# Chapter 22
“Phew.”
As soon as I left the office, I exhaled the breath I’d been holding. Even though I was outside, I still felt Heerim’s gaze lingering on the back of my head, so I ran my fingers roughly through my damp hair. Today, maintaining a safe distance from that guy had been particularly difficult.
“Heerim and Jaeo-ssi. Come sit over here. Operation B is all set up.”
After Heerim changed his clothes and came out, the Director, who was sitting on the sofa, called us over. Jeongmun-ssi was doing something on his laptop while seated beside the Director.
“Jaeo Hyung. Here.”
Heerim, who was sitting on an empty sofa, patted the spot next to him, signaling me to sit there. But I pretended not to notice and deliberately pulled over a different chair to sit on instead.
“So what exactly is Operation B?”
“We’re going to hack Kang Seokgi’s phone.”
“Hacking? Jeongmun-ssi, you know how to do that too?”
“Yes. It’s the information age, after all.”
Jeongmun-ssi answered nonchalantly. I carefully checked the screen of the laptop he was holding. I thought it would display complicated programs and computer languages like those used by hackers in spy movies, but it just showed an ordinary desktop. Having unconsciously expected something ‘impressive,’ I clicked my tongue and silently observed what Jeongmun-ssi was doing.
“Now. Everyone quiet.”
As Jeongmun-ssi took out his phone, the Director put a finger to her lips, drawing everyone’s focus. With a rather serious expression, Jeongmun-ssi made a call to somewhere.
Rrrring—
A monotonous dial tone echoed from the phone, which was set to speaker mode, before there was a ‘click’ and the call connected.
“Hello?”
A gruff middle-aged man’s voice came through the speaker. It wasn’t exactly familiar, but I felt like I’d heard it somewhere before. Just as I was wondering where I’d heard that unsettling voice, Jeongmun-ssi began speaking.
“Am I speaking with Kang Seokgi?”
“Yes. Who is this?”
…!
I never expected he would call Kang Seokgi directly. I looked at Heerim with a confused expression. Heerim, seemingly having anticipated this situation, just sat quietly with a calm face.
“This is Prosecutor Kim Jinsik from the Seoul Central District Prosecutors’ Office.”
“What? A prosecutor?”
Who the hell is Prosecutor Kim Jinsik?
I was silently shocked by words I never imagined would come out of Jeongmun-ssi’s mouth. He continued his lie without changing his expression at all.
“Are you aware that your bank account is currently being used as a money mule account?”
“W-what are you—”
“Shh.”
Heerim hushed me as I was about to react in bewilderment. I covered my mouth with my palm, rolling my eyes around as I checked everyone’s reactions. It seemed I was the only one who was surprised.
What is going on here? This is almost like… voice phishing…
“W-w-what did you say? My account?!”
“Yes. If we don’t handle this account, you could be investigated as a perpetrator.”
“You’re saying I could be the perpetrator? I didn’t do anything! I’m not someone who should go to the police station!”
“Be quiet. Since your name is being used, this is an unavoidable procedure. I’m contacting you for confirmation before the case is completely transferred, so if you cooperate, nothing will happen.”
His stiff and solemn tone was incredibly intimidating. Though Jeongmun-ssi was usually a man of few words, right now he was bombarding the other person with difficult and frightening terms, not giving him a chance to think. Even though I knew it was a lie, he really came across as a judicial official.
Even I, who knew this was a revealed voice phishing tactic, would have believed Jeongmun-ssi’s words if I had received this call.
“S-so what do I need to do?”
“First, calm down. I’m going to send a text message to your phone now. Click on the link in that message and download the app. It will provide instructions on how to prevent additional damage.”
Right after Jeongmun-ssi finished speaking, the Director whispered, “Sent it,” in a very quiet voice. She must have sent the message to Kang Seokgi. I had been curious about how they would hack his phone, but I never expected they would make him install the hacking app himself.
“Did you receive the text?”
“Oh, yes, yes! I’ll download it now.”
Kang Seokgi’s voice, which had been shouting loudly during the day, was now both docile and urgent. It seems he doesn’t want to go to the police station over this issue, even though he’s someone who sexually harasses and torments others. It was disgusting how he was acting like an innocent victim who had never committed any crime.
“I’ll contact you again later.”
Jeongmun-ssi clicked something with his mouse and ended the call.
“Did it work?”
“Yes. It’s all done.”
Jeongmun-ssi nodded at the Director’s question. Looking at the laptop screen, I noticed a window was now open, unlike before. Someone’s phone screen was being mirrored. It seemed they had transferred the screen of Kang Seokgi’s hacked phone directly to the laptop.
“Phew. That was nerve-wracking. This is my first time doing something like this, so my heart was pounding. I guess it’s true that people should live honestly.”
Jeongmun-ssi exhaled deeply and leaned back against the sofa as he spoke. For someone doing this for the first time, he was remarkably skilled and natural at intimidating others with his lies.
Surely these people weren’t running scams somewhere before… My suspicions, which I had just managed to bury, began creeping back up. Not knowing how to manage my expression, I just smiled vaguely and wiped my face.
“Now let’s see what this bastard has on his phone.”
The Director stretched both arms, yawned, and took Jeongmun-ssi’s laptop. The hacked phone screen displayed on the laptop was no different from looking at Kang Seokgi’s phone directly. This meant we could examine everything from his usage history to all the information stored on it. It was much more effective and efficient than tailing him to investigate. Of course… the process was quite unsettling.
“Jaeo-ssi, you can go home now. You’ve worked hard today, even getting caught in the rain.”
“Yes.”
It had only been about four hours since I arrived at work. It was an unusually early dismissal, but there was no reason to refuse being sent home. After all, I had already done Heerim’s Guiding for the day, so my job was done.
It was a short but extremely tiring day.
***
Late at night when everyone was asleep, I woke up to a strange feeling.
“Cough. Cough.”
For some reason, thick smoke clouded my vision. The acrid smoke irritated my nose and eyes, causing me to cough and fan the air with my hand. As the smoke that had covered my face briefly cleared, I could see my surroundings. But something was off.
This wasn’t my tiny room that barely fit my body. There was no creaking sound from the damaged mattress springs that usually squeaked whenever I moved.
Where am I?
Startled, I bolted upright. The smoke filling the area made it difficult to see properly. Then, glancing up unconsciously, I noticed a long light fixture flickering on the ceiling. That’s when I realized where I was.
This was the orphanage where I had lived.
“Oppa—!”
The moment I recognized the place, I heard Jaeyeon’s voice from far away. It was young Jaeyeon’s voice. My heart sank.
“Jaeyeon! Son Jaeyeon! Where are you?!”
“Oppa—!”
I searched for Jaeyeon through the smoke. But she was nowhere to be seen, and her voice grew increasingly distant.
“Son Jaeyeon!”
Anxious, I ran through the smoke, continually calling for Jaeyeon. The smoke grew thicker, and I had no idea where I was going. I simply ran toward the direction of Jaeyeon’s voice. Suddenly, flames erupted right in front of me.
“Huh!”
The rising flames climbed up the walls to the ceiling. The dancing inferno seemed ready to devour the orphanage building at any moment. Despite the thick smoke and intense heat making me feel faint, I pressed forward with the sole determination to save my sister. Then I finally found a door.
BANG—!
Without hesitation, I kicked open the door and went outside. A long corridor appeared. Unlike the inner room engulfed by flames, it seemed untouched. It was even chilly to the point where I got goosebumps on my arms.
“Jaeyeon? Son Jaeyeon!”
Jaeyeon’s voice had stopped at some point. I walked down the corridor, calling for her. Shrouded in pitch-black darkness, the corridor had no visible end, making it feel like walking through a long cave. It was certainly the orphanage’s corridor, but it felt completely unfamiliar. As I walked for quite some time down this endless corridor, my original purpose of finding Jaeyeon was gradually fading.
“Sob. Sniff, hiccup…”
Then, from the invisible black end of the corridor, I heard someone sobbing. It was a child’s cry. I ran toward the sound.
“Huff. Gasp.”
I ran so hard that I was almost out of breath, but the end was still not in sight. To make matters worse, my body felt heavier the longer I ran.
“Sob. Sniff.”
Fortunately, the child’s crying gradually grew closer. I reached out toward the elusive sound in the darkness. At that moment, everything brightened as if my eyes had suddenly opened, and something soft touched my hand.
“Sob. Sniff. Whimper.”
A child about waist-high stood in front of me. It was a boy smaller than Jaeyeon when we were at the orphanage. The boy wasn’t wailing loudly but was crying sorrowfully with his shoulders trembling. Seeing his pitiful state, I instinctively patted his small back.
“Hic…?”
As I gently rubbed his back so as not to startle him, the crying child looked up at me. The moment I met his round eyes, I froze in place.
“…Heerim-ssi?”
The terrified, tear-streaked child was a young Heerim. Unable to comprehend what was happening, I frowned, which suddenly caused young Heerim to panic and start convulsing with fear.
“I-I’m sorry! I’m sorry!”
“What? Heerim-ssi?”
“No. *sob*. I don’t want to go! I’m sorry. Please…”
Heerim begged me with incomprehensible words. His hair seemed to sparkle for a moment before returning to its original black color. Then he began to harm himself by pulling at his hair.
“Heerim-ssi!”
“I’m sorry. I’m sorry. Haa, hiccup!”
Eventually, Heerim was breathing so rapidly he could barely inhale properly. Yet he continued to apologize to me for reasons I couldn’t understand.
“Hic, I’ll be good. I’ll be good so please don’t make me go.”
“Heerim-ssi. Where, where is it you don’t want to go?”
Though I still didn’t understand what he was saying, watching the young child force himself to swallow his tears while pleading made my chest ache. Unlike the Heerim I knew now, the Heerim before me was a fragile, pitiful child who seemed like he might break.
“Sob, sniff…”
I couldn’t just stand by and watch anymore. I carefully pulled the child into my arms and stroked his back.
“It’s okay. It’s okay.”
After rubbing his back a few times while telling him it was okay, I could feel Heerim’s tense body gradually relaxing.
“It’s okay, Heerim-ssi.”
“Sniff…”
I continued to reassure him until his crying completely subsided.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
