The Explosion

[Last night, an explosion occurred at a mansion in Pyeongchang-dong, Seoul. In the CCTV footage, this mansion, which was completely burned down in the explosion, has one peculiar detail.]

No one watching the news opened their mouths.
They just kept their gazes fixed.

[It is the fact that this was the home of a high-ranking public official. The police are leaving open the possibility of a terror attack and…]

Click.

Silence fell as Won Youngoh reached out and pressed the button.
We were staying at a hotel near the office, not at the office as usual.
Right after finishing the call with Im Suho yesterday.

‘Could Jo Hyeokjun have really done this alone?’

Even as I asked the question, I denied it.
No matter how accustomed Jo Hyeokjun was to extralegal and violent means, he had never caused an incident of this scale.
At least, not this openly.

[I’ve been observing Jo Hyeokjun’s private properties, and some men who suddenly appeared are moving strange boxes.]
‘Boxes?’
[They’re too far away to confirm exactly, but they look like explosives. Get away from the office for now. Evacuate the people too. Even if it’s not certain, it’ll be too late after it happens.]

Im Suho’s story inevitably brought the Changil-dong terror attack to mind.
We hurriedly vacated the office.
Instead of explaining the situation to Ha Seonghui, I asked her to follow Lee Ilwoo. So, Ha Seonghui was at a safe house known only to Lee Ilwoo.
We secretly assigned security to Go Eunhyeok.
And the members of Dike and Aegis rented a hotel like this.
I quietly asked Lee Ilwoo. My lips and insides felt like they were slowly burning away as time passed.

“Mr. Lee Ilwoo, can you contact Mr. Ahn Jeongho?”
“Yes. I just checked again, and you don’t have to worry about that side.”

The expression of Won Youngoh, who had questioned my suggestion to go to a hotel last night, grew even darker.

“Attorney Cha, do we really have to go this far? No matter how cornered he is, Chairman Jo is not the type of person to make such a bad move.”

Won Youngoh spoke with a skeptical view.
That view soon became a clue.

“He has no way of knowing that the current standoff with Nam Eunsuk is your doing. The same goes for Mr. Ahn Jeongho’s case. Besides, a bomb in this country…”
“…Attorney Won is right. At least for now, he won’t know it’s my doing.”
“At least? What do you mean by that?”
“The target isn’t us. It’s Nam Eunsuk.”

No matter how much I got on Chairman Jo’s nerves, he had a bigger enemy to deal with right now.
I realized that fact again through Won Youngoh’s words.
I immediately called Im Suho again and asked him to send a warning message to Nam Eunsuk.

[So if their target right now is Prosecutor General Nam Eunsuk, wouldn’t it be better to just call the police?]
‘It’ll be too late by then. Other innocent people could get caught up in this. Nam Eunsuk will definitely believe the text.’
[How can you be so sure?]
‘Because his own safety is the most important thing to him. Even if he thinks it’s a ‘what if,’ he’ll end up leaving the house.’

In the end, Nam Eunsuk left the house just as I had predicted.
That’s why he survived.
The scene from the news was from a CCTV camera across the street.
The scene of Nam Eunsuk’s large house exploding was captured in detail.

“Haa…”

The fact that there were no casualties was certainly a relief, but it was also true that my head was getting complicated.

‘Whether this is the work of K, Chairman Jo, or someone else, they’ve already crossed the line.’

Won Youngoh must have been thinking something similar to me.
He, who had been leaning against the sofa with his head down, supported by his two hands, spoke as if sighing.

“I’ve never seen anything like this.”

Won Youngoh tightened his grip on the sofa.
Wrinkles formed on the leather sofa along with his touch.

“…Neither when I was a prosecutor nor after I became a lawyer have I seen such madness. Or maybe I just didn’t know, I’m starting to wonder now.”

He ran a hand through his disheveled hair and asked a question directed at no one in particular.

“A bombing in the Republic of Korea, in this country, does that make sense? If they’re brazen enough to plant a bomb at the Prosecutor General’s house, is there any safe place?”

If this was the work of K, who was in the same boat as Jo Hyeokjun, then he was clearly showing off.
That there was nowhere he couldn’t reach.
So I nodded silently and picked up my coat.

“…Attorney Cha. Where are you going now?”
“Attorney Won is right. It’s dangerous wherever you go, Attorney Cha.”

Even Jeong Donghyeok, next to Won Youngoh, tried to stop me.
Lee Ilwoo stood behind them and watched me quietly.
Putting my arms through the sleeves of my jacket, I answered them.

“Whether it was Chairman Jo’s doing alone, or K was involved, whatever it is, we need to find evidence.”
“In this situation? Do you have any idea what else they might do?”
“That’s why. Because we don’t know what else they’ll do.”

Swoosh.

Won Youngoh took his hands off the sofa he was leaning on and stood up.

“I know what you’re worried about. That worry will only end when we catch K.”

Otherwise, we would just have to keep running away like this.
Assuming a ‘what if,’ and trembling in fear.

“I’m going to check out Prosecutor General Nam Eunsuk’s house and Chairman Jo Hyeokjun’s villas.”
“Attorney Cha. But not this time. I can’t respect your decision this time. Don’t go.”

Won Youngoh came up to me and grabbed my arm.
The fingertips of his hand gripping my arm were trembling slightly.
I don’t know if it was because he hadn’t slept a wink all night, or because of an instinctive anxiety.
I didn’t pull his hand away and opened my mouth.

“This time, we weren’t their target. But what about next time? And the time after that?”
“Attorney Cha, there has to be another way…”
“It wasn’t us this time, but they’ll gradually close in. You’ve already experienced it, Attorney Won. That was a stroke of luck too. But will that luck be there next time?”

Won Youngoh would have to live with a scar that would never disappear for the rest of his life.
He gripped my arm a little tighter.

“Yes, I’m saying this because I’ve experienced it. That’s why I’m telling you not to go.”
“That’s why I have to go. Next, it could be the Office Manager, it could be me, it could be Mr. Lee Ilwoo, it could be anyone around us.”
“……”
“We can’t just keep running away indefinitely like this, waiting for the day Detective Choi and the police catch K, can we?”

Slide.

Won Youngoh let go of my arm in response.
He didn’t hide his confused eyes and followed mine.
Because he also knew that immediate evasion could not be a fundamental solution.

“Hoo…”

Jeong Donghyeok, who had been listening to our conversation silently, let out a sigh and closed his eyes.
Both my words and Won Youngoh’s words had a point. He couldn’t take either side.
In the meantime, Lee Ilwoo had approached us.

“Mr. Lee Ilwoo, do you also think I shouldn’t go?”
“Where are you going without a bodyguard?”

Lee Ilwoo shrugged once, like Won Youngoh’s habit, and answered nonchalantly.

“You two be careful.”
“I will.”
“Yes. We’ll be back.”
“Call me immediately if anything happens, Attorney.”
“Okay.”

We left the two of them and came out of the hotel.
Unaware that Won Youngoh, who had sent us off, was conflicted while looking at a number.

Screech.

We arrived near Nam Eunsuk’s house right away, but we couldn’t go in.
Numerous reporters had already set up camp in front of it, and a forensic investigation was in full swing inside.

“Don’t take pictures!”
“Hey! You can’t come in!”
“Is it a terror attack?”
“What is Prosecutor General Nam Eunsuk’s current condition!”

The shouts of the police controlling the scene were drowned out by the countless flashes and the reporters’ media blitz.
Because in the history of the Republic of Korea, such a blatant bombing of a public official was difficult to find a precedent for.

‘There’s no other way.’

As the reporters set up camp, the police were also forming a barrier.
I got back in the car, found a familiar name, and made a call.

Ring, ring, ring, click.

[Yes, Attorney Cha. What’s up?]
[So it’s true that the explosion started in the kitchen, right?]
[They said someone came for a gas inspection.]

The voices of other detectives overlapped with Choi Suhyeok’s voice.

‘Could it be?’

I looked around and opened my mouth.

“Detective Choi, are you not at the station right now?”
[Yes, they said they were short-staffed, so I came for reinforcements. Uh, did you see the news? There was an explosion this morning. It’s in Pyeongchang-dong. What’s wrong? Did you come to the station by any chance?]
“Perfect timing.”

Choi Suhyeok was silent for a moment.

[Hey, Detective Choi! Where are you going?]
[I’m just going to take a call. …Attorney Cha, what’s with that ominous and strange talk? …Let’s not say that you’re in Pyeongchang-dong too, Attorney Cha.]
“You have good instincts. Yes, is it possible to go inside the house for a bit?”

Choi Suhyeok calmly asked me one question after another.

[The house you want to go into, you’re talking about Prosecutor General Nam Eunsuk’s house, right?]
“Yes.”
[Did Prosecutor General Nam Eunsuk hire you?]
“No.”
[Then it is impossible for an outsider to enter the crime scene. Absolutely.]

Choi Suhyeok let out a deep sigh and continued.

[This is a solicitation, Attorney Cha. No matter how close I am to you and how much I’ve benefited from you, this is a serious matter. This is different from before.]

Strangely, Choi Suhyeok’s firm refusal ironically showed what a reliable person and police officer he was.
But there was no time to get sentimental.
Because as he said, this was a serious matter.

“It’s because I think I know who caused the explosion. And I’m the one who saved Prosecutor General Nam Eunsuk yesterday. You can check.”
[…What do you mean by that?]

The image of Choi Suhyeok asking back with a bewildered face, holding his phone, naturally formed in my mind.
Thanks to that, my tension eased a little.

‘I must have been tense all this time without realizing it.’

After organizing his thoughts, Choi Suhyeok spoke again.

[Haa… Let’s talk face to face. You’re already here, right? Come to the back gate.]

Choi Suhyeok told us to come to the back gate, but the back gate was already gone. Leaving only a trace of where a gate used to be.
We followed Choi Suhyeok, who had come to meet us in person, and walked briefly through the yard covered in black ash.
My impression after looking around was just one thing.

“…It’s more amazing that there were no casualties.”

The frame that clearly showed how many stories this house had been just a few hours ago, and the earth that was all turned over, its insides exposed.
Literally, a mess.
I looked around, following the line the police had set up.
Choi Suhyeok followed behind me, and Lee Ilwoo followed Choi Suhyeok with a blank expression.
I felt a gaze from over there.
It was Choi Suhyeok’s partner, Han Seungmin.

Swish.

Han Seungmin gave me a light salute.
I smiled and bowed my head.

“That detective, really…”
“Still, I’m glad to see Detective Han is doing well.”

That was truly a relief.
In a place far from people, Choi Suhyeok spat out all the questions he had been holding back for several minutes.

“What did you mean by that earlier? That you saved Prosecutor General Nam? Are you saying you knew in advance that the terror attack was going to happen?”
“Literally. I happened to find out about someone’s plan, so I sent a text message to Prosecutor General Nam Eunsuk.”
“Prosecutor General Nam didn’t say anything like that. He’s been consistent with ‘I don’t know anything, I don’t know’.”

I shrugged once and entered the living room, which was now just ash.

“I suppose so. His house was blown up like this, he probably doesn’t know who to trust.”

Instead of following me, Choi Suhyeok stopped.
He covered his face with one hand as if tired and let out a complaint.

“Haa… My life has become too spectacular since I met you at that PC bang. At times like these, I want to turn back time.”

On behalf of me, who said nothing because I couldn’t deny it, a supporter of Choi Suhyeok appeared silently and expressed his opinion.

“…I can somewhat understand how you feel, Detective Choi.”

…Mr. Lee Ilwoo?