Prosecutor Kim Seo-Jin - Chapter 78

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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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Your Face (3)
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“How are you managing these people! A greenhorn kid dares to talk back to me like that?”
We were in the Prosecutor General’s Office.
Attorney Kim Jong-jae was shouting vehemently.
“Spouting nonsense like it’s something grand!”
The Prosecutor General’s name was Yeo Jun-hyuk.
After Jo Yong-jun stepped down as Prosecutor General, Yeo Jun-hyuk took this office.
He was being evaluated as having received an exceptional promotion.
“I even mentioned my own name! And it didn’t work! When I think of that shameless face! Ugh!”
Attorney Kim Jong-jae tugged his necktie off roughly.
Even then, his anger hadn’t subsided.
After gulping down cold water, he continued speaking.
“Don’t just stare blankly—answer me! Has the Prosecutor’s Office lost all its manners these days!”
When Attorney Kim Jong-jae shot him a look, Prosecutor General Yeo Jun-hyuk wore a genuinely apologetic expression.
“I apologize. Since I’ve only just begun my duties, I haven’t had the opportunity to oversee all the junior prosecutors.”
“And?”
“I will teach them properly.”
“Is that all?”
“I will discipline them severely.”
“Sigh….”
Attorney Kim Jong-jae was unsatisfied with Prosecutor General Yeo Jun-hyuk’s response.
So he leaned toward the Prosecutor General and whispered.
“Listen, out of two thousand prosecutors, do you know how many positions there are for Prosecutor General? Remember well how someone without backing and without power like you came to sit in this seat. Understood?”
Attorney Kim Jong-jae’s voice was cold.
Just looking at his eyes, it seemed he could devour Prosecutor General Yeo Jun-hyuk.
When Prosecutor General Yeo Jun-hyuk remained silent, he pressed for an answer.
“Answer me.”
Prosecutor General Yeo Jun-hyuk nodded with a faint smile.
“I am always grateful.”
Attorney Kim Jong-jae chuckled and patted Prosecutor General Yeo Jun-hyuk’s shoulder.
“Good. Yes?”
“Yes.”
Attorney Kim Jong-jae rose to his feet.
“Are you leaving?”
“You’re busy too, so I can’t stay much longer, can I?”
Attorney Kim Jong-jae left the office.
Prosecutor General Yeo Jun-hyuk followed him and escorted him to the elevator.
And when Attorney Kim Jong-jae stepped into the elevator, Prosecutor General Yeo Jun-hyuk bowed deeply.
“Please proceed carefully.”
It was a remarkably respectful gesture.
Attorney Kim Jong-jae smiled quietly and waved his hand.
“See you later.”
The elevator doors slid shut.
Prosecutor General Yeo Jun-hyuk turned to his secretary.
“Tell Prosecutor Seo Jin to come up.”
“Yes, sir.”
Called by the Prosecutor General, I stepped into the elevator.
The elevator headed straight for the top floor.
My face grew cold as I watched the numbers change.
‘Yeo Jun-hyuk.’
I’d never met him, but I’d heard about him.
The regular prosecutors called him a lapdog.
A nickname earned from the way he wagged his tail while nestled in the arms of the powerful.
‘A successful lapdog, then.’
So his special relationship with Attorney Kim Jong-jae wasn’t surprising.
Kim Jong-jae was a former judge turned congressman—though his single term had ended, his connections were undeniable.
Ding!
The elevator came to a stop.
I wiped my face and completely changed my expression.
One had to show appropriate fear before the Prosecutor General.
“He’s waiting for you.”
The secretary opened the door.
At the far end of the spacious office, Prosecutor General Yeo Jun-hyuk came into view.
I walked forward and bowed.
“Prosecutor Seo Jin from Criminal Division 2. You called for me?”
Prosecutor General Yeo Jun-hyuk stopped signing and slowly looked up.
“So you were disrespectful to Attorney Kim Jong-jae?”
Now was the moment for anger.
I could predict what he’d say.
“Attorney Kim Jong-jae is your friend!”
“Even if you met as prosecutor and attorney, you should show respect!”
“You’re not even thirty years old!”
But the words that came from Prosecutor General Yeo Jun-hyuk’s mouth were different from what I expected.
“You did well. If a prosecutor loses his nerve to an attorney, that’s something to be ashamed of. Keep doing that.”
His voice wasn’t sarcastic.
It was detached, yet carried genuine sincerity.
For a moment, I wondered what this meant.
But Prosecutor General Yeo Jun-hyuk smiled faintly.
“What? Did you think I’d scold you?”
“….”
“A prosecutor clashing with a defense attorney isn’t exactly a grave matter. Why would I reprimand you for that? I’m a prosecutor too.”
Prosecutor General Yeo Jun-hyuk rose from his seat and walked toward me with heavy, deliberate steps.
He draped an arm across my shoulder and spoke in a low voice.
“From now on, don’t worry even if defense attorney Kim Jong-jae mentions my name. Do whatever you think is right.”
My eyes shifted toward Prosecutor General Yeo Jun-hyuk.
You could tell from my gaze.
I wasn’t some lapdog wagging its tail.
And then.
“The defendant’s name is Yoon Min-woo, correct?”
“Yes.”
“Work hard.”
Prosecutor General Yeo Jun-hyuk’s voice as he said to work hard was chilling.
After leaving the Prosecutor General’s office, I tilted my head in confusion.
Prosecutor General Yeo Jun-hyuk’s first impression was entirely different from what I’d anticipated.
I couldn’t tell if this contradicted the rumors or if he’d deliberately leveraged his power for some hidden purpose.
Either way, I could uncover the truth gradually.
Back at the office, I sat down across from Investigator Lee Dong-young.
“He murdered twenty-two women. But he’s only confessing to seven.”
I placed the women’s identification cards on the table.
Then I unfolded a map and continued.
“We need to find the bodies of the remaining fifteen women.”
We couldn’t secure a murder conviction on circumstantial evidence alone.
If we failed to uncover the material truth, the trial’s outcome was predictable.
—Not guilty.
I drew lines across the map with my pen.
“I’ve identified the locations of CCTVs centered around the women’s homes.”
His method of disposing of the bodies was consistent.
He avoided CCTVs and found places where he could park to dump the bodies.
I circled every anticipated location on the map.
“I’ll request the Police to cooperate with the investigation. Investigator, for the time being….”
“I’ve already told my daughter that I might not be home for a while.”
“I’m sorry.”
“No, it’s just work.”
Investigator Lee Dong-young’s daughter, Sung-ah.
She’s a high school senior now.
She’s at an age when she desperately needs her parents’ attention, yet her father isn’t home.
That’s the price of this profession.
I opened my mouth with an apologetic expression.
“Let’s wrap this up as quickly as possible.”
Then my gaze turned toward the court clerk.
“Court clerk?”
“Overtime is fine. Just give me plenty of work and buy lots of snacks.”
Determination blazed in the court clerk’s eyes.
She clenched her fist and continued speaking.
“A psychopath belongs in prison!”
I smiled and pulled a card from my pocket.
I placed it on the table and opened my mouth.
“Until the trial ends, use our firm’s card. Order whatever you’d like to eat.”
“Really?”
“It’s my father’s card. And as you know, my father is a wealthy man.”
The most reassuring words in the world.
My dad is rich.
The court clerk clapped her hands in genuine delight.
Then I continued speaking.
“He has a psychiatric history. He claims he visited the hospital seventy-seven times for schizophrenia. So contact the relevant hospital and verify the facts.”
“Yes!”
“Pull all his card statements from the time of the incident. He claims he was completely drunk every time the crime occurred. We need to dismantle that claim. And…”
I tapped my fingers on the table.
Attorney Kim Jong-jae was a man with extensive connections.
By now, he was probably meeting with the Court Chief or the presiding judge, spouting things like this.
“He’s not asking for acquittal, right?”
“Turns out he was a patient. There seem to be sufficient grounds for a reduced sentence…”
“Life imprisonment seems harsh, so how about we give him fifteen years instead.”
Inside the ring called the courtroom, the judge is king and arbiter.
If the arbiter’s heart tilts to one side, there’s no winning.
There’s only one way to prevent that.
‘Public opinion warfare…’
Judges are human beings who care about appearances.
When attention is focused, it’s difficult to render a biased judgment.
I slowly picked up my phone and searched for Chief Prosecutor Jo Woo-jae’s contact.
But I hesitated before pressing the call button.
‘No.’
Chief Prosecutor Jo Woo-jae had developed a neurosis over this case.
He’d barely managed to redirect attention with the celebrity bribery scandal—his desire to stir things up again was nearly zero.
‘Then…’
There was another person by my side who could move the media.
My eternal ally, my father.
While they may not rank among the nation’s largest conglomerates, they climb the construction contractor rankings.
Major news outlets might resist, but the smaller ones eagerly rub their palms together for advertising revenue.
I pressed the call button firmly.
“Father, I need to ask you for something.”
At that very moment.
Attorney Kim Jong-jae was dining with the Court Chief, exactly as I had anticipated.
Attorney Kim Jong-jae was a former judge, and the Court Chief had been his junior by one class year.
“Do me a favor, will you?”
The Court Chief shook his head firmly.
“I’ll leave it to the presiding judge’s decision. Judges have independence, and….”
“Bullshit.”
“Sir!”
The Court Chief bristled, but Attorney Kim Jong-jae continued his snickering laugh without pause.
And then.
“Court Chief Yoo, between us, drop the pretense. Independence my ass.”
“Sir, times have changed. The young ones these days….”
“Never mind that. How’s your retirement planning coming along?”
“Pardon?”
“When you hang up your robes, what will you do? You’ll never make it to the Supreme Court anyway, right? Without the job, you’ll have nothing to do?”
“I suppose I’ll go hiking with my wife.”
The Court Chief’s expression darkened.
The time when he would have to step down was drawing near.
But once he left his position, he would have to surrender all the luxuries he currently enjoyed.
Attorney Kim Jong-jae didn’t miss that expression.
He smiled and whispered.
“Jin-woo, listen carefully. If I wrap up this case at fifteen years or less, I’m going to L Group as an advisor. You know? The magic wallet.”
“…!”
“You know why I’m going this far? These days, even former National Assembly members turned lawyers struggle to get into corporations. There are too many mediocre types clogging the bottom. But do you think a former district court chief might actually be able to write a resume that means something?”
The Court Chief’s pupils trembled.
In that instant, Attorney Kim Jong-jae spoke.
“Leave your retirement planning to me.”
“What?”
“I’ll go ahead and prepare your position. Just trust your senior and turn a blind eye just this once.”
The Court Chief’s pupils wavered, and greed flickered across his face.
Simultaneously, Attorney Kim Jong-jae slid an envelope across the table beneath it and continued.
“It’s only the first trial anyway. Let it pass through. The second trial will be at the appellate court anyway. They’ll make the right judgment. You don’t need to feel any burden at all.”
The Court Chief reached beneath the table and felt the envelope.
It was quite thick.
As the Court Chief exhaled a sigh, Attorney Kim Jong-jae raised his glass with a smile.
“Come on, let’s drink.”
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The day of the trial.
The front of the Court was in chaos.
Even buried under the scandal of a celebrity’s bribery, this was the first trial of the serial killer who murdered a middle school girl.
Reporters swarmed the area, and the victim’s family members stood holding pickets.
The pickets bore the word “DEATH PENALTY” written in an unsettlingly vivid red.
And then Seo Jin’s vehicle arrived.
Seo Jin stepped out carrying a bag filled with case documents, and reporters immediately rushed toward him.
“The defense claims there is no evidence directly connecting the defendant to the murder. Do you have any thoughts on this?”
“Please say something!”
Seo Jin did not answer the reporters’ questions.
He simply walked quietly toward the Court.
That was when it happened.
Clap! Clap! Clap!
The sound of applause rang out.
Everyone’s attention turned to where defense attorney Kim Jong-jae stood.
As eyes focused on him, Kim Jong-jae opened his mouth.
“Before we enter the trial, I’d like to say this. Yoon Min-woo may not be the perpetrator of this case!”
The reporters’ eyes widened.
At the same time, Kim Jong-jae spoke forcefully.
“The Prosecutor’s Office fabricated evidence before! But can you say it’s not happening this time? The Prosecutor’s Office is overreaching to restore its reputation! Yoon Min-woo is the victim here!”
Kim Jong-jae glared at Seo Jin with wide eyes.
And he continued slowly.
“Prosecutor, is there not a single falsehood? Tell me.”
Seo Jin shook his head with an incredulous chuckle.
And seeing Seo Jin’s laughter, Kim Jong-jae clenched his fists tightly.
‘I know your type well. Young ones like you can’t control your temper.’
They tend to flare up and cause trouble when they feel disrespected.
Besides, he probably got an earful from the Prosecutor General too.
‘It must be hard to hold back. You want to be a principled prosecutor who doesn’t listen to the Prosecutor General. Go ahead, make a scene. Come out arrogantly like last time!’
Kim Jong-jae had secured the Judge.
And now he wanted Seo Jin to frown and behave arrogantly.
He believed that if that happened, he could win the battle of public opinion.
But then.
‘Huh?’
Seo Jin ignored Kim Jong-jae.
He slowly turned his body toward the victim’s family members.
At the same moment, the voices of the family members who met Seo Jin’s gaze grew louder.
“Please avenge my daughter’s resentment!”
“I beg you! Please!”
“Prosecutor!”
I bowed respectfully toward them.
“I will ensure the harshest punishment is imposed, without fail.”
The reporters’ eyes gleamed.
They would never miss a moment like this.
Cameras raised, shutters clicking rapidly.
The headline was already forming in their minds.
-Prosecutor Pledges Justice to the Bereaved Family
And with that, the exchange ended.
I entered the courtroom, and the bereaved family’s voices turned toward defense attorney Kim Jong-jae.
“Why are you defending such a monster!”
“Not guilty? No crime? Then why does he have Su-jin’s ID!”
“Are you even human!”
“You bastard!”
Attorney Kim Jong-jae had become the sole target of their mockery.
‘Damn it.’
Attorney Kim Jong-jae bit his lip as he headed toward the courtroom.
I stood in the courtroom.
My hand brushed across the prosecution’s desk.
A trial seeking capital punishment carries a different atmosphere from the start.
The gallery was packed so densely that a chilling bloodlust hung in the air.
I tapped the desk and muttered under my breath.
“Death penalty.”
Then the court bailiff’s voice rang through the courtroom.
“All rise, please.”
The door opened as the robed judges entered.

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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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