Vol. 1 Chapter 2 - 2

A boat pulled in at a corner of the pier. Even with unauthorized grounding, it was not restrained. It was because he had registered in advance for official use. He didn’t even need a separate report.

He grabbed the suitcase and entered the nearby warehouse. When he left after a while, he had changed into a clean suit.

He passed the dark terminal. As he walked to the main road, he saw a taxi he had called in advance. He got into the car and headed to Busan Station.

When he arrived at the station, there was an announcement announcing the departure of the KTX bound for Seoul. He went down to the platform following the crowd. The train came early and was waiting. Entering the nearest door, he checked his seat number, and sat down. It was late at night, so the inside of the room was quiet.

Drrrr… drrrr… .

As soon as he sat down, his phone rang inside his jacket. It was for personal, non-business use. As expected, the sender was his mother. After clearing his voice once, he answered the phone as usual.

“Yes, mother. I just got on the train. The cleanup after the event was later than expected, so there was only the last train left. Even if I go without delay, it seems like I will arrive at dawn, so please sleep.”

Reciting an obvious repertoire, his mother’s barrage of questions began. ‘What time are you leaving, exactly when are you arriving, how will you get from the station to your house,’ and so on. He was a son that she might only see once or twice a year, so every time he visited her, she became more unusual. He was able to finish the call only after he vowed to go straight without going anywhere else.

When he hung up on her, the forgotten fatigue rushed in. He let out a sigh of his own accord. Around that time, the train closed and departed for Seoul. As he leaned back with his still wet hair, he could feel the vibration of the train.

In the quiet room, an announcement announcing the stopover was played. There was no movement in the space where even the deputy manager’s voice had died down after ‘Seoul’. The lights also seemed to get darker.

He quickly got tired from the heat of the heater. Even the water-soaked eyelids flickered. The remaining saltiness made his eyelashes feel unusually heavy. He had nearly three hours to spare before he reached his destination. Would it be better to get some sleep? It was the moment when he was about to close his eyes, compromising with himself.

Drrrr… drrrr… .

Suddenly, he felt a vibration in his pocket. The cell phone he used to talk to his mother was still in his hand. Therefore, the ringing now must have been for work. He tried to ignore it and go to sleep, but the phone continued to vibrate. It was clear that it intended to ring until he received it. The subtle nerve-racking noise leaked out from other passengers.

“ha… .”

Eventually, he straightened up and pressed the answer button.

– Where are you?

It was Director Lim who asked the question without hesitation. How come there is no deviation from expectations in the slightest. If Yun Jong-woo had not been drowned in the sea, he would have been directly informed of the operation results. But why was he calling again? There was never a time when Lim’s contact was not pleasant.

“Where else would I be?”

– I want to see your face for a moment.

As expected, it was a callback. What’s going on?

All he could guess was the operation to wipe out the operatives he had just finished. It should have been handled quietly, but it produced a large number of witnesses. Innocent citizens were also taken hostage. It was worth jumping up and down when the report was received. Not only that, but even a report was filed with the Coast Guard. It wouldn’t be easy to get back on track. Reporters may have already smelled it. He could have guessed what Lim would say, saying that a secret organization is a secret organization for a reason.

He tried to make excuses even though he knew it would be useless.

“This operation was the best. You know that.”

– I know. So come and let’s talk.

That’s right. If he didn’t command him  like that, he was not the world’s Director Lim.

Before he was put into action, he drove nails into him again and again. Tomorrow was his mother’s birthday, a mother who can’t sleep at night worrying about her one and only son. So, no matter what, he has to go home. What did Lim say at that time? Didn’t he promise to return him to his mother’s arms even if the second Korean War broke out?

Kwon Taek-ju reminded him of the conversation at the time, asking if he had forgotten.

“Listen to me, boss. Tomorrow is my mother’s birthday, right?”

– I won’t hold you for long.

There was no way to get through him. Director Lim was shameless and even persistent. Taek-ju annoyedly disheveled his wet hair. Then, as he watched the scenery outside the window of the fast-passing car, he made his final argument.

“I’ve already left, how can I come now?”

It was around that time. The KTX, which had been running well, suddenly stopped. Passengers listening to music or playing mobile games looked around in amazement.

For a while, the KTX stopped in the tunnel. No announcements were made in the car, and no attendant passed by. It was normal for the KTX to have a breakdown. There were no passengers who were greatly shocked by that. Those who stuck their heads out into the aisle soon lost their interest and went to sleep.

Yeah, it wouldn’t be a big deal. He wanted to believe that. But ominous premonitions always fit like ghosts.

– Get down, come on.

Director Lim instructed. It was the moment he was trying to ask what he was doing. An announcement came from the speaker.

It said that it was stopping for a while because of a problem with the track, and asked for understanding as it will depart as soon as the problem was resolved. It meant that if Kwon Taek-ju did not respond to the call, the train would not move.

– You’re not getting off?

A quiet whisper followed. His voice was rustling, as if he was enjoying the current situation. Because it sounded like that, he didn’t want to follow it anymore. He didn’t know what the other passengers were doing.

However, unless the train was moving, Kwon Taek-ju himself had no way to get home. He shook his head, annoyed, and cut the call. The call never came back. Of course, there was no sign of the KTX leaving either.

He sat for a while longer, then let out a long sigh and stood up. As he strode out through the aisle, the door opened as if it was waiting. He shook his head and went down the stairs. The pebbles of the tracks could be felt as he walked on them.

As he walked to the back of the train, he made a phone call somewhere. Just after coming out of the tunnel, the stopped KTX started moving again. Around that time, he heard an answer from the other side of his phone saying, “Hello.” It was his mother. The voice was quieter than before. It seemed that she was worried that her son, who had said he would definitely come, would cancel his appointment with an excuse of urgent work.

“Mother. It’s me. There’s a problem with the train, so I’m going to be a little late. No, I’m definitely coming this time. I’ll just be a little late.”

He stopped and asked.

“So don’t light the cake and wait.”

                                                              ✧✧✧✧

The prepared helicopter arrived at NIS. An employee waiting at the heliport guided Kwon Taek-ju to the first deputy chief’s office. He tilted his head while silently following. The one he wanted to meet was Director Lim, but he didn’t know why it was in the first deputy director’s office and not Lim’s office.

The three deputy chiefs, who are the top executives of the NIS, are each in charge of independent tasks. Each deputy director does not get involved in matters outside his/her authority. It was an unwritten rule for sub-departments, which were divided into dozens, to follow the direct deputy director. Therefore, there was no need for Kwon Taek-ju and Lim, who were engaged in counterintelligence and intelligence activities under the 3rd deputy director, to meet in the 1st deputy director’s office.

Was there a misunderstanding? While questioning, the polite employee knocked on the door of the deputy director’s office. He was soon given permission to come inside. It wasn’t Lim’s voice. The employee opened the door with his own hand and let Kwon Taek-ju inside.

Kwon Taek-ju forgot to say hello and looked at the first deputy director across from him. Is there anything more natural than the fact that the first deputy chief occupies the first deputy chief’s office? Still, the current situation facing him was ironic. Director Lim, the man who summoned Kwon Taek-ju, was sitting next to him. He stared at him as if seeking an explanation. Director Lim only smiled strangely.

The atmosphere was unusual. Silently, he rolled his eyes and looked at Deputy Director 1 and Director Lim. As if trying to ease his guard, the first deputy commander spoke with a gentle face.

“I heard that you just finished your mission in Busan.”

“Yes. I did my best.”

As soon as the first deputy director finished speaking, he answered. Although there may have been some commotion, it was a clear abuse of authority for the first deputy director to reprimand Kwon Taek-ju. Looking at the somewhat defensive Kwon Taek-ju, Deputy Director 1 and Director Lim smiled strangely. It wasn’t a very pleasant feeling.

“That’s not why I called you here. So there’s no need to be zealous in your defense. Although there was more fuss than necessary during the operation, it was small compared to the leakage of state secrets. Isn’t that right, Director Lim?”

Subtle sarcasm was typical of his thick-bones executive. Kwon Taek-ju kept an eye on Director Lim without dissolving his doubts. Director Lim just shook his head with a smile on his face. As Kwon Taek-ju, he had no choice but to become more puzzled. If it wasn’t because of what happened in Busan, what was the reason for calling him at this late hour? He thought about it the whole time, but he couldn’t come to any conclusion.

Director Lim did not bother Kwon Taek-ju any more. He put the tablet he was holding down on the table.

“What is it?”

“See this first.”

He shrugged his shoulders and obediently picked up the tablet. He turned the first page with a bored face. His eyes, which had been tediously scanning the lines, gradually picked up speed. He scrolled down. Silently, but breathlessly reading the text, he quickly checked the next page. Director Lim, who was watching the scene, opened his mouth.

“It’s a top-level intelligence that was recently acquired. Rumors have been circulating for a long time, but this is the first time that evidence has been secured to determine the truth. As you know now that you have seen it, the main content is that North Korea and Russia started working hand in hand to develop new weapons three years ago. That weapon boasts firepower that has never been shown by any country in the world before. It is said that once it is completed, the game of world hegemony will change. It is also known as Anastasia. I don’t know if that’s the exact name of the weapon, the secret agreement between North Korea and Russia to make the weapon, or the blueprint or designer of the weapon. I don’t even know if the weapon is complete or not.”

For the first time, he seemed to understand the meaning of the combination of Deputy Director 1 and Director Lim. Who would be in trouble if North Korea and Russia joined hands to create an unprecedented lethal weapon? It would be the Republic of Korea and the United States without much thought.

“We need to know what that weapon really is. Lack of information leads to an imbalance of power. If ‘Anastasia’ isn’t finished yet, and if possible, we should prevent it from appearing in the foreground.”

“What can we do for the peace of the world and mankind? Stealing isn’t all that bad if it’s a small evil to prevent the great evil.”

Therefore, it was to find out the identity of the weapon that North Korea and Russia collaborated on. If it is necessary, it means to take out the blueprint or related secrets, and if not, to destroy it forever so that it will never see the light of day. And who would do that? Kwon Taek-ju himself.

Since starting his life as an agent with an enemy in the NIS, his overseas dispatch work was common. Rather, he spent more days abroad than in Korea. For that reason, the business trip order was not new. However, it was that the mission area was Russia. It was a land that he had no personal history with.

Of course, the conditions were not a big problem. Kwon Taek-ju has been receiving lessons in Chinese, Persian, and Russian immediately after joining the company. He wouldn’t have any trouble speaking the language of the city of Moscow right away.

But that was it. The most important thing for Kwon Taek-ju was the absence of local experience. Is there anything more important to an agent than actual combat? For this mission, it was no different than telling Kwon Taek-ju to jump into the middle of the battlefield without a gun. It was also incomprehensible why this mission was assigned to him in the first place.

He stared at Lim with a dissatisfied expression. He nodded his head as if he understood.

“Strictly speaking, you are not qualified for this operation.”

“Then you need to find the right person.”

“Of course I found it. They’ve been sent.”

“So?”

“… … .”

He scratched his eyebrows without speaking. The first deputy also smiled. It was impossible not to know what answer they swallowed without spitting out.

“Looks like it didn’t go well.”

Director Lim nodded again and spread the three photos on the table. In the first picture, there was someone’s hand with the tips of their ten fingers cut off bluntly. The bloodless skin was swollen with water.

In another photo, the body’s forehead covered in white cloth was visible. An unknown pattern was engraved in the center. He soon found out that it was a tattoo. Judging from the state of the body’s skin, it didn’t seem like it had been carved recently.

The last one was a neat ID photo. Based on a series of circumstances, it must have been the original appearance of the mutilated body. He knew the person in the picture.

“Dominic Morgan. He is an elite agent dispatched to Russia by the US intelligence agency. He was found four days ago by the riverside in Nara. At the time, he was in charge of the sole task of figuring out the identity of ‘Anastasia’. He was a good spy for collecting Russian intelligence, which is a pity. In Russia, they treated him as an unknown person. Since he entered under the disguise of his identity, it must have been a natural action. It is questionable whether they really saw him as a simple unknown person.”

“Since Russia’s surveillance has become tighter over that, are you telling me to do something?”

“You understand the nuances of words very well. Still, let’s not say that. Since North Korea is involved, can’t we say that South Korea is also a party? You can’t just sit back and watch. That’s right, you’ve known the dead Agent Morgan since the last ROK-US joint training, right?”

“To be exact, I only met him then. I’ve known him for a month at most. We happened to be assigned a room together by chance.”

A clear line was drawn. Director Lim smiled. He skillfully attacked Kwon Taek-ju, who was trying not to show any gaps.

“That’s why I chose you. Emotions that obscure reason ruin things.”

He was nothing but a sly person. The moment he was about to protest in a fit of rage, a vibrating sound suddenly rang. It was the first deputy’s cell phone. He excused himself for a moment, then walked past Kwon Taek-ju and went outside. The door that had been opened was closed again. Director Lim gave the order as if he had been waiting.

“Find ‘Anastasia’ on behalf of Agent Morgan.”

The light conversation until now was gone, and the tone was quite serious. Kwon Taek-ju stared at him without replying. Was he really the best? There must be someone more suitable for this operation than him. There must be someone better than him in this field… Even one person… No one? He tried hard to come up with a name in his head, but nothing came to mind.

Director Lim had a calm expression on his face, as if he was asking if this was something that he should be worried about. Yeah, it isn’t a big deal. It’s only dangerous enough that an elite agent was found dead overnight. He wanted to be so sarcastic, but he kept his mouth shut.

Right after joining the company, he learned his job under Director Lim. Now they’ve become close enough to joke around, but he was still  the boss. If he gives a mission, Kwon Taek-ju must follow. It was not a subject of protest.

Director Lim gave a satisfied smile at his resigned expression.

“I promise full support. The team members will organize it however you want.”

“It’s more convenient to do it alone.”

“It won’t be easy this time. It’s going to be pretty tough.”

“Knowing that, you don’t have to drive more people to their deaths.”

He replied sternly. Director Lim was fed up and said, “I knew you would say that.” One after another, he handed  out thick envelopes. Taek-ju snatched them. Inside the unsealed envelope were various documents and a forged passport. When he opened his passport, he saw a strange face.

“Hiro Sakamoto?”

“I heard that an LNG facility construction contract was signed between a Japanese energy company and Gazprom, a Russian state-owned gas company. It is said that only the expected profit amounts to tens of trillions of Won. It seems that Russia invited officials from large banks and international trading companies that were in charge of co-financing with the energy company to celebrate the conclusion of the contract between the two countries and to visit the construction site. All of the prime ministers and key officials of both countries, as well as big names in the business world, will all attend the event. I heard that an international trading company called ‘Itochu’ played a big role in the conclusion of this contract. ‘Hiro Sakamoto’ is an employee in charge of the European region there. He is proudly on the list to visit Russia.”

So he’ll disguise himself as Hiro Sakamoto and infiltrate Russia. It wasn’t a bad plan. If it is true that North Korea and Russia developed weapons, very few people would have been involved in it or know the related secrets. Those who are in a leading position in Russia, getting to them was not that easy. However, it was a different story when it came to Hiro Sakamoto. Even if he doesn’t try, he’ll meet them.

Of course, that was if the identity had not been revealed. In addition to Hiro Sakamoto, numerous officials were invited. If any of them noticed that Hiro Sakamoto was different from usual, all plans would be foiled. Even though he only imagined it for a moment, Agent Morgan’s end flashed through his mind.

Director Lim soothed Kwon Taek-ju, who was in a state of disarray.

“Relax. Unless another Hiro Sakamoto appears, your identity won’t be revealed. Hiro Sakamoto is planning to leave the country a day before the visiting group. Of course, in reality, the Tokyo agent will help us so he can’t leave the country.”

‘Our camouflage technology is at a level that can fool even your mother’, he said. 

It seemed that there was no need to worry about the fact that Japanese people were relatively short. Hiro Sakamoto’s height was 180 cm. Kwon Taek-ju was taller than him by about 2 or 3 cm, but ordinary people would not be able to realize the difference. If someone doubted it, he could just say that he was wearing an insole.

If it was normal, he wouldn’t have bothered for long. He had no right to refuse an order from his superiors. Even so, he did not readily say that he would do it. For some reason, he kept feeling reluctant.

Because Agent Morgan, who was in charge of the mission first, died? He’d be lying if he said he wasn’t affected at all, but it wasn’t just because of it. His instincts were feeling vague anxiety about something that hadn’t even happened yet.

“It’s about reshaping the world map of hegemony. If this is done safely, your position will change a lot.”

Director Lim subtly encouraged the decision. Kwon Taek-ju looked at him without a word. It was a straight, strong gaze. Director Lim faced him with his characteristic smile. For a while, nothing was said between the two.

It wasn’t long before Kwon Taek-ju crumpled the prepared paper bag into his jacket. He even said something, as if to make it clear.

“I am not interested in power. There are things that are just unnecessarily brutal.”

“Then why are you accepting this operation if you have no interest in it?”

“This is an order from the high-ranking manager, does a subordinate have the right to refuse?”

“Is there any other reason besides that?”

“If I refuse this case, my career, which was always 100%, will collapse.”

“Of course it will.”

“Can I go now?”

“Oh, before that, there’s one thing to keep in mind.”

What is it, he asked in annoyance. Lim’s face had hardened. The eyes that were still watching Kwon Taek-ju seemed quite cautious. The voice that came out immediately seemed to have subsided a little.

“Psikh Bogdanov.”

“Psikh Bogdanov? Is that a person’s…name?”

He frowned and tilted his head. ‘Bogdanov’ would be a Russian surname, but ‘Psikh’ was not a person’s name by any means. What kind of parent would name their child “crazy” or “nutjob”?

Lim added that he did not hear anything wrong.

“I heard that person is usually called that rather than his first name.”

A name is inherently used more often by others than by the person concerned. Therefore, nicknames or names that are replaced becomes the basis for reputation. The fact that the Russian that Director Lim mentioned was referred to as the “crazy” Bogdanov instead of his real name meant that he was a crazy man after all. He didn’t know what kind of person he was, even in this distant foreign country.

“He’s like a nuclear bomb in Russia.”

“If that’s the case, wouldn’t he be the center of everything, just like a nucleus?”

He asked, unsure. It was because of the ambiguity of language. In addition to the definition of core and center, ‘nucleus’ had another completely different meaning. He didn’t think they would liken people to such weapons of destruction. Looking at Director Lim with a hasty determination, he smiled again.

“Yeah, that’s what it means.”

It seemed to be closer to the ‘nuclear’ that refers to nuclear weapons. Unknowingly, he twisted his face. What kind of person was he that was called ‘Psycho’ more than his name, and was even symbolized by a ‘nuclear bomb’?

The thought of ‘Psycho Bogdanov’ raised another question. Why was he mentioned in this operation whose purpose was to find ‘Anastasia’?

“Did he have anything to do with Morgan’s death?”

“I’m not sure. There is no material evidence, only speculations. If you want to get close to the Russian giants, you won’t be able to avoid facing him. His name “Nuclear” is not “nuclear” for nothing. So there will be possible damage. Even if you do run into him, don’t try to fight him.”

There was a burst of laughter. The more warnings he received, the more curious he was about that crazy person.

Just then, a knock was heard outside the door. When Lim said yes, the same employee who guided Kwon Taek-ju to this place came inside. He was holding a large bouquet of flowers and a trunk in each of his hands. Handing them over to Kwon Taek-ju, he quietly bowed and went outside.

“I have everything you need. It’ll save time, and you don’t have to worry about packing. Aren’t good things good? In particular, you bought your underwears two months ago and haven’t had any purchases since then, so I took your taste into consideration and put in all new ones. You don’t have to thank me.”

“You know more about my underwear than I do, right?”

“It’s nothing much. And take the flowers home. You said it was your mother’s birthday, right?”

Seriously, this man was sly.

He swallowed the words he hadn’t been able to get out of his mouth and replied bluntly.

“I won’t tell her that it’s a gift from the Director. If she find out that the man who sent her the gifts was the same man that was about to take away her son that she carried, it will only hurt her mood on a good day.”

“Thank you for thinking about it.”

Director Lim smiled shamelessly.

“Don’t die.”

He was about to turn around and leave, but out of the blue, he spoke out those words. Kwon Taek-ju stopped walking for a moment and nodded his head casually.

When he came out, the hallway was empty. He trudged toward the door. Wherever Kwon Taek-ju’s footsteps reached, the sensor light came on and turned off one by one from farther back. As the lights faded, the darkness that descended slowly drew closer as if to engulf him.

“… … .”

Suddenly he stopped walking and looked back. While not moving, even the last ceiling light went out and Kwon Taek-ju disappeared, buried in the thick darkness.