The Target and the Order

One by one, the others left the office, but Hae Su could not take her eyes off the brightly lit monitor. The Team Leader, grabbing his bag, looked down at her over the partition.

“Are you not heading home?”

“Ah… I still have some things to review.”

The Team Leader furrowed his brow briefly before nodding and stepping away. Just as she was about to straighten her chair, a thought flashed through her mind, and she called out to stop him.

“Um, Team Leader.”

He turned his head in response. Hae Su bit her lip and met his gaze.

“What is it?”

She hesitated for a moment before speaking carefully.

“The material the Headquarters officer brought earlier. The investigation status of the Cheongun Group. I would like to check it again… Can I have it?”

“Ah, the presentation?”

“Yes.”

The Team Leader pulled his lips to one side, then turned fully and walked back to his desk. He opened the top drawer, which he always kept locked.

Clack.

Returning to her, he set the padlock, the key, and the USB containing the presentation on Hae Su’s desk.

“I am telling you just in case, but no external leaks. No printing, no saving—none of that. Everything leaves a digital trail, so put it back where it belongs when you are done. I am trusting you with the lock. Got it?”

“Yes, thank you, Team Leader.”

After saying goodbye to him as he left with final warnings, Hae Su reached for the USB the moment the door thudded shut.

Click, click. Once the light tapping of the mouse stopped, the presentation filled the monitor. What she wanted to verify was not the investigation progress or the criminal facts.

It was simply…

“……”

She wanted to know if she had truly recognized him correctly. Once again, her gaze was drawn to the face that bloomed like a flower among the middle-aged men.

One corner of Hae Su’s mouth tilted upward.

“It really… is him?”

They had only met once, six years ago.

Even if she shouldn’t have forgotten him because of the grace he showed her, the reason she remembered that face so clearly was partly because it was the kind of appearance that was impossible to forget, no matter where you met him.

The neatly swept-back hair, the prominent brow bone, the sharp bridge of the nose, and even the lips that had held a cigarette. The man, who had been beautiful in every aspect, looked the same in the photograph.

She clicked the mouse, and the Cheongun organizational chart she had skimmed past came into view.

[Lee Do Guk | Action Leader, Cheongun Gang]

Even when she didn’t know his exact position, she never thought he would be a mere lackey running errands. He wasn’t a man who suited the bottom of the barrel.

No, he was in a much higher position than she had imagined.

“……I am curious to see what kind of b*stard he is.”

Resting her chin on her hand, Hae Su’s eyes narrowed as she stared at the screen with an expression full of interest.

The death of the policeman who had infiltrated the organization was settled as an accidental death. It was framed as a traffic accident—the kind that wouldn’t even draw media attention, something that wouldn’t seem strange no matter when or how it happened.

The body was sent to the police immediately after the spirit-consoling ceremony. They could have erased every trace so it would never be found, but they chose not to.

It was a warning. A final ultimatum to stop any more foolish tricks.

Though they must have been fuming, the police did not take any action in order to hide their own mistake. No, they covered up the truth, acting as if nothing had happened with Cheongun.

However, another complication arose.

“Chairman, President Lee Do Guk has arrived.”

At Chief Choi’s words, Lee Ja Cheong turned his head. Meeting the tiger-like eyes, Do Guk bowed his head and offered a quiet greeting.

“Come in and sit.”

At the casual gesture, both Do Guk and Chief Choi followed him in. Chief Choi took the dry towel Lee Ja Cheong had been using to wipe orchid leaves and stepped aside.

“When the mind is restless, there is nothing quite like this.”

The idea that a man who felt not a shred of guilt when killing people was disciplining his mind by wiping delicate leaves was a truly unfitting form of training.

Yet, Do Guk replied without a change in expression.

“I am glad if it helped even a little.”

Lee Ja Cheong curled one side of his mouth slightly.

“Still, it is nothing compared to you.”

Leaning back with his arms on the armrests, he looked up at the air. The faint smile vanished, and his lips parted.

“Do Guk.”

“Yes, Chairman.”

“……You need to clean things up before word gets out.”

He didn’t say exactly what to do or how, but Do Guk realized what the instruction was. If it was something making the Chairman’s mind “restless,” only one thing came to mind.

“……Are you talking about Seong Tae?”

Lee Ja Cheong’s slanted gaze met his. Do Guk clenched his hands tighter at the look that served as an answer.

Do Guk twitched an eyebrow and bit his lip slightly. He was in a position where he had to follow any order from Lee Ja Cheong, but this was a task he didn’t particularly care for.

“He is a kid you raised well, so I know you are concerned, but because of this incident, he could become poison to Director Go… no, to our Cheongun.”

The reason Seong Tae, a mere gang member, had become a target for “cleanup” was because of Go Je Won.

Go Je Won was a man who lived with the words “everything I do is for the organization” on his lips. It was the case when he killed the undercover cop recently, and he was justifying it the same way this time.

Of course, his contributions to the organization were highly valued, but his ignorance and stupidity were fatal flaws. The biggest problem was that he only knew how to escalate things, not how to tidy them up.

“……I will settle it properly.”

The issue was that no matter how much he disliked it, Do Guk had no right to refuse Lee Ja Cheong’s command to handle the aftermath. To Lee Ja Cheong, Do Guk was like a dog that barked when told to bark and rolled when told to roll.

“As of midnight, the personnel records of everyone in Team 1 will be sealed.”

At Director An’s blunt statement, the team members froze in unison. Detective Hong, who usually spent his mornings nodding off with half-closed eyes, widened them.

“And all cases currently being handled by Team 1 will be reassigned to other teams.”

“Di… Director. What do you mean by that? Sealing our personnel records? Then we are……”

“Everything will be restored once this operation is over, so do not worry.”

At Team Leader Ki’s addition, Detective Hong pressed his lips together, stopping himself from speaking further, and ruffled his hair.

“……I hope it is not the case, but if Cheongun has planted moles within the police, there is a high possibility our personnel records could be exposed. This is an unavoidable decision for your personal safety.”

Director An loosened his neat tie knot. After taking a deep breath and exhaling, he continued in a low voice.

“Not only the Commissioner General but also Headquarters is watching closely. On the other hand, this operation is in a difficult state even if all of you throw yourselves into the investigation.”

According to the NIS investigation, there are currently about 200 suspected gang members in Cheongun, but if you include those directly and indirectly involved, the number is expected to be much higher. As Director An said, it was realistically close to impossible for just six detectives to take down the country’s largest criminal organization.

Nevertheless, the reason they couldn’t expand the team further was that too many cooks spoil the broth, which could lead to setbacks in the investigation.

“This might be the last chance. Should we not be the ones to catch them this time?”

Director An usually never showed his emotions. However, the words he just spoke were filled with long-standing bitterness.

He was a man who had already experienced failure once. Therefore, it was natural for him to react sensitively to this operation. His burden was bound to be heavier than ever.

Jae Woong, scanning the office where silence had settled, clapped his hands with an awkward smile. Then, he tried to change the mood with his characteristic playful tone.

“Do not worry too much. We are Team 1. Number one in arrest rates among all Violent Crimes Units in the country! That is why Headquarters handed it to us, is it not?”

Then Min Kyu, the youngest, who had been busy reading the room, joined in with a determined expression.

“That is right! Is there really anything special about the Cheongun Group! Gangster b*stards are all the same.”

Seeing Min Kyu speak so boldly despite having been a detective for only a year, the stiff expressions finally relaxed. Detective Hong tilted his head as if he couldn’t believe it.

“The kid who is the most scared acts the toughest. Truly.”

“Ah, Detective! When did I… ever do that?”

“You just did. Right now.”

Detective Hong glanced at the Director and ruffled his hair once more.

“The decision has already been made, so what is the point of arguing further. The answer is to catch them quickly and get back soon.”

Standing up from his seat, Detective Hong pulled a pack of cigarettes from his jacket pocket and offered a suggestion to Director An and Team Leader Ki.

“Shall we go for a smoke?”

The atmosphere, which had been heavy enough to make breathing difficult just moments ago, lightened significantly. Nodding at Detective Hong’s words, Team Leader Ki escorted Director An out of the office.

Hae Su, watching her seniors leave in a row, turned her gaze to the side. She called out to Jae Woong, who was fumbling through his pockets and had just found a lighter on his desk, apparently intending to follow them out.

“Senior.”

“Yeah?”

Jae Woong, about to turn his path, blinked quickly. She walked out of the office with him, saying they should talk for a moment.