Cheongganghoe (3)
Na Kang-hae and Seong Ha-yeong left Seong Hun’s residence.
“Seong Ha-yeong.”
“Yes.”
“I’ll drive.”
With that, Kang-hae got into the driver’s seat.
Before starting the engine, he looked over at Seong Ha-yeong in the passenger seat.
She wore a distant, troubled expression.
She was still reeling from the fact that her father had once taken help from Cheongganghoe, and Kang-hae understood exactly what that meant to her.
“Are you all right?”
“……”
Seong Ha-yeong couldn’t answer.
After a moment, tears welled in her eyes.
“I honestly don’t know……. I never imagined my father would have accepted help from people like that…….”
“Your family may have received Cheongganghoe’s help, but that has nothing to do with Director Ko’s death.”
“Still……”
As Kang-hae said, Ko Jeong-un’s death had nothing to do with her family.
And yet the fact that her father had been helped by an organization like that was still a shock to Seong Ha-yeong.
“Seong Ha-yeong.”
“Yes?”
“When I heard that my brother wasn’t managing an IT server in Cambodia, but had been developing cryptocurrency, I was afraid.”
“……?!”
Seong Ha-yeong turned to look at him, startled.
It was the first time she had ever heard Kang-hae say he was afraid.
Kang-hae went on.
“Because I couldn’t help thinking he might not have been a mere victim, but someone involved in illegal work.”
“……”
“And after I heard he was alive, I decided I had to find him. There’s something I need to confirm with him.”
“……”
Silence fell between them.
Then Seong Ha-yeong finally spoke, hesitantly.
“If, hypothetically…… your brother really did something wrong…… what would you do?”
“If he committed a crime, he should be punished.”
“……”
Kang-hae’s voice was flat and unwavering.
Seong Ha-yeong could tell he meant every word.
And she thought he was right.
“Thank you.”
“……”
“What I said in front of my grandfather just now was sincere. I do believe the truth has to come out.”
“Then let’s go.”
Kang-hae started the car.
A moment later, the vehicle carrying the two of them pulled away from Seong Hun’s house.
“What should we do now?”
As they left Seongbuk-dong behind, Seong Ha-yeong asked the question.
And Kang-hae brought up the opposition lawmaker he had met at Ko Jeong-un’s funeral.
“About Congressman Kim Mun-ho, the one we saw at the funeral.”
“Yes.”
“Can he be trusted?”
“……”
Seong Ha-yeong considered it carefully.
Back when she had served as Ko Jeong-un’s aide in the 22nd Division’s 53rd Regiment, Kim Mun-ho had been the division commander.
“He was the division commander when I was commissioned as a second lieutenant. So I didn’t run into him often. But I never heard anything bad about him. Most people said he was principled and capable.”
“……”
“And the fact that Director Ko contacted him right before he died means he must have been someone he could trust, doesn’t it?”
“It might.”
“Are you planning to hand over the materials to Congressman Kim Mun-ho?”
“I’m thinking about it.”
What Ko Jeong-un had meant to do before his death was reveal the truth, and Kang-hae believed that work had to continue.
“Let’s meet him first.”
“I’ll call him.”
“All right.”
Seong Ha-yeong immediately took out her phone and placed a call.
It was Kim Mun-ho’s office at the National Assembly.
She gave the aide who answered her name and contact number.
Office of the Chairperson, Cheonggang Culture Foundation, Segok-dong, Gangnam-gu, Seoul.
Kim Seung-su sat at his desk, remembering what Kang-hae had said before leaving.
You became Cheongganghoe’s dog because you were afraid of dying.
You’re a coward.
If I were you, I wouldn’t have cowered when my comrades went missing. I would’ve been furious. And for the sake of the dead, I’d have fought to the end.
Even if you wear a designer suit and a luxury watch, you still can’t hide the fact that you’re a coward.
Kim Seung-su grabbed the glass on his desk and hurled it at the wall.
Crash—
“That fucking bastard……”
His face flushed red.
He pulled out his phone and called someone.
[Yes.]
“We need to take care of that Information Command bastard.”
[Understood.]
“If you screw up again like last time, you’ll be the first to die.”
[Understood.]
“Make sure it’s done properly.”
After hanging up, Kim Seung-su lit a cigarette and muttered to himself.
“Hoo…… How dare a nobody like you……”
The next morning, Kang-hae received an unfamiliar call.
[Is this Na Kang-hae’s phone?]
The caller was a middle-aged man.
“Yes. Who is this?”
[Ah. I’m Lieutenant Colonel Kim Tae-hwan from the Information Command Personnel Operations Division.]
“At ease.”
[Anyway, I’m calling because your secondment to the NSO has been lifted as of today.]
“Lifted?”
[Right. So you need to return.]
“Then I report back to headquarters?”
[No, come to the Development Group.]
“When do I have to be there?”
[Return immediately.]
“Understood.”
Click—
After ending the call, Kang-hae phoned the NSO personnel team to confirm it.
It was true; his secondment to the NSO had indeed been canceled.
After hanging up, Kang-hae fell into thought.
After the death of Ko Jeong-un, the former commander of Information Command, the personnel reassignment was a natural move.
Kang-hae had been Ko Jeong-un’s parachute appointment.
But the timing was suspicious.
He hadn’t expected to be reassigned this quickly.
Kang-hae called Seong Ha-yeong and told her what had happened.
[That’s a little too sudden.]
She seemed to think exactly the same thing.
“I have to go back today.”
[Today?]
“Yes.”
[Back where?]
“I need to report back to the Development Group.”
[Then how are you getting there?]
“I’ll take the bus.”
[No. Take my car.]
“It’s fine.”
[No, really. I’ll drive you.]
“It’s truly fine.”
[I’m heading over to your gosiwon now.]
Click—
Before Kang-hae could refuse again, the line went dead.
Thirty minutes later, Kang-hae got another call from Seong Ha-yeong saying she had arrived.
After packing his things into his bag, Kang-hae left the gosiwon.
Sure enough, Seong Ha-yeong’s car was parked out front.
Kang-hae got into the passenger seat first.
“You’re here?”
“Did you seriously come all the way here intending to drive me to Goseong, Gangwon-do?”
“Yes. I’m still on leave.”
“I’m fine.”
“I worked in the 22nd Division too, so I know.”
The 22nd Division where Seong Ha-yeong had served was stationed in Goseong-gun, Gangwon-do.
And aside from the units guarding the coastline, most of it was buried deep in the mountains.
Above all, she knew better than anyone how hard it was to reach a military unit by public transportation.
That would be even more true for an Information Command unit.
“Then just lend me the car.”
Kang-hae remembered the dump truck attack on the Hannam Bridge not long ago.
He worried something like that might happen again on the way to Goseong.
“Are you worried another truck will attack?”
“Yes.”
“Kang-hae, I thought about it a little. I don’t think I’m safe anymore, either.”
“……”
“The Director of the National Security Office was assassinated inside the presidential office. And we still don’t know how they did it. So would I really be safe?”
“……”
“Rather than trembling alone in Seoul, I think I’d be safer staying with you.”
“Really?”
“What?”
“Never mind.”
“What, did you think I was just looking for an excuse to go for a drive with you at a time like this?”
“That wasn’t what I meant…… Never mind. Sorry.”
“That’s right.”
“What?”
“I do want to go for a drive with you, too.”
“……”
“Buckle up. I’m leaving.”
Seong Ha-yeong started the car.
The two of them headed for Goseong, Gangwon-do, where the Development Group was located.
Forty minutes later, they had left Seoul and entered the highway.
Fortunately, they hadn’t spotted any suspicious vehicles.
But they still couldn’t relax.
They still had two hours to go before reaching Goseong, Gangwon-do.
Whirr—
Seong Ha-yeong rolled down the window.
Wind rushed into the car.
“Nice weather.”
Only then did Kang-hae look up at the sky.
Until then, he had been watching the cars around them through the side mirror.
Just as Seong Ha-yeong said, it was a clear day with not a cloud in sight.
Then she called to him.
“Kang-hae.”
“Yes.”
“How many times have you nearly died in your life?”
“……”
Kang-hae said nothing as he recalled the moments he had nearly died.
Most of them had happened during his time at the Development Group.
Training there had always been more dangerous than real combat.
And Kang-hae had seen classmates and seniors die more than once during those exercises.
He had nearly died himself, too.
“You seem like someone who isn’t afraid of death.”
“That’s not true.”
“……?”
“I’m afraid of dying, too.”
“That’s impossible……”
Seong Ha-yeong stared at him in disbelief.
“It’s true.”
“Then how can you do those things? Just recklessly board a cargo ship, and follow them alone all the way to the Cabinet Intelligence and Investigation Office safe house in Japan.”
“Because I trust the time I’ve endured.”
“……”
Kang-hae wasn’t fearless, either.
Death was not something one simply overcame.
But he believed.
He had trained harder than anyone else at the Development Group.
And he had learned martial arts from athletes in combat sports.
Then, through the side mirror, Kang-hae spotted a cargo truck coming up behind them.
Seong Ha-yeong noticed it too.
She quickly changed lanes.
Without changing lanes, the cargo truck sped past her car.
“Pfft.”
Seong Ha-yeong burst out laughing, the tension draining from her.
She thought she had been overreacting.
But Kang-hae’s expression was still severe.
His gaze remained locked on the cargo truck.
“Slow down.”
“What?”
“Slow down.”
“Okay.”
Seong Ha-yeong eased off the accelerator as he said.
A moment later, the rear door of the cargo truck swung open.
“W-what?!”
And steel reinforcement bars spilled out of the cargo bay.
Seong Ha-yeong slammed on the brakes, but the car still ran over the rebar scattered across the road.
Screeeech—
The car jolted upward for a moment, then skidded clockwise across the lane.
“Aaaah!”
Seong Ha-yeong screamed.
Kang-hae grabbed the steering wheel at once.
And then he saw it.
Through the side mirror, a black full-size SUV was closing in at high speed.
The instant the car stopped spinning, Kang-hae jumped out.
He reached into the bag and drew the gun he had taken from the SmartFix office not long ago: a Russian MP-443.
Bang—
Bang—
Bang—
Kang-hae fired at the SUV’s windshield and tires as it charged toward them.
Pop—
One of the SUV’s tires blew.
Thrown off balance, the SUV slammed into the median barrier.
Kang-hae hurried back to the car.
“Are you all right?”
“I’m fine……”
Seong Ha-yeong was badly shaken, but she wasn’t hurt.
That was a relief.
“Get out of the car for now.”
Seong Ha-yeong did as he said.
Sirens could be heard in the distance.
It was definitely the sound of a tow truck.
Even the tow truck couldn’t be trusted.
Kang-hae led Seong Ha-yeong off the highway and took to the mountain running alongside it.
Getting away from the scene was the priority for now.
At that same moment, Kim Seung-su, after being briefed on the situation, shouted in fury.
“You worthless idiots! So you failed again?!”
[We didn’t expect him to have a gun.]
“And that’s your excuse?!”
[I’m sorry……]
“So what happened to that Information Command bastard and the woman?”
[They abandoned the car and fled.]
“You useless pieces of shit……!”
[We’re pursuing them now.]
“Make sure you kill them.”
[Understood.]
Click—
It was already the second time.
The second time he had failed to kill Na Kang-hae.
Then another memory surfaced in Kim Seung-su’s mind: the last words Kang-hae had spoken to him.
We’ll meet again. Until then, I hope you stay alive.
And as that memory rose to the surface, an unnameable unease slowly began to creep into Kim Seung-su’s heart.