Chapter 47: Forget What You Saw Today!
Chapter 47: Forget What You Saw Today!
Arin picked up a towel a guest had used and shook it out over the bed sheet as if sweeping it.
Hair, body hair, and flakes of dead skin fell onto the floor beside the bed.
After guests had rolled around on the bed for hours, if you did this and then pulled one side tight, you couldn’t tell the difference from freshly changed bedding.
Then she spread the blanket tightly on top, making it look like a brand-new bed on display in a model home.
It took just about three minutes.
If you properly changed pillowcases, duvet covers, and bed sheets, it took at least fifteen minutes.
Yuri had already finished the bathroom, and Hyeonyeong had finished tidying the room. They wrapped up cleaning a short-stay room in three minutes and moved to the next one.
If they cleaned this carelessly, Assistant Manager Kang would usually rush over and raise hell, telling them to redo it, but the three of them sold out Assistant Manager Lee instead.
They talked back, saying Assistant Manager Lee Chanhyeok had instructed that it was fine to do it this way when busy, and if there was a problem, the two managers should agree on instructions first.
On the first day, they were tense and did as Kang told them, but there was no way they could keep following his demands for their entire time here.
After a few days, Kang didn’t seem to have much power in this motel.
So the three CIA agents pushed back against the unpleasant Kang.
After that, Kang only made displeased faces and stopped nagging.
They wanted to maintain a good relationship since he was extremely close to their target, Choi Cheolmin, but he wasn’t the type of person that allowed that. Especially when he wore that fake, slimy smile—he was truly irritating.
If they hadn’t pushed back, Kang Chan would have treated them like slaves and worked them to the bone.
A sugary taste rose in Arin’s mouth.
The work just never ended. Even cutting corners, it was this hard.
The male cleaning team passed by and greeted them with glances.
They were prospective subordinates within Cheolmin’s organization.
Since they knew the women were pretty, they twisted and preened their bodies every time they crossed paths.
It was funny and a little cute how they threw smiling eyes at someone who might become their sister-in-law, but to Arin—who valued looks most in a man—it was just laughable.
No matter how you looked at it, motel work was a 3D job—dirty, difficult, and dangerous.
If she ever had to go undercover as a room maid again, she would absolutely refuse.
Recently, Korean society had gone through upheavals big enough to be called seismic.
When public sentiment turned grim, rooms emptied out and they loafed around all day with nothing to do, but Korea changed so fast that just days later the whole country would be in a festive mood again.
Once sanctions were lifted, the frozen economy loosened instantly and the biggest boom since the 1980s arrived.
Even though the government switched ultra-low interest rates to high rates, the entire society buzzed with energy. The media even said it was an era where stray cats walked around with 50,000-won bills in their mouths.
The motel was bursting at the seams, and Yuri, Hyeonyeong, and Arin had to endure extreme labor from morning to midnight.
If Cheolmin’s juniors hadn’t helped, they might have had to abandon the mission.
Headquarters pressured them daily to report progress on recruiting Choi Cheolmin, but how were they supposed to seduce a man when all they did was work? You had to see the man to pick the ginseng.
But they were elites who had scored top marks among CIA trainees.
They were women who found methods and adapted in any situation.
“Then I’ll go today,” Arin said, checking the time.
It was almost 6 p.m.
Around this time, Cheolmin got off work and ate with Assistant Manager Kang at the counter.
On Kang’s workdays, Cheolmin ordered delivery and ate with him in the office. On Kang’s days off, he ate outside.
But at every mealtime, the long-stay women from rooms 104, 103, and 102 always tagged along.
The woman in 104, an American installation artist, clearly wagged her tail at Cheolmin. Then again, what woman could stay calm looking at that face? Cheolmin seemed fairly close to her, but there was still a sense of distance.
It was a woman’s intuition. The Russian woman in 102 clearly had no interest in Cheolmin. She was traveling in Korea and only cared about food and dramas.
By female instinct, 102 wasn’t a threat.
The most threatening was the woman in 103.
Her beauty was enough that even Arin—who never lost in looks—would concede a point.
Chae Seorin’s skin showed not a single pore even up close, and though she wore no makeup, she had more aura than a fully made-up celebrity.
The most worrying part was Cheolmin’s attitude.
He treated Assistant Manager Kang the most attentively in this motel, and Chae Seorin next.
He called her “master” and “teacher,” but Arin couldn’t understand why.
What on earth was he learning from that woman or a motel employee that made him call her teacher? She tried to find out but couldn’t.
The irritating Chae Seorin also took his attitude for granted.
But did Cheolmin see Seorin as a woman?
That didn’t seem to be the case.
He definitely had some feelings toward her, but not in the way a man treated a woman.
On the day Korea won the war against China, Arin had thrown herself into Cheolmin’s arms. He had reacted.
Though awkward, he didn’t actively pull away, and since then Arin had gained confidence.
The biggest obstacles were actually her colleagues Yuri and Hyeonyeong.
They were supposed to cooperate, but they subtly checked each other, making things inefficient.
Their initial agreement was that if one of the three got involved with Cheolmin, the other two would fully support her.
But since all three approached him whenever they had the chance, Cheolmin seemed burdened and subtly avoided them.
So they changed tactics.
They would take turns by date to seduce him.
Today was Arin’s day.
Holding a duster, Arin went down to the first-floor lobby.
The slightly revealing maid uniform she had carefully put on in the morning was now wrinkled and twisted from hard labor.
After checking her makeup again, she headed to the counter.
First, eat together. Then tea time with Cheolmin on the rooftop where he exercised.
And in the evening, she planned to barge into his room with chicken and beer, saying she had worries.
Though he kept some distance from Yuri and Hyeonyeong, Arin felt Cheolmin let her get closer.
For a female agent, a honey trap was like a medal. Arin wanted to secure Cheolmin in this operation.
“Oh! You’re here!”
As always, Cheolmin sat at the counter discussing with Kang what to order.
“Hello, Arin,” Cheolmin replied with a gentle smile. Arin felt good thinking she had firmly imprinted her name on him.
“Looks like you’re about to eat.”
“Yes! These days even grilled pork belly can be delivered. I was thinking of ordering that.”
“It happens to be my mealtime too… Can I join?”
She felt Kang’s glare as his smile vanished.
That jerk always acted up even though he wasn’t paying.
“Of course! Then I’ll order for ten portions,” Cheolmin said, placing the order.
At that moment, Room 103’s door opened and Chae Seorin came out. She looked ready to go out, wearing a long coat and jeans. At her waist, hidden under the coat, hung a stick just under one meter long.
“Going out?”
“Yes. I think I’ll be far today. I might not return for two or three days. I’ll be back,” Seorin said, bowing politely to Kang.
Cheolmin came out to the lobby to see her off. Then Seorin pulled out the stick at her waist and slashed upward from bottom to top.
It resembled kendo but was subtly different.
“If you’re used to the upper stance I taught you before, now practice this upward cut. The more you swing, the better. Do it whenever you have time. Your basic internal power is excellent, Cheolmin, so once your form settles, your skill will grow quickly.”
Cheolmin watched closely and imitated with a broom from the office.
“Yes, that’s the motion. You’re good. You have talent,” Seorin said.
Cheolmin’s face brightened.
“Thank you, Master. I’ll train hard until you return.”
Watching them, Arin wondered if Seorin was teaching him swordsmanship.
But did that make sense?
Choi Cheolmin was a man who could win a war against the world—why learn swordsmanship from her?
Arin sent a report to headquarters that Seorin was going out.
[Room 103 “White Heron” departing. Two-to-three-day schedule. Request close surveillance of route and activities. Also confirmed “Crow” learning swordsmanship from White Heron. Crow calls White Heron his swordsmanship master and treats her with respect.]
Today, she finally caught something to report alone and scored results.
“We’ll go eat outside,” said the male cleaning team at dinner time.
Uncomfortable eating with the boss, Cheolmin’s prospective subordinates politely greeted and left. Until they returned, Yuri and Hyeonyeong would have to clean nonstop. It was obvious they’d suffer, but it couldn’t be helped.
She would go through it tomorrow and the day after anyway.
“Delivery!”
Only minutes after ordering, the pork belly arrived, and Kang called Bella and Lauren from 102, where they were watching dramas.
Arin felt irritated thinking she worked like a slave all day while those women lounged around watching dramas.
But hiding her feelings, she sat beside Cheolmin and neatly laid out the food.
Bella and Lauren shuffled out in slippers, scratching their messy hair after Kang’s call.
They stuck together so much they even acted alike now.
Arin felt a bit envious.
At that moment, a scream rang out from the second floor, and Yuri and Hyeonyeong ran down to the counter.
“What happened?” Kang asked, dropping his fake smile.
“Room 208… 208…” Hyeonyeong stammered.
“Ugh… urk!” Yuri gagged, looking like she would vomit.
Startled, Arin sprinted up to the second floor toward 208. Though skilled with firearms, she wasn’t carrying one. Instead, a palm-sized dagger was hidden at her waist.
She drew it and hid it in her palm, carefully opening the door.
She couldn’t guess what kind of attack had shocked them so much. Maybe a biochemical weapon.
Covering her nose and mouth with her sleeve, she opened the door.
A powerful stench hit her.
This was…
Several times stronger than the smell from a rural pit toilet.
She wondered if such a chemical toxin existed, but none she knew smelled like this.
Peeking inside, Arin was horrified.
The room floor was smeared with human feces.
The bed, pillows, and even the grooves of the wooden floor were stained, dried stiff by indoor heating.
The smell of dried excrement filled the room.
At the unexpected sight, Arin gagged and collapsed by the door.
She had never seen something this filthy in her life.
She wanted to quit the CIA and go back to her parents’ home in Arizona. As a Korean-American who grew up in the upper class without hardship, recent struggles were too much.
Assistant Manager Kang followed, patting her shoulder.
“I’ll handle this. Go downstairs, Arin.”
His face held seriousness, not his usual fake smile.
Arin felt like crying.
“Forget what you saw today.”
Leaving those words, Kang went into room 208 and closed the door.
His back looked reliable—but dirty.