Jin-yong straightened up to take a deep breath.
One. Two. Three. Hoo…
He breathed in as he’d seen on the internet and took a sip of coffee. Even so, he was still trembling so badly he thought he’d go crazy.
It was his first time coming to a prosecutor’s office. He hadn’t done anything wrong, but just being there made him feel like he was about to get scolded, so he shrank down in intimidation. The dancer hyung who’d gone through this yesterday had said that as a witness it was no big deal and would be over quickly, but knowing that hyung’s usual character, Jin-yong didn’t really trust him.
Two weeks ago, Big City’s main vocalist, Juseong-hyung, died. He’d even appeared on TV once and had fans chasing after him, but after his agency went bankrupt, he never made a comeback.
Jin-yong also knew well that he took short-acting manifestant. Juseong had been so happy about having an alpha boyfriend that he’d obviously tried to match him. The hyung he lived with was still missing.
Because of that, the people around him started having a hard time. The other group members as well as the hotel staff all got called in by the prosecutors one by one. Jin-yong considered himself lucky to come together with the manager hyung.
Naturally, the hotel became chaotic. After the last crackdown, and now with the singer who’d performed there found dead, customers dropped by more than half. There were even rumors that the owner was going to fire the floor staff. He’d asked the manager hyung in the taxi earlier if it was true, but didn’t get a straight answer.
At times like this, the manager hyung’s position really did seem ambiguous. The owner treated him like a right-hand man, but he himself always acted like it was someone else’s business. Even with everyone else nervous about losing their jobs, the manager hyung alone stayed way too calm.
That’s why the dancer hyung kept calling him unlucky, saying he must already have somewhere else lined up to go. Jin-yong stared at Marvin, who was sitting next to him.
Hyung, are you really going to move somewhere else?
He didn’t dare say it out loud, but if it were true, he wanted to ask to be taken along. If possible, not as a waiter, but in the guest room team.
The reason he’d applied to Daegyeong was because they were hiring hotel staff. But the job turned out to be just floor serving as a waiter. He also wanted to put on a suit and greet guests normally at the lobby on the first floor.
"Why?"
Marvin asked Jin-yong, who’d been staring at him. Jin-yong shook his head as if it was nothing.
He’d even made him a cup of coffee because he said he was so nervous, but he still couldn’t sit still, jittery and restless. Of course, they had been waiting too long. They’d been told their names would be called and to wait outside, but it had already been thirty minutes. Marvin couldn’t not realize they were doing it on purpose.
Sitting in a hallway at the prosecutor’s office, called in as a witness, all sorts of thoughts went through your head. Things you hadn’t remembered would suddenly come up, and you’d start thinking about just confessing everything you’d meant to gloss over.
Because you never want to come back.
Right when you’re about to blurt everything out, they call you in at just the right time, give you a drink, and treat you more kindly than expected. Of course, the prosecutor never comes out of his office. He stays put like some final boss, and the investigators handle the questioning. Even so, most people end up confessing almost everything. They were probably weighing up that strategy now.
"Nam Jin-yong. Please come in."
Jin-yong was called from the prosecutor’s office. He looked at Marvin as if he never imagined he’d go in first.
What, is he going to war or something?
Marvin let out a small sigh.
"It’s fine. Just go in and tell them what you know."
"But I don’t know anything, hyung."
"Then say you don’t know anything."
"Huh? Ah… Okay."
Jin-yong shrugged his shoulders as if there was nothing he could do and went inside. "Hello…" he said in a voice as tiny as an ant, and the door closed. As the first witness and person who reported the incident, it seemed likely the questioning would take a while.
Marvin stood up. Now that the person begging him to stay was gone, he thought he might as well go smoke a cigarette.
He’d been smoking more lately. He almost never smoked except as a cover before, but since coming down to Oseong, his hand reached for cigarettes more often. It was because of the stress and anxiety.
Behind the old prosecutor’s office building, people were gathered by the wall, smoking. Keeping a little distance, Marvin lit one up too. The air was cold.
The hotel had started shortened hours from this week. Contrary to Yang Jin-man’s hopes that it would all blow over, things were coming down hard on him. And it wasn’t just this case. The trouble from the last dawn raid was spreading even further.
Violation of the Special Act on the Prevention of Prostitution. Violation of the Special Trait Holder Surveillance Act. Violation of the Narcotics Control Act. And violation of the High-Ranking Public Officials Bribery Act. There were four charges under investigation by the prosecution.
Since last week, summons had been arriving at the hotel nonstop. There were even two in Marvin’s name. One was for witness testimony in Park Juseong’s death, the other for violation of the Special Trait Holder Surveillance Act. If he was indicted for the latter, his status would switch to that of a suspect.
He decided to take care of the easier case first, so that’s what brought him in today. In any case, the same prosecutor was handling everything, moving between cases. What he’d overheard at the police station was turning out to be exactly right.
"He’s a bit of a lunatic."
Not "a bit," Marvin thought—he wanted to say "a lot." It looked like the prosecutor was planning to go back to Seoul after blowing everything up. There were even rumors that Jinkang Shipping would be facing a tax audit. Yang Jin-man didn’t stand a chance.
Because the prosecutor had no connections in Oseong, there was no way to pull any strings. All of Yang Jin-man’s ties and networks were useless. The other tourist hotels in Oseong had all started playing it safe, and the whole industry was unsettled.
Marvin himself couldn’t quite guess what the prosecutor was aiming for. Maybe he was just poking everywhere, trying to find some sacrificial lamb to take back to Seoul. Being left out in the cold like this, Marvin couldn’t help but relate to the feeling.
Yeah, well, do your best. Good luck.
Marvin muttered encouragement to no one in particular and stubbed out his cigarette. Then he went back into the prosecutor’s office.
After washing his hands in the bathroom, he was coming out when the lead investigator, who had been looking around at the end of the hall, spotted him and waved.
"Oh, there you are!"
It hadn’t even been ten minutes since Jin-yong went in.
"I was wondering where you’d gone. I told you to wait. Jeez."
He spoke in a grumbling tone, as if Marvin had caused trouble.
"It’s already over?"
"No, the prosecutor is looking for you. Please come in quickly."
Marvin was led into the prosecutor’s office. Wasn’t everyone supposed to be questioned in order? When he entered the room, Jin-yong, sitting at the desk by the window, called out, "Hyung!" The investigator hurried past Marvin and opened the inner office door.
"Here."
It felt like being led into a tiger’s den, but Marvin went inside anyway.
The room was modest and simple. There was another desk, a two-person sofa and a single-person sofa in the center. One wall was stacked with heavy-looking boxes, and on top of them were piles of yellow document envelopes.
Sunlight shone in through the wood-framed windows, making the room bright. For a deputy chief prosecutor’s office, it wasn’t bad. There was a separate area and even a display cabinet. Maybe because the building was so old, it felt like a movie set from the 90s.
Everything in the room was old-fashioned, but the person sitting at the desk, typing on a state-of-the-art laptop, was thoroughly modern. Even in his own office, he seemed like a stranger.
"Hello. Did you get home all right last time?"
"I sent the summons to the hotel because your registered address is in Seoul. I guess it got delivered safely. Did you live in Hannam-dong? We were neighbors."
He deliberately greeted Marvin in a friendly way, but Jang Jin-woo only said what he wanted to say, tossing out information that wasn’t all that welcome.
"Yes, before. I haven’t reported my new address yet."
"I heard you’ve worked at Daegyeong Hotel for over four months now, but you still haven’t done it?"
His tone was calm, but there was no way to answer. The polite smile on Marvin’s face curled up at one corner.
Right. This was the kind of place where even a bit of laziness that would normally just cost a small fine got questioned.
"Yes. I’ll do it soon."
"Who lives there now?"
The moment he answered, Jang Jin-woo’s questions started up again. Unable to wait even a moment, he stopped typing and looked at Marvin.
Marvin also looked him in the eye. At the same time, he noticed what Jang Jin-woo was wearing. A navy suit, a sky blue shirt… Not an easy color to pull off, but strangely, it suited him.
"I asked who lives in Unit 1205, Building 203, Meridian Tower, Taerim-ro, Yongsan-gu. Was my question difficult?"
"I’m not sure. Someone else must have moved in. I was just a tenant."
Marvin shrugged, pretending not to know.
"The owner is the Republic of Korea Army Headquarters, you know."
The questions laid as groundwork finally reached their target. Marvin clamped his mouth shut. If they’d even checked the apartment owner, it meant he’d been under suspicion from the start.