Chapter 155
Chapter 155
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: penny
Chapter: 155
Chapter Title: Continued Second Round
-----------------------------------------------------------------
155.
The second round continued.
[Tsk.]
Oh Ji-man scowled and clicked his tongue at Kang Hyun, who sat slightly diagonally across from him.
"Prosecutor Kang."
"...?"
"Did you really go over the assignment records?"
"Yes."
"All of them?"
"Yes, I did."
"Oh, come on! That's ridiculous!"
Once again, he squinted his eyes shut and slammed his chopsticks down with an angry flourish.
It was blatant. He wanted to intimidate Kang Hyun.
"Why are you doing this...?"
But the rookie prosecutor, only on his second day at the office, showed no sign of fear.
Instead, he stared wide-eyed at the chopsticks and Oh Ji-man with the curiosity of someone discovering something fascinating.
In other words, nothing Oh Ji-man intended was working.
"Urgh, the cases. Cases, I tell you!"
Kang Hyun still seemed absorbed in studying him—like marveling at how hard one could slam down chopsticks—and Oh Ji-man's veins bulged as he started ranting.
At this point, one suspicion began to sprout in Oh Ji-man's mind.
Was he the one getting drawn into Kang Hyun's pace?
"Cases get assigned right in front of a prosecutor's eyes, and you think you can just say that so irresponsibly? Did you really review them all?"
"Yes?"
"How can a prosecutor on their second day of assignment finish reviewing months' worth of criminal cases in a single day?"
['What the hell is he talking about? He handed them to me himself.']
That was the single thought running through Kang Hyun's head.
['He's just nitpicking, grasping at any straw.']
Oh Ji-man had already essentially admitted to deliberately overloading Kang Hyun with assignments to burden him. But that didn't seem to matter much.
His thinking boiled down to this:
['Either Kang Hyun took the cases and slacked off with his hands in his pockets, or he did some half-assed review and arrogantly declared it done.']
He was just desperate to make an example of him. Trying to rein in the impressive rookie.
Kang Hyun repeatedly stifled absurd laughs. But Oh Ji-man apparently couldn't read his expression.
"What did you do after receiving the records? What do you mean you reviewed them?"
"The assignment..."
"The moment you receive an assignment, all judgment responsibility for that case falls on the prosecutor! And you're telling me you just sat back and watched like it was none of your business on your first posting? I know all about it!"
"Yes, of course I'm inexperienced, but..."
"You've got plenty of seniors! Prosecutor Kim right above you is excellent, and in Division 1, there's even your college senior, Chief Prosecutor Hwang. You could've just asked them..."
Kang Hyun's irritation grew from the constant interruptions, so this time he cut Oh Ji-man off and spoke in a firmer tone.
"There was no need. I finished judging all the assigned records. That's why I said the review is complete. I've sent the ones needing immediate disposition to the case handlers via the system, and for the rest, we can proceed as per my review or I can give you a face-to-face report."
"Right, that's... What did you say?"
Kang Hyun exhaled deliberately. Oh Ji-man and Kang Hyun's expressions flipped 180 degrees in that instant.
"I really reviewed all the assigned records. If it's a lie, I'll take responsibility—resign, write a statement of insubordination against a superior, accept discipline, whatever."
The Division 2 Chief sat there dumbfounded.
No, it wasn't just him—the entire room of prosecutors tilted their heads, unsure what they'd just heard.
"You..."
"Yes."
"Have you said everything you wanted to say?"
"Yes."
"You call that something worth bringing up?!"
[Bam!]
The atmosphere froze solid. The Chief Prosecutor darkened his face further and clicked his tongue.
The mood had shifted so drastically that Hwang Jae-eun, who sat beside them without joining the conversation once, poked Kang Hyun and glared fiercely.
"What... are you saying?"
"Oh, uh..."
Kang Hyun scratched his head sheepishly.
And understandably so—his words amounted to a challenge in some respects.
In truth, they handled three or four cases a month.
At most, around ten in Criminal Division.
Even in the outskirts of the Seoul area, where case difficulty wasn't high, that was the pace.
Disposing of cases took that long, so merely reviewing records per case consumed even more time.
Yet Kang Hyun claimed to have reviewed two months' worth in a single day.
And he'd thrown in that he'd take responsibility if it was a lie.
"Hah, this guy..."
The Division 2 Chief muttered something like "he's insane," his face triumphant.
Thirty volumes of case records stuffed in, reviewed in one day?
By someone who didn't even know the first thing about practical work?
He surely hadn't done it properly.
"Prosecutor Kang's dead meat this afternoon..."
"Yeah..."
The murmurs from the regular prosecutors reached his ears clearly.
Yet Kang Hyun's expression didn't change a bit.
Because.
['I really finished them all. What more do they want?']
He'd even thought the cases weren't that difficult.
The fact that they'd assigned them expecting him to fail just left him baffled at their judgment.
"Prosecutor Kim! Train this guy properly. Got it?"
"I'm sorry..."
"Prosecutor Hwang, you too!"
"Yes."
For a good while, Oh Ji-man vented his scolding and frustration on everyone, smug as could be.
Ranting about how incompetent and inadequate he was—for a solid five minutes, no, ten.
Even with the Chief Prosecutor sitting right there.
"Generational gaps have changed these days, but discipline issues like this..."
His scolding trailed off into self-mutterings, finally winding down.
In this moment, with Oh Ji-man poised for a perfect victory by hierarchy.
[Tap.]
"It's so absurd, I have to speak up."
A sharp voice echoed through the room—one never heard from this seat all day.
It was Division 1 Chief Park Min-seong.
"...W-what?"
Oh Ji-man shot a glare at Park Min-seong in the far corner, looking flustered.
But this time, Park Min-seong had no intention of backing down.
"You assign cases and then chew out the prosecutor who says he's done reviewing them? That doesn't make sense, does it, Division 2 Chief?"
"Division 1 Chief. What you're saying right now is crossing the line."
Was it the sudden meddling? Or just talking to someone he despised? Oh Ji-man's face crumpled beyond recognition.
"Handle your own division members and cases. I manage mine. This comment of yours..."
"If you want to manage your members that way, verify first before speaking. If Prosecutor Kang botched the review, discipline him then—when there's actually a problem. Why hound the guy who says he did it?"
"Hound him? Did you just say I'm hounding him?"
As Park Min-seong emphasized his words, Oh Ji-man faltered, unable to continue, just breathing raggedly.
"Do you even realize what you're saying?"
"You called it a discipline issue yourself. You gonna let a discipline issue slide? Stop muttering and handle it properly."
"Discipline! Fine, great. You're making a huge fuss."
"It's not a fuss—I'm just voicing the absurdity."
"Hah, alright, Division 1 Chief. I'll properly discipline the newbie."
"That's not what I meant."
"What?"
"You take responsibility too. For your nonsense. Stop bullying the poor rookie."
"Responsibility?!"
[Bam!] He slammed the table. The atmosphere shattered into total breakdown.
"Have you said everything?! It's bad enough taking in a half-baked law school grad, and now responsibility?!"
"Gasp!"
"Whoa..."
The regular prosecutors paled, speechless. But Oh Ji-man didn't care.
"Yeah, I'll take responsibility! If that kid perfectly reviewed every case without a single lie, and I spouted nonsense, I'll own it! So you, Division 1 Chief..."
"Enough, all of you!"
The Chief Prosecutor bellowed with a deathly glare, silencing the two chiefs.
Well, only Park Min-seong actually quieted. Oh Ji-man clung to the Chief Prosecutor's side again like a pet, glaring angrily.
"Prosecutor Kang. Come to my office this afternoon. Bring all the cases!"
"Understood."
"Division Chiefs Park and Oh too."
"Yes."
"Yes."
The Chief Prosecutor shot Kang Hyun a glance, then addressed the gathered prosecutors.
"That's it for lunch. Head back to your offices. Those who want coffee, follow me."
"Thank you."
"Excuse us."
Whether it was a welcome for Kang Hyun or a duel, the "seollongtang lunch" hastily concluded.
['Seollongtang lunch.']
From Chief Prosecutor Gu Ik-hwan's perspective, he wanted to yell and reprimand.
But since the whole mess started with his ally, Division Chief Oh, Gu Ik-hwan did nothing.
Or rather, couldn't.
[Scrape, stand.]
Division 1 folks scurried out like mice the moment it ended. Division 2 prosecutors hesitated, glancing around.
"Whew."
Still, as a Criminal Division 2 member, Kang Hyun just stood there blankly watching Park Min-seong and Hwang Jae-eun leave from afar, then waited outside.
But then.
[Tap.]
"I'm Kim Si-hwan, law school class of '6. Let's head back."
"But sir, the Chief said something about coffee."
"Nah, we're good. He'd just get annoyed having the rookies tag along. Come on."
"Oh. Is that okay?"
The two started walking back to the office.
Prosecutor Kim Si-hwan. Criminal Division 2, Room 317.
Kang Hyun's direct senior from the previous class, Seoul National University Law School grad.
Already whispers that "his abilities haven't been proven yet."
In other words, rumors of him being incompetent at work.
Yet he seemed warm-hearted and good-natured, taking the rookie under his wing like this.
['He seems nice.']
Unaware or not of Kang Hyun's thoughts, Kim Si-hwan nodded empathetically and spoke slowly.
"I'm still catching flak myself."
"You have it rough, Senior."
"Nah. It's 'cause I suck at the job. Anyway, did you really finish them all?"
"Yes."
"Hmm. Our chief's picky as hell, even if he doesn't look it. You might get chewed out."
"It's fine. If I get scolded, I get scolded."
"Whoa, check out this guy's mental fortitude."
Prosecutor Kim Si-hwan. He didn't seem to hold any grudge against Kang Hyun.
If anything, he spoke positively about the exploits Kang Hyun had heard from outside.
"You're elite, so the higher-ups expect a lot from you."
"Is that so."
"Korea University Law, Korea University Law School, bar exam pass, all over the news, super popular... Me? Second-rate college, snuck into prosecution after they almost closed the door. That's why they leave me alone."
"Come on, don't say that."
"It's true."
They kept chatting as they walked.
"I've been ragged on and scolded so much, I'm basically broken in. Just living like this."
"But the chief said you were excellent earlier, Senior."
"He says nice things 'cause I submit and obey. I used to push back hard at first. But then I basically got ostracized."
"...Right."
For Kang Hyun, this was his first encounter with a new senior post-assignment, and his first mentor seemed to have solid character—a real stroke of luck.
At the same time, seeing the resentment toward the office hurt his heart a bit.
The way Kim Si-hwan kept patting Kang Hyun's shoulder with a friendly smile the whole way—maybe it was the kind of gesture he'd always wanted from someone.
Prosecutor Kim Si-hwan. Kang Hyun's overall assessment:
['He'll love hearing about the punch I land later.']
As Kang Hyun finalized his judgment, they'd arrived at the office.
"I'll drop by sometime. Call or come by if you have questions."
"Thanks, Senior."
"Oh, and..."
"...?"
"Hope the casual talk from a stranger didn't rub you wrong? I just... wanted to act like a proper senior..."
"It's fine. I like it."
"Good! See you later, junior."
Kim Si-hwan vanished with a bright smile.
['There are good seniors too. Not bad.']
While everyone at the office held their breath waiting for Kang Hyun's afternoon drama, he himself had just passed a strangely lighthearted morning.