Hollow Chapter 12 Part B
“So,” With a small smirk, Zhoumi jutted his chin gesturing to the cup that Kyuhyun was still holding, “aren’t you going to finish that?”
Kyuhyun cringed. “Do I have to?” The bitter taste of the tea still lingered on his tongue, “I’m very much awake.” Zhou Mi laughed, the tea was a trick that his mother had often used when he was a child, on days that he would coincidentally have a dire cold on the same day of a test.
"What is it called again?” Kyuhyun sniffed the concoction.
“Kuding cha. Well the cha stands for-”
“-tea? I know.” Zhou Mi raised an eyebrow.
“How did you know that?” He watched as Kyuhyun shrugged.
“Because I’m a genius, I guess...” Kyuhyun looked away, waiting for the snort that usually followed when he would say something remotely snarky to the members. Hearing nothing, he looked up at him and was faced with an impressed smile.
“I guess you are.” Zhou Mi grinned. Kyuhyun figured that he hadn’t gotten the memo that the new member was the definition of gullible. Not entirely sure what to do, he cleared his throat and went with the only thing he could think of.
“...and it’s the same thing in Hangeul...” Zhou Mi’s face froze for a second in a shocked expression before it broke into lines of laughter. Maybe it was just the refreshing feeling of someone appreciating his jokes, though they weren’t meant to be jokes, a smile spread across his face. Zhou Mi wasn’t quite like anyone he had met before, there seemed to be almost a peaceful air about the man, yet he was full of life.
“No, but seriously it’s really good for you though.”
“Yeah, that’s what my mom said about broccoli.” Kyuhyun scrunched his nose.
Chuckling Zhou Mi grabbed the small bottle of honey that sat on the coffee table, and squeezed some more into the cup as Kyuhyun stirred it.
“Why not sugar?”
“It lessens the medicinal quality I guess. My mom used to say that. But it tastes better anyway. It softens the bitterness better than sugar.”
“You drank this regularly!?” He couldn’t imagine having to drink it ever again, let alone every day. Suddenly cough syrup was starting to sound like hot chocolate.
“Naah. Just when I have a cold or headache or something like that, it’s really good for that kind of thing too beyond just helping with blood circulation. And the taste grows on you... eventually.”
Kyuhyun raised an eyebrow, “I thought you didn’t drink it regularly?”
Zhou Mi grinned, “Did I mention it’s also a great remedy for hangovers?”
“A drinker, are we?” A weary smile was all Kyuhyun could manage.
“Hey! Don’t make it sound like I’m an alcoholic. I don’t really drink often, but when I do, I don’t stop at one shot either. I can handle my alcohol.”
Kyuhyun smiled, unsure of what to say. As if on cue, an electronic melody filled the room. Zhou Mi looked over to the cell phone that was vibrating on the coffee table, reading the name that blinked on the lit screen. Picking it up with a confused look, he turned to Kyuhyun, smiling apologetically.
“I’ll be right back,” he picked up the remote control that sat on the sofa’s arm and tossed it to the other, “I don’t know if there would be anything interesting on right now but you could check.”
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“Sir, to who’s attention should I send the fax to BAE, KIM & LEE for the J-”
“To Lee, Eun, to LEE-HYUN-KI!” Young min’s hand slammed down on the oak wood of the desk, making the objects strewn across it jump, as did the new intern. She had joined only a few days ago, and despite having studied to be a law clerk, Young min knew well that nothing could quite prepare anyone for actually working at a law office, especially the High prosecutor’s office.
The poor girl stood gaping at the prosecutor only for a second before mumbling an apology and scurrying off to fax the files that she was working on.
Cursing, Young min spun around the chair and got up, and started to pace around the room, his head muddled with the information that he was receiving. It was supposed to be a closed case, a finished chapter. But someone had brought it back.
And the fact that it wasn’t just someone. It was Kang Dong-sun.
When he had received the file two days ago, he felt an over boding feeling that something was very wrong. His boss had assigned it to him since he had represented the prosecution the first time around. It wasn’t a secret that, the case had at least a little to do with his promotion from being just a prosecutor at the district prosecutor’s office to a job at the high prosecutor’s office. It was the perfect change, higher pay, higher profile cases, and just a few floors above his old office. That case had been built mostly on circumstantial evidence, especially after the girl’s suicide but he had still won, and the sick bastard was being duly punished.
And just as his instincts told him, Dong-sun didn’t appeal the case trusting just his charm. Young min had arranged for some checking to be done, and the information that was sitting on his desk was anything but reassuring. Dong-sun was good at exaggerating the smallest and insignificant arguments, but this time they had good roots.
Spinning on his heel, he turned to face the large desk, cluttered with manila folders and legal documents. But at the moment there was only one thing his eyes were trained on. He stood there for a long second; reluctantly giving an ear to the side of his brain that told him he was only putting off the inevitable.
Letting out a heavy breath, he moved towards the desk, and took a seat opening the file that had just arrived this morning with the information that he needed, as well as the updated contacts for the victim’s family. He flipped through it till he found the name that he was looking for, one that he wouldn’t soon forget. Picking up the phone he dialled the number that was noted beside it.
It rang. Once. Twice. Thrice.
And then the call was connected.
“Hello?”
Young min took in a sharp breath.
“Hi Zhou Mi, this is Hwang Young min. The prosecutor, remember?”
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Part C