Trap
Three kilometers from the coordinates.
Lee Woo-hyung, leading the way, clenched his fist and raised a hand.
It was the signal to stop.
The men behind him froze at once and fanned out to cover all directions.
Through his night-vision gear, Lee Woo-hyung swept the surrounding terrain.
On the mountainside at an elevation of six hundred meters, there was nothing but a bleak, deserted atmosphere—no sign of life at all.
And yet Lee Woo-hyung felt a nameless unease.
No, there’s no such thing as nameless unease.
He shook his head.
Then he reached back through the operations he had carried out after infiltrating the North.
As he carefully retraced those memories, he understood where his anxiety had come from.
Variables.
Every time they crossed into the North and carried out an operation, large and small variables cropped up.
Positions that hadn’t been visible to satellites were discovered, or the North Korean troops’ shift change was suddenly altered.
At the very least, some mountain beast—a goral or a wild boar—had to appear.
Variables in an operation weren’t variables at all. They were constants.
But after infiltrating the North, not even the smallest variable had occurred.
That was what unsettled Lee Woo-hyung.
Still, the absence of a variable was no reason to call off the mission.
Lee Woo-hyung ordered the spacing between the men to be widened from three meters to five.
Then they moved out again.
From the rear, Kang-hae and Kim Ha-jun followed the veterans, erasing their footprints as they went.
When they had advanced about five hundred meters from the point where the team resumed movement, something exploded in the air.
Bang.
Bang.
Bang.
Flashbangs.
The vision of the men wearing night-vision goggles turned blinding white.
Then illumination rounds went off, and bullets began raining down on them.
Rat-a-tat-tat.
Rat-a-tat-tat.
Rat-a-tat-tat.
The night before, under Ryu Yong-sik’s orders, soldiers from the Special Operations Bureau had been lying in ambush throughout Ryongnyon Mountain, waiting for the team to arrive.
Kang-hae and Kim Ha-jun threw themselves behind a rock the instant the illumination rounds went off, but the men ahead of them had no such chance.
Lee Woo-hyung and the others were hit and went down.
“You South Korean bastards, we’ve been waiting a long time for you!”
Kang-hae and Kim Ha-jun steadied their breathing behind the rock.
They both knew it.
The operation had already failed, and getting out alive would be difficult.
Kang-hae fumbled at the necklace hanging around his neck.
Should I swallow it?
No—he decided it was too soon.
At that moment, an officer from the Special Operations Bureau raised his hand and ordered the firing to stop.
One moment it had felt like a war zone; the next, silence settled over the mountain as if nothing had happened.
“South Korean intelligence comrades. In any case, you won’t be getting out of here alive. Surrender. That’s the only way to survive.”
At those words, Kim Ha-jun burst out laughing.
“Go suck on Kim Jong Un’s dick, you commie bastards.”
Kim Ha-jun yanked out the grenade hanging against his chest.
Then he hurled it toward the place where the Special Operations Bureau troops were lying in ambush.
Bang—
The moment the grenade exploded, Kim Ha-jun started moving erratically and opened fire.
While the Special Operations Bureau soldiers shot at Kim Ha-jun, who darted around like a wild animal,
Kang-hae dragged Lee Woo-hyung, who had fallen to the ground, toward the rock.
Lee Woo-hyung, with several bullets lodged in his abdomen, was bleeding and gasping.
“Hhk, hhk, hhk…….”
“Stay with me, sir.”
“Han…… han…….”
Lee Woo-hyung, held in Kang-hae’s arms, struggled to speak, then coughed up bright red blood.
Splatter—
It was obvious he would stop breathing any second.
“Three…… three…… three…….”
After saying that much, Lee Woo-hyung died with his eyes still open.
Kang-hae closed them with his hand.
The “third” Lee Woo-hyung had mentioned was their method of returning.
Not through the nearby coastal waters, but by heading north to throw the enemy into confusion, then following the Imjin River from a city along its course as they moved south.
From behind the rock, Kang-hae laid down suppressive fire.
The Special Operations Bureau soldiers hit by Kang-hae’s rifle tumbled down the mountain like loose boulders.
Kang-hae signaled to Kim Ha-jun, who was sheltering behind a tree, to flee.
Kim Ha-jun nodded.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
In the underground bunker of the Ministry of National Defense in South Korea, the people gathered there were watching the battle unfolding on Ryongnyon Mountain through a bank of monitors.
“What the hell is going on?”
Presidential Chief of Staff Yoo Jeong-hun demanded, glaring at Defense Minister Seo Seong-guk.
The military leadership, including Seo Seong-guk, could not hide their confusion.
Except for Intelligence Command Chief Ko Jeong-un.
Ko Jeong-un stared fixedly at the monitor.
There was iron in his gaze, as if he refused to let a single frame slip by.
Once he confirmed Kang-hae and Kim Ha-jun were escaping, Ko Jeong-un approached President Kim Jin-cheol.
“Your Excellency, I have something to say.”
Instead of Kim Jin-cheol, Chief of Staff Yoo Jeong-hun answered.
“What is it?”
Ko Jeong-un did not look at Yoo Jeong-hun.
His eyes remained fixed on Kim Jin-cheol.
“I request a private audience, Your Excellency.”
“Hey, Commander! What do you think you’re doing now?”
Unable to contain himself, Yoo Jeong-hun barked the words out.
Kim Jin-cheol held him back.
“Commander, I’ll contact you separately as soon as possible.”
“This is urgent. I’m requesting a private audience now.”
“Right now……?”
Kim Jin-cheol was politely refusing, but Ko Jeong-un did not budge.
That only deepened Kim Jin-cheol’s curiosity.
In the past, Kim Jin-cheol had served in the military as an officer.
He prided himself on knowing the nature of the armed forces and the men in them better than anyone.
No soldier could ever earn stars by excelling at only one thing.
To wear stars, you had to possess many things at once: patriotism, decisiveness, broad-mindedness, command ability, and political skill.
Every general Kim Jin-cheol had ever met possessed political skill.
Hadn’t some ancient Greek philosopher said as much long ago?
Humans were, by nature, political animals.
And for politician Kim Jin-cheol, that was no flaw.
On the contrary, it was an asset when evaluating a person.
Ko Jeong-un was also a general with two stars on his shoulders.
Someone like that would have a reason for asking for a private audience in a place like this.
“Is there a place here where we can speak privately?”
“I’ll take you to the operations room.”
Ko Jeong-un led Kim Jin-cheol to an empty operations room inside the underground bunker.
As soon as Kim Jin-cheol and Ko Jeong-un stepped inside, Yoo Jeong-hun turned on Seo Seong-guk.
“Minister! Does the Ministry of National Defense not even have a reporting chain?!”
“I’m sorry.”
“This was an operation that should never have been carried out in the first place. Someone will have to take responsibility.”
Yoo Jeong-hun shot another hard glare at Seo Seong-guk and the other Defense Ministry officials.
Meanwhile, inside the operations room, Kim Jin-cheol and Ko Jeong-un began their conversation.
“What is it?”
“I’m certain the information leaked.”
“Leaked……? What are you talking about?”
“The operation was exposed by someone.”
“……!”
Kim Jin-cheol was shaken by Ko Jeong-un’s words.
Ko Jeong-un continued.
“The engagement footage captured by the MUAV, the medium-altitude unmanned reconnaissance aircraft, was no ordinary firefight. The enemy knew we were coming. More than that, the weapons they used were not the same as those issued to ordinary North Korean soldiers.”
It took Kim Jin-cheol a long moment before he could speak.
“Commander, do you understand what you’re saying?”
“I do.”
Kim Jin-cheol said nothing and looked out of the operations room.
Through the glass, he could see Yoo Jeong-hun, the chief staff, and the military leadership gathered outside.
If Ko Jeong-un was telling the truth, then there was a traitor among them.
Kim Jin-cheol’s hand began to tremble.
“This is an operation I approved personally. I am the President of South Korea, and yet……! Who gave the enemy that information……?”
He could not finish the sentence.
“I will uncover who it was, no matter what,” Ko Jeong-un said in a voice full of resolve.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
Ryu Yong-sik was seated at the desk in the platoon leader’s office, smoking a top-grade Cuban cigar.
It was the kind of thing a North Korean laborer would have to save for half a year without spending a single won of his wages just to buy.
Ryu Yong-sik exhaled smoke and savored the cigar’s aroma.
“Why is it our republic can’t make tobacco leaves like this, I wonder?”
Ryu Yong-sik muttered something that could have been either a question or a remark to himself.
Oh Ji-tae, standing beside him, forced an awkward smile, not knowing what he was supposed to say.
Ryu Yong-sik’s words were ideologically dangerous.
Only one person was permitted to criticize or denounce the republic.
No matter if it was just a weed soaked in carcinogens.
But Oh Ji-tae had no time to dwell on that.
South Korean intelligence had infiltrated his jurisdiction……!
No, that wasn’t even the real problem.
The real problem was something else entirely.
The real problem was that he hadn’t realized the Special Operations Bureau troops were in ambush.
He might be dragged off to a prison camp for this.
Knock, knock—
Then came a knock at the door.
A moment later, a major from the Special Operations Forces opened it and stepped inside.
“Reporting as ordered. A short while ago, we shot dead five South Korean intelligence puppets who violated our republic’s territory, and two are currently being tracked.”
“Make sure the remaining two are killed as well.”
“Understood.”
The major saluted and left the platoon leader’s office.
“You, regiment commander, go take care of your business outside.”
“Yes, understood.”
Once Oh Ji-tae had left the office, Ryu Yong-sik took something from his pocket.
It was the latest model of iPhone, something impossible to find in North Korea.
Ryu Yong-sik powered it on and opened Telegram.
Then he placed a call to someone.
After the ringing went on for a while, the other party answered.
“I’ve lived long enough to get help from a South Korean comrade, of all people.”
Ryu Yong-sik chuckled as he spoke.
[This is all for the sake of the South and the North.]
“Right, right. I won’t forget this, not this time.”
[I’ll be hanging up now.]
After the call ended, Ryu Yong-sik clamped the cigar back between his teeth.
The corners of his mouth lifted around it.
Everything was perfect.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
The return protocol for Kang-hae and Kim Ha-jun had already been set in motion.
An Intelligence Command standby team had been deployed to the Sino-North Korean border region.
Several midget submarines were also waiting along North Korea’s Yellow Sea and East Sea coasts.
Search teams had been inserted into the forward MDL, the military demarcation line.
If they managed to shake off the enemy pursuit, Kang-hae would use a satellite communication device to transmit the coordinates of the return point.
The two men did not head south immediately as Lee Woo-hyung had told them to; instead, they moved north.
That threw the pursuit team off their trail.
They managed to shake the trackers somewhere near Wŏljŏng Mountain in South Pyongan Province.
But they still couldn’t relax.
At the foothills of a six-hundred-meter mountain, the two men caught their breath.
Going any farther north was physically beyond them now, and their ammunition was nearly gone.
I just need to get as far as Haeju.
Kang-hae mapped North Korea in his head.
Then he checked the latitude and longitude on the GPS watch strapped to his wrist.
The distance to Haeju was about fifty kilometers.
If they could break through the encirclement and make it to Haeju Cape, their chances of returning would be better than fifty-fifty.
Kang-hae sketched out the return routes in his mind.
1. Move along Haeju Cape to Yonan County, where the Imjin River runs through. After that, return by sea to Gimpo City or Ganghwa County.
2. Move along Haeju Cape to Yonan County, where the Imjin River runs through. After that, return overland to the Paju MDL.
Kang-hae decided to head for Haeju Cape first.
From there, he would assess the situation and choose their return route again.
That was when Kim Ha-jun, drinking water beside him, spoke up.
“Hey, Kang-hae. So this place is Nampo City right now?”
“Yeah.”
“Then we can get to Pyongyang in half a day.”
“……?”
“Should we just go to Pyongyang and stick a bayonet in that fat pig’s forehead?”
A snort of laughter escaped Kang-hae at Kim Ha-jun’s nonsense.
It was the first time he had laughed since infiltrating the North.
“You’re laughing? I’m serious, man.”
Kim Ha-jun’s expression turned solemn.
“You’re serious……?”
“Do I look serious, you idiot? Come on, hurry up. Let’s get out of here and get discharged. Once I’m fucking discharged, I won’t even piss north of the border.”
Kang-hae and Kim Ha-jun began moving south along the Wŏljŏng Mountain range.
It took a full half day to reach Haeju.
Just as expected, the encirclement was tight.
More than once, they ran into moments that could have ended them.
But the two of them used their wits and forced their way through each crisis.
“Fuck, we’re here…….”
Kim Ha-jun panted the words out.
Before Kang-hae and Kim Ha-jun, the open sea marking the start of Haeju Cape came into view.
The watch was tight, but not impossible to break.
The two men hid among the wave-worn rocks.
Then they waited for the sun to go down.
When night fell and they threw themselves into the sea, Kang-hae thought of Lee Woo-hyung.
That makes twice.
Twice now, he owed Lee Woo-hyung his life.
Once, back when he was still in training, when he got tangled in a fishing net while trying to save Byeon Dong-jin in the pounding surf.
And now.
If not for the return route Lee Woo-hyung gave him just before dying, he would never have made it this far.
Lee Woo-hyung had been colder than anyone, and yet warmer too.
If he hadn’t been warm, then at the moment of death he would never have thought of the surviving junior he was leaving behind and told him to take route three so he could keep living.
Scenes from the time Kang-hae had spent with Lee Woo-hyung streamed through his mind like a panorama.
This is no time to get sentimental.
Kang-hae shook the memories off.
Then he swallowed down the thing surging up from his throat with brute force.
They still had a long way to go.
Kang-hae began swimming south, beating the water with his arms.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
Inside the President’s Office.
President Kim Jin-cheol sat in his chair and took out a cigarette, placing it between his lips.
It had been handed to him by an aide not long before.
But now that he was about to light it, he hesitated.
It had been three years.
Back when he was running for president, Kim Jin-cheol, known as a habitual smoker, had made quitting part of his public image.
And every month he had taken nicotine tests.
Even after becoming president, he continued visiting Yongsan District Public Health Center every month.
Of course, he walked there on foot.
It was part of his effort to maintain contact with the people.
During the thirty-minute walk, everyone he passed smiled at him.
Some of the people he shook hands with even said they were going to buy lottery tickets.
But now even those people were turning their backs on him.
The president’s approval rating had sunk to its lowest point since inauguration.
Some media outlets were even talking about a lame-duck administration.
His aides insisted it was only temporary, but he couldn’t help worrying.
What mattered even more, though, was the fact that there was a traitor inside.
Among those who knew about the operation, most—aside from the soldiers—were high-ranking civil servants.
Who the hell……
Then there was a knock at the door.
A moment later, Yoo Jeong-hun entered the office.
Kim Jin-cheol stared at him as he approached.
From Yeouido to Seoul City Hall, and then to the Yongsan Presidential Office.
Yoo Jeong-hun had always been at Kim Jin-cheol’s side.
But is that really a reason to trust him?
During the Vietnam War, the chief of staff to the President of South Vietnam and the Minister of Justice were spies cooperating with North Vietnam.
Even the British royal art appraiser, who was related to Queen Elizabeth II and had been knighted, had been a KGB spy.
But that was only the tip of the iceberg.
Historically, there must have been far more spies who were never exposed.
Kim Jin-cheol felt as if he could trust no one.
“Your Excellency, I have an urgent report.”
Yoo Jeong-hun said.
“What is it?”
Kim Jin-cheol’s tone was cold.
Failing to hide his emotions was both a weakness and a strength of politician Kim Jin-cheol.
And Yoo Jeong-hun also noticed the change in his tone.
But reporting the urgent matter came first.
“Three hours ago, the North Korean hotline communication line was restored.”
“Which channel?”
“The NIS channel.”
There were three hotlines between the South and the North:
the summit hotline,
the authorities’ hotline,
and the military hotline.
What Yoo Jeong-hun meant by the NIS channel was the Authorities Hotline connecting the NIS and North Korea’s United Front Department.
After Kim Jin-cheol became president, the North unilaterally cut all three hotline lines.
“And a phone call came in just a little while ago.”
“From the North first?”
“Yes, sir.”
“What did they say?”
“They requested that all military clashes cease immediately and proposed a high-level meeting in the near future.”
Kim Jin-cheol fell into thought.
Operation Storm had already failed.
Any further military clash would mean escalation.
That was not something North Korea wanted either.
The problem was timing.
Kim Jin-cheol had to decide whether to push forward hard as he was doing now, or accept the gesture of reconciliation North Korea had extended.
And which option would help his approval ratings more.
“Your Excellency, there’s something else…….”
He seemed to have more to say.
But Yoo Jeong-hun could not finish the thought.
Frustrated, Kim Jin-cheol snapped at him.
“What is it?”
“The thing is…… the North Korean point man was Ryu Yong-sik.”