Prosecutor Kim Seo-Jin - Chapter 57

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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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When Plans Fall Apart (1)
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“You reek of alcohol. Who were you drinking with last night?”
Jin-young spoke as he settled into his desk chair.
I touched my throbbing head and recalled the previous evening.
“Ugh.”
I’d gone three rounds with Do Gwang-hyun.
The man drank like water—if I hadn’t forced myself to stop, he’d probably still be pouring.
I shook my head and asked.
“What time is it?”
“Eleven. I made hangover soup, so go eat.”
I left the room and headed to the kitchen.
I greeted my parents who were watching television, then took a seat at the table.
Pollock soup and radish kimchi came into view.
Jin-young sat across from me, his eyes bright with anticipation.
“Try it.”
He’d made it himself.
He’d said he was making pasta at the hotel, but….
“This is delicious. Change your major to Korean cuisine.”
The refreshing warmth was far more satisfying than the pasta I’d eaten last time.
Jin-young laughed with genuine delight.
“You think so?”
“You made the radish kimchi too?”
“Yeah.”
“Switch immediately. You need to nurture that talent. I have a feeling you’ll become the leading figure in globalizing Korean cuisine.”
The two of us were chuckling at the joke when Mother approached the table.
She sat beside Jin-young and fixed me with an unwavering gaze.
“Why are you looking at me like that?”
“Do you have a girlfriend?”
The sudden question made me cough.
“…A girlfriend?”
“Yes.”
“Would you like to meet someone?”
Just having the title of prosecutor opens countless doors.
But I’m the son of Jaejeong Construction’s chairman with decent looks to boot—a perfect catch.
It’s strange that matchmakers aren’t swarming.
“There’s a nice girl. She’s the Former Minister’s daughter—and I hear she’s quite beautiful.”
Mother was being quite proactive.
Even my father, who pretended indifference while watching television, chimed in.
“Just meet her once. Don’t overthink it—keep it light.”
I had no interest in women.
The sexual assault accusation from Jin Yun-hee hadn’t traumatized me or anything like that.
I simply believed now was the time to focus on my goals.
Once I held everything in this world in my hands, the Former Minister’s daughter wouldn’t even catch my eye.
But if I refused, this conversation would keep circling back.
“I’ll meet her just this once. But don’t get your hopes up.”
I was emphasizing that this would be the first and last time.
But my mother beamed with delight.
My father spoke in a playful tone.
“Do you think I’ll live to see my grandchild get married?”
He was already thinking beyond my marriage to my grandchild’s wedding.
That was when it happened.
Buzz.
My phone vibrated.
A message and link from Prosecutor Han Jung-ah.
-The smear piece just dropped.
I immediately tapped the link.
As the phone screen shifted, the contents of the smear piece became visible.
Actress A, notorious for her disease, is famous for refusing to share a bed with her manager. Her goal was to marry a good man from a respectable family, and she’s met B, whose background is equally impressive. The two are frequently spotted together at a luxury hotel—quite the juicy rumor.
According to sources, A is already looking into wedding gifts.
But B has no intention of marrying A.
-A famous entertainment agency is having headaches because of B from a powerful family.
B uses his family background and smooth talk to take barely-adult trainees to hotels, they say.
The agency is terrified of B’s father and can only suffer in silence.
It’s all about Kim Yun-hwan.
Followed by accounts of a popular male actor frequenting room salons.
They drank together in groups and indulged in debauched parties—about ten sordid details piled on.
Of course, ordinary people reading this wouldn’t know the target was Kim Yun-hwan.
There’s no shortage of powerful figures in South Korea, and a mere prosecutor like Kim Yun-hwan wouldn’t stand out.
But if Kim Yun-hwan saw this?
‘He’d lose his mind.’
I gripped my phone and rose from my seat.
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That evening.
Before heading to Gangwon Province, I stopped by Prosecutor Kim Young-jun’s house.
Before leaving for Gangwon Province, Seo Jin stopped by Prosecutor Kim Young-jun’s house.
Kim Young-jun was nowhere to be seen.
“Seo Jin, you’re here?”
Kim Young-jun’s Wife greeted me with a dry voice.
“How have you been?”
“Fine.”
Kim Young-jun’s Wife was strange.
Kim Young-jun and Kim Yun-hwan at least didn’t show hostility toward each other in plain sight.
But she made no effort to conceal it.
Whatever had happened in the past, she grabbed me as I headed toward Kim Yun-hwan’s room.
“Wait a moment—Kim Yun-hwan took the fall for you, didn’t he?”
“Pardon?”
“I heard something happened at your district prosecutor’s office. He got scolded while handling it as an intern, right?”
Her tone remained dry, but her eyes were piercing.
When I didn’t answer, she brushed past me and added one more thing deliberately.
“Apologize to Kim Yun-hwan.”
It was absurd.
Kim Yun-hwan had stolen the case and recklessly caused this entire mess through his own actions.
But I buried my emotions.
“Understood.”
I climbed the stairs to Kim Yun-hwan’s room.
Kim Yun-hwan lay on his bed with the blanket pulled over him.
Even as I entered, he didn’t show his face and remained lying down.
“Hyung.”
I opened my mouth with a gentle, pitiful tone.
Kim Yun-hwan sighed and pushed the blanket aside, sitting up.
Then he frowned and spoke.
“Why did you come? Here to gawk?”
His face was darkly bruised from the beating, and his lips were split open.
Kim Yun-hwan touched his face and opened his mouth.
“I have to wear a mask at the company. It’s so embarrassing.”
“Why did you even take it in the first place…?”
“I told you it was a coincidence. Do I look like some punk who steals cases? And look at the result—I took the whole thing on myself, didn’t I? You should be grateful to me, you bastard.”
Kim Yun-hwan believed himself the victim and spoke with confidence.
He was actually intimidating me.
Both Kim Young-jun’s Wife’s attitude and Kim Yun-hwan’s behavior were revolting.
I wanted to curse them out, but I kept my expression hidden, sat down in the chair, and exhaled a sigh like a man in pain.
“You heard about it too, didn’t you?”
“Heard what?”
“That I’m in a difficult position at Gangwon District Prosecutors’ Office.”
Kim Yun-hwan had also heard the news that I was being ostracized at Gangwon District Prosecutors’ Office.
Perhaps feeling some remorse, he cracked open the window and stuck a cigarette between his lips.
“You didn’t get hit, though.”
“But a problem’s come up.”
Kim Yun-hwan’s expression twisted toward me as he spun the lighter’s flint wheel.
“…A problem?”
“Yeah.”
Kim Yun-hwan let out a derisive snort.
“Something bigger than a Seoul Central District Prosecutors’ Office lackey grabbing the Gangwon District Prosecutor’s son by the collar and getting him arrested?”
For Kim Yun-hwan, this was the worst-case scenario.
Imagining anything worse seemed impossible.
But I couldn’t ignore it—the anxiety etched across my face was too obvious.
Kim Yun-hwan straightened up and asked.
“What is it?”
“I’m only telling you because you’re my older brother. You have to keep this secret—that it came from me. I’m already being ostracized, and if this gets out, I’ll be branded as someone who sold information.”
“I get it. Just tell me.”
My voice dropped to a whisper.
“You know Jo Yong-jun is preparing retaliation, right?”
At the mention of Chief Prosecutor Jo Yong-jun’s name, Kim Yun-hwan’s expression grew uncomfortable.
But that was all.
He had powerful backing.
“Come on, is that all? Forget it. Father met with newspaper presidents and clinked glasses with them. No matter how impressive Jo Yong-jun is, his image is already tarnished because of his son’s death—who’s going to help him? Even if he makes a move….”
“Gossip columns are still possible, though.”
Kim Yun-hwan’s eyes wavered.
I studied that expression and continued with the most sympathetic tone I could muster.
“Looks like he investigated how you spend your time. He was originally planning to leak it to the media, but since that didn’t work out, he sent it to the gossip columns instead.”
“He investigated how I spend my time?”
“He sent a link. Read it.”
Kim Yun-hwan scrambled to find his phone and grabbed it.
His anxious fingers swiped across the screen.
His eyes widened at the explicit content, and his lower lip trembled.
“…Who the hell did this.”
Chief Prosecutor Kim Young-jun doesn’t dismiss gossip columns.
Every morning, his desk is piled high with documents from various gossip column companies.
By separating fact from fiction, he can extract the hidden information beneath.
And the moment he sees this gossip column, he’ll immediately know who the subject is.
He’ll certainly be furious at the true nature of his son’s debauched lifestyle, worse than he ever imagined.
At that moment, I poured more fuel on the fire.
“Still, since it’s written like ‘B’ or something, he might not realize it’s you?”
“Which company made this? Find out. Just call them and tell them to take it down. As long as it doesn’t reach Father’s desk by Monday, we’re fine, right?”
“Hyung, I’m being ostracized right now. Finding this out was already difficult enough.”
I shook my head gently, but Kim Yun-hwan’s voice grew urgent.
“Find out faster!”
“It’s difficult. I barely managed to uncover this much.”
“Damn it!”
Kim Yun-hwan searched through his phone’s contacts.
He then located the phone number of an actor he’d enjoyed debaucherous parties with.
Once the call connected, he paced the room and raised his voice.
“What are you doing? Hey, you called me in, didn’t you? It has to be you! Who else would know about it!”
He always blamed others.
It was truly pathetic, but everything was unfolding exactly according to my plan.
‘He’ll make a desperate move.’
Kim Yun-hwan would do anything to prevent this from reaching Prosecutor General Kim Young-jun’s ears.
He was already in terrible condition, and if Prosecutor General Kim Young-jun learned of this as well, he might suffer another beating.
Kim Yun-hwan would act hastily and abuse whatever power he possessed.
I and Criminal Division 2 of Gangwon District Prosecutors’ Office were waiting for that moment.
And the result would be….
‘You’re headed to Dongnam County.’
There was one more element to my plan.
Once Kim Yun-hwan was exiled to Dongnam County, Prosecutor General Kim Young-jun’s attention would turn toward me.
Prosecutor General Kim Young-jun was aiming for Prosecutor General and beyond.
He needed someone to remain in the Prosecution Service as his eyes and ears.
In other words, he would back me.
Of course, that was merely the surface.
Prosecutor General Kim Young-jun was using me.
He was already plotting to strip away the power he’d given me and hand it back to Kim Yun-hwan once he returned in the future.
But I had no intention of ever relinquishing the power I received.
I planned to devour it all.
However.
“What are you doing?”
A chillingly terrifying voice echoed through the room.
Kim Yun-hwan froze instantly, and my gaze snapped toward the voice.
Prosecutor General Kim Young-jun stood in the doorway—when had he arrived?
“Ah, Father….”
Kim Yun-hwan ended the call and looked toward Prosecutor General Kim Young-jun.
His eyes were devoid of all light.
His legs trembled uncontrollably from sheer terror.
Yet Prosecutor General Kim Young-jun calmly extended his hand.
“Give it to me.”
Kim Yun-hwan stumbled forward toward Prosecutor General Kim Young-jun and handed over his phone.
Then he opened his mouth with a desperate voice.
“I’m s-sorry.”
Kim Young-jun examined Kim Yun-hwan’s phone with an expressionless gaze.
As he read the gossip column, Kim Young-jun’s anger flared.
His grip tightened around the device.
Judging by the content, it was likely describing a group indulging in debauchery.
And then.
Smack!
He hurled the phone at Kim Yun-hwan’s face.
“Ow!”
As Kim Yun-hwan cried out and clutched his face in pain, Kim Young-jun’s gaze shifted toward me.
His voice came heavy and deliberate.
“Wait for me in the study.”
“Yes, sir.”
The moment I stepped outside, the door slid shut behind me as if it had been waiting.
Kim Young-jun was probably rolling up his sleeves right now.
From inside the room, Kim Yun-hwan’s screams echoed out.
“Father, please!”
Kim Young-jun’s study was lined entirely with books, with a conference table positioned at its center.
I stood there touching the spines of books, lost in thought.
The plan that had relied on Kim Young-jun remaining ignorant and pressuring Kim Yun-hwan had collapsed.
Yet my expression remained composed.
When one plan crumbles, you simply lay out another.
I had already prepared an alternative strategy in my mind.
And moments later.
The study door opened and Kim Young-jun entered.
He fastened his watch back onto his wrist and took the head seat at the table.
Then he looked at me and spoke.

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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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