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I’m feeling dizzy. I think I might have a slight fever.

Through my hazy consciousness, I can hear a voice. It’s a low, deep voice.

“… You did well.”

In my blurred vision, through foggy eyes, Colonel Clevenz is looking at me.

“How was the business trip? I heard the local situation is pretty bad.”

The sound of the TV news mixes into my response.

[On the 9th local time, Russian media reported that a North Korean diplomat was found dead in the Nahodka area. According to local sources, the North Korean diplomat was a third secretary….]

“Oh really?”

The Colonel sinks into his chair, the old chair creaking in protest. Creak!

“Tch. I told them to oil it… Anyway, they don’t even replace the supplies properly with the relocation of the headquarters….”

The Colonel bursts out with a frustrated tone.

“Right. Anyway, this business trip was definitely without issues, right? Last time, uh, what was it, that Hanoi incident—if anything similar happens, we’ll be in trouble.”

Well, I’m sure it was handled well.

“So, now that you’re back from the business trip, do you have something planned?”

“I’m thinking of stopping by Cheonggye Mountain and then heading home.”

“Cheonggye Mountain? … Ah. You’re going to see your father. Right. You should visit once in a while. A real filial son.”

After that remark, a brief awkward silence ensued. The sound of the TV news merged with the silence, creating a strange atmosphere.

Ahem. With a loud cough, the TV sound dissipates and breaks the silence.

“How much longer do you have until your promotion review? Major first round.”

“About three years left, I think.”

“Oh? Hmm… You said your hometown is in Chungcheong Province, right?”

“My grandfather’s hometown is in Chungcheong Province. I’m a native of Gyeonggi-do.”

“Oh? Then… could you do me a favor on your way to your hometown?”

The Colonel, having set down the remote, hands me a file. It’s a list. Chongjin City in North Hamgyong Province, Rangrim County in Jagang Province, Sinuiju in North Pyongan Province….

“This is the list of defectors who passed through the Hapsin Center. In principle, defectors are managed by the Ministry of Unification, but some are managed by the Dongdaemun and Sokgyeokdong, as you probably know? Our company is the same.”

The Colonel taps on a corner of the list.

“From here to here. Check it out on the way home.”

“May I ask why?”

“Why would you ask when you already know?”

Click- The Colonel lights a cigarette.

“Hmm.”

The smoke fills the room.

“Meet them for a coffee. If you need anything while talking, just consider it a gamble and give it to them. Most information will be in the company server for your reference. If you can settle it with money, try to do so. And if you can make a call to the family through a broker, you know? You understand, right?”

“Will that really be effective?”

“What else can we do? It’s not like we can break through the DMZ, like in the 80s.”

The Colonel turns his chair around, waving his hand.

Grabbing the file, I salute and leave the room.

Just as I was turning the doorknob—

“Colonel!”

Through my foggy eardrums, someone calls me.

“Colonel!”

“Ughhhh…!”

“Ah, shit, you scared me!”

Episode 5 – Journalist, Diplomat, Soldier, Spy

As soon as I opened my eyes, a barrage of curses flew at me. I was definitely in the office with the Colonel, but as I regained my senses, I found myself in an extravagant hotel room.

Wondering where I was, I tried to look around, only to feel a stabbing pain surge through my body.

“Ugh…!”

“Just lie still!”

“Ouch, ouch!”

As I rolled around on the bed with someone holding my shoulder, I recalled why I was here, feeling the texture of gauze at my fingertips.

First, I was brought to this hotel under my name to threaten Fabio Verati.

If things went wrong, I had even set up listening equipment in the next room to review our conversation. Of course, that room was booked under an alias.

Second, while I was talking to Fabio Verati, someone barged into the room.

They were mysterious thugs using the Kien language. There were a total of three of them. Including two who joined later, that makes five.

Third, the thugs were armed with guns, and I had a shootout with them.

I tried to take them all out before they shot, but their response was quicker than I expected, leading to a standoff. I was outnumbered, but I utilized rune stones as makeshift weapons to take them all down.

Fourth, public officials from the Magic Tower arrived at the hotel after receiving a fire report.

After sending Fabio Verati away first, I retrieved the tape recorder from the next room, then burned down the room where I had stayed to destroy the evidence. Any equipment I couldn’t retrieve I hid in the plumbing.

Fifth, I stopped by a pharmacy, bought a bunch of medical supplies, and returned to the hotel.

Since leaving a hospital record could be dangerous in any form, I did emergency treatment on my own in a hurry. I removed the bullets, applied burn ointment, administered antibiotics, and set up IV fluids….

I tried every possible emergency treatment and contacted everyone I could reach: Colonel Clevenz, Military Intelligence Agency, Defense Attaché Office, 73rd Project Division staff, Pippin, and Jake.

As I processed all of this, Jake’s voice suddenly came to mind.

“What the hell is going on? I thought you were going to meet 51!”

“That’s right…!”

“Huh?!”

“I got shot, you dumbass!”

I had been rolling around on the bed for a while, but finally managed to collect my thoughts.

I examined the wound and thankfully, it seemed the bleeding had stopped, so it wasn’t reopening.

Still, the pain was the same, and only after swallowing a painkiller from the bedside table did I feel a bit calmer.

I sat on the edge of the bed, waiting for the medicine to kick in, and glanced over at Pippin and Jake.

“Why are you here?”

Pippin was the one who answered my question.

“You got shot!”

“How do you guys even know that?”

“You sent a text!”

Did I?

As I thought back, I vaguely remembered sending a message to Pippin and Jake. I couldn’t recall the details, but a faint memory surfaced.

Is this what they call forgetfulness?

As I pondered if I was already showing signs of dementia, Jake began rummaging through an envelope.

“Weren’t you supposed to meet with Room 51 today? Why did you come back shot?”

“I don’t know. Seems like the intel leaked.”

“Huh?”

Pippin and Jake were taken aback by the mention of leaked intel.

“Leaked intel?”

“Who? Why? Where?”

“You didn’t get into a fight with the Magic Tower police, did you?”

“Shut up and let me think, you guys.”

I settled down Pippin and Jake and started my story.

I skipped the part about meeting Fabio Verati for the first time and jumped right into when I encountered the mysterious thugs in the hotel.

Honestly, there wasn’t much of a story. Today’s events could be summed up simply: thugs attacked the safehouse, we had a standoff for a bit, and then I wiped them all out before the police showed up.

The tale was quite simple and concise.

But the repercussions were anything but trivial.

“The Imperial Army? The Reconnaissance Command…?”

“I don’t know that either. I can’t be sure it was the Imperial Army. It just felt that way.”

“Did they discover your identity?”

“I’m pretty sure that’s not it… Probably.”

First off, where did those thugs who stormed the room come from?

“You checked the bodies, didn’t you?”

“I didn’t have time to collect biometric data. Teeth, appearance, ears, fingerprints, none of it.”

“…So that body is now in the hands of the police?”

“Seems like it.”

“…Can we resolve this under diplomatic immunity?”

“Can’t say.”

Secondly, how will the police from the Magic Tower and the counterintelligence agency respond?

“…What do we do now?”

Thirdly, what should we do moving forward?

“……”

“……”

“……”

There were so many things to think about, we were all buffering.

I had no idea what direction things would head in.

Right away, the higher-ups might shut down the operation for safety, or send investigators to pause everything until they find the issues, or the Magic Tower might blacklist me and banish me.

Maybe tomorrow the Public Security will come knocking, or assassins will show up seeking revenge for the dead team members.

I didn’t know what would happen to me.

“For now, we should report first…”

“I did.”

“What do we do now?”

“What can we do? We have to wait for instructions. Tell the employees to be cautious for a while.”

I retrieved a thermometer from the envelope Jake was holding and measured my temperature. It would be bad if I got infected. I had taken antibiotics, but since it wasn’t a priest who treated me, it wouldn’t be weird if I became infected at any moment.

“The temperature… is normal. What time is it?”

“It’s 22:37. You’re feeling alright, right?”

“How could I be fine after getting shot? I can move without issues. I just need to be careful.”

Pippin nodded.

“Please rest for now. I’ll tidy up here and contact the employees.”

“Don’t use the emergency contact chain, just contact them normally. This isn’t serious enough for that.”

“Isn’t this serious enough for the emergency contact?”

I shrugged and opened a bottle of water. Just as I was about to gulp it down, I suddenly realized something odd and pulled the bottle away from my lips.

“Hey, how did you guys get in here? It should have been locked.”

Jake, organizing the medical supplies, answered.

“It was open.”

“…The door wasn’t locked?”

“Yeah. Did you forget to lock it?”

Jake answered shortly and continued to quickly clean up the room with Pippin.

I pondered over that statement, tilting my head.

“…Is that so?”

I must have been so flustered that I didn’t think to lock it.

-Ding ding ding.

A phone call came through. It was the hotel phone.

I wondered if it was a call from another room, so I answered the phone with my uninjured hand.

“Hello?”

-“This is the Information Analysis Department from the Embassy, Colonel. Can you come out to the front of the hotel?”

 

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