The Prosecutor’s Office’s Proposal Chapter 36

I went in alone to inform the tenant of their right to remain silent and engaged in light conversation to deliberately help them relax. Prosecutor Joo, who entered the office a little later, deliberately dropped the heavy file he was holding onto the desk with a loud thud. As soon as the unsuspecting suspect jumped in surprise, Prosecutor Joo sat down and started speaking without a moment to catch his breath.

“You were informed of your right to remain silent by Officer Lee, weren’t you?”

“…Yes, Prosecutor.”

The tenant replied with a much more fearful expression than when they were alone with me. They had likely expected to deal with a young investigator who looked like a rookie and just spouted small talk, so Prosecutor Joo’s arrival must have significantly increased their psychological pressure.

Furthermore, tucked conspicuously between the pages of the thick file Prosecutor Joo had slammed down, the copy of former gangster Mr. Choi’s mother’s bankbook was jutting out—with the name clearly visible, of course. I didn’t miss the way the tenant’s eyes flickered when they spotted the copy.

Prosecutor Joo warned the tenant in the same coercive tone he used on me.

“You have the right to exercise your right to remain silent, and you can deny the crime, but every statement you make now will be forwarded all the way to the trial and will end up in the hands of the judge and the trial prosecutor. In a case where the evidence is this clear, if you don’t reflect and keep playing dumb, your sentence will be harsher due to ‘contumacy.’ Courts and prosecutors clearly take a suspect’s attitude of remorse into account for sentencing.”

The tenant gulped, seemingly nervous. Prosecutor Joo asked.

“So, here is a question. How can a prosecutor know if a suspect is reflecting on their actions?”

The tenant rolled their eyes around and looked at me. They had a look of wondering if they really needed to answer, so I gave a slight nod to indicate that it was the right thing to do. The cowed tenant parted their lips with difficulty.

“…Well? When they say they’re sorry to the victim’s family?”

“No. It’s because everyone is so naive like this.”

From this point on, it was a conversation I hadn’t discussed with him. Prosecutor Joo pulled his chair closer, getting even nearer to the tenant. The suspect reflexively pulled their back slightly. Prosecutor Joo locked eyes precisely with the suspect and continued.

“When you make the prosecutor’s investigation convenient, when you confess quietly so that the judge’s judgment isn’t difficult. That is when the prosecutor and the judge think the suspect is reflecting. Do you understand? Basically, legal professionals don’t care about the feelings of the victim’s family. They think you are genuinely reflecting only when you make things easy for the one investigating and judging you—me. You even write letters of apology and submit them to the judge, right?”

“…”

“So, think carefully and answer from now on. We have all the evidence, and if you say something ridiculous, I will use the lie detector immediately. Before that, your friend, Mr. Choi Jincheol, might just beat you to it by confessing first.”

It was chillingly realistic advice. He had said he would encourage the tenant to confess, but I hadn’t known he would talk like this. It was the kind of advice everyone thinks about but cannot bring themselves to say out loud.

The tenant seemed terrified by Prosecutor Joo’s warning. Since the whip had been dealt, it was my turn to offer the carrot.

“This is the statement of the 5 million won deposit into Mr. Choi Jincheol’s mother’s account, and these are photos of the bicycle spotted at the scene.”

I presented the evidence one by one and explained it in detail. When I gently coaxed the still-hesitant tenant, they collapsed quickly and eventually confessed to the crime with ease. Since there was a record of the deceased villa owner depositing 50 million won into the tenant’s younger brother’s account, it would have been difficult to keep playing dumb.

“I borrowed 50 million won from the owner, but there was no way to pay it back. I’m sorry.”

The tenant had been suffering from financial hardship because the revenue from their noodle shop was falling, so they hired their elementary school classmate, the former gangster Mr. Choi, to commit the murder. The gangster Mr. Choi borrowed a bicycle from the tenant and staked out the place for four days.

“He said he had to drink a glass of alcohol for it to look accidental. I lent him the bicycle because if he got caught for drunk driving while driving after drinking, the chances of getting caught would increase.”

I pushed the National Forensic Service’s inspection data toward them.

“Only Mr. Choi Jincheol’s fingerprints were found on the murder weapon, the knife. How do you explain this? If someone else used the knife, the fingerprints of the person who discarded it should also appear, in addition to Mr. Choi Jincheol’s. You prepared the knife in advance, too, didn’t you?”

“Yes…. I heard that he brought the knife every time, but retrieved it again whenever the attempt failed.”

The tenant added their regret, saying that because the police had viewed it as injury resulting in death until the investigation concluded, they had been certain that even though they were caught, they had deceived them perfectly. We finished the interrogation, which had lasted until late, and finalized the statement.

Four days later, former gangster Mr. Choi confessed as well, and Prosecutor Joo handed over all the materials to the trial prosecutor. Just as he had guaranteed me, the trial card attached and sent to the trial prosecutor contained an opinion suggesting that recommending a life sentence would be appropriate.

Only after the trial prosecutor’s administrative assistant brought a cart and took all the materials did I ask him. As it happened, there was no one else in the prosecutor’s office.

“You told the suspect that you would reduce the sentence if they confessed.”

“I look at whether they feel remorse toward the victim’s family.”

Prosecutor Joo replied nonchalantly.

The first month of working in the prosecutor’s office passed in a blur, and the calendar welcomed January. It was the New Year, and I turned twenty-nine, but I didn’t feel any particular inspiration.

Today, I decided to have lunch alone with Chief Song Haneul. Chief Song had completely noticed the fact that I had become a loner at the Danhyeon Branch Office, and from a certain point on, they had begun taking care of me even more.

They tried to eat lunch together whenever possible, and on days they ate with other colleagues, they often bought me coffee. I had become accustomed to eating alone, so it would have been fine if they hadn’t gone to such lengths. However, the simple fact that I now had a colleague who thought of me was deeply moving.

For the first time in a while, Chief Song and I left the company cafeteria and went to a home-style restaurant near the branch office. Prosecutor Joo did not accompany us because he had a lunch appointment with other prosecutors.

Since that night we drank soju together at the pojangmacha, a subtle atmosphere often enveloped us whenever our eyes met. He still touched my fingers occasionally, and when he needed to get my attention, he would hold my hand. I still flinched, but the times I was startled out of my skin decreased. And then, I would recall the look in his eyes as he looked down at me from the edge of the bed.

The meal arrived. I inadvertently grabbed the hot silver rice bowl and almost burned my fingers. It wasn’t enough to cause a burn, but I gripped the cold water glass tightly to soothe the heat. Chief Song took a spoonful of rice first and asked.

“Did you spend the New Year with your family, Officer Lee?”

“No, I don’t have parents. I just spent it alone.”

“Oh dear, I’m sorry.”

“It’s alright. It’s been a while since they passed away, so I’m fine.”

“I don’t have parents either, so I spent it alone. If I had known, we should have met up and bought some tteokguk (rice cake soup) to eat together.”