Hong Kong (1)
Incheon International Airport, Terminal 2.
As soon as Kang-hae got off the limousine bus, he called Seong Ha-yeong.
When Seong Ha-yeong answered, he told her he had arrived.
“Understood.”
There were still two hours left before departure, but she had already arrived ahead of Kang-hae and was waiting for him.
Kang-hae headed for the Future Bank booth on the first floor that Seong Ha-yeong had mentioned.
Even though it was a weekday afternoon, the airport was packed with people leaving the country.
And in front of the Future Bank booth, Kang-hae found a Seong Ha-yeong who looked different from usual.
She was always dressed in a suit, but today she wore jeans and a blazer.
Maybe it was the change in clothes.
Her normally cold impression seemed different, too.
And Kang-hae noticed the men around Seong Ha-yeong stealing glances at her.
“Oh, you’re here.”
Seong Ha-yeong greeted him when she spotted Kang-hae.
At that moment, the eyes of the men who had been eyeing her shifted to Kang-hae.
Their looks as they scanned him seemed to say: You?!
Kang-hae nodded to Seong Ha-yeong, then glanced at his own reflection in the window.
He was wearing a suit, just like he did when he went to work at the National Security Office.
He had assumed it was only natural to dress for a business trip the same way he dressed for work, but after seeing Seong Ha-yeong, he wasn’t so sure that was true.
Kang-hae decided he should buy some casual clothes at the duty-free shop.
“Has the person who was supposed to come arrived?” Seong Ha-yeong asked him.
“He texted a little while ago that he was already here.”
After saying that, Kang-hae looked around.
And among the men shooting him envious looks, he spotted one in particular.
He was wearing a Hawaiian shirt utterly out of season, a fedora, and sunglasses on top of that.
The moment he spotted Kang-hae, he shouted at the top of his lungs.
“Kang-hae!”
As soon as Kang-hae heard that voice, his face twisted on its own.
It was Ha Seok-jun.
Unlike a few days ago, his face was blooming with smiles.
Ha Seok-jun had been assigned to accompany Kang-hae and Seong Ha-yeong on this trip at Ko Jeong-un’s orders.
The reason was that the matter might involve the military.
With one phone call from Ko Jeong-un, Ha Seok-jun had been added to the trip.
No special procedure was needed.
One call from the director of the National Security Office, and everything moved along as smoothly as if it had been greased.
What on earth is Director Ko thinking...?
Kang-hae did not like having Ha Seok-jun along.
Neither did Seong Ha-yeong, but unlike Kang-hae, she didn’t show what she was feeling.
“I’m Seong Ha-yeong, from the Crisis Management Center team at the National Security Office.”
“I’m Major Ha Seok-jun. I work at the Defense Counterintelligence Command, which is responsible for the security of the Republic of Korea Armed Forces.”
Seong Ha-yeong and Ha Seok-jun exchanged business cards.
Ha Seok-jun stared intently at the card Seong Ha-yeong handed him.
Seong Ha-yeong...?
It was a familiar name.
Suddenly, something flashed through Ha Seok-jun’s mind.
“Didn’t you happen to serve in the military through the ROTC?”
“That’s right. I served in the 22nd Infantry Division.”
“Oh?! That’s it, right?! Ilseong Group!”
“We don’t have time. Let’s hurry.”
Seong Ha-yeong cut him off in a rush.
Ha Seok-jun looked like he wanted to say more, but Seong Ha-yeong turned and headed for departures without another word.
Kang-hae and Ha Seok-jun followed after her.
“Kang-hae, you knew, didn’t you?”
“...?”
Kang-hae looked at Ha Seok-jun as if to say, What are you talking about?
But Ha Seok-jun’s gaze was fixed on Seong Ha-yeong’s back.
“Of course you knew. I shouldn’t have asked.”
Ha Seok-jun answered himself, unbidden.
Then, just before they reached departures, he suddenly grabbed Kang-hae’s hand.
“Thanks, Kang-hae.”
“What the hell are you talking about, you lunatic?”
“You told Director Ko, didn’t you?”
“...?”
“I asked you before, remember? To set up a meal with the director of the National Security Office. Honestly, I wasn’t expecting much. But then the director himself called Defense Counterintelligence Command and said my name! I’m eating in the officers’ dining hall again.”
He had clearly misunderstood something, completely and thoroughly.
And the gratitude on Ha Seok-jun’s face was genuine.
Kang-hae shook off his hand.
Then he looked Ha Seok-jun up and down.
“Hey, trash.”
“Huh?”
“Change your clothes.”
From the moment he’d first seen him, Kang-hae had hated Ha Seok-jun’s outfit.
Ha Seok-jun protested that it was expensive, but he immediately folded under Kang-hae’s stare.
With a sulky look, he dragged his suitcase toward the restroom beside the departure checkpoint.
Kang-hae slowly studied Ha Seok-jun’s receding figure.
His head, neck, shoulders, waist, legs, and the suitcase in his hand.
Watching him, an idea struck like lightning.
“Hey, trash.”
Ha Seok-jun, just about to enter the restroom, looked back.
“How many sets of clothes did you bring?”
Kang-hae thought there was no need to waste money at the duty-free shop.
Four hours later.
Hong Kong International Airport.
The plane carrying the three of them had arrived in Hong Kong, and Kang-hae looked completely different from the way he had at Incheon Airport.
He looked like nothing more than a traveler in his twenties.
His clothes and shoes had all come out of Ha Seok-jun’s suitcase.
The T-shirt was Balenciaga, the pants were Levi’s, and the shoes were Nike.
They were all brand-new releases for the season.
All things Ha Seok-jun had splurged on this summer with great resolve.
But they were brand-new items he had been too reluctant to wear even once.
He had brought them to Hong Kong planning to wear them himself.
In the end, Kang-hae was the one who put them on.
After clearing immigration, the three of them left the airport.
The sun was setting, but the air remained hot and damp.
Seong Ha-yeong took off the blazer she had been wearing.
Kang-hae thought, inwardly, that the light blue linen shirt suited her surprisingly well.
And the moment he realized he was having that thought, he was seized by a strange, embarrassing feeling.
“What’s the schedule for today?” he asked, trying to shake off the feeling.
“It’s the first day, so how about Disneyxland?! I heard Hong Kong Disneyxland is incredible,” Ha Seok-jun cut in.
“Hong Kong is more famous for its night view than for Disneyxland. Let’s head there first.”
It was not something Seong Ha-yeong would normally say.
After saying that, she hailed a taxi.
Then she put her luggage in the trunk and climbed into the front passenger seat.
Kang-hae and Ha Seok-jun followed her, loading their bags into the trunk and getting into the back seat.
In fluent Cantonese, Seong Ha-yeong told the driver to take them to ICC, the International Commerce Centre.
In the early 2000s, the Hong Kong government had worried about overpopulation on Hong Kong Island.
So it drew up a plan to build a complex financial and trade district on the Kowloon Peninsula, which was relatively underdeveloped compared to Hong Kong Island.
The district became known as Union Square, and the final tower to be built there, ICC, was assigned the role of landmark.
Completed in 2010, ICC became the tallest building in Hong Kong.
And true to the name ICC, the International Commerce Centre, world-class financial firms such as Deutsche Bank and Morgan Stanley had offices there.
Not only that, it also housed an observatory where visitors could take in Hong Kong’s night view, the six-star Ritzxon Hotel, and a variety of luxury shops.
Thirty minutes later.
The taxi carrying the three of them arrived at ICC on Hong Kong’s Kowloon Peninsula.
The moment they got out, the three of them looked up at the tower.
“Uh, Ms. Ha-yeong. The night view sounds great and all, but shouldn’t we drop our bags first? Maybe change clothes, too.”
Ha Seok-jun said, looking at Seong Ha-yeong.
“This is it. Our lodging.”
“Don’t tell me... the Ritzxon?”
“Yes, the Ritzxon.”
At the very top of ICC sat the six-star Ritzxon Hotel.
The nightly rate for a standard deluxe room was well over 600,000 won.
“We’re really staying here...?”
Ha Seok-jun looked up at ICC again, still unable to believe it.
“Let’s go inside.”
Leaving Ha Seok-jun and Kang-hae staring up at ICC with their mouths open, Seong Ha-yeong headed into the building.
She hadn’t been lying.
Before coming to Hong Kong, Seong Ha-yeong had reserved two rooms at the Ritzxon Hotel.
One was for Seong Ha-yeong.
The other was for Kang-hae and Ha Seok-jun to use.
Seong Ha-yeong tipped the bellboy who had carried their bags to the room door.
After the bellboy left, Seong Ha-yeong swiped her card and opened the door.
“Both of you. Come in right now.”
Kang-hae and Ha Seok-jun followed her into the room.
The moment the door closed, she took a tablet out of her suitcase.
“All right, let me walk you through today’s schedule.”
The instant Seong Ha-yeong started speaking, Ha Seok-jun jumped in to object.
“Hey, Ms. Ha-yeong. Didn’t you say we were going to look at the night view?”
Without saying a word, Seong Ha-yeong pointed with her chin toward the window.
Ha Seok-jun looked where she indicated.
The room was on the 110th floor, and the entire Hong Kong skyline lay spread out below them.
“The night view. You saw it, didn’t you?”
“...”
Seong Ha-yeong spoke to Ha Seok-jun’s head from behind.
Ha Seok-jun felt as if he’d been tricked, but it wasn’t really a lie, so he kept his mouth shut.
Seong Ha-yeong held out the tablet she had taken out to Kang-hae and Ha Seok-jun.
On the screen was a photo of a man in his thirties.
“His name is Ryan Huang. He’s thirty-nine years old. He was born in Seoul and immigrated to Chicago with his parents at age nine. He graduated from the University of Chicago with a degree in economics. After that, he worked at JxMorgan and Shx Group, then transferred five years ago to Bitcom, a Hong Kong cryptocurrency exchange.”
“If it’s cryptocurrency, I’m something of an expert myself,” Ha Seok-jun cut in.
“Do you know much about crypto?”
“I lost my jeonse deposit to Luma Coin in 2022.”
For just a moment, irritation flickered across Seong Ha-yeong’s face and vanished.
And Kang-hae thought seriously, inwardly, about whether he should cut Ha Seok-jun’s tongue out.
“Please continue,” Kang-hae said, forcing down his annoyance.
“Huh? Ah, where was I?”
“You said Bitcom.”
“Ah, Bitcom... Bitcom is the second-largest cryptocurrency exchange in Hong Kong and the sixth-largest in Asia. It currently lists 175 cryptocurrencies. Over the past five years, twenty-five cryptocurrencies have been listed and then delisted. Four of them were delisted just one month after being listed. The names of those four cryptocurrencies were Galaxy, Milky Way, Magpie, and April.”
Ha Seok-jun looked like he was thinking, What the hell is that supposed to mean?
But Kang-hae understood what the four cryptocurrency names Seong Ha-yeong had mentioned were connected to.
Galaxy, Milky Way, Magpie, April.
Translated into Korean, those four words were:
Galaxy, Milky Way, magpie, April.
Galaxy and Milky Way were words commonly favored in North Korea.
The magpie was one of the animals that symbolized North Korea.
And April was the month of the most important commemorative date in North Korea, the birth month of Kim Seong-il.
“So those four delisted cryptocurrencies were made in the North?” Kang-hae asked, looking at Seong Ha-yeong.
Seong Ha-yeong looked slightly surprised, but she didn’t show it.
“We believe that’s very likely. At the time those four cryptocurrencies were listed, the trading patterns were highly suspicious.”
“Didn’t the NSO or the National Security Office investigate them?”
“Since they were delisted, there’s no record left.”
“...”
“But a month ago, a cryptocurrency called Magnolia was listed on Bitcom. Magnolia means magnolia flower.”
At the word magnolia, Kang-hae’s eyes flashed.
In North Korea, the magnolia was the national flower, chosen to honor Kim Jong-il’s mother.
Seong Ha-yeong went on.
“Let’s go back to the beginning. A cryptocurrency believed to have been developed in North Korea was listed on Bitcom. Someone keeps buying up that worthless coin and inflating the price, pushing it up tens of times, even hundreds of times above its real value. Then someone else buys that inflated cryptocurrency.”
“Hold on a second.”
Ha Seok-jun, who had been silent until now, cut in again.
“I told you I was a cryptocurrency expert, right? I’ve been listening quietly, but if you think about it, crypto is just like stocks, isn’t it? So the people making money are the ones trading, not necessarily the ones issuing the coins, right?”
“But what if both the issuers and the ones inflating the price are North Korea?”
“Ah...”
Ha Seok-jun fell silent again.
“In any case, what we need to do is investigate Magnolia, which is listed on Bitcom.”
“How?”
“The Ryan Huang I mentioned earlier is Bitcom’s CPO, the chief privacy officer. First, getting close to Ryan Huang is what we need to do.”
“And how exactly are we supposed to do that...?”
“Can’t you think of anything?”
At the same time, Kang-hae and Ha Seok-jun had the same thought.
The honey trap.
Using attractive looks and sexual allure to seduce a target and gather information.
Both of them thought Seong Ha-yeong would be more than capable of pulling it off.
But neither of them could bring themselves to say the words aloud.
“How about a honey trap?”
It was Seong Ha-yeong who said it first.
That was unexpected.
“Well, a honey trap is a classic, but I hesitated to suggest it as a Republic of Korea Army major, you know?” Ha Seok-jun babbled awkwardly, talking nonsense nobody had asked for.
“At this point, it seems like the best method.” Seong Ha-yeong’s voice held no hesitation, no worry at all.
“Ah, this is awkward. I can’t exactly do it in your place. Hahaha...” Ha Seok-jun said, scratching the back of his head.
At that, Seong Ha-yeong looked puzzled and spoke up.
“Didn’t I say it earlier?”
“Say what?”
“Ryan Huang is gay.”
Silence settled over the room.
And it stayed there for a very long time.