Chapter 51 · 11 min

Chapter 51

"From what I've heard, you've been rather busy lately."

The CIA agent who had asked to be called Jim spoke with a broad smile.

He wore an ordinary gray suit with a blue tie, topped by a khaki Burberry coat.

Yi-hyeon, who had been sitting quietly, opened his mouth.

"Listen, Jim. I doubt you called me here just to say that. Why don't you get to the point?"

At Yi-hyeon's curt attitude, the National Intelligence Service agent sitting beside them grew visibly nervous.

Tsk, tsk. Is the CIA your boss or something?

"Very well, let's get down to business. Actually, I received a call from headquarters in the United States a little while ago. An important official is currently flying to Korea, and they asked us to have Mr. Song remain at the airport until that person arrives."

Yi-hyeon, dumbfounded, immediately asked.

"Who exactly is this important official? I haven't had any dealings with the CIA, so who would want to meet me?"

No dealings? Of course he had dealings with them. Just over ten hours ago, he'd gotten into an argument with Seldy, a CIA agent.

"I can't tell you that right now. You'll only need to wait another two hours or so."

It had to be that Seldy woman. Was she so furious about being told off that she'd flown all the way to Korea? Surely not···.

Lee Seung-uk, who had been listening quietly beside them, stepped outside for a moment. Jim and the NIS agent merely glanced at him without saying anything. As far as they were concerned, all they needed was Yi-hyeon, so they had no reason to concern themselves with Lee Seung-uk.

The moment Lee Seung-uk left the room, he made a phone call.

"Team Leader? It's me, Sergeant Lee Seung-uk. Yes, I hope you've been well?"

The person he called was Team Leader Yu Min-seon. She was the NIS team leader who had tried to recruit Lee Seung-uk after her attempt to recruit Yi-hyeon.

"What? Someone from the CIA is holding Song Yi-hyeon at the airport right now?"

"No, well, they're not exactly detaining him by force. Apparently, someone is coming from America, and they've asked our representative to wait a few hours so they can meet him."

Although Lee Seung-uk explained everything calmly, Yu Min-seon sounded even more bewildered.

"That's rather strange. They're not formally detaining him, and they're making a reasonably polite request. That means whoever's coming from America must be someone important. But why would someone like that come all this way to meet Representative Song··· Wait, could it be that?"

"What do you mean?"

When Lee Seung-uk asked urgently, Yu Min-seon answered in a high-pitched voice.

"Recruitment!"

"Recruitment?"

As Lee Seung-uk repeated the word, Yu Min-seon began speaking faster.

"That's definitely it. Those people have all the records from Song Yi-hyeon's military service. Hang on, I'm hanging up for a moment."

Click.

Lee Seung-uk stared blankly at his disconnected phone before returning to the office. At any rate, he now had some idea of what might be happening.

Because of the time difference with New York, it was still early morning in Seoul. Having eaten every first-class meal served during the flight, Yi-hyeon wasn't hungry, but he was bored. He passed the time browsing stocks on his phone.

During the few days he had spent in New York, the balance of his investment accounts had grown considerably. The investments he was looking at now weren't the ones he had already transferred to the corporations established in America.

Sion was also managing the investments held under his personal name, so those were naturally growing as well. He would need to establish another corporation to manage those before long.

* * *

Meanwhile, Yu Min-seon was at NIS headquarters, raising hell.

"Director! I'm telling you, those CIA bastards are definitely pulling something. We can't just sit around doing nothing!"

The man sitting behind his desk, listening to Yu Min-seon's furious report, was the director of the NIS's Bureau Seven.

The outside world might not even know Bureau Seven existed, but the department was very real. Its primary mission was to uncover and prevent terrorist plots before they could be carried out. If an actual terrorist attack occurred against the Republic of Korea or its citizens, Bureau Seven was an elite operational unit deployed ahead of anyone else, regardless of whether the incident occurred at home or abroad.

Given the nature of its missions, maintaining smooth communication with outside military and security organizations was essential.

The current director was Lee Gyu-seong.

He hadn't come up through the NIS. He was a former operations staff officer from the Special Warfare Command who had retired from the military three years earlier to join the intelligence service. Because they shared a military background, Yu Min-seon generally felt comfortable around the director and wasn't afraid to speak her mind.

In terms of civil service rankings, Lee Gyu-seong held the extraordinarily high rank of Grade Two. A team leader's position, generally occupied by someone no higher than a Grade Five administrative officer, was hardly worth mentioning from his perspective. Nevertheless, he scratched his chin and listened to what Yu Min-seon had to say.

"Sit down and talk. Stop bouncing around like that."

Once the still-fuming Yu Min-seon took a seat, Director Lee Gyu-seong asked calmly.

"So, Team Leader Yu, you're saying the Americans, specifically the CIA, have their eyes on Song Yi-hyeon, whom we've already marked for recruitment?"

"That's exactly what I'm saying! Who's that bastard stationed at Incheon Airport right now? He's following the CIA's orders and keeping Song Yi-hyeon at the airport. Apparently, some slightly higher-ranking CIA bastard is coming from America, and they're holding him there so the two can meet."

Unlike the agitated Yu Min-seon, Lee Gyu-seong remained composed.

"Doesn't that strike you as strange? If the CIA wanted to meet someone, they could simply come to Korea and visit his home. Why keep him at the airport? Don't tell me they don't know Song Yi-hyeon's address in Korea?"

"Th-that···."

Now that he mentioned it, he had a point. There was no way the CIA wouldn't know the address of someone they were looking for.

Lee Gyu-seong clicked his tongue as he watched her, then picked up the telephone.

"It's me. Check the passenger manifests for flights departing from New York and arriving at Incheon Airport shortly. If anyone on our list is aboard, inform me immediately."

After hanging up, Lee Gyu-seong reprimanded Yu Min-seon.

"Try using your head, Team Leader Yu. If the CIA wanted to recruit Song Yi-hyeon, as you suspect, they would have made the offer while he was in America. Why would they come all the way to Korea and make such a fuss? And even if they are trying to recruit him, Song Yi-hyeon won't accept. You know how much money that fellow has."

Yu Min-seon, who had been listening with her mouth hanging open, answered in a somewhat calmer voice.

"That's true. He does have an absurd amount of money. Then why on earth does the CIA want to meet Song Yi-hyeon?"

Lee Gyu-seong pointed a finger at her and spoke quietly.

"Finding that out is your job. Get to the airport. And the officer in charge of the airport detachment belongs to Bureau Five, doesn't he? It would be quicker to summon that bastard and grill him, but I don't particularly want to ask someone from another department."

"Yes, sir."

Yu Min-seon answered promptly. She felt exactly the same way. Bureau Seven had been the first to set its sights on Song Yi-hyeon, and she would rather die than ask another department what was going on.

As she turned to leave, Lee Gyu-seong added,

"I'll let you know once we identify the person arriving from America."

* * *

Yu Min-seon raced to Incheon Airport at full speed, where she would eventually come face-to-face with Seldy.

Yu Min-seon was the first to enter the room where Yi-hyeon was waiting. Although the room was inside a restricted security area, there was no reason an NIS officer like her couldn't enter.

"It's been a while, Mr. Song Yi-hyeon."

"Huh? What brings Team Leader Yu here? Don't tell me···."

After shaking her hand, Yi-hyeon turned toward Lee Seung-uk, who scratched the back of his head vigorously before speaking.

"I was too curious to just sit there doing nothing. So···."

He must have seen the NIS getting involved and decided to ask her about it.

"Hmm, it seems Seldy hasn't arrived yet."

Yi-hyeon's eyes narrowed at Yu Min-seon's words. He hadn't expected her to know Seldy's name.

"Oh, come on. We can find out anything. All it takes is a little investigation."

While she was speaking with Yi-hyeon, the NIS agent who had been sitting beside the CIA officer began quietly edging toward the door. But who did he think Yu Min-seon was?

"Hey, you over there! Come here a moment."

"Ahem, are you talking to me?"

Yu Min-seon strode toward the agent and fixed him with a piercing glare.

"You know who I am, don't you?"

"Yes? ···Yes."

The man was the deputy officer in charge of the NIS agents stationed at Incheon Airport. There was no way he wouldn't know Yu Min-seon of Bureau Seven, who had earned the notorious nickname 'Witch of the Capital Defense Command.'

"I'm only going to ask one question. Do you know why the CIA is keeping Mr. Song Yi-hyeon here today?"

"Well···."

Yu Min-seon frowned at his hesitation.

"Good grief, is this how you people work? Are you telling me you simply did what the CIA ordered without even knowing what was going on?"

The man's face reddened. Even so, he didn't dare look Yu Min-seon directly in the eyes. Their respective ranks were somewhat difficult to compare, but he knew she outranked him. And considering her infamous reputation···.

She was a woman so formidable that even the director of Bureau Seven, her highest-ranking direct superior, gave her some leeway. Although she'd been disciplined recently over the murder of a Korean expatriate in Indonesia and had lost some of her former influence, she remained an object of both fear and respect.

At that moment, Jim, the CIA agent watching from the side, stepped forward to rescue him.

"Hey, Miss Yu. Fancy meeting you here."

Yu Min-seon glanced at him but didn't even turn away from the NIS agent as she spoke.

"Jim. You and I need to have a separate conversation later."

"Good grief."

Jim gave a wry smile and raised both hands. This was already his third year working at the CIA's Korean branch. Before that, he had served at the Northeast Asia bureau in Japan. The Korean branch was also administered through Japan.

While the office was still in an uproar, the person everyone had been waiting for finally appeared.

"Hi, Song. We're meeting again already."

As expected, it was Seldy.

Yi-hyeon let out a helpless laugh, but Yu Min-seon stepped forward before he could say anything.

"Well then, Seldy, was it? You and I need to talk first."

And so Yu Min-seon and Seldy came face-to-face, with Yi-hyeon caught between them. Of everyone present, Yi-hyeon was the only one who knew the circumstances surrounding both women.

'Oh, my aching head.'

Whether Yi-hyeon looked distressed or not, the expressions on Yu Min-seon's and Seldy's faces were quite a sight. The two women simply glared at each other without exchanging a word, until the CIA agent named Jim cautiously made a suggestion.

"Um, why don't we move somewhere else first? This office is used by other people, after all."

All three agreed, and Jim suggested going to a safe house the CIA maintained near Gwanghwamun.

"The Two Seasons Hotel, you mean? Fine. Since we're in Korea, I'll make that much of a concession."

When Yu Min-seon readily agreed, the group decided to travel to Gwanghwamun in separate vehicles. Yi-hyeon, who hadn't brought a car, rode with Yu Min-seon. Since he and Lee Seung-uk had spent quite some time in America, they had a fair amount of luggage. Fortunately, Yu Min-seon's vehicle was a spacious SUV, so there was no problem.

The NIS agent stationed at the airport discreetly excused himself. Still, he would undoubtedly report everything that had just happened to his superior in great detail.

"Ah, my car's a little dirty."

As Yu Min-seon spoke, she opened the windows and roughly brushed away some dust.

"Damn cigarette ash···."

Watching Yu Min-seon grumble as she cleared away cigarette packs, lighters, and other things, Yi-hyeon chuckled and offered a remark.

"You know, you'd be better off quitting smoking."

"What? You want me to abandon my best friend of fifteen years? No way! I'd rather drop dead than live like that."

Yu Min-seon's display of tremendous determination(?) left Yi-hyeon shaking his head.

"Well, suit yourself."

By the time they arrived at the Two Seasons Hotel in Gwanghwamun, it was already late afternoon. Their accommodations consisted of a suite with two bedrooms and a living room. It wasn't particularly spacious, but it had everything they needed.

"The CIA really does have money to burn. Using one of the finest hotels in downtown Seoul as a safe house."

Yu Min-seon made no effort to hide her displeasure as she spoke in English, drawing a bitter smile from Jim. As expected, this woman never held back. Her skills were exceptional, too. He'd heard she could even take down Delta Force and SEAL operatives.

Once inside, Yi-hyeon looked around at everyone and spoke.

"Let's eat first. I have a feeling this conversation is going to take a while."

At Yi-hyeon's suggestion, Jim glanced at the two women. Seeing that neither objected, he spoke.

"Going down to the restaurant would be troublesome, so let's order something to the room. The room service here is quite good."

Everyone agreed and ordered their meals individually. Lee Seung-uk told Yi-hyeon that he would eat separately. Judging by the atmosphere, he had decided this wasn't a conversation he should be involved in. As always, he was quick to read the room. The agent who had reluctantly been dragged over from America to accompany Seldy also excused himself.

By the time they finished eating and sat down with cups of coffee before them, darkness had already fallen.

Now, the three-way negotiations would begin.

Yi-hyeon intended to use this opportunity to establish his position with both the NIS and the CIA. He was getting tired of having them constantly hovering around him.