February 10, 2020, 17:00

  Third floor reception room at the office of Unified Nations, Paju, Gyeonggi-do.

  The leader of the guards, who had tried to shoot Kim Young-chul, fell on the ground with a fist-sized hole in his face. Luckily, the bullet that the guard leader had aimed at Kim Young-chul dropped to the left of him. Manager An Yeon-wu quickly got up to check on Kim Young-chul.

  “Are you okay?”


  Kim Young-chul was motionless on the floor until An Yeon-wu spoke to him. Then, after making sure he was out of danger, he finally got up.

  He looked at the dead bodies of the guards and aides, then yelled at the guard leader, who had fallen awkwardly onto the floor. “What is this? You son of a b*tch! What have you done?”


  “Party Secretary Kim Young-chul, are you hurt anywhere?”


  “I’m fine. I didn’t get shot, and other than slightly hitting my head on the desk, I’m okay.”


  Chief Oh Gi-suk soon ran toward An Yeon-wu. “Are you okay, Manager An?” he asked.

  “I’m fine,” Manager An Yeon-wu replied as he inspected his chest and thigh. Even though there were bullet holes in his clothes, the bullets had bounced off of the bulletproof suit he had on underneath. This made him the first person to be saved by the bulletproof feature of the protective suit.

  “But—did you shoot this son of a b*tch?” Manager An Yeon-wu asked Chief Oh as he pointed at the guard leader.

  “I was in a rush. I didn’t think you’d be able to get there in time, so I had no choice but to shoot him.”


  “Chief Oh, well done anyway.”


  After Chief Oh Gi-suk had shot the four guards at the reception room entrance, he used the inverter vision mode of his sunglasses to look inside the office. He saw the guard leader shoot the four aids and then aim his gun at Party Secretary Kim Young-chul, so he shot the guard leader through the wall. Because he remembered the explanation about the penetrative powers of KS5, Chief Oh Gi-suk knew well enough that he could shoot the commander of the guards through the wall. This would have been impossible with a regular pistol.

  Soon, other guards came into the reception office. The tension was high in case there was any other additional terrorism, and manager An Yeon-wu spoke about the current situation through the radio.

  “Third floor reception office, situation is over. But there’s still potential threat, so team 1 go arrest all of North Korean guards outside. Firearm allowed in case of disobedience.”


  “-1-1 confirmed.”


  About 10 minutes later, all of Party Secretary Kim Young-chul’s guards were arrested and confined. Party Secretary Kim Young-chul was moved to a different reception office on the fourth floor, and Minister Oh Seung-tae went there directly.

  “Secretary Kim, are you okay?”


  “Yes, I’m okay—as you can see.” Party Secretary Kim Young-chul opened up both of his arms to show that he had relaxed a little.

  “That is good, that is really good.”


  “Thank you, but I don’t understand any of this. The commander of the guards, that son of a b*tch, tried to kill me.”


  “Secretary Kim, I’ll explain that. Manager An and the other guards may leave now.”


  * * *

  February 10th, 2020, 17:20

  Presidential conference room in the Blue House, Jongno-gu, Seoul.

  The attempted assassination at the South-North conference in Paju was soon reported to the Blue House, and shortly after the situation was confirmed, a meeting was held in order to come up with a solution. First of all, it was decided that Party Secretary Kim Young-chul had no involvement with Deputy Director Lee Byung-chul, and Minister Oh Seung-tae was ordered to explain everything that had happened. Second of all, all available measures were put in place to prevent further terrorism at the U.S. Embassy, while Kim Jae-hak, the minister of foreign affairs, visited the U.S. ambassador.

  “The fact that North Korea knew about the bombing at the U.S. Embassy only ten minutes after it happened shows that they knew about the plan ahead of time. If not, how could they be informed about the situation after only ten minutes?” Security Director Oh Jang-su said, pointing out the key part of the current situation.

  “I completely agree with Director Oh,” NIS Secretary Na Bong-il said. “Also, it seems like their plan was to assassinate Secretary Kim Young-cheol after news of the U.S. embassy bombing created confusion in the conference room, then have the assassin kill himself, making it impossible to figure out what really happened. Lee Byung-chul, who is a hard-line supporter of North Korea, would then use this opportunity to blame everything on South Korea and worsen the relationship between the South and the North.”


  As NIS Secretary Na Bong-il explained the possible motive behind the terrorist attack and assassination, everyone at the conference nodded in agreement.

  “Yes, that seems very possible,” the president said. “It’s time, then, to figure out how we’re going to resolve this situation. Please share any ideas you might have.”


  Once again, Secretary Na Bong-il spoke first. “Like the President just mentioned, it’s crucially important to figure out how to resolve this situation. In my opinion, Kim Young-chul should directly call Kim Yo-jong so he is aware of the situation and can take care of it before Lee Byung-chul finds out about the failure of the assassination. If Lee Byung-chul figures things out first, Pyung-yang will be thrown into confusion, and Korea will be on the brink of war again.”


  “Does anyone else have any ideas?” the president asked.

  Prime Minister Lee Young-ho nodded, strongly agreeing with Secretary Na Bong-il. “Secretary Na’s idea seems like the most realistic solution as of now.”


  “Good. Director Oh Jang-soo, please inform Minister Oh Seung-tae about this right away.”


  “Got it.”


  “Then how should we take care of the second matter—the bombing at the U.S. Embassy?”


  Although South Korea had been in an unfavorable ceasefire for 76 years, the country was well known as a safe, terrorist-free nation. However, because of today’s suicide bombing at the U.S. Embassy in Seoul, they would no longer have such a reputation. This was a serious matter, as this would affect not only the country’s image, but also the country’s tourism and exportation industries.

  Security Director Oh Jang-soo expressed his ideas to the president’s question first. He placed his elbow on his right arm and rested his chin in his hand before saying, “Because it was a suicide bombing, there’s no way for us to figure out who was behind it, but right now, we need to find the connection between the bombing and the North Korean hardliner, Lee Byung-chul. Frankly, that seems like the only way we can resolve this.”


  As Director Oh Jang-soo finished giving his opinion, Secretary Na Bong-il added on to what director Oh Jang-soo had said. “That is true. If it’s hard to find actual evidence, we could even make up evidence that links Lee Byung-chul to the bombing.”


  “Make up the evidence……”


  As he repeated what Secretary Na Bong-il said, the President fell deep into thought.

  * * *

  February 10, 2020, 17:30

  Conference room at the office of Unified Nations, Paju, Gyeonggi-do.

  “Is that true? Lee Byung-chul, that son of a b*tch. Everything he told us was a lie! But, is there any evidence? It could be a mistake.” Party Secretary Kim Young-chul was enraged when Minister Oh Seung-tae told him everything, but he soon calmed down to think more clearly.

  “Here’s all the information that could be evidence. These are all the phone calls that make it seem like Lee Byung-chul is planning something.” Minister Oh Seung-tae brought out a small recording device.

  “Is that it? Give that to me. I need to go to Pyung-yang right now.”


  “You can’t do that.”


  “Why can’t I?”


  “if Lee Byung-chul finds out that the assassination failed, who’s to say what will happen in Pyung-yang? Currently, there are lots of important politicians on Lee Byung-chul’s side, correct?”


  “That’s true.”


  “Where did that phone call come from during the meeting?”


  “It was from the State Security Department.”


  “We let them know about what happened in South Korea within ten minutes—is it possible for them to know already?”


  “Ten minutes seems too fast. It would take a few hours at least. So that shows Lee Ki-young from the State Security Department, that son of a b*tch, is also with Lee Byung-chul, right?”


  “It’s a possibility.”


  “This is a mess.” Party Secretary Kim Young-chul anxiously walked back and forth, unable to sit still in his chair.

  “Secretary Kim?”


  “Yes, proceed.”


  “Is it possible to call First Vice Chairman Kim Yo-jung directly?”


  “It is possible, but the State Security Department might wiretap the call.”


  “Then do you know his personal phone number?”


  “I do, but that could also be wiretapped.”


  “There is a way. You can use this.” Minister Oh Seung-tae handed Party Secretary Kim Young-chul a phone that used the worldwide broadband Tukion-x. It was able to access the wireless communication system used in North Korea, and could not be wiretapped by outside sources.

  Soon after, Party Secretary Kim Young-chul called First Vice Chairman Kim Yo-jung to let him know about everything happening at the moment, and to share with him the contents of the wiretapped call. Then, First Vice President Kim Yo-jung ordered the Supreme Guard Command and the State Security Department to arrest Lee Byung-chul.

  * * *

  February 10, 2020, 18:00

  Official residence of the deputy director of the National Defense Committee, Pyung-yang, North Korea.

  Deputy Director Lee Byung-chul was waiting at his residence for the news of the deaths of Party Secretary Kim Young-chul and his aides.

  “We should be hearing from them by now, but it seems like nothing’s going on,” Deputy Director Lee Byung-chul said. Seemingly bored, he stretched out his arms while putting his legs up on the desk.

  “Deputy Director Lee Byung-chul, this will be a historic moment, so just wait patiently,” Director Lee Ki-young said. “We can wiretap the hotline to hear the news.”


  “Director Lee Ki-young, you’re not wrong, but this is just taking too long.”


  Soon there was the sound of rifle and machine gun fire, and it was getting closer. Frightened, Lee Byung-chul got up and talked to one of his people. “What is that? Go find out what’s happening.”


  In that moment, the aide rushed into the room and yelled, “Deputy Director Lee Byung-chul, officers from the Supreme Guard Command and State Security Department are everywhere. You should get out of here!”


  “What? Supreme Guard Command? State Security Department? F*ck, they figured it out!”


  Sure that something was wrong, Lee Byung-chul called the director of the Ministry of the People’s Armed Forces, Park Young-sik, who could not show up today, but he didn’t pick up. In fact, Director Park Young-sik was the first one to be arrested and was being taken to the Supreme Guard Command’s headquarters.

  “First, I need to get away.” Lee Byung-chul threw the phone and then tried to run to the emergency exit. However, he was soon arrested by the guards from the Supreme Guard Command and the undercover police from the State Security Department.

  “Let go of me. Do you know who I am? You son of a b*tch.”


  Thud!

  The commissioned officer from the Supreme Guard Command punched Lee Byung-chul right in the face.

  “Son of a b*tch, why are you talking so much? Drag him out of here.”


  * * *

  February 10th, 2020, 21:30

  Conference room in the office of Unified Nations, Paju, Gyeonggi-do.

  “Yes, this is Kim Young-chul. That is good news, First Vice Chairman Kim Yo-jung. Okay. I will let them know.” After Party Secretary Kim Young-chul hung up the phone, he shook Minister Oh Seung-tae’s hand with a relaxed smile.

  “We North Koreans owe you one. Lee Byung-chul and his people were all arrested in Pyung-yang. B*stards. They say there are more, but the rest will be arrested by tomorrow.”


  “It’s good that things worked out without incident.”


  “And Vice Chairman Kim Yo-jung would like to thank South Korea for helping to resolve this situation. I would also like to thank you all for saving my life.”


  “There is no need. We did what was needed for a peaceful Korea.”


  * * *

  February 12, 2020, 00:30 (11:30 EST, U.S.)

  USSC House in Washington D.C, United States.

  A female in a black mask was yelling at a person nicknamed Sphinx. “Sphinx, how could you fail your job like this?”


  “The bombing at the U.S. Embassy was successful, but the assassination of Kim Young-chul failed……”


  “I’m not asking for your excuses. We sacrificed the people at the Embassy for your plans, but your plans failed.”


  “I think South Korea might have known about this already.”


  “That’s not important. Whether or not they knew, you should have succeeded. You’re responsible for all of this, Sphinx.”


  The black-masked woman disappeared behind the curtain after yelling at the other black-masked man, nicknamed Sphinx. Soon after, the other people in black masks got up and left. When Sphinx was left alone, he didn’t move for a while. Then, he took off his mask. He was Tony Ahn, a U.S. senator and Lizzy Ahn’s stepfather.

  “That stupid Lee Byung-chul ruined everything.”


  Tony Ahn became lost in thought and stayed in the dark office for an hour.