Joint Operation (1)
[Na Kang-hae.]
"I'm listening."
"Is revenge your first priority, or is the mission?"
…
Kang-hae couldn’t answer right away.
Then Ko Jeong-un’s voice came through the receiver.
"The assignment I gave you was to uncover the senior figures in Korea connected to Lee Jeong-tae. Do you remember?"
"I remember."
"If you choose the mission over revenge, I’ll put you on that operation."
"I’ll do that."
"Meet the director of the NIS now."
After the call ended, Kang-hae told Seong Ha-yeong about the conversation he had just had.
“The NIS has decided to eliminate Lee Jeong-tae.”
“I see.”
“And it looks like I’ll be joining that operation, too.”
…?!
Seong Ha-yeong’s eyes widened.
If it had been up to her, she would have told him not to do it.
But it was Ko Jeong-un’s order.
And she couldn’t bring herself to say the words.
“The director will contact me again. Until then, let’s eat something.”
After saying that, Kang-hae headed with Seong Ha-yeong to a ramen shop near the hotel.
The two of them ate ramen.
* * *
At the NIS headquarters in Naegok-dong, Seoul, Ko Jeong-un went to find Hong Gyeong-pyo the moment he finished speaking with Kang-hae.
It wasn’t a scheduled appointment, but the Director of the National Security Office had come in person, so the staff immediately showed him to the director’s office.
“What brings you here?” Hong Gyeong-pyo asked.
“I heard the operation to eliminate Lee Jeong-tae has begun.”
“That is correct.”
After Kim Jin-cheol’s approval came through, the NIS’s Japan Analysis Team in the Foreign Intelligence Bureau started the operation.
Their main job was to monitor Chongryon figures linked to North Korea, but every last member had halted that work and thrown all their effort into finding Lee Jeong-tae.
“National Security Office personnel are on a business trip to Japan right now.”
“I know.”
“One of them is an intelligence command operative seconded to the Security Office.”
“You mean the employee named Na Kang-hae.”
“Yes.”
“After you were appointed Director of the National Security Office, I understand that employee handled quite a few things.”
“He’s capable.”
…
Hong Gyeong-pyo fell silent.
Then he thought about it for a moment.
There was no doubt Ko Jeong-un had brought up the intelligence command operative for a reason.
And as Hong Gyeong-pyo had suspected, Ko Jeong-un soon got to the point and spoke about Kang-hae.
“I’d like that young man to join this operation, too.”
…
It was a difficult request.
Hong Gyeong-pyo knew how much effort the NIS was pouring into this operation.
Not only the senior officials, but also the field team leaders were desperate to succeed and restore the agency’s damaged prestige.
With the NIS’s own strength alone.
Still, he couldn’t easily refuse the National Security Office director.
“Is there a reason he must be included?”
“He’s an excellent young man.”
“The agents working in Japan are among the NIS’s best and brightest.”
“Na Kang-hae won’t be outmatched by them.”
Hong Gyeong-pyo looked at Ko Jeong-un.
Twenty years ago, the two of them had once run an operation together in China.
They had helped each other out several times since then as well.
Hong Gyeong-pyo had never once doubted Ko Jeong-un’s sense of duty or his patriotism.
And the same was true the other way around.
They had been comrades who shed blood together in their youth to carry out missions, and they held one another in genuine respect.
“Very well. I’ll speak to our people.”
In the end, Hong Gyeong-pyo decided to accept Ko Jeong-un’s request.
“Thank you.”
And Ko Jeong-un bowed deeply in gratitude, making sure not to wound Hong Gyeong-pyo’s pride.
* * *
At the Republic of Korea Consulate General in Kobe.
Two hours earlier, Kang-hae had been told to come to the consulate, and from his hotel room he had called the Kobe Consulate General to report that he had lost his passport.
After that, he headed there.
The consulate was the only place in Japan free from surveillance and wiretapping by the Cabinet Intelligence and Research Office, and the man who received Kang-hae was Lee Hyeon-cheol, a counsellor at the mission.
Lee Hyeon-cheol was an operative seconded from the NIS, and he led Kang-hae up to his second-floor office.
“You really landed in a nice protective net, didn’t you?” Lee Hyeon-cheol said as he sat down.
It was an irritated tone, and Kang-hae noticed it immediately.
He could understand why.
An intelligence command operative had been mixed into an NIS-only operation, so it was no wonder the man was displeased.
“So I hear the Japanese have already got a tail on you.”
“That’s right.”
“And you still want to run the operation with us?”
…
“Shit. What happens if you slip up?”
“That won’t happen.”
“Why don’t you just go back to Korea now?”
“We have to catch Lee Jeong-tae.”
“We can catch him.”
“Then have you found any trace of Lee Jeong-tae?”
“What?”
“If the Cabinet Intelligence and Research Office took him, they would have held him at a safe house.”
Lee Hyeon-cheol kept staring at Kang-hae with a look that said, Go on, and Kang-hae kept talking.
“Finding the safe house won’t be easy. They may keep moving him from one location to another.”
“So?”
“I’ll be the bait.”
“Bait?”
“Use the tail that’s already on me.”
* * *
Kang-hae, Seong Ha-yeong, and the Korea Chamber of Commerce staff visited another company in Kobe.
The company was called Sumimoto Rubber Industry.
Sumimoto Rubber Industry manufactured tires as well as a variety of sporting goods.
It was a request Kang-hae had made to Seong Ha-yeong.
As with the Kobe Steel Works, the executives at Sumimoto Rubber Industry welcomed the visitors from Korea.
And once again, the woman who had served as interpreter at Kobe Steel Works, a woman in her twenties named Lee Se Natsuki, was there with them.
“Nice to see you again,” Seong Ha-yeong said with a smile.
“I’m with the Japan Chamber of Commerce. Please feel free to contact me at any time while you’re in Japan.”
She said that and handed Seong Ha-yeong her business card.
And Kang-hae examined her in silence.
If they were being tailed and bugged, then there was bound to be an NIS operative somewhere nearby, too.
And Kang-hae suspected she might be the tail the Cabinet Intelligence and Research Office had attached to them.
Kang-hae went to the restroom.
As soon as he confirmed no one else was inside, he pulled out his phone.
It wasn’t the one he normally used, but the one he had received at the consulate.
Kang-hae had been given not only a new phone there, but several other pieces of equipment as well.
"What is it?"
“I found someone I think may be the tail.”
"Who?"
“The interpreter. Her name is Lee Se Natsuki. She says she’s contracted with the Japan Chamber of Commerce.”
"I’ll check it and call you back."
After hanging up, Kang-hae returned to where the others were and toured the company facilities under the guidance of the Sumimoto Rubber Industry staff.
Buzz—
It had been two hours before Lee Hyeon-cheol called him back.
Kang-hae headed to the restroom again.
And answered the call.
“Yes.”
"I checked every interpreter and translator contracted with the Japan Chamber of Commerce over the past three years. There’s no Lee Se Natsuki."
“What are you going to do now?”
"Our agents will take her."
“That’s too risky. The other side is already preparing for something like that.”
"Hey, Intelligence Command."
“Do you remember what I said about being the bait?”
"What?"
“Just follow me.”
After saying that, Kang-hae hung up.
Lee Hyeon-cheol called back at once, but Kang-hae didn’t answer and shut the phone off.
He returned to the others and signaled to Seong Ha-yeong that it was time to leave.
Seong Ha-yeong spoke to the Sumimoto Rubber Industry staff.
“Thank you very much for your hospitality today. We have other appointments, so we should head back now.”
The Sumimoto Rubber Industry staff looked disappointed, but Seong Ha-yeong left the company with the Korean delegation.
The company staff came out to see them off at the entrance, and Lee Se Natsuki was with them as well.
Kang-hae immediately walked up to her and spoke.
“If it’s all right with you, would you mind having a cup of tea with me for a moment?”
Unlike his usual self, his tone was gentle.
And the people nearby looked startled.
It made it look as if he were showing romantic interest.
Lee Se Natsuki wore an expression of brief hesitation before nodding.
Kang-hae told Seong Ha-yeong and the Korean staff to go on ahead, then headed to a nearby café with Lee Se Natsuki.
“Well, well.”
“I never thought of Na Kang-hae like that. He’s got a pretty shameless side.”
“That’s youth for you.”
The staff from the Chamber of Commerce who had come with them exchanged envious remarks as they watched Kang-hae and Lee Se Natsuki’s backs recede.
But Seong Ha-yeong knew.
Something dangerous had just begun.
And in her heart, she prayed that Kang-hae would be safe.
* * *
Kang-hae ordered an iced Americano.
Lee Se Natsuki ordered a warm café latte.
And Kang-hae stared at Lee Se Natsuki until the drinks arrived.
Every time her eyes met his, she smiled.
After a while, the server brought their drinks.
“Let’s drop the act now.”
After taking a sip of his Americano, Kang-hae said it flatly.
Lee Se Natsuki looked at him as if she had no idea what he was talking about.
“The young man standing outside the café right now with his phone in hand and a gray hoodie on, and the office worker who came in a little while ago, both of them are from the Cabinet Intelligence and Research Office.”
“The Cabinet Intelligence and Research Office…? I don’t know what you’re talking about…”
Lee Se Natsuki said that with an innocent, baffled expression.
“And ‘Lee Se Natsuki’ is probably a fake name, too.”
At that, Lee Se Natsuki fell silent.
“Naturally, you checked my background as well, I’m sure.”
…
“But you found nothing. My record is protected.”
…
“You probably dug into my past, but you wouldn’t have found anything after I became an adult.”
Kang-hae wasn’t talking to Lee Se Natsuki.
He suspected there was a camera installed in her necklace, her earrings, or one of the handbags she had placed on the table.
And just as he suspected, a tiny camera and microphone were hidden in Lee Se Natsuki’s necklace, and operatives from the NIS Fourth Division were watching Kang-hae’s face on monitors at a safe house on the outskirts of Tokyo.
“I’m serving in the Special Mission Battalion of the Republic of Korea Armed Forces Intelligence Command. I’m currently on secondment to the National Security Office.”
…!
To keep her expression from breaking, Lee Se Natsuki curled her toes hard inside her shoes.
“I know the Japanese Cabinet Intelligence and Research Office took Lee Jeong-tae.”
…
Lee Se Natsuki kept her mouth shut.
“But tell me something.”
…?
“Didn’t you just say a moment ago that you didn’t know anything about it?”
…
“And yet you’re still sitting there, listening to me instead of getting up.”
…
At Kang-hae’s words, Lee Se Natsuki’s ears turned red.
“I need to meet Lee Jeong-tae.”
…
“In exchange, I’ll give you something.”
…?
“The NIS black team is on its way right now. They’re coming to kill Lee Jeong-tae.”
…!
The moment she heard Kang-hae’s words, Lee Se Natsuki could no longer keep her expression under control.
And Kang-hae, wearing an easy smile, took another sip of his iced Americano.
“May I use the restroom for a moment?” Lee Se Natsuki asked.
Kang-hae nodded at once.
The instant Lee Se Natsuki stepped into the restroom, she pulled out her phone and called Sato Haruto.
“Did you hear that?”
[Yeah, I heard it.]
Sato Haruto’s voice came through the line.
“What should we do?”
[Expose who you are. And ask him what he’s after.]
“Yes, sir.”
Lee Se Natsuki hung up and returned to her seat.
“Why are you telling us this?”
Following her superior’s instructions, Lee Se Natsuki no longer bothered to hide who she was.
The shy expression and gentle gaze were gone now.
“Because I need to meet Lee Jeong-tae.”
“And why is that?”
“That’s not the important part.”
“?”
“If you arrange for me to meet him, I’ll give you the names of the NIS black team that just entered Japan.”
…!