The Prosecutor’s Office’s Proposal Chapter 4

I closed my eyes tightly because I didn’t want to make the call, but since it was something I had to do anyway, I picked up the receiver, deciding to get it over with quickly. Could it really be any worse than the abuse I’d already heard?

— Hello.

“Hello, Mr. Kim Hansu. This is the Execution Division of the Danhyeon Branch of the Suwon District Prosecutors’ Office. Your fine of 4 million won is unpaid, and so….”

— What the fuck! Waking me up to pay money in the morning? How unlucky! What has the government ever done for me that you’re bothering me in my sleep, you asshole?

“Sir, you are aware that you are currently wanted for unpaid fines, aren’t you?”

— So what, you fuck! Even if I sold everything I have, I wouldn’t have the money to pay it, so what do you want me to do, you fucker!

This person was actually quite polite compared to those who used creative profanity, as he only used the word “fuck.” I added my own small sigh to the sighs of the staff that had begun to pile up in the Execution Division and continued.

“Please don’t use profanity. If you don’t pay, even in installments, the apprehension team will be dispatched. You can also pay the fine with a credit card.”

— Come then! Come and get me! No, forget it. Just you wait. I’m coming there. You fucking asshole!

“Yes, please come to the Execution Division on the first floor of the Danhyeon Branch. Once you arrive, you will be apprehended immediately since you are currently wanted. If it is too much trouble for you to come yourself, I can send the apprehension team this afternoon.”

— …Do they really send an apprehension team for unpaid fines?

“Of course. You are currently wanted for unpaid fines.”

— …

Perhaps intimidated by the threat of the apprehension team, the voice on the other end went silent, having lost its steam. This was my chance.

“If you don’t pay now, you’ll have to go into a detention center. Once you come in, it’s straight to the labor facility.”

— Installment payments… how do I do that?

“The standard application period for installment payments is over, so if you don’t want to be apprehended, pay 50,000 or 100,000 won into the account first. You received the notice, right?”

— …100,000 won? If I put that in, the apprehension team won’t come, right? What the fuck. Is the prosecution a loan shark? Threatening to kidnap people because they didn’t pay money?

“You can’t just pay once; you have to keep making payments and show your will to pay it off completely. Do you understand?”

The non-payer lost his reason again in the middle, cursing, and later cried while lamenting his life. I wanted to hang up, but perhaps because he was dead drunk from the morning, he slurred his words, searching for his wife and son, and instead took out his anger on me and showered me with curses.

In the fine collection department, pleas were more difficult than curses. Because they just ate up the staff’s time.

With a sigh, I brushed my bangs back and looked to the side; my mentor was signals me to hang up quickly, repeatedly hitting the area around his throat with his hand. I wanted to hang up too, but I couldn’t get over the final hurdle. Only after being deprived of another 5 minutes by the non-payer, who wouldn’t give me an opening, did I open my lips.

“If you don’t pay, I will call you to demand payment again.”

I barely managed to deliver the closing line and hung up.

The second non-payer’s name was a woman in her 50s named ‘Oh Jahyeon.’

Oh Jahyeon….

It was a familiar name, but I couldn’t quite remember where I had heard it. It was an unpaid fine of 6 million won for drunk driving and assault. I dialed the number and greeted her just as before.

“Hello, Ms. Oh Jahyeon. This is the Execution Division of the Danhyeon Branch. Your fine of 6 million won is unpaid.”

The person on the other end was silent for a moment. With a small sigh, a low, sharp voice pierced my ears through the receiver.

— Hey, what’s your name?

“…”

— Do you even know who I am, dare you call me first thing in the morning to demand that petty pocket change?

By now, the informal speech didn’t surprise me. I could feel from her tone that she was no ordinary person, but I responded in as calm a tone as possible.

“The fine of 6 million won is…”

— Hey. I get it, so stop blabbering and tell me your name.

“…”

— I asked what your name is. Didn’t the people around you tell you who I am? Where did you learn such poor manners, talking about money first thing in the morning?

It was morning, but just like the previous non-payer, I could smell alcohol on her. However, she was in a much more toxic and sharp state of intoxication.

From then on, Oh Jahyeon showered me with such vulgar language that my head began to throb. I even began to miss the phone call with the man who kept saying “fuck.” My stomach churned as if I were seasick, and I barely parted my lips.

“Um, Ms. Oh Jahyeon, please calm down. I didn’t call to argue with you; the fine has been unpaid for a long time. At this rate, I have to put out an arrest warrant, so I wanted to inform you in advance….”

— What, an arrest warrant? The things you’re spewing are getting more and more ridiculous. Stop blabbering like that and switch me to a prosecutor. I don’t want to talk to a low-level staff member, so switch me to a prosecutor. Do you know how many prosecutors at the Danhyeon Branch have my back?

“There are no prosecutors in the Execution Division.”

— Look at you talking back so rudely. If you aren’t going to switch me to a prosecutor, tell me your name. I asked what your name is.

“…I am Chief Lee Chaeha.”

The person on the other end hung up the phone immediately.

I shouldn’t have told her my name. I desperately maintained a blank expression. By principle, I should have called back immediately, but I decided to put it off for just one day. I didn’t have the confidence to hear Oh Jahyeon’s voice again.

I picked up the tumbler in front of me, but my pale fingers were visibly trembling, so I set it down without drinking the coffee. If I spilled the coffee, someone might notice my state.

In truth, I trembled whenever I heard even a little bit of abuse. It wasn’t just when someone touched me without notice; I was the type who couldn’t easily calm my heart’s wild pounding even when I heard insults. And yet, my very first assignment upon joining the Prosecutors’ Office was the fine collection department. Since I was thirteen, all the luck in the world had been veering away from me.

If there was one fortunate thing, it was that nowadays, the fear that it would be the end if I couldn’t adapt to this job was greater than the fear of hearing insults from strangers. So, even though the work didn’t suit me well, I didn’t feel like quitting. It was as if I was blocking small fears with a larger terror. I took a deep breath and grabbed the phone again, without showing any signs of distaste.

The demand calls continued until lunchtime. Fortunately, two non-payers had made payments, so it looked like I would be able to achieve a decent performance compared to last week.

Because the section chief would tear his hair out every time, saying our fine collection department had the highest non-payment rate in the branch, it was natural to feel self-conscious even as a civil servant. There was no chance of being fired from the company just because the non-payment rate was high, but in the sense that a superior could harass a subordinate, the world of civil servants was not much different from any other society.

As I was leaving the company cafeteria with the other staff from the fine collection department after lunch, a person who was a head taller than the other average-looking prosecution staff was standing tall.

It was Prosecutor Joo Taeson. Because of his remarkably handsome appearance, it was impossible to overlook him.

Although I worked in the same branch as Prosecutor Joo Taeson, our offices were on different floors, and since the job of a prosecutor was so busy, I hadn’t seen his face properly since the initial induction greeting. I heard the female staff whispering behind my back.

“Prosecutor Joo Taeson is handsome no matter when I see him. Sigh, he probably has a girlfriend, right?”

“They say he doesn’t?”

“Who said that?”

“The clerk in the same room.”

“No way…. I’m sure there are plenty of people pinning after him. Do you think people would just leave him alone?”

I looked at him again as I passed the cafeteria glass door, and I made eye contact with Prosecutor Joo Taeson, who had suddenly turned around. His gaze was so intense, as if he were glaring at me, that I was more startled than when the section chief had grabbed my shoulder in the morning. He didn’t seem to remember me, nor did he show any sign of greeting me.

Feeling as if my mind, which had been conscious of the prosecutor, had been exposed, I quickly turned my head toward my mentor, who was right next to me. I had acted that way to hide my thoughts, but it must have looked awkward.

As if he had been waiting, my mentor whispered to me with a bitter expression. His damp breath hit me unpleasantly.

“Is this your first time seeing Chief Lee? That man is Prosecutor Joo Taeson, and he’s notorious for being a nutjob.”

“Pardon?”

My mentor’s index finger circled beside his temple. Mr. Hwang, who was next to us, brushed his hair back and reacted with an air of surprise.

“The clerk who works with him says he’s fine? She says he’s incredibly kind and affectionate, more than you’d think. I heard it from her because we’ve known each other for a long time.”