January 1, 2021, 10:45, Gwanhwamoon Plaza, Jongro-ku, Seoul

  “Hello! I am Vice President Kim Yeo-jeong of Korea. A month ago, I started practicing South Korean, no the Seoul dialect of Korean, but it seems I can’t speak as fluently as I had practiced. I would be grateful if you will all be understanding. I will do my best to speak the Seoul dialect fluently. South and North Korea had faced the pain of separation for the past 75 years, despite having the same people as citizens. Many separated families have suffered as well. However, I hope our 75 million Korean people and the 8 million others overseas will now work as one with a united heart. I will also . . .”


  * * *

  January 1, 20201, 10:51, at the rooftop of the Samseon building at Jung-ku Soongryemoon intersection, Seoul

  The man in the black suit leaned his M82A3 sniper rifle upward near the staircase and took a deep breath. He raised his head to glance up toward the sky. As expected, and annoyingly for him, there were Peregrin falcon choppers flying around the area.

  “If I will be detected by those choppers, then I only have 10 seconds to act. Within that time, I must hit the target over 2,000 meters away which is over the effective range of 1,800 meters. I only have one shot, and I must finish it with a single shot. I can do this. I can do this,” he thought in his head.

  The man willed his mind to concentrate. He was the man who arrived at Busan Port from Fukuoka a few days ago as one of the Japanese-Koreans. He was the one with the sharp features who hid his face behind masks and scarves.

  Akashi Keida was a Japanese from Nagoya and an agent from the Japanese police’s anti-terrorism special forces’ Special Assault Team or SAT. He had served and trained as a sniper under the US Army’s special forces the Delta Force, and the US Navy’s special forces, the Navy SEALS. Keida was a veteran among veterans.

  When there was an opening after the next chopper would fly by, Akashi Keida ran. Then he positioned his rifle at the roof’s ledge and began to aim. Vice President Kim Yeo-jeong was addressing the crowd—she was clearly visible on the high magnification scope. Keida aimed at the Vice President based on the wind’s velocity, direction, humidity that was showing up on the scope. Then he used his instincts as a sniper and moved the crosshairs below to the right diagonally. He slowly pulled the trigger while holding his breath.

  Meanwhile, in the skies, one of the Peregrin falcon choppers from the Capital Defense Division received the urgent message and turned around to begin scanning the rooftops. However, Akashi Keida only had to pull the trigger.

  “I won, you bastards!”


  Akashi Keida muttered to himself softly and pulled the trigger. A heavy gunshot rang across the city.

  Bang!

  A clean shot! Akashi Keida thought it was a clear hit based on his past experiences. He then began to run toward the emergency staircase after ducking down. He did not have enough time to check if he had succeeded as the attack choppers were on their way to his position. As expected, 25mm laser Vulcan beams had began to rain down from the choppers.

  The building’s rooftop was full of holes like Swiss cheese from the lasers pouring down like a rainstorm, but due to Keida’s swift steps, he was able to make it to the staircase in one piece. However, the laser beams had pierced through the roof and made Keida abandon his rifle and run downstairs.

  “I completed my mission. All I have to do now is get out of here alive!” he muttered to himself.

  Akashi Keida ran down to the 16th floor’s hallway and stood in front of the elevator. Then he manipulated the elevator’s console. When he did so, the elevator that was shut down temporarily opened.

  “Things are going smoothly,” he thought.

  Keida rode on the elevator and pressed on the 1st-floor button. Just as the elevator doors were about to close, loud footsteps came from the emergency stairs. Laser beams that were only seen in sci-fi movies suddenly flew toward him.

  Pew! Pew! Pew! Pew!

  Ping! Ping! Clack! Clack!

  Luckily, the elevator doors closed and begin to descend slowly. However, Akashi Keida’s face was grim. The fact that men had chased him down to his location within a minute of him taking a shot up to the 16th floor and seeing laser weapons he had never seen before surprised him. The elevator doors that were struck by the laser beams had been pierced through and melted where the beams had passed through, and they went through the opposite wall as well.

  “What the hell was the laser weapon, and how did the Korean security agents arrive so quickly?” he thought.

  After he gathered his thought, Akashi Keida halted the elevator immediately and got off on the 5th floor. Then when he passed the opposite hall, he took the other emergency stairs down.

  Meanwhile, Team 1’s leader Cha Tae-sik had run with all his might up to the 16th floor to fire at the terrorist, but he had just lost him.

  Cha Tae-sik, who reported the situation through his headset, gritted his teeth and began to run back down the stairs again.

  Akashi Keida had made it to the first floor from the fifth by using the staircase. He headed to the first-floor lobby carefully while watching his surroundings. There should have been a security guard, but he was taken out by Akashi Keida an hour ago; his cold body was lying in the night-duty room.

  “Freeze! Put your hands up!”


  Someone shouted to Akashi Keida, who was just about to make his exit through the front doors. He stopped in his tracks and turned slowly toward the direction where the noise was coming from. A man in his late twenties was pointing something at him that looked like a pistol.

  “I said put your hands up, you bastard! Don’t you speak Korean? Huh?”


  It was Agent Lee Jun, the junior agent from Unit 3 Team 1, who was about to head upstairs before going back down after hearing from Team 1’s leader Cha Tae-sik.

  “I’m an employee of the company that just moved in.”


  As a pro, Akashi Keida noticed the man pointing the gun at him was fairly new to this type of work and attempted to assess his skill by lying at him.

  “An employee?”


  “If you can’t trust me, I can show you my card here.”


  “Is that so?”


  Akashi Keida moved his hand to his breast pocket as if to take out a wallet, but he pulled out a small pistol and fired it.

  Bang! Bang!

  Pew!

  The bullet had hit Agent Lee Jun square in the stomach and chest area, the shock had caused him to fall back, and caused the laser beam to graze Akashi Keida’s left arm. However, even though the beam had only grazed him, the pain was so severe Keida grabbed his left arm and screamed. He had been hit by bullets before but the pain was incomparable to now. It was as if his flesh was burning slowly and deeper within his flesh.

  Akashi Keida barely managed to withstand the pain and tried to exit through the main entrance. However, another more intense pain came from his thigh that almost made his heart stop, and it had caused him to faint.

  “Son of a bitch! You shot me after lying?”


  Agent Lee Jun, who was shot in the chest and stomach, massaged the areas where he was hit to ease the pain. When it went away, he braced himself on the wall and stood up. Thanks to the protective suit his life was not in danger or severely injured, but being hit by a .45 caliber bullet from a distance of 10 meters caused a considerable amount of pain and shock.

  Agent Lee Jun fell down after being hit by the bullets but regained his senses to fire a laser beam at Akashi Keida’s thigh.

  “This is Agent Lee Jun from Unit 3 Team 2. I have captured the suspicious man that seems to be our terrorist. Over.”


  – Really?

  “Yes, but the suspect is injured, so please call an ambulance as well.”


  – All right. Keep a close eye on him.

  After Agent Lee finished his communication and massaged his stomach, Team 1’s leader Cha Tae-sik, who was covered in sweat, opened the emergency stairs door and arrived on the scene.

  “Did you get him?” (gasp)

  “Yes! I got him. Hahaha.”


  “Really? (gasp) Great work!”


  “Sir, why are you sweating so much?”


  “Why? (gasp) You try going up 16 flights of stairs without taking a break! (gasp) Then run back down again. (gasp, gasp) Let’s see how you feel after that!”(gasp)

  * * *

  January 1, 2021, 10:51, Gwanghwamoon Plaza, Jongro-ku, Seoul

  At the center stage where Vice President Kim Yeo-jeong was giving her speech, a loud noise blared and a spark rose up five meters ahead.

  The President’s bodyguards and the anti-terrorism unit’s close proximity agents all formed a human shield. When the news from the NIS anti-terrorism unit catching the suspect came in, the commotion died down, and Vice President finished her speech quickly before exiting to the rear of the stage.

  There was a shield system installed on the stage beforehand. The required power was being generated by a plasma generator in the form of a container placed on the back of a truck.

  When the anti-terrorism unit had sounded the alarm for code 1, the agents in charge of close proximity bodyguarding activated the shield systems. Therefore, the 12.7-mm snipe rifle round capable of piercing armored vehicle’s plating had ricocheted off the shield into the sky, and Akashi Keida’s sniping attempt failed. If there was no shield, then Vice President Kim Yeo-jeong would have been dead on the spot.

  The first part of the ceremony was officially over. The second part was planned to have singers and artists from within and outside the country to perform on stage, and the event was planned to continue until midnight. However, the President, Vice President, and the officials from the Northern state all decided to officially end the ceremony and hold the luncheon at the Blue House.

  * * *

  January 1, 2021, 13:30, NIS Anti-terrorism Unit’s interrogation room, Seoul

  “Enough! How about you tell the truth?”


  Manager Kang Tae-young from Unit 1 undid his tie and glared at Akashi Keida who was leaning on his chair. However, he had not said a single word after 30 minutes had passed since waking up and stood his ground.

  “Suda Masaki? Isn’t this a fake name? What’s your real name? Who are you?”


  Based on the fingerprints, the NIS had checked his identity and the information that was pulled up said he was a Japanese-Korean named Suda Masaki, age 37, an office worker, and has a Japanese wife and two daughters. However, all this information was fake—but rather, he was a Japanese man with a fake identity that sneak into Korea.

  “What was your purpose for coming to Korea? Was it to assassinate Vice President Kim?”


  Akashi Keida kept his mouth shut and did not say a word or move a muscle. A white bandage was wrapped around his thigh and left arm, and cuffs were on his wrists and ankles.

  “You don’t have to answer me if you don’t want to. There are so many ways to make people like you talk! Since you failed your mission, I am sure Japan won’t treat you as kindly anyways, don’t you think?”


  Akashi Keida’s face changed for a second.

  “I failed the mission? Did I fail to snipe Kim Yeo-jeong? The shot was more than enough to be a clean hit,” Keida thought.

  “Don’t lie to me! How could I have failed? The high-powered sniper rifle round will be fatal even if it grazes the target. A failure? Are you saying Kim Yeo-jeong is alive?”


  “Now you feel like talking! Do you think I have so much time to spin you a lie, you son of a bitch? Vice President Kim Yeo-jeong is alive and well and without a single injury.”


  Manager Kang Tae-young spoke sarcastically while making a smug face and continued.

  “You tried to assassinate Korea’s Vice President. That’s enough for a life sentence, you hear? If you tell us who is behind this assassination attempt, maybe they will reduce your sentence! So let’s hear it!”


  However, Akashi Keida did not give the answer Manager Kang Tae-young wanted. Manager Kang showed a mysterious smile and waved to one of the agents standing by.

  “Get ready!”