The Mad Prosecutor Picked Up AI - Chapter 43
Only Noblemtl
Episode 43
Park Min-sik stuffed a few clothes into his large backpack in a hurry. He was worried about the test he had done at the hospital yesterday.
I should have left the hospital a long time ago.
No, I should have left this military base a long time ago.
At first, I was planning to leave the hospital right after finishing my emergency treatment. But then the news came out. The suspect in the murder of the Oriental medicine doctor was caught.
He was a homeless person who started working as a cleaner at a Korean medicine clinic.
I remembered who it was. Sometimes I would watch TV with my mouth open in the lobby of the Oriental medicine clinic, and I would see him walking down the hallway with a broom, pretending to clean.
If the police had someone else as a suspect, it meant that he was out of the investigation net. Then there was no need to run away.
I was able to get narcotic painkillers because I complained of pain and there was no reason to leave the hospital quickly.
But I guess that was a mistake. The prosecutor who came yesterday said on the surface that he was investigating a traffic accident, but it was clear that he was investigating a murder case.
My body was also very cold, so I had to escape before the encirclement closed in. Park Min-sik, who was packing his bag, suddenly stopped and thought back to that day.
I really didn’t intend to kill you.
… …
I was just trying to scare him. I had no money, I was hungry for medicine, I was vomiting, I had chills, and I was itching so badly. It had already been a few days since the withdrawal symptoms started.
I thought he would be scared and give me medicine if I just pointed a knife at him. Ha Myeong-jun laughed at him instead. What did he say?
– Hey, sir. Aren’t you going to clean this up? You don’t even have the courage to kill it.
Yes. I didn’t have the courage to kill him. So I tried to put away the knife that was threatening me by holding it to his neck. But that’s what happened.
A mean smile appeared on the guy’s face. It was an all too familiar sneer that I had seen since high school.
A sneer that would never be seen or known by others who only knew him as a kind doctor.
Ha Myung-jun noticed the expensive brand jacket that Park Min-sik was wearing.
– If you don’t have that much money, you could at least sell those clothes used. It’s not like pearls on a pig’s neck. You brat.
Should I really do that? Should I sell this? While he was shamefully contemplating, a word struck his ear.
– In the end.
In that moment, his sense of reason snapped. He couldn’t remember exactly what had happened. However, when he came to, the knife he was holding was stuck in Ha Myeong-jun’s stomach.
A distorted face, eyes filled with fear, a mouth that couldn’t even let out a groan.
As he pulled out the knife, Ha Myeong-jun clutched his stomach and collapsed to the floor, leaning against the wall.
“Don’t act like you’re a great doctor. It’s useless.”
After giving a word of reprimand, he quickly left. It was a shame, but he threw away his blood-stained jacket. He couldn’t just leave, thinking that there would be blood and fingerprints on the knife.
He lifted his jacket and placed it under his chin, wiped the knife clean on his knitted garment, and then ran without looking back.
Until I hit the car.
… …
Park Min-sik looked down at his hands. His hands were covered in blisters as if he had a skin disease, and his wrists were bandaged. He had killed someone with these hands.
I didn’t intend to kill him. Why did this happen?
Maybe it’s the stress of withdrawal symptoms.
Drugs may have contributed to the increase in violence.
It could be because his pride was hurt by Ha Myeong-jun who laughed at him.
Maybe he just needed an excuse to kill.
He shook his head as if to erase the thought. What good was it to regret it now? He quickly packed his bag and left the house.
As he was walking down the alley with his hat pulled down low, an old man wearing a jacket approached him and made eye contact with him.
I was about to turn back because I felt something was fishy, but this time a tall man with oily hair appeared from behind. The two of them approached him from both sides, surrounding him like a sandwich.
The man approaching from the front, Inspector Kang Hong-sik, showed his civil servant ID and spoke.
“Mr. Park Min-sik, right? This is Detective Kang Hong-sik. You should go to the library together.”
When the detective behind him tried to grab his arm, Park Min-sik resisted strongly and pushed him away.
“What is it? What is it? Aren’t you going to let this go?”
“Just stay still, kid.”
The detective hit Park Min-sik on the head with his thick hand. Then Park Min-sik gritted his teeth and started screaming.
“The police are hitting someone! Wow. The police are hitting someone! Isn’t this an illegal arrest? Follow the law, follow the law! Can you just take away an innocent citizen like this? I’m going to appeal this!”
“It’s bullshit, it’s bullshit. What’s the appeal? It’s a protest.”
The detective restrained Park Min-sik’s arm again. Detective Kang Hong-sik clicked his tongue as he watched.
“Well, if you want, do it according to the law. From now on, I’m going to arrest you on emergency grounds on charges of murdering Ha Myung-jun and violating the Narcotics Control Act. If you resist, you’ll get shot, and if you run away, you’ll get beaten. Don’t lose your strength, and when I say something, give me your wrist.”
“Hey! Don’t let go of this!”
They handcuffed his two hands as he resisted and took him to a police car. Watching him try to resist getting in, they held his head down and put him in the car, Inspector Kang Hong-sik spat out a bitter word.
“What kind of a murderer is that?”
* * *
3 p.m. The conference room that was filled with detectives last time is now filled with reporters.
[There are a lot of reporters here.]
‘That’s right. It looks like Na Kang-jin went to great lengths to get noticed. He even swept away all the reporters from Onju City.’
People sat at desks with their laptops set up, and cameras lined up against the back wall. It seemed like all the reporters from the newspapers and TV stations were there.
“Sword, don’t be nervous.”
Director Jang Gi-tae looked at the reporters packed into the conference room, grabbed my arm, and said.
“Don’t worry. I’m not nervous.”
At those words, Manager Jang Gi-tae glared at me.
“Aren’t you nervous? Sword, you have to be nervous at times like this. This isn’t live, but you have to be careful because you’re in front of reporters. You don’t want to make any mistakes.”
“Oh, I get it. I’ll be nervous.”
“No. But you shouldn’t be too nervous either.”
“Boss!”
“Oh my, this is surprising.”
I’m telling you to relax, I’m telling you not to.
I grabbed Chief Jang Gi-tae’s shoulder and said.
“Boss, only people who are nervous are afraid of making a mistake. Do you think I would make a mistake?”
“Ugh. I think I’m going to make a mistake. I’m so nervous.”
“Don’t worry. If I make a mistake, it’s your fault. I’m not worried, so I’m not nervous. I’m telling you, my mentality is unwavering.”
“Oh, I see. That’s good.”
It was a strange logic, but Chief Jang Gi-tae seemed a little relieved by those words.
“So, please relax. Look, I’ve prepared such a wonderful meal for you. All I have to do is enjoy the meal. Don’t worry.”
“Yeah, yeah.”
I cleared my throat once and went into the press conference room that Na Kang-jin had prepared nicely. Chief Jang Ki-tae, whose face was pale from nervousness, followed me and stood at the entrance.
* * *
Shin Eun-ju, a reporter for , looked around the conference room. It was full of reporters, regardless of whether they were from newspapers or TV.
I wonder if it’s the Onju District Prosecutors’ Office. It seemed like it was the first time that so many reporters had gathered at the Gunnae-myeon branch office. I could hear mutterings from the side.
“Why have you called us together like this?”
“It’s a murder case involving a Korean medicine doctor. You’re a reporter, so you don’t even know that?”
“It’s not that I don’t know. The murderer has already been caught, so why hold such a big press conference?”
“Right. Didn’t you say that the janitor, Yoon Ki-seok, was the culprit? It seems like almost everything came out in the police investigation.”
As the two were bickering, another reporter who was listening from the back seat intervened.
“Prosecutor Na Kang-jin arranged this event today.”
“Why is that?”
“This guy, right? Haven’t you heard the rumor? I heard the chief here is pushing to send him to Seoul. Since the criminal has already been caught, he’s probably trying to grab attention by holding a grandiose press conference.”
Reporter Shin Eun-ju, who had been listening quietly, also nodded. In fact, reporters wouldn’t have gathered like this if it were not for a reason. It’s obvious what’s happening in a small county.
It must have been Na Kang-jin’s power that she was able to gather this many people in one day. I didn’t want to follow that obvious rhythm, but she was a reporter. Even if she couldn’t get a scoop, she couldn’t fail, right?
The atmosphere in the conference room was very tense. Even though it was a famous murder case of a Korean medicine doctor in the military, the culprit had already been caught. There was nothing new to come out of the police investigation.
This was a press conference where they would just write down what Prosecutor Na Kang-jin said, take some pictures, and make sure they printed it in the newspaper so it wouldn’t get reported.
At that moment, the room in front of the conference room started to stir. This was because it was not Na Kang-jin, but an unexpected person who came up to the podium.
“Who is that person?”
“Isn’t that star inspector Do Hyeon-gwang?”
“What about star inspection?”
“You’re the prosecutor who caught that serial killer, Kim Deok-su.”
“That guy would have caught the illegal gambling den too.”
“But he’s not a star inspector. He’s still a rookie.”
As Do Hyun-kwang looked over the reporters from the stage, the people’s voices gradually became quieter. He bowed his head to greet the reporters first.
“Hello. This is Do Hyeon-gwang, the prosecutor of Gunnae-myeon branch. I will begin the briefing on the murder of Dr. Ha Myeong-jun.”
Before the show even started, hands went up among the reporters. It was Hong Min-woo, a reporter from who was sitting in the front row.
“I thought Prosecutor Na Kang-jin was holding the press conference today.”
At least Na Kang-jin was on pretty good terms with the reporters. Knowing the power of the press, he often oiled them and gave them stories to write about.
Unlike Na Kang-jin, Do Hyeon-gwang, who has a stiff head, could not possibly be popular among reporters. I heard that he also gets on the nerves of his superiors within the prosecution.
In particular, reporter Hong Min-woo was close with prosecutor Na Kang-jin. They were schoolmates. Since he received a phone call directly from Na Kang-jin, he naturally knew that the main character of today’s press conference would be Na Kang-jin. However, when Na Kang-jin, who was close to him, did not show up and a rookie prosecutor showed up, it seemed like the judging was messed up.
Today’s press conference won’t be easy for rookie prosecutor Do Hyeon-gwang. Reporter Shin Eun-ju has seen many times what happens when reporters decide to bite.
Even experienced veterans often make mistakes when they are not careful, and end up getting caught up in it, which ends up making their history known on the news.
Reporter Shin Eun-joo, who had a slight crush on star prosecutor Do Hyeon-gwang, looked at the handsome Do Hyeon-gwang standing on the stage with a pitiful heart. In her eyes, he looked like a lamb that had gone out for a walk among wolves without any sense of style.
“Prosecutor Na Kang-jin was the first to take charge of the case, but I was later assigned to the supplementary investigation. Since I was in charge of investigating the crucial evidence and motive that led to the arrest of the criminal, I decided that it was right for me to hold today’s press conference.”
The beginning was clean. He responded calmly without being flustered by the reporter’s attacks.
‘He’s amazing for a rookie inspector?’
An ordinary person would be nervous just looking at the flashing lights, cameras, and microphones, but Do Hyun-kwang showed no signs of nervousness. Instead, he looked relaxed.
“The prosecution made an emergency arrest of Park Min-sik, the murderer of Korean medicine doctor Ha Myeong-jun, this morning. Park is accused of luring Ha to an alley in front of a Korean medicine clinic on the 7th and stabbing him multiple times with a knife there to kill him.”
But as soon as the first sentence was over, reporter Hong Min-woo’s hand shot up again. He didn’t wait for Do Hyeon-gwang to point out anything but immediately raised his voice.
“I know that the killer of Ha Myung-jun is Yoon Ki-seok, a janitor. That’s what the police investigation showed, and isn’t there evidence? I heard that fingerprints were found on the weapon.”
“Yes, that’s right. The fingerprints of the cleaner, Yoon Ki-seok, were found on the knife handle.”
“But why was Yoon Ki-seok excluded from the list of culprits?”
Even if we left it alone, he would have foolishly explained it on his own, but it felt like Hong Min-woo was interfering with the press conference. However, since his opinion was valid, the rest of the reporters watched Do Hyeon-gwang’s response without saying anything.
‘Huh? Are you laughing?’
I expected him to be flustered, but Do Hyun-kwang’s face was filled with composure. He even had a gentle smile on his face. Reporter Shin Eun-ju couldn’t help but be bewildered by the unexpected situation.
The fact that the prosecutor in charge is so confident means one thing. All the evidence is perfect beyond doubt, and there is no negligence in proving the culprit. In other words, it means that he has grasped the whole truth of this case.
‘A rookie prosecutor who was handed the case late is figuring out all that?’
Reporter Shin Eun-ju swallowed hard. For some reason, she felt like the press conference itself would be more interesting today than the content of the press conference.