The National Security Office (2)
Gyeonggi Province, Gwacheon City, Juam-dong — Headquarters of the Republic of Korea Army Counterintelligence Command.
Ha Seok-jun sat at his desk, rubbing at his shin.
It was the same spot the chief of staff had summoned him to a few days earlier and kicked him black and blue.
The bruise had faded, but the dull ache still lingered.
After getting humiliated by Ko Jeong-un in Kang-hae’s hospital room that day, Ha Seok-jun had become public enemy number one among the officers.
The commander of the Counterintelligence Command had roared for the chief of staff to come to him, and the chief of staff had immediately summoned Ha Seok-jun and the rest of the officers.
Then, one by one, he had kicked them in the shins.
“From now on, don’t let that idiot Ha Seok-jun do anything!”
After that bellow, even the few officers who had been on good terms with Ha Seok-jun began avoiding him.
He was too self-conscious to even use the officers’ cafeteria properly.
So he had to eat with the enlisted men instead.
Is this what they call workplace bullying…?
As Ha Seok-jun rubbed his shin and sank into gloomy thoughts, a soldier appeared and told him that Kang-hae was looking for him.
On the way to the interview room, Kang-hae’s words kept echoing in his ears.
“Say that kind of thing one more time, and I’ll tear your fucking mouth apart.”
Ha Seok-jun’s heart dropped.
No way… that’s not what this is about, right…?
Shaking his head, Ha Seok-jun headed for the interview room.
“Ohhh—look who it is! Kang-hae!”
The moment he spotted Kang-hae waiting for him, Ha Seok-jun put on a warm, friendly smile.
He even spread his arms wide, as though he were about to embrace a dear old friend.
“Wanna get your arms broken?”
But the instant he heard Kang-hae’s voice, he hurriedly dropped them.
“Hey now, c’mon. We’ve spent over a year in the same unit together, through thick and thin. We’re comrades.”
“You’re trash.”
“Trash…?”
“You were never my comrade for a single second.”
“Come on, Kang-hae. You don’t have to call a person trash…”
“Then I’m wrong?”
“……”
Ha Seok-jun stared at Kang-hae, who was stamping the word trash onto his face without hesitation, and felt his tongue go dry.
But he still didn’t have the nerve to fight back.
So he tried to change the mood with a joke.
“Hahaha. Our Kang-hae. You’ve gotten good at jokes since I last saw you.”
His laugh was so unnatural that anyone could tell.
“Hey, I heard you’ve become a special interest officer.”
A special interest officer…?
What the hell was that supposed to mean?
“Special interest officer?! Who says that?”
Ha Seok-jun snapped.
“The guys at the guard post did.”
His ears turned red with anger.
Those bastards…!
He silently vowed to kill the soldier who had called him a special interest officer.
But then he remembered that Sergeant Lee Soo-young, who was in charge of the guard post, had a father who was the inspector general at Army Headquarters, and promptly gave up on the idea.
“The advanced barracks culture is all the rage these days. Officers and enlisted men are supposed to be casual with each other now. Joking around, teasing each other, all that.”
Kang-hae looked steadily at Ha Seok-jun, who was still desperately trying to act superior no matter what.
He knew better than anyone that Ha Seok-jun was the last kind of man who’d ever get close to the enlisted men.
“You really haven’t changed.”
“Huh? What hasn’t?”
“Your mouth. It’s still hanging on by a thread.”
“Dying? Why would you say something like that? Haha.”
Ha Seok-jun kept thinking about Kang-hae’s words — hanging on by a thread. For some reason, it sounded like an omen.
“Anyway, what brings you here?”
Only then did Ha Seok-jun finally ask why Kang-hae had come.
“Bring me the list of our troops deployed to the 1st Division MDL right now.”
Ha Seok-jun thought it was miserable enough that a kid as young as Kang-hae was calling him trash; now he was being ordered around too.
Then, suddenly, something flashed through his mind.
“Wait, is this… something the Director of National Security told you to do?”
He knew Kang-hae had been dispatched to the National Security Office.
After starting his military career, Ha Seok-jun had gone on the Ministry of National Defense intranet every morning to check who had been transferred or promoted.
And a few days earlier, he had learned that someone from Military Intelligence had been sent to the National Security Office.
The name had been redacted, but he had managed to confirm that the surname was Na.
Among all the Military Intelligence people Ha Seok-jun knew, the only one with the surname Na was Kang-hae.
“Maybe.”
Maybe?
That maddeningly vague answer made Ha Seok-jun squirm.
“K-Kang-hae. You know I really did care about you a lot, right?”
“Not even a little.”
“If you didn’t feel that, then I guess that’s just because I’m hopelessly lacking in that department.”
“Just get to the point.”
“Ah, uh, well, maybe… do you think you could arrange a meeting with the Director of National Security? I mean, General Ko Jeong-un.”
“Yep. You really are a special interest officer.”
“No, it’s just that last time, I think the Director of National Security may have misunderstood me terribly. If I made any mistakes, I want to set things straight, and apologize too…”
“Duty roster.”
Kang-hae cut him off.
Ha Seok-jun shut his mouth and fell into thought for a moment.
Only after a long silence did he speak again.
“If I get that for you, will you really set up a meeting with the Director of National Security?”
“I’ll ask.”
As if.
Even if it were possible, Kang-hae wouldn’t do it.
Ha Seok-jun thought it over for a moment longer.
If he went and got the roster Kang-hae wanted, and things went wrong, he might have to strip off his uniform for good.
But wasn’t he already only half-wearing his uniform anyway?
In the end, Ha Seok-jun decided to gamble.
“Fine. I’ll get it for you as fast as I can.”
The moment he heard the answer, Kang-hae stood up.
Ha Seok-jun grabbed him as he turned to leave.
“You’re going?”
“What else?”
“No, it’s just… I’m sorry to see you go. Why don’t we have some tea, talk a bit longer?”
Ha Seok-jun’s face was full of regret.
He genuinely wanted to get closer to Kang-hae.
Because Kang-hae was the only sliver of light in the twisted mess that had become his military life.
“You’ve got time for that?”
“Yeah. I’ve got plenty of time. I’m a special interest officer, remember?”
“Then I’ll give you exactly three days. Bring me the roster by then.”
With that, Kang-hae left the Counterintelligence Command.
Yongsan Presidential Office.
President Kim Jin-cheol held an off-the-record luncheon with the newly appointed members of his staff.
After tea time ended, he dismissed everyone from the room.
Just as they were about to leave, Kim Jin-cheol called Ko Jeong-un back.
“Director Ko, stay a moment. I’d like to talk to you.”
The moment the words were out of his mouth, everyone else filed out of the presidential office.
“Director, have you found out anything?”
Even though no one else was around, Kim Jin-cheol lowered his voice.
“Suspicious movement has been detected in an overseas alias account used by the North Korean upper echelon.”
“Suspicious movement, you say…? Don’t tell me someone sent money to the North and placed an order for artillery fire.”
“We haven’t confirmed that much yet.”
“Then…”
“I’ll find out as quickly as possible.”
Kim Jin-cheol clenched his fists tightly.
He hated the fact that so many things were happening behind his back.
And not just little things — things that, if exposed, could turn the whole world upside down.
“Find out as quickly as you can.”
“Yes, Your Excellency.”
Ko Jeong-un nodded and left the presidential office.
Seoul, Dongjak District — National Cemetery.
The funeral dirge played by the military band was heartbreaking.
When the music ended, the honor guard fired a salute toward the sky.
Tat-tat-tat—
Tat-tat-tat—
Tat-tat-tat—
After that, six coffins draped in the Taegeukgi were laid to rest in the cemetery.
And five of those six were empty.
Among everyone present at the burial, only Ko Jeong-un and Kang-hae knew how those six had died.
Not even the bereaved families knew how, where, or why their husbands, sons, and fathers had died.
The sound of the families’ sobbing struck Kang-hae straight in the heart.
He clenched his fists so he wouldn’t cry.
After the memorial service ended, Ko Jeong-un called Kang-hae aside.
The two of them walked side by side to the parking lot.
“Is this the first comrade you’ve lost?”
“During training, I lost two seniors and a classmate.”
“Damn it, death never gets any easier, no matter how many times you go through it.”
“I’ll report for work starting tomorrow.”
“You still haven’t fully recovered. You can rest a few more days if you need to.”
“I’m fine.”
“Have you found a place to stay?”
“I rented a goshiwon near the Presidential Office.”
“Good. Then I’ll see you tomorrow.”
Once they reached the parking lot, Ko Jeong-un got into his official car and left the National Cemetery.
Kang-hae walked out on foot as well.
He was planning to take the bus back.
That was when his pants pocket buzzed.
Vzzzt—
It was the burner phone Joo Hyeon-woo had arranged for him through a quick delivery service a few days earlier.
Only two people knew this number.
Joo Hyeon-woo and Ha Seok-jun.
The call was from Ha Seok-jun.
Kang-hae answered.
[Hey, Kang-hae, you been doing well?]
Ha Seok-jun’s affable voice came through the phone.
[Hello? Hello~? Hello~?!]
“Yeah. Speak.”
[Ah, I can hear you. You weren’t answering, so I wasn’t sure. Kang-hae, that duty roster you asked for is actually Class 2 confidential. I mean, no matter how much of the Counterintelligence Command I belong to, getting my hands on this really was…]
Ha Seok-jun looked ready to launch into a long, tedious speech.
Kang-hae cut him off at once.
“So, did you get it?”
[Yeah.]
The answer came out a little sullenly.
“Come to the Dongjak Bridge public parking lot exactly one hour from now.”
[Huh? In one hour?! I’m in Gwacheon right now…]
Kang-hae hung up without listening to another word.
Then he changed course for Dongjak Bridge.
The sun was slowly sinking above the sky.
Dongjak Bridge public parking lot.
The moment Ha Seok-jun switched off the dashcam, the passenger door opened.
Kang-hae climbed into the passenger seat and wordlessly held out his hand.
“Here.”
Ha Seok-jun handed over the documents he had brought.
“This was a pain in the ass to get, you know that? Even among Class 2 confidential stuff, there are some files that are practically Class 1, and some that are more like Class 3. I really had to go through hell to get this…”
“Quiet.”
Still staring at the papers, Kang-hae murmured under his breath.
The documents Ha Seok-jun had brought were actually useful.
They didn’t just list the duty roster; they also contained the soldiers’ personal records.
“But why was a reconnaissance battalion deployed instead of a reconnaissance company at the GP?”
“That’s what seemed strange to me too. But I can’t figure out why.”
Normally, the personnel sent to the MDL when something happened were the reconnaissance company stationed at the GP.
But this time, it had been a division-level reconnaissance battalion.
“Then the reconnaissance battalion that was deployed now wasn’t serving at a GP — they were at a GOP.”
“Yeah, exactly. But why are you asking…”
Ha Seok-jun sensed that Kang-hae was about to do something far from ordinary.
“Don’t tell me… you’re not planning…”
Ha Seok-jun hoped Kang-hae would tell him it wasn’t true.
But the instant he looked into Kang-hae’s eyes, he knew his instincts were right.
Cold sweat ran down the inside of Ha Seok-jun’s thighs and into his armpits.
Without a word, Kang-hae patted his shoulder, then opened the passenger door.
Right before getting out of the car, he said, “If I need anything else, I’ll call.”
Watching Kang-hae’s back recede, Ha Seok-jun prayed he’d never make that call again.
And the moment Kang-hae got out of the car, he called Joo Hyeon-woo.
[Hello?]
“It’s me, senior.”
[You found something?]
“Yes.”
[Phew…]
“I need weapons.”
[Got it. I’ll call you back.]
“Yes.”
After hanging up, Kang-hae repeated to himself in silence.
The hunt had begun.