Hardboiled Scenario

Posted by Lilac, Released on September 19, 2024

Chapter 13

Whether the opportunities Deputy Chief Gu Young-gwang spoke of were like an expressway with a hi-pass lane or not, Muyoung was uninterested.

Either way. He had never wanted to become an elite prosecutor anyway, and since the unwanted permission had also been granted, he decided to run wild without restraint.

He planned to indict for illegal drug use, illegal distribution, and rape leading to death.

Dozens of pills were found at the crime scene, and analysis revealed they were synthetic drugs.

Called ‘Bacchanalia.’

Extremely expensive and difficult to obtain on the street.

It was a special drug with effects that manifested over time. First, hallucinations and auditory hallucinations, followed by an aphrodisiac effect.

Particularly during the aphrodisiac effect, having sex could induce extreme pleasure, making it a clean yet highly addictive drug.

“Bacchanalia…quite a grandiose name.”

Muyoung scoffed, twisting his lips.

Originally, ‘bacchanalia’ referred to the secret rites honoring Bacchus, the Roman god of joy and wine. The gods who participated were said to have danced in revelry all night long.

To name a drug after that.

“Joy, my ass. They’ve gone ahead and embarrassed themselves.”

If it was madness, Muyoung’s chilling insult might have been understandable. At his curse, Section Chief Cho, who had his head rested on the desk, suddenly looked up.

“I wasn’t sleeping! Just meditating for a bit…”

He blinked his heavily bagged eyes with an awkward look. Muyoung stared at Section Chief Cho intently before silently tapping the corner of his mouth.

“Ah…gulp…”

Section Chief Cho awkwardly wiped the corner of his mouth.

“If you’re tired, take a short break.”

Saying so, he returned to his work.

It had been a forced march with little sleep for several nights. No matter how physically fit, it would be strenuous. However, aside from Muyoung’s temperament becoming a bit cranky, he seemed no different than usual.

Section Chief Cho glanced at Muyoung with a mixture of lamentation and awe.

With that face, he wouldn’t be overshadowed anywhere, but his damn temper is the problem, which is why he’s still single these days…

Come to think of it, does he have someone he’s been waiting for calls from recently? He keeps checking his phone often…

Well, it’s the end of the year, everyone is busy making plans, so there’s no way a guy with a girlfriend would work himself to the bone like that.

Could he really be working overtime again today?

The more complex the case, the more draining it becomes. Especially for this case with many intertwined interests, it often took a long time to grasp the facts and causal relationships.

It was only natural that Muyoung, who worked twice as hard as him, would be more tired…yet how did that guy look more energetic?

He may be the type who gets most excited about defying authority, but… Was it really because he was a troublemaker? Or was he eating something good without me?

Section Chief Cho took out a stick from the forgotten ginseng box in the corner of his desk and put it in his mouth.

Come to think of it, was it really okay to proceed with this case as is… Chief Prosecutor Gu seemed furious about it…

“Section Chief Cho.”

“Yes? Yes!”

“How about the unknown male DNA?”

“Ah, that…hold on a sec.”

As Section Chief Cho rummaged through the piles of documents on his desk, Inspector Eom standing by the copier answered instead.

“We got a call this morning, there’s no match in the NFS database.”

“Should we summon all the relevant individuals again? If we push them one by one, maybe one of them will spill the beans?”

After Inspector Eom’s suggestion and Section Chief Cho’s addition, Muyoung paused briefly, deep in thought with his chin resting on his hand.

He still wasn’t confident that the unknown DNA was meaningful evidence. Not every DNA from the victim’s body was necessarily significant. But it was too coincidental to be mere chance, so it was worth checking.

Whether it would be a red herring or a trigger.

“Let’s comb through the prosecutors’ office database first.”

🍓

With a coat and briefcase in one hand, Muyoung left the prosecutor’s office and ran straight into someone in front of the elevator. The other person also looked quite exhausted from working late.

It was Prosecutor Lee Do-hyung. He was a colleague under the same Division 4 Chief Prosecutor as Muyoung, belonging to the Organized Crime Investigation Division of the Violent Crimes Investigation Department.

As soon as Lee Do-hyung faced Muyoung, he immediately scowled. Even when their eyes met, not a single common greeting was exchanged. As the standoff dragged on, only a desolate air lingered in the hallway.

“Like drug investigations are anything special. The police carelessly forwarded them, so you just need to indict as is and let the court handle the sentencing, but he’s the only one pretending to work.”

As expected, Lee Do-hyung mumbled while sneering as if telling Muyoung to listen, and Muyoung ignored him with an indifferent expression.

There was no need to get angry every time a dog barked. Engaging in a quarrel was only possible when one had the energy or affection for it.

“Seo Muyoung.”

“……”

“Let’s talk for a bit.”

Turning his head away, Muyoung twisted his mouth and let out a deflating sigh.

By now, he should have realized their differing directions, yet Lee Do-hyung kept picking fights time and again.

“Why? Going to spout more nonsense while putting on airs?”

“Rumor has it you pissed off the senior prosecutor last time, and Deputy Chief Gu this time…”

As expected, he brought up the recent incident.

“When the higher-ups have already settled the matter, why do you keep stirring up trouble by digging it back up? Can’t you stay quiet for just one day?”

Muyoung’s stance became defiant as he shoved his hands in his pockets. Looking down at the shorter Lee Do-hyung with narrowed eyes, he clicked his tongue.

“So?”

“Say I did cause a disturbance. What harm did it do to you?”

The contempt on Lee Do-hyung’s face deepened as he seemed intent on picking a quarrel this late night.

“Don’t you know right now?”

“I’m the one taking the flak and dealing with the mess, so why are you the one ranting?”

Unlike the scowling Lee Do-hyung, Muyoung calmly responded as if nothing had happened and Lee Do-hyung’s rant was the strange behavior.

“A misbehaved loach muddying the waters! Because of assholes like you, I’m getting insulted by association! You were just told to prosecute, so why is that so hard? Just prosecute as told!”

Muyoung was well aware that this was precisely what drove Lee Do-hyung mad.

“The waters are already muddied, so how much muddier can they get with just me thrashing about?”

“What if the indictment falls apart? Did you ever think about the other prosecutors who’d get that case reassigned suffering the consequences? The workload is already overflowing. Don’t you see everyone is shorthanded? Do you think you’re the only prosecutor and we’re all just bystanders?”

It was true that Muyoung often acted recklessly causing incidents, as Lee Do-hyung said.

However, the same words could mean completely different things.

No matter what others said, Seo Muyoung was perfect when it came to handling cases. That’s why higher-ups couldn’t easily mess with him either. They could only grab him by the scruff and curse, “You bastard, we’ll see about that!”

If they didn’t go out of his way to provoke him first, at least he wouldn’t complain. Fights are only satisfying when they’re on an equal footing.

“Not a single case assigned to me has fallen apart yet, but how many have you botched? Do you know I was reassigned one of those cases?”

“That was unavoidable for me too!”

With an exasperated sigh, Muyoung brushed his hair back with a tired hand.

A damn hypocrite.

“Yeah, I’m sure you all had your reasons. It wasn’t because you’re an idiot who dropped the ball. And I can guess what you’re worried about. Prosecutorial solidarity, following orders, it’s important.”

But when arresting criminals, if that order is unjustified, I have no choice but to defy it, right?

“But this prosecutor here.”

Muyoung continued with a sneer after scratching his cheek.

“Listening to you makes me want to overturn things even more actively. Were you a frog in a past life?”

In the prosecution, the name “Seo Muyoung” already had the word “troublemaker” attached instead of “prosecutor.” So it was nothing new.

“If you have nothing more to say, I’ll go ahead first.”

Muyoung got on the elevator that had arrived earlier.

“If you keep that up, you’ll get hit in the back of the head one of these days. Be careful.”

“……”

“It’s not just one person who’s after you. Even rats can lose their tails without knowing it’s being hunted.”

“Then don’t get on.”

Though it was closer to a warning than advice, Muyoung, seeming completely unfazed, simply closed the elevator door.