Overseas Trip (5)

The ambassadors of the two nations, who had spent the last hour going over the details of our itinerary in Japan and everything else still to come, finally filed out of the business room. After ushering out Lee Ayoung as well—who had been sitting beside me offering quiet advice—I turned off the lights, set my smartphone on the table, and lay back, staring up at the ceiling in the dark.

One trip abroad. That's all it would take to put everything to rest, quietly and for good.

We've more than proven our value to them by now, haven't we?

There's no need to struggle anymore. Things could finally get comfortable.

No more trouble to stir up—just go back to the easy life you had before.

Weak, sniveling thoughts. The kind of voice that could seduce a man without him even noticing. If I went along with this one trip abroad, everything would really be settled?

No. It wouldn't.

If I accepted things as they stood now and went off obediently, the surveillance they called "protection" would only tighten. And the chance to resist them in any organized way would be gone for good.

We've made our value clear enough?

Fine. Say we proved our value to a reasonable degree. And in doing so, we also proved how dangerous we could be.

No more worrying, time to get comfortable?

Comfortable? Has the problem that put us in this position been solved? Not even close. The only way I get comfortable is by giving all of it up—becoming a dog, a pig, content with whatever environment they toss into my trough. And I have no intention of ever being that.

Even if it means enduring the discomfort, I'm going to live the ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠way I want to live. I've already crossed the line; there's no going back. And that soft, comfortable old life isn't something I need anymore.

A low buzz filled the dark room.

‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠

Which is why I'd deliberately let the first call ring out.

And now the second one was coming in.

"Ha... you really are the President. You've traveled abroad so much, you know all the tricks."

How the hell did she know? I'd actually been planning to use packing as my excuse this time.

There was a tremor in the old woman's voice. And within that tremor, I could hear two feelings tangled together—hope and fear, each waiting to see what my answer would be. Right now, our dear Madame President was praying this whole thing would wrap up cleanly: that we'd go to Japan, spend our little trip, and come back home like good boys.

"Not much, honestly. Nothing's come through again. There's no actual plan, no action—just words."

But wouldn't you know it?

I didn't feel like playing along. Not me. Not the other guys, either.

Well...

Fair enough, I suppose. Even the most blockheaded politician who despises the very idea of a government siding with men, once the numbers swell to the size of a voting bloc, has to watch the crowd's mood constantly—such is the nature of a democracy where everyone casts a ballot. No, I couldn't even call it unreasonable.

"It's still not enough."

But that's your problem, not mine.

"Not even close to enough."

I don't care. If you're going to do something, then do it. Christ, the talk never ends with you people. It's exhausting.

"So it's decided, then. We're going to Japan. Madam President."

Done. Just like that, we had our legal pretext for leaving the country.

"But speaking personally, there's something I genuinely don't understand. I honestly expected sanctions against the individuals and the group that carried out the attack—immediately. And yet, nothing. Why is that?"

It had been the single biggest mystery to me, both watching the government's statements live and digging through them afterward. Nothing. Not a single move.

Is she insane?

"Hello? Madam President. I'm not some other guy out there—it was me it happened to. You have to handle at least this much properly. That's the only way I can walk around anywhere and hold my head up... What is this?"

Unbelievable.

If you know, then do the job properly.

"Like I said—at the very minimum, law enforcement has to move against the group that attacked us. Don't you think?"

Arrest them and lock them in a cell. Or deport them. The grounds to detain them are lying all over the place—so why the silence?

"And from what I'm hearing, education, social media—that side of things has plenty of problems too. That needs looking into as well."

Nangyeong, was it? Thinking back on that business with her, I couldn't even imagine what kind of secret instruction these people were running, openly or in the shadows, in a world like this one.

"And the public's negative view of us needs to change too. You're planning to do nothing about that either?"

You know the kind of thing I mean. The PR work that makes us look good.

"You should be producing footage of us and putting it out there as public service announcements. Something like that, at least."

Playing up the image of us as war veterans, for instance. Or sanctifying the duty we carry.

"Doing the bare minimum like this—how exactly do you expect to change the climate of mindless acceptance, or the hostility toward us?"

Given even a moment's thought, the list of things they could be doing goes on and on, and this damn government has no creativity whatsoever. They just wait for me to tell them everything. And then don't even follow through on half of it.

"Then let's make the next call from Japan. Madam President."

Meaning: from here on out, take care of yourselves and behave. Because what we're doing now is no joke.

With that, I hung up on the President of the Republic of Korea.

"Hey. Are you the spawn of darkness or something? What are you doing sitting in here in the pitch black?"

Gah—fuck!

He scared the hell out of me. ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠When did he even come in?

"If you're going to walk in, at least make some noise. When'd you get here?"

Jiwon flipped the switch, flooding the dark room with light, then strolled over and dropped into the seat across from me.

"I snuck in quietly while you were on the phone."

"Really? How much did you hear?"

"From the part where you were throwing your weight around? You were pretty good, I'll admit."

Throwing my weight around?

I wasn't even being that pushy this time.

"Anyway, forget it. What about the opposition? Did you raise hell like you were supposed to?"

"Yeah. Raised hell and then some."

And with that he launched into his tales of glory—how he'd cleaned out the opposition leader's war chest and every other exploit, the man practically glowing like a two-minute-warn talker. If I didn't cut him off soon, he'd still be talking at midnight.

"So. The results?"

"News releases and official statements going out under the opposition's name are being reworded, and from the next public statement on, they'll use the phrasing we gave them."

Hm...

"Passable. You did all right."

"That's a pretty low bar."

"Oh? Then next time, aim higher."

He'd failed to bring home what was expected of him in the first place—what did he want, a medal?

"No, I'm not asking for praise or anything... So what happened on your end?"

"We've decided to leave for Japan. Whether we come back is anyone's guess."

"So you're going to watch what the government does while you're in Japan?"

"Yeah. And besides, we've got to keep an eye on Japan and the States too. So keep your mouth shut about it. Don't tell the others."

"Got it. I'll keep it sealed up nice and tight."

...After the way he was running his mouth a minute ago?

I had my doubts. Could I actually trust this guy?

Either way—phone calls done, obligations handled—I left the business room and headed for the command post we'd set up. In a situation where no one could rule out the possibility of us simply defecting abroad, I'd told the men to bring every person dear to them, anyone they insisted on taking along. As a result, the command post was a roiling sea of humanity, a thousand people milling about or packed shoulder to shoulder. And yet even in that crowd, Hanna's face leapt out at me instantly—whether because she was so stunningly beautiful she drew the eye anywhere, or because love really is blind, who's to say.

God, she's beautiful.

She was sitting there quietly, and I wanted to sneak up behind her and play some little prank—but the oblivious people around us ruined it. Someone would notice, and the joke would die before it started.

"Did the work go all right? You must be exhausted."

And there it was again—Hanna worrying about me before I could say a word.

"Yeah. Went smoothly, thanks to everyone's help. Were you lonely, sitting here by yourself the whole time?"

The only people I'd brought along were Lee Ayoung and Hanna, so Hanna had spent the entire time I was working alone, while everyone else gathered in their own little clusters. Looking around at them now, the guilt crept in. Should I have brought Park Yujin and Jeong Sujin too?

"Mm? No, I was fine. I was with a woman named Somin—remember, we met her last time."

"Oh, yeah?"

"Yep!"

"Well, I'm glad someone you'd at least met before was nearby."

I never expected her to look after Hanna on my behalf off a single meeting, but I'd have to pay Hyungcheol a proper thanks the next time I saw him.

"And you came straight to me the moment your work was done. So I really was fine. Don't feel bad about it."

Saying that, Hanna looked up at me and leaned in—and somehow, I only felt guiltier.

And the truth was out. She really is a remarkable woman.

"It showed that much?"

"Yes. Completely. Anyone could tell just by looking."

That's... embarrassing.

"I see... all right. Well, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠the work's just about finished, so let's spend what's left of the time together."

"Yes!"

And so I held her close and let the hours slip away—until there was only one last task left before the plane to Japan. The departure ceremony. The event that would protect our pretext and our alibi.

Couldn't skip that.

For it, every one of the men wore the suits they'd prepared in advance—and underneath them, the armored vests we'd wrung out of our two generous benefactors. Full tactical gear and ballistic plates would have ruined the photos and footage, so we'd agreed that once we arrived, only the men serving as the security detail would suit up, as needed.

With the final footage delivered to the government's cameras, we became, to every watching eye, a bona fide peace delegation boarding a plane for Japan. Hanna and I sat down side by side in our seats, and only then did it sink in.

We were really leaving Korea.

Ah...

This land where my heart had settled. This country.

Republic of Korea—goodbye, for now.