Hardboiled Scenario

Chapter 12

 

They exchanged glances and then let out a soft chuckle at the same time.

“To be honest, I’ve been feverishly busy lately. Even lacking time to sleep.”

“A murder case?”

“Yes. The victim was a date violence survivor, but ended up becoming a murder victim herself.”

Choi In-ho, massaging his nape, looked extremely haggard.

“No matter how much the punishment is strengthened, what’s the use? The sentence was merely a suspended sentence. It’s only the dead woman who’s pitiful.”

“A revenge murder, huh.”

“That’s how we see it too.”

“At times like this, I envy China’s legal system. It’d be great if they just executed all those unreformable bastards by firing squad.”

At Muyoung’s blunt joke, Choi In-ho laughed and nodded his head as if expressing agreement with the chilling remark.

“I, too, am at a loss for words about those I want to shoot with a gun, more than just one or two.”

Regardless of the criminal, the law aimed to give them another chance if they truly repented.

However, there were bound to be those for whom such chances were meaningless. Light punishments disproportionate to the crimes also enabled such criminals to run rampant.

People jokingly said prosecutors, judges, or even their families had to directly experience such crimes to come to their senses. How absurd that people would make such remarks in jest.

It naturally elicited a bitter smile, but this country’s judicial system still had a long way to go.

“Anyway, since they committed an unpardonable crime this time, I hope a proper sentence is handed down.”

“Yeah. Well, take care and a guest is here so I’ll get going.”

After finishing his conversation with Choi In-ho, Muyoung shifted his gaze to find Jae-in.

She was standing by the coffee pot, boiling water for a new guest.

It made one wonder how someone could be so indifferent to what others were doing, shaking one’s head.

“I’ll take that.”

Muyoung, approaching Jae-in from behind, held out her phone. Taking it back whenever, with an innocent face as if nothing had happened.

Jae-in reached out her hand toward the phone.

“Jang Jae-in-ssi.”

The large hand grasped Jae-in’s hand reaching for the phone, pulling her close with their backs and chests pressed together.

“I’ll see you again soon.”

As their body temperatures overlapped and Jae-in stiffened, he whispered in her ear in a low, primal tone audible only to her.

“I meant it when I said I wanted to cross the line.”

Her eyes trembled as they followed his departing fingers.

Those large, warm hands. Sturdy and strong enough to instinctively want to grab onto when feeling anxious. Moments of sobbing while entwined with those hands flashed through her mind.

“Alright, I’m really leaving now.”

Feeling the lingering warmth where his hands had been, Jae-in clutched her phone and swallowed hard.

With the man gone, the lab suddenly felt empty. For someone cooped up all day in the cramped 10 pyeong room, it was an unusual sense of emptiness.

“Dr. Jang, are you close with Prosecutor Seo?”

Choi In-ho asked Jae-in, standing a distance away.

“No.”

Jae-in, briefly forgetting his presence, handed him a cup with a green tea teabag.

“This is only the second time I’ve met him.”

“But you seemed rather close?”

Instead of answering, Jae-in silently studied Choi In-ho’s face. Her observant gaze swept over his entire face before settling on the forehead, partially hidden by his hair.

“You have another injury?”

“Ah…this?”

In-ho raised his hand and felt around the bruised area near his forehead. A slightly torn wound and purplish bruise.

“I fell while chasing that culprit, and of course there was a signboard right there…”

“It’s fortunate you didn’t injure your eye.”

“Exactly. I almost became unemployed. This is the only thing I can do. Plus, they don’t even cover it as an industrial accident for an injury this minor.”

“Detective Choi, have you noticed that every time I see you lately, you’re injured somewhere?”

“Ah, was that so? Haha, it’s an honor that Dr. Jang is concerned about me. We’ve known each other’s faces for quite some time now, so I’d say we’re close friends, right? I should boast about it to Seo.”

Choi In-ho mumbled cheerfully while covering the wound with his bangs.

“Please be more careful and don’t get hurt while working.”

At Jae-in’s concerned words, In-ho pretended to be moved, gently pressing his chest as if crying.

Eventually, Jae-in also let out a small laugh at his playfulness.

With a laugh as ticklish as tiny bubbles bursting, Choi In-ho momentarily lost himself watching her before their eyes met and he opened his mouth nonchalantly.

“About that Prosecutor Seo Muyoung earlier. He’s known as a bit of a troublemaker within the district prosecutors’ office.”

Having smoothly changed the subject, Choi In-ho cleared his throat with green tea before continuing.

“I’ve met him a few times when I went for investigation support before. Unlike other prosecutors, he’s not authoritarian, and his requests for supplementary investigations were reasonable. Anyway, I thought it’d be helpful to get friendly with him for cooperative investigations between prosecutors and police.”

As Jae-in listened to his words, she walked over to the round table and noticed an empty paper cup left there.

Said he didn’t like sweet things much.

“A troublemaker…”

She murmured softly, rolling her tongue.

It was a cocoa drink sweetened excessively. For someone who disliked sweets, it must have tasted bitter than poison.

For Jae-in, it was a familiar taste, but anyone who tried it once stuck their tongue out. Even Choi In-ho, who had once asked her to make him one, claiming he liked sweets, had grimaced all the same.

Jae-in was the first person to empty the overly sweet cocoa that made one’s throat clench tightly from the sweetness.

Thinking of the cold-faced man’s stubborn act of finishing every last drop of this sugary drink, his large frame seemed endearingly cute, unwittingly bringing a faint smile to her lips.

“By the way, what brings the prosecutor here?”

“There was a body I autopsied 3 months ago that had some questionable points, it seems.”

“Since he came in person, he must be determined to thoroughly investigate… Ah, though I don’t know who the culprit is, I feel sorry for them.”

While nodding calmly as she sipped the now cold cocoa, Jae-in failed to realize the true meaning of Seo Muyoung’s “thorough investigation.”

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“Change the indictment?”

Thunk! White papers scattered in the air flutter down as Seo Muyoung’s face is struck.

“Rape Manslaughter?”

Deputy Chief Gu Young-gwang’s face, having flung the documents at Muyoung, was full of unrestrained ire.

“I called you here directly and explained it so even you could understand, but how did an idiot like you become a prosecutor?”

He tried to hold back his anger but couldn’t easily conceal his agitated emotions. He seemed about to slap Muyoung’s cheek with his fist instead of paper.

Muyoung remained composed, as if he had foreseen this reaction. Just a scratch on his cheekbone with a thin line drawn and a drop of blood.

“Are you not planning to work in this field anymore? Or do you have some other backing?”

“There are no such circumstances.”

“Yeah right. Who was it? Who told you to stir things up like this? Was it Chief Prosecutor Baek?”

“Chief Prosecutor Baek has nothing to do with this case.”

“Then what the hell makes you act up like this?!”

“Since the essence of this case is rape leading to death, you’ve crossed the line of turning a blind eye.”

A woman died. The reason must be revealed, and someone must take responsibility.

“Whether it’s a scapegoat actress or the son of assembly member—”

“Shut your mouth.”

Unfazed even when openly admonished, Muyoung’s defiant attitude made Deputy Chief Gu’s anger flare as he gritted his teeth and clenched his fists.

“I was well aware of your antics, but now you’re openly defying authority.”

Deputy Chief Gu lopped down in the chair, grabbing the back of his neck as if it was stiff.

“No need to ramble on, is this your so-called belief or not?”

What kind of belief was he even talking about? Muyoung didn’t understand but held his tongue.

“Belief? Good. Go ahead and stick to that belief, spending your entire prosecution career going around handling complicated cases¹This is a legal term used in the legal field to refer to cases that require a lot of effort due to extensive records and difficulty grasping the content. It is sometimes also used to describe cases where it is difficult to find fulfillment proportional to the effort invested.. Doesn’t that sound fun?”

Deputy Chief Gu slowly looked Muyoung up and down with narrowed eyes.

“I didn’t expect you to be such a fool to reject opportunities with your own hands. The old saying is true—an overly bold puppy doesn’t know to fear a tiger.”

Picturing how he would break the arrogant bastard’s nose, the day when he would kneel not on two feet but on his knees before him, Deputy Chief Gu finally averted his gaze.

“Fine. I’ll let you do as you please, so run wild to your heart’s content.”

If Seo Muyoung was the type to listen, he would have made him part of his crew long ago. While ignorant in other areas, he was highly capable in handling cases, so he thought raising him would make a useful hand.

But a hunting dog that cannot be collared is useless.

If I cannot possess it, I must utterly destroy it. That was his principle after being in the prosecution for so long.

“Let’s see what kind of mess results from chasing your beloved belief. From the moment I become the Chief Prosecutor, Seo Muyoung, you will never be assigned any decent cases.”

Leaving with that threat, Deputy Chief Gu issued an ultimatum to Muyoung.

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Thank you for reading! ♡