The Ledger

However, Won Youngoh’s expression noticeably darkened as he spoke.
He let out a low sigh and added.

“Considering the situation so far, K’s accomplices are probably beyond imagination. There must be people we can’t even predict.”

As Won Youngoh continued, Jeong Donghyeok’s expression darkened as well.

“If they’ve been recruited in various ways… it’s probably not individuals, but entire families. It’s more efficient that way. The number of pawns increases, too.”

Jeong Donghyeok pointed out a part I had deliberately omitted for the sake of the two of them.
Won Youngoh nodded as if he agreed with Jeong Donghyeok’s words.

“It would be better to be a little suspicious. It’s better than being careless.”
“Attorney Won is right. There’s no harm in being careful.”

Won Youngoh and Jeong Donghyeok acknowledged, as a matter of fact, that their own families could be involved.

‘I didn’t bring it up just in case.’

They nodded at each other once and then looked at me.
Won Youngoh spoke again.

“What’s been revealed so far is probably not everything. There are likely many crimes we’ve missed. What’s the plan, Attorney Cha?”
“I’m thinking of making them let their guard down.”

For the three people staring intently at me with faces that demanded an explanation, I hurriedly opened my mouth.

“By now, the news that I met with Jo Minsu has probably reached K’s ears.”
“Hmm, that’s likely. They’ve probably already figured out what we talked about.”
“Yes. They’ll be watching to see how I react. That’s why I plan to do nothing at all. Just pretend, of course.”

Won Youngoh nodded with a thoughtful expression.
Lee Ilwoo, who had been silently fiddling with his phone with the screen off, spoke up.

“Um, do you have another way?”

My face was faintly reflected on his phone.
Lee Ilwoo flipped the phone over and held it in his hand.

“It’s not just Jo Minsu I met today. I’ve also asked a favor of the most trustworthy person I know.”
“The most trustworthy person? Who is that?”
“Um… I think he would probably prefer to avoid being mentioned.”

Knowing Judge Hwang’s personality, that was highly likely.
I smiled, letting the grin serve as my answer.
Just then, Won Youngoh took out his phone from his pocket and tapped the screen a few times.

“What are you suddenly looking for, Attorney Won?”
“A gun.”

His confident and nonchalant attitude made the rather shocking answer sound as casual as ‘I’m doing some shopping.’
Jeong Donghyeok, showing his bewilderment, asked again on our behalf.

“What, what are you looking for?”
“We each need something to protect ourselves. Knives are hard to handle, but we’ve all had experience with guns, haven’t we? We’ve all completed our military service, right?”
“That’s true, but…”

Before I knew it, Jeong Donghyeok was swept up in Won Youngoh’s momentum and nodded.

[…When you think about it, Attorney Won Youngoh seems to be the strangest one of all.]

I silently agreed with Gram’s thought and shook my head a couple of times.
Then, a thought suddenly struck me.

‘Wait, if it’s a gun…’

It might be another clue to connect to K.
After all, this was the second time his subordinate had appeared with a gun.

We moved according to plan, as if we had coordinated it.
We did nothing out of the ordinary, spending our days just as we always had.
Home, office, court, diner, Cafe Libra.
It was the same few days, without visiting any other place.
We lived a daily routine so boring that anyone watching would yawn.

“…Then I will contact you again. Please get home safely.”
“Thank you, Attorney.”

While still taking on several cases.

Chime.

Just as I opened the door to see a client out, I saw Choi Suhyeok.
He let the client pass by and then entered the office naturally, as if he were a new client himself.

“You’ve arrived right on time.”
“I heard somewhere recently that a lawyer’s rate isn’t by the hour, but by the second.”
“Haha.”

Seeing Choi Suhyeok make a joke, it seemed the situation wasn’t bad.

“Please sit here. Attorney Won is at a trial, and the office manager just stepped out. Would you like some coffee? I’ll go get some from downstairs.”
“That’s fine. Water is enough.”

I took a cold bottle of water from the refrigerator and handed it to Choi Suhyeok.

“Thank you.”

Choi Suhyeok drank half of it in one go, wiped his lips with the back of his hand, and then spoke.

“It was you, wasn’t it, Attorney Cha?”

It was a question out of the blue.
I smiled and gave a light shrug.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“See, I knew it.”

Choi Suhyeok grinned, a wide smile spreading across his face.

“Things are going in the exact opposite direction of what Jo Minsu was so confident about.”
“He’s been detained.”
“Yes.”

He lightly swirled the half-empty bottle of water in his hand.
The waves created by his wrist rippled inside the transparent bottle.

“I was anxious at first. Just as that bastard boasted, the prosecution’s reaction was lukewarm. But then a warrant was issued immediately.”

Choi Suhyeok looked thoroughly refreshed.

‘Don’t you think this is the first time you’ve seen Detective Choi with such a bright face?’

[Yes. It’s unfamiliar.]

“I was thinking how great it would be if they always processed things this quickly. The warrants were issued as soon as we requested them. This has never happened before.”
“That’s great. You all worked so hard.”
“It is great. There are no more surprises, so I came to tell you in person. I happened to have some time.”

Hearing Choi Suhyeok’s story, I remembered the meal from a few days ago.
The amount I paid for my and Judge Hwang’s share that day was exactly sixteen thousand won.
As I took out cash to pay, the restaurant owner smiled and added.

“You’re the first person Judge Hwang has ever eaten with here, young man.”
“What?”
“He hasn’t shared a table with anyone here for decades. I once asked him why, and I still remember what he said.”
“Could you possibly tell me what the Judge said?”
“Well, I’m only telling you because you finished all of our kimchi stew both this time and last time. This is a secret from the Judge, you know?”
“Haha, of course.”
“The place where the most favors are exchanged is at the dinner table. It doesn’t matter if it’s ten thousand won, five thousand won, or hundreds of thousands. So, at least here, I just want to eat comfortably. That’s what he said.”
“Ah…”
“So last time I thought it was just a coincidence, but seeing you eat together again today, it seems it’s not just a simple acquaintance. Especially since you’re the one paying.”

Everyone has a different way of opening up to someone.
Through my conversation with the restaurant owner, I realized that Judge Hwang had undone a latch for me.
The latch that Judge Hwang had undone had, in turn, reached all the way to Choi Suhyeok.
Choi Suhyeok might have questioned the fact, but he didn’t interrogate me about it.

‘It’s at times like these that I realize how deep Detective Choi is.’

He calmly told me what had happened over the past few days.

“We’ve also searched all the buildings Jo Minsu owned under borrowed names. We confiscated about fifty kilograms of MH5 from a few places in Gyeonggi Province.”
“That much… would be worth about twenty billion won, right?”
“Yes, about that much.”

Choi Suhyeok frowned as if the mere thought was unpleasant, then quickly continued.

“We also recovered a few hundred million in dollars from an empty house Jo Minsu had prepared near Incheon Airport. There was no Korean won.”
“Looks like he was ready to run at any moment. Was there anything else?”
“Jo Minsu is a funny guy.”

Choi Suhyeok let out a derisive laugh and tapped the table with his fingertips.

“Usually, these types, the ones who manufacture and distribute drugs, don’t do it ‘directly.’ Not only is managing the workforce an issue, but if they get addicted, they can’t function as human beings.”

Tap, …tap.

“So, for a bunch of criminals, they’re surprisingly thorough with their personnel management. If one guy gets high and starts spouting nonsense, it’s easy to get caught, and then they’d have to move their base, which isn’t easy for a manufacturing facility.”

It made sense, as it was literally like moving a factory.
I nodded once to show I was listening.
Choi Suhyeok rubbed his eyes with a look of disbelief and continued.

“But Jo Minsu apparently gave his delivery guys MH5 as an incentive.”
“What?”
“The delivery guys then seem to have sold that drug at a cheaper price, or even for free, to create their own regular customers. Or they used it themselves.”
“What does that mean…”
“And Jo Minsu used this to threaten and control the delivery guys. He kept records of everyone who sold the drug on their own or gave it away for free.”
“Then the records of the buyers would also be there.”

Choi Suhyeok sighed and leaned back in his chair.

“Yes. The list is excessively glamorous. Chaebols, politicians, celebrities… It seems Jo Minsu sometimes used this as leverage to extort some money.”
“I see why this situation isn’t on the news.”
“Jo Minsu is the illegitimate child of a well-known chaebol. So to him, that must have felt like power. Or a weapon.”

No wonder his way of ordering people around was overly familiar.
After hearing Choi Suhyeok’s words, it seemed that behavior stemmed from Jo Minsu’s inferiority complex.
Choi Suhyeok, who had paused for a moment, ran a hand through his hair tiredly.

“I feel like I’m standing in the middle of a storm. It’s not like a string of dried fish, but every time I think I’ve caught one, five or six more pop up.”

The dark circles under his eyes, momentarily hidden by his bright expression, grew darker with a shadow.

“It will probably be made public soon. I came by to let you know in advance. One of the guys involved might come looking for you for representation.”
“I’ll keep that in mind. Thank you, Detective Choi.”
“I’ll get going then. Call me if anything comes up.”
“You too, Detective Choi.”
“I’ll enjoy this.”

Choi Suhyeok waved once, holding the water bottle, and returned to the station.

[Just today, a drug ledger was made public. The police have revealed that they obtained this ledger while interrogating a Mr. Jo, who was arrested as the culprit in the ‘Fake Post Office Case.’]

I didn’t think the ‘soon’ Choi Suhyeok mentioned would be this soon.

[The contents of this ledger are quite shocking. It details the drug purchase history of everyone from idols and actors who were greatly loved by the public to the children of chaebols and congressmen.]

The only silver lining was that there was no one I knew on that list.
Neither Kwon Saeha nor Cheon Wooseok.

‘It’s not like they were the type to do that in the first place.’

Being addicted to something is a scary thing.
Because from then on, you can’t act on your own will.
Whether it’s alcohol or drugs.
It not only ruins yourself but also everyone around you.

[The prosecution and the police have stated that they cannot overlook this case and will respond strongly.]

Even if it was just for show, the prosecution also put on a public face.
That was impossible without the Prosecutor General’s approval.

‘If the case has grown this big, K will probably lay low for a while. Still, Nam Eunsuk wouldn’t have turned his back on him completely.’

[I think so too. If he had, he would have held a press conference.]

With public opinion in such an uproar, even K wouldn’t have a plan to turn the tables at once.

Chime.

Just as I was lost in thought, the wind chime rattled and the door opened.

“Um… hello.”

Lee Ilwoo, who checked my room every day for listening devices or anything else, just in case, poked his head out at the greeting.
It seemed he felt a sense of curiosity upon hearing a familiar voice.
Lee Ilwoo’s eyes widened as he saw the person who had appeared in the office.
So did mine.

“Are you… taking on new cases?”

Go Eunhyeok asked me, scratching his head awkwardly.

“First, please have a seat. What brings you here?”

I quickly had Go Eunhyeok sit down.
Lee Ilwoo was already sitting next to me.
Go Eunhyeok rubbed his eyes, which were much darker than before, and spoke calmly.

“Well… I think I’m about to be sued for medical malpractice.”

For a moment, I couldn’t believe my ears.
This Go Eunhyeok? Was being sued for what?