Chapter 146: You Son of a Bitch!

As I watched Lee Jeongsu's testimony from the observation room, one particular detail immediately caught my attention.

When Major General Jeong Sancheol had handed Choi Cheolgyeo copies of the promissory notes, he had instructed him to collect the unpaid interest from the debtors.

However, Lee Jeongsu claimed that he had been handing half of the extorted interest back to Major General Jeong Sancheol.

Apparently, I wasn't the only one who found that suspicious. NIS Director Om Giyeon turned to me.

"Chief Cha, don't you think Choi Cheolgyeo pocketed half of the extorted interest for himself?"

"I was thinking exactly the same thing, Director Om."

"It seems Choi Cheolgyeo was a much craftier man than we originally believed."

"I couldn't agree more."

"But why would Choi Cheolgyeo hide the fact that he came from the Reconnaissance General Bureau?"

I had one theory.

But since it could easily be wrong, it was better to keep it to myself.

"It seems he had a compelling reason, but I don't know what it was."

At that moment, Commissioner General Choi Dongyeong of the National Police Agency spoke up as though something had occurred to him.

"Director Om, is it possible that Choi Cheolgyeo is actually a spy who staged a fake defection from the North?"

"To be honest, I've had the same suspicion."

"How about asking Major General Jeong Sancheol whether that bastard's defection was staged?"

"Hmm. That's not a bad idea."

***

While we were talking, Chief Secretary Kang Inhan continued questioning Lee Jeongsu.

"How much money did you bastards extort from your victims altogether?"

"Around fifteen billion won."

"Hmph. That's quite a fortune for such a short period of time. Which one of you scum came up with the idea of tormenting the victims?"

"That... was me."

"You son of a bitch!"

Bang!

Cursing viciously, Chief Secretary Kang Inhan drove a brutal kick straight into Lee Jeongsu's chest.

With both his hands and feet tied to the chair, Lee Jeongsu toppled backward together with it.

The moment Kang Inhan held out his hand, one of the men standing nearby immediately placed a steel pipe into it.

Rising from his seat, Kang Inhan mercilessly brought the pipe crashing down onto Lee Jeongsu, who lay sprawled across the floor.

Seeing that their turn had come, the other men rushed forward as well and joined the beating.

"Kgh... Aaagh..."

Within minutes, Lee Jeongsu lost consciousness and went limp.

One of the men immediately dumped a bucket of cold water over his face.

"Fffgh!"

They hauled the barely conscious Lee Jeongsu back into the chair.

Looking at him through his dazed eyes, Kang Inhan spoke coldly.

"Not curious why we turned you into minced meat?"

"..."

"Because you pieces of trash tormented innocent people so brutally that two of your victims took their own lives. The others didn't just lose their livelihoods—their entire families fell apart. And you were willing to commit atrocities like that just to make money?"

"...I've committed an unforgivable sin."

"You deserve to die. The only reason you're still breathing is because Commissioner General Choi Dongyeong asked us to show mercy."

"...The Commissioner General?"

Kang Inhan pointed toward the wall.

"Commissioner Choi is watching your interrogation from right over there."

"..."

"If you don't want to rot in prison for the rest of your life, you'd better tell us everything you know."

"...I will."

"Good. I'll take your word for it. Now tell me—how much of the money you extorted is left?"

"That... there's only about two billion won left."

Lee Jeongsu testified that he had started terrorizing his victims three months ago and had extorted fifteen billion won.

Half of it had gone to Choi Cheolgyeo, while the remaining 7.5 billion won had ended up in Lee Jeongsu's own pocket.

Even after deducting various expenses, he should still have had at least six or seven billion won remaining.

Yet somehow, over just three months, five billion won had vanished.

"Is your testimony true?"

"...Yes."

"Then tell me where those five billion won went."

"Sigh... I lost it at the gambling table."

"So you squandered money extorted from innocent people on gambling. Very impressive."

"..."

"Explain exactly how you lost it."

"One of my acquaintances runs a large trading company. In the middle of last month, we met, and during our conversation he asked whether I'd like to join a high-stakes poker game. Since I considered myself a skilled poker player, I gladly accepted."

"Go on."

"The game took place aboard a luxury yacht. There were seven players in total. One of them was Vice Chairman Jeong Dongho of D&H Group."

"What?! That bastard was there too?!"

Chief Secretary Kang Inhan exclaimed in genuine surprise.

Not understanding why he had reacted so strongly, Lee Jeongsu stared blankly at him.

Realizing he had revealed too much, Kang Inhan quickly continued.

"It's nothing. Tell me what happened at the table."

"We played Texas Hold'em."

In short, according to Lee Jeongsu's account, he lost the entire five billion won to Vice Chairman Jeong Dongho.

"Is Vice Chairman Jeong Dongho really that good at poker?"

"He didn't seem particularly skilled, but whenever it really mattered, he always won the pot."

Bzzz.

At that moment, the phone in Kang Inhan's pocket vibrated briefly.

Checking the sender, he saw a text message from NIS Director Om Giyeon.

After replying that he understood, he resumed the interrogation.

"Do you know the name of the luxury yacht you boarded?"

"It was called the Sunflower."

***

The moment Lee Jeongsu answered, Director Om Giyeon immediately issued an order to the NIS agent standing nearby.

"Find out who owns the yacht Sunflower."

"Yes, sir."

The agent made a quick phone call, exchanged a few words, and hung up.

"Director Om, the Sunflower belongs to D&H Leisure."

Commissioner General Choi Dongyeong immediately spoke, as though he'd been waiting for exactly that answer.

"Director Om, could Vice Chairman Jeong Dongho have cheated Lee Jeongsu?"

"I've been thinking the same thing, Commissioner Choi."

"It seems the saying 'Like father, like son' fits perfectly here."

"I couldn't agree more. By the way, Manager Kang must know about Vice Chairman Jeong Dongho's past crimes as well, judging by how agitated he became."

Commissioner General Choi Dongyeong instantly understood the implication behind Om Giyeon's words.

Twenty-one years earlier, the luxury yacht carrying Vice Chairman Jeong Dongho had been hijacked by pirates off the coast of Indonesia.

Upon receiving the report, Master Sergeant Cha Yeongho—Cha Jiham's father—had led his men on a hostage rescue operation.

Then a problem arose.

Claiming it would be too dangerous to escape otherwise, Vice Chairman Jeong Dongho repeatedly demanded a bulletproof vest.

Unable to refuse his relentless insistence, Master Sergeant Cha Yeongho had been forced to remove his own body armor and hand it over.

As a result, Cha Yeongho had gone into the rescue completely unprotected.

While evacuating the hostages, he was struck in the heart by a pirate's bullet and was killed in action.

That was the incident Om Giyeon was referring to.

"I completely agree with you, Director Om."

"How about making that man answer for his past sins?"

"Running an illegal gambling operation alone isn't enough to punish him severely."

On the other hand, I couldn't shake the feeling that something wasn't right.

Both Director Om Giyeon and Commissioner General Choi Dongyeong were displaying an unusually intense hostility toward Vice Chairman Jeong Dongho.

Unable to ignore it any longer, I asked Director Om directly.

"What exactly did Vice Chairman Jeong Dongho do in the past to make you harbor such deep resentment toward him?"

Om Giyeon couldn't tell me the truth.

Because Cha Jiham's reaction would be entirely predictable.

"It seems Vice Chairman Jeong Dongho received a terrible upbringing. He's been committing disgraceful acts since he was young. If we listed every crime he's committed up to this point, there'd be dozens."

"He even has the nickname 'Hopeless Scumbag.' That's how rotten his personality is," Commissioner General Choi Dongyeong added.

"Then why not simply punish Vice Chairman Jeong Dongho?"

"Because he's the heir to D&H Group, the third-largest conglomerate in the business world."

In other words, D&H Group itself was actively shielding Vice Chairman Jeong Dongho.

"I guess the saying that money can solve everything really is true."

"It certainly seems that way. But justice will prevail eventually, and one day he'll face the full weight of the law."

Bzzz. Bzzz.

At that moment, Om Giyeon's phone vibrated.

After checking the caller ID, he excused himself and answered.

"Major General Jeong, my apologies for asking you to call back so late."

["It's no trouble. Did you want to ask me something?"]

"We've just dismantled the Scorpion Gang. During the interrogation of their leader, we heard some rather unusual testimony and wanted to verify it with you."

["Go ahead."]

"He claims he handed half of the money extorted from the victims to Choi Cheolgyeo, your former subordinate. Choi Cheolgyeo, in turn, claimed he passed that money on to you, Major General Jeong."

["I never received a single won from Choi Cheolgyeo."]

Major General Jeong Sancheol's voice was firm.

It appeared Choi Cheolgyeo had lied outright.

"I understand. We suspect Choi Cheolgyeo's defection was staged. What do you think?"

["I parted ways with him five years ago, so I have no idea what happened after that."]

"Did he ever say anything suspicious when you met him in Macau?"

["He once complained that he needed a lot of money to send back to the family he'd left behind in North Korea."]

A bad feeling settled over Om Giyeon.

North Korea's Reconnaissance General Bureau was the country's premier intelligence agency—the counterpart to South Korea's NIS.

Before his supposed defection, Choi Cheolgyeo had served there as a major.

If he had truly defected, there was no way the North Korean authorities would have left his family alone.

That meant he had no reason whatsoever to send money back to relatives in the North.

And yet he had complained to Major General Jeong Sancheol that he desperately needed money.

Putting that issue aside for the moment, Om Giyeon continued.

"I see. Did he tell you anything else?"

["He mentioned several times that life in South Korea was extremely difficult and that he wanted to return to the North."]

"Hmm... That really is strange."

["Why don't you ask Deputy Director Jo Ilcheol whether the defection was staged?"]

"I was planning to do exactly that."

["I'm sorry I couldn't be of more help."]

"Not at all. It's already late today, but keep in mind that we may arrange a face-to-face confrontation with Choi Cheolgyeo tomorrow morning."

Click.

After hanging up, Om Giyeon briefly summarized his conversation with Major General Jeong Sancheol before voicing his suspicions.

"...We suspect Choi Cheolgyeo staged his defection. What do you think?"

"I agree," Commissioner General Choi Dongyeong replied. "Perhaps we should confirm it with Deputy Director Jo Ilcheol?"

"Just a moment."

Cutting the conversation short, Om Giyeon called Deputy Director Jo Ilcheol, exchanged a few brief words, and ended the call.

"Deputy Director Jo Ilcheol only joined the Reconnaissance General Bureau a year ago, so he doesn't know who Choi Cheolgyeo is."

"What a shame..."

Commissioner General Choi Dongyeong sighed in frustration, staring into space.

"Then how are we supposed to find out whether Choi Cheolgyeo's defection was fake?"

At last, it was my turn to speak.

"Director Om, how do defectors usually send money to their families in North Korea?"

"They transfer it through brokers operating in China and North Korea."

"Then Choi Cheolgyeo would have used the same route?"

"If his family were still alive, yes."

"Seven and a half billion won is an enormous amount of money. Did he really send all of it to his family?"

"Wait..."

Om Giyeon stopped mid-sentence, as though something had suddenly clicked.

I knew exactly what he was thinking, so I continued without hesitation.

"I believe Choi Cheolgyeo lied to Major General Jeong Sancheol."

"Then where did the 7.5 billion won go?"

"Wouldn't we find out by checking his bank account?"

"We need to check it immediately!"

Om Giyeon clapped his hands and immediately began making phone calls.