The Prosecutor’s Office’s Proposal Chapter 191

Prosecutor Joo naturally got into the car and closed the door, and I followed the other investigators and climbed into the official vehicle.

As soon as the investigators started the engine, they began to complain.

“This arrest operation is such a pain. I have a mountain of documents to read, and since today is a wash, I don’t know where I’m going to find the time to make up for it. They don’t even pay overtime these days, even if we work late.”

“Is it the case that belongs to Prosecutor Yoon? This is why it’s easier to just handle cases transferred by the police. Ah, what kind of arrest operation is this for people who only look at papers all day? If we make a mistake, we’re just going to get chewed out.”

“Well, they say if this case is handled, Prosecutor Yoon is going to the Seoul Central District Prosecutors’ Office.”

“As if it’s easy to get into the Central District Office.”

“He must have something to rely on. It looked like the Chief took a liking to him.”

I was staring out the window, blankly listening to several people talking in a disorderly fashion, when my phone rang. It was Prosecutor Joo.

I’m sorry for saying this repeatedly, but still, be careful.

Because the world is dangerous?

Yeah. And isn’t it awkward being with the other investigators?

No. I know everyone there now.

That’s a relief. Since the gossip has died down.

I wasn’t entirely displeased by his constant worrying, so I smiled vaguely and slipped my phone into the inner pocket of my jacket.

The area around the row houses was quiet. The investigators took up their surveillance positions one by one as previously instructed, and the investigators with Yoon Gyuho waited in the car with the suspect Lee Moon-cheol’s mistress. Because the window tint was dark, I couldn’t see well, but the expression on Prosecutor Joo, who was with Yoon Gyuho, looked extremely annoyed. A man rumored to be a workaholic probably wasn’t in a great mood, having to tag along for a case that wasn’t even his, and one he was only following because he was worried about his lover, at that.

The suspect, Lee Moon-cheol, suddenly came out of the house about 10 minutes after we started surveillance. Then, he approached the convenience store where I was waiting alone. I radioed in a low voice, pretending to browse for items while keeping a close watch on the window.

“The suspect appears to be entering the convenience store. I am removing my earpiece.”

I took out the earpiece and shoved it into my pocket, then chose a coffee with the most natural demeanor possible. I timed it so I was paying just as Lee Moon-cheol entered, then sat at an inside table and observed the movements of the suspect who had come in.

Lee Moon-cheol looked shabby; on the surface, he didn’t look at all like a man who had swindled billions. My heart began to beat slightly faster. I had my handgun, baton, and handcuffs well-hidden under my jacket so they wouldn’t be obvious. The suspect finished paying and seemed to be leaving, then turned his body toward me. My heart started pounding even harder.

Did Lee Moon-cheol notice the arrest operation?

There was a possibility. There was every chance the mistress could have betrayed the prosecution, and Lee Moon-cheol might have also noticed that the activity around his house was suspicious.

But even so, what was the likelihood he would attack an undercover investigator first?

That was unlikely.

Trying to relax, I touched the phone I was holding in one hand with a natural motion. The notification screen was a mess of messages flying in from everywhere.

Investigator Lee, what is the suspect doing? Does he seem like he’s going to run?

Let us know the suspect’s movements. Do you think we should arrest him?

Messages poured in even while I was checking. But what caught my eye was the name Joo Taeson. Only the sentence he sent seemed to spill into my pupils as if magnified. His message was simple.

Without the commander’s order, follow the operation. As you should know.

Lee Moon-cheol is to be arrested upon entering with the mistress.

I, too, had no intention of arbitrarily changing the operation to try and be a hero. I sent a reply to Yoon Gyuho, the person in charge of this operation, first.

No signs of the suspect fleeing. I will follow the operation.

There was a rustling sound behind my back. It was the sound of the suspect tearing the plastic off a new pack of cigarettes. While clearly registering the shape of the handcuffs in my pocket and the holster on my waist, the suspect brushed past me again. My hands were lightly sweating. Seeing as I’m this nervous, it seems the aftermath of the previous case has been etched into my heart in one form or another.

Lee Moon-cheol stood outside the convenience store, smoked one cigarette, and then turned toward the third floor of the row house where he lived. I put my earpiece back in.

“No issues with the suspect.”

As if my radio transmission were the signal, the mistress got out of the official vehicle as soon as the hideout door closed. Whether Yoon Gyuho had become impatient, it was much faster than the agreed-upon operation time.

It was an old-fashioned house with no elevator and exterior stairs. The mistress stepped onto the stairs, and the investigators who had been hiding out of sight appeared and followed behind her. The mistress knocked on the door, acting nonchalant. She even pressed the doorbell. Several times.

Lee Moon-cheol, who I thought would appear immediately after having just gone inside, did not open the door easily. One investigator signaled with his hand that he would wait a bit longer while pressing his body tightly against the wall. However, before that signal even finished, my body reacted.

It’s strange.

My radar, which had become sensitive from years of police life, went off. Before I knew it, I had opened the convenience store door and stepped outside. The cold wind hit my cheeks.

A suspect living a life on the run is desperate for outside contact. The mistress was supposed to meet Lee Moon-cheol today, even bringing escape funds with her. It is only natural that he would come out the moment she knocked.

As I started walking toward the row houses, the investigators standing in front of the third-floor door were in an uproar. Following that, shouts could be heard from the alley on the other side.

He escaped. The moment I made that judgment, my feet took off. A chaotic voice burst from the earpiece.

— Suspect escaped! He’s heading to the back. It looks like he went down through the window. The team blocking the back alley needs to stop him…

A map had been attached to the arrest operation report. I had thought in advance about which route the backup should take if he escaped into the back alley. I ran into an investigator who had been waiting at the entrance of a different alley. It was Section Chief Kim from our room.

“Section Chief Kim! This way…”

But Section Chief Kim didn’t follow me; he started running toward the row houses in a fluster. Lee Moon-cheol had already escaped. It seemed I was the only one who had properly looked at the map beforehand. I couldn’t help it. There was nowhere near enough time to follow Section Chief Kim and drag him back as backup.

I ran for quite a while, thinking the other investigators would follow on their own, but when I turned around a small real estate office, I saw Lee Moon-cheol’s back. I recognized him immediately because he was dressed the same way as when he came to the convenience store. As expected, he fled along this route. However, surprisingly, Lee Moon-cheol was alone, as if no one else had been able to follow him.

I had run until my breath was at the tip of my throat, but Lee Moon-cheol did something unexpected. He entered a narrow alley and climbed onto a motorcycle that had been parked in the corner. It was a disaster. There was no information in the report that he possessed a motorcycle.

“Lee Mooncheol!”

I shouted and ran toward him. There was a small backpack on the back of the motorcycle. A red one.

I spoke into the radio.

“Lee Moon-cheol is fleeing on a motorcycle. The number is 16…”

For a moment, my vision went white and I stumbled. My foot had caught on something. Just as I was about to fall face-first onto the ground, a hand that had suddenly popped out grabbed me. My surgically operated abdomen rippled with pain.

“I saw up to the number 167. The location is between Haeng-un Real Estate and Haneul Kindergarten.”

It was the voice of Prosecutor Joo. He held me in his arms for a while after sending the radio transmission. It was as if he had noticed that I was in a state where I couldn’t get up right away.

It seems the information Yoon Gyuho heard was correct. I guess it was still too much to run at full speed. My surgical site ached as if my internal organs were shriveling up. Knowing one’s own limits is also an investigator’s skill, but I had overestimated myself.

I missed him, the suspect.

Even through the pain, that fact pressed down on me painfully.

If my body had been fine, would it have been a distance I could have caught him at if I had run hard? If another investigator had been positioned in my place, would they have been able to chase him this far? Or, if I had somehow grabbed Section Chief Kim and brought him along, would an arrest have been possible in terms of time?

While I was busy calculating the possibilities in my head, waiting for the pain to subside, Prosecutor Joo’s radio rang.

— We have requested a motorcycle pursuit. Do you need support?

“Support is unnecessary.”

He ended the radio transmission simply and carefully examined my condition.

“Are you okay?”