Chapter 65
Chapter 65
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Translator : M.N 1391
Chapter: 65
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This whole mess is just a warning?
To the Korean ambassador to Japan, who looked dumbfounded, Kyung-wan shrugged and continued.
"Honestly, it’s even vague to say someone did something worth dying for, isn’t it?"
The Japanese were people who lived and died by manuals.
Why? Because their civic consciousness was so high that they strictly followed manual-defined rules?
No. It was because they were so individualistic that following the manual was the only way to avoid responsibility.
The simple excuse of ‘I only followed the manual’ was the get-out-of-jail-free card that defined common Japanese organizational culture.
Naturally so. If Japan’s upper brass were all masters of evasive speech, feigned ignorance, and shirking responsibility, what could be expected from those underneath them?
They had to survive the higher-ups’ tendency to pass down blame, didn’t they?
Which is why, as the Japanese ambassador to Korea said, ‘There was no manual specifying when to feed a foreign detainee, so we didn’t feed him’ was something the Japanese could easily spout with a straight face.
If you can look at someone doing something stupid and think, ‘Ah, that idiot has always been an idiot,’ you can calm your anger.
What Kyung-wan felt while looking at the Japanese police who starved him was similar to that.
The Korean ambassador to Japan spoke again with a stiff expression.
"Then the gun…."
"Let’s say this is insurance, or a token of promise, for the next time they don’t feed me."
"Wouldn’t that be… a little problematic?"
"What else am I supposed to do? The NIS bastards who dragged me to Japan flew back home on their own, I can’t even speak proper Japanese, they didn’t assign me a single interpreter, and they starved me. What exactly am I supposed to trust to hand over my last bargaining chip?"
".. Can’t you concede a little, for my sake?"
What an absurd thing to say.
With a disbelieving smile, Kyung-wan opened his mouth.
"Mr. Ambassador. Today is literally the first time we’ve seen each other, you know?"
People say going abroad turns everyone into patriots, that encountering someone from your hometown feels special.
But there’s also that saying: the person a Korean must beware of most when abroad… is another Korean.
"Ahem! Even so, I am the Korean ambassador."
It was an attempt to appeal to the authority and power of his position, but it meant nothing to Kyung-wan.
"Ambassador or not, everyone knows the Korean foreign ministry has been incompetent since forever. Korea promotion? VANK and the Cultural Heritage Administration do a better job. They greeted a Malaysian state guest in the Indonesian language, and in Thailand, they did nothing when a Korean got into a traffic accident."
"...."
"Incompetent, with zero will to improve, and stuffed with parachute appointments like a modern-day eunseo system, yet you expect me to trust you because you hold a seat in that organization? Am I supposed to bow and say, ‘Oh Ambassador, thank you for sparing this lowly commoner’?"
For reference, the eunseo system applied only to nobles and yangban.
So pointing out that foreign ministry officials were like nobles meant his “lowly commoner” remark was a jab at that.
And yes, if a noble did their job well, it wouldn’t be a problem,
but how bad must things be for the foreign minister himself to publicly say that ministry officials lack English proficiency and order reforms to the ministry’s training and evaluation?
The ambassador’s face flushed, either in anger or shame, or maybe both, because the line between the two emotions was thin.
Unable to continue, he fell silent.
Kyung-wan spoke again.
"If you truly want to help me, ask the U.S. ambassador to Japan for help."
".. But you’re not an American citizen, are you?"
"But I am someone who greatly aided American national security. And I'm a useful investigative resource they can use going forward."
If Chairman Gon had been tied closely to the U.S. instead of France, Japan wouldn’t have dared discard him.
His misfortune was that his ties were with France, not America.
The ambassador’s slow mental gears could not keep up with what Kyung-wan was saying.
"...."
"I guarantee the U.S. won’t like Japan monopolizing me."
Whether the ambassador understood or not, Kyung-wan didn’t care, he simply ate chicken with a confident smile.
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08–Vigilance
In the end, retrieving the gun ended in failure.
They even tried sneaking into Kyung-wan’s cell at night while he slept, but his hearing was so sharp that that failed too.
They might have been allowed to open fire on an armed suspect without hostages, but too many issues made the higher-ups hesitate.
For one: he had only a single bullet left.
Also: the only serious injuries were sustained by the special-assault sniper who’d tried to kill him and the police officer who had rushed at him.
And: the reason he caused the incident in the first place was because he had been starved.
All these factors made authorization to shoot extremely complicated.
But above all, the biggest reason they hesitated to try sleeping gas or tear gas was the call from the U.S. ambassador to Japan.
They were told not to inflict undue harm on Lee Kyung-wan, as he was someone under U.S. observation.
Japan could not understand why the U.S. was interested in this insane mad-dog criminal, but of course the U.S. had its reasons.
Two major reasons, to be exact:
First, a practical one, Kyung-wan’s interrogation method known as "Twenty Questions of Truth" was extremely useful.
Second, the report filed about him by Stacey.
A man with an enormous concentration of S-particles surrounding his body.
For the U.S., desperate to win the research race in S-particles and psychic abilities, Kyung-wan was a tantalizing research subject.
Some wondered about human experimentation, but honestly, given the nature of psychic powers, voluntary cooperation from an esper would yield much better results than forceful experimentation.
Thus, Kim Jun, who had become essentially Kyung-wan Lee’s dedicated FBI handler, arrived in Japan.
"You’ve caused quite the incident."
"I didn’t kill anyone or leave anyone crippled."
‘A torn-off ear can be reattached. So what’s the big deal?’
His attitude made Kim Jun sigh quietly.
This was also the reason he couldn’t encourage Kyung-wan to immigrate to America.
As he’d once said jokingly, if Kyung-wan ever caused trouble in the U.S., whoever granted him citizenship would be held responsible.
And no one in the FBI believed he’d behave quietly.
Much safer to store him in allied Korea and take him out whenever needed.
Japan was also an ally, but watching their handling… was not reassuring.
Japan was deluding itself if it thought that no matter how much they pumped lobby-money into Washington, the U.S. would ever forget Pearl Harbor.
So the U.S. decided to whisk Kyung-wan away before Japan realized his strategic value and detained him.
They refused to let even the slightest possibility arise that Japan might dissect him and gain the lead in psychic research.
And they had a perfect excuse.
"Anyway, let’s get to America quickly."
"Something else happened, huh?"
"Remember the metamorph assassin we arrested before?"
In English: Many-Face.
The contract killer Zach Ohio, who murdered a professor critical of Islam.
He had escaped.
And now, no one even knew what face he was using.
"How?"
"His ability evolved."
It was literal evolution, nothing else could explain it.
Now defying even the law of conservation of mass, Many-Face could change his build and bone structure, transforming perfectly into someone else.
And using that, he escaped.
"This is a serious threat."
Perfectly disguising himself as a high-ranking official or authority figure?
He could steal classified information or issue catastrophic orders harmful to U.S. interests.
And he was a killer, of course he’d sell out patriotism for money.
But Kyung-wan tilted his head.
"But will I be useful? Outside of interrogation, I don’t really have a role."
Kim Jun responded with a meaningful look.
"I saw you snipe a sniper with a handgun."
".. Uh… I got lucky."
"Please. You awakened, didn’t you? And in the sensory-enhancement, esper-type direction at that. Otherwise you couldn’t instantly identify the sniper’s position and counter-fire. Not to mention shooting far beyond a handgun’s effective range. You practically advertised it."
Strictly speaking, even Kyung-wan wasn’t sure if his ability truly counted as esper-type yet.
He could only vaguely describe it as sensing and interacting a bit with S-particles.
But there was no reason to be honest, so instead he jabbed at his overly dedicated stalker.
"Wow, America sure is interested in me… I’m so flattered I don’t know where to put myself."
Would you like to search my internet history too?
But to Kim Jun, that sounded like dramatics.
With that clever mind, of course he already knew the U.S. was watching him.
The U.S. had already found out he told the Japanese ambassador to seek American help.
Kim Jun asked,
"You’re not planning to obstruct the investigation, right?"
"Well, no."
"And you understand we need justification to extract you from Japan, correct?"
At that, Kyung-wan had no choice but to raise both hands in surrender.
"Man… America really is something. An FBI agent with negotiation skills like this… The Korean foreign ministry should take notes."
It was essentially a declaration of surrender,
and an indirect agreement to lend a hand in catching this Many-Face, or Manny-Penis, whatever.
And the next day,
Kyung-wan put on a mask, left the detention center, and headed to Okinawa.
Naturally, Kim Jun, the FBI, and several officers from the Tokyo Metropolitan Police accompanied him.
The Japanese government kept his departure secret.
In a quasi–censorship state, that wasn’t difficult.
A few resistant journalists existed, but their influence was tiny,
and a conveniently timed celebrity scandal sucked up Japan’s attention.
Thus, Kyung-wan vanished from Japan as if he had never been there,
and the place he reappeared was LAX.
"So this is LA, where that Manny Penis guy is hiding?"
"It’s Face, not Penis."
"Wow, just as I’d heard, beautiful weather here."
Ignoring Kim Jun’s correction, Kyung-wan commented on the city.
Kim Jun shook his head and guided him aside, where a beautiful Latina woman awaited.
[Stacey, have you been waiting long?]
[No. I only just got here.]
Watching the two talk, Kyung-wan abruptly interjected.
"Are you two dating?"
"What? No."
Kim Jun shook his head, but Kyung-wan narrowed his eyes with a knowing smile.
To Kim Jun, this guy was maddening, was he helping, or just ruining everything?
Then Stacey tilted her head and opened her mouth to speak.