Min Ha-ru cried and cried until she eventually fell asleep.
“You should head out now.”
“Yes.”
After covering the deeply sleeping woman with a blanket, we quietly moved to the next room.
“Sigh.”
Immediately, Shin Hye-seo let out the sigh she had been holding back.
“I am truly grateful, Prosecutor.”
At the same time, she offered me a greeting.
She bowed so deeply from the waist that even I felt embarrassed.
“Why are you doing this?”
I immediately helped Shin Hye-seo stand up straight.
“It’s just… I feel like I’m always indebted to you, Prosecutor.”
“It’s not just me; anyone would have done the same. There was a senseless thug kicking at someone’s front door right in front of me.”
Shin Hye-seo shook her head.
“Even if that’s true, there aren’t many people who would be prepared to lose their job, break organizational traditions to report malpractice, and unhesitatingly reach out to help others even at the risk of personal harm—all while providing such delicious food and a wonderful sanctuary.”
“That’s…”
“You are someone worthy of my respect, Prosecutor.”
Shin Hye-seo said this with a faint smile on her lips.
“I—I respect you too, Prosecutor!”
Perhaps thinking it was the right time to chime in, the manager, Kim Jin-su, added his own word.
This made my face turn hot for no reason.
“If you don’t mind, may I ask what happened to Ha-ru?”
When I changed the subject, both of their complexions darkened instantly.
“…”
A long silence followed.
“If it’s uncomfortable, you don’t have to talk about it…”
“…It was last summer.”
“!”
“The decisive event that caused Ha-ru’s mental state to shake so drastically was…”
What followed was quite shocking.
“She had three stages a day. Afternoon rehearsals, the main stage, and then night filming.”
Three times a day?
“Is that even possible?”
I had handled a few cases regarding unfair contracts in the entertainment industry, so I knew the general atmosphere.
Most went to civil court, but there were times when criminal charges like illegal confinement or coercion were filed.
The victim in the case I handled back then was a male idol, but even he didn’t perform three times a day.
“It’s possible if you just grind a person down. She’d do events until three in the morning, then move early in the morning. Naturally, there was no time for rehearsals. She had to go on stage without even a sound check.”
Shin Hye-seo continued calmly.
Her low voice was a mix of anger, resignation, and sorrow.
“And then, ‘that’ incident happened. Ha-ru went on stage, but that day, she couldn’t hear anything through her in-ears. At first, Ha-ru thought her ears were failing because she was so exhausted, but…”
At that moment, Shin Hye-seo covered her own ears.
As if she were feeling the pain herself, her entire body trembled.
“…The thing that failed wasn’t her ears, but the equipment.”
“No way…?”
“Yes. There was an in-ear explosion. Because of that accident, Ha-ru still can’t hear well in her left ear.”
“Wait a minute. This is the first I’m hearing of such an accident…”
“Because CEO Bang Gi-cheol intentionally suppressed the articles. He’s a man who views his signed singers as products and believes that damage to a product is a loss for the company…”
Shin Hye-seo cut herself off and clenched her fists tightly.
“Even after that happened, Ha-ru… had to fulfill her schedule without even a week of rest.”
“…Likely because of the ‘company loss’ CEO Bang mentioned?”
Nodding, Shin Hye-seo gave a bitter smile.
“Thanks to that, her throat is quite damaged now too… but Ha-ru still says she loves singing.”
“…”
“I can’t send her back to CEO Bang now. It feels like I’d be pushing her into the depths of hell with my own hands.”
Shin Hye-seo’s face distorted sharply.
“But if Manager Cha comes looking for her again, then…”
“…Don’t worry about that.”
I immediately pulled a phone out from deep inside a drawer.
Vibrate! Vibrate! Vibrate!
There were so many missed calls and messages piled up.
[ Senior! Just how long are you going to live without looking at your phone!? Call me as soon as you see this! It’s urgent! — Seo I-re ]
There were some messages that were quite concerning.
‘……I’ll deal with this later.’
I had been contemplating until just now.
Wondering if I was being too meddlesome.
Wondering if I was using my position to take shortcuts.
However.
‘A prosecutor’s mission is not just to apprehend criminals, but also to protect the victims.’
Ring, ring.
I dialed the number from the business card I had received, and before the third ring…
— Prosecutor!
A welcoming voice came through the receiver.
“Chief. Have you eaten?”
— Hahaha! I did, but I have no appetite. You’ve raised my standards for taste way too high, Prosecutor.
“We should set up another meal soon.”
— I’m welcome to it anytime! Oh, right! Did my officers visit your home? They were the ones who said they wanted to apologize formally first.
“Yes. They did come, but I feel bad because I ended up giving them work to do.”
— What? Work?
A puzzled voice immediately pierced my eardrum.
And along with it, the worried gazes pouring in from my surroundings.
“…Chief. If it’s not an imposition, could I ask you for one personal favor?”
Meanwhile.
“Manager Cha, why the hell hasn’t there been any word from this bastard all day!?”
CEO Bang Gi-cheol was throwing a fit day and night.
‘Here we go again.’
‘Manager Cha. Please, just contact the CEO already!’
‘Ah… it’s going to be exhausting if he starts smashing the office furniture again.’
By this point, the subordinate employees were mountain-high with worry.
“He said he’d drag her here by her hair if he had to…!”
Grit.
Bang Gi-cheol bit his nails irritably.
‘Something couldn’t have happened, right?’
Soon, Bang Gi-cheol shook his head.
The guy was definitely useful when it came to getting work done.
“Ah, damn it! So why hasn’t he called yet!”
Crash!
At the sharp sound that followed immediately after, the employees looked stunned.
‘Damn it. There goes leaving on time today.’
The surrounding furniture had finally started to get smashed.
Goseong Police Station, Detective Team.
“Detective. Let me just make one phone call to my family.”
Manager Cha Mu-hyeok, who was even in handcuffs, made a bold demand.
“Hmm…”
The detective in charge pondered for a moment.
The suspect’s phone had already been confiscated.
‘Should I give it back? Or not?’
It was during that brief moment of hesitation.
“A subject under investigation cannot make calls freely. There’s a risk of destroying evidence.”
“!”
The detective’s eyes widened.
Two men were suddenly entering the office.
One of them, in particular, looked quite familiar.
“Chief!”
“Ah. Good work, everyone. Carry on.”
The two were none other than Baek Seo-jun and Chief Han Seo-jin.
At Baek Seo-jun’s low voice, Manager Cha Mu-hyeok immediately took offense.
“What kind of bullshit is that! It’s just simple trespassing, what evidence is there to destroy?”
“You attached a GPS to someone else’s vehicle, didn’t you? Who knows? Maybe there’s an accomplice in that matter.”
“There’s no accomplice!”
“We’ll only know that after an investigation.”
Seeing Baek Seo-jun not backing down an inch, the detective in charge made a strange expression.
‘He’s handsome. Is he one of our staff?’
Didn’t the details in his words seem alive?
For reference, a detained suspect must be investigated and released within 48 hours—unless they are going to be formally ‘arrested’ under a warrant.
“I know everything I need to know! Legally, you are required to notify the family of the facts of the suspicion! Do suspects not have human rights!? You’re mistaken about something; until a guilty verdict is finalized, I am a law-abiding citizen of the Republic of Korea!”
The detective in charge let out a sigh.
This wasn’t wrong, either.
‘That’s why this is a problem.’
In fact, that was why he had been debating whether to return the phone until now.
However.
“The notification of the suspected crime can be done directly by the investigative agency. By ‘mail’.”
“…What…?”
“We will make sure to notify your family clearly, so you don’t have to worry.”
“!”
Manager Cha Mu-hyeok’s eyes flew wide.
“Wa-wait a minute. You’re notifying the family directly?”
“Isn’t that what you wanted? We’ll write the details very thoroughly. That you were detained at the Goseong Police Station for attaching a GPS to a vehicle and illegally trespassing into someone’s residence…”
At that moment, Cha Mu-hyeok’s face turned white.
“Th-that can’t happen!”
“…?”
“My-my wife can’t find out. I told her I wouldn’t get into trouble anymore!”
“…That’s your personal situation. Legally, it is mandated that notification of a suspect’s apprehension or arrest must be given to the family. You said yourself that you know the law well, didn’t you?”
“D-damn it! I said I don’t need it! Just send the mail to the office!”
The detective in charge suppressed a laugh inwardly.
‘There are always guys like this.’
This tendency was especially strong in cases like solicitation or gambling.
They would beg for the mail to be sent to their private office so their families wouldn’t find out.
They actually felt shame toward their wives and children.
“Detective Jo.”
At that time, Chief Han Seo-jin quietly called the detective.
“Yes, Chief.”
“Does that man have a prior record?”
“He has five priors for the same type of crime alone. If you include minor things like the Punishment of Violence Act, he has twenty-two priors.”
“He’s trash then?”
“Looking at his record, he certainly is.”
“Are you going to file for an arrest warrant?”
Naturally, a history of similar crimes is grounds for an arrest warrant.
It’s a matter of showing no remorse.
He’s a social pest who would just commit the same crime again if released.
Most importantly, when the Chief himself comes down and gives such a signal, one would have to give up on a promotion if they couldn’t catch what he wanted.
“I’ll file for the arrest warrant immediately.”
Returning home, I immediately prepared a special dinner.
“Now that I know the inside story, I can’t just stay still.”
So, I planned to make a dish that would definitely provide nutritional restoration.
Splatter!
First, the freshwater fish I bought directly from the central market.
When I poured the plastic container into the sink, the loaches flopped around frantically.
“These guys are fresh; the broth will taste amazing today.”
After rinsing the loaches several times with clear groundwater, I covered them with perilla leaves I grew myself.
“Stay like that for a bit.”
Then, I went straight back to the farm.
Organic water dropwort, prickly ash leaves, perilla leaves, and green onions were shining, wet with dew.
These were the vegetables for the soup.
I shook off the dirt and trimmed them clean, then pulled radish, green onions, onions, and taro stems from the vegetable garden near the windbreak.
Rustle! Rustle!
Of course, I only picked the ones that the Snowflakes were bouncing around on.
“Now I need to prepare the firewood.”
There were many piles of firewood stacked behind the kitchen.
I picked out a few well-dried oak logs, stuffed them into the furnace, and lit the fire.
Soon, white smoke rose above the pot.
Sizzle!
I put the loaches into the pot and boiled them with a piece of ginger and some soybean paste.
Thump, thump.
In the meantime, I pounded perilla seeds with a mortar and pestle.
Savory oil seeped out from the peeled perilla seeds.
As I ground them finely,
“Sniff, sniff.”
A subtle fragrance immediately bloomed.
“…Just smelling this good perilla scent makes my stomach feel at ease.”
I continued my next actions with a smile.
Whirrrr!
The sufficiently boiled loaches were taken out separately and finely ground in a blender.
The thick broth, with even the bones crushed, went back into the pot.
There, I added the taro stems, radish, green onions, onions, water dropwort, and crown daisy and boiled it twice.
I carefully skimmed off the foam with a ladle.
“Now, in goes the perilla powder.”
Finally, a scoop of perilla powder.
I also added sliced red pepper paste and spicy green peppers, and finally adjusted the seasoning using soy sauce I brewed myself.
“Mmm…”
Only then did the savory aroma fill the kitchen completely.
“It’s done.”
But just then.
“Screeech!”
“Huh…?”
Since when?
Before I knew it, a familiar otter had approached right in front of me and was staring up at me.
“…Do you want some too?”
When I showed it one remaining loach in the plastic container…
“Screech! Screeeeech!”
It started making a huge fuss, jumping up and down on the spot.
“…Fine. You eat too.”
Toss.
I immediately threw one loach to it.
Chomp, chomp, chomp, chomp!
The otter began to greedily tear into it, as if it were delicious.
“Now then, shall we carry the meal?”
Immediately after, I headed to the room carrying the dining tray myself.
“Ha-ru. Please eat.”
Was it because of the warning I had given earlier?
Creak.
Not long after, Min Ha-ru poked her head out through the gap in the open door.
“I smell something savory… what’s on the menu today?”
“Loach soup. It’s good for recovering your strength.”
At that moment, Min Ha-ru stared at me intently with her swollen eyes.
“Prosecutor.”
“Yes?”
“Regarding what happened earlier and everything else… why are you being so kind to me?”
Well, that’s…
‘Because I don’t want to repeat the same mistake either.’
Of course, I couldn’t say those words exactly.
It was an answer that would bring up memories of the deceased for no reason.
“It’s just that my personality is such that I like to interfere in other people’s business.”
“…?”
Min Ha-ru still had an expression that showed she didn’t understand.
“There are people like that sometimes. People who meddle in others’ business unnecessarily.”
“…Were you perhaps the same type as my sister Hye-seo?”
This time, I tilted my head.
“What is Shin Hye-seo like?”
“The type of person who can’t just pass by someone in trouble even if the person involved gets annoyed and calls it unnecessary interference, and has to pull that person out of the mud to feel satisfied. And…”
At that moment, Min Ha-ru stared at me intently again.
“…She’s the best person in the world, someone like I wouldn’t be able to meet even in the next life.”
Hmm.
Actually, due to my personality, I can’t handle this kind of atmosphere very well.
“Doesn’t that just mean she’s a pushover?”
“Pardon? Ahahaha!”
Min Ha-ru burst into laughter instantly.
But at that timing.
Patter, patter, patter!
Something black suddenly hopped onto my crossed legs.
“Screeeeeeech!”
“Whoa!!!!!!!”
Min Ha-ru wasn’t the only one who showed a strong reaction.
— He’s my friend!
— Stupid marten! Get out of the way!
— I’m telling you to disappear from our spot!
The Snowflakes gathered around and started screaming.
“Screech.”
Wait, did I just see that wrong?
Because the sight of an otter snorting and even curling its lip was far too unrealistic, wasn’t it?
“Screech!”
As if that weren’t enough, the otter eventually even sprawled out and lay down on my crossed legs.
“It-It’s Bonobono…!”
Min Ha-ru stomped her feet with an expression full of the emotion ‘I’m so jealous I could die!’
No, setting everything else aside…
‘…I’m telling you, that’s not an otter, it’s a sea otter, young lady.’