The Prosecutor’s Office’s Proposal Chapter 135

“Whether Mr. Lee Gilyoung is guilty or innocent, the fact remains that he is a victim, and if one considers a person whose life’s path was snapped by that event a comrade, then yes, Lee Chaeha is exactly right.”

I knew well by now that our pain was tangled together like salt dissolved in the same sea. However, I had vaguely judged that Prosecutor Joo wouldn’t know. It was a misconception.

With the understanding of an adult, he understood my pain and included me as a victim of that incident, regardless of guilt or innocence. Not to disparage me, but to acknowledge it.

I instinctively tightened my grip on the hand holding the warm coffee cup. I took a slow sip of the mild decaf coffee.

Prosecutor Joo parted his lips with eyes lost in thought.

“My brother looks weak at first glance because he bends whenever the wind blows, but he has a talent for filling in the knots in his heart with clay. I’m the one who breaks. Oh Jahyeon’s words are right. I seem to be the frailer breed.”

I generally tended to agree with him, but not now.

“I don’t think you are weak, Prosecutor. Sometimes strong people get hurt more. Because the desire to protect is stronger.”

“…Then why is Officer Lee so hurt? It’s obvious just by looking at your eyes.”

“Because even if I’m not strong, I’m the type who endures.”

We finished the remaining coffee in silence.

By the time it was late, Prosecutor Joo said he would really sleep on the sofa and set up a guest pillow and blanket in the living room. Since it was his residence, the situation of the roles being reversed was uncomfortable, so I stood far away and spoke to him.

“Please go into the bedroom, Prosecutor. I will sleep on the sofa.”

“Forget it. Since you came because I asked, sleep comfortably.”

His refusal was sharp as a knife.

“…The medicine?”

“I don’t need to take it.”

“You said you couldn’t sleep.”

“Chief Tak’s face has occupied my mind, so it’s useless even if I take medicine. I’m shivering with a sense of betrayal. When I think of the moments we spent together, it feels like my Haneul is collapsing.”

As expected, Joo Taeson was unable to sleep because he was swallowing the indigestible anguish all by himself.

It seemed he was voicing such great pain—which he wouldn’t easily open up about to anyone else—even if only in a nonchalant way, because the listener was me. After all, we were the only ones left by each other’s sides who had experienced the same pain.

Knowing that feeling better than anyone, I couldn’t leave immediately and stood there until a hushed voice reached me again.

“So stop that and sleep. That’s not a request, but an order. I am Officer Lee’s superior.”

“…Good night, then.”

If the boss says jump, you jump. I was about to turn off the living room light and turn toward the bedroom when a low voice rang out from the darkness.

“I’m sorry for not being able to believe what you said from the beginning. And for not telling you honestly who I was before Oh Jahyeon talked.”

“…I understand that it must have been difficult to talk about. And please don’t apologize so often. It really doesn’t suit you.”

At my reply, a response mixed with a faint laugh was heard this time.

“Yeah. It doesn’t suit me, does it.”

“I’m glad your brother remembers correctly.”

“I think so too. I thought he was a complete fool…. But Officer Lee.”

“Yes.”

“What I said last time, I was sincere. I didn’t want a situation where it would become uncomfortable for Officer Lee to look at my face. That’s why I didn’t say it.”

“…”

“I wasn’t trying to insult you. I don’t know if you’ll believe me.”

If possible, I wanted to quantify and find out the emotions of Joo Taeson that I hadn’t clearly heard until now. His language, which had given me wounds, and his actions, which sometimes left me with a pleasant tremor. These contradictory moments were tangled in my mind like a skein of thread. It was a mess, as if it could only be undone by cutting it with scissors.

However, one thing was clear.

“I believe you. Because you are a courageous person, Prosecutor.”

“…”

“Because I’m not, I’m sorry.”

“…Sleep well.”

“Yes.”

I left him behind and quietly exited the living room.

I hadn’t realized it when I was with Prosecutor Joo, but the bedroom was so vast that it felt empty. The bedroom alone seemed twice the size of the government residence I lived in. I lay alone on a bed so wide that I wouldn’t fall off even if I rolled over many times, looking up at the dark ceiling.

I tossed and turned for a long time, thinking of Prosecutor Joo. We were in separate rooms, but does he fall asleep just by me being in the house?

I let time pass, wondering if he was still unable to sleep because he knew deep down that he was also deeply lonely, and if he was really keeping his promise without ignoring my words. After finding out the fact that Prosecutor Joo was President Kang Woosung’s son, I hadn’t been able to sleep soundly either, and since I had left him in the living room right next door and was worried about him, sleep was even further away.

Eventually, about an hour later, I quietly sat up. For an insomniac, an hour after turning off the lights was a moment too short to be considered even a basic preparation time, so I didn’t expect that Prosecutor Joo would be asleep.

I tiptoed quietly toward the living room. Other than the streetlamp light leaking in through the gap in the curtains, no light was visible. The front was pitch black, and only heavy, tired breathing could be heard in the darkness. It was the rhythmic breathing I had heard often when sleeping at Prosecutor Joo’s house, which he let out when he fell asleep.

Wondering if he was really asleep, I called out to him softly.

“Prosecutor…, are you asleep?”

Standing on tiptoe, I carefully stepped on the rug. Only when I got close could I barely distinguish the silhouette of the sleeping Prosecutor Joo from the darkness. He was sleeping in a slightly pitiful-looking pose, lying on his side covered by the blanket. Even though the word “pitiful” or “sorry” was an expression that really didn’t suit Joo Taeson.

I wanted to pull up the blanket that had slipped halfway off or stroke his cheek, but I barely suppressed the impulse in case I woke him up. I didn’t want to disturb the sound sleep he had finally managed to find, so I quietly turned my steps around.

I closed the bedroom door gently so as not to make a sound and went inside. Even though I was left alone, I walked on tiptoe for no reason and quietly buried myself in the bed again. I pulled down the blanket I had raised up to my face slightly, looked up at the black ceiling, and pondered over my comrade.

About Joo Taeson’s loneliness. About our lives that had collapsed due to the same incident.

I stared at the darkness lingering on the ceiling for a long time before lowering my eyelids. Thinking of his presence lying on the other side of the door and the calm, rhythmic breathing I had heard in the living room, I slowly drifted into sleep.

While wishing for a deep sleep, I hoped in my heart.

That even in a dream, I wanted to meet nineteen-year-old Joo Taeson and thirteen-year-old Lee Chaeha.

I wanted to embrace both of them who would feel guilt looking at each other in the distant future, just once, and convey even a false comfort, telling them not to worry because the years wouldn’t be as painful as they thought.

Full-scale discussions with higher-ups began. Rumors spread rapidly through the Danhyeon Branch Office that Prosecutor Joo Taeson was investigating Chief Tak Sung-woong. Chief Tak had a good reputation, and Prosecutor Joo was the opposite, so most people doubted his good intentions.

What served as a shield, at least, was the presence of Prosecutor Yoon Gyuho. Most of the unfair rumors about Prosecutor Joo were tags that had followed him since the Prosecutor Yoon Soyeon case, so working as a team with Prosecutor Yoon served as his shield.

Ultimately, choosing Prosecutor Yoon Gyuho had been a wise decision. Of course, Prosecutor Yoon could not block the slander that followed due to Prosecutor Joo’s icy attitude, and since my image as an investigator wasn’t good either, public opinion was unfavorable toward us.

It was a scandal in a long time that blew into the small local branch office. That was why even the people in the fine-payment department who had ignored me until now would sometimes grab my arm and ask what charges I was investigating Chief Tak for. I feigned ignorance, saying I didn’t know the details, but since it was obviously a lie, a stinging gaze followed the back of my head as I turned away. Noticing unpleasant gazes without looking back was one of the unwanted skills I had acquired when I was young, and my skill had not yet rusted.

Since there was one case where the suspect was in custody, I temporarily put the Chief Tak case aside and worked until late at night with Prosecutor Joo. It was only after midnight that the overtime work ended. It was a heavy night with humid air because it had rained all day. Although I tried to dissuade him, saying I could get there in 10 minutes on foot, Prosecutor Joo insisted on giving me a ride and dragged me to the parking lot.

“It’s raining, so don’t walk and just get in obediently.”