The Prosecutor’s Office’s Proposal Chapter 12

The type of drug smuggling method I suspect has rarely been detected in our country, but it has been a common technique overseas since the 80s. Still, for my superior to be convinced of the hypothesis, it would be better to find and report at least one instance of a similar crime occurring domestically. Otherwise, my opinion might sound too absurd.

Of course, since there was no other way to explain the esophageal bruises and the vinyl fragments besides this hypothesis, I was somewhat confident in my deduction. After changing my search terms back and forth, I discovered the desired criminal record on the portal.

“Found it.”

Because it was a bus that traveled even onto the unpaved roads between rice fields, the seats rattled violently. I endured the slight motion sickness that threatened to rise, read the materials carefully, and organized in my mind what I needed to do tomorrow.

I lifted my head and looked across at the bus window. The outside was so dark that the window reflected my image clearly, like a mirror. In my eyes, excitement for a smooth start at my new job rippled over.

‘Yes, there won’t be any big problems this time. Let’s not stand out, stay quiet, and do a good job carrying out the superior’s orders.’

As I thought this to myself, I corrected the word Prosecutor Joo had pointed out.

‘No, wait. Let’s follow the superior’s instructions well.’

From tomorrow, it was time to go on a round of visits to the taxi companies in Danhyeon City. I took my eyes off the dark window, put the earphones in my ears, and soon lowered my tired eyelids.

📄🖊️

Unlike the inspiration I got at the scene where the body was discovered, I didn’t get any particular results from the taxi companies I visited the next day. For starters, there weren’t any taxis that had gone out to Seoul on the day Koryo-in Mr. Kim entered the country. To my repeated questions, the president sitting at the desk let out a deep sigh and complained emphatically.

“You have no idea how much I’m harassed by the police and the prosecution while running a taxi company in Danhyeon City. Always saying a murder suspect seems to have ridden a taxi, a robbery suspect rode a taxi, where did the victim who died three weeks ago get off, give me what was recorded on the dashcam. It’s really so exhausting and tiring. Nothing happened that day, I swear.”

“I am well aware of the grievances experienced at taxi companies. I know this is a bother, but I ask for your cooperation.”

I took out a carton of cigarettes I had prepared in my bag and placed it quietly on the iron desk. It was a method I had learned to easily get close to informants when I was in the police force.

Perhaps because his mood softened after seeing the cigarette carton, the president adjusted his posture; he had been sitting in his chair as if he were about to slide off. He straightened his back and answered my questions with a slightly more serious expression.

“Actually, detectives already thoroughly swept the company. There’s nothing much, and the only thing I can tell you—it seems like you, Mr. Public Servant, are in Danhyeon City for the first time, so I’ll tell you—is that the village near the casino is essentially a clan village.”

“A clan village?”

I answered as if I were not a native of Danhyeon City. The president tapped the desk with his fist—thump, thump—at the first word of every sentence he uttered, giving his words physical force. It seemed he believed that doing so would increase persuasiveness.

“Just know that the people living near the casino, while their surnames may all be different, are almost all former miners if they are over 60. Even if they worked in different regions, they have a sense of solidarity from having worked in coal mines and pride in having succeeded in attracting the casino. It’s the second local casino in the country, you know. So, in case anyone around them was involved, they absolutely won’t say they saw anything, even if they did.”

“I didn’t know there was such an atmosphere.”

“I don’t know what kind of case this is, but anyway, I swear, there is really no taxi driver who went to Seoul that day. I even asked if anyone had seen a Seoul taxi just in case, but the drivers said that because the casino hadn’t been operating for a week, all taxis coming from Seoul had completely disappeared. For several days.”

“The casino was closed? What happened?”

“Something about safety inspections. Since Osong Construction built it, there are many problems, you know, with the casino. In the beginning, people said it would collapse and all that, but it didn’t turn out that way.”

“Yes….”

“Anyway, you should press the village residents. We don’t have any information to give for this case.”

The night wind I faced after finishing the conversation with the taxi company president was quite cold. The temperature of the air brushing against my cheeks felt chillingly sharp. Tucking in my thin autumn coat, which now felt inadequate, I stood under the company wall and organized the conversation I had exchanged with the president in my notebook.

This, too, was a long-standing habit formed while attending the National Police University. My pure white breath shattered over the black letters left by my ballpoint pen.

As I was about to set off, the phone in my pocket rang. I wondered who it could be since I had no one to contact after work, but when I took it out, a message from Prosecutor Joo Taeson appeared. I had saved his phone number after we stood on duty together last time.

I hesitated a little to press the message notification. While I had harbored deep respect for Prosecutor Joo for a long time, the discomfort of being contacted by a superior also existed. I took a deep breath and clicked on the message.

Chief Lee, let’s meet at the prosecutor’s office tomorrow at 7 PM. Do you have any results?

Hello, Prosecutor. I have a hypothesis.

That’s good. Come to Room 512.

Yes, I understand.

As I finished the text and walked toward the staff quarters, my phone rang again. Thinking it was naturally Prosecutor Joo Taeson’s contact again, I looked at the screen and saw ‘Aunt-in-law’ (Oesunmo).

The moment I saw the words ‘Aunt-in-law,’ an unpleasant electric current surged from my head to my toes. I had been mistaken. Real discomfort is like this.

I hesitated but did not answer the call. I shoved my phone, along with my notebook, into my cross-body bag in an ambiguous state, not having hung up the call. Suddenly, the weight of the bag strap pressing on my right shoulder felt as heavy as if a brick had been added. Ignoring the vibrations touching my body with every step, I organized the content of the report I would write when I got home.

I refined the spelling of the report I organized late into the night in detail and sent it to Prosecutor Joo via messenger as soon as I arrived at work. A ‘read’ status appeared next to Prosecutor Joo’s message. My neck felt stiff because I was unnecessarily nervous about what kind of evaluation I would receive in the evening.

After spending a couple of hours contacting people with outstanding payments, just as I was catching my breath, the phone on my desk rang.

“Danhyeon Branch Office, Enforcement Division, Fine Section….”

— This is Prosecutor Joo Taeson.

“Ah, hello.”

— Chief Lee, can you come up right now?

“Yes, I will come up.”

The original appointment time was 7 PM, so it seemed Prosecutor Joo had changed his mind. The moment I hung up the phone and was about to get up in a hurry, my immediate senior at the seat next to me spoke up.

“Where are you going?”

“Prosecutor called me because of that night duty last time.”

“Prosecutor Joo Taeson? Why would he call a new recruit instead of his own investigator?”

To the senior’s question, I reddened and made an excuse.

“I’m not sure.”

“If there’s something to reinforce, he should tell his own investigator or send it to the investigation division. That’s really strange.”

As the senior finished speaking, Mr. Hwang, who was passing by, gave a signal that he would send a message by pointing at the air. Mr. Hwang hurriedly returned to his seat and wrote in the chat room where only the three of them were.

One of Prosecutor Joo’s investigators is going to study abroad soon. That’s probably why he isn’t giving that investigator much work and keeps assigning it to Chief Lee.

The senior and Mr. Hwang exchanged messages enthusiastically.

Then a spot will open up in Prosecutor Joo’s office, right? He uses two investigators.

That’s right. Since he wanted to go to the prosecutor’s office, ask the investigator in that room.

Would they even pick me? I’m in my 3rd year now and I’m an 8th-grade official, not 7th. Besides, the prosecutor’s office is already intense, and Prosecutor Joo’s room is even more intense. I don’t have the confidence.

That’s true. You’ll miss the Enforcement Division, won’t you?

I pulled and bit my lower lip and asked carefully.

Is it possible to enter the prosecutor’s office even as an 8th-grade official?

According to regulations, it is, but usually, you have to have some years of experience to enter. And most of them are 7th-grade.

Mr. Hwang answered. Since I could no longer delay going up to the 5th floor, I said goodbye, saying I would be back by lunch, and left the Fine Section.