Prosecutor Kim Seo-Jin - Chapter 54

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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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The Bait (4)
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The conference room was frigid, and every prosecutor present had their expression locked in place.
Han Jung-ah, who always wore a smile, was no exception.
I settled quietly into my seat and surveyed my surroundings.
Chief Prosecutor Jo Yong-jun was not yet visible.
Only the head of Criminal Division 2 stood gazing out the window.
The chief prosecutor’s name was Ji Se-heon.
He exhaled a heavy sigh and turned toward the prosecutors.
“Is everyone here?”
Han Jung-ah answered with a “Yes,” and another prosecutor beside her asked cautiously.
“But what is this about?”
“Who knows. It’s not good news.”
Summons like this were never good news.
Either you were being chewed out or hearing dire tidings—one or the other.
The prosecutors of Criminal Division 2, already marked unfavorably by the chief prosecutor, were uneasy.
But I remained composed.
I knew what was about to unfold.
I studied the prosecutors’ faces as my thoughts deepened.
Everyone gathered here had worked on the apartment fall case.
Both the defendant and the evidence were murky, so they had labored tirelessly to uncover the truth.
Yet the true culprit was Jo Jun-tae, the chief prosecutor’s son.
‘Will the chief prosecutor apologize? Or…’
Normally, one couldn’t even lift their head.
You would have to apologize again and again.
But the other party was Chief Prosecutor Jo Yong-jun.
I was curious how he would react.
Then Ji Se-heon brought his phone to his ear.
“Yes, Chief Prosecutor. Everyone is here.”
At that moment, the door burst open and Chief Prosecutor Jo Yong-jun and the head of Criminal Division 3 entered.
Chief Prosecutor Jo Yong-jun’s face was ferocious.
His eyes, burning with rage, fixed upon the prosecutors of Criminal Division 2.
My prediction had not been wrong.
He turned the tables, refusing to acknowledge his own fault.
“You useless bastards.”
Those were Chief Prosecutor Jo Yong-jun’s opening words.
The conference room froze instantly, and Chief Prosecutor Jo Yong-jun strode heavily toward Ji Se-heon.
Standing before him, he opened his mouth even more coldly.
“Ji Se-heon, what are you doing?”
Chief Prosecutor Ji Se-heon had no idea what he’d done wrong.
But as always, he bowed his head and apologized first.
“I apologize.”
Prosecutor General Jo Yong-jun struck Chief Prosecutor Ji Se-heon’s chest repeatedly with the documents in his hand—thwack, thwack, thwack.
“What the hell are you doing!”
“I apologize.”
“What! What are you apologizing for, you bastard!”
Prosecutor General Jo Yong-jun hurled the documents at Chief Prosecutor Ji Se-heon.
The papers struck his face and scattered across the floor.
“Read it, you fool!”
Chief Prosecutor Ji Se-heon bent down and hastily gathered the fallen documents in his hands.
The moment he read the contents, his body went rigid.
He slowly raised his head to look at Prosecutor General Jo Yong-jun.
“What… what is this?”
Jo Jun-tae, the Prosecutor General’s son, had been arrested at the Central District Prosecutor’s Office.
The charge: murder.
Prosecutor General Jo Yong-jun should have been ashamed.
He should have buried his head in a hole and never emerged.
But instead, he spoke with absolute confidence.
“You people can’t do your jobs properly.”
“…!”
“Transfer everything Criminal Division 2 is handling to Division 3.”
The Chief Prosecutor of Criminal Division 3, who had followed the Prosecutor General in, quickly bowed his head.
“Yes, we have much work, but we will handle it all.”
Prosecutor General Jo Yong-jun’s voice continued.
“And Criminal Division 2—from now on, investigate Kim Young-jun at the Central District Prosecutor’s Office. That bastard. Your blundering messed everything up. So you’re going to fix it properly.”
Prosecutor General Jo Yong-jun had chosen war.
His plan was to investigate Kim Young-jun’s background and use it as leverage, while blocking his son’s case with his own power.
His target: insufficient evidence and a decision not to prosecute.
He was wielding his authority for exactly this purpose.
Then Prosecutor General Jo Yong-jun’s gaze turned toward me.
He gestured with his finger and opened his mouth.
“Seo Jin, you’re out. Hand over your phone. Stay in the office until this is over.”
I was Kim Young-jun’s relative.
By restricting my movements, he intended to prevent information from leaking.
Prosecutor General Jo Yong-jun’s gaze turned back to Chief Prosecutor Ji Se-heon.
“Do this right. Examine every hair on that bastard Kim Young-jun. Understood?”
But Chief Prosecutor Ji Se-heon didn’t answer.
He simply kept his head bowed.
“Don’t answer!”
“Is this true?”
“What?”
“Did Jo Jun-tae commit murder?”
Prosecutor General Jo Yong-jun’s eyes widened.
It was the truth.
Chief Prosecutor Ji Se-heon shook his head.
“…I can’t do it.”
“What?”
“I’d rather resign.”
“You bastard….”
Prosecutor General Jo Yong-jun’s eyes twisted in fury. Seeing this, the Chief Prosecutor of Criminal Division 3 quickly stepped forward.
“Hey, you think just you resigning solves this? What about the others? We’re all in this together. You want to brand them for life?”
He continued, whispering directly into Chief Prosecutor Ji Se-heon’s ear.
“Listen, the Prosecutor General has that kind of power! You know it! So just turn a blind eye this once. For the others, not for yourself! They still have bright futures ahead. You want to throw shit in their path?”
Even if Prosecutor General Jo Yong-jun was an old man in the back office facing retirement, his connections stretched to the Supreme Prosecutors’ Office, the Ministry of Justice, the National Assembly, and even the Blue House.
He had that kind of power.
But Chief Prosecutor Ji Se-heon shook his head.
“I may have been disrespected for lacking skill, but I’ve never done anything shameful. And now you want me to cover up a murder? I’m ashamed to even call myself a prosecutor right now. So stop doing shameful things yourself.”
His voice reached Prosecutor General Jo Yong-jun’s ears.
His face transformed like a demon’s.
“Ji Se-heon! So you’re refusing to listen to me now?”
“Yes.”
Chief Prosecutor Ji Se-heon answered cleanly and turned his head toward the other prosecutors.
His eyes apologetic, his voice weak.
“I’m sorry. I’d rather be selfish than shameful.”
Prosecutor General Jo Yong-jun’s face flushed crimson to his ears.
If there had been no witnesses, the atmosphere suggested he would have grabbed Chief Prosecutor Ji Se-heon by the hair and beaten him.
“My apologies.”
Chief Prosecutor Ji Se-heon bowed deeply toward Prosecutor General Jo Yong-jun.
That was the end of it.
Without hesitation, he turned and headed for the door.
Watching him go, the Chief Prosecutor of Criminal Division 3 muttered.
“That… that bastard….”
Then it happened.
Bang!
The door burst open as Chief Prosecutor Ji Se-heon’s investigator rushed in.
The investigator’s face was rigid as if he’d witnessed something horrific, and he urgently opened his mouth toward Chief Prosecutor Ji Se-heon.
“S-something terrible has happened.”
“What is it?”
Ji Se-heon’s voice was hollow, drained of all vitality.
The prosecutor general’s son had committed murder, and I’d been ordered to cover it up.
I thought I’d seen enough to remain unmoved by anything, no matter how catastrophic.
But then.
“Wait, just a moment.”
The detective rushed toward the conference room entrance and pressed the power button on the television.
The screen flickered to life, and there was Lee Eun-ha.
-A horrific incident has unfolded in Chuncheon City, Gangwon Province. The Seoul Central District Prosecutors’ Office…
Everyone froze.
Prosecutor General Jo Yong-jun’s eyes bulged so wide they seemed ready to burst from their sockets.
“That… that’s…”
Lee Eun-ha’s voice continued rapidly.
-All suspects have been arrested. They caused a traffic accident while driving under the influence and dragged the victim to the 15th floor of an apartment to conceal the accident…
The Criminal Division 3 chief prosecutor trembled violently.
‘The media?’
They’d caught the scent.
If we’d coordinated beforehand, perhaps. But it had already exploded into the open.
And the one who’d scooped this exclusive was the wildly popular Lee Eun-ha.
Even Prosecutor General Jo Yong-jun couldn’t contain this.
-The victim is reported to have still been alive at the time. The victim, who had just graduated high school and was rushing toward their dreams, reportedly spoke these final words: “Please save me.”
Prosecutor General Jo Yong-jun’s body swayed.
“Stop… please stop…”
His voice was desperate.
But Lee Eun-ha couldn’t possibly hear him.
She uttered the very words he most dreaded hearing.
-It has been revealed that Jo Yong-jun, the prosecutor general of the Gangwon District Prosecutors’ Office, is the ringleader’s father.
Prosecutor General Jo Yong-jun’s face cracked.
Moments later, he staggered from his seat.
The Criminal Division 3 chief prosecutor chased after him, leaving only Criminal Division 2 in the room.
Only sighs remained in the grand conference room.
Where the storm had clawed through, only wounds remained.
Han Jung-ah’s gaze turned toward Ji Se-heon, who leaned diagonally against the wall, exhaling nothing but sighs.
She approached him cautiously.
“…You’re not going to quit, are you?”
Ji Se-heon didn’t answer.
Han Jung-ah smiled slightly and spoke with a hint of playfulness.
“Surely you’re not too embarrassed to take back what you said?”
“What?”
The prosecutor beside her picked up on the jest.
“Han, you said you’d rather become a selfish unemployed person than be embarrassed. Looks like you’ll be opening a law practice soon.”
“Don’t expect any special treatment. You’ve always said it yourself—show favoritism and I’ll crush you. I’ll keep that in mind and do my absolute best to trample them, Chief Prosecutor Ji Se-heon.”
Chief Prosecutor Ji Se-heon’s eyes narrowed.
“You bastards. Can’t you cut me some slack? My kid’s starting high school now…. Wait, you’ve never won against them anyway, have you?”
Prosecutor Han Jung-ah tugged at Chief Prosecutor Ji Se-heon’s sleeve.
“That’s why you should stay. I’ll chalk up what you said earlier to a moment of anger.”
“Tch….”
Meanwhile, I was organizing the documents scattered on the floor.
As the junior, it was naturally my job.
But my hands slowed as I picked up the papers.
The documents didn’t contain only information about Jo Jun-tae.
‘Look at this.’
There was information about Kim Young-jun.
Not detailed, but mostly about women.
Prosecutor General Jo Yong-jun had been conducting background investigations on Kim Young-jun for some time.
“What are you doing?”
Prosecutor Han Jung-ah sat beside me and asked while helping gather the documents.
I silently handed her the file on Kim Young-jun, and Prosecutor Han Jung-ah’s eyes narrowed.
The kind of crude content you’d see in tabloids.
Her gaze turned toward me.
“Is this real?”
I am Kim Young-jun’s cousin.
Her eyes were asking if this was the truth.
The other prosecutors, sensing the strange atmosphere, gathered around.
Their eyes held the same question as Prosecutor Han Jung-ah’s.
“Is it real?”
I rose to my feet and spoke.
“Could we… investigate this?”
“…!”
“They say you should grant even a dead man’s wishes, so why not follow Prosecutor General Jo Yong-jun’s instructions?”
Meaning it was true.
Everyone’s eyes gleamed, and a chilling atmosphere tightened around us.
Following his instructions meant turning a blade toward the Central District Prosecutor’s Office.
It was dangerous work, like standing on the edge of a cliff.
I continued.
“They should experience it too. We counter Jo Jun-tae’s issue with Kim Young-jun’s issue.”
“….”
“And… if we frame it as work ordered by Prosecutor General Jo Yong-jun, even if problems arise, it shouldn’t matter. We might actually gain sympathy as the shrimp caught between two whales.”
Chief Prosecutor Ji Se-heon nodded and fell into thought.
This case was about having their rice bowl stolen by the Central District Prosecutor’s Office—a matter of pride.
If you’ve been fed shit, it’s only polite to spread it back.
If I move discreetly, success is entirely within reach.
A stone will be placed in the path of Kim Young-jun, who has always carried such tension in his neck.
But then.
“Seo Jin, you’re his cousin, aren’t you? Will you be alright?”
“I’d rather be a selfish cousin than an embarrassing one.”
I bowed respectfully, and Chief Prosecutor Ji Se-heon’s face twisted in amusement.
My words dissolved the tension that had filled the room.
The other prosecutors chuckled.
“That’s right, selfish is better! Ha ha ha!”
“You guys are something!”
Chief Prosecutor Ji Se-heon sighed deeply and fanned himself with his hand.
I smiled as I watched them.
This was certainly a team with good chemistry.
My gaze drifted toward the window.
Kim Yun-hwan came to mind.
He must be in quite a difficult position right now.
But…
‘Just wait. From now on, you’ll lose your mind.’
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“You didn’t know?”
Seoul Central District Prosecutors’ Office.
Kim Young-jun stared ahead, his voice parched.
Kim Yun-hwan and Chief Prosecutor Jo Woo-jae stood before him.
Kim Yun-hwan nodded.
“…Yes.”
“First, I’ll give you credit. Our job is to catch guys like that. But Yun-hwan, you should have thought about the aftermath. Do you think Jo Yong-jun will sit still? He’ll target you now. Can you handle it?”
Jo Yong-jun—even rotten, he’s still a saury.
Even without teeth, a tiger is still a tiger.
If he clamps down and charges, there’s no avoiding injury.
Kim Young-jun’s voice continued.
“Or do I need to clean up after you too?”
“I apologize.”
Kim Yun-hwan lowered his head, and Kim Young-jun’s gaze shifted to Chief Prosecutor Jo Woo-jae.
“Woo-jae, you get out. And don’t show your face in front of me until I give permission.”
“Yes.”
Chief Prosecutor Jo Woo-jae left without any excuses.
The moment the door closed, the atmosphere in the office shifted entirely.
Kim Young-jun stared at Kim Yun-hwan with a terrifying gaze.
“Ah, Father….”
Kim Yun-hwan’s face stiffened.
He knew what was coming whenever Prosecutor General Kim Young-jun made that expression.
Kim Yun-hwan feared it.
Yet even so, Kim Yun-hwan trusted Prosecutor General Kim Young-jun.
A few blows and the problem would be resolved.
His father was a prosecutor general—and a man virtually certain to become the top prosecutor.
He believed his father could shield him from Prosecutor General Jo Yong-jun’s retaliation.
‘Sigh….’
A world where causing trouble meant a few beatings and then it was over.
People who lived above the law.
Seo Jin intended to strike at the back of their heads.
And Prosecutor General Kim Young-jun unfastened his watch as he looked at Kim Yun-hwan.

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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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