Episode 210
“Why did you call us?” asked Black Tiger, a second-generation heihaizi.
Jin So-hyang, also a second-generation member, shrugged. “I have no idea.”
“Is it about the withdrawal?” Following Park Sol’s order to transform into “Wang Myeong,” the senior heihaizi were busy preparing to disappear completely, shutting down new projects and scaling back existing ones. They were now gathering for an emergency meeting, having been summoned abruptly.
“That could be it. We’re almost ready. How’s your project going?” she asked.
He smiled. “Smoothly.” He was in charge of constructing the second secret base, this time on the southern coast of China, after the success of the first one on Mujindo Island. “You’ll be impressed when you see it. It’s much larger and has better facilities.”
“Really? I’d like to see it sometime.”
“The location is classified, of course,” he said with a smile. Even among senior heihaizi, they only shared general information about their projects, the details were kept secret. “We’ve become quite a large organization,” she remarked. “I know, we were just a few dozen people when we started.”
“Who would have thought?”
She was the eldest daughter, but her parents, obsessed with having a son, hadn’t even registered her birth, hoping for a son with each subsequent pregnancy.
Her younger sister, Jin So-wol, had also been denied legal status, and only when their younger brother was born had their parents finally registered a child. She and her sister had become heihaizi, and after reaching adulthood, they had left home and lived on the streets.
“It’s all thanks to Baek In-hwi… I mean, Wang Myeong,” he corrected himself.
“It still feels strange.”
“You’ll get used to it. We’re here.” She opened the door to the meeting room. It was filled with senior heihaizi. “Greetings.” They bowed their heads to Park Sol, who was sitting at the head of the table, and then took their seats. “Is everyone here?” he asked, looking around the room.
Li Yang, standing next to him, said, “One of the second-generation members is missing.”
“Really? Well, he might be late.”
“Should I call him?”
“It’s fine, he’ll be here. Let’s start. Director Li, please fill him in later. Now then…”
He looked at the assembled heihaizi.
“Moon Gil has been abducted.”
“Yes, yes, I’ll meet you there. I can’t discuss this over the phone, it’s urgent. Alright, I’ll be right there.”
Moon Gil, his face pale and his voice trembling, said, “I-is that acceptable?”
“Good, you did well,” Cheon Ji-an said with a smile. “We’ll guarantee your safety.” He then raised his voice, loud enough for Yoo Ho-chan, who was waiting outside, to hear, “Prosecutor Yoo! We’ve contacted Moon Gil’s superior. We can apprehend him at the meeting place.”
There was no response, so he opened the door and looked for Yoo Ho-chan. He found him huddled in a corner, covering his ears, and approached him, putting his hand on his shoulder. “Prosecutor Yoo.”
“Eek!” He jumped, startled, and fell on his butt. “W-what?”
“Are you alright?” Moon Gil had initially agreed to cooperate, but then he had claimed he had never met Baek In-hwi. So Cheon Ji-an had resumed the interrogation, and Yoo Ho-chan, unable to bear it, had gone outside. And after more torture, Moon Gil had finally confessed that his superior knew Baek In-hwi. They had lured him out with a false message.
“Is it… over?” he asked weakly.
“Yes. He says his superior knows Baek In-hwi.”
His eyes regained some focus at the mention of Baek In-hwi.
“A high-ranking member of the organization knows Baek In-hwi.”
“…If we catch Baek In-hwi, this will all be over…” He said with gleaming eyes, “This is all his fault!” He blamed Baek In-hwi for everything he was going through: the torture, the transfer, the investigation.
“Let’s go and get him!” he said eagerly.
They approached the abandoned building cautiously and saw two men guarding the entrance. “They don’t have many guards.”
“It’s a secret meeting, not an official event. He wouldn’t bring a large entourage to meet with a subordinate.”
“Should we take them down now?”
Yoo Ho-chan shook his head. “The executive is probably inside. And there might be other exits. If we make a commotion, he might escape.”
“Then what’s your plan?”
“Hmm…” He thought for a moment. “This is a remote location, difficult to access undetected…”
Cheon Ji-an smiled. “So you want to… take care of them quietly?”
“Yes, do you have a method?”
“A simple one.” He took out a silenced pistol, shot the two guards, and then looked at Yoo Ho-chan. “Easy, right?”
Yoo Ho-chan, who had watched the men collapse in slow motion, stared at him, speechless. “Huh?”
“Wasn’t that simple?”
He finally snapped out of his daze. “Y-you just shot them?!”
“Yes.”
“How could you…?”
“It’s fine. They’ll live if we get them to a hospital quickly. Probably.” He said it so casually that Yoo Ho-chan was speechless. He smiled. “Prosecutor Yoo.”
“Y-yes?”
“We don’t have time.”
“……”
“I shot them, not you. Did you see me shoot them?”
He couldn’t answer.
“Did you?”
He nodded, seeing his silence. “Silence means yes. I understand.” He entered the building with his men, followed by the stunned Yoo Ho-chan.
Inside, a large man in a black suit was pacing back and forth, checking his watch anxiously.
“What is he saying?” Yoo Ho-chan, still shaken, approached Cheon Ji-an.
“I don’t know. Let’s get closer.”
They approached the man cautiously and overheard him muttering, “I have to go to the meeting… what’s taking them so long…?”
“A meeting?”
“Yes, a meeting,” he replied excitedly, hearing the word.
“If it’s an executive meeting…” he said, his voice rising with excitement “…we can catch them all!”
“That’s what I’m thinking.”
It was a golden opportunity, a once-in-a-lifetime chance to take down an entire network by capturing its leadership.
Yoo Ho-chan, the image of the collapsing guards erased from his mind, said, “Let’s do it.”
They approached the man stealthily, surrounded him, and he turned around, saying, “You’re here? What took you so…?” He froze, seeing not Moon Gil, but a group of hostile-looking men surrounding him. “That Moon Gil bastard…”
Cheon Ji-an smiled. “You catch on quickly. Surrender.”
“You think I’ll go down without a fight?” He reached inside his jacket, and Cheon Ji-an pointed his gun at him. “Don’t move. I’ll shoot.”
“…Damn it.”
“You said you have a meeting?” Yoo Ho-chan said to the man, who was now kneeling on the floor with his hands tied behind his back. “Where is it? Who’s attending? Tell us everything.”
“A Korean?” the man suddenly said in fluent Korean, surprising him. “You speak Korean?”
“Why is there a Korean here?” the man asked.
“Why do you think? We’re here to catch Baek In-hwi.”
He gritted his teeth. “So the Korean government betrayed us.”
“You shouldn’t have come to Korea and caused so much trouble. Did you think you could get away with it? Now tell me, what kind of meeting is it?”
“…I don’t know.”
His eyes widened, and he shouted, “Tell me! Do you know how many people have suffered because of Baek In-hwi?! I wouldn’t be here, those men wouldn’t be dead, if it weren’t for him!”
“Dead?”
As Yoo Ho-chan was about to say something, Cheon Ji-an put his hand on his shoulder and whispered, “Prosecutor Yoo, this man will be facing trial. If you mention the… incident, he might reveal your involvement during the interrogation.” He flinched. “Ah, you’re right. Thank you.”
He turned back to the man. “Tell us, you know what you did, don’t you? Do you want to take the fall for everything?”
“……”
He smirked. “It would be wise to cooperate. If it’s an executive meeting, we can catch them all. And then you won’t have to worry about retaliation. Just tell us everything, and you’ll be safe. No prison, no retaliation. It’s a good deal.”
The man was silent for a moment, then said, “Will you let me go if I tell you?”
“Not exactly. You’re an executive, you’ll have to face some consequences. But we’ll be lenient.”
The man sighed. “Alright. I’ll talk. The meeting is in Heilongjiang Province. Five executives, including myself.”
“Five!” Yoo Ho-chan said excitedly to Cheon Ji-an, “Where are they?! Let’s go and get them!”
But Cheon Ji-an shook his head, his expression calm. “He’s being too cooperative, don’t you think? It doesn’t make sense for one of Baek In-hwi’s close associates to confess so easily. It’s a trap.”
“No! It’s the truth! Why would I lie when I’m your prisoner?!”
“Maybe he’s loyal to Baek In-hwi… Anyway, how long can a meeting last? What if we’re being led on a wild goose chase while the real meeting takes place? We’ll miss our chance.”
He nodded. “You’re right.”
“It’s not a trap! It’s the truth!” His frantic denials only reinforced their suspicion. “Let’s go,” Cheon Ji-an said. “We’re running out of time.”
“A-again?” Yoo Ho-chan flinched.
“The meeting might be over already.”
He hesitated and then turned and walked away, hearing the man’s screams echoing from the room.
“Aaaaaargh!”
He lowered his head and muttered,
“It’s for the greater good… the ends justify the means.”
“No! Stop! Please!”
“It’s all Baek In-hwi’s fault.”
“Please! Aaaaaargh!”
He said in a firmer voice than before, when they had interrogated Moon Gil,
“It’s for justice… it can’t be helped.”