Chapter 153
Chapter 153
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 153
Chapter Title: The Prosecutors' Seolleongtang Lunch
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Namyangju Branch Prosecutor's Office, Criminal Affairs Division 2 Chief's Room.
In that spacious room sat a burly man with a foul mood, waiting alone for someone.
Bang!
"Good morning, sir!"
Assistant Manager Lee from the Case Assignment Section had been summoned to the Criminal Affairs Division 2 Chief's office at exactly 9:01 a.m.
He strode in briskly, bowing his head to Chief Oh Jin of Criminal Affairs Division 2.
Chief Oh Jin of Criminal Affairs Division 2. Right-hand man to the Branch Director—and some said he served as both arms—an inspector utterly lacking in principles.
His build was similar to Deputy Chief Gu Ik-hwan's, but with a balding head, earning him the reputation of being a downgraded version of the Branch Director.
"Assistant Manager Lee reporting, sir."
"...Assistant Manager Lee."
The man was slightly irritated. Calling in a mere administrative staffer directly was a big deal externally.
Yet in reality, Assistant Manager Lee showed no particular emotion, whether he'd been summoned right at the start of the morning routine or not.
On the contrary, Oh Jin's face twisted further.
It was clear he'd meant to apply pressure, but seeing Lee's utterly unfazed expression only fueled his anger.
"...Is it that hard to understand a request to double-check Assignment Room 323?"
"It's not that I don't understand, sir. It's just that there's nothing more we can do."
"Why not?"
"Why? You're telling us to confirm the assignment for Assignment Room 323, right? Urging us along?"
"Urg...ing?"
"Oh, no offense intended. In other words, it's an order to cross-check thoroughly without any gaps in workflow, isn't it?"
"..."
Grinning brightly.
"But we've already assigned cases to that rookie prosecutor in Room 323 at the exact same ratio as the other rooms, per your desired allocation. We can't go beyond that."
"Hah."
"Whoa, no need to get mad. And one more thing—if I may—our Office Manager hates it when Admin tampers with prosecutor assignments."
A strategy to make it impossible to spit in a smiling face.
With that cheeky grin right in his face, talking about "urging" and such, Oh Jin was caught off guard and started stammering.
"...You may leave now."
"Yes, sir. Oh, and one more thing."
Assistant Manager Lee seemed to hesitate for a split second before throwing it out anyway.
"Our Office Manager said from now on, bring these matters directly to him! So, just talk to the manager about the rest! I'll be going now."
Bow. Whoosh—
"What? Assistant Manager Lee!"
Slam!
The room fell empty again. The impact of the door made the potted plants around the room tremble slightly.
"Urgh..."
Crunch.
No matter his reputation as a figurehead chief lacking leadership, he couldn't help grinding his teeth at Assistant Manager Lee's attitude—and that of the entire Admin office.
What the hell was Kang Hyun?
Why were the Admin staff protecting someone the Branch Director saw as a thorn in his side?
Why were they constantly defying orders, threatening to rise up like some union?
"Damn it. Those punks wouldn't dare make a peep if I reported to the Branch Director."
Crush!
He gripped the documents tightly.
But just as Lee had said, he lacked the confidence to storm over to the Office Manager for a scolding or summon him directly.
Being that overtly uncomfortable would just pour oil on the already tense office atmosphere.
"The Branch Director must be having a tough time."
He crossed his arms over his protruding belly and sank into thought.
It was 9:10 a.m.
He needed some resolution before the 10 a.m. executive meeting, but in the current flow, all he could do was serve as a punching bag in the Branch Director's stead.
In that case. Time for a change of approach.
"Oh ho."
After a moment of racking his brain, Oh Jin quickly picked up the receiver and called somewhere. The attached office.
"Is the Branch Director there? I see."
A complex, subtle smile briefly crossed his face.
"If he's busy, suggest he drop by briefly—skip morning tea time and have lunch instead. He might not like it, but we should at least see the new prosecutor's face."
That was it. On the second day, under the pretext of looking after his junior.
He planned to make Kang Hyun bow his head in an official setting, giving him the so-called "pick."
* * *
"The lunch venue."
Kang Hyun looked over the event report passed from the attached office, memorizing the location.
A nearby seolleongtang restaurant.
He liked hearty gukbap and seolleongtang, but the problem was that this "official event" was created under the guise of celebrating his first posting.
Seolleongtang for an official event.
Anyone would catch on in such a situation.
It made clear the Branch Director's view of Kang Hyun: no more, no less than rice stirred into soup—"seolleongtang."
And it was a blatant display of his discomfort toward Kang Hyun.
"Hmm."
But it didn't bother him. They hadn't harmed or attacked him yet.
If some thought poorly of him, others surely didn't.
"The kkakdugi will be tasty. A seolleongtang spot for lunch—how casual."
Plus, everyone heading there separately. It was called lunch, but more like a simple meal.
Even as the perennial deputy chief, Gu Ik-hwan wouldn't pick a seolleongtang place for an official event without direct orders.
That part nagged at him a bit, but it was fine.
It was 11:40 a.m.
Kang Hyun hurried along while glancing at the staff heading out for lunch.
Prosecutors or regular staff, it didn't matter.
At lunchtime, they gathered in groups of twos and threes, scattering to outside restaurants. There was no cafeteria inside.
In a frontline prosecutor's office buzzing with activity, no internal cafeteria was quite inconvenient.
Due to the small office size, the cafeteria contract had fallen through, leaving them with a barely negotiated deal with an outside eatery.
Staff were shelling out over 10,000 won per meal for subpar food.
'Plenty of obvious fixes needed.'
As Kang Hyun walked out of the office, he frowned slightly at the frustrating sight.
To wield power externally, the internals needed shoring up first.
If meals were this glitchy, who would enjoy coming to work?
Vroom. Screech!
Lost in these thoughts, something pulled up in front of Kang Hyun. He looked up.
A sedan stopping beside him.
"...?"
Slide.
Curious, he peered at the car as the window rolled down.
"Huh?"
A familiar face he hadn't seen in a while.
Black hair, pale skin, dressed in a sharp suit. A prosecutor senior—and school senior.
"Senior Hwang Jae-eun?"
"Get in."
Seeing her stirred old memories for Kang Hyun.
The last time he'd seen her was years ago at a mock trial competition.
She'd been a first-year law school student then, he a first-year undergrad.
They'd never properly talked, but as one inheriting the lineage of Korea University's geniuses like Seok Ji-hoon and Dan Cho-rok, he'd known of her well.
Honestly, though, she was a tough person.
The age gap, and her icy demeanor.
Kang Hyun wasn't exactly warm and approachable himself, but she took it further.
With others around, they might chat a bit, but alone? Even conversation felt burdensome; getting close was hard.
And now, here they were, meeting like this in Namyangju.
"What're you doing? Get in."
"Uh? Oh."
"Aren't you heading to lunch?"
"Yes. That's right."
"Get in."
"I'm good. It's close; I'll walk."
"The other seniors all went ahead. The rookie can't be late?"
"Ah..."
Lost for words, Kang Hyun hesitated before scurrying to the passenger side, opening the door.
Her impeccably clean sedan interior carried no scent. A space reflecting her personality and work style.
Kang Hyun bowed his head cautiously as he climbed in, as if no one but her had ever ridden there.
"Then, pardon the intrusion."
Vroom.
She started driving wordlessly. Kang Hyun stared ahead, entrusting himself to her car.
The restaurant was just under ten minutes away.
She didn't seem uncomfortable with the silence, but midway, she suddenly murmured to him.
"Congrats."
"Th-thank you."
The out-of-the-blue greeting made him stumble over his words. It felt like courtesy to a familiar new junior in the office, not personal familiarity.
"What'd you do yesterday? Didn't Admin give you your schedule?"
"Yes."
"Yeah. Everyone's like that at first."
"Really? Everyone at the start?"
"..."
She spoke expressionlessly, responding with equal blankness.
Knowing her style, Kang Hyun sat quietly beside her, giving short replies while gazing out the window.
Then.
"And the chief?"
"Your chief, or our chief?"
"Chief Park Min-seong."
"He's already there."
"No, I mean the KW Construction case this time. He's busy, right?"
"Division 1 is busy."
"Yes. Makes sense."
While inquiring after Park Min-seong, Kang Hyun subtly showed interest in the case.
Even with all of Division 1's prosecutor rooms on it, no resolution—and was capable Park Min-seong struggling because of Gu Ik-hwan?
He wanted to know a bit about that.
"Kneading dough."
"Sounds like the case isn't going well."
"It's not that the case isn't going well... You'll find out soon enough."
"Yes."
"And Division 2?"
"Not sure yet."
"Okay."
As expected, she offered no more. Distance-keeping as a habit, perhaps.
Vroom.
Meanwhile, the car turned right at an intersection, arriving at the destination.
Screech.
"Go on in first."
"Got it."
The lunch venue they'd arrived at.
'Kim's Seolleongtang.' A large shop with a massive signboard.
Clatter, bang.
"Welcome! This way, please."
Inside the bustling restaurant.
A bright, friendly lady led him to an inner room. As he entered, the noise faded, leaving him before a quiet sliding door.
Truth be told, Kang Hyun's expression wasn't exactly bright.
A gathering with Deputy Chief Gu Ik-hwan and the prosecutors from Criminal Divisions 1 and 2.
Eleven people in total, by count.
His first greeting in this uncomfortable situation with all the office's prosecutors.
No one to introduce him, no one to guide him.
He had to prove himself. Then his place would naturally settle.
"Well, just do well."
But Kang Hyun remained calm.
How much had he endured and achieved to reach this point?
Even if they were elite prosecutors and social veterans.
Did he need to bow and sweat from the very first seat?
"Whew."
Kang Hyun took a deep breath, then flung open the door.
Slide.
The setup inner tatami room.
To the left of the wide table from the door, young assistant prosecutors sat properly as arranged.
Maknae, vice seat, chief seat, vice chief.
And across, the executive seats were immediately visible.
Two chiefs: Park Min-seong and Oh Jin.
And Branch Director Gu Ik-hwan.
It might seem comical at a glance, an odd matchup.
But anyone passing by would feel the intimidating aura upon facing them directly.
Kang Hyun knew exactly what to do now.
"Good day, everyone."
Bow. A full 90 degrees.
They all turned to look at Kang Hyun in unison.
In this small restaurant where nothing major seemed amiss.
The prosecutors steering the region gazed at Kang Hyun together.
Was it to pressure him, or did they simply want to see the famed legal genius's face?
They stared intently without a word for a long while, and Kang Hyun met their eyes squarely, standing tall in response.
It was Gu Ik-hwan among them who finally spoke.
"What can we do if the rookie shows up this late? Sit down already."
Now it began. True prosecutor life.