Chapter Text
7:49 p.m. Busan International Port.
Night gradually fell on the pier. Export preparation work continued taking place enthusiastically. The 5,000-ton auxiliary ferry showed its majesty clearly, under the flickering glow of the street-lights. This was a scheduled boat that operated once a day and would arrive at the port of Shimonoseki, Japan, tomorrow morning. The doors shut after boarding time ended. The crane finally finished loading the goods and quietly withdrew. As expected, the lights in the station went out.
The surrounding area was quiet, buried in the stillness of the night. Only the ferry tied to its rope was still floating on the black, rippling sea. But the atmosphere inside was completely different. A man entered a room that had been arranged earlier, and put down his luggage. Passengers around him were busy looking everywhere on the train with excited faces. Everyone gathered in small groups at a drinking table in the hallway, with some people recording every moment with cameras in hand. Boisterous laughter echoed everywhere, and even the cold, windy deck of the ship was filled with a typical atmosphere of excitement and anticipation for the journey that was about to begin.
Kwon Taekjoo appeared in that crowded place. He wore a normal suit with a jacket, looking no different from the people around him, aside from his extremely depressed expression. That was clearly not the look expected on the face of someone staying in the most expensive room.
He occasionally lifted his sleeve to check the time, his eyes following every movement of the watch’s second hand. At exactly 8 o'clock, the whistle signalling the departure of the ferry split the night sky. Taekjoo followed suit, and walked out onto the balcony. The deck below appeared in his vision, with tourists still busy taking photos. It would be difficult to get a decent photo in this darkness but they kept pressing the shutter, nevertheless. He was indifferently observing those constant movements when a small, mechanical sound rang out from his left ear. Next, someone’s voice spoke up:
-How are you? Are you enjoying the romantic atmosphere of the night sea?
"Not bad. Noisy, but also quite boring."
Light laughter came from the communication device in his ear. Meanwhile, Taekjoo's eyes were still directed towards the deck. He carefully looked at each person passing by, but no one in particular stood out to him.
"Give me the report.”
-Contact person Kim Young-Hee and National Security Agency Official Lee Cheol-Jin were both confirmed to have boarded the ferry. Lee Cheol-Jin is disguising himself as a Chinese citizen. He will probably leave for China as soon as he arrives in Japan, and Kim Young-Hee has booked a ferry leaving from Shimonoseki tomorrow night.
"Then I'll have to reach them before the ship docks,” Taekjoo muttered to himself, quickly leaving the balcony.
-Are you going to start acting now?
"When playing hide and seek, good players are those who like to take risks,” he answered, walking through the empty hallway.
If the targets were to contact each other, a chaotic scene like this would be the best time to do so. Meeting in a place with few people would only attract more attention. Taekjoo jumped down two spiral stairs, passing by a group of people gathered in front of the second floor restaurant and examining each face one-by -one. This time, too, he didn’t see any outstanding character. He continued on straight down the stairs leading to the first floor lobby and gave a brisk instruction into the communication device, “Call me."
His phone rang immediately. Taekjoo let it ring twice and picked up when he reached the middle of the stairs.
"Hello," he spoke, starting up a serious conversation with the silent person at the other end. His sharp gaze scoured the area for anything suspicious whilst continuing the conversation.
Not long after, a woman passed by. The collar of her coat stood up rather awkwardly. Taekjoo's dark eyes quietly observed that woman. She passed the information desk and approached the vending machine next to the elevator, standing there for a long moment as if choosing a drink. Other people came and left one by one. The woman took out a 1,000 yen bill after the surroundings quietened down. After the long period of hesitation, her choice was a green tea. Change poured out of the machine, along with the drink, with a slight clunk. She picked up the tea, then gathered the change and returned to the second floor. Taekjoo pretended not to pay any attention to the woman, and she returned the favour.
-The target is approaching.
The voice speaking through the device caught his attention after the woman disappeared upstairs. "Okay. Let's talk later." He pressed the button to end the call. At that moment, a man wearing a navy-blue beanie walked out of the living room at the back of the lobby, striding towards the vending machine. He rummaged through his pocket and took out a few coins, glancing around as if scoping his surroundings. Taekjoo immediately picked up on his overly-cautious attitude.
After a while, the man put a 100 yen coin into the slot. The cheerful clicking sound of the coin rolling through a narrow groove was heard. Suddenly, an arm reached over his shoulder, pressing the button to choose a drink.
"What's up?" Taekjoo asked cheerily.
The heavy can of water fell down with a clatter. At this point, the man in the beanie had realized the current situation. He quickly grabbed Taekjoo's hand as he walked towards the place to retrieve the drink. "You bastard, what are you doing?" He grit out, confusion lacing his voice.
"It seems as if you were hesitant to make a decision. If I kept waiting, I'd probably have to stay up all night,” Taekjoo responded brazenly, his tone a low, provocative whisper. There was no hint of remorse in the faint smile on his face, as if the conflict that was happening was what he had wanted.
An unfortunate premonition and a creepy feeling crept into the blue beanie’s gut. After all, instinct was one step ahead of the mind in recognizing danger. His brows furrowed, cold sweat beading on his forehead. Under the light, his anger was pushed away and replaced by an expression of anxiety, his breath coming out in rough pants.
"Damnit!” Blue beanie swung his hand towards the vending machine, hoping to catch Taekjoo off-guard. He quickly lifted the lid of the drink-slot, reaching for something inside. Without hesitation, Taekjoo brought his foot down on the lid.
“ARGH!” A loud scream erupted from the man’s throat, but the former’s expression remained calm as ever. "This crazy bastard!" The man grabbed his collar, eyes wide with panic and foolish determination. Without flinching, Taekjoo glanced from his shirt to the man's face, whose brows furrowed further in response to this strangely leisurely attitude. Taekjoo grabbed the wrist of the man holding his collar, his languid movements engraving each of his actions into the other person's mind. The skin under the man's eyes twitched, his pupils flicking down to his wrist. Even when he tried to break free, the grip on his wrist was becoming unbearably painful. What was happening was definitely not good.
Taekjoo looked at the people gathered around and muttered, "It's true. Getting too much attention is very troublesome. Lee Cheol-Jin-sshi also understands this, right? Everyone in the industry does.”
As soon as his name was called out, he was able to guess Taekjoo's identity. The man's red face suddenly turned pale. Passengers continued to crowd around the two people. Watching a fight is always interesting, and the expectations of people running to watch the chaotic scene ran high. There would be no benefit in continuing like this. A cornered mouse will always bite back at the cat. Taekjoo didn't know what unexpected actions Cheol-Jin would take if he put more pressure on him, and if civilian casualties occurred, a letter or two of apology would hardly calm the situation.
Taekjoo held Cheol-Jin's arm tightly, suddenly bursting out in laughter. "Okay, great!" The man knew it would be futile to lie about his identity. If their identities are revealed, spies have only two options; committing suicide by drinking pre-prepared poison, or using force to escape. He wouldn’t throw away something that was hard-won, so his choice had to be the latter. Cheol-Jin quickly put his hand inside his jacket, but that arm was immediately wrung up by Taekjoo, followed by his head hitting the vending machine.
The vending machine vibrated at the impact. When Cheol-Jin staggered in shock, Taekjoo grabbed his arm and pulled out a gun. At the appearance of a gun, the gathered onlookers screamed and retreated. Without hesitation, Taekjoo used all his strength to kick Cheol-jin in the butt. His body hit the floor, face slamming into the ground. Meanwhile, Taekjoo lifted the lid of the vending machine and took out the USB which the woman from earlier had left behind. According to his source, it may contain high-level information equivalent to state secrets.
"Sorry, please make way! Just for a moment, please." At that moment, an attendant approached the scene, having received a report about the commotion. Taekjoo looked up in that direction, at the same time as he heard an angry growl ringing in his ear. "You have no right to rummage through other people's stuff."
He shot up with an uneasy premonition. His gaze immediately locked with Cheol-Jin’s. The latter’s eyes flashed dangerously. Could it be…? No, he wouldn’t dare. "What's going on?” The attendant rushed in to ask.
"Hic…” It happened in just a split second. Lee Cheol-Jin wrapped his arms around the attendant's neck and pulled him back. In his other hand was a sharp knife. "ACK!"
Seeing the sharp blade, the surrounding passengers fled, leaving Taekjoo frozen in his position. He bit his lower lip out of habit. Well, things had been going pretty smoothly. In fact, it had made him uncomfortable. There was no such thing as an easy job. This time would be no exception, he supposed. Cheol-Jin wrapped his arms around the hostage's neck and clutched his weapon. The attendant screamed.
Taekjoo scratched his head in annoyance. "Give me that.” Cheol-Jin held out his hand for the USB. The edge of the blade dug into the hostage's neck. Taekjoo observed the situation without giving any reaction. The former impatiently waved his hand. "Throw it over here!" Taekjoo’s almost bored gaze flitted over to the hostage's pale face watching his every move. His breathing was rapid, almost like a sob. He then glanced down, at the USB in his hand, before tossing it towards the two. The device hit the hostage and fell to the floor. Cheol-Jin reflexively bent down, but quickly changed his mind and gestured for the attendant to pick it up, who retrieved it with shaking hands. In the midst of the crisis, his pants had helplessly soaked through. Cheol-Jin forced him to stand up and back away on weak, trembling legs.
Taekjoo strolled forward, closing the distance that Cheol-Jin had created. This action was without hesitation, as if he did not care about the safety of the hostage. When Cheol-Jin took a step back, Taekjoo took a step forward.
The man’s voice cracked with anger. "Don't follow me!" But that threat had no effect at all, for Taekjoo kept stepping forward each time he stepped back. Although a certain distance was still maintained between the two sides, the anxiety of the person being chased was practically radiating off of him.
"Please help me." The hostage rubbed his hands together in supplication. The urine that had soaked his pants was now dripping to the floor. For a moment, all movement and noise stopped as if time itself had taken a pause. Lee Cheol-Jin took a step back as if to examine the situation. When the other followed, he hopped up in a fit of rage. "You bastard, didn't you listen to me when I told you to stop?!"
Even being angry was of no use because it was hard to find room for compromise on Taekjoo's face. His eyes seemed to have no mercy for the hostage, showing no signs of backing down even with an innocent life on the line. But one thing was clear: the moment the attendant would stop breathing, Lee Cheol-Jin himself would no longer be safe. All of that was contained in Taekjoo's quiet but pressured gaze.
"This bastard...!" The spy quickly gave up the confrontation and shoved the hostage away from himself. He then stormed up the stairs at the back. Taekjoo helped the fallen attendant, before chasing after him. As soon as he reached the second floor, people started flocking to the entrance to the deck. He turned around and walked straight in that direction. The caught sight of Cheol-Jin quickly running away, but did not run, even though his strides were wide and fast-paced. He saw absolutely no reason to lose patience. Either way, this ship was heading out to sea. Lee Cheol-Jin was no different from a mouse that has crawled into a trap. Taekjoo leisurely followed him, his black hair fluttering in the sea breeze.
-Sunbae, the ferry assistant just reported to the Coast Guard that there was an armed person on the ship. What's going on?
Suddenly, the voice from before rang out from the communication device in Taekjoo's ear.
"Let's talk later. I'm a bit busy."
He stared straight at Lee Cheol-Jin, who had approached the railing. A warning sound came from the device, but he turned it off without hesitation. As a result, only the spy and Taekjoo remained on the windy deck. Cheol-Jin looked down at the dark sea, his hands tightening on the railing. Meanwhile, Taekjoo gradually approached him. Sensing his defeat, Cheol-Jin suddenly swung his weapon wildly into the air. The gesture was an attempt to escape at all costs, but it was also meaningless.
The moment you are afraid, your threat loses its power.
"Don't come any closer!" He yelled out desperately, looking from the sea to Taekjoo, while waving his knife with a hand that trembled. "I’m telling you to stop!" He panicked.
Kwon Taekjoo pulled out his Colt. That was the moment Cheol-Jin's knife turned into nothing but a piece of scrap metal.