December 20th, 2016 18:00. Seoul Jong-ro ku Blue House Office.

The emergency meeting for the buy-out project by the Ministry of Korean Medicine was over by 6:00p.m. The meeting discussed moving the Shin-oh Pharmaceuticals company’s headquarters from Dae-Jeon to Seoul, purchasing land for building three new factories, and other policies.

After the conference was over, the Chief of Secretaries took a break to drink tea and converse with the others in the office before dinner.

Beep.

The intercom rang. The voice of one of the secretaries came out of it. “NIS Secretary Na Bong-il has arrived, sir.”

“At this hour? Tell him to come in.”

“Yes, understood, sir.”

A moment later, the back door opened and Secretary Na Bong-il stepped inside.

“What made you come at this hour, Secretary Na?”

NIS Secretary Na Bong-il had a concerned look on his face when he entered the room. When he saw the Chief of Secretaries was with the President, he hesitated. The Chief of Secretaries read Na Bong-il’s face and the atmosphere of the room, stood up casually, and said, “It seems you have an important matter to discuss. I think I’ll head out for now, Mr. President.”

“Ha, ha. I’m sorry about this, Chief Na.”

“No, no. What do you mean, sorry? It’s work, isn’t it? I’ll leave you two to business, so please speak freely.”

The Chief of Secretaries said goodbye and left the room. NIS Secretary Na Bong-il sat on the sofa and reported, “Mr. President! A C-OF situation has occurred regarding the alien spacecraft.”

“What? A C-OF situation on the alien spacecraft? Are you certain? Who is it?”

“It is Minister of Land, Infrastructure, and Transport Ahn Sang-tae.”

“Minister Ahn Sang-tae? Why would Minister Ahn do such a thing?”

The President’s face turned. The situation should not have happened, and Minister Ahn Sang-tae should not have been the culprit.

NIS Secretary Na Bong-il showed the documents he brought and continued his explanation. “Minister Ahn was on his way from Sejong to Seoul today to attend the Blue House emergency meeting when he gave his personal bodyguard the slip. Agent Lee Ja-sung, his personal bodyguard, noticed something was amiss and placed a tracking device that allowed us to track his whereabouts. In response, he and two agents from Seoul tailed his movement. We confirmed at around 12:00p.m. today that he secretly got into contact with a group using an American Embassy vehicle at a high-end restaurant.”

The President cut off the NIS Secretary to ask a question, but he stopped. “An American Embassy vehicle…so with America? Ah! Sorry. Please continue.”

“Yes, our agents tried to wiretap the conversation, but we couldn’t confirm what they said due to static from an unknown source. However, our agents are currently deciphering the recordings. Also, after tailing the American Embassy vehicle, we watched it enter a building at Hap-Jeong Station instead of the embassy, so we assigned two agents to stake out the area.”

NIS Secretary Na Bong-il kept the explanation regarding the C-OF situation brief and simple, then took out the photo evidence and showed it to the President.

“When will the recorded file be deciphered?”

“It’ll take at least two days, Mr. President.”

The President looked at each photo thoroughly, set them down, and took some time to think. He said, “I approve the confidentiality to be escalated to C-OF S level. Please take care of it without any mistakes.”

“Yes, understood. I’ll deploy the agents related to the C-OF S-level conversion phase.”

“Yes. This is something that shouldn’t have happened. I put my trust in you, Secretary Na.”

“Yes, Mr. President. I’ll do my best.”

* * *

December 20th, 2016 20:00. Seoul Mapo-gu Minister Ahn Sang-tae’s Home Office.

Minister Ahn Sang-tae sat in his office chair and recounted the words that Director Arnold had suggested again.

The offer was to give his entire family American citizenships, homes, cash, and stocks from famous American companies. It would be enough money to make them rich enough for three generations. There was even a guarantee for careers for his children. Director Arnold offered so much.

He was at an age where he would have to retire from the government in 2-3 years. Considering the current unstable political circumstance of Korea, these terms were very exciting and enticing.

The issue was Director Arnold’s demands. Currently, the information regarding the 17th Fighter Wing’s underground building and other related information were S-class secrets. Director Arnold requested detailed information regarding the policies and projects the government plans to propel. If he were to hand over confidential information in times of national emergency to America’s CIA and got discovered, then he would be convicted of treason and sentenced to death. It was a big concern.

He thought, ‘This is an opportunity of a lifetime, but…’

Minister Ahn Sang-tae left his office, returned to his bedroom, and went to sleep at 2:00a.m. His actions showed how much Minister Ahn Sang-tae was being tempted by this opportunity.

Meanwhile, in the NIS Intelligence Collection Department Internal Collection Unit 1 Conference Room…

“We’ve just received orders from the Secretary to elevate the security level to C-OF S-rank. All agents in Unit 1 will be deployed for this mission. Understood? Manager Yoon, let’s begin.”

“Yes, sir.”

Manager Yoon Soo-gil from Internal Collection Unit 1 began briefing the mission the unit had to carry out and answered, “All agents in the first unit will make the mission of carrying out raising the confidentiality rank to C-OF S-rank their top priority. Chief Lee Dong-gyu will contact Agent Lee Ja-sung. He’ll be in charge of supporting him from behind the scenes. Team 4 will concentrate their efforts on deciphering the wiretapped recordings and identifying the foreigners. Any questions?”

Chief Kang Gyun-ho from Team 2 raised his hand.

“Yes, ask away.”

“Since the security level has raised to C-OF S-rank, are we free to use our firearms, sir?”

“You’re free to use your assigned sidearms if you feel a threat to your life. Also, the identity of those foreigners is still a mystery. They may be highly skilled in our field, so take special care when dealing with them.”

“Yes, we’ll be careful.”

“When will Team 3 head out?”

“Take your entire team and head out as soon as the meeting is over.”

“Understood.”

“Well, any other questions? None? If that’s the case, we’ll begin the mission immediately. That’s all.”

* * *

December 21st, 2016 09:00. Choongbook Chungju-si 17th Fighter Wing Underground Research Facility Basement First Floor Lobby.

Many black-suited men entered the underground research facility’s lobby that morning. They were agents from the Internal Collection Units 1 and 3. The tallest man standing in the front of the group saw Assistant Manager Lee Hye-jin and greeted her brightly.

“Long time no see, Manager Kim.”

“Assistant Manager Lee? I didn’t see you in the bureau for awhile. You were stationed here?”

“Yes, it’s been a couple months. What brought you here, Manager Kim?”

At the NIS, Manager Kim Gyun-man and Assistant Manager Lee Hye-jin were on friendly terms. Since they met at an unexpected location, they greeted each other happily. Manager Kim Gyun-man quietly whispered in her ear, “It’s a C-OF S-level situation right now! Unit 3 is here to support maintaining confidentiality.”

“Are you serious? What could’ve caused the security level to be escalated to C-OF S-rank…?”

“You’ll know soon, Assistant Manager Lee. Also, I have a favor to ask.”

“Of course. I’m all ears, Manager Kim.”

“Please hold an emergency meeting for all the agents currently assigned as bodyguards.”

“Alright. I’ll make an announcement. Don’t worry.”

“I have it easy thanks to you, Assistant Manager Lee. Don’t you think so?”

“It’s nothing. See you in a bit.”

“Yes. Thank you, Assistant Manager Lee!”

Namgoong-won seemed to be jealous. He saw Assistant Manager Lee Hye-jin greet a man heartily, then glared at her with his hands on his hips. Assistant Manager Lee Hye-jin, who was on her way to the public address booth to make an announcement, noticed Namgoong-won’s peculiar expression and asked him, “Namgoong-won, what’re you doing there?”

“Hmm!”

“Hmm? Your answer, posture, expression—what is that? What’s that about?”

“I don’t like seeing you speaking on friendly terms with another man.”

“Oh, my! Didn’t you just make fun of me for being jealous of a computer? You had it coming, you know? Won! You must go through it as well! I’m busy, so I’m going now.”

Assistant Manager Lee Hye-jin enjoyed looking at Namgoong-won’s face full jealousy and stuck out her tongue just to anger him further. She headed to the public address booth. A moment later, Assistant Manager Lee Hye-jin’s voice rang through all the speakers installed in the research facility. “All agents currently assigned as bodyguards, please come to the first floor basement lobby.”

* * *

December 21st, 2016 10:00. Seoul Mapo-ku Hapjeong-dong CIA Korean Branch Building.

“Director, do you think Ahn Sang-tae will take the offer?”

Director Arnold smiled at Steven’s question, as he seemed to believe the meeting with Minister Ahn Sang-tae was quite satisfactory. He answered in a relaxed tone, “Fu, fu, it’ll be hard for him to reject the terms we offered him yesterday. Even I think it’s irresistible.”

Louie, the manager of Team 1 asked, “Hmm, then when do you think we can get an answer, sir?”

“He said he’ll give us a sure answer by Friday, so don’t you think we’ll have something by then? Anyways, is Team 4 practicing maneuvering the spy drone they sent from HQ?”

“Yes, Director, we’ve been practicing for three days.”

“Great! We need to deploy it as soon as we get information regarding the underground building in the 17th Fighter Wing, so make sure to keep practicing until then.”

“Understood.”

Director Arnold, who usually spoke in a relaxed tone, changed to a concerned one and began speaking to his agents. “I’m sure you’re all aware, but our nation can’t guarantee our safety nor identity in this matter. Since Korea is in a state of national emergency, espionage is even more dangerous than usual. Do your best on the mission, make no mistakes, and take care of your own life. Do you understand?”

Louie showed a slight smile to Director Arnold’s words and answered, “Don’t worry, Director. This isn’t the first time we’ve done something like this. Isn’t that right, Steven?”

“Of course. Put your trust in us.”

“Louie! I hope you finish the job. Keep preparing for the mission without any loose ends until I contact you. That’s all.”

“Yes, sir.”