The Prosecutor’s Office’s Proposal Chapter 35

I rubbed my forehead with one hand and carefully examined the room. My phone was plugged into the charger, and a cat-paw mug filled with water, along with a hangover relief drink, sat on the nightstand. The consideration of leaving water for me to drink when I woke up felt unexpectedly tender, not quite matching Prosecutor Joo’s usual demeanor. Although, the fact that he’d plugged my phone in likely just meant he wanted me to wake up and get to work on time as usual.

At the edge of my vision, where I’d spotted the hangover drink, a memory came dangling: the recollection of me making Prosecutor Joo run an ice cream errand.

“No way…”

I wrapped both hands around my head. The hangover drink must have been bought at that same time.

After drinking the hangover relief and the water, I got up and looked for the ice cream. Prosecutor Joo had been thorough; he’d taken the ice cream I’d shoved into my coat pocket and moved it to the freezer. What’s more, he must have remembered the flavor I’d bought at our last team dinner, as he had bought the same milk flavor.

Finding traces of the errand I’d forced on Prosecutor Joo, I pulled at my hair with both hands.

“I must be crazy. I’ve made up my mind to ruin my career. No, wait—making me drink a bottle and a half of soju in 30 minutes is the real cruelty here. It’s the Prosecutor who’s weird, not me.”

I paced around my seven-pyeong residence before pulling out my phone. It was only 7:00 AM, but for Prosecutor Joo, that was well past his arrival time. Even on days when prosecutors held company dinners that lasted all night, Prosecutor Joo never showed up to work late. His standard, of course, was 6:30 AM.

I considered texting him but decided it would be better to rush over and apologize in person, so I hurriedly washed up and headed out. I took the time to tie my tie to look neater than usual. Since I had thoroughly disgraced myself yesterday, it wouldn’t hurt to look more formal.

As the sub-zero wind swept through my damp hair from rushing out, goosebumps rose on my skin. But fixing my mistake was a higher priority than the cold. My memories began to return faster and faster, even recalling the moment I had spoken to Prosecutor Joo in banmal (informal speech).

“You’re insane, Lee Chaeha. What were you thinking?”

I stopped in the middle of an alley. I couldn’t possibly go before Prosecutor Joo empty-handed.

I searched for a cafe that opened early, bought two cups of coffee to go, and picked up a bag of pastries from a bakery before finally heading to the Prosecutor’s Office. I also transferred the two packs of cigarettes I’d bought at the mart near Taepyeong Villa—which I’d forgotten to give to him—from my bag into the pastry bag.

I cleared my throat and knocked on the office door for no reason. Hearing him tell me to come in made me nervous all over again, so I curled my fingers before gripping the handle. I slowly poked my head through the door.

Prosecutor Joo, who was sitting at his desk looking over documents, chuckled as he identified his visitor. Then, leaning back in his chair, he scanned me up and down with a look that seemed to border on reproach.

It was cheating that he was perfectly fine after drinking the same amount as me. But under the hierarchy of the prosecution and police, it was acceptable for a superior to pour crates of soju down a subordinate’s throat, but it was absolutely forbidden for a subordinate to make a superior run out for ice cream. That was a lesson I had learned the hard way by constantly bumping into the walls of an organization I couldn’t adapt to since college.

“Prosecutor Joo, I’m sorry about yesterday.”

After bowing several times, I set the warm Americano and the pastry bag containing the two packs of cigarettes on his desk. Prosecutor Joo rested his chin on his hand and looked up at me.

“What are you doing? Is this trash a bribe, too?”

“It’s not a bribe, I just wanted you to have it…. I’m sorry. I made a mistake yesterday.”

“Do you remember using banmal?”

“Yes, I’m sorry. Next time, even if I’m drunk, I’ll keep my wits about me.”

I didn’t even bother making excuses about the bottle and a half in 30 minutes; I just kept bowing my head respectfully. In this organization, you have to beg properly when you’re wrong. Even if you speak your mind on normal days, you must never do so when you’ve made a mistake. I gripped the bag strap crossing my chest tightly and bowed again.

“Thank you for taking me home yesterday.”

“I should’ve just left you on the bench. So you could have frozen to death after running errands.”

“I’m sorry.”

“Stop looking so guilty and sit down. You’ve said sorry ten times already. I know your limit now, so next time I’ll only let you have one bottle. Your focus was already slipping after the last half-bottle.”

“My usual limit is one bottle. I’m sorry.”

I took off my coat and hung it on the rack. Prosecutor Joo, who immediately checked my attire, couldn’t help but make another comment.

“Why are you wearing a tie again?”

“I was too disheveled yesterday. I’ll keep my head straight.”

“That police tone again. Do you apologize by saying you’ll ‘keep your head straight’ over there, too?”

“…I apologize even more than that.”

I answered quietly and fled to my desk to sit down. I was startled when the pastry bag flew toward my face, but I quickly caught it with both hands. It was my favorite Soboro bread.

“Thank you.”

“You’ve got good reflexes.”

“The Police Academy forces us to exercise. I did a lot of running.”

“Seeing you talk back so easily, it looks like you’ve returned to your usual self, Officer Lee.”

Prosecutor Joo smiled crookedly, lost in thought. It wasn’t exactly a friendly smile, but it didn’t hold any signs of disgust toward me, either. A sigh of relief escaped me automatically, knowing he didn’t seem to hate me any more than before despite the spectacle I had made.

After tossing the bread, Prosecutor Joo didn’t even give me time to eat before issuing work orders.

“I’ve filed for an arrest warrant for the Taepyeong Villa tenant. The warrant was granted, using the detention center recording and the evidence of the debt relationship you found. The arrest team will pick the tenant up this morning. It’ll be easier to get a confession once they’re in custody. Prepare for the interrogation in the meantime.”

“I could have written the arrest warrant myself, but… thank you.”

Enduring my stomach ache, I prepared for the interrogation and shared the file of questions with Prosecutor Joo. As soon as I sent it, he checked the contents. I had expected to discuss the interrogation plan, but he said something completely different. His gaze was fixed on his monitor, not on me.

“Officer Lee, do you remember everything from last night?”

The truth was, I remembered everything. The expression on Prosecutor Joo’s face as he sat on the edge of the bed, the touch of his fingers on my wet lips and earlobes, and his question about whether I was okay with sharing a cigarette. I had wondered if Prosecutor Joo’s attitude toward me would change, but he was still as cold as winter.

I felt like I couldn’t admit to remembering, so I shook my head.

“I think I blacked out after I got home.”

“…I see, that’s a relief. Whether they confess or not, let’s start the first question by asking about the tenant going to the detention center and meeting the former gangster. This question is too far back. Your grasp of the case is good, Officer Lee, so the content of the questions is great, but the order is off. You can move the bicycle talk to later.”

Prosecutor Joo pointed out.

“Yes, Prosecutor.”

“How should we conduct the interrogation? Should we do it as usual, or map out a strategy? Do you have an opinion? The evidence is perfect, so I’m sure we’ll win at trial easily, but it’s always better to get a confession, isn’t it?”

My hangover was so severe that my brain wouldn’t work quickly. I couldn’t manage to act as calm as usual, so I fumbled with my thimble and shuffled through papers in a panic. Prosecutor Joo clicked his tongue.

“You usually seem so sharp, but you’re like a doll with dead batteries after a little booze last night. Leave it. I’ll think about it.”

Prosecutor Joo turned back to his monitor. I looked at the side of his face bathed in morning sunlight and tried to ignore the heartbeats thumping in my ears. I couldn’t tell if it was because of his criticism of my question order or because of last night.

Prosecutor Joo didn’t show the slightest hint that he was conscious of last night, but I found myself fiddling with my thimble every now and then while I worked. The thimble Prosecutor Joo had given me.

The tenant was transferred to the Prosecutor’s Office in the afternoon. Although the collected evidence was clear, the tenant, once detained, stubbornly denied the crime at first. They even refused to have the interrogation recorded.

With no other choice, we decided to proceed with the interrogation in the inner office. The interrogation strategy Prosecutor Joo planned for today was simple. He would enter a step later than me, using the time delay to exert pressure on the tenant. Strategy is vital in interrogation. We decided to take full advantage of the fact that we weren’t recording.