Chapter 198
Park Younggi's words triggering lie judgments one after another was somewhat surprising. In his previous life, it was true that he hadn't lusted after personal advancement. Because of that, he could have climbed higher, but he'd yielded the prosecutor general position to a junior with higher precedence and lived leisurely as a scholar—or so Cha Juhan had known.
But perhaps that was just a packaged image on the surface. Maybe he'd strived for promotion too, only to be pushed aside by lower-precedence juniors, leading to despair. Or perhaps, as Cha Juhan had thought when questioning him earlier, many things had changed in this life, planting different ambitions in him. Maybe when the case landed at the Western District Prosecutors' Office, he'd seen a chance to seize.
Cha Juhan brought the teacup to his lips and fell into brief thought.
"I see."
Even if his ambition for honor drove his interest in the Antrozol Alpha case, it wasn't a big issue. He was the deputy chief prosecutor at the Seoul Western District Prosecutors' Office. By precedence, he was far from retirement and fully qualified and capable of rising further. It would be stranger if someone at his level had no desire to climb higher.
Still, Cha Juhan had probed his true intentions for one reason. At first, he'd thought deepening ties with Park Younggi might be beneficial.
He tended to be wary of people with strong desires. Perhaps because he'd already dealt with a monster named Hwang Youngchan, who clawed for power.
"So, now I'm curious about what you think, Chief Park. Can you help me out?"
Cha Juhan looked at Park Younggi.
"If this case wraps up well, will you be up for promotion, sir?"
"Well, who knows."
Park Younggi tilted his head. And above him, a [Lie] hologram appeared.
"……."
So he does want the promotion. Well, even so, teaming up with Park Younggi just this once wouldn't hurt Cha Juhan. The problem would come if they maintained periodic contact afterward, building more intimacy than now. In any case, cooperating with the prosecution was advantageous for him too—for name recognition, for merit distribution.
"Let's collaborate."
"Great. I think it'll be a good opportunity for you too, Chief Cha. We'll disclose our collaboration and push for you. Isn't that what seniors are for? Scattering flower petals along the juniors' path."
Huh, what's this now? Whoever ended up leading the case, they'd sideline them to push Cha Juhan? Was Park Younggi trying to build his own line and slot Cha Juhan into it?
"I'm not even a prosecutor anymore."
"Still, you built this case from the ground up first. Right? So you deserve the credit. Chief Cha, when I called you here, didn't you think you'd come out on top?"
It wasn't exactly what he'd foreseen, but with Oh Yanghun's words, he'd considered it among the possibilities.
"Not really."
"Come on. Haha. Then I should introduce you to the lead prosecutor. We'll be helping each other a lot during the investigation. It's always nice seeing juniors get along."
He pressed the intercom button and spoke briefly.
"Tell them to come in."
Shortly after Park Younggi's words, a knock sounded. With his permission, the heavy door opened, and a man in a suit walked in.
"You called for me, Deputy Chief?"
And that man was none other than Jeong Changyun, the prosecutor handling Jo Bongjun's defamation case.
"Ah, Prosecutor Jeong. Come sit here."
Park Younggi pointed to the sofa opposite Cha Juhan. Jeong Changyun sat with an expressionless face.
Park Younggi placed a teacup in front of him as he had for Cha Juhan and poured hot water.
"Chief Cha, this is Prosecutor Jeong Changyun, who's taking the Minghwa Pharma case. You two already know each other, right?"
Whatever Park Younggi's motives, he seemed enthusiastic about handling this case. But assigning Jeong Changyun as lead? Among the prosecutors Cha Juhan had seen, he was the most apathetic and unmotivated. And he was someone suspected of Taegwang connections.
Once you took a Taegwang contact, rumors spread everywhere. At least he wasn't maintaining ongoing relations, which was a relief, but it still felt off.
"You might've been uncomfortable because of the Jo Bongjun case, but it ended in no indictment, so no hard feelings, right? Anyway, you're both pros—no need to get emotional over single cases."
"Yes."
Jeong Changyun answered flatly.
"Yes."
"As you know, Chief Cha, Prosecutor Jeong here is a former doctor. Way more familiar with that world than clueless folks like us."
"Deputy Chief."
"Hm?"
"I understand Lawyer Cha is no longer a prosecutor."
At Jeong Changyun's words, Park Younggi chuckled awkwardly.
"Oh, I've been calling you Chief Cha out of habit forever. Slipped my tongue. Sorry, Lawyer Cha. If it bothered you."
"Not at all."
"Alright. Now that I've introduced you two, have a good talk. This old senior will step out."
At Park Younggi's words, Jeong Changyun and Cha Juhan bid him farewell and left the deputy chief's office.
Joint investigation with Jeong Changyun—an unexpected situation. He, who preferred settlements over truth-seeking, was he suited for a probe needing deep truth-digging above all?
"Lawyer Cha."
As Cha Juhan headed for the elevator, Jeong Changyun's voice came from behind.
"Yes."
"Stop by my office for a moment."
An unwelcome invitation.
"Coffee? Mix? Black?"
"Water, please."
Seating Cha Juhan on the sofa, Jeong Changyun went to the water cooler and leisurely brought coffee and water.
"Should I congratulate you?"
He sat opposite and said.
"On what?"
"It all worked out as you wanted. Jo Bongjun got no indictment, and your efforts blew it up into a full prosecution probe."
"Is that so."
He'd probably heard roughly from Park Younggi, so no point denying it. Cha Juhan replied offhand, and Jeong Changyun smiled faintly.
"That medical specialist reporter who first broke the Antrozol Alpha issues."
"Yes."
"Were you the tipster?"
"You knew that too?"
"I was handling the Jo Bongjun case before this one."
"I thought you weren't interested."
"Of course I was."
Jeong Changyun met his eyes with a laugh in his voice.
"He's my senior from school."
Ah, that was unexpected. Cha Juhan had investigated Jeong Changyun somewhat, but knowing his resume, he'd focused on Taegwang ties.
"He mentioned it. After seeing Jo Bongjun and Reporter Choi Jonghyeon on that broadcast, he thought the tipster might be those two. Tips were anonymous. But since they ended up working with you, he figured it might be you."
"I see."
"Lawyer Cha."
"Yes."
"Your poor social skills are as bad as ever."
At his words, Cha Juhan raised one eyebrow. When they'd met with Jo Bongjun, he'd assumed Jeong Changyun had forgotten their shared past of adjacent offices. Cha Juhan barely recalled it himself—Jeong hadn't been memorable.
But "poor social skills as ever"?
"Was I lacking in social skills?"
"Seems so. Conversations just... cut off abruptly."
"You could say the same about Prosecutor Jeong."
Pot calling the kettle black.
"You must've been upset when I suggested settlement in the Jo Bongjun case."
"Less upset, more that you weren't doing your best as a prosecutor."
"I see."
He sipped his coffee, rummaged through the mountain of files on one side, and pulled out a thick one—like a Britannica volume.
"I did my best. Investigated as much as I could. I talked to that medical reporter and you before summoning Jo Bongjun."
"With your medical knowledge, knowing what you know, why keep brushing off our claims and pushing settlement?"
Jeong Changyun hesitated, then spoke.
"I thought there was no chance. If I could verify the truth clearly, I'd dig hard... but the opponent is Wooshin, masters of cover-ups. So it'd get buried anyway. Didn't want to waste time on it. Prosecutors are swamped, as you know. Plus, Jo Bongjun's charge was minor, hard to make a fuss over."
Prosecutors handle hundreds of cases monthly. Cha Juhan recalled him snapping that day about being busy. As a former criminal affairs prosecutor, he understood. Cases divide into major and minor crimes; minor ones naturally get less depth. Digging deep into minors leaves no time for assigned cases.
But he couldn't deem it good handling. Knowing the reporter from our tip, having the info before our visit—he should've grasped our motives. And as an ex-doctor, he best knew the stakes.
Yet claiming it'd bury anyway and forcing settlement—was that justified?
"I figured you'd be reluctant about joint investigating with me, so I wanted to explain first."
"I understand."
"There are many prosecutors out there. Some stuck as drones, some political... but all share insane workloads. To handle them, you need efficiency. Otherwise, you can't finish in time. Of course, you want to dig deep into every case. But chasing time like that leaves undone cases—who bears that? The victims. They'll suffer longer."
He sighed long, speaking slowly.
"You were famous from day one, Lawyer Cha. A genius. Handled your cases, then others' too when time allowed."
"I didn't have spare time. Overtime every day."
"Everyone does. But even with daily OT, you can't finish your own, let alone others'. Might give quick advice over lunch, but actual investigating? Never. I started as a prosecutor with ideals like yours. But chased by time, stamina, environment... had to compromise. Others too."
"Excuses. Plenty don't compromise."
He knew the hellish work environment, yet many didn't yield to reality. Cha Juhan hadn't.
Were they all fools?
"Look at this. You don't grasp the average prosecutor's mind. Sure, non-compromisers exist. But check their performance reviews—they're a mess. Backlog of unsolved cases. End up as drones. Unlike you."
"For an 'average' prosecutor, your career's too flashy."
"I'm just a workhorse. Know the most efficient study methods. I told the deputy chief we need to joint investigate with you. Though he seemed to think so too."
Another surprising fact.
"I used to envy you watching you. But now I accept the difference. I know my limits, so I compromise with reality. You, with your talents, don't have to. Ability gap breeds irreconcilable mindsets."
He smiled bitterly, setting down his cup.
"And Lawyer Cha. Even if I took Taegwang contacts, I have no desire to cover for Wooshin. Just like you took theirs but fight them now."
Damn. He'd known Cha Juhan's concerns there. Well, it'd be silly to think otherwise. With a same-year peer from next door as lead, of course investigate.
"So let's make this joint investigation work. This'll be my first case without compromising reality."