Chapter 102
Lee Ye-jin's face was flushed with shock. She stood there silently, just listening to Team Leader Oh on the other end of the phone. I exchanged a glance with Kang Minjae.
On the first call, Team Leader Oh had said the black box footage captured women getting out of Jo Hyun-seok's Carnival. Then, without missing a beat, another call came in, and Lee Ye-jin uttered Ko Jin-ah's name.
Since Juminji was Ko Jin-ah's personal secretary, it wasn't strange for Ko Jin-ah to appear in her black box footage. But Lee Ye-jin had repeated the name as if utterly stunned. That meant Ko Jin-ah had been caught on the black box footage alongside the Carnival.
"Cha, I gotta head out."
"Senior, was Ko Jin-ah filmed getting out with that Carnival?"
As she reached for the door, I locked the back door. Lee Ye-jin had a habit of saying her piece and vanishing, so if I didn't head her off, I might learn nothing more.
"Cha, this is obstructing official duties."
The words were pretty dire, but her tone wasn't. Lee Ye-jin let out a sigh.
"Yeah. Exactly what you're thinking."
"What I'm thinking is that Ko Jin-ah was caught in the scene where those women piled out of Jo Hyun-seok's Carnival. Right?"
"...Yeah. After all those women went into the building, about ten minutes later, Ko Jin-ah got out of the car. She went inside too."
Lee Ye-jin brushed back her hair and sighed again.
"Even if Jo Hyun-seok and Ko Jin-ah are having an affair, it's weird for her to tag along when he's heading off for a sex bribe. Even if it was for her business deal."
"Right. Normally, you'd wrap up the talk and send him off to a second round alone, or have him deliver the goods first before the meeting. Especially a woman like Ko Jin-ah—no need for her to go in there...."
Murmuring in agreement, Lee Ye-jin suddenly looked up.
"Cha, this...."
"That footage Team Leader Oh confirmed—it might be from the day they went to film Jeong Yeong-jun's video."
That explanation tied up all the loose ends. Juminji had just dropped Ko Jin-ah off there; she probably wasn't on site herself. We'd already confirmed Ko Jin-ah's presence in the video. Jo Hyun-seok arrived first with the women in the Carnival, then Ko Jin-ah waited in the car before joining the shoot.
"Senior, can you confirm the location where Ko Jin-ah was filmed with Jo Hyun-seok's Carnival?"
"Of course. The black box would've caught the whole route there. I'll check it out once I'm upstairs."
"Got it."
She put her hand on the door again, shooting me a playful glare.
"Open up now?"
Oh, right—I'd left it locked. With the click of the unlock, she opened the door. Heading for the prosecutor's office, she turned back, sticking her face in through the rear door.
"Oh, and get this—the black box caught the faces of the women getting out of the Carnival too. Clear enough to ID one or two. Congrats, Cha. You've got witnesses!"
"Senior, once you're in the office, check if that black box location matches the video site too."
"Roger. So, we can go public with the investigation now?"
"Let's talk once it's confirmed."
"My lips are itching, but fine—my lips are sealed. If it weren't for you, I wouldn't have even connected Ko Jin-ah to Jo Hyun-seok from that black box. But if the press sniffs it out, don't blame me."
"You'll embargo it, right?"
"Yeah, yeah. I'll call you back!"
Lee Ye-jin waved and dashed toward the office. Watching her go, Lawyer Kang leaned back deeply in his seat and let out a long sigh.
"Ah, finally—it's solved. Wow, how did this even get solved? Man, seriously... I can't believe it."
"It's not completely over yet."
"True, but it's basically done, right?"
"Buckle up. You're still dinging around."
As I gripped the wheel, Kang Minjae pouted and fastened his seatbelt. As he said, we could call the case solved.
Once the Jeong Yeong-jun video case was officially opened, prosecutors would summon any identifiable women from the black box footage as witnesses. Even if they all refused to testify, we'd already proven Ko Jin-ah was at the shoot. Hell, that she participated. Once word got out that she'd demanded divorce over her husband's sexual deviance and infidelity, public opinion would flip overnight.
Ko Jin-ah had once claimed through an aide that Jeong Yeong-jun in the video looked nothing like the husband she knew, leaving her shocked. It didn't add up at all, so no excuse she cooked up would fly.
* * *
Three days later, that evening. On the way back to the office after dinner with Lawyer Kang, my phone rang—Lee Ye-jin.
"Cha, it's me. Things are buzzing around here? You outside?"
"Heading back to the office now."
"Case is basically wrapped, and you're coming back instead of clocking out?"
"Not till I hear from you that the black box location matches the video."
"Fair enough. Then it's done. Go home and rest."
Her voice brimmed with satisfaction.
"It matches?"
"Yep. And here's the kicker—it's a luxury residence. There's a unit there under Ko Jin-ah's grandmother's name. We matched interior photos of the same layout. Even Jo Hyun-seok's wearing that navy hoodie—just like in the video you spotted."
"Any CCTV left?"
I fired off questions, and her tone turned a bit sulky.
"Cha, no joy in your voice? Just keep grilling me?"
"If we get footage of Jeong Yeong-jun being dragged in there half-conscious, it'd be perfect."
"High-end places like that have tons of cameras, cloud storage too—probably still there. Haven't checked yet, but even without it, we've got witnesses."
"True. A luxury residence wouldn't just have a guard shack; they'd outsource to a private security firm. Any eyewitness accounts?"
"Cha, I'm out of breath here. Yeah, checked—and it looks like this was Jo Hyun-seok and Ko Jin-ah's love nest. Secured statements from people who saw them together."
Kang Minjae, standing beside me, kept mouthing questions about the call. Outside and urgent, no time for speakerphone.
"Alright, tipster. We've bent over backward for you already. Now we're doing a full search and seizure. Going public tomorrow—giving you till 5 p.m. Need time for the warrant."
"Understood. I'll wrap things up with my client by then."
"Good. Just know I'm killing myself holding off the public switch. Got it?"
"Yes."
"Okay. Call tomorrow. Man, don't we need to give you a nickname or something? Setting up that superintendent sting solo, now this. Maybe 'The Painter'?"
"Painter?"
"Yeah, 'cause you paint the big picture. Haha! After I execute the warrant, I'm telling the chief you sourced it—so heads up. Gotta run."
She hung up before I could reply.
"What happened? Huh? What?"
"I'll fill you in inside."
As soon as we reached the office building, I grabbed him before he bolted for the entrance. Kang Minjae turned, tilting his head.
"Why?"
"Grab a coffee first. Been a while since we said hi to Kim Yeonjun."
"What do you mean 'been a while'? You saw him yesterday! And he doesn't come out evenings."
"I want coffee. Come on."
"Ugh, seriously...."
No Kim Yeonjun in the cafe. Kang Minjae grumbled "See?" but quietly ordered a latte when I got my iced Americano.
"Drink here."
As I held our fresh coffees, he glared at me like he wanted to kill me.
"......"
I ended up sitting with him in the cafe, sharing the call details. Kang Minjae whooped "Yes! Yes!" like Ahn Jung-hwan scoring against Italy in the 2002 World Cup. Good thing we were in the glassed-off smoking room—no stares from other customers.
"Man, honestly, I thought even you might struggle with this one.... Sorry for doubting."
Regaining composure over his coffee, he glanced at me.
"You thought that?"
"Yeah, a bit... Clues were so thin. But solving it feels great."
I eyed his beaming grin.
"Not time to smile yet."
"Huh? Why?"
"She gave us till tomorrow—that means tell Jeong Yeong-jun the whole truth beforehand. Sure, he'll see it on the news eventually, but better from us, right?"
Hearing that, Kang Minjae's shoulders slumped. He melted over the table, sighing like the world was ending.
"Yeah... How do we even tell him...."
"Dunno. But does it need some fancy delivery? The truth itself is the shock—no matter how nicely or bluntly you say it."
"...True."
"Just lay it out straight."
In gruesome crimes that shock the world, the perp is often a friend, parent, child, spouse. It scars the victim forever, sure. I get wanting blissful ignorance. But even if Jeong Yeong-jun could stay in the dark forever, I wouldn't hide it. Knowing can make you grow, mature another level—and I believe that.