Prosecutor Kim Seo-Jin - Chapter 58

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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 (2)
“What does Jo Yong-jun want?”
Prosecutor General Kim Young-jun didn’t beat around the bush—he threw a fastball straight at the heart of the matter.
It was his nature to despise wasting time on pointless pleasantries.
‘But what does he know?’
My true objective was to absorb Prosecutor General Kim Young-jun’s power for myself.
But the goals I could openly reveal were two-fold.
-Transfer Jo Jun-tae’s murder case to Gangwon District Prosecutors’ Office.
-Kim Yun-hwan’s exile.
But Prosecutor General Kim Young-jun wouldn’t grant Gangwon District Prosecutors’ Office’s request.
He was the type who believed that yielding once turned him into a pushover.
When I was Seo Jun-kyung, I’d heard something from Prosecutor General Kim Young-jun.
“Prosecutor Seo, there’s a trendy saying these days, right? ‘Kindness that continues becomes naivety.’ It’s true. If you take pity on insects and yield once, they don’t appreciate it. They keep making demands. And when you inevitably have to refuse for some reason, do you think they’ll say, ‘Thank you for all your help so far’? No. They curse instead. ‘That bastard changed.’ ‘That rich bastard got worse.’ So what’s the solution? Don’t grant it from the start. The moment you back down in this world, it’s over.”
Given Prosecutor General Kim Young-jun’s nature, the moment he heard Gangwon District Prosecutors’ Office’s plan, he would use it to launch a counterattack.
He would certainly crush them so thoroughly they’d never dare utter the words ‘request’ or ‘negotiation’ again.
That’s how Prosecutor General Kim Young-jun had always lived.
That’s why I’d planned for Kim Yun-hwan to make a desperate move.
If a more dire situation were created, even Prosecutor General Kim Young-jun would have no choice but to back down.
But Prosecutor General Kim Young-jun’s sudden arrival had derailed my first plan.
Why had the man who supposedly had an evening appointment with a congressman shown up now?
‘Regardless.’
My objective remained unchanged.
But I had to alter my method.
“I’m in a difficult position because of this matter too. I don’t know the details.”
“Tell me what you do know.”
An authoritative voice—an immediate command to extract what I knew.
As expected, I complied and spoke the truth.
“It seems they want to take over the murder case.”
Prosecutor General Kim Young-jun stared at me intently.
He was judging whether there was deception in my words.
Though he was my uncle, I couldn’t help thinking he’d go this far—but Prosecutor General Kim Young-jun was a man who’d clawed his way up from nothing.
To survive in a world teeming with silver-spoon monsters, one had to become a devil.
And to a devil, this was nothing.
Fortunately, Prosecutor General Kim Young-jun nodded.
After all, even Prosecutor General Kim Young-jun found it burdensome to be involved with a murder case in Gangwon Province, especially one involving his own son.
Prosecutor General Kim Young-jun pulled out a cigarette and spoke in a dry voice.
“And?”
“I’m not entirely sure about this, but I think Yun-hwan needs to demonstrate that he’s taking responsibility.”
“Responsibility?”
I opened my mouth as if reluctantly dragging out something I didn’t want to say.
“So it’s like… exile, in a way.”
Any ordinary person would feel displeased hearing someone suggest exiling their own son.
But this time too, my prediction proved accurate.
Prosecutor General Kim Young-jun’s expression betrayed no emotion whatsoever.
Instead, he asked a question.
“Is that all?”
“That should be it. Since it concerns my brother Kim Yun-hwan, I’ve been looking into it myself to some extent.”
Prosecutor General Kim Young-jun met my gaze.
His observant eyes remained unrelenting.
But judging by the flow of conversation, I had no reason to feel intimidated.
After a moment, Prosecutor General Kim Young-jun opened his mouth slowly.
“I’ve heard what you want. So what’s the plan? After stirring things up with the pamphlet, what were you trying to do?”
I clenched my fists hidden beneath the table.
Even my prediction that they would reverse-engineer the Gangwon District Prosecutors’ Office’s plan had proven correct.
But I composed my expression before speaking.
“I honestly don’t know that far ahead. But if you give me just one hour, I’ll find out as much as I can.”
“You’re asking for time?”
“Yes, because we’re family. I don’t like seeing my brother Kim Yun-hwan being used like this either.”
Prosecutor General Kim Young-jun’s expression shifted subtly.
Curiosity flickered in his emotionless eyes, and a smile appeared at the corners of his mouth.
And he nodded.
“Fine.”
Shortly after, I left.
Prosecutor General Kim Young-jun, who had been sitting in the study lost in deep thought, turned his gaze toward the window.
He had considered investigating directly what was happening at the Gangwon District Prosecutors’ Office.
But it could end up pouring oil on a burning fire.
So he entrusted it to me instead….
‘Family, you say?’
A faint smile played across Prosecutor General Kim Young-jun’s lips.
Just moments before, he had been curious about what scheme was being hatched at the Gangwon District Prosecutors’ Office.
But not anymore.
Now he was curious about how I would uncover it.
Prosecutor General Kim Young-jun rose to his feet and walked toward the window with measured steps.
‘Yes, I can entrust it to Seo Jin for now and hand it back to Kim Yun-hwan later if needed.’
Seo Jin is still young.
Clever though he may be, he lacks experience.
I don’t know about the future, but for now, he’s manageable.
That’s what Prosecutor General Kim Young-jun thought.
‘It would be even better if Kim Yun-hwan takes the reins with Seo Jin.’
Prosecutor General Kim Young-jun crossed his arms and smiled faintly.
I thought everything was unfolding according to my design.
And at that very moment.
Kim Yun-hwan’s door creaked open.
“Yun-hwan…”
Kim Yun-hwan’s Mother had entered.
Kim Yun-hwan’s Mother, who had been anxiously checking on her son’s condition, widened her eyes.
The room was in complete chaos.
Books from the bookshelf were scattered across the floor, and the guitar he played as a hobby was smashed beyond recognition.
One could believe a typhoon had swept through.
And Kim Yun-hwan, sitting on the bed, turned his head toward his mother.
But Kim Yun-hwan’s face was equally dire.
“Yun-hwan!”
“Mom…”
“What’s wrong? Why is it like this!”
She grasped Kim Yun-hwan’s shoulders and asked desperately, but he shook his head without opening his mouth.
“…It’s nothing.”
Kim Yun-hwan’s Mother was, quite literally, someone who understood everything.
No matter what trouble Kim Yun-hwan had caused, she had always embraced him.
But even such a mother wanted to hide a sordid party.
“It’s nothing? What do you mean nothing! What’s going on?”
“It’s fine. Really, it’s nothing.”
But Kim Yun-hwan’s eyes involuntarily drifted toward his phone.
His mother’s gaze followed in that direction.
“This?”
His mother picked up Kim Yun-hwan’s phone.
Kim Yun-hwan startled and tried to snatch the phone back.
“Hey, Mom!”
“Stay still.”
His mother’s voice was firm, and Kim Yun-hwan clutched his head and lowered his gaze.
His mother’s eyes shifted to the phone’s screen.
The display was cracked, but it still functioned.
And so his mother also confirmed the flyer.
His son’s private life—something that wouldn’t even appear in third-rate novels.
As Kim Yun-hwan’s sigh echoed through the room, his mother’s voice emerged.
“…You’re B?”
“I’m sorry.”
Even with ten mouths, he would have nothing to say, and if there were a mouse hole, he would have wanted to bury his head in it.
It was, quite literally, a family disgrace.
But his mother’s reaction was unexpected.
“…You hit your child over something like this?”
Once again, Kim Yun-hwan’s Mother sided with him.
*
*
*
The hour when streetlights swayed in the wind.
Seo Jin walked through a residential area in Bangbae-dong.
Back when I was Prosecutor Seo Jun-kyung, I had secretly contracted a jeonse apartment while investigating high-ranking officials.
Of course, I had used someone else’s name, and that contract remained active even now.
I was heading there now.
As I trudged up the slope lost in thought, a subtle smile crossed my face.
‘In a way, this worked out well.’
Though my plans had derailed unexpectedly, thinking about it calmly, it was actually a blessing in disguise.
If Kim Yun-hwan had made a reckless move and self-destructed, there would have been no time to demonstrate my abilities to Prosecutor General Kim Young-jun.
He would have simply been the pathetic one taking a beating.
But not anymore.
Now I could orchestrate everything as if I were in complete control.
Perhaps Prosecutor General Kim Young-jun would now see me as a replacement for Kim Yun-hwan or as his right hand.
‘I’ve arrived.’
It was a commercial residential building perched high on the slope.
I climbed to the second floor and entered the password with practiced ease.
With a beep, the door unlocked.
A studio with an attached kitchenette.
Air conditioning, television, even built-in closets—a perfectly furnished full-option unit.
Yet I had never enjoyed these amenities.
This place had been rented solely to hide case records.
As a result, what met the eye were cardboard boxes scattered about like those of someone moving out.
Of course, every box contained case records.
I meticulously searched through the boxes until I found one ramen box marked with the initial K.
K naturally stood for ‘Kim’ from Prosecutor General Kim Young-jun’s name.
I lifted the heavy box, carried it into the room, and collapsed onto the floor.
Opening it, the box was filled with records about Prosecutor General Kim Young-jun.
But there was no decisive evidence.
Prosecutor General Kim Young-jun was not foolish enough to leave traces.
In other words, these records were all suspicions.
Yet it was amusing that an entire box contained nothing but suspicions.
I muttered to myself.
“If I gain a little more power….”
Then I could dig deeper without worrying about consequences, and suspicion would become fact.
And that would be the end of Prosecutor General Kim Young-jun.
‘Let’s begin.’
Seo Jin brushed the dust from his hands and pulled out the documents.
Not this either.
After rummaging through the box for about ten minutes, I discovered a white envelope lying at the very bottom.
‘Found it.’
Seo Jin opened the envelope and extracted its contents.
Several photographs came into view.
—A photo of Kim Yun-hwan entering a Room Salon.
—A photo of him in the basement parking lot of the Room Salon, his arm draped around a woman’s shoulders as he climbs into a car.
—A photo of him entering a Hotel with the woman.
Anyone could see it was solicitation of prostitution.
But I couldn’t hand these over to a journalist.
The news would immediately reach Prosecutor General Kim Young-jun’s ears, and the media would certainly remain silent.
In fact, only I would be left in an awkward position.
Posting them on internet communities wouldn’t help either.
Dozens of cases involving political heavyweights dominate the headlines daily—a regular prosecutor’s solicitation of prostitution would barely attract attention.
But.
‘It’s more than enough for blackmail.’
Seo Jin spread the photographs on the floor and pulled out his phone.
Then I carefully photographed them, one by one.
My plan was to confront Prosecutor General Kim Young-jun with these photos and several additional charges, then negotiate.
“It seems they’ll use SNS rather than the media. If we apply the brakes here, even if we win, we’ll only be left with scars. What if we compromise appropriately while obtaining the originals?”
Prosecutor General Kim Young-jun wouldn’t refuse further.
Because now there was an alternative to Kim Yun-hwan—me, Seo Jin.
And Kim Yun-hwan’s exile would become certain.
‘Perfect….’
Seo Jin chuckled softly as I reviewed the photos on my phone.
Back when I was Seo Jun-kyung, I never imagined I’d use this information this way.
Back then, I only cursed Kim Yun-hwan as a filthy bastard.
But to think it’s actually useful like this—truly, the ways of the world are unpredictable.
That was when it happened.
The built-in closet that had remained shut all this time suddenly burst open with a bang, as if a ghost had arrived at its house.
Caught off guard, I felt my heart drop.
“What, what is it!”
But as Seo Jin’s gaze snapped toward the closet, my eyes went wide.
Lee Dong-young was bursting out from inside.
And in the next instant, Lee Dong-young tackled me and pinned me down.
As documents scattered and crashed with a deafening clatter, Lee Dong-young grabbed my collar and shouted fiercely.
“You… what are you! What is it, you bastard!”
Lee Dong-young’s eyes were bloodshot.
Seo Jin was startled by Lee Dong-young’s sudden emergence, but Lee Dong-young looked as if he’d seen a ghost.
“What the hell are you doing?!”
Seo Jin grasped the wrist of Detective Lee Dong-young, who was shaking him by the collar, and spoke.
“Detective, please… let go first and we can talk about this.”

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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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