Prosecutor Kim Seo-Jin - Chapter 207

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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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Growing Wings (6)
Baek Ki-ho’s gaze remained fixed on the television screen.
The camera panned away from Lee Seok-woo, the Chief Prosecutor, and shifted toward the entrance.
And there, my figure emerged into view.
Simultaneously, the camera zoomed in on my face, and a caption reading “Prosecutor Seo Jin, Seoul Central District Prosecutors’ Office” flashed across the screen with a sharp bang.
Baek Ki-ho had intended to use this incident to erode the ruling party’s approval ratings.
But the plan backfired—the ratings were climbing instead.
Baek Ki-ho bit his lip, muttering my name under his breath.
“Seo. Jin!”
*
*
*
At that same moment, in the Seoul Central District Prosecutors’ Office briefing room.
Lee Seok-woo, the Chief Prosecutor, was staring at me with eyes that trembled with barely contained shock.
His gaze fixed on me, the unexpected figure who had just appeared, wavering uncontrollably.
‘…Why is that bastard here?’
The sequence of events flashed through Lee Seok-woo’s mind.
From taking on the role of team leader in the female college student disappearance case, to encountering me at the police box, to going to Pocheon, to receiving a call from Prosecutor General Kim Young-jun.
All those moments rushed past like a panorama.
Yet he couldn’t grasp what had actually transpired. Lee Seok-woo was certain of only two things.
—He had failed to join Prosecutor General Kim Young-jun’s faction.
—Seo Jin was attempting to monopolize all the credit.
And as I approached Lee Seok-woo’s side, I bowed respectfully.
“It’s been resolved.”
“W-well done.”
Lee Seok-woo managed his expression carefully and averted his gaze. The journalists’ eyes were fixed on the podium—no, they were concentrated on me.
You could tell from their expressions. They didn’t want Lee Seok-woo. They wanted to hear my voice.
“Go ahead and brief them.”
This was the moment the briefing’s protagonist changed.
Lee Seok-woo forced a smile and yielded his place. I stepped up to the microphone.
Camera flashes erupted so brilliantly they were blinding.
“I am Prosecutor Seo Jin of the Seoul Central District Prosecutors’ Office. The Prosecution has sensed something unusual in the recent consecutive disappearances of female college students….”
The briefing room fell silent at the sound of my voice.
Crimes targeting women aged twenty to twenty-five.
Reports of human trafficking—victims being sold to overseas sex trafficking organizations or having their organs harvested.
“The perpetrators moved with the goal of one victim per week to avoid public attention….”
When the story emerged that a girlfriend, exhausted from dating violence, had been trafficked after asking to break up, the journalists stirred with agitation.
“Last night through dawn was when these criminals conducted their transaction. Our office coordinated with the Incheon Metropolitan Police Agency and successfully arrested all the brokers at an abandoned factory in Incheon.”
As my briefing continued, articles crafted by journalists’ hands were uploaded to internet portal websites under the headline “Breaking News.”
Horrifying terms like female college student disappearances, human trafficking, and organ trafficking dominated the rankings, and my name appeared prominently among them.
【Breaking News】 Prosecutor Seo Jin, this time human trafficking.
【Breaking News】 Prosecutor Seo Jin, criminal organization dismantled!
Comments exploded in that brief moment.
-As expected from Seo Jin!
Isn’t that pretty much Conan at this point?
-I’m not sure what happened, but hearing that Seo Jin stepped in feels so satisfying.
-The Special Task Force Team Leader reports missing the case, but he comes in and catches them—that’s class!
Lmao, that’s insane. I was watching the live stream and got scared when they said human trafficking, but then they suddenly caught him.
The Special Task Force Team Leader’s expression is legendary. This is going to become a meme.
-At this point, shouldn’t we acknowledge Seo Jin as our older brother?
That’s our older brother.
-Hey, did you see Baek Ki-ho suddenly cursing out President Park Mu-hyuk for not catching the criminal?
Looks like you wanted to become president!
He said in an additional article that they would install a lot of CCTV.
Tell him to install CCTV or something like that, and ask Kim Seo-jin to do it.
“…I will provide further details after additional investigation.”
After Seo Jin uttered those final words, he bowed toward the reporters. Then he descended from the podium and headed toward the door.
Camera flashes refused to cease, and the shutter sounds rang out loudly. Only after stepping into the hallway and closing the door did it all finally subside.
Seo Jin loosened his tie in the quiet hallway and caught his breath.
‘Now for the next….’
I’d pulled an all-nighter, but there was still so much work to do. I’d brought in over thirty suspects. I had to interrogate them and uncover additional crimes.
But….
“Hey!”
“….”
“Seo Jin!”
A voice dripping with murderous intent rang out.
When I turned toward the source of the voice, Chief Prosecutor Lee Seok-woo stood waiting with a demonic expression on his face.
The only words Chief Prosecutor Lee Seok-woo uttered as he twisted his body were these:
“Follow me.”
*
*
*
Chief Prosecutor Lee Seok-woo’s office.
Chief Prosecutor Lee Seok-woo entered with a terrifying expression and opened the door.
“Get out.”
At those words, the administrative staff and investigators quickly vacated their seats. They knew all too well that when Chief Prosecutor Lee Seok-woo entered with that expression, it was the moment his vile temper would explode.
Thus, only Chief Prosecutor Lee Seok-woo and Seo Jin, who had followed him in, remained in the room. Chief Prosecutor Lee Seok-woo slammed the statement he’d been holding onto the table with a bang and opened his mouth.
“Are you messing with me right now?”
“…Yes?”
Chief Prosecutor Lee Seok-woo approached Seo Jin with heavy steps. Then, with his finger, he jabbed Seo Jin’s chest unpleasantly—poke, poke—and continued speaking.
“Were you trying to spread candy or shit?”
“No, sir.”
“But you knew a Special Task Force was being formed, and you still went off on your own? Why? Don’t you trust the senior prosecutors? Do you think you’re the only competent one and the rest are incompetent?”
“That’s not it. I was trying to contact you, but——”
“But?”
I pulled my phone from my pocket and showed it to him. The screen was dark.
“I dropped my phone in water, so I couldn’t reach you. And the situation that unfolded made it difficult to contact anyone.”
“That’s an excuse!”
Chief Prosecutor Lee Seok-woo raised his hand as if he were about to slap my cheek.
Chief Prosecutor Lee Seok-woo’s palm trembled. But he didn’t swing. He couldn’t bring himself to strike the Prosecutor General’s nephew.
“Damn it….”
Chief Prosecutor Lee Seok-woo lowered his fist weakly and gestured with his chin.
“Get out.”
“I apologize.”
I bowed deeply and headed toward the door to leave the office.
At that moment, Chief Prosecutor Lee Seok-woo’s menacing voice grazed my ears.
“I’m watching you.”
Those words sounded less like a warning and more like a death threat.
I bowed once more toward Chief Prosecutor Lee Seok-woo before slipping out of the office.
And as I stepped into the hallway, my expression hardened.
‘Lee Seok-woo….’
A man without skill who refuses to acknowledge it.
Someone who maintains his position by currying favor with his superiors.
Such a man has no place in the Prosecutor’s Office.
I began walking down the hallway.
Images from Chief Prosecutor Lee Seok-woo’s office flashed through my mind.
Especially the briefing document he’d thrown onto the table the moment he entered.
‘It had been revised.’
I could see red ink corrections scattered throughout. Not his usual handwriting, but hasty scrawls as if dashed off in a frenzy.
‘He changed the content right before the briefing.’
Back at my office, I opened my laptop and searched for the video of Chief Prosecutor Lee Seok-woo’s briefing.
-Human trafficking targeting women in their twenties has been occurring frequently across the nation recently.
Watching the words Chief Prosecutor Lee Seok-woo had chosen for the briefing, I bit my lip.
And I organized my thoughts.
-Portraying the criminal as a brutal offender to instill fear in the public.
-Making the police look like mere puppets.
‘That’s Kim Young-jun’s specialty.’
In other words, Chief Prosecutor Lee Seok-woo had received a call from Prosecutor General Kim Young-jun right before the briefing.
‘I can use this.’
Chief Prosecutor Lee Seok-woo desperately wants to stay in Prosecutor General Kim Young-jun’s favor.
I’m dreaming of a brilliant future where I enter their world and rise to the top.
By exploiting that ambition, I can manipulate Chief Prosecutor Lee Seok-woo.
I opened the drawer.
Many mobile phones were visible inside.
Among them, the phone in my hand was the one used to contact former Representative Gong Dae-chul from the Ruling Party.
“Representative, this is Seo Jin.”
-Ah, I just saw it. Hahahaha.
Former Representative Gong Dae-chul’s voice was refreshing.
He seemed delighted that Representative Baek Ki-ho, who had intended to exploit this incident, had instead been turned against.
-Baek Ki-ho’s name won’t appear in the media for a while. Everything will be overshadowed by this incident.
Politicians are similar to celebrities. When their names don’t appear in the media, their approval ratings can plummet.
-And once this incident dies down, my name will dominate the world. Baek Ki-ho will be forgotten.
Former Representative Gong Dae-chul said he would come to the Prosecutor’s Office himself. To strike back at them once more.
“That’s why I contacted you.”
-That?
I plan to hand over the entire investigation process of former Representative Gong Dae-chul to Chief Prosecutor Lee Seok-woo.
He will undoubtedly give his all, believing that investigating former Representative Gong Dae-chul is his final wing.
But that place is hell.
A swamp that swallows you deeper the more you struggle.
‘I’ll destroy him along with Kim Young-jun.’
After finishing a brief conversation with former Representative Gong Dae-chul about the plan, I ended the call.
Then I walked to the window and gazed outside, lost in thought.
In my mind, the events that would unfold appeared and disappeared in multiple branches.
Since their ambitions were concentrated on power, predicting their actions was not difficult.
And I selected the worst-case scenario among them.
-Representative Baek Ki-ho might suspect me and attempt to verify.
-Kim Yun-hwan, my long-standing chess piece, has disappeared, and President Kim Young-jun might try to swallow Jaejeong Construction.
‘What takes priority before that is….’
The results regarding former Representative Gong Dae-chul, as instructed by President Kim Young-jun, were stalling.
With the presidential election approaching, President Kim Young-jun and Representative Baek Ki-ho are searching for a catalyst to join hands, and there’s a high possibility they’ll choose me as the sacrifice.
‘I’ll start with the verification process first.’
I confirmed the next moves of President Kim Young-jun and Representative Baek Ki-ho.
*
*
*
“Let’s have Seo Jin marry Lee So-hee.”
Those words came from Representative Baek Ki-ho.
President Kim Young-jun brought the glass to his lips and furrowed his brow.
“Seo Jin—that guy’s dangerous. He’s been interfering and causing trouble. Rather than that, I should make him my man. A reliable ally.”
President Kim Young-jun shook his head.
“He’s just working hard. Even back when he was in Dongnam, he was famous for acting recklessly without thinking things through.”
To Prosecutor General Kim Young-jun, Seo Jin is his nephew. That blind affection clouds his judgment.
But Congressman Baek Ki-ho sees differently.
This case had left him with an unsettling feeling.
He fidgeted with his glass and shook his head.
“Prosecutor General, I’m a former judge. I’ve witnessed countless absurd political battles, family feuds, and vicious criminals. I’ve seen more cases than I can count. And from it all, I’ve gained one thing: an eye for reading people.”
“….”
“I’m not sure how to put it, but my eyes are telling me something. Seo Jin is dangerous. But it would be a waste to eliminate him. If he were to use that ability for me, for us, I’d be nothing but delighted.”
“….”
“That’s why I’m asking. Give me Seo Jin, not Yun-hwan.”
Prosecutor General Kim Young-jun said nothing. He simply held his glass to his lips and sat in silence.
If Congressman Baek Ki-ho hadn’t brought it up first, Prosecutor General Kim Young-jun would have broached the subject of Seo Jin and Lee So-hee’s marriage himself.
But now that the words had come from Congressman Baek Ki-ho’s mouth, there was no need to rush.
Whoever makes the first proposal is always the weaker party.
Yet Congressman Baek Ki-ho interpreted the Prosecutor General’s silence differently.
The Prosecutor General simply thought there was no need to rush, but….
“I know my logic isn’t sound. But think about it. Why would we stay quiet about Gong Dae-chul? When did you give the order, and why hasn’t the report come up yet?”
Prosecutor General Kim Young-jun’s gaze turned toward Congressman Baek Ki-ho.
Congressman Baek Ki-ho refilled his glass and continued.
“You might feel my argument is forced. But I’m curious to verify whether my eyes are accurate. Would you be willing to try this method?”
“Go ahead.”
“Throw Seo Jin a bait. Casually mention to him that you’re going to take down Gong Dae-chul. Then watch. See if he moves in the direction we expect, or differently.”
Prosecutor General Kim Young-jun laughed heartily.
“You’re saying Seo Jin has ulterior motives?”
“Prosecutor General, all kids his age are the same. Sometimes they’re obsessed with justice, as if it were an illusion. We need to verify, scold him if necessary, praise him if warranted, and have him grow up by marrying him off to So-hee.”
Congressman Baek Ki-ho raised his glass and continued.
“And you know this, don’t you? True alliance is forged through marriage.”

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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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