The Prosecutor’s Office’s Proposal Chapter 39

He was talking about the blood samples of Oh Jahyeon that they said were drawn three days later. The forensics department at the police station would have only performed a simple test for blood alcohol concentration, not a scan for drugs. Prosecutor Joo replayed the video once more, staring intensely at Oh Jahyeon, who kept alternating between running wild like a maniac and bursting into shrill laughter, as if trying to pierce right through her.

I moved my fingertips toward the phone.

“I will contact the police station right now and have them bring the blood sample. Should we then resume the investigation under drug charges for Oh Jahyeon?”

“No, I’m going to close the case with a non-indictment opinion. ‘No suspicion’ due to procedural violations in the alcohol test.”

“…Pardon?”

“They forgot to have her rinse her mouth.”

“But… we should at least check the blood test results again, and if she did use drugs, we could charge her with a violation of the Narcotics Control Act…”

“I’m going to drop the charges against Oh Jahyeon, so don’t go making unnecessary excuses.”

Prosecutor Joo left his desk and was about to return to his own seat. So this time, I stood up and caught his hand.

It was the first time I had initiated contact, so I was startled and tried to pull my hand away, but Prosecutor Joo gripped it back. Because of this strange contact, the blood vessels in my fingertips throbbed as if they were a heart. I was trembling, but I had something to say, so I didn’t avoid him and stood close.

“Prosecutor, it won’t be too late to drop the charges even after we test the blood.”

“Officer Lee, do you remember when I suggested we become accomplices?”

“…I have never forgotten.”

“Then let’s start from today. Let’s bury this case with a non-indictment and keep Oh Jahyeon’s weakness in our hands. The blood will definitely show a drug reaction.”

It was something the Prosecutor Joo I knew would never say. To bury it even if she did drugs?

If we did that… would we ever be able to bring it out again later?

“I believe you have a reason for deciding that way, Prosecutor. You tested me because there was a case you wanted to dig into, and you wanted my assistance. So, if you explain it to me so that I can understand, I will follow.”

“Officer Lee, you have to follow even if you don’t understand. I have the power of prosecution; I don’t need your permission. Don’t you know that?”

“…I am well aware. But can’t you explain it so that I can understand?”

Prosecutor Joo pressed his lips into a thin line. A glimmer of conflict flickered in his eyes, but he didn’t waver any further than that.

“To tell Officer Lee everything, I need at least one more piece of collateral. Luckily, today we secured Oh Jahyeon’s blood as the first piece, but the second piece of stolen goods is still missing.”

“…”

“I don’t want to have to explain things in grueling detail to Officer Lee.”

My superior had clearly refused. I bit my lower lip.

Fine, if I’m told to dig, I dig.

“Understood.”

“If you understand, don’t bother with the phone—go to the Danhyeon Police Station right now and bring me Oh Jahyeon’s blood. It would be best if you kept a watch on that Baek Youngjun, who supposedly likes you, to make sure he doesn’t swap the samples. As you saw with them ‘forgetting’ to put the water down before the alcohol test, the Danhyeon Police Station is different from the majority of honest police officers.”

“I will check the labels properly.”

The grip on the hand I had been holding onto slipped away. As soon as I let go, Prosecutor Joo lifted the hand we had been holding. He clenched and opened it, stared intently at his own fingers, and then returned to his seat.

Prosecutor Joo took an evidence bag out of his cabinet and tossed his car keys at me. Just like last time, I reflexively caught the object flying toward me.

“Take my car and go. It’s on the second floor of the underground parking lot.”

“Yes, Prosecutor.”

I put on my coat and was about to open the office door when I turned back. Just going to the police station would push the time past nine, and it seemed I would have to run more errands with Oh Jahyeon’s blood afterward, so I thought it might be okay to ask one more question.

“Prosecutor, by any chance, if the drug Oh Jahyeon used is methamphetamine, is there a possibility it’s the same drug that the Koryoin Mr. Kim was transporting?”

The drugs the Koryoin Mr. Kim was transporting were also methamphetamine.

Prosecutor Joo stared straight at me. As if he wanted to pierce my heart with his gaze.

“I chose you well.”

He replied like that and lowered his head. I closed the door and left.

I stormed into the Danhyeon Police Station without notice and retrieved Oh Jahyeon’s blood from the officer on duty. The officer was a bit flustered, asking why I had come in person, but he went up to the forensics department on the second floor with me. Fortunately, the person on duty in forensics that day wasn’t Baek Youngjun.

After showing the physical evidence to Prosecutor Joo, I went to deliver it to a staff member in the forensic science department who was a personal acquaintance of his. It was possible because that employee happened to be working overtime. In the end, the time I returned to the prosecutor’s office was 11:00 PM.

However, the way the work was being conducted worried me more than the fatigue.

“Prosecutor, is it okay to proceed with work like this? Handing the blood over to the forensics department wasn’t an official request either. If Detective Ma finds out tomorrow when he comes to work that I took the blood…”

Prosecutor Joo, who was drafting Oh Jahyeon’s non-indictment disposition, shrugged.

“The moment Detective Ma finds out that fact, he’ll also know that I’ve issued a non-indictment disposition. After that, he’ll lose interest.”

As expected. It was a strategic non-indictment processing to proceed with things quietly behind the scenes according to his own will.

I didn’t not understand it, but in conclusion, it meant covering up the Oh Jahyeon case. I felt thoroughly uncomfortable. I wondered if Prosecutor Joo, who had defied orders and revealed my false accusation for Prosecutor Yoon Soyeon’s sake, had changed in the meantime. Having drifted through small, provincial branch offices while working in the criminal divisions infamous for their heavy workloads since his time at the Seoul Central District Prosecutors’ Office, perhaps Prosecutor Joo had compromised with the world.

“Prosecutor, then I will… head home.”

“Wait, you must not have had dinner, so eat this lunchbox before you go. I left it on Officer Lee’s desk.”

“Pardon?”

Surprised, I looked around and then poked my own chest with my fingertip.

“Me?”

Prosecutor Joo looked flustered and lightly clicked his tongue.

“Is there another Officer Lee here besides you? I bought it because I felt like I’d made you run around all day without even eating.”

I wondered what kind of harmony this was, considering he had been tormenting me by making me work overtime without even giving me time to eat. Since the boss of the office had personally bought it for me, I was just overcome with emotion. I kept it to myself, as I thought saying it out loud would sound sarcastic.

In a dazed state, I bowed my head.

“Ah… t-thank you.”

“Is me buying you a lunchbox really something worth stuttering over, Officer Lee?”

It was worth stuttering over. Because it was the first time Prosecutor Joo had personally taken care of my meal while I worked overtime.

To a Korean, taking care of someone’s meal is always a good sign. Especially since Prosecutor Joo knew my background, I felt a great sense of relief whenever he treated me kindly. Even though those times were rare.

“Because you don’t usually pay attention to meals… Have you eaten, Prosecutor?”

“Yes, I ate.”

“Then it might smell, so I’ll take it to the official residence and eat it.”

“No, eat it here.”

“Then in the inner office…”

“No, sit at your desk and eat. Officer Lee, you talk too much. Do you only listen to people when they call it an ‘order’?”

He said it was an order last time. The words “do you really have to do that?” rose to my throat, but I sat at my desk first.

I took out the two-tier lunchbox from the paper bag and opened the lid. It was a high-end lunchbox that the higher-ups above the division head level would order when they held meetings at the Prosecutor’s Office. Seeing the neat side dishes made me feel hungry, so I took out the cutlery wrapped in paper. They were refined wooden utensils that I couldn’t possibly think of as disposable.

“I will eat well.”

Since I had to eat at the office, I couldn’t watch TV or read a book like I usually would. With my superior next to me, it felt awkward to play with my phone, too.

In the end, I stared into empty space and chewed the side dishes. When I had swallowed about three spoonfuls of rice, Prosecutor Joo said a word.

“Are you seeing a ghost or something?”

“…Prosecutor, do you dislike me that much?”

“…Was that too much just now?”

“Yes.”

At my retort, Prosecutor Joo unexpectedly laughed out loud and pressed his lower lip with the tip of the ballpoint pen he was holding, then let go. He was handsome. If Officer No had seen it, she would have marveled, thinking he was filming a commercial.

I ate my meal over the course of 30 minutes. Prosecutor Joo lifted his wrist and checked the silver watch he always wore.

“Officer Lee, your eating speed is slow.”

“It’s not fast.”

“No, it’s slow. This is slow.”

“Yes… I ate well.”