Unmasking an Ally

It was only natural that all eyes turned to Lee Ilwoo, who had appeared uttering such a meaningful line.
Moreover, Won Youngoh still had ‘that’ habit.

“I’m trying to fix it, but it’s not easy.”

Although he said so himself, after spending a few months with Won Youngoh, it seemed that Won Youngoh himself knew how useful that habit was.
Because it was a very clean method, without any violence or abusive language.

‘Right, even I can’t speak sometimes when Lawyer Won looks at me like that.’

Before taking off his prosecutor’s robe, Won Youngoh was very famous as a prosecutor who used silence, that is, ‘the right to remain silent’, freely.
He would pressure a suspect without a single word, and when necessary for the truth, he would not hesitate to use it on a witness.
He would pressure the opponent with just his gaze and silence, as if slowly tightening a noose.
Even now, the moment Won Youngoh’s expression changed, the flow of the space followed him.
As if he were aware that his gaze had momentarily sharpened, Won Youngoh lightly shook his head.

“Ah, yes. Please speak.”

But instead of sitting down and opening his mouth, Lee Ilwoo put his hand in his pocket.

Thump.

And so, Lee Ilwoo took something out of his inner pocket and placed it on the table.

‘…Why is he suddenly doing that?’

I couldn’t react in any way to the object that had appeared on the table.
I was even careful about rolling my eyes.
Because…

“What you’ve taken out so dramatically… is it a toy gun? It looks just like a real one.”

Won Youngoh looked at the gun that Lee Ilwoo had taken out with a look of disappointment.

“I know, right. It really looks real.”

Jeong Donghyeok also answered as if he agreed with Won Youngoh’s words, while narrowing his eyes as if to read Lee Ilwoo’s context.

‘Of course it looks real. Because it really is real…’

I looked at Lee Ilwoo to figure out what he was thinking.
But Lee Ilwoo met my eyes as if he were observing, sitting still without any agitation.
As if he weren’t the one who had provided the current situation.

“Is this by any chance a lighter? Is it evidence of arson? Did that guy by any chance leave it in that building?”
“…No.”
“Then what is it?”

Won Youngoh asked, scanning the gun with his characteristic sharp eyes.
The craftsmanship, which could not be seen as a toy, and the appearance of having been used for a long time, exuded a strange sense of incongruity.
Won Youngoh tilted his head and reached for the gun.

“This is just…”

He seemed to think that there was no way Lee Ilwoo would take out such an object at this moment for no reason.
And as soon as he picked up the gun, Won Youngoh’s expression changed.
The face of Jeong Donghyeok, who had confirmed that expression, was the same.

Click.

Won Youngoh immediately and familiarly handled the gun. He separated the magazine with a light gesture without a word.

“……”

The live ammunition in the smoothly removed magazine sparkled under the light.

“…Is this your gun? Mr. Lee Ilwoo.”

Since Won Youngoh had been a prosecutor, he had served as a legal officer as an officer during his military service.
And they are given pistols instead of rifles.
That was the reason why Won Youngoh could handle the pistol with such a familiar gesture.

‘But why is Mr. Lee Ilwoo suddenly revealing his identity like this?’

It was safe to say that everything about the National Intelligence Service was a secret.
Really everything.

‘You wouldn’t know how hard I tried not to get caught, lawyer.’
‘I really wouldn’t have known.’
‘…Sometimes, during an operation, they choose to die in the line of duty instead of having their identity revealed. But this isn’t an operation.’
‘Mr. Lee Ilwoo, what are you talking about?’
‘I guess I was softer than I thought.’

Lee Ilwoo just smiled as he said that, and I couldn’t get a proper answer to that question even then.
It seemed that a cover identity was that important.
Just as I was about to open my mouth, looking at Lee Ilwoo, whose thoughts I couldn’t figure out at all.
Won Youngoh, who had come to his own conclusion, got ahead of me.
And in a direction I hadn’t expected.

“Mr. Lee Ilwoo, did you by any chance smuggle this gun? For our security? But smuggling or dealing in weapons is a serious crime.”
“…What?”

It seems that Lee Ilwoo also hadn’t expected those words.
For Won Youngoh, that must have been the best and worst-case scenario.
Because to Won Youngoh, Lee Ilwoo was a civilian, and he could fortunately help him legally.

‘Circumstantially, the situation became like this after finding out about K, and Lee Ilwoo, who found out about it, is asking for help, saying he smuggled a gun, something like that…’

That’s probably how far it had progressed in Won Youngoh’s mind.
In a way, it was also the most realistic assumption.

‘It’s strange to immediately realize that Lee Ilwoo’s identity is actually the NIS just by looking at the gun.’

Lee Ilwoo was rarely flustered.

Swish.

Won Youngoh put the gun with the magazine removed back on the table.

“Let’s go and turn ourselves in as soon as it gets light. I’ll do my best to help you avoid punishment.”

He had noticed that it was a real gun, but everything after that was a misfire.
Jeong Donghyeok also nodded.

“I’ll help you too, Ilwoo.”
“Since there have been several terrorist attacks already, there will be some extenuating circumstances.”

At Won Youngoh’s serious reaction, the tension was completely released.
I covered my face with my hand and let out a hollow laugh.

“Ha…”

[…But these people, come to think of it, they’re not even saying they’ll pretend they didn’t see it.]

‘Because Won Youngoh is originally that kind of person. A person who, if someone around him makes a wrong choice, persuades them to go the right way, saying he’ll help them.’

As if he thought I was about to collapse, Won Youngoh hurriedly approached me in the middle of it.

“Lawyer Cha? What’s wrong? Are you dizzy? Shall I call an ambulance?”
“No, I’m fine. I was just dizzy for a moment.”

I waved my hand at Won Youngoh, who was sitting next to me.
Then I washed my dry face and raised my head, fixing my gaze on Lee Ilwoo.
The remaining gazes naturally moved along with mine.
Lee Ilwoo finally opened his mouth.

“…It’s neither a smuggled item nor illegal, Lawyer Won. My job is not a bodyguard either.”
“What are you talking about, Ilwoo?”

Jeong Donghyeok, who was slowly looking around and grasping the situation, asked.

“‘Silent dedication, only for the protection and glory of the Republic of Korea.'”

Lee Ilwoo pronounced each syllable with force and clarity. And he added with a bitter expression.

“When I first started this work, all my actions were replaced by this sentence. Though I’m back to the beginning now.”

Won Youngoh, who had been silent for a long time, slowly moved his lips.

“…’Work in the shade and aim for the sun’, you mean?”
“Yes.”
“So now, you’re saying that what I’m thinking is right?”

Lee Ilwoo nodded cleanly at Won Youngoh’s question.
In a way, it was concise.
Suddenly, my side profile felt incredibly hot, as if it had been burned by fire.
Because Won Youngoh’s gaze was hot.
Won Youngoh asked silently.

‘Did you know?’

I let out a small, deep sigh and nodded slightly.
There was a clear difference from Lee Ilwoo’s affirmation just now.
I also feel a little guilty…

‘Because it was true that I had kept a secret from the two of them.’

“Yes, what you’re thinking is true, Lawyer Won.”

Jeong Donghyeok took a deep breath.
Instead of showing a surprised expression like Jeong Donghyeok, Won Youngoh just fixed his gaze on me.

“Did you know from the beginning, Lawyer Cha?”
“That’s not it.”
“When did you know? How did you know? I don’t think Mr. Lee Ilwoo would have told you.”
“I found out when I went to Japan last time.”
“…Then it’s been quite a while, so why didn’t you say anything until now? Did you not trust us?”

I was flustered at that moment.
Won Youngoh was referring to Jeong Donghyeok and himself as ‘us’.
That meant that the ‘us’ Won Youngoh was talking about also included me and Lee Ilwoo.
Instead of making other excuses, I immediately confessed my true feelings.

“No. That’s really not it. I just postponed it for a while because I was worried that you and the office manager would be in danger. Because K caused a terrorist attack just today.”
“……”
“And the attack on Lawyer Won was probably because that guy was instigated by someone, or he was the instigator in the first place.”
“Lawyer Cha, that incident…”
“But it’s probably not the only thing that guy did that we know of.”

There must be countless things we don’t know.
I hope not, but just the things that Im Suho had found out were countless, from trivial theft and drugs to murder.

“He’s a guy who kills people or does things that could kill people without any guilt. He’s a guy without any hesitation.”

Neither Won Youngoh nor Jeong Donghyeok opened their mouths.
They just looked at me.

“If the two of you were to get involved in any way… I was worried that an unmanageable situation might arise.”

Won Youngoh did not take his eyes off me.

“Then what about you, Lawyer Cha?”
“What?”
“Are you saying it’s okay for you to get hurt? Like today? And to jump into a fire like today?”

Won Youngoh’s tone was even calmer than usual. So, on the contrary, it came across as if all sorts of emotions were swirling within it.

“That’s…”
“Don’t you remember what you said to Doyeong a while ago, Lawyer Cha?”

I frowned to try to remember what that was.

“Wasn’t that a statement that we are a family? The fact that you are Doyeong’s uncle is no different from saying that we are brothers.”
“…Ah.”

For a moment, I couldn’t give any answer, as if something was stuck in my throat.

“Have you just been saying we’re a family all this time, Lawyer Cha? Isn’t a family supposed to share their difficulties? At least, that’s what I think.”

I couldn’t come to my senses at the questions that Won Youngoh repeatedly threw at me.
It was like a continuous attack.
Because Won Youngoh was constantly touching and digging into parts that I hadn’t even thought of.
I didn’t have anyone I could call family.
My parents had passed away early, and I didn’t have any siblings.
It was the same even after I became Cha Yohan.
While I was just looking at him with a dazed expression, unable to give any answer, Jeong Donghyeok also opened his mouth.

“The people I met here were the ones who taught me the affection that people can give to each other. The three of you here. But…”

The stories I had heard from Lee Ilwoo and me today were incidents that had happened without them.
They were facts that had not been properly shared from one to ten.
The moment that thought came to mind, the emotions with which these two were talking like this washed over me like a wave.
Then, Lee Ilwoo opened his mouth.
He had been sitting as usual, no different from when he had first brought up the story, but his inner feelings seemed to be different.

“…I’m sorry to break the mood, but may I say one thing?”

Won Youngoh let out a big, deep sigh.
And he stood up from his seat.
It was a situation where it would not have been strange at all if he had said, “I don’t want to hear it, you two do as you please, just as you have been,” right away.
But Won Youngoh, as was his habit, straightened his jacket and raised his eyebrows.

“Hoo… It doesn’t seem like this will be a short story, so let’s talk while we drink something. I think we need alcohol instead of coffee today.”

Won Youngoh stood up from his seat.