The Unseen Puppeteers

Even in a world where prosecutors become lawyers and lawyers become prosecutors, there were still lines.
But Seok Juho was completely ignoring those lines and arbitrarily redrawing them.
A silence fell as we each contemplated.

“Excuse me… but, Lawyer Won.”
“Yes.”

Unexpectedly, Lee Ilwoo was the first to speak.

“You said ‘as expected’ earlier. Did you two by any chance anticipate this situation?”
“Ah, yes.”

I nodded lightly.

“Actually, I had some information I received earlier. I had a brief discussion with Lawyer Won about it.”

I took out my phone from my inner pocket and held it out to Jeong Donghyeok and Lee Ilwoo.

Swish.

“…Lawyer, what is this? How did you get these people’s conversation… More than that, it’s a little strange.”

It was natural for Lee Ilwoo to be suspicious.
Because what I had shown him was a chat room with only ‘me’.
Jeong Donghyeok, who had taken my phone from Lee Ilwoo, looked at me with suspicious eyes.

“Lawyer Cha, have you by any chance… secretly learned to hack without us knowing?”

I chuckled and answered.

“I didn’t learn it, but I know someone who did.”

Jeong Donghyeok returned my phone, looking at me with a face that said he didn’t know what to make of it.

[Photo]
[Left: Prosecutor General Nam Eunsuk]
[Right: Director Seok Juho]
[Prosecutor General Nam Eunsuk had a connection with Oh Uiseong]

A message that looked like I was talking to myself was attached under the photo.
It was a strange chat to anyone who saw it.
I smiled and shook my phone slightly.

“That person sent it.”

This message had suddenly appeared on my phone not long after I had received Seok Juho’s message.

“Lawyer Cha, hurry up and eat.”
“Yes.”

Vibrate.

Of course, I had thought that Seok Juho had changed his mind again.

[3 new messages]

‘Can a message appear in a chat room I send to myself, this?’

At first, I thought my phone was possessed by a ghost.
But after checking the message, only one person came to mind.
Anyway, if it was this kind of thing, it was a talent to make himself come to mind.

“I’ll just make a call and come back.”
“Hurry back. The food is getting cold, Lawyer Cha.”
“Please go ahead and eat.”

And so, I headed for the rooftop.
After checking for a long time to see if anyone was around, I finally made a call.

Ring, ring, click.

[Your reaction is fast.]
“You sent this message, didn’t you, Mr. Im Suho?”
[Yes, I did.]
“It hasn’t even been a few hours since I talked to Seok Juho. How did you know?”

The other person was silent for a moment.
I asked another question.

“And how did you send it like this? As if I was sending it to myself? Can’t you just send it directly, Mr. Im Suho?”
[I told you this is my business now. This is part of that business.]

This is a bit ambiguous to refute.
But there was one part that was bothering me.

“Are you even wiretapping now? Or hacking?”
[Didn’t you know? Hacking includes both.]
“What is this…”

So confident?
It was just as I was thinking that.
But the story that Im Suho spat out immediately overturned my expectations once again.

[I copied your phone.]
“…You’re more ill-mannered than I imagined, Mr. Im Suho.”
[I don’t think your situation is one where you can worry about manners, Lawyer Cha.]
“What do you mean by that?”
[You didn’t even know I had copied it. You know now, but you still won’t know when I did it.]
“……”

Im Suho was right about that.
When on earth was it?
It’s been a long time since I’ve seen him.
Is it really that easy to copy a phone?

[I just did it before K did. Because that bastard would have done it and more. So you should actually be grateful to me. Because he won’t be able to do it now even if he tries.]
“I’m not sure if I should be grateful for this, really…”
[But you have to be prepared, just in case.]

So this is how you can say the right thing so shamelessly and absurdly.
I wasn’t even angry anymore.
And the absurdity had also subsided.
Because there was some truth to his story.
It was just that the method was so one-sided.

“But you could have at least told me in advance.”
[Sometimes it’s better not to know. I looked into Seok Juho because he was a little suspicious, and that’s what came out. This much is helpful, isn’t it?]
“It is. It is, but…”

Since Im Suho was being so confident, I lost the energy to point out what was wrong.

[I think I’ve done as much as I can for this matter, so have a good trip. I’ll give you information like this from time to time in the future. Then I’m busy, so I’m hanging up.]

Beep, beep.

“…He hung up.”

He really hung up.
My futile face was reflected on the blackened screen.

Vibrate.

[Message]

I let out a sigh once and checked the new message.

‘Prosecutor General Nam Eunsuk had a connection with Oh Uiseong…’

He had found out even this in such a short time.

[Lawyer, I think you should reflect on whether you’ve done anything wrong to Mr. Im Suho.]

‘…That’s not it.’

[What? Then?]

You have to think about what kind of person K is, who trapped even this Im Suho.

I finished my recollection and put my phone back into my inner pocket.

‘The camera is probably watching too.’

I didn’t know when I didn’t know, but now that I knew, it was hard to shake off the uneasy feeling.
And it was even more so after I had admitted that Im Suho’s words were not wrong.
No matter how much I thought about it and searched my phone, I couldn’t even guess when Im Suho had copied my phone.

‘It’s true that it’s unpleasant… but as Im Suho said, it’s a relief that he got to it before K did.’

I wonder if it’s better to be watched by Im Suho.
I shook my head once to focus on the problem at hand.

“It’s clear that the friendship between Seok Juho and Prosecutor General Nam Eunsuk has lasted for a very long time.”
“I agree with your thoughts, Lawyer Cha. It seems the two of them have done this a few times before.”

Won Youngoh summarized and recited Prosecutor General Nam Eunsuk’s message.

“Prosecutor General Nam asked Seok Juho to manage you, Lawyer Cha. And Seok Juho agreed.”

[Director Seok, I have a favor to ask. That noisy friend named Cha Yohan these days, I’d like you to manage him.]

“He’ll probably try to attach a scandal to me. The easiest would probably be lobbying or bribery.”

[Do you have a picture in mind, senior?]
[This kind of thing is your specialty. We should use and discard things like this appropriately.]

“…From the way he says ‘use and discard appropriately’, I think the same.”

Jeong Donghyeok also nodded.
Lee Ilwoo let out a low sigh and asked me.

“Then are you going to accept, lawyer?”
“Hmm, I’m thinking about it. So the strategy I had in mind with Lawyer Won was not to be looked down on, nor to act hostilely.”
“Was it effective?”

Won Youngoh held out his hand to me.
I handed him some water.
Won Youngoh, as if his throat were dry, drank the half-remaining water.

“More than I thought. Director Seok showed his curiosity openly. As if he were observing.”
“May I give my opinion?”
“Yes, office manager.”
“I think it would be good in the long run to accept Director Seok Juho’s proposal for now.”

We all looked at Jeong Donghyeok.
Jeong Donghyeok continued with a clear expression.

“If they’re trying to use you, Lawyer Cha, shouldn’t we also use them?”
“Hmm… how so?”
“Becoming well-known means that your influence will also grow.”

Jeong Donghyeok blinked with a neat expression and continued.

“Couldn’t we use that part? You know, there’s a saying like that. That the more you’re threatened, the more you should make your face known.”

It was a saying that politicians or reporters who are often exposed to terrorism sometimes say.
Won Youngoh nodded as if in agreement.
Lee Ilwoo had been fixing his gaze on me from the beginning.

“Then it will be difficult for that guy to contact or harm you, Lawyer Cha.”
“Yes, there may be restrictions on my actions, but to others, it will look like Lawyer Cha has the backing of the Bar Association.”
“Restrictions, well. I don’t think there will be a problem if I’m more careful with my actions. And I’ll be more careful with my requests.”

Just then, Lee Ilwoo finally opened his mouth.

“…I also have something to say.”

This time, all eyes turned to Lee Ilwoo.
This is a bit, like a turn-taking speech contest.
The fact that I was having such a trivial thought made me realize at once how much I relied on them.

“I have a duty to report to my company about the things that happen during an operation. And this situation is also an official operation.”

It seemed that by reinforcing the manpower, they meant to officially launch an operation.
Lee Ilwoo hesitated for a moment and then opened his mouth again.

“But… I’m not going to report the contents of the conversation just now to the company. Just in case.”
“What kind of ‘just in case’?”
“Just in case… like before, the information from the National Intelligence Service is leaked first.”

The expression of Lee Ilwoo, who was saying that, looked so pained that we were silent for a moment.

“So from now on, I will get your confirmation first, Lawyer Cha, on the contents to be shared with the company.”
“Thank you, Mr. Lee Ilwoo.”

Jeong Donghyeok nodded a couple of times and then opened his mouth again.

“Then I will gather information on Director Seok Juho and Prosecutor General Nam Eunsuk through all the routes I can mobilize.”

Won Youngoh shrugged his shoulders and, like Jeong Donghyeok, declared his participation in the war.

“I will also do everything I can. Without being picky about the means and methods, for the first time in a long time.”

The time was already past midnight.
I had spent another day with these three people, watching the day pass.
I felt a strange emotion.
Both Seok Juho and Nam Eunsuk had overlooked something.

‘They must have thought I was alone.’

It was clear that they hadn’t even properly looked into the card named ‘Cha Yohan’ that they were planning to use and discard appropriately.

‘I wonder what kind of expression they’ll make when they find out that what they were holding was actually a blade.’

[We’ll be having a consultation with this person today. He’s a person who can be considered the face of our Bar Association these days, isn’t he? Hello, Lawyer Cha Yohan.]
[Haha, hello. I’m Cha Yohan.]

‘It’s going more smoothly than I thought. And K is also not making a move.’

A short while after I had answered that I would accept the deal with Seok Juho, I became the face of the Bar Association.
Perhaps because of that, the speed at which requests were coming in also increased.
And so, time passed without me even realizing how the days were going by.
So much so that I was spending more time at the office than at home every day.
In the meantime, the burn I had gotten from the fire had also healed.
It was thanks to being dragged to the Hope Surgery by Lee Ilwoo whenever I was about to forget.

‘It’s almost spring.’

With a rare moment of leisure, I checked the calendar, which had only a few days left.

‘Though it’s almost midnight, so it’s not really leisure.’

Chime!

Just then, someone hurriedly opened the office door and came in.
Everyone’s gaze turned to one place.
Lee Ilwoo, who had said that we should always be prepared for K’s attack even if there was no sign, was already up.
But the person who had opened the door and come in was a completely unexpected person.

“Lawyer Cha, Lawyer Cha, please help me.”
“Detective Choi? What’s wrong? What’s going on?”

Choi Suhyeok was looking at me with a desperate expression I had never seen before.