Chapter 17

17. A Clue

That evening, beneath a sky glowing with the colors of sunset, a cool autumn breeze swept through the streets.

Jiseul hurried out of the office and headed to their meeting place.

Serendipity, the restaurant Woohyun had mentioned, was a French restaurant located right next to the company building.

Its elegant exterior and enchanting lighting gave it an unmistakably European charm, drawing the attention of everyone who passed by.

As she pushed open the door, a wave of warmth greeted her, along with the rich aroma of butter.

Inside, the antique-style interior blended beautifully with the soft melody of classical music.

An employee led her to a private room, where Woohyun, who had arrived first, greeted her with a brief nod.

“You’re here.”

He’d said he’d been out on business all day, and he looked slightly tired.

Even so, the sharpness in his deep-set eyes seemed even more pronounced.

“You got here early.”

“I just arrived myself. Let’s order first. I hear the Course C menu is pretty good.”

Woohyun looked at her as if asking for her opinion.

Jiseul nodded.

“Sounds good.”

After the server took their order and left the room, a quiet tension settled over the table.

“How was your day?”

Woohyun broke the silence first.

“It was good.”

Jiseul didn’t really know what else to say, so she gave a simple answer.

It wasn’t a lie.

She really had had a good day.

“I heard you met with Manager Kangbin and Team Leader Yuna today. About the WinCare algorithm.”

Woohyun smiled as he casually brought up the topic.

Apparently the news had already reached the CEO.

Jiseul took her laptop out of her bag and nodded.

“Yes. They asked me to work on optimizing the blood glucose measurement algorithm. But I’m not sure if I can do it.”

“You’ll do fine. There’s a reason both the manager and the team leader personally came to ask you. They believe in your abilities. So does the New Technology Team. And so do I.”

Jiseul let out an awkward smile.

She suddenly felt the weight settling onto her shoulders.

“Ah… don’t expect too much. There’s a much higher chance I won’t succeed. The key is reducing the error rate in the third WinWatch prototype. From what I’ve seen, I think the customization during the data filtering stage needs to be much more refined. I’m planning to properly analyze the source code starting tomorrow.”

“So you’ve already been giving it a lot of thought.”

His eyes reflected genuine anticipation.

“But don’t push yourself too hard. Managing your stress is the most important thing when it comes to your panic symptoms.”

It seemed he was still worried about her condition.

Jiseul hadn’t expected him to say something like that, and it touched her.

She’d thought he was simply a cold, rational man.

But in reality, he also had a warm and thoughtful side.

Trying to hide her embarrassment, she steered the conversation back to the real reason she’d asked to meet.

Her cheeks had already begun to warm.

“Yes. More importantly, there’s something I wanted to show you. Among the files whose passwords I cracked, I found Prosecutor Shin Junghyeon’s investigation journal.”

“An investigation journal?”

“Yes. It’s a text file with short notes arranged by date. I only had time to skim through it, but it covers everything from January 1st of this year until July 1st, two days before Prosecutor Shin passed away.”

“I see.”

“Yes. There are quite a few entries related to the Phoenix investigation. Please take a look first.”

Jiseul turned the laptop toward Woohyun so he could see it clearly.

Then she moved from across the table and sat beside him before opening the text file.

Beginning with January 1st, the file was filled with meticulously organized entries.

Woohyun carefully read through them line by line.

After some time, his eyes stopped on one particular sentence.

[March 15, 202X. Met HJS. Songi’s coffee shop. Asked how she’d been lately. She said she was doing fine, but she looked troubled. I’m worried.]

“HJS. You’re mentioned in the investigation journal too.”

Woohyun chuckled as if he’d made an interesting discovery.

Looking over his shoulder at the screen, Jiseul scratched the back of her head awkwardly.

“I guess Prosecutor Shin was worried about me.”

Her voice carried a trace of longing as she remembered Junghyeon.

The sadness lingering in her eyes hadn’t completely faded.

Watching her quietly from the corner of his eye, Woohyun continued scrolling.

This time, his attention stopped at the initials CDH.

[March 17, 202X. Met CDH. Discussed the case. Not enough evidence. More investigation required.]

“CDH. Detective Choi Dohyup appears several times as well.”

“It looks like they really were very close.”

The initials CDH appeared repeatedly throughout the journal.

It seemed Junghyeon had worked with him on many cases.

The truly significant entries came afterward.

One suspicious death after another.

[April 5, 202X. Death of Assemblyman Kim Minjun. Appears to be a simple traffic accident, but something doesn’t add up.]

[April 24, 202X. Reporter Lee Jaehoon’s fatal fall. Suspicious individual spotted on CCTV.]

Woohyun slowly continued scrolling before stopping abruptly.

[May 6, 202X. Received critical information from HJS. Suspected misuse of the Phoenix program. Possible involvement of the National Intelligence Service. Proceed with extreme caution.]

The moment he saw the initials HJS, Woohyun’s gaze sharpened.

They were Jiseul’s initials.

“Jiseul, is this the information you told my brother about regarding Phoenix?”

“Yes. That’s what I told you before. I met Prosecutor Shin in early May, so the date matches.”

“And two months later… my brother died.”

“…Yes.”

Jiseul lowered her head solemnly.

While she silently mourned Junghyeon once again, Woohyun continued reading.

Most of the entries throughout May concerned cases unrelated to Phoenix.

The June entries, however, were brief but highly significant.

[June 15, 202X. Collecting evidence. Must be careful.]

[June 20, 202X. I think someone is watching me.]

[June 25, 202X. Handed part of the evidence to CDH. Just in case.]

[June 29, 202X. Contacted by an insider from the National Intelligence Service. Agreed to meet in early July.]

[July 1, 202X. Asked Park Jeongbeom to safeguard the files. They must be kept somewhere secure.]

That was the final entry.

July 1st, two days before Junghyeon’s death.

Jiseul couldn’t take her eyes off the last few lines.

The mention of an “insider from the National Intelligence Service” on June 29th and the files entrusted to Park Jeongbeom on July 1st immediately caught her attention.

Who could this insider have been?

Perhaps someone like her who had also grown suspicious of the dark forces operating inside the National Intelligence Service.

If so, that person might hold the key to everything.

Unfortunately, there wasn’t enough information to investigate further.

Then there was Park Jeongbeom.

If Junghyeon had entrusted him with something important, he was probably someone he trusted deeply.

“I think we should find this man first. Park Jeongbeom. It looks like he’s holding the key evidence. But based on these notes alone, there just aren’t enough clues.”

“I know a little about him. He worked as an investigator in my brother’s Prosecutor’s Office. But immediately after my brother died, he resigned and disappeared. No one’s been able to find him since.”

“I see… Resigning at exactly that time… There has to be something behind it. It’s worrying. We have to find him somehow.”

“Yes. We’ve already hired a detective agency and have been searching for him for three months. But we’ve gotten nowhere. Either he’s gone into hiding extremely well… or…”

Woohyun’s voice grew unusually heavy.

From his tone alone, Jiseul could already guess what he was about to say.

“Don’t tell me… you think he might’ve been killed?”

“That’s a very real possibility. If the information my brother uncovered was that dangerous, then Investigator Park Jeongbeom, who shared that information, would’ve been in just as much danger.”

“I understand.”

A chill ran down Jiseul’s spine.

She couldn’t shake the ominous feeling creeping over her.

She could only pray that Investigator Park Jeongbeom hadn’t become another victim of Phoenix.

Just then, the computer emitted a notification sound.

Another password-protected folder had finally been unlocked.

“Another folder just opened.”

Jiseul quickly opened it.

It was the folder she’d wanted to see the most because of its intriguing name.

[First Half of 202X – Phoenix Investigation]

Inside were several files.

Documents.

Photographs.

Audio recordings.

Jiseul began opening them one by one.

The first document contained an overview of the Phoenix program.

[Phoenix – Developed by the National Intelligence Service Cyber Security Bureau]

– Powerful infiltration and system manipulation program

– Capable of infiltrating all electronic devices

– Supports remote control, information theft, system manipulation, and various other functions

“Phoenix. Is this the program you created yourself?”

Woohyun asked.

Jiseul quietly nodded.

“Yes. It was originally developed to hack enemy nations’ systems.”

“But…”

“But it’s being abused.”

“Yes.”

Jiseul opened the audio recordings one by one.

A few of them immediately caught her attention.

[Recording dated June 14, 202X]

As she pressed play, Prosecutor Shin Junghyeon’s recorded voice filled the room.

“Received a call from CDH. He says the autopsy report from the Seocho-dong case was altered. It seems pressure from higher-ups is intense. He doesn’t want this investigation to be shut down. Right now, he’s the only person I can truly rely on.”

…

[Recording dated June 30, 202X]

“I’ve secured definitive evidence. Phoenix is being used to eliminate political opponents. But I still don’t know who’s behind it. I’m certain high-ranking officials within the National Intelligence Service are involved, but…”

A brief silence followed.

Then Junghyeon’s voice resumed.

“If anything happens to me, find Investigator Park Jeongbeom. He’ll know what needs to be done. And inform Detective Choi Dohyup as well. He’s one of the very few people I trust completely.”

The recording ended there.

There was nothing more.

For a long while, neither Woohyun nor Jiseul spoke.

Hearing Junghyeon’s voice again stirred something deep inside both of them.

Listening to the voice of someone who had already passed away was an indescribable feeling.

Longing.

Relief.

Guilt.

All of those emotions washed over them at once, leaving only solemn silence behind.

After what felt like an eternity, Jiseul spoke first.

“…I think we should meet Detective Choi Dohyup first. CDH. The journal says Prosecutor Shin gave him part of the evidence. I think meeting him would help us tremendously.”

She spoke with complete seriousness.

Woohyun nodded immediately.

“I agree. Let’s arrange a meeting with him as soon as possible.”

Soon their dinner was served.

Neither of them had much interest in the food.

They absentmindedly ate while their thoughts remained elsewhere.

By the time they’d forced themselves through the meal and dessert had just been served, Woohyun finally pulled out his phone with a determined look.

Then he said to Jiseul,

“Let’s contact him right now.”

“Contact who?”

“Detective Choi Dohyup. I managed to get his phone number. Someone who worked as an investigator in my brother’s Prosecutor’s Office still had his contact information. I think it’s best to call him now.”

Woohyun didn’t wait for her reply.

He immediately found Detective Choi Dohyup’s number and pressed the call button.

Ring…

Ring…

Watching him, Jiseul found herself unconsciously tensing up.

How much did Detective Choi Dohyup know?

How would he react when he answered?

Everything about the call made her anxious.