Prosecutor Kim Seo-Jin - Chapter 24

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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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A Friend (8)
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“So Wi Jun-sang was keeping a record of his allowance payments?”
“Yes.”
Seo Jin relayed to Eom Il-seop what he had found on Wi Jun-sang’s hard drive.
Dates, amounts, and the corresponding banks.
After hearing everything, Eom Il-seop’s expression darkened considerably as he lit a cigarette.
His lips trembled with barely contained rage.
“That bastard….”
The general election was only weeks away.
If it came to light that he’d accepted bribes from a local councilman, his party nomination would be finished.
Even if he somehow secured the nomination, it would still be catastrophic.
The opposing party would tear him to shreds.
In other words, everything would collapse.
Eom Il-seop’s eyes, burning with fury, slowly turned toward Seo Jin.
“Who else knows about this?”
“No one.”
“No one?”
“If anyone did, the Prosecutor’s Office would have contacted me. They wouldn’t come in person.”
Eom Il-seop chuckled and tapped ash from his cigarette before speaking.
“You’re sharp. So, what do you want? The prosecutors in Dongnam County have been wanting transfers elsewhere. Is that what you’re after? If so, I can….”
“I’ll send you to Seoul.”
“Yes, I’ll send you there.”
“No. I’ll send you to Seoul.”
Eom Il-seop’s movements froze.
Now he understood what was being said.
“…You’re sending me?”
“Yes.”
Eom Il-seop let out a short laugh.
“Stop joking around and tell me what you actually want.”
“Will you be staying in Dongnam County?”
“Listen here.”
“I’ll send you to Seoul.”
Eom Il-seop’s eyes turned vicious.
He had found it endearing when this green kid grabbed onto one small detail and acted cocky.
But this had crossed the line.
It wasn’t just bold anymore—it was insolent.
“You’re overstepping your bounds right now.”
His voice was low, but the atmosphere was vicious.
Seo Jin had just touched Eom Il-seop’s reverse scale.
Though he carried himself as a congressman, he was a fringe player—a four-year contract worker who could be ground away at any moment.
So when this young upstart appeared and started invoking Seoul, it sounded like mockery.
That’s why he glared with eyes that promised to tear him apart if he pushed any further, speaking through gritted teeth.
“Stop messing around.”
But Seo Jin remained unchanged.
He opened his mouth leisurely.
“Go to the center.”
At the same moment, Eom Il-seop’s voice exploded like thunder.
“How dare you!”
“Congressman Cho Seon-bong, representing Songpa District in Seoul. A four-term representative known as the patriarch of that region. Did you know his son is a genius?”
“…What? S-Songpa District? Cho Seon-bong?”
“That son is a manufactured genius—a monster created by his father’s excessive ambition. If you take down that monster, that district will become yours.”
Eom Il-seop swallowed dryly without realizing it, and in that moment, Seo Jin pulled documents from his bag and placed them on the table.
Eom Il-seop’s eyes, which had been glaring at Seo Jin until now, slowly shifted toward the documents.
“What is this?”
When Seo Jin was prosecutor Seo Jun-kyung, his investigation targets were always the powerful.
And these documents were among those he had investigated back then.
Looking at them, bittersweet memories surfaced.
Back when I was overflowing with zeal, when I viewed the world through law, Article 11 of the Republic of Korea’s Constitution stated this:
-All citizens are equal before the law.
But the Constitution that Seo Jin feels now is different.
This world is now an animal farm.
Some people exist ‘above’ the law.
There was nothing a mere prosecutor could resolve, and I was ultimately murdered, disguised as suicide.
But things will be different now.
Seo Jin knows better than anyone that Seo Jun-kyung’s righteous actions didn’t work.
So now I intend to act in a different way.
The first step is to lob a shell into Cho Seon-bong’s mouth through Eom Il-seop.
“Read it.”
At Seo Jin’s dry voice, Eom Il-seop turned the documents with sluggish movements.
And Seo Jin continued.
“He wrote a paper on biotechnology in high school and entered university through the admissions officer system. But his math grades were terrible. He received a military exemption for a herniated disc. Yet if you look at his social media, core exercises are his hobby. Finally, in his fourth year of university, he passed the public recruitment for TL Group’s new drug division. But his university GPA was 2.8, he’s never taken an English certification exam, and he only has a handful of computer certificates. Isn’t that strange? Even someone with a doctorate degree would struggle to get in there, yet a undergraduate with a 2.8 GPA… A genius.”
Eom Il-seop lifted his head and looked at Seo Jin.
His pupils were trembling.
“How did you…investigate this?”
“What matters isn’t how it was investigated. What matters is that Congressman Cho Seon-bong’s influence is behind all of it. There are circumstances and evidence.”
As Eom Il-seop licked his dry lips, Seo Jin leaned toward him and continued speaking.
“When this breaks, Congressman Cho Seon-bong won’t run in the general election. Then the replacement will be Lee Sang-ju—Congressman Cho Seon-bong’s aide, someone with high ambition. But he has little recognition. He’s just a figure manipulated by the party.”
A sigh laden with contemplation escaped Eom Il-seop’s lips, trailing wisps of cigarette smoke.
“I expose it myself?”
“That way, your name will become known, sir.”
“And I secure a seat in that district?”
“Yes, though you’ll need to change your party affiliation. If you had loyalty, it might be different, but otherwise, move to the Hanmin Party. In Songpa District, your current party won’t work at all.”
Eom Il-seop’s eyes rolled without a verbal response.
“The Hanmin Party, huh….”
The current Korean republic has three major political parties.
The Daehan Party, the Hanmin Party, and the Minguk Party.
The Hanmin Party currently holds power.
In any case, switching to the Hanmin Party and receiving their nomination for Songpa District shouldn’t be difficult.
That region is considered Cho Seon-bong’s backyard—both the Daehan Party and Hanmin Party view it as treacherous terrain.
Anyone who runs there can receive the nomination without competition.
The problem comes after that.
We can crush Cho Seon-bong, but….
“That district is also the Minguk Party’s stronghold. There’s a saying that even a puppy wearing a Minguk Party jacket would win.”
“Lee Sang-ju, who would emerge as Cho Seon-bong’s replacement, isn’t exactly a clean man either.”
“Don’t tell me you’ve already investigated Lee Sang-ju as well?”
“I’ll present them to you one by one.”
Seo Jin smiled faintly, and Eom Il-seop began chuckling to himself.
“This is fun, truly fun. I found myself captivated by your words without realizing it. But… let me think about it.”
The deliberation wouldn’t last long.
The narcotic of possibility had already burrowed into Eom Il-seop’s mind.
-Live as a minor player until death, or take a chance?
-Victory in treacherous terrain means instant ascension to the mainstream.
-I can see that possibility, so what should I do?
That’s why Seo Jin didn’t push further and stopped here.
Now he needed to make it seem like his own decision.
Eom Il-seop stubbed out his cigarette and opened his mouth.
“So, what is it you want from me?”
“Nothing yet, sir.”
But what Seo Jin wanted had already begun.
I was pretending to give wings to Eom Il-seop, a congressman from Dongnam County with no power, while wrapping strings around him like a marionette puppet.
Eom Il-seop would gradually be tamed and move according to my desires.
“Then I’ll see you next time.”
Seo Jin stood and bowed respectfully.
As he turned to leave, Eom Il-seop’s voice reached him.
“Wait, what would you like me to do with Wi Jun-sang? I’d like to give him to you as a gift.”
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“Who?”
It was a raw fish restaurant frequently used for formal meetings.
Park Sang-young and Wi Jun-sang were drinking at a table overlooking the sea.
Wi Jun-sang refilled Park Sang-young’s glass and asked again.
“Who? Who got arrested?”
“Well… there’s this idiot named Ji Dong-min. He was running his mouth about becoming my lawyer and all that nonsense, and it looks like he got caught.”
Wi Jun-sang rolled his eyes and brought the glass to his lips.
“So what’s the problem? You did clean everything up, right?”
“Have you been in business for just a day or two? Construction site dust disappears the moment you spray water on it. And why are you worried, sir? If anything goes wrong, I’m the one who gets caught alone.”
Wi Jun-sang chuckled, and Park Sang-young continued.
“The money that went into your pocket has all been laundered anyway. So why worry so much? Anyone watching would think you’re a coward.”
“I told you. A prosecutor came by a few days ago, and… that guy’s eyes made me uneasy.”
“Ha, you’re just spooked. You need to calm your nerves. Let’s eat this and I’ll take you somewhere nice.”
“No, no. We need to be careful right now.”
“Come on, not this again. I’m telling you, everything’s been taken care of. As long as you keep your mouth shut, even the Prosecutor’s Office’s grandfather couldn’t do anything about it. This country requires evidence, after all.”
“Really?”
“So let’s drink to that.”
Wi Jun-sang and Park Sang-young grinned wickedly and clinked their glasses together.
As they drank, Wi Jun-sang’s phone vibrated.
Wi Jun-sang stared at his phone for a moment, then quickly brought it to his ear.
“Yes, sir!”
It was a call from Eom Il-seop.
-Where are you?
“I’m having a drink by the sea right now. That Park Sang-young I mentioned before, the construction…”
-Jun-sang.
It took only a few seconds to realize something was wrong with Eom Il-seop’s voice.
Wi Jun-sang’s eyes darted back and forth.
“Yes, sir. What is it?”
-Never mind anyone else. I’m at the Dongnam County office right now. Come here. I want to see your face.
“Ah, yes.”
Wi Jun-sang ended the call and turned to Park Sang-young.
“Looks like we’ll have to save that nice place for another time.”
“Eom Il-seop? Wasn’t he supposed to introduce us?”
“He seems to be in a bad mood. His voice sounded hoarse. I wonder what’s wrong.”
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“Come closer.”
It was Eom Il-seop’s office.
As Wi Jun-sang, who had just arrived, stood awkwardly, Eom Il-seop waved his hand.
“I’ve had a bit to drink….”
“Never mind.”
Wi Jun-sang carefully positioned himself in front of the desk.
Then Eom Il-seop lit a cigarette and opened his mouth.
“Jun-sang, do you keep a diary?”
“Pardon? What do you mean by…?”
“There’s been a rumor spreading through the Prosecutor’s Office that my name is written in your diary?”
Wi Jun-sang felt a wave of dizziness wash over him as his eyes snapped shut.
He understood what this was about.
“Sir….”
“Let’s end this with you.”
Eom Il-seop’s voice was businesslike.
Wi Jun-sang dropped to his knees in desperation, his voice piercing like a scream.
“Please spare me!”
“Go confess to the Prosecutor’s Office that you took bribes from that Park Sang-young bastard.”
“Sir!”
Wi Jun-sang’s voice was desperate.
But Eom Il-seop remained unmoved.
“Jun-sang….”
“Sir! Please, please!”
Eom Il-seop threw a stack of documents from his desk toward Wi Jun-sang.
“Read it.”
Wi Jun-sang frantically unfolded the documents.
Every misconduct Wi Jun-sang had committed was meticulously recorded.
He had embezzled regional startup support funds and fishing village development funds under his children’s and brother-in-law’s names.
That wasn’t enough—he’d even engaged in speculation using insider information.
His assets had increased by 700 million won over two years. How much had he pocketed?
Wi Jun-sang’s eyes widened in shock.
“How did you…?”
“Once you’re in politics, there’s no one you can trust. So I kept an eye on what you were doing. Should I expose all of it? Or would you rather grab that Park Sang-young bastard by the collar and drag him to the Prosecutor’s Office?”
“Just this once, please! I’m sorry! I was wrong! This will never happen again, I swear! So please! Please!”
Wi Jun-sang crawled across the floor on his hands and knees toward Eom Il-seop.
Then.
“Jun-sang… you should at least see your daughter get married, shouldn’t you?”
Wi Jun-sang’s movements came to an abrupt halt.
He lifted his head and stared at Eom Il-seop with a pallid face.
“My daughter?”
Eom Il-seop slowly approached, knelt down, and met Wi Jun-sang’s gaze directly.
Then he tapped Wi Jun-sang’s shoulder lightly and spoke in a measured tone.
“…Or would you rather rot in prison for ten years?”
“…!”
“Jun-sang, even a dog you raise won’t bite its owner. Yet you’re keeping records of my name? I want to erase you, but I’m holding back. So confess and turn yourself in. I’ll end it there.”
Representative Wi Jun-sang had lived like a king.
He had harassed women, tormented civil servants, accepted bribes, and wielded his power without restraint.
But it was all over now.
Representative Wi Jun-sang hung his head low.
“I-I will confess.”
“The Prosecutor’s Office will be waiting in the 1st Floor Parking Lot.”
Representative Wi Jun-sang stumbled out of Representative Eom Il-seop’s office.
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“Get in.”
Waiting in the parking lot was Seo Jin.

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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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