Prosecutor Kim Seo-Jin - Chapter 72

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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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Drinking Poison First (2)
As I left the motel, I called Chief Prosecutor Jo Woo-jae.
“Chief Prosecutor, it’s Seo Jin.”
-Ah, what’s the matter?
His voice was warm, as if our meeting in Chuncheon last time had gone well.
“I’m calling because something’s been troubling me.”
-Troubling?
“It’s about the case Kim Yun-hwan is handling right now. Something feels off about it. I can’t quite put my finger on it, but circumstantially….”
I dangled the bait—suspicions anyone could raise—piece by piece.
-A man who took pains to leave no evidence murdered one of his own academy students. That does seem strange.
-When the students were being abducted, Kim Tae-kyung was at the academy preparing lectures. In other words, his alibi is solid.
Chief Prosecutor Jo Woo-jae felt the inconsistency as he listened to me.
-Right, I’ll look into it.
Chief Prosecutor Jo Woo-jae wouldn’t be able to stop Kim Yun-hwan.
A current affairs program was broadcasting special features, and people were captivated by them.
Would a man who lived watching Prosecutor General Kim Young-jun’s mood really overturn Kim Yun-hwan’s case based solely on my word?
That would be difficult.
There was only one reason I called Chief Prosecutor Jo Woo-jae.
‘Bait for the future.’
When Kim Yun-hwan falls, Prosecutor General Kim Young-jun will back Seo Jin.
I would need someone to be my eyes and ears even after I left the Prosecution Service.
And to fully receive that support, I needed Chief Prosecutor Jo Woo-jae.
This conversation was meant to plant the idea that ‘I trust and rely on you.’
‘And….’
Chief Prosecutor Jo Woo-jae was the chess piece I would place at the vanguard when I destroyed Prosecutor General Kim Young-jun.
*
*
*
“Investigator, are you busy today?”
It was quitting time.
I caught Investigator Lee Dong-young.
“Not at all. Is there something you need?”
“No. I just wanted to have a drink, but I don’t have many friends around here.”
Investigator Lee Dong-young and I sat across from each other at the Grilled Pork Belly Restaurant.
When I was Seo Jun-kyung, we used to drink together three or four times a week….
Tracing old memories, I picked up the soju bottle and poured.
“It’s poison.”
Investigator Lee Dong-young’s eyes shifted toward me.
“Poison?”
“Yes.”
Poison—that’s what the staff members call it when Seo Jin brings snacks to the office.
“If you eat this, you won’t be able to leave work!” they’d say.
But this was the first time the word “poison” had come directly from Seo Jin’s mouth.
“You’re saying I need to be prepared for this?”
“Yes, for a while at least.”
“Understood.”
Lee Dong-young answered calmly.
He then took the soju bottle and refilled Seo Jin’s glass before asking.
“The fact that you’re telling me this here means it has to be kept secret from the staff members too, doesn’t it?”
“Yes.”
This was about taking down Kim Yun-hwan, the son of Kim Young-jun, the Chief Prosecutor of the Seoul Central District Prosecutors’ Office.
The fewer people who knew, the better.
We had to move in complete secrecy, with no one the wiser.
And Lee Dong-young was someone I could trust.
“Understood. Go ahead.”
“There’s a YouTuber named Yoon Min-woo. Please check if there are any missing women from the travel destinations shown in his videos.”
“A YouTuber….”
Lee Dong-young wasn’t particularly familiar with smartphones.
He furrowed his brow in thought.
Then.
“But why that person?”
At Lee Dong-young’s question, Seo Jin shifted his gaze toward the television.
Kim Yun-hwan’s face appeared on the screen.
-Through thorough investigation, we will confirm whether there are any additional crimes.
He had made up his mind completely.
He was going to pin other crimes on Kim Tae-kyung’s shoulders as well.
When Kim Tae-kyung appeared on screen with his face covered by a jacket, the people watching all had something to say.
“Why won’t that bastard reveal his face?”
“That pathetic little piece of trash turned out to be garbage.”
“Wasn’t he an academy instructor?”
Listening to their voices, Seo Jin turned his head back toward Lee Dong-young.
And he opened his mouth as if whispering.
“Kim Tae-kyung isn’t the culprit. The YouTuber I mentioned is the real perpetrator.”
Lee Dong-young’s face went rigid.
“Wait, prosecutor?”
Seo Jin was Kim Young-jun’s nephew.
So when I said I was going after Kim Young-jun, he had been uncertain.
After all, he was my uncle and a prosecutor eyeing the position of Prosecutor General.
But.
“I’m going to catch the real culprit and strip away Kim Yun-hwan’s mask.”
I could sense unwavering resolve in Seo Jin’s voice.
Lee Dong-young’s gaze shifted toward my phone.
Not particularly comfortable with smartphones, but….
“Understood. Let’s give it a try.”
“Things will get busy starting tomorrow, so let’s drink freely tonight.”
Seo Jin raised his glass.
The two glasses clinked together.
A drinking session with Lee Dong-young after such a long time.
Tonight, I wanted to forget about Kim Yun-hwan and drink deeply.
*
*
*
-Breaking news. Kim Tae-kyung, the suspect in the serial murder case of middle school girls, has confessed to everything. This confession comes 27 days after he was identified as a suspect. The Prosecutor’s Office conducted face-to-face interrogations seventeen times, mobilizing profilers and others….
Seo Jin, who was driving, frowned and turned off the radio.
“Sigh….”
Kim Tae-kyung had been coerced into confessing.
He endured and endured, but ultimately bowed his head.
It was obvious what had happened without witnessing it.
Interrogation bordering on violence and torture that disregarded human rights.
For Kim Tae-kyung, a powerless commoner, it would have been as easy for Kim Yun-hwan as twisting an infant’s wrist.
Twenty-seven days—he really held out for a long time.
Bzzzzt.
My phone vibrated.
The caller ID showed Kim Yun-hwan.
I could predict what he’d say.
Seo Jin exhaled and pressed the answer button.
Kim Yun-hwan’s self-satisfied voice filled the interior of the car.
-You heard the news, right? Got him to confess. The bastard held out and held out, but once I presented the evidence, he caved.
“Congratulations. You worked hard.”
Seo Jin’s voice was bright.
A voice completely different from the look reflected in the rearview mirror.
Kim Yun-hwan continued speaking.
-I told you this bastard was the culprit. What would those Gangwon Province kids know? That’s why we couldn’t catch him until now.
Kim Yun-hwan remembered when Seo Jin had found Dongnam County.
At the time, Seo Jin had said, “In times like this, we need to stay composed,” and Kim Yun-hwan had been mulling over that voice.
So he wanted to hear words of recognition from Seo Jin.
That’s how he seemed to think he’d won.
And Seo Jin played along exactly as he wanted.
“I didn’t think so, but you were right, hyung. I lost. You’re impressive.”
-That’s enough. I’m paving the way in Seoul, so come up at your leisure.
Kim Yun-hwan believed that this incident would appease Prosecutor General Kim Young-jun’s anger.
And he was certain that when Seo Jin came up to Seoul, he would clean up after him.
Like Prosecutor General Kim Young-jun and Chief Prosecutor Jo Woo-jae, Seo Jin would become his hands and feet.
Kim Yun-hwan continued speaking.
-I’ve learned so much from handling this case. I’ve even thought it would be nice to have a prosecutor like you playing detective next to me.
“….”
-So I’ll guarantee your position for sure. Let’s do well together, yeah?
The dismissive tone was unmistakable.
Seo Jin laughed coldly.
But his voice remained affectionate.
“Got it. I’m always on your side, hyung. We’re family, after all. We have to go together.”
The call ended.
Seo Jin chuckled to himself.
‘Playing detective?’
Kim Yun-hwan was currently obsessed with playing the hero.
He acted as though he had become a hero.
He was trying to look impressive while pretending to be virtuous.
‘It’s going to hurt a lot when he falls.’
When the public discovered that all of Kim Yun-hwan’s actions were lies, they would grit their teeth and drag him down.
The higher one climbs, the greater the pain when falling.
It would be unbearable.
Seo Jin arrived at a bustling district in Hongcheon.
After parking the car, he found the room salon called Fox Salon and descended the stairs.
“Welcome!”
A waiter wearing a bow tie greeted Seo Jin.
“How many in your party?”
“Just me.”
Customers who came alone fell into two categories.
Either a drunk troublemaker, or someone coming to have a drink with one of the hostesses before heading home.
The waiter looked Seo Jin up and down.
‘He doesn’t seem to have been drinking.’
His handsome features didn’t suggest he was the type to cause problems either.
Though he didn’t like that the young man’s words were cut short.
“This way, please.”
The waiter smiled his professional smile and led Seo Jin to a secluded room.
“What would you like to drink?”
“Is there a hostess named Jin-hee?”
The waiter’s eyes narrowed.
If a customer was naming a specific hostess, he should be a regular, but Seo Jin’s face wasn’t in his memory.
Seo Jin pulled out a fifty-thousand-won note from his pocket.
“Call Jee-myung. Get the drinks that Jin-hee wants.”
The waiter’s suspicious expression melted away instantly.
“Yes, sir!”
The waiter answered cheerfully and left the room.
And Seo Jin fell into thought.
A few months ago, there had been a missing person report.
A 31-year-old woman named Joo Min-ah.
Her parents believed Joo Min-ah worked as an accountant at a company in Hongcheon.
She called regularly and visited home often enough that they harbored no other suspicions.
But then Joo Min-ah’s calls suddenly stopped.
Her parents found her studio apartment and discovered she had been working at a room salon.
They immediately visited the room salon.
But all they heard was “She ran away,” and no one could tell them anything about Joo Min-ah’s whereabouts.
‘And….’
Around the same time, Yoon Min-woo had filmed a food video in Hongcheon.
“He’s got his wallet stuffed with fifty-thousand-won bills? I caught a glimpse of his clothes too—they were designer brands.”
The waiter was chattering away in the waiting area.
A woman named Jin-hee applied lipstick to her lips and spoke.
“Is he a troublemaker?”
“Doesn’t seem like it. He’s young.”
“Young? I’ve never seen anyone young come to this neighborhood. They’ve all been older men.”
“Must have come from somewhere else.”
She tilted her head curiously.
“The name Jin-hee is the first time I’m using it at this place….”
“Anyway, do your best. He said he’d order whatever drinks you want. Expensive ones? That’s fine.”
“Well….”
She rose from her seat and headed outside.
Click-clack, click-clack—the sound of heels echoed through the hallway.
And the room in the far corner.
She exhaled a small sigh, opened the door, and stepped inside.
A man in his mid-to-late twenties appeared.
Quite handsome, and like the waiter said, his suit was designer.
But an unfamiliar face.
Well, it didn’t matter.
As long as he paid, anyone was welcome.
And he was tall too.
She sat down beside Seo Jin with a bright smile.
“Oppa? So you called for me? I’ve never seen you before.”
At her coquettish voice, Seo Jin pointed across with his finger.
“Why don’t you sit over there for now?”
“Huh? You don’t like sitting next to me?”
When Seo Jin nodded, she moved to the opposite seat.
But the smile of capitalism still lingered on her face.
She picked up the menu and spoke.
“What kind of alcohol should we order? Can I get something expensive?”
The waiter had clearly said he would order whatever she wanted.
But then something unexpected came out of Seo Jin’s mouth.
“Hey, you know Min-ah, right? Joo Min-ah.”
Joo Min-ah was a girl who had disappeared a few months ago.
I remembered when Joo Min-ah’s parents came to the establishment, demanding their daughter back and causing a scene.
But suddenly, Joo Min-ah?
Her pupils shifted.
“Who?”
“Just answer.”
“Ugh….”
She exhaled a sigh, pulled out a cigarette, and stuck it in her mouth as her attitude changed.
She thought she’d been called by name, but it was a troublemaker.
A customer looking for a different girl.
“Oppa, are you looking for Min-ah? But what can I do? She ran away. There are lots of girls like that in this business. They take the advance and bolt. So how about you and me….”
If I left her alone, she’d keep spouting nonsense.
Seo Jin pulled out his ID from his pocket and tossed it in front of her.
At the same time, her face went rigid.
She’d thought he was just a handsome mark.
“…You’re a prosecutor?”
The other person was a prosecutor.
If he wanted to, he could wipe out a room salon like this in an instant.
As she was seized with fear, Seo Jin slowly opened his mouth.
“Let me ask again. When Joo Min-ah last took a customer, you were the one who went in with her, weren’t you?”

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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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