With those final words, a brief silence filled the interrogation room.
“…….”
No one could easily speak, and Ji-eun was no exception.
As expected, Min-jun’s expression had frozen over like an icy sheet.
A sharp atmosphere that could cut like a blade.
The team leader finally broke the silence and hesitantly opened his lips.
“Uh… Chief Yoo, please try to calm down a bit. Didn’t I just say earlier that the Vice President was cleared of all charges? Let’s discuss this again more calmly….”
But it was already beyond recovery.
“It seems I’ve made a pointless mistake.”
Min-jun stood up, fastening the button on his open jacket as if wrapping things up.
“Let’s just pretend this never happened. I simply made a goodwill suggestion to clear up an unfounded suspicion, yet I’m being treated like a criminal.”
“N-no, that’s not it!”
“This works out well. Bringing an outsider into the company is quite a hassle for us anyway.”
He then left behind chilling words to conclude the situation.
“I’ll explain everything properly to the Commissioner. Then, I’ll be going.”
……!
For a moment, everyone stood frozen, watching in shock. But Min-jun was already heading toward the door.
His attendants followed behind him—but they weren’t the only ones.
“W-wait! Vice President! Please, calm down…!”
Suddenly, the team leader sprang up at an incredible speed and dashed after him at full force, joining the procession.
Wow… I heard he was a top runner back in the Central Police Academy. Guess it was true.
I wondered how he’d even run with that body… but he’s fast.
Ji-eun was stunned.
She stood blankly, staring at the reception room door that had been bustling with people just moments ago.
What the hell was all that?
So just now… what exactly happened?
Financial crimes. A conglomerate’s secretary. The Police Commissioner.
And Kang Min-jun—suddenly reappearing after ten years.
“…….”
Her mind was a mess.
So tangled that it was starting to ache.
Ji-eun shook her head for a moment before turning to the only remaining junior colleague and asking,
“Detective Jung. I… I think I just did something really big, didn’t I?”
The response came loud and clear.
“Yes, absolutely. You just submitted your resignation verbally.”
Damn it.
Ah, whatever, whatever.
“Forget it. Are you off work now? If you’re free, let’s grab a drink—it’s been a while.”
“Of course. It’s your farewell party, after all.”
“Hey!”
Jung Ha-na, that little—
* * *
“Senior, even if you leave, let’s make sure to stay in touch.”
“I told you to stop.”
A barbecue restaurant near Gwanghwamun.
Detective Jung poured Ji-eun another drink and made a rather ominous joke.
A little earlier.
After all the commotion, there was no special mention from the team leader.
He simply disappeared with a frustrated expression, and Ji-eun, after cautiously gauging the situation, moved to a familiar restaurant with Detective Jung.
It had private rooms, making it convenient for personal conversations, and the prices were cheap enough that police officers often reserved it for gatherings.
She had only had three drinks, yet her face was already flushed.
Detective Jung flipped the meat on the grill and carefully brought up the topic.
“Senior, but… are you really not going to do it?”
“Yeah.”
“You do know this is a huge opportunity, right? Both money and honor.”
“I know. That’s why it’s even more frustrating.”
Before she could even finish speaking, Ji-eun quickly lifted the newly filled glass to her lips again.
Ah, bitter.
No… it’s sweet.
Compared to the bitterness of life I tasted today, this is nothing. This is honey… just honey.
With a deeply sorrowful expression, Ji-eun picked up the bottle again.
Glug glug… Goodbye, my life.
“Senior, I mean, it’s true that he was the one who made the offer first.”
Quick-handed as always, Detective Jung snatched the bottle from Ji-eun and poured a drink for herself as she spoke.
“But the thing is… it’s also true that we should be begging on our knees for this opportunity.”
Before Ji-eun knew it, her glass was once again full, courtesy of Detective Jung.
She was right.
A collaboration between a conglomerate and the police on an economic crime investigation.
Something unprecedented.
“Senior, you know about the FE Lounge, right? The place famous for never having a search warrant issued against it.”
I’ve heard of it.
“If you become a secretary at Shin-Young Group, you can get in there without any restrictions. Like, a total free pass.”
“…….”
“Oh! And you know Romanti Golf Club, right? You can even get in there. Apparently, Shin-Young Group doesn’t just have membership access—they actually own shares in it.”
For the investigation team, this was a reason to celebrate five hundred times over.
The chance to easily infiltrate places fortified by wealth and power.
With stock manipulation scandals currently swirling around the elite, securing evidence had been nearly impossible. Arrests kept getting dismissed, and the police were facing intense public scrutiny.
But still…
Undercover work as a secretary? Sure, fine.
The investigation? Of course.
But why?
“Why… of all people, why me?”
Ji-eun had always wondered.
Her last moments with him had not been particularly beautiful.
Then why?
Why had he shown up after ten years, saying he wanted to keep her by his side?
“Well… I have a rough idea.”
Detective Jung’s response came surprisingly fast.
Really?
“You asked him yourself?”
“Of course. Since he specifically mentioned your name, we were curious too.”
Ji-eun perked up her ears.
So, what did he say?
“Well, he said….”
Ji-eun focused intensely, and as if understanding her anticipation, Detective Jung didn’t hesitate before speaking.
“Because… he knows you?”
Huh?
What kind of answer is that?
“And also, you’re in the Industrial Technology Security Team, Senior. I heard there are quite a few security regulations there right now.”
…And amidst all that, you must have had many concerns about cooperating with an undercover investigation as a secretary.
Detective Jung casually picked up a piece of meat and placed it on a lettuce wrap as she continued.
“So he asked for someone he knows.”
“…….”
“Even if you two don’t get along, he figured that’d be better.”
Munch. She finished her sentence and promptly stuffed the wrap into her mouth.
Ji-eun let out a dry laugh.
“Seriously? Security is really the only reason?”
“But, actually… in this case, it kinda makes sense– Cough, cough.”
“Hey, swallow before you talk.”
Ji-eun handed Detective Jung a glass of water as she choked on the wrap stuffed in her mouth.
Detective Jung quickly took the glass and emptied it before continuing.
“Phew, I can breathe again. So, Vice President Kang Min-jun… he almost got arrested.”
“…!”
“Because of that security issue.”
That was the reason the investigation team thought it was a given.
“If it had been delayed by just two more days? They would’ve issued an arrest warrant.”
…He had almost been unable to properly deny the allegations against him.
About two months ago.
Kang Min-jun, Vice President of Shinyoung Group, had been secretly investigated by the police under suspicion of involvement in a stock manipulation scandal.
The new company he had recently established for his latest business venture was, in reality, a shell company with no substance.
It was suspected of luring investors with fake technology, serving purely as a paper company to generate stock profits.
Min-jun defended himself by proving that the company was operational.
That part was simple enough, but the real problem lay elsewhere.
It was the ‘technology verification.’
Verifying that the technology Min-jun was developing wasn’t fraudulent and actually had value was an extremely complicated matter.
Not because of the technology itself, but because of security issues.
The new business venture involved a patented technology classified as government-protected, meaning that any related documents could not be disclosed externally without government review and approval.
Even if it was submitted to the police.
“Well, leaking national core technology… is just as serious a crime as stock manipulation.”
And Ji-eun, as someone in the Industrial Technology Security Team, knew this better than anyone.
She didn’t know all the details, but she could imagine how nerve-wracking it must have been.
It must have been tough.
Of course, not for Kang Min-jun, but for the officials in charge.
Because of him, some poor government official must have been completely worn down.
Our government is extremely strict when it comes to A1 code technology… sigh, poor things.
“So, it’s not really that unusual that he specifically requested you, Senior.”
Detective Jung refilled Ji-eun’s empty glass this time as she spoke.
“Oh, by the way, I was a little surprised. I didn’t know you went to Yeonhui High School, Senior.”
Ji-eun waved a hand dismissively as she picked up her glass.
“Well… I didn’t graduate from there. And he went abroad anyway.”
“Still, Yeonhui High is a pretty prestigious school, right? The kind attended by kids from influential families?”
“Eh, back in our time, it was all a lottery system. That kind of thing didn’t really matter.”
…That was what Ji-eun said, but one side of her mouth curled slightly, as if in bitterness.
I, too, when I was young… Well, maybe not as much privileged as that bastard, but at least I wasn’t like I’m now.
Back when my father… was still around.
Plop. A tear unknowingly fell into her cup as she bowed her head.
Ji-eun rubbed her eyes, pretending to be tired, and said,
“Ugh, I drank too much. Let’s go.”
.
.
.
“I ate well.”
“Yeah, it’s my retirement treat.”
As they stepped out after paying the bill, the night air had grown even darker.
“Senior, but seriously, no joke.”
Ji-eun’s playful remark was met with an unexpectedly serious response.
“You do realize this is something that will be properly recorded, right?”
“…….”
Beep!
Before the words had even fully left her mouth, a blaring car horn brushed past Ji-eun’s ears.
As if telling her to get a grip.
Ji-eun, tidying up her wallet, replied with a calm face.
“Yeah. I know.”
Of course, she knew. How could she not?
Ji-eun was fully aware.
That this case was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.
And the weight that came with it.
More than anything, her own situation.
No solid connections. A pension loan maxed out to the limit.
She knew full well she shouldn’t be doing this, but—
Detective Jung.
“This is my last shred of pride.”
That’s why. That’s the reason.
Because right now, with nothing left—
This was all she had.
“Pride…?”
“Yeah. Pride.”
It was something from a long time ago, from childhood—
And because of that, the scars remained all the more vivid.
She didn’t want to be stopped. Not again.
And if that was what he wanted, even more so.
“Ah, looks like my taxi is here. Senior, I’ll get going first.”
“Alright, take care.”
Detective Jung, seeing an unfamiliar side of Ji-eun, thankfully didn’t ask any further.
Right on cue, the taxi arrived, and with a brief exchange of farewells, they wrapped up their conversation.
Ji-eun waved her hand, smiling until the taxi door shut with a soft *click.*
And then—
“Hah…”
At last, she let out a hot sigh into the cold night air.
The earlier rain shower had left the night cool and crisp.
“Of all times, why does the weather have to be so nice? So inconsiderate.”
Just as Ji-eun was about to turn around—
“Ahh…!”
A sudden flash of dazzling headlights caught her, followed by a loud, sharp honk.
Frowning, she shielded her eyes with one hand and slowly looked toward the source of the noise.
Click. As the car door opened, a familiar voice spilled out.
“What took you so long?”
Even just from the silhouette stepping out, she could tell.
That dark figure—
The one who had been noisily disrupting her night since earlier.
“I was waiting.”
…was the very culprit behind the honking.
* * * *
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