Tak-hyeon sat leaning back in the study chair, eyes closed.

Knock, knock.

Do-beom Hwang, having tapped cautiously at the study door, opened it and came in. And in a voice as careful as his knock, spoke to Tak-hyeon.

"Chairman. Everyone has gone home."

Tak-hyeon, who had been leaning back, straightened.

And, pressing his temples with both palms, he said —

"In your view, Chief Hwang — who's done this? Do you really think it was Mun-jong?"

At Tak-hyeon's question, Do-beom thought for a moment and then answered.

"However much I look at it, I don't think it was Mun-jong."

"Then who do you think?"

"Sang-jong would keep it to himself even if he knew, and Gyeong-eun, if anything, would have been busy hiding it. If anyone would have known, it would only be Jeong-eun — but I don't think Jeong-eun even knew of these facts."

"Then… was it Seong-ho?"

Tak-hyeon released his temples and looked at Do-beom.

"The prosecutor said he was Seong-ho's friend, didn't he? And the only person who's known all the facts from the very start is Seong-ho. Wasn't he the one who knew everything before we did?"

"That's true — but knowing he'd be the one most heavily suspected, would he really have done it?"

If suspicion were to be pointed, every arrow would have to swing to Seong-ho Kim. And knowing that, for Seong-ho to set the whole scheme in motion — the gain to Seong-ho was nothing.

Tak-hyeon also agreed with this line of Do-beom's thinking.

"Fair enough. A man that clever wouldn't do it knowing he'd be marked. He wouldn't even have let his own friend be the one to come with the warrant…"

The fact that Seong-ho's own friend had come to the door with the warrant in hand made the suspicion of Seong-ho thin out.

And once Seong-ho was erased from the suspect list, the focus swung back to Mun-jong.

"Then really… is it Mun-jong?"

"Circumstantially, yes. And more than anything, what Chang-jong shouted as he was being taken away keeps ringing in my ear."

At Tak-hyeon's words, Do-beom drew his…