Chapter 281.2: Let's Wait and See (1)

The meeting had been going on for well over an hour already.

Hwang Ki-Hyun was sitting in the middle of the table. On his left, the assistant director and the first to fourth division heads sat in order. Meanwhile, Kim Hyung-Jung was sitting to his right.

“Japan’s intelligence bureau has informed us that their prime minister intends to make an unofficial visit to South Korea without their Minister of Foreign Affairs,” the second division head reported. “If their prime minister’s private meeting with our President gets approved, they would likely send in a formal request to make their visit official.”

The first to fourth NIS divisions were in charge of the United States, Asia, Europe, and North Korea, respectively., and Kim Hyung-Jung was the head of the Samseong-dong branch office, which was tasked with other special duties. The fifth division was responsible for Africa and the countries with no diplomatic relations with South Korea.

The second division head continued, “In exchange for an official one-on-one meeting, Japan said that they’ll acknowledge Dokdo as part of South Korean territory, officially apologize for their past crimes, and do their best to reach an agreement about compensation with us.”

Surprised, the fatigue from the division heads’ faces all disappeared. They looked as if they found the second division head’s words outrageous.

“Director Sherman also requested that the president have a one-on-one talk with the President of the United States before he leaves the country. He said they want to strengthen the significance of the alliance between South Korea and the United States and that he wants to conclude the Korean-American currency swap.”

“We still haven’t answered Russia’s request to allow their president to visit South Korea either.”

“The same goes for France and the UK’s requests.”

The department heads’ reports sounded as if they were urging the government to give them answers. Providing quick responses to requests like these normally was the wisest option.

“Do the agents we’ve sent to other countries have enough protection, considering the current situation?” Hwang Ki-Hyun asked.

“We’ve given them the order to return fire as soon as they deem the situation dangerous,” the assistant director answered. “Mr. Director, I believe you already know what it would mean if they were to shoot back, so I won’t say anything else on the matter. However, let me just remind you that it will be difficult for us to handle the consequences that would follow if things go south and conflicts form between us and the intelligence bureau of the country the agents are currently in.”

“On average, we lose ten to twenty agents every year because of similar reasons. We have to make sure that our agents can pull out their weapons and fight back whenever necessary instead of just dying helplessly,” Hwang Ki-Hyun responded.

The assistant director and the division heads looked at Hwang Ki-Hyun grimly, remembering the time seventeen National Intelligence Service agents had to sacrifice themselves protecting a top North Korean official ten or so years ago.

The North Korean official first sought asylum in China. Six agents died protecting him there. They then went to the Philippines, where five more fell in a gunfight against the North Korean agents. Six more died in Hong Kong, their last stop.

The National Intelligence Service agents’ duty was to protect the second most powerful person in North Korea. However, except for when they were in the Philippines, they died before they could even shoot back at their enemies.

After that incident, the agents that they had sent to Europe ran across agents from enemy countries. Because of the unfair agreement between the intelligence bureaus, they died before they could even return fire.

If a country lacked national strength and diplomacy, the agents of its intelligence bureaus would always be blamed for everything even if the agents from the other countries also messed up.

“Don’t worry. The president is already planning to extend official invitations to the presidents and the prime ministers from the countries that officially requested to visit South Korea. It won’t take long,” Hwang Ki-Hyun added.

Knowing that his answer would be no different from Moon Jae-Hyun’s, the division heads didn’t say anything else.

𝕗𝚛𝚎𝚎𝐰𝗲𝗯𝗻𝚘𝚟𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝕞

“This matter aside, we think there’s a chance that South Korea would be under terrorist attack. I want everyone to give extra attention to any intel related to this—even the ones that seem trivial in hindsight. I don’t want to miss even the tiniest detail,” Hwang Ki-Hyun said. After a brief pause, he looked at them one by one as he asked, “Do any of you have anything else to report or questions to ask?”

Having ensured that no one had any more concerns, he ordered, “We’ll adjourn the meeting here, then. Manager Kim Hyung-Jung, I need to talk to you in private.”

“Understood.”

After saying goodbye, the assistant director and the division heads walked out of the meeting room.

“Are you done choosing agents yet?” Hwang Ki-Hyun asked Kim Hyung-Jung.

“Yes. We’ve selected thirteen agents to reside and work in Libya and Egypt. We’ve also handpicked an additional twenty agents to accompany them.”

Hwang Ki-Hyun sighed loudly. “

Hmm.”

Kim Hyung-Jung continued, “We chose mainly from the applicants. More than half of them used to be part of the special forces.”

“Have you considered increasing the number of people who would be going to Libya and Egypt?”

“I have, but we haven’t figured out our target yet, and we won’t be going there to engage in any large-scale combat. Moreover, dispatching too many people might cause adverse effects in Libya. Sending too many agents also risks losing contact with our local informants.”

“Assigning our men to missions like this always makes me feel uncomfortable,” Hwang Ki-Hyun commented.

“The agents are doing this because of their sense of duty,” Kim Hyung-Jung firmly answered. His eyes weren’t any different from Hwang Ki-Hyun’s, though.

“That only makes it even more heartbreaking.”

***

“Lastly, South Korean President Moon Jae-Hyun clearly knows about the future that the development of this new energy will bring,” Sherman reported.

Currently, he was in a meeting with the White House’s Senior Presidential Secretary for Economic Affairs, Senior Presidential Secretary for Security Affairs, the top aide for Asian affairs, and Laude, the President of the United States.

Even though Sherman was done presenting his report, nobody said anything. A moment of silence dawned on the meeting.

“We have to decide right now if we’re going to get involved in that plan, even if it’s just as an observer, by clinging onto France, Russia, and South Korea or if we’re going to side with Saudi Arabia,” Laude finally said.

“Even for us and Saudi Arabia, it would still be difficult to put pressure on France’s DGSE and Russia’s KGB,” the Senior Presidential Secretary for Security Affairs commented. He then turned to Sherman. “I’ve got just one question. I fully agree with constructing the first power plant in South Korea. After all, this would allow us to monitor the response of the Arabs and Jews in advance. However, why are prominent figures like Lanok and Vasili showing South Korea so much favor?”

“Don’t you know what happened in the UK?”

“Of course I do. I heard that a young student took care of their Blackhead. Even so, that isn’t enough to explain why they’re so favorable to South Korea.”

Sherman blinked, seemingly tired of all this. “Let me break it down for you, then. That student is fluent in French, close with Lanok and Vasili, and led an operation so perfect in Mongolia that it’s being hailed as the best in the history of the Foreign Legion’s special forces.”

Sherman took a moment to catch his breath as if he had grown tired of listing them all as well. Afterward, he continued, “He also made a significant contribution to the operations in France, Afghanistan, and Africa. That’s not all. He’s the Deputy Director-General of France’s DGSE, the assistant director of South Korea’s National Intelligence Service, and the head of its counter-terrorism unit. Do you really think we should treat that person as nothing but a young student?”

“Isn’t the CIA supposed to be using its massive budget—which isn’t even properly documented, might I remind you—to find out how that monster could just suddenly appear in South Korea, Sherman?” the Senior Presidential Secretary for Security Affairs asked.

“Are you saying I’m lacking because the situation turned into a mess while you and Brandon were investigating things behind my back? Would you like me to go into further details about the connection between you and Saudi Arabia?” Sherman answered, his smiling seemingly mocking them.

“Director Sherman, let’s not go too far,” Laude said as his blue eyes slowly scanned everyone attending the meeting. Despite his thin physique, he carried himself with authority. “How is North Korea reacting to all of this?”

“They seem to be looking for measures to start economic cooperation with South Korea.”

“This isn’t easy. What do we have to do if we side with South Korea?”

“To start with, we have to provide South Korea economic benefits and attend to the emotional aspects of this collaboration, which is especially important for South Koreans,” Sherman said.

“Are you talking about their history with Japan?”

“Right now, that seems to be the most effective way to do it.”

Buzz— Buzz—. Buzz— Buzz—.

The phone in front of Sherman rang briefly.

Click.

Sherman flipped open the phone and read the message he received.

“

Haa

,” he briefly exhaled, seemingly at a loss for words.

“It seems like Japan has taken the initiative. They have acknowledged that the East Sea, including Dokdo, is part of South Korea. They have also requested permission for their Prime Minister to visit South Korea under the condition that they’ll apologize and provide compensation for their past crimes,” he reported.

Laude rubbed his face with his left hand a couple of times.