Prosecutor Kim Seo-Jin - Chapter 232

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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 Crash (4)
I met Chairman Eom’s sharp gaze without flinching, and he offered no response. He simply sipped his tea. After a stretch of heavy silence, Chairman Eom’s lips finally moved.
“…Give me a little time.”
Chairman Eom wasn’t one to rush to judgment. The young man before him was inexperienced. He couldn’t launch an all-out war against Prosecutor General Kim Young-jun—a man as cunning as a viper—based solely on what this boy had to say.
I read Chairman Eom’s thoughts. But I didn’t push further.
Chairman Eom had lived a life steeped in suspicion. Once I’d planted seeds of distrust, he could never truly stand alongside Prosecutor General Kim Young-jun again.
I gripped the teacup and spoke.
“I’ll give you one day.”
My audacious tone made Chairman Eom’s eyes narrow with displeasure.
“One day?”
“Yes.”
Chairman Eom’s lips twisted. He’d never heard such words before.
Everyone else waited endlessly for Chairman Eom’s response. If he didn’t answer, the world’s rule was to wait for months. That was simply how things worked.
But I was different. I was the one setting the deadline.
“You know as well as I do. Prosecutor General Kim Young-jun is a man who acts on his thoughts immediately. That’s why I don’t have time to wait for your decision.”
“…And if I don’t follow your wishes?”
“Then I’ll cling to Prosecutor General Kim Young-jun like a bat.”
“What?”
Chairman Eom’s eyes filled with confusion. I’d sat down here claiming I would take down Prosecutor General Kim Young-jun. Yet now I was suddenly saying I’d stand beside him?
“You said your father and Kim Young-jun had parted ways, didn’t you? But now you’re saying you’ll stand beside Kim Young-jun? Do you think he’d accept that?”
“Prosecutor General Kim Young-jun joined hands with Congressman Baek Ki-ho, who was once his bitter rival.”
Prosecutor General Kim Young-jun was a man who would work with anyone if it benefited him.
Chairman Eom knew this fact well.
“If your decision is lukewarm, Chairman, then my choice becomes inevitable. If your power ever tilts toward Prosecutor General Kim Young-jun, well… that would be quite overwhelming.”
I was saying I’d nip the budding threat in the bud.
Chairman Eom’s grip tightened around the teacup.
To Chairman Eom, I was just a young upstart. At best, a rising prosecutor. Yet I had to acknowledge one fact: I was a star.
My words carried weight. If someone like me sided with Prosecutor General Kim Young-jun, it would become a considerable headache.
Chairman Eom suppressed his anger and tried to dissuade me.
“Don’t you know? Kim Young-jun will stab you in the back eventually.”
I chuckled and shook my head.
“I’m sitting right here in front of you being insolent. If I were thinking about the future, I couldn’t do something like this.”
“So… you’re saying you’ll join hands with Kim Young-jun and come after me?”
“How many times will you ask? If I’m scared, stop counting and join hands with me.”
“You….”
Chairman Eom’s voice couldn’t continue. I cut off his words and slowly rose to my feet. My bearing was audacious, but Chairman Eom said nothing.
He simply kept his lips pressed shut, glaring at me.
I bowed slightly to Chairman Eom, then straightened. Turning to regard the men surrounding us, I opened my mouth.
“If… what’s said in this room reaches Prosecutor General Kim Young-jun’s ears, it’ll be one of you.”
The men shot me vicious looks at my accusatory tone. But their opponent was me. I didn’t flinch under their gaze.
Instead, I met their gaze with contempt and spoke quietly.
“I hope that never happens. Because I’ll chew you down to the bone.”
Chairman Um received those words.
“Don’t worry about that. If it does happen, I’ll kill everyone in this room.”
“In that case, I’ll declare you not guilty.”
With that, I brushed past the men and tried to leave. Chairman Um hadn’t even given me permission to go, yet I was acting on my own.
One of the men tried to block me.
“Chairman, your words aren’t finished yet….”
“Move.”
The man flinched at my gaze and twisted his body aside.
I left that place.
But Chairman Um remained seated.
Rigid as stone, staring into empty space.
Chairman Um was calculating which was the lesser loss—Prosecutor General Kim Young-jun or Seo Jin.
If he kept Prosecutor General Kim Young-jun alive, there was a chance all his assets would fall into that bastard’s hands.
‘But….’
Prosecutor General Kim Young-jun was a rising sun right now. Many powerful figures were bowing before him. It was difficult to touch him carelessly.
For now, supporting Kim Young-jun’s hand and secretly moving all his assets away was the priority.
‘Yet….’
Chairman Um was hesitating.
That instinct honed from living in hell for so many years was screaming.
To follow Seo Jin’s words.
That it was a way to breathe a little easier.
Chairman Um was afraid of Seo Jin. It was an instinct without reason.
‘What on earth is this….’
Then the Secretary approached Chairman Um again.
“Prosecutor General Kim Young-jun is calling.”
Chairman Um’s eyes, which had been wavering until now, hardened with resolve. The moment of decision could not wait another day.
“Tell him I’m sleeping.”
*
*
*
Leaving Chairman Um’s residence, I headed home.
The lights in the living room were brightly on.
Peeking into the living room, I saw Father sitting alone, gazing out the window.
On the living room table sat only a bottle of soju.
There was no comfort I could offer right now.
I tried to quietly enter my room.
That was when it happened.
“Son.”
My father’s voice made me stop in my tracks.
“Let’s have a drink.”
I entered the living room and sat across from my father.
My father said nothing at first.
He simply poured soju into a glass and set it before me.
I didn’t refuse. I took the glass and brought it to my lips.
Then my father spoke.
“Until the day I die… I must live like this with Jin-young.”
“Yes.”
I picked up the bottle and refilled my father’s glass.
My father brought the glass to his lips before asking.
“How did you know?”
I had planned the external audit, and I was the one who brought him to that warehouse today.
I had stripped away the facade of Kim Young-jun in front of my father.
My father was asking how I had discovered the truth.
But I couldn’t tell him the real answer.
I opened my mouth with a bitter expression.
“There were rumors circulating in the Prosecutor’s Office. So I just decided to verify them.”
“I see…”
My father drank several more glasses. There was silence the entire time. Then he set down his glass with a sharp clink and spoke.
“Your grandfather and grandmother always told me to get along with my younger brother. That he would be my only blood relative. And if my brother ever strayed down the wrong path, I should stop him even if it meant using force.”
“…”
“Seo Jin… I’m sorry. This father of yours must raise his hand against your uncle.”
My father let out a heavy sigh. The pure younger brother Kim Young-jun he once remembered no longer existed. All I could see now was a monster that devoured even family for the sake of greed.
And my father was preparing to wield the rod to set that monster straight.
I watched my father in silence.
If my father fought Kim Young-jun, it could literally become self-destruction.
The crimes Kim Young-jun had committed could very well fall upon my father’s shoulders.
“If I stay quiet thinking that no news is good news… the damage could reach you as well.”
“…”
“Things will be difficult for a while. Still, I hope you can endure this and trust your father.”
My father was already anticipating it. That I would suffer the most damage after him.
I worked in the same field as Kim Young-jun.
Everyone in that small world knew that my uncle was Kim Young-jun.
I might face harsh scrutiny.
But I nodded calmly.
I had already anticipated the damage I would suffer. And I had already thought of a way to resolve the damage my father would face.
But it had to be resolved now.
If we left the infection untreated because lancing it was painful, it would only lead to greater suffering.
It had to be done now.
“I’m fine. Please go ahead.”
“Thank you for understanding.”
I slowly turned my gaze toward the window outside.
My face reflected in the dark glass.
*
*
*
The next day.
The Supreme Prosecutors’ Office conference room.
The spacious hall was filled with prosecutors holding key positions at the Supreme Prosecutors’ Office, along with Prosecutors General from each region.
The silence was suffocating. Every person’s eyes were fixed on Kim Young-jun, yet the Prosecutor General seated at the head of the table spoke not a word, merely turning through the documents in his hands with deliberate slowness.
Then Kim Young-jun opened his mouth as if in passing.
“Have you ever seen me break a promise?”
At the abrupt question, they exchanged cautious glances.
Kim Young-jun asked again.
“Is there anything I’ve failed to keep my word on?”
“No, sir!”
The prosecutors answered in unison.
Having received the answer he desired, Kim Young-jun pressed his palms against the table and rose slowly. His gaze swept across every face in the room as his voice grew heavy.
“In Daegu, Busan, Suwon, and Jeonju… we’ve met in every corner of this land. We worked through the nights to catch the wicked, and in our joy, we drank until dawn. Sometimes I miss those days.”
Kim Young-jun tapped the table rhythmically with his fingers as he continued.
“Now I’m leaving those memories behind and walking a new path. That’s why I’m gradually stepping down from this position.”
“…!”
“I will pass this seat to one of you. And after that, and after that, the next masters of this position will emerge from among you. Of course, not everyone can sit here. But those who don’t, don’t worry. I have no intention of treating you poorly.”
The prosecutors’ eyes narrowed.
Kim Young-jun’s words sounded exactly like a retirement announcement.
And his voice came through with a resounding weight.
“I am supporting Baek Ki-ho.”
“…!”
“When Baek Ki-ho becomes president, I will serve as Minister of Justice before moving to the National Assembly. I’ll be separated from you for a time. But my next destination… I wish to share it with you.”
The next destination was obvious. From the National Assembly, the natural move would be to the Blue House.
Everyone exhaled a tense breath.
Kim Young-jun’s gaze settled on one person.
“Ji-hwan, you said you wanted to become a congressman, didn’t you?”
“Sir?”
“I’ll put you forward for nomination.”
The prosecutor whose name was called hastily rose to his feet and bowed deeply.
“Th-thank you so much!”
“Don’t thank me. It’s not a particularly good position.”
“S-still, thank you!”
Receiving the nomination from a major opposition party was no simple feat. The prosecutor bowed his head, and Kim Young-jun’s gaze shifted.
“Hyung-wook, just let the Prosecutor General position go this once. Soon-wook has more seniority than you, after all.”
The prosecutor called Hyung-wook laughed awkwardly with an embarrassed expression.
“I can wait. Haha.”
Kim Young-jun smiled faintly and moved his eyes away.
“Jin-soo, I’ve already contacted S Law Firm. After the presidential election ends, submit your resignation and leave. You’ll be able to command a salary befitting a Supreme Court Justice.”
“I-I’m so grateful!”
Kim Young-jun walked toward the window with his hands clasped behind his back.
“All of this is only possible if Baek Ki-ho becomes president. That’s why I intend to make Baek Ki-ho president for all of you.”
“…!”
It meant he would target the Ruling Party and move forward.
“For the next few months, the Ruling Party will suppress us and the media will turn their blades against us. We don’t know what will happen. It will be difficult. But we… let’s endure just a few more months.”
“….”
“And then, let’s gather together again and drink through the night!”
At Kim Young-jun’s powerful voice, the prosecutors shouted in unison once more.
“Yes!”
A smile played at the corners of Kim Young-jun’s mouth.
The preparations were complete.
The goose that laid the golden egg—Jaejeong Construction—weighed on my mind, but time would resolve that.
But then it happened.
The phone in my pocket vibrated.
Kim Young-jun checked the caller ID and tilted his head in confusion.
‘The Blue House?’
It was the Presidential Chief Secretary.
Kim Young-jun brought the phone to his ear.
“Go ahead.”
-There’s… a problem that’s come up.
“A problem?”
-It seems you’ll need to make another statement….
*
*
*
At the same moment, the Blue House.
The Presidential Chief Secretary held his phone to his ear, looking ahead.
Three trucks were pulling up in front of the Secretary.
The trucks stopped before the Secretary, and Seo Jin stepped down from the passenger seat.
Seo Jin bowed toward the Secretary and moved to the cargo bed of the truck, throwing open the closed doors wide.
Stacks of documents were revealed.
The Secretary watching smiled faintly and spoke.
“Quite a haul.”

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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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