Railway, Part 2
Each ministry was consumed with investigating the feasibility and economic benefits of the railway project ordered by the president.
At every meeting, the ministers stressed security.
But they knew it too.
Rumors could not be stopped.
The stock market reacted first.
Wall Street gossip began to spread through the securities firms.
Starting with steel companies and dry-construction material manufacturers, even shipbuilders and steel mills suddenly found themselves riding an unexpected boom.
The press began digging as well.
Staffers working at the presidential office were inundated with calls from journalists asking for confirmation.
And it wasn’t just reporters; various companies also used their own back channels to make inquiries.
Of course, Kim Jin-cheol learned of it too.
He insisted on making the announcement himself.
But the entire presidential staff opposed him.
“Your Excellency, this matter hasn’t even been agreed upon yet.”
“We’re dealing with the North. They could change their position again at any time.”
“Normally, an announcement like this should come from the Minister of Unification or the Minister of Land, Infrastructure and Transport.”
Kim Jin-cheol disliked what his advisers were saying, but he had no choice but to follow their judgment.
The other side was North Korea—the same country that had fired artillery only a few months ago.
If he stepped out front and North Korea reversed course, the blame would land on him alone.
In the end, Minister of Unification Kim Do-gyun was the one who delivered the government’s official briefing.
* * *
The presidential office briefing room.
Kim Do-gyun took the podium.
Click—
Click, click, click—
A storm of camera flashes erupted, and Kim Do-gyun cleared his throat before reading from the prepared script.
“Honorable citizens, I am Kim Do-gyun, Minister of Unification. I understand that recent reports in some media outlets about the inter-Korean railway connection have drawn considerable attention and concern. The government has determined that providing the public with transparent and accurate information must be our priority.
I would like to inform you that negotiations for the inter-Korean railway connection are currently in the initial stage. However, I must make clear that no concrete agreement or implementation plan has yet been finalized.”
Even after Kim Do-gyun announced that nothing had been finalized, stock prices continued to surge day after day.
Public anticipation rose to a fever pitch as well.
But there were plenty of citizens who worried just as much.
The opposition did not sit idle either.
Jung Do-jin, the Future Korea Party leader who had lost the presidential election by just 1.2 percent, immediately held a press conference at the National Assembly.
“Just two months ago, seven South Korean citizens lost their lives in North Korean shelling. And yet has the president issued even one proper apology?”
As always, the press conference began with an attack on the president, and then Jung Do-jin laid out a series of reasons for opposing the inter-Korean railway.
The first was the enormous cost.
The second was that North Korea, a country under international sanctions, could not be trusted.
His argument was that they would use the railway connection as a pretext to ease sanctions on the North, import steel and oil, and then, once they had what they wanted, find some new pretext to halt construction just as before.
After Jung Do-jin’s press conference ended, the media rushed to quote him.
Even news programs brought on experts who voiced their opinions.
As expected, the ruling party criticized Jung Do-jin.
And so the endless, pointless bickering between ruling and opposition parties began.
* * *
The presidential office conference room.
The president, the prime minister, and all the cabinet ministers were seated there.
Since the matter involved North Korea, Ko Jeong-un, the director of the National Security Office, and Seo Seong-guk, the director of the NIS, were also attending the Cabinet meeting.
As soon as the meeting began, Kim Jin-cheol called on the Minister of Land, Infrastructure and Transport.
“Minister.”
“Yes, Your Excellency.”
“Why is there such a huge gap between the amount in the last report and the amount in this one?”
The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport had failed to properly assess the cost of the inter-Korean railway project, and there was unmistakable anger in Kim Jin-cheol’s voice.
“W-well, as you know, the war between Russia and Ukraine sent the price of key raw materials soaring, and it’s taking some time to get an accurate picture of the North Korean rail system.”
“What do you mean, ‘taking time’? The war started ages ago, and you’re still using that excuse?”
“I’m sorry……”
Kim Jin-cheol glared at the minister.
He was half a breath away from shouting at him to hand in his resignation.
Unlike at the beginning, public concern over the inter-Korean railway was beginning to surface, and Kim Jin-cheol could feel the pressure building.
“Any other issues?”
Kim Jin-cheol looked around at the cabinet members.
“I have something to report, Your Excellency.”
Seo Seong-guk, the newly appointed NIS director, spoke up.
“Go ahead.”
“Four days ago, we confirmed that North Korea’s Minister of Railways, Ri Kyung-su, met with Li Jianfeng, vice president of the China State Railway Group, in Tianjin.”
“……!”
That was welcome news.
Tianjin was a major Chinese city where raw materials and steel were produced on a massive scale, and the vice president of China State Railway Group was a senior official in the agency that oversaw China’s railways.
“Not only that, but we also confirmed that the two men visited a railway bearing manufacturer together.”
When Seo Seong-guk finished, the corners of Kim Jin-cheol’s mouth lifted.
But that smile did not last long.
It was because of Ko Jeong-un’s next remark.
“Strictly speaking, that isn’t accurate, Your Excellency.”
Everyone, including Kim Jin-cheol, turned to look at Ko Jeong-un.
“What do you mean, ‘that isn’t accurate’?”
“The company visited by Ri Kyung-su and Li Jianfeng manufactures railway bearings, yes. But it also manufactures bearings for tanks and armored vehicles. We have also confirmed that it has recently begun producing ultra-precision bearings used in missile guidance systems.”
Kim Jin-cheol’s expression hardened.
Seo Seong-guk’s face flushed red as he raised his voice at Ko Jeong-un.
“Then why did Ri Kyung-su, the Minister of Railways, visit it?”
“It may have been a cover.”
“A cover? The entire escort detail accompanying Ri Kyung-su was from the Ministry of Railways!”
Seo Seong-guk, agitated, shouted before he realized it, dropping into casual speech.
Seo Seong-guk was Ko Jeong-un’s senior from the fifth class at the Military Academy, and he was furious that someone who had been under his command until just a few months ago was now challenging him.
“But before becoming Minister of Railways, Ri Kyung-su was vice chairman of the Second Economic Committee.”
North Korea’s Second Economic Committee was the department that oversaw military production, alongside the Ministry of Munitions Industry.
“Verify it as quickly as possible.”
Kim Jin-cheol did not like it, but in the end he ordered them to confirm the facts.
Yet it was unclear exactly who he was directing the order at.
Everyone present knew that Ko Jeong-un and Seo Seong-guk would now be locked in a fierce struggle over intelligence.
And after the Cabinet meeting ended, Ko Jeong-un returned immediately to the National Security Office.
He called in Kang-hae, who had been helping Seong Ha-yeong draft reports.
Knock, knock—
“You asked for me?”
“Go to Tianjin now.”
“You mean in China?”
“Yes. There’s an overseas team from the Information Command there. They’re short-handed, so you’ll be joining them too.”
“Do I have to go alone?”
“Need more people?”
“May I bring one more person with me?”
“Who are you talking about?”
“I’d like to take Major Ha Seok-jun from the Defense Counterintelligence Command.”
“I’ll make a call to the Counterintelligence Command.”
“Thank you.”
Kang-hae left the director’s office, and Seong Ha-yeong, who had returned to her desk, asked him, “What’s going on?”
“I’ve been sent on a business trip.”
“A business trip? Where to?”
“China.”
“Alone?”
“No.”
“Then……?”
“I’m going with Ha Seok-jun.”
Seong Ha-yeong’s face flickered with disappointment before she hid it.
“All right. If anything happens, call me right away.”
“Yes, understood.”
After that, Seong Ha-yeong prepared the paperwork for Kang-hae’s trip.
* * *
The next morning.
Incheon International Airport, Terminal 1.
“Mwa-hahahahaha!”
Ha Seok-jun burst out laughing the moment he saw Kang-hae.
It had been since the last time they saw the twin sisters in Itaewon.
“Kang-hae! You missed me, didn’t you?!”
Ha Seok-jun said as he came walking up to him, and Kang-hae grimaced.
The only reason he had asked Ko Jeong-un to send Ha Seok-jun along was simple.
Unlike Kang-hae, Ha Seok-jun could speak Chinese.
He knew Seong Ha-yeong also spoke Chinese well, but he did not want to drag her into a dangerous place with him.
“I told you, after my last business trip to Hong Kong, my standing in the Counterintelligence Command changed. This time, too, the director of the National Security Office called our commander directly. Ah, you should’ve seen the look on our chief of staff’s face.”
Ha Seok-jun kept rambling on about things no one had asked him.
Kang-hae cut him off.
“Shut up, you piece of trash.”
“Huh?”
“Let’s keep it quiet.”
“……”
“Uh, but Kang-hae.”
“What?”
“Is this dangerous again……?”
“One of two things.”
“One of two?”
“Die, or live.”
“Simple enough……”
“Yeah.”
Leaving the worried-looking Ha Seok-jun behind, Kang-hae headed for the departure gate, and Ha Seok-jun followed after him at last, resigned.
After clearing immigration, the two boarded a flight bound for Tianjin.
It was already past 3 p.m. by the time they arrived at Tianjin Binhai International Airport.
From there, they took another taxi and drove for about an hour toward the outskirts of Tianjin’s Dongli District.
They passed through the downtown area, where high-rise hotels and business centers stood, and then the road turned into an unpaved stretch kicking up clouds of dust.
Far ahead, an industrial complex belched smoke into the sky.
Inside it was a clothing factory that the Information Command’s field intelligence collection team ran under cover.
It was Kang-hae’s destination.
“Ugh, this air.”
As soon as he got out of the taxi, Ha Seok-jun frowned and spoke.
Gray smoke was pouring nonstop from the factory chimneys, and the acrid air stung their eyes and set them coughing.
Ha Seok-jun coughed and muttered under his breath while Kang-hae stood still and looked around.
Long rows of factories, stray dogs roaming the area, and people watching them with curious eyes all stood out.
Leaving them behind, Kang-hae turned on his phone.
Then he started walking toward their destination.
After about ten minutes, a residential district came into view beside the factory complex—one that looked like it could collapse at any moment.
And in one alley of that district, Kang-hae came face to face with several men glaring at them.
One of them shouted, “$%^%$#@$&!”
Kang-hae couldn’t understand the words, but he could tell they weren’t friendly.
And beside him, Ha Seok-jun translated them word for word.
“He says, what the hell are these damn Koreans doing here……”
“Damn Koreans?”
“That’s what they call us when they’re insulting us. Like ‘Jap’ or ‘Chinaman.’”
By then, the men had come closer.
“What the hell…… why are they acting like this……”
Terrified, Ha Seok-jun hurriedly hid behind Kang-hae’s back.
Wordlessly, Kang-hae looked at the men approaching him.
There were three of them.
They were dirty and rough-looking, much like the stray dogs they had just passed on the street.
“@#$%^&^&*%$$#!”
One of them shouted again.
This time, Ha Seok-jun translated once more.
“He says if we don’t want to die, we should empty our pockets and get lost.”
Kang-hae snorted when he heard that.
His laugh made their expressions turn even uglier than before.
The man who had been cursing reached into his clothes and pulled out a Chinese cleaver.
Then he swung it straight at Kang-hae.
Whoosh—
Kang-hae leaned his upper body back quickly, avoiding the blade.
Then he immediately drove his foot into the man’s abdomen.
The man let out a grunt and staggered backward.
The gap between them widened.
But the cleaver was still in his hand.
With a battle cry, the man swung the cleaver again.
Whoosh—
Whoosh—
Whoosh—
At a glance, it looked like wild, reckless slashing.
But Kang-hae understood.
Every one of those attacks was aimed at his vital points.
Even one cut, and the blade would sink deep into the body.
This wasn’t the movement of someone merely mugging people on the street.
He could not afford to take any more risks.
Kang-hae avoided the blade and waited for an opening.
Then, in a split second, he saw the man’s stance wobble.
He drove his leading foot straight into the man’s jaw.
Thwack—
The man’s legs gave out and he collapsed to the ground.
His eyes were no longer those of a sober man, but he was still clutching the cleaver.
Kang-hae knew the man might swing it reflexively.
So he immediately seized the hand holding the cleaver.
And twisted it the other way.
Snap.
The cleaver hit the ground.
Kang-hae looked at the two men still staring at him and said, “Let’s stop here, shall we, seniors?”