Chapter 14
“Aigo, Prosecutor Ahn. Are you really okay? You must be uncomfortable…”
Because Jin-hyuk had suddenly barged in after packing up his things, Section Chief Kim and the clerks looked visibly awkward.
“Shall we just borrow a conference room and turn it into a joint investigation situation room?”
“Oh, that’s fine. The chief keeps giving me looks as if there aren’t enough conference rooms,” Jin-hyuk said with a joking tone.
He had only intended to rely on the room briefly during the early stages of the joint case.
“Our Prosecutor Baek Woo-kyung kindly let us in on the case. Let’s go back to being rookies! We have to work hard.”
As he said this, Jin-hyuk looked at Woo-kyung.
“…”
Woo-kyung casually ignored him and turned her gaze to the monitor.
What an arrogant guy.
Even while cursing inwardly, Jin-hyuk didn’t lose sight of his goal. He had deliberately pushed into Woo-kyung’s room to learn his know-how.
Jin-hyuk had been at the district prosecutor’s office for less than two months, yet he had consistently won every case he handled. Jin-hyuk was curious about the secret behind that.
He wanted to handle big cases to make a name for himself and to understand why Woo-kyung was so successful—he was fired up to catch both goals at once.
“Investigator, here, have one of these.”
Jin-hyuk offered a cookie to Eun-jae, who was sitting beside him.
“Think of it as a housewarming treat.”
“Thank you.”
Eun-jae quietly accepted the cookie and smiled. It was a refreshing smile that could melt away the early summer heat.
…Maybe I can catch three rabbits at once.
Jin-hyuk cleared his throat and straightened his back.
“Thank you for your cooperation, Investigator.”
“It’s I who should thank you, Prosecutor.”
At the peak of these polite exchanges, Woo-kyung’s sharp voice cut in.
“What about your investigator? Are you expecting my investigator to cooperate?”
A low, cutting tone came from Woo-kyung’s tightly closed teeth.
“Oh, our investigator is on maternity leave.”
“Then request another investigator.”
“I did request one already, but these days investigators rarely apply for transfers. They told me to wait.”
It was a peculiar exchange of courtesy and subtle tension.
…A transfer request? Of all topics, this one’s awkward.
Eun-jae quickly lowered her head, feeling the sharp gaze pressing against her cheek.
“Uh, Prosecutors…? Are we going to proceed with the joint investigation meeting today?”
Through the suffocating atmosphere, Section Chief Kim cautiously spoke.
“Sure, Section Chief. We need to deal with the bad guys quickly.”
Unlike the enthusiastic Jin-hyuk, Woo-kyung merely nodded lightly.
“Yes, I’ll prepare immediately.”
The office returned to a calm state.
However, the employees caught between the two prosecutors could hardly remain calm.
Goodness, now we have two mothers-in-law.
Section Chief Kim muttered under her breath and shook her head.
From the start, the joint investigation had been bumpy, and it was only getting more challenging.
Most of all, the two prosecutors had completely different styles.
“Then shall we call Do Seung-joon first? If we delay, the evidence might get contaminated. If we call him and interrogate him, we’ll get something.”
Jin-hyuk was brimming with energy in everything. He was the type to throw himself into things first and think later.
“If we call him outright, we might give him a chance to escape. Let’s investigate as quickly as possible, narrow down the charges, and approach with evidence,” Woo-kyung said, preferring a careful, strategic approach.
The meeting showed no sign of ending.
“Eun-jae, ah, sorry.”
Woo-kyung’s disapproving glance fell on Eun-jae due to Jin-hyuk’s mistake.
“Investigator, could you pull up the police investigation records one more time?”
Eun-jae swiftly switched the screen on her laptop at Jin-hyuk’s request.
“…”
She was just doing her job, yet she felt the weight of his gaze.
Ever since the standoff—not really a standoff—last night with Woo-kyung, the atmosphere had been awkward.
Even just meeting those unreadable, dark eyes made her feel trapped.
When she nervously looked away, she had to endure his intense gaze lingering on her.
Still… maybe because she had decided to cut ties completely, the thought that she only had to endure this discomfort for a few more months was a small consolation.
“Oh, wait a moment. The police sent additional data! It’s Do Seung-joon’s personal bank transaction history.”
At that moment, Section Chief Kim’s report cut through her thoughts.
“Do you think criminals would leave evidence in their bank accounts? Might be a waste of time.”
“Well, let’s see how well they hid it.”
Soon, the bank transaction history appeared on the screen.
But then…
“Huh? There are regular, sizable monthly transfers?”
All eyes turned to the screen at the clerk’s observation.
“…!”
Eun-jae was startled as she looked at the screen.
“The recipient account is a corporate account. ‘Do-young Welfare Foundation.’ Could this be a donation?”
It was none other than the foundation chaired by Oh Hye-joo.
Everyone instinctively glanced at Woo-kyung. His family name had popped up.
“Oh, Do Seung-joon is from the orphanage run by that foundation.”
“Then he’s just supporting the institution that raised him, so there’s nothing suspicious.”
While everyone accepted it at face value, Eun-jae couldn’t shake her unease.
Why would the chairwoman receive support from a gangster…?
Oh Hye-joo, as the lady of the Do-young Group, always maintained her dignity. She was extremely cautious not to do anything that could tarnish the group or her reputation.
For someone like her to receive support from a notorious gangster was difficult to understand.
As Eun-jae 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 tone met Jin-hyuk’s equally serious expression.
“I agree we should confront Do Seung-joon as soon as possible.”
“Uh, ah, okay. Shall we prepare? Let’s shortlist potential questions.”
Jin-hyuk looked pleased that Woo-kyung had accepted his suggestion.
“Let’s schedule it as soon as possible.”
“Finally, we’re on the same page.”
“….”
“No, I’m also glad I’m on the same page with Prosecutor Baek.”
Finally, the two prosecutors reached a compromise, and the meeting proceeded smoothly.
However, Eun-jae couldn’t feel relieved. She wondered why Woo-kyung decided to confront the foundation immediately… knowing his awkward relationship with his stepmother, Oh Hye-joo.
Ah… she realized she was worrying about him again without even noticing.
This is pointless. Stop it already.
She scolded herself, and fortunately, the meeting ended.
Sighing lightly, Eun-jae bit her lower lip as she watched the broad back of the first person to leave the conference room.
The investigation progressed quickly.
Before long, the day of Do Seung-joon’s questioning was just around the corner.
“It’s evening, and you’re drinking coffee? What about dinner?”
Eun-jae looked at Jin-hyuk, who had taken the seat next to hers while working overtime as usual.
“Oh, yes. It’s to stay awake instead of a meal.”
“What? That counts as a meal? No wonder you’re so fragile.”
Jin-hyuk looked genuinely surprised, his gentle eyes full of concern.
“You seem to like iced lattes. You always drink that.”
“Yes. Regular coffee is too bitter, but this is less bitter, so I like it.”
“Okay, noted your preference. That’s how we get to know each other.”
Jin-hyuk awkwardly scratched his head and glanced around.
“Where’s Prosecutor Baek?”
“Out on a field assignment. Looks like he’ll leave directly from there.”
“Oh, everyone else left?”
“Yes. Aren’t you leaving?”
“I still have things to organize… uh, want to go together later? I can give you a ride.”
“No, thank you. I’ll take a taxi and claim the expense.”
Eun-jae rejected him outright and returned her gaze to the monitor.
Because of that, she didn’t notice the disappointment on his face.
“Come to think of it, we never went to university at the same time? That’s a shame. If we had, we could’ve gone to the library together.”
“Yeah, that’s true.”
She answered lightly, yet Jin-hyuk turned his whole body toward her and started talking in earnest about university life.
I want to finish quickly and go home…
Still, she couldn’t completely ignore her senior and superior.
Their conversation continued until it started to feel slightly boring, having touched on all their shared topics.
Just as the conversation seemed to wind down…
“By the way, Eun-jae.”
Jin-hyuk lowered his voice and spoke cautiously.
“Can I say this? About when we went to the motel…”
“…!”
Eun-jae nearly jumped out of her seat.
The shock of being caught off guard made her ears ring.
He had suddenly brought up something they had agreed to leave buried, and she couldn’t help being flustered.
