“Mmm. Cold.”
A barely audible small voice mumbled. The feeling of something burrowing in before Kang Ji Ho could extend his arm was like the cat he had as a child.
Nabi, who had gone to cat heaven, used to climb onto the bed at dawn and curl up into a ball. It had been a long time since he felt such warmth and softness.
To the point where he never wanted to wake up.
Ji Ho hadn’t slept more than 4 hours a day since taking on the special investigation.
A daily routine of passing out without even dreaming.
Having a dream like this today was perhaps a luxury. Because he had fallen asleep as if collapsing after working until his vision blurred.
Clearly he was sleeping, but thoughts kept connecting. Even as he thought he should get up, his damn body wouldn’t move. Precariously walking a tightrope between reality and dreams. Ji Ho fell into a strange feeling.
“Smell… good.”
A phrase piercing through hazy consciousness, the feeling of something round and soft wriggling. The rose scent brushing his nose, this weight on his waist and what’s touching his palm…!
In that moment, Ji Ho’s eyes flew open.
Unable to lower his head, he looked down with just his eyes to assess the situation.
‘Why on earth.’
He had been looking at documents on his phone. At some point he had fallen asleep lying straight on the bare floor.
Moreover, Park Ra Jin, who hadn’t moved at all, had buried her face in Ji Ho’s chest after kicking off all the blankets. With her arms even wrapped around his waist so he couldn’t budge.
‘Ha.’
If he had still been half-asleep, he wouldn’t have been this flustered. Ji Ho bit his lip hard at the crystal clear consciousness and vivid sensations.
How should he handle this?
If he moved clumsily, she would wake up, but he couldn’t pretend to sleep nonchalantly until she woke up either.
It didn’t seem like it had been long since it was still dark outside. How long had he slept? Jung Ha Eun’s request to ensure safe return home and the fact that he hadn’t asked what was really important came to mind in turn.
‘This is crazy.’
Plus, her breath tickling his heart was very troublesome. If they stayed like this, they might never be able to face each other again.
Ji Ho tilted his head back. Then he moved slowly while holding his breath. Just as he was about to lower her arm resting on his waist.
“Mmm.”
‘!’
All his careful movement was for naught as she clung to him like a magnet. Back to the original position when he first opened his eyes. No, even closer with no gaps.
Just as Ji Ho struggled to hold onto the thread of reason and tried to move away again. Ra Jin raised her hand to scratch at the scab.
“Ms. Park Ra Jin.”
Unable to watch any longer, Ji Ho caught her hand in midair.
“Let’s get up now.”
Her forehead pressed against his chest flinched. Is she awake now?
“I know it’s awkward.”
“……”
“It’s the same for me.”
Ji Ho carefully lowered Ra Jin’s hand and moved his body back. Then he abruptly sat up.
The pink mark stamped on her rounded forehead, Ra Jin’s eyes moving about between thin eyelids. Knowing how embarrassed she must be right now, Ji Ho smiled.
“If you want to lie down more, go ahead.”
“……”
“I was late because I was looking for a pharmacy, since it seemed like we should put some ointment on that wound.”
He noisily fiddled with the pharmacy bag tossed on the sofa, as if telling her not to be surprised.
Until he took out alcohol swabs and set up the ointment and moist bandages, Ra Jin didn’t move an inch.
“I’m going to look at the wound.”
Only then did she slowly nod her round head. Ji Ho’s eyes curved gently at the sight.
“It was an accident that happened because we were both tired, so let’s pretend it didn’t happen.”
Adding the word “clean”, he wiped her reddened hand. Her eyelashes fluttered whenever he touched the wound, as if it stung.
“Does it hurt a lot?”
“…Yes.”
“We have to be careful not to let it get infected, so please bear with it a little.”
Ji Ho placed Ra Jin’s hand on his leg and carefully disinfected around the wound.
A wound about half the size of a thumb on her now clean hand. As he fanned to dry the alcohol, it felt like the wound had grown since he first saw it.
“It would be good to go to a dermatologist. There could be scarring.”
Ji Ho squeezed out some ointment and gently applied it to the wound, then carefully stuck on a moist bandage so the edges wouldn’t peel. Is this okay?
Ji Ho meticulously wiped the bloodstains on her nails, glancing at his watch.
2 AM.
For only sleeping three hours, his body felt refreshed as if he’d rested all day.
“Jung Ha Eun will probably be worried. Shouldn’t you contact her?”
“What time is it?”
At the mention of Ha Eun, Ra Jin finally opened her eyes. When he stared at her, her rabbit-like reddened eyes quickly darted away.
“It’s 2 AM. Be careful with your right hand.”
Ji Ho helped Ra Jin sit up and handed her the phone. She tapped the screen a few times with her left hand, then flipped the phone over.
“Are you going now?”
“Um……”
Ji Ho gazed intently at Ra Jin’s face as she hesitated, seeming to have something to say.
“Is there something you want to say?”
“Thank you. For treating me.”
Ra Jin gently raised her right hand and smiled brightly. How could someone who just woke up look so fresh? It felt like seeing a scene straight out of a commercial.
As if looking at a frozen image, Ji Ho was at a loss for words at Ra Jin’s smile. How could a person be so perfect in every moment? He was simply amazed by her extraordinary presence.
“Prosecutor.”
“Yes.”
“You asked me for help before, didn’t you?”
Suddenly bringing up the incident she had apologized for and refused. Ji Ho’s reason, which had been scattered in a daze, instantly found its place again.
“Actually, Kim Yu Jun came to see me yesterday. To my home.”
At her explanation that it was the first time, sparks flew from Ji Ho’s eyes. He was dumbfounded by the brazen behavior of a man who even had a fiancée. Surely he didn’t bring bodyguards this time too?
“Were you alright?”
Sighing, Ra Jin explained her unpleasant encounter with Kim Yu Jun. Unlike before, calmly.
A story that could be long or short.
Like a priest hearing confession, Ji Ho waited for Ra Jin’s next words without asking any questions.
“You mean you want to cooperate in order to get away from Kim Yu Jun?”
How much must she dislike Kim Yu Jun to be like this? He felt sorry for her desperate situation, willing to take risks. While Ra Jin’s decision was welcome, it might not be for her.
“Kim Yu Jun said he would wrap everything up by the end of this year. So I want to try something.”
“Will you be alright?”
“Even as I’m telling you now, Prosecutor… I’m not confident.”
Ra Jin said, lowering her head.
“I might say I want to quit right away. Honestly, I’m scared.”
“You can stop anytime you want.”
He had no intention of demanding public interest from someone who wasn’t even a prosecutor’s office employee.
What Ji Ho wanted was just one thing.
A small clue that could serve as a guide, that would be enough. Too much information would be more than Ra Jin could handle, and could put her in danger.
“I’ll make sure Kim Yu Jun is held accountable one way or another, so don’t worry.”
Ra Jin let out a sigh of relief, as if it was the answer she wanted. Then she moved her lips.
“But… you might be disappointed.”
“About what?”
“Because I don’t know much.”
She said she had overheard things, but hadn’t paid attention. Even adding admirably that although she couldn’t give the information he wanted, she would try her best. Ra Jin blurted out quite plausible promises while blinking her large eyes.
“What should I do first?”
Despite saying she wouldn’t be of help, she looked ready to dash out right away.
Smiling, Ji Ho brought over the bottled water from the table. Feeling he should give her a moment’s pause from her urgency. Ji Ho placed the water bottle in her left hand, buying time to think.
Gulp gulp. Listening to the sound of her hurriedly swallowing, Ji Ho had prepared one thing to say.
“TJ Pictures.”
“…!”
“Have you heard of it by any chance?”
[This is the timeline separator]Ji Ho’s eyes flashed among the mountain of documents piled up.
“Ho Jin. Look here.”
Ji Ho tapped the documents with his finger. Sensing the unusual atmosphere, Yeo Ho Jin moved her seat right next to Ji Ho.
“TJ Pictures, Fine Corporation, Max Factory, SX Plus.”
“They’re diverse in location and industry, but all went out of business within 3 years.”
“These are the places Myungjin Securities invested in that had the biggest losses. Excluding cryptocurrency.”
As Ji Ho flipped through the documents explaining the complex ownership structure, Ho Jin kept nodding.
“Among these, the ones Ms. Park Ra Jin has heard of are TJ Pictures and Max Factory. These two.”
“Hmm.”
“TJ Pictures specializes in investment and distribution except in North America, and Max Factory is…”
“An overseas copyright import company.”
Companies that clearly existed on paper.
But now they’ve shut down with no connections to be found. Ji Ho tapped the desk.
“If the agency CEO Oh Jong Hyuk was involved, he must have used them for money laundering.”
Unless it was manufacturing, sales and expenses could be easily manipulated with just a few documents. The companies Ra Jin had heard of were production and copyright distribution companies anyway. If they were companies created solely for slush funds, they would have been hidden even more skillfully.
“Just looking at the sales of the 4 companies before they closed, it’s over 100 billion won.”
“If all those non-existent transactions went straight into Kim Yu Jun’s pocket…”
Ho Jin fell into deep thought with a heavy sigh.
Embezzlement on a large scale, plus tax evasion. If they wanted to go after him, there were many big crimes.
“Shall we schedule a summons?”
“Not yet.”
Summoning Kim Yu Jun would be when the case was somewhat ripe. For now, Kim Yu Jun’s underlings first.
“He might suspect there’s an informant cooperating with the prosecution. Let’s start with Ms. Park Ra Jin’s agency first.”
“We’ll have to dig up some dirt to implicate them appropriately.”
Like their long acquaintance was shining through, the two were in perfect sync.
“Didn’t you say Oh Jong Hyuk was investigated for violating the Foreign Exchange Transactions Act?”
“How do you remember everything she briefly mentioned in the taxi?”
How could he forget that day, that incident? Ra Jin’s first impression was so intense. Ho Jin shook her head as if she couldn’t handle Ji Ho’s memory, but there was a bright smile on her face.
“If there’s a violation of the Foreign Exchange Transactions Act, we should check for overseas gambling first. Shall we teach him a lesson?”
“I’ll have to make a public interest report. Decisively.”
Giggling, Ho Jin abruptly stood up.
“I’ll take care of the International Crime Investigation Department and National Tax Service quickly.”
“Alright, good work.”
It felt like the scattered puzzle pieces were coming together one by one. Ji Ho waved his hand lightly, feeling refreshed for the first time in a while.
“Oh! By the way.”
“?”
“Did something happen with the goddess yesterday?”
Ho Jin’s perceptiveness was unmatched. Ji Ho shrugged, clicking his tongue inwardly. As if to say, what are you talking about?
“No, when you left to meet the goddess, you definitely had a gloomy face, but…”
“What face?”
Ho Jin nodded and glanced at the door as if looking for an escape route.
“You show up with a glowing face like you spent the night at a sauna.”
“When did I ever.”
“Even in the serious atmosphere, there’s some kind of warm breeze blowing…”
Ho Jin’s intuition was incredible as she kept repeating ‘it’s strange, strange’. However, Ji Ho deliberately lowered his voice, trying not to get drawn in.
“You must be bored.”
“Hey, when do I have time to be bored? I’m working so hard.”
Ho Jin smiled broadly and extended her fingers.
“Senior.”
“What.”
As he waved his hand telling her to go, Ho Jin picked up the phone on top of the documents.
“There’s a call.”
Ji Ho’s body turned instantly.
Could something have happened to her?
__________
Ex-husband Wants Reconciliation (Female-dominant)
One-line summary: Chasing the wife to the crematorium (making an effort to attract someone who has become indifferent), the female lead doesn’t look back, the second male lead takes the position.
Synopsis:
To repay the kindness of the older generation, Su Mu crossed into a female-dominated world and became a live-in daughter-in-law of the Yan family, single-handedly saving the Yan family from fire and water.
But her husband, Yan Jiyue, the eldest son of the Yan family, treated her with sarcasm and never showed her a good face.
He even had his eyes on another woman.
It wasn’t until after Su Mu’s death that this pampered and arrogant young master shed a few fake tears and pretended to want to die for love.
Su Mu expressed her disdain.
This life’s kindness was enough. If there was a next life, she would definitely kick Yan Jiyue away.
She also wanted to embrace Xie Yi, who had silently stayed by her side in her previous life and committed suicide by taking poison after her death.
Who knew that the heavens would be so kind as to allow her to be reborn, returning to the time when she had just married into the Yan family.
Su Mu glanced at the Yan eldest son, who still spoke coldly to her, and threw a divorce letter in front of him.
“Let’s divorce!”
—–
Yan Jiyue never imagined that he would be reborn. He happily went to find Su Mu, wanting to make up for the mistakes he had made in his ignorant youth.
Wasn’t the reason the heavens allowed him to be reborn to let him reconcile with Su Mu?
But when he pushed open the door to Su Mu’s room, the person lying on the bed was another man.
Su Mu’s personal attendant, Xie Yi.
Yan Jiyue hated him so much that his teeth itched. In front of Su Mu, Xie Yi was a gentle and considerate whisperer of sweet nothings, but in reality, he was vicious-hearted and deliberately sabotaged their husband and wife relationship.
In the previous life, it was he who secretly hid in Su Mu’s coffin and committed suicide, stealing a step ahead of him to be buried with Su Mu.
Yan Jiyue’s eyes were filled with hatred as he cursed, “What kind of thing are you? Your background is lowly, what right do you have to occupy Su Mu?”
Xie Yi looked at the sleeping Su Mu and no longer pretended to be a whisperer of sweet nothings.
He proudly stuck out his belly, “I have the right because my belly is capable of giving the Wife-master a daughter.”
[Reading Guide]
1. True divorce, chasing the wife to the crematorium, the female lead doesn’t look back, the male lead is Xie Yi.
2. The ex-husband did not cheat, he just realized too late and didn’t realize that he liked the female lead.