Prosecutor Kim Seo-Jin - Chapter 236

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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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Cutting Throats (2)
“Yes, I promise.”
But Eom Si-young didn’t answer immediately. She simply regarded me with quiet eyes. Her gaze spoke volumes.
-I cannot trust promises made with words alone. Show me something I can believe in.
I smiled quietly.
“Kim Young-jun’s Wife… You have no time to wonder whether the rope I’m offering is sound or rotten. Just grab it. Does it matter if it’s rotten? There’s no bottom left to fall through.”
“…!”
“But if Kim Young-jun moves, everything changes. You’ll discover there’s a basement beneath the bottom.”
Eom Si-young’s lips tightened.
Prosecutor General Kim Young-jun knows Kim Yun-hwan isn’t his biological son. He’ll certainly push Kim Yun-hwan into hell to ensure his own success. And he’ll say the same thing he always does.
-Because he’s family, he must receive even harsher punishment. When my son eventually leaves prison after paying for his crimes, I will go to the prison gates and embrace him warmly. I will wait for that day.
An opportunity to inflict severe punishment on Kim Yun-hwan, who has deceived him his entire life, while earning public acclaim. Prosecutor General Kim Young-jun won’t miss it.
The Prosecutor General Kim Young-jun that Eom Si-young had observed was a cruel beast who would stop at nothing—no matter how vile the means—if it served his survival and profit.
To escape such a horrifying future, she had to take my hand now.
“That’s right. It was him.”
“…!”
“Your stepfather tried to kill you.”
Eom Si-young’s voice was matter-of-fact. And my expression, hearing those words, was equally composed.
It no longer surprised me. I was merely curious how far the rot extended in this beast wearing human skin, how thoroughly blackened and putrid his insides had become.
But I couldn’t stop my clenched fists from trembling slightly.
“… What was the reason?”
“The reason?”
“He’s your nephew. Your brother’s son. Yet he tried to kill you—there must have been a compelling reason for that.”
I considered it. When Prosecutor General Kim Young-jun tried to kill me, there had to have been a reason. The original Seo Jin must have seized his weakness and shaken it.
‘If I knew what that was….’
I could certainly cut Prosecutor General Kim Young-jun’s throat.
And Eom Si-young’s eyes narrowed slightly. She tilted her gaze as if lost in old memories, then after a moment, shook her head.
“I don’t know. That you were being killed was just something I heard in passing.”
“….”
I nodded slowly.
I came here seeking the truth and made Kim Yun-hwan a bargaining chip, but the truth I received was lukewarm.
‘Time….’
If I had enough time, I would have been satisfied with what I obtained now.
But the presidential election was approaching. Baek Ki-ho’s approval ratings continued to soar. If things proceeded as they were, he would go straight to the Blue House, and everything I had planned would crumble.
The worst-case scenario was approaching—I would have to postpone the moment of capturing Prosecutor General Kim Young-jun by five years, perhaps even ten.
“Thank you.”
I bowed to Eom Si-young and was rising to my feet when she spoke.
“One thing… I do remember. I’m not sure if it’s a clue, but….”
“Please, tell me anything.”
“Back then… before that accident… you said you were going to Wonju.”
“Wonju?”
“Yes, he said he’d tour his father’s hometown. Anyway, that kid who said he was going on a trip fell from a Seoul apartment—that’s when we heard about it.”
Wonju was the hometown of Kim Jun-man and Kim Young-jun. Born as sons of rural farmers, the two received land compensation after their parents passed away and moved to Seoul.
Kim Jun-man occasionally visited his hometown to tend to his parents’ graves, but Prosecutor General Kim Young-jun hadn’t set foot there in over a decade.
‘Not even once….’
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“Why doesn’t Uncle ever go back to his hometown?”
After arriving home, Seo Jin sought out his father Kim Jun-man and asked. Kim Jun-man, who had been sitting in the living room gazing at the Han River, turned his gaze toward Seo Jin.
“Hm?”
“Chuseok is coming up, and I was just curious.”
Kim Jun-man answered as if it were nothing significant.
“I couldn’t go because I was busy. You don’t come home much either, do you? It was worse back then. Working until 4 or 5 in the morning, no weekends off. Coming home completely exhausted every single day—how could I ask someone like that to go tend to graves?”
Seo Jin sat down across from Kim Jun-man and continued his questioning.
“Grandfather and Grandmother passed away, and you said you received land compensation to move to Seoul, right?”
“…And?”
“Was there protesting and things like that over the land compensation issue back then?”
“Why are you suddenly asking about that?”
“I’m curious. Some memories are coming back to me….”
At the mention of returning memories, Kim Jun-man’s movements halted abruptly. He looked at Seo Jin with a pleased expression.
“What memories? Tell me. Which ones?”
“You said I was going to Wonju before I fell. That’s all I remember. So I became curious.”
Kim Jun-man stroked his chin and nodded.
“Land compensation…. Yes, we protested. It was the farmers’ only means of livelihood, but they said they’d build a golf course there, construct apartments.”
The problem was that over 60% of the owners were outsiders.
They were politicians and wealthy individuals.
They bought the land for pennies and inflated its value under the guise of development.
They supported national projects, while the blood and sweat shed by the remaining 40% of farmers were dismissed with the words, “What’s a few won worth anyway?”
“We were sued for obstruction of business. That was the law.”
Exhausted from the long struggle, the farmers sold their land and left. Thus, land owned by outsiders exceeded 80%. The remaining 20% of farmers—their voices were growing smaller.
“But your grandmother and grandfather held out to the end. They led the way and tried to protect their home.”
Then they were murdered, so they say. They were definitely murdered, but the perpetrator was never found, and the incident was recorded as an accident.
The law did not protect them.
“That’s why Young-jun studied law. He said the law should exist for the weak.”
Kim Jun-man’s expression turned bitter.
He was recalling Prosecutor General Kim Young-jun’s pure former self.
“That guy who said he’d fight for the weak….”
Kim Jun-man clicked his tongue and shook his head.
It was only bitter to see Prosecutor General Kim Young-jun become a greedy monster devouring the world.
But Seo Jin pressed further with his questions.
“Grandfather, did you receive compensation after Grandmother passed away?”
“Yes….”
“How much?”
Kim Jun-man studied Seo Jin’s face intently, as if wondering why he would ask such a thing. Yet he answered without evasion.
“Thirty million won.”
This was when apartments in Gangnam, Seoul, were selling for roughly 800,000 won per square meter. At that time, it was no small sum—in fact, it was a considerable fortune.
“Grandfather, that was the consolation money combined with compensation for Grandmother’s life. It’s shameful to admit, but we accepted it.”
The two brothers who came up to Seoul didn’t squander the money. Anxious about an uncertain future, they deposited it in savings and moved from one rented room to another. Kim Jun-man gained experience during this period, while Kim Young-jun studied and became a prosecutor.
Looking at it this far, there seemed to be no problem.
But Seo Jin found two things troubling.
First of all.
-Why wouldn’t Prosecutor General Kim Young-jun return to his hometown?
Wonju wasn’t far away. He could go whenever he wished.
When Seo Jin was in Chuncheon, Prosecutor General Kim Young-jun had made the trip down once, carving out time from his schedule.
Wonju and Chuncheon were roughly the same distance from Seoul.
And the second question.
-Why had the original Seo Jin tried to go there, and what reason could Prosecutor General Kim Young-jun have had for trying to kill him?
A hollow laugh escaped Seo Jin’s lips.
Suspicions circled endlessly through his mind. Unpleasant scenarios—ones he didn’t even want to imagine—kept surfacing.
If his suspicion was correct, Kim Young-jun was nothing but human garbage.
But there was nothing he could confirm yet. He needed to move and investigate directly.
Seo Jin’s eyes gleamed with sharp intensity.
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“It seems like he’s made a firm agreement with Representative Baek Ki-ho. During the remaining time, they’ll build up the Prosecutor General’s image….”
A few days later, at a Korean Traditional Restaurant. Seo Jin was meeting with Chief Prosecutor Jo Woo-jae during lunch hour.
Chief Prosecutor Jo Woo-jae stayed close to Prosecutor General Kim Young-jun, ostensibly investigating Jaejeong Construction while observing his every move.
Even for someone like Prosecutor General Kim Young-jun, he hadn’t anticipated that a chief prosecutor would be so eager before Seo Jin.
Moreover, Prosecutor General Kim Young-jun looked down on Chief Prosecutor Jo Woo-jae. He believed the Ruling Party’s faction wouldn’t even glance at Chief Prosecutor Jo Woo-jae.
That’s why Prosecutor General Kim Young-jun intended to use Chief Prosecutor Jo Woo-jae—completely unaware that the leash around Jo Woo-jae’s neck was held firmly in Seo Jin’s hands.
Seo Jin spoke while moving his chopsticks.
“There’s something I’d like you to casually mention to the Prosecutor General.”
“What?”
“Tell him that Prosecutor Jang Ji-hyuk is going to Wonju.”
“…Wonju? Just that alone?”
“Yes, just drop it like a passing remark. If my suspicion is correct, the Prosecutor General won’t let that slip by.”
Chief Prosecutor Jo Woo-jae looked at Seo Jin with eyes full of incomprehension. But that was all. He didn’t ask further. Chief Prosecutor Jo Woo-jae had learned something from his position beneath Prosecutor General Kim Young-jun: don’t ask questions about what you’re told to do—just do it.
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After parting ways with me, Chief Prosecutor Jo Woo-jae immediately sought out Prosecutor General Kim Young-jun.
After delivering various reports about Jaejeong Construction based on the materials I had provided, Chief Prosecutor Jo Woo-jae, who had been holding his teacup to his lips, suddenly broke the silence with an abrupt comment.
“Ah… I hear Prosecutor Jang Ji-hyuk is heading to Wonju? Since he’s being exiled to Gangwon Province, he wants to scout it out beforehand, I suppose? If that were the case, he’d go to Dongnam County, so why Wonju? That guy’s really strange, isn’t he?”
Chief Prosecutor Jo Woo-jae tossed out the remark as if joking, while stealing a glance at Prosecutor General Kim Young-jun’s expression.
According to what I had told him, there should have been some reaction. But Prosecutor General Kim Young-jun’s expression remained dry. He seemed to let the words go in one ear and out the other, as if uninterested. He simply answered without concern.
“Is that so?”
“Yes.”
Chief Prosecutor Jo Woo-jae set down his teacup and narrowed his eyes slightly.
‘What? That’s nothing special?’
Chief Prosecutor Jo Woo-jae considered probing once more but decided against it. He simply closed his mouth quietly. But then, it happened.
“When?”
“Pardon?”
“Prosecutor Jang Ji-hyuk. When is he supposed to go to Wonju?”
Chief Prosecutor Jo Woo-jae’s eyes sharpened with intensity. Whatever it was, the fact that Prosecutor General Kim Young-jun had responded this way clearly meant something was about to happen.
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And at that very moment.
I entered Prosecutor Jang Ji-hyuk’s office.
“What are you trying to make me do now?”
Prosecutor Jang Ji-hyuk immediately grew wary upon seeing me. I shrugged my shoulders and placed a note on his desk. An address was written on it.
“You’ve been busy lately. Why don’t you take a day trip somewhere?”
Prosecutor Jang Ji-hyuk knew well that I wasn’t the type to send someone on a trip without reason.
“Wonju? Why Wonju all of a sudden? Don’t talk nonsense about pointless trips—just tell me what this is really about.”
“Well, I can’t be certain of anything myself, so it’s difficult to explain. But… it will definitely be dangerous.”
“Quite the adventurous trip, then.”
“You might even get to experience being buried in the ground.”
If my suspicions were correct, Prosecutor General Kim Young-jun would mobilize every means at his disposal to kill Prosecutor Jang Ji-hyuk.
Prosecutor General Kim Young-jun was someone who had even tried to kill me, his own nephew. He would have no hesitation in killing Prosecutor Jang Ji-hyuk.
Prosecutor Jang Ji-hyuk chuckled softly.
“This is related to the Prosecutor General, isn’t it? Give me about twenty men. I don’t want to be buried and die in the mountains.”
Watching Prosecutor Jang Ji-hyuk remain composed even after hearing the warning of danger, I smiled slightly.
A man who became a prosecutor to catch bad guys, a man who didn’t want to do shameful things—I liked that such a man was a prosecutor. I couldn’t let such a man die.
“You absolutely won’t die.”
At my words, Prosecutor Jang Ji-hyuk waved the note and asked.
“Fine then. So when should I go?”

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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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