The Prosecutor’s Office’s Proposal Chapter 29

Although Prosecutor Joo Taeson had asked me to eat with him, I felt like I would get indigestion if I did, so I went down to the cafeteria alone. I sat in a corner, avoiding the table where the senior I had worked under in the fine collection department and other staff members were sitting. In the prosecutor’s office, people of the same class or position tend to swarm together to eat, so it is rare to eat alone. Moreover, the Danhyeon Branch Office was small, so that tendency seemed even more pronounced.

Just as I was about to spoon up some hot seaweed soup, a tray landed on the empty seat in front of me with a noisy clatter. I raised only my eyes to see who it was, and I found myself locking eyes with Prosecutor Joo Taeson.

“You never listen to a word I say.”

Those were the first words he uttered upon seeing me.

“…Have you arrived?”

“I said that yesterday. Would it kill you to just pretend to listen for a single day?”

“You weren’t at your desk when I came down earlier, so…”

“If you had any intention of eating with me, you would have waited, given your personality, Officer Lee. You would have at least left a text message.”

“I thought you might have had other lunch plans…”

“You never lose in a verbal sparring, do you?”

I kept my mouth shut, as I felt that if I replied any further, Prosecutor Joo would judge it as insubordination. Even after being bullied so badly by students at the same school as my maternal uncle, I hadn’t lost all my spirit yet.

Prosecutor Joo Taeson sighed and began to eat in silence. As he was a famous person within the prosecutor’s office who drew attention, I also received a barrage of gazes. It was because of his outstanding appearance. It should have been uncomfortable, but he didn’t seem to care, as if he were used to it.

Feeling awkward, I searched for something to say and brought up work for no reason.

“Prosecutor, I intend to go out for the investigation of the former gangster case after lunch.”

“Have you thought about where you’re going to start?”

“The victim was the owner of Taepyeong Villa. Since the Danhyeon Police Station is nearby, I plan to stop by there and then go to the murder site around the villa.”

“I see. I’ll drive.”

“Yes.”

It was an awkward meal, but Prosecutor Joo didn’t seem to care much about that either. Since he ate quite quickly, I couldn’t even chew half as much as I usually did and had to force the food down. The more I swallowed, the more I felt a blockage near my solar plexus, rather than feeling full.

I finished the uncomfortable meal quickly and went up to the office, and fortunately, Chief Song Haneul had arrived first. I felt like I could breathe again, and I felt relieved without realizing it. Although I had to go out for fieldwork alone with Prosecutor Joo soon, the presence of a good-natured colleague helped me shake off the layered pressure once in a while.

As I was preparing for the fieldwork, Chief Song handed me a heat pack.

“Take this just in case, Officer Lee. You’re sensitive to the cold, right? It’s cold today.”

It was a warm gesture of consideration.

“Thank you. You said you were meeting an informant this afternoon, right?”

“Yes. I called them, and I’m a bit worried because they sound like an odd person… On top of that, Prosecutor will be out for fieldwork today, so he won’t be here. People’s attitudes change a bit when the Prosecutor is by their side, you see.”

“I think that’s true.”

“It’s your first fieldwork, so good luck.”

At his friendly greeting, I smiled with my eyes for the first time in a while. After answering thank you and putting on my coat, I felt Prosecutor Joo watching me quietly before he stood up from his seat. He picked up his own coat and parted his lips.

“Let’s go.”

“Yes, Prosecutor.”

We moved in Prosecutor Joo’s car. I hate the moment of getting into a car frozen solid in midwinter, but fortunately, it was an underground parking lot, so the inside of the car wasn’t cold. I opened the heat pack Chief Song had given me in advance, put it in my pocket, and tucked the crinkly plastic packaging into my other pocket.

Prosecutor Joo pressed the accelerator slowly and said as if muttering.

“It’s a relief that you and Chief Song get along well.”

“I think so.”

“You seem to smile a lot for Chief Song. You’re usually expressionless and grumpy.”

“I’m the type who only smiles when there’s something to smile about.”

Prosecutor Joo sighed for some unknown reason at my answer and drove the car toward Danhyeon Police Station.

“By the way, what are you going to check at the police station?”

“The trash bag where the knife was reportedly stuck. I reviewed the National Forensic Service data again this morning, and only the perpetrator’s and victim’s DNA were found on the knife. Only the perpetrator’s fingerprints were found. It’s strange.”

“The DNA and fingerprints of the person who discarded the knife weren’t found—that is certainly strange.”

“Could it be that the perpetrator brought the knife in advance to disguise it as an impulsive crime? Along the victim’s commute home. I called the company the victim worked at this morning, and they said he liked to drink, so he almost always went home late. He’s a well-known heavy drinker.”

“That means it wasn’t just murder with intent; it was premeditated murder with a weapon prepared in advance. Since he must have grasped the victim’s route, the probability is high that he waited for the time when the victim would come home late after drinking.”

“Yes, I suspect he disguised it as much as possible to make it look like injury resulting in death. To get a lighter sentence.”

“He planned it meticulously enough to check the victim’s route and prepare a weapon in advance, yet there’s no connection or interest between the perpetrator and the victim. Then, under the circumstances, there’s only one conclusion: someone hired the gangster to commit the murder.”

Prosecutor Joo was not even a police officer, yet his understanding of the case was certainly extraordinary. I nodded, looking out the windshield at the road stretching out in the distance. The branches of the roadside trees suffering from the sharp wind were bare.

“I think so too.”

“Hmm… that’s a good deduction.”

“Thank you.”

“That attitude is important. Doubting until the end and digging persistently. You can do that, so why don’t you do it usually?”

“…”

“You work hard, but it must be because you’re too timid. You’re also not very observant.”

I wondered what that was about, but I decided to remember only the compliment.

We parked the car and went inside the police station. The detectives seemed a bit surprised by the sudden appearance of a prosecutor, but when they heard we came because of the former gangster case, they seemed relieved. From the police’s perspective, it was a case that had already been closed upon being transferred to the Danhyeon Branch Office.

I stated our business and was guided to the Forensic Science office on the 2nd floor. We met the officer in charge there, and as soon as I saw the male employee’s face, my whole body stiffened.

That employee was the police university senior who had been obsessed with me. He was the very person who spread rumors that I found his gaze unpleasant and that I touched him sneakily. Unable to adapt to the strict hierarchical order of the university, I ended up losing even the few people I spoke to because of that incident.

I heard he was in the Intelligence Division; I wonder when he came to the Danhyeon Police Station Forensic Division. It wasn’t even a department where Police University graduates were usually assigned.

Because I was uncomfortable, sweat burst out on my palms.

“Hello. I am Prosecutor Joo Taeson from the Criminal Division 1 of the Danhyeon Branch Office.”

“Good afternoon, Prosecutor. I’m Baek Young-jun.”

“…Hello, I am Investigator Lee Chaeha.”

Shamelessly, the senior welcomed me, acting glad.

“Oh, Chaeha. I heard you joined the prosecutor’s office, and it was true.”

His unpleasant fingertips forcibly grabbed my hand. Prosecutor Joo stared intently at the senior’s fingers that were holding onto me.

It was awkward, but I didn’t show it. This was because I didn’t want Prosecutor Joo to know that the distributor of the rumors I had heard was right in front of us. In the end, I exercised my specialty. I kept my lips firmly pressed together and didn’t let any emotion show.

Prosecutor Joo, who didn’t know the situation, withdrew his gaze as soon as the senior let go of my hand and immediately brought up the business at hand.

“I’m here because of the injury resulting in death case involving the owner of Taepyeong Villa. They say the perpetrator pulled the knife out of a trash bag, so is the trash bag being stored?”

“No, we only collected the knife. We do have photos left, though…”

“Let’s look at the photos, at least.”

“Yes, Prosecutor.”

The senior was very respectful to those more powerful than him. Since all contact leaves traces, I secretly rubbed my hand against my coat to wipe it clean. The hand he had grabbed felt dirty.

Fortunately, the photos were taken from various angles, but it was difficult to identify the owner of the trash bag from those alone. It was only after checking about ten photos that I discovered a utility bill inside the bag while zooming in and zooming in again. The senior muttered, furrowing his brow.

“There’s a utility bill, but it’s folded, so I can’t see the whole name. The last name seems to be Do… It’s a somewhat unique surname, so I might be able to find it.”

“The folded part only shows the surname.”

“Yes, Prosecutor. I should have collected the trash bag. Besides, I think it was illegal dumping… I apologize.”