Incheon International Airport
Choi Eun-chae, an officer at the Incheon International Airport Immigration Office, was currently drafting an Abnormal Travel Patterns report.
The term "abnormal travel patterns" referred to the process of filtering out individuals whose travel habits deviated from the norm. Most travelers shared a common trait: a clear, defined purpose.
“I'm going to Japan for a three-day, two-night vacation. I've booked Hotel A.”
“I'm studying abroad in the United States. Here is my visa, and this is my admission letter for School A.”
“It's a business trip. I'll be visiting our branch offices across Southeast Asia.”
“I'm visiting relatives in Europe. I'll probably stay there for about two months.”
Over ninety percent of travelers fell into one of these categories. Even if they didn't fit perfectly, almost all of them could easily explain the purpose of their journey. But for a select few, no such pattern existed.
Their destinations were vague, and their itineraries highly suspicious. They claimed to be unemployed or had unclear occupations, yet they flew in and out of the country multiple times a month. They visited the same countries repeatedly within short spans of time, never booked hotels, and traveled only on one-way tickets.
The airport compiled lists of these individuals—those traveling under abnormal patterns—to track and monitor them.
Why were they flagged? Why did the airport keep such close tabs on them?
It was because these individuals had a very high probability of being linked to terrorism, smuggling, illegal entry, or money laundering. In particular, those who frequently traveled to South America or Southeast Asia were scrutinized with extreme care, as those regions were hotbeds for crime and drug trafficking.
Honestly, the officers barely had to lift a finger. The system's algorithms flagged them automatically. Once flagged, Choi Eun-chae would run their profiles through a secondary program.
By cross-referencing boarding history, layovers, baggage records, payment methods, and past smuggling tactics, the program calculated a custom risk index. And this particular man's risk index was off the charts.
Target: Gong In-bae (Male, 25)
Occupation: Unemployed
Recent Activity: 4 round-trips to the Philippines, Macau, and Hong Kong within a short period.
Baggage Status: No checked luggage, no carry-on baggage.
Risk Assessment: High probability of involvement in smuggling, money laundering, or illegal transit.
“Team Leader, you might want to take a look at this.”
“What is it?”
“A twenty-five-year-old unemployed male. He's traveled to the Philippines, Macau, and Hong Kong four times recently.”
“Any checked baggage?”
“That's the thing... He has none.”
“He traveled empty-handed?”
“Yes, sir.”
“Going empty-handed and returning empty-handed... Could it be one of those cases? Someone who went once, fell head over heels for the local nightlife, and keeps going back?”
“It's possible, but I can't say for sure.”
“Well, it's not our job to be sure. Flag him with Code S.”
“Understood, sir.”
⚠️ SECURITY ALERT: CODE SSSS ⚠️
Secondary Security Screening Selection
An enhanced security designation requiring rigorous physical and digital screening. Targets flagged with Code SSSS are subject to:
• Full-body scans and manual physical pat-downs.
• Detailed inspection of all carry-on items, laptops, and electronic devices.
• Thorough luggage searches and intensive questioning regarding travel itineraries.
As I stood at the immigration counter, the officer's expression was unusually grim.
Granted, I had been flying back and forth quite a bit over the last few months. La Fei and Kevin—my Filipino drug supplier—had been calling me at all hours. Perhaps the last delivery had been too successful, because they practically begged me to keep supplying them.
I had been getting bored sitting at home anyway, so I treated the trips as vacations. That made three trips already. Was that why? The immigration officer's eyes practically dripped with suspicion as he stared at me.
“What is the purpose of your visit to the Philippines?”
“Just traveling.”
The question caught me off guard. I had passed through Incheon International Airport several times, but I had never been questioned like this before. Usually, you just hand over your passport, they match your face to the photo, and hand it back. But now, they were asking questions.
“How long do you plan to stay?”
“Probably a week to ten days.”
“You haven't booked a return ticket?”
“No. I figured I'd book it depending on how things go.”
“Have you reserved a hotel?”
“I planned to find one once I arrived, so no.”
The officer looked back and forth between my face and the passport photo. Then, he spoke.
“Sir, I'm going to have to ask you to step aside so we can discuss this further. Please follow me.”
Two airport security guards flanked me. Left with no choice, I followed them to a small interrogation room.
After I sat waiting for a moment, a man in his forties and a woman in her thirties entered the room.
“Hello. We apologize for the inconvenience.”
“No, it's fine. If there's something to investigate, I should cooperate.”
“We've noticed some highly unusual patterns in your recent travel history.”
“Well... I have been to the Philippines a few times lately. Is that a problem?”
“It's not just the Philippines. You've also made stops in Hong Kong and Macau. Our system flagged this as an abnormal travel route.”
“Really? I just decided to drop by since I was already in the area.”
“Sir, I suggest you answer carefully. If things go poorly, you could be designated as a high-risk individual and placed on a no-fly list.”
“...”
“To summarize how you look to us right now: you are an unemployed individual who has visited the Philippines four times recently with no clear purpose. And each time, you detoured through Macau and Hong Kong. Under these circumstances, we have no choice but to verify the source of your funds.”
The situation was more serious than I had anticipated. A travel ban? I knew this day would come eventually, but it had arrived far too soon. I didn't think it was time to use my newly forged identity yet, but perhaps I should have.
Only four times. I had only traveled back and forth to the Philippines four times, and they were already investigating me. Incheon Airport really was efficient. They said it was one of the best airports in the world, and it seemed the rumors were true.
I racked my brain. At the very least, they had absolutely no evidence of my smuggling. They were only investigating because my itinerary looked abnormal.
I put on an embarrassed expression and spoke up.
“Excuse me, but... would it be possible to speak man-to-man?”
I asked the older man cautiously. He glanced at the woman. She met his gaze, gathered her laptop, and quietly slipped out of the room.
“Alright. I've sent the female officer out as you requested. Feel free to speak comfortably.”
“It's a bit embarrassing, but... I met a woman in the Philippines during my first trip. I don't know how much you know about me, but up until two months ago, I had a steady job. I'd been working non-stop for a long time, and I was completely burnt out. So, to celebrate my resignation, I decided to take a trip. That trip was to the Philippines.”
“Usually, in those cases, people book package tours or at least buy a round-trip ticket, don't they?”
“I wanted to at first. But package tours were surprisingly expensive, and I heard they force you into optional tours and mandatory shopping trips. Since I was unemployed anyway, I wanted to take my time and enjoy a leisurely vacation. It was actually cheaper that way, too. So I bought a one-way ticket, thinking I might visit a few other countries if the opportunity arose.”
“But why the detours to Hong Kong and Macau?”
“I was having a meal in the Philippines when a woman struck up a conversation with me. Her name is Marian. She offered to be my local guide, and I agreed immediately. She was incredibly beautiful. Do you want to see a picture?”
“That won't be necessary.”
Despite his refusal, I pulled out my smartphone and showed him a photo of me and Marian together. Even looking at it again, Marian's beauty was striking. It was the kind of beauty that could instantly convince any investigator.
“I traveled around the Philippines with Marian. We acted like a couple. She charged three hundred dollars a day. We'd sightsee during the day, and one evening, while we were having dinner and drinks, Marian told me something. She said she could live a decent life if she only had a hundred million won. So I asked her, 'What's the fastest way to get a hundred million won?' She said it was winning at a casino. I laughed it off, but Marian didn't laugh. She said she had a secret method. She claimed she never lost.”
“So, fueled by the alcohol, I said, 'Sure, let's go.' The very next day, we flew to Macau. And you know what happened? We got wiped out. Seriously, completely cleaned out. I was an idiot for believing her. I spent about a million won, and I didn't even have ten thousand won left. It was so absurd that we just stood in front of the casino and laughed our heads off. Since we were already there, we decided to check out Hong Kong, took a ferry over, did some sightseeing, went back to the Philippines to drop Marian off, and then I flew back to Korea.”
The investigator seemed to follow my story.
“I see. But your travel pattern remained identical even after that. How do you explain the subsequent trips?”
“I came back to Korea, but I couldn't stop thinking about Marian. So I went back.”
“That still doesn't explain why you kept going to Hong Kong and Macau.”
“This is strictly confidential, right? Marian doesn't know about this, but... I have a female acquaintance in Hong Kong. We knew each other back in Korea, but she's working in Hong Kong now. So I went to see her. I missed her.”
“You could have just flown straight from Korea to Hong Kong.”
“Well, it wasn't quite that simple. I'd miss Marian in the Philippines, then I'd crave the casino in Macau, and then I'd think of her in Hong Kong... It was a bit of everything. But she recently got a boyfriend and told me to stop coming.”
“Do you plan to keep traveling like this?”
“I don't need to go to Hong Kong or Macau anymore. The girl in Hong Kong told me not to come, and I've learned my lesson about the casinos. But I'll probably have to keep visiting the Philippines for a while. Marian and I explored almost every tourist spot and local haunt in Bohol, and we found so many incredible, hidden gems. I'm actually trying to map out a route and launch a travel agency business. I still need to coordinate routes with Marian, arrange transportation, negotiate deals with hotels, and speak with local restaurants. So, I'll be traveling to the Philippines quite frequently for the foreseeable future.”
“Do you have a business registration certificate for a travel agency?”
“You've never registered a tourism business, have you? It's not a simple application; it requires official authorization. It's a complicated process. First of all, you need capital. I suppose they worry about people taking deposits and running off. The capital requirement varies depending on whether you're operating domestically or internationally, but since we plan to cater to both locals and foreigners, we have to register as a comprehensive travel agency. That requires a minimum capital of fifty million won. On top of that, you need a business plan and a three-year projected profit and loss statement. You have to outline exactly how you plan to operate, attract clients, and make a profit. Naturally, you also need a physical office. You can't just use your home address. Setting that up means continuous expenses like rent, so my plan is to secure the routes in the Philippines first, lock down the local vendors, and then apply for the authorization. That's the logical order of things.”
“I understand. Is there anything else you'd like to add?”
“First, I want to apologize. I didn't realize my excessive curiosity would cause such a misunderstanding. I'm truly sorry. From now on, I'll only travel to the Philippines, and strictly for business. I apologize for the trouble.”
“No need to apologize. We are simply verifying facts to ensure airport security. There is no other motive.”
“By the way, my flight departure time is approaching. May I leave now?”
“Yes. You may go.”
Fortunately, the man seemed to buy my story. Seeing how easily he let me go, it was clear he understood that young men could occasionally lose their heads over a woman. Marian's photo had undoubtedly played a massive role.
Babbling on without pause had also helped. I had deliberately volunteered information the investigator hadn't even asked for. There was a strategic reason for sharing even the most trivial, easily skippable details.
I wanted to send a clear signal: I have nothing to hide. I am telling you everything. A signal of absolute cooperation.
And most of it was actually true. I had omitted the part about delivering drugs, and the woman in Hong Kong was entirely fictional, but the rest was practically factual. Fortunately, the tactic had worked perfectly.
I stepped out of the interrogation room and headed toward my gate.
“Well?” the Team Leader asked Choi Eun-chae.
She had been watching Gong In-bae from the observation room behind the interrogation room's one-way mirror.
“It might not be a hundred percent, but most of it seems true,” Choi Eun-chae replied.
“What part seems off?”
“I can't quite put my finger on it. But I don't think it's related to any criminal activity.”
“Right?”
“And above all, he has no luggage. Even now, he's traveling completely empty-handed. It really does seem like he's just chasing women.”
“Lucky bastard. I'm jealous.”
“What should we do about the Code SSSS flag?”
“Lift it. The kid is just chasing love. We can't go slapping security codes on a romantic, can we?”
“Understood, sir.”
“Just keep him on the watchlist and check in on him occasionally.”
“Will do.”