The Prosecutor’s Office’s Proposal Chapter 177

“That’s the last reply. I’ll have to forbid all work for the duration of this vacation.”

I completed the reply in silence, and the second course of food arrived. It was a plate of warm tempura and sashimi. As I quietly took a bite of shrimp tempura without answering, he watched me and narrowed his brow.

“Don’t brush off my nagging, thinking you can just sneak in a reply.”

“…Is it that obvious?”

“I told you, you can’t fool me.”

A voice filled with leisure replied.

However, despite his subtle threats to stop me from working, Prosecutor Joo readily accepted a call that came to his own phone from the branch and spent five minutes on the line. Of course, even during that time, he didn’t refuse the effort of checking which foods I reached for often and moving them to my front plate. So, instead of making useless complaints, I simply pushed another piece of the shrimp tempura that Prosecutor Joo had personally set aside for me into my mouth.

Alcohol consumed when it wasn’t a company dinner tasted sweet. With the addition of alcohol, my appetite, which was already small to begin with, showed signs of ending quickly. I patted my stomach lightly and said.

“I think I’m already full.”

“Eat a little bit at a time. You have to eat plenty of the snow crab.”

It was only when the additional squid sundae and chilled raw fish soup arrived, and my stomach was already feeling quite tight, that the snow crab finally appeared. Scarlet legs, giving off a salty scent, were piled layer upon layer on a wide plate.

I had vaguely assumed that snow crab would be uncomfortable to eat, but it came all chopped up, so it wasn’t very difficult for me, a first-timer, to pull out the meat. Prosecutor Joo took a claw, de-shelled all the meat, and then moved his own plate in front of me.

“You eat it, Prosecutor. I can just peel it myself.”

“Even when it comes pre-prepared, it takes a lot of effort, so just eat it comfortably. Hurry up and eat before it gets cold.”

“Still.”

“Eat when I give it to you. Being stubborn again. I know you dislike relying on others even for small things, but that level of behavior is a serious illness in itself.”

He should realize that speaking so harshly is also a serious illness.

I opened my lips, which were sticking out in dissatisfaction, and put the thick crab meat into my mouth. I hadn’t even chewed the white meat much before it melted away quickly with a savory fragrance. It felt less burdensome than red meat, so it actually felt perfect for my palate.

Prosecutor Joo watched me eat well and lifted the corners of his mouth softly. A low, gentle voice asked.

“Is it delicious?”

“Yes. It’s completely different from the crab pieces in stew.”

“Of course it is. Eat a lot.”

“Shall we have one more drink?”

“You said you didn’t want to get drunk earlier.”

“A little bit is fine. I’m drinking slowly, and since today is a vacation… plus, it goes very well with the alcohol.”

As I pressed the bell to order one more bottle each of soju and beer and mixed the drinks, Prosecutor Joo stacked even more snow crab meat in front of me. Of course, since his speed at peeling was fast, it seemed he was also eating enough for his own meal in between, but it felt like he was giving me all the delicious, thick parts.

Who would ever take care of me this much? Aside from Prosecutor Joo, there will never be anyone like that for the rest of my life.

Filled with a happy feeling, I suddenly turned my gaze. Even though it had been blue just until we came to the restaurant, coal-black clouds were now covering the sea. The blurry clouds, heavy enough to hide the sunset entirely, looked as though they would pour down rain at any moment.

“Prosecutor, it looks like it’s going to rain.”

His face, which had been focused on peeling meat, followed mine toward the floor-to-ceiling glass.

“So it is. Perhaps a sudden downpour.”

“I didn’t bring an umbrella. The weather forecast was wrong. They said it wouldn’t rain.”

“It’s fine. I think there was a convenience store next to us. We can just buy umbrellas.”

Since Prosecutor Joo has a better eye for detail than I do, I figured I didn’t need to worry if he said so. There was bound to be a convenience store nearby.

I took another sip of alcohol. Prosecutor Joo’s gaze touched my beer glass as it slowly emptied.

“I guess you aren’t getting very drunk today. You aren’t using casual speech, after all.”

“I’m just drinking enough to match my limit, leisurely. And I didn’t drink as fast as when you’re determined to get me drunk, Prosecutor.”

“Next time, I’ll have to be determined to get you drunk.”

What on earth is that spiteful mood about?

Prosecutor Joo particularly liked the mistakes I made when drunk. Like using casual speech or saying blunt things I wouldn’t normally say.

I couldn’t understand why he wanted to see that side of me, but since he didn’t seem to have any intention of acting like my boss while on vacation, he didn’t force me to drink quickly. A pleasant alcoholic glow spread along my skin. It felt like the red sunset, erased by the dark clouds, was blooming along my forearms and cheeks.

Since I was so full, I couldn’t eat much of the rice fried in the crab shell or the seafood ramen. Because I had even been drinking, my stomach was already so full that if Prosecutor Joo hadn’t eaten it, I would have wasted so much food that it would have been a waste of money. We finished our meal without exceeding my limit, both of us moderately tipsy.

As we descended along the old iron stairs worn down by the sea breeze, the sound of rain rattled my eardrums. As I had foreseen while looking at the glass walls, a sudden downpour was in full swing.

It seemed like a rain that would stop after falling for a while, but like a summer rain, the sheets of rain were rough and the sound was loud. It was a sound that would be made if a hail of coins were poured onto a tin roof. The raindrops were thick enough to sting the skin if they hit.

Perhaps because the tourists had fled to avoid the downpour, the area in front of the bustling beach was suddenly left desolate and empty like a closed amusement park. Feeling the wind grow slightly cold, I swept over my bare forearms. We had reached almost the end of the stairs when Prosecutor Joo, who was one step ahead of me, grabbed my shoulder and made me stop.

“It’s cold if you get rained on, so wait here. I’ll go buy an umbrella.”

The convenience store he had seen was close, but it was in a location where you had to get rained on to reach it.

“Let’s go together.”

“No. You’ll catch a cold.”

“Getting a little wet is…”

“Wait here. It’s an order, so don’t follow me.”

Before I could stop him, Prosecutor Joo roughly covered his head with his hand and ran toward the convenience store. Raindrops shattered whitely along the contour of his shadow as he sprinted away in his usual long, bold strides. I kept leaning out past the iron stairs in worry because the rain seemed far too intense. In the end, I did end up getting my bangs slightly wet.

Prosecutor Joo returned quickly, holding a large long-handled umbrella.

“They said they were sold out of compact umbrellas. Let’s share this one.”

Since I hadn’t wanted to use separate umbrellas anyway, I thought it worked out well.

“Thank you. Since we came on this trip, Prosecutor, you’re the only one taking care of me.”

“That’s what I wanted to do. Since I’m able to, it worked out well.”

His nonchalant voice caused another feverish flush to bloom on my cheeks.

I descended the one remaining step and slipped under the large umbrella he was holding. Then, I brushed off his broad shoulders, which were coated in raindrops, with my palm. My palm got cold and wet, but it was fine.

As the raindrops hit the umbrella noisily, he pulled me closer, pressing me against his body. I glanced around just in case, but aside from the occasional passing car, there was no one walking around. Moreover, because of the heavy downpour, it was impossible to discern what was in front of us properly, and even if someone were to see us, we would only be barely visible as shadows hidden by the black umbrella.

I leaned my shoulder against his forearm, feeling at ease. Because of the air, which had grown cold before I knew it, my breath—lightly touched by the alcohol—felt hot.

We moved our feet along the wooden deck we had walked to get to the restaurant, then stopped for a moment to gaze together at the darkened sea. The pitch-black waves did not yield to the heavy rain. They rode the wind, surged onto the sandy beach, shattered with a splashing sound, and then receded.

“The sea while it’s raining has a certain charm, too.”

“I think I actually like it better because it’s raining. Watching the clear sea during the day, and then watching the rainy sea in the evening.”

The silence that flowed along with the sound of the rain didn’t feel awkward in the slightest. Eventually, Prosecutor Joo tilted his waist slightly and looked at me closely.

“What are you thinking about?”

“…I was thinking that if someone were to die at a time like this, it would be hard to investigate. It’s difficult to analyze CCTV, and it’s hard to find witnesses.”

Hearing my plain sentiment, Prosecutor Joo laughed, lightly sweeping his hand over his own face.

“You truly have no shred of romance.”

“What about you, Prosecutor?”

“I was thinking the same thing. Still, I wasn’t the one to say it first.”

“Did I ruin the mood?”

“No… I like that about you.”