The Prosecutor’s Office’s Proposal Chapter 187

As the clear Haneul had predicted, the rain slowed to a drizzle while we ate. By the time we finished our warm noodle soup and stepped out of the restaurant, the Haneul had cleared so brightly that there was no need for an umbrella. Instead of going straight home, we took our usual route, circling the outside of the complex and sharing small, cozy stories. Since this place was quite a distance from our workplace, it was comfortable knowing we didn’t have to worry about running into anyone we knew while out for a walk.

It was peaceful, with every step we took slowly, feeling the cool breeze and stepping on the wet ground that clung softly to the soles of our shoes. However, my companion must have found the noise I was making by tapping my umbrella tip against the pavement quite bothersome, as a large hand quietly confiscated it. Seeing that he also took the book I was holding, it seemed he was just worried it might be too heavy for me.

With both hands now free, I stretched out lightly.

“You remember that I have a meeting tomorrow morning, right?”

“I know. I’m going in with you.”

“Even the Prosecutor?”

“Yes. I’m going to go with you to the arrest operation.”

To be worried about me to that extent—I was grateful, yet felt sorry, and just as I was about to stop him, I closed my mouth after much deliberation. He was trying to take care of me, and I felt it would be disheartening to constantly be met with words of refusal. For me, accepting affection as readily as expressing it is difficult.

“And the result of the first trial will be out soon, so how about we go visit your father’s grave together to pay our respects?”

“That sounds good.”

“Did you lay him to rest in a charnel house?”

“Ah… that’s not what I meant by visiting Mr. Kang Woosung. My father is fine. Let’s just go pay our respects to Mr. Kang Woosung. You said he was laid to rest at a burial site, right?”

“We can just visit both of them.”

I bit my lip repeatedly, then, for no reason, kicked a wet pebble lying on the ground. Prosecutor Joo watched until the end as the small stone tumbled weakly down the embankment and fell onto the riverside walking path. Hoping my voice sounded dry and devoid of emotion, I calmly opened my mouth.

“My uncle didn’t claim the body.”

“Then.”

“You know. How it goes.”

He, who had been walking with long strides, stopped and looked down at me. It was a bit burdensome to receive his gaze after so long, but once again, I met his eyes while trying to keep as plain an expression as I could.

“They probably held a joint cremation for the unclaimed.”

“Where?”

“I didn’t look into it. There’s a high probability it’s mixed with the remains of other people, so I didn’t see the point. It’s not like I could just find my father. And anyway, a person’s end is their end.”

After staring at me intently for a long while, he slowly parted his lips.

“…It’s been a while since I’ve seen that look in your eyes.”

A rather unexpected reaction. When I tilted my head slightly in puzzlement, he added concisely.

“I’d forgotten that Chaeha, your expression was always like that.”

I was about to ask, What’s wrong with my expression? but I closed my mouth quietly, as I knew better than anyone what my face looked like.

Would I look like someone clinging to needless pride? I had thought I’d become much more honest, but when the occasion arose to expose my wounds, I didn’t want to drag out deeper feelings. Like a habit, I hid my body inside a hard shell and feigned composure.

Joo Taeson, who I expected would dig further into the past, just swept my hair back once and changed the subject. If he had kept asking, I would have had no choice but to answer, so I was grateful for his delicate consideration.

Even after returning home, the leisurely weekend continued. I buried my entire body into the large, plush sofa and did nothing.

On the other hand, Prosecutor Joo spent the entire afternoon on the phone. Because prosecutors have so much work, there are many people looking for them even on weekends. Caught by a phone that rang regardless of day, night, or weekend, he couldn’t leave his study. Since I was free unless Joo Taeson called me for work, I had secured a decent work-life balance for the first time in years, without even having to work weekends.

His phone finally let him go in the afternoon. Joo Taeson picked up a Manila folder and finally came to sit next to me, pressing his body against mine. While I read another novel, Joo Taeson was engrossed in the documents he had brought from work. A terrible workaholic.

In the intervals of looking into the life of the character in my novel, I would also admire Prosecutor Joo, who was working with his chin resting on his broad shoulder from behind me. The sound of his long, thick-jointed fingers flipping through the paper was pleasant to listen to. I wanted to say something pretty and affectionate, but since no sentences came to mind, I brought up a blunt topic for no reason.

“You lied saying you were going to rest fully on the weekend. It feels like the time you spend working on weekends is increasing.”

“I was resting. It’s just that now I come in late and leave early on weekdays, so work piles up.”

“Starting at 8:00 AM is plenty early, too.”

“And I don’t work overtime.”

“Leaving work at 7:00 PM is also overtime.”

“…Our work-life balance has gotten so good lately that Lee Chaeha has gotten spoiled. Calling 7:00 PM overtime.”

It was so funny to hear a serious statement that someone who didn’t know us would take for a joke that I shook my body and laughed without realizing it.

“My shoulder itches.”

Prosecutor Joo turned his head and gave me a light kiss. After I pressed my lips firmly onto his cheek like a stamp, I pulled my body away from where I had been pressed tight against his back and picked up my book again.

It was true that after solving the important case that held our lives and starting to live together, our work-life balance had improved significantly. The Prosecutor of the Danhyeon District Office, infamous for deciding to arrive by 6:30 AM, made the grand decision to take two hours out of his morning and dedicate them to his lover. Although the commute had become longer after moving, I thought he would defend a somewhat early arrival time. Like 7:00 or 7:30.

However, Joo Taeson concluded his compromise with himself by neatly deciding to arrive at 8:00 AM upon starting our life together. Since 8:00 AM was the time he had forced me to arrive even when he was busy making my life miserable, he couldn’t bring himself to force me to go with him at 7:00 AM.

‘Let’s make it so we go to work together at 8:00 AM from now on.’

‘It doesn’t matter if you go to work first, Taeson. We take separate cars anyway. It’s not like we’re together in the car.’

‘That won’t do. As long as we live together, we leave together.’

‘I’m just worried because it feels like you’re delaying your arrival time just because of me.’

‘That is a needless worry.’

‘…Honestly, don’t you think I’m just using 8:00 AM as a roundabout rejection because it’s too early for me? It’s not like we live in the official residence in front of the district office anymore. I want to sleep in and arrive at 9:00 AM.’

‘Since you leave at 7:00 PM, you have enough rest time. I’ve told you several times that arriving late is a no-go. Wasting morning time beyond that is a real waste.’

‘Who says 9:00 AM is late? It’s the standard start time.’

My lover, wearing the face of a superior, narrowed his brow to the limit at my attitude of teasing him slackly.

‘I’ve compromised this much, so let it go. You can’t arrive at 9:00 AM.’

‘I could arrive at 9:00 AM. It’s the standard start time.’

‘…’

Fearing Joo Taeson’s patience might snap if I teased him any further, I pretended to be distracted for a moment before continuing.

‘But are you really going to be okay? Arriving at 8:00 AM. Workaholism is also an addiction, so it’ll be hard to fix.’

‘Still, it’s comfortable to go together.’

‘I don’t know why we must go together, but… I’m fine with it. It feels like there would be a disaster if we didn’t go together.’

‘You’re surprisingly cold-hearted.’

Even though it was the same 8:00 AM arrival as before, the time we had to leave the house became faster than when we lived in the official residence because the commute was longer. Still, after repeating a life of working overtime until 11:00 or 12:00 at night, being permitted to leave at 7:00 PM made it a fact that my working environment was much better than before. Of course, there were many cases where working late into the night was necessary, but I could arrive home before 8:00 PM half the month.

Thus, a decent work-life balance, one which Prosecutor Joo harbored a subtle dissatisfaction with, was secured. It was questionable whether others would consider these working hours decent.

“Chaeha, breakfast.”

At the familiar call, I tossed the towel I had been using to rub my wet hair into the laundry basket and walked to the kitchen. The temperature of the clean floor that touched my bare feet and then fell away was warm.