High-Crime Zone
"That should be enough. Tell the agents to get some rest. You too. You've been living on a flipped day-night schedule, haven't you?"
"Nah, I'm perfectly fine."
"Fatigue stacks up, and then one day your body just gives out. Kim Su-hyeok will handle tomorrow's mission according to the plan we already laid out, so rest for now. Focus on your work as a prosecutor, too."
"Understood."
Because he was coordinating the operation from Korea on the Brazilian agents' schedule, Han Hae-un had been grinding through a double life — bouncing between his day job and the mission without a moment to breathe.
"Ah — by the way, do you usually carry a long wallet or a bifold?"
"Sorry? Me? A bifold — the kind that folds in half? Yeah, that's what I use."
"Got it. I'm turning in, so you do the same."
Yeon-woo watched on the screen until every agent had withdrawn safely, then severed the connection to the comms server.
"I should watch my own fatigue, too. When I rest, I rest properly. Tomorrow's going to be a stretch no matter what."
He packed away the communications gear with care and climbed into bed earlier than usual.
When morning came, Yeon-woo followed his usual routine — a workout at the hotel fitness center, then downstairs for a light breakfast.
"Good morning."
"Slept great, thanks to you. But Min-su hyung — you ordered room service late last night. You're really going for breakfast on top of that?"
"Hotel breakfast is the kind of thing you come down for even when you're not hungry. Just a slice of bread with jam, at least."
Yeon-woo smiled at Kim Min-su's answer.
"What about Ye-eun noona?"
"Hard to say. I rang her doorbell on the way over, but she didn't come out. Probably still asleep."
Yeon-woo filled a plate from the simple buffet spread and sat down.
"Yeon-woo-ssi, good morning."
"Enjoy your breakfast."
"Ah — yes. Good morning."
Models and YouTubers he'd gotten somewhat familiar with during yesterday's conversations greeted him as they passed, and he returned each with a light nod.
Kim Min-su, plate loaded, settled into the seat across from him.
"Hmm? Didn't you say it was just a slice of bread with jam?"
The words rang hollow against the generous heap of food piled on Kim Min-su's plate.
"Ahem. Figure of speech. Please, dig in, Actor-nim."
Lee Ye-eun was already working hard enough to get Kim Min-su to lose weight — there was no need for Yeon-woo to pile on more stress. He simply nodded and picked up his fork.
"Honestly, Min-su hyung, you've always had a big frame. Even with some extra weight, you don't look fat so much as solid. Good bulk."
"R-right?"
Yeon-woo nodded.
"I'm tall myself, and my shoulders are pretty broad, so I've got some size — but if you're going to protect me in a crowd, it helps to have someone even bigger."
"That's exactly what I keep saying. But Ye-eun acts like she can't wait to tear into me."
"Who's tearing into who?"
Lee Ye-eun's voice came from behind them. Kim Min-su flinched and spun around.
"Y-Ye-eun-ah."
"Who said anything about you building size, oppa? I'm saying build it with exercise. I'm not telling you to lose weight for the sake of it — I'm putting you on a diet to prevent adult-onset diseases like diabetes. Your liver numbers came back bad this time, didn't they?"
"W-well, yeah…"
Watching Kim Min-su shrink on the spot, Yeon-woo smiled. Time to change the subject and throw the man a lifeline.
"Anyway, Min-su hyung — we don't have any schedule at all today or tomorrow, right?"
"Yes, yep! Today's second concert is running without streaming or broadcast, so you don't need to attend. SL Electronics' official event schedule starts the day after tomorrow."
Yeon-woo nodded at that.
But even without an official schedule, he was going to be busy today.
If I want this done right, I have to handle it myself.
After lunch had come and gone, Yeon-woo killed some easy time, then headed down to the first-floor lobby.
An SL Electronics security officer approached at once.
"Is there anything you need, sir?"
"Mm, no. Just thought I'd do a little shopping inside the hotel."
"Ah — shopping. The shops are in the connected annex, as I understand it. I'll show you right away."
"You really don't have to, but — thank you, as always."
Yeon-woo followed the security officer through the corridor linking the main hotel building, where the guest rooms were, to the annex.
"Please enjoy your time, sir."
"Yes. Thank you for walking me over."
Yeon-woo turned toward the shops — but the security officer stayed put in the corridor, standing watch.
Hmm. So he's the one assigned to me.
When security worked in three rotating shifts, one team stood post while the team that had just come off duty went straight to sleep, and the remaining team stayed on standby rest. When a principal moved, one of the standby officers would tag along and wait at a distance like this — a precaution against anything that might go wrong.
I'm usually the one doing the protecting. Having the roles flipped like this is… interesting.
Yeon-woo stepped into a multi-brand boutique stocked with luxury goods.
And started spending without hesitation.
"I'll take this bag and that one as well. Hmm — put that wallet in, too."
"Ah, yes. Right away."
Faced with a high roller, the clerk's hands flew as she checked every item Yeon-woo named for scuffs and flaws.
He shopped for a long stretch — bags, wallets, clothes, one luxury piece after another — until Manager Kim Min-su, having asked security about Yeon-woo's whereabouts, came into the annex.
"Actor-nim?"
"Hmm? Min-su hyung?"
"You weren't in your room or the lobby, so I asked the security officer."
"Ah — just doing a little shopping."
Kim Min-su eyed the shopping bags clustered in Yeon-woo's hands and tilted his head.
"You barely touch luxury goods. What's with the shopping spree?"
Yeon-woo handed him a portion of the bags.
"Ah — yes. Give me the rest, too. I'll carry them."
"No. What I just gave you is for you and Ye-eun noona."
"Sorry?"
"We're on an overseas trip. Of course I should buy gifts. These are for my family — and these are for the other Saebyeol actors."
Among them, of course, was a wallet for Han Hae-un, and clothing gifts for the other two agents as well.
Kim Min-su knew that Yeon-woo's only real indulgence to date had been the car he'd bought when he turned twenty. The storm of shopping had looked strange — until the gifts made sense of it.
"Aigoo, you even bought something for me?"
"Of course I did. You're as close and as important to me as family. All of this has to be declared at customs on the way in, so help me sort it later, all right?"
More than the luxury goods in his hands, it was Yeon-woo calling him family that made Kim Min-su's chest swell. This actor had a way of saying things like that — tossed off casually, and yet they always hit home.
"Min-su hyung, anything else you need? Go ahead and pick something."
"Oh no, no. This is more than enough."
"Come on, it's fine. What about this jacket? Korea's heading into summer, though — maybe not."
Yeon-woo kept pressing, and Kim Min-su waved him off, backing away a step at a time.
"Th-then I'll just take this one and run it over to Ye-eun right now!"
Under the continued pressure, Kim Min-su made his escape.
Hmm. Finally got rid of him.
Giving gifts had been one purpose — but there had been another reason entirely.
Han Hae-un's voice came through in Yeon-woo's ear.
Lambda was Kim Su-hyeok.
Meaning Kim Su-hyeok had just walked into the lobby of the hotel where Yeon-woo was staying.
Already four in the afternoon, then.
He would have infiltrated on the security teams' shift change.
When people thought of a sniper's skill set, they usually pictured only long-range precision fire. But a sniper needed far more than that. Chief among the rest was the ability to infiltrate a target zone undetected.
No matter how far the shot, a bullet leaving the muzzle dropped nearly five meters in a single second under gravity. Given that most people stood under two meters tall, that was an enormous drop. The farther the range, the worse the error grew — so unless you planned to aim at the sky and drop a bullet onto the target, you had to get close.
Even at extreme range, you still have to close to within two kilometers. Which means you're effectively in the middle of enemy territory.
And the shot wasn't the end. Once the enemy went on high alert, you still had to get out alive — alone. Exfiltration mattered as much as the approach. A sniper's engagement distance was long, but in essence, a sniper was an assassin.
Kim Su-hyeok had killed his presence and blended into the crowd, slipping past the eyes of the SL Electronics security detail into a blind spot.
The moment he'd arrived at the hotel, Yeon-woo had taken a casual walk and, with Han Hae-un, mapped every CCTV angle. Inside the hotel, there was one perfect blind spot.
The pillar in the corridor between the main building and the annex.
With ghostlike movement, Kim Su-hyeok closed on the annex corridor, set a shopping bag down behind the pillar, and turned away.
A shopping bag packed with things that would never clear customs or a security team.
"Okay."
Yeon-woo stopped shopping and turned on his heel.
Arms full of shopping bags, he headed for the corridor back to the main building — and the waiting security officer came forward to meet him.
Yeon-woo had been aware of the man the whole time, of course, but he looked over as if only just noticing him.
"Oh? You waited instead of leaving?"
"There's no security staff posted in the annex, so I stood by in case anything came up."
"I see. Thank you. I shopped far too long."
"Not at all. Shall we go? Let me carry those for you."
Yeon-woo shook his head.
"No. I appreciate the offer, but if anyone saw, it'd look like I was throwing my weight around and end up in the gossip columns. I'll carry them myself. Thank you."
"Throwing your weight around? Honestly, Actor-nim, of everyone who came on this trip, I think you have the best character by far."
"Is that so."
The security officer took the lead, and Yeon-woo followed.
Then, at a certain moment, Yeon-woo drifted a half-step sideways and brushed past the pillar.
And the number of shopping bags in his hands increased by one — without a single person noticing.
Back in his room, Yeon-woo set the luxury gifts aside in a rough pile and opened the shopping bag Kim Su-hyeok had delivered.
Hmm. Everything's here, just as it should be.
An American-brand smartphone and laptop. A thick stack of Brazilian currency. And a mysterious green circuit board cobbled together from a few automotive ECUs soldered into one piece.
Beyond that: a handgun, a lightweight tactical plate carrier known as a JPC — and a silicone disguise mask molded to Yeon-woo's own face.
There was a very effective method for dealing with household pests. You crumbled castella cake fine, mixed it with the right amount of boric acid powder from the pharmacy, and scattered the mixture around the house. The pests ate the castella, carried it back to their nest, shared it with the others — and the whole colony flipped over dead.
The smartphone, the laptop, and the cash are the castella. The unidentified green board is the boric acid.
Tonight's operation would demand real acting skill — which was exactly why Yeon-woo was the one to run it.
He turned the silicone face this way and that — cast from his own features back in Korea, fabricated by Han Hae-un to match — and a slow grin spread across his mouth.
"Tonight, for the first time in a while… I get to work the field myself."