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Chapter: 14
“Ah, Inspector Ahn, are you really okay? You must be uncomfortable…”
Suddenly barging in with all his luggage, Jin-hyuk caused Manager Kim and the staff officer to look a bit awkward.
“Shall we just borrow a meeting room and turn it into a joint investigation situation room?”
“Oh, it’s fine. The department head was already hinting that there aren’t enough meeting rooms anyway.”
Jin-hyuk joked, saying he’d only be a temporary burden during the early stages of the joint investigation.
“Our very own Prosecutor Baek Woo-kyung kindly included me in the case. I’ll return to being a rookie and work hard!”
He looked at Woo-kyung as he said this.
“…”
Woo-kyung lightly ignored him and turned his gaze to the monitor.
Arrogant bastard.
Even while cursing him in his mind, Jin-hyuk didn’t forget his real goal. He had pushed himself into Woo-kyung’s office on purpose to learn his methods.
This guy had been at the district prosecutor’s office for less than two months and had consistently excelled at every case he handled. Jin-hyuk was curious about his secret.
He wanted to take on big cases and make a name for himself—and also figure out why Woo-kyung was so successful. He was fired up with the ambition to catch two birds with one stone.
“Investigator, have a cookie.”
Jin-hyuk handed a cookie to Eun-jae, who was sitting next to him.
“Think of it as celebrating my move into the office.”
“Thank you.”
Eun-jae quietly accepted the cookie and smiled. Her refreshing smile made the early summer heat feel a little cooler.
…Maybe I can catch three birds after all.
Jin-hyuk cleared his throat and straightened his back.
“Looking forward to working with you, Investigator.”
“I should be the one saying that, Prosecutor.”
Just as the formal greetings were being exchanged, Woo-kyung spoke in a sharp, low voice from behind his tightly pressed lips:
“And what about your investigator? Should I also entrust him to you?”
“Oh, our investigator is on maternity leave.”
“Request another investigator, then.”
“We already did, but apparently the investigators lately don’t request transfers often. We’ll have to wait.”
A subtle, almost polite tension hung in the air.
…A transfer request, of all things. What an awkward topic.
Eun-jae quickly lowered her head, feeling the sting of the gaze near her face.
“Uhm, Prosecutors…? Are we going to proceed with the joint investigation meeting today?”
Breaking through the suffocating atmosphere, Manager Kim carefully spoke.
“Of course, Manager. We need to take down the bad guys quickly.”
Unlike the enthusiastic Jin-hyuk, Woo-kyung only lightly nodded.
“Yes, I’ll prepare right away.”
The office returned to a calm state, but the staff caught in between the two prosecutors could hardly relax.
Goodness, it’s like having two mothers-in-law.
Manager Kim muttered under his breath and shook his head.
From the start, the joint investigation had been rocky, and it became increasingly challenging.
Most of all, the two prosecutors’ styles were completely different.
“Shall we call Do Seung-jun first? If we waste time, the evidence might get contaminated. If we interrogate him, we might get something.”
Jin-hyuk was brimming with energy. He was the type to crash into a situation first and think later.
“If we call him recklessly, he’ll just find an excuse to escape. We should investigate quickly, narrow down the charges, and then approach with evidence.”
Woo-kyung, however, was more cautious and strategic.
The meeting seemed endless.
“Eun-jae, ah, sorry.”
Woo-kyung’s displeased gaze fell on Eun-jae because of Jin-hyuk’s slip.
“Investigator, can you pull up the police investigation records one more time?”
Eun-jae, operating the laptop, quickly switched the screen.
“….”
She had only done what was asked, yet she felt somehow scrutinized.
Ever since last night’s confrontation with Woo-kyung, the atmosphere had been awkward.
Just meeting those dark, unreadable eyes made her body tense.
When she tried to avoid his gaze, she felt the weight of his persistent stare.
Still… maybe because she had decided to cut ties completely, she found small comfort in thinking that she only had to endure this discomfort for a few more months.
“Oh, wait a second. The police sent additional material! It’s Do Seung-jun’s personal bank transaction history.”
At that moment, Manager Kim’s report snapped her out of her thoughts.
“Would a criminal leave such obvious evidence in their bank account? Feels like a waste of effort.”
“Well, let’s see how well it’s hidden.”
Soon, the bank transaction history appeared on the screen.
But…
“Huh? There are traces of regular, fairly large transfers every month.”
All eyes turned to the screen, following the staff officer’s observation.
“…!”
Eun-jae was startled.
“The recipient is a corporate account. ‘Do-young Welfare Foundation.’ Donations, perhaps?”
It was none other than the foundation chaired by Oh Hye-joo.
Instinctively, everyone looked at Woo-kyung. His family name had appeared.
“Oh, so Do Seung-jun came from an orphanage run by that foundation.”
“Then he’s just supporting the institution that raised him. Doesn’t seem suspicious.”
Everyone seemed satisfied with that explanation, but Eun-jae still felt uneasy.
Why would the chairwoman accept support from a gangster…?
Oh Hye-joo, as the matriarch of the Do-young Group, had always valued propriety. She was extremely careful not to do anything that would damage the reputation of her group or herself.
For someone like her to accept support from a well-known gangster—it was hard to understand.
As she looked away from the screen, her eyes met Woo-kyung’s again.
…He was probably thinking the same thing.
“Prosecutor Ahn Jin-hyuk.”
“Yes, Prosecutor Baek Woo-kyung.”
Woo-kyung’s serious expression was met with equal seriousness from Jin-hyuk.
“I agree with the suggestion to interrogate Do Seung-jun in person quickly.”
“Oh, uh? Ah, okay. Shall we prepare? Let’s narrow down the expected questions.”
Jin-hyuk seemed quite pleased that Woo-kyung accepted his opinion.
“Let’s schedule it as soon as possible.”
“Finally, we’re on the same page.”
“….”
“Actually, I’m glad we’re on the same page too, Prosecutor Baek.”
Finally, the two prosecutors reached an agreement, and the meeting proceeded smoothly.
Still, Eun-jae couldn’t relax. More precisely, she was curious about why Woo-kyung decided on a face-to-face investigation the moment he saw the foundation’s name…
She knew about his tense relationship with his stepmother, Oh Hye-joo.
Ah. Without realizing it, she had started worrying about him again.
This is useless. Please, stop.
She scolded herself just as the meeting ended.
Sighing lightly, Eun-jae bit her lower lip as she watched the broad back of Jin-hyuk, who was the first to leave the meeting room.
The investigation progressed quickly.
Before long, the day for Do Seung-jun’s interrogation was just one day away.
“Drinking coffee at dinner time? What about a proper meal?”
As always, Eun-jae looked at Jin-hyuk, who was sitting next to her during the late-night work session.
“Oh, yes. I’m drinking it instead of a meal to stay awake.”
“What? That counts as a meal? No wonder you’re so weak.”
Jin-hyuk looked genuinely surprised, his soft eyes full of concern.
“You seem to like iced lattes. You always drink them.”
“Yes. Regular coffee is too bitter, but this is milder, so I like it.”
“Okay, noted your preference. That’s how you get to know someone.”
Scratching his head awkwardly, Jin-hyuk glanced around.
“Where’s Prosecutor Baek?”
“Out on a field assignment. Looks like he’ll leave directly from there.”
“Oh. Everyone else gone?”
“Yes. Aren’t you leaving, Prosecutor?”
“I still have some things to finish… uh, want to go together later? I’ll give you a ride.”
“No, thank you. I’ll just take a taxi and claim the expense.”
Eun-jae rejected him outright and returned her attention to the monitor, not seeing his disappointed expression.
“Come to think of it, we never went to college at the same time. Too bad. If we had, we could have gone to the library together.”
“Yes, that’s true.”
Just responding lightly, Jin-hyuk turned fully to face her and began talking in earnest about college.
I just want to finish this and go home…
Still, she couldn’t completely ignore him as her senior and superior.
Their conversation continued until it became a bit tedious, having covered all their common topics.
Just as it seemed the discussion was wrapping up…
“But, Eun-jae,”
Jin-hyuk lowered his voice cautiously.
“Can I ask you something? About the time we went to the motel back then…”
“…!”
Eun-jae nearly jumped out of her seat.
The shock of hearing a topic they had agreed to leave buried hit her so strongly that she even heard a faint ringing in her ears.
It was only natural to be flustered when he suddenly brought up something they had promised to keep quiet about.
