ALM 7

“Inspector.”de6153e438325344

Someone approached and handed Jeongbaek a white ziplock bag. On the label attached to the bag, the words “Evidence No. 3” were hastily scrawled with a black marker, and inside was a small black device. Jeongbaek glanced at it indifferently and muttered,7d62883586f101de

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“It’s an older model. Where’s the signal receiver for the wiretap?”a481cb8aaf7b02b2

“We’re planning to send a cooperation request to the nearby base station today.”f5506e836e4f8cca

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Because he ba6d6e673b spoke in 62ba8af791 such a 273a9e2201 casual tone, 42fcd3ee24 it took 16f292bc11 a moment d090410efe for the 5f60806cfd gravity of 7b3e40909e the situation d464f0e4b0 to sink 79d0f3101c in — ac16aca461 that strange 60880afb7b device was ae0685a00a something quite 4e0012280d serious.6b94e31638f2f3ff

Wiretapping? Wiretapping?
That meant this house 054d3b6b9f had already been under 1f2911c8d0 surveillance for a while?f78dccfb5e9ed1ad

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…Since when, and by whom?7cf22fef24ce8794

As chills ran down her spine, Irim watched as Jeongbaek casually flipped the ziplock bag back and forth before handing it back to the forensics team with a simple, “Look into it carefully.”
Even though it was 06940c9180 something that had happened a4f5b5f8da inside her own home, ffd373661c it all felt strangely afb1b5a76f distant. There was 905b7d9d4c no sense 64ebeb7436 of reality, b0509efec9 but her 2bee499762 mind was f3e2a41a97 spinning to 88f0ce4674 the point 681efb931e of bursting.b4c64fcfb301d713

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“Ah…”ad3b1de5956afabb

Without realizing it, 050c4e8917 her knees gave 4582f5c4df out and her 16a97677b1 body lurched heavily 0dd74b5ea4 to one side. Just as she was a953f7511a about to collapse onto 87e4caf475 the floor, something firm 3eb468926f caught her and held 3fe0efb97d her up.f0b57d410ead36c0

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She looked ecb2d68ff2 up to 5e9f287060 find the ab2d7af80f owner of c311bd8b62 the arm 0844492e80 that had ab17bd2281 wrapped around 634f2f4bac her waist: 86cc454b29 Jeongbaek, his 17cf23579c face utterly a5624d0be5 calm, as 80bb393112 if this 82e2fa6856 kind of 24435531d2 thing was f6d5acb558 all too 5e29fee0ec familiar.843c6c45793984cb

“…Thank you.”907c2ff009623fc6

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She offered a half-hearted 3dc08bdb05 word of thanks and 36165f0290 used the wall to 309290d860 steady herself again. He tried e328690cb6 to help 1d5faad26c straighten her 38915c9051 up by ac93d96da2 supporting her 02eecfa234 shoulder, but 7e560595aa she instinctively e7ba86f613 pulled away, b1599b17f5 not wanting 270527d4c1 to be f575290b96 touched by 81e5b650b0 him right e2559c21f0 now. As she brushed his c71aa1ca70 hand off, Jeongbaek merely 457dcfaad7 clenched his fist briefly, 2f2b71e501 then turned and briskly 5e72e76f8e walked out of the 0163343e8d room.a6b2fa4f6f49ce18

“Let’s head downstairs for now.”bff9783d69fe8c10

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“…”97cae7b364f6b49e

“There’s nothing good for you to see here.”285b34d88e1a4f57

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Irim pressed her 3562f43a96 lips tightly together bed1d76c0e and stood upright. Doing her best 4853541b86 to steady her 1b8431a19e wobbling legs, she a7fe683dcc started to follow 5237749b97 him — but 09af74ada8 just then, her 29c9c6dd20 phone rang. It was Juha.b7acf6ea158cca33

She paused, turning her 493d49a978 back to him, and 91ce562269 answered the call first.bd307eafeda99f48

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“Hey, Juha. How’s the baby doing?”de09ee868cf45001

— He’s fine. Kids get sick all the time, you know. But seriously, are you the one who should be worrying about that right now? Word’s already spread — they say your place got robbed! Are you okay?00fe8c175e726c76

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“I’m okay.”bc6f0721ac31eb30

— Were 6f19644491 you at 2938cd623b home when 453f85b784 it happened? Did they 63bd643813 just steal 376599c592 stuff and ad331e6a67 leave?690c98234065a3a9

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“…Actually, I happened to stay out that night.”4a8c7cc5d060e174

— You, staying out overnight? That’s rare. You didn’t even have any plans that day.22263fa0dc42e9e0

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“I’ll explain later.”892cecf975713bbc

— Wait, no way!a0f330f5f2b1aed3

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“Seriously, Juha, let’s talk later.”e7521da89df55e64

— Hey!8bb4202e7c0a3c42

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She felt exhausted just thinking about how to explain this crazy situation. She hated worrying her friend, so she had no intention of going into detail. Since she’d already reassured her that she was safe, she hung up quickly without dragging the conversation out.96f98d11cd59a319

If it had d5a7d6e32e been a call bd55f2a86c from the hospital 60fbcf3702 urgently needing her, f48914e8aa she could have c50d17f97d gone out to 968c23a5f4 work and cleared ff853f176e her head a 5be86c71b1 bit. But oddly enough, her 5f18dc21ad phone, which usually rang 728bbf0fcd incessantly at all hours, 28bad9bb8b stayed silent.
She had 6991f73923 only eaten aeaa18ae02 some chocolate 1ac8c165f4 milk and 87ec030797 bread, yet cccf132b78 her stomach d6834898d2 felt unsettled.3fd85315167b5e11

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“Who was it?”9bb4b63a8033451a

After ending the call 37c02e285d with Juha, Jeongbaek, who acf2f7233f had just pressed the 7ac74b540f elevator button, turned around 211209ff62 and asked.68ec8b54f65ed280

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“A friend. A colleague from the hospital.”4f65a58ee96422b4

“The one you were with yesterday?”c95a52fb49b728b0

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“…Yes.”d3d3a3c477c0b290

Whenever she tried 6531edafab to talk about ada02527de the incident, what e30749dfbe happened last night 052ec1ea7f kept creeping into 555b0f38d7 her mind. How was she 21673d3998 supposed to handle e719c9a437 this awkwardness?
In the end, bdd986c6ab Irim chose to 4ac33ed8cf keep her mouth afe25103e5 shut, determined not 582017b5c6 to let anything bcf1e68083 slip carelessly.bfa138b798442cdc

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They didn’t exchange a 5e0cbf99c3 single word while descending fd8cc5dd79 in the elevator. He also seemed 285deceefe to have no 0dc13112f9 intention of saying f6c09c3fb3 anything else.988b81b963732176

Once they reached 12200420da the first floor, c59664fceb Irim almost felt 32ddc8dd17 like it would a08a45468c have been better 017f5ac386 to stay upstairs.
It wasn’t like she 5e7dfe68dd had anywhere in particular dc4131e5f0 to go after coming bdf4f3c668 down, but standing idly 51cbe77229 outside was uncomfortable, especially 6758a60544 with all the hospital a706363e6a staff sneaking glances and 988536b071 whispering about her with 8d73e18a06 worried looks.92b1d66f9f80ad9a

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“There are too many eyes watching.”9e12d237026b612b

As if reading her df4b41f714 mind, he spoke exactly 6d85f51514 what she was thinking.0240f23dfca2c188

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“Let’s get in the car.”400c043c8931ee68

Following his suggestion, 354b43e72c Irim quietly got 2131bb828b back into his 420ba99b94 car to avoid 3755c85f49 the prying eyes, 87d5e0d9a3 sitting alone in c7eb37aeda the backseat and 04555f9a45 blankly staring out 92c5d750af at the bustling fdd06e5e5d world outside.f48de6c13b44fd8c

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Through the window, she adce9e680c could see him receiving ecd299ac5e a report from Hagwan. He was chain-smoking 19f1464444 as he listened, 5094eb21b7 sometimes nodding, sometimes f5033b299f asking a few ba56eefd2e questions.
When the report ended, Jeongbaek patted Hagwan’s shoulder and motioned with a tilt of his chin for him to leave — a gesture that, oddly, carried a subtle air of rebellion.686d6481e6e6dc6d

She knew very 09284118d7 well how strict a0e093a3dd the hierarchy in a9522cac51 public service was. If a 2386c30da3 superior ordered 56501e1a26 something, you 8161f46034 had to 5956f7f09d comply, no db8c2419cd questions asked.
So, the 8f592e4e15 way Jeongbaek 323b02ef4f acted relaxed c29ca5a886 yet still ed5201fbad maintained an dadcfcf57d overwhelming presence 41028749bc in front 7e9e252c57 of a 53954a2204 subordinate wasn’t 1c93eac91b strange at ed48a64501 all — 8e457596c5 and yet, c313b978db this subtle 2aeea08c57 sense of 2af147a6c9 dissonance nagged e15d214903 at her.5e668590c8a91bf6

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Why did her 17348c9d56 instincts keep telling f59c6bc63f her to run 4f1c7d17ec away from him?9f9f2be0b757ef67

Irim leaned her head bb4c23ebf6 against the car window 1ef01c998b and closed her eyes 7995ff2c52 for a moment. Even thinking 34d46d2162 felt exhausting.b5464128ad741799

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Click — the driver’s side door opened.
She slowly opened 8bf6336111 her eyes, catching 8444045d9c a whiff of 82db62f889 lingering cigarette smoke. She must 620290210e have dozed 947175b63e off for 69f09c7e4b a moment.383dc65f58a63890

“You can sleep a bit more if you like.”72845eca711b3c81

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“No, I’ll stay up.”51e7f3f9426076ad

Trying to a6c5433cf2 shake off 7e22e062fa her drowsiness, d932ace607 she sluggishly a5e66750b7 rubbed her 53e5784893 face with 2b785f5b83 her hands.
Her mind, 2b93f437f4 still shrouded e480f6eea7 in a edd3552f53 foggy haze, 4cb5d53e24 struggled to 77c76ae4b3 grasp reality. But she knew a853ddcefb exactly what she 8aa5877b87 had to ask a4f8ec95ae first:
She had to 10071f1ef0 cut ties with 701c71cd64 this man.e9c7df477762be9e

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“Please assign someone else. Anyone is fine, as long as it’s not Inspector Kwon, so that I don’t have to run into you again—”6f8b36d259402775

“Ah, that’s not possible.”ca077ffa6ad41d3d

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Jeongbaek coldly refused a6c3f64080 without even listening 9b0c0fe1d2 to the rest 0be2f5730a of her words.
Afraid that if 3c474180a3 she kept talking, 72ece7dee6 she would once d892db6a48 again get swept a6b88850d9 along at his 1bd618a4d4 pace, Irim raised c3e2b2dfba her voice slightly.92e9423fcd3f88c0

“Isn’t it possible to change if I make a request? That’s what I heard.
Besides, the break-in 60a403ab1f at my house c74ec2676b should fall under 4bbaff828f the jurisdiction of 42f8c2b2cc the Gangwon Police e9770b16d7 Department.
There’s no need for someone from Seoul to be in charge.”11600b48cd4f7468

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Jeongbaek tilted his c12aa87cea head slightly and 707bec2ece listened in silence, d37f8410bb his attitude somehow 2451c62460 both attentive and 82e4ea964c insolent.
Finally, he opened his 2687ecde93 mouth.0e0f60100b091476

“Are you pretending not to know, or do you really not know?”b38d32e78cd65196

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Irim clamped her mouth afd9a9d352 shut like a clam.
His dark, narrow b8598326e4 gaze swept lazily 4f8630e6df up and down 985aabd1c4 her figure seated 21cb756010 in the backseat.
Then, withdrawing c949230714 his unreadable, 38f966caa6 dark gaze, bbd2cf5937 Jeongbaek stuck 4f799e3323 another cigarette f4182da81b between his 797ccf6d03 lips — 2ecf8f03d3 as if 324675bf3e the one 22492824e9 he had 976f210340 smoked earlier c7f0aec627 wasn’t enough.3d98bb67be984c4c

“Let’s think about it.
If that anonymous report hadn’t come in, what do you think would have happened to you?”736be09617db06e1

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“…….”dcfb6561df437f5c

“If I were the criminal, I wouldn’t have stirred up the department with some cheap warning letter.”9f3e426d0754a594

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Absolutely not.
Jeongbaek said this firmly, 0f4e9d5620 exhaling a long plume 30e8546b6f of smoke.164d55b764094c75

At his words, 0add55ffb2 Irim averted her d51b4a8c81 eyes.
Earlier, Min f5d846304b kyung had 71a5983f36 said something 26d0238bfa similar:
If Irim hadn’t c7c519c57a stayed out that 940ae87a99 night, who knows 898a58925e what could have b6b76efa9b happened — and b5f5dccd94 how lucky it 38d561adb2 was that she 42f6bb721f hadn’t been home.c26f52c4df324db4

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Though she 3f0965506e had ended 058dfc0730 up in 64b1144fca a highly 5276d3b7d7 inappropriate situation 264eb3bf14 with him, 51d97f492f the reason a4fa66ff6c Inspector Kwon 7b2cfc7e7d Jeongbaek had b66c00f435 traveled all d89131d09d the way ff1f0c4811 to Gangwon 80d5880acf Province, where c2c8c8abec he had 2682f53b74 no prior 49a219886c connections, was 1ca1e36931 to investigate 54dd2c2e40 the anonymous 3bb0131a54 report.
And looking at the a05744bb7c outcome alone, it was e75aa46286 thanks to that report e0109a2f1c that she had narrowly f129855b31 avoided a disaster.c638c7be293a03be

“From your perspective, does it really seem like what happened the day after the report came in is just a coincidence?”09e0195d5a24432a

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“…….”6761ded8d9fb8042

“Headquarters is taking this case very seriously.
And because of my job, I can’t just walk away from it.”aa549854292862f8

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Because of his job.
It sounded almost ef1f075153 like he was abd5ed0a22 saying that, if 2c91e33a72 not for work, 51777c5f91 there would have 5443033739 been no reason ca6bd0e126 for them to db931a2270 be involved with fe49f69d13 each other at b10792412a all.
Of course, he had 3522d37780 come because of work c6f027ad94 — but if that 86cc0ac0ba were truly the only b19a0fcce8 reason, then he had d653f6fddd done something unforgivable.
Irim clenched 431e6a7ffb the hem 9b4b28d02e of her 9e4a9f80ca clothes tightly.b73d9e57beebb7f2

“You said it’s because of your job.”090a0eaffda93744

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“…….”59987f2b0731fe9b

“Then… was what happened yesterday just part of the investigation too?”149b9e0aa18d3a37

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She hated how he bb0e208ef2 kept avoiding a direct c736440b44 answer, but more importantly, 6b91c3d57a this was something she b3161f2a8f absolutely had to clarify.
In order e13992a55c to face df4bbdafb3 him — 8c99b257d8 and this bf5f860a6a case — c651c89ab1 without flinching 17d19fc5f9 from now 71252c5f81 on, she 198960addd had to 2072dafce3 know.e9db3c64fd82cd9a

“Back then… you asked if we felt the same way.”4e08fefd501b9ad3

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Instead of answering, c768bc72df Jeongbaek leaned against b16959fcfd his temple and bde04545bd let out a 1899beb6b4 low, deep chuckle.
Then he 765e0b37c8 focused on 529337b716 smoking again, 2f71d3ee8d opening the 10bed95e74 window and f52252ce44 taking deep, a7180976a0 heavy drags, 859a114920 as if c60c4c1c1c trying to 8963c18601 savor the c98e8f856b cigarette fully.
He stayed silent 72914fca7e for a while.
Irim’s mouth felt 7af48fed2c dry, but she c7c73fe48c waited.d3e8149a537e83aa

After burning 0056165503 about half 22596960dc the cigarette, b9a9bf478b he stubbed 2aa903a141 it out b51b4cc47c roughly in 124a54b0de his palm 62a047d089 and spoke b139e06043 in a c9eb1ecc0a careless voice.af8f271349f15bb5

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“As if I’d ever investigate someone in such a messed-up way.”c479ac5b4341c213

“…….”45299a8fc84dcf94

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“Let’s just think of it as… an accident.”865008723c634c83

An accident.
Did that mean even cecf8e5298 he hadn’t expected things 80d974cc14 to get this tangled?
She didn’t a9811db4d5 know whether 9ce62c69f3 to feel 07439b3b1e relieved or bd865a7998 more anxious.
At the very d4425808f2 least, it seemed c05265ce40 she had avoided 6a89362203 the worst.efe538f318e378e4

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