Chapter 253 Afterwards
From the photos Manager Bae had handed over, I could see Kim Seongwoo and the woman from even more angles. It wasn't just hand-holding—they had arms around each other's shoulders and waists, whispering in ears, all kinds of intimate touches that screamed something more than platonic.
Was he preparing to marry Gu Sojeong while carrying on an improper affair with this woman?
"Did you look into who this woman in the photo is?"
Manager Bae, who had been examining the photo of Gu Sojeong and Kim Seongwoo I'd given him, let out a small chuckle at my question.
"There was no need to investigate in the first place."
"What do you mean by that?"
"This guy is our chairman's nephew by blood. In other words... she's the daughter of Chairman Seol Jeong-ho of Han Young Automobile, the chairman's younger brother—Ms. Seol Yeji."
I frowned. So Kim Seongwoo's affair partner was Chairman Seol's own niece, Seol Hyo-seok's cousin.
"Have you confirmed the nature of the relationship between Ms. Seol Yeji and Kim Seongwoo?"
"We even verified that marriage talks are underway. Apparently, Dr. Kim Seongwoo has already paid respects to Yeji's parents."
An ambitious climber like Kim Seongwoo turning down a match with Han Young Automobile to marry Gu Sojeong? It didn't add up. But flip the situation around, and it made perfect sense: Kim Seongwoo was set to marry Seol Yeji, making Gu Sojeong the mistress on the side. Who he'd dated first didn't matter.
"Where was this gathering with Representative Seol Hyo-seok and Ms. Seol Yeji? Did the three of them meet?"
"No, it was a private salon. One hosted by Representative Seol for the heirs of corporate owners. From what I gathered, he introduced Dr. Kim Seongwoo as Yeji's fiancé that day."
To Chairman Seol, Kim Seongwoo would become his nephew-in-law—close enough, in a way. But viewed through the larger Han Young Group lens, it meant bringing an outsider into the fold, so the chairman would have been informed to some degree. Digging into it wouldn't have been much trouble for Manager Bae.
"Did you check when the two of them started seeing each other?"
"Marrying off a doctor son-in-law isn't unusual, but the fact that he's a neurosurgeon at Myeongdae Hospital raised flags, so we looked into it. Seems the hospital director and Chairman Seol Jeong-ho talked about marrying their kids. Since it's with marriage in mind, they haven't been dating long—maybe a month or two. Probably started earlier this year."
Seol Hyeong-seok's surgery had ended on December 31st of last year. I remembered it clearly—Yang Dongjin had greeted me with New Year's wishes right after emerging from the OR. Had Seol Hyo-seok reached out to Kim Seongwoo once his brother survived the table? Or maybe the initial target was the father, the director himself.
"What was the relationship like between Han Young Automobile's Chairman Seol Jeong-ho and Representative Seol Hyo-seok?"
"Quite close. Chairman Seol has no sons, so Representative Seol Hyo-seok looked after him like a son."
"Between Representative Seol Hyo-seok and former Executive Director Seol Hyeong-seok, who was Chairman Seol Jeong-ho closer to?"
"Representative Seol Hyo-seok," Manager Bae said firmly. "Enough to back him as successor?"
"Exactly. Once the chairman decided to pass Han Young to Executive Director Seol, Representative Seol started rallying supporters. Chairman Seol Jeong-ho was one of them."
Manager Bae let out a long sigh.
"Talking it through, I think I've got the picture. At first, I wondered why you were showing me photos of Dr. Kim Seongwoo's affair—what did it matter? But now..."
Manager Bae hadn't paid much mind initially to Seol Hyo-seok meeting Seol Yeji and Kim Seongwoo together. Without the Myeongdae neurosurgeon detail, nothing about Kim Seongwoo seemed off on the surface.
"If Nurse Gu Sojeong and Dr. Kim Seongwoo are that close, does that mean you see Representative Seol, Dr. Kim Seongwoo, and Gu Sojeong as accomplices, Counselor Cha?"
"Yes. If my hunch is right, Representative Seol proposed a deal to Dr. Kim Seongwoo, who then had his lover, Nurse Gu Sojeong, administer the cephalosporin—and they framed Dongjin for it."
"That tracks."
Manager Bae closed his eyes briefly, retracing the connections in his mind.
"That's why I was wondering what massive promise Seol Hyo-seok made to get Kim Seongwoo to pull off something this insane. But it looks like..."
"He introduced him to Yeji and agreed to welcome Dr. Kim Seongwoo as Han Young's son-in-law."
That would be a far bigger payoff for Kim Seongwoo than just helping the director extend his term. Becoming the son-in-law would naturally include Han Young backing the director anyway. Maintaining a relationship with Gu Sojeong was purely to exploit her effectively. There was no reason for him to marry her over Seol Yeji. Just listening to their conversation in the recording Sanggil had sent me, Kim Seongwoo had been ice-cold to her—hardly lover-like.
"Looks like we've pieced together the conspiracy around former Executive Director Seol and all the relationships."
Manager Bae rubbed his temples, looking pained. Even if this worked out in his favor professionally, the man who'd devoted his youth to Han Young couldn't feel great about the massive tragedy Seol Hyo-seok had orchestrated.
Whatever the case, today's meeting with Manager Bae had yielded more than I'd expected. I hadn't come hoping for new cards, so it felt like an unexpected gift.
"Hey, Counselor Cha. Come on in."
I'd come to the Central District Prosecutors' Office after a call from Park Younggi.
"No issues in the meantime?"
"None. Aside from being swamped thanks to you—same old."
Park Younggi joked as he poured tea into the cup in front of me. Neither he nor I were the type to waste time on empty pleasantries. He cut straight to it.
"Like you said, there was a deal between Jin Suyong and Seol Hyo-seok. But it fell through—the money that came in went right back out."
Park Younggi double-checked the documents on his desk.
If it looked like the deal had busted, it had to tie to Seol Hyo-seok's evidence. With Jin Suyong in custody, the deal was off, so returning advance payment made sense.
"Can't show you the investigation files, unfortunately."
"Of course not."
"Right now, the probe into Jin Suyong is zeroed in on his deals for military exemptions for VIP kids while he was Myeongdae neurosurgery chief. You brought the case to us, so you know better than anyone. That's why the press releases focused on the exemption angle."
"Hm. Even if the deal with Seol Hyo-seok wasn't exemptions, couldn't you bundle it as illegal trading violating the Medical Act? Once Seol Hyo-seok's case blows up—and it will—Jin Suyong's tangled in it, already under prosecution for other charges. Frame it as uncovering Seol Hyo-seok's murder instigation during that probe, and the prosecutors' credibility shoots up."
Whether the prosecutors regained public trust or not wasn't my main concern. But with Park Younggi, who was helping me, stepping up as the new leader, boosting his rep benefited me too.
"Exactly."
"Even without that, now that Jin Suyong's locked up, combing every angle is good prosecutorial practice. Beats having loose ends pop up later."
Park Younggi nodded slowly.
"True. Truth be told, before you tipped me off about Seol Hyo-seok, we had suspicious unexplained funds flowing in and out. Jin Suyong clammed up, but your lead fit the puzzle perfectly."
"Did Jin Suyong have frequent contact with Seol Hyo-seok?"
"Tons. Call logs with Seol Hyo-seok's personal secretary were off the charts. That's why we're hauling Jin Suyong back from detention for another round right now."
All of Jin Suyong's phone records, bank statements—everything was already in prosecutors' hands. Pinpointing Seol Hyo-seok should've surfaced the red flags quick, and it had, faster than expected.
But for me and the prosecutors alike, the crux was no hard evidence yet. Circumstantial was plentiful, but slippery enough to dodge. We'd targeted the perp first and hunted proof second—could be spun as selective prosecution. Still, the outcome would hold.
I pegged Seol Hyo-seok as guilty, but even charitably, he'd done more than aid and abet. No escape for him anyway.
"If Jin Suyong admits the deal, we can summon Seol Hyo-seok for questioning right away."
If things went as Park Younggi said, the rest would be smooth sailing. Once Seol Hyo-seok was summoned, Kim Seongwoo and Gu Sojeong would panic.
"Will Jin Suyong confess?"
"He will. Probably."
Park Younggi sounded confident.
"Even for murder instigation?"
"The incident never happened, after all. But Seol Hyo-seok's plot is ongoing—Executive Director Seol Hyeong-seok's a vegetable now. Jin Suyong confesses, and he basically bags the mastermind. Huge merit badge."
With exemptions piling up daily as charges, Jin Suyong had already returned the money and could claim no link to Seol Hyeong-seok. Plenty of outs, especially with prosecutorial nudge.
"To help pressure Jin Suyong, here's a tidbit: if Han Young Group learns Seol Hyo-seok ordered his brother's murder, they'll cut him loose."
In case Jin Suyong feared Seol Hyo-seok into silence, I offered one more nudge. Exposed as a criminal, Seol Hyo-seok couldn't wield Han Young's power anymore. No future favors there. Jin Suyong realizing that would loosen his lips.
"How'd you find that out?"
Park Younggi's eyes widened in surprise.
"Your intel network's unbeatable. Haha."
"You're too kind."
"Ever thought of coming back to prosecution? Approving your resignation feels like the Prosecutor General's Office's biggest blunder. No interest in reapplying as a career prosecutor?"
"None."
Park Younggi smacked his lips in regret. If I were still a prosecutor, schmoozing everyone would draw flak. My methods would look underhanded. Why return to that straitjacket gig with the pay cut?
A few days later, Park Younggi brought welcome news: Jin Suyong had named Seol Hyo-seok, leading to a summons as a witness.
Now it was time to play my hand for real.