The Prosecutor’s Office’s Proposal Chapter 49

Even though I was angry, I shouldn’t have spoken to my superior like that. Although I had lashed out without thinking yesterday, I was anxious about going to work, so I tossed and turned all night. My father’s mugshot kept hovering before my eyes, and the thought that he might have been instigated to commit murder by Oh Jahyeon made my head spin, leading to a shallow sleep. Lately, the number of days when sleep aids were useless had been increasing.

“It’s alright. Thinking about it yesterday, I understood why you felt betrayed, Officer Lee. It was reasonable to misunderstand that I approached you to use you. After thinking about it, I realized that was the case.”

“…Thank you for understanding.”

“Sit down and get to work. And this afternoon, we’re doing a polygraph test for the miner grandfather who runs the inn. An officer from the forensics department will handle it.”

“Yes, Prosecutor.”

“By the way, are you not going to tell me if that was your aunt?”

“Yes, it was my aunt.”

“What did you talk about?”

“I haven’t been in touch for a few years. I guess she was curious and came to find me.”

“Hmm…, you’re really bad at lying.”

“It’s the truth.”

I ignored the suspicious Prosecutor Joo, sat at my desk, and opened the file I hadn’t finished looking at yesterday.

Fortunately, the tension between us eased once Chief Song and Officer No opened the door and arrived at the same time. Prosecutor Joo had scolded me for not arriving early, but he didn’t say a word to the two who arrived at 8:55 AM.

Today of all days, that double standard was unpleasant. It was probably because I knew the fact that he had tried to exploit my weakness of being Lee Gilyoung’s son.

“Let’s have a team lunch today.”

Prosecutor Joo, who rarely brought up the word “lunch gathering,” made the suggestion for some reason. The sociable Officer No was delighted and recommended a few menu options.

“How about that samgyetang (ginseng chicken soup) place in front of us?”

“That’s fine. Do Chief Song or Officer Lee have any other opinions?”

“I have none.”

“I have none.”

I replied alongside Chief Song, put on my bright blue rubber thimble, and said to Officer No.

“Officer No, I’ll handle the reservation. Please let me know the name of the restaurant.”

“It’s ‘Dak Hanmari Samgyetang’.”

“Thank you.”

I searched for it and made a reservation over the phone. Other than the investigator being busy moving documents and organizing witness visit schedules, the office was quiet until lunch.

Leaving the office 10 minutes before lunch, I walked intentionally next to Chief Song. Ever since our clash yesterday, it had become increasingly uncomfortable to be near Prosecutor Joo. I struck up a conversation with Chief Song for no reason.

“The weather is very cold.”

“It sure is. I think this winter is particularly cold. I’m very sensitive to the cold; are you okay?”

“Yes, I can handle it.”

“But Officer Lee, your eyes are a little swollen today. You must be tired.”

“They swell easily.”

I was walking behind Prosecutor Joo while making small talk when he glanced back at me. His displeasure with me was obvious, so I slowed my pace by a couple of steps. The radar that only activated when the other person disliked me let out a loud, ringing alarm.

The samgyetang was delicious. I ate slowly, checking Prosecutor Joo’s pace, but when I suddenly looked at Chief Song’s and Officer No’s bowls, the chicken was almost nothing but bones. The investigator remarked:

“You’re eating slowly today, Prosecutor. You usually eat hot food very well.”

“They say chewing thoroughly is good for your health.”

“That’s true. But I’m too impatient, so it never works for me.”

Thanks to Prosecutor Joo changing his eating style for his health, I emptied my samgyetang for the first time in a while without burning the roof of my mouth.

On the way back to the office after buying coffee, I failed to secure a spot next to Chief Song and ended up walking side-by-side with Prosecutor Joo. I wanted to squeeze in between the two people ahead, but the path wasn’t wide enough for three people to walk abreast.

“It’s obvious that you’re avoiding me.”

Prosecutor Joo whispered quietly while drinking his hot coffee. I tried to deny it.

“That’s not true.”

“Save the deception for someone else. You arrived late this morning because of that, too. Do you like talking only to Chief Song?”

I didn’t reply and just fidgeted with the hot cup in my hand. It was cold, so I had to soothe the January chill in any way I could.

“How do you usually spend your weekends, Officer Lee?”

“I just stay home.”

“You don’t meet people?”

“As you know, I have no friends and no family. Who do you meet on the weekends, Prosecutor?”

“That’s a secret. The polygraph is at four. I’m meeting the forensics officer as soon as lunch break is over.”

Everything is a secret. I complained inwardly.

“Yes. If we finish the polygraph, it will probably be time to go home today.”

“Why would it be time to go home? You aren’t planning to leave at six today, are you, Officer Lee?”

“…I can leave at six if I finish my work.”

“I don’t think you’ll finish it.”

Prosecutor Joo looked at me with his usual crooked gaze and then spoke warmly to the investigator walking ahead. I had wanted to go home and relax while watching TV since my father’s face kept coming to mind since yesterday, but it seemed like an impossible plan since Prosecutor Joo wouldn’t let me go. I had to look forward to the weekend, but I hadn’t had many Saturdays off recently, so I didn’t have a good feeling about it.

Returning to the office, I shared the materials to discuss with the forensics officer with Prosecutor Joo and opened my messenger. Prosecutor Joo’s name blinked at the bottom of the monitor.

I managed to get the warrant since you said you wanted to see the miner’s phone records. Check with the telecom company. This is the list of cellphone numbers for the casino executives.

Even though it was significantly smaller than the casino in Buyong, Gangwon-do, there were still hundreds of employees. There were only a few dozen contact numbers for executives, including Oh Jahyeon, but my head ached at the thought of having to cross-check them.

Thank you.

I’ll meet the forensics officer by myself, so take a look at it before the polygraph.

That fast? Even if I run a program, there’s a lot to manually compare.

If you can’t look at it, then don’t.

It wasn’t comfortable to say I understood, but it also wasn’t comfortable to say I wouldn’t do it.

I’ll do my best.

For the next few hours, I fell into an ocean of numbers. Unlike my days as a police officer, I couldn’t check them meticulously, so I quickly looked for overlapping cellphone numbers, but not a single one appeared. It seemed they had used burner phones, just as Prosecutor Joo had expected.

However, I found something that stood out. On the day the Koryo-in’s body was abandoned, the miner grandfather’s cellphone had never left the base station near the inn. This meant there was a high probability that the grandfather had been at the inn all day. It was important data that could later be used as evidence for a false confession.

I hurriedly checked the time and ran to the interrogation room where the polygraph would be held. The innkeeper grandfather was waiting behind the magic mirror, and Prosecutor Joo and the forensics officer were discussing the interrogation content.

“Hello, Officer. I’m Officer Lee Chaeha, in charge of this case.”

“Hello, nice to see you again.”

That officer was an acquaintance of Prosecutor Joo who had unofficially tested Oh Jahyeon’s blood.

“Actually, on the day the body was abandoned, the grandfather’s cellphone base station location was logged at the inn. The abandonment site and the inn don’t overlap in base stations. Could you add this question?”

“Oh, of course. It’s an important question, so naturally, I should.”

Prosecutor Joo asked:

“Were there any other overlapping cellphone numbers?”

“There were none.”

The forensics officer stood up.

“Then, I will begin the polygraph.”

We waited together outside the magic mirror. While the forensics staff inside prepared the polygraph, Prosecutor Joo tapped the fingertips of my hand that was just hanging there.

“You checked it quickly.”

“Yes.”

“You were cozy with Chief Song at lunch.”

“Is there any reason not to be?”

“Chief Song is quite enviable.”

“You don’t mean that….”

“I’m serious. You don’t know a person’s sincerity.”

I glanced up at Prosecutor Joo’s profile as he said that. Since he always hid his true intentions behind a cold expression, I couldn’t read anything from his face.

Inside, the polygraph procedure began. They were in the middle of verifying his identity and checking basic vital signs by asking simple questions. The forensics officer’s voice came through the speaker.

“Mr. Jeong Gapbae, did you abandon the body yourself?”

“Yes.”

“Did you have your cellphone with you while moving to the abandonment site?”

“No.”

“Did you leave your cellphone behind and go out?”

“Yes.”