Codename Anastasia Novel (End) - Chapter 58

“Huh? What’s this?”

Yoon Jongwoo, who was about to log into the game, frowned. He entered his ID and password and clicked the connect button, but an error message popped up saying he was already logged in. He closed the active window and tried again, but the result was the same. If it wasn’t a server error, someone else must have stolen his ID.

He had felt something was off for quite some time. Every time he logged in, his experience points were subtly different, and there were items in his inventory that weren’t there before. He had simply thought it was some event he didn’t know about and dismissed it, but today he seemed to have caught the tail of it.

Daring to hack a National Intelligence Service agent. What kind of bastard had such gall?

“You bastard, you’re in trouble now.”

He entered a different ID and logged into the game. It was an ID he had created for event entries and then abandoned. Thanks to that, he had nothing but basic items.

He searched for his original ID in the user search window. The thief’s location immediately appeared. He entered that server. The thief was there, preparing for a game that was about to start. He was about to speak to the bastard when other users urged him to quickly complete the wait. He had no choice but to press the participate button.

Soon the game began. The monitor was filled with a vivid background screen that resembled an actual battlefield. The sound of gunfire from his headset echoed realistically and dramatically. In that place, where everyone was hell-bent on killing each other, Yoon Jongwoo only pursued the thief. The bastard was engrossed in the game, completely unfazed. He meticulously picked off and shot only the high-level users who were focused on massacring the weaker players. His aim was miraculously perfect.

“Aargh! I was saving that, not using it on purpose!”

Yoon Jongwoo, who had been eyeing the bastard opportunistically, cried out in shock. The item the bastard had just carelessly used was a rare item, difficult to obtain even with real money. That treasure, which he had never equipped and carefully kept, was being squandered by the bastard right before his eyes. He couldn’t just stand by any longer.

With a somewhat grim expression, Yoon Jongwoo requested a 1:1 match. He was determined to beat the living daylights out of the opponent, forgetting that the ID the opponent was using was his own.

Eventually, the thief responded.

Stop messing around, little noob. Go play over there.

He was so dumbfounded that he gasped. He requested a match again. It was rejected. He requested it again. It was immediately rejected again.

“…This son of a bitch.”

He persistently clung on until the bastard accepted. Perhaps by some accidental misclick, the bastard suddenly accepted the duel. He was rather bewildered by the suddenness of it.

As soon as the duel began, he charged forward headfirst. However, there was something Yoon Jongwoo had overlooked. The ID he had diligently cultivated, squeezing out every spare moment to gain experience, was not his current one. He was merely a poorly equipped, powerless low-level user.

He employed flashy skills and launched all sorts of attacks, but he couldn’t inflict a single scratch on the thief. In contrast, even a graze from the bastard’s bullet would drastically reduce his health bar. He even half-stood up and furiously pounded on his keyboard and mouse.

“Aaaargh! Die, dieeee!”

The opponent equipped special armor. Using it meant they wouldn’t take damage from most attacks. The problem was that all of Yoon Jongwoo’s firepower fell into the category of “most attacks.” Even when he aimed carefully and pulled the trigger, the opponent didn’t get even a faint scratch. Deciding to take a chance, he moved out from behind cover, only to have his own life force chipped away.

In this no-win situation, the thief delivered a decisive blow. His vision flipped as he took a headshot.

“Noooo…!”

He clung to the monitor and screamed, but the game was already over. Damn it. Muttering curses, he re-searched for the ID the thief had stolen. However, the bastard had already logged out. Unable to scream in the middle of the night, he just tore at his innocent hair and lashed out in frustrated rage.

It was much later that Yoon Jongwoo discovered an unread message. The sender was that very thief from earlier. He immediately checked the contents. There was no specific mention, just a place and time written down. He was the one who got wronged, but was this bastard trying to arrange a real-life fight? It was unbelievable.

The time the bastard specified was 30 minutes later, and the place was a PC bang in Incheon. He even kindly wrote down his seat number. If he hurried there now, he could make it on time. Yoon Jongwoo, seething, grabbed his coat and left the house.

The lighting in the designated PC bang was quite dim. It seemed to be to enhance concentration. Because of the time, many seats were empty. The part-timer at the counter was also dozing off and didn’t even notice Yoon Jongwoo’s arrival.

He squinted his eyes and walked through the dim interior. He had run for nearly 30 minutes, burning with fighting spirit, but upon arrival, his heart pounded wildly. He took a deep breath and moved towards seat 59, which the thief had indicated. As he passed the 30s and 40s and entered the 50s row, his heart thumped so loudly it felt like it would burst out of his mouth. He cautiously took steps and finally arrived at seat 59.

“…What is this?”

Disappointment clouded his flushed face. Seat 59 was empty. That damn thief had called him all the way here and then fled. Perhaps he was somewhere else in the cafe, snickering. He quickly looked around. No one met his gaze. No one particularly stood out. Not only had he been brutally beaten in the game, but he had been thoroughly played by the bastard.

“Oh, you son of a bitch…!”

He fumed and clenched his fists. Unable to truly scream, he gritted his teeth and writhed. Other users shot disapproving glances at his silent outburst.

As he was suppressing his anger, receiving everyone’s attention, he accidentally touched the monitor. That released the power-saving mode, and the monitor turned on. What was puzzling was the text that filled the screen, looking like it was at least 200 points in size.

‘Sit down.’

What kind of game was this? Yoon Jongwoo, feeling intensely annoyed, nevertheless sat down quietly. He tried to appear nonchalant, continuously scanning his surroundings. He suspected this was another one of the thief’s tricks, but he was also curious what the bastard intended.

But even after waiting for a long time, the bastard didn’t appear. The other users were simply engrossed in their own games. Has he played again? A fire burned within him.

He would show that bastard exactly who he had messed with. He would find him by any means necessary. Grinding his teeth, he abruptly got up from his seat.

Just then, someone spoke to him abruptly.

“A grown man trying to pick a real-life fight.”

“……?”

That voice sounded strangely familiar. He flinched instinctively and looked at the seat next to him. Soon, the person slowly leaned back out from behind the partition. Yoon Jongwoo’s eyes widened.

“Senior!”

“Keep your voice down, you bastard.”

Kwon Taekjoo hurriedly clapped a hand over Yoon Jongwoo’s mouth. Then he meticulously scanned the surroundings. Yoon Jongwoo, caught off guard, also looked around warily. Only after confirming it was safe did Kwon Taekjoo release him.

“What happened? I thought you were dead!”

“And you were hoping for that, weren’t you?”

“What are you saying? I worried about you day and night, Senior…”

“You were busy playing games, weren’t you?”

“Yes. Playing games day and night… No, I wasn’t, really!”

Yoon Jongwoo, who had unconsciously been drawn in, quickly corrected himself. His face was half-wailing. Kwon Taekjoo chuckled, motioned for him to follow, and then got up first.

As they descended the narrow, steep stairs, Yoon Jongwoo asked.

“By the way. Was that thief from earlier, was that you, Senior?”

“ID cherryboy, password [email protected] Isn’t it about time you changed it?”

He readily admitted it. He had boldly stolen someone else’s ID and was brazen beyond belief. Yoon Jongwoo glared resentfully at the back of Kwon Taekjoo’s head as he walked ahead. Inwardly, he repeated words like, ‘If only he wasn’t my senior,’ several times.

“If only he wasn’t my senior, then what.”

“…Huh?”

Had he unknowingly mumbled his thoughts aloud? Yoon Jongwoo flinched and clapped a hand over his mouth.

“Didn’t you know? I can read minds too.”

Yoon Jongwoo innocently asked, “Really?” Kwon Taekjoo only grinned without a reply. He had clearly been played again. Why did Yoon Jongwoo himself have to meet a superior like Kwon Taekjoo? Why did it have to be him? Today too, he questioned the goddess of fate in vain.

Kwon Taekjoo’s appearance, illuminated by the streetlight, was a mess. Bandages or band-aids were wrapped or stuck everywhere visible. His physique was still the same, but his face had sharpened, as if he had lost at least 5 kg. His eyes were sunken, as if he hadn’t slept properly. He looked so pathetic that Yoon Jongwoo didn’t even feel like resenting him anymore.

Yoon Jongwoo had no way of knowing where Kwon Taekjoo had been or what he had been doing during that time. This was because information about his assigned missions had to be kept secret even from fellow NIS agents. It was more common for him to be unreachable during operations, so a few months of going incommunicado was nothing unusual. He would surely handle the work well, and when he safely completed his mission, he would suddenly appear as if they had met yesterday and suggest getting a meal.

He had never worried about Kwon Taekjoo’s safety before. But this time was different. His mind hadn’t been at ease since Kwon Taekjoo called him from Russia. The ‘Yevgeny Vissarionovich Bogdanov’ whom he said he was with at the time was a person for whom no official information could be found. That itself was not a good sign, and the more he learned, the more dangerous the man was. He had tried to convey that fact to Kwon Taekjoo, but he couldn’t because contact was lost. Kwon Taekjoo never called him again. Feeling uneasy, he reported it to Director Im, but he was told not to worry as Kwon Taekjoo was safe. After that, he thought it was just unnecessary anxiety and dismissed it.

However, Kwon Taekjoo, whom he met after a long time, didn’t seem to have been safe at all.

“Did you bring the car?”

“Yes, over there.”

He discreetly opened the car door. The two men got into the driver’s and passenger’s seats, respectively.

“Where should we go?”

“Talk here.”

Kwon Taekjoo turned off the engine Yoon Jongwoo had just started, and then took out the memory chip from the black box. He also deleted the location information recorded on the navigation. The car, with its headlights and interior lights off, was simply dark. Outside, it would be impossible to tell that there were people inside.

Only after thoroughly erasing his tracks did he speak.

“Did the Director say anything? About me.”

“Well, wasn’t our call cut off last time, Senior? And then you were out of contact for a long time. And the identity of that guy you were with, it felt really off, so I told the Director. He told me to mind my own business because you were safe? Said it was exceeding my authority.”

“Safe… So I’m not dead, so that’s not wrong. Alright, how’s the atmosphere at headquarters these days?”

“Oh, don’t even get me started. We literally don’t have a moment to breathe these days. I worked overtime for three straight days until yesterday, you know? Why, there’s been a lot of talk recently about a major personnel reshuffle, right? That the Blue House is going to appoint one of the current deputy directors as the next NIS Director.”

Such rumors had indeed circulated frequently. The current NIS Director had expressed his intention to resign due to personal reasons, which sparked the rumors. The NIS Director is appointed by the President, and usually, an outsider takes that position. Although they hold the highest authority, it’s to prevent an excessive concentration of power by giving it only symbolic meaning. It was also not unrelated to the fact that someone close to the Blue House would be easier to control.

Therefore, one of the deputy directors becoming the NIS Director was an extremely unusual measure. If the rumors were true, only the employees below them would become exhausted. Each department would scramble to accumulate even more achievements.

Yoon Jongwoo’s subsequent complaints were proof of this.

“Director Im is also all hyped up and treating us like slaves, you know? I was hoping to get a long vacation this month, but I just wish he’d send us home on time. I can’t even bring myself to say I’m leaving work because I feel like I’m walking on eggshells.”

“And nothing else happened?”

“I don’t know. Oh, wait, one thing. I recently transferred to the information support team.”

Kwon Taekjoo, who had been looking straight ahead the whole time, finally turned his head to Yoon Jongwoo. When he asked why, Yoon Jongwoo shrugged nonchalantly.

“You know I’m not really compatible with the investigation team, Senior. I didn’t even apply for that team in the first place. When I joined, Director Im promised he’d transfer me to the support team once the investigation team was fully staffed. He’s just fulfilling that promise now, I guess. There’s nothing bad about it. As expected, the support team’s work is a race against time, and it’s not dangerous like fieldwork. I don’t have to pay for that life insurance that costs 1.1 million won a month anymore, so that’s a gain too. Everything’s great, but…”

“But what?”

He didn’t miss Yoon Jongwoo’s ambiguous trailing words. Yoon Jongwoo fell silent for a moment. He seemed to be deliberating whether to speak or not. When Kwon Taekjoo waited quietly, he quickly continued.

“I just feel strangely uneasy. Our department hasn’t been fully staffed yet. I haven’t heard of any other agents moving teams besides me at that time. And I haven’t made any major mistakes or achieved any outstanding results in my work. There’s no reason to suddenly send me to the support team, whether it’s for punishment or reward. Is being late a few times a valid reason for a personnel change?”

From his complaining, it seemed he hadn’t been given a clear reason. Such personnel actions are usually likely due to the needs of higher-ups.

“What was the last mission you handled in the investigation team? The one where you busted Kim Younghee’s gang in Busan, was that it?”

“I’m not supposed to disclose that, you know.”

“You’re relaxed. Will you be like that even after you get fired later?”

“…Yes, that one.”

After hearing the answer, he fell deep into thought. Looking back, everything began right then. Immediately after arresting Kim Younghee’s gang in Busan, he received a call from Director Im, and soon after, he left for Russia. It was also after that mission that Yoon Jongwoo, his partner, was suddenly reassigned to another team. It was definitely suspicious. Is it possible for a subordinate’s personnel change not to be reported to their superior?

‘Strictly speaking, you are not a suitable candidate for this operation.’

‘If you’re going to flounder like that from the beginning, how can I be at ease all the way out here? You’re like a child left by the water. So, about that, I’ve found someone to help you.’

Looking back, there were many strange points. Partners are usually assigned before an operation begins. Kwon Taekjoo’s preference for working alone and the excuse that it was postponed because he would obviously refuse couldn’t be an adequate explanation. Even if there was a separate valid reason for it, switching the photos of Salman and Zhenya was not just a mistake.

‘By the way, do they hate you over there too? The National Intelligence Service, no less, accidentally sent my photo… That can’t be true.’

‘I had one more mission.’

‘It was a directive from Korea. What the hell did you do in your home country? What did you do to almost get killed all the way here?’

The things Zhenya and Salman had let slip flashed through his mind. At this point, it seemed like the situation wasn’t just complicated. It definitely needed to be thoroughly investigated.

“What happened to the guys you caught and handed over in Busan?”

“Oh, Senior, you might not know? It was a bit noisy back then. Since it was an operation conducted on a passenger ship. There were so many hostages and witnesses, so it couldn’t be kept quiet. I guess they were considering who would be held responsible later, so they changed the official announcement from the arrest of secret agents to the Coast Guard busting an armed drug smuggling ring.”

It was a common occurrence. Civilians didn’t know that North Korean agents still existed in this day and age. And the government preferred to avoid social unrest.

“And about Kim Younghee, she supposedly ingested poison right before her arrest.”

“…Ingested poison?”

A crease formed between Kwon Taekjoo’s eyebrows. Yoon Jongwoo nodded and said, “They said she was already dead when the police arrived.”

Kim Younghee had also attempted self-harm when Kwon Taekjoo himself caught her. But he had immediately cuffed her left hand to the railing, and her right hand was mangled by a gunshot. He had even put a handkerchief in her mouth to prevent her from biting her tongue, so how could she have harmed herself?

“Tell me more about it. How did that happen?”

“I don’t know the details either. I was transferred to the team right after that. Since you weren’t there, Director Im seemed to have written the arrest report instead?”

If you don’t doubt, questions won’t arise. If you try to understand it, there’s nothing you can’t do. But once he started to question it, everything felt suspicious. He knew the situation was unnaturally twisted, but he couldn’t figure out the cause. He felt like he was missing an important clue.

He would have to retrace everything carefully from the beginning. That would require time. His return to Korea would also have to be kept secret for a while. Firming his resolve, he suddenly called out, “Jong-woo-ya,” affectionately.

“Why, why…”

“You can’t tell anyone you met me, okay?”

“Why not?”

“A warrant might be issued for my arrest. If word gets out that you met me today, you’ll be implicated as an accomplice.”

“What?! What on earth have you done?!”

Yoon Jongwoo shrieked in shock. His eyes widened, looking as if his eyeballs would roll out. Kwon Taekjoo lightly flicked his forehead. Yoon Jongwoo groaned and rubbed the spot vigorously.

“If I had done something, would I be here doing this? I would have run away a long time ago.”

“…That’s true? A criminal wouldn’t brazenly appear before an NIS agent. Without fear.”

He muttered to himself and quickly understood. Kwon Taekjoo turned his head and chuckled. Yoon Jongwoo immediately understood the meaning of that laugh and blushed, telling him not to make fun of him. Yes, seeing him obsessed with shooting games, he must be the best agent on the field, at least in spirit.

Around that time, Yoon Jongwoo’s phone rang. Yoon Jongwoo said, “Just a moment,” and checked the newly received message. Outside the window, it was growing dim, as if dawn was about to break. There were no passersby, but he didn’t lower his guard.

“Spam is really getting out of hand.”

Yoon Jongwoo quickly put his phone back in his pocket. He tried to feign calm, but his tone felt a bit stiff. He scanned him with just his eyes. He was nervously fidgeting with the gun at his waist. He once again cast his gaze out the window and calmly warned him.

“Let’s not do anything reckless. I don’t want to have to take you down too.”

“I… I don’t know what you mean.”

“You don’t know? Bastard, then at least don’t show it.”

When Kwon Taekjoo chided him teasingly, Yoon Jongwoo sighed profoundly. His shoulders, stiff with tension, also slumped.

“Just as you said, Senior, an internal warrant for your arrest just came down. They told me to report to headquarters immediately if I made contact with you.”

“What’s the charge?”

“They say it’s on suspicion of colluding with a Russian intelligence agent? You mean that guy, don’t you? Yevgeny Vissarionovich Bogdanov.”

He let out a cynical laugh. It was absurd. His entanglement with Zhenya was entirely the fault of headquarters. He had reluctantly stuck with the guy, been through hell and back, and barely made it out alive, and now they were twisting it like this. Of course, whether he liked it or not, he had indeed associated with the man, and it was true that he had accompanied him to gatherings attended only by key Russian figures, so with just those circumstances, it would be easy to accuse him of leaking state secrets. He had also impersonated Director Im to Sergei. Yoon Jongwoo didn’t know what mission Kwon Taekjoo himself had been on there, and there was no other way to prove it. All evidence concerning Zhenya had been destroyed when Zhenya blew up the hotel. The same went for the incorrectly sent photo of Zhenya. If headquarters denied everything, he would be burdened with all the charges.

Someone was setting up a trap. Kwon Taekjoo himself was just a pawn being played on it. When did this trap begin? After Kwon Taekjoo left for Russia? Or after the arrest of Kim Younghee’s gang in Busan? Perhaps even the dismantling of that group was part of the scenario.

What was clear was that there were two targets in the operation he carried out in Russia: ‘Anastasia’ and himself, Kwon Taekjoo.

“What on earth is going on? They’re calling it collusion, but if things go wrong, it could even be tied to leaking state secrets. It’s ridiculous… There’s no way you colluded with that Russian guy, Senior. If you had, you wouldn’t have called me to investigate what kind of person he was. That would be openly proving you were in contact with him, wouldn’t it? And you wouldn’t have come back knowing there’d clearly be a warrant out for your arrest…”

Yoon Jongwoo was half-wailing. His trembling eyes showed clear signs of anxiety. As an NIS agent, he was supposed to follow headquarters’ orders, but now that he doubted those orders, he seemed confused.

Reluctantly, he briefly explained what had happened in Russia. Listening thoughtfully, Yoon Jongwoo tilted his head at the fact that headquarters had just stood by and let the situation unfold that way. Normally, if an agent’s identity is compromised during an operation, the NIS severs support to that agent for national deniability. Even so, within headquarters, they would usually deliberate on countermeasures.

But Yoon Jongwoo had not sensed such an atmosphere until now. When he worried about Kwon Taekjoo’s safety, Director Im had, on the contrary, told him to rest easy. Something was definitely strange.

“What do you think, Senior?”

“I don’t know for sure either. I’ll have to find out now.”

“You don’t have any concrete evidence yet, will you be okay? Moving on just circumstantial evidence is too risky. If someone at headquarters planned this, as you suspect, they wouldn’t just let you move around freely. If they push it as leaking state secrets instead of simple collusion, they’ll drag in the prosecutors. If you get caught then, it’s over.”

“Wouldn’t it be the same whether I get caught this way or that way? Someone’s trying to stomp on me, so I might as well make a last stand. First, I’m going to re-investigate Kim Younghee. No matter how I think about it, I feel like we missed something there.”

“It’s an investigation that’s already been closed, is there anything more to dig up?”

“Who knows. Maybe we only saw the tree that was Kim Younghee and missed the forest. They might have thrown Kim Younghee as bait to divert our attention. Looking back, she was caught too easily back then.”

“The situation now is quite similar, actually. We had plenty of suspicion, but no evidence. And then Kim Younghee just happened to contact Ri Chul-jin.”

Things that go too smoothly should always be suspected. At the time, they were too preoccupied with arresting her in the act to have that luxury. They intended to catch her first and then conduct supplementary investigations, but they weren’t given that chance. It was because Kwon Taekjoo himself was sent to Russia, and Yoon Jongwoo was forced to move to another team.

“As you said, it won’t be easy because of the warrant. If things go wrong, losing my job is a given, and I’ll be burdened with all sorts of charges and end up in jail. But I can’t be worked to death and then boiled.”

Agents often likened their situation to hunting dogs. They dedicate themselves to the nation but are mercilessly discarded when in crisis. They knew it was inevitable. They had fully braced themselves for it the moment they became agents. But they couldn’t be sacrificed for someone’s needs, not when it wasn’t an unavoidable circumstance.

Yoon Jongwoo groaned and slammed his innocent head against the steering wheel. He had devoured all sorts of superhero movies, action films, and shooting games, imagining himself as the protagonist. His application to the NIS was part of that yearning. But now that a movie-like situation had actually arrived, he didn’t know what to do.

Kwon Taekjoo’s arrest warrant had already been issued. Even minor assistance would lead to accusations of complicity. If his luck was even worse, he could easily be implicated as an accomplice.

In public service, there comes a moment when one grapples with the dilemma between revealing the truth and remaining silent. Being human, he couldn’t help but waver.

Considering only his own well-being, it was right to follow headquarters’ orders. There was no reason to invite danger by being held back by trivial loyalty or camaraderie. He just needed to adhere to his principle of living a long, comfortable life. It was a world where taking care of oneself was already hard enough. After all, no one else would take responsibility for his life.

Yoon Jongwoo rationalized over and over again, finally managing to speak.

“What do you need help with?”

Betraying the rationality that sought his own safety, his conscience asked.