The Real Purpose of the Report on the Next-Generation Stealth Drone Development Project, Part 4
The next day.
After lunch, May Shin called Jo Gwang-il first.
“Did you get home all right yesterday?”
“Yes. How are you feeling?”
“I’m sorry about yesterday.”
“It’s fine. We can go for a drive anytime.”
“What are you doing today?”
“I’m having dinner with my uncle tonight.”
“Your uncle?”
“Yes. You met him at the wedding yesterday.”
“Ah, the man I saw yesterday.”
May Shin already knew that uncle was Ko Jeong-un, but she kept her face blank.
“Rachel.”
“Yes.”
“How are you feeling today?”
“I’m fine today.”
“Then would you like to have dinner with us? With my uncle too.”
“With your uncle...?”
“Don’t feel pressured.”
“Am I even allowed to come to something like that?”
“Of course. You don’t need to worry about it.”
“You’ll give me a little time to think, right?”
“Sure. Call me back.”
“I will.”
After hanging up, May Shin immediately called Sun Wei.
It was a sudden dinner invitation on a Sunday evening.
And not just any dinner, but one with the Director of the National Security Office of Korea.
This was not something she could decide on her own.
Sun Wei told her to go to dinner.
May Shin called Jo Gwang-il again.
“Daniel.”
“Yes.”
“Is it really all right for me to come along?”
“Not at all—don’t worry about it.”
“All right. Then I’ll join you.”
“Then I’ll come by your place at five.”
“Okay. See you later.”
After hanging up, May Shin changed clothes and carefully replayed everything that had happened so far in her mind.
The Director of the National Security Office of Korea asks the Minister of National Defense for help with a new project and a personnel favor.
A Korean Canadian is parachuted into a company that supplies drones to the Korean Ministry of National Defense.
Not long after, $300,000 is deposited into the account of the Canadian who joined the drone company.
And the Korean Canadian and the Director of the National Security Office seem to be rather close.
May Shin was certain something was going on.
And as she tucked a small recorder and her weapons into her pockets, she made up her mind.
She would absolutely produce results of her own.
* * *
At an upscale traditional Korean restaurant near Gwanghwamun in Seoul.
Jo Gwang-il and May Shin arrived early and waited for Ko Jeong-un, and Ko Jeong-un finally showed up ten minutes after the two of them had gotten there.
“Have you been waiting long?”
“A little?”
“Sorry. I had something to take care of.”
“I’m hungry. Let’s eat already.”
Ko Jeong-un and Jo Gwang-il spoke casually with each other.
They used English, just as they had at the wedding.
Ko Jeong-un’s pronunciation wasn’t fluent, but it caused no trouble at all in conversation.
And May Shin, smiling politely, waited for Ko Jeong-un to look at her.
“So you’re the one I met at yesterday’s wedding.”
Only then did Ko Jeong-un address her.
“Hello. My name is Rachel.”
May Shin returned the greeting and naturally handed him her business card.
“Sit.”
Ko Jeong-un took his seat, and Jo Gwang-il and May Shin sat down as well.
Ko Jeong-un ordered the most expensive course, and before long the dishes began to arrive.
“Ah, I was late introducing him. I’ve just been calling him Uncle, but he used to be in the military, and now he’s someone who works with the President of Korea. Is that right, Uncle?”
Jo Gwang-il introduced Ko Jeong-un to May Shin that way.
“It’s an honor to dine with someone of your standing,” May Shin said with a smile.
“And this is Miss Rachel. May Shin works as a team leader in the screening department at a global investment firm called Vestreach.”
That was how Jo Gwang-il introduced May Shin to Ko Jeong-un, and May Shin modestly replied,
“We’re not really global—we mostly invest in Asia.”
“A pleasure.”
“The honor is mine.”
Ko Jeong-un extended his hand, and as May Shin shook it, she caught the way he watched her with interest.
“So what sector do you mainly invest in?”
“It depends on the country we enter, but in Korea we mainly focus on startups.”
“I see.”
Ko Jeong-un nodded and ate.
Jo Gwang-il and May Shin ate as well, and after May Shin had taken a few bites, she asked Jo Gwang-il,
“By the way, are the two of you related?”
She asked as naturally as if she were asking about the weather that day.
“Didn’t I tell you last time? We’re not relatives, but when the proper form of address is awkward, I call him Uncle.”
“The way you say that makes me even more curious.”
“Well, to put it simply, we’re people who have something to give and take from each other.”
Jo Gwang-il said it with a smile, and Ko Jeong-un’s face stiffened for a brief moment.
May Shin did not miss it.
And she chewed over Jo Gwang-il’s words from a moment earlier.
People who have something to give and take from each other...
It was a loaded way to put it.
For a moment, silence settled over the table.
Then May Shin slowly spoke.
“If it’s not out of line, may I say something?”
“I’d prefer it not be inappropriate for the occasion.”
May Shin thought Ko Jeong-un was drawing a line, but this was an opportunity she couldn’t pass up.
She had no idea when she might ever meet Ko Jeong-un again.
“If I may ask, do you have any plans after you retire, Director?”
“...?”
“At Vestreach Investments, we bring in people who have spent many years building careers in their own fields as advisors. Even now, professors from various disciplines, as well as former senior civil servants who have retired from office, are serving as advisors at our company.”
“I thought you said you were in investment screening.”
“Regardless of rank, our headquarters’ policy is to make offers whenever we meet outstanding people.”
What May Shin said was true.
After gauging Ko Jeong-un’s reaction for a moment, she went on.
“Naturally, because they’ve spent such a long time in their respective fields, we do our utmost to make sure they’re treated in a way that reflects their experience.”
“I won’t accept it as a formal offer.”
“Of course. I know it would be rude to make an offer like this to someone of your position, Director. If you’re interested, please feel free to contact us. We’ll come see you properly and make a formal proposal.”
“Thank you.”
Ko Jeong-un smiled and resumed eating, and May Shin returned the smile.
After that, Ko Jeong-un and Jo Gwang-il carried on a bit of light conversation.
And just as the dishes on their plates were beginning to thin out, a commotion sounded from outside.
Thud—
A moment later, the door opened.
And more than ten people stormed into the room.
“What is this?”
Ko Jeong-un looked at them and asked, and one of the men stepped forward and said,
“Director Ko Jeong-un, I’m Deputy Chief Prosecutor Kim Hyeon-seok of the Special Investigation Division 4 at the Seoul Central District Prosecutors’ Office. Effective immediately, you are under emergency arrest on charges of abuse of authority, illegal personnel lobbying, and bribery.”
Kim Hyeon-seok then read the Miranda warning.
“You’re talking about an emergency arrest, but I don’t see a warrant.”
“Let’s go.”
Ko Jeong-un remained seated and looked at the dozen or so people who had burst into the room.
Their clothes were similar, but one group had a different air about them.
Ko Jeong-un knew they were NIS personnel.
The NIS, which had no authority to arrest the Director of the National Security Office, had brought in the prosecutors, and in practical terms, this entire operation was being driven by the Defense Industry Intelligence Division, Section 3 of the NIS.
“Where will the investigation be conducted?”
“We’ll take you to the Central District Prosecutors’ Office.”
“National security is at stake. I’d prefer to be questioned somewhere a little more discreet.”
At that, smiles touched the faces of the NIS officers.
That was exactly what they had wanted.
“Very well,” said Prosecutor Kim Hyeon-seok.
“And one more thing.”
“...?”
“Take these two in front of me into custody as well.”
“...?”
“They’re the ones involved in the personnel lobbying and bribery you mentioned.”
Kim Hyeon-seok was flustered, and he looked to NIS Defense Industry Intelligence Team Leader Han Gi-hun with an expression that plainly asked what he was supposed to do.
Han Gi-hun nodded.
“Hey,” May Shin said in fluent Korean, “I have nothing to do with this.”
“I’m a foreign national with Singaporean and British citizenship. This is the first time I’ve met the Director today.”
From the moment the dozen or so men burst in, May Shin had felt that something was wrong, but she didn’t think it would become much of an issue.
Above all else, there was a small recorder in the inner pocket of the tweed jacket she was wearing, and it had been running since before she even met Ko Jeong-un.
And Ko Jeong-un looked straight at her and said,
“I suspect you’re an operative from China’s Ministry of State Security who has infiltrated Vestreach Investments under cover.”
“...!”
“Or perhaps Vestreach is itself a shell company.”
“I have no idea what you’re talking about.”
“These people will uncover the truth through their investigation.”
“Let me say this again: I’m a foreigner with dual citizenship.”
“Emergency arrests are possible even for foreigners. All the more so for those suspected of being foreign spies who have infiltrated the country.”
Prosecutor Kim Hyeon-seok and Team Leader Han Gi-hun had no idea how the situation had suddenly veered in this direction, and Ko Jeong-un, glancing at the body cams attached to the prosecutors’ vests, said,
“As the Director of the National Security Office of the Republic of Korea, I am stating that I strongly suspect the foreign woman with dual citizenship standing before me is a spy belonging to an overseas intelligence agency.”
No one said a word.
Ko Jeong-un looked at Kim Hyeon-seok and asked,
“What will you do?”
“....”
Kim Hyeon-seok cursed inwardly.
You bastard from Naegok-dong...
It felt like he was about to be saddled with someone else’s mess.
When the NIS first suggested arresting the Director of the National Security Office on corruption charges, he had thought it was a chance.
But he had never dreamed that a spy would suddenly appear.
Still, he couldn’t just let this slide.
Hadn’t Ko Jeong-un just been staring at the body cams on the investigators’ chests and speaking?
Kim Hyeon-seok shot Han Gi-hun a resentful glare, and Han Gi-hun was just as rattled.
Damn it, why is the Ministry of State Security coming up here?
Right in front of him, the Director of the National Security Office had pointed to someone suspected of being a spy, and as an NIS officer, there was no way he could simply ignore that.
And all of this had been part of Ko Jeong-un’s larger plan.
The National Security Office had neither the personnel nor the authority to arrest a suspected spy, and if they tried to coordinate with the police or the prosecutors, he had expected Seo Seong-guk, the NIS director, to interfere.
Besides, Seo Seong-guk might have been cooking up some sinister scheme of his own.
So Ko Jeong-un had decided to become the bait himself and let himself be arrested.
That was why he had gone to the Minister of National Defense for the favor.
That was why he had contacted the chairman of Argon Air Systems and asked him to arrange the $300,000 deposit into Daniel Kim’s account.
It had all been a show meant to deceive everyone.
“I will make the arrest.”
Han Gi-hun decided to do exactly as Ko Jeong-un had said.
He knew the newly appointed NIS director and the Director of the National Security Office were more at odds than ever.
And under the director’s orders, a great deal of manpower had been deployed to bring in the Director of the National Security Office.
He also knew that if he made a major contribution to putting him away, promotion would be guaranteed.
But if the target was an operative from an overseas intelligence agency, that was a different matter.
He could not let an operative from a foreign intelligence service slip through his fingers right in front of him.
Click—
Handcuffs were locked around May Shin’s wrists, and a black van carrying the three of them headed toward the NIS Special Investigation Office.
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