Prosecutor Kim Seo-Jin - Chapter 34

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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 (7)
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‘…I’ve lost my mind. I’ve completely lost it.’
Han Sang-jun, the mastermind behind Landwood.
Dragged into the Interrogation Room, he hung his head and exhaled a heavy sigh.
‘Why did I do something so stupid….’
He had been on the verge of smuggling himself to Japan with the victims’ bank accounts and various other items in hand.
He’d thought everything was perfect.
But then the investigators who’d been watching him swarmed in.
‘Damn it… I’m an idiot.’
The prosecutor had come and gone, and the representative had been arrested.
That meant someone had definitely been watching him.
The realization made his heart race with anxiety and dread.
It felt like Seo Jin could show up at any moment to slap handcuffs on him.
So he’d panicked, and his mind filled with nothing but the thought of escape.
He couldn’t think of anything else.
‘Damn.’
Just as Han Sang-jun was tearing at his hair, a document landed on the table with a soft thud.
Seo Jin had appeared.
Han Sang-jun’s eyes met his, and he clenched his jaw.
Seo Jin had ruined everything.
If it weren’t for Seo Jin, he’d be showering the victims’ money around and holding a woman in his arms by now.
Seo Jin leaned forward, meeting Han Sang-jun’s gaze.
“I have things to do after work, so let’s make this quick.”
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“Investigator Lim Jung-taek?”
It was in front of the restroom.
Investigator Lim Jung-taek was wiping his wet hands when someone called his name.
When he turned, he saw Lee Eun-ha, a reporter from MBS’s “Seeing the World.”
The probability of seeing Reporter Lee Eun-ha in front of a restroom was zero.
Startled, Investigator Lim Jung-taek hurriedly opened his mouth.
“Ah, yes. I’m Lim Jung-taek. But how did you know…?”
Reporter Lee Eun-ha pulled out her phone from her bag.
When she pressed the video file, a voice played.
-…He had it all. Split it up and put it in dummy accounts.
“You’re the investigator who caught the criminal fleeing with hundreds of billions of won at the scene, so of course I’d remember you. But weren’t you in danger? Are you hurt anywhere? Oh, there seems to be a scratch here?”
“It’s fine, haha.”
No man could resist a beautiful woman on television smiling warmly and expressing concern.
Lim Jung-taek grinned awkwardly, and Lee Eun-ha stepped forward to continue.
“I’ve already received permission from the District Prosecutor’s Office director for an interview. Would you mind if I interviewed you? Yes?”
We were in the break room at the end of the hallway.
Lee Eun-ha’s eyes narrowed with suspicion as she studied Lim Jung-taek.
“So… you’re saying this was all Prosecutor Seo Jin’s idea?”
“Yes.”
“Not the Chief Prosecutor’s plan or any of the other prosecutors’? Are you pulling my leg right now?”
Lim Jung-taek shook his head firmly.
“No. It was entirely Prosecutor Seo Jin’s plan.”
“Really?”
“Why would I lie?”
Lee Eun-ha pulled out a crumpled document and spread it out with practiced efficiency.
“According to the materials I received, Prosecutor Seo Jin is listed as a junior prosecutor. He just finished his probation…”
“That’s right. He’s junior. He was only on probation until recently.”
“But you’re telling me they entrusted an entire case to two junior prosecutors? At this timing?”
Seventy victims. Damages in the hundreds of billions of won. And one mysterious death.
The victims’ fury swelled like it might burst at any moment.
If someone had merely touched that anger with a needle and redirected it toward the incompetence of the Prosecution Service and Police, a truly catastrophic situation could have unfolded.
Yet the relief pitcher who stepped up in this crisis was two junior prosecutors.
It made no sense whatsoever.
Lee Eun-ha asked carefully.
“Was Prosecutor Seo Jin perhaps a sacrificial pawn the District Prosecutor’s Office was discarding?”
“A sacrificial pawn?”
“You know, like when someone falls out of favor with higher-ups and gets thrown to the wolves as a scapegoat… No, wait. If that were the case, they wouldn’t have had him do a face-saving interview. So what is it? It doesn’t add up.”
Lim Jung-taek leaned forward toward Lee Eun-ha, whose large eyes blinked as her brow furrowed.
He spoke in a hushed voice.
“Sometimes you meet people like that, you know? People born different. People who defy common sense. That’s Prosecutor Seo Jin.”
Lim Jung-taek finished speaking, smiled, and brought his coffee to his lips.
Lee Eun-ha’s gaze drifted past the break room toward the end of the hallway.
There was no hint of deception in Lim Jung-taek’s words, and if she took them at face value, it meant Prosecutor Seo Jin possessed remarkable abilities.
‘Seo Jin?’
As a journalist, Lee Eun-ha had met and interviewed countless people.
She believed she could spot lies and discern truth.
But when she interviewed Seo Jin, she’d simply thought him a man with a ready smile and cheerful disposition.
It seemed her initial assessment had been wrong.
Lee Eun-ha smiled quietly to herself.
‘He’s charming.’
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Han Sang-jun’s first interrogation had concluded.
As I entered the office, Do Min-ji, the case manager, posed a question.
“He didn’t say a word, did he?”
“No. I didn’t expect it to wrap up in just one day, so I’m getting a bit restless myself.”
“But starting tomorrow, things are going to get loud.”
“Loud? What do you mean?”
“Don’t you realize everyone’s watching us?”
“Huh?”
I didn’t need to wait until tomorrow to see it.
Wherever people gathered, they whispered about this case.
“Lee Jae-seung, the Chief Prosecutor, was humiliated. Criminal Division 1 got screwed over because of his stupid blunder, right?”
“Yeah. He tried to dump the work on the rookie to avoid getting blamed, but that guy just solved it outright.”
“Criminal Division 4 must be having a field day, haha.”
“The rookie? The one who caught Yoo A-sung?”
“That’s right. He even exposed Assemblyman Wi Jun-sang.”
“Really?”
The District Prosecution Office was in turmoil.
The case had been solved by a fresh-faced newcomer—someone whose ID badge ink hadn’t even dried.
And this newcomer had shattered the expectations of Lee Jae-seung, the seasoned Chief Prosecutor of Criminal Division 1.
Lee Jae-seung’s face had flushed crimson, and Criminal Division 1 was treading on thin ice.
What was amusing was the atmosphere throughout the office.
Initially, because Lee Jae-seung’s personality wasn’t particularly pleasant, many people snickered with “serves him right.”
But that sentiment was gradually shifting.
“And that related case? That was him too.”
“That one as well? That’s insane.”
“Regardless of whether it makes sense, being stuck in Dongnam County is already shameful, but if you get outpaced by a junior colleague…”
“Surely not.”
“Surely is what kills people.”
“Damn, I’d better work harder.”
The prosecutors who had been languishing in exile began to stir, awakening from their slumber.
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‘Getting restless…’
I glanced at the wall clock and began tidying my desk.
It was time to leave.
But Lim Jung-taek showed no signs of heading home.
He was naturally preparing for overtime.
Do Min-ji was in the same situation.
She was pulling out documents.
Seo Jin asked carefully.
“…Aren’t you heading home?”
Lim Jung-taek and Do Min-ji blinked their eyes.
Their gaze screamed: ‘Going home at this hour? What are you talking about?’
Employees of a black company who had never left on time in their lives.
Seo Jin opened his mouth with an apologetic expression.
“Things will get busier starting tomorrow, so let’s call it a day.”
“…Really?”
As Do Min-ji blinked, Seo Jin nodded readily.
“Yes.”
But Do Min-ji’s expression grew uneasy, and Lim Jung-taek asked urgently.
“Today was already suffocatingly busy, and tomorrow will be even worse? What time are you expecting us to leave tomorrow?”
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After work, I climbed the mountain immediately.
The construction site, and the walnut tree within it.
Standing before it, I gripped a shovel and dug into the earth with vigor.
After extracting the money, I packed it tightly into the car’s trunk and every available space.
But a sedan couldn’t carry it all in one trip.
I had to make several runs back and forth.
In the process, dirt accumulated inside the vehicle, making it filthy, but I didn’t care.
A sedan—what was the cost of such a thing?
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8.45 billion won.
The numbers of King Sejong and Shin Saimdang stacked high in my living room.
Yoon Ki-soo had operated an illegal gambling site and hidden the money beneath the walnut tree.
One reason why con artists could live lavishly after their release.
But that money had fallen into my hands.
I intended to use it wisely.
My goal was to seize everything the world had to offer—money, power, prestige, and more.
Having been reborn, I believed I should harbor such ambitions.
And the seed for that had materialized before my eyes.
“Hehehehe.”
Even with the money in sight, I tried to keep my mind cold.
So I pressed my lips shut, but laughter still escaped.
In the end.
“Hahahaha!”
It burst out of me.
Since things had come to this, I couldn’t contain my joy.
A bundle of fifty-thousand-won notes—thin as they were—amounted to five million won.
Two bundles meant ten million won.
Gripping them thickly in both hands equaled one hundred million won.
I lay atop the money and tossed it skyward.
The actions of protagonists in films who’d struck sudden fortune.
Being showered by cascading cash.
I’d always wanted to experience it once.
Moments later, I gazed at the ceiling with a faint smile.
‘Eight point four billion won now.’
A truly staggering sum, yet not enough to reshape the world or fulfill my dreams.
But….
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-Real estate fraud schemers who sold land at inflated prices in the Mountain Areas around Dongnam County, claiming the terrain would appreciate significantly, have been apprehended by the Prosecution Service. Prosecutor Seo Jin of the Dongnam District Prosecutors’ Office has arrested two individuals, including the ringleader, fifty-one-year-old Yoon Ki-soo, on charges of embezzling approximately thirty billion won, and has booked eighteen others without arrest.
I pressed the radio’s stop button.
Only the sound of Yoon Ki-soo’s sigh echoed through the Interrogation Room.
I crossed my arms, leaned against the wall, and studied Yoon Ki-soo.
“You killed him, didn’t you?”
“No! I didn’t kill anyone!”
Yoon Ki-soo spoke harshly, and I sat across from him, opening my mouth.
“Starting tomorrow, your employees will be interrogated. Do you think they’ll keep their mouths shut? If they’re not careful, they’ll face the same charges. Confessing will be easier. That way, you might at least hear a judge say, ‘Given your sincere remorse, we grant a reduced sentence.'”
“Ha….”
I twisted my wrist to check my watch.
It was time for lunch.
I handed Yoon Ki-soo a menu.
“Choose. You can add meat to the oxtail soup if you’d like.”
“…Add meat, you say?”
“Yeah, order whatever you want. I’ll pay.”
At my gentle tone, Yoon Ki-soo shook his head in disbelief.
“Prosecutor, this won’t make me talk.”
I wasn’t buying him food to loosen his tongue.
This was my personal assessment of eight point four billion five hundred million won.
I patted Yoon Ki-soo’s shoulder and spoke.
“If you want, I’ll order pajeon too.”
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A weekend farm in Ansan, Gyeonggi Province.
A man was turning over the earth.
It was the work of tilling the soil before planting seedlings.
Yet the man’s hair was unkempt and his clothes were tattered beyond repair.
His face was gaunt, his cheeks sunken so deeply that one might mistake him for a vagrant.
After laboring over the soil for some time, the man paused to catch his breath and sat down.
He pulled a bottle of soju from his bag and twisted off the cap.
His side dishes were tofu and kimchi he’d brought along.
It was just as Do Gwang-hyun drained the soju in one gulp and reached for the tofu and kimchi with his chopsticks.
“Do Gwang-hyun.”
Do Gwang-hyun—that was the man’s name.
At the unfamiliar voice, Do Gwang-hyun’s gaze slowly turned.
It was Seo Jin who appeared.
Do Gwang-hyun’s eyes narrowed as he regarded Seo Jin.
A face he’d never seen before.
Yet Seo Jin approached with a friendly smile.
“…Who are you?”
“Ah, a prosecutor.”
“A prosecutor?”
“Yes.”
Do Gwang-hyun’s eyes widened, and in the same instant, he cursed and hurled the soju bottle.
“Damn it!”
As the bottle flew toward Seo Jin, causing him to stumble back, Do Gwang-hyun gritted his teeth and bolted without hesitation.
Watching Do Gwang-hyun flee at incredible speed, Seo Jin shouted after him.
“Hey! I’m not here to arrest you!”
-Do Gwang-hyun, age 31.
-One prior conviction.
-Financial fraud and money laundering.

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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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