Chapter 2

"Prosecutor, you're on the rise! - Chapter 2 (2/341)

Mysterious Message (2)

-Sender: 29

-Contact Seung-ho.

What is this, kid?

I thought the feature to change the sender's number on modern phones had been removed.

There are still kids who go through the trouble of using a computer.

I dismissed it as unimportant and refocused on my work.

“Ugh.”

In the quiet office, the sound of the investigator stretching echoed.

“Tired?”

“No, sir. You must be the one working hard.”

“Want to go for a smoke?”

“Sure.”

I went outside with the investigator and lit a cigarette.

“Don’t you feel lonely, Prosecutor? You should settle down and get married soon.”

“I haven’t thought about it yet. I haven’t met the right woman.”

“Come on, with your credentials, women would line up for you. Graduated from Korea University, passed the bar exam. Not to mention, you’re tall and handsome.”

Hmm, it’s true, so I didn’t deny it.

It’s not a lie; women did line up.

When the neighborhood put up a banner congratulating me on passing the bar exam, I received countless blind date offers through my parents.

Teachers and civil servants didn’t even dare to consider a blind date with me, but I received many offers from doctors and announcers with impressive credentials.

However, I rejected all of them.

As a prosecutor in South Korea, I believed I would meet the right woman who I could support and take care of.

Looking back, I was so naive.

After being transferred to a local office, I didn’t stand out, and the blind date offers gradually decreased. I was so busy that I didn’t have time to date.

I later found out that most of the outstanding students from the Judicial Research and Training Institute had married into powerful families in politics and business.

It’s embarrassing to think how arrogant I was, thinking I was special just because I had good grades and became a prosecutor.

That’s how time passed, leading to my current situation.

While I don’t get as many blind date offers as when I first became a prosecutor, I still receive offers from teachers, flight attendants, civil servants, and nurses. But I don’t want to go on blind dates anymore.

It’s not because their jobs are less prestigious; I just don’t want to start a family right now.

In the past, I sometimes envied my friend Yong-ho, who married into a doctor’s family right after passing the bar exam and lived a happy life. But I don’t see that anymore.

It’s funny how I kept rejecting blind dates and now I don’t want to go on any.

I exhaled a puff of white smoke into the cold night air.

When I felt down, having a drink with Seung-ho was my solace.

I wonder how that kid is doing.

Thinking of him, I suddenly remembered the text message I received earlier.

“Ah, Investigator, I heard there are still people who change their sender’s number to send texts.”

“What kind of message did you receive?”

“Yes, it was quite unusual. It told me to contact a friend. It seemed like someone I know was playing a prank.”

I rummaged through my pocket, took out my phone, and opened the message inbox.

Huh?

The message is gone.

Where did it go?

Did I accidentally block it as spam?

I was busy and put it aside to focus on work.

“Why is it gone?”

Just in case, I checked the call log.

It should still be there even if it was marked as spam.

But it’s nowhere to be found.

Why is it gone?

Did I hallucinate?

That’s impossible.

Furrowing my brow, I searched my phone, and the investigator casually said,

“You probably deleted it and forgot, sir. You were so busy today.”

“Maybe.”

“Probably.”

Am I being too sensitive?

The investigator, not taking it seriously, rubbed his stomach and changed the subject.

“Are you hungry, sir?”

It’s already 7 PM.

I’ve been burning the midnight oil on a Friday.

“Want to grab dinner?”

“No, let’s have a snack and call it a day before 9 PM. I’ll go get some street food. How about tteokbokki and fried food?”

“Sure.”

“I’ll be right back.”

“Thanks.”

The investigator left for the street food stand, and I continued to search my phone, but the message was nowhere to be found.

Even if I deleted it, I wouldn’t forget.

This is strange.

***

“Be careful on your way home.”

“Yes, have a good night, sir!”

The investigator smiled, bowed, and hurried to the subway.

For some reason, I was curious about Yong-ho’s recent situation.

Was it because of the text?

I should call him after so long.

But if I do, he might just brag again.

Thinking about him laughing on the phone made me chuckle.

Since I thought of him, I should call.

I dialed his number.

After a long ring, just as I was about to hang up, I heard Seung-ho’s voice.

-Hello...

His voice was hoarse.

It’s 9 PM, how long has he been drinking to be this drunk?

“Yong-ho, are you at a dinner party?”

-No, I’m at home.

At home and sounding like that?

“Did you just wake up?”

-No, listen.

His voice had no energy.

This is the first time I’ve seen him so listless since he moved to Seoul.

“I just called to see how you’re doing. Even if Seoul is great, you don’t contact your friends?”

After a moment of silence, Seung-ho spoke heavily.

-I’m not in Seoul.

“Where are you?”

-Bo-seong.

“Bo-seong in Jeollanam-do? Why there?”

-I was transferred to Bo-seong District Office.

What kind of nonsense is this?

He doesn’t sound drunk from his speech.

“Did something happen?”

-Se-jun...

“Yeah, what is it?”

Seung-ho hesitated for a long time before speaking in a trembling voice.

-I’m so tired.

***

“Why did you come here when you have to work tomorrow?”

“Tomorrow is Saturday, you idiot. Get a grip.”

His hair was messy, his beard was growing, and he was wearing pajamas and running shoes, looking completely worn out.

He sighed deeply and let me in.

The living room was small.

Actually, the whole apartment was small.

A tiny living room and one bedroom.

It’s embarrassing to call it a two-bedroom.

In a place like this, it probably costs less than 50 million won.

Why would he, who married into a doctor’s family, live here?

It’s too small for two people.

Wait, someone is missing.

“Hey, where’s your wife?”

“She’s in Seoul.”

He smiled bitterly and brought out a bottle of soju and two glasses from the fridge.

“All I have is soju.”

I silently took the glass he poured and drank it in one gulp.

The lukewarm alcohol burned my mouth.

“Want some ice?”

“No need.”

I grabbed his shoulder and asked,

“What happened?”

“What do you mean, can’t you tell?”

He laughed helplessly.

“I got kicked out of Seoul.”

“What do you mean? If you came, your wife should have come with you. Why did you come alone?”

“She said she doesn’t want to live in a small town and told me to go alone. She can’t even stand the sight of me.”

Seung-ho, whom I hadn’t seen in two years, was completely broken.

His mental state was shattered.

“Tell me what happened. I’m staying here tonight, so spill it.”

“...F*ck.”

He cursed and began to sob.

“I shouldn’t be like this. It’s embarrassing.”

Seung-ho wiped his tears and told me what happened in Seoul.

He ended up in Seoul by chance, joining the Im Sung-jin line.

At first, he did well in the Im Sung-jin team.

As he said, they planned and set traps for cases, and solving them made headlines.

He thought he could easily become a chief prosecutor.

However, even with the right connections, he had his limits.

Even though he married into a doctor’s family, his father-in-law was just a regular doctor, and his wife was a housewife. He had no real backing.

He had no ‘connections’ to speak of.

Still, he managed to survive and hang on.

For a year.

Naturally, new people joined the Im Sung-jin team, and he started to fall behind.

Then, a problem arose in the Im Sung-jin team, and Seung-ho was blamed and transferred to a small town.

They promised to bring him back, but his position was gone within a month.

His wife didn’t just dislike living in a small town.

While he was preparing to make a comeback, he noticed something suspicious about his wife. He had someone investigate and found out she was having an affair with a foreign English teacher.

Unable to handle the situation, Seung-ho broke down and spent the past three months in this small apartment, drinking and sleeping.

“I want to die, friend.”

Hearing this from my best friend was infuriating. Seeing him so desperate, to the point of talking about suicide, was unbearable.

“Idiot, if you die here, you’ll be a real failure. You need to stand up and show them. Don’t you think?”

“I can’t.”

He laughed bitterly, as if he had lost his mind.

“I’m done. Even if I try to make a comeback, they’ll stop me.”

I clenched my fists in anger but felt helpless.

“I’ve thought about suicide hundreds of times since I came here. I even went to the rooftop of a nearby apartment building.”

“Hey!”

“But I couldn’t do it.”

He looked down with a hopeless expression.

“It’s not that I’m scared, but I’m embarrassed. And I feel too wronged to do it.”

“Then you need to stand up. What are you talking about dying for?”

“I can’t die alone. I’m too wronged. I want to take them all down with me.”

He grabbed my hands with both of his, looking at me pitifully.

“Se-jun.”

“...”

“Help me just once. Even if I fall, I want to take them down and become a ghost. I can’t die alone. I’m too wronged.”

“What can I, a mere prosecutor, do to bring them down?”

“I’ll tell you.”

He spoke with a trembling, desperate voice.

“I have all the records. I have recordings and enough evidence to bring them down. I can bring them all down. I’ll be the whistleblower. I’ll be fired in three months anyway. You take them down and rise to the top. Become the king.”