Tsushima
Tsushima
"Yahooooo!"
I let out a wild cry as I sped across the dark, deep blue sea.
It was a piece-of-junk 2015 model jet ski, but the engine sound was rock solid.
When I pulled the throttle all the way, the cold sea wind slapped my cheeks, and the salty seawater soaked my clothes.
But the heat of heading towards freedom was hotter than the cold.
'Let's go! All the way to Fukuoka in one shot!'
At the same time, I glanced at the waterproof pouch fixed to the handle, containing my smartphone with the map.
The GPS signal blinked as a blue dot, marking my position.
I had set off from Jangseungpo Port on Geoje Island and was heading straight southeast.
If I kept going like this, I could just skim past Tsushima and head straight for Fukuoka.
"Maybe I should just go to America... America this time?"
My mind was once again filled with nothing but fluttering Stars and Stripes.
Once I arrived in Japan, my plan was to immediately dash to a US military base in Japan.
It didn't matter if it was the Sasebo Naval Base or the Iwakuni Marine Corps Air Station.
If I shouted "I am Stud! Real Sperm!" in front of the barbed wire fence, the US soldiers would come scrambling out to escort me.
'Should I have gone to the US Forces Korea instead?'
A moment of regret flashed through me, but I shook my head.
After the 'Great Infertility' incident, the US military presence in Korea had been drastically reduced, with only a portion remaining at the Pyeongtaek base and most forces withdrawn to the mainland or Japan.
The Korean government's surveillance had also intensified, making it difficult to even approach them.
Coming to Japan was indeed a masterstroke.
Pewwooo—! Bang!
Right then, something flashed in the distant sky over the Korean territorial waters behind me.
It was a faint but unmistakable flare light.
It was definitely a flare shot up by a Coast Guard patrol vessel.
"Hahaha! Too late, you bastards!"
I turned around and raised my middle finger.
The distance was already several tens of kilometers apart.
How could they possibly find a small jet ski that doesn't show up on radar in this vast, open sea?
Imagining them returning empty-handed and exploding with frustration felt like a ten-year-old constipation was finally clearing.
But the joy was short-lived.
Pududuk... Teolteolteol...
The engine sound, which had been spinning cheerfully, suddenly became irregular.
The speed dropped sharply, and the hull began to sputter.
"Huh? Hey, what's this?"
Flustered, I tried twisting the throttle again, but the response was sluggish.
Acrid smoke began to rise from the engine room.
"Ah, fuck! This is why you shouldn't trust used stuff!"
The part-timer's words, "The engine condition is a bit..." finally came back to me.
It seemed to be overloaded.
Making it to Fukuoka in this state was impossible.
If I stopped in the middle of the sea, I'd either drift and become shark food or get swept by the currents and pushed back to Korea.
"Damn, no choice. Tsushima it is."
I hastily turned the handle, steering towards the nearest land.
On the map, it was the coast near Hitakatsu Port on the northern tip of Tsushima.
Teolteol... Purureuk...
The jet ski made a gasping sound as it barely managed to cut through the waves.
Please don't stop, just hold on a little longer.
I prayed and prayed again in my heart.
Faint lights began to appear in the distance.
Land.
The black silhouette of Tsushima revealed itself under the moonlight.
"Arrived...!"
I cut the engine and used inertia to slide onto the sandy beach.
Kwoong.
With the sound of the hull bottom scraping against the sand, it came to a stop.
My legs went weak, and I almost collapsed.
But there was no time to rest.
Someone might see me.
I got my wet body up and pushed the jet ski.
A crevice between huge coastal rocks on one side of the beach.
I stuffed it into a spot not easily visible to people and roughly covered it by scraping together nearby seaweed and branches.
It wasn't perfect, but it wouldn't be noticeable in the dark.
"Hoo..."
I swept back my wet hair and looked around.
A quiet beach. Only the sound of waves could be heard.
It felt like North Korean armed infiltrators had landed or a drug smuggler had arrived at the rendezvous point.
"First step on Japanese soil."
A sense of relief washed over me.
This is not Republic of Korea territory.
It's another country where the NIS and police can't recklessly lay their hands.
I adjusted my bag and started walking towards the village lights visible over the hill beyond the beach.
I was hungry and needed to change out of my wet clothes.
"Tsushima... I heard it's a tourist spot. Maybe I'll look around a bit?"
The thick wad of dollars and yen in my pocket was a reliable support force.
There was no rush anyway.
I could stay here for a night, and when day broke tomorrow, I could cross over to Fukuoka by ferry or by hitching a ride on a fishing boat.
I whistled as I went to greet my first night in Japan.
"Lee Ji-hyun! You crazy bitch! Are you out of your mind?"
The interrogation room seemed ready to shake apart from Director Kim's shouts.
Agent Lee Ji-hyun sat on a steel chair with her head bowed.
In front of her, incident reports and disciplinary committee referral documents were piled up like a mountain.
"Acting on your own without reporting? Wanted to play hero? Huh?"
Director Kim slammed the desk.
His face was flushed red with anger.
"If you hadn't been so damn greedy! We could have deployed troops and caught that bastard! By now, we'd have reported to the Blue House and received medals! You ruined everything! You selfish bitch!"
Ji-hyun bit her lip.
There was no room for excuses.
Because of her own ambition for glory, she had let Kim Jun, the Republic of Korea's only hope, the 'S-Class Stud', slip away.
If she had just reported immediately after securing the CCTV footage, they could have sealed off the airports and ports and sent up helicopters to catch him.
But she, obsessed with the delusion of catching him herself and breaking the news to the media, had wasted the golden time.
"I'm sorry..."
"Sorry? Is this something that ends with sorry? The President is furious and it's chaos right now! You get ready to be stripped of your position immediately. No, being stripped might not even be the end. You could go to prison for violating the National Security Act, so be prepared."
Director Kim stormed out of the interrogation room, fuming.
Ji-hyun looked up at the ceiling with a hollow expression.
Her pride as an elite agent, her ambition for success—everything had turned to bubbles.
All that remained was ruin.
Meanwhile, in the medical center next door.
The atmosphere was quite different, but the tension was just as high.
Choi Su-yeon lay on the gynecological examination table with her legs spread.
Surrounding her on both sides were over ten researchers and doctors in white gowns.
"Now, relax. It might be a bit uncomfortable."
The female doctor pushed a cold metal speculum into her vagina.
Su-yeon blushed with shame but obediently kept her legs spread.
Thinking that this entire process was to prove the existence of her 'Master' made it bearable.
"Checking the cervix. Collect the mucus."
"Yes, understood."
Researchers rushed over with pipettes and cotton swabs.
Like miners who had discovered a vein of ore, they scraped up every last drop of the fluid clinging to Su-yeon's vaginal walls and cervical entrance.
Traces of the semen Kim Jun had shot inside her at dawn.
Although time had passed and most had likely flowed out or been absorbed, they were searching for any sperm that might remain, however minute.
"Check under the microscope! Quickly!"
The lead researcher shouted urgently.
They placed the collected sample on a slide glass and observed it under the microscope.
"......!"
A moment later, the eyes of the researcher peering into the microscope widened.
"Found it! They're alive! Their motility is a bit reduced, but they're definitely wagging their tails!"
"What? Really?"
"Yes! This is huge! With this level of activity... they can fertilize!"
The lab was filled with cheers of joy.
The doctors hugged each other in delight.
Active sperm, thought to be extinct in the Republic of Korea, had been discovered.
Su-yeon's womb was no longer just an organ; it had become National Treasure No. 1.
"Ms. Choi Su-yeon, congratulations. There is 'hope' inside your body."
The doctor, overcome with emotion, took Su-yeon's hand.
But Su-yeon just stared blankly at the ceiling.
Her mind was occupied by only one person.
'Junnim... Can you hear? They say your little babies are alive...'
She placed a hand on her lower abdomen.
Even though her Master had left, the seeds he left behind were still breathing inside her.
Promising herself the day they would meet again, she quietly smiled.
"Abnormal military and police activity was detected in the waters near Korean Geoje Island and Busan late at night."
Satellite images and radar track data were displayed on a large screen.
The expressions of the dozen or so high-ranking officials and experts gathered in the conference room were grave.
This was Japan's frontline responsible for the nation's survival, the [Low Birthrate Countermeasures and Special Stud Management Headquarters].
"Four Korean Coast Guard patrol vessels urgently dispatched, searchlights activated at coastal outposts, and increased output from Air Force radar bases... This far exceeds the level of routine illegal entry crackdowns."
The intelligence analyst explained while pointing at the map with a laser pointer.
"Mobilizing this level of manpower these days, especially at night, means... something big has happened. If it were just a spy ship or drug smuggling, they wouldn't have caused such a fuss."
A middle-aged man with a sturdy build sitting at the head of the conference room stroked his beard and spoke.
He was the Headquarters Director, Tanaka Kenji.
He was also the one who had secured Japan's only Stud, a senile old man, in the past.
"What do you think, Sato-kun?"
Headquarters Director Tanaka pointed at Professor Sato, who was also a military expert.
"Director-nim, in my opinion... the possibility of a 'Stud' escaping is very high."
Professor Sato adjusted his glasses and spoke decisively.
"If there was a hidden Stud, and he attempted to escape, evading the Korean government's surveillance? Where would be the most likely destination if he set off from Geoje Island?"
The gazes in the conference room converged on one point on the map.
"Tsushima (Daemado)..."
Headquarters Director Tanaka muttered softly.
"That's correct. If he used a small rubber boat or jet ski that doesn't show up well on radar, it's entirely possible to reach the northern tip of Tsushima by riding the currents. Yesterday's weather conditions weren't bad either."
"Then that explains why the Koreans are going berserk like that. They lost their treasure, so they must be seeing red."
Headquarters Director Tanaka clenched his fist tight.
It was an opportunity.
A second chance given to Japan by heaven.
One senile old man with dementia couldn't secure Japan's future.
They needed a new Stud, young and healthy.
If he had entered Japanese territory on his own two feet?
"I will report to the Prime Minister's residence immediately."
Headquarters Director Tanaka sprang up from his seat.
"Issue an emergency alert order to the Ground Self-Defense Force stationed in Tsushima and the Japan Coast Guard! This is not a simple illegal entrant. He's a VIP! If found, escort him with the highest-level protocol! Tell them to be prepared to commit seppuku if even a single hair on his head is harmed!"
"Yes! Understood!"
The staff officers responded in unison.
"And get a helicopter ready. I'm going to Tsushima personally."