Free Web NovelEven though he was wearing a mask, Igor’s gaze was colder than anything.
Seeing those eyes with no hesitation in them, Kim Jongil had no choice but to swallow his dry saliva.
“What the hell is the reason! Why would Russia...!”
Kim Jongil stopped mid-sentence. A man’s name surfaced in his mind.
“D-Don’t tell me it’s that bastard Kim Muhyuk!”
In the past, down underground, Kim Jongil had once shot Kim Muhyuk’s subordinate in the thigh.
‘You will never forget this incident.’
Could this be revenge for that time? Grinding his teeth, Kim Jongil widened his eyes.
“Did that bastard Kim Muhyuk order you?”
But even after hearing Kim Muhyuk’s name, Igor showed no reaction at all.
He only checked his watch.
“Choose. Die here, or surrender.”
There truly wasn’t much time left now.
Kim Jongil’s personal guard had their muzzles trained on Igor, waiting only for Kim Jongil’s order.
A suffocating tension flowed, but Kim Jongil muttered to himself like a madman.
“I should’ve killed that bastard back then. How dare he do this, trying to kill me?! I should’ve killed him! I should’ve killed him!”
Baek Cheolsu, with the muzzle pressed to the space between Jang Songthaek’s brows, was watching Kim Jongil. Kim Jongil wasn’t in his right mind now.
But the tide had already completely turned. If they resisted any further here, everyone would die.
So they had to choose. Die together, or surrender and plan for what came after... .
“General!”
Baek Cheolsu called out to Kim Jongil desperately, but Kim Jongil didn’t answer.
Then they heard someone coming up from the underground tunnel side.
Baek Cheolsu quickly turned his head. But his hope lasted only a moment—he fell into despair as he saw masked assailants climbing the stairs.
“Everyone, drop your weapons.”
Baek Cheolsu gave the order. Even then, the personal guard hesitated.
“Drop your weapons! It’s already over. Don’t we have to save the General? Drop them.”
Baek Cheolsu threw down the gun he had been aiming at Jang Songthaek and raised both hands.
At the dull thud of the pistol hitting the floor, Kim Jongil snapped back to his senses.
And seeing Baek Cheolsu discard his weapon, he raised his voice.
“What do you think you’re doing, Cheolsu?!”
“General! It’s already over. This is the only way to save you.”
“Cheolsu!”
Kim Jongil shouted Baek Cheolsu’s name, but Baek Cheolsu shook his head and spoke to the other guards.
“Everyone, drop your weapons. We can’t all die here, can we?”
Only then did the hesitant guards begin placing the weapons they held onto the floor.
Igor moved his lips slightly. Because they had spoken in Korean, he couldn’t understand what they were saying.
But seeing them lower their weapons one by one, it looked like there was at least one of them whose head still worked.
At Igor’s chin gesture, the mercenaries collected all the weapons.
“Recover the weapons, search them, and completely disarm them.”
“Yes!”
After fully disarming the soldiers, the mercenaries bound them and herded them into a corner.
“Father...”
Kim Jongun, trembling, approached Kim Jongil’s side. He called out to Kim Jongil, choking up.
“······Don’t cry. A man doesn’t cry easily.”
Having given up on everything, Kim Jongil patted Kim Jongun’s shoulder and spoke to Igor.
“Tell me what you want.”
Instead of answering, Igor shrugged and looked at Jang Songthaek.
“Director Jang Songthaek.” freёwebnoѵel.com
Jang Songthaek, shot in the thigh, looked up at Igor with a face twisted in pain.
“Withdraw all troops heading this way, and clean it up.”
“Y-You...!”
Jang Songthaek bit his lip hard and glared at Igor.
Even under that furious gaze, Igor continued calmly.
“If you want to save Kim Jongil’s life, then follow instructions first. Turn them all back. Otherwise, this Yeohori villa will vanish without a trace. Kim Jongil, you, and even Kim Jongil’s family here—all of you.”
“······Understood.”
Biting his lip so hard all the color drained from it, Jang Songthaek tried to stand, then let out a groan and slumped back down.
It seemed to be because of the gunshot wound in his thigh.
“Nikolai. Patch him up roughly, and keep watch beside him.”
“Understood.”
The mercenary who was called supported Jang Songthaek and sat him down on a chair.
After checking his condition, he raised his hand and called another mercenary over.
“Get disinfectant, a hemostatic agent, and bandages.”
“Yes.”
A moment later, after receiving the disinfectant, Nikolai poured it straight onto the thigh.
“Uaaagh!!”
“You won’t die. Stop whining. Lucky for you, it went clean through.”
Shaking his head, Nikolai muttered to himself and began wiping away the blood.
Then he sprinkled the hemostatic agent and wrapped the °• N 𝑜 v 𝑒 l i g h t •° bandage around it to finish.
“You won’t die. But if you don’t get proper treatment fast, you could end up limping for the rest of your life. If you don’t want that, you know exactly what you should do, right?”
“······.”
“Get it done quickly. Like the boss ordered.”
After glaring at Nikolai once, Jang Songthaek stood up. Nikolai supported him.
Moving to where the communications equipment was, Jang Songthaek picked up the phone and called somewhere.
— East Sea Fleet Command.
“This is Jang Songthaek.”
— Director Jang Songthaek!
“Pull back every unit that was headed for Villa No. 72.”
— Excuse me? What do you mean...?
“Don’t make me repeat myself. Turn back.”
— Ah, understood. But without the General’s order...
Jang Songthaek furrowed his brows. The hesitation on the other end, and the throbbing pain rising from his wound, kept grinding at his nerves.
“Ha... It’s all over, so go back! I’m trying to stop the General from arresting and killing every last one of you for moving the army without his permission.”
— ······Understood.
After ending the call with the East Sea Fleet Command, Jang Songthaek looked toward Igor and spoke.
“As for the outer units, I’ll have to go out myself and—”
“Do it here.”
“······.”
“I said do it here.”
Igor did not forget Kim Muhyuk’s warning not to trust Jang Songthaek completely.
He had said everything needed to be cleaned up right in front of Igor’s eyes.
After thinking hard, Jang Songthaek fidgeted with the communications device and connected to the radio channel.
“All troops currently heading to Villa No. 72, halt where you are and hold your positions. This is the solemn order of Chairman Kim Jongil, Chairman of the National Defense Commission. From this moment, any unit that takes even one step without the Chairman’s permission will be regarded as traitors—by the Chairman’s order.”
After speaking, Jang Songthaek waited a moment, then brought his mouth to the radio again.
“I repeat. In the name of the National Defense Commission Chairman of the Workers’ Party of Korea, all forces are to hold their positions at this time. The moment you violate this, you will become traitors, and you will bear the consequences.”
Jang Songthaek turned off the radio and turned his body.
“For now, the units nearby should have all received the transmission. But we can’t contact other regions. We need to restore the communication lines, but...”
At Jang Songthaek’s words, Igor nodded.
“First we finish cleaning up the area, then restore the communication lines. Nikolai, go out with him and handle it.”
Outside, the firefight was still ongoing.
“Yes.”
After Jang Songthaek and Nikolai went out, Igor turned back toward Kim Jongil again.
“From now on, you’re going to do exactly what we tell you to do. If you want to at least keep that life of yours.”
“Understood. Guarantee the lives of me and my family.”
“That depends on what you do.”
This time, Igor shifted his gaze toward Baek Cheolsu.
‘Baek Cheolsu must be killed no matter what. If Kim Jongil is alive, we don’t know what that man will do.’
Recalling Kim Muhyuk’s instructions, Igor fired his gun at Baek Cheolsu’s head.
Bang!
Caught by surprise, Baek Cheolsu couldn’t react in time and collapsed forward on the spot.
Startled by the sound, Kim Jongil shouted in Korean.
“What are you doing?!”
As Baek Cheolsu fell with blood pouring from his head, Kim Jongil’s family screamed.
Kim Jongil stared at the fallen Baek Cheolsu with a hollow face.
“Didn’t you say you’d do as you were told? Then why...?”
Igor didn’t answer. He only gave orders to the mercenaries.
“Get rid of the body.”
The mercenaries dragged Baek Cheolsu’s corpse out in perfect coordination.
“From now on, Chairman Kim Jongil—you have to become a puppet.”
Igor curled one corner of his lips up into a smile.
* * *
My hands were soaked with sweat. So I do get nervous too.
Somehow, it felt strange.
President Yoon Changho had left the residence to preside over the National Security Council meeting, and I waited for him at the residence.
Time passed, and the pitch-dark outside slowly began to brighten.
Only after the sun had fully risen did Yoon Changho return.
“Sorry, President Kim. The meeting ran long. You waited a while, didn’t you?”
Yoon Changho asked with a hardened face, and I answered with a smile.
“It’s fine.”
After gently patting my shoulder, Yoon Changho sat down.
Then he drained a glass of water in one go and said,
“The North Korean army still hasn’t moved at all.”
“Is that so?”
“It’s too quiet. Strangely quiet.” freewёbnoνel.com
Yoon Changho narrowed his brows.
“President Kim.”
“Yes, Mr. President.”
“If there’s still no movement at all, doesn’t that mean it succeeded?”
“Hmm... I don’t know. We’ll only know for sure once contact comes in. By the way, what happened with the NSC?”
Yoon Changho let out a deep sigh.
“Don’t even get me started. None of them know anything about this situation. They were all just watching my mouth for every word.”
“Was DEFCON Level 3 issued?”
Yoon Changho nodded.
“The ROK–U.S. Combined Forces Command activated DEFCON 3. I also spoke with Washington, and our operational control was handed over to the Joint Chiefs. I still don’t understand why we have to hand our command authority over to them, but...”
There had been only two times DEFCON 3 was issued in Korea by the ROK–U.S. Combined Forces Command.
When the Panmunjom Axe Murder Incident happened in 1976, and when the Aung San Mausoleum bombing terror attack occurred in Myanmar in 1983.
Since it was a measure only possible in a near-wartime state, it was not something that could be issued easily.
“That can’t be helped. Without the U.S. military’s help, we still can’t protect our security on our own, can we?”
“That’s right...”
“If DEFCON 3 was issued, North Korea will know it too. And yet if there’s no movement at all, the more accurate conclusion is that something happened to Kim Jongil’s person—the one who would issue the orders.”
Yoon Changho slowly closed his eyes and let out a low sound.
Just then, my phone rang. Checking the caller ID, it was a call from Russia.
When I looked at Yoon Changho’s face, he nodded and gestured for me to answer.
“Yes. This is Kim Muhyuk.”
— This is Medvedev, President Kim.
It was Medvedev’s call.
“I’ve been waiting to hear from you.”
— First, we received confirmation that the nuclear weapons have been secured.
At least one of the two objectives had been achieved.
“Is that so? Good. So it succeeded.”
— It’s all thanks to President Kim Muhyuk. You’ve relieved a major concern for our government. Our President was also very pleased.
“Well. Because that was Russia’s objective.”
— The Zaslon unit is currently moving to the agreed location for withdrawal.
“I see.”
Even though one objective had been achieved, to me, securing Kim Jongil was more important than returning the nuclear weapons to Russia.
— You sound very worried.
“It should be ending soon, but there’s still no contact. Do you know anything?”
— No. The Zaslon unit and Igor and the mercenaries moved completely separately. To exclude any link between them entirely...
When I didn’t say anything, Medvedev hurriedly added an explanation.
— It wasn’t us—Igor decided that himself. We also intended to link up once the nuclear weapons were secured. But I heard Igor ordered us to withdraw as soon as the nuclear weapons were recovered.
I already knew that. There was no point listening further.
“I know. You don’t need to make excuses.”
— As far as we can tell, Pyongyang is quiet as well.
“Alright. Let’s speak again later. I’ll hang up now.”
— Understood. Please come to Russia sometime. We’ll be waiting.
With a small laugh, Medvedev offered his farewell and ended the call.
Putting my phone away, I spoke to Yoon Changho.
“They say the nuclear weapons have been secured. One objective has been achieved. Now only Kim Jongil’s side remains.”
A faint smile appeared on Yoon Changho’s tightly hardened face.
