Chapter 137
Hwang Youngchan looked a bit surprised to see me, but he quickly composed his expression.
"Lawyer Cha. Long time no see."
I knew that look. When he wasn't truly at ease, he had a habit of subtly lifting his chin and curling the corner of his mouth to feign relaxation.
"Long time no see, Director."
"And next to you... that's Lawyer Kang Minjae, right?"
Called out suddenly, Kang Minjae stepped forward from behind me and bowed his head.
"Hello, sir."
"Yeah. I've heard a lot about you. They say you're quite skilled."
"I'm just a rookie lawyer full of shortcomings. Still learning."
Tension rippled through the prosecutors' office. Even the investigators who had been busily flipping through files and tapping at keyboards froze, all eyes fixed on us.
Facing Hwang Youngchan wasn't particularly burdensome for me, but I had no intention of tossing out conversation fodder in front of so many onlookers.
"I'm here to see Prosecutor Yang about the case. If you two were in the middle of something, I'll wait—finish up."
"Nah, we're done. Hmm, Lawyer Cha. It's been a while; why not chat for a bit before you go? Kang here can handle the errand, right?"
Hwang Youngchan clapped Kang on the shoulder as he spoke. Kang shot me a discreet glance, his eyes asking what he should do.
"Kang, handle the business and head back to the office first."
"...I'll wait in the car, then."
"Go inside."
Kang Minjae clenched and unclenched his fists, looking unsure, but I patted his back. Then I followed Hwang Youngchan out of Yang Hansuk's office.
"Hello, sir."
"Yeah, hey. Good work."
As we walked toward his office, a few prosecutors spotted Hwang Youngchan and bowed in greeting. He returned each one with a faint smile. But those same prosecutors stared at me trailing behind him with odd looks—some even bordering on shock—before hurrying off somewhere. Probably eager to spread the startling news they'd just witnessed.
"Don't mind the stares too much."
Hwang Youngchan said it as we crossed the hallway, without even glancing back at me. It didn't sound like genuine concern.
"I'm not."
"Good. Suits you—you've always had thick skin."
"Thanks to your teachings, Director."
"Did I teach you that?"
He chuckled softly and led us into the director's office. The sofa felt less plush than I remembered. Maybe my heart had changed. It felt oddly uncomfortable, but he handed me a cup of tea.
"My wife just got back from England. She brought some black tea—it's pretty good."
I took the cup but didn't drink. He eyed my unmoving hand, then shrugged lightly.
"When did we get to the point where we can't even share a casual cup of tea anymore?"
Hwang Youngchan wasn't one to snap at juniors unless he was truly furious; he always kept a polite distance. With so many directors barking "hey, you" all day, plenty of juniors had liked him for it. I wouldn't deny I'd been one of them.
"I'm fine with it. Are you uncomfortable, Director?"
He gave a small laugh at my question.
"Of course not."
He wet his lips with the steaming tea and fixed his gaze on me.
"Calling you 'lawyer' still feels off. Even in the articles I see now and then, it's all 'Lawyer Cha Juhan, lawyer this.' I keep thinking, that guy's a prosecutor, a prosecutor."
"Do you want me to come back?"
I asked, and Hwang Youngchan stared at me for a long moment without answering.
"Any thoughts on that?"
"Who knows."
"Doesn't look like it to me. Cha Juhan, you're already marked as a rebel. And I doubt you didn't see that coming. No—the Cha Juhan I know probably planned it that way."
Conviction laced his voice. He wouldn't hear otherwise.
Exposing the prosecution's botched investigation while proving Kim Yeonjun's innocence in court had been a calculated provocation. From the start, my goal had been to make my name known effectively. Without some fame and a positive public image, influencing a Wooshin-related case would be impossible.
So even when people in this world accused me of chasing empty glory, I never denied it. What I wanted was public sentiment.
"But I was curious as hell. Why? Why did you of all people make that choice? You, who prided yourself on the prosecution more than anyone—why leave it? You, who hated the spotlight—why chase fame like this? You, who was always so compliant—why abandon me?"
His words sped up, emotion creeping into his once-mild tone.
"So I came to one conclusion."
"What is it?"
"Ah, Cha Juhan—you've figured something out. And it cracked that righteous, fragile pride of yours until you couldn't trust me or the prosecution anymore."
He shot back sharply, locking eyes with me again. His back, once slouched deep into the sofa, straightened rigidly, leaning slightly toward me.
"Deny it if you can."
Hwang Youngchan urged me on with a barely-there smile.
"You said taking the Kim Hyeongjun case was coincidence, right? Sure, I bought that at first. Maybe you weren't deliberately sniping your old home. You're stubborn enough that if you knew Kim Yeonjun was innocent, you couldn't let it slide, no matter the optics. But Oh Sanghyeon?"
He adjusted his glasses and continued.
"That was one hundred percent intentional on your part. Am I wrong?"
"You think I deliberately targeted Criminal Division 3 again?"
"Maybe not. But if it wasn't Division 3, then the real target is Wooshin, right?"
He'd clearly done a lot of thinking since our fallout. His reasoning was near-perfect. No ordinary person would imagine I'd come from the future, so speculating that I'd uncovered something was the most logical conclusion at this point.
But even I, who'd lived that future, hadn't known when exactly Hwang Youngchan had gotten in bed with Wooshin. Now it was clear: at least by 2009, probably earlier. He'd been their dog from way back.
"But let me tell you one thing—you've made a mistake you'll regret for life."
"What mistake?"
"Whatever you think you've uncovered, it's not the truth. You acted without even bothering to verify it properly. Without consulting me, without giving me—or the prosecution—a chance to clear up your misunderstandings! That's arrogance. Dictatorial."
In short, if he thought I'd misunderstood something, I should have checked the facts with him first. Saying it so circuitously was quite the talent.
"What do you think I've uncovered that lets you declare it false?"
"Nothing that could've hurt your pride enough to distance yourself from me and quit the prosecution ever happened. Forgot? You said you wanted to protect justice in Korean courts, and I agreed—that's why we're here in this office. That hasn't changed."
A scoff nearly escaped me. I'd expected a sliver of honesty, but it was hypocrisy after all. He wore such a sincere expression; the old me might have believed him. If I hadn't seen him abandon me right before his promotion to Prosecutor General.
"I don't know who whispered what in your ear, or how you pieced it together on your own. But you screwed up."
Hwang Youngchan shot to his feet and strode to the window.
"Chaebols are crime dens, and the prosecution's just their funded puppet, so of course they'll side with them? Is that it? Did you take this case to land a satisfying blow on the prosecution that disappointed you? Really? Even you, trapped in that stereotype?"
"You think I took this case for no reason other than that?"
"Obviously. Otherwise, it means you got emotionally swayed by crocodile tears from perpetrators masquerading as victims. Cha Juhan, you're not that stupid."
Crocodile tears. The one bewitched by them wasn't Oh Sanghyeon—it was Go Yunseong.
"Our investigation had no holes. Even if he was Wooshin Group Chairman Go Sangjun's son, we gave no favors. We judged purely by the law. There wasn't substantial evidence that Go Yunseong assaulted Oh Sanghyeon, but plenty that Oh Sanghyeon assaulted him. That's why mutual assault doesn't hold."
"The courts will decide that. You can't declare it now, and even if you do, it means nothing to me without evidence."
Hwang Youngchan arched one eyebrow.
"The prosecution's investigation was fair, of course. Not a shred of favoritism for Go Sangjun's son."
"..."
"Prove it in court. Then I won't come after the prosecution anymore."
"Sounds like you're admitting you targeted Criminal Division 3 on purpose."
Targeting Wooshin directly? My operation was still too small for that. If Wooshin really wanted me gone, they'd crush me. Though from their view, I was probably too insignificant to bother stepping on.
I couldn't reveal my hand yet.
"Think what you like. You're the only one who can prove that what I uncovered—the 'thing' that made me leave the prosecution—is a misunderstanding. As you said, I've already discovered something and I'm convinced. Right now, I don't think it's a misunderstanding. But if you show me definitively otherwise through this case, I'll have to admit my mistake."
Referring to some vague, formless 'something' would torment Hwang Youngchan. I didn't know when or how he'd colluded with Wooshin—beyond the distant-future deal for the Prosecutor General seat—or what other transactions they'd made.
So I couldn't be specific, and I had no intention of cheap speculation now. But he'd start fretting over what exactly I'd uncovered, whether I had proof, and where I'd gotten the hint to suspect his corruption. He'd self-audit endlessly without ever knowing.
"Prove it with this case. Show there's nothing the prosecution's hiding. How about starting by sharing your CCTV footage? We came to the prosecutors' office for case records anyway. As long as no personal info's exposed, CCTV falls under disclosure, doesn't it? If everything was fair and lawful, as you say, it shouldn't matter if we see it."