The Prosecutor’s Office’s Proposal Chapter 142

“What on earth is Chief Tak thinking? It’s not like he doesn’t have a hidden child. That idiot…. For now, Chief Tak will be on suspension starting tomorrow, so he won’t be coming to the branch office for a while. I have to make sure he never shows his face at this office again. Honestly, I can’t even hold my head up at the main office.”

The Deputy Chief Prosecutor was most displeased with the situation where his own subordinate had committed a crime. He must have judged that it would also hinder his own career advancement.

The Deputy Chief Prosecutor continued.

“The people at Osong Construction are actually welcoming it. The evidence against Oh Jahyeon and Tak Seong-ung is solid, so apply for the warrants whenever you want. Instead, make sure to find the physical evidence to win the trial. If you stir up trouble like this and can’t prove guilt, Prosecutor Joo will be out of a job too. Do you understand? The same goes for Investigator Lee Chaeha.”

“I understand.”

Prosecutor Joo had a confident look in his eyes, but I was inwardly anxious.

If, by any chance, the verdict goes wrong at trial, what will happen to Prosecutor Joo and me?

The Deputy Chief Prosecutor’s sharp gaze turned toward me this time.

“And there’s intelligence that has come in regarding Investigator Lee Chaeha. I heard your maternal uncle is in prison.”

“…That is correct.”

“On top of that, the innkeeper who confessed to the false confession earlier also raised an objection, claiming Investigator Lee Chaeha conducted a harsh interrogation. The Ethics Committee will be scouring through every single recorded statement and audio file, so be prepared if there’s any trouble.”

Before I could answer, Prosecutor Joo spoke up first.

“Everything was done under my supervision. There is nothing that will be a problem.”

“Don’t cover for him just because he’s your investigator. Look seriously into whether there’s anything to be picked on. Do you think an objection is raised for no reason? If this gets bundled together and hits the news, what will become of this branch office? The Chief Prosecutor involved in a murder, the investigator in harsh interrogation, and his uncle in prison.”

“Please do not hold me accountable for matters related to private life. It’s not an era where guilt-by-association exists. There is just a defendant in the family; Investigator Lee Chaeha himself has nothing to do with the crime at all.”

“Do I not know that? If you think about it rationally, of course that’s the case. But not everyone in the world thinks as reasonably as Prosecutor Joo.”

I couldn’t let Prosecutor Joo argue with the Deputy Chief Prosecutor because of me. Prosecutor Joo might feel it’s unfair because it’s his first time experiencing this, but I had long become immune to being criticized for family matters. Before Prosecutor Joo could take my side again, I quickly bowed my head first.

“I apologize. There were no parts that could be seen as coercive interrogation, but I will be more careful when taking statements in the future.”

“In the future, pay more attention to keeping your family in check, too. Well, you can’t help it with your dead father, though. I looked into it, and it seems it was quite a big murder case in Danhyeon City. Do you think it’s a good thing for people to know your father was a suspect, Investigator?”

“I apologize.”

“You’ll be contacted by the Ethics Committee within the day, so cooperate as much as possible. If anything strange is discovered, Investigator Lee Chaeha will be disciplined immediately. With Chief Tak on suspension, it wouldn’t look bad internally for one person to be resting from Room 512.”

My heart collapsed, making a noisy sound. As expected, it ends up this way. Life was trying to pull out the middle stone of the tower I had painstakingly built up again. The structure that had been barely holding on swayed precariously.

I pulled myself together with difficulty and answered before Prosecutor Joo, who was about to protest on my behalf.

“I understand. I will be even more careful in the future. I apologize.”

It was certain that Chief Tak had leaked the case about my father and uncle. It also seemed certain that he had instigated the innkeeper.

Thanks to that, I was placed in a position to receive formal disciplinary action at any time without having done anything wrong. If I get suspended, there will be setbacks in my promotion in the future. Especially if we fail to prove Chief Tak’s guilt, if things go wrong, it’s resignation.

I didn’t want to be placed in the worst-case scenario. Working hard and doing things properly was all the pride I had cultivated while enduring an unfair life.

Prosecutor Joo clenched his fist tightly with the hand resting on his knee. The back of his hand, where his weak spot had been poked, turned deathly pale.

My heart thudded in an offbeat rhythm out of fear that I would ruin his company life, but it was still good that I had become his weakness. I wondered if I was such a selfish and immature person.

The Chief Prosecutor of Division 1 spoke for the first time since coming to the Deputy Chief Prosecutor’s office.

“Anyway, both of you behave well from now on. I’ll manage Criminal Division 2 for the time being, so run the team well with Prosecutor Yoon Gyuho.”

The meeting, which wasn’t like a meeting but rather a reprimand, ended.

As soon as we left the Deputy Chief Prosecutor’s office, Prosecutor Joo could not hide his fierce anger. I felt like the atmosphere would be bad if we just went back to the office like this, so I caught him first.

“Let’s go have a cigarette.”

Prosecutor Joo walked heavily and roughly pushed open the emergency exit door. Clunk, a cold sound rang sharply through the empty stairwell.

We headed to the roof in silence. Prosecutor Joo’s hands shook with rage as he leaned against the railing and took out a cigarette.

“Bastards.”

He stopped trying to light the cigarette and crushed it. Prosecutor Joo chewed his lower lip in silence, then placed his large hand on my head. Thin strands of hair flowed down between his thick fingers.

“Are you okay?”

I expected him to say something else, but a warm comfort reached me. I was surprised, but since it wasn’t entirely unexpected, I answered as bravely as I could.

“As long as I don’t end up resigning, a little disciplinary action is fine. I knew this was this kind of organization to begin with. Don’t worry.”

“How can I not worry?”

“I’m used to it, so I’m fine.”

“I’m not fine. Because it’s my responsibility.”

Guilt permeated the short sentence. I shook my head hard.

“This is a path I chose along with you. It’s not Prosecutor’s fault.”

“How is it not my responsibility? I’m the one who brought Officer Lee in, and you’re an investigator under me.”

I know Prosecutor Joo knows it’s unavoidable. Since it was a conservative company, I had to be grateful that pressure hadn’t immediately come down for us to both quit. However, because Prosecutor Joo was not as submissive to the hierarchy as I was and was a superior, the fact that he couldn’t protect me seemed to sting him.

“Even the talk about guilt-by-association earlier, I felt a guilty conscience while saying it. Because I was the one who treated Officer Lee like that at the beginning.”

“Prosecutor is in a different position than those people. You’re the only person who has ever acknowledged me in my life, Prosecutor. And this isn’t a matter Prosecutor could have blocked. From the perspective of Chief Tak or the Deputy Chief Prosecutor, the Prosecution’s face wouldn’t be saved, so they would have wanted to harp on me, at the very least.”

Even while shaking and on the verge of collapsing, I answered dryly, as if talking about someone else’s affairs out of habit.

“Don’t try to understand a rotten organization.”

A sigh slowly escaped from between his tidy lips. A gaze imbued with pity lingered on me steadily.

“Always walking on eggshells for fear of rumors. Why are you so good at pretending to be okay?”

“Only the higher-ups know for now, and it’s a case that’s been around for quite a while, so people will have less interest. Above all… you’re going to reveal that my father is innocent soon, right, Prosecutor.”

He checked that no one was entering, then lightly ruffled my hair and let go. My hair floated up like my heart, then settled back down.

It wasn’t a complete lie. Although I was afraid, I finally had someone by my side to lean on even if the world threatened me.

Even if I were to be suspended and suffer disadvantages, if only we could escape the deep sea where we were sinking together, it was worth finding the courage to endure all irrationality. Finally, I was ready to be the complete accomplice he had proposed on the roof last year.

We looked down at downtown Danhyeon together. Our elbows touched as we rested our arms on the railing. Our breathing intertwined through the incoming breeze, and the cold fear of potentially being disciplined or losing our jobs was diluted by the hot sunlight.

Even after receiving the unfair notice, I went about my life as usual.

I handled one hit-and-run case until evening and wrote the necessary warrant application. I organized the written statement to Prosecutor Joo’s taste, submitted it, and opened the next file to work overtime, but for the first time in a while, he got up from his seat early.

“Let’s get off work and go get something to eat.”

I alternated looking at the jacket in his hand and the wall clock before answering.

“Already?”

“It’s past 7 o’clock.”

“Are you coming back?”

“No. Once I apply for Chief Tak’s warrant, there won’t be any time to catch my breath, so I should take at least one day to rest.”

“Yes.”