Chapter 18

18. Choi Dohyup

On Tuesday evening, Jiseul and Woohyun left the company and headed to an old traditional coffee house near Namyeong-dong.

It was the place Detective Choi Dohyup had suggested.

The neighborhood felt like it had stepped away from the glittering city lights, carrying the unmistakable traces of decades gone by.

Even the shabby old coffee house tucked away at the end of the alley was filled with the charm of another era.

Detective Choi Dohyup was seated at a secluded table in the back.

He was a man in his late thirties, wearing a worn leather jacket.

His short hair, sharp eyes, and imposing presence dominated the room.

At a glance, he gave off the unmistakable aura of a veteran detective who’d spent years working crime scenes.

“Excuse me… are you Detective Choi Dohyup?”

When Woohyun and Jiseul bowed in greeting, Dohyup gave them a faint smile.

Even that restrained smile carried the weight of his long years as a detective.

“Yes, it’s nice to meet you. Mr. Shin Woohyun, and Ms. Han Jiseul. I’ve been wanting to meet you both.”

Dohyup’s voice was low and rough, but firm.

His sharp eyes moved back and forth between them.

When his gaze settled on Jiseul, it held both caution and curiosity.

“You’re the one who spoke with Prosecutor Shin Junghyeon for the last time, aren’t you? I saw your name in the police records.”

“Yes. I’m Han Jiseul. I’ve really wanted to meet you too.”

Jiseul smiled as she greeted him.

Dohyup nodded as though that confirmed something.

As Woohyun took the seat across from him, he spoke politely.

“We contacted you so suddenly, so thank you for agreeing to meet us. There’s something about my brother that we absolutely needed to ask you.”

Dohyup took a sip of the Ssanghwa Tea in front of him before letting out a heavy sigh.

“If it’s about Prosecutor Shin… I’ve got plenty to say. It’s been eating at me so badly I haven’t been able to sleep at night.”

His very first words were far more direct than either of them had expected.

Dohyup motioned to an employee and ordered two more cups of Ssanghwa Tea.

“They make an excellent Ssanghwa Tea here. This place has been around for forty years. They still brew it the old-fashioned way, so it tastes great and it’s good for you too.”

“I see.”

The tea arrived quickly.

It was generously topped with jujubes, chestnuts, walnuts, ginkgo nuts, and pine nuts, making it look more like a medicinal tonic than tea.

Since neither Woohyun nor Jiseul was used to drinking something like that, they cautiously took a few sips.

Watching them, Dohyup smiled faintly.

After quietly checking his surroundings, he lowered his voice.

“As far as the police are concerned… Prosecutor Shin’s case was closed as a suicide. But I’ve never believed that for even a second. To tell you the truth, pressure came down from above. They told us, ‘Rule it a suicide. Don’t investigate any further.’ So the team couldn’t conduct a proper investigation and had no choice but to close the case.”

“So that really was what happened.”

“Actually, I met Prosecutor Shin the day before he died. He’d arranged to meet a whistleblower who was going to provide crucial testimony about corruption inside the National Intelligence Service. We were supposed to meet that informant on July 5th, two days after Prosecutor Shin’s death. And you’re telling me a man like that suddenly lit charcoal briquettes and killed himself? That’s complete nonsense.”

As he listened, Woohyun’s expression darkened.

“When you say a crucial whistleblower… who are you referring to?”

“I don’t know who it was. All I know is there was an IT specialist who’d offered to expose internal NIS information.”

“Do you know anything about that person? Even just in general?”

“No. Unfortunately, Prosecutor Shin died before I ever got the chance to meet them. Investigator Park Jeongbeom, who assisted with the case, probably knows. But after Prosecutor Shin died, Investigator Park disappeared without a trace. Officially, they said he took early retirement for ‘personal reasons.’ But from a detective’s point of view… it looked like he ran away to save his own life.”

Jiseul felt her heart sink.

Investigator Park Jeongbeom had been Prosecutor Shin Junghyeon’s closest assistant.

The fact that he’d disappeared suggested he knew an enormous truth.

If he’d really run away, as Dohyup believed…

That would actually be the better outcome.

She couldn’t shake the fear that they might’ve already eliminated him.

“Did you notice anything unusual before Investigator Park disappeared?”

At Jiseul’s question, Dohyup let out a long sigh and nodded.

“I did. The day before he vanished, he called me. His voice was shaking with fear. He said, ‘Detective, the USB drive Prosecutor Shin kept in his desk is gone. I think someone’s watching us.’ That was the last time we ever spoke.”

After another deep sigh, Dohyup pulled a crumpled memo from inside his jacket and slid it toward Woohyun.

“This is information I tracked down unofficially. It includes the last location where Investigator Park’s phone signal was detected and a place where someone matching his description was reportedly seen recently. The two locations are practically in the same area. It’s near a construction site on the outskirts of Busan. I think he’s hiding there under a false identity, working as a day laborer.”

Woohyun accepted the memo.

Written across it in messy handwriting, beneath a faint address, were the words…

“A Apartment New Construction Site.”

“Have you gone there yourself?”

“Of course I have. But he seems to be avoiding me. I’ve been there twice and couldn’t find him. When I described Investigator Park to the workers, they seemed to recognize him. I’m pretty sure he really does work there. But every time I show up… he’s nowhere to be found.”

“I see. If he’s avoiding even you, Detective, will he really agree to meet us?”

“Who knows? I couldn’t tell you. Just keep looking for him. I was planning to keep going back until he agreed to see me.”

“Understood. But have you informed Investigator Park’s family about any of this?”

“No. Absolutely not. Not now. The dark forces inside the National Intelligence Service are desperate to find him. Don’t you think they’d be watching his family’s every move too? If his location leaks through his family, he’ll be killed immediately. It’s better for them to believe that no news is good news.”

“I understand.”

“And we can’t trust the police either. From our Section Chief all the way up to the Commissioner, they’re ready to silence anyone who says a word about this case. For all I know, I could already have someone watching me.”

Dohyup’s face reflected both deep anger and helplessness.

He was furious that the very police force meant to uphold justice had become a shield protecting those in power.

“Anyway, that’s why I couldn’t do much on my own. But now that the two of you have come to me… it may be late, but I think it’s finally time we dig into this case properly.”

“Thank you. That means a lot.”

“Don’t thank me. This is simply what I should be doing as a detective.”

As he spoke, Dohyup reached into his jacket again and pulled something out.

It was a small USB drive.

“And this… Prosecutor Shin entrusted it to me a few days before he died. I still have the original. This is just a copy. If you’re going to keep investigating this case, there’s something inside that you absolutely need to know.”

“What’s on it?”

“There’s an incredibly powerful hacking program developed by the National Intelligence Service called <Phoenix>. The reality is that it’s been abused to drive countless people to their deaths. These are Prosecutor Shin’s investigation records about it. I believe that’s why he was murdered. At the very least… that’s what I’ve always believed.”

Woohyun and Jiseul exchanged a glance.

Then Jiseul opened her bag and took out her laptop.

She figured the most sensible thing to do was examine the contents of the USB together with Dohyup.

Jiseul accepted the USB from him and plugged it into her laptop.

Before opening the files, she looked at him seriously and confessed.

“I’m the original developer of <Phoenix>. I poured everything I had into creating that program. I never imagined it’d be abused like this.”

Jiseul’s voice trembled with emotion as the words escaped her.

Dohyup looked momentarily taken aback.

“Prosecutor Shin told me about the original developer. I just didn’t know it was you, Ms. Han Jiseul… You must’ve suffered so much. To dedicate yourself to your country, only to have your work twisted into something that caused so much tragedy…”

“Yes. That’s exactly why I want to see this case through to the very end. The people who drove Prosecutor Shin to his death… the people who’ve taken countless lives using <Phoenix>… I won’t be satisfied until every last one of them is found and brought to justice.”

Dohyup looked at her quietly and slowly nodded.

Then he spoke in a low voice.

“That day will come.”