[The Three-Way Standoff (2)]

Kim Pyong-il was currently residing in none other than Bulgaria. After being pushed out of the succession race, he had been completely sidelined from power. Of course, Kim Jong-il hadn't been able to kill him outright. Even though Kim Jong-il held absolute authority, it was 1989, and Kim Il-sung was still alive. If Kim Jong-il were to ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠purge Kim Pyong-il in this situation, Kim Il-sung would naturally be enraged. If Kim Il-sung, who held the fundamental legitimacy, were to reject Kim Jong-il’s succession, Kim Jong-il’s position could crumble in an instant. While it was clear that Kim Jong-il was currently suppressing Kim Il-sung, his power was built on a foundation that could collapse the moment the "elders, including Kim Il-sung," reclaimed their legitimacy. Therefore, Kim Pyong-il was able to survive as long as Kim Il-sung was alive, and after Kim Il-sung died, he barely managed to survive because Kim Jong-il already held total control. His choice to live quietly and focus solely on his work while drifting through Europe had undoubtedly played a role as well.

However, the only ones who survived were Kim Pyong-il and his family. Kim Jong-il had thoroughly purged anyone who had even the slightest connection to him. Because of this, Kim Pyong-il hadn't been able to make a single acquaintance throughout the 1980s. There was even a saying that "you die if you get within a meter of Kim Pyong-il." It was the same in Bulgaria. Intelligence agents sent by Kim Jong-il kept their eyes wide open, observing his every move. That wasn't all. Recorders were installed in every conceivable place, including his office and his residence. Therefore, if Kim Pyong-il said anything out of line, or if someone approaching him said something suspicious, the path to a purge would open in that very instant.

Then, why was Yoon-gi in the vicinity of Kim Pyong-il in this situation? To meet him? No.

The Korean was fluent in its own way. But this Korean came from a muscular, bald, Black man in his forties. The cafe customer, who had been reading a newspaper while wearing sunglasses, looked at the Black man and asked back in a panic.

"W-what is this about?"

"Oh, it's nothing much. If there's one thing I'd like to tell you, it's that I have absolutely no intention of harming you."

The identity of the Black man was none other than Bill. Bill, who ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠had guarded Yoon-gi in the Soviet Union and had followed him to the United States when he went to open the second oil field. Bill had parked his sports car on the roadside and approached the man in sunglasses.

Clench. The customer in sunglasses began to prepare to tense his body. He was ready to draw the gun tucked into his waistband at any moment. However, Bill’s words were faster.

"I’m telling you, I really have no intention of hurting you. Just give me two minutes of your ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠time."

As soon as Bill finished speaking, several red dots appeared on the customer’s chest and began to move slowly. The customer, as if accustomed to this, looked toward the buildings following the angle of the dots.

"Ugh..."

Snipers in the surrounding buildings were aiming their rifles at him. If he did anything foolish in this situation, he would die 100 percent. Therefore, thinking that he had to stay alive first, the man relaxed the tension in his body.

"Good. Now we can have a conversation. My name is Bill."

"I-I am Ri Cheol-jin."

"Good, Mr. Ri Cheol-jin. Is it fun to monitor the people who are monitoring Kim Pyong-il?"

Ri Cheol-jin’s pupils dilated instantly. Although it wasn't visible to the people around him because of his sunglasses, Bill could tell that Ri Cheol-jin was flustered by the change in the aura he felt from him.

"Why? Is it impressive that I didn't ask if you enjoyed monitoring Kim Pyong-il?"

As Bill shrugged his shoulders, Ri Cheol-jin gulped without realizing it. Ri Cheol-jin, in his mid-thirties. This was the first time he had ever been this shocked since coming to Bulgaria. 'My god, to think they know about the existence of the secondary spies...'

Kim Jong-il was a man who hated Kim Pyong-il with a paranoid intensity. Because of this, he feared that Kim Pyong-il might build connections with spies and feed him false information. Therefore, he had placed secondary spies to monitor the primary spies. However, the existence of those secondary spies had been unraveled by Yoon-gi.

He had even investigated the existence of tertiary spies just in case, but perhaps mobilizing that much manpower was impossible; the secondary spies were the end of it. There were 7 primary spies monitoring Kim Pyong-il's surroundings. There were 7 secondary spies monitoring each of the primary spies. Therefore, they were using 56 people just to monitor one Kim Pyong-il.

"Mr. Ri Cheol-jin, I don't know if that's your real name or not, but anyway. Are you satisfied with your current life?"

Surprisingly, Ri Cheol-jin was his real name. He had intentionally used his real name to confuse the opponent. However, Bill had no intention of investigating Ri Cheol-jin himself in the first place. That wasn't the mission he had been assigned.

"I, I will not answer."

"Well, of course you wouldn't. You'd be purged if ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠things went even slightly wrong. And your family is back in the motherland, after all."

Ri Cheol-jin gulped again. In reality, Ri Cheol-jin had an 8-year-old daughter. He had been assigned to Bulgaria the moment his daughter turned 6, and an official from the Security Department had sent him a photo taken with his daughter.

A photo containing that implication. Because of this, Ri Cheol-jin was in a position where he could never act recklessly. A 6-year-old daughter. He had been assigned to Bulgaria alone at the time when his daughter was at her cutest and most adorable age. On top of that, he had a wife. No matter what Bill said, it wasn't easy to persuade Ri Cheol-jin.

"I don't want much from you. Park Dong-hwan, Son Hyun-gyu, Kim Seong-je..."

As names began to pour out of Bill's mouth, Ri Cheol-jin took off his sunglasses. He was so flustered that the dark view through the sunglasses felt suffocating.

"H-how do you know that?!"

Words that should never be spoken. But because the opponent was reciting the names of the other 48 people so clearly, he couldn't help but be flustered.

"I can't tell you the method. But we have finished persuading the 48 people excluding you."

"That's nonsense! It's impossible! That's impossible!"

It was a natural reaction. All 56 people, including Ri Cheol-jin, had left their wives and children, aged 6 to 10, back in North Korea. It was the most basic way to control spies in North Korea. And yet, to say they had persuaded them all? It was absolutely impossible.

"Because the condition we offered is nothing much. Just three days. You just need to stay quiet for exactly three days."

"W-what does that mean?"

"It means to report that whoever Ambassador Kim Pyong-il meets is the same as usual for just three days. And after three days, we won't care what kind of reports you make."

"B-but, if Ambassador Kim Pyong-il escapes from Bulgaria..."

Bill clicked his tongue and shook his head.

"We have no intention of letting Ambassador Kim Pyong-il escape. We just want a meeting with someone. If there is any sign that Ambassador Kim Pyong-il is going to escape somewhere, take action immediately."

"And after three days, you won't care if we report who Ambassador Kim Pyong-il met...?"

Bill smiled and nodded.

"Bingo! That's exactly it. But, after three days pass, you won't even have the desire to report it anymore, will you?"

"What does that mean?"

"You'll find out after three days. Now, give me your answer. Will you walk the same path as the 48, or will you walk a different one?"

Was there a choice? Still, Ri Cheol-jin couldn't answer easily.

"My, if it's hard to answer, I should help you."

Ri Cheol-jin suddenly thought of his daughter's photo. His daughter with an innocent smile, taking a picture with the Security Department official. What if the person in front of him showed him something similar? But what Bill showed Ri Cheol-jin was a thick yellow envelope.

"It's 10,000 dollars. It’s a decent price for keeping your mouth shut for three days, isn't it? Whether Ambassador Kim Pyong-il met someone three days ago or three days later. Isn't that kind of information manipulation easy for you? Besides, even the team leader has already sent the call sign, hasn't he?"

10,000 dollars. It was by no means a small amount for Ri Cheol-jin. In particular, in 1989, North Korea began to see the emergence of private markets called "Jangmadang," which shouldn't exist in communism, and North Korean currency was almost worthless there. On the other hand, the dollar held a very high value. If he could just deliver this 10,000 dollars to his wife, they could live a relatively affluent life, excluding the rations from the North Korean authorities.

"Ugh..."

Ri Cheol-jin’s trembling hands wavered toward the yellow envelope.

"Phew, this is the last bit of help."

Bill picked up a recorder and pressed the play button.

The clear words of the surveillance team leader.

"Gasp!"

Ri Cheol-jin, who had been startled for a moment, realized something was strange and asked.

"Why, why 6 days?"

"Because it's impossible to persuade all 55 people in one day."

Bill’s words continued.

"We started persuading them after figuring out all your locations, and it took 3 days to persuade up to your turn. So, there are three days left."

"Ah..."

"Now, I will ask you one last time. Do you agree?"

If he didn't agree, he would die immediately. Even if he agreed to escape this situation, the other 48 might be watching him. The possibility that the voice on the recorder was faked was zero, given the circumstances so far. Therefore, Ri Cheol-jin quietly put the envelope into his inner jacket pocket.

"An excellent choice."

"I will contact the motherland immediately after three days."

Ri Cheol-jin said it with a sharp edge for the sake of his last bit of pride, but Bill didn't change his demeanor at all.

"I’ll say it again, you will never report it."

Bill was saying "you will not," not "you cannot."

Kim Pyong-il, who had once vied with Kim Jong-il for the succession. But as soon as Kim Jong-il took actual total control, Kim Pyong-il lived as quietly as a mouse. One might think someone who had opposed him would rebel at least once, but Kim Pyong-il just played the role of a diplomatic ambassador in the Eastern Bloc as Kim Jong-il ordered, and never once raised a banner of rebellion. Why? The reason was the same as Ri Cheol-jin’s. Because his family was being held hostage.

When he was a rival, he had the ability to defend himself. But now that even Kim Il-sung had been reduced to an old man in the back room, there was no one left to protect Kim Pyong-il. Therefore, Kim Pyong-il had to live a truly lonely life abroad. Until just a moment ago, that is.

"W-who is it?"

Kim Pyong-il, the diplomatic ambassador to Bulgaria. Kim Pyong-il was surprised to see someone wearing a mask sitting on his sofa when he returned to his quarters.

"Don't worry. I'm just someone who came because I wanted to talk to you."

The man took off his mask and smiled broadly at the other person.

"Gasp!"

The man wearing the mask was none other than Yoon-gi. Yoon-gi was revealing his face completely to none other than Kim Pyong-il.