A Familiar Face

‘Wasn’t your life quite spectacular even before you met me, Mr. Lee Ilwoo?’

A national athlete, a special forces soldier, and an NIS agent.
Someone who has accomplished three things that others find difficult to do even once…
But instead of asking back, I turned my gaze to the floor.
Because Choi Suhyeok didn’t know Lee Ilwoo’s past. And there was no reason for me to reveal a story that was now in the past.
Besides, those two got along quite well.
Listening to them was sometimes amusing.

“Come to think of it, the situation of a lawyer always having a bodyguard… I’ve never seen a case like this.”
“As you know, Detective Choi, Attorney Cha is quite…”
“Reckless, yes. Jumping from a building in front of a detective, jumping into a fiery pit. As if he has a spare life…”
“He’s the same in front of a bodyguard.”

[Um… I don’t think it’s very funny today.]

‘I know, so be quiet.’

[It seems those two have quite a bit of pent-up frustration towards you, Attorney.]

‘…Hmm. I should buy them something delicious soon. Maybe we’ll have our next company dinner at Mr. Lee Ilwoo’s mother’s restaurant instead of the Family Diner.’

[That doesn’t sound like a bad idea.]

“And another time…”

Choi Suhyeok and Lee Ilwoo exchanged a few more laments.
In the meantime, I pretended not to notice the gazes I felt on my back and examined the piles of ash.

[Have you seen an explosion site before?]

‘No, this is a first for me too. But there should be something I can find.’

I had seen a few fire scenes because of trials, but this scene was completely different in its aspect.

‘The smell is different too.’

The smell of ash was much more pungent than at a fire scene.
It wasn’t a burnt smell, but a strange, unidentifiable stench.
When I first entered the house, the stench was so bad it made me frown.
But now I had gotten used to it to some extent.
There was a reason I had insisted on coming here despite Won Youngoh’s and Jeong Donghyeok’s attempts to stop me.

‘Gram, if you see it, let me know.’

[Yes, Attorney.]

I searched for the red light that had helped me solve cases countless times.

Swoosh.

Pushing aside the leg of a dining table that had been reduced to a charred end, I asked Choi Suhyeok.

“Have you contacted the housekeeper? What about Prosecutor General Nam’s driver?”
“The driver was confirmed to have just been at home after dropping off Prosecutor General Nam in the evening, as he commutes. The same goes for the housekeeper.”
“They said there were no other live-in staff?”
“Nam Eunsuk apparently dislikes having outsiders in his house. So the housekeeper also left after preparing dinner yesterday. She doesn’t usually work on weekends.”
“That’s a relief. That they weren’t caught up in it.”

Choi Suhyeok nodded next to me.
The fact that there were no casualties was a sufficient relief.

“According to Prosecutor General Nam’s wife, after the housekeeper left and their daughter was home alone, two people came saying they were from the gas company.”
“Gas inspection…”
“Yes. But they had already had one a few days ago, and we’ve confirmed that fact. It seems likely they installed it then.”

If so, this meant the culprit knew the Nam Eunsuk family’s living patterns.
I nodded and spoke again.

“Is there anything other than the explosion scene from the news?”
“No. Since there were no cars on the street, there are no black boxes either. This is a neighborhood where everyone keeps their cars inside, you know. It was a relief we could salvage it from a telephone pole.”
“When I saw the video, it looked like the explosion happened in two stages. Has the forensics team given their opinion?”
“Have you studied this kind of thing too? It took me a long time to figure it out.”
“A short one at first, then a big bang later. The light flashed twice like that. It was too far to confirm the location, though.”

Choi Suhyeok looked at me with a sense of wonder and pointed behind him with his thumb.

“The forensics team believes the backyard exploded first, followed by a chain reaction inside the house. That’s why they’re searching there again.”
“The backyard? Isn’t there usually nothing there?”
“There was in this house. A garage.”

Come to think of it, I hadn’t seen a space that looked like a garage on my way in.
As I looked around to confirm, Choi Suhyeok spoke again.

“The place right in front of the back gate we just passed, the one that’s completely blown away, that was originally the garage. But they just used it as a warehouse, and the garage was a separate container in the backyard.”
“A container? They used a container as a garage?”
“Yes, originally there was a city gas pipe in the basement of this house, and now it’s all blown up.”

Choi Suhyeok’s expression was strange.
Like a person desperately trying to hold back what they wanted to say.

“And the forensics team is trying to figure out if the explosion was of this scale because the cars inside that container exploded together, or if those cars were the cause of the explosion.”
“…It seems there was more than one or two.”

Only then did I realize why Choi Suhyeok’s expression had been so ambiguous.
I had momentarily forgotten what kind of person Nam Eunsuk was.
Choi Suhyeok sighed with a look of disgust and continued.

“Yes, at least five cars were burned. They’re identifying the models from the wreckage. They’ve found out that they were all foreign cars.”
“Five foreign cars…”

Lee Ilwoo let out a low exclamation with a similar expression to Choi Suhyeok.

“The license plates were also lost, so it’s difficult to identify the owner, but originally there was only one car registered under Nam Eunsuk’s name. Two including his wife’s. The Prosecutor General is keeping his mouth shut about the other three.”

Since they were already burned to a crisp, he probably wouldn’t open his mouth himself. I nodded silently.

‘He might not have received bribes only from Jo Hyeokjun.’

In fact, the scale of this house seemed impossible to afford, even for a prosecutor general.
Before it was burned down, this three-story detached house was quite luxurious.
The front yard was wide enough for a light stroll along a pond, and the backyard was large enough to place a container.

‘And in Pyeongchang-dong, of all places.’

No matter how high-ranking a public official he was now, Nam Eunsuk was a self-made man.
Which meant he physically lacked the time to accumulate this much wealth.
Unless he had used other means.
But as he had been mentioned numerous times as the next Minister of Justice, he must have managed his assets thoroughly.

‘It would be great if I could get those records. If he kept them in a safe at home, Nam Eunsuk would have lost them too.’

Just then, a window with all its glass shattered, leaving only the frame, came into my view.

‘Is that the kitchen window?’

From a short distance from the window frame, I could hear voices.

“Be careful there!”
“There’s nothing here.”

The forensics team was moving busily outside the window.
I looked outside once more and dusted off my hands.

‘The inside of the house is really completely burned, so nothing’s coming out.’

No matter how much I searched, rubbing my gloved hands in the ash, nothing came up.

Swoosh.

I turned around and brought up the words that Choi Suhyeok probably least wanted to hear right now.

“I’d like to see the garage, Detective Choi.”
“…I’ve already let you in this far, what can I do. If they tell me to write a report, I’ll have to write it. It’ll work out somehow. Let’s go.”

Choi Suhyeok turned his back with a sigh and led the way.

When I followed Choi Suhyeok outside, I was shocked.

[…It looks like a bombing site.]

As Gram said, the backyard was a complete mess.
Police officers were moving busily inside a pit.

“…So you’re saying there was a container here?”
“Yes, though nothing remains now.”

Choi Suhyeok’s answer was not an exaggeration.
The grass that had been faintly visible from the back gate was gone, and the area was filled with black earth turned up by the explosion.

“How long can a temporary structure last? It’s all blown away. Prosecutor General Nam, really, of all things…”
“It’s a relief that the other houses weren’t damaged, given the scale. Everyone in this neighborhood lives with high walls.”
“Yes, so the fragments couldn’t fly out and were mostly trapped inside the house. Like that.”

We followed Choi Suhyeok’s fingertip and shifted our gaze.
The cars, which would have been worth hundreds of millions just yesterday, were all torn and burned, reduced to mere scraps of metal.
The only fortunate thing was that everyone was so busy that they didn’t pay us much attention.
Choi Suhyeok looked over the places the forensics team had already checked with me.

‘Still no sign of it here. What should I do?’

Just then, Lee Ilwoo, who had been quietly guarding my side for a long time, called me with a stiff face.

“Um, Attorney.”
“Mr. Lee Ilwoo, is something wrong? Your expression…”

I suddenly realized.

‘Mr. Lee Ilwoo was a soldier, could this be bringing back bad memories?’

Like PTSD that soldiers who have been to war experience.
As if reading my mind, Lee Ilwoo shook his head.

“It’s not that…”

He looked around and took another step closer to me.
Lee Ilwoo naturally covered his mouth and continued.

“I’ve been looking around too, and the explosion doesn’t feel unfamiliar. It’s similar to the methods used by those who want to show off their power but leave no trace.”
“That… clearly means it’s a terror attack, right?”
“Yes.”
“Is there a way to prove it?”

Lee Ilwoo nodded and glanced at the police officers who were passionately searching in the pit.

“If my guess is correct, the evidence will come from there. Though the exact evidence will be difficult to find unless you’re a trained agent or an explosives expert.”

The moment Lee Ilwoo’s lips came together, the announcement everyone had been waiting for was made from inside the pit.

“Found it!”
“What? You found it?”
“Yes! We found it!”

At that shout, everyone at the scene rushed over.
We were no exception.
Someone climbed out of the pit in one go, without any help, holding something in their hand.
As soon as the person set foot on the ground, they took off their KCSI hat and wiped the sweat from their forehead with their arm.

“…!”
“Attorney? What’s wrong?”

Even in the midst of it all, Lee Ilwoo lowered his voice and held onto me as I stumbled back in surprise.

“Are you okay?”
“Ah, I mean… Yes, I’m fine. I just felt dizzy for a moment.”

Even to me, it was a lame excuse.
But Lee Ilwoo seemed to believe it, thinking it was due to accumulated fatigue.
I didn’t refuse Lee Ilwoo’s support and looked at the woman who had just climbed out of the pit.

“Attorney Cha, what’s wrong?”
“He says he suddenly felt dizzy.”
“Suddenly? We confirmed that all the toxic gases have dissipated.”

Choi Suhyeok approached us, waving his hand in the air as if to double-check.

“…I’m a little better now.”

I gently pushed away Lee Ilwoo’s support and asked Choi Suhyeok.

“That forensics officer, I mean, that detective… Do you know her, Detective Choi?”
“You mean Inspector Yoon? The one who just found the evidence?”
“…Yes.”
“Every cop in the metropolitan area knows Inspector Yoon. I knew she’d make a big catch today too. She’s amazing every time. Are you okay now?”
“Yes. It was just for a moment.”
“Then I’ll go check it out too.”
“Yes, go ahead.”

I just stared as the receding Choi Suhyeok got closer and closer to the woman.
Even as I felt Lee Ilwoo’s questioning gaze from behind me.

[Attorney, what’s wrong? This is the first time I’ve seen you this flustered. Do you know her? Could she be… an ex-girlfriend or…]

‘What kind of blasphemous thing are you saying.’

[Then what is it? You’ve never been this agitated before. Not even when you saw Attorney Won.]

“As expected of Inspector Yoon Gayeong, another great catch today!”
“You look too excited at the scene, Captain.”
“I’ve been working my ass off for hours, let me have a laugh!”
“You can laugh after it’s all over.”

Yoon Gayeong.
That is, Inspector Yoon Gayeong, who was calm without a hint of excitement even after finally finding evidence after hours of searching.
I couldn’t take my eyes off her as she carefully examined the evidence.

‘…That’s my cousin.’