We found Ji-hoon\u2019s message in the hospital room.<\/p>\n
Not immediately.<\/p>\n
The police had searched the obvious places.<\/p>\n
Bedside table.<\/p>\n
Bathroom.<\/p>\n
Clothing bag.<\/p>\n
Wastebasket.<\/p>\n
Nothing.<\/p>\n
Mary Lou stood in the doorway, studying the room.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe knew police would search.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes,\u201d Soo-jin said.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo he wouldn\u2019t leave something where police would find it.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat defeats the purpose of leaving a message.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNot if it\u2019s for me.\u201d<\/p>\n
She entered.<\/p>\n
I followed.<\/p>\n
The bed had been stripped.<\/p>\n
Medical equipment remained.<\/p>\n
A paper cup sat near the sink.<\/p>\n
Mary Lou looked under the chair.<\/p>\n
Nothing.<\/p>\n
Then at the window.<\/p>\n
Nothing.<\/p>\n
She checked behind the television.<\/p>\n
Nothing.<\/p>\n
I watched her.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou know his habits already?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThen what are you looking for?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cKang Jun\u2019s habits.\u201d<\/p>\n
That made sense.<\/p>\n
The brothers had built systems together.<\/p>\n
Mary Lou examined the hospital information board.<\/p>\n
Patient name.<\/p>\n
Doctor.<\/p>\n
Medication times.<\/p>\n
Under the printed schedule someone had written:<\/p>\n
WALK 08:00.<\/p>\n
BLOOD 09:30.<\/p>\n
HOME 11:00.<\/p>\n
Home.<\/p>\n
Mary Lou stopped.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat word.\u201d<\/p>\n
The final fragment.<\/p>\n
Maybe coincidence.<\/p>\n
In this family, coincidence had become suspicious.<\/p>\n
She lifted the plastic frame.<\/p>\n
Behind it was a folded strip of paper.<\/p>\n
Soo-jin swore softly.<\/p>\n
Mary Lou opened it.<\/p>\n
Three sentences.<\/p>\n
MARY,<\/p>\n
HE TOOK KANG JUN FROM US.<\/p>\n
YOU SHOULD NOT HAVE TO CARRY WHAT I DO NEXT.<\/p>\n
GO HOME.<\/p>\n
No signature.<\/p>\n
None needed.<\/p>\n
Mary Lou crushed the paper in her fist.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019s going to kill Lee.\u201d<\/p>\n
Soo-jin read it.<\/p>\n
\u201cOr try.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWith one shoulder.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAngry men have attempted worse.\u201d<\/p>\n
I looked at Mary Lou.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat do you want to do?\u201d<\/p>\n
She stared at the note.<\/p>\n
\u201cStop him.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n
She looked at me sharply.<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause murder is wrong.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat should be enough.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIt is.\u201d<\/p>\n
I waited.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut?\u201d<\/p>\n
Her shoulders lowered.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut I also understand him.\u201d<\/p>\n
That frightened her.<\/p>\n
I could see it.<\/p>\n
Ji-hoon had lost his brother.<\/p>\n
Lived dead for fourteen years.<\/p>\n
Watched Lee\u2019s organization destroy people while he gathered evidence and waited.<\/p>\n
Now Lee was fleeing.<\/p>\n
The law had failed Ji-hoon once.<\/p>\n
Why trust it now?<\/p>\n
Mary Lou sat on the edge of the stripped bed.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf someone killed you and I had the chance\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n
She stopped.<\/p>\n
I sat beside her.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou don\u2019t know what you would do.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI know what I\u2019d want to do.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat isn\u2019t the same thing.\u201d<\/p>\n
She stared at the floor.<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
I touched her hand.<\/p>\n
\u201cNeither was what Ji-hoon wanted for nine years and what he actually did.\u201d<\/p>\n
She looked at me.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe didn\u2019t kill Choi.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe could have.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cProbably.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe waited.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cUntil now.\u201d<\/p>\n
Soo-jin\u2019s phone interrupted us.<\/p>\n
A traffic camera had captured a vehicle linked to Ji-hoon heading south.<\/p>\n
Busan direction.<\/p>\n
He was moving toward Seongjin Maritime.<\/p>\n
Mary Lou stood.<\/p>\n
\u201cHow long ago?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cForty-five minutes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cCan police intercept?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThey\u2019re trying.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMin?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cStill missing.\u201d<\/p>\n
We left immediately.<\/p>\n
This time Mary Lou and I traveled with Soo-jin in an unmarked vehicle driven by an investigator she trusted.<\/p>\n
No discussion.<\/p>\n
No print van.<\/p>\n
Mr. Kim stayed behind.<\/p>\n
He claimed he was too old for car chases.<\/p>\n
I told him that made two of us.<\/p>\n
He replied that I had clearly not accepted the fact.<\/p>\n
The drive south took hours.<\/p>\n
During that time, information arrived in fragments.<\/p>\n
Ji-hoon\u2019s vehicle was found abandoned at a rest area.<\/p>\n
A second car had been stolen nearby.<\/p>\n
No confirmed sighting afterward.<\/p>\n
Seongjin Maritime\u2019s industrial property was partially evacuated before authorities arrived.<\/p>\n
Several employees claimed they knew nothing about Lee.<\/p>\n
The refrigerated truck had been spotted entering the property.<\/p>\n
It had not been seen leaving.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo he\u2019s there,\u201d Mary Lou said.<\/p>\n
\u201cPossibly.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou still say possibly?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI have learned caution from you.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat seems backwards.\u201d<\/p>\n
Soo-jin almost smiled.<\/p>\n
Then another message arrived.<\/p>\n
Investigators had found Deputy Chief Prosecutor Min.<\/p>\n
Dead.<\/p>\n
The vehicle became silent.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhere?\u201d I asked.<\/p>\n
\u201cHis apartment.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHow?\u201d<\/p>\n
Soo-jin hesitated.<\/p>\n
\u201cGunshot.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mary Lou stared ahead.<\/p>\n
\u201cSuicide?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cUnclear.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMeaning?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThe weapon was beside him. No note.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd the compass?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNot found.\u201d<\/p>\n
Min had possessed it.<\/p>\n
Now he was dead.<\/p>\n
Someone else had taken it.<\/p>\n
Ji-hoon?<\/p>\n
Lee?<\/p>\n
Choi\u2019s remaining people?<\/p>\n
The object had become another moving piece.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat did Min need it for?\u201d I asked.<\/p>\n
Soo-jin answered slowly.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe may not have known.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThen why take it?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause Kang Jun owned it.\u201d<\/p>\n
That was enough.<\/p>\n
Min knew Kang Jun\u2019s habits.<\/p>\n
Anything hidden might matter.<\/p>\n
Mary Lou looked out the window.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf Lee had Min killed, he\u2019s cleaning up.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cChoi could be next.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe is under heavy protection.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSo were we.\u201d<\/p>\n
Nobody argued.<\/p>\n
We reached the outskirts of Busan late afternoon.<\/p>\n
Rain had replaced snow.<\/p>\n
The port city appeared beneath low clouds, cranes rising in the distance.<\/p>\n
Seongjin Maritime occupied a large industrial property near the water.<\/p>\n
Police had established a perimeter several streets away.<\/p>\n
We were stopped before reaching it.<\/p>\n
Mary Lou protested.<\/p>\n
This time I sided with the police.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou are not going inside.\u201d<\/p>\n
She stared.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou followed me into a warehouse.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhich taught me things.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMom.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cJi-hoon wrote you a note specifically so you wouldn\u2019t follow him.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat is not persuasive.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cTrue.\u201d<\/p>\n
I sighed.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut you don\u2019t have to personally enter every building containing a dangerous man.\u201d<\/p>\n
Her jaw tightened.<\/p>\n
Soo-jin interrupted.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey found Ji-hoon\u2019s stolen car.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhere?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cInside the perimeter.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mary Lou closed her eyes.<\/p>\n
He had arrived.<\/p>\n
Then an officer brought a tablet.<\/p>\n
Security footage from the property.<\/p>\n
Ji-hoon entered through a service gate forty minutes earlier.<\/p>\n
Arm in a sling beneath his coat.<\/p>\n
He carried a small bag.<\/p>\n
Five minutes later, cameras on that section failed.<\/p>\n
\u201cDeliberately?\u201d Mary Lou asked.<\/p>\n
\u201cLikely.\u201d<\/p>\n
Another camera showed the refrigerated truck parked near a warehouse.<\/p>\n
Its rear doors open.<\/p>\n
Empty.<\/p>\n
Lee had transferred somewhere else inside the facility.<\/p>\n
Police prepared entry teams.<\/p>\n
Then a call came.<\/p>\n
Not to Soo-jin.<\/p>\n
To Mary Lou\u2019s temporary phone.<\/p>\n
She stared at the number.<\/p>\n
Unknown.<\/p>\n
\u201cDon\u2019t answer,\u201d Soo-jin said.<\/p>\n
Mary Lou did.<\/p>\n
\u201cHello?\u201d<\/p>\n
Silence.<\/p>\n
Then Ji-hoon.<\/p>\n
\u201cMary.\u201d<\/p>\n
She put it on speaker.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhere are you?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou should leave.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhere are you?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIt doesn\u2019t matter.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cJi-hoon.\u201d<\/p>\n
A pause.<\/p>\n
Then, \u201cWarehouse Four.\u201d<\/p>\n
Soo-jin immediately signaled the officers.<\/p>\n
Mary Lou continued.<\/p>\n
\u201cIs Lee there?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIs he alive?\u201d<\/p>\n
Another pause.<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cFor how long?\u201d<\/p>\n
Ji-hoon breathed.<\/p>\n
\u201cMary.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou don\u2019t understand.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI understand exactly.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo, you don\u2019t.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThen explain.\u201d<\/p>\n
Silence.<\/p>\n
Mary Lou walked several steps away from the officers.<\/p>\n
\u201cYour brother wrote that I didn\u2019t owe him revenge.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ji-hoon said nothing.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe wrote that I could walk away.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThis isn\u2019t about what you owe.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThen what is it?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat I owe.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cTo Kang Jun?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mary Lou closed her eyes.<\/p>\n
\u201cKilling Lee won\u2019t bring him back.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI know.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThen why?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause Lee will escape.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cPolice are outside.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cLee owns police.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNot all of them.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cEnough.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mary Lou looked at Soo-jin.<\/p>\n
Soo-jin held her gaze.<\/p>\n
Ji-hoon continued.<\/p>\n
\u201cI trusted the law fourteen years ago. A man died in my place.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat wasn\u2019t your fault.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes, it was.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI gave evidence to the wrong person.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cLee killed him.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause of me.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mary Lou\u2019s voice softened.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd if you kill Lee?\u201d<\/p>\n
Ji-hoon did not answer.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat happens to you?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat doesn\u2019t matter.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIt matters to me.\u201d<\/p>\n
That surprised him.<\/p>\n
It surprised Mary Lou too.<\/p>\n
She continued.<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t forgive you.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI know.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m still angry.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI know.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou watched me for years and decided I was safer trapped.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI may stay angry a long time.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou should.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBut you\u2019re Kang Jun\u2019s brother.\u201d<\/p>\n
Her voice broke slightly.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou\u2019re the only person alive who remembers him before all of this.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ji-hoon breathed into the phone.<\/p>\n
Mary Lou wiped her eyes.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf you kill Lee, I lose that too.\u201d<\/p>\n
Long silence.<\/p>\n
Then Ji-hoon said, \u201cHe admitted it.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cKang Jun.\u201d<\/p>\n
My stomach tightened.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe admitted ordering Kang Jun\u2019s death?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDid you record him?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
Soo-jin\u2019s eyes widened.<\/p>\n
\u201cThen you have what we need,\u201d Mary Lou said.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe also admitted Min worked for him.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cGood.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd the accountant.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cGood.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd others.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThen bring it out.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe will still find a way.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou don\u2019t know that.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI do.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo. You believe it.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mary Lou\u2019s voice hardened.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat is different.\u201d<\/p>\n
A noise sounded through the phone.<\/p>\n
Someone shouting.<\/p>\n
Ji-hoon whispered, \u201cI have to go.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWait.\u201d<\/p>\n
The call ended.<\/p>\n
Mary Lou stared at the screen.<\/p>\n
Police teams moved.<\/p>\n
Warehouse Four.<\/p>\n
Officers entered from two sides.<\/p>\n
Minutes became unbearable.<\/p>\n
Then gunshots sounded inside the property.<\/p>\n
Mary Lou flinched.<\/p>\n
More shots.<\/p>\n
Radio traffic exploded around us.<\/p>\n
Officer down?<\/p>\n
No.<\/p>\n
Suspect armed.<\/p>\n
Movement upper level.<\/p>\n
Then silence.<\/p>\n
A minute.<\/p>\n
Two.<\/p>\n
Three.<\/p>\n
Finally, Soo-jin\u2019s radio spoke.<\/p>\n
She listened.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n
Her face changed.<\/p>\n
\u201cLee is alive.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mary Lou exhaled.<\/p>\n
\u201cJi-hoon?\u201d<\/p>\n
Soo-jin waited.<\/p>\n
Then closed her eyes.<\/p>\n
\u201cWounded.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHow badly?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cUnknown.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mary Lou moved toward the perimeter.<\/p>\n
Officers stopped her.<\/p>\n
She shouted.<\/p>\n
I had never heard her shout like that.<\/p>\n
Then an ambulance entered the property.<\/p>\n
Another followed.<\/p>\n
Ten minutes later, the first came out.<\/p>\n
Soo-jin checked.<\/p>\n
Lee Sang-ho.<\/p>\n
Alive.<\/p>\n
Under arrest.<\/p>\n
The second ambulance emerged.<\/p>\n
Ji-hoon.<\/p>\n
Mary Lou stepped into the road before anyone could stop her.<\/p>\n
The ambulance slowed.<\/p>\n
A paramedic opened the rear door briefly.<\/p>\n
Ji-hoon lay inside.<\/p>\n
Blood near his abdomen.<\/p>\n
Conscious.<\/p>\n
Barely.<\/p>\n
Mary Lou reached him.<\/p>\n
He opened his eyes.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou came.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI told you not to.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYour family gives terrible instructions.\u201d<\/p>\n
A weak smile.<\/p>\n
He reached toward his coat.<\/p>\n
The paramedic stopped him.<\/p>\n
Mary Lou helped.<\/p>\n
From the inner pocket she removed a small recorder.<\/p>\n
Ji-hoon closed his hand around hers.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe said everything.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019ll use it.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNot revenge.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mary Lou shook her head.<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
His eyes filled.<\/p>\n
\u201cGood.\u201d<\/p>\n
Then he whispered something.<\/p>\n
She leaned closer.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe compass.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat about it?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cLee has it.\u201d<\/p>\n
The ambulance doors began closing.<\/p>\n
Mary Lou stepped back.<\/p>\n
Ji-hoon was taken away.<\/p>\n
She stood in the rain holding his recorder.<\/p>\n
Behind the police lines, officers escorted Lee Sang-ho from Warehouse Four.<\/p>\n
Older than I expected.<\/p>\n
Gray suit.<\/p>\n
No coat.<\/p>\n
Hands cuffed.<\/p>\n
His expression showed irritation rather than fear.<\/p>\n
Then he saw Mary Lou.<\/p>\n
He stopped.<\/p>\n
Even from a distance, something passed across his face.<\/p>\n
Recognition.<\/p>\n
Not of her.<\/p>\n
Of what she held.<\/p>\n
Ji-hoon\u2019s recorder.<\/p>\n
Lee looked toward an officer beside him and said something.<\/p>\n
Soo-jin translated quietly.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe says Mary has no idea what Kang Jun really hid.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mary Lou stared back.<\/p>\n
Lee smiled.<\/p>\n
Then added one more sentence.<\/p>\n
Soo-jin\u2019s face changed.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat?\u201d I asked.<\/p>\n
She looked at Mary Lou.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe says the archive everyone has been fighting over is incomplete.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mary Lou\u2019s grip tightened around the recorder.<\/p>\n
\u201cHow incomplete?\u201d<\/p>\n
Soo-jin translated Lee\u2019s final words before officers moved him away.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe part that matters most was never digital.\u201d<\/p>\n
We found Ji-hoon\u2019s message in the hospital room. Not immediately. The police had searched the obvious places. Bedside table. Bathroom. Clothing bag. Wastebasket. Nothing. Mary Lou stood in the doorway, … <\/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-16980","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\/16980","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=16980"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16980\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":17007,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16980\/revisions\/17007"}],"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=16980"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=16980"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=16980"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}