The Prosecutor’s Office’s Proposal Chapter 165

Additionally, the fact that Prosecutor Joo had pushed himself to expedite the indictment would likely be of great help to me in the end. After all, it meant we had officially confirmed that Chief Tak had grounds for suspicion, rather than having conducted an unreasonable investigation. From now on, judging guilt or innocence was the court’s job, and we had done everything we needed to do.

Once my suspension was over, I intended to work as hard as I always had, so that I could overcome the disadvantage.

I only have my own efforts to rely on. Just as it has always been.

And now, with Prosecutor Joo Taeson by my side, I was not afraid.

I greeted him brightly.

“Have a good time with your family.”

“I’ll call you later.”

“Yes.”

I gave a small wave and got out of the car. I didn’t go straight into the apartment; I watched until the tail of his car disappeared completely before I took a step. As luck would have it, a resident was coming out of the entrance, so I was able to enter easily without having to press the passcode.

After washing up, I had a simple dinner, opened a can of beer, and sat on the sofa. Since I wouldn’t have to go to work for a while, it was the first time in my life that I would be spending time idly. It was uncertain how much work Prosecutor Joo would bring for me to do while I was suspended, but it seemed like a good time to get around to things I hadn’t been able to do because I was busy.

To start, I decided to watch a movie at a leisurely pace. I’d really wanted to watch a movie because the apartment had a large TV, but I hadn’t been able to find the time or opportunity to enjoy one until now.

“What shall I watch?”

I turned off the living room lights, picked an action movie, and played it. A faint darkness, permeated by the glow of the display, settled over the living room.

When the movie was coming to an end and I was feeling quite good after finishing a can of beer, my cell phone suddenly rang loudly. Thinking the appointment might have ended already, I stretched out my body to pick up the phone I’d left in the corner of the sofa, but the name of Prosecutor Yoon Gyuho appeared on the screen. It was unexpected, but I answered the call immediately.

“Hello, Prosecutor.”

— Officer Lee, are you home right now?

I almost carelessly answered that I was home, but since the official residence was near the branch office, I chose my words more carefully before replying.

“No. I’ve stepped out for a moment nearby.”

— There’s an urgent matter; would you be able to stop by the branch office for a moment right now?

“I can go, but… I’m under suspension, is that okay?”

— Today isn’t over yet, so your suspension hasn’t started.

I glanced at the clock and saw it had just passed 9:00. Prosecutor Yoon was right. Officially, the suspension hadn’t begun yet.

“Then I’ll get to the branch office as quickly as possible. But what is this about?”

— You know the case of the obstetrician stabbing murders? An informant has appeared. They say they’re coming to the branch office right now, but I have an appointment.

“An informant?”

I jumped up from my seat in surprise.

— Yes. It’s hard to call Prosecutor Joo because he’s meeting his younger sibling for the first time in a while, and it’s difficult for the investigator in our office to go in. Since you’re at your residence, Officer Lee, I thought you could get there quickly, so I contacted you.

“I’ll go right away.”

I held the phone and briefly debated whether to contact Prosecutor Joo, but since it was only 9:00, I figured his family gathering wouldn’t be over yet, as Prosecutor Yoon had said, so I got up from my seat first. If he had finished and returned to his apartment, he would have called me.

I quickly changed into dress slacks and a shirt and put on my ID card. Out of habit, I grabbed the bag I use for work, left the apartment, and called a taxi.

It wasn’t just anything; it was the doctor’s murder case, so I was in a rush. If I could find a lead for that case, I could trace it back to the President Kang Woosung case. Those two cases were a set. Because it was a crime where the same sharp object was used.

Even if it didn’t work out well and I only managed to add one murder charge, a lot would change. It wouldn’t clear my father’s name, but at least I would be able to hold the real culprit accountable for half the crime.

My heart pounded the whole time I was in the taxi. Seeing that an informant was coming in late at night, it seemed like quite important testimony, so I wanted to get there quickly and confirm it. The trembling rose up inside me in plumes, like smoke from a chimney.

As soon as I arrived, I hurriedly got out of the taxi. I ran toward the branch office building, where dim lights leaked out here and there due to the late hour. The large building stood tall in the darkness, and the empty lobby was cold, like an abandoned space.

I let out a breath as I caught my breath, caught the elevator, and ran straight to Room 512. However, Chief Song rose from his chair in the same attire he’d worn when he left work, greeting me.

“Officer Lee! You came quickly.”

“Hello, Chief. How did you come to be here?”

“I received a call from Prosecutor Yoon Gyuho. He said it would be good to have two staff members present when taking the statement, so he asked you and me to record the informant’s testimony together.”

“Did you hear what kind of tip it is?”

“Not yet. And he also asked me to check one piece of evidence. The wallet that was the doctor’s memento. He said there’s a phone number written on the back of a business card in there, and it looks like an important contact.”

“Is that so?”

I approached Chief Song while steadying my breathing, but I didn’t see an evidence bag. The ID card hanging around my neck felt stifling, so I pulled the lanyard out and looked at the desk once more, but the surface was clean and empty.

“Where is it?”

“Upstairs in Prosecutor Yoon Gyuho’s office. Let’s go up together.”

“Yes.”

As I left the room and turned toward the elevator, Chief Song grabbed my arm.

“It’s only one floor up, shall we take the stairs?”

“Yes.”

Without any particular suspicion, I followed behind Chief Song. It wasn’t until I opened the emergency exit door and began to step up the dark stairs—one step, one step at a time—that I suddenly thought the sequence of the situation was subtly distorted.

Even if it was to take the informant’s statement, we didn’t even know how important the contents were, so calling two investigators in the middle of the night was strange, and it was odd that he’d only now instructed us to review the contact number on the back of the business card. Plus, if everyone had already left work, the office door should have been firmly locked.

As I tilted my head and turned the corner to head up, Chief Song’s voice rang chillingly through the emergency stairwell.

“By the way, Officer Lee.”

“Yes.”

“You aren’t living in the official residence now, are you?”

I stopped in my tracks without realizing it. Chief Song, who had been leading the way, slowly turned to look at me and stepped down one level.

“Where did you go after leaving work today?”

“…I am living in the official residence. I never moved out of the official residence, did I?”

“I know that, but it’s just that every time I went to Investigator Lee Chaeha’s place this week, you weren’t there.”

The moment a cold sweat broke out on my forehead, cold metal touched my side. It was a chilling sensation.

When I looked down slowly, Chief Song was holding a sharp knife. Fortunately, it hadn’t pierced my stomach, but the blade was sharp enough to rip through flesh deeply at any moment if I were stabbed even once.

When I lifted my trembling eyes and slowly looked up at Chief Song, the expression he had worn that had been kind until now vanished, and his exhausted-looking face nodded toward the top.

“Go to the roof.”

“…Chief.”

“Go up. If you scream, I’ll kill you. I’ve never been caught on the internal CCTV of the Prosecutor’s Office even once.”

“…I will go up. Please calm down.”

“Don’t put your hands in your pockets, take them out.”

I had seen too many corpses stabbed to death to be optimistic about this situation. The bodies that had met their end with knives plunged into their stomachs flashed before my eyes in rapid succession, and a cold sweat broke out all over my body.

I slowly headed up to the roof, as the tip of Chief Haneul Song’s knife commanded. My cell phone started ringing loudly in my pocket, but there was no sign that the tip of Chief Song’s knife would retreat.

“Open the door.”

I entered the roof as he commanded. I arrived at the starting point—the place where I had often come up with Prosecutor Joo to share a cigarette or look down at the city, the place where I had received the offer to become an investigator.

Unlike back then when it was bright, the asphalt floor, submerged in pitch-black darkness, was spread wide beneath my feet.

I arrived at the Korean restaurant at the promised time of 6:30. My diligent aunt had arrived first again today, and as she waited, she spotted me and rose from her seat. She was wearing a neat dress in the same style she had worn when she worked at a company, though she was now retired, and she smiled with the same face she’d had a month ago. I called out to my aunt happily first.

“Aunt.”

“Taeson, have you been well?”

“Of course. It looks like Won-i hasn’t arrived yet.”