TTS Vol 1 Ch 4.3

The place Park Chigyeong brought her for dinner was a Western-style restaurant on the second floor of a hotel.

Taeri had realized long ago that it was the same hotel where they had kissed two years ago, but she deliberately didn’t acknowledge it and just chewed the steak Park Chigyeong had ordered like it was a piece of rubber.

Untangling the numerous questions tangled like threads in her mind, one by one, Taeri looked at Park Chigyeong.

The man was eating the same steak, but his was closer to rare. Every time he chewed, his jaw muscles, resembling the man’s own, flexed as if showing off their existence.

His gaze consistently held a 45-degree angle, the appropriate pressure with which he held the knife and fork, his upright posture, the way he dabbed his mouth with a napkin… Just as she had felt during their first meal, Park Chigyeong’s table manners were impeccably neat. Elegant and refined enough to evoke admiration.

Taeri thought that the restaurant’s interior and the man’s atmosphere were somehow similar. A flashy and elegant shell with a surprisingly cheap core. Even the music filling the restaurant resembled him; whether it was classical or jazz, or some other genre, it was confusing.

Taeri quietly placed her knife and fork on the plate and parted her tightly closed lips to speak her first words.

“Thank you for earlier. For helping me.”

As if Taeri was thanking him for something trivial, Park Chigyeong continued cutting his steak, raising and lowering an eyebrow.

“My Sihyun’s friend was in trouble. Of course, I had to help.”

“How is… Park Sihyun doing?”

“He got a decent job and is living a decent life.”

Park Chigyeong didn’t elaborate. He seemed to find the topic of Park Sihyun unwelcome.

Taeri felt the same way. She had other questions she really wanted to ask. Biting her lower lip, Taeri slowly raised her lowered gaze and called him, “Sir,” her voice filled with hesitation.

“This too… isn’t a coincidence, is it?”

“It is a coincidence.”

His curt, clean answer made Taeri’s hesitation instantly as light as a sheet of paper.

“I called one of the countless designated driver companies, and one of the countless designated drivers came to me, and it happened to be you, Kang Taeri. I raided one of the numerous illegal gambling dens, and you happened to be there, Kang Taeri. You looked troubled, so I helped you. And I just happened to guess the owner’s name correctly. Ah, did I also happen to correctly guess the country he was coming back from?”

Park Chigyeong held the stem of his wine glass and swirled it twice in the air, the red liquid inside rippling gently like small waves. Inhaling the aroma of the wine as he swirled it, Park Chigyeong continued, his voice laced with mockery. 

“I’m thinking of quitting being a prosecutor and pursuing that line of work.”

“……”

“So yes, it’s all a coincidence.”

He tilted the wine glass and brought the rim to his lips, the corners of his mouth curving upwards in a smooth arc. Taeri suddenly felt a surge of irritation. She couldn’t shake the feeling that Park Chigyeong had been watching her all along.

“What’s the reason you’re suddenly appearing and doing this to me? What’s your motive, Sir?”

“It’s ripened just enough to be palatable now.”

Park Chigyeong delivered his unkind answer in a polite tone.

So… in the past, I was young, a college student, and now I’m no longer a student. So now, even if he had sex with me, he wouldn’t have any guilt as a prosecutor, is that what he’s saying?

Park Chigyeong neatly placed a bite-sized piece of steak in his mouth, a faint smile playing on his lips as if he knew Taeri had understood his words immediately.

Under the table, Taeri’s hand, gripping the linen napkin, kept clenching involuntarily.

She would loosen her grip only for it to tighten again, and again. She gripped it so tightly that the palm of her hand, pricked by her fingernails, began to ache.

“Do you know when I enjoy being a prosecutor the most?”

Skillfully changing the subject, he grabbed the wine bottle. Even the act of tilting the bottle at just the right angle to fill the glass was infinitely graceful, enough to make Taeri speechless.

“It’s when people, whether they’ve committed a crime or not, are already scared of me. But there’s one person…”

Park Chigyeong put down the wine bottle and suddenly grabbed Taeri’s chin.

“……!”

The grip wasn’t painful, but Taeri was so startled that a gasp escaped her lips, the sound echoing in her ears like a warning siren. Knowing what had just happened to the owner earlier, her body instinctively recoiled, but she tried to widen her eyes and pretend not to be afraid. 

Park Chigyeong looked down at Taeri with a similar expression, then chuckled. An expression close to disbelief crossed his face.

“No matter what I do, this kid isn’t scared of me, even though she’s so young.”

Taeri felt like she’d seen a glimpse of madness in Park Chigyeong’s eyes.

“That was… intriguing.”

Park Chigyeong’s hand, gripping Taeri’s chin, slowly loosened its hold and then moved away.

Although the grip on her chin had been light, the area around her jaw ached. Taeri grimaced, checking to see if her jawbone was alright, then retorted, making no effort to hide her displeasure.

“Stop beating around the bush and just answer me. What do you want from me? Do you want me to spread my legs for you? Is that it?”

“Will you?”

The one left flustered by the question, thrown to unsettle the other, was none other than Taeri herself.

The man’s head was filled with impure thoughts, yet he maintained all noble and refined, elegantly sipping his wine with a smile—a sight that was infuriating and disgusting in its audacity.

Two years ago, his goal was a settlement. But now, his purpose for appearing was ultimately this, wasn’t it? The sex they left unfinished back then.

Crazy bastard.

“Your dedication and effort over two years, following me around just to spread my legs, is truly…touching.”

Despite her sarcasm, delivered with all effort she could even muster, Park Chigyeong’s face remained unfazed. He even laughed out loud. Then, abruptly picking up his knife and fork, he began cutting the piece of meat Taeri hadn’t finished.

The way he pretended to be well-mannered was incredibly repulsive.

Why am I like this? Taeri wondered, pressing her hand to her forehead.

Why did she dislike and distrust this man so intensely without a valid reason? And a man she once found attractive, at that. Oh, right. No, there was a reason. This unsettling reunion, disguised as a coincidence. There’s already enough reason to be wary of Park Chigyeong.

As he cut the steak, Park Chigyeong’s gaze remained averted. Thinking he wouldn’t meet her eyes, Taeri stared intensely at him, as if trying to bore a hole through his face. Suddenly, Park Chigyeong looked up, meeting her gaze. 

“If you’re so touched, then just spread them for me, Taeri.”

The way he chillingly uttered her name, there wasn’t a trace of a smile left on Park Chigyeong’s face. As if he’d never smiled in the first place.

The moment she looked into his dark eyes, clouded with lust, Taeri felt paralyzed, as if every single cell in her body had ceased to function.

This feeling again, this helplessness.

A person could be completely controlled just by someone else’s gaze alone. Realizing this for the first time, Taeri could only stare at his face, her breath coming in shallow gasps.

“Inadvertently, our conversation keeps going off track. This isn’t why I came to see you today, Kang Taeri.”

Letting out a deliberate sigh, Park Chigyeong leaned back, putting some distance between them. Only after his heavy scent faded slightly could Taeri finally catch her breath again.

“Where do I even begin…”

He dragged out the rest of his words like a rubber band being pulled taut, his tone, too, was deliberately made up. 

“About your father, Kang Sangbum, the former managing director of Aju Capital.”

Feigning discomfort, he rubbed the back of his neck and then wet his lips with wine. Another made-up gesture.

“Haven’t you ever thought it was strange?”

Setting down his glass, he rested his chin on his clasped hands as he spoke.

“To me, it looks like he took the fall for someone.”

“What do you…”

“I looked into it a little. Even if I’m not completely certain, I’ve come to understand that there are some questionable aspects to your father’s case.”

Raising his wine glass to his lips, Park Chigyeong spoke monotonously.

Taeri, struggling to breathe, fumbled for her glass of water. She managed to bring the glass to her lips, but his merciless voice cut through her fragile composure.

“It seems like someone who shouldn’t be inside is inside.” 

The strength drained from her hand, and she dropped the glass. But there was no shattering sound. Park Chigyeong, anticipating her next reaction, had caught the glass before it fell. He placed it back in front of her, casually rubbing his raised eyebrow.

“It’s not like we’re living under a military dictatorship anymore, yet these kinds of injustices are still rampant in our country, The Republic of Korea. As a prosecutor of this nation, I find this deeply distressing. I truly sympathize with you.”

With a face devoid of even a shred of sincerity, Park Chigyeong spouted these words, then reached into his pocket and pulled out a cigarette case.

“So, let me ask you one last time.”

He pulled out a cigarette, put it between his lips, and flicked his lighter, but then he stopped in the middle as if remembering something.

“Your father…”

He exchanged a polite glance with the waitress approaching to remind him of the no-smoking policy, and, as if surrendering, slowly placed his lighter back on the table. After the waitress moved away, he snapped the cigarette between his middle and index fingers. Then, with a hint of amusement in his voice, he asked,

“Should I get him out?”

The sound of the snapping cigarette was unusually loud. At least, it was to Taeri’s ears.

Suddenly, her ears ached. Covering them with her hands, she squeezed her eyes shut. It didn’t matter how Park Chigyeong looked at her or what he thought of her right now.

After all, she knew her father best. The father she knew would never do such a thing. He was the kind of man who would search for the owner of a dropped 1,000 won¹ bill. Her father didn’t have the guts to embezzle 5 billion won². That’s why she always thought it was strange…

If, as he said, her father had been someone’s scapegoat, it would be infuriating. Her family had lost more than just money.

Still, she needed to stay calm. Park Chigyeong himself said he wasn’t certain. But what if, as he suggested, her father had been wrongly accused…?

“Why…”

Slowly removing her hands from her ears, Taeri looked up at Park Chigyeong. He was slowly tapping his fingers rhythmically on the table, watching her.

“…are you trying to help us?”

Her throat tightened with every swallow. She didn’t know where to look, so her gaze was unfocused. Her throat kept getting dry, but she hesitated to reach for the water glass. Her hands were shaking too noticeably. She didn’t want to appear any more pathetic to him than she already was.

“We’re strangers. Don’t give me some nonsense about your sense of justice. I’ve known for a long time that you’re far from righteous… I’d really appreciate an honest answer.”

Taeri noticed Park Chigyeong’s brow furrow sharply, though she couldn’t understand which part of her words had displeased him.

He couldn’t have become a champion of justice in the past two years, and wasn’t it true that he was far from righteous?

Park Chigyeong let out a short laugh and spoke coldly. 

“Didn’t I just tell you? I’ve said it countless times, I’m doing this because I want to spread your legs. I’ve wanted to do it since before.”

See? Some things never change. At thirty-five years old, this man had become the worst kind of prosecutor, the worst a man could be. She hadn’t realized that even being bad could be a form of development.

“The point is, if your father was falsely accused, I’ll clear his name. Of course, on the condition that you want me to.”

If strangers, oblivious to their history, were to observe them, they might perceive Park Chigyeong as a mature man offering helpful advice to a naive young woman. But that wasn’t the case at all.

Despite the sleazy look in his eyes, Park Chigyeong sat with an air of undeserved sophistication.

“Isn’t that the role of a prosecutor? That’s why I’m on the government payroll.”

The role of a prosecutor, my ass, you crazy asshole. 

He packaged the words “just spread your legs for me” so nicely.

“Do you want this?”

Despite everything, Taeri couldn’t help but think that he wasn’t just a highly intelligent prosecutor for nothing. He held in his hand an offer she couldn’t refuse and would use it to get what he wanted. Was this the arrogance of the upper class?

On the other hand, all she, with nothing to her name, could do while feeling humiliated was one thing.

Nod.

There was something more important than her pride. Was this the despair of the lower class?

Still, it was infuriating. Infuriating and frustrating.

Even though nothing in life is free, offering to clear her father’s name in exchange for spreading her legs… How was he any different from a thug in a fancy suit?

Two years ago, when she saw his raw, exposed self, she felt an inexplicable thrill rising from deep within her. That’s why she had deliberately provoked the man even more… But why did the very existence of Park Chigyeong feel so burdensome now?

Was this what Park Chigyeong meant when he said she had “mellowed out”?

“Let’s go upstairs. This is a hotel, after all.”

Park Chigyeong neatly wiped his mouth with a napkin, grabbed his suit jacket, and stood up. Watching his dignified posture, Taeri let out a hollow laugh.

This is a hotel, after all. As if he hadn’t known all along. As if he didn’t know that she had no choice but to follow him. That’s why he had brought her here, out of all the places he could have chosen. Truly, a despicable bastard.

The fact that she had to follow him despite cursing him in her head was despairing. But even more despairing was the fact that she found him trustworthy.

She felt that Park Chigyeong, using whatever means necessary, would somehow get her father out. He was a prosecutor who was supposed to uphold justice, yet knew nothing about it. Perhaps that was why Park Sihyun had sought out his brother first that day, instead of his father.

Taeri suddenly thought that Park Chigyeong resembled a crocodile.

A crocodile, jaws wide open, patiently waiting for its prey. Waiting for the prey to willingly walk into its mouth, then snapping its jaws shut to mercilessly devour it whole.

So where was she now?

Outside the crocodile’s mouth? On her way in? Or already swallowed?

Whatever it was, one thing was certain.

She was now this crocodile’s perfect prey.