— You keep making a fuss about something that’s already over. I heard it wasn’t even your case to begin with.
“…”
The flat, mechanical voice echoed through the speaker.
My eyes darkened deeply. The voice continued.
“Could it be…”
Seo Yi-re was a professional, through and through. The sound of her sobbing had vanished without a trace before I knew it.
“Are you calling me to give me a warning?”
— Why would I bother warning a talented prosecutor? Just think of it as an old man’s grumbling.
The conversation kept going in circles.
Sensing the same thing, Seo Yi-re cut straight to the core.
“What is your relationship with An Yu-ra?”
— I’ve said all I have to say.
The answer was immediate. It was a firm refusal.
— For your information, I’m not the type who can live with a debt to others.
“…We have something in common, then. I’m the same way.”
— Doesn’t everyone have the right to be ‘forgotten’? Even if they are a heinous criminal.
*Click.*
The call ended there. Before she could even respond, the other party hung up first.
‘…Let’s organize my thoughts.’
The self-proclaimed Mr. Hwang Man-cheol and the deceased An Yu-ra.
If he was the person I was thinking of, one was one of the most prominent figures in South Korea. The other was just an ordinary blackmailer. It was an ill-matched pair, no matter how you looked at it. Their surnames were different, and they had no publicly known connection.
However, a clue existed.
‘Yi-re definitely mentioned it. Before An Yu-ra died, she had a phone call with someone she called Chairman and Father.’
That was likely why he had bothered to make this call. A guilty conscience needs no accuser. By now, the mere fact that they had been in contact during the investigation must be making him feel uneasy.
*Swipe.*
I immediately began operating my phone. The opponent was the owner of a leading conglomerate. Naturally, basic family relations could be found with a quick internet search.
However.
‘…Nothing, as expected.’
Chairman Hwang Man-cheol’s children or granddaughters. There was no one named “An Yu-ra,” not even among his distant relatives. The same went for “Hwang Yu-ra.” This meant she wasn’t on the official family registry.
‘A daughter who cannot call her father, “Father.”‘
The answer was clear.
‘An illegitimate daughter.’
The picture continued to fill in within my mind. The messy private lives of the chaebols. Cases involving illegitimate children — especially regarding inheritance — were common.
‘If An Yu-ra really is Chairman Hwang Man-cheol’s illegitimate daughter…’
She was a shameful secret. A trace he never wanted revealed to the world. Consequently, we had poked a hornet’s nest. Armed with the bullet of a disclosure of investigative information charge and the blade of an investigation.
‘Then, was the crime committed under the orders of Chairman Hwang Man-cheol?’
That wasn’t certain. There were plenty of people or groups who didn’t want this case to be made public right now. The police, the prosecution — no one wanted to lose this lethal weapon.
“Seo Yi-re. I have something to ask…”
I paused as I emerged from my musings.
*Munch, munch, munch.*
The bountiful country table was already empty. In the short time I had been organizing my thoughts, she had finished it all.
“Our Seol-yi eats her vegetables so well!”
“It’s yummy!”
Seo Yi-re, who had settled Seol-yi on her lap, looked over here with a beaming smile.
“If you laugh after crying…”
“Stop it. I’m a woman too.”
…Okay, that’s enough of that.
“Senior. Give me some more rice and soup. Especially the gizzard shad sashimi if there’s any left.”
“…I thought you didn’t have an appetite?”
“With food this good, even someone with enteritis would eat it if it meant they might die. Do you have any soju?”
I hesitated.
‘Hmm.’
In that moment, I saw it. The dark shadow hidden behind her smiling face. Her eyes were still bloodshot and swollen.
‘That girl… It couldn’t be, right?’
She was trying her best to act fine. But if she was thinking ‘those’ thoughts deep down…
“…Alright. Let’s drink together.”
I immediately brought out two or three bottles of soju and sat across from her.
“Now, now, Seol-yi, come play with Auntie.”
Perhaps because she saw me carrying the alcohol, Min Ha-ru quickly stepped in and picked up Seol-yi.
“No!!!! Seol-yi wants to play with Uncle!!!!”
A small scene broke out as Seol-yi cried and wailed, but it was over soon enough.
“Here.”
*Glug, glug.*
Once the situation was somewhat settled, I immediately filled Seo Yi-re’s glass.
“You have some too, Senior.”
“Sure. Pace yourself. You can’t handle your liquor.”
“What are you talking about? I can drink way more than you.”
After saying that, Seo Yi-re’s tongue was tied exactly after three shots of soju.
“Senyur…”
“Here we go.”
“Rerly… won’t you marry meee?”
“And here comes the rest.”
“I’ll treat you so goood!”
“Do you even know how to cook?”
Seo Yi-re’s eyebrows instantly slanted downward.
“Senyur should do the housewurk! It’s a waste since you’re so good at cookin’!”
“Yeah. I’m not marrying a woman with a drinking habit.”
“I’m not drunk?”
“Should I record this and play it for you tomorrow?”
“Ugh, whyyyy! Instead, I’ll earn all the moneyyyy.”
She started clinging to me even more. I knew this, but her drinking habits were truly terrible.
“I have experience as a prosecutur… *Hic!* If I go to my dad’s law firm… *Hic!* I’d be treated as at least a five-year senior… *Hic!* Right!?”
Yi-re’s father was the representative lawyer for one of the three major law firms in the country. A senior at such a firm would have a starting annual salary of at least 300 million won. Naturally, bonuses were separate.
“I just… when I come home… *Hic!* Make me food… and pat my butt and tell me I worked hard… *Hic!* That’s all I need…”
“Is it that hard for you?”
She stopped.
Then, with her head hanging low…
“…Do it.”
“?”
“Just do it! Marry meeeeeeee!”
In that moment, a thunderous roar erupted.
*Slide.*
“Seol-yi too!”
The cute little beast that had been loitering outside the door, Lady Baek Seol, came charging in the moment she heard that shout.
“Uncle! Marry Seol-yi!”
“That’s not allowed! He’s mine!”
She was definitely drunk. Seeing her bicker with a child. The problem was that Seol-yi didn’t have a mild personality either. Her cheeks were already puffed out like a frog’s.
“UNCLE!!!!”
Seol-yi grabbed my left arm.
“SENYUR!!!!”
This time, Seo Yi-re grabbed my right arm.
“I hate Auntie!!!!!”
“You should call me Sister!!!”
“Uncle!”
“Senyur!”
“Waaaaah!”
“I can cry too… *Urp.*”
Ah, please, not that.
“Hey, hey! Tears are fine, but puking in someone else’s house is a no-no!”
“Big Brother!”
Nice timing.
Jae-jun, a member of Revive, sensibly tossed a bucket over. The moment it was placed in front of Seo Yi-re’s mouth…
*Bleeeaaarrgh!*
A horrendous sound echoed through the room.
*Slide.*
“…”
I covered Seol-yi’s ears with both hands. I turned my body completely toward the wall. How was she going to face everyone tomorrow?
*Zzzzz.*
“Uuugh…”
After emptying her stomach, Seo Yi-re stretched out on the floor. At any rate, the vomit ghost had been exorcised.
“Uncle… Seol-yi’s scared.”
“…Yeah. Let’s head out.”
I picked up Seol-yi and walked outside.
“Prosecutor Seo… she must be going through a lot.”
Shin Hye-seo looked at the room door with a pitying gaze.
“What will happen to the Prosecutor now?”
“…Could you hear our conversation from outside?”
Shin Hye-seo gave an awkward laugh.
“It wasn’t that…”
She silently held out her phone.
[ **BREAKING NEWS** Suspect in the blackmail of the late actor Lee Ji-hoon dies during investigation at the Seoul Central District Prosecutors’ Office! Shocking! ]
└ ???????? Is this for real??????
└ What’s going on??? Was there a forced investigation? Why did a person suddenly die during an investigation?
└ It’s true she was a person who deserved punishment, but dying is a bit much…
└ Where’s the follow-up article? I’m literally getting dizzy, hurry up!
└ Regardless of the circumstances, the prosecutor in charge should be punished. Someone died right in front of them in their office, and they couldn’t stop it? Tsk tsk tsk tsk.
“…”
I silently scanned the blunt article and comments on the screen.
“Prosecutor Seo… she’ll be okay, right?”
“…We’ll have to see how the situation develops, but since a suspect died during an investigation, the prosecutor in charge won’t be able to escape responsibility.”
Shin Hye-seo’s eyes widened.
“Th-then…?”
“At minimum, a heavy disciplinary action. If things go ‘by the book.'”
“…!”
Did she understand the strange nuance in my words? Expectation instantly welled up in Shin Hye-seo’s eyes.
“Since it’s you, Senior, you have a way, don’t you?”
“Yes.”
“!”
“Yi-re will be fine.”
Because I… no, ‘we’ won’t let it happen.
***
The next morning, at dawn before the sun had fully risen.
“Are you leaving already without saying goodbye?”
“…!”
The person who was cautiously stepping out of the gate like a stray cat flinched and turned around.
“Senior…?”
To be precise, she looked at me with rabbit-like eyes as I leaned crookedly against the wall.
“You didn’t show any reaction even after receiving a call like that.”
“…”
“Even if things are overwhelming, you aren’t the type to say it’s hard, you’re suffering, or to ask for help, are you? Not our Prosecutor Seo Yi-re.”
Just as most capable professionals suffer alone even when they feel like they might die. Seo Yi-re had a particularly strong tendency toward that.
“Are you going to shoulder it all by yourself?”
“…”
*Step, step, step.*
After a moment of silence, Seo Yi-re approached me. Then, she whispered softly right in front of my face.
“…Baek Seo-jun. This is why I can’t help but like a man like you.”
“Don’t be cheeky.”
“I’m serious…”
“You smell like alcohol.”
“…Ah, seriously!”
Only then did Seo Yi-re take a step back and frown.
“You really have a knack for ruining the mood, honestly!”
“I was just stating a fact.”
“I only had three shots of soju and even threw it up, so what alcohol smell! I even pace myself in case I get caught for drunk driving at dawn!”
“So you remember everything?”
“…Hmph!”
Seo Yi-re suddenly hugged me. Of course, I didn’t dodge this time.
*Pat, pat.*
…Instead, I lightly patted her back. We stood like that for a while.
“…Thank you. I feel a bit better.”
Seo Yi-re muttered softly. And, right on cue.
“Sorry for interrupting your romance.”
“!”
“Ah. In this case, should I say I’m interrupting a one-sided crush?”
It was a blind spot for Seo Yi-re, whose back was turned, but I could see him. At the familiar voice coming from the gate, she hurried to turn her head. Then, seeing the person’s identity, her eyes bugged out.
“Se-Seok-gu!? Senior, why are you here?”
“Well, for work?”
“All the way to the countryside for work…? No, wait, then why haven’t you shown your face to me until now?”
“Before meeting a client, a thorough preliminary investigation and grasp of the situation are essential.”
“…!”
At the same time, Seok-gu and I locked eyes.
“I’m counting on you.”
“Yeah. Don’t worry. She’s your junior, but she’s my junior too.”
At our conversation, Seo Yi-re’s already large eyes grew even wider.
“Se-Seniors. What on earth are you talking about…?”
“Media play isn’t something only those pathetic punks know how to do.”
Seok-gu immediately held out the tablet PC he was holding.
“!?”
After checking the screen, Seo Yi-re covered her mouth with an emotional expression.
[ **What really happened at the Seoul Central District Prosecutors’ Office that day? Call logs obtained showing An Yu-ra exchanged mysterious messages with an unidentified person before her death.** ]
A warning is returned with a warning. The reason for using the term ‘unidentified’ was to send a clear message: we had a winning hand, so don’t try any more nonsense. Whether it was a crime or not, if things got noisy, the other side would be the ones in trouble.
[ **Circumstances where the prosecutor in charge even confirmed the suspect’s medical history from the hospital. Can the prosecutor, who did their duty to protect human rights, be held solely responsible for the suspect’s death?** ]
[ **An Yu-ra’s legal counsel reportedly left for the Philippines.** ]
[ **A death shrouded in many mysteries. In this age of hatred where people criticize first, is South Korea okay like this? Excessive speculation births another victim…** ]
Besides those, articles defending Yi-re were pouring out even at this very moment. Naturally, it was our work.
“I won’t make this long. Take Seok-gu with you.”
*Snatch!*
Without a word, Seok-gu snatched the car keys from Seo Yi-re’s hand and got into the driver’s seat.
“If you drive with that mental state, you’ll get into an accident.”
“But…”
“I will escort you kindly and safely, Client.”
“…”
Seo Yi-re bowed her head low.
“As you know, there isn’t a lawyer as capable as Seok-gu in this field.”
“You can put your worries aside. I’m the wizard of the law firm world who can turn guilt into innocence. Dirty slander like this, which isn’t even a real case, is absolutely nothing. I’m going to crush all the slanderers this time.”
“…Seniors…”
Her voice finally cracked with emotion.
“Th… thank you.”
*Glance.*
As we locked eyes, both of us broke into a faint smile simultaneously.
“Don’t mention it.”
“Now, now, hurry up and get in. It’s been a while since my fists have tasted blood, and they’re practically trembling with excitement.”
“Just don’t actually hit anyone.”
“Depends on how that old hag and her underlings behave.”