The Prosecutor’s Office’s Proposal Chapter 154

Prosecutor Joo took a photo and some documents from his inner pocket and slid them toward him. My uncle looked down only to confirm the school-days photo of Chief Tak and himself together, and the consignment contract between the World Laundry he ran and the casino, then raised his eyelids.

“What is this for.”

A sound I hadn’t even anticipated popped out of Prosecutor Joo’s mouth.

“After Lee Gilyoung died, Tak Sungwoong came to find you, didn’t he? Not because you requested or solicited it, but from their side first.”

My uncle raised his eyebrows sharply and stared at him with surprised eyes.

A strange excitement flashed in his gaze, which seemed to be asking Prosecutor Joo how he knew. It was similar to the expression he often wore when tormenting me, and a chilling goosebump rose on the back of my neck.

My uncle loosened his posture, sat up straight, and asked Prosecutor Joo.

“How did you know that fact, Prosecutor? Every prosecutor I’ve met until now only asked if I went to the casino in person to offer bribes.”

“Around that time, there is no trace of a lump sum being withdrawn from your bank account. Instead, an amount equivalent to 20 million won, the source of which cannot be verified, was deposited in installments over several months. I believe that 20 million won is the money Chief Tak handed you as consolation. I also confirmed that around the same period, Chief Tak liquidated about 20 million won in stocks.”

I clenched my fists tightly. Over the past few days, we had tracked many people’s accounts to find those involved in drug distribution. I knew Prosecutor Joo had been looking into Chief Tak’s account separately, but I hadn’t guessed that he would have found a discrepancy like that among the countless numbers.

“Chief Tak gave you only one excuse, didn’t he? That he felt sorry for his schoolmate Lee Gilyoung’s son who was left alone after his death, so use it to take care of him.”

My uncle listened to Prosecutor Joo’s deduction with an interested face, then parted his lips.

“How could you know so accurately? You sound just like someone who was listening to that conversation.”

“Chief Tak also handed 20 million won to two of President Kang Woosung’s sons under the pretext of university tuition.”

The goosebumps continued. My lukewarm saliva slid down my stiff throat.

After President Kang Woosung was murdered, Chief Tak had sponsored both the perpetrator’s and the victim’s families with 20 million won each. Just as he had watched Joo Taeson’s life from the sidelines, he must have kept tabs on my news, too. He must have enjoyed handing out 20 million won like an act of charity to the son of the man he drove to death, and watching my uncle bow in gratitude.

That must have been why he kept photos of his aunt who ended up taking care of Prosecutor Joo, and my uncle who ended up taking care of me.

‘It was also nice to hear people say thank you.’

Tak Sungwoong’s voice, mixed with a sneer, which I had heard at the residence previously, echoed in my head.

My uncle laughed, a hearty “he-he,” as if he were a good-natured person, and swept his hair back.

“This inspector is smart.”

“Didn’t you have any doubts?”

“Of course I was suspicious. There’s no such thing as money without a cost, and on top of that, he even opened up a business deal with the casino for me. I was more than suspicious. But I just couldn’t figure out the reason.”

My uncle, who had been answering well until now, suddenly looked at me. Then, he changed the subject and raised his voice at me, who was trembling.

“Your aunt sent the divorce papers. Did you egg her on?”

It must have been an instinctive redirection of the conversation to seize control in the interrogation. My brain understood, but my body froze out of habit. While I could answer Baek Youngjun or my aunt sharply, whenever I stood in front of my uncle, my voice would lock tight. While I hesitated like a fool, unable to respond quickly, Prosecutor Joo’s large fist knocked heavily on the table. His low, resonant voice issued a warning.

“Be quiet. Why is the conversation suddenly veering in that direction?”

“…Since I’m seeing my beloved nephew after a long time, I have many things to ask.”

My uncle lied without so much as a twitch of his eyelashes. Prosecutor Joo scoffed.

“If you were that fond of your nephew, you should have added the 20 million won Tak Sungwoong handed you to his upbringing expenses. You embezzled the fortune Lee Gilyoung left behind and abused your nephew, didn’t you? Be grateful the statute of limitations has passed and answer the questions properly.”

At Prosecutor Joo’s scathing criticism, my uncle coughed slightly.

“…What is it that you are really curious about, Inspector?”

“You knew Lee Gilyoung back in high school, too, right?”

“Yes. Because he dated my younger sister since high school and then married her. Both were high school graduates. I had a university degree.”

“Do you know if Lee Gilyoung was close with Tak Sungwoong in high school?”

“Those two had nothing to do with each other.”

My uncle, who I thought would say he didn’t know, answered readily. Prosecutor Joo asked back, looking puzzled.

“How does Mr. Hong Seongho know that? You are in a different grade from those two. You would have been two grades above Lee Gilyoung.”

“Because Oh Jahyeon and Tak Sungwoong were so famous. Gilyoung wasn’t in a position to squeeze into their group.”

“Then, was Lee Gilyoung only acquainted with Kang Woosung?”

“I’m not really sure about that. I had never heard the name Kang Woosung before the murder case. After he was killed and I saw the photo on the news, his face did look somewhat familiar.”

“Was Mr. Hong Seongho acquainted with Tak Sungwoong?”

“I wasn’t. I was two years older, and as I said, those two were famous, but I was just ordinary. Tak Sungwoong didn’t even know we were fellow alumni.”

Prosecutor Joo confirmed the relationships between the people involved in the case thoroughly, then began the important question.

“Have you heard about the incident where Chief Tak was expelled from school for killing Noona?”

“You bet I have. The prosecutor said it was manslaughter, but not a single person at school believed that. He did it intentionally because he lost his temper; there was no way it was an accident.”

“Why would he do that?”

My uncle thought about it carefully for a moment, but soon shook his head and parted his lips.

“Well. I don’t really know the reason. Maybe it was because Tak Sungwoong was first in his grade?”

“Do you also know about the relationship between Chief Tak and Oh Jahyeon?”

“If that’s the case, was there anyone in the whole school who didn’t know? In that era, the youngest daughter of the Osong family was openly dating the poor kid who was first in his grade… When Tak Sungwoong was finally kicked out of Korea while attending university, even his classmates got a phone call about it. But I didn’t feel even a little bit sorry for that bastard. It’s a good thing the Osong family sent him abroad because they couldn’t stand the sight of him. Since he was a beggar-like guy who could barely eat, he hit the jackpot. He even got to see overseas, despite his status.”

My uncle’s unique way of speaking, which involved belittling and bringing down people he thought were in worse circumstances than himself, was indeed the same. Of course, what we were focusing on wasn’t my uncle’s tone, but the word ‘overseas study.’

It was highly likely that the alumni were more well-informed about the rumors circulating than the chairman, who was indifferent to his younger sister. If I only knew for sure which country he studied in, I was confident I could fish out evidence from the photos or certificates we had seized. The immigration records would come out soon, but I wanted to get the accurate information as quickly as possible.

Prosecutor Joo seemed to be thinking the same thing as me; he stared at my uncle intently and slowly opened his mouth.

“Do you happen to know which country Tak Sungwoong went to for his studies?”

Is the murderer Oh Jahyeon, or Chief Tak?

The weight of the scales would move again depending on my uncle’s next answer. Currently, the weight on that scale was significantly tilted toward Oh Jahyeon. It was correct, for now, to view Oh Jahyeon as the one who lost her temper and stuck a syringe needle into Koryo-in Mr. Kim’s neck, and as the person who fed her husband the anesthetic Chief Tak had provided.

My uncle gave a crooked smile, twirled a long strand of his hair, and leaned forward. Then, he opened his mouth with a serious expression.

“Is that country important?”

“Yes.”

“I’d like to have a cigarette.”

“…Officer Lee.”

At Prosecutor Joo’s instruction, I took a cigarette pack out of my jacket’s inner pocket and offered a cigarette to my uncle. I also borrowed a Zippo lighter and lit it for him. A long stream of white cigarette smoke leaked from between his lips, and my uncle looked up at the ceiling, pondered for a moment, and then began to speak.

“It wasn’t like they sent him to a good country; they were just sending away a guy they hated.”

“Which country is it?”

“They said it was Russia.”

In the end, that name had popped out. Prosecutor Joo, who had been leaning forward the whole time, slowly moved his center of gravity backward. He leaned his back against the chair and slowly unfastened his neatly tied tie, as he usually did.

“Are you sure.”