Four days had passed before Hyun-seong dialed Yi-soo’s number, summoning her to Yoon & Kang. Outside the 25th-floor office, Secretary Kang awaited her arrival.
“Long time no see, Prosecutor. Have you been well?” Secretary Kang greeted as Yi-soo approached.
“Yes, I’ve been fine… Secretary Kang, it seems like you’ve lost a lot of weight. Is your health okay?” Yi-soo inquired.
“Our Prosecutor has a sharp eye. I’ve really gone through a lot in the past two weeks… I’ve endured all sorts of hardships. Strangely, the weight that didn’t come off easily when I controlled my diet just keeps falling off. Oh, the suffering was long. Attorney Yoon is waiting inside, so shall we go in?”
Tae-jun, with a smiling face despite his complaints, courteously opened the door. Nodding appreciatively, Yi-soo entered the office.
As always, Hyun-seong was engrossed in his work behind the desk. He glanced up at Yi-soo and Tae-jun. “You’re here? Let’s eat dinner,” he offered.
“Not yet. I’m not very hungry. More importantly… the USB. Have you decrypted it?” Yi-soo asked Tae-jun.
“Prosecutor, I really don’t like making a fuss, but…” Tae-jun sighed. “I’ve been through a lot. It was so hard to scout only the elites in this field. But this is something made by humans, not a god.”
Secretary Kang smoothly retrieved the USB concealed within his jacket and extended it towards Hyun-seong, a silent cue for him to plug it in.
“Is the password all unlocked?” Hyun-seong inquired.
“Yes, yes,” Tae-jun nodded proudly. “It still only opens on a specific PC. I’ve made sure of that. Don’t ask me twice.”
“You seem particularly sharp today.”
“How can I do secretary work without being perceptive? Thanks to that, I’ve become quite the adept mind reader.”
Their banter elicited spontaneous laughter, and Yi-soo gracefully positioned herself behind her chair. As Hyun-seong connected the USB, a notification sound chimed, prompting him to double-click the folder with a left mouse button.
While the resolution wasn’t entirely unexpected, given Tae-jun’s earlier complaints, it was evident that the process hadn’t been a walk in the park. All eyes were on the screen as everything hinged on this inconspicuous device.
The desktop commanded the undivided attention of the trio. “There are… multiple folders. Whose names could these be?” Yi-soo asked upon the discovery of seventeen folders within the USB, each bearing the name of an individual.
“Park Myung-jae… Isn’t he the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court? This is insane.” Tae-jun’s eyes widened in disbelief. The folders, neatly labeled with names, harbored secrets that unveiled the clandestine activities of political and business figures. Hyun-seong methodically pressed on each folder, revealing a trove of evidence ranging from money laundering to academic forgery and contract killings.
“Wow, the Chief Justice’s son forged his Yale University diploma… Is this really true?”
“Probably. Secretary Kang, you should fact-check this through Cross.”
“Stop exaggerating… Should I just submit my resignation and walk out? Huh?”
While some folders contained scant information, the majority held credible evidence. Yet, an unsettling feeling lingered. Baek Su-jeong had explicitly mentioned that Yoon & Kang’s secrets were stored in the USB, but the data suggested otherwise. It appeared that the law firm itself might not be implicated.
“Could someone be covering for them… Maybe the CEO?” Tae-jun speculated.
“The CEO? Isn’t that too far-fetched?” Yi-soo inquired.
“Yes. Even so, Attorney Yoon’s father…”
“It’s just one possibility. If not, it could be Vice President Kang. There aren’t many people in this law firm with this much power.” With narrowed eyes, Hyun-seong continued clicking, each press of the button unveiling a layer of the intricate web of secrets.
Unlike the folders neatly organized under individual names, one stood out with the label ‘Colosseum.’
“Colosseum? What could this be… I can’t sense anything.”
Inside, only three pictures revealed themselves as Hyun-seong clicked on the frontmost file. The screen suddenly displayed a selfie featuring five people. The two closest to the camera were bare-faced, while the three in the background wore masks, their identities obscured by the darkness.
Due to the low brightness, facial recognition proved challenging. Yi-soo, puzzled, scratched her cheek.
“There’s hardly any explanation in this folder. What could these photos be…”
“Secretary Kang.”
“Yes?”
“This man here. Doesn’t he look familiar? I’m sure I’ve seen this face before.” Hyun-seong pointed at the man on the screen with his fingertip.
“Well… it seems like it, but it’s too dark to be sure. Do you know him? The woman next to him also looks young. Are they a couple?”