Prosecutor Kim Seo-Jin - Chapter 29

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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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Childishly (2)
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Stepping out of the Chief Prosecutor’s Office, I checked the message that had come through from Lee So-hee.
-This is taking longer than expected. We’re heading out early.
Lee So-hee and the other staff had worked through the entire night before.
I hoped she could rest well today, but….
I pressed the call button and brought the phone to my ear.
“Heading home?”
-Yeah, home.
“I have something to tell you. I’ll come by your place. It shouldn’t take long.”
-Right now? Just tell me over the phone. I’ve already showered and I’m about to sleep….
“I’ll buy you coffee and cake.”
-Do I look like a child to you? You offer to buy something and I just run out? Besides, I already ate a hamburger and I’m full.
“Then chicken?”
-All I need to do is get dressed, right?
Lee So-hee’s place was a house not far from the District Prosecution Office.
I parked the car near the pojangmacha where we’d agreed to meet and looked around.
There were many alleyways, and the streetlights swayed ominously.
‘I should go meet her.’
I walked toward Lee So-hee’s house.
Since I’d called her out at night, I figured I should show at least that much courtesy.
After walking a little, I heard Lee So-hee’s voice from behind an alley.
“I ate already. So please don’t worry. And my staying in Dongnam County isn’t because of that person. So you don’t need to thank me. Please, don’t tie me down too…. Huh?”
Lee So-hee’s eyes widened when she saw me.
The wrinkles between her brows made her startled expression unmistakable.
“Uh… uh….”
She spoke urgently into her phone.
“I’ll call you back.”
After ending the call, she let out a sigh.
She ran her fingers through her hair and looked at me.
“…Did you hear that? I wish you hadn’t.”
“Hear what?”
“That I’m a daughter who talks back to her mother?”
The important part of Lee So-hee’s conversation wasn’t that.
She had clearly said, “My staying in Dongnam County isn’t because of that person.”
‘That person….’
Now that I thought about it, it was strange that Lee So-hee remained in Dongnam County.
She had excellent grades.
During the last personnel reassignment, she received a transfer order to Central Headquarters.
Yet she remained in Dongnam County.
‘That person?’
As I stared intently, Lee So-hee opened her mouth.
“What’s wrong? Why aren’t you answering?”
I was curious, but it wasn’t my place to pry into her personal affairs.
I nodded.
“Fine. So you’re buying the chicken, right?”
“Hey….”
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“Cheers.”
This was before the chicken arrived.
Two glasses of beer sat on the table alongside cucumber and carrot slices.
The two of us clinked glasses lightly before bringing the beer to our lips.
That first sip of beer was like an art form—it melted away the fatigue of the entire day.
Lee So-hee set down her glass and spoke.
“Let’s talk about work before the chicken arrives. Hearing about it while eating might give me indigestion.”
“I’m about to ask you for something unreasonable.”
“Anything except borrowing money.”
“Let’s make a deal.”
“A deal?”
As I nodded, Lee So-hee let out a hollow laugh.
Then, with a mischievous expression, she asked.
“A deal?”
“Yeah.”
“But you’re asking me to make a deal while throwing just one chicken leg my way?”
As if I’d been waiting for this, I unfolded the menu in front of her.
“Order whatever you want.”
Lee So-hee snatched the menu away quickly, then buried her gaze in it as she spoke.
“What kind of deal did you get yourself into that you’re handing me a menu?”
“The Chief Prosecutor told me to assemble a team however I see fit.”
Lee So-hee’s eyes turned slowly toward me.
“The Chief Prosecutor?”
“Yeah.”
“…So you’re not finding the deal yourself—the Chief Prosecutor ordered you to do it?”
“Yeah.”
Lee So-hee’s expression darkened.
The hand holding the fork trembled slightly.
“Hey, don’t you know taking on a fraud case leaves a mark on your record? Why would you volunteer for that!”
Lee So-hee assumed Seo Jin had taken on an unwanted case.
Because he was the youngest, there was an unspoken rule: when they said “you do it,” he had no choice but to say “yes” and accept.
Watching her indignant eyes, Seo Jin smiled faintly.
“Actually… I appreciate your concern, but there’s been a misunderstanding. I chose to take this on.”
“What?”
“It’s what I wanted.”
“Why would you want that! You’ll just suffer with nothing to gain. If it were good, they would’ve done it themselves.”
“I’ll definitely suffer, but there will be something to gain.”
Lee So-hee’s movements faltered.
Her large eyes turned back toward Seo Jin.
Though they hadn’t been working together long, whenever Seo Jin spoke, it felt as though things would unfold exactly as he said.
Come to think of it, there were times when Seo Jin seemed like a gifted shaman.
“Something to gain? From a fraud case?”
“Yeah, so just order whatever you want.”
Seo Jin pointed at the menu again, and Lee So-hee flipped her hair back with a sigh.
“You’ll regret this. Add the rolled omelet and stir-fried sausage with vegetables. We’ll think about the rest while we eat.”
“…Your stomach won’t burst? After eating that hamburger like that.”
“We don’t have a single bowl at home. That’s why I believe you have to eat a lot when you can. Boss!”
Lee So-hee raised her hand high.
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“It’s a real estate fraud scheme.”
The table was laden with side dishes.
Chicken, rolled omelet, stir-fried sausage with vegetables.
Lee So-hee murmured “I wish there was soup” while studying the menu again.
Seo Jin began a casual briefing on the case.
“The scammers targeted people approaching retirement. And they recommended forest land in Dongnam County.”
Scammers always say the same things.
“It’s going to be developed! You need to secure your stake now. But you’re going to pass up this opportunity? Fine, go ahead. But if you think it over and come back, this land will be gone. The opportunity is now. Don’t you see how many calls we’re getting? So many people want to see it!”
“Short on funds? Who buys land with their own money these days? Everyone gets a loan. We have a bank we work with. Should I connect you?”
People emptied their severance packages.
They took out loans against their homes.
And bought useless land.
Lee So-hee’s eyes shifted toward Seo Jin.
“…Fraud?”
Fraud is difficult to prosecute criminally.
Especially with real estate fraud schemes.
They always claim:
“We recommended an investment. Look! Everyone said it would be developed. But then economic issues, environmental concerns! Yes, that was the problem. Environmental groups or whatever came rushing in.”
“If we’d known development wouldn’t happen, we wouldn’t have recommended it! But we’re con artists? Ha!”
-Fraud is defined as deceiving someone to gain financial benefit.
-Without proof of intent, it cannot be classified as fraud.
-It’s merely a failed investment.
-Fraud cases often result in acquittals.
-You can face a countersuit for false accusation.
I continued, looking at Lee So-hee.
“But then a murder was added to the mix.”
“…!”
The con artists were constructing a pension on that forest land.
It was one method to prove their investment was legitimate.
“We also believed this area would be developed, so we’re holding onto it.”
“Otherwise, why would we build a pension here?”
“A victim who belatedly realized it was fraud went to the pension construction site.”
I placed the documents in front of Lee So-hee.
She closed the menu and unfolded the papers.
-Park Hyung-joo, 63 years old.
He went to the pension construction site and angrily demanded his money back.
Then he even fell to his knees, saying it was money to send his youngest son to get married.
Angry, then pleading.
It was typical behavior for a victim.
“Of course, he didn’t get his money back, and upset, he drank.”
Park Hyung-joo drank near the construction site.
Then he cursed at them, calling them filthy bastards, and left.
“While descending the mountain, he mistepped. It was quite a steep slope.”
A worker at the construction site discovered Park Hyung-joo had fallen and called an ambulance.
But he had already died in the process of falling down the mountain.
“However, there were signs of a physical struggle on Park Hyung-joo’s body.”
“That could happen, though, right? He’d been drinking, he was angry. A struggle could have occurred.”
Lee So-hee flipped to another page of the documents.
She suddenly squinted her eyes.
The photograph attached to the papers was gruesome.
She was still a rookie and not accustomed to such images.
But I spoke calmly.
“The direct cause of death was cerebral hemorrhage from a fractured skull. But there were no rocks on that slope capable of causing such an impact.”
However, the construction site had plenty of objects that could fracture a human skull.
“Wait, are you suspecting death by violence? But an autopsy was performed. Looking at the vital reactions, all the wounds on his body occurred while he was alive.”
“He was already dying before rolling down the slope. Check the next page. It’s written there—there’s a high probability he was thrown while still alive.”
If that were true, they had giggled while watching a dying man and prayed for him to die faster.
“…Is that even human?”
I leaned slowly toward Lee So-hee and whispered.
“The police who investigated this case deemed it a clear murder, and the autopsy results confirmed it. But there’s no evidence. From the real estate fraud scheme to the murder—everything is flowing toward acquittal with perfect precision.”
“….”
“Aren’t you curious what kind of person this is? I really want to see this bastard’s face.”
I smiled faintly and leaned back in my chair.
“And this scoundrel—I have no intention of letting it end quietly. We won’t just suffer and walk away.”
“Then?”
“Just wait and see.”
Lee So-hee exhaled a sigh.
She then stabbed her fork into the sausage and vegetable stir-fry, muttering.
“I should have heard this after eating. I’m going to get indigestion, I swear.”
“You’re saying you’re in?”
“Add an order of fish cake soup.”
“…Your stomach isn’t full?”
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“Investigator Lim Jung-taek, I need you to tail this person.”
“Yes, sir!”
“And Prosecutor Lee So-hee, meet with the real estate fraud victims and determine whether the exaggeration and false advertising crossed the line into criminal territory. The relevant precedents and materials are here.”
The next day.
I moved with purpose.
Several months had already passed since the murder occurred.
Evidence was being washed away by wind and rain.
The real estate victims were reaching their breaking point.
We had to strike before they gave up.
“Jung-woo, there’s something I need to ask you. Remember the real estate fraud scheme case? Yeah, that one.”
Investigator Lim Jung-taek, who had been watching me intently, shifted his gaze to Lee So-hee and smiled faintly.
“Looking at our prosecutor, you wouldn’t think he’s been doing this for decades, right? Once we’ve cornered him from all sides, the one who gets nervous—bam!”
Lee So-hee glanced at me briefly.
Investigator Lim Jung-taek was right.
I was directing the investigation without hesitation.
“That’s true.”
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“Who the hell is that guy?”
“A prosecutor, apparently.”
“Why is a prosecutor making a fuss here? Wasn’t this all settled?”
It was the Pension Construction Site where the murder had occurred.
Kim Kyung-woong, an executive at the Real Estate Fraud Scheme, frowned as he observed the construction site.
Where his gaze fell, I stood examining every corner of the area.
Kim Kyung-woong exhaled cigarette smoke and muttered under his breath.
“Crazy bastard, checking every damn blade of grass for no reason.”
Kim Kyung-woong stood well over 190 centimeters tall.
His broad shoulders, short hair, and menacing expression were intimidating enough to inspire dread.
“Executive, he’s waving at us. Looks like he’s calling you over. Should we go?”
“Go.”
The lackey beside Kim Kyung-woong shuffled toward me.
But I waved my hand, pointing directly at Kim Kyung-woong instead.
Not the lackey—Kim Kyung-woong himself was being summoned.
Kim Kyung-woong crushed his cigarette beneath his foot, his expression darkening.
“Ah… damn it. Does being a prosecutor give you the right to everything?”
Kim Kyung-woong strode toward me with heavy steps.
And despite his true feelings, he opened his mouth with the most courteous smile and gentle voice he could muster.
“Excuse me? Are you a prosecutor?”
“…Did you kill him?”

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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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