The Mad Prosecutor Picked Up AI - Chapter 115



Only Krnovel

Episode 115: Chief Prosecutor of the Comprehensive Legal Investigation Department

After the incident of Prosecutor Hwang Dae-bong entertaining the prosecutor, the Seoul Central District Prosecutors’ Office was eerily quiet. Like the gloomy and desolate air before an approaching storm.

But even in that silence, I could feel the swirling whirlpool.

It couldn’t be otherwise. Three prosecutors were blown away. One of them was the chief prosecutor and the right-hand man of Vice Minister Nam Woo-joong.

People who are rushing to buy themselves a seat, people who are lining up to grab the Nam Woo-joong line for this opportunity, people who are trying to snatch up an empty seat by any means necessary.

Because the Seoul Central District Prosecutors’ Office was in the middle of that whirlpool.

I was walking to a quiet place behind the Central District Prosecutors’ Office because Chief Han Jae-sik called me.

‘Why are you calling me to such a dark place?’

[I guess he did it because he didn’t want to stand out to other people.]

‘It’s not like this is the only place that’s not noticeable.’

As I continued to grumble, Aliotta said:

[If you were that scared, why didn’t you bring Wi Jun-woo?]

‘Okay. I can handle someone as skilled as Manager Han Jae-sik on my own.’

Chief Han Jae-sik was not very tall. He was small and thin. Even if his face was not ugly, his appearance was not particularly threatening.

Even if I can’t do anything to Wi Jun-woo, wouldn’t I be able to take down someone like Manager Han Jae-sik?

As I was thinking about that, I arrived at the place where Manager Han Jae-sik was waiting.

Chief Han Jae-sik was sitting cross-legged on a bench in a quiet place, with his eyes closed and meditating. He had his hands on his knees in an okay pose and a faint smile on his lips.

[I feel like I shouldn’t disturb you.]

‘Where is that?’

If you call someone, you can talk to them, right?

I approached him and quickly said hello.

“Hello, manager.”

“Huh? Oh, Sword. You’re here?”

“Why are you acting like shit in a place like this? What are you doing sitting cross-legged for? Your suit pants are going to get wrinkles.”

“What do you mean, shit form? This is meditation. There’s nothing better than this for stress relief.”

“That’s right. If you release a dog that has been locked up all day and only eats food thrown to it into the wild, it will die from stress. It has to find its own food. You need to manage your stress a little.”

“Hey, you… …! No, no. Hoo. The power of meditation. Positive energy gathers. I’m not angry. That guy isn’t the type of guy who will change just by getting yelled at.”

Manager Han Jae-sik, who was about to get angry, took a deep breath and started hypnotizing himself. After avoiding Vice Manager Nam Woo-joong for a while and suffering from mental instability, he seemed to have found a new way to manage stress.

“But why did you call me?”

“Sword. Are you having a hard time these days?”

“No. It’s not difficult.”

“It’s okay. You can show it in front of me.”

“Really? It’s not hard at all.”

While I was at a loss as to what was going on, Manager Han Jae-sik let out a sigh as if he felt sorry for me.

“Yeah. You have a lot of pride, so you probably don’t want to show it. I understand.”

“Huh?”

“After the incident of entertaining Prosecutor Hwang Dae-bong, you must have been branded a traitor among the other prosecutors. Right?”

“ah.”

I was like, what are you talking about?

How can a prosecutor do this to another prosecutor? I’ve heard that argument many times. I’ve even heard people call me a jerk who stabbed another prosecutor.

But I don’t get hurt by things like this. I’m the type of person who doesn’t care what other people say. I’ve already experienced it once before with the Kim Kyung-soo incident during the Samgu Construction incident, so I’m kind of used to it.

“It’s okay. It’s nothing.”

“No, no. There’s no way it’s okay.”

Manager Han Jae-sik continued speaking with a hazy expression, looking at the distant mountains.

“Every time I pass by, people will whisper behind me. I can hear them swearing. The strange thing is, no matter how quietly I speak, I can hear them swearing at me.”

“… … .”

“When people are talking and I walk in, all of a sudden, all the conversation stops and it becomes cold and quiet? What do you think that is? They were talking about me. Now, I even feel awkward when I go to the cafeteria to eat.

When you pass by, they point their fingers at you and call you a traitor. And that’s all? There are even guys who sarcastically say to your face, “You’ve taken the apostle of justice.” No, when did he ever see me? He’s just a new manager.”

I quietly raised my hand and patted Manager Han Jae-sik on the shoulder.

“You must have had a hard time.”

“Yeah, that’s because I don’t really talk. Do you know how hard it is these days?”

“They’re bad guys. They haven’t helped me with anything, so why are they talking so much?”

“What I’m saying is! Put yourself in my shoes. Do you think you’d do better?”

I patted the shoulder of Manager Han Jae-sik, who was trembling with his fists clenched, and he let out a quiet sigh.

‘That’s why I said I’d meet you here.’

[I guess you’ve had a hard time lately.]

Of course. I was the one who sent the prosecutors to trial, but it was Chief Han Jae-sik who indicted in the first place. He wasn’t someone who would do stupid things like me, and he wasn’t someone who would stand up and take it on like Chief Shin Hyo-jin.

He was a person who was able to overcome crises well, like water mixed with water or alcohol mixed with alcohol. But then he suddenly rebelled against Vice President Nam Woo-joong. I couldn’t help but tremble.

But still. People are so weak-hearted, huh?

“But what are the prosecutors of the 8th Criminal Division doing? If their chief is being manipulated like this, they should step in and stop him, comfort him, and even break his head.”

“They must be doing well. They’re the kind of guys who don’t even have company dinners together. You have to hope for what you want.”

“Oh, right. Chief, you were bullied in the 8th detective division, right?”

“… … .”

No, I don’t bully you and I comfort you so much! Why are you glaring at me like that? It’s so unfair.

“Anyway, I hope that in the future you will be able to have company dinners with your department members and become a manager who doesn’t get bullied.”

“Now is not the time to worry about me.”

“What are you talking about?”

“Isn’t there going to be a personnel transfer soon? I’ve been caught for treason by Vice-Chief Nam Woo-joong. Do-geom, you need to brace yourself. You might get sent to a faraway place.”

Oh, is that so?

“Vice President Nam Woo-joong is not someone to be taken lightly. Even though his right arm was cut off, his power is still strong.”

“Oh, I’m fine.”

“Maybe it’s because I’ve been in Seoul for less than a year, but I don’t know. I might just be sent somewhere else.”

“No. I will continue to remain at the Seoul Central District Prosecutors’ Office.”

Manager Han Jae-sik looked at me with suspicious eyes.

“Why are you so sure? Did you hear something?”

“I heard a definite answer, not a whisper. I’m staying here.”

“really?”

“But instead, I said I would send it to the mini petite shorts department.”

“What? Mini petite? What is that? No, more than that. Who gave you the definitive answer?”

“Who are you? It’s Nam Woo-joong, the deputy manager.”

Manager Han Jae-sik’s mouth fell open.

“Vice President Nam Woo-joong? Vice President Nam spoke to you directly?”

“Yes. He called me into his office yesterday and said that to me.”

Chief Han Jae-sik just stared at me for a while without saying a word. Was he surprised that a mere prosecutor had a private meeting with a deputy chief prosecutor, or was he surprised that I had to stay in Seoul?

In the end, it was neither.

Manager Han Jae-sik, who had been thinking for a while, opened his mouth with difficulty.

“I hesitated a lot for a long time, wondering if I should say this or not, and when I should say it. Now, I have to say it.”

“What is it?”

“If I remain at the Seoul Central District Prosecutors’ Office in the future anyway, I will probably run into a lot of problems.”

“So, what is it?”

After taking out the introduction and taking a long pause, Manager Han Jae-sik finally opened his mouth.

“Dogeom asked me before. Who was the marksman who taught me when I was a rookie? Dogeom’s father… … The marksman who refused to request an arrest warrant at that time.”

“아, 그 개새끼 사수요.”

“Yeah. They’re still checking on him.”

“Really? That’s tough. Who are you?”

“hmm.”

“Do you know me?”

Manager Han Jae-sik looked at me, lowered his head, and spoke quietly.

“Vice President Nam Woo-joong.”

“to?”

“He’s the manager. He was my shooter when I was a rookie.”

“omg.”

‘You’ve been a dog son ever since.’

[It’s shocking. Nam Woo-joong was Han Jae-sik’s shooter.]

‘What a shock. He was exactly the kind of guy who would do something like that.’

Manager Han Jae-sik glanced at me and asked.

“What do you think?”

“What is it?”

“You knew it was Nam. Nam didn’t apply for an arrest warrant, and that’s why Do-geom’s father passed away. So… … I was wondering if he was trying to get revenge or something.”

Revenge. I never even thought about that. First of all, I’m not the type of person to look for the cause of my misfortune in others.

It is true that the suspect escaped because Nam Woo-joong did not request an arrest warrant, and my father was stabbed to death while trying to catch him.

But, if you ask if my father passed away because of Nam Woo-joong, well, that’s not true, since there was a guy who stabbed him himself.

He was sentenced to ten years for murder, and died of pancreatic cancer three years after serving his sentence. My target for revenge is already gone.

It’s true that Nam Woo-joong was the starting point of a series of events that occurred later (it’s true that he was the one who started it), but Nam Woo-joong wasn’t the cause of my father’s death.

Revenge is something that requires me to change my life.

Nam Woo-joong isn’t that important of a person in my life.

“Why are you seeking revenge?”

“what?”

Just then, a bug crawled under my feet.

“Boss, I really hate bugs.”

Manager Han Jae-sik looked at me with a face full of doubt as to why I was suddenly talking about bugs.

“That doesn’t mean I’m going to catch and eliminate all the bugs in the world, or that I’m going to sacrifice my entire body to get rid of bugs.”

“Bug extermination?”

“But if I see a bug, I won’t just let it go. I’ll step on it and kill it.”

“hmm.”

“Vice President Nam Woo-joong is like a bug to me. I don’t want to give catching a bug a grand name like revenge or something.”

I stepped on a crawling bug with my foot.

“But if you ever get caught by me, I’ll stomp you to death.”

Only then did Manager Han Jae-sik understand what I meant and looked at my shoes with a stern face.

* * *

A few days later, a personnel notice was posted on the bulletin board in the lobby of the Seoul Central District Prosecutors’ Office.

In front of him, people were gathered in groups of three or four, each discussing the impact of the new greeting. The group included Chief Shin Hyo-jin, Park Jeong-se, and Kang Jin-gyu.

But they weren’t interested in who was the new chief of the Third Criminal Division, who was promoted from which department, or who was transferred to another department.

He didn’t even pay much attention to the new prosecutors who were joining the 5th trial division.

Their eyes were focused on only one place. The newly established ‘Comprehensive Legal Investigation Department’ and Do Hyeon-gwang, who had been assigned there.

“What is the Comprehensive Legal Investigation Department?”

“I don’t know either. It’s the first time I’ve heard of it.”

“No, Manager Nam. What are you trying to do? Why did you create such a department?”

“Oh, sir. This is the listening ear… … .”

“What did I say that I couldn’t say?”

Park Jeong-se and Kang Jin-gyu hurriedly left the group with the grumbling Chief Shin Hyo-jin. This was because the people standing next to them kept staring at them.

“No, I asked you to send me to the criminal department. Why did you create a new department that I’ve never heard of? Isn’t this just a plan to screw over the sword?”

“Don’t you know, sir? What is the Comprehensive Legal Investigation Department?”

“I don’t know. I’ve been a prosecutor for over 15 years, but this is the first time I’ve heard that name.”

“But since the name has ‘investigation’ in it, it must be an investigative prosecutor, right?”

“I really don’t know what they’re up to.”

“Huh? It’s Manager Han.”

While Park Jeong-se was trying hard to calm down the very angry Shin Hyo-jin, Kang Jin-gyu pointed to a place next to him. When he looked to see what was going on, he saw Han Jae-sik walking towards him.

The three of them rushed towards Manager Han Jae-sik without saying who should go first. Manager Han Jae-sik looked at the three approaching people and smiled brightly as he spoke.

“Where are you three going? Oh, is there a company dinner today?”

“Manager Han, even if there is a company dinner, let’s go in the evening. Do you want to go at this time?”

“Oh, okay.”

Kang Jin-gyu said to Manager Han Jae-sik, who was visibly disappointed.

“There was a notice for personnel transfer today. I was just looking at it.”

“Oh, you got it today? That’s right. I heard that the sword department is moving.”

“Did you know?”

“What is this mini petite department?”

“No. It’s the General Legal Investigation Department. It’s a newly established department.”

Park Jeong-se asked with a feeling of hope.

“Do you happen to know what the Comprehensive Legal Investigation Department does? Chief Shin says it’s the first time he’s heard of it.”

“I’ve never heard of this before. What, they must have created a dummy department. To eat the sword. How would I know?”

At those words, Manager Shin Hyo-jin responded as if she was dumbfounded.

“But shouldn’t you know? You’re the manager there?”

“uh?”

Chief Han Jae-sik didn’t know what he had just heard, so he just stared blankly at Chief Shin Hyo-jin and the other two. However, no one came forward to speak.

“What are you talking about? I’m the manager there?”

“There’s a notice out there just now. You’re the head prosecutor of the Comprehensive Legal Investigation Department.”

“Uh… … , no way. T, really?”

Chief Han Jae-sik’s pupils were shaking violently.