Chapter 11
The two men and women, dressed neatly, gave off an awkward yet polite vibe.
It was reminiscent of that unique tension that arises when a man and woman are sizing each other up.
The woman sitting across from Woo-kyung had a clear, calm beauty.
When she spoke, Woo-kyung lightly nodded, listening attentively.
His eyes, usually sharp like a blade, were noticeably softer. The half-lowered bangs he wore over his neatly combed hair added to the gentle impression.
As far as Eun-jae knew, tonight there was no work-related schedule for Prosecutor Baek Woo-kyung.
A weekday evening, a woman met privately with him in a hotel lounge, maintaining decorum.
Even without knowing the exact details, Eun-jae sensed that this woman must be someone personally important to Woo-kyung.
“So… why? …It’s none of my business, right?”
Suddenly, she realized she was watching her ex’s private life too closely.
She wasn’t jealous out of lingering feelings.
Eun-jae quickly withdrew her gaze from Woo-kyung and turned her body away. Still, the pounding of her heart felt intrusive.
Just as she was about to move on, trying to hide her discomfort,
“Hey, you!”
From behind, Baek Hae-na appeared, her heels clicking as she strode confidently into the lounge.
“If you were coming, you could’ve called.”
The closer she got, the more her scent—a mixture of strong perfume and cigarette smoke—wafted over.
“I was going to call.”
“Bullshit. You were just spacing out.”
Baek Hae-na placed her bag on the table right in front of her, unfortunately close to Woo-kyung.
…I need to give her the dress and get out of here quickly. Eun-jae held out the paper bag she had brought.
“Here, a dress.”
But Baek Hae-na wasn’t interested in the contents of the bag; she scrutinized Eun-jae’s face instead.
“Hey, did you get some procedure done? Laser? No… hmm… filler in your nose?”
Frowning at Eun-jae’s delicate features, Baek Hae-na made a face. Eun-jae brushed her lightly made-up face with her hand.
“No, nothing. Just check the dress already.”
“Who are you trying to fool? It’s obvious you don’t want to give hospital info.”
Baek Hae-na suddenly tilted her head, glancing somewhere behind Eun-jae.
“Huh? Isn’t that Baek Woo-kyung?”
“…….”
“Yep! That annoying Baek Woo-kyung.”
Baek Hae-na despised her successful, perfect half-brother.
She mocked him constantly behind his back: “Living boringly with that face and physique,” “The woman who ends up with that horrible man is so unlucky,” and so on.
Of course, in front of him, she would shrink and lose all nerve, unable to say a single word.
“Ah, it’s a blind date. You can tell by their tension, right? Feeling each other out.”
“What?”
Eun-jae asked without thinking.
“If it were an arranged marriage, it would’ve come up at home already. But it hasn’t. So it must be a blind date set up through acquaintances. Ugh, why are they doing it at the same place as me?”
Could that be true…?
Eun-jae finally glanced around at the other men and women at nearby tables.
Most of them were slightly tense, sizing each other up. She remembered hearing that the Doyoung Hotel lounge was a popular blind-date spot.
“So that annoying guy came back to Korea just to pick up a woman.”
It was a plausible guess. The chairman’s health was poor, and he was of marriageable age.
Maybe he really did return to Korea for marriage and succession, like any heir of a chaebol family.
…He could become someone else’s husband.
That single thought wounded Eun-jae’s chest. Her sternum ached.
Ever since they were lovers, she had occasionally imagined it.
Because of the vast differences between them, she thought maybe she couldn’t be with him until the end.
But that was just the ordinary anxiety any couple might have. She had also had moments of excitement imagining a future together.
Facing this sad reality she had only imagined was different.
Eun-jae clenched her cold hands tightly. If she stayed here any longer, she might even cry.
It was over already—so why…
Even she couldn’t understand herself. Anyway, it was best to leave before she felt even more pathetic.
“I’ll go now.”
Her business with Baek Hae-na was finished, so she was about to leave.
“Oh, right. My dress.”
Only then did Baek Hae-na pull the dress from the paper bag, examining it.
“Hmm. Still not great. You can just wear it, you loser.”
“…What?”
“Pick it up. In front of me.”
Seeing the dress drop on the table, Eun-jae didn’t even feel anger. She stared at the crumpled dress in disbelief.
“Who else is going to try on Italian designer clothes if not me?”
Baek Hae-na, acting generous, picked up her phone regardless of Eun-jae’s presence, clearly signaling she should leave.
Yeah, she might as well take the dress—it’d be a waste to leave it behind.
Eun-jae quietly placed the dress back in the paper bag and turned away.
She deliberately avoided looking toward the table where someone was sitting and walked quickly across the marble floor.
The next day.
Eun-jae, who hadn’t slept a wink, got up at dawn and prepared for work.
“Today, I have to go to HR.”
She couldn’t just sit idly waiting for her transfer request to be approved. It was strange that there had been no response so far.
“I want to move as soon as possible.”
From now on, she resolved to actively stay out of Baek Woo-kyung’s area.
“……”
Just as she was about to leave the entrance, she faced herself in the mirror. Even forcing a small smile didn’t improve her mood.
Yes, she still had lingering feelings for Woo-kyung. That must be why she felt like the sky was collapsing.
She had come to this conclusion tossing and turning all night.
Shamelessly, she still… cared for him.
To shake off this feeling, she first needed to change the environment that forced her to see him every day.
“Now, it’s really over.”
A man who casually goes on blind dates like that.
Eun-jae forced herself to step out the door, repeatedly scolding herself.
But when she finally arrived at HR, she encountered another obstacle.
“What? You already approved it?”
The HR manager had already approved Eun-jae’s transfer request.
“Ah, yes. Let’s see… Investigator Jung Eun-jae, right?”
The HR manager clicked the mouse impatiently from behind a partition.
“Yes, we approved it. It seems your direct supervisor rejected it.”
So Baek Woo-kyung was blocking her transfer?
Eun-jae’s eyes widened even more.
“Um, Manager, isn’t HR supposed to handle investigator transfers?”
“It’s changed recently. Your direct prosecutor must approve it.”
Oh no.
“Just ask Prosecutor Baek to do it. We can’t do anything.”
“Ah…”
The HR manager clicked his tongue, clearly annoyed. Eun-jae left with a bitter taste in her mouth.
“How am I going to get approval?”
Her steps back to her desk felt heavy.
No, first, she wanted to know why Woo-kyung opposed her transfer. Surely, working with her was also inconvenient for him.
“Not easy.”
Soon, she would have to make an awkward request of Woo-kyung.
Sigh, a shallow exhale escaped her lips.
A few days later.
At the courtroom after the “Law School Professor Attempted Murder Case” trial ended.
As spectators murmured and left the courtroom, Woo-kyung, seated at the prosecutor’s desk, gathered the scattered documents.
“Wow! Congratulations, Prosecutor. That was a complete victory.”
Assistant Manager Kim, who was helping organize, quietly congratulated him, giving a thumbs-up.
“You asked for 20 years, and they didn’t reduce a single year. That’s amazing.”
Later, the judges had reportedly been impressed with his arguments, Kim said, praising Woo-kyung highly.
“……”
But Woo-kyung didn’t respond. He picked up his briefcase and left the courtroom.
The attempted murder trial of Professor Yoon had ended. The indictment was flawless, and his request was uncompromising.
The defense accepted the judgment without appeal. It was a perfect win as a prosecutor.
But no matter how guilty someone was, it couldn’t have been enjoyable to see a respected mentor’s old age end up rotting in prison by his own hands.
Damn it.
Muttering a curse, he took off his robe and loosened his tight tie, feeling filthy and stuck in the mud.
“Um, Prosecutor, won’t you give a briefing?”
Seeing the press waiting at the courthouse entrance, Kim asked.
“No.”
Woo-kyung gave a curt answer and walked past the reporters.
“Oh, you’ll get scolded by the Deputy Chief… oh dear…”
But why did he seem so unhappy even though he had won the trial?
Curious, Kim quickly regained composure and ran to catch up with him.
Knock. Knock.
Eun-jae knocked on Woo-kyung’s personal office door and waited. But there was no answer to enter.
She had intended to bring up her transfer request, just as the Yoon Professor trial ended.
‘Strange. The light is on, but is he not inside?’
As she cautiously opened the door and stepped in,
“……!”
