CHAPTER 4: PRESSURE
 

Everything in the world of giving justice was a do or die, it was either the person who commit the crime who needed to suffer or the one who served the justice, it wasn't a fair world after all, a game of Russian roulette were both of the players were confused and afraid whether the both of them would live or not.

--

Everything were playing definitely as if things were about to happen in just a snap of their own fingers, their hands intertwined, their head leaning to each other, happy? Of course, there's nothing that could brake those smiles that would be automatically drawn to their lips whenever they were in each other's sides. Who wouldn't be? If that person you love was the one who showed the affection you always craved for.

"Hey." She whispered to the woman who was slowly falling down to her chest as they watched the sunset. It was Sunday, tomorrow would be the day that Seulgi was afraid of, the day were she needed to let go of her, physically, it wasn't that sort of a big deal for her, not at all, but still, living a complete year without her love was like having a complete life under the shipwreck, it was nothing but hopelessness but she have too, no matter how much she asked Him for her to stay there with her, she have to accept that fact she had to go, Seulgi did not want to be selfish after all.

"Yeah?" The woman answered in a whisper as she played her hands that is bound to the younger's, she was an open person, she wasn't even afraid of saying it to the people that the person next to her was the first person she felt the essence of love, of course it might have sound silly but it was the truth. Irene did not want to admit at first but it ended up to be a three years and counting relationship with the younger. The senior looked at the monolid eyed woman as she showed her the priceless piece she ever had.

"I know, this might sound cringe for you but this was given by my mother before she passed away, it was set to locate my place, it was also the thing who helped me when I was younger when I accidentally got lost, it's always been with me and I think someone needed it for future use, please take care of that one, you can keep it, just please don't lose it, maybe someday, if things wouldn't seemed to be okay, you can find me there, maybe waiting for you."

"Why are you saying things like that?" Joohyun looked at her, it wouldn't be their last good bye but the woman seemed to act strange she did not like it, the way she spoke had given her goosebumps she wasn't supposedly be feeling right now, the strange feeling of abandonment was always there with her and she hoped that Seulgi wouldn't do that to her.

Of course, Seulgi wouldn't do that. It was her who did.

"Are you saying that you're breaking up with me?" The woman caressed her cheek as if she was automatically asking for her to stay.

"Why would I? I just felt the gut of giving this to you, who knows, if someday, sometime, things wouldn't be placed right, Seoul is a big city, there would be a lot of people you will be able to meet one day, I trust you more than the way I trusted myself but Hyun, I don't trust temptation, that thing is always there and I, myself wouldn't be able to stop that. If things messed up in the future don't forget about me, this piece of memory would be there to store everything that had happened to us,"

"Seul..."

"And hopefully, things wouldn't disappear so as the way you love me."

--

"Unnie." A light tap from her shoulder had awoken her up from her dreamland, Irene opened her eyes to look at her friend still half asleep with her hand handing her phone. "Your phone had been ringing for the nth time this night, can you please answer it?" She asked half annoyed, the woman abruptly took her phone from the younger as she stood up to go out of her friend's apartment.

"1:47 AM." Irene whispered to herself as she wore her shoes and jetted out, noticing that the complex was completely dimmed by the moonlight, she slowly walked out, so silent that she could only hear her breathing and the ring of her phone. "Yeoboseyo?" Irene answered as she found herself in the middle of a children's playground.

"You answered finally, you fell asleep so early, are you tired?" Her husband, of course, that side of him again.

"Yes, how about you? Where are you right now? Have you already eaten?" She asked as she wiped the wet swing to sit down when she suddenly heard a loud banging on the other side of the phone making her curious senses to be awoken up by it. "Where are you?"

"I'm in Busan right now, don't worry, my co-worker just drop something accidentally. You seemed to be missing me a lot, don't you? I'll be back in a week, I just called you to ask something." Irene rolled her eyes with the over exaggerated word of love she can heard from the man's voice, she knew that he needed something but of course, what would be the easiest way to go into a woman's heart? It's through their intoxicating words, no problemos, and the woman knew about that and she would never fell for it once again.

Irene could even wish for now if he could easily disappear and never come back to her yet no matter how she wished for that to happen, he's still there. . "Make sure to take care of yourself."

"Thank you, can I ask something?" The woman hummed in response before he continued. "I bought a house for us in Daegu."

"What?" Irene automatically answered, for all the things she knew, her man had never got the plans to go back in Daegu no matter what it takes, before they even got married, the man had already said that he would never dare to go back in that city for his sake, she always remembered that he felt so disgusted to think about making the woman to feel insulted as she was from there and hearing that type of words from his man made him wonder from the start if he's worth yet here she is now, finding out that her guts was completely right and wrong.

Right that he was a wrong person and wrong for believing that he's the right one.

"I thought you don't like to be there?" She asked but instead she heard his giggle that she always liked, before. That was just before but not now and would never be again. "What's with the sudden change?"

He chuckled. "First, I want us to reconcile, second, please, let's restart again and fourth, there's always been a missing part for the both of us and besides, you and I were no getting any younger, let's settle down and build our own family, for real now."

So those years, those five years were just a play for him? Those beating, those cries and the sleepless night she had experienced was nothing and was just a trial? Of course, he wouldn't feel anything and he also knew that she would never dare to speak anything bad about him, at the very first place, she's always been that good woman.

"How about my job?" Irene asked and stood up, she hasn't even got to start the main division of Soul's death yet this sudden thing arrived, she was eager to do anything just to solve it, that was the least thing she can do to at least ask for forgiveness for her. The prosecutor knew if she wouldn't be able to do it, the rest of her life, the only thing she would feel would be guilty, guilty of ignoring and neglecting her.

There's a silence between the couple, the prosecutor knew that one day her family would be her first priority on that list when that time comes but she was just in the beginning of her career, and was facing the crime scene of her life that she, herself had needed to solve.

"I think it's time for you to-"

"Junmyeon, no. You can take away my pride and dignity from me but not this job."

­--

"Jackson Wang,  grandchild and heir of the Chinese business tycoon, Stephen Wang was found dead in the suburbs of Gyeonggi-do earlier this morning, the half of his face were burnt with an acid and a gunshot wound on his forehead. Authorities were still investigating the reason behind his death after they found out that the man had been also included as the person of interest to the death of his co-worker, Lee Sun-mi."

" it." Irene whispered to herself as she watched the news of the man's passing. They were missing every nuke and pieces they had now, the luck of evidence is making her mad and no matter how much she wanted to start doing the case, she can't especially now that they lost Jackson.

"Pro-"

"Call Prosecutor Park." She ordered. The woman felt she was already in the borderline of losing it as she stopped to look at her own reflection to the mirror, Irene couldn't bear to lose her in this situation, she needed to be brave in order to fix this sooner as she knew to herself that she can only be the one to hold the case of Soul, and no other can.

"But ma'a-"

"Just do what I've ordered!" Her voice rose up making her officer friend, Wendy, to look at her in shock . The woman knew that her competitiveness was always been there but not to the point that she would shout to her co-workers just for them to do their job. The prosecutor sighed. "Just please, please, follow what I have said, Wendy." She said with her hands clasped to the edge of her file cabinet. The pressure was there inside of her and if she wouldn't be able to let it out sooner or later she knew that something would explode and that would might be the cause of her completely losing everything.

And she's on the brink of it.

If losing her could be the reason for Irene to lose all of the things she had on her life now then she would chose to bring it on. What's the point of having a life, wishing to have it forever when the person you wanted to be with at the very first place was already gone? It's shallow and useless.

"You need to calm down." Jennie said in her calm voice as she entered the prosecutor's office with  the documentation files she needed to have to begin the case. 

As if someone had just pulled the inner trigger inside her, Irene turned around, her face red with her eyes filled with anger and eagerness. "How am I supposed to calm down?" She asked in her monotone voice as she walked towards Jennie who was looking at her with the same intensity, Kim smirked, her mind planning to do some wicked idea to shot her off. 

"Just because you are the prosecutor, you already have the guts to shout off to your colleagues." The woman said in one attack as if she was adding a flame to the burning fire that could kill off anyone at any moment just by the way how she looked at her. "Just because your only person of interest got killed doesn't mean you have to be mad to us saying we are incompetent. How did you became a prosecutor by the way without the use of us, right?" Jennie said as she threw the folders on her table, her eyes caught how the nails of the prosecutor had turned to white as she looked at her in anger. "You're a bulls-"

"I am! But you don't understand! You don't understand how important this case for me!"

"It's because you're only thinking of yourself Irene, you never thought about those persons surrounding you, no wonder your husband beat the out of you because of your selfishness, you pride eating woma-" A slapped landed to her cheek making the feline eyed woman to stop from talking. Jennie felt she lost all of her senses while hearing the heavy breathing of the older followed by sobs. For the first time in years, she finally saw her cry.

"You don't understand the pressure I've put to myself to finish Soul's case, you don't understand how important that job for me and you did not know what I truly felt on losing her." Irene said with her tears continuously flowing down to her cheeks, her friend looked at her, finally understanding what the prosecutor had wanted to say from the very beginning.

"Unnie..."

"Just leave me alone!"