Chapter 60 · 10 min

Chapter 60

Yi-hyeon's heart was pounding. Yu Min-seon had finally revealed the identity of the woman known as Mei.

Wang Guochang, a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Chinese Communist Party. Mei, whose real name was Song Mei, was none other than this powerful man's niece through marriage.

There were only seven members of the Politburo Standing Committee among China's population of 1.5 billion. It was the highest decision-making body within the Chinese Communist Party and government.

The current general secretary of the Standing Committee also held the positions of president of China and chairman of the Central Military Commission, reigning as the supreme leader of the Chinese mainland. And Mei was the niece of one of those seven Standing Committee members.

The NIS was impressive, though. They had uncovered her real name, something even her own team leader, Ke Sui, hadn't known.

Now that Mei was being returned to her homeland alive and reasonably intact(?), Yi-hyeon faced dangers on an entirely different scale from anything he'd encountered before.

One small consolation was that he'd been disguised with a face completely different from his true appearance when he taught Mei her lesson.

Yi-hyeon had also interrogated Mei and learned which organization had sent her to Korea. Team Leader Ke Sui was merely a small-time operative who had entered the country following orders from a peripheral Party organization, knowing nothing of the bigger picture. Mei, on the other hand, had direct connections to the people higher up.

Xinguohui, the New National Assembly? Just how many organizations were there? What was this, some kind of game of collecting secret societies?

After experiencing Yi-hyeon's methods firsthand, Mei had answered his questions obediently.

She claimed not to know when the organization had been established. From childhood, she'd displayed extraordinary martial arts talent, so an elder of her family had taken her to a martial arts school for training. As a result, she hadn't properly entered society until she was over thirty. She had attended school during those years, of course, but most of her life had been consumed by training.

The organization she joined immediately upon entering society was the Xinguohui. Yet Mei didn't even know its exact size or guiding principles. Having spent nearly her entire life training under something resembling indoctrination since early childhood, perhaps that wasn't surprising.

Yu Min-seon questioned him persistently.

"But how exactly did that man break her? She seemed completely terrified of him. She was practically bawling and begging us to send her back to China."

"How would I know?"

Yi-hyeon felt a pang of alarm and denied knowing anything. The man Yu Min-seon was referring to was Yi-hyeon himself in disguise that day.

"······."

Yu Min-seon stared at him intently for a while, then smacked her lips.

"You really have too many secrets, Representative Song. Headquarters keeps pushing me to investigate you more thoroughly, but I've been giving them vague answers to hold them off."

"Oh, tell them to investigate all they want. It's not as though I've committed a crime."

Yi-hyeon spoke boldly, but his thoughts were growing increasingly complicated. Concealing his true nature was becoming more difficult by the day. So as soon as he parted ways with Yu Min-seon and returned to his Samseong-dong office, he called General Im Gi-yong.

"Ah, yes. I was about to call you anyway. That gentleman said he'd have to meet you before making a decision. You should go see him."

"Understood."

After receiving the contact information, Yi-hyeon immediately called and arranged a meeting.

* * *

Seven in the evening. A Japanese restaurant in Seocho-dong.

Yi-hyeon rose from his seat as a man entered the private room. He looked to be around fifty, with a lean physique and a neatly tailored dark suit. His tie had clearly been chosen to complement the suit, although neither appeared particularly new.

'A former soldier.'

Yi-hyeon thought to himself. This man had spent many years in the military. Despite his fairly stylish civilian clothes, Yi-hyeon could instinctively tell he'd spent a long time undertaking dangerous assignments in uniform.

Then again, he'd expected General Im Gi-yong to introduce someone from the military. What was unusual was that the general hadn't provided any information about this man beforehand.

"······."

Even after the employee who had shown him in closed the door and left, the man remained standing silently. Yi-hyeon smiled lightly and extended his hand.

"I'm Song Yi-hyeon."

"···Lee Jung-ho."

A faint trace of surprise crossed Lee Jung-ho's eyes as he shook Yi-hyeon's hand. Yi-hyeon noticed it but paid no attention. From the moment he'd entered, Lee Jung-ho had been emitting a considerable amount of energy, directing it toward Yi-hyeon as though testing him. Yi-hyeon had casually deflected that energy during their handshake.

As soon as they sat down, dish after dish began arriving. Yi-hyeon had ordered the entire course meal to be served at once so their conversation wouldn't be interrupted.

"Would you care for a drink?"

"Later."

His tone remained curt. Nevertheless, Yi-hyeon could tell Lee Jung-ho was paying close attention to him.

Pulling a small bowl of porridge closer, Yi-hyeon began speaking.

"It's natural to be cautious when meeting someone for the first time, but I think it would be better if we spoke openly and frankly tonight."

Lee Jung-ho gave a faint smile as he met Yi-hyeon's gaze across the table. Yi-hyeon was quietly reprimanding him for trying to test him unnecessarily.

"That sounds reasonable. Im Gi-yong rarely asks favors of me, so I came because he requested it. I'd prefer that neither of us leave this meeting with any hard feelings."

What a prickly old fellow. He was the one who'd tested Yi-hyeon first. They could simply discuss what they needed and go their separate ways if they couldn't reach an agreement. Why would there be any hard feelings?

"I need people."

Yi-hyeon began explaining the purpose of the meeting. His phrasing reflected his usual manner of speaking. He didn't habitually use the more self-effacing Korean pronouns when referring to himself.

This was something his father, Dr. Song Su-yong, had instilled in him from childhood. His father had always told him,

[It's enough to show respect to those who deserve it. You have no need to lower yourself. You're not inferior to anyone in this world.]

Of course, using humble language didn't necessarily imply inferiority, but Dr. Song Su-yong had held a peculiar conviction on the matter, and Yi-hyeon had inherited that trait.

That was why Yi-hyeon didn't even use self-deprecating expressions when speaking with Monk Muae.

- What an unusual human.

Sion suddenly interjected in the middle of their conversation. Naturally, he was referring to Lee Jung-ho, but Yi-hyeon was too focused on explaining himself to ask why.

"···And that's why I need capable people to accomplish what I've set out to do."

In this manner, Yi-hyeon gave him a broad account of his circumstances. After all, the man needed to understand the situation before he could make a decision.

"Considering your age, Representative Song, the scale of what you're attempting is almost unimaginable. It all began with questions surrounding your father's death, and as you investigated, you discovered an enormous power lurking behind it. And then there's your extraordinary wealth. Hmm."

Lee Jung-ho was now concentrating more on the substance of their conversation than on Song Yi-hyeon himself. He had stopped testing him and become genuinely interested in his story.

"What did that fellow Im Gi-yong tell you about me?"

"Very little. He said I should ask you whatever I wanted to know when we met. He did say you were an exceptional man and that I should treat you with the utmost respect."

Yi-hyeon answered as he finished his meal and wiped his mouth with a napkin. Lee Jung-ho burst out laughing.

"That sounds like him. Even now, I'm under military protection and surveillance at the same time. There are people in the rooms on either side of us."

He tilted his head left and right while holding his chopsticks. Yi-hyeon replied without smiling.

"I know. The fellows following you seem quite competent. Two in each neighboring room. Four altogether."

"Indeed···."

Lee Jung-ho nodded slightly. Then he released a long breath and spoke.

"I used to be the deputy commander of the Defense Intelligence Command."

Yi-hyeon's eyes widened.

The Defense Intelligence Command.

This unusual military organization, operating under the Ministry of National Defense's Defense Intelligence Agency, collected intelligence related to foreign military affairs and conducted counterintelligence operations. Because of the nature of its missions, it avoided outside exposure to an extreme degree, and very little was known about it publicly. Its commander held the rank of major general.

If the civilian world had the NIS, the military had the Defense Intelligence Command. Unlike the NIS, whose personnel were predominantly civilians, the Defense Intelligence Command consisted mostly of active-duty and former military personnel. It was an organization far more accustomed to direct, sometimes violent operations than the NIS.

Its operational targets included military forces and conflict zones across much of the world, with particular emphasis on gathering intelligence concerning the military facilities, equipment, and operating systems of North Korea, China, and Russia.

Lee Jung-ho had apparently served in the Defense Intelligence Command since his days as a field-grade officer, retiring after reaching the position of deputy commander. He could be considered a living witness to the history of an organization formed by merging the intelligence units of the army, navy, and air force.

Yi-hyeon listened closely to this extraordinary man's account. Lee Jung-ho remained strictly silent about classified matters from his military service, but he was willing to discuss other subjects.

"I'm a member of the Dongseong Society."

It had been quite some time since Yi-hyeon had heard that name. It was the organization General Im Gi-yong had once tried to force him to join. Although it had only a handful of members in South Korea, many had occupied important positions in the civilian government, public administration, and military. Its activities were shrouded in secrecy.

"I see. General Im also encouraged me to join, but I refused."

"Haha. So I've heard. It couldn't have been easy for a low-ranking noncommissioned officer to refuse his commander's 'invitation.' In fact, hearing that story from General Im was one of the reasons I agreed to meet you."

"I felt I'd received enough orders during my military service. The thought of entering civilian life only to keep taking orders··· Good grief. Besides, haven't private military organizations been forbidden since the Hanahoe scandal?"

They certainly had.

"But the Dongseong Society has transcended even those restrictions. Its membership isn't limited to former military personnel, and it hasn't conducted operations domestically in decades. Most of its activities have taken place overseas. That's why people who know about the organization are aware of its existence, yet leave it alone."

Yi-hyeon raised his hand as he listened.

"That's enough about the organization."

He was plainly saying he didn't want to hear any more about it, and Lee Jung-ho could easily have taken offense. But Yi-hyeon's expression remained resolute.

He was already fairly certain that Lee Jung-ho was precisely the kind of person he needed. Even so, he had no intention of compromising his principles merely to recruit him.

Lee Jung-ho watched him with evident interest.

Before coming to the meeting, Lee Jung-ho had investigated Song Yi-hyeon. He'd begun looking into the young man after General Im Gi-yong, a much younger military colleague, told him about an exceptional former soldier and suggested that they work together.

He was confident that nobody in South Korea currently knew more about Song Yi-hyeon than he did.

The investigation had only deepened his curiosity. The enormous fortune Yi-hyeon had earned through investments was astonishing, but his military achievements were even more remarkable. By every standard Lee Jung-ho understood, the young man had demonstrated abilities exceeding normal human limits.

Yi-hyeon looked directly at Lee Jung-ho and spoke.

"This is how I see things, General. People meet and work together through all sorts of circumstances, and they part ways for all sorts of reasons. But the most important thing is trust. Without trust, people have no desire to act on their own initiative. Whether that trust comes from money, family ties, or something else entirely doesn't matter. I've told you even the most private aspects of my circumstances today. I did so because I wanted to establish trust between us. Now it's your turn to answer."

Lee Jung-ho realized the moment of decision had arrived. This young fellow had a peculiar ability to put pressure on people. Where did that commanding presence come from?

"Shall we have a drink?"

Yi-hyeon smiled at Lee Jung-ho's words.

And so Lee Jung-ho, once the finest operations officer in the history of the Defense Intelligence Command, a man whose very name had made hostile intelligence agencies grind their teeth, joined Yi-hyeon's side.