The Tiger’s Den

Well, when it comes to being quiet, our office is the best.
We sat around the table and started the conversation.
After a long hesitation, Geum Changhyeon opened his mouth.
It was because Yoon Gayeong had carefully persuaded him.

“Sir, if you were really threatened, the police will help you. Of course, we will protect your family as well.”
“…Will you really protect my family?”
“Yes.”

Two police officers, one lawyer, and a lawyer’s office.

“As a lawyer, I also promise your safety. How long have you been working at Prosecutor General Nam Eunsuk’s house?”

Whether he felt his safety was guaranteed for now, Geum Changhyeon slowly recounted his memories.

“Well… it’s been about a year since I started working as the gardener at this house. The boss is very picky, so they kept changing gardeners, but they said the leaves have been green and growing well since I started taking care of the trees.”

Geum Changhyeon was an ordinary person.
He wasn’t involved with the terrorists from the beginning.

“A week ago, strange text messages started coming from an unknown number. At first, it was a picture of some man tending to a tree, but when I zoomed in, it was me.”
“From a week ago, you say?”

Yoon Gayeong asked back while jotting down his story in her notebook.

“Yes. Then it soon became pictures of my wife and daughter. Their backs, so it was hard to recognize them at first. Then the pictures got closer day by day. L-like this.”

With trembling hands, Geum Changhyeon showed a few pictures on his phone.

“I sent a text asking who this crazy bastard was, what he was doing, and then I got a video call.”

On the screen, his wife and daughter were lying on the floor, tied up.
Recalling that moment, Geum Changhyeon’s fists trembled.

“You, you bastard! Who the hell are you! Seungyeon, honey! Wake up!”
[Don’t worry, mister. They’re still breathing. But if you hang up or call the police now, you won’t see each other alive again.]
“W-what do you want from me. The money, I need time for the money…”
[Hey, we’re not interested in something so trivial. I’m going to send something to your house in a bit, and I want you to take it to your boss’s house.]
“B-boss, you mean, the Prosecutor General…?”
[Hey, I like that you’re a quick thinker. Open your door in an hour. I’ll leave it in front.]

“…I had no choice but to save my family. And that too, it was just a gas tank, so…”
“Are your family members safe now? Where are they?”

Choi Suhyeok immediately checked on the safety of his family.
Geum Changhyeon managed to clasp his trembling hands together and answered.

“They’re at a jjimjilbang. It’s scary to be at home, but we don’t have a proper place to stay… At least there are a lot of people there…”
(TL note: A jjimjilbang is a large, public Korean bathhouse.)

He blinked his tired eyes deeply a few times and continued.

“They knew how I brought it over, and they sent my wife and daughter home right away.”
“Is there a reason you didn’t report it?”
“My daughter and wife returned safely, and I was afraid of retaliation, so I didn’t. I didn’t even know they had been watching me for days, what kind of trouble would I get into if I reported it…”

His feelings were palpable in his trembling voice.
Fear, confusion, and terror.
After listening quietly to the story, I opened my mouth.

“Mr. Geum Changhyeon, I understand that the explosion occurred less than ten minutes after you left work yesterday.”
“Th-that’s! The boss told me to go home yesterday. He seemed to be in a good mood all day, as if something good had happened.”

‘He seemed to be in a good mood? Was it because he had struck Jo Hyeokjun?’

Geum Changhyeon waved his hands desperately and continued.

“When I realized I was almost caught up in it too, I knew that those bastards had tried to kill me too! Because then the witness would disappear!”

Geum Changhyeon was right.
That must have been the picture they were painting.
Nam Eunsuk’s whim had created a different outcome.

“I was too scared to tell anyone. The Prosecutor General’s house ended up like that, so then just one person like me…”

Geum Changhyeon swallowed the rest of his words, but we all knew what he had been about to say.

“I will guarantee your safety, Mr. Geum Changhyeon. If you hire me as your lawyer. As the case progresses, you will definitely need a lawyer.”
“I-I’ll do that, Attorney.”

As Geum Changhyeon was likely to become an important witness in the future, he was also at great risk.

“Mr. Lee Ilwoo, please escort Mr. Geum Changhyeon and his family to a safe place.”
“Yes, Attorney.”

After Lee Ilwoo left with Geum Changhyeon, Choi Suhyeok and Yoon Gayeong also stood up from their seats.
Yoon Gayeong put her notebook in the back pocket of her jeans and spoke.

“Um, Attorney Cha. How did you know that Mr. Geum Changhyeon was threatened?”
“I’m pretty good at spotting lies. There are quite a few clients who lie to their lawyers. I’ve been trained.”

Though it was thanks to a skill.

“…I see. Thanks to you, I think we have a lead.”
“No, it’s thanks to you, Inspector Yoon, for finding the gas tank.”

Unlike at the cafe, Yoon Gayeong smiled coolly.

“I’ll see you again next time.”
“I’ll be in touch, Attorney Cha.”
“Yes. Inspector Yoon, Detective Choi. I’ll be in touch as well.”

And so, the two of them returned to where they belonged.

Chime.

“Ah, you’re here?”
“Yes, Attorney. The others have gone up to the office.”

Won Youngoh strode over and looked around the office as if it were an unfamiliar place.

“Attorney Cha, are you okay? Why are you alone? Where’s Mr. Lee Ilwoo?”
“I asked him to take a client to a safe house. Just a little while ago.”
“A client? You got a client in that short time?”
“Yes.”

I told Won Youngoh and Jeong Donghyeok what had happened at Prosecutor General Nam’s house.
Showing them the video call recording that Geum Changhyeon had saved, the pictures, and even the text messages.

“…So this is the work of Chairman Jo Hyeokjun’s people. Chairman Jo has really gone to the extreme.”
“But no matter how violent Chairman Jo is, isn’t it a bit of a stretch to see this as him acting alone?”
“I agree with the Office Manager. I think K is involved after all.”
“Is there any way to know for sure?”

There is a sure way.

“The only way to know if it’s really a tiger’s den is to go inside.”

Won Youngoh and Jeong Donghyeok reflexively looked at me.
But we all knew.
That speculation provides no certainty.

“No. Even if you’ve hired former agents, there are only ten of them, including Mr. Lee Ilwoo. Even if they’re each worth a hundred men, the other side is overwhelmingly larger. Both Chairman Jo’s side and K’s side.”
“And you can’t have them stationed there permanently anymore. Besides, Chairman Jo’s company is a defense company, Attorney Cha.”
“The Office Manager is right. I will never, ever allow that.”

As the two of them said, it was a method as reckless as it was certain.
While I was lost in thought for a moment, my phone rang.

“Just a moment. Yes, Detective Choi. You called right away.”

The short call with Choi Suhyeok ended quickly.
I spoke plainly to the two men who had not taken their eyes off me.

“I think we’ve found a way.”

An intended silence flowed through the Prosecutor General’s office. Inside, there was a man with a face so stiff it couldn’t get any stiffer.
Nam Eunsuk stared straight ahead like a stone statue, and stared again.

‘Who the hell is it?’

When he considered grudges as a reason for the terror attack, faces he could guess at popped up and disappeared one by one.
As he was deducing the events of the previous dawn, a vibration sounded from inside his drawer.
With a stiff face, he looked at the drawer for a moment, then took a key from his inner pocket and inserted it into the drawer.

Click.

With the recoil of the drawer, a few old cell phones moved as if swept by a wave.

Vibrate, vibrate.

Nam Eunsuk reached for the only one that was emitting light.
Making a face the caller couldn’t see.

[Your lifespan is longer than I thought, Prosecutor General. Congratulations on your survival.]
“Shut up and get to the point.”
[My, you’re very angry.]

The man continued speaking to Nam Eunsuk as if asking about his day.

[Unfortunately, my plans have been going awry lately. This has never happened before, has it? I’ve even granted all of your difficult requests so far.]

The man, who said it was unfortunate, delivered the message in an ordinary voice.
Nam Eunsuk was not so dull as to not realize that fact.

[But don’t be too upset. I was commissioned to do it too.]

Finally, the words Nam Eunsuk had been waiting for came from the man.
Nam Eunsuk also spat out the question he had been holding back.

“…Who is it?”

The man laughed mischievously over the receiver, as if he had heard an amusing story.

[Haha, how can you ask such a question? You, of all people, know that the secret to my survival in this industry is confidentiality.]
“If you don’t open your mouth right now, I’ll risk everything I have to throw you in jail, so speak.”
[A moment ago you told me to shut up, and now you’re telling me to open it. Which one should I listen to? The current you, perhaps?]
“K, you bastard!”
[You know better than anyone that you can’t catch me, Prosecutor General. You’re in your office right now, aren’t you? Can you be sure that place is safe either?]

Nam Eunsuk, who had shot up with a roar, slowly turned his head, his eyes anxious and searching.

[But don’t be too scared. At least that place is safe for now.]
“……”

Nam Eunsuk couldn’t reply.
He had no choice but to swallow the seething groan.
Because that would be admitting defeat.
His house had been blown up overnight.
Literally, blown away.

‘I knew he was a crazy bastard, but…’

A well-honed blade becomes nothing but a weapon the moment you lose your grip.
Nam Eunsuk was once again realizing that fact through the man.

[Hmm, you seem to have a lot on your mind. Do you really want to know who the client is?]
“…Yes.”
[Then shall we trade a hint? As we always have.]

Thump.

Nam Eunsuk sank back into his chair and let out a deep sigh.
He didn’t know who the blade was pointed at, but at least for now, he needed that blade.

“Tell me what you want.”
[I like that you’re quick to the point. As I said before, my plans have been going awry lately. Thanks to that, I’m on the phone with you, Prosecutor General, but…]

‘This son of a…’

It was nothing short of a humiliation.
To be asking the person who had instigated the attack who had done it, all while he was saying that you survived because of his mistake.

[I have a feeling someone helped you, Prosecutor General. Is that right? Did someone tell you there was a bomb?]

Nam Eunsuk traded what he knew for what he wanted to know.

“I don’t know who it was either. I just received a text message. It said there was a bomb in the house and to evacuate. I’m tracking it too.”
[Hmm… so you haven’t been able to identify them. But I’ve confirmed that someone knew my plan. A deal is a deal, so I’ll tell you.]

The man spat out a single name and hung up.

Bang!

Nam Eunsuk threw the phone into the drawer and immediately picked up the internal line.

“Deploy all available personnel immediately!”
[Sir? But on what grounds, Prosecutor General…]
“I am the grounds! Understood?”
[Yes, I’ll do it.]

Nam Eunsuk slammed down the receiver and muttered with anger.

“This bastard, that bastard, how dare they… I’ll exterminate them all.”

“…This is the first time I’ve worn something like this.”
“Just in case, don’t take it off even if it’s stuffy. You promised.”

Body armor had evolved.
It was less stuffy than the last one, but it still felt like something awkward was placed on my body.

“Let’s be quiet, the sound might be picked up by bugs or cameras.”

There was a reason for Choi Suhyeok’s rebuke.
Chairman Jo’s villa was right in front of us.
But he soon muttered under his breath.

“…I’m not sharing anything with Attorney Cha from now on.”

It seemed Choi Suhyeok deeply regretted calling me a little while ago.

[An order just came down from the top. The police SWAT team is scheduled to raid Chairman Jo’s villa.]