Chapter 95

Judging by how Chief Oh and Lee Ye-jin were so convinced she was just an ordinary college student, it seemed highly likely that she had no idea her boyfriend was using her as a smokescreen. I glanced between the two of them. Best not to tip them off that the college girl was a front. Time to change the subject.

"Back to the main point—do the two of you really see Jo Hyeon-seok as something like Go Sang-kyeong's personal vault?"

Lee Ye-jin nodded at my question. "For now, yeah. No matter how much we dug, there was nothing solid linking him to the Yangjin Group owner family. But doesn't this change things a bit?"

"From what the trainee victims said about being dragged into those sex parties Jo Hyeon-seok set up, all sorts of mid-level execs from random companies were there, but Yangjin Group never came up."

"Ko Jin-ah told Jeong Yeong-jun that Jo Hyeon-seok was bad news and to steer clear. Sounds like even she had no clue about any close ties between him and her father."

"Maybe he kept it so secret that he didn't even tell the sole heiress."

Lee Ye-jin rubbed her chin, lost in thought for a moment. I wanted to ask if they knew what was engraved on the ring Jo Hyeon-seok was wearing, but I couldn't. They'd get suspicious if I seemed too interested in my girlfriend, who's already off the suspect list. Especially Chief Oh, who knew my investigative style better than anyone.

"Thanks for the intel, Lawyer Cha. Nothing else to share?"

"No, not yet. I'll pass along anything new right away."

"Sounds good. We'll contact you if we have anything useful for your case that we can share. And let us know when we can go public with the Jeong Yeong-jun video."

Lee Ye-jin stood with a bright, satisfied smile. "Whew, what a relief. The judge rejected the arrest warrant for Jo Hyeon-seok and ordered no detention, so we had to release him after 50 hours. We got nothing in 22 hours of grilling—had me sweating bullets. But hey, scored some premium info from you first. Thanks."

She reached out, patted my shoulder, and started grabbing her bag.

"Heading out?"

"Gotta. My phone's blowing up."

She flashed her cell, screen flooded with texts from her husband. Chief Oh stood with her. I went down to the first floor and watched them each catch a taxi before heading back up.

I draped a blanket over Kang Min-jae, who was dead to the world on the sofa, then slipped into the bathroom. I'd fill him in on the night's talk come morning, once he was coherent.

I woke early, eyes snapping open. Kang Min-jae was still out. I debated sleeping more but figured our bathroom schedules would clash once he stirred, so I showered first. Downed a coffee, skimmed the morning paper—plenty of time left. Pulled out my work suit; it was ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠7:30.

He's gonna flip when he wakes up. Thinking back to the countless times he'd hurled last night, I could already picture his whining.

Time to kill, so I hit the famous hangover soup spot across from the officetel and packed back two portions.

"Uh... Lawyer... nim."

The door lock beep woke him; Kang Min-jae propped himself up, hair a mess, face bleary. I set the soup on the table and sank into the single-seater sofa.

"Bathroom's that way. Wash up and eat."

"...This your place, Lawyer-nim?"

"Yeah."

He started craning his neck, scoping the room. Fussed with the sofa cushions, picked up the blanket he'd kicked off and smoothed it out.

"Whoa, place is nice. ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Wanna live somewhere like this. Screams 'lawyer pad'—totally you."

"Lee Ye-jin sunbae and Chief Oh said the same yesterday. What the hell does that even mean?"

"Huh? ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠They were here?"

He must've slept like the dead. I'd kept my voice low out of consideration for him, but apparently he remembered zilch. I just pointed at the bathroom, ignoring his clueless mug. Plenty of time to debrief over soup.

"Lawyer-nim, got any spare T-shirt I could borrow?"

TV news droning, I was out on the balcony with a smoke when his voice echoed from the bathroom. Through the cracked door, he was desperately hunting for extra clothes. I grabbed an unworn T-shirt and underwear from the dressing room and shoved them through the gap.

"Thanks... Was I trashed last night? Ugh, remember puking, though. Such a pain—sorry."

"Nah, you're good. Just eat."

We sat across the table; he took one spoonful of soup, then leaned way back in his chair, eyes shut in bliss.

"Ahh, alive."

"From now on, meet Lee Ye-jin sunbae without me."

"Why?"

"Babysitting drunk Kang every time is a hassle."

"Ouch..."

He clutched his chest dramatically, but when I didn't bite, he dove face-first into his bowl, slurping like a machine.

"So, Lawyer-nim... why'd Lee Ye-jin sunbae and Chief Oh drop by yesterday?"

"Jo Hyeon-seok talk."

"Damn, I black out for the important stuff... Any good leads?"

He set down his spoon. I slid him a small water bottle and replied.

"Think we can track down Jo Hyeon-seok's girlfriend."

"For real? Whoa, jackpot!"

I laid out everything they'd shared, plus how I'd played drunk around them.

"But commissioning a custom design from a luxury brand? She might get it via personal delivery. Even if Taesik's guys stake out Jo Hyeon-seok's place, we might not ID the brand. Tough to trace who it goes to."

That was the snag. One-of-a-kind item or not, spotting it as custom on sight ain't easy. Sure, know the brand and you can check catalogs—but personal handoff? Dead end.

"Nah. Custom luxury commission? She'll pick it up herself. We're talking thousands, maybe tens of thousands or even hundreds of thousands of dollars. Gotta inspect it in-store with staff watching to confirm it's perfect."

"Yeah?"

"Mm-hmm. And from what you said, Jo Hyeon-seok's got massive ego. Sudden rags-to-riches type? He'll love strutting into a luxury hall, lapping up the VIP treatment. Brand won't risk delivery mishaps or defect claims on something that pricey—personal delivery's messy for accountability. Plus, no way they'd send a top exec to some nobody's house, even if it's the owner's family or a chaebol. For them, custom for a parvenu like him? Probably dragged their feet, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠but his connections forced it."

Kang Min-jae knew his stuff. Spilled it like textbook knowledge.

"You into luxury brands, Kang?"

"Pardon?"

"You know a ton about this."

Awkward grin. "Nah... just stuff I've picked up here and there. Anyway, once Jo Hyeon-seok's out and the brand calls, he'll go fetch it himself. Tell Taesik to tail him tight and note which store he hits for pickup."

"Good. Easier than I thought. Pass that to Taesik later. Time to gear up for work."

True to Lee Ye-jin's word, prosecutors released Jo Hyeon-seok two days later. I'd already told Taesik to shadow him from the prosecutor's office, logging every move.

Tons of reporters on his tail made it tricky, but Taesik nailed it. Tracked his crash pad perfectly, snapped pics every time he stepped out.

About a week in.

"Get over here! Ha ha ha!"

10:30 a.m. Taesik burst through the office door, booming, strutting like a peacock.

"Pipe down and show results."

"Didn't say I had 'em."

"Then why the 'get over here' crap? Spill."

Hands behind back, envelope in tow, swaggering on bowed legs—Taesik pouted at my words. Pivoted sharply, dumped the envelope on Kang Min-jae's desk.

"Lawyer Cha's a buzzkill. You check it, Kang."

"Heh, sure."

Kang Min-jae grinned ear-to-ear, flipped the envelope, shook out photos.

"Hmm, H brand. Jo Hyeon-seok's custom spot. Dust bag size says handbag."

Rifling through, he paused, squinted, glanced up.

Locked eyes with beaming Taesik. "That's it?"

"Yup."

"No pics of the item? Or who he handed it to?"

"Nope. That white bag—"

"Dust bag."

"Yeah, that. Staff showed it, they went into the back. Came out all gift-wrapped. No design peek."

"So you don't know who he gave it to?"

"Right. Came straight here after confirming the department store pickup."

Kang Min-jae sighed; I shook my head. All that swagger, and it was just a progress report.

"Back out. Reports by phone or email till you confirm delivery. Why the mid-mission check-in now?"

"Yeah, got my hopes up."

Even Kang Min-jae, Taesik's usual cheerleader, piled on.

Taesik glared, stomped toward the door, muttering. "Man, never pegged Kang that way. Must be catching it from Lawyer Cha. My bad for expecting decency—"

"Hold up."

Office phone rang before he finished. I grabbed the receiver, finger to lips. He huffed silently, lips flapping in aggrieved protest.

I frowned. Only one reason for Taegwang to call now: divorce suit. But they shouldn't know Jeong Yeong-jun tapped me yet.