Codename Anastasia Novel (End) - Chapter 76

No, even putting that aside, he had wasted too much time on this operation. He needed to report the secured data to headquarters immediately and be on standby for any possible deployment. There was no time to lounge around in Russia.

“Hey, not this time. The scale of the incident is bigger than expected, so I have to report to headquarters right away.”

“Don’t worry. I’m going alone.”

He almost blurted out, “What?” without thinking. This was because whenever Zhenya appeared during an operation, he would always go to Azinokki Island after finishing the work. He would spend the time Zhenya arbitrarily made for them there. Regardless of Kwon Taekjoo’s wishes, it was always like that.

It was surprising that it wasn’t the case this time, but it was a relief. Yet, his stunned face didn’t relax.

“It’ll probably take a few days.”

Has something happened to the Bogdanov family? No, it was more unusual for that family not to have trouble. There had been no recent unusual trends in Russia or national issues. Even if there were, there was no reason to call Zhenya, who was currently the ambassador to Korea. Should he ask what it was about? But that felt like meddling. If it was a problem Kwon Taekjoo couldn’t solve, asking wouldn’t change anything.

He ended up saying, “Do whatever.” Then he poured wine into a glass and drank it. Zhenya, who had been quietly watching him, suddenly approached and lifted Kwon Taekjoo’s chin. Then, before he could even swallow the wine, Zhenya pressed his lips against his. As Zhenya drew a shallow breath, the wine in his mouth was sucked out with a gurgling sound. Kwon Taekjoo grimaced, saying, “Ugh.” Zhenya, unfazed, licked his entire lips deeply before pulling away. His smiling eyes, crinkling at the corners, were typically Zhenya. It seemed there was no need to worry.

“I’ll be back.”

“If you’re going, just get out quickly. Let me rest.”

He almost pushed him out. Zhenya chuckled, saying, “You’re not cute,” then left the room. The door, which had opened when he left, closed again. As Zhenya’s presence was cut off, the room became abruptly quiet.

Kwon Taekjoo took the wine and glass and headed to the private pool. With no annoying man around, he thought he could finally rest. He dipped his toes into the still water. It was pleasantly lukewarm. For now, he sat on a nearby sunbed and enjoyed the breeze. Outside the glass wall, the dazzling nightscape of Las Vegas unfolded. A city that never slept, a brilliant spectacle of light scattered like jewels, and the top-floor room with fragrant liquor, all beneath his feet. Had he ever enjoyed such luxury in his life?

“Ridiculous luxury.”

He snorted, mocking himself, and drank the wine in his glass. He slowly swirled the remaining wine, massaging his aching neck. His body gradually relaxed. He felt like he could fall asleep right there.

He sat idly for quite a long time. Thanks to Zhenya, the work had finished smoothly, and he could enjoy some alone time until he arrived in Korea, which was more than he could ask for. But something felt unsettling. Being alone in such a luxurious space felt strange. He couldn’t figure out why.

“…….”

Should he have asked what was going on then? He thought about it, staring meaninglessly at the ceiling of his room.

Two weeks had passed since he lost contact with Zhenya. After parting ways with him in Las Vegas, Kwon Taekjoo returned to Korea on a flight the next morning. As soon as he arrived at the airport, he checked his phone, but there was no message from Zhenya. He should have arrived in Moscow by then. Since then, there has been no news from Zhenya.

Of course, worrying about Zhenya’s safety would be useless for anyone else. Yet, he had never been gone this long, so it bothered him. Perhaps his long vacation after completing the mission was so boring that he just had too many thoughts.

Yoon Jongwoo, who was called out every other day, introduced him to a popular new game. He mastered it in less than a week and lost interest. Yoon Jongwoo suggested he try the game he enjoyed. But forming parties, whether in real life or in games, wasn’t his style. For some reason, this vacation, he didn’t feel like watching movies, videos, or reading books.

He picked up his phone again. Then he stared at his one-sided call log.

Is he sick somewhere? Has he suddenly had an accident, or needed urgent surgery? Is that an unavoidable circumstance preventing him from contacting or returning?

He considered various scenarios. Before long, he shook his head. He couldn’t quite imagine such things happening to Zhenya.

Of course, Zhenya wasn’t always an iron man. While they were together, there was one time, just one, when he was laid up with an illness. Zhenya particularly struggled with Korea’s scorching heat. Due to global warming, Moscow occasionally recorded sweltering temperatures around 30 degrees Celsius, but it seemed to have no effect on Zhenya. He would have just holed up in Azinokki if it was hot, so it wasn’t surprising.

Zhenya, who used to take cold showers several times a day, finally poured ice into the bathtub. Then he filled it with cold water and sat in it. Just approaching him sent chills down his spine.

“What are you doing?”

“Can’t you tell?”

“You’ll get hypothermia like that. You might even die of cardiac arrest.”

“It’s already like hell, does that matter? It’s terrible. The whole country is a steaming pot.”

“You’re making such a fuss over just this.”

It was no use nagging him to stop and come out, saying he’d catch a cold. It was too annoying to try and stop him further, and if he lingered nearby, he might get dragged in too, so he just left him alone. Zhenya finally came out of the bathroom after a long while. His already pale face was completely devoid of color.

“You look like a blank sheet. And your lips are blue.”

He clicked his tongue and took out a towel to dry Zhenya’s hair. Zhenya, who had docilely surrendered himself, suddenly pressed his cold body against him. He was so chilly it was hard to believe he was human. Just touching him gave Kwon Taekjoo goosebumps all over. Even though he had turned on the boiler early, he couldn’t feel any warmth.

“I knew this would happen,” he sighed, hugging Zhenya, who clung stubbornly to him. That day, Zhenya didn’t let go of Kwon Taekjoo until his body was hot again. Even though it was bad to sweat profusely in such a frozen state and then cool down again, he didn’t stop the sex once it started. And the next day, he was finally laid up in bed. Zhenya, who almost always woke up first, was unusually sluggish that day and showed no signs of getting up. When he placed his hand on Zhenya’s forehead, he felt a slight fever.

“Ah, you bastard. What did I tell you? I told you not to overdo it. It’s bearable if you just turn on the air conditioner, but you’re stubborn like a yeti.”

“Taekjoo, you’re the one making a fuss over just a slight fever.”

Zhenya acted as if it was nothing, yet didn’t release his arm from Kwon Taekjoo’s waist. It was difficult to move because Zhenya clung to him as if hanging on.

“Then let go of this. I have to go to work.”

“You’re heartless, Taekjoo.”

“You’re not a child, and you’re not dying. If you keep feeling bad, go to the hospital. Or go to my house. I’ll call my mom….”

Zhenya acted as if he wasn’t listening to Kwon Taekjoo’s advice, blinking his eyes. Soon, his eyelids completely closed, and a deep sigh escaped him. Perhaps he was breathing heavier due to his cold. Naturally, his arm, which was wrapped around Kwon Taekjoo’s waist, also loosened.

He checked his temperature again. It wasn’t boiling hot, not enough to require him to stay and nurse Zhenya. Moreover, that day, he absolutely had to go to work to submit his report. He kept glancing at his watch, dawdling, then finally left the house belatedly.

That day, while eating lunch, he suddenly coughed. Yoon Jongwoo, sitting opposite him, widened his eyes.

‘Wow, Senior, you actually caught a cold? In mid-summer, no less.’

‘Cold my ass. I just sneezed.’

‘Oh, come on, you have goosebumps on your arms, don’t you? Your lips are a bit blue too.’

‘Why is the air conditioner here turned up so high?’

‘Is this high? If it weren’t for this much, it would be muggy and hot, you wouldn’t be able to breathe.’

Indeed, even while slurping hot soup, he felt a chill. Everyone else was sweating profusely, but Kwon Taekjoo’s jaw was chattering. It was all because of Zhenya. Yet, even in that situation, he wondered if Zhenya had eaten properly.

‘This won’t do. Eat and go.’

‘Huh?’

‘I have somewhere to stop by.’

In the end, he left his meal unfinished and went to check on Zhenya. He must have been sleeping since morning, as he was still one with the bed. When he touched Zhenya’s forehead, the slight fever persisted. He watched Zhenya’s sleeping face for a long time, then was about to withdraw his hand. Zhenya’s head slowly followed. Then he rubbed his warm forehead against Kwon Taekjoo’s hand. He mumbled “Taekjoo” in his sleep, like a sigh.

‘…Anyway, you bastard, if you’re going to be a monster, be one all the way. Making me feel this strange guilt.’

Zhenya living in that distant foreign land was purely because of Kwon Taekjoo. In a country like Korea, where he had no ties, Kwon Taekjoo was the only person he could rely on. Even his mother, who boasted a ridiculous friendship with Zhenya, would have been a stranger if not for Kwon Taekjoo. Of course, it was unfair that Kwon Taekjoo had never wanted it, nor had he ever instigated it.

‘What sin did I commit in my past life, seriously?’

Perhaps one of his ancestors had killed a Imoogi (a lesser dragon) just as it was about to ascend and become a dragon. Otherwise, he couldn’t imagine a grudge deep enough to warrant him being burdened with a nuclear bomb like Zhenya.

With a displeased expression, he fiddled with Zhenya’s ivory-colored hair. The sleeping man’s expression was much more peaceful. He seemed to like Kwon Taekjoo’s relatively cool hand. He was nothing but a 2-meter-tall baggage. A baggage that made him feel a strange sense of indebtedness once in a while.

That day, he left work early for the first time since he started working.

Kwon Taekjoo, recalling the past, furrowed his brows deeply. He also scratched the back of his head impatiently.

“He’s as big as a mountain, yet he causes unnecessary worry.”

He grumbled discontentedly. No news is good news, but Zhenya was an exception. If Zhenya was quiet, he would become anxious, wondering what schemes he was up to now. Just a little, but he was also worried about Zhenya. After all, he was in a quite precarious position. The Bogdanov family naturally had many enemies, and Zhenya, too, was the type to generate new adversaries. Not long ago, he was even ‘kidnapped’ because of his ‘Anastasia.’ He clicked his tongue, finding it absurd even now.

It was during his month-long business trip to China. For some reason, Zhenya didn’t appear there. He thought Zhenya had finally listened to him about not interfering with his work. But then, as he was finishing up the operation, he received a phone call. The unknown individuals abruptly claimed they had Zhenya. They said if he wanted Zhenya safe, he should calmly bring ‘Anastasia.’

The call started unilaterally and soon ended. He stared blankly at his now quiet phone and then burst out laughing. No comedy could have been funnier. He had never heard such a ridiculous thing in his life. Both that they had kidnapped Zhenya, and that the exchange for ‘Anastasia’ was ‘Zhenya’s safe return.’ From the beginning, he couldn’t believe Zhenya had been subjected to such a thing. Even if it were true, the ones who should be worried about their lives weren’t Zhenya, but them. So he dismissed it as nothing serious. Finishing his work safely was his priority.

Only after completing his mission did he try calling Zhenya. It went straight to voicemail. Sending messages was no different. A faint thought of ‘no way’ sprouted. But Zhenya being kidnapped? He simply couldn’t picture it. He repeatedly denied it, telling himself it couldn’t be, and set off on his return journey. Why did the two-hour flight feel so long?

When he got home, even his mother worried that she hadn’t seen Zhenya at all. He still believed it wasn’t true, but just in case, he asked Yoon Jongwoo to locate him. No separate departure records were found. Feeling uneasy, he even went to Zhenya’s house. The house was empty. Zhenya’s Bugatti was also neatly parked in the garage. While thoroughly searching the surroundings, he found a bottle of soju under the car. It was something Zhenya had been buying regularly along with ramen whenever he went grocery shopping.

He was really captured? Him?

While experiencing intense cognitive dissonance, the people who claimed to have kidnapped Zhenya sent him a picture. Zhenya was tied to a chair, asleep. Perhaps he was unconscious. His mouth was gagged, and his body was bound with chains. Thick shackles were on his neck, wrists, and ankles, all connected. As the unimaginable sight materialized, a sudden throbbing pain shot through the back of his head.

No matter how strong Zhenya was, he would have found it difficult to endure if he was ambushed or drugged. There was also a possibility that they had overpowered him by sheer numbers in an instant. He made such faint assumptions and then set out to find Zhenya without rest.

He went to Yogyakarta, Indonesia, to find Zhenya. Before that, he briefly stopped by Azinokki to pick up the item Zhenya had called ‘Anastasia.’ Traveling for so long, he marveled at how they had managed to drag Zhenya all the way from Korea to that distant place.

Their hideout was disguised as a component manufacturing plant for an international company. Security was generally tight everywhere in Indonesia, but it was especially so there. From the main gate, surveillance cameras were meticulously installed at every entrance, and heavily armed guards were encountered everywhere. Every one of them was an elite agent. Luring them one by one and silently subduing them drained his stamina more than usual.

He found a secret exit leading to the building’s basement in an area with an unusually high concentration of guards. Since other areas were faithfully performing their factory functions, it was highly likely that Zhenya was held there. However, for some reason, the corridor was empty. Apart from one room where the access system was active, no one was detected anywhere else. It could have been a trap.

With an ominous premonition, he entered through the ceiling vent. Then he cautiously crawled through the dusty passage, entering the restricted room. His whole body tensed up to avoid making a sound. Sweat beaded on him, mixing with the dust.

As he got closer to the room, he heard scattered human voices. They were closer to screams or moans, though. He looked down through the vent grill in the room and let out a sigh of despair. Zhenya seemed to notice his presence and looked up. He leaped down in front of him.

“You’re late.”

That was the first thing Zhenya said. Zhenya looked as if not a single hair, let alone a finger, had been harmed. The people who had supposedly kidnapped him were all lying scattered around, their heads exploded or bodies grotesquely twisted. It was a moment that made his concern for Zhenya feel hollow.

“What? Late?”

“In serious cases like kidnapping, there’s a golden hour. I almost got into a terrible situation.”

“It looks like the one caught in your hand is in a terrible situation.”

“Hmm? This… isn’t this clearly self-defense?”

Zhenya shamelessly retorted, casually twisting the neck of the last kidnapper. The man, trembling, went limp with a final gasp.

Having finished tidying up, Zhenya scanned Kwon Taekjoo up and down, then suddenly chuckled. It was pure mockery.

“Where have you been, what were you doing, to be so covered in ash? Crawling through vents again?”

It felt like his body temperature plummeted. He had rushed tirelessly to that distant place, worried about that very person. A bitter sense of self-doubt washed over him.

“Ha, I’m a fool for believing you. Is this fun?”

“Fun? I didn’t get kidnapped because I wanted to.”

“Get kidnapped? You? You weren’t following them willingly? Is it even possible to kidnap someone like you?”

“What’s wrong? You were scared because you didn’t know when you’d be rescued?”

Zhenya kept acting. He felt like if he made Zhenya scared twice, an entire company would be wiped out.

“Hardly. Tell me. That threatening phone call about ‘Anastasia’ when they had you, did you make them do that too?”

“Make them do it? You make it sound like I instigated a kidnapping?”

“Then why did I get such a call? What power does a mere embassy employee have?”

“It’s natural to demand ransom or compensation from a guardian, isn’t it? They just misunderstood who the guardian was, so I corrected them.”

“You’re a grown man talking about guardians. So, are you hurt anywhere?”

He examined Zhenya disapprovingly. Zhenya looked puzzled, as if he had been asked a strange question.

“Hurt?”

“Like, if you were forcibly drugged or tortured….”

“Are you worrying about me now?”

Well, his only advantages were his pretty face and body.

Feeling unnecessarily guilty, he cleared his throat. Then he tapped a spot on his neck.

“What happened to that scratch on your neck?”

“Why, if you knew who did it, would you punish them instead? I should’ve kept him alive then, shouldn’t I?”

Zhenya looked around regretfully. The place was full of half-dead people whose survival was uncertain. Kwon Taekjoo decided not to speak.

“Anyway, you young brat, there’s a limit to how childish you can be. Are you testing a busy person like this?”

“Testing? I thought you might not come.”

Zhenya shrugged, as if he hadn’t expected much.

“I thought you’d given up after a few days of no news.”

“Hey, you should at least get caught somewhere reasonable. Do you know how much I suffered out there while you were having fun here?”

“Even if you hadn’t tried so hard, I wouldn’t have died. I would have escaped safely on my own. I was actually getting bored and was about to deal with this guy and leave anyway.”

He sneered at Zhenya’s relaxed demeanor, thinking, “Of course.” Then he irritably brushed off his grimy shirt. It was futile. The thoroughly ingrained dust only made it more stained the more he tried to brush it off. Moreover, Zhenya even snatched it away as if tearing it. Zhenya, unable to break his habit, used Kwon Taekjoo’s clothes like a handkerchief to wipe the blood and bodily fluids from his hands. Watching him do that made his mind go blank.

“…Haah. You’re making me old, you bastard, you’re making me old.”

Indeed, the accumulated fatigue seemed to pour out all at once. He ran his hand over his face, sighing deeply.

“But you’re really okay, right?”

Even in that situation, he couldn’t understand why he was worrying about Zhenya. He knew it was the most useless thing in the world, yet he kept checking on him. After all, Zhenya was human, so he might have suffered psychological damage. It was often the case that when exposed to strong shock, internal injuries were more dangerous than external ones.

Sure enough, Zhenya looked puzzled.

“What?”

“Normal people have something called trauma, you know? No matter how well-trained an agent is, if they’re captured and detained, or tortured, they can’t help but shrink. That can continue to hold them back.”

Zhenya listened intently, then chuckled mockingly. Then he said, “Surprisingly overprotective,” speaking as he pleased.

“Don’t worry. I’m quite used to these things.”

“Used to it?”

For a moment, he thought he had misheard. He couldn’t immediately grasp what it meant to be “used to being kidnapped.”

Zhenya casually brought up stories from his childhood.

“Was I six years old? It might have been before or after that. I was on my way home after riding lessons. The driver was instantly killed by a stray bullet that came out of nowhere. The car immediately lost control and ended up in the river. I barely swam to the surface, but some guys were waiting, and they put a blindfold over my head. When I came to, I was locked in a moldy warehouse. I don’t know what they demanded from my family. It could have been money, some rights, or interests or power that couldn’t be quantified… The more you have, the more enemies you make, right? Whether it was due to the evil deeds committed in the process of accumulating those things, or simply the greed of those who coveted what others had. They probably thought I was the easiest target. Because I was young. They must have assumed that even a notoriously powerful family would care about their bloodline. They were mistaken. The Bogdanov family values pride and self-respect more than a mere bloodline.”

He was accustomed to Zhenya’s circuitous and abstract expressions, but he couldn’t understand. It wasn’t a matter of credibility or inscrutability. It was purely human skepticism, the thought of ‘no way.’

“…What are you talking about?”

“It’s just a common story. Kidnapped at the whim of adults, abandoned by their calculations. When things didn’t go their way, they started getting anxious. They starved me, intimidated me, and didn’t let me sleep. They held out the phone, telling me to cry and beg for my life. I endured. I didn’t want to. Neither to grant them what they wanted, nor to grovel to my family and beg for my life.”

“…….”

“The family viewed their actions as a challenge to them, and furthermore, to the Kremlin. They must have thought an example was needed. So they began to annihilate them with overwhelming force. They unleashed everything as if they’d forgotten I was in their hands. Dozens, hundreds of bullets and bombs flew through walls and ceilings. The heads of the guys who had been threatening me were blown off, and limbs were torn off and rolled around everywhere. It was a spectacle.”

Zhenya’s demeanor as he recalled that time was consistently cynical. How could he have been like that? Kwon Taekjoo was confused. He was only six years old. How could such a thing happen to a child who was only six?

“The guys who barely survived stubbornly resisted until the end, but I had always played with grenades since I was little. That was probably the first time. The first time I took someone’s life with these two hands.”

“Hey….”

It was too cruel a story.

Around that time, Kwon Taekjoo was about ten years old. He went to school without a care, and played ball with friends. He was at a loss as to how to comfort Zhenya, who had lived in a completely different world from his own. He hadn’t expected Zhenya to have grown up in a normal environment, but he hadn’t known it was to that extent.

“You don’t need to pity me, Taekjoo. Every family has its own customs, and everyone adapts or resigns themselves to them. Even if it feels a little inhuman and harsh, who knows? Perhaps that’s why the Bogdanov family is what it is today. Humans give birth to humans, beasts give birth to beasts. Monsters will give birth to monsters. I thought I had to become stronger than anyone else if I didn’t want to be underestimated among monsters. And that’s how I became who I am now. First my peers, then adults, then my family. In the end, even this world doesn’t look down on me. Thanks to Anastasia.”