The first thing Mary Lou asked after Choi was taken away was whether she could keep Kang Jun\u2019s letter.<\/p>\n
The investigator hesitated.<\/p>\n
It was evidence.<\/p>\n
Everything had become evidence.<\/p>\n
Her house.<\/p>\n
Her bank records.<\/p>\n
The photographs on Ji-hoon\u2019s wall.<\/p>\n
The money upstairs.<\/p>\n
Even a private letter from a dead husband telling his wife she owed him nothing had acquired an evidence number.<\/p>\n
Mary Lou stared at the plastic sleeve containing it.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve spent nine years waiting for him to explain himself.\u201d<\/p>\n
The investigator spoke quietly to Soo-jin.<\/p>\n
She translated.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey need the original temporarily. You\u2019ll receive a certified copy today.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mary Lou nodded.<\/p>\n
It was reasonable.<\/p>\n
She still hated it.<\/p>\n
We left the reservoir after Ji-hoon was taken to the hospital. The bullet had passed through the upper part of his shoulder without striking bone or a major artery. That was the good news.<\/p>\n
The bad news was everything else.<\/p>\n
Choi had surrendered once the officers secured the tunnel, but surrender did not make him cooperative.<\/p>\n
Not immediately.<\/p>\n
He asked for an attorney.<\/p>\n
Then he asked who had custody of the archive.<\/p>\n
Then he asked whether Lee Sang-ho had been arrested.<\/p>\n
Nobody answered him.<\/p>\n
His interest in Lee worried Soo-jin.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe knows something,\u201d she said during the drive back toward Seoul.<\/p>\n
Mary Lou rested her head against the window.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe always knows something.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou sound tired.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI am tired.\u201d<\/p>\n
I touched her knee.<\/p>\n
\u201cSleep.\u201d<\/p>\n
She looked at me.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn a car full of investigators?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou slept through your father replacing our kitchen floor.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI was sixteen.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou were impossible to wake.\u201d<\/p>\n
A faint smile appeared.<\/p>\n
It lasted only seconds.<\/p>\n
Then she closed her eyes.<\/p>\n
Twenty minutes later, she was asleep.<\/p>\n
I watched the road slide past.<\/p>\n
For the first time since I arrived in Korea, nobody appeared to be chasing us.<\/p>\n
It should have felt peaceful.<\/p>\n
Instead, I kept checking the mirrors.<\/p>\n
Fear develops habits.<\/p>\n
Mary Lou had lived with those habits for nine years.<\/p>\n
I had acquired them in less than a week.<\/p>\n
At the investigative office, we were placed in a different section from Choi.<\/p>\n
Soo-jin disappeared into meetings.<\/p>\n
Mary Lou was questioned again.<\/p>\n
So was I.<\/p>\n
The questions were more detailed now.<\/p>\n
Who had possessed each drive?<\/p>\n
Who copied what?<\/p>\n
When did Mary Lou first understand the transfers were connected to criminal activity?<\/p>\n
Why had she continued processing documents for Choi?<\/p>\n
Had she ever received personal payment?<\/p>\n
Had she knowingly created false invoices?<\/p>\n
Mary Lou answered everything.<\/p>\n
Sometimes she paused.<\/p>\n
Sometimes she asked for clarification.<\/p>\n
She never softened what she had done.<\/p>\n
\u201cYes, I entered the numbers.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes, I knew some records were false.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes, I understood the money was being concealed.\u201d<\/p>\n
Then the answer that mattered:<\/p>\n
\u201cNo, I did not believe I could refuse without putting my mother in danger.\u201d<\/p>\n
The investigator asked whether Choi had ever explicitly threatened me.<\/p>\n
Mary Lou described photographs.<\/p>\n
Addresses.<\/p>\n
Copies of my utility bills.<\/p>\n
My church schedule.<\/p>\n
A photograph of me standing at my husband\u2019s grave.<\/p>\n
I felt my stomach turn.<\/p>\n
I had never known about that one.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen?\u201d I asked.<\/p>\n
Mary Lou looked at me.<\/p>\n
\u201cSix years ago.\u201d<\/p>\n
I remembered the day.<\/p>\n
Cold rain.<\/p>\n
My husband\u2019s birthday.<\/p>\n
I had stood beneath an umbrella and complained to a dead man about the price of replacing a water heater.<\/p>\n
Someone had photographed me from across the cemetery.<\/p>\n
Mary Lou saw my expression.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m sorry.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cStop apologizing for what other people did.\u201d<\/p>\n
The investigator waited.<\/p>\n
Mary Lou continued.<\/p>\n
Choi would place photographs on her desk without comment.<\/p>\n
Sometimes he would ask whether I still attended the same church.<\/p>\n
Sometimes he would mention weather in my town.<\/p>\n
Once, after Mary Lou delayed signing a transaction document, Choi told her he hoped her mother drove carefully in winter.<\/p>\n
No direct threat.<\/p>\n
None needed.<\/p>\n
The investigator wrote everything.<\/p>\n
Afterward, Mary Lou sat in the hallway.<\/p>\n
\u201cI should have recorded him.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou survived him.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI could have done more.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou did enough.\u201d<\/p>\n
She looked at me.<\/p>\n
\u201cHow do you know?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause you\u2019re sitting here.\u201d<\/p>\n
That did not satisfy her.<\/p>\n
It did not entirely satisfy me either.<\/p>\n
But survival deserved more respect than guilt usually gave it.<\/p>\n
Soo-jin returned after sunset.<\/p>\n
Her face told us something had changed.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat?\u201d Mary Lou asked.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey searched Choi.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI assumed they would.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThey found a storage key.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mary Lou straightened.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnother archive?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cPossibly.\u201d<\/p>\n
The key belonged to a private vault facility in Seoul.<\/p>\n
Not a bank.<\/p>\n
A business offering secure document storage to corporate clients.<\/p>\n
Investigators obtained an emergency warrant.<\/p>\n
Inside Choi\u2019s box they found three passports, cash in four currencies, two encrypted drives, and a handwritten notebook.<\/p>\n
Soo-jin placed photographs of the notebook on the table.<\/p>\n
Mary Lou leaned closer.<\/p>\n
Rows of names.<\/p>\n
Amounts.<\/p>\n
Dates.<\/p>\n
Initials.<\/p>\n
Some entries went back fifteen years.<\/p>\n
\u201cHis insurance,\u201d Ji-hoon had called records like these.<\/p>\n
Choi had insured himself thoroughly.<\/p>\n
Soo-jin turned several pages.<\/p>\n
Then stopped.<\/p>\n
My name.<\/p>\n
THERESA.<\/p>\n
Beside it were dates matching the annual transfers.<\/p>\n
Below them were abbreviations.<\/p>\n
M\u2014COMPLIANT.<\/p>\n
T\u2014UNCHANGED.<\/p>\n
A\u2014NO CONTACT.<\/p>\n
Mary Lou stared.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat does A mean?\u201d<\/p>\n
Soo-jin shook her head.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re still decoding it.\u201d<\/p>\n
I pointed at another entry.<\/p>\n
A date from three years earlier.<\/p>\n
Beside my name:<\/p>\n
RISK LOW.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe was a category,\u201d Mary Lou said.<\/p>\n
I knew she meant me.<\/p>\n
Not a person.<\/p>\n
A variable.<\/p>\n
Something measured from far away.<\/p>\n
Then Soo-jin turned to another page.<\/p>\n
Mary Lou\u2019s name appeared repeatedly.<\/p>\n
One entry was different.<\/p>\n
It had been written after Kang Jun\u2019s death.<\/p>\n
ML\u2014RETAIN UNTIL 12 COMPLETE.<\/p>\n
Nobody spoke.<\/p>\n
\u201cTwelve,\u201d I said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe transfers,\u201d Mary Lou whispered.<\/p>\n
Choi had never intended to keep her indefinitely.<\/p>\n
He had intended to keep her until Kang Jun\u2019s twelve-part sequence was finished.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat happened after twelve?\u201d I asked.<\/p>\n
Soo-jin did not answer.<\/p>\n
Mary Lou understood.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe would have killed me.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWe don\u2019t know that.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes, we do.\u201d<\/p>\n
Her voice remained calm.<\/p>\n
That made it worse.<\/p>\n
Once the archive could be opened, Mary Lou\u2019s usefulness ended.<\/p>\n
I looked toward the closed door separating us from wherever Choi was being held.<\/p>\n
\u201cThen why did he wait after the twelfth transfer?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThe final fragment,\u201d Soo-jin said.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe didn\u2019t have HOME.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mary Lou leaned back.<\/p>\n
A tiny word had kept her alive.<\/p>\n
Home.<\/p>\n
I almost laughed at the cruelty of it.<\/p>\n
The thing she had been denied was the thing Choi needed.<\/p>\n
An investigator entered and spoke to Soo-jin.<\/p>\n
She listened.<\/p>\n
Then asked him to repeat himself.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat now?\u201d I said.<\/p>\n
\u201cLee Sang-ho.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mary Lou stood.<\/p>\n
\u201cFound?\u201d<\/p>\n
Soo-jin shook her head.<\/p>\n
\u201cMissing.\u201d<\/p>\n
His residence had been searched.<\/p>\n
Empty.<\/p>\n
His primary office too.<\/p>\n
Several executives had disappeared.<\/p>\n
One private aircraft associated with a company linked to Lee had departed the previous evening.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhere?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThe flight plan said Osaka.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDid it land?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
The aircraft changed course over the sea.<\/p>\n
Transponder information became inconsistent.<\/p>\n
Then vanished from public tracking.<\/p>\n
\u201cCould Lee be on it?\u201d I asked.<\/p>\n
\u201cPossibly.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mary Lou folded her arms.<\/p>\n
\u201cChoi knew.\u201d<\/p>\n
Soo-jin nodded.<\/p>\n
Investigators thought so too.<\/p>\n
That explained his question at the reservoir.<\/p>\n
By the time Choi entered the tunnel, Lee may already have been fleeing.<\/p>\n
Or Choi had helped arrange it.<\/p>\n
The investigator said something else.<\/p>\n
Soo-jin\u2019s expression tightened.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cChoi wants to talk.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mary Lou laughed.<\/p>\n
\u201cOf course.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cOnly to you.\u201d<\/p>\n
The room became still.<\/p>\n
\u201cNo,\u201d I said.<\/p>\n
Mary Lou looked at me.<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMom.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou don\u2019t owe him a final conversation.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI know.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThen don\u2019t give him one.\u201d<\/p>\n
Soo-jin watched her.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe says he has information about Lee.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe can tell investigators.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe refuses.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThen let him refuse.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mary Lou walked toward the window.<\/p>\n
I could see the conflict in her shoulders.<\/p>\n
For nine years Choi had summoned her.<\/p>\n
Office.<\/p>\n
Warehouse.<\/p>\n
Dinner.<\/p>\n
Meetings.<\/p>\n
A phone call.<\/p>\n
A look.<\/p>\n
She went because refusing had consequences.<\/p>\n
Now he had requested her again.<\/p>\n
The difference mattered.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe wants to feel like he still controls me,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
I expected her to refuse.<\/p>\n
Instead she turned.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ll see him.\u201d<\/p>\n
My chest tightened.<\/p>\n
\u201cMary.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNot because he asked.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThen why?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause this time I can leave whenever I want.\u201d<\/p>\n
The interview room had a glass wall.<\/p>\n
I remained on the other side with Soo-jin and two investigators.<\/p>\n
Choi entered in handcuffs.<\/p>\n
No expensive coat.<\/p>\n
No polished performance.<\/p>\n
He sat.<\/p>\n
Mary Lou entered afterward.<\/p>\n
She did not sit immediately.<\/p>\n
Choi looked at her bruised face.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou should have accepted my agreement.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mary Lou pulled out the chair.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou should have accepted prison earlier.\u201d<\/p>\n
He almost smiled.<\/p>\n
She sat.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat do you want?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cLee Sang-ho will leave Korea.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cApparently he already did.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe will try.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou know where.\u201d<\/p>\n
Choi looked toward the glass.<\/p>\n
Mary Lou waited.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou asked for me. Talk to me.\u201d<\/p>\n
His eyes returned to her.<\/p>\n
\u201cLee has a second route.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhere?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBusan.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cShipping?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cA ship?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cContainer vessel.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cTomorrow night.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mary Lou studied him.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy tell me?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI want an agreement.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou\u2019re talking to the wrong person.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou can influence the investigators.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou possess the archive.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNot anymore.\u201d<\/p>\n
That bothered him.<\/p>\n
Good.<\/p>\n
Mary Lou leaned back.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat do you want?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cProtection.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cFrom Lee?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cFrom the people Lee paid.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cPolice?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSome.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cProsecutors?\u201d<\/p>\n
Choi said nothing.<\/p>\n
Mary Lou\u2019s expression changed.<\/p>\n
That silence meant yes.<\/p>\n
The corruption extended farther than we knew.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat are you offering?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNames.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHow many?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cEnough.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNames of people who helped Lee?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd people who helped me.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mary Lou stared.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause loyalty is a luxury for free men.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou spent years telling me freedom was conditional.\u201d<\/p>\n
Choi looked at his cuffed hands.<\/p>\n
\u201cI was correct.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mary Lou stood.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou were afraid.\u201d<\/p>\n
His eyes lifted.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo was I.\u201d<\/p>\n
She pushed in her chair.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe difference is I finally stopped calling fear power.\u201d<\/p>\n
She turned toward the door.<\/p>\n
Choi spoke.<\/p>\n
\u201cYour husband knew.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mary Lou stopped.<\/p>\n
I felt her freeze even through the glass.<\/p>\n
\u201cKnew what?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat Lee had protection inside the investigation.\u201d<\/p>\n
She turned.<\/p>\n
Choi continued.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat is why Kang Jun never went to the police.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe tried.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNot with the full archive.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHow do you know?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause I was there when he discovered the leak.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mary Lou returned to the table.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat leak?\u201d<\/p>\n
Choi looked toward the glass.<\/p>\n
He wanted leverage.<\/p>\n
Mary Lou understood.<\/p>\n
\u201cNo deal from me.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThen leave.\u201d<\/p>\n
She did not.<\/p>\n
Neither did he.<\/p>\n
Finally Choi spoke.<\/p>\n
\u201cKang Jun gave one investigator a false account number.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cA test.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThen?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cForty-eight hours later Lee asked Kang Jun why he was inventing accounts.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mary Lou\u2019s face hardened.<\/p>\n
The police contact had reported directly to Lee.<\/p>\n
\u201cName.\u201d<\/p>\n
Choi smiled faintly.<\/p>\n
\u201cAgreement.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mary Lou walked to the door.<\/p>\n
\u201cWait.\u201d<\/p>\n
She stopped.<\/p>\n
He had broken first.<\/p>\n
Choi said the name.<\/p>\n
Soo-jin beside me inhaled sharply.<\/p>\n
I turned.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou know him?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWho?\u201d<\/p>\n
Her voice lowered.<\/p>\n
\u201cDeputy Chief Prosecutor Min.\u201d<\/p>\n
The title meant little to me.<\/p>\n
Her reaction did not.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019s senior?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cVery.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd involved in this investigation?\u201d<\/p>\n
Soo-jin looked through the glass.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe approved part of it.\u201d<\/p>\n
The danger changed shape again.<\/p>\n
An investigation we had trusted might contain the same man who betrayed Kang Jun years earlier.<\/p>\n
Mary Lou came out.<\/p>\n
Soo-jin was already moving.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhere are you going?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cTo verify something.\u201d<\/p>\n
She stopped at the door.<\/p>\n
Then looked back at us.<\/p>\n
\u201cDo not leave this floor.\u201d<\/p>\n
That sentence had become increasingly irritating.<\/p>\n
\u201cSoo-jin.\u201d<\/p>\n
She looked at me.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf Min is compromised, Lee may know every step investigators are taking.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mary Lou understood.<\/p>\n
\u201cIncluding the Busan search.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd us.\u201d<\/p>\n
Soo-jin nodded.<\/p>\n
\u201cEspecially you.\u201d<\/p>\n
She disappeared through the door.<\/p>\n
Mary Lou and I stood together in the suddenly unfamiliar hallway.<\/p>\n
For a few minutes, nothing happened.<\/p>\n
Then the overhead lights flickered.<\/p>\n
Once.<\/p>\n
Twice.<\/p>\n
Went dark.<\/p>\n
Emergency lights came on red.<\/p>\n
Somewhere beyond the secured doors, an alarm began sounding.<\/p>\n
Mary Lou grabbed my arm.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat isn\u2019t normal.\u201d<\/p>\n
A security door at the far end of the hallway clicked.<\/p>\n
Unlocked.<\/p>\n
Then slowly swung open.<\/p>\n
No officer stood behind it.<\/p>\n
Only an empty corridor.<\/p>\n
Mary Lou looked at me.<\/p>\n
\u201cMom.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI see it.\u201d<\/p>\n
Footsteps sounded beyond the doorway.<\/p>\n
Several people.<\/p>\n
Moving quickly toward us.<\/p>\n
And for the first time since Choi\u2019s arrest, I realized the building meant to protect us might be the most dangerous place we could possibly remain.<\/p>\n
The first thing Mary Lou asked after Choi was taken away was whether she could keep Kang Jun\u2019s letter. The investigator hesitated. It was evidence. Everything had become evidence. Her … <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":16961,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-16978","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-insightdrama"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16978","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=16978"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16978\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":17005,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16978\/revisions\/17005"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/16961"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=16978"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=16978"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=16978"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}