The Prosecutor’s Office’s Proposal Chapter 71

“However, the sunbae came to find me, asking for help because he is getting investigated soon. I just met him in front of the branch office and am on my way back after talking to him.”

“He came to find Officer Lee? Ha, should I say he has a lot of nerve, or that he’s stupid?”

“The latter, I suppose.”

After hearing my answer, Prosecutor Joo pressed his index finger, which was wearing a thimble, firmly against his lower lip before pulling it away and said.

“You shouldn’t get on Officer Lee’s bad side. He’s colder than you’d think. Then, I can trust that you didn’t do something foolish like saying you would help him, right?”

“Even if it is someone who was good to me, I cannot make requests to other Prosecutors. That is outside of my authority, and rules must be applied equally.”

“…Officer Lee was always like that.”

A voice that seemed lost in memories replied. The word “always” felt rough, but since nothing came to mind, I asked back.

“Was there a similar incident?”

“No, it’s nothing. Officer Lee, come here.”

A loud alarm bell rang in my head because of the relationship that had changed over the weekend. If it had been a few days ago, I would have thought he was calling me because he had work for me to do.

Truthfully, I couldn’t predict at all how Prosecutor Joo would treat me at the office. We were often left alone, and we talked about cases frequently. If Prosecutor Joo didn’t separate work from his personal life, it could potentially catch other people’s eyes or make working uncomfortable. If he suddenly treated me well, there was also a chance that Chief Song and Officer No would view it strangely.

As soon as I took off my padded jacket and hung it up, I approached, and Prosecutor Joo handed me a written statement. It was a case report I had written last week.

“The direct evidence for this case is a bit insufficient. Request the National Forensic Service to check if the tape found in the culprit’s house and the tape used to tie the victim’s hands have matching cut edges. If it comes out that the cut edges are the same, even if the suspect flips their confession and denies the crime, you’ll never lose to them in court as a prosecutor.”

The evidence that the suspect was in the same space at the time the victim died was so clear that I thought that would be enough to win in court. That was why I only went as far as checking if the tape that bound the victim’s hands and the tape found in the suspect’s home were the same type. However, it is a fact that since defendants deny the contents of their confessions once they go to trial, the more direct evidence you secure, the more advantageous it is for the public prosecutor.

“It would be nice if Officer Lee thought of this much in advance. Do you still need my corrections?”

Because Prosecutor Joo’s point was correct, I readily admitted my fault in not securing the evidence more thoroughly.

“I apologize. I will request a comparison of the cut edges.”

“If we don’t request it, the National Forensic Service won’t actively investigate evidence. They’re on the verge of being crushed to death by the piled-up work there.”

“Yes, Prosecutor.”

“And it would be even better if we could identify that the person who bought the tape was the suspect. Look into whether you can confirm the place of purchase as well. There’s an abundance of physical evidence, but somehow it’s all circumstantial evidence. Have you seen a judge throw away a perfectly cooked meal just once or twice because we got complacent about having a lot of evidence, when it was all circumstantial?”

“I apologize. I will narrow down the point of sale immediately.”

Finding the place of sale is one of the most difficult tasks in an investigation. You have to confirm where the item in question is sold, find the intersection with the suspect’s credit card history, and compare it with receipts or ledgers.

I had been worried that if Prosecutor Joo suddenly treated me well at the office or showed any skinship, it would be obvious, but that was a completely futile thought. Of course, from the position of being entangled with a superior, it was fortunately for the better.

Since the credit card usage history had already been secured during the police investigation stage, I returned to my desk and started with a call to the National Forensic Service. There is always at least one person who comes in early.

I turned on the computer and immediately began writing the request for the tape cut edge analysis. Prosecutor Joo called me again while keeping his eyes fixed on the documents.

“Officer Lee.”

“Yes.”

“What are you doing Wednesday evening?”

“…Overtime work?”

Surprised by the unexpected question, a somewhat short answer popped out. Prosecutor Joo replied while flipping through the autopsy report without looking at me.

“Let’s not work overtime that day. I can’t wait until the weekend.”

“Ah….”

“I keep thinking about it.”

“Yes.”

Working in the prosecution office, I had never seen a single day where Prosecutor Joo did not work overtime.

I replied with my face slightly flushed, then got up for no reason and poured a glass of water. Prosecutor Joo’s gaze, which had been flipping through the autopsy report with his thimbled hand, suddenly turned toward me.

“Your face is red.”

“I know.”

“You were like that all weekend.”

While sipping the cold water, I finished writing the analysis request, pretending not to be shaken by Prosecutor Joo’s words.

He doesn’t use kind words when he’s criticizing and scolding me, yet he says he can’t wait for the weekend. I don’t know when his interest will cool down, but should I be grateful that his interest didn’t end with the weekend? I was confused.

The tape purchase location I was worried about was found much more easily before lunch than I had expected. It was a miracle that I found it in half a day, considering it usually takes at least a week to, at most, three or four months.

The suspect bought the tape with his card about a month before the crime. It was the point in time when the victim began pressuring him to pay back the money.

The clues were so clear that I wondered how both the police and I, the investigator, had missed them when we reviewed the transaction history. Although the list of card usage locations had hundreds of entries, among them, the trade name “Milky Way Stationery” stood out plain as day.

The suspect’s occupation was a cargo truck driver. He had no children, and he was in his 50s.

It was quite rare for such a person to go to a stationery store, not a mart or a hardware store. It was an embarrassing situation that no one paid attention to the stationery store even after receiving a warrant and checking the credit card usage history. Especially as the last filter, it was something I should have done correctly.

Thanks to Prosecutor Joo, I prevented one case of being a shameful investigator. I immediately called Milky Way Stationery.

“This is Investigator Lee Chaeha of the 1st Criminal Division of the Danhyeon Branch Office.”

— You swindler, you thieving bastard. Does the food go down your throat while you’re running voice phishing?

I was somewhat surprised by the middle-aged man’s unexpected cursing, but nowadays, voice phishing issues are serious, so it is common for people to react similarly. Last time, the victim even blocked my calls after filing a complaint directly with the Prosecution Service, so contact was cut off. When I asked later, he said he thought it was voice phishing.

There are cases where they hang up without answering most often, so it could be seen as fortunate that he didn’t and cursed instead. I answered calmly.

“Wait a moment, sir. It is not voice phishing, it is really the prosecution. Could you please check the Danhyeon Branch Office website on your cell phone right now to see if the office phone number is correct?”

— Danhyeon Branch Office? Hold on.

After waiting for almost 10 minutes, I heard the man’s voice again.

— Oh my, Prosecutor, I am sorry. There is so much voice phishing these days.

“I am not a prosecutor, I am prosecution investigator Lee Chaeha. There is something used in a case that is suspected to have been purchased at Milky Way Stationery, so I contacted you for verification.”

— Yes? What kind of item is it?

“It is blue tape, and there is a payment record on the 10th of last month at 3:12 PM. Do you happen to remember it?”

— Oh my! I can’t remember things like that.

“Is there CCTV installed in the store?”

Stationery stores are places where CCTV is unexpectedly well-installed because many children steal items. Fortunately, Milky Way Stationery also had CCTV installed. I made an appointment with the stationery store owner. He vowed that if I was really a member of the prosecution office, he would cooperate as much as he could.

I returned after securing the CCTV footage an hour later. At first, the stationery store owner kept doubting whether it was a scam, but after checking my ID, he apologized repeatedly and voluntarily provided the CCTV footage. The secured footage was passed directly to Prosecutor Joo.

Officer No looked after my well-being as I barely sat down at my desk. Except for Prosecutor Joo, everyone in the prosecutor’s office was kind and warm. Thankfully.

“Officer Lee, you’re tired, right? Your lips are all chapped.”

“I think it’s because it’s cold.”

Because it was a trace of receiving oral sex from Prosecutor Joo, I was embarrassed and quickly made up an excuse. Officer No chimed in.

“That’s right, it was so cold out. And once you go out, you don’t want to work again, right? That’s why Chief Song hates investigating while moving around.”

Chief Song, who was hit by a thunderbolt while just sitting there, retorted.