The Prosecutor’s Office’s Proposal Chapter 134

Prosecutor Joo used the expression “obsession” instead of love. Considering the long years the two were entangled, the word obsession did seem to fit better than love. There was fierce opposition and conflict from their families, and they even had a child. Perhaps all that remained between the two now were negative emotions like resentment, obsession, or anger.

He asked,

“If Oh Jahyeon committed the two murders as Officer Lee thinks, do you think Chief Tak helped her cover it up? Just like this time.”

“The probability seems high.”

“I think so too. They set up the scene so well, too.”

Prosecutor Joo tapped the steering wheel as he had on the way there and added,

“I need to find out which country Chief Tak studied abroad in. Whether it was Russia or Italy.”

“Italy?”

“They say a lot of people are killed with awls there, too.”

The car turned through the ramp and slowly entered Danhyeon City.

Once the work talk finished, it became awkward, and there was nothing left to say. I was preparing my heart to return home quickly and face a lonely weekend alone, but the car, which had reached the vicinity of the front gate of the Danhyeon Branch Office, began to speed straight ahead instead of turning right toward the bachelor dormitory used by the investigators.

I had naturally expected him to take me to the government residence, so I was flustered and grabbed his arm, but I quickly pulled back, thinking it was a mistake. I keep acting physically intimate unconsciously.

He looked briefly at the spot where my hand had been and then focused on the front again.

“Prosecutor, you passed the residence.”

“It’s Saturday.”

“I clearly said that until there is a legal conclusion, let’s return to a professional relationship….”

“I haven’t been able to sleep lately.”

The words asking what that had to do with me rose to my throat, but the next sentence that escaped his lips blocked me.

“The medicine doesn’t work, and alcohol is no use either. So, when I thought about it quietly, it seemed I slept well even without taking medicine when Officer Lee was at home.”

“I told you clearly on the day I took sick leave.”

“I won’t touch you. I promise.”

“…”

“So, play the role of a sleep aid for a bit. If you don’t trust my word, I can sleep on the sofa, and it doesn’t matter if Officer Lee uses the bedroom.”

“Prosecutor, I am uncomfortable with you acting like this.”

“I know.”

“The fact that you simply ignore what I say every time. I will go back home.”

Even while speaking strongly on the outside, I became afraid of what might happen if I earned Joo Taeson’s hatred. I was afraid that even if my father were proven innocent later, he would end up hating me, and because of that, it would eventually be irreversible.

Because Joo Taeson was a person whose pride was as high as a mountain.

However, I could no longer endure the situation where past misfortunes rejected me first every time. I had made a rational judgment that my father was innocent based on Joo Wooseon’s testimony, but the conclusion I reached as the son of a suspect did not matter that much.

As long as the case is not closed, there is always another possibility.

In my line of work, I have seen many cases where the guilt or innocence of a suspect deemed certain was overturned at the last minute, and cases where the crime of someone I was convinced was the culprit could not be proven. If it cannot be proven, they are not the culprit. It doesn’t matter if the investigator does not emotionally agree. Only evidence can send a culprit to prison.

Therefore, if evidence that could overturn Joo Wooseon’s testimony were to be discovered, I had neither the confidence to endure the guilt nor the courage to face Prosecutor Joo’s face comfortably if I could not prove my father’s innocence.

Prosecutor Joo watched the front for a long time before he opened his mouth with difficulty.

“Would you have listened if I had asked?”

“No.”

At my answer, the heavy air pressed down on the inside of the car. It felt as if the rising atmospheric pressure would crush our hearts, which were full of cracks.

Prosecutor Joo stopped the car on a secluded roadside, taking a side road instead of going to the apartment.

“Let’s talk.”

“I don’t want to talk if it’s not about work.”

“…Officer Lee.”

I immediately unbuckled my seatbelt and got out. However, before I could take a few steps on the unfamiliar road, a hand that appeared from behind me grabbed my elbow.

“If you don’t want to talk, I won’t force you. Get back in. There’s no bus stop around here. Taxis don’t come by often, and they don’t take calls either.”

“I’ll walk.”

“Lee Chaeha.”

I had asked him not to even call my name.

I squeezed my eyes shut against the rising emotions and opened them as I turned my head, but the moment I met his gaze looking at me, my mind went blank. It wasn’t that Joo Taeson had a special expression. It was a face that anyone else would have described as still being a cold, expressionless face.

But because his black pupils looked weak, as if they would collapse at any moment, and he just looked so exhausted… all the words I was about to spit out shattered into white dust.

Prosecutor Joo continued speaking as if he hadn’t noticed my agitation.

“If you hate it that much, I’ll take you back. So don’t walk. That one night is enough for leaving you to walk alone.”

He was referring to the day we first argued at the playground. The strength in my arm, which had been tensed to push Prosecutor Joo away at any moment, slowly drained away. I bit the inside of my mouth several times before finally parting my lips.

“You’re not just saying that, right? The promise you made to me in the car earlier.”

“I’m not.”

“…Then let’s go.”

I slowly pulled my grabbed arm away and returned to the passenger seat. Before Prosecutor Joo got into the driver’s seat, I wiped away the tears that had thinly gathered at the corners of my eyes with dry fingertips.

The driver’s door opened and closed, and the scenery outside the window began to move slowly. Holding onto my seatbelt tightly, I looked out the window for a moment before I opened my lips.

“You find me frustrating, don’t you?”

“No, I understand.”

“…”

“Officer Lee just found out, so it must be really hard to accept me.”

“…”

“I was like that, too.”

“If, by any chance, my father is guilty. If I can’t prove his innocence. I don’t think I can endure it. I don’t have any courage left anymore.”

“If Officer Lee were such an empty person, we wouldn’t have even made it this far. That day, you came inside the entrance.”

“That was my last bit of courage.”

“…I don’t think so.”

The response that returned was like Joo Taeson, but unlike usual, there wasn’t the slightest feeling of sarcasm. It was a tone that felt rather cautious.

After that, we didn’t say a single word for the entire time we were heading to the residence.

His house, which I had visited after a long time, was quite different from usual. Various documents that had only been in the study were placed everywhere within reach. The papers scattered about were mostly old investigation materials.

A cluttered house—it didn’t suit Joo Taeson.

That’s why he can’t sleep. If he only thinks about investigations even after getting off work, is there any reason he would be able to sleep?

I got the impression that, like me, Prosecutor Joo hadn’t been able to sleep well lately. Because of his elegant appearance and neat attire, it wasn’t very noticeable on the outside, but the sight of him pressing his temples as if he had a headache or drinking coffee frequently stood out in particular.

Thinking of his delicate fingers rubbing his forehead as if he were tired, I looked down at the hand of Prosecutor Joo, who was standing next to me. I moved my eyes along the thick veins on the back of his hand and then withdrew my gaze to the front again before I could get caught stealing a glance. Prosecutor Joo’s gaze followed belatedly, but as it had been lately, I endured it without turning my head. I had to put in all sorts of effort to cage the emotions that were about to overflow and maintain an expressionless face.

As I put down the bag I had been carrying and opened the window to ventilate the stuffy room, a wind cooled by the sunset blew in. Prosecutor Joo asked, taking off his jacket.

“I’ll cook a simple home-cooked meal for dinner. Is that okay?”

“Yes.”

Prosecutor Joo washed his hands and started cooking. I wandered around awkwardly like the first day I came to his house and then went to the table and sat down.

He said he would prepare it simply, but because there were quite a few dishes newly made and side dishes taken out of the refrigerator, I ended up receiving more than I deserved. There was freshly boiled soybean paste stew, white rice, and pork belly that Prosecutor Joo had grilled for me, all in abundance.

The food was delicious, but the discomfort wouldn’t go away, so it felt like I was choking throughout the meal.

It was only when the meal was finished and we were sitting face-to-face drinking a cup of coffee that I finally found what to say.

“It looked like your younger brother was ready to reconcile with you now, Prosecutor.”

“…Is that so?”

“That’s how it looked. He was a bit cold at first, though. Since he’s your brother, try contacting him and keeping in touch first. Since you are comrades who have gone through difficult times together, I think it would be comfortable for you to open up to him, too.”

“If that’s the meaning, then it’s not Joo Wooseon who is my comrade, but Lee Chaeha.”

“…Pardon?”