Prosecutor Kim Seo-Jin - Chapter 214

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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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Loyal Dog (4)
“Isn’t that right? Why would he have killed Seo Jin’s Aunt’s ex-boyfriend out of some grudge?”
“….”
“What crime did the loyal dog commit? He just bit as instructed. All the blame falls on the master holding the leash. So if you say he did it, then it must have been at Chairman Um’s behest.”
Choi Ji-beom found himself trapped between two impossible choices.
If he didn’t answer, his children would be dragged into this.
His name would appear in the media, and he’d face public condemnation.
He couldn’t claim he did it himself. That would turn the gun toward Chairman Um.
Even if the statute of limitations had expired, this was presidential election season.
The political world would undoubtedly find a way to link Chairman Um and the opposing party, savoring the chance to tear his name apart.
But he couldn’t mention Seo Jin’s Aunt Eom Si-young’s name either.
The conflict between Eom Seon-ju and Eom Si-young was a sisterly dispute, so he was holding back his anger, but this was different.
Chairman Um would become a beast that had lost its cub. The thought of what he might do was terrifying.
Choi Ji-beom thought his children might die.
“Answer me.”
When Seo Jin’s voice cut through the air with lethal coldness, Choi Ji-beom’s pupils trembled uncontrollably.
Not even a breath escaped his lips.
His mind churned with countless thoughts. Then he exhaled the breath he’d been holding and laughed faintly.
“I did it.”
Choi Ji-beom picked up a cigarette again. He held the last remaining stick between his fingers and placed it in his mouth. After crumpling the empty pack, he exhaled ashen smoke.
“I did it.”
Seo Jin’s brow furrowed.
“On Chairman Um’s orders?”
“No. I acted alone. It’s shameful to admit, but back then I harbored unrequited feelings for Miss Si-young. I hated that man. Even after she rejected him, the way he clung to her bothered me. So, for her sake….”
“You killed him?”
Choi Ji-beom shook his head.
“I told you, I don’t commit murder. I made a request. Along with an enormous sum of money—enough to buy several apartments in Seoul.”
“….”
“He wasn’t much different. Once he saw the money, he left for another country soon after. Whether he’s living well there or dead, I don’t know….”
Choi Ji-beom slowly straightened his back. Then he settled deeper into the sofa and continued speaking.
“Statute of limitations? I didn’t commit murder, so what statute of limitations are you talking about? This is the truth you wanted to know.”
“….”
“I ask one thing of you. Don’t tell Miss Si-young. She has a tender heart. I hope her present isn’t darkened by an uncomfortable past. In return, I won’t mention that you came here. If you understand, leave.”
It was a lie. All of it was a lie. He was spouting lies, and he looked at Seo Jin as if he’d won, offering a faint smile and a wink—get out of here.
Seo Jin shrugged and stood up.
Choi Ji-beom extended his hand toward Seo Jin, offering a handshake, and Seo Jin took it.
“See you later.”
“Don’t bother. No matter how many times you come back, it won’t change anything. I won’t betray the Chairman. There’s a saying that one forgets the enemy who killed one’s parents but remembers the enemy who stole one’s wealth. Reversing that logic, the Chairman is the one who gave me wealth. He’s more precious to me than my own parents.”
“In court, there are no parents or siblings. I don’t understand how you can be so confident.”
He already knew it would be difficult to corner him with a case whose statute of limitations had expired.
I had come to find him to confirm who had killed Seo Jin’s Aunt’s ex-boyfriend.
And through his attitude today, I became certain.
It was Seo Jin’s Aunt who had murdered the ex-boyfriend.
His eyes and actions answered my questions with unmistakable clarity.
But that was the moment.
My vision flooded with black and white.
Psychometry had unfolded.
*
*
*
“He keeps contacting me! Over and over!”
A young and beautiful woman paced anxiously through the study room, terror etched across her face.
With wrinkles added to that visage, she was Seo Jin’s Aunt, Eom Si-young.
As she walked nervously through the study, her gaze shifted.
There stood Choi Ji-beom in his youth, dressed in a black suit. He opened his mouth with concern.
“Miss…”
“He said we should run away together! If I don’t follow his wishes, he’ll go to her and tell her. He says he’ll take Yun-hwan since he’s his child!”
Choi Ji-beom stepped closer toward Seo Jin’s Aunt as she moved about anxiously.
From beyond the window, thunder rumbled—’Krrrumble!’—and lightning flashed brilliantly.
As the world alternated between brightness and darkness, Choi Ji-beom spoke.
“What shall we do?”
“W-what can we do?”
“I will follow any order you give, Miss.”
Choi Ji-beom turned his gaze toward the window. Watching the torrential rain, he continued.
“They say the rainy season will continue for a while. Blood will be washed away, and screams will be drowned out by thunder. Nothing will be discovered.”
He was saying he could kill if Seo Jin’s Aunt wished it.
But she shook her head. Crumpling the letter in her hand, she murmured.
“No, don’t do that. I still love that man. But… I’m satisfied with my current situation. I don’t want to lose this life.”
If she followed her ex-boyfriend, poverty awaited her.
She would be cast aside by her family and unable to take a single won with her.
Though her ex-boyfriend had graduated from a prestigious university and could live comfortably as a salaried worker, Seo Jin’s Aunt could never be satisfied with such a modest standard.
She had no desire to experience the happiness of keeping a household ledger and economizing on bean sprout prices.
“…What should I do?”
Yet killing someone was also difficult. Seo Jin’s Aunt was still young at this time.
She bit her fingernails, and even as blood seeped out, she continued gnawing without pause.
“What should I do?”
And the psychometry scene shifted.
Not the study room, but a shabby cottage deep in the mountains.
“Ah…”
In the living room there, Seo Jin’s Aunt trembled like an aspen leaf as she stepped backward.
On the floor lay her former boyfriend, a knife embedded in his chest, his eyes wide with resentment.
“Aaahhh!”
Seo Jin’s Aunt stumbled backward with a scream, cradling her blood-splattered face as she muttered incoherently.
“It’s not my fault. It’s yours… Why is Yun-hwan your son? He’s my son. Why did you take him? Why did you take him, you crazy bastard!”
Seo Jin’s Aunt shrieked like a banshee, spewing curses and hurling objects across the room.
Soon she collapsed against the wall, her body wracked with sobs.
“I’m sorry. I’ll raise him well. I’ll really raise him well. So you’ll be proud…”
Suddenly, the door burst open with a bang, and Choi Ji-beom entered, drenched from the rain.
He surveyed the scene with startled eyes.
A knife embedded in the chest, the corpse mutilated beyond recognition from multiple stab wounds. Even for Choi Ji-beom, who had lived a brutal life, the blood pooling across the floor was horrifying.
But what demanded attention now was not the body.
“Ah, miss…”
Seo Jin’s Aunt’s condition was dire. Her entire body was drenched in blood. Her clothes were torn, and wounds were visible across her frame—evidence of what had transpired with her former boyfriend.
“A-are you alright?”
“You killed him.”
“…What?”
At the absurd accusation, Choi Ji-beom blinked, and Seo Jin’s Aunt shrieked in a shrill voice.
“You didn’t kill him fast enough! That’s why you killed him! No, wait—no. He’s still breathing. Take him to the hospital. We need to save him, right? Right?”
Seo Jin’s Aunt’s words were incoherent, contradicting themselves.
Her eyes were truly mad—consumed by the shock of having committed murder, she had lost all sense of reason.
“I’ll check.”
Choi Ji-beom swallowed hard and approached the former boyfriend. He checked for a pulse.
‘Hah…’
The pulse had long since stopped; there was no breath. In truth, one didn’t need to check—he already looked less like a human and more like a slab of meat.
“He’s alive, isn’t he?”
At Seo Jin’s Aunt’s words, Choi Ji-beom nodded.
“…Yes. He’s alive.”
Seo Jin’s Aunt smiled brightly, her face caked with blood.
“Thank goodness. Then take him to the hospital. I’ll rest on the second floor. When you return, I’ll clean up the living room.”
Seo Jin’s Aunt staggered up the stairs toward the second floor.
As he heard the second-floor door close, Choi Ji-beom pulled on gloves, hoisted the corpse, and stepped outside with a shovel in hand.
Whoooosh!
The heavy rain continued to pour relentlessly.
Choi Ji-beom gazed up at the sky with a bitter expression.
*
*
*
As the world regained its color, Choi Ji-beom appeared before me.
The younger Choi Ji-beom’s face was lined with wrinkles now, yet his gaze remained sharp and clear. He finished the handshake and spoke.
“Then, let’s go.”
“See you later.”
“You said you wouldn’t see me again…”
“I have a feeling we’ll be seeing each other quite often from now on. Who do you think is right?”
I turned my body. Then, waving my hand toward Choi Ji-beom standing behind me, I headed for the hotel room door.
As I opened the door and tried to leave the room, men in dark suits blocked my path.
They stared at me with eyes full of murderous intent.
“Let him through.”
At Choi Ji-beom’s words, the men twisted their bodies to make space for me to pass.
I chuckled softly as I brushed past them and walked down the hallway.
“Gangster bastards…”
Choi Ji-beom, pretending to be a big shot now, would soon be stripped bare and begging for his life.
*
*
*
The hotel’s coffee shop.
Jang Seok-min, frustrated, gulped down coffee after coffee. He’d already drunk three cups so far.
Yet, Seo Jin hadn’t said a word the entire time.
I stood with my arms crossed, lost in deep thought.
‘Choi Ji-beom wore gloves. He buried them with the knife that was lodged in the corpse’s chest. The fingerprints would be gone, but blood traces might remain.’
Seo Jin’s Aunt’s body was covered in wounds. Her hands were torn, and there were scratches and bite marks all over.
If that blood remained, we could identify the perpetrator.
I tapped the table with my hand, sinking deeper into thought.
‘The villa…’
The murder scene was definitely at a villa.
And it seemed like it had been abandoned for a long time.
I’d heard that wealthy people buy mountains and build houses on them to sell. It’s one way to increase land value. I suspect it was built for that purpose.
‘Then…’
It could have been sold by now. The villa might have been demolished, and a pension or rural house could have been built there instead.
Of course, if I check the mountain that Chairman Um owned, I could find it easily.
The problem is if it was purchased under a false name, or if the land was developed and an apartment building was constructed there. Then it becomes a headache.
‘Still, let me check first.’
I sent a message to Detective Lee Dong-soo asking him to check the forest land that Chairman Um had owned. Then I shifted my thoughts in another direction.
‘The fact that Choi Ji-beom rushed in after the murder means Seo Jin’s Aunt contacted him. A place close to Hannam-dong. At least within an hour.’
A map formed in my mind. The regions within an hour spread out before me.
‘The Victim’s mother filed a missing person report days later. If I find where the heavy rain fell on the date of the missing person report…’
I picked up my phone and searched for newspaper articles from thirty years ago. Heavy rain, rainfall.
As the regions aligned in my mind, my phone vibrated.
-I sent it by email.
I checked the email. I quickly scanned through the contents, comparing the land Chairman Um owned with the places where heavy rain had fallen.
And my gaze stopped at one point.
‘Yangpyeong….’
An hour from Hannam-dong.
Every condition aligned perfectly.
I pressed the phone back to my ear.
“That forest land in Yangpyeong—who’s the current owner?”
-One moment….
The sound of keyboard keys filtered through the receiver. Then, with a sharp tap, Lee Dong-young’s voice emerged.
-The owner is your aunt, sir. The ownership changed hands once, but she acquired it ten years ago.

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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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