Ilsan, at a barbecue restaurant located at Tanyang Intersection.
There, the company dinner for the Daehan Bank Tanyang Intersection Branch was underway.
The atmosphere wasn’t bad.
At least, not for Kim Jin-cheon, the Branch Manager.
“My glass is empty. Mi-seo, pour me a drink.”
Kim Jin-cheon, wearing a pleased smile, held out his glass.
Im Miso, the Bank Employee, forced a stiff smile as she picked up the beer and filled Kim Jin-cheon’s glass.
Meanwhile, Kim Jin-cheon laughed boisterously and, as if it was the most natural thing, reached out and slid his hand along Im Miso’s waist.
Im Miso’s face hardened, but Kim Jin-cheon simply pretended not to notice and kept laughing.
There was no change in the expressions of the other Bank Employees sitting nearby.
It was a common occurrence.
For the other female Bank Employees, deep down… they were simply relieved that it wasn’t happening to them.
“Ah, thanks?”
“N-no, sir.”
“These days, if you ask for a drink at the table, they call you an old fogey, huh? Guess I’m one too? Haha.”
With that, Kim Jin-cheon burst out laughing at his own words.
He opened his mouth so wide when he laughed, you could see his uvula.
It looked just like a toad, opening its big mouth to swallow prey at any moment.
Everyone was thinking, ‘He’s worse than an old fogey,’ but what came out of their mouths was different.
“There’s no way, Branch Manager. How could you be an old fogey? You’re young at heart and have such great Sense.”
“Huh? Young at heart, but not young on the outside?”
“Huh…? No, no, you look young too, of course…”
“I’m joking. I know how I look. Still, I worked hard to become Branch Manager, met good Employees like you all. That’s enough for me.”
Kim Jin-cheon, pretending to be modest in a way that didn’t suit him at all, spoke, but no one sympathized or agreed.
From the very beginning, the fact that he brought up being an old fogey was an unspoken Warning not to talk behind his back later.
Of course, that didn’t mean people wouldn’t talk about it…
What Kim Jin-cheon aimed for was, in case someone reported this later, he’d be ready.
If a report came in about what happened tonight, he’d submit a Recording Transcript of their conversation and claim everything happened by Agreement.
Kim Jin-cheon got up from his seat and took out his Phone.
“I’m going to call my Son for a bit.”
“Go ahead, sir, take your time.”
With that, Kim Jin-cheon left the restaurant.
Every single Bank Employee stood up and bowed as he walked out.
Only the New Hire, not reading the room, sat in confusion.
The other Employees looked at him with eyes full of Compassion.
‘Tsk. That kid’s going to get called in and get an earful later.’
‘Someone should’ve told him…’
‘As long as it’s not me.’
While everyone was thinking these things, Kim Jin-cheon glanced sideways at the New Hire, then left the restaurant.
The moment he left, sighs escaped from all corners of the room.
Everyone just glanced around awkwardly, watching for cues, until finally one Bank Employee spoke up first.
“It’s going to be another late night, isn’t it?”
“Yeah. He looks excited, so I bet it’ll go late.”
“Haa…”
One by one, each person let out a long sigh.
The gazes of the Employees, all sharing the same suffering, soon converged on a single point.
“It’s okay for us, but Mi-seo…”
“Huh? I’m fine.”
At those words, Im Miso forced a calm expression, but bit her lip.
Her cheeks flushed red with humiliation.
I don’t know what you all think the problem is.
But that was the implicit signal: let’s just act like nothing happened.
“No, it’s just—Mi-seo, you haven’t been feeling well lately, right? That’s all.”
“Yeah. If you have to stay late, it’ll be tough. Take a half-day off tomorrow morning and rest.”
No one said it directly, but everyone knew exactly what was going on, so their words were laced with pity.
Yet, to Im Miso, their compassionate gazes were just sickening.
After all, not a single one of them told her to go home first.
They all knew what Kim Jin-cheon would do if she left, so none of them dared to help her escape.
Still, Im Miso couldn’t bring herself to blame them.
Until not long ago, she’d been one of those Bystanders, too.
‘Silent Majority, huh…’
Thinking of that famous phrase, Im Miso let out a bitter laugh.
When the Nazis came for the Communists, I remained silent.
Because I was not a Communist.
When they attacked the Labor Union Members, I remained silent.
Because I was not a Labor Union Member.
And when they came for me, there was no one left to speak up for me.
A criticism for the Silent Majority.
Whoever wrote it, it was painfully true.
She looked into her glass, seeing countless versions of her past self averting their gaze, and took another drink.
That night, the alcohol tasted especially bitter.
***
After some time, Kim Jin-cheon returned from his call, his face stony.
His dark expression showed that the call he’d received hadn’t brought good news.
The Employees, knowing it was dangerous to provoke him at such times, fell silent and stared at one person.
The next highest in rank after Kim Jin-cheon: the Deputy Section Chief.
Pressed by the unspoken pressure of the Employees, the Deputy Section Chief took the lead and spoke.
“Branch Manager… are you alright?”
“……”
But Kim Jin-cheon didn’t reply.
No, he didn’t even seem to hear the Deputy Section Chief’s words.
His mind was turbulent, shaken by what he’d just heard.
‘Park Man-seok got arrested?’
Kim Jin-cheon’s mind spun rapidly.
Based on what his Son, Kim Seonwoo, had said, there was only one possible conclusion.
The deal he’d made with the Police Officer behind the scenes had been discovered.
‘What business did I have there that would make them suspect me?’
What Kim Jin-cheon was worried about wasn’t Park Man-seok’s well-being.
It was whether or not the trouble would spread to him.
That was all he cared about.
Kim Jin-cheon ran through countless possibilities in his mind, but couldn’t come to a conclusion.
Not because there were too few, but because there were too many.
Eventually, after all his mental calculations, he realized he wouldn’t find an answer this way.
He turned to the Deputy Section Chief, who’d been glancing nervously at him.
“Hey.”
“Uh? Oh, yes?”
“You. Come with me to the bank for a bit. The rest of you, eat as you like and go home after.”
With that, Kim Jin-cheon stood up, leaving the bewildered Employees behind.
He didn’t know exactly what was going on, but something had clearly happened.
There was no time to figure it out now.
If the Police Officer already knew everything and was coming, it was only a matter of time before he was caught.
‘There’s only one thing I have to do now.’
‘Get rid of the evidence before the Police arrive.’
Quickly destroying the evidence.
As he got in the car to head back to the Branch, Kim Jin-cheon overlooked one crucial fact.
When people rush to hide something… mistakes are bound to happen.
***
Incheon Seobu Police Station.
Lee Jaehyun was waiting for the test results with Oh Seohyun and Sergeant Seon Yujun.
Since they had the glass and the remaining alcohol, if there was GHB inside, it would be easy to detect.
It wasn’t a time-consuming process.
GHB was so commonly used and versatile that testing methods were well-developed.
After entering the Evidence Bag into the Record and handling the paperwork…
About ten minutes passed for administrative procedures, then another ten after the test was done.
Sergeant Seon Yujun returned, holding the test results.
“Got the results.”
“How is it?”
“Yeah, it’s GHB.”
Detective Oh Seohyun, face tense, stepped forward and asked.
When it was confirmed to be GHB, her face hardened.
“Thank goodness. I’m really glad I didn’t drink it.”
“He was trying so hard to make me drink, so I didn’t on purpose…”
She let out a sigh and trailed off.
What if she’d just accepted the drink?
It wasn’t hard to imagine what would have happened.
If Lee Jaehyun hadn’t shown up right then, she really might have blacked out and lost all memory, just like that.
Detective Oh Seohyun turned to look at Lee Jaehyun.
“Thank you.”
“It’s nothing.”
“Formality? I thought we were friends starting today.”
“Uh, well…”
But you can’t just drop honorifics from Detective to Police Officer in front of everyone, right?
Watching Lee Jaehyun dodge the answer with an awkward smile, Oh Seohyun let out a small laugh.
“I’m just joking. I know how to separate work from private life.”
As she said that, Lee Jaehyun nodded awkwardly.
Meanwhile, the Strong Crime Unit at Incheon Seobu Police Station quickly began preparing to move.
Six Detectives from the Strong Crime Unit were headed to Park Man-seok’s house.
“Kick the door in as soon as we get there, secure any extra bottles, and… if you find documents suspected of illegal funds or transactions, hand them to Detective Oh Seohyun.”
“Yes, understood!”
Since it was a drug case, they could immediately conduct a search.
The law was strict about these things, and it was one of the Government’s top priorities.
Lee Jaehyun didn’t go with the Incheon Seobu Police Station’s Strong Crime Unit.
He was from a different department, and honestly, there wasn’t much more he could help with at this point.
Instead, he watched the Strong Crime Unit vehicle drive off and picked up his Phone.
— Hello?
“Sergeant Park Daehyung, this is Lee Jaehyun.”
– Oh, you’re in Incheon right now? What’s going on?
Lee Jaehyun called Sergeant Park Daehyung immediately.
Before it rang more than a few times, Sergeant Park Daehyung picked up and asked what was up.
“I know this is a bit much, but could I ask a favor?”
— What wouldn’t I do for you, kid? Tell me, what is it?
“Could you do a Stealth Operation in front of Daehan Bank at Tanyang Intersection?”
Requesting a Stealth Operation isn’t an easy thing.
Even more so from a Police Officer at a local station, rather than a Detective.
Stealth Operations are something Detectives are used to, not regular Police Officers.
But Park Daehyung replied cheerfully.
After all, he’d originally been a Detective, so Stealth Operations weren’t unfamiliar to him.
— That bank’s Branch Manager?
“Yes.”
— Got it. I’ll head right over.
“Thank you.”
— Why thank me? If I listen to you, my performance scores drop for going out during my shift.
After ending the call, Lee Jaehyun stood still for a moment, thinking.
In this situation, what should he do now?
Soon, after coming to a conclusion, Lee Jaehyun started walking off somewhere.