The Prosecutor’s Office’s Proposal Chapter 102

It felt as though he didn’t want to cry in front of me until the very end. It was the resolute appearance that had made me fall head over heels for Lee Chaeha, but today, unbelievably, that attitude felt disappointing.

A slender finger gripped my wrist as I listened quietly, neither affirming nor denying. The finger felt colder than ever before. It was a body temperature that made it seem as though spring had never come to his body alone.

Holding onto me desperately, Lee Chaeha began to speak from a different perspective.

“Mr. Joo Prosecutor, please set aside all other information and look only at the method of murder. Let’s cast aside the password and the DNA too. To say it’s not the same culprit—the number of times they were stabbed with an awl and the method are just too identical. Oh Jahyeon was also acquainted with President Kang Woosung. They were in a relationship where she could enter his house late at night. And if it’s a method of stabbing the neck from behind, even a woman is capable of murder. Although an awl is a rare weapon in our country, seeing that she purchased drugs from the Koryo-in Mr. Kim this time, perhaps she has a connection to the Russian side. She could be someone familiar with that country’s culture. Maybe that’s why she chose an awl.”

As expected, Lee Chaeha chose a method of appealing to reason rather than emotion. He explained point by point the reasons why the two cases had to be viewed as the work of the same culprit.

“Moreover, the profile of the culprit who killed President Kang Woosung matches Oh Jahyeon better, not my dad.”

I understood exactly why Lee Chaeha brought up the topic of the profile. In fact, that point bothered me the most.

We shared a powerful empirical knowledge that made us suspect: could it be that Lee Gilyoung is not the culprit? When a culprit kills someone they know, attacking the face and neck with a weapon is by no means an easy thing to do.

“Because of the location and number of stabs?”

“Yes. This is clearly a typical grudge murder. They were stabbed about twenty times each. Oh Jahyeon held a grudge against President Kang Woosung, but Lee Gilyoung didn’t hold any grudge at all. You know that overkill is rare in contract killings.”

“…That’s true.”

“And if they wanted to take the awl used as a weapon and disguise it as a different weapon, normally they would stab the dead person’s torso once with the disguised weapon and leave it dropped beside them; they wouldn’t stab the neck for all to see and leave it plugged in there. And it was in the front of the neck, not the back of the neck. While looking at the face of someone they were close to. It’s clearly a mark of revenge. Perhaps it’s a signature. It’s a method with a higher probability of direct murder rather than a contract killing. A person with the personality traits to harbor a grudge against Kang Woosung and murder him directly needs to be put on the suspect list.”

It must have been a thought he endured and endured. He probably couldn’t bring himself to utter it out loud and had organized it inside himself for a long time. There was no blockage or redundancy whatsoever in developing his logic.

While pouring out all those words, Lee Chaeha’s rounded cheeks turned reddish, and from the tip of the cigarette nestled between his fingers, white ash that hadn’t yet been burned scattered. He looked at me more desperately than ever. We were on the branch office rooftop, yet he didn’t even let go of my wrist that he was holding.

Meeting his deep gaze, looking into those urgent eyes where the sunlight collided, shattered, and scattered, I realized what he was doing.

Lee Chaeha was not convincing me.

He was begging me.

“Prosecutor, even among culprits who commit serial murders, there aren’t many who go as far as facial mutilation.”

“…I know. Just as Officer Lee said, according to the profile, Oh Jahyeon is closer to the culprit image than Lee Gilyoung. Because contract killers deliver a fatal blow and double-check the kill; they don’t express violence unnecessarily.”

As if afraid that my mind might change, he nodded his head to an almost sorrowful degree at nearly every single word. Then he took a deep breath. As if wanting to calm down.

It would have been nice if I were a person who could put his mind at ease, but I didn’t have the personality to utter sweet-sounding words like saying I believed him, or that it was certain Lee Gilyoung was framed. Therefore, I threw a prickly fact at Lee Chaeha, who was full of hope.

“There’s only one thing that bothers me in this hypothesis.”

“Me?”

Sometimes Lee Chaeha is subtly oblivious.

“No, excluding the thought that I’m being swayed because of you.”

“Then….”

“The password and DNA that came out of Officer Lee’s mouth earlier.”

“There is also a possibility that Oh Jahyeon found out the password.”

“Well. Let’s talk about this again once the investigation into Oh Jahyeon’s suspected body abandonment has progressed to some extent first. I’ll go meet President Kang Woosung’s second son again.”

“I’ll go with you as well….”

“No, I’m going alone.”

I couldn’t meet him together with Lee Chaeha. At this notification, he bit his lip slightly again as if dissatisfied, but soon nodded submissively.

“Understood, Prosecutor.”

“Let’s go now.”

Just as I was about to turn around first after roughly stubbing out the cigarette he had barely smoked, Lee Chaeha grabbed my wrist again.

“Thank you.”

The cold fingers, where spring had still not arrived, fell away, and though I wanted to hold that hand to share some body heat, I merely stared blankly at his fingertips and endured it. Lee Chaeha slowly bowed his head.

“Thank you very much.”

“What is there to be thankful for. I haven’t done anything for you, and it’s not like a result has come out yet showing Officer Lee’s father isn’t the culprit.”

“No. I am grateful just for the fact that you considered that he might have been framed.”

“Stop it. The word ‘thank you’ is going to wear out.”

“Thank you.”

After rubbing his trembling lips with his fingers, he returned to his original calm expression. Then, he asked an unexpected question.

“Can I really trust Mr. Yoon Gyuho Prosecutor?”

I recalled Yoon Gyuho’s track record. Unlike his twin, Prosecutor Yoon Soyeon, he was the type to be obsessed with success.

“…If it were a different case, he’s not a person who inspires much trust. He tends to be quite faithful to his desire for power. But I think, at least for this case, it should be fine.”

“Is it because Prosecutor Yoon Soyeon had investigated the casino and Osong Construction corruption?”

“Yeah. Who would Prosecutor Yoon Soyeon have investigated? Naturally, it’s Oh Jahyeon. So Prosecutor Yoon Gyuho will also move diligently on this chessboard. He will become a chess piece that is absolutely necessary for us.”

Lee Chaeha seemed to have something he wanted to say, but he closed his mouth cautiously as usual.

Returning to the prosecutor’s office, I drafted the search and seizure warrant and the arrest warrant application for Oh Jahyeon, then went to Prosecutor Yoon Gyuho’s office. In his office, Lee Chaeha’s maternal uncle was undergoing questioning by an investigator. After properly identifying the face I had brushed past during lunchtime, I nodded my head toward Prosecutor Yoon. He entered the attached office he was using as his private office along with me.

“What is it, Pro Joo. You’re gracing us with your presence frequently lately.”

“This is Oh Jahyeon’s warrant application.”

“Oh Jahyeon?”

Hearing the name, Prosecutor Yoon Gyuho’s gaze turned sharp. I nodded readily.

“Violation of the Narcotics Control Act. And there’s a suspicion of body abandonment, but I think we’ll need to detain her and dig into it. You cook up these cases too, Pro Yoon.”

“Do you have definitive evidence?”

“I don’t thrust a warrant at a casino director without evidence. She’s the youngest daughter of Osong, though they say she was kicked out of the family, so I investigated with difficulty for several months fearing there might be a risk if handled carelessly. Let’s investigate as a joint team. Prosecutor Yoon can handle the procedures, and I want the interrogation to center around me. It means I’ll do the hard work and give all the credit to Prosecutor Yoon.”

He pulled the data out of the document envelope I handed over and scanned it quickly. Having grasped the National Forensic Service autopsy data and various forensic results, Yoon Gyuho gritted his teeth.

“This, a scenario is forming.”

“Of course. There’s no way it’s a coincidence.”

“Any traces of communication between the drug dealer and Oh Jahyeon.”

“I searched everywhere. It’s not getting caught, perhaps because both used burner phones. On the day the Koryo-in body was abandoned, I did find one suspicious number, 1225, from a nearby base station, but I’ll share that data later. If it’s true she abandoned the body, it must be an accomplice’s number.”

“No matter if it’s Oh Jahyeon, it’ll be hard to wriggle out of a criminal case. A charge as an economic offender would rather be better.”

“Right. That’s why I dug in this direction. I’ll let you know the bigger picture later.”

“Is it okay to give this to me for free like this?”

“I thought I’d repay my debt to Prosecutor Yoon this time around.”

“To hand me achievements that can get me back to Seoul? Why is Prosecutor Joo giving that gift.”

What on earth is this pathetic human talking about.