Jeong-hyeok sits in one of the interrogation rooms of NIS headquarters, looking out onto the grounds below. He'd always thought interrogation rooms were windowless, fluorescently-lit dungeons with dangerous two way mirrors on the wall. There is a mirror in this room, but other than that it's almost surprisingly cheerful. Sunlight streams into the minimalistic room like it's trying to assure Jeong-hyeok that everything will be alright.
A few minutes after Cho Cheol-gang had been arrested, an NIS Agent named Mr. Kim had come into Jeong-hyeok's office. The man was dressed in an impeccable black suit and trench coat, with a kind but very firm attitude. He had asked the stunned Jeong-hyeok to proceed with him to NIS headquarters; they wanted to ask him a few questions.
But after arriving there, Mr. Kim had vanished. Instead, a few younger NIS agents -- Mr. Kim's subordinates -- had entered and asked Jeong-hyeok various questions about Cho. It had quickly become obvious to everyone at the NIS that Ri Jeong-hyeok had no idea of Cho's crimes. He seemed quite visibly shocked at first.
But after a while, under the intense pressure of stress, he had retreated into a worrying headspace where he answered questions monosyllabically, his mind clearly elsewhere. And so the NIS agents left him alone.
They gave him back his phone, and he scanned the Se-ri's Choice article for updates. There was more information on the page now: recordings, updates on specifics. But she never named her source, Jeong-hyeok noticed in the small part of his brain that was still functioning. He knew vaguely that he was in survival mode right now; the full effects of what he was hearing would probably sink in later, but for now he was numb, like everything was happening to someone else.
Jeong-hyeok is staring out the window of the interrogation room, embroiled in thought, when Mr. Kim opens the door.
"My apologies," Mr. Kim says, sitting across from him. "I hope that you weren't too troubled by our questions, Mr. Ri. We needed to confirm you weren't complicit in Cho's crimes. But of course, you weren't."
Jeong-hyeok shrugs, a barely imperceptible movement of his shoulders. Mr. Kim notices the dark circles under his eyes, the way his shoulders are slumped, and thinks that he's seen prisoners in better condition than this CEO.
"Drug trading, human trafficking, prostitution - there's no criminal activity that happens in South Korea that Cho doesn't have a hand in," Mr. Kim continues carefully, keeping an eye on Ri Jeong-hyeok for any signs of a reaction. "For some time, the NIS has suspected that there was a common link, a powerful man behind many of the criminal activities we've been investigating. No matter how many lower level criminals we arrested, he, the true mastermind, remained out of reach. We were unable to find him. But we've finally got him now, all thanks to Ms. Yoon."
At the name Ms. Yoon, Jeong-hyeok finally looks up, a renewed fire in his eyes.
"Where is Se-ri?" he asks. "Does she have protection? Is she safe? Is she in Seoul?"
Mr. Kim is surprised for a moment, until he remembers what he'd read in the tabloids a few days ago. Ah. Ri Jeong-hyeok was engaged to Yoon Se-ri -- or had been, at any rate, hadn't he? The dark circles under his eyes suddenly make sense, as does his pained expression.
Love, Mr. Kim thinks wistfully, drumming his fingers on the table and staring at the young man across from him. Even in his job, which often dealt with the lowest parts of human nature, he was stunned how often that four letter word came up.
A part of Mr. Kim wishes he could give Ri Jeong-hyeok the answer he's craving, but the NIS agent is bound by duty. He sighs deeply.
"Unfortunately, I can't disclose her location to you, Mr. Ri. But she is safe."
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