Prosecutor Kim Seo-Jin - Chapter 43

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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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Outskirts (5)
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“So, what brings you here?”
Seo Jin and Eom Il-seop sat across from each other.
Eom Il-seop picked up his teacup and asked the question, while Seo Jin simply gazed at him without responding.
Eom Il-seop was a National Assembly member from Dongnam County, backed by the Daehan Party.
But now it was the Hanmin Party, not the Daehan Party.
He had abandoned Dongnam County and thrown down a challenge in Songpa District.
That challenge was proving successful.
By positioning himself as the sniper against Cho Seon-bong, the longtime kingpin of Songpa District, he had rapidly elevated his profile, with approval ratings approaching fifty percent.
Barring any major complications, he would not only win the election but also enter the center of political power.
And he could become an ideal partner to Seo Jin.
All of that had been my plan.
‘But….’
My thinking had changed.
Garbage belongs in the trash; criminals belong in prison.
I concealed my true feelings and drew a faint smile across my face.
“I came to pay my respects, since it will be difficult to see you once you’re there.”
“You’ll be able to see me often enough.”
“Pardon?”
“Don’t worry. Would I neglect Prosecutor Kim? I’ll have you summoned to Seoul soon.”
“I appreciate the sentiment, even if it’s just flattery.”
“It’s not flattery. Think about it. The Minister of Justice is from our Hanmin Party.”
Eom Il-seop had spent a long time in the Daehan Party.
Yet the phrase “our Hanmin Party” rolled off his tongue with complete naturalness.
Even a bat deserved to be called a resident at this point.
Eom Il-seop continued speaking, placing a cigarette between his lips.
“So transferring one prosecutor won’t be difficult. Just wait.”
Eom Il-seop wanted to use Seo Jin as a hunting dog.
Since he was still young, with proper training, he seemed like the type who would even play dead on command.
He was getting ahead of himself.
“Thank you. But….”
“But?”
“Sigh….”
I let out only a sigh.
Then I opened my mouth with an expression of genuine regret.
“A problem has arisen.”
“…A problem?”
Eom Il-seop’s expression darkened.
Yeouido before a general election is literally a war zone and hell itself.
A 50% approval rating today can plummet below 5% tomorrow over a single misstep.
An unknown figure can suddenly gain popularity rivaling a presidential frontrunner.
That’s elections.
In other words, we cannot afford to overlook even a small problem right now.
Eom Il-seop licked his dry lips and asked carefully.
“…What problem?”
That was when it happened.
Buzz—Eom Il-seop’s phone vibrated.
The caller was Woo Myung-soon.
Eom Il-seop answered with a reluctant expression.
“Ah, Attorney Woo. What is it?”
-There’s a problem.
Woo Myung-soon’s words continued, and Eom Il-seop’s expression soured.
The pleasant atmosphere froze in an instant.
His eyes widened as he listened to whatever Woo Myung-soon was saying, his gaze sweeping across Seo Jin.
“Understood. I’ll call you back.”
Eom Il-seop slowly lowered his phone and continued in a menacing voice.
“You’re trying to arrest me?”
“….”
“How dare you?”
Eom Il-seop clenched his fists tightly.
Veins bulged prominently, trembling slightly.
He delivered his threat slowly.
“I am Eom Il-seop.”
“….”
“Touching me is the same as picking a fight with the Hanmin Party.”
It’s election season.
Each party is closely monitoring the movements of the Prosecutor’s Office and Police.
In such circumstances, destroying a politician—and a strong candidate from Songpa-gu in Seoul no less—would be.
“Prosecutorial interference in elections. Who knows what could happen? Someone like you can be destroyed with a single word.”
“…Assemblyman, I came here alone.”
“What?”
Seo Jin spread both arms as if he had nothing. At this, Eom Il-seop’s eyes narrowed.
Seo Jin leaned toward Eom Il-seop and whispered.
“You need to go back to Seoul. And you need to get me out of ‘here’ as well.”
Seo Jin tapped the table with his finger, and Eom Il-seop nodded.
The wariness in Eom Il-seop’s eyes had dissolved.
He opened his mouth carefully.
“Is there a way?”
“How could someone like me, a newcomer, have a way? But I can buy us time.”
“Time?”
“The evidence… we need to destroy it.”
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Beep beep.
The sound of a car door opening echoed.
As I started the engine and pulled out, another sedan pulled up beside me and stopped.
The window of the other car rolled down smoothly.
It was Lee Jung-woo.
Lee Jung-woo spoke with a cigarette between his lips.
“Man… I’m an expensive guy. I’m already getting flak at the Prosecutor’s Office for losing cases to the police, and now you’re using me like some private detective agency?”
“I’ll buy you beef.”
“Ah, hell. Beef? You’re softening me up.”
“As much as you want.”
“Deal.”
“Then I’ll ask for your help.”
Hearing Lee Jung-woo’s chuckling voice, I reversed the car.
Then I called Lee Myung-soo.
“There should be movement soon. I’ve secured cooperation from the police….”
It was a trap.
Eom Il-seop would do everything in his power to destroy evidence during the brief window of time I had secured.
I planned to capture that moment through Lee Jung-woo.
“I’ll keep moving then.”
-Good work.
I turned the wheel and headed toward Chuncheon.
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Lee So-hee stood in the office, sipping coffee while gazing out the window.
The weather had turned foul, and rain was falling steadily.
Her gaze shifted to her phone.
An article appeared on the screen.
-Daehan Party’s Baek Ki-ho running in Dongjak-gu, Seoul. Approval rating 43%. Four-term straight shot?
As Lee So-hee looked at Baek Ki-ho’s tousled hair and bright smile, her eyes grew cold.
‘I became a prosecutor because I wanted to fight….’
Lee So-hee wanted to fight Baek Ki-ho.
That’s why she had poured in that much effort.
I studied relentlessly to achieve perfect grades, sacrificing sleep since high school for that singular goal.
Yet I was assigned to Dongnam County.
Baek Ki-ho’s influence had orchestrated it.
Even when I received my transfer to the Chuncheon Central Headquarters, the pressure continued through my mother.
“Sigh….”
Fighting would be futile given the distance.
Seoul and Dongnam County—over 100 kilometers separated them.
Even if they were close, we operated in different weight classes.
A four-term congressman virtually assured versus a junior prosecutor.
The moment I drew my sword, it would be my neck on the line.
Before becoming a prosecutor, I hadn’t truly grasped the power wielded by National Assembly members.
But now I understood it intimately.
Four-year contract positions or not, they were monsters whose authority transcended imagination.
Truly, their power knew no bounds.
So I surrendered.
Rather, I had no choice but to surrender.
‘Seo Jin….’
My thoughts drifted to Seo Jin.
At first, I’d dismissed him as a spoiled brat born with a silver spoon.
His father was the CEO of Jaejeong Construction.
His uncle was the Prosecutor General.
He’d entered law school through family privilege and become a prosecutor through that same advantage.
That’s all I’d thought of him then, but not anymore.
I’ve come to think he’s quite remarkable.
Moreover, though I don’t know his true purpose, the way he charges forward without hesitation carries an undeniable charm.
He seemed capable of anything I could never accomplish.
Watching him persist in his challenges while I’d abandoned everything….
‘I envy him.’
I wanted to support Seo Jin and cheer him on.
But that time was running short.
Rumors swirled that Seo Jin might soon leave Dongnam County.
I brought the teacup to my lips, my expression turning bitter.
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At that moment, Seo Jin spotted the sign for Gangwon Provincial Government and slowly turned the steering wheel.
The Governor’s Residence came into view not far ahead.
‘Almost there.’
After driving over 100 kilometers, my lower back ached, but the sign indicating five minutes until arrival gave me renewed energy.
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“I apologize for dropping by without notice.”
The man sitting across from me was Lee Se-moon, Governor of Gangwon Province.
He was known as the kingpin of Gangwon and one of the elder statesmen of the Daehan Party.
He held considerable stakes in the Daehan Party.
Governor Lee Se-moon regarded my unexpected arrival with displeasure.
Late-night visits from prosecutors or police were never welcome.
“It concerns Representative Eom Il-seop.”
Governor Lee Se-moon’s eyes twitched.
“…Eom Il-seop?”
Eom Il-seop had been Governor Lee Se-moon’s lapdog.
But that lapdog had abandoned his master and defected to the Hanmin Party.
He would have killed him on the spot if he could.
Knowing full well how he felt, I continued.
“Representative Eom Il-seop covered up corruption at a place called Dongnam Central Hospital.”
I picked up my phone and set it on the table as I spoke.
A photo message from Lee Jung-woo appeared on the screen.
A scene of Eom Il-seop’s aide urgently meeting with a regional bank director.
The CCTV would have captured them withdrawing money that came through a shell account—they were asking him to delete the footage.
“They’re destroying evidence. Of course….”
I pointed to the next message.
One from Lee Jung-woo.
-CCTV secured.
Lee Jung-woo was tailing the aide and rapidly gathering evidence of their crimes.
I continued speaking.
“Even if we investigate, Representative Eom Il-seop will deny everything. He’ll claim his aide acted alone. And with the Hanmin Party’s backing, only the hapless aide will be arrested.”
I touched my phone.
An article appeared on the screen.
-Eom Il-seop from Dongnam County to run in Songpa District, once a Minguk Party stronghold. Will he exceed 50% support?!
“The Hanmin Party won’t let Representative Eom Il-seop slip away.”
“What’s your name?”
At the sudden question, I paused before answering.
“Seo Jin.”
“Do you like wine?”
Governor Lee Se-moon was smiling softly.
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“Damn it.”
9:20 AM.
Eom Il-seop’s eyes were bloodshot and inflamed.
He hadn’t slept a wink all night.
Erasing this, erasing that.
He loosened his necktie, exhaling the tension that had built up inside him.
“Finally, it’s over.”
Life always has its critical moments.
Everything goes smoothly until suddenly it creaks and groans.
But.
“Seo Jin? Raising one bastard isn’t so bad.”
Eom Il-seop chuckled darkly, exhaling cigarette smoke.
At that moment, a bell chimed and Seo Jin entered.
Eom Il-seop’s gaze fixed on Seo Jin.
He greeted him with a warm smile.
“Ah, you’ve worked hard. Have a seat.”
But something about Seo Jin’s appearance was off.
He was wearing the same clothes from yesterday, and a faint smell of alcohol emanated from his body.
“Did you drink?”
Seo Jin exhaled a deep sigh.
“Assemblyman….”
“What?”
At the troubled tone in his voice, Eom Il-seop’s expression grew uncomfortable again.
“Ha….”
Seo Jin couldn’t find the words and tugged at his hair in frustration.
Unable to bear the tension any longer, Eom Il-seop shouted.
“What!”
“It’s all wrong.”
“What?”
Seo Jin picked up the remote on the table and pressed the power button.
The screen displayed Lee Se-moon, the supreme leader of Gangwon Province, the governor.
He was holding a press conference, his voice seething with rage.
-There are hospital irregularities in Dongnam County! But the person who covered it up and prevented it from becoming an issue is a National Assembly member who received the people’s votes—it makes my blood boil!
Eom Il-seop’s face drained of all color.
His parched lips trembled.
“S-stop….”
But Lee Se-moon did not stop.
-Last night, I found evidence of movements to destroy evidence. That damned National Assembly member running as the Songpa District candidate is Eom Il-seop.
An unintelligible sound escaped from Eom Il-seop’s lips.
“Ah… ah….”
Eom Il-seop had believed in the Hanmin Party and was confident he could stand against the Prosecutor’s Office.
But when Lee Se-moon, the Governor at the center of power, makes his move, everything changes.
The Hanmin Party won’t strain itself protecting Eom Il-seop, a member who just joined their ranks.
They’ll sever him like a lizard’s tail without hesitation.
Eom Il-seop would have to face the Prosecutor’s Office alone.
That’s impossible.
-The person who attacked Minguk Party member Cho Seon-bong’s child issue was a dog covered in filth! He can’t see his own faults but tears into everyone else’s! A person like this has a 50% approval rating? Ha!
My gaze turned toward Eom Il-seop.
Seeing him unable to compose his expression, I opened my mouth.
“I mentioned this yesterday, didn’t I? If you go there, it’ll be difficult for us to meet.”
“What?”
“There. That place. Prison.”
“You, you bastard!”
By the time he realized he’d been deceived, it was already too late.
There was nothing he could do but be swept along.
He’d thought that because I was young, he could train me like a dog—but that was his first mistake.
My eyes, which had seemed naive just yesterday, had changed.
“Who, who are you!”
“Prosecutor Kim Seo Jin.”
The door opened with my cold voice, and investigators entered.
Seeing the flustered Eom Il-seop, I continued.
“Active members of the National Assembly have immunity from arrest and detention without the Assembly’s consent during sessions.”
But the temporary session had ended long ago before the election.
“That immunity is gone now.”
At my low voice, Eom Il-seop’s expression cracked visibly.
“Eom Il-seop, you’re under arrest on suspicion of bribery.”
Eom Il-seop shook his head with a desperate expression.
“No, no….”
But it was over.
The investigators approached Eom Il-seop with heavy footsteps.

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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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