By Zephyria 
Glug, glug—soju filled half of the empty glass. Even as he drank, Hee-shin didn’t touch the appetizers laid out before him. On the other hand, Chief Oh, sitting opposite him, was quite tipsy and had been lamenting her life for a while now.
“Don’t even get me started. My kid is whining, saying they’ve hit puberty. And my wife is in menopause, so she’s practically trying to eat me alive. I’m stuck in the middle and dying.”
She grumbled as she talked about her family. She joked that while she once thought puberty was scary, it was nothing compared to menopause; these days, she walked on her tiptoes even at home to avoid her wife’s temper, adding that her calf muscles had grown firm thanks to the habit.
Listening to her made him smile.
The fact that her biggest worries were merely puberty and menopause made him almost envious.
“Oh, by the way, why did you go to Gangwon-do? It wasn’t because of something bad, was it?”
Since he hadn’t announced his brother’s passing, Chief Oh simply assumed he had gone down there for some business.
“It was nothing major.”
As it happened, his mother had contacted him this morning. She said his brother had appeared in her dream. He was wearing clean clothes and smiling; she said she felt somewhat relieved, thinking he had gone to a good place. Then, she cried for a long time again, saying how pitiful her dead son was.
Then, toward the end of the call, she subtly brought up the topic of money. She asked what he had done with the astronomical amount of condolence money and who on earth would have readily given such a large sum. When he told her he had returned it to the sender, she was clearly disappointed. He ignored her desperate longing until the very end.
“Prosecutor, when are you getting married?”
“I don’t know. I suppose I’ll do it when the time comes?”
“With that person…?”
Chief Oh referred to Yoon Se-na as “that person.” She even glanced around cautiously, as if mentioning her was a delicate matter. He didn’t answer that question. He was seeing Yoon Se-na, but marriage was still a distant story. Even if her mother had given her permission, Chairman Yoon still didn’t think much of him.
“I guess we’ll have to wait and see.”
“True. Marriage is something no one knows for sure until they enter the wedding hall.”
Clink. They bumped glasses and downed soju in succession. The alcohol tasted exceptionally sweet today. He knew he had to be careful on days like this. He had intended to drink a moderate amount and head home, but just then, the tent of the street stall was pushed aside and an unexpected figure appeared.
Park Tae-min, wearing a brazen smile with his hand raised, pulled up a chair and sat between the two of them.
Hee-shin looked at him with a displeased expression.
“What brings you here?”
“I saw you while passing by. Chief, you’ve had quite a bit to drink, haven’t you?”
“Why? Does it show?”
“Your face is on the verge of exploding. Your eyes are glazed over, too.”
Chief Oh frowned and rubbed her cheeks. Not stopping there, she slapped herself with a loud smack. Saying her wife would be furious if she went home drunk, she gulped down some ice water, roughly tidied up her spot, and stood up.
“Prosecutor. I’m heading out. Now that Prosecutor Park is here, you two have a great time.”
Hee-shin grumbled as he filled his empty glass alone.
“Have you decided to become a traitor?”
“Please understand. Your wife is scarier than you are, Prosecutor.”
Since she tried to pay for the drinks, he quickly stood up and stopped her. I was the one who suggested we come. Instead, use the drink money to buy your wife something delicious on the way home. Pretty flowers would be even better. At those words, Chief Oh looked impressed and gave him a thumbs-up.
“As expected. You really know women.”
Anyone listening would think he was a playboy. After seeing her off to the front of the stall, he stepped back inside. By then, Park Tae-min had taken a glass and was pouring soju. After taking a sip, he frowned and picked up an appetizer.
“I’m not a fan of soju. Hard liquor is more my speed.”
“Then go drink hard liquor; why did you come here?”
“Why else? I came to comfort my gloomy Hubae. I thought you’d be sobbing, but you look perfectly fine.”
Ha, he probably didn’t come to comfort him, but to mock him. The fact that he had been excluded from the investigation had spread like wildfire throughout the District Prosecutors’ Office. He had already received “comfort” from several prosecutors—the kind that suggested it was better this way because taking on such a case only causes headaches.
“If you want, should I squeeze some juice out of you?”
“You brat. What’s with the ‘juice’ talk, Prosecutor? How vulgar.”
“My apologies. For being vulgar.”
Park Tae-min smiled and pulled his phone from his pocket. He held it out so Hee-shin could see the screen. Under the headline <Exclusive: ‘K Construction Slush Fund Allegations’> was an article stating that the prosecution would soon begin an investigation into the collusion between K Construction and a certain member of the National Assembly, as well as violations of the Political Funds Act. It specifically mentioned that a key witness had been secured and even named the prosecutor in charge.
The reporter who wrote the article was someone who frequented the Prosecutors’ Office and was quite close with Hee-shin.
“It was you. You leaked it, right?”
Hee-shin shrugged and poured himself another drink.
“You bastard, how annoying. You’re doing a self-leak right in front of me?”
“Do you actually believe in such vulgar superstitions?”
“Wow. The grudge. You’ve practically built the Great Wall of China, huh?”
Then, Park Tae-min subtly tested the waters with Kang Hee-shin.
“Did you really not know? You’re close with Reporter Park.”
“It wasn’t me. Stop suspecting me.”
“Liar.”
Park Tae-min stared intensely at him as if interrogating a criminal. He told him he’d keep his mouth shut if he spoke honestly. As the pressure continued, Hee-shin responded not with words, but with a playful, squinting smile. Park Tae-min frowned. He complained that a grown man shouldn’t be giving “eye-smiles.”
“Forget it. If not, then whatever.”
He put his phone back in his pocket and downed the soju in one go. He added once more that hard liquor was the best. Since when did he even start drinking hard liquor? Hee-shin knew through the grapevine that he was receiving “entertainment” (lobbying), but he didn’t mention it. After all, Park Tae-min wasn’t the only one like that.
“Now that the article is out, Chief Prosecutor Cho must be in a state of emergency. Right?”
“I wouldn’t know.”
As if he didn’t. After teasing him, Park Tae-min paused for a moment before tentatively opening his mouth.
“I heard you had a big event the other day.”
When Hee-shin didn’t answer, Park Tae-min let out a sigh.
“If something like that happened, you should have told me.”
“How did you find out?”
“The world is a small place.”
He had only notified his relatives, but since the community was small, the news must have spread. Park Tae-min downed the remaining alcohol and, with a bitter expression, pulled an envelope from his coat and placed it on the table. The word ‘Condolences’ was clearly written on it.
“You brat. You should’ve at least told me.”
Hee-shin gave a short laugh.
“So you can spread the rumors?”
“Ha, the Great Wall. I’m sick of it. Ugh, you persistent bastard.”
He stood up, grabbed his coat, and went straight to the owner to pay for the drinks. This time, Hee-shin didn’t stop him.
“Drink moderately and go home.”
Instead of a proper farewell, he gave a half-hearted wave. You get home safely too, Sunbae. In truth, the alcohol had been hitting him for a while, and his vision was blurring. The two words ‘Condolences’ on the envelope caught his eye. He picked it up and opened it.
200,000 won in cash…
They say the closer you are, the more you give for condolences. This was exactly the right amount for the relationship between him and his Sunbae. Honestly, it was a relationship where he wouldn’t have felt hurt even if the amount were smaller. But then, what on earth was that 100 million won condolence gift? No matter how much he thought about it, it was absurd.
“Fuck. I need to return that money…”
Muttering to himself, he poured the rest of the alcohol and downed it in one shot. As he stood up, his body swayed. Trying to keep his balance, he knocked over a blue plastic chair. After setting it upright, he stepped out of the street stall and called a designated driver.
While waiting, he drifted off to sleep. He felt like he had a dream, but he couldn’t remember it clearly. He saw a man… who was it…
He wanted to believe it was his dead brother, just as his mother had said.
That he had stopped by briefly to say goodbye before heading to a good place.
Then, he woke up to the sound of someone tapping on the window.
“You called for a driver, right?”
Rubbing his face, he nodded. After handing over the car keys, sleep washed over him again, and he fell fast asleep. Hearing the driver wake him, he replied in his sleep that he could just drive. He heard the car door open and close, and his consciousness sank again.
How much time had passed? He finally opened his eyes and stepped out of the car. Once home, he threw off his coat and checked his phone. Dozens of missed calls had piled up while he slept in the car. Yoon Se-na had called twice, and the one who called the most was Chief Prosecutor Jo Cheol-woong… along with the Deputy Chief, Assistant Chief Prosecutors, Jang Seon-woo, and others…
As if on cue, Chief Prosecutor Cho called. When he didn’t pick up, a barrage of curses was sent via text immediately after. Chuckling, he turned off his phone and placed it face down on the table.
“You toad-like bastard. Let’s see how much you sweat.”
Then, he flopped down on the sofa.
…Fuck. I don’t even know anymore. It’ll work out somehow.