Free Web NovelThree days had passed since Seo Jaehun was locked in the detention center.
His case had been assigned to Criminal Division 5, where Chief Prosecutor Jung Taehun presided, and Jung questioned him personally.
Every morning, Chief Prosecutor Jung summoned Seo Jaehun from the detention center to the Seoul Central District Prosecutors’ Office.
Inside the interrogation room of Criminal Division 5—
“Mr. Seo Jaehun. The evidence is overwhelming. Why do you keep insisting you know nothing and trying to slip out of this?” freewebnσvel.cøm
“Prosecutor Jung. The Vice Chairman really does not know anything. It was all that bastard Han Jiho. He did everything.”
For three days, Seo Jaehun had not uttered a single word.
Only Jang Geunseok, his attorney, answered on his behalf.
To Jung Taehun, it was aggravating to see Seo Jaehun sitting with his arms crossed, eyes closed, saying nothing.
“Prosecutor Jung, let us not do this. Why force what does not fit? Han Jiho confessed to everything. Why are you so desperate to pin it on the Vice Chairman?”
“······Mr. Jang Geunseok. How many times must I tell you—stop talking down to me? I told you not to speak informally.”
Jung’s tone sharpened as he glared at him.
“Come now, Prosecutor Jung. I am your senior. This much can slide, can it not?”
“Senior? To me, who passed the qualification exam and did not even attend university? I have never called anyone senior or junior in all my years as a prosecutor. Show respect.”
“No, but the Judicial Research and Training Institute is still a school.”
“I do not care about that. Last warning. And why does someone who was kicked out of the prosecution cling to seniority anyway?”
“What—what did you just say?”
The insult made Jang Geunseok’s face flush red.
His burning glare did not faze Jung Taehun in the slightest.
“I told you not to speak informally.”
“The Seoul District Prosecutor is my junior. I speak informally to him too. And I should speak respectfully to you?”
“Discuss that with the District Prosecutor.”
Jung dug into his ear—his expression that of someone hearing the neighbor’s dog bark.
“······Crazy.”
“If you speak informally one more time, I am throwing you out. I will show you why people call me the Mad Dog of the Seoul Central Prosecutors’ Office. Go on, try me.”
Jang knew very well that Jung was no pushover.
A prosecutor who had passed the qualification exam, always treated as an outsider, a madman who survived by handling cases no one else dared touch.
But then, out of nowhere, he had grasped some powerful connection and leapfrogged straight into the position of Chief Prosecutor, skipping the deputy chief rank entirely.
There was only one reason he could speak this boldly to the Vice Chairman of Ilseong Group—
Kim Muhyuk. It was obvious Jung Taehun had latched onto him.
“Go on. I am waiting.”
Jung provoked him again.
“······No. I will be careful.”
Jung raised one eyebrow, then nodded.
“So, when will Mr. Seo open his mouth? With you answering every question, I cannot tell if I am interrogating him—or you.”
“There is nothing to say. What do you expect him to say?”
It had been like this for three straight days.
Of course, both he and Kim Muhyuk had anticipated this.
But Kim Muhyuk had ordered the full ten-day prosecutorial detention to be used before indictment, and instructed them to summon Seo every day and send him back to the detention center late at night.
Clearly it was meant to break him—but doing it like this was ~Nоvеl𝕚ght~ far too boring.
When Jung stopped talking and knitted his brows, Jang tapped his wristwatch.
“It is lunchtime. Let us continue after we eat.”
Jung checked the clock, closed his laptop, and rose.
“Fine. We will resume in two hours.”
As Seo opened the interrogation room door, four Ilseong Group lawyers waited outside.
They held luxury lunch boxes in both hands—clearly just purchased somewhere.
“No voice to speak with, but a mouth to eat with? Where did you get those?”
“······.”
They said nothing, standing frozen like carved wood.
Jung clicked his tongue.
“You people must have it hard. Passing the bar exam only to end up delivering lunch boxes. Go inside.”
At his signal, two lawyers opened the door and entered.
Jung spared them a brief look before returning to his office.
A short while later, the prosecutor interrogating Han Jiho arrived at the chief prosecutor’s office.
Jung greeted him warmly.
“Kim Pro, good work. Sit.”
“Yes, Chief Prosecutor.”
Kim Minwook sat down.
“Jiho Han is still parroting that he alone killed Patrick and knows nothing about the other disappearances, right?”
Kim frowned and nodded.
“Yes. No matter what evidence we show him, he refuses to budge. And Ilseong’s attorneys are always hovering, so we cannot make any deals. It is frustrating, sir.”
“We expected this.”
Right as Jung spoke, a knock sounded.
“Come in.”
The secretary entered with plastic bags.
She placed lunch boxes in front of Jung and Kim.
“You ordered some for everyone, right?”
“Yes. For all staff.”
“Good. Eat up.”
The secretary bowed and exited.
Jung opened his lunch box.
“Eat. It is from the place nearby.”
Kim opened his and began eating as well.
“Listen while you eat.”
“Yes, sir.”
“You know we can indict both of them right now without issue. So you must be wondering why we keep calling them in.”
“······.”
Kim’s chopsticks paused.
It truly made no sense.
And what made even less sense—why they had not summoned Kim Muhyuk when Jiho Han had said from day one that everything was done under Kim Muhyuk’s orders.
Jung had ignored that entirely.
“It is pathetic, is it not? With such clear evidence, they still try to cut off the tail. We will use all ten days and destroy them at indictment. So keep doing what you are doing.”
“Yes, sir.”
Jung ate a piece of sushi, then snorted when he saw Kim’s expression.
“You look like you still have a question.”
“No, sir.”
“It is about Kim Muhyuk, right? Why we are not calling him in?”
Kim hesitated before nodding.
“Yes. Honestly, I do not understand. At the very least, we should summon him as a witness. He may be an important one.”
Jung set his chopsticks down, opened a bottle of cola, and took a sip.
“He will come on the last day. So stop thinking about anything else and focus on your job.”
“······As a witness?”
Jung shook his head slowly.
“No. That man knows absolutely nothing. He simply has personal bad blood with Seo Jaehun. He is coming because he wants to meet him face-to-face.”
Kim put his chopsticks down.
“Is he your sponsor, sir?”
Jung spewed cola everywhere.
He coughed repeatedly, staring at Kim with an expression that said what kind of lunatic are you?
“Is it not strange? It is odd that you suddenly received this case. It is not the kind of case that usually comes to you.”
“You crazy bastard. No wonder you are mine—you are just as insane.”
Jung looked oddly proud of him.
Kim Minwook was the only prosecutor Jung truly trusted.
“Hey, Minwook.”
“Yes, Chief Prosecutor.”
“You cannot explain that person with a word like sponsor.”
“I did look into him.”
Jung emptied the cola and shook his head.
“He has far more influence than whatever you found. So stop spouting nonsense and just do as I say. People like us—born with nothing—need a strong rope to climb if we want to survive the prosecution. You know that.”
Kim nodded.
He had graduated from a provincial university, barely passed the bar, finished the training institute with decent grades, and like Jung, was always an outsider within the prosecution.
Seoul High–Korea University graduates were the aristocrats; the rest of Korea University were their immediate subordinates.
Other elite universities in Seoul were somewhere in the middle.
Provincial university graduates were forever marginalized.
Yet suddenly, Jung—an extreme outsider—had overtaken everyone and become the first in his class to be appointed Chief Prosecutor.
And not just anywhere, but in the prestigious Criminal Division 5 of the Seoul Central District Prosecutors’ Office.
“My rope is that man. So just follow me. I will pull you up.”
Jung rose and walked to the window.
Across the road, the Supreme Prosecutors’ Office stood tall.
“Do you not want to reach that place someday? As a prosecutor, you should stand at the top once in your life.”
“······.”
Jung turned.
“Minwook. Do exactly what I say. Do not question anything. Then you and I will walk into that building together.”
“Yes, sir.”
“You finished eating?”
“Yes. I am done.”
Jung nodded.
“Then let us get back to work.”
Kim rose and bowed.
“Thank you for the meal.”
After he left, Jung turned again toward the window.
His eyes lingered on the Supreme Prosecutors’ Office.
After a moment of contemplation, Jung pulled out his phone and made a call.
The ringtone barely lasted a second before the other party answered.
— Yes. This is Manager Ma.
“Manager Ma, this is Jung Taehun.”
* * *
I was on my way to the outdoor wedding venue owned by Myeongdong Hotel in Gyeonggi-do.
Today was the wedding day of Hyunwoo and Han Mingyeong.
As I watched the scenery pass by, Manager Ma turned.
“Boss, it is Prosecutor Jung Taehun.”
I extended my hand, and he passed me the phone.
“Prosecutor Jung, this is Kim Muhyuk.”
— Yes, sir. This is Jung Taehun. Are you on your way to Deputy Prosecutor Oh’s wedding?
“Haha, yes. I wanted to invite you too, but I heard you could not make time.”
It was the wedding of the grandson of the current transition committee chairman and an elder of the legal world.
Naturally, political and legal heavyweights were gathering en masse.
The venue could host up to two hundred guests, and it was already filling up quickly.
It would have been an excellent networking opportunity for Jung, but invitations were limited.
— Haha. It is quite all right. I expected that, so I already congratulated Prosecutor Oh in advance. I wanted to give a congratulatory gift too, but he said it was fine.
“Oh, you greeted him already? That is good.”
— Yes. I am calling because I wanted to check whether you would proceed exactly as planned despite your busy schedule. You said you would come before we indict Seo Jaehun.
On the final day, before indictment, I intended to meet Seo Jaehun in person.
“Yes. I will go meet him exactly as planned.”
— Understood. Then I will make sure other prosecutors do not come near him.
As expected, Jung had an impeccable sense for what I wanted.
I smiled in satisfaction.
“Thank you. It is a difficult request.”
— Not at all. It is nothing. I can do much more. Just command me.
“I appreciate that. Let us have a meal together sometime.”
— Call me anytime. I will run to you.
Ever since his meteoric promotion, Jung had become my loyal follower.
I rewarded him the moment he carried out my orders—no wonder he was devoted.
“We are almost there.”
At Manager Ma’s remark, I turned to the window. The wedding venue entrance appeared in the distance.
“I should hang up now. I will see you then.”
— Yes, sir. Please go ahead.
Shortly after ending the call, we arrived at the venue.
I got out of the car and walked past the entrance. Guests were already gathered in small clusters, chatting.
Most were people recognizable from television.
Those who recognized me greeted me with their eyes, and I returned the gesture.
It was hard to tell whether this was a wedding—or a social gathering of the people who ran the nation.
In the distance, I spotted Oh Jeongseok and Oh Hyunwoo.
