Prosecutor Kim Seo-Jin

Episode 4

“Reincarnation Examiner (2)”

 

“I’ll ask a favor.”

 

What appeared in the psychometry was inside the car.

 

As the sun was setting beyond the windshield, a woman’s voice could be heard.

 

“You’re the only one I can ask for this.”

 

A man’s hollow laughter was heard.

 

Then, a gruff voice spoke up.

 

“What’s with the favor… is it business? So, the important thing is the offer of 200 million won, right?”

 

“Huh.”

 

“200 million is a bit low. Let’s make it 300 million, including the lawyer’s fee. Then I’ll help you.”

 

After a moment of thought, the woman replied with difficulty.

 

“…Alright.”

 

“Good. Even for hard work, you’d only get about 100,000 won, so 300 million is a big thank you.”

 

The world regained its color.

 

Seo-jin looked at the glass fragment in her hand and recalled the psychometry she had just seen.

 

“Is it related to the case I’ve taken on now?”

 

If she had seen their faces, she would have been sure, but unfortunately, the image only showed the outside of the window.

 

However, the suspicious conversation had definitely taken place.

 

“A favor? 300 million?”

 

Various thoughts crossed Seo-jin’s mind, and she strongly felt that it might not be a simple traffic accident.

 

“Something else.”

 

Seo-jin picked up another glass fragment, hoping that her psychometric abilities would manifest again.

 

But they didn’t.

 

Only the distant barking of a dog could be heard.

 

Seo-jin didn’t give up and repeatedly picked up and put down traces of the accident.

 

Finally, she placed her hand on the utility pole that the SUV had crashed into and closed her eyes.

 

To an onlooker, she would have seemed crazy.

 

At that moment, a strange voice was heard.

 

“What are you doing?”

 

A mid-sized car was parked, and a scruffy-looking man and a fairly attractive woman were approaching Seo-jin.

 

Seo-jin knew the two people.

 

“Shin Jong-seung, Lee So-hee.”

 

They were colleagues going through the probation period together.

 

Lee So-hee doesn’t know much about her except for her face and name, but Shin Jong-seung knows a little more. He is a friend from university with Kim Yoon-hwan, the son of Prosecutor Kim Young-joon. A well-matched golden spoon. I heard from his younger sister, Jin-young, that he has an unlucky personality like Kim Yoon-hwan.

 

Shin Jong-seung, with his hands in the pockets of his black padded jacket, opened his mouth hesitantly.

 

“It’s been a while. Where have you been? Yoon-hwan doesn’t know either.”

 

“Well, here and there. But what’s going on here?”

 

“Why wouldn’t there be? Because you went to the scene, we got kicked out too. You know, the people from this area don’t like us. Damn it, why should we come to someone else’s debut scene?”

 

Shin Jong-seung muttered as he put a cigarette in his mouth.

 

As he said, the people from this area didn’t like Seo-jin and Shin Jong-seung. The two of them were golden spoons, and there were even rumors that they would enter Seoul as soon as their probation period ended. This place was their exile. To the prosecutors who fought against the privileged, the two of them were thorns in their sides.

 

“According to the records, it’s just a traffic accident, right? Let’s just do it quickly and go. It’s not even cold weather training. You don’t like being in a place like this, do you?”

 

“If it’s cold, there’s a nearby coffee shop. I’ll call when we go in.”

 

“Let’s go.”

 

“I have something to check.”

 

“Just let’s go.”

 

Seo-jin turned her head to look at Shin Jong-seung at the sudden nagging voice. Shin Jong-seung was glaring at her with a puzzled expression.

 

“What’s up?”

Seo-jin could read a few emotions from Shin Jong-seung’s imposing gaze and tightly closed lips.

 

One was that it seemed like the past Seo-jin used to obediently follow his words. The current Seo-jin, who used to move as she pleased without any opposition, seemed to be in a bad mood for defying his orders.

 

Another reason was that he seemed to be concerned about Lee So-hee. He wanted to show his dominance in front of her.

 

“Look at this guy… For some trivial reason, he’s picking a fight. If I want to live freely in the remaining time in this area, I should probably deal with him first. Once you give in to this type, they keep grabbing and shaking you by the hair.”

 

Seo-jin didn’t know how the past Seo-jin was, but she had no intention of playing along.

 

“It’s my case. I need to be here. You’re not interested in this, are you? Go in first. Did I say something wrong?”

 

“That, that side?”

 

“Yeah, ‘that side’.”

 

Shin Jong-seung, looking bewildered, chuckled and put his hand on his forehead.

 

“You’re going crazy. Do you want to ruin your debut? Your opponent’s lawyer is a friend of our father. Don’t you know? When did I ask you to be gentle and watch out, why are you like this?”

 

At his words, Seo-jin chuckled involuntarily.

 

At that mocking smile, Shin Jong-seung’s lips twisted.

 

“You’re laughing?”

 

“Oh, this is insane… A person over thirty, a prosecutor at that, threatening my father’s friend? Who would believe this story? I can’t even believe it myself as I watch it.”

“I, I…”

 

“Go. And when you get home, make sure to tell your father’s friend about me, Seo-jin, and how he needs to be disciplined.”

 

“Hey!”

 

“I’m ruining my debut? If you have the ability, try to ruin it. Don’t just talk.”

 

The atmosphere turned chilly.

 

A cold voice came from between the two.

 

“Got it. I’ll be at the coffee shop over there. Give me a call when you go in.”

 

Lee So-hee, who had been silent until now, didn’t want things to get any noisier. When she sensed the tense atmosphere, Seo-jin raised her hand slightly towards her.

 

“Uh, I’ll call you.”

 

Seo-jin replied in a dry voice and then turned away as if she had nothing more to say.

 

And she began to search for traces of the scene that had unfolded on the ground.

 

Likewise, Lee So-hee walked towards the car.

 

Only Shin Jong-seung remained in that spot.

 

There was nothing he could do alone.

 

He clenched his fist and trembled for a moment, then glanced at Seo-jin once, and followed after Lee So-hee.

 

“So, So-hee! Let’s go together!”

 

Lee So-hee was standing in front of the car by now.

 

As she opened the car door to get in, she turned to look at Seo-jin.

 

She had been watching Seo-jin’s hand all this time.

 

The hand that had picked up the glass and had burst into a brief movement while feeling the chilly wind.

 

And then continued to survey the scene.

 

It wasn’t the usual Seo-jin.

 

Lee So-hee’s big eyes narrowed.

 

‘Why is she working so hard?’

 

But she didn’t dwell on it deeply.

 

The Seo-jin she had seen until now was just an unattractive person who was good at impressing her parents.

 

People don’t change.

 

Today was just strange.

 

As Lee So-hee fastened her seatbelt in the car, she spoke up.

 

“Then let’s go.”

 

“Just a moment.”

 

Shin Jong-seung looked determined as he found someone’s contact and pressed the call button.

 

As the dial tone connected and the other person’s voice was heard, he urgently opened his mouth.

 

“Hey, Yoon-hwan. It’s me. Did Kim Seo-jin hurt his head? Why is he like that? If something happened, tell me…”

 

Shin Jong-seung’s phone call was with Kim Yoon-hwan.

 

He was reporting what had happened.

 

Blah blah blah.

 

After ending the call with Kim Yoon-hwan, Shin Jong-seung looked at Lee So-hee and said.

 

“He’s Kim Yoon-hwan, the son of the Chief Prosecutor of the Central District Prosecutors’ Office, haha.”

 

“Yes.”

 

Lee So-hee turned her head out the window with an expression of disinterest.

The two of them left.

 

Seo-jin had her phone to her ear.

 

She had called Jin-young because she was curious about her relationship with Shin Jong-seung.

 

Until now, Seo-jin had viewed the past Seo-jin as a person with dry emotions and good judgment.

 

But today, when she met Shin Jong-seung, something felt off.

 

“…He seemed to listen well and get along well. It doesn’t make sense, does it?”

 

She hoped that she had been mistaken.

 

But Jin-young was firm.

 

– No, I got along well with Shin Jong-seung. I got along well with Kim Yoon-hwan too.

 

“Really? You got along well?”

 

– Yes.

 

“Really?”

 

– I’m telling you, yes.

 

Seo-jin let out a sigh.

 

“Why did I…?”

 

– That’s what I thought was strange too. They were definitely not compatible with my brother. But they got along well, and sometimes they even acted like fools. Should I tell you what kind of fooling around he did? After hearing that story, my father said our eldest son has become a man…

 

“Enough. I don’t like my past.”

 

A quiet laughter was heard from the other end of the phone.

 

– You must have had your reasons. My brother wasn’t someone who acted without thinking.

 

“Okay. Get back to work.”

 

– Yeah, we’ll talk later.

 

Seo-jin ended the call and smiled bitterly.

 

The trust in Jin-young’s voice just now had faltered, and it felt certain that she was always on Seo-jin’s side.

 

“Darn it, I feel sorry again.”

 

She didn’t want to receive what had come to her, but she felt sorry for taking away their sons and brothers.

 

The only way she could repay them was by living diligently.

 

Returning that love to her family.

 

Nothing else came to mind.

 

She was about to put her phone in her pocket with a bitter smile.

 

“What are you doing?”

 

An elderly woman passing by with a black bag was looking at Seo-jin.

 

Seo-jin greeted her with a smile.

 

“I’m a police officer.”

 

“Police? Did you come to check on the accident here? Ugh, only the dead are unjust…”

 

The grandmother clicked her tongue as she looked at the scene.

 

Seo-jin asked her while standing next to her.

 

“Do you know the deceased well?”

 

“I do, I used to go to school with a bag here, so of course I know. The child was so pretty.”

“However, what’s unjust?”

 

“It seems like a lot of insurance money or something came out. The husband, who never showed his face before, suddenly appeared demanding money and causing a commotion about raising the kids. It’s only the dead who are unjust in this situation. He must be pounding his chest even in the afterlife, feeling frustrated.”

 

As Seo-jin listened to the grandmother’s voice, she clenched her jaw.

 

The voice she had heard through psychometry brushed her ears.

 

“Two billion seems a bit low. Let’s go for three billion, including the lawyer’s fees. Then I’ll help.”

 

Seo-jin’s eyes narrowed.

 

It might have been a dirty deal after all.

 

The worst kind of deal where people are killed for money and insurance is claimed.

 

Seo-jin’s gaze slowly turned towards the grandmother.

 

He asked slowly, “Grandmother, were the person who drove the car and the victim’s family originally acquainted?”

 

“Oh, Su-kyung’s sister was probably a classmate with that scumbag at elementary school.”

 

Seo-jin quickly organized the information she had gathered so far.

 

– Su-kyung is the victim’s name.

– The victim’s sister and the perpetrator were elementary school classmates.

– They received or are expecting a large insurance payout.

– The husband returned because of the money.

– There was a deal for three billion.

– The voices heard in black and white world belong to a man and a woman.

– Targeted murder for insurance money?

 

The jumbled puzzle was starting to come together.

 

After greeting the grandmother, Seo-jin moved to her car and put her phone to her ear.

 

“Assistant, I have a request. Please investigate the assets of the victim’s family and the perpetrator. Especially the victim’s sister’s debts, call records, and…”

 

Seo-jin quickly conveyed the information she needed.

 

His eyes shone brightly.

 

A simple traffic accident was in the process of turning into a targeted murder case.

 

If the case turns upside down, so will the entire jurisdiction.