"You're in my jurisdiction, Prosecutor. You know what that means? You do as I f*cking say. ??. ?????????. ?????."
Being puked over was not the ideal welcome renowned Prosecutor of South Korea, Jeon Jungkook expected to receive from h...
A pair of chopsticks slammed into the whiteboard where a date was written in bold red marker.
AUG 23 2021
"On this date, two bodies were found poorly buried near the Yeongsan river: a male and a female who we now identify as Mr. and Mrs. Chae Hyung Sik. Newlyweds who found an unfortunate end too soon."
Heiran paused her narration for a second helping of her steaming jjajangmyeon. A huge set of gold-rimmed glasses sat on her nose as the shorter strands of her hair that escaped her messy knot kept tickling her cheeks. Jungkook surveyed her features intently as she ate, a furrow settling on his forehead. She pushed her hair aside as she continued droning on not-so-enthusiastically.
"Cause of death: strangulation. There were several torture marks on the bodies of both victims, notably with a hacksaw. Forensics estimate that they died on August 20 between six and eight in the evening."
Jungkook's deliberate eyes observed her movements keenly as if they were far more interesting than Heiran's briefing (which probably was considering the way she talked). Heiran kept cutting off to stuff her mouth with black bean noodles and it was beginning to irk him. She inhaled the noodles, exclaiming in satisfaction, "Ah, that hits the spot!"
"Prosecutor Ahn."
"What?"
"The rest of the details, if you would?"
"Ah, right. An ordinary plumber named Kim Namjoon was the one who found the bodies first. So naturally, we questioned him. Did a little investigation on his background but he had alibis. So he went out of the equation, but it didn't matter anyway since the real culprits were caught soon."
Heiran pushed her hair out of her face again as she paced around the room, effectively agitating him more. Her interruptions were beginning to get bothersome to the point he wanted to give up on it and figure out the facts himself. However, he didn't.
Setting the jjajangmyeon aside, she pulled aside a sheet of paper from the piles he was examining, "There were reports of suspicious loitering around in the area and when the local police looked into it, they figured the duo mentioned in the reports were indeed suspicious. So suspicious that they took off running right the moment the police went knocking. A warrant was issued and further investigation brought out a lot more than we expected. They found torture tools and weapons in their home with mister and missus Chae's blood and DNA on it, also the CCTV footage of the victims' kidnapping."
Heiran dabbed her lips with a napkin, showing off the pictures of the defendants on the sheet she had pulled out, "Oh Geum Cheol and Yo Dong Sik. They were caught separately and somehow ended up becoming two separate cases. Yo Dong Sik is my defendant while the late Prosecutor Hwang had Mr. Oh Geum Cheol. Fortunately, Prosecutor Hwang managed to get the cases joined before he passed away."
Jungkook caught the tinge of sadness that traced her voice as she mentioned the deceased but he decided not to say anything, focusing on the case files in his hands instead.
"They are pleading not guilty. Totally useless since the evidence is stacked against them. Anyway, this Thursday they will be convicted at the trial and the case will be closed. Your help is absolutely unnecessary."
Heiran finished, walking over to the nearby chair since Jungkook occupied hers. She slumped down on it but not before she sent a discreet scowl his way for stealing her chair.
"So this is a solved case?" Jungkook questioned, pursing his lips.
"Yes. This is just a simple murder case." She quipped, flipping her blonde hair back, "Ah, seriously, what was Chief Moon thinking? Does he think I can't even handle a murder case on my own now? I'm the ace of this office after Hwang Seonbae after all!"
Jungkook didn't reply to her grumblings, feeling something amiss as he read the background information on the two defendants.
"But why is he here anyway?" Heiran murmured under her breath.
Jungkook wondered if she thought he couldn't hear her. She had seemed weirdly troubled by his presence from the morning. He didn't understand why.
Her pointed gaze drilled into his forehead and he looked up to see her watch him with scrutiny. "Be honest with me, Prosecutor. Why exactly did you, a famous celebrity, get transferred to this no-name province of Jeonnam?"
Jungkook raised an eyebrow amusedly but remained silent. Heiran inched closer, holding a palm against her mouth as if she was vying for the juiciest piece of gossip. "Perhaps did you...screw up?"
He stared into his partner's eyes, mentally counting the seconds it would take for her to look away and withdraw her question. His killer stare was the sole reason he had his defendants spilling their deepest, darkest secrets within seconds at the court and so far he was yet to find one who surpassed more than 10 secs under it. Interesting that his newest partner didn't have any difficulty cracking that record. Albeit, he should have expected it from the Ahn Heiran. That is if she was indeed who he thought she was.
"Prosecutor Ahn, I get the feeling that you're not quite fond of me?"
Heiran let out a feigned gasp, "Whatever gave you that idea."
Jungkook eyed the vexed woman as he leaned far back against her swivel chair; he was developing quite a liking towards it. "Prosecutor Ahn, what cases do you think I worked on in Seoul?"
"Uhh, high-profile cases?"
"Correct. Someone high up must have gotten offended by the way I work. Someone with connections, if you catch my drift." Jungkook replied. Heiran nodded her head at his explanation although she had an expression that screamed that she didn't buy it.
"Well, whatever. As I was saying, Prosecutor, this is a simple murder committed by Oh Geum Cheol and Yo—"
"What's the motive?" Jungkook cut her off finally voicing what he felt was odd.
Heiran paused, "Motive?"
"Mhm. From what I'm seeing here—" Jungkook tapped the case files on the desk, "—they had no history with the victims before the crime, whatsoever. Why do you think they did it? What did they gain?"
"There's no motive. We have none," Heiran admitted slowly, "They refused to mention anything at the interrogation."
Jungkook tilted his head conveying his demur. He was disappointed at her reply. He was expecting a little more commitment on her part. Herian crossed her arms. "But don't you worry, I will bring it out at the court."
The heavy silence that fell stretched long and would have doubtless remained unbroken. But thankfully fate intervened. Heiran's landline suddenly rang out loud. Before she could get to the telephone, Jungkook's fingers were already on it, sweeping the receiver out of her way. "Hello, this is Prosecutor Jeon Jungkook speaking."
As Herian watched with poorly concealed antipathy, Jungkook's back suddenly straightened as he listened to the caller, "Mhm...yes...alright, thank you."
Placing the telephone back in its place, he looked to his eager partner awaiting an explanation and smiled.
"Prosecutor Ahn. This case may not be as simple as you might have thought."
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