Lee Jiwoo
At exactly 8 AM my phone buzzed.
Café Cloudless in Itaewon. Third floor, back room. 9 AM.
I'd been awake all night surrounded by papers, and now I had an hour to get across Seoul to meet a stranger who claimed to know about Minho's death.
This was either help or a trap.
I grabbed my bag and left.
The subway to Itaewon was crowded with morning commuters and I kept checking behind me, looking for anyone paying too much attention. A businessman with a newspaper, a student with headphones, nobody obviously following.
But that didn't mean they weren't there.
The café was tucked down a side street with a faded sign. The first two floors were normal seating but the third floor stairs had a rope across them marked "Reserved."
I unhooked it and climbed.
The third floor was divided by screens into private spaces. I walked toward the back and heard voices, one male and one that made me stop.
I knew that voice.
I rounded the screen and saw CEO Kang sitting at a low table looking exhausted. He looked up and his eyes widened.
"You."
"You," I said back, because what else was there?
Kim Taejoon sat across from him smoking. "Good, you're both here. Sit."
"What is he doing here?" I didn't move.
"Same reason as you, now sit down." Kim Taejoon wasn't asking.
I sat as far from the CEO as possible, which wasn't far enough. He was staring at me like I was a puzzle he couldn't solve.
"You're the accountant," he said.
"And you're the one who fired me, so this should be fun."
"I didn't—" He stopped. "Never mind."
Kim Taejoon pulled out a folder and opened it to a single photo. "Do you recognize this man?"
The photo showed an older businessman shaking hands with someone at a restaurant.
"Director Han," the CEO said. "He retired two years ago."
"He died three months after retirement, heart attack, very sudden." Kim Taejoon pulled out another photo. "This is Park Sunbae from finance."
I stared at Park Sunbae's friendly smile, remembering him complaining about the coffee machine.
"Transferred to Busan," I said quietly. "Then dead in a car accident."
"Brake lines cut, safety systems disabled." Kim Taejoon tapped the photos. "Both were investigating financial irregularities. Both died within six months of getting close."
My throat tightened. "And my brother?"
Kim Taejoon pulled out one more photo and I stopped breathing.
Minho's employee photo, young and smiling.
"Your brother contacted me three days before his accident and said he'd found something big." Kim Taejoon pulled out his phone. "He left this message the night before he died."
He pressed play and Minho's voice filled the room.
"Hyung, if you're listening then something went wrong. I found the accounts where they're hiding everything, not just money but years of records. They've been doing this since before the split and I think Father knew—"
The recording cut off.
I couldn't breathe, couldn't think, could only hear Minho's scared voice saying Father knew.
"That's all there is," Kim Taejoon said. "He died before sending me the account codes."
"What—" My voice cracked. "What happened to him?"
"His car went off a bridge, brakes failed remotely." Kim Taejoon put the phone away. "Someone killed him."
The CEO spoke up. "You said Father in the recording."
I wiped my eyes roughly. "Our father worked for Kang Group. Executive in accounting, died when I was fifteen. Heart attack."
"Just like Director Han," Kim Taejoon said.
"How many?" The CEO's voice was strained.
"Seven confirmed, probably more." Kim Taejoon pulled out a list. "All investigating financial irregularities, all dead within six months."
I saw my father's name, Han Jungsoo. Below it Director Han, then Park Sunbae, then Minho. At the top someone had written "Chairman Kang Daejoon - Orders?"
"My father is on this list," I said.
"So is mine." The CEO pointed to the question mark by his father's name.
Kim Taejoon took the list back. "I don't have proof Chairman Kang ordered these deaths, but every victim was investigating accounts he controls."
"What accounts?" the CEO asked.
"That's what I need you two to find." Kim Taejoon stood. "Lee Jiwoo's been tracking transfers for three years, you have executive access. Work together and maybe you'll find what got them killed."
"Wait," I said. "You promised—"
"I showed you the message, that's all I have." He walked toward the stairs. "If you want the rest, you'll have to find it yourselves."
Then he was gone.
The CEO and I sat in silence.
"I'm sorry about your brother," he finally said.
"Are you? Or just sorry you're involved now?"
"Both." He looked at me directly. "I didn't know you existed until three days ago."
"That's the problem, you never pay attention." I stood. "You spent three years not noticing I was cleaning up your mistakes."
"And you spent three years lying about who you were." He stood too. "So we're both guilty of something."
"I had a reason to lie."
"And I had a reason to trust my father wasn't a murderer." His voice rose. "I didn't ask for this."
"Neither did I, but here we are." I grabbed my bag. "So what now?"
He didn't answer and I headed for the stairs.
"Wait." He grabbed my arm and let go quickly when I looked at him. "Help me find what your brother discovered. Then we'll make sure whoever killed him pays."
"Why should I trust you?"
"Because three days ago I dreamed about dying and you were in it, and every time I ignored that dream things got worse." He met my eyes. "So now I'm paying attention."
I studied his face. "Kim Taejoon said I've been protecting you for three years."
"He didn't say how."
"I caught your mistakes before they became disasters, fixed problems so you didn't destroy your career." I pulled out my phone and showed him a photo. "My brother, Han Minho. He was IT support, fixed your computer three times."
The CEO stared at the photo. "I remember him, he was patient with my incompetence."
"He was kind, and someone killed him for finding the truth." I put my phone away. "So yes, I'll work with you. But if it leads to your father—"
"Then I'll deal with it." He pulled out his phone. "We need somewhere private to work."
"I know a place, PC bang in Sindorim. The owner knew my brother." I typed the address. "Meet me there at 2 PM."
"I need to get files from my office first."
"That's stupid, they'll see you."
"Do you have a better idea?"
I didn't.
"2 PM then." I left before I could change my mind.
Outside Itaewon was waking up and I walked through crowds trying to look normal, but my hands wouldn't stop shaking.
I'd just heard Minho's voice for the first time in five years.
And I'd agreed to work with the CEO whose father might have ordered his death.
This was either the right choice or the biggest mistake of my life.