External Drive (2)
As soon as Kang-hae hung up, he headed straight for Gangnam Police Station.
Ha-yeong went with him.
"This is Detective Lee Min-seong of the Gangnam Police Station violent crimes unit."
The detective Kang-hae had just spoken with on the phone held out his business card.
Kang-hae gave him one of his own.
"You work at the National Security Office?"
"Yes."
"Then the person with you does as well?"
Min-seong asked, glancing at Ha-yeong standing behind Kang-hae.
Ha-yeong nodded and replied, "I work with Mr. Na Kang-hae at the National Security Office Crisis Management Center."
Min-seong looked Kang-hae and Ha-yeong over with a strange expression.
That reaction struck Ha-yeong as odd.
When people from the National Security Office visited investigative agencies or related ministries, it was normal for them to be treated with at least a measure of courtesy, if not deference.
In the world of civil servants, the power held by an agency directly under the presidential office was beyond imagination.
But not this time.
Watching the way Min-seong questioned Kang-hae, she could feel that something was off.
"This morning, Ms. Kim Soo-jin, who works at Blue Velvet with Ms. Lee Na-yeon, reported the incident. She’d finished work and gone home, only to find Ms. Lee collapsed and unconscious. By the time 119 arrived, she was already in cardiac arrest."
"What was the cause of death?"
"We found sedatives, including Zoldem, and other psychotropic drugs at the apartment, but the National Forensic Service autopsy will give us more details."
"…"
"Now I have a few questions."
"Go ahead."
"What was your relationship with Ms. Lee?"
"I saw her for the first time at a bar last night."
"According to the manager at Blue Velvet, you asked them to call Ms. Lee over. You also knew her stage name."
"Yes."
"So you knew her before that, didn't you?"
"No."
"And yet you asked to have her brought over?"
"Yes."
Min-seong gave a thin, unreadable smile.
"So you met Ms. Lee for the first time last night at this bar called Blue Velvet. Then you went with her to the officetel where she lived."
"Yes."
"You sure get around."
His tone was thick with sarcasm.
Both Kang-hae and Ha-yeong caught it.
Min-seong continued. "So what did you do at the apartment?"
"We talked."
"About what?"
"I can't tell you."
"And when did you leave the officetel?"
"Around a little after midnight, if I remember correctly."
"Where did you go after leaving?"
"I went back to the goshiwon where I was staying."
"Can anyone verify that?"
"There’s CCTV at the entrance to the goshiwon."
"CCTV... since you brought that up, the CCTV at Ms. Lee’s officetel was down from 1:30 a.m. to 5:00 a.m. today."
"What was the cause?"
"They say the server went down, but... that’s not the important part."
"…?"
"Did you happen to go back to Ms. Lee’s officetel early this morning?"
That was when Ha-yeong, who had remained silent until then, cut in.
"Excuse me."
"Yes?"
"Is this a witness interview?"
"Yes. For now."
"So that means it could turn into a suspect interrogation?"
"If evidence turns up that Mr. Na Kang-hae was at the goshiwon during the time the CCTV went down, that won’t be necessary."
It sounded as though he was saying he hoped no such evidence existed.
Keeping his eyes on Ha-yeong, Min-seong asked, "By the way, what’s the relationship between the two of you?"
"What does that have to do with this investigation?"
"Well, it might be related to a personal dispute."
As he said it, the corner of his mouth curled upward.
Ha-yeong realized then that Min-seong was not only treating Kang-hae like a suspect, but freely imagining a relationship between her and him.
And that was when she understood where the unpleasant feeling she’d had since before the questioning began was coming from.
Min-seong was fishing for something.
He wanted to turn Kang-hae into a suspect.
And if not that, then he was clearly trying to inflate the case into a scandal involving a National Security Office employee and a bar hostess.
"Detective Min-seong."
"Yes?"
"Are you actually investigating Ms. Lee Na-yeon’s death right now?"
"What do you mean by that?"
"You seem more interested in the National Security Office employee going to an officetel with a bar hostess than in Ms. Lee’s death."
At Ha-yeong’s words, Min-seong wore an inscrutable smile.
He looked at her the way one might look at a pitiful woman defending an unfaithful lover.
"We’ll see if Mr. Na Kang-hae has an alibi placing him at the goshiwon when Ms. Lee died."
"So the interview is over?"
"Yes. You may go for today."
If they left it at that, it was obvious Min-seong would contact the reporters he knew.
And within a few days, an article might appear about a National Security Office employee and a room-salon hostess.
A civil servant, a room-salon hostess, and a death—those kinds of sensational ingredients could easily put Kang-hae in a difficult position.
Ha-yeong decided she had to stop it.
"Kang-hae."
She called him.
"Yes."
"Before you met Ms. Lee at that bar, didn’t you meet the head of planning strategy at Ilseong Group?"
"I did."
At the mention of Ilseong Group, Min-seong’s expression changed.
Ha-yeong stared at him and asked, "I take it you didn’t ask about that?"
"W-well, that is..."
Caught off guard by her question, Min-seong stammered.
"My grandfather had a lot he wanted to ask Kang-hae, so the chief of staff met with him separately."
"Your grandfather... what are you talking about...?"
Ha-yeong deliberately did not answer.
Instead, she rose from her seat and said, "Let’s go, Kang-hae."
Kang-hae stood as well.
He left Gangnam Police Station with Ha-yeong.
The two walked to a nearby bus stop, talking as they went.
"I know you were trying to help back there."
Kang-hae brought up what had happened at the station.
"Hm? Yes. The detective doing the questioning seemed more interested in money than in facts."
"If the Ilseong Group angle gets out, won’t that only make things bigger?"
Kang-hae asked with a trace of concern, but Ha-yeong didn’t look worried in the slightest.
"Kang-hae, aren’t you underestimating Korean conglomerates a little too much?"
"…?"
"How many high-ranking police officers does Ilseong Group keep on retainer as advisers every year? And how many newspaper presidents are there, too?"
"Then Ilseong Group steps in?"
"No. It feels a little awkward to say this myself, but... they’ll lower their heads on their own. There aren’t many countries where power institutions jump in first to side with the conglomerates like they do here."
Ha-yeong knew better than anyone how deeply conglomerate-friendly South Korea was.
That was also why she’d mentioned the meeting between the National Security Office employee and the Ilseong Group executive before the meeting between the National Security Office employee and the bar hostess.
If she could make it seem as though Ilseong Group was involved, she figured the detective handling the case wouldn’t recklessly leak information to reporters.
And the reporters themselves would have a harder time turning it into a headline.
No sooner had Ha-yeong finished speaking than a long text message from Min-seong arrived on her phone.
Hello. I’m Detective Lee Min-seong of Gangnam Police Station’s Violent Crimes Team 2, and I handled the witness interview for Mr. Na Kang-hae a moment ago.
First, if anything I said during the interview made you uncomfortable, I’m truly sorry.
I’ll make sure there are no misunderstandings regarding Mr. Na Kang-hae’s involvement. I clearly stated that he is only a witness, and I’ll take internal measures to prevent any unnecessary confusion.
In any case, I’ll handle this as carefully as possible so that nothing untoward happens.
If I need to contact you again, I’ll ask for your understanding in advance and make the request respectfully.
Have a good night.
Ha-yeong showed the message to Kang-hae.
"I probably shouldn’t say this, but... no matter how scary the conglomerates are, still..."
That was all she said, and Kang-hae fell into thought.
He wasn’t thinking about the collusion between Korean conglomerates and the police.
He was thinking about the dead Lee Na-yeon.
Did she really die from a drug overdose...?
He didn’t think so.
It had only been a brief meeting last night, but she hadn’t looked like someone addicted to psychotropic drugs.
And before Kang-hae had returned to Korea from Japan, he remembered something Park Do-hyeon, the head of the Japan team in the NIS Foreign Intelligence Division, had said to him.
The Japanese are relentless, and vicious. Telling them your identity was no different from suicide.
Ko Jeong-un had said something similar.
That someone in Japan would be coming for him.
Was it the Cabinet Intelligence and Research Office that moved against me?
It was possible, but that still didn’t explain why they would kill Lee Na-yeon.
If that was the case...
By the time they reached the bus stop, Kang-hae’s thoughts still had not come to a halt.
They kept spiraling, one after another, catching on each new thread.
When they got there, Ha-yeong checked the buses that were due to arrive soon.
"One’s coming soon."
"You should go ahead. I have someone to meet."
Ha-yeong had expected to ride back with him, and disappointment showed on her face for a moment, but during the walk to the stop, Kang-hae had remembered the person he needed to see.
"Oh? All right. Take care of yourself."
"Yes. Thank you for today."
"It was nothing."
"I’ll contact you again."
"Yes."
A little later, a bus pulled up to the stop.
Ha-yeong boarded it.
And the moment it pulled away, Kang-hae made a call to someone.
The ring tone went on and on.
After a moment, a voice came through.
"Hey, Masochist."
The voice belonged to Lee Min-su, the former team leader of Information Command Tianjin Team 1.
"Sorry for calling so late."
"It’s fine."
"Senior, do you have a moment?"
"Right now?"
"Yes. There’s something I’d like to discuss with you in person."
"Where are you?"
"Gangnam."
"Then it’ll take you about forty minutes."
"Yes."
"Then come straight to Anyang."
"Understood."
After hanging up, Kang-hae hailed a taxi.
He headed to Anyang, Gyeonggi Province, where Min-su was staying.
Forty minutes later.
An unmanned café in Indeogwon-dong, Dongan District, Anyang, Gyeonggi Province.
Min-su was already there waiting for him.
As soon as Kang-hae met him, he laid everything out.
Something unseen was approaching, but he couldn’t tell what it was.
In moments like this, he needed the advice of someone experienced.
And if anyone knew the answer, it would be Min-su, who had wandered abroad and operated as an Information Command black operative.
After listening to Kang-hae, Min-su looked dumbfounded.
"Hey, Masochist."
"Yes."
"I’ve never heard of anyone in my life running an operation while openly telling a foreign intelligence service who they were."
"Is that so?"
"Hahah. You’re seriously insane."
"…"
Min-su took a sip of hot chocolate.
Then he went on.
"It’s certain the Japanese are moving. But the ones coming after you now might not be Japanese."
"Then..."
"When you take out a target overseas, the best thing is never to get your own hands bloody. So think about it. If not the Japanese, then who would want you gone the most right now?"
"People who were blackmailed by Lee Jeong-tae, wouldn’t it?"
"Exactly."
"Then that woman too..."
"They probably checked first to see what you talked about with her. And then decided her mouth had to be shut, too."
"…"
Kang-hae clenched his fist.
That wasn’t how you approached a woman using the alias Hana.
Even if it took time, he should have found her house and gone in without her knowing to take the item.
The thought that someone had died unjustly because of him sent guilt flooding through him.
"Hey, Masochist."
"Yes."
"Set the guilt aside for now."
"…"
"Killing the woman means they want every trace erased. Which means you’re the remaining target."
Just as Min-su said, Kang-hae decided to set the guilt aside.
He knew now that someone was after him.
For the moment, he had to prepare.
* * *
At that same time.
Jamsuwon Hangang Park.
Baek Dong-gyu, the Second Deputy Director of the NIS, sat alone on a bench, waiting for someone.
A moment later, someone sat down beside him.
The man was wearing a cap and a mask, so his face couldn’t be seen, but Baek Dong-gyu knew exactly who he was.
"You’re late."
"Last night, Na Kang-hae went to an officetel with a woman from a bar. The place was registered under the Jeukguk Faction’s name."
"And?"
"From what I gathered from the woman, Lee Jeong-tae had been keeping an external drive there."
"An external drive?"
"Yes. According to the woman, it was an external drive. She said Na Kang-hae took it."
Wrinkles formed between Baek Dong-gyu’s brows.
"What happened after that?"
"He visited the presidential office and was also confirmed to have been questioned by the police."
"The presidential office?"
"Yes. We confirmed he went there this morning."
Baek Dong-gyu fell silent for a moment, thinking.
If Na Kang-hae had handed the external drive over to the Director of the National Security Office, then things would get complicated.
"This is getting tangled."
"…"
"And the woman?"
"She’s been eliminated."
"Good."
Baek Dong-gyu took out a cigarette and put it to his lips.
"Hoo..."
After a moment, cigarette smoke drifted apart into the empty air.
"What should we do about Na Kang-hae?"
"Don’t move against him rashly. Finding the external drive comes first."
"Understood."
The man rose from the bench.
Then, after bowing his head to Baek Dong-gyu, he disappeared into the darkness.