Choi leaned closer to the screen, eyes sharp.
"He’s still on the train."
Kim nodded fast. "Yeah. Heading toward Euljiro. That’s the next stop."
Choi grabbed the radio. His voice came out low and steady.
"This is Detective Choi. All nearby units, block every gate and corridor around Euljiro Station. Lock it down."
He stopped for a second, eyes on the red dot moving across the map.
"Target name, Park Joon-ho. Bring him in alive."
Kim had already pushed the train feed to the main display. The screen showed the metro route, and next to it the live feed from the train.
For a moment the room went quiet. Everyone just looked at the screen, surprised how fast it got patched in.
Someone whispered, "Who did that?"
Another officer typed fast. "Not me. Check the line feed."
Then the main screen flickered and split into three. On the left was the metro map. On the right, CCTV feeds. In the middle, one frozen frame — a man standing on the platform, mask down, looking straight at the camera.
The light from the screen flashed across everyone’s faces. The glow kept changing, bright one second, dim the next. No one said anything. Only the clicking sound of a few keyboards filled the room.
Then whispers started.
"Who connected that feed?"
"That shouldn’t even link that fast—"
Kim tapped the console once and muttered, "Relax. That was me."
He looked over his shoulder with a small smirk. "Figured the big screen needed something worth watching."
Before anyone could respond, a voice yelled across the room.
"What the hell do you think you’re doing!?"
Everyone turned. The Cyber Division Head stormed in, face red, coat half open, eyes locked on Kim.
"You patched a live CCTV feed into the central grid without clearance!? Who told you to do that!?"
Kim froze halfway, the smirk gone in an instant.
Before he could even answer, Choi stepped forward.
The Head blinked, then gave a dry laugh. "You? You’re a detective. You don’t even report under my line. You got no clearance here. You think you can just walk into my division and start giving orders?"
He jabbed a finger at Choi’s chest. "What next, Detective? You gonna start approving my network authorizations too?"
Choi leaned closer, his voice low so only Director Min could hear.
"Shh," he said quietly. "Just keep quiet and watch. Unless you want your wife to find out about what you’ve been doing with the Chief’s wife. Or maybe you’d rather the Chief hear it first."
Director Min froze. His throat moved but no sound came. Sweat slid down from his temple. He couldn’t tell if Choi was bluffing or serious.
"You... you don’t know what you’re talking about," he whispered, voice shaking a little.
Choi didn’t reply. He just stared — that dead, blank stare that told him he wasn’t bluffing.
Min looked away, his eyes darting everywhere but at Choi. His fingers twitched near his pocket. He looked like he wanted to talk but couldn’t.
The room felt too quiet now. Even his breathing sounded loud.
Choi stayed still. His voice came out calm, almost too calm.
"You hide it well, Director Min. I’ll give you that. But not enough."
A small smile pulled at Choi’s lips. It wasn’t friendly.
"You stopped wearing your ring. Started leaving early. Said it was meetings. But we both know that’s a lie."
Min’s face went stiff. "You’re bluffing. You’re just saying random things to scare me."
Choi breathed out slowly, almost like a tired laugh.
"Bluffing? I didn’t even have to dig. It fell in front of me."
He stepped a little closer. His voice dropped lower.
"The Chief’s birthday party. His wife left for the restroom. You followed her a few minutes later. When you came back, you smelled like her perfume. That sweet floral one."
He paused for a second.
"You thought no one noticed. But dirt always shows, Director Min. Always."
Min’s face went pale again, then red, anger rising back. His hand twitched like he wanted to grab something, then stopped. He forced out a small, fake laugh.
Choi leaned close again.
"Now just nod," he said quietly. "And smile. Because right now, I’m the one giving orders."
Min swallowed hard and gave a stiff smile, eyes empty. The source of this content ɪs novel•fire.net
Choi didn’t look at him again. He turned toward the screen.
"Kim," he said. "Bring up Line 2 exits. Match CCTV with street cameras. I want every exit checked."
Kim didn’t answer, just started typing fast, the screen flashing again.
Multiple panels opened across the big screen — train interiors, escalators, station gates, each one syncing in real time.
"Feeds linked," Kim said. "Police response teams already closing in — they’ll reach Euljiro before the train does."
Choi nodded once. "Good. Keep every camera locked on him."
His eyes stayed on the red dot sliding down the metro route.
The distance between Hapjeong and Euljiro grew shorter with every blink of the indicator.