God of Blackfield

When the day dawned, Kang Dae-Kyung felt as if he had passed out and woken up from a deep sleep.

It was early morning, with sunlight filtering through the window, warm air, and the pleasant sound of Yoo Hye-Sook’s breathing.

He carefully looked at her. Ever since they had moved into their nice, fancy house, she hadn’t been sleeping well.

When he began to see dark shadows in the corners of her smiling face, he disconnected the TV, phone, and inteout of worry. However, since then, Yoo Hye-Sook had slowly begun to lose her smile.

Kang Dae-Kyung was scared.

Yoo Hye-Sook did not have the best health, so he couldn’t help but fear that she would faint.

Unlike before they were married, she now had wrinkles around her eyes, hollowed cheeks, and other signs of the years she had spent with him.

Yoo Hye-Sook showed the sconviction when she gave birth to Kang Chan. While she was crying in front of the ICU, she found the strength to stand up and hold their son.

This tearful and emotional woman was surprisingly strong and resilient when it cto her husband and child.

Yoo Hye-Sook looked at Kang Dae-Kyung with sleepy eyes. “Hm? Do I need to get up?”

“No, it’s okay.”

“I’m still so sleepy, Honey.”

“It’s okay. You’ve got nothing to worry about. Go back to sleep.”

“Thank you.”

Kang Dae-Kyung softly stroked Yoo Hye-Sook’s head.

He didn’t know how long it had been since he last saw her sleeping so deeply.

She would keep tossing and turning in bed back at their new hin Hannam-Dong—which was protected by agents—and at the hotel in Europe. Now, she was sleeping soundly on an iron bed in the middle of the Mongolian wilderness.

It was tto wake up. He couldn’t have both of them sleep in late.

Kang Dae-Kyung carefully got up from the bed.

Dressed in comfortable cotton pants and a shirt, he quietly walked out into the living room.

“Good morn…”

Kang Dae-Kyung put his index finger to his lips, gesturing at Assistant Manager Kim, who greeted him, to keep it down.

Cha Min-Jeong looked at the room in surprise, then brought her gaze back to him.

“She’s not sick. She’s probably just catching up on her sleep debt. I don’t know how long it’s been since she slept soundly, so I’m letting her stay in bed,” Kang Dae-Kyung whispered as he walked over to the table against the wall and poured himself swater.

Cha Min-Jeong nodded. “That’s a huge relief.”

Seeing her relieved expression made Kang Dae-Kyung feel bad. “I’m sorry.”

He was grateful that an NIS agent—someone who was supposed to be doing important work for the country—was so understanding of Yoo Hye-Sook. However, at the stime, he felt guilty for bringing her to this place.

“Shall we join you for breakfast later, then?”

Kang Dae-Kyung glanced at the clock and then looked at the room where Yoo Hye-Sook was sleeping.

“Why don’t we eat first?”

The three silently made their way out of the barracks.

The wilderness air swept past them as if to say, “Welcome, you’ve never seen dirt dust before, have you?”

The grimy smell of dirt and the chill of the wind greeted them. However, Kang Dae-Kyung didn’t hate it. It was a bit refreshing.

When they turned the corner of the barracks, a man about Kang Dae-Kyung’s age bowed politely to him in greeting.

“Good morning.”

“You too.”

Bowing back, Kang Dae-Kyung couldn’t hide his surprise. The base that the darkness had hidden last night was now clearly visible.

A massive structure surrounded by scaffolding stood tall in front of the base. Men armed with rifles were on top of it.

Even the man who greeted him had a rifle on his back and a bayattached to his upper left arm, seemingly saying, “What are you looking at?”

He also had pistols and knives strapped to his waist.

Kang Dae-Kyung looked away and took a deep breath in.

At that moment, Kang Chul-Gyu and Kim Tae-Jin walked over to him.

Kang Chul-Gyu’s short hair swayed with the wind, the wrinkles on his face indicating that the years had not been merciful to him.

They exchanged greetings first.

“You’re up early.” Kang Chul-Gyu smiled. “It must have been a tough night.”

“Not at all. I slept well thanks to your hospitality,” Kang Dae-Kyung politely responded.

“Where is Mrs. Yoo, though?”

“Ah! She’s tired from the long trip. It’s been a while since she slept soundly, so I let her sleep in. I’m sorry.”

“No need for apologies. Will you be having breakfast with your wife?”

“If it’s alright with you…” Kang Dae-Kyung trailed off.

Kang Chul-Gyu softly said, “You can callDirector Kang.”

“I see. If it’s alright with you, then why don’t we have breakfast together, Director Kang?”

“Sounds fine. This way, please.”

Kang Chul-Gyu led the way. Kim Tae-Jin, Kang Dae-Kyung, Assistant Manager Kim, and Cha Min-Jeong followed.

Once inside the dining hall, Kang Dae-Kyung followed Kang Chul-Gyu’s lead and put food on a plastic-covered plate.

Kang Chul-Gyu and Kang Dae-Kyung sat across from one another at a long table. Kim Tae-Jin, Assistant Manager Kim, and Cha Min-Jeong sat beside them.

The food was similar to those served in the cafeteria at Kang Dae-Kyung’s previous company.

It was awkward, but the atmosphere wasn’t too bad. While eating, Kang Chul-Gyu answered Kim Tae-Jin’s occasional questions.

Eventually, they finished their meal.

“Since Mrs. Yoo is still sleeping soundly, would you like to have coffee with me?”

“That would be great.”

Kang Dae-Kyung was not lacking in social experience.

The best way to get rid of the awkwardness was to keep meeting in person until it was gone.

Kang Dae-Kyung stood up and followed Kang Chul-Gyu.

Kang Chul-Gyu took Kang Dae-Kyung above the entrance of the barracks.

“This is the best view we’ve got.”

It hadn’t been that long since the sun rose, yet it was already blazing hot.

“That’s the factory where we’ll be processing denadite and cetinium. The right side leads to Russia, and the back leads to China.”

While Kang Chul-Gyu was showing Kang Dae-Kyung around, one of the agents walked up the stairs.

Assistant Manager Kim and Cha Min-Jeong hurried forward to take the tray he brought and serve everyone a mug of instant coffee.

Kang Dae-Kyung took a sip of the coffee and looked around his surroundings.

The Mistral, machine guns, wilderness, and the armed soldiers…

He felt as if someone had plucked him out of thin air and thrown him out onto the open plains of old Manchuria.

***

This was the first tKang Chan had found Vasili speechless.

He didn’t speak for at least three breaths.

- Monsieur Kang. Wouldn’t it be better to discuss something like this in person? I’ll get in touch with Yang Bum, and we’ll fly over to you immediately. You can give us that much time, can’t you?

Kang Chan didn’t know Vasili could speak in such a requesting tone.

Grinning, he looked out the window. His demand to get rid of Romain and Josh must have been that serious.

“Sure. Letknow when we’ll meet.”

- Will do.

Kang Chan put the phone down and relayed their conversation to Seok Kang-Ho and Gérard, who were watching intently.

“Vasili and Yang Bum are on their way here. They want to meet withfirst to discuss the plan.”

He said it twice, once in French. At the stime, he considered getting another interpreter.

“Who’s joining the team?”

“Well, to start with, there’s the three of us and the three over there.”

Seok Kang-Ho and Gérard followed Kang Chan’s gaze at Choi Jong-Il, Woo Hee-Seung, and Lee Doo-Hee.

“Based on the size of our enemies’ forces, we can bolster our numbers with Cha Dong-Gyun’s men.”

Kang Chan’s French cout first like a habit now. Gérard nodded.

“Gérard, I want you to get the satellite operators to gather information on every country’s intelligence bureaus. Get the UIS organization chart and find out who the top dogs are, where they are, and where their main force is.”

“Yes, sir.”

“Starting today, the NIS will be reporting about UIS organizations by country. I’m also sending in the 606 and the counter-terrorism team to strike them all at once if necessary.”

“Is that possible?”

“Yes.”

“Got it. I’ll head inside now.”

Gérard left with a satisfied smile. Kang Chan then brought Seok Kang-Ho up to speed.

“With how the atmosphere is, I don’t think we’ll have any problems getting permission for the operation.”

“We’ll see. Our ideas and the politicians' may be different.”

“It’s not like you’re going to quit just because they disagree.”

Kang Chan smirked, feeling like he’d been caught.

He was talking to Seok Kang-Ho when he received a call from Vasili.

- I’ll fly in tomorrow at noon, Korean time. Let’s have lunch together.

“Where?”

- You choose. Ludwig will be joining us, but you should leave room for one more just in case.

“Got it.”

Kang Chan didn’t bother asking who the other person might be. If Vasili was going to tell him, he would’ve already told him.

- If you want, you can also ask the newly appointed head of the NIS to come.

Before Kang Chan could respond, the call ended. It was becoming a habit that he didn’t even get mad now.

Kang Chan immediately called Kim Hyung-Jung. He felt bad about putting another burden on the already busy man, but it was something he couldn’t put off or pass on to someone else.

The call was immediately answered.

- I’m on my way to the Director right now. I’ll stop by on the way there.

“I see. I’ll be expecting you, then.”

Samseong-Dong wasn’t that far, so it didn’t matter who made the trip.

***

After thirty minutes, Kim Hyung-Jung arrived at the office. Upon hearing about Kang Chan’s plan, he failed to hide his surprise.

“What can we gain from attacking the UIS’ headquarters? I need to be able to convince the director when I see him.”

“The UIS is no different from any other organization. Its head directs the attacks but doesn’t carry them out. We’re just showing them that we will eliminate those who give the order to launch terrorist attacks, just like what we did in Libya. It will be effective.”

Kim Hyung-Jung nodded, somewhat getting his point.

“Tomorrow at noon, Vasili, Yang Bum, and Ludwig will be flying in. There might be one more, but I didn’t hear who it was.”

“Pardon?”

Kim Hyung-Jung looked nearly thrice more surprised than he did when Kang Chan told him that he was going to attack the UIS headquarters.

“Why are those big fish coming over?”

“Because I’m planning to eliminate Josh and Romain.”

Kim Hyung-Jung blankly stared at Kang Chan.

“Manager Kim, if you’d like, you can attend tomorrow’s meeting at noon. You won’t have much of a say there, though.”

Kim Hyung-Jung’s shock was reflected in the sigh he let out.

“Have you found the reporter who wrote the article?”

“Ah! Yes, we have. We’re currently following him and checking who he’s been in contact with based on the phone records he used. We’ll probably have an outline of who gave him the information by tomorrow.”

Kim Hyung-Jung also told Kang Chan that Sharlan had not yet woken up from his coma.

“Assistant Director, why don’t you cwithto see the Director?”

Kang Chan looked at Kim Hyung-Jung for a moment, then nodded and stood up. Considering the nature of this operation, he knew he would have to meet Go Gun-Woo at least once anyway.

***

Go Gun-Woo’s reaction wasn’t that different from Kim Hyung-Jung's.

He asked how they’d benefit from attacking the UIS headquarters and then asked Kang Chan if he could go with him to see the President in exactly the sway Kim Hyung-Jung had asked him to.

Now, he had reached the final stage.

Kang Chan stood up with Go Gun-Woo and Kim Hyung-Jung.

***

They passed five roadblocks before they entered the premises of the Blue House.

While driving in, they saw people in suits standing at equal intervals. There were also sixteen people on each side of the round entrance ramp. Soldiers stood on one side, and police officers stood on the other.

[Please step out of the car,] someone ordered through a microphone.

Once the car had stopped, the secretary got out and greeted Go Gun-Woo.

“Please cthis way.”

Before getting out of the way, Kim Hyung-Jung pinned an ID to Kang Chan’s shirt. Go Gun-Woo and Kim Hyung-Jung then wore theirs on their left chests.

It was a darker green than the color of grass.

When they stepped on the carpet and entered the President’s Office, they saw Moon Jae-Hyun stepping away from his desk.

“Welcome.”

The three men bowed, and Moon Jae-Hyun reciprocated it.

“Let’s talk somewhere cooler.”

Moon Jae-Hyun took them to a large table in the backyard.

“You’ve been working hard lately, Assistant Director Kang,” Moon Jae-Hyun said as he sat down.

Kang Chan just nodded in response.

This was the president of a whole country. Moon Jae-Hyun seemed to have realized that Go Gun-Woo wouldn’t have brought Kang Chan along just so he could say hello.

Moon Jae-Hyun continued with ssmall talk until the tea was set down on the table. The instant it becquiet, he turned to Go Gun-Woo.

“Mr. President, the Assistant Director has proposed a surprise attack on the UIS headquarters to take out their leader,” Go Gun-Woo said.

Moon Jae-Hyun quickly looked at Kang Chan.

“Moreover, tomorrow at noon, the heads of the Russian, Chinese, and German intelligence bureaus will be visiting our country. I’m told there may be one more person, but the assistant director hasn’t confirmed who it is yet.”

Moon Jae-Hyun sighed quietly.

“Assistant Director Kang.”

“Sir.”

“Are you confident?”

Kang Chan wasn’t sure if it was because Moon Jae-Hyun was the president or he simply had guts, but he was asking questions completely different from Go Gun-Woo and Kim Hyung-Jung.

“I apologize to you and the soldiers, who will be risking your lives, for saying this, but if we go out there and fail, we will be humiliated.”

Seeing Kang Chan’s expression, Moon Jae-Hyun continued, “I’ll reassign all the necessary troops to your counter-terrorism team. That way, we won’t need to get approval to deploy them overseas.”

Go Gun-Woo and Kim Hyung-Jung seemed more surprised than Kang Chan.

“I believe in the judgment, ability, and performance that you have shown us so far. If you ask for it, I’d even put my position as President on the line and provide you with fighter jets and more.”

“Mr. President!” Go Gun-Woo called in surprise.

However, Moon Jae-Hyun kept his eyes on Kang Chan.

“I want to show them clearly and unequivocally what will happen if they ever threaten our people, our homeland, and our sovereignty again. For that reason, this operation must not fail.”

At that moment, Kang Chan realized that Moon Jae-Hyun was already planning to retaliate.

“Mr. President, this could turn into an all-out war,” Go Gun-Woo warned. He sounded as if he was panicking, but rightfully so. After all, the threat of war was already just around the corner.

Moon Jae-Hyun turned his gaze from Kang Chan to Go Gun-Woo.

“On our soil, they took our people hostage and murdered our soldiers and agents. If I find that acceptable because they’re soldiers, because they’re agents, then I don’t deserve to be president.”

In just two sentences, Moon Jae-Hyun seemed to have bent Go Gun-Woo to his will.

“Our precious young citizens shed blood to protect our country and represent our people. No matter what their duties are, their deaths are upsetting and painful.”

Moon Jae-Hyun turned away. “They, too, are children of South Korea.”

Moon Jae-Hyun’s eyes were red, yet they showed his determination.

“Assistant Director Kang.”

“Sir.”

“This is not revenge. Rather, I believe this will be more of a lesson to the world about what happens to those who threaten our nation.”

“Mr. President,” Kang Chan called.

“Yes?”

Go Gun-Woo and Kim Hyung-Jung looked quickly at Kang Chan and Moon Jae-Hyun.

“We have the best soldiers and agents.”

Seeing the hope in Moon Jae-Hyun’s eyes, Kang Chan continued, “With them, I believe we will get the best possible results.”

Go Gun-Woo looked like he didn’t know what to think anymore.