Chapter 10
Central District Prosecutor’s Office, Investigation Room
The room was neat, furnished only with a desk and four chairs.
“I never thought I’d see my student in a place like this.”
Professor Yoon Deok-jung, sitting across the desk, made a joke, but the pale look on his face betrayed no sense of ease.
“And two of them at that.”
Professor Yoon tried to smile faintly as he looked at Woo-kyung and Eun-jae sitting side by side.
“Eun-jae… no, I should call you Investigator now.”
“……”
“Investigator Jung Eun-jae. I regretted your dropping out, but I’m glad you ended up entering the legal field this way.”
“Do you admit to everything exactly as you stated in the police investigation?”
Woo-kyung’s dry voice cut through Professor Yoon’s words, showing no trace of pity.
It would have been easier if he had at least shown anger or disappointment. Instead, he treated his former mentor like any ordinary suspect.
“That’s right… I stabbed him. That beast of a man.”
Professor Yoon nodded, running a hand across his cuffed hands and wiping his face.
Not long ago, his daughter had taken her own life. In her note, she wrote of her lover’s betrayal and infidelity.
Professor Yoon tried to understand the man who had taken his precious daughter from him. He sought a conversation, but upon seeing him with another woman, he decided to deal with him himself.
“There’s nothing to investigate. It’s exactly as I confessed. All the evidence has been submitted.”
“The site inspection is scheduled for next week. Have you hired a lawyer?”
The interrogation room remained suffocatingly tense throughout. His cold, unflinching tone made the atmosphere even more oppressive.
…Which made Eun-jae all the more concerned about him.
Up to this point, Woo-kyung had always approached suspects strategically as a prosecutor.
If a suspect acted recklessly, like in the hidden camera case, he would crush them with sheer charisma.
When a grandmother who collected recyclables was accused of theft a few days ago, he had shown care and courtesy.
But today, he was unbearably colorless and odorless—almost dismissive.
“Is this okay?”
Eun-jae found it painful enough to see someone she once regarded as her mentor now as a suspect. How, then, must it feel for Woo-kyung, seeing a professor he had respected and followed so deeply fall so far? It was impossible to imagine.
The emergency interrogation ended quickly.
Professor Yoon admitted all charges willingly and was highly cooperative.
“There’s nothing more to confess. Just charge me as you’ve learned, Prosecutor Baek Woo-kyung.”
With that, he stood up calmly. His figure, being escorted slowly by the police, looked pitiful.
“Damn it.”
Once the interrogation room door closed, leaving only Woo-kyung and Eun-jae, Woo-kyung muttered curses under his breath.
Even people more prominent than Professor Yoon had shockingly fallen from grace before. And there are few criminals whose stories don’t tug at your heart.
But this was just an ordinary attempted murder case. Why did it feel so foul?
Sighing in frustration, Eun-jae quietly spoke.
“Go downstairs. The transport van should be on Basement Level 2.”
Woo-kyung paused, his hand frozen as he pulled at his tight tie.
“Now that the interrogation’s over, maybe you could greet him, not as a prosecutor, but as a graduate to his former mentor.”
For a moment, his sharp eyes flickered slightly.
“Do I really have to see off a criminal as a prosecutor?”
“Then… why not get some fresh air for a bit? The weather’s nice.”
Eun-jae suggested lightly, standing up as she tidied the desk.
“I’ll go to the office first. I also brought your laptop.”
Her slight smile in the respectful gesture was endearing.
Watching her disappear, taking even his things with her, Woo-kyung couldn’t help but feel exasperated.
It was like a little kid had read his mind.
…And in that moment, the soft hairs at the nape of Jung Eun-jae’s neck, swinging under her ponytail, caught his eye.
What a crazy woman. He chuckled at himself.
Despite the serious situation, he found himself admiring Eun-jae’s back before leaving.
Striding down the hall, he opened the emergency stairwell and quickly descended toward the underground parking lot.
That evening. Seoul subway station exit.
Eun-jae emerged from the exit, heading toward the lights of the Doyeong Hotel in the distance, carrying a paper bag.
“Hey! You damn brat. You’ll just accept clothes again if someone gives them to you?”
Earlier that day, she had received a call from Oh Hye-joo and was on her way to return a dress to Baek Hae-na.
“That doesn’t even fit you. Too much chest for nothing!”
Because Baek Hae-na insisted she bring the dress for the evening’s matchmaking, Eun-jae had come all the way to the hotel.
“It was pretty, though.”
She had only worn it once. The halter-neck style and the deep round cut on the chest were a little overwhelming, but it had suited her well.
Still, it belonged to the owner. She had to return it.
The lounge was at the far end of the first floor. As Eun-jae followed an attendant inside, she glanced around.
“…!”
Baek Hae-na was nowhere in sight. Instead, she saw the profile of a very familiar man.
Under the luxurious lighting, his high nose and deep eye sockets stood out. Thick, neat eyebrows framed dark eyes.
It had to be Woo-kyung.
He was seated across from a woman, smiling gently.
