The Prosecutor’s Office’s Proposal Chapter 25

“Then, let’s take a look at your mistakes, Officer Lee. Mistake number one. This is a document from a suspect investigation, so if you title the document ‘Suspect Police Data 1’, do you think I can immediately know what the content is?”

“…I do not.”

“Then you think about what would have been a good title to write.”

“I think it would have been better to call it ‘Initial Suspect Statement from the Police’.”

“But all the document titles you wrote are like this. We give cases to investigators because prosecutors don’t have the time to read everything, so this is pointless. If I have to read the content all over again when it comes back to me, does that save any time? Ultimately, I’m the one who makes the final decision on whether to indict or not.”

“I apologize.”

“Just add a subtitle in your own handwriting on the side. No need to print it again. The trial prosecutor will probably just understand.”

“…Yes.”

It was humiliating, to say the least, to be told to hand-write corrections on a document destined for court. The words to ask if I could reprint it rose to my throat, but what could I do? All documents prepared by investigators are submitted under Prosecutor Joo’s name. If he says it’s fine, then I have to do it that way.

“And mistake number two. This case isn’t just subject to the Criminal Act; it’s a case where the Act on the Aggravated Punishment, etc. of Specific Crimes applies. Wouldn’t the perpetrator serve at least one more year if the Special Act were applied?”

“I apologize.”

Prosecutor Joo slipped a blue thimble onto his finger and added in an indifferent tone.

“I suppose you’re on the perpetrator’s side, Officer Lee. I understand.”

It was an unfair accusation. The intent to hurt was unmistakable.

I felt a surge of resentment inside for a moment, but I wasn’t so immature as to show my emotions to a superior, especially since this wasn’t the first time I’d heard such things. If living as a murderer’s son counts as career experience, I was already in my 15th year.

“That is not true. I only looked at the legal precedents to apply the relevant legal clauses. I will search more properly next time.”

“I’m skeptical, though. Knowing your background, Officer Lee.”

“…”

“Last year, there was a case where a prosecutor lost because they indicted a case under the Criminal Act when they should have applied the Special Act on the Punishment of Sexual Crimes to get a guilty verdict. The suspect was set free. I won’t make such mistakes, and I’ll filter everything out in the middle, but if the investigator in the office had been on the ball, there wouldn’t have been such an indictment, right?”

“I apologize, Prosecutor. I will search for precedents more diligently.”

“Then, just fix the titles for now.”

“Yes.”

It’s difficult.

After being subjected to bitter criticism, I swallowed the sigh that was trying to escape. I knew that working with someone who could read a scarlet letter wouldn’t be easy, but it really wasn’t simple.

Even after Chief Song and Officer No arrived, I sat next to Prosecutor Joo for a long time, flipping through documents and rewriting the titles. I changed all the titles specifically—such as ‘Suspect Theft Daily Call Records’ and ‘Suspect Financial Transaction Records After Acquiring Stolen Goods’—and drew thick lines under all the important information with a highlighter. To make the prosecutor’s work easier.

Every now and then, as he reviewed materials, Prosecutor Joo checked to see if I was correcting the titles properly.

“I have fixed them all.”

“Thank you for your hard work.”

When others were present, he reverted to neat, polite language. Prosecutor Joo slid a thick envelope of documents toward me.

“One gangster from a crime syndicate has been transferred to the branch’s detention center. They say he stabbed a victim he got into a fight with on the street to death; you take charge of this today, Officer Lee. The deceased is a man in his 50s. He has a wife and a daughter, and the police transferred the case with an opinion of injury resulting in death.”

It was the first murder case I had been assigned since joining the prosecutor’s office. For the past few weeks, it seemed as if they wouldn’t give me any murder cases because I was Lee Gilyoung’s son; all violent crime cases coming to the office were handled by Prosecutor Joo and Chief Song. My mood lifted slightly that he was giving me a fairly large case after scolding me.

“Thank you.”

I hugged the documents and was about to stand up when Prosecutor Joo suddenly grabbed my hand. The body heat where we touched was as hot as midday.

I was startled and tried to pull away, but he held on again as if asking why I was acting that way. His eyebrows, which were straight and neat as if drawn one hair at a time with a fine brush, twitched sharply.

“Since it’s a murder case, you and I will take the statement together, Officer Lee. We’ll proceed in two hours, so look through everything and come up with questions in the meantime.”

“Yes, Prosecutor.”

His thick fingers gripped my hand even tighter, intentionally and vengefully, before letting go. My fingers, released by Prosecutor Joo, felt numb. His grip was strong enough to break my knuckles if he had wanted to. I went back to my seat, pretending nothing was wrong, and cooled my flushed neck.

Chief Song, sitting across from me, stretched and said,

“Prosecutor, isn’t two hours a bit short?”

“Officer Lee’s speed in reading materials is very fast.”

The person who had made me read ten cases in a week was now answering as if praising me.

“When I first became a prosecutor’s office investigator, I couldn’t read that quickly. Officer Lee is definitely quick to adapt.”

“Thank you.”

It was a compliment I had never heard before. Quick to adapt, he said.

I replied with as blank an expression as possible, but for some reason, Prosecutor Joo stared straight at me. Had there been a faint smile? I feigned ignorance of his gaze and lowered my head.

I quickly read through the thick case file and came up with questions. I also had to summarize the content, as I had to report the case overview to Prosecutor Joo.

Because the interrogation was to take place in the video recording room, we moved to the 7th floor two hours later, before the prison officer brought the suspect. While setting up my laptop in the room, I asked Prosecutor Joo:

“The date the suspect was arrested was yesterday, not today…. Did you read the case materials in advance and give them to me, Prosecutor?”

“You’re smart.”

I expected as much, but he immediately reverted to informal speech. Since many people were informal with their subordinates and even used profanity, I figured as long as he didn’t curse, it was fine. It was better to just accept that Prosecutor Joo was only like that with me.

According to a rumor Chief Song had slipped me, last year in a certain prosecutor’s office, an investigator had even taken sick leave due to stress. It seemed the prosecutor was a human known for exercising violence against subordinates, such as throwing things and kicking desks. Of course, the prosecutor had not been disciplined.

“Usually, cases where the suspect is arrested are processed on the same day. Since you held it for a day, I thought you might have read it.”

“Because you need to hone your skills a bit more before you can provide the cooperation I need, Officer Lee. I’m assigning cases to you selectively, in my own way.”

“Thank you.”

“Naturally.”

I silently handed him the questionnaire. Prosecutor Joo read the text and asked as if in passing:

“Are the staff still ostracizing you, Officer Lee? It’s been several weeks since your personnel transfer.”

“Other than Chief Song and Officer No, I eat lunch alone. So I guess you could say I’m still being bullied. The other staff have reason to be angry. I sort of cut in line without knowing, so I’m fine with it since there’s a reason.”

“If there’s a reason, harassment is fine…. Seeing as you can’t think of the universal idea that people shouldn’t be harassed even if there is a reason, it seems you’re used to this kind of situation.”

“…”

“Then, eat with me at those times.”

“…Excuse me?”

“You freak out just by being touched, so we need to get a bit closer. I grabbed you earlier just to talk, but you reacted like you were being sexually harassed, so I feel aggrieved. Is a man grabbing another man’s hand such a big problem?”

Prosecutor Joo slowly stroked the back of my hand with his index finger, meeting my eyes with a lingering gaze. That was skinship that could be called harassment. And so, I should have hated it, but strangely, heat only rose to my neck, and I didn’t feel bad. I curled my fingers to hide an unfamiliar feeling I had never experienced in my life.

“I was only surprised because you grabbed me suddenly.”

“You were the same when our fingers touched last time. Your excuses aren’t very convincing. You’re the type who would get caught immediately if you committed a crime.”

“I don’t commit crimes.”

“I suppose so. Because you, Officer Lee, are a different person.”

Prosecutor Joo quoted what I had said on the rooftop, stabbing at my wounds at an unexpected moment. It was a slightly cruel thing to say.

Whenever I had conversations with him outside of work, I ended up getting angry or feeling resentful most of the time. In those moments, my feelings of respect would momentarily fade. They say there are no great men when viewed up close, and it was a saying that truly suited Prosecutor Joo Taeson.

I tried hard to review the summary materials to escape the uncomfortable conversation, while Prosecutor Joo stared at the closed door, twirling the pen he was holding. Soon, the prison officer opened the door.