TWB 49

“Are you alright?”

“Yes, I’m fine.”

“You should have rested until today. You were literally carried out in an ambulance.”

Returning to work after a day’s rest at the hospital, I found the office in an uproar over my collapse. It was exhausting just answering the constant stream of people asking if I was okay. In the midst of it, Chief Oh slid over to me and handed me something. It was a gold-foiled envelope about the size of a credit card.

“What is this?”

“A Samjae talisman.”

“A talisman?”

“I’ve been wondering why you’ve been getting sick and injured so often since last year, Prosecutor. Turns out you’re in your Samjae period. You aren’t religious, right? Just keep this in your wallet for now.”

I tried to decline, saying it was fine, but grateful for her kindness, I tucked it carelessly into my wallet. I didn’t believe in Samjae, nor did I believe in talismans. If such things could prevent approaching disasters, I would have tried every method imaginable unauthorized copystyle="position:absolute;left:-9999px;font-size:0;">[visit our site]BEGIN: Read on Read BL Novels -->Read on Read BL Novelslong ago. My life had been a cluster of disasters since the moment I was born, and I thought I had finally learned the knack of avoiding them reasonably well. But it seemed life had no intention of leaving me in peace.

I had stayed up all night listening to the recording. As time passed, my anger slowly cooled, replaced by a cold rationality. I decided that from now on, I had to do what I could.

Avoid the worst-case scenario.

Avoid it if possible.

Whether it was a disaster, or Im Gyeong.

“Oh, Prosecutor, did you hear the news? I was so shocked.”

“What news?”

“They say there was a report of an explosive device at Oasis the day before yesterday. Apparently, the police special forces and a disposal team were deployed, and all the nearby precinct officers were called out.”

Kang Hee-shin put on an exaggeratedly surprised expression.

“Really?”

Chief Oh subtly tested the waters.

“Strange, isn’t it? That this happened right after you mentioned wanting to raid Oasis.”

“Are you suspecting me?”

“It’s not suspicion, it’s just that the timing aligns a bit too perfectly.”

“Do I look like a lunatic to you? No matter how much I want to raid that place, I wouldn’t do something like that.”

Seeing Kang Hee-shin’s deadpan expression, Chief Oh felt relieved. Right, no matter how much of a bulldozer he was, there was no way he’d do something like that. Feeling inwardly reassured, she handed him some nutritional supplements this time, mentioning that she’d been taking them from a pharmacy and they worked wonders.

“Make sure you take these for a while. You’re not getting any younger, Prosecutor. They say that from your thirties onward, your stamina erodes like grains of sand in seawater. You need to exercise, eat well, and sleep well. But look at you. You don’t eat, you don’t exercise, you don’t sleep, and all you do is drink that damn coffee.”

When I made a gesture of plugging my ears to block out the nagging, Chief Oh sighed and returned to her seat. Still, I didn’t dislike her worrying about me. Now that I was over thirty, I often found myself wishing I had someone to lean on. Because for my entire life, I had only ever been the pillar for others.

On the other hand, I began to wonder if I could fully trust Chief Oh or Case Officer Baek Young-mi. I wondered if either of them was colluding with the other side. It was a sorrowful reality that I couldn’t even unauthorized copytrust my covisit our sitetyle="font-size:0;color:transparent;display:inline;">visit our sitelleagues, so I stopped working for a moment and stepped outside.

As I went to the smoking area and pulled out a cigarette, I saw Jang Seon-woo sitting there.

Holding an empty coffee cup, he looked deep in thought.

“Prosecutor Kang, you’re here?”

Jang Seon-woo greeted me first and made room for me in the shade. I stepped closer and put a cigarette in my mouth. I flicked the lighter several times, but it wouldn’t ignite. Dammit. Just as I thought I might have to go back and get another one, a flame finally flickered up.

Jang Seon-woo glanced at me. Since we mostly spoke about work and had never had a private conversation, it was slightly awkward. Jang Seon-woo was a different breed of person. He was serious, taciturn, and impossible to read. He seemed to lack ambition. Because of that, those who weren’t close to him often described him as cold.

Then again, if your father is the Prosecutor General, I suppose life is smooth enough that you don’t need to be ambitious.

Thinking this, I let out a self-deprecating laugh without realizing it.

How twisted of a thought. Not all rich people are happy, and power doesn’t guarantee a smooth path. I knew that from experience. They, too, fight their own wars within their circles to protect what they have. Yet, I couldn’t help the occasional surge of inferiority.

“How are you feeling?”

“I’m fine.”

“Everyone was worried. Both about your injury and your sudden collapse. They wondered if you were pushing yourself too hard.”

Instead of answering, I simply smiled. The watch on his wrist caught my eye. Park Tae-min had mentioned it probably cost hundreds of millions of won. Jang Seon-woo’s maternal side was also wealthy. While not chaebols, they ran a food company that anyone would recognize by name. So, unlike me, this probably wasn’t a watch bought for show.

“Nice watch. It looks great.”

When I blurted it out, Jang Seon-woo smiled.

“It’s a memento from my Hyung.”

Ah… For a moment, I was speechless. He had a Hyung? I thought he only had a Noona.

“He passed away a long time ago. There was a significant age gap between us.”

“I see… I didn’t know. I’m sorry.”

“It’s alright. To be honest, I don’t even remember him well now. His face is a blur…”

Despite his words, longing seeped through his voice.

His gaze drifted, as if he were thinking of his brother. I didn’t know one could make an expression like that.

Will there come a day when my Hyung is forgotten too? Then again, his face is already faint in my mind. He had stayed shut in his room for years before he died. The last face I remembered was how he looked before the casket was closed. He had closed his eyes so peacefully that he looked as if he were merely sleeping.

“I had a Hyung too… though he’s gone now.”

Jang Seon-woo just listened in silence. He didn’t ask where my brother went or how it happened. His usual silence might actually be a great virtue. It meant he wouldn’t unintentionally touch someone’s wounds or dig into their weaknesses.

Silence settled between us, and in that stillness, Jang Seon-woo murmured softly.

“…This case will go well, right?”

Worry and a hint of anxiety laced his voice. Everyone had been surprised when he readily joined the team. With his father potentially [Read unauthorized copyon Read BL Novels]stepping down as General to enter the National Assembly, there was no reason for him to take such a risk. If this case went south, the blow would likely hit Prosecutor General Jang In-cheol as well.

Hee-shin crushed his nearly finished cigarette in the ashtray. After exhaling a cloud of smoke into the air, he gave a bright smile. So that his talented Hubae could feel a little more at ease.

“It’ll go well. I’ll make sure it does, one way or another.”

---

As Park Tae-min entered the pojangmacha, he looked appalled at the number of soju bottles on the table. He had dropped by briefly on his way home, only to find Chief Oh and Kang Hee-shin flushed bright red from drinking.

“Our Chief is getting old. When I first joined, she could drink anyone under the table.”

“Why are you bringing up ancient history? These days, she’s no match for Prosecutor Kang.”

“This guy has an alcohol dependency. A man who was just carried out of a hospital is drinking… just how many bottles are these? One, two, three—”

“The two of us polished off six. Six bottles. We should get going now.”

Contrary to Chief Oh’s words, Kang Hee-shin continued to tilt his soju glass.

Park Tae-min scolded him for drinking so much without eating any snacks.

“I heard Assemblyman Bae’s chief of staff appeared this afternoon?”

“Wow, don’t even get me started. There’s a reason he’s the chief. He dodged questions so skillfully he makes a loach look clumsy. It’s been a while since I’ve seen our Prosecutor clutching the back of his neck in frustration.”

“Kang Hee-shin is a slippery one, but an even slippier one showed up?”

“He’s on a different level. That guy is a slippery one with a black heart, while our Prosecutor is a slippery one with a transparent heart.”

Kang Hee-shin, who had been half-asleep listening, snorted.

“Transparent? Me? You’ve got me all wrong. My heart is pitch black too. If you all knew what I was thinking, you’d probably faint.”

“Obvious. You’re probably thinking about hooking a rich man’s daughter to climb the social ladder.”

At Park Tae-min’s words, the atmosphere suddenly turned chilly. Chief Oh gave him a look, signaling him to stop. As if to ask why on earth he was bringing that up now.

The man himself, however, seemed unfazed.

“Climb the ladder? Just that?”

Both of them looked at him with curiosity at his reaction.

“Then what else is there?”

At Park Tae-min’s question, Chief Oh looked as if a realization had hit her.

“Don’t tell me… Oasis?”

“What’s an Oasis?”

Chief Oh quickly shut her mouth, and Kang Hee-shin downed the last of his drink, simply giggling with a smirk on his face. He made it clear he would never tell.

Watching this, Park Tae-min shook his head. He’s finally gone mad.

On the other hand, Chief Oh thought that side of Kang Hee-shin was similar to a charming villain in a movie. In that case, was she the sidekick helping the villain? Deciding that wasn’t so bad, she stolen [stolen content]contentstyle="font-size:0;color:transparent;display:inline;">stolen contenthurried to wrap things up. Both her phone and Kang Hee-shin’s phone had been ringing incessantly for a while.