The Prosecutor’s Office’s Proposal Chapter 44

Prosecutor Joo really did prepare to leave work at 7:00 PM. It had been such a long time since I’d left work early that even though I knew the conversation would inevitably turn to work while eating with him, I felt a flutter of excitement. I suppose even I, who had no friends or family and nothing to do at home, found the constant overwork burdensome—especially since I often had to go into the office on Saturdays, too.

I closed the investigation files I had been reading and hopped into Prosecutor Joo’s car with a light step. After buckling my seatbelt, I checked on the dinner menu.

“Which restaurant are we going to?”

“To my place.”

It was a bit unexpected that we were going to Prosecutor Joo’s home rather than a restaurant. But, being the youngest in the investigation room, I quickly took out my phone and opened a delivery app.

“What should I order?”

“We aren’t ordering in. Let’s cook and eat.”

“Pardon? I don’t know how to cook.”

“Who told Officer Lee to do it? I said I’d cook.”

I felt a bit dazed. Looking out the window of the moving car, I asked in as calm a tone as I could manage.

“Do you invite people over like this often?”

“No. Officer Lee is the first person I’ve brought into my official residence.”

“…”

“Your face looks red again, Officer Lee. Exactly what is the trigger for your ‘red light’ to turn on?”

The moment he asked, the car stopped at a red light. I hurriedly covered the cheek visible from the driver’s side with my palm.

“I’m curious sometimes. Officer Lee, you turn red at the office often, too.”

He smiled slightly crookedly, as he usually did. It was an expression he might wear inside his head when a cat plays with a dead bird, and it was different from the smile he offered others. I wondered if he was teasing me because I was the son of a murderer, or if he just enjoyed ruffling my feathers.

“Even the back of your hand is red, so what are you trying to hide?”

I had tried to hide it, but Prosecutor Joo pointed it out by pressing his index finger firmly against the back of my hand. My body jerked at the small touch against my skin.

“…I just turn red when I’m a bit flustered.”

“Is the suggestion to go home and eat dinner that flustering? I can’t wrap my head around what’s inside Officer Lee’s brain.”

Thanks to the teasing, whether fortunately or unfortunately, the redness on my face faded quickly. Prosecutor Joo watched the changed signal, slowly pressed the accelerator, and checked my complexion again, raising his eyebrows before relaxing them.

“You’ve turned pale again.”

“You didn’t call me here just to scold me, did you?”

“Thankfully, no. Shall I add it to the schedule if you want?”

I pursed my lips, pushed them out slightly, then pulled them back.

The car slid into the basement parking lot of the apartment complex where the prosecutors’ residences were located. They said they gave better housing to prosecutors than investigators, but this was a brand-name apartment complex, miles away from the townhouse villa I lived in.

The interior was over 1,000 square feet. It was quite a comparison, considering they gave investigators a 250-square-foot studio villa.

‘Even if his rank is higher, we’re both civil servants. This is really too much.’

I took off my shoes neatly at the entrance and carefully looked around the house. It was very spacious for one person.

What was impressive was the furniture. I could see Prosecutor Joo’s luxurious taste at a glance. The leather sofa in the middle of the wide living room, the solid wood media console, and even the kitchen interior were all meticulous and sophisticated. It looked as though he had spent his own money on it.

“The prosecutors’ residences are really nice.”

“Rather than that, it seems the investigators’ residences are just really subpar. I was surprised when I saw Officer Lee’s place.”

“That is true.”

“Stay seated.”

“But I should at least help with something…”

“You’ll just be in the way, so sit there until I call you. Give me your coat. I’ll hang it in the dressing room.”

“Yes, Prosecutor.”

I took off my coat, handed it over, and sat down carefully on the sofa. Since my superior was personally preparing food, I was too uncomfortable to even lean back; I sat on the edge of the cushion with my back rigid. Still, my eyes diligently scanned the inside of Prosecutor Joo’s home.

‘It’s neat.’

I fidgeted with the clean, solid-colored cushion on the sofa for no reason.

Prosecutor Joo picked up a frying pan. I didn’t know what he was cooking, but I listened to the sounds of things searing and boiling, my eyes wandering around with an uncomfortable gaze. Since I was stuck in one place, I had nothing left to see, so I ended up exploring everything from small decorative items to the patterns on the wallpaper.

It was only after about 20 minutes that Prosecutor Joo finally called me.

“Officer Lee, come here.”

“Yes.”

On the wide dining table were a steak and tomato pasta cooked by Prosecutor Joo. There was a nicely seared steak for each of us, and a bowl of pasta each. He seemed fast with his hands. The portion was a bit large for me to eat, but I took my seat.

“You could have just bought us dinner, but thank you. I’ll eat well.”

I offered a somewhat stiff greeting, thinking I should be polite. It was the limit of my sociability.

Prosecutor Joo untied the necktie he had been wearing, placed it on the table, unbuttoned the top button of his shirt, and rolled up his sleeves. Seeing him in such a relaxed state for the first time, I kept glancing over at him. While Prosecutor Joo usually scolded me in the car, he was unexpectedly attentive to me while food was in front of us.

“Is work a bit more manageable now?”

“Yes, it’s fine.”

I watched Prosecutor Joo’s eating pace as I ate. For some reason, he was eating slowly today. While attending all-boys middle and high schools, I had always been forced to eat hurriedly to keep up with the pace of those around me, so this was my first time eating steak while chewing to my heart’s content, slowly, while dining with someone else.

At the office, I had always thought Prosecutor Joo ate his meals quickly, too.

I wondered if he was just more relaxed because it was his own home.

“The food is delicious. I didn’t know you were good at cooking, too.”

Eating at my own pace allowed me to properly taste the food, which was nice. Prosecutor Joo answered nonchalantly.

“I’ve had to take care of my own meals since I was young.”

“I used to be good at cooking, but I’m not good at it anymore. I cooked often when I was in middle and high school, but I forgot everything after going to college.”

“You cooked when you were a student? What kind of dishes?”

“I cooked rice, grilled fish, seasoned vegetables, all sorts of things.”

“You said you lived with your maternal uncle’s family when you were a student.”

It was something I had mentioned only briefly, so I was surprised that Prosecutor Joo remembered.

“…You remember.”

“You always think I’ve forgotten what I heard about you, Officer Lee.”

“Is that so… I suppose that might be true.”

Perhaps subconsciously, I had been thinking that Prosecutor Joo wouldn’t be interested in me.

“You must have helped a lot with the chores because you were living as a guest. Do you not cook now because you hate the memories associated with it?”

Prosecutor Joo hit the nail on the head. Indeed, one must not speak carelessly in front of a person who is good at investigations. Since I have trouble sleeping whenever childhood memories surface, I had quickly piled up bricks in my head to forcibly block the incoming memories.

“I lived with my aunt, too. My mother died in my first year of high school, and my father died in my third year.”

I was slightly surprised to learn that Prosecutor Joo’s parents had also died early. When I was young, I thought I was the only exception, but I realized that such cases were unexpectedly common.

“Oh… wasn’t it hard living with your aunt?”

“No, my aunt was kind, so it was actually better than when I lived with my father. I still contact her often. She’s a substitute for the mother I lost early.”

“You’re lucky.”

“Well. I already had terrible luck before that. My father died in such a miserable way.”

Prosecutor Joo changed the subject quickly, as if he didn’t want to talk about his parents any further than that.

He and I finished our meal over the course of about 30 minutes, talking about this and that. We didn’t drink alcohol, and we didn’t talk about work, so it was a pleasant meal.

I hurriedly suppressed the smile that was naturally trying to spread across my lips. I hadn’t smiled at all—not even as much as the usually blunt Prosecutor Joo—because I had felt awkward smiling in front of others for some time.

“Thank you for the meal, Prosecutor. I’ll do the dishes.”

“Forget it. There’s a dishwasher. And a lady comes to clean.”

That was the secret to his clean house.

“Then let me at least clean up. Please, just sit.”

I stood up and busily carried the plates. Having grown up reading the room since I was a child, I took care of such things even without being asked. I stopped Prosecutor Joo from rising, pre-washed the dishes, and quickly scanned my surroundings. I discovered a coffee machine and asked:

“Shall I brew a cup of coffee?”

“Sure.”

“Actually, I thought you asked me to dinner today to talk about work.”

“That’s true, too. Then what did you think it was for?”

“I thought… that you’d prepared dinner because you were thanking me for my hard work.”

“That’s true, as well. Officer Lee, you work hard, after all.”