The Prosecutor’s Office’s Proposal Chapter 120

“That means Oh Jahyeon has a reason to kill both of them.”

“That’s right.”

Prosecutor Joo ruminated on my deduction intently. If Chief Tak had a child born out of wedlock, it was reasonable to assume the other party was Oh Jahyeon. Otherwise, there would have been no reason for it to go as far as childbirth.

He soon nodded his head.

“Officer Lee’s hypothesis makes sense.”

“Let’s check if it’s Oh Jahyeon’s son before we go. The person in charge is someone who can keep a secret, right?”

“Don’t worry.”

He turned around first and walked toward his senior. He then requested additional DNA testing on Oh Jahyeon’s blood sample and the glove that had been found at the site where the body was abandoned in Koryo-in. He didn’t forget to apologize for repeatedly asking for emergency favors.

While we waited for the results with anxious hearts in the corridor, left alone together, Prosecutor Joo called someone on speakerphone. As soon as the person on the other end answered, his voice turned much more affectionate than usual.

“Aunt, I have something to ask you.”

— What is it?

“I’ve become curious about Chief Tak. When did Chief Tak get married?”

— Let me see. You were in your second year of high school, so that would be 16 years ago, right? It was shortly after your mother passed away, so things were so chaotic I couldn’t even attend the wedding. Why all of a sudden?

“16 years?”

Chief Tak’s son was a high school senior. Nineteen years old. I already knew from the DNA test results that they weren’t father and son, but Prosecutor Joo checked with his aunt once more.

“His son is a high school senior, you know.”

— That’s because his wife remarried and brought her son with her. I guess you didn’t know because you didn’t have much contact with them before your father passed away?

My heart grew cold as I listened. Even though it was said that he and Oh Jahyeon were inseparable, I had thought it was strange that he was married to another woman and had fathered a son.

“Do you know how the couple met?”

— Not really. They held the ceremony in a rush, as if to get it over with just two months after meeting, so I did find it curious why Chief Tak, who had never been married before, was getting married so quickly. Your father also said it was strange.

“…I see. I’ll call you again later.”

— Okay.

The call ended abruptly. Prosecutor Joo brushed his hair back with a tired look on his face. His fingertips were trembling faintly, as if he had been quite shocked.

Although he always tried to appear calm on the outside, he seemed deeply distressed whenever a new secret regarding Chief Tak popped up. I remembered the chairman’s statement that Oh Jahyeon was able to become a casino director because Chief Tak got married. His mind must have been thinking the same thing.

It was the part that explained why Chief Tak had rushed into marriage with a woman who already had a child. It would be a difficult thing to do even now, but considering the social climate at the time, it was even more so.

“Are you alright?”

“…Well, is there any reason I wouldn’t be? I’m just wondering if it was a marriage of convenience.”

“…So that Oh Jahyeon could preserve both her inheritance and her social status.”

“Yes, for Oh Jahyeon’s sake.”

We didn’t say anything after that. We just spent the time pacing the cold hallway or sitting on hard chairs, retracing the case in our heads.

The results came out just as work hours were nearly over. The National Forensic Service employee notified us of the results simply as we both stood up at the same time.

“Oh Jahyeon is the biological mother.”

I sensed that he and I had finally discovered the motive for the murder together.

This was a serial murder.

From the very beginning, Prosecutor Joo Taeson’s suspicions had been correct.

It also meant that my late father truly could be innocent. I clenched my sweaty palms.

The NFS employee’s expression was as grave as ours. She now knew that Oh Jahyeon had a son and that he had helped dispose of the body of Mr. Kim in Koryo-in. She didn’t know yet that he was Chief Tak’s son.

“What are you going to do?”

“What do you mean, what am I going to do? I have to investigate. Thank you, Senior.”

“It’s nothing.”

“I’ll thank you properly some other time. Just keep this a secret.”

“Don’t worry. If secrets leaked out from here, not a single investigation would be able to proceed properly.”

I followed Prosecutor Joo’s lead, offered my greetings, and got on the elevator with him. Instead of letting him press the button for the second basement floor, I pressed the button for the first floor first. Prosecutor Joo pulled back his outstretched finger and looked down at me, trembling.

“Prosecutor, would you mind if I had a cigarette?”

“Let’s go eat a meal first, too.”

“I don’t have much of an appetite, so I’m fine.”

“Eat anyway.”

As soon as we stepped outside, he silently took out a cigarette and the two of us shared it.

Since the sunset was late, the sky was still a brilliant blue, and the yellow sunlight fell upon the pink petals floating on the wind. We didn’t say a single word to each other while smoking. My mind was loud with the past screaming, and Prosecutor Joo also seemed to have no intention of opening his mouth easily, as his mind seemed complicated.

The cigarette smoke rose, carrying a bitter sentiment. When I took the shortened cigarette he handed me back into my mouth, Prosecutor Joo grabbed my hand and pulled his fingers away from my lips. As I lifted my gaze, he snatched the cigarette back and said:

“Don’t inhale too deeply.”

He used to say that I had a problem because I inhaled only shallowly, but now he wants me to pull out of everything. I know he wants me to step back, not just from the cigarettes, but even from this case he pulled me into.

Exhaling the remaining smoke from my mouth toward the ground, I asked in the most nonchalant tone I could muster.

“You’re serious about wanting me to step back, aren’t you?”

“You were still thinking about that?”

“Yes. You don’t say things you don’t mean. When it comes to work.”

“That’s right. I don’t say things I don’t mean. Think about it even now. This job is important to Officer Lee, isn’t it?”

“How can you so easily tell me, Prosecutor…”

I almost lost my composure and snapped at him, but I shut my lips as my phone rang in my jacket pocket. I took it out, thinking it was a call, but it was a text message sent by Prosecutor Yoon Gyuho.

Prosecutor Yoon had been contacting me with trivial matters occasionally since he first reached out on the company messenger last time. I couldn’t tell if it was just courtesy toward an investigator in another office we’d started working with, or if he had other intentions.

[Did you go out for fieldwork with Prosecutor Joo, Officer Lee? He’s not picking up the phone and isn’t responding to the messenger.]

[I am currently out for fieldwork with Prosecutor Joo.]

[Where did you go? Don’t go straight home; tell him to come into the branch office to meet me before he leaves.]

I was about to consult with Prosecutor Joo on how to reply, but he snatched my phone away without asking for permission. He glanced at Prosecutor Yoon Gyuho’s name, handed the phone back, and asked:

“He’s been contacting you strangely often these past few days. Especially Officer Lee.”

“I suppose so. It all seems like light chatter, so I don’t think there’s a need to worry, but… should I answer honestly?”

“Since he’s a prosecutor collaborating on the same case, it’s strange to hide the location. Answer as honestly as you can within reason. If you hide too much, that in itself can lead to friction. There’s also the possibility of professional relationships turning sour.”

“I understand.”

Agreeing with Prosecutor Joo’s judgment, I sent the text honestly.

[I am at the National Forensic Service with Prosecutor Joo. We plan to return to the branch, and I will let him know that you contacted him, Prosecutor Yoon.]

He crushed the shortened cigarette we had shared and opened his lips. A little white smoke leaked out.

“These days, it’s Song Haneul this, Yoon Gyuho that—Officer Lee’s phone is busy. Do you like becoming popular with men?”

“…I don’t hate it.”

Since I was feeling hurt by Prosecutor Joo, my answer came out crooked. He clicked his tongue.

“Officer Lee is getting more and more twisted.”

“…”

“What do you want for dinner?”

“How about the bean sprout soup we had before?”

“That sounds good.”

The National Forensic Service was near the Danhyeon General Hospital. Last winter, on the morning after the autopsy shift, we went to a soup place nearby. It was the first meal Prosecutor Joo and I had shared together.

The restaurant was crowded with people who had just finished work. On the surface, everyone looked ordinary, but since it was a place where there were bound to be many people from our side, we had to keep our voices down.

Unlike that time, I leisurely sipped the hot broth and watched as Prosecutor Joo’s bowl emptied at the same pace as mine. Along with the hot grains of rice mashed in my mouth, I chewed and swallowed my resentment as well.

After finishing the meal, Prosecutor Joo took out his card. As I hurried to pull out my wallet to pay, he poked the back of my hand with the corner of his card.