Prosecutor Kim Seo-Jin - Chapter 25

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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 (9)
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“How old are you?”
“Twenty-three.”
Modern Bar near Dongnam County Terminal.
Park Sang-young, sipping whiskey at a table, smirked at the bartender.
“Do you have a boyfriend?”
“Yes.”
“Doesn’t seem like it.”
“Then no, I don’t.”
The bartender’s voice was cold.
He’d just opened the shop and was wiping down tables.
A drunk had stumbled in and was now pestering him—there was no reason for his mood to be good.
Park Sang-young lit a cigarette, and the bartender placed a lighter in front of him.
Park Sang-young spoke as he ignited the flame.
“What about me?”
“Pardon?”
“I’m not usually the type to hit on women in places like this, but you’re pretty enough that I’m making an exception. How about it?”
“Ha ha.”
The bartender’s expression grew uncomfortable, but Park Sang-young paid no attention.
“How much do they pay you working here? Ten thousand won an hour? Twenty thousand?”
“Sir? What you just said—”
A chill ran through the bartender’s voice, but Park Sang-young didn’t care and fumbled for his wallet.
He slapped a one-million-won check onto the table and opened his mouth.
“Give me a kiss and I’ll give you this. Take it as a gift for starting to date me. Not enough? Want me to pull out another? Two million won per kiss. Not a bad business, right?”
That was when it happened.
“Park Sang-young?”
It wasn’t the bartender’s voice.
At the unfamiliar voice from behind, Park Sang-young turned his head.
A woman in a neat suit stood there.
Park Sang-young squinted at her.
It was Lee So-hee.
She had appeared with two investigators to arrest Park Sang-young.
But Park Sang-young didn’t know she was a prosecutor and spouted nonsense.
“Damn, you’re gorgeous for a country town—!”
“You’re under arrest on suspicion of bribery under Article 133 of the Criminal Act.”
“What?”
At those words, the two investigators standing on either side of Lee So-hee stepped forward and firmly grabbed both of Park Sang-young’s arms.
Park Sang-young stared at the investigators on either side of him with a bewildered expression.
“You, all of you! Do you know who I am?”
Lee So-hee’s voice followed.
“You have the right to retain counsel, the opportunity to make a statement, and the right to petition the court for a review of the legality of your arrest and detention.”
“Hey!”
The stench of alcohol wafted from Park Sang-young’s mouth.
He’d been drinking with Wi Jun-sang since midday.
Unable to think straight, he shouted at the prosecutor.
“I asked if you know who I am!”
Lee So-hee swept her hair back and shook her head.
Then, fixing him with a cold gaze, she opened her mouth.
“Should I care who you are?”
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A van pulled up in front of the District Prosecution Office.
Out stepped Lee So-hee, an investigator, and the intoxicated Park Sang-young.
As the investigators dragged Park Sang-young up the steps, Lee So-hee looked up toward the staircase.
Seo Jin was walking down the stairs.
“Where are you going?”
“To Seoul for a bit.”
Lee So-hee twisted her wrist to check the time.
It was 6:30 in the evening.
Lee So-hee’s eyes widened.
“Now?”
“I’ll be back by tomorrow afternoon. So until then, could you look after Wi Jun-sang as well?”
“Huh?”
“And…”
Seo Jin glanced at Park Sang-young being dragged away, then leaned close to Lee So-hee’s ear and whispered quietly.
“Give him whatever he wants. It won’t matter anyway.”
“What do you mean by that?”
“I’m counting on you.”
Seo Jin offered no further explanation and rushed past Lee So-hee toward the Parking Lot.
Lee So-hee watched his retreating figure in silence.
‘Give him whatever he wants?’
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“Let’s talk about it when the lawyer arrives. Ugh, this hangover won’t go away.”
Park Sang-young gulped down water and pressed his temples repeatedly, shifting his gaze forward.
I can see Lee So-hee sitting there.
Park Sang-young opened his mouth with a chuckling laugh.
“But Prosecutor, I haven’t done anything wrong. Check for yourself. I made the donation properly and reported it.”
“Wi Jun-sang confessed. He said there were boxes exchanged at the Screen Golf Course besides the donation.”
“Those are apples! Apples from Andong! I went to Andong and bought them because they said the apples were delicious there! Can’t I give gifts?”
“The boxes contain apples, perhaps, but I heard the contents were called King Sejong.”
“Did you see? Did you see with your own eyes what was inside? Fine, should I tell you the truth? There was a puppy inside! That’s the truth!”
“Park Sang-young!”
“You won’t believe there was a puppy inside, but you believe King Sejong was in there? Or are you just listening to what Wi Jun-sang says and making me out to be a criminal? The presumption of innocence? Is all that dead?”
Park Sang-young’s voice grew louder and more frantic.
Even if he hadn’t fully sobered up, being dragged to the Prosecutor’s Office and acting with such arrogance was crossing a line.
He had something to rely on.
Park Sang-young stretched out his hand and opened his mouth with an arrogant tone.
“Let me make a phone call.”
Looking at his smug face, I didn’t want to grant him anything.
But Seo Jin’s words flashed through Lee So-hee’s mind.
“Give him what he wants. It won’t work out the way he hopes.”
For some reason, I wanted to follow Seo Jin’s advice.
Lee So-hee handed her phone to Park Sang-young.
Park Sang-young smiled and held the phone to his ear.
“Ah, Yun-hwan? It’s me. I’ve been dragged to the Prosecutor’s Office right now. Hey, these days the Prosecutor’s Office arrests people without evidence? I’m so busy I’m going crazy. So here’s the thing—could you tell your father about this? My father wanted to meet with him next week… Yes?”
Park Sang-young’s smiling expression gradually began to stiffen.
His hand holding the phone trembled violently, and his voice came out terrified.
“Y-you’re the Prosecutor General? I’m s-so sorry.”
The arrogant expression that had been on Park Sang-young’s face vanished without a trace.
His entire body shook, and his voice became infinitely respectful.
His eyes looked as though he might cry at any moment.
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“What’s the matter?”
A short while earlier, at Prosecutor General Kim Young-jun’s residence.
It was a detached house in Seocho District.
Seo Jin bowed respectfully to Prosecutor General Kim Young-jun as I entered through the front door past the garden, then straightened up and spoke.
“I have something to tell you.”
“Come in.”
Prosecutor General Kim Young-jun gestured, and Seo Jin headed toward the living room.
As the two of us sat facing each other, the woman who helped with housework brought in tea.
It seemed his aunt had gone out and not yet returned.
Prosecutor General Kim Young-jun held the teacup in his hand and gazed at Seo Jin with an indifferent expression.
I carefully opened my mouth.
“Has Kim Yun-hwan arrived?”
At the same moment, Kim Yun-hwan descended the stairs and spoke.
“Seo Jin, you’re here? It’s been a while.”
His hair was disheveled, as if he’d just woken up.
Kim Yun-hwan, seated on the sofa, turned his head toward me.
“Is this a vacation? Did you solve that cold case and become a star?”
“Just got lucky.”
“Man, I’m jealous. If you’ve got that kind of luck, share some with your hyung, will you? I’m stuck looking at petty criminals all day—it’s driving me crazy.”
The conversation flowed naturally.
Yet beneath it all, I could sense a wall.
An awkwardness and discomfort that emerged even in moments of silence.
It was Kim Young-jun who broke through it.
“So, what brings you here at this hour?”
I pulled out my phone and placed it on the table.
Without a word, I found the recording file of the conversation between Ji Dong-min and Park Sang-young, then pressed play.
Park Sang-young’s voice flowed from the speaker.
-The only reason he’s been wagging his tail at Yun-hwan is because he wants to leave Dongnam County. I’ll talk to him nicely. You know how close Yun-hwan and I are, right? Looks like he’s putting together his own team these days.
Kim Yun-hwan’s movements froze.
His eyes, blazing with fury, fixed on me.
“Hey….”
I ignored Kim Yun-hwan and kept my gaze on Kim Young-jun.
“Park Sang-young is Yun-hwan’s friend. He’s currently in custody for bribery charges involving a local county councilman. But he’s using Yun-hwan as a bargaining chip in negotiations.”
“What?”
“Yun-hwan is the prosecutor general’s son and a current prosecutor at the Seoul Central District Prosecutors’ Office. A pretty solid asset.”
Kim Yun-hwan stared at me, his face flushed to the ears.
His eyes looked ready to devour me whole.
“I’ll handle it myself, so don’t interfere.”
But I didn’t stop.
Without even turning my head toward Kim Yun-hwan, I spoke only to Kim Young-jun.
“Yun-hwan seems to have a soft heart—he can’t seem to cut ties with a thug like Park Sang-young. I was worried he’d keep contacting him. That’s why I came to find you, Uncle.”
“….”
“We’re ‘family,’ after all.”
With those words, I turned my head toward Kim Yun-hwan.
And offered him a thin smile.
A smile that must have looked utterly repugnant to him.
“Hey, whether I meet a thug or some bastard….”
“That’s enough.”
At Kim Young-jun’s low voice, Kim Yun-hwan’s mouth snapped shut.
And slowly, Kim Young-jun’s gaze turned toward him.
Under his demanding gaze, Kim Yun-hwan stammered as he opened his mouth.
“Ah, Father….”
“You’re selling my name around?”
“No, that’s not it.”
“A team? What’s this—you’re already forming some kind of organization?”
In an atmosphere so tense that violence seemed imminent, Kim Yun-hwan’s phone suddenly vibrated.
The caller ID showed Park Sang-young.
‘Damn it!’
If that bastard locked up at the Prosecutor’s Office was calling, I didn’t need to hear the content to know what it was about.
Kim Yun-hwan bit his lip hard and quickly flipped his phone over.
But it was already too late.
Chief Prosecutor Kim Young-jun had seen the name displayed.
“Answer it. So everyone can hear.”
“Sir?”
“I said answer it!”
At the thunderous command, Kim Yun-hwan flinched.
There was no way out now.
I had to answer.
Kim Yun-hwan pressed the speakerphone button, praying that Park Sang-young would keep his mouth shut.
But contrary to his prayers, Park Sang-young’s slurred voice came through.
-Ah, Yun-hwan. It’s me. I’ve been dragged to the Prosecutor’s Office right now. Hey, these days the Prosecution Service just grabs people without any evidence? I’m so busy I’m going crazy.
His tone completely disrespected the Prosecutor’s Office.
Chief Prosecutor Kim Young-jun’s upper lip twitched.
-So anyway, could you tell your father something? My father wanted to meet with him next week….
“It’s me.”
-Pardon?
At Chief Prosecutor Kim Young-jun’s low but menacing voice, Park Sang-young couldn’t respond.
Chief Prosecutor Kim Young-jun continued quietly.
“Park Sang-young? Why would I need to meet your father?”
-Sir, Chief Prosecutor.
“Your company will be subject to a search and seizure soon. We’ll be able to confirm exactly how much bribery you’ve been taking. Your funds will be frozen and operations will be paralyzed. All the misconduct you’ve hidden so far will be exposed to the media.”
-I’m, I’m sorry. I’m truly sorry.
Park Sang-young’s voice was desperate.
But Chief Prosecutor Kim Young-jun’s voice was frigid.
“Confess on your own and serve your time. Don’t spread any unnecessary strange rumors. Then your father will be able to run his company tomorrow just like he did today.”
A threat to ensure no sparks flew toward Kim Yun-hwan.
Director Park Sang-young understood and backed down.
-…I understand.
Chief Prosecutor Kim Young-jun pressed the end button and stared ahead with a sharp gaze.
As Kim Yun-hwan sat with a pale, sickly face anticipating the scolding he would receive, Chief Prosecutor Kim Young-jun unfastened his watch and opened his mouth.

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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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