IDTE 03

Chapter – 03

“Oh, oh, there she comes.”

“Attorney!”

On an early weekend evening, returning from grocery shopping at the supermarket, the couple who lived on the first floor below me were standing in front of the villa’s shared entrance.

“Why are you out here?”

“Don’t be startled when you hear this. Earlier, when I looked out the veranda, some guys who looked like gangsters came into our villa.”

“Gangsters?”

“They went upstairs, and it sounded like something was being smashed. Oh dear, I don’t know, but it seemed like they went to your place. Goodness.”

A primal sense of fear rushed over me. The grocery bag in my hand slipped and fell to the ground.

“It’s a blessing you seemed to have gone out somewhere, Attorney. Otherwise, who knows what would’ve happened.”

“Oh, come on, woman, don’t exaggerate and scare her.”

“What do you mean! I was so scared I couldn’t go up myself, so I brought my husband out and we’ve been waiting.”

“Right, let’s go up together for now. We’ll check the situation and call the police.”

My face began to crumple regardless of my will.

Together with the couple from downstairs, I climbed the old stairs and reached the second floor. As expected, my front door was wide open.

Even from a glance outside, the inside of my house was in complete disarray. Beside me, I could hear the woman’s intermittent sighs.

A neat stack of papers placed by the doorway caught my eye. They were photographs, as if taken from afar with a zoom lens.

Me leaving the Sungjin Capital building not long ago with Do Yihyeon.
Me getting out in front of this villa. The bag in my hand.

Some lunatic was clearly under a serious misunderstanding about something.

“Oh my, Attorney! What are you going to do? You’re going to report this, right?”

The past few days had already been more than enough of a living hell for me.

It started with suspicious men approaching me near my house not long ago. When I went out, I often felt someone’s gaze on me, and wherever I went, groups of rough-looking men stood out.

The fact that this unknown threat had now crossed my doorstep was overwhelming.

Even if I reported it to the police, would that really be a fundamental solution in this situation?

Do Yihyeon. That man surfaced in my mind again.

“There’s a saying that it’s more advantageous to be the one who creates justice rather than follows it. The justice I believe in is that kind.”

They say autumn rain is fierce, and indeed, a considerable amount fell in the middle of the night.

I forced myself to scatter the memory of that day that rose with the sound of raindrops falling. In the distance, I saw the headlights of a car.

Could it be him? I wanted to end this long, bleak waiting.

“This is driving me crazy, this woman.”

“I’m telling you nicely—just leave.”

“I’m not leaving until I meet Director Do!”

“You can’t meet him by doing this.”

I wanted to end this tedious argument too.

“What’s wrong with you, seriously?”

“I told you, I need to meet Director Do!”

At that moment, the two large men confronting me exchanged glances.

Soon, my arms were seized by them, and I was being dragged away from the Sungjin Capital building more easily than I’d expected.

“Let go! It’s illegal to detain and take someone without proper authority!”

“Go. We’re letting you off nicely as it is.”

As if things weren’t bad enough, the headlights of a passing car nearly blinded me.

“Let go! I could die!”

I reported it to the police, but as expected, it wasn’t much help. There had been no direct physical harm, and the investigation found no missing property.

There was no chance that a remote, old villa with no talk of redevelopment would have functioning CCTV.

In the end, the only response I received was that patrols around the area would be increased.

The animalistic fear that I might disappear without a trace led me back to the Sungjin Capital headquarters.

Whether it was Do Yihyeon or anyone else, I had to meet someone and tell them that a serious misunderstanding about me had arisen.

But no matter how hard I tried, I didn’t have the strength to shake off the grip of the man holding me right now.

“Die?”

It happened in an instant.

At the low, heavy voice from behind, all movement froze.

In the next moment, I fell into a puddle on the road.

“Director!”

Brushing past the men who ran up to greet him, he approached me as I lay collapsed in the middle of the street.

“Attorney Yoo, we meet again.”

“I have something to say.”

“Didn’t we agree we wouldn’t see each other again?”

His umbrella did not tilt even 1 millimeter toward me.

As if there were a line that must not be crossed.

“Is there any reason left for you to get further entangled with me?”

“No, I’m really in serious trouble—!”

“Just go. It’s raining heavily.”

At that moment, something exploded inside me.

Why did I have to be dragged into this absurd situation? A reckless bravado mixed with anger began to rise.

“……Do I look like someone who came here because I wanted to see you?”

“It’s not much of a sight.”

“You should know how much mental anguish I’ve been suffering because of Sungjin Capital that day.”

“Do I need to know?”

“Then is it fine if you don’t?”

The rain poured down violently, soaking straight through me.

Only he, locked in a staring contest with me, stood dry.

“This.”

“This came to your house?”

Do Yihyeon silently took the photographs I handed him.

Someone was misunderstanding the relationship between me, Sungjin Capital, and this man.

And using that as an excuse, an unidentified threat was being directed at me.

“So?”

“You shouldn’t say it like that.”

“Then what do you want me to do?”

“I can’t pinpoint who’s behind it, but someone seems to be mistaken about the relationship between you and me. And because of that, I’m being threatened. I don’t know what they want, but.”

He began rubbing his temple with his large hand.

That hand—the one that had once struck someone so hard their cheek split open. The sound still rang vividly in my ears. Smack.

The reckless bravado that had burst out in the extreme situation cooled slightly.

“It’s obvious. It’s probably Myeongcheon.”

Myeongcheon. Like the Sungjin Group, an organization rooted in the underworld.

I knew they frequently clashed with Sungjin because their business models overlapped.

“Is there a reason you think Myeongcheon is behind this?”

“I thought you knew. Kim Hyungman is Myeongcheon’s lackey. Didn’t it seem strange? Why would he go so far as to pose as a whistleblower and stir up Sungjin?”

In truth, I had found it somewhat strange.

As Do Yihyeon said, Kim Hyungman stood to face more risks than benefits by acting as a whistleblower.

But I had believed his actions stemmed from courage and justice.

“……Don’t tell me Myeongcheon thinks I stabbed Kim Gwanghyeon in the back?”

“Unfortunately.”

Seated before me, Do Yihyeon crossed his long legs and tilted his head slightly. He almost looked as if he were watching an interesting film.

“No way……”

“Myeongcheon probably intended to shake Sungjin Capital first by putting Kim Hyungman forward. But then that lawyer meets with Sungjin Capital, and the next day Kim Gwanghyeon withdraws his request and sides with Sungjin…? It fits together rather neatly.”

“Then please. At least tell Myeongcheon that this situation is all a misunderstanding.”

“Why would I?”

He wasn’t the slightest bit concerned about what I was saying.

If something happened to me, to him it would be no different from an ant disappearing.

“If necessary, I won’t hesitate to tip off the press.”

“Go ahead.”

“The fact that Director Do of the Sungjin Group illegally detained and abandoned a civilian—if that spreads in the media, it’ll become just as troublesome as Kim Hyungman’s whistleblowing, won’t it?”

“I said, go ahead.”

He was terrifying. But I forced myself to meet his deep, cold eyes.

I was afraid—but I had to survive first.

“I hear public opinion about the Sungjin Group hasn’t been great lately.”

“It doesn’t affect my work.”

“The more sensitive the time, the more you should avoid inconvenient noise. You know that, don’t you? If something involving an ordinary civilian like me surfaces right now, it’s bound to snowball into a more negative issue. It’ll get very troublesome. Extremely.”

For several seconds, we continued locking eyes. Of course, it was a fight I was bound to lose.

“Please. I’ve been dragged into this to this extent—it’s hard to say Sungjin bears no responsibility at all.”

“Didn’t you once say you didn’t want help from disgusting people like us?”

He was right. My position now, asking these kinds of people for help, was rather laughable. The inside of my tightly bitten lip throbbed.

“Didn’t you say a great person endures shame?”

As he gazed intently at my hand, he asked,

“Then why are your hands shaking like that?”

Instead of answering, I simply shoved my hands into my pockets.

“……Fine. But there’s a condition. The copy of the USB you have—hand it over.”

My heart dropped.

I couldn’t hide the way my expression stiffened.