Chapter 11
The One Who Remembers, The One Who Rages
***
The female officer’s face twisted as if she’d bitten into something sour.
‘Just as I expected.’
The male officer had probably told her to get him out so they could proceed with their line of questioning.
‘Now that I think about it…’
Roh Hyung-jin realized the woman’s name seemed oddly familiar. Of course, if he were still practicing law, it might be normal to know a police officer’s name, but he wasn’t active now, was he? This was from the past.
‘Where have I heard that name before…’
After pondering for a while, Roh Hyung-jin went out to the waiting room and used a public computer to search the internet. The flood of information that appeared made him frown, and he immediately headed back into the interrogation room. He glared at the female officer and made a demand.
“I request a change of the officer in charge.”
“You what?”
“What’s wrong?”
“What is the matter?”
Even the psychological counselor looked shocked. This kind of situation was rare. It was one thing to request a change for a male officer due to investigative reasons, but to request a change for a female officer too?
“May I know the reason?” the counselor asked with a serious expression. If there was something to know, she needed to be aware of it too.
“Her name seemed familiar, so I looked it up. Isn’t she the one who has a history of defending a gang rape in the past?”
The female officer’s face instantly turned pale. It was true. When a gang rape case had broken out, she had publicly claimed the victim ‘deserved it’ and hurled insults.
“That was… when I was young…”
She tried to make excuses, but it didn’t change anything.
“Well, even if it was in her youth, didn’t she also say this during her police interview? ‘I will investigate by considering the rapist’s perspective and whether the woman did anything to invite the rape.’ What part of that sounds like something a sexual assault unit officer should say?”
“……”
The woman’s face went completely pale, and she hung her head low. The counselor who heard this also frowned.
“In that case, she cannot be considered suitable as the investigating officer for a sexual assault case. I request the exclusion of an investigator who may carry preconceived notions.”
Eventually, the female officer hung her head and left. After a while, a different female officer entered. Roh Hyung-jin placed a phone on the table in front of her.
“To ensure fairness, I will be recording all proceedings from this moment onward.”
“That’s illegal.”
“It’s not illegal if a party involved does it. This is my noona’s phone. Right, Noona?”
“Yeah, it’s mine. I’ll record it.”
The police officer’s face again looked like she’d eaten something sour.
***
“We would have been in big trouble if you hadn’t been there.”
“Well, it’s the basics.”
Sure enough, the police, likely acting on some prior request, asked subtly leading questions, trying to make it seem like it was consensual rather than rape. Of course, Roh Hyung-jin objected each time, and eventually, even the counselor threatened to file a complaint if they continued questioning that way. In the end, their method of using subtly phrased questions to steer the narrative toward a consensual relationship was bound to fail.
“It’s just so obvious, isn’t it?”
Unable to block it at that stage, the trial began, and Lee Gyu-seong hired a lawyer and fought back fiercely. Well, he had to. He hadn’t managed to secure a settlement with Kang So-young and Yoon Mi-young. If things continued this way, he wouldn’t just be fired; he’d go to prison, so it was only natural.
“The problem is our country’s judicial system.”
The absurd thing is, in South Korea, victims cannot participate in criminal trials. The perpetrator can hire a lawyer for defense, but the victim is represented by the prosecutor. The problem is, prosecutors are civil servants, so they often don’t put in excessive effort. They tend to settle for a moderate punishment. So, no matter how unjust the victim feels, it’s often impossible to avoid a suspended sentence.
“Is there no way around that?”
“Frankly, it’s impossible unless we hire a former high-ranking official to apply pressure.”
Prosecutors proceed with the case, thoroughly excluding the victim. This results in the strange situation where the perpetrator is more protected under the law. Victims aren’t even allowed to attend the trial unless the prosecutor calls them. That was something even Roh Hyung-jin couldn’t change.
“Let’s just say we’ve done everything we can.”
“Thank you.”
“Don’t mention it.”
On the day of her transfer, Yoon Mi-young, having loaded her last belongings onto the truck, stood facing Roh Hyung-jin for the last time.
“Live well, wherever you go.”
“Okay.”
“Call me right away if anything happens. You know what I’m capable of, right?”
“I found out very well. Thanks to you.”
“Heh heh heh.”
After all, he had succeeded perfectly, using legal knowledge that even made the police shudder. For someone who wasn’t a lawyer in this situation, this was the limit. If he were a lawyer, he could have at least tried to negotiate with the prosecutor.
“I’ll contact you sometimes.”
“Sure.”
After searching here and there, Yoon Mi-young ended up going to live with a distant relative. As a minor, she couldn’t live alone. But she couldn’t go to an orphanage either. The problem was, the place was so far away that it took four hours by car.
“If it weren’t for you… I’d probably still be in hell.”
“So, tell me if you need help.”
“I will.”
Yoon Mi-young felt strangely sad and sorry, knowing this would be their last day. Hyung-jin had suffered all sorts of disadvantages because of her. His school life probably wouldn’t be easy either.
“Let’s go. It’s a long way, so we need to get moving.”
“Yes!”
At the driver’s urging, Hyung-jin looked at Mi-young and smiled.
“Take care. Stay healthy.”
“Yeah, you too.”
“Okay.”
Just as she was about to leave, Mi-young suddenly surprised Hyung-jin by planting a quick kiss on his lips. Hyung-jin froze on the spot.
“Thank you. I’ll never forget you.”
With that, Yoon Mi-young quickly ran to the car. The driver, seeing this, chuckled and started the car. All the while, Hyung-jin remained frozen.
“Well, well…”
Only after the car had completely disappeared into the distance did Roh Hyung-jin snap out of it.
“Not bad for a first retainer fee.”
He let out a wry chuckle. Then he turned to go inside. But then…
*Hehe.*
“Oops.”
He could see his older sister looking right at him.
“You got a kiss.”
“……”
“Mom! Hyung-jin got a kiss!”
“Wait! I’ll pay you back! Ten thousand won!”
“You have to pay interest too! Ohohoho.”
‘Damn it.’
And so, Hyung-jin had no choice but to pay 15,000 won, including interest.
