Silence on the other end. Then, a dry chuckle. "Knowing the truth is different from proving it, Detective. In thirty minutes, the evidence in the Kuk-jin case will be incinerated. If you aren't there to stop it, you remain the prime suspect in Hyun-seok’s murder. Tick-tock."

"I know who you are," Taek-rok finally rasped. "The redevelopment project, the missing ledgers... you didn't do this for justice. You did it because you were passed over."

Based on those high-stakes themes, here is a story inspired by the world of the "Shadow Detective." The Ghost of Geumo

Taek-rok didn't answer. He looked at the photo in his hand: a younger version of himself standing next to his best friend, Jin-han. They were smiling, unaware that thirty years later, one would be a "murderer" and the other a ghost in the machine.