Prosecutor Kim Seo-Jin - Chapter 31

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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 (4)
“A prosecutor? Prosecutor Seo Jin?”
“Yes.”
The Landwood representative’s eyes widened in shock.
The Prosecution Service had torn through the company, halting construction and paralyzing operations.
Employees were terrified, unable to work.
At the center of it all stood Prosecutor Seo Jin.
The representative wanted nothing more than to grab me by the collar and unleash a torrent of curses.
That was when it happened.
“You’ve come a long way. Please, sit.”
A leisurely voice sounded, and my eyes drifted slowly toward its source.
A man in his early forties sat on the sofa.
Han Sang-jun, the mastermind behind the real estate fraud scheme Landwood.
He gestured toward the sofa across from him with a slick expression.
“Please, sit.”
I opened my mouth slowly.
“…So you’re Han Sang-jun?”
“Ah, you know my name? I’m honored, haha.”
“Honor is… it’s only natural that a prosecutor knows the name of a criminal.”
Han Sang-jun’s brow furrowed at the sudden informal tone, but only for a moment.
He smiled faintly and nodded.
“Would you like some coffee?”
Shortly after, three cups of coffee were placed on the table, and the representative awkwardly took a seat.
But I didn’t even glance at the representative.
I fixed Han Sang-jun with a cold, piercing stare.
Han Sang-jun forced himself to speak casually.
“What brings you here? It doesn’t seem like you have a warrant.”
“A warrant?”
“Yes.”
“Puhahahaha!”
I laughed loudly.
My brazen attitude, devoid of all courtesy, twisted the representative’s face in anger.
He ground his teeth and opened his mouth.
“Prosecutor, why are you laughing like that?”
“Ah, sorry. I find it pathetic when small-time thugs try to act like big shots. So that makes you a thug, doesn’t it? Did that hurt your feelings? Then what should I call a thug? A dog? A cow? But then I’d be insulting dogs and cows, wouldn’t I?”
The representative’s face flushed red, and Han Sang-jun’s expression, which had maintained composure until now, hardened into stone.
A punk not even thirty years old flaunting the badge of a prosecutor was infuriating.
But my voice did not stop.
I leaned forward toward Han Sang-jun and continued.
“Let’s set aside what to call a thug for now. Go ahead, guess. Why do you think I’m here?”
“There will be nothing at the Construction Site.”
I gazed directly into Han Sang-jun’s pupils as I pressed further.
“Ah, so you’ve already cleaned up all traces of the murder?”
Han Sang-jun licked his parched lips.
My eyes seemed to pierce through to the depths of his soul.
Yet he maintained his composure and laid out his logic as carefully as possible.
“We didn’t kill him. He drank alone, got drunk alone, cursed alone, and tumbled down. But feeling a moral responsibility, we contributed a generous condolence gift.”
“According to his card records on the day of the accident, all he did was put gas in his car. He never bought soju.”
“Perhaps he brought it from home.”
“According to the family’s testimony, he wasn’t the type to keep soju stockpiled.”
“Well, are we responsible for where and how that person obtained soju?”
“The mart owner says one of your employees bought alcohol and went up the mountain.”
“We occasionally drink it as a midday aperitif.”
I laughed and clapped my hands together.
Then, leaning back against the sofa, I continued.
“Okay. That’s not what I was curious about anyway. Where did you get the information that the Mountain Area was being developed?”
“I’ve explained it several times already.”
“I know. But I’m thinking of this as an incident that happened yesterday, so I’m verifying everything from the beginning. I’d appreciate it if you’d answer kindly.”
“Even if you verify from the beginning, nothing will change. We recommended a legitimate investment and….”
“Wait, but do I know you by any chance?”
“Pardon?”
At the abrupt question, Han Sang-jun narrowed his eyes and looked at me.
He was trying to recall if we’d met somewhere before.
Then he shook his head.
“…I don’t think so.”
“The twin murders, Yoo A-sung’s murder, and a few days ago, Congressman Wi Jun-sang taking bribes. I did all of that.”
I smiled faintly.
I’m not the type to boast about my accomplishments.
But right now, I’m doing it intentionally.
I’m exaggerating my image, speaking informally, and probing at his emotions.
This is the process of making Han Sang-jun anxious.
As expected, Han Sang-jun’s pupils wavered, and my voice dropped lower.
“You’ll need to do your best to hide and make excuses. Otherwise, you’ll be in prison this year and next year too. I have that much capability.”
“I’m really curious about that capability.”
“Don’t bluff. You’ll find out soon enough. So for now, bring me the real estate information.”
Han Sang-jun stood up.
And he moved toward the bookshelf to retrieve the real estate information.
As Han Sang-jun pulled out several documents, he bit his lip hard.
‘So it was this bastard?’
He’d seen it on the news.
An unsolved case in Dongnam County had been resolved, and a county councilman had accepted bribes.
Each case was equally complex.
The prosecutor who accomplished all this sat before me.
Not only competent, but fortunate as well.
Something felt off about it all.
‘Damn it.’
Han Sang-jun exhaled a low sigh before placing the documents he’d retrieved in front of Seo Jin.
“This is it.”
Seo Jin’s gaze shifted to the documents.
-Dongnam County Long-Term Comprehensive Development Plan
-Basic Concept for Eco-Friendly Coastal City Development
-Forest Land Development Plan for a Tourist City
“Dongnam County didn’t conduct this investigation themselves—it’s a consulting report commissioned to an outside firm. And just looking at the titles, ‘plans’ and ‘concepts’ that haven’t even been finalized….”
“Aggressive investment happens when rumors circulate. If you call this exaggerated advertising….”
“You advertised something that wasn’t even scheduled as if it were confirmed. That’s false advertising, isn’t it?”
“It’s standard practice.”
“That’s your perspective. But I think this is sufficient.”
“Pardon?”
Han Sang-jun’s expression darkened.
Seo Jin’s gaze shifted to the representative.
“Let’s go.”
The representative, who had been silent, didn’t understand what Seo Jin was saying.
All he did was blink and tilt his head in confusion.
In that instant, Seo Jin’s voice cut through like a blade.
“Yoon Ki-soo, I’m arresting you on charges of murder and fraud.”
“What, what? Arrest?”
The representative’s face flushed crimson.
“What are you talking about! Being a prosecutor doesn’t mean everything!”
But Seo Jin paid no attention to his voice.
He raised his phone to his ear and spoke quietly.
“Come in.”
At that moment, the office door burst open and investigators entered.
Seo Jin gestured toward the representative with his chin.
“This is the person.”
The investigators seized the representative’s arms.
The panicked representative began shouting frantically.
“W-what are you doing! I’m telling you, do you know who I am!”
But the investigators ignored the representative’s voice.
They dragged him out without hesitation.
A sudden commotion erupting in the midst of chaos.
Only then did Han Sang-jun snap to attention, his eyes blazing with murderous intent as he glared at me.
“What are you doing right now!”
“Making an emergency arrest.”
Criminal Procedure Act, Article 200-3. Emergency Arrest
A prosecutor or judicial police officer may, when there is suspicion of a crime punishable by death, life imprisonment, or imprisonment of three years or more, and there is no time to obtain an arrest warrant, notify the subject of the grounds and arrest the suspect without a warrant, detaining them for up to 48 hours.
-When there is risk of evidence destruction.
-When there is risk of flight or attempted flight.
“Forty-eight hours. Within that time, I’ll secure a detention warrant and conduct a search and seizure of this office. Something will turn up. Do you really think you can slip away when a prosecutor comes at you like this with teeth gritted?”
“….”
“And I’m genuinely curious about one thing. What will your representative say during questioning? Looking at him, he seems like the hot-headed type—won’t he just blow everything open in a fit of rage? Either confessing ‘I killed them’ or admitting ‘Yeah, it was fraud.'”
Han Sang-jun’s face had gone rigid.
His clenched fists trembled slightly, and anxiety flooded his features.
He didn’t trust the representative.
He was thinking that with that hot-headed temperament, the representative might actually ruin the case, just as I’d suggested.
Watching Han Sang-jun’s expression, I smiled quietly.
Everything was unfolding according to plan.
-Han Sang-jun was anxious.
-He would think through the case from the beginning and destroy evidence even more thoroughly.
-Now I simply had to observe that process.
I brushed past him and walked slowly toward the representative’s desk.
I opened a drawer lightly, but nothing particularly important seemed to be inside.
All I saw were two walnuts.
I picked up the two walnuts in my hand and turned my gaze toward Han Sang-jun.
“I wish you’d just give up. Then we could both take the easy way out.”
I continued to provoke Han Sang-jun, rolling the walnuts in my clenched fist.
But that was the moment.
The world lost its color.
“Ah, I’m running late today. So just go to sleep. Do I drink every day? It’s work. Work!”
It was the middle of the night.
Yoon Ki-soo, the representative of Landwood, was driving.
The vehicle was an SUV.
But it wasn’t traveling on the road.
It was climbing a mountain path.
“That’s enough. Just sleep. Hang up.”
Representative Yoon Ki-soo threw his phone onto the passenger seat and put a cigarette in his mouth.
“Damn it, thinking I’m playing around.”
Where Representative Yoon Ki-soo arrived was the Pension Construction Site.
But it was well past 11 PM.
Naturally, all the workers had clocked out, and there was no sign of anyone anywhere.
In the dark, quiet mountain, Representative Yoon Ki-soo chuckled softly.
A moment later, Yoon Ki-soo stepped out of the car, exhaling cigarette smoke.
His next actions were familiar.
He attached a red filter to a military flashlight, then opened the trunk.
The spacious interior revealed itself—the second and third rows folded flat—and several large cylindrical paint drums came into view.
Yoon Ki-soo picked up one of the paint drums.
Then he passed the pension building and ventured deeper into the mountain.
About ten minutes later, Yoon Ki-soo came to a halt.
Five or six walnut trees, apparently planted deliberately, stood before him.
After surveying the area, Yoon Ki-soo took up a shovel and began digging vigorously into the earth.
Once he’d dug to knee height, he buried one of the paint drums he’d brought.
Then he dug beside it again.
After repeating this several times, all the paint drums he’d brought lay buried beneath the soil.
Yoon Ki-soo wiped the sweat from his face, looking satisfied.
“Now I can rest easy.”
The world regained its color.
In my hand appeared a walnut.
‘What is this?’
The psychometry I’d just witnessed.
Yoon Ki-soo had climbed the mountain in the dead of night, dug into the earth, and buried paint drums.
But those drums certainly didn’t contain paint.
‘What could be inside?’
A mutilated corpse?
Perhaps drugs?
Or maybe it really was paint?
Yoon Ki-soo had committed fraud and killed people.
A scoundrel who’d do anything for money.
So I could only speculate endlessly about what those drums contained.
“…It’s a legitimate investment company.”
Han Sang-jun’s voice pulled me from my thoughts.
I turned my head to find him staring at me, his expression brimming with resolve.
The look of someone ready to give it a try.
I nodded.
“It’s a shame. I’d hoped he’d go peacefully.”
*
*
*
“Follow Han Sang-jun starting now. He’ll make a move within thirty minutes.”
I spoke with Investigator Lim Jung-taek as I climbed into the car.
After hearing his boastful declaration that he’d stick to Han Sang-jun like gum, I ended the call.
But I didn’t start the engine immediately.
I found Lee So-hee’s number in my contacts and pressed the call button.
“Yoon Ki-soo will arrive soon. Set aside the murder investigation and focus solely on the fraud charges. He has a volatile temperament, so use that to your advantage. Summon the accounting department and all staff as witnesses. We can use them as leverage. Oh, I’ll be there shortly myself.”
After calling the administrative official to finish giving instructions, all the calls ended.
My gaze shifted to the phone screen.
4 PM.
Once night falls, I plan to visit the spot behind the pension where the walnut tree stands.

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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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