CHAPTER 7
Lee Damju awkwardly smiled and spoke first.
“…Why are you there?”
He also showed a brief hint of surprise, but quickly composed his expression and replied calmly.
“It’s my house.”
It was a short answer.
Then he shifted his gaze and added,
“And you must live there as well?”
For a moment, Lee Damju only moved her lips.
Nodding or denying both felt awkward, so no words came out.
Kang Yul’s gaze, which had brushed past her, paused briefly before he spoke in a low voice.
“The world really is small. To get tangled up like this again.”
“…Excuse me? Tangled up?”
Lee Damju gave an awkward smile and carefully added,
“About yesterday… I’m sorry. The taxi, I mean. I was really in a hurry…”
Kang Yul let out a short breath.
“I see you’re capable of saying things like that.”
His tone was calm, but slightly sarcastic.
“Ah… yes, well…”
Lee Damju lowered her head with an awkward smile.
“Investigator.”
“Yes, Prosecutor.”
“That Lee Damju from the City Hall Civil Affairs Department. What kind of person is she?”
Junsu blinked, looking slightly puzzled.
“Huh? Why suddenly Lee Damju…”
“I ran into her this morning. Turns out she’s my neighbor across the street.”
“Ah, I see.”
Junsu nodded with a smile.
“As I mentioned before, Lee Damju has been known for her diligence since she first joined Namcheon City Hall. She’s held the number one spot for most praised civil servant for several years.”
Kang Yul’s brow furrowed slightly.
“For several years?”
“Yes. Ah, except last year, she dropped to second place.”
“Why?”
Junsu hesitated before answering.
“She had a boyfriend she supported a lot back then. I think he was preparing to become a prosecutor… but anyway, that boyfriend ended up marrying another woman.”
Kang Yul’s fingertips paused ever so slightly.
Junsu let out a quiet sigh.
“She had a hard time because of it. There were even rumors that she went to the wedding hall and caused a scene…”
Kang Yul’s eyes narrowed faintly.
‘Last year’s wedding hall?’
Junsu suddenly clapped his hands as if he remembered something.
“Ah! I heard that boyfriend also belonged to the Seoul Central District Prosecutors’ Office. Do you happen to know him?”
At that moment, a subtle ripple crossed his composed face.
‘If it’s Seoul Central District Prosecutors’ Office…’
“I thought you said we were going for international cooperation. Is this what you call cooperation? These days, is marriage considered cooperation?”
“You told me to marry you! You said we’d get married as soon as you became a prosecutor, you bastard!”
The woman’s voice shouting in fury at the wedding hall vividly resurfaced.
The woman who had been dragged out by the police, screaming.
The center of the commotion.
‘Huh… so that woman back then was Lee Damju?’
Kang Yul curled his lips into a faint smirk.
Only then did the face that had been hidden behind thick-rimmed glasses overlap clearly.
Of course, hearing the circumstances made it understandable.
But it was still hard to accept.
Persistent, reckless, and difficult to understand.
Polite and neat on the outside, yet completely different on the inside.
That contradiction lingered strangely in his mind.
At that moment, Junsu glanced at his watch and spoke carefully.
“Ah, Prosecutor, it’s almost lunchtime… I’ll take you to a good place today. It’s in front of City Hall, but it’s close, so even the district office staff go there often. It’s quite famous.”
Kang Yul briefly composed his thoughts and straightened his expression.
“Alright.”
—
At lunchtime, the ‘Warm Meal House’ was already full.
“Ah, there’s no seats.”
Bokyeong stretched her neck to look inside and then pointed with her finger.
“Hey, hey, there’s one! Hurry up!”
Just then, a table was getting up and heading toward the counter.
Lee Damju naturally followed behind, but stopped when she saw the face sitting at the table behind it.
It was the same face she had seen that morning.
‘Seo Kang Yul…? Of all places… here…’
She briefly considered leaving, but it was already too late.
“Hey, what are you doing? Come on!”
Bokyeong had already taken a seat and was waving her hand.
Lee Damju bit her lip and slightly turned her head.
She sat down, but the gaze she felt from behind kept irritating her nerves.
At that moment, Bokyeong glanced back and suddenly whispered excitedly.
“Hey, behind you! That prosecutor who came from Seoul! Wow… he looks even more handsome up close.”
Lee Damju nearly dropped her chopsticks.
“……”
She had been trying to stay quiet to avoid running into him, but Bokyeong, unaware, kept whispering.
“He looks like he’d only cut steaks, but I guess he likes Korean food too.”
‘Please just be quiet….’
Lee Damju swallowed nervously.
The food arrived, and she picked up her spoon, but she couldn’t tell whether it was going into her nose or her mouth.
Then—
“We’re out of kimchi.”
Instead of Bokyeong getting up, Lee Damju stood up first.
“I’ll go get it.”
Her appetite was gone anyway.
As she walked toward the self-service corner, she suddenly stopped.
Kang Yul was right next to her, holding the tongs.
And as if waiting for her, he grabbed the side dish she was about to take.
“……”
Lee Damju’s eyes narrowed.
Kang Yul slightly lifted the corner of his lips and calmly served himself.
‘…What is this.’
Muttering inwardly, she tried to take another dish.
But again, he took the tongs first as if cutting in line.
“What is this? Right now.”
Lee Damju snapped in an irritated tone.
Kang Yul replied calmly, with a relaxed voice.
“As you can see, I took it first.”
He smirked slightly and left his spot.
Lee Damju huffed and deliberately scooped another side dish more forcefully.
“Ha, what kind of person is that.”
But his annoying behavior didn’t end there.
After finishing the meal, Lee Damju headed to a nearby café to pick up the coffee she had ordered earlier.
“Excuse me, this is mine, right? I’ll take it.”
Just as she was about to grab the Americano on the counter, a large hand suddenly snatched it first.
“This is mine.”
A familiar low voice reached her ears.
Lee Damju quickly turned her head.
‘…This guy again?’
She narrowed her eyes and snapped,
“Hey. Why do you keep picking a fight since earlier?”
“A fight?”
“No, earlier when taking the side dishes—”
Kang Yul cut her off and casually showed the order number.
“You see this? It’s mine.”
“……”
Realizing it wasn’t hers, Lee Damju fumbled her lips in embarrassment.
“Ahem… I’m sorry.”
Kang Yul’s gaze briefly scanned her.
“Seems like raising your voice is your specialty.”
“What?”
He continued in a low tone,
“Or is cutting in line your specialty?”
“Hey, listen!”
As Lee Damju widened her eyes, he picked up the cup and calmly added,
“You seemed quite natural at it.”
“……”
“Ah! And it turns out this isn’t our first meeting.”
“What? What do you mean—”
“It was at the Royal Palace Hotel a year ago, wasn’t it?”
“The… Royal Palace Hotel?”
The moment that name left his lips, the color slowly drained from her face.
It was a place she never wanted to remember again.
