Prosecutor Kim Seo-Jin - Chapter 47

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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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You too? (2)
Seo Jin stood before the wall.
Not the present Seo Jin, but the Seo Jin of the past.
With cold eyes fixed on the wallpaper, I picked up a ballpoint pen and wrote without hesitation.
Father: 26.11%
Kim Young-jun: 24.27%
The major shareholding structure of Jaejeong Construction.
Then I circled Chief Prosecutor Kim Young-jun’s name and wrote Han Joo-chul’s name beside it.
And I tapped it with my finger, muttering to myself.
“You think you can swallow what Father built? Not happening.”
My finger traced across Chief Prosecutor Kim Young-jun’s name.
My finger stopped at Kim Yun-hwan’s name.
I continued speaking as I tapped Kim Yun-hwan’s name repeatedly.
“I’ll stop you from taking the company. But what you’ve built—I’m going to take that, not Kim Yun-hwan.”
I was smiling.
But my voice was sinister.
It seemed to conceal a bone-chilling hunger.
My voice continued.
“Thinking about retirement?”
Chief Prosecutor Kim Young-jun had little time left in the Prosecution Service.
In a few years, time would push him from behind, forcing him to step down.
That was the natural order of the world.
But Chief Prosecutor Kim Young-jun had no intention of relinquishing power.
He was thinking of what came after.
Politics, precisely.
That’s why he wanted to control the Prosecution Service.
Forever.
The political arena was a place teeming with monsters.
To avoid becoming a nobody, one needed power.
Money or connections.
Chief Prosecutor Kim Young-jun had placed his faith in the Prosecution Service.
He planned to establish himself in politics by borrowing the almighty power of the Prosecution Service.
That’s why he wanted to leave his successor here.
“Blood is always the most trustworthy.”
Naturally, the successor Chief Prosecutor Kim Young-jun had in mind was Kim Yun-hwan.
A son was the most reliable person, one who could not disobey.
A puppet.
My lips moved.
“If I bring down Kim Yun-hwan, Kim Young-jun’s attention will turn to me.”
If Kim Yun-hwan disappeared, Chief Prosecutor Kim Young-jun would seek a replacement.
And the perfect candidate is none other than Seo Jin.
I drew a check mark in front of Kim Yun-hwan’s name.
“Start with this bastard.”
The world regained its color.
I stared blankly at the scribbles.
Then I shook my head.
‘What was I thinking?’
I organized what I had seen through psychometry.
First, Chief Prosecutor Kim Young-jun’s shareholding.
The chief prosecutor is a subject of blind stock trust.
The total stock held by direct descendants cannot exceed thirty million won.
‘But twenty-four percent?’
I picked up my phone and searched for Jaejeong Construction.
I searched the shareholding status, but Chief Prosecutor Kim Young-jun’s name wasn’t there.
‘Then he’s using a nominee account?’
That’s the highest probability.
And that nominee is….
‘Han Joo-chul?’
I don’t know who Han Joo-chul is.
But in the world I saw through psychometry, I wrote the name ‘Han Joo-chul’ and
“You’re trying to swallow what your father built?”
…muttered those words.
Moreover, looking at the shareholding status confirms it.
A person named Han Joo-chul held an identical twenty-four point twenty-seven percent stake as Chief Prosecutor Kim Young-jun.
‘Hmm….’
It’s not certain, but given the current situation, the likelihood that Chief Prosecutor Kim Young-jun and Han Joo-chul are in this together is quite high.
‘I’ll look into that later.’
My thoughts moved on.
My gaze landed on Kim Yun-hwan’s name.
The past me tried to bring down Kim Yun-hwan.
‘The reason was….’
To gain Chief Prosecutor Kim Young-jun’s attention.
‘If Kim Yun-hwan were gone, Chief Prosecutor Kim Young-jun would give me wings.’
Then I would ride those wings and
“Destroy Kim Young-jun.”
A faint smile played at my lips.
And like the past me, I tapped Kim Yun-hwan’s name with my finger.
Then I opened my mouth toward the past me.
“I was curious what kind of bastard you were… I like it.”
I pulled out the bookshelf and began tearing at the wallpaper.
The contents and plans written here must not be shown to anyone.
*
*
*
Gangwon District Prosecutors’ Office.
The Chief Prosecutor was a man preparing for retirement while casting glances toward politics.
The Chief Prosecutor set down his teacup and looked ahead.
“Kim Young-jun’s nephew, you say?”
“Yes.”
“How is Kim Young-jun doing?”
“He’s doing well, sir.”
My first day reporting to the Gangwon District Prosecutors’ Office.
I was meeting with the Chief Prosecutor.
He regarded me with an expression of considerable annoyance, then tossed the documents in his hand onto the desk and spoke.
“Let me ask you something. Did you really do all of this yourself?”
Starting with the sister murders, then Yoo A-sung and the real estate fraud scheme, and so on.
It was difficult to believe that a newly appointed prosecutor had accomplished all this in mere months.
“The Dongnam people didn’t push these cases to you out of deference to Kim Young-jun, did they?”
“No, sir.”
The Chief Prosecutor’s eyes betrayed disbelief.
Then, as if he had nothing more to say, he nodded.
“Well, work hard. You can go.”
“Then I’ll take my leave.”
I left the Chief Prosecutor’s office and headed out.
My next destination was the Chief Prosecutor’s Office.
I had been assigned to Criminal Division 2.
As I made my way to the Chief Prosecutor’s Office, I stretched languidly.
‘The Chief Prosecutor will probably be the same.’
Having a prosecutor general as a backing could become a liability.
In a society driven by blood ties, regional connections, and school networks, it could become a reason to diminish the achievements I’d accumulated so far.
So there was a high likelihood this atmosphere would persist in the beginning.
With such thoughts, I opened the door to the Chief Prosecutor’s Office.
‘Huh?’
It wasn’t just the Chief Prosecutor.
The Chief Prosecutor and four other prosecutors were seated inside.
I wondered why they were here loitering about during such a busy time.
“You’re the one?”
The Chief Prosecutor asked abruptly.
I bowed respectfully.
“Good day. I’m Seo Jin.”
I had anticipated that the Chief Prosecutor might harbor some territorial resentment, but his reaction defied my expectations.
He smiled brightly.
It was genuine warmth, not a facade.
“Did you have trouble getting here? Can I get you some coffee?”
After a firm handshake, he patted the sofa beside him, gesturing for me to sit.
“Come on, have a seat.”
“Yes, of course.”
Once I settled in, the other prosecutors chimed in enthusiastically.
“You look much better in person than on YouTube!”
“I was really moved by what you said—’I’ll do this by the book.’ Haha.”
There was no hint of the territorial coldness or condescension I had braced myself for.
They welcomed me with genuine warmth.
After the commotion settled, the Chief Prosecutor spoke.
“Lee Myung-soo told me you’re quite impressive.”
“Lee Myung-soo? Really?”
“Yeah, he’s been singing your praises.”
Lee Myung-soo, that man….
Just days ago, he had said he couldn’t help me with anything, speaking like this.
“Look, at my age, I’m finally getting the title of Chief Prosecutor. But how am I supposed to help you? I’m too busy cleaning up my own mess. If things get tough, give me a call. I’ll buy you a drink. Life is a solitary journey.”
Yet behind my back, he had been actively praising me.
So much so that rumors had spread throughout Criminal Division 2.
“Did I raise him poorly? Well, I didn’t actually raise him, but that guy’s pretty solid. Give him a shot.”
The Chief Prosecutor set down his teacup and spoke.
“Even when Lee Myung-soo said those things, I didn’t believe him. When you appeared on broadcast doing the briefing, I thought you were just a pretty face they put up as window dressing.”
That was understandable, really.
Among everyone at the Dongnam District Prosecutor’s Office, I was the one with the most conventionally attractive appearance.
“But today it became clear. If they wanted window dressing, they wouldn’t have chosen you. They would’ve used that Lee So-hee.”
This was one of the reasons the Chief Prosecutor’s evaluation of me had changed.
The moment he saw Lee So-hee, the Chief Prosecutor realized:
“Ah, so Lee Myung-soo was telling the truth. Seo Jin isn’t just a pretty face.”
Or so I heard he had said, and he seemed genuinely pleased.
Whether that was an appropriate thing to say while sitting across from someone was another matter….
The female prosecutor sitting across from us shot the Chief Prosecutor a look and spoke up.
“Chief Prosecutor, really now… Why make such a joke? This one’s quite handsome too.”
In response to her rebuke, another prosecutor sitting beside her spoke.
“Don’t you know? The Chief Prosecutor has never liked pretty boys anyway.”
The prosecutors chuckled.
Yet their tone and manner didn’t come across as disrespectful.
The atmosphere was quite pleasant, actually.
The Chief Prosecutor glanced at the other prosecutor, cleared his throat with a soft cough, and began to speak.
“Well, in any case. I heard you have a talent for unraveling cases.”
“No, sir. I simply worked hard and got lucky….”
“Don’t be modest. Luck strikes once or twice, but does it keep happening in succession? Do you have superpowers or something? And even if it’s luck, a prosecutor this fortunate is more than welcome.”
At the mention of superpowers, I flinched without realizing it, and the Chief Prosecutor continued speaking.
“Your jurisdiction covers violent crimes, narcotics, organized crime, sexual assault, arson, negligent crimes, and juvenile cases.”
Prosecutors don’t specialize in just one field.
Moreover, since provincial offices suffer from staffing shortages, handling more areas than those in the capital region isn’t unusual.
That’s when it happened.
The Chief Prosecutor set down the documents he’d been holding with deliberate taps.
It was a record of the cases I’d resolved so far.
As I wondered why he was setting it down again, the Chief Prosecutor’s gaze turned toward me.
“I did some investigating when I heard you were coming. Looked at your records, asked the investigators over there about you, and finally heard about your position from Prosecutor Lee Myung-soo. A free role, he said? Don’t worry about boundaries and just work like you did in Dongnam. Don’t feel pressured.”
That kind of reassurance only added to the pressure.
It felt like a boulder had settled on my shoulders.
I have the ability of psychometry, but I can’t control it at will either.
Still, I had to respond.
“Yes, sir. I’ll do my best.”
At the same time, the female prosecutor handed over a file folder as if she’d been waiting for this moment.
“…What is this?”
The female prosecutor smiled brightly and spoke.
“Our unsolved cases list.”
The Chief Prosecutor draped an arm around my shoulders and opened his mouth in a deep, low voice.
“Fighting!”
*
*
*
After leaving the Chief Prosecutor’s Office, I moved to find my office, and the female prosecutor guided me there.
She said we were heading the same way.
The female prosecutor’s name was Han Jung-ah.
Now in her sixth year, in her mid-to-late thirties, still unmarried.
Han Jung-ah explained about Criminal Division 2 as she guided me to the office.
“Our division is famous for drawing blanks whenever big fish—politicians, local bigwigs, gangsters—come through. We rolled up our sleeves and worked hard, but they brought in famous Seoul lawyers. Dozens of them.”
When prosecutors face off against lawyers, the lawyers have a higher probability of winning.
Unless a special task force is assembled, prosecutors must handle multiple cases simultaneously.
But lawyers can clench their teeth and focus on just one case, and that difference is significant.
If dozens of such lawyers show up, the outcome is predictable.
They dodged the law’s net and spun excuse after excuse, and the judges nodded along.
And then.
-Reduced sentences.
-Suspended sentences.
“I worked hard on the investigation, but when I see criminals walking free, it drains everything out of me. With this happening repeatedly, people are even saying I’m taking bribes and looking the other way. It’s infuriating.”
It was then that Seo Jin arrived.
Good fortune, exceptional skill, and powerful connections.
Han Jung-ah smiled broadly as she spoke.
“You’re our totem.”
It seemed like an odd thing for a prosecutor to say, but the atmosphere here was pleasant.
And shortly after.
“Here we are.”
Han Jung-ah stood before the door of an office.
Room 331.
This would be where Seo Jin would work from now on.
“Thank you for showing me around.”
As Seo Jin bowed, Han Jung-ah waved her hand and departed.
Seo Jin then turned and grasped the door handle.
Stepping into a new environment always stirred anticipation.
Another beginning.
I opened the door and stepped inside.
The investigators and administrative staff were nowhere to be seen.
I looked around the quiet office and made my way to the desk.
On the desk lay cases left behind by the previous prosecutor.
At Dongnam, they had shown consideration for my inexperience, but here there was no such mercy.
The workload was already overwhelming.
I tapped through the cases and swept my hand across the desk surface.
Then.
Click.
The sound of the door opening.
I turned my head toward the door.
A man in his late forties, middle-aged.
His hairline had receded somewhat.
The man who met my gaze smiled quietly and spoke.
“I’m Lee Dong-young, an investigator.”
But my eyes trembled at the sight of him.
“…Lee Dong-young?”
When I was Seo Jun-kyung, he was the investigator I had gone through thick and thin with.

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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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