Chapter 19

19. Justice, Fairness, Truth

Jiseul opened the USB Dohyup had handed her.

But every folder was password protected, so she couldn’t view any of the contents.

“Detective. They’re all password protected.”

At Jiseul’s words, Dohyup gave an awkward smile and nodded.

“Ah. Switch your keyboard to English input, then type ‘Justice’ in Korean. For the folders inside that one, use ‘Fairness’ the same way, and for the folders inside those, use ‘Truth.’ They’re usually protected with those three layers of passwords.”

“Okay. Those passwords seem pretty meaningful.”

“They’re just words Prosecutor Shin and I agreed on beforehand. Easy to remember, and words that meant something to both of us.”

“I see.”

Those words made her think of Prosecutor Shin Junghyeon once again.

Justice.

Fairness.

Truth.

They were words that suited Junghyeon perfectly.

Feeling strangely emotional, Jiseul entered the password and opened the folder.

The first document that caught her eye was titled Phoenix Program Misuse Cases.

When she opened it, she found information that both she and Woohyun already knew.

But it was far more detailed.

Alongside the names of the seventeen victims, it clearly listed each person’s occupation, date of death, and cause of death.

[Assemblyman Kim Minjun. April 5, 202X. Traffic accident. Vehicle hacking.

Reporter Lee Jaehoon. April 24, 202X. Fatal fall caused by cardiac arrest. Cardiac pacemaker hacking.

Attorney Park Sunyoung. May 1, 202X. Fatal fall. Elevator system hacking.

…]

Below that were detailed records for every case.

“The Assemblyman Kim Minjun case.”

Jiseul began reading aloud.

“April 5, 202X. Vehicle left the road on a sharp curve in Pyeongchang, Gangwon Province and fell off a cliff. Official cause, brake failure. However…”

The details were precise and extensive.

Jiseul continued reading.

“On the day of the accident, records showed unauthorized external access to the vehicle control system. IP tracing matched the National Intelligence Service’s internal network.”

“If those records still exist, they’d be definitive proof that the vehicle was hacked.”

Woohyun nodded with a grim expression.

“Yes. There’s also an audio recording here. I’ll play it.”

Jiseul carefully started the recording.

A quiet conversation between two men filled the room.

-The next target is Assemblyman Kim Minjun.

-I see. Well, his way of thinking has become rather dangerous. He’s deeply caught up in populism. But is there a particular reason we need to eliminate him now?

-His criticism of the government has gone too far. This time he even rallied members of the Budget Committee to drastically cut the National Intelligence Service’s budget. They’ve practically eliminated our Special Activity Funds. Isn’t this exactly the kind of thing communists do?

-Indeed. They’re obsessed with crippling an organization responsible for national security. Removing the problem before it grows any further isn’t a bad approach. Can Phoenix handle it immediately?

-Yes. The safest method is to hack the vehicle control system and disguise it as an accident.

-Haha. Then let’s proceed as soon as possible.

Listening to the recording sent chills down Jiseul’s spine.

These people treated human lives as though they meant nothing.

They were planning murder over something so trivial.

Even more shocking, both voices sounded strangely familiar.

Jiseul replayed the recording.

Perhaps she was mistaken.

But no matter how many times she listened, her instincts told her she wasn’t.

“These voices… I think I might know who they belong to.”

Jiseul spoke hesitantly.

Honestly, she could hardly believe it herself.

Could people holding such high positions in the National Intelligence Service really be planning crimes this horrific?

They were also the ones who had ordered her to create Phoenix.

“You know them? Then are they people from the National Intelligence Service? Who are they?”

Dohyup demanded angrily.

His face was filled with a burning desire to arrest them immediately.

“I believe they’re Moon Kyungpil, Director of the National Intelligence Service Cyber Security Bureau, and Joo Hoseop, the Second Deputy Director of the National Intelligence Service. I’ve listened to those voices for nine years. I’m almost certain.”

As soon as Jiseul finished speaking, both Dohyup and Woohyun were visibly shocked.

“Then this recording is a secret conversation between a Deputy Director and a Bureau Director of the National Intelligence Service?”

“Yes. I think someone inside the National Intelligence Service secretly recorded them and passed it to Prosecutor Shin. Otherwise, there would’ve been no way to record a conversation between those two.”

That was Jiseul’s conclusion.

Dohyup nodded in agreement.

“Yes. That’s probably the most likely explanation. But since this recording was obtained through illegal wiretapping, I don’t think it can be admitted as evidence.”

“That’s true.”

Jiseul continued opening the files inside the folder.

Then she found a document that immediately caught her attention.

Shockingly, it appeared to be an internal National Intelligence Service document.

And not just any document.

It was marked Level One Classified.

“What… is this?”

[Phoenix Project Approval Request

Date Created: March 15, 202X

Proposed By: Moon Kyungpil, Director of the Cyber Security Bureau

Approved By: Joo Hoseop, Second Deputy Director

Final Approval: ■■■■■■■■■]

“The Phoenix Project. It’s the approval document for the murders. Moon Kyungpil proposed it, and Joo Hoseop approved it. But the name of the final approver has been completely blacked out.”

Dohyup stared at the monitor with a grave expression.

Jiseul enlarged the file as much as possible.

But no matter what she tried, the blacked-out section couldn’t be read.

“Who could the final approver be?”

“Probably someone at the very highest level. We don’t know who.”

“If they’re above the Deputy Director… could it be the Director of the National Intelligence Service?”

“I’m not sure. Since this is such a serious matter, let’s avoid making assumptions we can’t prove. We should keep every possibility open.”

Dohyup spoke seriously.

Jiseul and Woohyun both nodded.

“But… how did Hyung get this document?”

After staring at the document for a long while, Woohyun quietly asked.

It was far too confidential for an ordinary prosecutor to obtain.

Even within the National Intelligence Service, only a handful of senior officials would’ve been allowed to access it.

Jiseul shrugged.

Since there was no way a senior official would’ve voluntarily handed over a document like this, there was really only one possibility.

“Someone probably stole it through hacking. Then they passed it to Prosecutor Shin Junghyeon. Whoever did it must’ve been an extraordinary hacker. If they were someone inside the National Intelligence Service, there’s a good chance they were a member of our Ghost Bird team.”

Silently, Jiseul felt a deep sense of respect for the unknown whistleblower.

Whoever they were, they were truly remarkable.

Watching the two of them, Dohyup summarized the situation in a heavy voice.

“We have plenty of evidence. The problem is that almost none of it would be admissible in court. But we can certainly request a reinvestigation. If all of this is true, we’re looking at a serial murder case involving at least seventeen victims. Eighteen if we include Prosecutor Shin Junghyeon.”

Woohyun nodded grimly.

“Yes. The Phoenix program documentation, the victim list, the recordings, and these classified internal documents. This is more than enough to justify requesting a reinvestigation.”

“Before that, shouldn’t we find Investigator Park Jeongbeom? He might have something we don’t know about.”

Jiseul quickly spoke up.

Then she added something important.

“There was a note from Prosecutor Shin Junghyeon saying he’d entrusted an important file to Investigator Park Jeongbeom. We have to find out what that file is.”

“Right. We absolutely have to find Investigator Park Jeongbeom.”

“And we also have to identify the person who blacked out every name except the signature. The final approver on this classified document has to be uncovered. I think that’s the key. Whoever it is would be the highest authority involved and the true mastermind behind everything.”

The three of them spent a long time discussing their next steps.

Before they realized it, it was already past ten at night.

The traditional coffee house was about to close.

Dohyup stood first.

“I should get going. Let’s stay in touch.”

“Yes, Detective. Thank you. It was an honor to meet you.”

“Don’t mention it. I’ll see you again.”

After Dohyup left with a cheerful farewell, only Woohyun and Jiseul remained.

All the other customers had already left, leaving them alone in the shop.

Jiseul packed up her laptop and stood.

As they walked outside, Woohyun gently asked,

“You’re exhausted, aren’t you?”

“A little. But I’m okay. We’re getting closer and closer to uncovering who the real culprits are.”

Jiseul smiled proudly.

After tirelessly chasing clues, they had finally come remarkably close to uncovering the truth.

The two hurried into the car.

Balancing company work with the investigation kept them incredibly busy, but neither of them even had time to feel tired.

Soon, Woohyun started the engine.

The black sedan glided quietly away from the rundown neighborhood.

The moment their car disappeared into the distance, a man leaning against a utility pole at the end of the alley beside the traditional coffee house quietly stepped forward.

He watched Woohyun’s car disappear before pulling out his phone and making a call.

“Target confirmed. Shin Woohyun and Han Jiseul have just left the coffee house. Surveillance is continuing.”

-Good. Keep watching them. Report immediately if there’s any unusual activity.”

The person on the other end replied calmly.

“Understood.”

The man ended the call, got into the SUV parked in the alley, started the engine, and drove off in the same direction as Woohyun’s car.

They had already been following them for half a month.=