
“What bastard….”
“Jang Ji-hyuk. The prosecutor.”
Kim Yun-hwan’s face went pale.
“J-Jang Ji-hyuk? That crazy bastard?”
“He said he’d just do a simple vehicle inspection and check the urine sample, then leave….”
“When!”
Kim Yun-hwan shot to his feet.
His bloodshot eyes were wide open. His slick lips trembled with anxiety.
I could read his mind perfectly.
But I looked at him with eyes that knew nothing and spoke.
“…What’s wrong?”
“When, you bastard!”
“I don’t know either…. Once the warrant comes through….”
Kim Yun-hwan frantically patted his pants pockets.
He was looking for his car keys before heading to the underground parking lot.
But they weren’t there.
‘This is driving me insane.’
He’d handed them to one of Jang Seok-min’s subordinates, disguised as a valet attendant.
To transfer the drugs from his car to mine.
“…What? Is something bothering you?”
I spoke with clear concern, but to Kim Yun-hwan it sounded utterly contemptible.
“Call Jang Ji-hyuk and ask when he’s planning to leave.”
“What?”
“Now!”
As I gripped my phone, Kim Yun-hwan paced the living room.
He was preparing for the worst-case scenario.
‘Damn it….’
Simple possession was also illegal.
Under Article 60 of the Narcotics Control Act, mere possession of drugs carries a sentence of up to 10 years imprisonment or a fine of up to 100 million won.
Of course, Kim Yun-hwan wasn’t worried about prison.
In a world where drug addicts with money and connections get suspended sentences, only the powerless end up in prison.
Only the weak are locked away.
What Kim Yun-hwan feared was only one thing.
Kim Young-jun’s rage.
The Prosecutor General’s face twisted like a demon.
If news of his drug possession reached Kim Young-jun’s ears, Kim Yun-hwan would have to face that terror once more.
‘It won’t work.’
And despair seeped from my lips.
“Prosecutor Jang Ji-hyuk must be busy. He’s not answering his phone.”
“Try again, try again!”
That was when it happened.
The door opened and Jang Seok-min entered with the women.
“Having drinks already, I see. Don’t get too drunk now. These girls have been looking forward to this all day.”
Jang Seok-min spoke with a light, thug-like laugh, but his eyes were already darting across the table.
Whether I had drunk or not.
That was his priority.
‘Please, please, please!’
But then Kim Yun-hwan rushed forward and stood before Jang Seok-min.
What he blurted out was unexpected.
“Hey, call the valet staff.”
“What?”
“Hurry!”
Kim Yun-hwan’s urgency and panic were so evident that even Jang Seok-min could feel it.
His lips had gone dry and his skin had turned pale.
Meanwhile, I remained composed. I sat with an easy smile on my face.
I even waved my hand, signaling him to do as Kim Yun-hwan wished.
Jang Seok-min sensed it.
That Kim Yun-hwan was screwed.
Jang Seok-min suppressed the urge to laugh loudly and headed to the table. He picked up his phone and called his subordinate, who was disguised as a valet staff member.
The dial tone was ringing.
Kim Yun-hwan couldn’t wait even that brief moment and snatched the phone from Jang Seok-min’s hand.
“This is frustrating!”
There was no telling when Prosecutor Jang Ji-hyuk might burst through that door.
‘That psycho bastard. That crazy son of a bitch!’
Prosecutor Jang Ji-hyuk’s recklessness was legendary.
A beast that charged forward without fear of anything in the world.
A moth that threw itself into the flames in pursuit of truth.
If the opponent was Jang Ji-hyuk, there was no way to predict how things would unfold.
And as the long dial tone cut off, a man’s voice came through.
-Yes, hyung.
“Where the hell are you, you bastard! Get to my car right now!”
Kim Yun-hwan opened the door and bolted outside the moment he spoke.
The space fell silent as if a typhoon had passed through.
Jang Seok-min used the awkward atmosphere as an excuse and dragged out the women who had just arrived. And so they left.
Only I and Jang Seok-min remained in the living room.
I placed a cigarette before Jang Seok-min and opened my mouth.
“There’s one more thing I need you to do.”
“Just tell me what it is.”
I handed over my phone.
Jang Seok-min’s eyes widened as he looked at the screen.
“This… this is…”
“When Kim Yun-hwan comes back in a moment, I’ll gauge the timing and send him that message. Save the photo and lead him to see it.”
What appeared on the screen was a screenshot of a Jirashi post.
But Jang Seok-min’s voice trembled as if he’d experienced an earthquake.
“…Kim Yun-hwan isn’t your biological son?”
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Ding!
The elevator stopped in the basement of the Hotel.
Kim Yun-hwan stepped out of the elevator with quick strides and walked down the hallway toward the Underground Parking Lot.
‘Why did they sell out my name…”
Kim Yun-hwan refused to acknowledge his own wrongdoing.
He only thought he’d been unlucky enough to get caught.
‘I should never have made a deal with that bastard in the first place.’
Those were the same people who’d embraced him at the Room Salon and sworn eternal friendship.
But now they were enemies.
‘Ugh… I’m going to lose my mind.’
At least there was one silver lining—Seo Jin was a prosecutor.
It was fortunate that I’d learned about what happened at the Seoul Central District Prosecutors’ Office.
If I hadn’t known, I would have been caught red-handed with drug possession.
‘I’ll ditch the drugs. If that bastard tries to drag me down with him, it’s over for him.’
This time, I’d failed to bind Seo Jin to me. But if I waited, another opportunity would come.
Kim Yun-hwan thought as positively as possible as he headed into the Underground Parking Lot.
But then.
“I was about to call you, and here you are?”
Prosecutor Jang Ji-hyuk and three investigators were standing in front of Kim Yun-hwan’s car.
Jang Seok-min’s subordinate standing in front was being held by the investigators with a stiffened expression.
Prosecutor Jang Ji-hyuk walked toward Kim Yun-hwan with heavy footsteps and opened his mouth.
“Long time no see. I came here for a drug investigation, but out of respect for the Prosecutor General, I’ll just quietly verify things and leave. I’d appreciate your cooperation.”
Kim Yun-hwan swallowed hard and glared at Prosecutor Jang Ji-hyuk standing before him. Then he opened his mouth in a low voice.
“Ugh… this is annoying. If you don’t want to make a big deal out of this, why don’t you just leave?”
Kim Yun-hwan acted tough, and whether his bluff worked or not, the investigator flinched.
But Prosecutor Jang Ji-hyuk didn’t back down.
He glared at Kim Yun-hwan with an eerie expression and spoke.
“Why? Are you going to tell your father? Why are you like this? I’m telling you, we’re just quietly verifying. We have a warrant and there shouldn’t be any problems.”
“Want me to flip everything upside down?”
“Flip? Who? You?”
“If you’re curious how I’d do it, keep pushing and find out.”
Jang Ji-hyuk began to chuckle, his laughter sending chills down my spine.
Then, cutting his laughter short, Jang Ji-hyuk fixed his gaze on Kim Yun-hwan.
“I’ve always wanted to say this myself.”
“…!”
The day I brought down Choi Sun-hye, the drug lord.
Back when I was interrogating Choi Sun-hye in the Interrogation Room.
Jang Ji-hyuk had been watching from beyond the glass partition.
He was now relaying to Kim Yun-hwan the words I had spoken then.
“Please… don’t bluff. I find it absolutely repulsive when a criminal like you pretends to be some big shot.”
“…What?”
“Flip things around? Go ahead. You’ll end up dead too.”

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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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