Chapter 254
Seol Hyoseok being summoned by the prosecutors was good news, but it was disappointing that he was only called in as a witness, not a suspect. Jin Suyong had admitted to the deal with Seol Hyoseok, but he was keeping quiet about the details. 'It's helpful enough just that he's been summoned...'
Still, there was no getting around the regret. If Jin Suyong had talked, they could have slapped Seol Hyoseok with conspiracy to commit murder and locked him up right away.
Thanks to the wiretap, Seol Hyoseok knew that—unlike what he'd told Kim Seongu—he was doing everything he could to clear Dongjin's name. So he was undoubtedly working behind the scenes to erase any potential evidence or witnesses. If he got detained in that situation, it would put a serious wrench in those efforts.
'Doesn't matter if I move fast.' As long as he acted quickly—before any evidence could be destroyed or another witness bought off—he could take control of the situation.
After hearing from Sanggil that Go Sojeong was off today, he called her. Sure enough, Seol Hyoseok must have told Kim Seongu not to trust him, because she didn't pick up. She was supposed to be back at work tomorrow, so he could go to the hospital then, but in his rush to wrap things up, he couldn't wait that long. He headed straight to her place.
"......"
He rang the doorbell, but there was no response from inside. The curtains were drawn over the windows, so he couldn't even tell if anyone was home. For now, he decided to wait it out in front of the house.
Two hours later, still parked in front of the villa. 'That person...'
A middle-aged woman carrying a shopping basket entered the building. According to the info from Taesik, she was Go Sojeong's mother. He got out of the car and approached her quickly.
"Hello."
Go Sojeong's mother slowly turned her head and looked up at him.
"Oh, hello. And you are...?"
"You're Go Sojeong's mother, right?"
"Yes, but who might you be?"
"Ah, I'm the son of a patient Ms. Go Sojeong took care of. I wanted to thank her properly for looking after my father so well, but I was too busy to see her when he was discharged. So I asked around at the hospital and came here."
"I see?"
The wary look faded from her face. Young people might rage that hospitals shouldn't give out that kind of info these days, but no parent would turn away a guest come to express gratitude for their child's care.
"I called, but you didn't answer, so I just showed up. Sorry if I startled you."
"No, no. Is Sojeong not home?"
Her mother tilted her head and headed down the stairs.
"Why don't you come in and wait a bit? The place is a little shabby..."
She smiled awkwardly, genuinely embarrassed, and opened the gate.
"Sojeong-ah!"
-Coming!
She was home after all. Go Sojeong's voice called out from inside, directed at her mother.
"You're home? Come out here for a sec!"
-Why!
"Come on out!"
There was a brief mutter, then Go Sojeong appeared at the entrance. The moment she saw him, her eyes widened, and she tried to slam the gate shut.
"Ms. Go Sojeong."
But he grabbed the gate a split second before she could close it.
"Let's talk for a minute."
"Hey, Prosecutor— I mean, Lawyer. This isn't right."
"It'd be awkward talking with your mom around."
He nodded toward her mother, who was staring at them in confusion. Go Sojeong hesitated, then let out a long sigh and slipped on her slippers.
"Sojeong-ah, what's going on?"
"Mom, I'll be right back."
"What's the matter!"
"It's nothing. I made rice already—just heat up the stew. I'll be quick."
She crossed her arms irritably and shut the door. He followed her out of the villa. She whipped around and hissed under her breath.
"I have nothing to say to you, Lawyer."
"I do."
"Why should I listen?"
"You'll be glad you did."
"Doubt it. Please leave. And don't do this again."
He'd hoped for a calm chat in the car, but if she was going to be like this, he had no choice. He pulled a stack of photos from his inside pocket and handed them to her.
"What's this?"
"Take a look."
She eyed him suspiciously, then snatched the photos.
"......"
After the first one, she aggressively flipped through the rest. He waited until she'd processed it all.
"......Wh-what is this?"
"You can see what it is."
"Wh-why are you showing me pictures of Dr. Kim Seongu?"
She was calmer than expected. Not bad for someone just learning of her fiancé's affair.
"Aren't you engaged to Dr. Kim Seongu?"
"Me? Who said that? I'm not marrying Dr. Kim Seongu. No way."
He didn't really need the ability for that one, but no exceptions. Her face flushed as she fanned herself and looked away. He handed her another stack: photos of her and Kim Seongu arm-in-arm entering a dress shop.
"Dr. Kim Seongu seemed pretty cold to you. Didn't that strike you as odd?"
"What are you talking about?"
"Dr. Kim Seongu has no intention of marrying you."
"......I told you, we're not getting married."
"The woman in the photos is Seol Yeji, daughter of Hanyeong Auto Chairman Seol Jeongho. Turns out Seol Hyoseok arranged their meetings."
He handed over her profile, packed with her credentials to stoke Go Sojeong's inferiority complex.
"That's from a gathering of chaebol kids hosted by Seol Hyoseok. Word is, she introduced Dr. Kim Seongu as her fiancé that day."
Go Sojeong shook her head blankly.
"No way......"
"So now you have a reason to talk to me, right?"
He opened the driver's door of his parked car.
"Get in the passenger seat. We can't keep standing here."
She climbed in without further protest.
"Seol Hyoseok is under prosecution investigation right now."
She snapped her head toward him, eyes fixed ahead until then.
"Ah, Dr. Kim Seongu didn't mention it?"
"Why is Seol Hyoseok...?"
"Why do you think?"
Kim Seongu hadn't told her he was in hot water—probably worried she'd panic and slip up. Convenient for him.
Learning about the other woman, then finding out he'd hidden the summons too? That would hit like double betrayal.
"I-I have no idea. Some company trouble?"
She was still playing dumb. Of course— even if Kim Seongu put her up to it, she'd been the one to inject the cephalosporin. Once everything came out, she'd worry about the fallout for herself.
"Since you're set on denying it, I'll get to the point. You know former section chief Jin Suyong is in custody for illegal dealings. And now that he's exposed a deal with Seol Hyoseok, the guy's shown up for witness questioning."
"If the deal's out, why just a witness? Shouldn't he be a suspect?"
She reacted sharply.
"Because Jin Suyong hasn't confessed that Seol Hyoseok ordered the murder of Executive Director Seol Hyeongseok yet."
He'd considered lying—say Seol Hyoseok was already locked up—to force a confession. But prosecutors couldn't hold a witness long, and the truth would come out fast, tanking his credibility. No point.
"The connections are all mapped out, though. It'll come to light soon. So, Jin Suyong took Seol Hyoseok's request to make Executive Director Seol Hyeongseok 'disappear,' and that's when the deal happened. But with Jin Suyong detained, it passed to Dr. Kim Seongu."
"......"
"Dr. Kim Seongu put you up to injecting cephalosporin into Executive Director Seol Hyeongseok and pinning it on Dongjin, right? He probably said even if you got disciplined and had to leave the hospital, it was fine—you were getting married anyway."
"......No. That's not—it's not like that!"
"Is that so? Then did you ever hear exactly why Dr. Kim Seongu accepted Seol Hyoseok's terrifying proposal?"
"I-I told you, no! The Seol Hyeongseok thing was just Dr. Yang Dongjin giving me the wrong order. What are you even—"
"Seol Hyoseok promised Kim Seongu marriage to his cousin Seol Yeji as payment. And the families have met—probably the formal engagement meeting."
"......"
"You were disposable from the start. You know that. You think Kim Seongu would pick you over a chaebol daughter like Seol Yeji?"
She bit her lip hard. Her hands trembled. When he glanced at them, she shoved them into her sleeves to hide.
She'd probably seen Kim Seongu as her lifeline out of soul-crushing poverty. That's why she couldn't refuse his monstrous request. Refuse, and she'd lose both love and escape.
"No way......"
Tears streamed from her bloodshot eyes.
"How could Seongu do this to me......"
She stared at the photo of him with his arm around Seol Yeji's waist. Tears splashed on it, and she crumpled the picture in her fist.
"If you're at the dress-shopping stage with Kim Seongu, did you have the engagement meeting? Or at least meet his parents?"
"......"
She had no answer. Before meeting her, he'd figured the odds were low—but he'd worried what if Kim Seongu chose her over Seol Yeji? Not anymore.
Seol Jeongho and Myeongdae Hospital's director had met for the formalities, but Go Sojeong had never even seen the director. Maybe she'd felt uneasy pushing forward with the wedding. Kim Seongu wasn't affectionate with her, and whatever excuses he made, skipping parental intros at this stage was suspicious.
"If you confess, I'll make sure you get a suspended sentence. But you'll have to accept getting fired from Myeongdae Hospital."
He'd cleared it with Manager Bae beforehand. If she confessed, they'd write a letter requesting no punishment and ensure suspension.
She'd done all this for marriage to Kim Seongu. Even if she lost her job, she probably thought she'd marry into wealth and live as a doctor's wife. He'd said as much.
But that dream of being a chaebol-hospital-director-wife was just a pipe dream. Either way, her nursing career was over. That alone would punish her plenty, and from Seol Jeongho's view, better to nail the schemers Seol Hyoseok and Kim Seongu than the tool they used. And for her, ruined anyway, direct revenge on Kim Seongu would feel better.
Win-win all around.
"Take your time and call me."
He handed her his business card. She stared blankly between him and the card, then got out. Watching her shuffle away listlessly, he clicked his tongue.
The end for those who build their happiness on others' misery—it's always like this.