Prosecutor Kim Seo-Jin - Chapter 26

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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 Person Without a Tell (1)
“Seo Jin… I would have liked to share a meal with you, but it seems difficult.”
Prosecutor Kim Young-jun’s harsh voice was a clear signal to leave.
Seo Jin rose quietly and bowed respectfully.
“It’s fine. I’ll see you another time.”
As I turned to leave, Prosecutor Kim Young-jun’s voice called out again.
“Seo Jin.”
“Yes, Uncle.”
“You need to delete that, don’t you?”
Prosecutor Kim Young-jun’s finger pointed toward Seo Jin’s phone.
He meant the audio recording file containing Director Park Sang-young’s voice.
“Of course.”
Seo Jin showed the phone screen and deleted the recording file.
Prosecutor Kim Young-jun smiled faintly.
A small seed of trust seemed to have sprouted from my decisive action.
“Thank you. I’ll see you later then.”
Prosecutor Kim Young-jun’s gaze shifted back to Kim Yun-hwan.
Unlike when he looked at Seo Jin, his eyes gleamed with malice, as if he might devour him whole.
The moment the front door closed behind Seo Jin, he unleashed a vicious voice.
“The people around you reflect your level.”
It wasn’t anger over selling his name around.
It was reproach for associating with lowlifes.
“Don’t associate with trash. You’ll be treated the same way—as a lowlife. And that makes me the father of a lowlife.”
What mattered most, ultimately, was Prosecutor Kim Young-jun’s own reputation.
“Ah, Father. I’m sorry.”
Kim Yun-hwan hastily bowed his head, but Prosecutor Kim Young-jun showed no mercy.
He swung his arm without restraint.
Crack! Crack! Crack!
*
*
*
‘There’s the cloud…’
As I started the car, I glanced at my phone.
The recording file I had just deleted in front of Prosecutor Kim Young-jun was still there.
I had already transferred it to the cloud before deleting it.
I chuckled and tossed the phone onto the passenger seat.
This recording alone wouldn’t be enough to do anything to Kim Yun-hwan.
But life is unpredictable—one never knows when or how such things might be useful, so it was worth keeping them carefully stored.
*
*
*
“Brother!”
My younger brother Jin-young greeted me warmly.
“Mom, Dad! My brother’s here! Brother!”
He was making quite a commotion from the entryway.
At his noise, my parents rushed over from where they’d been watching television.
“What brings you here? You didn’t even call!”
“Have you eaten? Did you have dinner?”
As expected, my mother’s first concern was whether I’d eaten.
I touched my stomach lightly and opened my mouth.
“I’m hungry.”
“What should I make? Is there anything you’d like?”
I felt a bit guilty asking her to prepare a meal after arriving so late without warning.
“Should we order chicken?”
My father’s eyes lit up.
“Beer too?”
“Sounds good.”
While my mother ordered chicken, Jin-young rolled up his sleeves and headed to the refrigerator.
“Chicken alone isn’t enough, so let me whip up something light. I mean, I work washing dishes at a hotel, so I know my way around. What do you think—pasta?”
“Sure, give it a try.”
“Wait for it. Let me show you the skills of a hotel dishwashing expert.”
Jin-young enthusiastically began boiling the noodles.
Apparently, adding the right amount of salt was the mark of true skill.
Despite calling it dishwashing work, he was passionate enough to have even done a short-term training program in Italy.
Shortly after, Jin-young slid a rather appetizing tomato pasta in front of me.
“Try it.”
As I picked up my chopsticks, my father chuckled.
“I still think ramen tastes better.”
“Father, you just don’t have refined taste.”
“Well, I should try it myself.”
I took one bite of the pasta and set my chopsticks down with a soft clink.
Jin-young looked at me with an anxious expression.
“…How is it?”
“Let’s just say you have no talent for this.”
“Brother!”
“I’m joking. It’s delicious.”
“Really?”
“Yeah, it’s delicious.”
“Truly?”
Only after asking several times did Jin-young finally accept my confirmation.
Only after Seo Jin emptied his plate completely did he seem relieved, offering a satisfied smile.
“Seo Jin, come here once you’re done eating.”
This time it was his mother.
She guided Seo Jin to his room.
“What is all this?”
His room was packed with boxes.
Anyone seeing it would think someone was about to move.
His mother shook her head at Seo Jin’s bewildered expression.
“Articles about you.”
“…Articles?”
Jin-young stood beside Seo Jin.
“Father bought all of them. That stack over there is newspapers with your name in them, and this one is printed internet articles. He even printed all those pointless malicious posts. His love for his eldest son is quite something, isn’t it?”
I had heard over the phone that Father had been collecting newspapers.
But I never expected them to be piled up like this.
I wanted to ask him to clean them up, but Father was smiling so contentedly that I couldn’t bring myself to say anything.
*
*
*
-How’s the Seoul air? The fine dust was terrible today.
The next morning.
Seo Jin, sitting in a Korean Traditional Restaurant flipping through documents, received a call from Lee So-hee.
She asked carefully.
-…But when are you coming?
Lee So-hee had been up all night.
With Wi Jun-sang and Park Sang-young suddenly thrust upon her, she was overwhelmed.
And with Seo Jin gone too, she seemed even more frustrated.
“I’ll be there by four. If it gets too hard, ask Prosecutor Lee Myung-soo for help.”
-Ha, do you really think that’s possible?
Of course it wasn’t.
It was like a private asking a sergeant for help with shoveling because things were tough.
Seo Jin let out a slight laugh and spoke.
“Sorry, I’ll be right there. Just hang in a little longer.”
After ending the call with Lee So-hee, I shifted my gaze back to the documents.
The name written there was familiar.
‘Cho Seon-bong.’
A congressman from the Songpa District area.
Literally, he had gone to elementary, middle, and high school here and had served four terms.
Political journalists assess that as long as Cho Seon-bong holds his ground, it will be difficult for new figures to emerge in this region.
In other words, the chances of Eom Il-seop, the congressman from Dongnam County, winning were quite slim.
‘Hmm….’
Seo Jin intended to plant Eom Il-seop in Songpa and position him at the forefront of the power struggle.
And that plan had already taken shape in my mind.
-Turn Eom Il-seop into a sniper.
-Expose Cho Seon-bong’s paternal affection.
But reality and plans diverge.
Reality holds unpredictable variables, and the opponent’s counterattack is equally difficult to anticipate.
That’s why I came here.
Seo Jin twisted his wrist to check the time.
At the same moment, the door creaked open and a man in his early fifties appeared.
His face was etched with exhaustion, his hair disheveled.
It’s rude to say, but he looked genuinely provincial.
Seo Jin rose from his seat and bowed slightly.
“I’m Kim Seo-jin.”
The man examined Seo Jin from head to toe with an uncomfortable expression.
“The one who called?”
“Yes, I’m Prosecutor Kim Seo-jin from the Dongnam District, Gangwon Province.”
“Well, I’m Woo Jin-wook. As you know, I’m an aide to Representative Cho Seon-bong.”
Representative Cho Seon-bong had two aides.
His right arm, Lee Sang-ju, and his left arm, Woo Jin-wook.
Representative Cho Seon-bong showed favoritism toward Lee Sang-ju.
Whenever there was a gathering, he casually mentioned that he would pass this region on to Lee Sang-ju.
‘When Cho Seon-bong falls, the next candidate will be Lee Sang-ju.’
That’s what I predicted.
And no matter how even-tempered someone is, blatant discrimination breeds resentment.
A man’s jealousy is far more terrifying than one might think.
That’s why I chose Woo Jin-wook.
‘Two-track strategy.’
Eom Il-seop would snipe from the outside while Woo Jin-wook’s aide wages close combat from within.
Then Representative Cho Seon-bong would have no choice but to collapse.
That was my plan.
“Please, have a seat.”
“You said you had something important to discuss, so I came, but please keep it brief. Work has been hectic as the general election approaches.”
His eyes were bloodshot—clearly he hadn’t slept.
The table was laden with food enough to break its legs, yet Woo Jin-wook’s aide didn’t spare it a glance.
His eyes betrayed a clear desire to be sleeping at this hour instead.
Woo Jin-wook’s aide sat down and opened his mouth.
“A favor? Or information?”
Woo Jin-wook’s aide compressed the young prosecutor’s reason for requesting a private meeting into two categories.
Either a request for a position or damaging information on an opposition party’s congressman.
“Or is it blackmail? It has to be one of the three, right? I’ll pass on the favor—it’s risky with the general election coming up. I welcome information, though. As for blackmail, I’d rather it wasn’t. Our representative’s style is to crush things even bigger when threatened, so I’d hate to see a young prosecutor get hurt.”
“Do you usually reach out and have meals for reasons like that?”
“I’m a prosecutor. Isn’t it hard not to read between the lines? Anyway, say what you need to say. I’ll be eating.”
Woo Jin-wook loosened his necktie, picked up his chopsticks, and began eating.
He swallowed without even chewing, like someone who had been starving all day.
He really seemed to be eating just to fill his stomach.
Quite an unrefined person, yet everything Woo Jin-wook did carried an ease about it.
It wasn’t that he looked down on Seo Jin for being younger—it was simply his nature.
Seo Jin watched him intently before opening his mouth.
“It’s none of those three reasons.”
“Then?”
“I contacted you because I was curious about you, Woo Jin-wook.”
Woo Jin-wook stopped picking up vegetables with his chopsticks, his eyes alone moving to look at Seo Jin.
“Me? Why me?”
Woo Jin-wook, fifty-four years old.
A former activist who had walked alongside Cho Seon-bong’s political career.
But eternally the third in command.
Overshadowed by Lee Sang-ju, destined never to become second.
He knew it himself and wanted to hide it.
When Seo Jin had been Prosecutor Seo Jun-kyung, he had shared drinks with Cho Seon-bong several times.
Even in those gatherings with others present, Woo Jin-wook had endured constant ridicule.
“That’s why you won’t cut it.”
“Stupid bastard.”
“You’re just good for pouring drinks.”
Cho Seon-bong dealt out these insults.
“You know I trust you, right?”
“Let’s go all the way together.”
“You have to let me be the officiant at your daughter’s wedding. I really want to do it.”
Then soothed him with such nonsense.
Coaxing and cajoling, training a human with carrots and sticks.
Woo Jin-wook knew it too.
Yet even in those humiliating moments, he had laughed weakly and lowered himself like a fool.
Thinking of that, I also recalled the humiliation I had heard from Cho Seon-bong.
“A mere prosecutor is going to catch me?”
“Don’t you know I have a special relationship with the Prosecutor General?”
“Hah!”
Seo Jin exhaled a low sigh.
In any case, from now on, I intended to touch that nerve and seize Woo Jin-wook in my grasp.
And through Woo Jin-wook’s internal betrayal, I would make Eom Il-seop a National Assembly member from Songpa-gu.
Cho Seon-bong would have to kneel before the people and beg forgiveness on his hands and knees.
All the preparations were complete, and now the first step was beginning.
Seo Jin picked up the glass.
“Would you care for a drink?”
“Just one glass, please.”
Wi Jun-sang nodded, and Seo Jin tilted the bottle respectfully with both hands.
Watching this, I exhaled softly.
‘What a waste.’
Throughout my career as a prosecutor, I’ve met many politicians, but this is the first time I’ve encountered someone so gentle and unassuming.
If I recall correctly, Wi Jun-sang handles most of the work that Cho Seon-bong does.
‘He’s quite capable too.’
But that’s where it ends.
Right now, I don’t need someone who is kind and competent.
I need someone who, however ruthless, can win an election and be useful to me.
But it was at that very moment the glass was being filled.
The world lost its color and turned to black and white.
This Korean traditional restaurant, this very room.
Wi Jun-sang drinks from his glass.
Across from him sat someone whose name I didn’t know, but whose presence clearly marked him as Wi Jun-sang’s longtime friend.
“How long are you going to keep doing this?”
At his friend’s words, Wi Jun-sang shook his head.
“In this world, nobody likes a traitor.”
“So you’re planning to stay under Cho Seon-bong?”
Wi Jun-sang shook his head.
“It’s time for me to move on. How many years has it been? So in the next general election, I’m going to target a difficult district for the Minguk Party.”
“A difficult district?”
“A place nobody wants. A place where even someone like me can get a nomination.”
“That’s just throwing money away.”
“No.”
Wi Jun-sang’s eyes held a different gleam than what I saw in reality.
Sharp and brimming with ambition.
His tone was resolute as well.
And the election strategy that followed was truly vile.
Too dirty to even call it negative campaigning.
The world regained its color, and my gaze fixed on Wi Jun-sang.
Wi Jun-sang’s eyes were different from what I saw in the psychometry vision.
Gentle and unassuming.
Wi Jun-sang set down his glass and spoke.
“Please, no more talk. Why did you want to meet with me?”
I smiled quietly.
Wi Jun-sang’s true nature is vicious.
A cat hiding its claws is still a cat.
A tiger, indeed.
‘I like him.’
Woo Jin-wook was exactly the man I needed.
Between him and Eom Il-seop, the choice was obvious—Woo Jin-wook, without question.
He had the competence and knew how to stay hidden.
If I backed Woo Jin-wook in this general election….
‘There’s real potential here.’
I began to chuckle softly, my thoughts crystallizing into a plan.

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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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