On the subway back home, Seoyoung closely examined the dark silver pistol photo on her phone. Eunrok. It was a commemorative pistol dedicated to domestic and international VVIPs to celebrate Bantech’s founding. The UNITY-10 mark on the bottom line meant that only ten were ever made. One of them was in Sa Kangjun’s office. On the day of her interview, was the Eunrok just there as decoration, or had it come out to serve its true purpose? Was the gunpowder smell Kangjun had that day a trace of an accident or the lingering echo of murder?
Did he kill my mother too? Even if he didn’t directly kill her, but there was a mistake, would that statement—that he killed because there was a mistake—apply then too?
Haah. Seoyoung closed the screen with a long sigh. After such an overwhelming first day at work, deep fatigue washed over her.
“I want to have sex.”
In her dazed state, his words suddenly flashed through her mind. Seoyoung’s eyes snapped open. She must be going crazy to recall those words after being so shocked by them. As she quickly shook her head trying to rid herself of this persistent thought, someone sat down beside her.
“Ms. Yoo Seoyoung.”
Startled, she turned to see a familiar man looking at her. That man. The one who had sat silently in the corner of the observation room where Park Haesik had taken her. Someone from a prosecutor’s office partner agency, wasn’t he?
“Let’s talk for a moment.”
The man’s words left no room for refusal.
Late at night, the two sat side by side on a park bench. The man took out a business card from his wallet and handed it to Seoyoung.
“My name is Moon Jeonghu. I work for the National Intelligence Service.”
Under the streetlight, the business card gleamed faintly.
National Intelligence Service
Section Chief / Moon Jeonghu
Perhaps because it was distributed selectively, there was no phone number written on it. In fact, she had already guessed it. An agency that could secretly cooperate with the prosecutor’s office and covertly track the president of a defense company. Only the National Intelligence Service had that kind of authority and resources.
“Why did you want to see me again? If it’s a request for help, isn’t that already over?”
“It was. But after looking into things, I became convinced that you would help me.”
“I don’t know what you mean.”
Seoyoung responded coldly. She found Moon Jeonghu’s tone, which suggested he had some scheme, unpleasant. Moon Jeonghu let out a deflated laugh. He turned his head to look at the pitch-black sky and spoke calmly.
“When you were young, there was a little girl and her mother at the beach. Then one day, suddenly, the mother died, and the girl who was left alone told the police what she had seen. That a male high school student had been there.”
“…”
“Of course, no investigation took place, and no culprit was caught. And when she became an adult, she sought out that high school student and drifted to his side. Is this a coincidence?”
Moon Jeonghu’s words, which began like a fairy tale, ended like a thriller.
Seoyoung froze. How did he know? Why did he investigate me? The feeling that her perfectly concealed secret had leaked was terrifying. Like a moment when a solid embankment cracks and collapses, fear gripped her chest that her entire purpose might crumble completely. The Moon Jeonghu before her looked like a strange monster.
“Does Sa Kangjun know? That you’re the child who saw him 17 years ago?”
“…He doesn’t know anything. Even if he found out, he wouldn’t remember. It was just a brief, passing glimpse.”
Seoyoung answered, trying to steady her wavering heart. Even knowing that lies wouldn’t work in front of Moon Jeonghu, who seemed to have pierced through everything, she didn’t want to collapse so easily. Along with fear, defiance also welled up. She would listen to what he had to say, but if he tried to use her past as leverage, she had no intention of getting involved.
“I’m sorry, but I don’t think I can help you. The CEO knows too. That the prosecutor’s office asked for my cooperation.”
“That’s fine. We’ll leave him out of it anyway.”
“Weren’t you cooperating with them?”
“Originally, Bantech and Sa Kangjun were our investigation targets. To be honest, we couldn’t find evidence that Sa Kangjun killed Jung Yongjin, and we were just trying to test the waters, but since we don’t have investigative authority, we requested cooperation from the prosecutor’s office.”
“Ah…”
“Sa Kangjun probably already knew. Still, we needed to push forward smartly, but as you saw, everyone got shut down.”
So now he was saying they would switch to a solo investigation by the National Intelligence Service.
“Seoyoung, Chairwoman Sarin and Sa Kangjun aren’t clean people. Corporate accounting fraud, illegal lobbying, overseas paper companies for money laundering. And now even murder.”
“…!”
“Even if we want to catch them, they never leave traces. Plus, they have solid connections with political and military circles, so we can’t break through. That’s why I’d like Ms. Yoo Seoyoung to help us catch Sa Kangjun.”
“Well, I…”
Seoyoung was frozen and couldn’t respond. While she intuitively sensed that Sa Kangjun was secretive and dangerous, placing his name on top of specific charges made her scared and confused. In reality, the man she had directly seen and spoken with didn’t seem despicable.
“Don’t you want to catch the person who killed your mother?”
“…”
“I’ll help you. With anything else too.”
Moon Jeonghu threw out bait that was impossible to ignore.
***
On Seoyoung’s third day after joining the company, a secretarial office meeting was held. About ten secretaries sitting at a long table were looking at So Yujung, who was seated at the head.
“Though it’s late, please introduce yourself. This is Yoo Seoyoung, a new secretary who will be assisting the CEO.”
So Yujung introduced Seoyoung to the gathering in a clear voice. Seoyoung stood up, looked around, and bowed her head politely.
“Hello, I’m Yoo Seoyoung. I’m pleased to join such a wonderful company as Bantech. I’ll work hard, so please take good care of me.”
When Seoyoung finished speaking, light applause broke out in the meeting room. Seoyoung sat down, but subtle gazes still lingered on her. Shin Jihoon had told her that everyone was very interested in her, and it seemed to be true.
“Then I’ll proceed quickly with today’s meeting. First, our company will not be participating in the weapons demonstration that will be held this week. The CEO will still deliver the keynote speech.”
When So Yujung finished speaking, a stir spread through the meeting room. Bantech, Korea’s largest defense company, not participating in the country’s largest civil-military cooperation event was a bigger ripple than expected. Moreover, people seemed to wonder if this was appropriate given that Sa Kangjun was scheduled to give the keynote speech at that event.
“If you receive inquiries from outside, please handle them according to the manual. And—”
So Yujung continued her next instructions with an unwavering expression. The earlier stirring disappeared, and everyone focused on her lips again. After confirming the detailed schedule and completing individual Q&A, she summarized the meeting.
“As I mentioned earlier, I will be staying in the US for the time being. Official guidelines or approval matters related to the secretarial office will be emailed through a secure line from there. I will contact department managers directly for matters of high security or sensitive issues, so please keep that in mind. Any questions?”
So Yujung looked around as she spoke, but no one raised a hand. It seemed everyone already knew this and was just waiting for the meeting to end quickly. Above all, it was clear that everyone found So Yujung intimidating. As if she had expected this, So Yujung gave a brief smile.
“Then I’ll conclude today’s meeting. Please work hard in your respective positions.”
So Yujung stood up and left the meeting room. Without any friendly greeting, just finishing exactly what she had to say. Thinking this was just like So Yujung, Seoyoung was also getting up when:
“Hello.”
Someone greeted her. When she turned her head, two women and one man were approaching her. Their smiling eyes revealed both caution and curiosity. Two or three other employees who were leaving also subtly slowed their pace and glanced at her.
“Yes, hello.”
“We were curious because you’re the CEO’s secretary. You really are pretty, just as Secretary Shin said.”
The woman who appeared to be a bit older spoke to her.
“Oh, thank you.”
“But you look really young.”
The woman said admiringly while subtly examining Seoyoung’s face. Unlike the initial compliment, this time it somehow felt like she was testing her. Whether she was truly surprised at how young she looked, or wondering how someone so young had gotten into the CEO’s secretarial office.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
