Prosecutor Kim Seo-Jin - Chapter 241

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————

Cutting Off the Head (7)
Lee So-hee watched quietly. Baek Ki-ho had always been a formidable man. He had never bowed to anyone, looking down on all people with arrogance. And he had never shown a moment of panic in any situation.
But now it was different. Baek Ki-ho’s eyes were bloodshot, his lips trembling faintly. His disheveled hair revealed that Baek Ki-ho was no different from an ordinary person.
At that moment, Baek Ki-ho’s gaze fixed on Lee So-hee. He saw her serene eyes and the faint smile playing at her lips. Baek Ki-ho bit his lip and asked.
“You… surely… it was you?”
Taking bribes, covering up Shinma Group’s wrongdoings in return—he had done it all himself. Yet Baek Ki-ho did not reflect on his own crimes. He glared at Lee So-hee with eyes burning with rage.
“Answer me.”
Lee So-hee did not answer. Baek Ki-ho’s eyes filled with certainty.
Baek Ki-ho had been waiting only for the day he would become president. His approval ratings soared without limit, and the cries of his fanatics were deafening.
But obstacles had been scattered on the path to the Blue House. Baek Ki-ho believed Lee So-hee had placed them there.
Lee So-hee slowly shook her head.
“It wasn’t me.”
“Then who? Who was it? You know, don’t you? Who was it!”
Baek Ki-ho’s voice growled. Lee So-hee calmly set down her water glass and met his gaze.
“What does it matter?”
“…What?”
“I’m asking what it matters who made the report.”
“Lee So-hee!”
Baek Ki-ho’s palm slammed against the table with a sharp crack. In that instant, Lee So-hee’s voice rang out, desolate and cold.
“For all the crimes you’ve committed. If you’ve lived peacefully until now, then face the consequences from this moment forward.”
Lee So-hee slowly rose to her feet. Then she bowed respectfully toward Baek Ki-ho.
“Then…”
Baek Ki-ho shot up and seized Lee So-hee’s wrist.
“Let go!”
Lee So-hee cried out, but Baek Ki-ho did not release her wrist. He shoved her against the wall hard enough to produce a loud bang, then glared at her with a twisted expression.
The Chief of Staff was startled by the sudden turn of events.
“Sir, sir!”
But the Chief of Staff could not intervene. Baek Ki-ho’s demeanor was unlike his usual self. He would only end up being cursed at.
Then Baek Ki-ho’s menacing voice brushed past Lee So-hee’s ear.
“If I fall, do you think your mother will be happy? Your mother will weep every day. She will resent you.”
“…”
“I promised. That when I become president, I will set your mother free. That I will take her to a quiet place and let her live happily. I will keep that promise without fail. So tell me. Who is it? Who did this? The Ruling Party?”
Baek Ki-ho wanted to find the mastermind behind this situation. If he could just destroy that bastard, it would be over. A simple method: if you can’t stop the message, attack the messenger. Then he could escape this crisis.
Lee So-hee turned her gaze to look at Baek Ki-ho, whose hand gripped her wrist. Then she opened her mouth with a quiet voice.
“I’m really curious what you’ll say this time. Will you say it was a mistake again?”
“What?”
“You have two choices. Decide.”
Baek Ki-ho was a man who had lived his entire life through transactions. He believed Lee So-hee’s words were merely an extension of that same negotiation. But what came from Lee So-hee’s lips was not what Baek Ki-ho expected.
“First, revealing that I am your daughter.”
“…!”
“Second, attempting to sexually harass a young, attractive female prosecutor.”
“…!”
“Either way, you’ll never become president.”
Baek Ki-ho couldn’t comprehend what Lee So-hee was saying. But the moment his eyes filled with confusion, the sliding door creaked open and the sharp click-click of a camera shutter filled the space.
“…!”
It was Lee Eun-ha, the reporter, appearing out of nowhere. She was capturing Baek Ki-ho gripping Lee So-hee’s wrist and pinning her against the wall. His shocked expression, her grimacing face—everything was caught on camera.
Baek Ki-ho’s eyes widened as he alternated his gaze between Lee So-hee and Lee Eun-ha. Comprehending the situation, he swallowed hard and released Lee So-hee’s wrist. Then he began to laugh dryly.
He felt the trap closing around him and understood that no excuse in this moment would change anything.
From his lips came a harsh voice.
“How did you get in here?”
“Ah, when they saw my face, they thought I was here for an interview and just let me through.”
“You think you can write an article about this?”
“I’ll find out once I try.”
Lee Eun-ha didn’t back down an inch. She shrugged her shoulders and examined the photos on her camera.
“Delete them. Now.”
Before Baek Ki-ho’s words even finished, burly figures appeared beside Lee Eun-ha like a folding screen. But Baek Ki-ho’s eyes narrowed as he looked at them—he didn’t recognize any of their faces.
They weren’t his men. They were all subordinates of Jang Seok-min, who protected Lee So-hee. Lee So-hee had come here in advance after arranging the meeting with Baek Ki-ho and was already dining.
Then Baek Ki-ho’s own security personnel appeared belatedly. The narrow hallway of the Korean traditional restaurant filled with people in black suits. The situation was on a knife’s edge—they stared each other down, ready to fight at any moment.
Lee Eun-ha shrugged and spoke.
“If you cause a commotion here, I think all the people eating quietly will take photos and post them on social media. There’s also CCTV.”
Baek Ki-ho ran his hand through his hair and exhaled a dry sigh. Then he turned his gaze back to Lee So-hee.
“You….”
Seeing Lee Eun-ha appear followed by the burly men, Baek Ki-ho became certain that Lee So-hee was behind all of this.
“It was you?”
Lee So-hee gently shook her wrist that had been gripped and opened her mouth.
“I’m looking forward to your excuse.”
“You’ve crossed the line now.”
“You crossed it long ago.”
“Get out.”
“But there’s one thing I’d like to ask—something I’ve never asked of you in my entire life. I’d appreciate it if you didn’t reveal that I’m your daughter. If I’m associated with you, it makes me feel sick.”
Baek Ki-ho didn’t answer. He simply stared at the door as if telling her to leave. Then Lee So-hee and Lee Eun-ha bowed respectfully to Baek Ki-ho and walked out.
The moment the sliding door closed, Baek Ki-ho’s eyes turned savage.
“Damn it.”
The rage that had risen to his throat poured out. He wanted to tear Lee So-hee and Lee Eun-ha to shreds right then and there.
Baek Ki-ho had lived his entire life as a strong man. Yet now, insignificant things he thought he could crush whenever he pleased had caught him by the ankle. The feeling was absolutely repulsive.
“Damn it all!”
Baek Ki-ho paced the room with anxious steps. Then, as if remembering something, he urgently turned his gaze to his Chief of Staff.
“…Contact Kim Young-jun. Right now!”
*
*
*
Kim Young-jun gazed out the window, his phone pressed to his ear. On the other end, Baek Ki-ho’s voice crackled through.
-Let’s go down together! If I fall, you die too! So block the search and seizure!
Kim Young-jun’s brow furrowed. Baek Ki-ho’s voice—usually so composed—trembled with desperation. The typhoon that had swept through was now clawing at him too.
-Answer me!
Kim Young-jun said nothing. His mind churned through a labyrinth of calculations.
‘Did Chairman Um strike at Baek Ki-ho?’
Doubt began to creep in. Was Chairman Um truly orchestrating this from the shadows?
Chairman Um was a man who knew how to preserve himself. He would have calculated the scenario where Baek Ki-ho weathered this storm and ascended to the presidency.
‘Chairman Um isn’t the type for this.’
But if Chairman Um stood behind this, it wouldn’t end here.
He would keep fanning the flames until Baek Ki-ho crumbled to dust. The waves that wind carries don’t break just once. Chairman Um had the capacity for such devastation.
-Director!
At Baek Ki-ho’s cry, Kim Young-jun exhaled heavily.
“If there’s something troubling you, confess it all now. Only then can I shield you.”
-Director!
Kim Young-jun didn’t wait for more. He ended the call and turned back to the window. Through the crack in the door, voices shouted his name.
-Kim Young-jun must step down immediately!
-Step down! Step down!
“Worthless, all of them.”
Kim Young-jun despised this entire situation. Yet his course was clear. To survive, he had to save Baek Ki-ho.
Kim Young-jun picked up his phone and scrolled for the Central District Prosecutor’s Office number. He pressed call. The line rang and rang. No answer.
-No answer….
He tried again. Same result.
-No answer….
Kim Young-jun’s face twisted with grave concern.
*
*
*
-Baek Ki-ho’s camp denies all allegations regarding Shinma Group, claiming they’re baseless….
The broadcast continued.
-Shin Ji-yeon apologizes for the controversy and pledges full cooperation with the prosecution’s investigation….
I drove toward the care facility in Hongcheon, listening to the radio.
Surrounded by mountains, I parked the car at a discreet spot before reaching the facility—a place so concealed by trees that no one would notice the vehicle unless they were looking for it.
Stepping out, I surveyed the path to the nursing home. If Kim Young-jun had imprisoned Park Jung-gil here, then the entire facility served as his eyes and ears. I moved with utmost caution.
Inside the building, I took no chances with the staff. Using the room number Park Jung-gil’s son had provided, I went straight there. I climbed to the third floor via the emergency stairwell and emerged into the hallway, moving with the natural ease of someone who belonged.
‘Room 310.’
I pushed the door open and stepped inside. The room was sparse—a bed, a table, a humidifier. Not even a television. Kim Young-jun was controlling every scrap of information Park Jung-gil could access.
Such excessive confinement. I wondered what leverage Park Jung-gil held over Kim Young-jun. Did he actually kill his parents, or had he simply witnessed something and kept silent all these years? Now was the time to learn the truth.
My gaze shifted forward. An elderly man sat on the bed, staring out the window. That had to be Park Jung-gil. The broad shoulders of his youth had withered into a frail frame. The gangster who once feared nothing ended in squalor.
The sound of Seo Jin locking the door echoed through the space with a sharp click, but Park Jung-gil did not turn around. He remained seated in the exact same posture as before, like a mannequin.
Seo Jin stepped toward Park Jung-gil and opened his mouth.
“Park Jung-gil?”
Only after calling his name did Park Jung-gil’s gaze slowly shift.
“…!”
And the elderly man’s eyes filled with terror upon seeing Seo Jin’s face. It was the expression of someone witnessing something utterly horrifying.

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————