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Chapter: 5
“Oppa. Woo-Kyung oppa.”
The one who had always insisted on keeping things strictly professional called him that so easily.
She said it was just a careless mistake, nothing sentimental.
Claustrophobia, trauma—things he had long since overcome from childhood.
Yet she hadn’t forgotten his only weakness, and when an unexpected situation arose, she was the first to worry about him.
She should have been worried about being trapped alone in a confined space with a man.
Not just any man, but one who had been utterly torn apart. How could she possibly know how to take revenge? How could she even imagine it?
“You’ve got no fear, do you? Jung Eun-Jae.”
It had been the same during the suspect’s interrogation on his first day on duty.
The firm’s head or whatever, those people who flaunted the rules—he would handle them himself.
But a young, delicate girl had stepped up to take his side. Even enduring insults she didn’t need to hear from a petty lawyer.
Eun-Jae’s behavior was typical—she knew his temper would flare at the slightest provocation.
He had pretended not to notice, at least until then.
But the moment he saw that filthy criminal who took illicit photos kick Eun-Jae, his mood plummeted like mud.
“Get out.”
“Investigator Jung Eun-Jae is bothersome.”
So he had sent Eun-Jae out of the interrogation room.
…Ultimately, he had to admit it. Eun-Jae was aggravating, and harmful to him.
Still. Even now. Just like in the days when they had been close.
When he realized that, his state was like a glass filled to the brim with water—ready to overflow at the slightest drop.
And yet, without knowing that, she dared to grope him in the darkness.
The bigger problem, though, was Baek Woo-Kyung himself. His instincts, driven mad by the familiar touch, kept reacting, threatening to erupt.
“Disgusting.”
Not a teenager anymore. Damn it.
He ground out the curse, grabbed a cigarette, and stepped onto the balcony.
A warm breeze blew through his loosely tied gown. Summer was approaching.
Even after inhaling the harsh smoke until his cheeks hollowed, the memory of her kind eyes, small nose, and full lips—the ones he hadn’t seen in three years—refused to leave his mind.
Had her baby fat melted away? Or was it the suit?
Even though she had looked youthful until graduating college, a mature aura now radiated from Eun-Jae.
Still, the soft hairs at the nape of her neck were just as he remembered, peeking out beneath her tied hair.
He had always been obsessively fixated on her neck.
Brushing it with the tip of his nose, the soft, fluffy hairs and fresh scent had once erased all the fatigue of the day.
…He never thought he’d see that at work again.
He had assumed that if they ever crossed paths again, it would be as prosecutors on equal footing.
“Oppa! I’m finally your junior too! I passed in one go!”
Law school had been Eun-Jae’s dream, her goal.
“I passed, right? I’ll celebrate your success today!”
She had proudly been admitted to Korea University Law School, with support from the Do-Young Group Scholarship Foundation.
He remembered vividly how she had run to him on the announcement day, leaping into his arms.
Why had she suddenly quit law school and become an investigator?
“My next goal is to be your junior at the Judicial Research and Training Institute. I’ll be a prosecutor like you.”
He had even played the knight, waiting for her late at the library to help her achieve that.
“Really was a pushover, huh. Baek Woo-Kyung.”
He exhaled harsh smoke with a smirk.
Rubbing his furrowed brow, Woo-Kyung leaned on the balcony railing.
Enough with pointless nostalgia.
Six months. He had to accomplish his mission in Korea and return to the U.S. within that time.
There wouldn’t even be time to store the image of the little girl suddenly barging in front of him.
Once he finished everything, he intended to leave Korea and never return.
So no matter how aggravating Eun-Jae was, he just had to endure six months.
No need to expend energy transferring to another prosecutor’s office.
He stubbed out the cigarette in the ashtray, went inside, and picked up his phone.
“-Hello?”
“This is Prosecutor Baek Woo-Kyung. Have you considered the proposal I mentioned earlier?”
“-······”
When he got straight to the point, the caller stayed silent. Woo-Kyung rubbed his stiff neck and added,
“Let’s meet. For now.”
After unilaterally setting the time and place, he hung up, went to his study, opened his laptop, and lit another cigarette.
<20XX Do-Young Welfare Foundation Fund Management Report>
Clicking the document revealed an interview with the foundation’s chairperson.
“….”
‘Chairperson Oh Hye-Joo.’
His gaze froze as it swept over the smiling photo of his stepmother.
It was time to focus solely on moving forward.
The inside of Gangsang Police Station was chaotic.
Phones rang incessantly. Shouts echoed. People grabbed each other by the collars. Officers tried to break up fights.
In the midst of it, Eun-Jae spotted her mother sitting in the corner.
Her hair was disheveled. She wore an apron with the restaurant’s name. One slipper was missing.
Seeing her mother’s state, Eun-Jae sighed. Someone must have had a serious altercation.
“You’re here! Our daughter! Look at that pretty young lady! Eun-Jae! Over here!”
Her mother, who had been intimidated in front of the detectives, suddenly regained her energy upon seeing her daughter.
Suppressing a sigh, Eun-Jae approached her mother.
“Are you Jung Jin-Sook, the guardian?”
“Yes. I’m her mother.”
“But… are you a prosecutor?”
The sudden questions caught her mother off guard.
Eun-Jae briefly glared, then handed her business card to the police officer.
“No. I’m an investigator at the Central District Prosecutor’s Office.”
“Ah, not a prosecutor, an investigator.”
The officer went back to explaining the incident with a neutral expression.
“See? I knew it! My daughter a prosecutor? Yeah, right! That Jung lady always lies!”
A middle-aged woman sitting nearby took the opportunity to raise her voice. Judging by her appearance, she seemed to be the other party in the fight.
“Lies? I! I only told the truth! My daughter works at the prosecutor’s office!”
“Sorry. I’ll apologize on behalf of my mother.”
Turning his back on his rampaging mother, Eun-Jae bowed deeply to the woman.
“Hey! She’s the one at fault. Why are you apologizing?”
“I want to settle this. Officer.”
Eun-Jae’s decisive tone finally calmed her mother.
Thanks to Eun-Jae’s humility, the rest went smoothly.
Still, handling statements, settlement documents, and payment receipts took time.
By the time they left the station, it was past 10 p.m.
“Aren’t you going to ask what happened?”
The mother-daughter pair had been silent on the bus ride home.
Once they turned into the alley in front of their home, Jin-Sook spoke first.
“That woman threw the first punch, okay?”
“….”
“I can endure insults to me, but she even dragged my pretty daughter into it!”
Eun-Jae understood the situation instantly. Growing up as a single mother’s daughter, she had faced countless similar incidents.
Teachers and peers had noticed her father was absent and ostracized her.
Adults whispered behind their backs.
They should have been erased from life. Born foolishly and making life miserable.
People had said such things directly in front of her mother.
“And my mother has never lied.”
Jin-Sook continued her defense, thinking Eun-Jae was quietly listening.
“My daughter works at the prosecutor’s office. I’ve worked at Do-Young Group for over 20 years. That’s not a lie. The woman just didn’t believe it.”
The mention of Do-Young Group by her mother triggered instant anger.
Eun-Jae stopped in her tracks.
“Ah. Sorry, sorry! This time it’s my mother’s fault. I won’t mention Do-Young Group again! Promise.”
Jin-Sook realized and begged. But Eun-Jae’s anger didn’t subside.
“Is that something to be proud of? How could you… proudly bring up Do-Young Group?”
Turning sharply and shouting, Jin-Sook lowered her head.
“Don’t you have a conscience?”
“….”
“Are we in a position to talk about Do-Young? If you were going to talk, you should have told everything. What you did. Why you ran away from that house!”
Because of my mother’s sins, I abandoned someone.
Because of my mother, I gave up something precious.
Swallowing the words she desperately wanted to pour out, Eun-Jae ran her hands through her hair.
The horrific memory of facing an uncomfortable truth three years ago returned vividly.
“Is it true? Mom, no, right? How could you with the vice chairman… It’s a lie, right? Huh?”
“I’m sorry, Eun-Jae…”
“Then the rumor is true? Mom, really… with Woo-Kyung oppa’s father…”
Her mother had an inappropriate relationship with Vice Chairman Baek Do-Geon.
And that became a blade that pierced Eun-Jae.
