Chapter 7
Why was he so angry?
He had seemed fine in the office just a little while ago.
Puzzled by his sudden change, Eun-jae parted her lips.
“These are the materials for the investigative report meeting, sir.”
“Materials entrusted to Investigator Jung Eun-jae. Why are you carelessly letting someone from another team handle them?”
Ah. So the problem was Jin-hyuk pulling the cart.
Eun-jae quickly took the cart handle from Jin-hyuk’s hand.
But their timing was off, and their hands brushed against each other in the process.
Eun-jae hurriedly pulled her hand away. Seeing that, Woo-kyung’s brow furrowed even deeper.
“…”
What on earth was wrong with him?
Now even Eun-jae was starting to feel frustrated. She bit her lower lip hard before finally looking straight at Woo-kyung.
“I was just helping Eun-jae—no, Investigator Jung—because there was a lot of stuff. I didn’t even look at the documents. What’s the problem with that?”
Ignoring the huffing Jin-hyuk entirely, Woo-kyung snatched the cart with a sharp tak and disappeared into the meeting room.
It all happened in an instant.
“Seriously, what an annoying bastard.”
Muttering under his breath, Jin-hyuk followed, and Eun-jae stepped into the meeting room after him. The cart she had been pulling was gone, leaving her hands strangely empty.
“Alright, the Deputy Chief Prosecutor will be down soon! Let’s get everything perfectly ready for the meeting.”
For now, she had to set aside wondering why Baek Woo-kyung was acting like this and focus on work.
As the youngest investigator on the team, Eun-jae had to move quickly to set up the meeting.As the meeting began, a heavy tension settled over the room.
In the authoritarian, strictly hierarchical world of prosecutors, decisions handed down by higher-ranking prosecutors had to be accepted without question, like being pressed flat under a thumb.
“Next is the case where the son of the M Construction chairman has been indicted as the suspect.”
The case handled by Woo-kyung and Eun-jae was brought up as the next agenda item.
“Hidden camera? That little shit gets naked and does whatever he wants.”
The Deputy Chief Prosecutor clicked his tongue, put a cigarette in his mouth, and stared at the presentation screen.
“Wait a second. M Construction… isn’t that the Prime Minister’s nephew-in-law or something?”
At the casually tossed question, everyone hurriedly pulled out their phones and started searching.
“Yes, sir! It’s confirmed—nephew-in-law!”
Someone shouted the answer first.
“And the law firm is Golden Castle with Attorney Hwang? Then a big shot like this should’ve greased the wheels properly!”
At the Deputy Chief’s outburst, everyone quietly put their phones away.
“Who the hell threw out such an insensitive sentence recommendation? Division 1? Who was it!”
All eyes turned toward Woo-kyung.
He didn’t care. He stared straight ahead without the slightest tremor.
‘Recommended sentence: 7 years (statutory maximum for illegal filming).’
The Deputy Chief exhaled thick, harsh smoke while looking at the text.
“It’s my case.”
A low voice rang out from the far end of the long conference table.
“Baek Woo-kyung, Criminal Division 1.”
Baek Woo-kyung?
The Deputy Chief rolled the name around in his mouth, then burst into loud laughter.
“Ahhh, it’s you? The cocky first-year who skipped over all his seniors and flew off to America?”
The Deputy Chief sneered, wrinkling his face.
“You haven’t had the trial yet, right? Reduce it. For a hidden camera case, two years suspended plus some community service should do it.”
“Th-that’s…”
The Division 1 Chief hesitated, glancing nervously at Woo-kyung.
The Deputy Chief was a problem, but behind Woo-kyung stood the Do-young Group.
Moreover, his natural intimidation and uncompromising nature had already been confirmed several times.
“Division 1 Chief. Is Baek Woo-kyung your superior instead of me? Why are you looking at him like that?”
Clicking his tongue, the Deputy Chief stubbed out his cigarette butt in the crystal ashtray. Then his gaze landed on Eun-jae, who was sitting in the corner.
“Hey.”
Startled by the sudden call, Eun-jae shot to her feet.
Before she could even ask what was wrong, the Deputy Chief jerked his chin toward the ashtray.
“…”
So he wanted her to clear it. A bitter feeling washed over her.
Some prosecutors treated investigators like personal servants who handled their miscellaneous chores. There was no point in feeling upset about it.
Eun-jae calmly walked over to the Deputy Chief and picked up the ashtray.
“Enough of that. Division 1 Chief, take Baek Woo-kyung and go visit M Construction before the trial!”
The Deputy Chief launched into a long tirade while lighting yet another cigarette.
The thick, acrid smoke wafting right beside her nearly made her cough.
Then her eyes met Jin-hyuk’s across the table.
He gave her a pitying look, but when a loud noise erupted, he quickly averted his gaze.
“Go apologize, and find out whether this has already reached the Prime Minister’s ears.”
The Deputy Chief flicked cigarette ash tak onto the ashtray Eun-jae was holding.
He didn’t even look properly, so the ash almost landed on the back of her hand, sparks and all.
“…!”
Startled, Eun-jae jerked backward.
In the process, the pile of cigarette butts spilled onto the floor.
…Truly, it was a difficult moment in many ways.
But if she just endured it, it would pass quietly. Eun-jae swallowed her sorrow and bent down under the table to pick them up.
“These low-level people lack sense and awareness—it’s partly the responsibility of their seniors.”
While listening to the pouring scolding and gathering the fallen butts, she saw a pair of jet-black shoes striding toward her.
Who was walking around during the meeting? She wondered for only a moment.
“Get up.”
Screeech—the long conference table was pushed back.
Incredibly, Woo-kyung’s hardened face appeared.
“…Yes?”
“Put that thing down.”
With a frighteningly low voice, the ashtray disappeared from Eun-jae’s hand.
‘I should’ve just cleaned it quickly and disappeared.’
Had she disturbed the meeting? The atmosphere was already bad enough.
Seeing his mood turn even more dangerous than before made her chest tighten.
All her careful efforts over the past few days to stay out of his sight felt like they were about to go to waste.
As Eun-jae stood up, Woo-kyung stared straight at her and let out a hollow laugh between clenched teeth.
At the same time, he set the ashtray down on the Deputy Chief’s table with a sharp tak, almost throwing it.
“Is an investigator the prosecutor’s servant?”
In that instant, Eun-jae’s eyes widened.
She had naturally assumed the blade would fall on her. But he wasn’t criticizing her—he was directly confronting the Deputy Chief Prosecutor.
A mere junior prosecutor talking back to a Deputy Chief. Something impossible was happening.
Everyone froze in silent shock.
“What the hell, you punk?”
“I was just asking because you were making my investigator do chores no one ever asked me to do.”
The furious Deputy Chief shot to his feet. He tilted his head back as far as possible, trying not to be intimidated by Woo-kyung, who towered a full head taller.
“This crazy bastard—! What the hell are you doing, suddenly jumping out during a meeting!”
“Ventilating.”
Calmly brushing past the shouting Deputy Chief, Woo-kyung walked to the window.
He opened it wide, and fresh air swept away the heavy cigarette smell.
“This is a public facility. Smoking is prohibited. Article 9 of the National Health Promotion Act. Did you forget?”
Ahem, ahem—coughs erupted here and there.
Everyone had known but let it slide with blurry eyes; having it pointed out so bluntly made them uncomfortable.
“You should obey the law. Especially someone who makes a living from it.”
“How dare you lecture your heavenly senior? Hey, punk—don’t you know how to lower your eyes?”
When hit with facts, having nothing to say, the Deputy Chief tried to suppress him with rank and seniority.
But Woo-kyung wasn’t fazed in the slightest.
“I always keep my eyes lowered. Most people are beneath me anyway.”
Instead, he looked down at the Deputy Chief with his signature arrogance and boredom.
He even added the same insolent chin jerk the Deputy Chief had given Eun-jae earlier.
“This little—!”
While the Deputy Chief turned from red to blue with rage, the other prosecutors jumped in.
“What kind of insubordination is this?!”
“Hey! Baek Prosecutor—do you have no sense of hierarchy?”
“Well… I’m not sure about hierarchy. But I do know the severity of crimes very well.”
Woo-kyung responded leisurely, slipping his hands into his pants pockets and standing tall.
“And regardless of whose nephew, cousin, or whatever someone is—I judge only by the nature of the crime.”
He emphasized a certain syllable ever so slightly, his lips curving elegantly.
“Nephew, or whatever.”
“Wh-what?”
“There will be no leniency.”
“Agh, you son of a—…!”
Everyone who caught the implication between the curse and the sentence lost their words. They just sat there with their mouths open in stunned silence.
“My case report ends here. Investigator Jung Eun-jae, return to your seat.”
He watched until Eun-jae returned to her place, then sat down with his usual expressionless face.
“Uh, um… let’s move on to the next agenda…”
Eun-jae had no idea how the rest of the time passed.
She clenched her empty fist tightly, trying to calm her racing heart.
Knock knock.
Eun-jae swallowed dryly after knocking on the door to Woo-kyung’s private office inside the main office.
‘I don’t know. I already knocked… I can’t run away now.’
She had been looking for the right moment to thank him for helping her during the meeting, and the opportunity had finally come.
Hearing a short “Come in,” Eun-jae cautiously stepped into his space.
“Prosecutor.”
Sitting with his back to the wide window, he lifted his eyes briefly.
“What is it.”
“Um… are you okay?”
Ah. That wasn’t what she meant to say.
She had wanted to thank him first for taking her side earlier.
But the worry she had been holding inside slipped out unconsciously.
“Earlier, um… during the meeting… with the Deputy Chief—”
“Who’s worrying about whom, Jung Eun-jae.”
Startled, Eun-jae quickly checked that the door was properly closed. In that brief moment, he strode over and closed the distance.
“Did you become an investigator just to wait on prosecutors hand and foot?”
“…”
“Refusing, pushing away—why aren’t you using those skills you were so good at?”
Trying to avoid him as he approached, Eun-jae took one step back after another.
Finally, her back hit the cold wall.
“You put up your pride, your thorns, even your damn walls against me.”
