Chapter 24: Chapter 24

“Another day filled with cases of the weak and powerless,” Prosecutor Lee Na-eun from the Incheon Central District Prosecutor's Office Criminal Division 3 muttered under her breath.

At some point, she had been relegated to cases that seemed unimportant—cases unlikely to generate any money. Other prosecutors passed such cases onto her as well.

"Well, that’s because… I’m sorry. It’s just that you never consider who the suspect is…"

"Why should that be something for you to apologize for, Clerk Yoo?"

This was another form of harassment, a way to ostracize someone who refused to blend in and preferred to stand alone. It was like they were saying, "You’ll do things by the book anyway, and you wouldn’t accept bribes or anything like that, so just handle these irrelevant cases."

"Prosecutor…" Clerk Yoo sighed, looking at the stacks of paperwork piled high. These papers were why Prosecutor Lee Na-eun had to come in on Saturdays. Once she finished this mountain of files, another pile would surely arrive by Monday morning. It was an endless paper trail.

"But… because she’s the prosecutor, I can bear it!"

Clerk Yoo had a hard time too, but he endured it. He admired Prosecutor Lee Na-eun, and he wanted to be there for her.

The only hope in this rotten prosecution…! He was willing to suffer for her.

“Prosecutor, you must be getting hungry.”

Lee Na-eun checked her watch. It was lunchtime.

“…Already?”

“I know a great place for noodle soup—”

“Sorry, maybe next time. I have a prior engagement.”

“Oh… You have other plans…”

His spirits sank. Even though he’d made a brave suggestion, Lee Na-eun didn’t even glance his way.

…A perfect wall. Her strict rule of cutting ties with family, avoiding friends, and not dating was well-known. She wouldn’t create any weak points. Yet, despite knowing this, he couldn’t help but feel disheartened by her utter disregard for his efforts.

+++

While Clerk Yoo ate a solitary lunch, Prosecutor Lee Na-eun met with reporter Yoon Ha-young, who showed her a video on her laptop.

“…What is this?”

“It’s my team leader.”

“…?”

The footage showed a woman confessing her sins, undressing, performing a naked dogeza, and then being brutally raped. And this woman was the team leader at Shin Mirae Daily?

“She took a half-day off yesterday and didn’t return. I think this happened after she left.”

“Is she missing?”

“I’m not sure. I found this video in my email earlier, and I came straight to you.”

“I don’t quite understand. Why was this done to her, why was it recorded, and why was it sent to you?”

“Well…”

Yoon Ha-young explained the situation in full: Kim Dong-gi, the general affairs manager of Rainbow Miracle, had exposed sexual corruption through a live broadcast, which she had watched. She wrote an article about it, but her team leader took it down. Later, the video had arrived, showing her team leader suffering this punishment.

“The email was titled ‘Price.’ They must’ve assaulted her because I published the article and she failed to stop it. It’s a warning to me as well.”

Prosecutor Lee Na-eun watched the video with an expressionless gaze, as it showed Team Leader Seo Hyun-joo being violated in a humiliating manner.

“Did you report this to the police?”

“…If I trusted them, I wouldn’t have come here. I don’t trust the police!”

“…Neither do I trust the prosecution as a whole,” Yoon Ha-young said, suddenly grabbing Lee Na-eun’s hand.

“I only trust you, Prosecutor.”

“So you’re asking me to investigate this?”

“…In a sense, yes.”

Na-eun studied her for a moment.

“You’re making a request.”

“W-well…”

“Incident assignment isn’t up to me. Even if you reported it, there’s no guarantee I’d handle it. You know that, right?”

“…Still, I have to believe there’s someone…”

“It’s also problematic that you’re showing me this video. Possessing and distributing illicit recordings is a crime, you know.”

“But that’s—”

Yoon Ha-young looked uneasy as Lee Na-eun let out a faint smile—a fleeting moment of amusement.

“There may be a way.”

“What? Really?”

“I have plenty of enemies.”

“??”

“Someone who can erase a broadcast watched by thousands, leave no traces online, summon a Shin Mirae Daily team leader to his home, and record the assault to send to you… If they’re capable of that, then plenty of people who hate me might see this as an opportunity.”

“…?”

“An opportunity to finally get rid of the thorn in their side, Prosecutor Lee Na-eun. They’d like nothing more than to see me end up like your team leader, left in the woods somewhere.”

“!!”

Prosecutor Lee Na-eun chuckled softly, but Yoon Ha-young couldn’t laugh along. Even as shameless as she was, she couldn’t laugh at the thought of death.

“I’m sorry, Prosecutor. I just…”

“Oh, no worries. This is exactly why I meet with people like you.”

“Huh…?”

“You’re passionate about justice and fearless at times. It’s why I make time to meet with you. Seeing you makes me hopeful.”

“Really?”

“I knew you’d bring me a case like this eventually. It’s almost like I set a trap.”

“Huh?”

Lee Na-eun stood, smiling as she watched the reporter flustered and confused. Yoon Ha-young also stood up awkwardly.

“Send me the video. Then bring this case to our office, and I’ll request the head prosecutor to let me handle it.”

“Prosecutor…”

Yoon Ha-young looked at her with a mixture of awe and worry, and Lee Na-eun patted her shoulder reassuringly.

“Thank you, Reporter Yoon Ha-young.”

+++

“She met with a prosecutor? Did she really go and tell them everything that happened yesterday?”

“It seems so. Otherwise, there’d be no reason to meet a prosecutor now.”

“What an insane woman…”

I muttered without thinking.

“Maybe she’s a psychopath. Her superior gets raped because of her, and she goes spreading it around. It’s like a disease.”

Reading the surveillance report on Yoon Ha-young, I had to admit I was impressed. I had expected her to obsess over the case, playing detective, but she went straight to the prosecutor she knew.

"Did she even check in on her team leader?"

"Not a word. She knew what happened, but she didn’t even make a courtesy call.”

“…”

Hyun-joo looked down, speechless.

She wasn’t exactly protecting Yoon Ha-young by choice, but there had to be some regret, considering what she’d gone through.

“And she let herself get fucked by me again today… What a mess. So, who’s the prosecutor she met?”

“Lee Na-eun. She’s known for being unyielding. They say she’s untouchable by bribes and disliked by the powerful.”

“Hmm… So she went running to her?”

“That’s what it looks like. But it’s odd; a prosecutor can’t just choose cases like that.”

“Maybe she asked for advice or support?”

“That’s also strange. Normally, journalists and prosecutors shouldn’t be that close. Prosecutors like Lee Na-eun, who are known for sticking to principles, don’t usually get friendly with reporters.”

Soo-ah tilted her head in thought. It seemed odd but also not entirely unreasonable.

“Maybe there’s something deeper going on here?”

“With Yoon Ha-young?”

“No, with the prosecutor. My intuition honed from my police days is ringing alarm bells about her.”

I see. But, aren’t you a corrupt cop?@@novelbin@@