Chapter 4.
“Pardon? It’s not a phone?”
Then what on earth is this?
What else could be so large in his pocket besides a phone?
A remote control? A canned drink? It surely wasn’t a pistol.
She was trying to think of the most likely object that would be in a prosecutor’s pocket while on duty when, suddenly, the lights flickered back on. Her eyes, adjusted to the dark, squinted automatically at the sudden flood of light.
It took a few seconds for Eun-jae to realize exactly what she was touching.
Eun-jae’s hand was resting on U-gyeong’s left thigh as he stood leaning against the handrail.
Thigh? Left?
“How long are you planning on holding it?”
“……!”
Startled, Eun-jae snatched her hand away.
But U-gyeong was faster. He grabbed her retreating hand and pressed it back against his body.
“I didn’t realize you still had lingering feelings in this direction.”
“No! Absolutely not. It was a mis—a total mistake! I’m so sorry……”
It was useless to beg like a criminal caught red-handed.
He pulled the corners of his mouth back, pressing her hand even deeper. A deep dimple, like a sharp crease, appeared on his right cheek.
It was a dimple that only appeared when he smiled genuinely. It was a spot Eun-jae used to love kissing lightly.
But now was not the time to be swept up in such memories.
“Did you cause all that fuss because you missed this?”
Unbuttoning a person’s shirt out of nowhere, stripping their clothes off.
His dark eyes, usually indifferent to everything, began to spark with interest.
It was a habit of his that surfaced just before things turned dangerous and suggestive.
“No, I didn’t! It was a mistake. I’m sorry!”
Eun-jae shook her head violently, but he wasn’t listening.
“Keep going. Do what you used to do. Stroke it because you like it, and bi—”
“Gasp!”
He’s lost his mind! Why would he bring that up……!
Eun-jae quickly reached out with her free hand and covered his mouth to stop the embarrassing words. At the same time, she barely managed to pry her trapped hand away.
However, her mind was already a mess. Scenes of the countless moments they had shared their bodies flashed vividly in her head.
‘Do you hate it?’
The day they first made love. Seeing her flustered by a man’s naked body for the first time, he had smirked.
‘No, um. It’s just…… it’s unfamiliar.’
‘It’s okay. I won’t hurt you.’
‘Liar.’
Swallowing hard, Eun-jae had let the truth slip out.
You’re telling me I have to take in something that feels like a weapon, and I won’t get hurt?
‘Yeah. I’m lying.’
Moving over her as she slowly leaned back, he settled into place and whispered.
‘Just let me fool you, Eun-jae.’
‘Ah!’
‘Because I have no intention of stopping here.’
She had forgotten those memories. No—she had to forget them.
She had no right to even think of Baek U-gyeong, so what was the point of holding onto memories of when they possessed each other so passionately?
She had assumed he would have forgotten. Or that she would have remained an object of resentment or a curse.
She couldn’t understand the intention of this man, bringing up their “good old days” in a situation like this.
……Regardless, the answer was set. She couldn’t let herself be shaken.
—Hello? The emergency elevator inspection is complete. Is anyone inside?
A voice of salvation finally flowed from the speaker.
Eun-jae pulled her hand away from his mouth and rushed toward the speaker.
“Yes! Hello? Maintenance? We’re trapped in here!”
—Oh dear. The CCTV cut out so we didn’t know. We’ll open the doors right now!
Soon after, with the whirring sound of machinery, the closed doors slid wide open.
“Oh my, are you alright?”
The people who rushed over looked seriously at Eun-jae, whose face was flushed, and U-gyeong, whose shirt was disheveled and open.
“……I’m fine.”
“Do you need to go to the hospital? Should we call an ambulance?”
She hesitated for a moment.
Should she mention U-gyeong’s claustrophobia? Should she make him see a doctor? Was he really okay?
But Eun-jae’s worries were meaningless.
“Huh? Is the Prosecutor okay?”
U-gyeong had already left the scene.
Actually, it was for the best. She wouldn’t step up for Baek U-gyeong anymore.
A disaster had just occurred because of her useless memory and nosiness, yet here she was trying to look after him again. She clearly hadn’t learned her lesson.
“I’m really fine too. I wasn’t hurt at all.”
“Is that so? Thank goodness.”
Unaware that she was worried, the man’s broad back could be seen walking away with long strides.
“…….”
Watching his perfectly composed retreating figure, Eun-jae lowered her gaze.
She was sick of elevators now. Eun-jae took the emergency stairs to return to the office.
“Why did I do that?”
Clack, clack. With every step down the stairs, she agonized over the madness she had just committed.
Hasty stripping her ex-boyfriend and touching his…… that embarrassing place.
“You’re crazy, Jeong Eun-jae.”
To anyone else, she would look like someone overflowing with lingering feelings. Judging by his reaction, she had certainly caused a massive misunderstanding.
Furthermore, in her panic, she had called him Oppa. Just like back when they were happy.
“Haa.”
How many lines had she crossed today?
Sighing deeply, she dragged her feet along.
When she opened the door to the office marked <Prosecutor Baek U-gyeong>, U-gyeong was sitting alone at the head desk.
“…….”
I’m so miserable.
Seeing him sitting there looking perfectly neat and sharp made her feel strangely resentful.
“Investigator Jeong Eun-jae.”
Before she could even sit down, a cold summons reached her. Eun-jae approached him.
“Yes, Prosecutor.”
“You were the one who first requested that we keep things a secret.”
He spoke so casually that she almost mistook it for business talk.
“From now on.”
Clack. A signed approval folder was placed in the corner.
“Let’s do our jobs properly and well.”
“…….”
“If you don’t want to be misunderstood.”
Thinking of what she had done, she had nothing to say.
She couldn’t exactly ask him why he was the one who brought up that strange term ‘my person’ first.
Let’s do our jobs properly and well.
Recalling her direct superior’s command, Eun-jae took the approval folder.
“…….”
The phone on her desk was silent. Naturally, there was no notification that her transfer request had been approved.
How much longer would she have to stay in the same space as him?
It was a moment of complete exhaustion.
The next day was busy all day.
There were two public trials scheduled, and there were an unusually high number of depositions transferred from the police station.
Eun-jae immersed herself in work, barely finishing a roll of kimbap for lunch. Being busy was actually better. It gave her no time for stray thoughts.
“Done! Finally done!”
There was some good news, at least. A special larceny case that had been plaguing Eun-jae and her colleagues for months had finally closed.
“The verdict is out. 8 years. They’re not appealing.”
“What a relief.”
Assistant Officer Kim stretched lazily, groaning.
“Oh man. I’ve passed the clock-out time again today.”
The indifferent hour hand was approaching 7 PM.
“Shall we have a light dinner to celebrate the closing of the case? What do you think? It’s been a while.”
“Just us?”
the paralegal glanced at U-gyeong’s empty desk. He was currently attending a trial.
“Prosecutor Baek definitely won’t go, right?”
“Ahem. Probably. He’s someone who won’t even have lunch with us.”
“It’s a bit disappointing. Prosecutors in other offices take care of their staff like family. Do we smell or something?”
It was a joke, but Eun-jae couldn’t laugh. She felt like it was because of her.
“Well, let’s take care of ourselves then. Investigator, are you in for dinner? How about frozen pork belly?”
“Yes, that sounds good.”
She wanted to go home and rest, but she didn’t want to dampen the mood by bowing out.
“Alright, let’s hustle so we can leave within thirty minutes.”
Since one case was closed, Eun-jae opened her inbox with a slightly lighter heart.
As expected, there was no message from the HR department today either.
“…….”
Staring at the monitor, Eun-jae accessed the work portal. She went to the forms board and clicked on the ‘Resignation’ template.
This was already the several-th time she had opened the resignation letter just to stare at it blankly.
But…… she wasn’t in a position to just quit without a plan.
Thinking of the loan interest payment that had passed the other day, Eun-jae closed the document.
That was when her phone vibrated with a long buzz.
“Hello?”
—Is this the family of Ms. Jeong Jin-sook? This is the Gangsan Police Station. I’m a detective with Violent Crimes Team 2.
Her breath hitched. Whenever the police mentioned her mother’s name, it only ever meant misfortune.
Eun-jae slowly swept her hair back, trying to stay calm.
“……Should I come to the Gangsan station now?”
After receiving brief instructions, Eun-jae closed her eyes tight, then opened them and stood up.
Her colleagues looked at her curiously as she suddenly prepared to leave.
“Huh? Are you going out on field work to a police station?”
“I’m sorry. I don’t think I can make it to dinner tonight.”
With only those words, Eun-jae left the office.
The remaining two looked at each other and shrugged.
“What’s up? Did a case break?”
“Didn’t she leave after taking a call? Then it must be a personal matter.”
“I guess? Man, today’s just not the day. Even the Investigator is gone.”
The Assistant Officer smacked his lips in disappointment.
At that time, in a high-rise residence overlooking the night view of the Han River.
U-gyeong, having come out of the bathroom while drying his hair, flicked on the light.
The silent space, devoid of any everyday noise, held minimal furniture. The atmosphere felt more like a gallery than a home.
As soon as he donned his bathrobe and went to the connected dressing room, the suit jacket he had hung separately caught his eye.
On that one-of-a-kind jacket, tailored specifically to his physique, a button hung by a loose thread.
It was the button Jeong Eun-jae had frantically torn off, thinking he was having a breathing fit.
‘No! It’s absolutely not because of lingering feelings. It was a mis—a total mistake! I’m so sorry……’
“Ha.”
U-gyeong rubbed his stiff neck, recalling that small face colored with panic.
the heat he had suppressed with such effort surged once again.
This is a fairly long excerpt! Would you like me to summarize the key plot points so far or perhaps analyze the shifting power dynamics between Eun-jae and U-gyeong?
