Prosecutor Kim Seo-Jin - Chapter 230
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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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When the Waves Come (2)
The Audit Team Leader set down his phone and opened his mouth.
“…Is that all?”
This was a beef specialty restaurant. Every table was partitioned off with dividers and sliding doors, creating private spaces. From one such enclosure, Seo Jin’s voice drifted out, unhurried and measured.
“You did well.”
“Then… tear that up for me.”
The Audit Team Leader’s finger pointed to a document resting on one side of the table. It contained evidence of every irregularity he had committed thus far.
“Right now, tear it up and throw it away in front of me!”
Seo Jin, who had been wrapping lettuce around the meat, moved only his eyes to regard the Audit Team Leader.
“You’re quite bold, aren’t you?”
Seo Jin’s voice was ice-cold. The Team Leader flinched involuntarily.
Seo Jin tapped the document with his finger and continued.
“Don’t you see how much I’m restraining myself? I want to tear apart that head of yours instead of this document, but I’m even buying you meat. So eat quietly.”
“Sir, Prosecutor…”
“I heard you worked at Jaejeong Construction for fifteen years. Yet you swore loyalty not to my father, but to my uncle. You knew company funds were being siphoned elsewhere, but you turned a blind eye and deaf ear. Do you really think I’d let someone like that off easily?”
Seo Jin glared at the Team Leader with murderous intensity. The Team Leader, who had been feigning confidence, lowered his gaze.
“Sorry, but one phone call to my uncle won’t erase your crimes.”
“Prosecutor!”
The Team Leader cried out urgently.
“I have a son getting married soon! If I’m investigated now…!”
“That son of yours… didn’t he get a job at a state-owned enterprise through connections?”
“What?”
“Everyone has a sob story. So don’t beg.”
The Team Leader’s body trembled. Lowering his head, he let out a voice bordering on wailing.
“I’ll do anything. Please…!”
The Team Leader fell to his knees. With desperate eyes, he bowed his head. He had been the hands and feet of Prosecutor General Kim Young-jun, embezzling funds from Jaejeong Construction. The amount he’d skimmed off in the middle was considerable. If that fact came to light, imprisonment was inevitable.
But Seo Jin’s voice remained dry. He knew there was no sincerity in the Team Leader’s eyes. This man could betray him at any moment. He needed to apply more pressure now.
“Given the scale of damages, you’ll fall under enhanced penalties under specific economic laws. I promise you, as a prosecutor. Minimum ten years. You won’t see the outside world until well past sixty.”
The Team Leader’s eyes widened. No longer the pleading gaze—now it was filled with rage. He’d even called Prosecutor General Kim Young-jun, and this was how he was being treated? The Team Leader shouted as if resigned to his fate.
“I won’t die alone! I’ll tell Prosecutor General Kim Young-jun everything! Prosecutor Seo Jin instructed me to…!”
“Go ahead.”
“…!”
Seo Jin set down his chopsticks. With a sinister gaze fixed on the Team Leader, he spoke.
“Then I’ll torment your entire family. Your son who attends an international school costing tens of millions in tuition with embezzled money, your wife draped in luxury brands and driving a Mercedes. I promise you. I’ll reduce you all to beggars.”
“…!”
“If you don’t like that, listen to me until the end. Wag your tail like a dog and bow your head as atonement to my father. If you understand, shut your mouth and eat your meat.”
*
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*
Seo Jin slipped out of the Korean traditional restaurant and brought his phone to his ear.
“We’re starting the rabbit drive. You’re going to have a rough night.”
-Yes, sir!
Do Gwang-hyun’s voice came through clearly.
I slipped my phone into my pocket and recalled Do Gwang-hyun’s words from a few days ago.
“When drawing such a grand picture—one large enough to send the Prosecutor’s father to prison—think about what tool is most essential. There’s one person who’s absolutely crucial. The Audit Team Leader.”
I immediately dug into the Audit Team Leader’s background and uncovered his corruption. And that was enough. The Audit Team Leader bowed his head before me.
I walked briskly toward the car.
Tonight, Prosecutor General Kim Young-jun would make his move.
He would certainly gather all the misconduct he’d accumulated to avoid external audits in one place.
I intended to set that place ablaze.
‘Now….’
The hunt begins.
*
*
*
Prosecutor General Kim Young-jun was in transit by car.
Sitting in the back seat and gazing out the window, Prosecutor General Kim Young-jun pulled out his phone and held it to his ear.
“Secretary Director Lee, I heard there’s an external audit tomorrow. Is that true?”
The person on the other end was Kim Jun-man’s Secretary Director.
-I was just about to contact you after hearing the news myself.
“Who’s behind it?”
-I’m not sure about that. Whether it came from the major shareholders….
Prosecutor General Kim Young-jun’s expression became impassive. His eyes, devoid of any emotion, fixed on the view outside.
‘What is this?’
Even the Secretary Director, like the Audit Team Leader, didn’t know who was orchestrating the external audit. Their identities would be revealed by tomorrow, but something felt off.
‘Could it be him?’
I suspected the shadow standing behind Prosecutor Jang Ji-hyuk. He possessed considerable wealth and knew how to wield power.
‘It’s increasingly likely he targeted Jaejeong Construction to strike at me.’
Prosecutor General Kim Young-jun imagined the worst-case scenario: him digging into Jaejeong Construction’s misconduct only to step on his own shadow. Then he spoke quietly.
“Contact the staff. Tell them to remove anything related to the misconduct right now.”
-…Yes? If there are gaps in the documents, it could invite further suspicion.
“Never mind. I’ll handle that. I’ll provide the location myself. Just hide it for now.”
I didn’t know who was hiding behind Prosecutor Jang Ji-hyuk.
But if someone wielding a blade through a mere prosecutor were to have his true identity exposed, Prosecutor General Kim Young-jun could easily crush him. And that identity would be revealed tomorrow.
“When the external audit comes in, block it first. Confirm who’s behind it. That’s how we can apply pressure.”
-Understood.
The Secretary Director’s voice was filled with trust in Prosecutor General Kim Young-jun. Confidence that no matter what force came, they could stop it if he stood behind them.
After ending the call, Prosecutor General Kim Young-jun gazed out the window again, lost in deep thought.
Now Prosecutor General Kim Young-jun was contemplating an extreme scenario.
What if he failed to stop him? What if Jaejeong Construction were shaken by allegations of embezzlement?
Yet a quiet smile played across Prosecutor General Kim Young-jun’s lips as he imagined that worst-case scenario.
‘If something goes wrong… I could always claim that my brother concealed the evidence.’
Prosecutor General Kim Young-jun intended to use Kim Jun-man as a shield.
‘And if I resolve that situation…’
Once Jaejeong Construction found its footing again with Prosecutor General Kim Young-jun’s help, Kim Jun-man would become even more dependent on him. He would surely be grateful, saying they were brothers with no one else to rely on.
‘Moreover…’
Through this affair, Prosecutor General Kim Young-jun had obtained all of Jaejeong Construction’s misconduct in the palm of his hand.
He could detonate that shell whenever he wished, eliminate Kim Jun-man, and swallow Jaejeong Construction whole.
Prosecutor General Kim Young-jun chuckled softly and placed a cigarette between his lips.
There is no heaven in places of escape. But once you flee hell, heaven is certain to follow.
Prosecutor General Kim Young-jun believed that even the current situation existed for his benefit.
*
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*
Jaejeong Construction.
Burly men were loading various documents into boxes.
“What about this?”
“Pack it. Leave that one out.”
“Right away!”
The CCTV monitoring the office was off. The comings and goings with boxes were recorded nowhere. They were stacked neatly onto the waiting truck.
“But… is this really okay?”
At the Audit Team Leader’s worried voice, the Secretary Director let out a quiet laugh.
“The Prosecutor General said he’d cover for us. It doesn’t matter who comes to audit. If it comes down to it, the Prosecutor’s Office will launch an investigation into them instead. Who could possibly hold out?”
The Secretary Director laughed, but the Audit Team Leader could not. He knew everything happening right now. All of this was unfolding in the palm of Seo Jin’s hand.
“So… where are they taking it?”
“Did you see how much the Prosecutor General trusts people? Obviously, I don’t know either.”
What the Audit Team Leader had been instructed by Seo Jin to do was to discover the truck’s destination and report it.
If he failed, not only he but his family would suffer consequences. Seo Jin’s gaze had been truly murderous.
“You don’t know?”
“I casually asked the truck driver, but he said he absolutely couldn’t tell me.”
The Audit Team Leader bit his lip. There was no way to discover the destination.
Prosecutor General Kim Young-jun trusted no one and intended to handle and verify everything himself.
Whether it was Seo Jin or Kim Young-jun, they were both demons to the Audit Team Leader.
The Audit Team Leader, who had been lost in thought for a moment, turned his body and headed toward the man verifying documents.
These men were not employees of Jaejeong Construction. They were brought by the Secretary Director, who had received instructions from Prosecutor General Kim Young-jun.
“Go have a cigarette. I’ll take care of things here.”
“That’s not necessary.”
“Go on.”
The man glanced at the Audit Team Leader’s expression and nodded.
“Then, I’ll be back in a moment.”
The man vacated his seat, and the Audit Team Leader muttered while staring at the box overflowing with documents.
“What am I even doing…”
The Audit Team Leader tossed his phone into the box. After inserting several more documents, he wrapped tape around the box repeatedly.
*
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*
-The destination was unknown. Instead, I placed a phone with a location tracking app installed. I’ll provide you with real-time location updates.
Seo Jin was reading the Audit Team Leader’s message. But at the same time, another message arrived. This time it was from Do Gwang-hyun.
-The guys are heading out now. I’ve recorded everything on video. I’ll send it to you.
After confirming the video Do Gwang-hyun sent, Seo Jin drew a bitter smile.
There were few men loyal to his father at Jaejeong Construction. They were all taking orders from Prosecutor General Kim Young-jun.
Jaejeong Construction was a place his father had built through blood and sweat. Yet all the profits were flowing into Prosecutor General Kim Young-jun’s pockets.
Those who had betrayed his father—who had suffered alongside him—and attached themselves to Prosecutor General Kim Young-jun, those who embodied greed and the corruption of power. Seo Jin rose slowly to his feet.
Now it was time to show them the consequences of their greed.
“Let’s go.”
Seo Jin spoke into the darkness.
A shadow within the darkness shifted its form.
*
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*
The truck that departed from Jaejeong Construction changed drivers twice. It stopped midway, another driver took over, and the process repeated once more.
It was to thoroughly conceal the trail.
The destination was a massive warehouse in Yangju, Gyeonggi Province.
The truck entered the warehouse without unloading its cargo. Once inside, it was the same—nothing was unloaded. The drivers even exited the truck and slipped out of the warehouse entirely.
Shortly after, Prosecutor General Kim Young-jun’s car pulled in. He stepped out with an indifferent gaze and trudged steadily toward the warehouse.
Upon entering, Prosecutor General Kim Young-jun nodded as he observed three parked trucks.
‘Now…’
Prosecutor General Kim Young-jun thought it was time to confirm the face of the man standing behind Prosecutor Jang Ji-hyuk. He was certain that man was the orchestrator of the external audit.
‘By tomorrow, I’ll know who that bastard is.’
Once he identified the target, crushing him would be simple. He would use every ounce of power the Prosecutor General’s Office possessed to drag him through hell.
Prosecutor General Kim Young-jun slowly pulled out his phone and called the Secretary Director of Jaejeong Construction.
“Good work. Tomorrow, act exactly as I told you. When the external auditors arrive, don’t listen to whatever they say—block them. And…”
Prosecutor General Kim Young-jun was issuing various instructions to the Secretary Director.
Screeeech.
The sound of the warehouse door opening echoed.
Prosecutor General Kim Young-jun’s eyes hardened.
No one should be here. This place was supposed to be where Prosecutor General Kim Young-jun remained alone.
Prosecutor General Kim Young-jun slowly turned his body to look behind him.
His eyes widened, and the light within them wavered.
“…Brother.”
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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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