* * *
‘F*ck, seriously.’
Cha Jeonhyeok, the Equipment Management Chief, was currently scrolling through videos and news reports related to the Route 316 bus terror incident on his computer screen.
The name ‘Park Seungsoo – AC Equipment’ kept flashing on his phone, but he was ignoring it.
No matter where he looked, the news and videos were filled with titles like ‘Righteous Investigator Risks Life to Stop Terror Attack.’
There was no mention of any mistakes or wrongdoings by the Hunter Investigation Bureau anywhere.
‘His’ plan had gone completely awry.
‘I did everything I could. Please believe me.’
Cha Jeonhyeok had tried to make excuses, but the only response from the other side was a cold voice.
[As I mentioned before, everyone shares the weight of a project’s failure. Cut all ties and wait. Dispose of your phone.]
It was the voice of the one called the representative of ‘The One.’
As soon as he hung up, the phone he had used to speak with the representative melted like water on top of his desk.
He had been discarded.
He felt a slight sense of humiliation, but it was fleeting.
If he wanted another chance, he had to wrap this matter up without a hitch.
Investigator Lee Yuji?
Cha Jeonhyeok stared at the woman with the vacant expression on the monitor.
She was also the one who had caught Kevin Choi before.
With that dim-witted face, she had turned the national audit—where Kwon Ikseong had been summoned—upside down by getting her picture taken while making a V-sign.
‘It’s that woman again….’
How on earth was she on Bus 316?
Could it be that Chief Hong Jaegyeol had set up an operation in advance?
Anxiety rose to the top of his head.
‘That’s impossible.’
There were no holes for information to leak through in this job.
Those directly involved knew what kind of person ‘The One’ was, so no one would dare speak of this to the outside world.
Even those indirectly involved had dirty hands, so the gaps were sealed even tighter.
In any case, that dim-witted girl had ruined everything, but the trash was for Cha Jeonhyeok to clean up.
First, he changed the equipment supply company.
He cut off the deal with Park Seungsoo.
Park Seungsoo’s company, AC Equipment, was likely in a state of chaos due to the sudden termination of the contract.
Supplying items to the Hunter Investigation Bureau must have been a massive source of income.
However, no matter how much of a fuss Park Seungsoo made, he couldn’t protest that this was unfair.
There had been several instances where Cha had turned a blind eye to the delivery of defective goods.
Furthermore, even if someone had the guts, they would rot in prison for the rest of their lives if they blabbed about this matter recklessly.
Park Seungsoo himself was a man with a dirty past.
That was precisely why ‘That Person’ had chosen AC Equipment.
Additionally, the contract with Park Seungsoo had been handled in such a subtle way that it appeared Cha Jeonhyeok was not involved in the agreement at all.
‘So there’s no problem.’
No, there must be no problem.
It was just as Cha Jeonhyeok was thinking that.
A different name appeared on his phone instead of Park Seungsoo.
Chief Hong Jaegyeol.
It was the Investigation Chief. Why would Hong Jaegyeol suddenly—
[Hey, what are you up to?]
At that characteristic, swaggering voice, Cha Jeonhyeok hid the agitation and anxiety in his heart and answered casually.
“What else? We’re hectic over here too because of the bus incident. I have to change suppliers and all that. If something like this happens, you guys are the first to start complaining about the equipment anyway.”
At those words, Hong Jaegyeol fell silent for a moment.
Then, he chuckled and replied.
[That’s true. They say a poor craftsman blames his tools. Anyway, a few of my people are going to start investigating your guys, so give us some cooperation. As you know, one of my investigators is currently getting shredded at the Hunter Administration Bureau. It’s a headache for me, too.]
An investigation?
He had just been testing the waters, but they were actually coming out to investigate?
It was ominous that the investigation side—who he thought would be clinging to a PR war after being saved by Investigator Lee Yuji—was paying this much attention to the equipment management team.
But no matter how much he thought about it, it wouldn’t be easy for them to discover that someone had tampered with ‘specific supplies’ on purpose.
‘To begin with, one of the “Dots” is planted in Team 1.’
He spoke as if he were deliberately relaxed.
“That’s harsh. What do you think you’ll find even if you dig?”
Hong Jaegyeol fell silent again at his words. The silence of a guy who usually chattered incessantly felt strangely chilling because of what he said next.
[Cha Jeonhyeok.]
“…?”
Not Chief Cha, but Cha Jeonhyeok.
It had been a long time since he had been called that.
[How long has it been for us?]
“I don’t know. Is it about 15 years now?”
To Cha Jeonhyeok’s answer, Hong Jaegyeol made a sound that was somewhere between a faint smile and a sigh.
[Right. 15 years…. A lot has happened during that time…. Hasn’t it? It’s already been 8 years since Han Sueop passed away. That gun back then. If only it hadn’t exploded, Sueop wouldn’t have met such an end. Right?]
“Right….”
Cha Jeonhyeok answered with an expression that looked somewhat anxious.
However, there was no way his face or expression could be conveyed through the receiver, so he simply kept his words short.
Just as his mind was becoming complicated, Chief Hong’s voice returned to its usual tone.
[Anyway, I’m asking for your cooperation then. Let’s grab a drink next time.]
“Yeah, sure.”
After hanging up, Cha Jeonhyeok stood up from his seat.
He immediately left the Chief’s office and started making calls to the team leaders under him.
Soon, news came in that investigators were raiding the supply team.
They said they had summoned people to the interrogation room, asking for cooperation as witnesses?
[The people from AC Equipment and their representative, Park Seungsoo, have also been summoned. We let them go for now since they said it’s a witness investigation, but is there a problem?]
Cha Jeonhyeok furrowed his brow at those words but spoke in a forced, calm voice.
“What problem? We’re family, so cooperate well.”
A bad shaman blames his tools. Cha Jeonhyeok toyed with his lips as he chewed over Chief Hong’s words.
It was true. At best, it was nothing more than a bad shaman blaming his tools.
All information was blocked, and Park Seungsoo was not the type of person to gamble when his life was on the line.
* * *
Just as Cha Jeonhyeok expected, Park Seungsoo didn’t spill a single thing.
‘I heard that the supply items changed midway, so it was hard to get used to how to operate them. I heard this while having a meal with Investigator Ham Ina before the deployment.’
Even though Kwon Ikseong had moved the moment he heard this.
Even the items supplied at the time had all been disposed of by the quick-moving Equipment Management Bureau, leaving behind nothing that could be called evidence.
However, there was one thing remaining—
The investigator sitting right next to Kwon Ikseong, who was facing Park Seungsoo.
It was Lee Yuji.
She spoke to Park Seungsoo, who kept repeating ‘I don’t know’ and ‘I don’t remember,’ while wearing a bright smile like a large dog.
“Ah, so you’re saying you don’t remember?”
“Yes. That’s right.”
“Then you also don’t remember the part where Equipment Management Chief Cha Jeonhyeok instructed you to ‘mix defective products into the supplies’?”
“Pardon?”
“Ah, you probably don’t remember this either, right?”
Lee Yuji smiled brightly and played a recording.
[The deployment date for Kwon Ikseong’s team has been set. The 28th. Mess with the equipment being released that day. Just mix in two or three defectives.]
[Defectives?]
[Yeah. And make sure to mark them specially. So that only the ‘Dots’ can recognize them.]
[Ah…. What did you just say?]
[What’s with you? Between people who know how things work. Just make some defectives.]
[Ah, yes.]
It was a recording of a phone call.
It was the voice recording function Lee Yuji had pressed while in a state of possessing Park Seungsoo.
And surprisingly, this recording had come into her hands yesterday morning via Byeon Gudo.
The biggest slacker in Team 5 had sent Lee Yuji an email like this:
[Attachment: Mobile phone files of AC Manufacturing Representative Park Seungsoo]
Then, he had come running in a hurry and said:
‘A-Ah, Maknae! I accidentally sent you an email, but you must never open it. Never!’
…That means “open it,” doesn’t it?
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