IDTE 04

Chapter – 04

“I’m sorry. Those materials were for the public good…!”

“‘Public good’ is just an excuse. Weren’t you just protecting your own rice bowl? Digging around so you could grab something—anything—and use it to shake people down.”

I know. Copying the USB on my own could be considered problematic.

“Or maybe not.”

Seeing Do Ihyeon’s arrogant posture as he let out a faint chuckle, I realized it. Every clumsy move I’d made had already been read.

“I apologize… for causing any unnecessary misunderstandings.”

I pulled the USB from the corner of my bag and handed it to Do Ihyeon. A light whistle slipped from his lips.

“Is taking the hard road your hobby?”

“Wait—don’t tell me!”

A dreadful thought flashed through my mind.

The thick bag containing my belongings he’d gone out of his way to hand me that day. The way he’d insisted on seeing me home in his car.

It all felt like a picture he had painted from the start. A picture meant to be shown to Myeongcheon, who would be watching from somewhere.

“Don’t tell me… was all of this planned? Did you do it on purpose to put me in a difficult position?”

“Does it look that way?”

His expression didn’t waver in the slightest. Did that flawless face of his even have such a thing as a crack to begin with?

“Why go this far…! If you knew I had a copy, you could’ve just asked for it back!”

“I wish our Lawyer Yoo were the type to listen so easily.”

After slipping the USB into the inside pocket of his jacket, Do Ihyeon stood and walked toward the door. His steps even seemed rather pleased.

“You shouldn’t have taken Kim Hyeongman’s case in the first place.”

He opened the door and looked at me. A silent pressure telling me to leave.

“You’re not even capable of handling it.”

Every time I stood before him, that dense sense of defeat choked my breath. I hurriedly got up and stepped outside. Behind the closing door, Do Ihyeon’s deep, low voice followed.

“I’ll make things clear with Myeongcheon. What a load of misunderstandings. Annoying.”

Swallowing my pride and shame to seek out Do Ihyeon had been the right choice.

Surprisingly, peaceful days followed after that. No more sticky gazes clinging to me. No more strange groups lurking around.

After drifting between nearby motels for a while, I was finally able to return to my leased room in a corner of the old villa.

—Minha, are you free after work later?

It was a text from Senior Choi, with whom I’d maintained a distant relationship since that day. His message was enough to jolt my daily life back into focus.

—Yes. I’m free.
—Okay. Let’s meet separately later, just the two of us.

My life was returning to normal. Right. What’s already happened can’t be undone.

I’ll tell him everything that’s happened. I’ll ask for advice. I won’t stew over it alone anymore.

For the first time, it felt like cool air was properly filling one side of my lungs.

Just then, a call came in from an unknown number. I had changed my phone recently, but my contacts should’ve updated properly.

Just in case, I pressed the call button.

“Hello. This is Lawyer Yoo Minha.”

[…Lawyer Yoo?]

“Yes. Who is this?”

[…Heh, hih…]

“Who is this?”

[…No. Wrong number.]

That unpleasant laugh made goosebumps crawl over my skin. A dreadful thought crossed my mind, but I decided not to care anymore. No—I didn’t even want to care.

Don’t forget, Yoo Minha. You’ve just returned to your normal life.

“Your face looks even more worn out.”

“Is it that obvious?”

“Very. Eat more meat.”

After work, I headed to a nearby gopchang restaurant with Senior Choi.

On a Friday evening, the cool autumn breeze and the smell of grilling meat mixed with the sharp scent of alcohol slowly lifted my sunken mood.

“Lawyer Yoo. Remember our law school days?”

“You’re going to bring that up again…?”

Our glasses clinked. I felt the bitter alcohol slide down my throat.

“You used to sit alone in the lecture hall from dawn every day. I once mistook you for a ghost. Didn’t help that you wore white that day.”

Our glasses clinked again.

“I wondered back then why you were throwing yourself into it like your life depended on it. Thought it was because of scholarships.”

“That was part of it.”

“You said it back then, didn’t you? That you wished there were no wronged people in the world. That even the powerless and weak should have power before the law.”

Silently, I filled my empty soju glass to the brim. This time, I didn’t clink it. I just drank.

“There shouldn’t be victims like my dad ever again.”

“But then why…?”

As I moved to lift my glass again, Senior Choi lightly grabbed it.

“Minha, why did you do it?”

“Senior, actually—”

“I don’t know what Seongjin offered you, but it’s not too late. Whatever it is, give it back and find justice again. You have to think about Mr. Kim Hyeongman.”

“Senior… are you suspecting that I took money or something?”

The air at the table instantly froze.

At the very least, I thought Senior Choi would hear me out first. Wasn’t that why he asked to meet today?

“You know I’m not that kind of person!”

“I want to believe that too.”

He ran a hand over his face with a troubled expression.

“…But no matter who you are, I can’t just let this slide.”

“I’m honestly taken aback right now. It doesn’t seem like you ever intended to listen to me in the first place.”

“Lawyer Yoo. Wake up while you still can. We have to seek justice. As your senior, as a close colleague, I’m giving you serious advice.”

A bitterness beyond sadness rose inside me. I had considered him a precious colleague I’d known for a long time—but what did he really think of me?

“What exactly is this ‘justice’ you’re talking about? Someone once said it’s something you create.”

“What are you talking about? Justice isn’t something you create. It’s something you protect.”

A few seconds of silence passed. He spoke first.

“Minha, if your father could see you like this right now—”

“Senior!”

At the mention of my father, I couldn’t hold back any longer. As I shoved my chair back and stood, I felt the eyes in the restaurant turn toward us.

“I’ll pretend I didn’t hear that. I’m leaving first.”

I didn’t even have the strength to wipe away the tears welling up. Bastard. How could he say something like that to me?

Even as I walked, my phone kept vibrating. It was Senior Choi.

I had no intention of answering, so I kept pressing decline, but the calls didn’t stop.

It rang again. Irritated, I hit the answer button.

“Stop calling me. I’m not in the mood to talk right—”

[…Heh, hih.]

It was that same chilling laugh from earlier. Checking the screen, I saw an unknown number. Damn it.

“What do you want?”

[Because I’m curious who Do Ihyeon’s woman is!]

What kind of nonsense is that?

“Listen carefully. I don’t know who you are, but I have nothing to do with him. And I won’t ever see him again.”

[That’s not what it looks like. He seemed really concerned about you, unni.]

Even if I were dying in front of him, that man wouldn’t bat an eye.

I couldn’t understand why this twisted bastard—whoever he was—still hadn’t cleared up his misunderstanding.

[Let’s meet and talk.]

“No. Call me one more time and I’ll track you down and sue you.”

[I just have a lot I want to confirm.]

“Hang up.”

[What should we do? I can already see you, unni.]

Crazy bastard. Completely insane. Whether it was Seongjin or Myeongcheon, I was sick of these filthy gangster bastards.

I hung up sharply. Just in case, I looked around, but on the main road there didn’t seem to be anyone suspicious.

“What a shitty day.”

As I was about to start walking again, someone tapped my shoulder from behind.

“Unni, there you are?”

Turning at the greasy voice, I saw a large man with unsettlingly big eyes staring at me.

The moment a damp handkerchief covered my nose and mouth, everything went black.

When I opened my eyes again, I was inside a musty, old container warehouse.

The cold plastic chair creaked with even the slightest movement.

The man I’d last seen was sitting there with three or four other bulky figures.

With his greasy curly hair and large eyes, he looked unpleasant at first glance.

“You’re awake?”

“…Whoever you are, kidnapping someone like this means you’re not in your right mind.”

“Sorry. But you wouldn’t meet me, unni. I just wanted to talk.”

As the man who approached placed a hand on my shoulder, I heard the ominous sound of a door closing somewhere not far away.

“…Just let me go now. I’ll pretend none of this happened.”

“What’s the rush? I said let’s talk. Some big things happened recently, didn’t they? You know.”

“I don’t.”

“How could you not? It was because of you.”

Pulling a lighter from his pocket, he lit the cigarette butt hanging from his lips.

“Those Seongjin bastards came sniffing around our Myeongcheon side and caused a scene, telling us not to touch you, unni.”