Ch.153Chapter 153. Fate (2)

# “Hey, you really… Don’t you ever get tired of that?”

“Hmm? Not at all.”

Watching Cuss happily munching on her Big M burger, I was the one getting tired of it.

Was she possessed by the ghost of someone who died without ever tasting a hamburger?

Still, I was thankful her obsession was with something relatively cheap.

“I like the primal umami flavor.”

“You’re a strange one. Don’t other cooked foods taste better?”

“They do.”

“Then why not ask to go to a restaurant?”

“All those cooked dishes can’t compare to Jinsoo’s cooking. And you don’t make burgers at home, do you? So among foods I can eat outside, M-burger is the best.”

“…”

Where did she learn to say such sweet things?

I gently patted Cuss’s head as she inhaled her burger.

It was amazing how well she’d turned out despite my constant scolding and cursing while raising her.

Very occasionally—really, just occasionally—she could be quite rude, but I suppose that’s true of all human children too.

“Mmm…”

Suddenly Cuss turned to me, pursed her lips, and pulled at my neck.

Was she asking for a kiss right now?

“Hey. If you’re going to do that, do it after you finish eating.”

“The Big M is so delicious I want to share it with Jinsoo.”

“No thanks. Why would you want to pass that over with your mouth? That’s gross.”

“Mmm…”

This crazy girl.

I pressed my finger against her forehead to push her away.

Then I noticed some sauce at the corner of her mouth.

“Ugh…”

“You’re so messy.”

I wiped it off with my finger and licked it clean.

Was M-burger sauce always this sweet?

“Hey. It’s almost time. Let’s get up.”

“I haven’t finished my cola yet.”

“Just leave it. What’s so precious about that sugar water?”

“Mmm…”

Even though we had more than an hour left, I was already feeling anxious.

I always got like this at airports.

Do they emit some special electromagnetic waves that make people nervous?

“Passport… Check.”

“Jinsoo, you’ve been taking that out to look at it every five minutes.”

“Well, it would be a disaster if we didn’t have it.”

I made sure I had my passport.

And this was Cuss’s passport.

Seeing “Cuss Kim” written on it gave me a strange feeling.

What kind of name is Cuss?

Even though I named her myself, seeing it written down made it hard not to laugh.

“Hey, but… the photo is wrong?”

“Where? Where? I think it looks fine.”

“No, I’m sure I submitted a smiling photo.”

I had taken the passport photos myself and submitted them.

I must have taken about 100 shots and sent the prettiest one.

I had captured the moment when Cuss burst into laughter after Juliane slipped and fell behind her.

But it seemed I had accidentally sent a different photo.

An expressionless one that looked like it belonged in a funeral portrait.

“Sheesh. Still cute though.”

“Hehe! I’m naturally cute. The emperor of the universe is always the cutest.”

“…”

Didn’t she used to say she had the strongest power?

Looks like she’s added a new setting to her character.

She got lucky inhabiting such a cute girl’s body…

Anyway, you should hold annual memorial services for the original owner of that body.

Bow daily in the direction of her parents who gave birth to her.

“Let’s see. Did we pack everything?”

I decided to check the luggage bag again because I was anxious.

Since we were going to a cold region, I packed winter clothes and a thick padded jacket as basics.

I also packed plenty of heat packs that could start fires in emergencies.

Just in case, I bought and packed two sturdy walkie-talkies.

And kimchi in sealed containers to prevent leakage, plus various daily necessities.

It seemed like I had packed everything necessary…

“Hey. What’s this?”

“It’s a shark.”

“I know, but why did you bring it?”

The backpack felt unusually bulky, so I reached in and pulled out a soft shark plushie.

Somehow it seemed even skinnier than before, as if it had lost weight.

How badly must someone treat a toy for it to end up like this?

“I can’t sleep without it.”

“Don’t lie. How did you sleep when you didn’t have this?”

“I hugged Jinsoo.”

“Won’t I be there where we’re going?”

“Ah…!”

Stupid girl.

She looked so cute with her mouth wide open in surprise that I quickly stuck my index finger in her mouth and tried to pull it out.

Or rather, I tried to, but Cuss bit down on it.

“Ow ow ow.”

“Hugging both Jinsoo and the plushie at once would make for the best sleep!”

“Whatever…”

There was no need to put the plushie back in the bag.

I might as well let her hug it on the plane.

She’d need to sleep quite a bit on the flight, and giving her the plushie would be better than having her uncomfortably clinging to my arm.

“Sigh…”

Through the large window, I could see a plane taking off.

How long had it been since I’d last been on a plane?

This would be my first flight since coming to America as a student.

Back then, I never imagined that after my parents died in Korea and my relatives seized all the inheritance, I wouldn’t have enough money for a return ticket and would end up staying in America.

To make matters worse, my visa expired around that time, so I had to drop out of college and join the Navy to get citizenship as quickly as possible.

Around that time, I met Ellie working at a bar where she was lying about her age…

No, I don’t want to think about that right now.

We’re supposed to be going on an exciting trip.

“Jinsoo! Isn’t that our flight?”

“You’re right. Let’s get up now.”

Our flight appeared on the display board.

It’s time to go.

“You can hide your tail, right?”

“No problem. I’ve gotten the hang of it. I’m wearing a long skirt, so it won’t be noticed.”

“Good job.”

“Hehehe. This is my first time on an airplane. To think that such a hunk of metal can fly!”

I put my hand on Cuss’s head as she followed me, her skirt fluttering.

I thought about calling Juliane before boarding the plane.

But I figured she must be busy right now, so I decided against it.

***

“Haaa…”

Sitting in a chair, Juliane let out a deep sigh.

She had spent a long time debating whether to make the call, but decided it was better not to.

Though hearing Jinsoo’s voice would have given her strength, she didn’t want to interrupt the father-daughter time.

“One minute left.”

“Yes.”

The door opened and closed again.

Juliane took a deep breath and adjusted her clothes while looking in the mirror.

The press is never on the side of justice.

They’re on the side of whoever makes money.

If you fail to capture public interest, if you fail to turn this into a gate-level issue, the press will coldly turn their backs.

Then all that remains is retaliation from the government and the Navy.

“Pull yourself together, Juliane.”

This press conference didn’t hold any grand significance.

Exposing the Navy’s atrocities here wouldn’t have any legal meaning.

But if it could draw public attention, if it could raise suspicions about the U.S. Navy’s military trial, things would be different.

She had already sent all the materials to the Department of Justice, requesting an investigation.

But the DOJ didn’t have the authority to challenge the independent military court.

However, if Congress granted that authority in response to public demand, the DOJ wouldn’t hesitate to go after the Navy and the government.

The Department of Justice was an institution that would tear apart anyone, even its master, given the opportunity.

“It’s time.”

“Yes. I’m coming out.”

Juliane quickly fixed her bangs and stepped outside.

Camera flashes exploded like madness.

Standing before numerous reporters, Juliane felt her body stiffen.

This conference had been arranged by mobilizing all her father’s and her own connections.

If this failed, there wouldn’t be a second chance.

With trembling hands clenched into fists, Juliane picked up the microphone.

“Hello. I am Juliane Kim, an investigator with the U.S. Federal Prosecutor’s Office. However, I stand here today not as an investigator, but as a wife. Today, I will expose the U.S. Navy’s atrocities in framing my husband for rape and murder, and killing his ex-wife and daughter.”

As she recited the lines she had practiced many times, her trembling seemed to subside.

No other thoughts came to mind.

Her only concern was whether the live broadcast ratings would be high.

“An hour ago, I posted Jinsoo Kim’s profile online. I won’t explain it separately here, so please refer to it. Thirteen years ago, he was arrested on charges of raping and murdering a colonel’s wife and daughter in their home, and after 130 days of investigation, he was found guilty on all charges in a military trial.”

When Juliane blinked, a screen appeared on the wall behind her.

It showed a brief explanation of the mother-daughter murder case from 13 years ago.

She wondered if search volume for the 13-year-old murder case was surging on the internet right now.

“I don’t intend to hold a mock trial here, so I won’t discuss the evidence or alibis from that time. What I want to expose is that the U.S. Navy’s investigative agency obtained Jinsoo Kim’s confession through illegal and inhumane methods. First, the 130-day investigation period itself raises questions. Detaining someone for 130 days to extract a confession without separate evidence is almost unprecedented. Moreover, during Jinsoo Kim’s detention, his daughter died in a traffic accident and his wife committed suicide—strange occurrences indeed.”

“Why is that strange? Wasn’t it just an unfortunate accident?”

“I’ll take questions all at once at the end. But since that was a good question, I’ll answer it now. It wasn’t an unfortunate accident. It was a staged accident. On the day of the accident, Jinsoo Kim’s one-year-old daughter, Marie Kim, was at a daycare center. According to the accident report, Marie Kim left the daycare center alone while the staff was distracted and was hit by a truck in an alley, resulting in her death.”

“…”

Juliane paused briefly and swallowed.

The reporters’ reactions were ice cold.

Some were leaving, and others were yawning.

It made sense—she had announced she would expose the Navy but was suddenly talking about accidents involving the family during detention.

‘You have to do this, Juliane.’

Juliane clenched her fist tightly.

She had hesitated many times, but she couldn’t avoid revealing this.

That must be why her senior had passed this information to her.

“But what happened that day was absolutely not an accident. Let’s watch the footage of the scene and judge for ourselves.”

Juliane blinked and stepped slightly to the side.

The screen instantly showed footage of a road.

With its mixed noise and shaky camera, it clearly wasn’t CCTV footage.

That was natural.

There were no CCTV cameras at the accident location.

“…”

As a truck entered the alley in the video, Juliane felt her heart pounding.

She felt like vomiting again but didn’t look away.

The screen captured masked men running out of the daycare center carrying a crying baby.

They looked around for a while, then one of them approached the truck driver and spoke to him.

Another one opened the door of an ambulance parked on the main road right in front of the alley and went inside.

The men soon placed the baby in front of the truck’s wheels.

-Film from hiding, from hiding.

-What are they doing? Kidnapping?

-I don’t know… Should we call the police?

-Let’s wait for now.

-W-wait. What are they doing? The truck is moving! AAAAH!

A scream erupted as the truck’s wheels rolled forward.

Blood splattered on the truck’s wheels.

The baby’s lower body was so bloodied and mangled that its original form was unrecognizable.

The baby’s cries continued.

Immediately afterward, the truck driver and the masked men all fled.

-WAAAH…!

The very next moment, the ambulance’s siren turned on, and paramedics jumped out, picked up the crying baby, and put it in the ambulance.

The door closed, and the ambulance drove away on the main road.

With its loud siren blaring.

-W-what was that…?

-I don’t know. Should we call the police?

-Y-yeah. Call them.

-Hands up! Don’t move! Drop the phone!

The video ended with the sound of a door opening and the view rapidly turning.

“…”

“…”

Silence fell over the conference hall.

Only the occasional flash of cameras broke the silence.

Juliane returned to the center and picked up the microphone.

“Afterward, Marie Kim was transported to Allison Hospital after a two-hour ambulance ride and was pronounced dead. They passed five hospitals with empty emergency rooms on the way. And coincidentally, Allison Hospital was the hospital with which Marie Kim had a contract to donate her body upon death. Jinsoo Kim has no memory of signing this contract. Additionally, Allison Hospital was affiliated with the U.S. Navy at that time.”

The fact that Marie’s death was not an accident did not constitute an accusation against the U.S. Navy.

There was no evidence that those masked men were employed by the Navy.

But it was enough to raise suspicions.

It was more than enough to shock viewers and capture their attention.

“Next, I’ll address the suspicions regarding the suicide of Jinsoo Kim’s ex-wife, Elizabeth Kim.”

Juliane paused briefly to gauge the reporters’ reactions.

No one was yawning out of boredom anymore.