Perfect Mission Chapter 8 - The Start of a Double Life (2)

Chapter 8 – The Start of a Double Life (2)

 

For a while, nothing much happened, both at home and at school. 

ASA and the NIS didn’t send any more emails. 

At school, after that one big incident, the bullies kept their distance, other than giving him wary glances. They didn’t openly pick fights. 

Since Junho only talked about games at school, there was no reason for the bullies to bother him unless they were actively looking for trouble.

There were rumors about Yongjin’s brother coming to find him, but he never actually showed up. Junho was actually a little curious, even disappointed. The more real-life experience he had, the better.

He couldn’t join any other gyms besides the regular one because of his mother. It seemed like she wouldn’t allow it until he was fully recovered and his grades improved.

With his new place, Junho ordered various items from online shopping malls like Coupang and Naver. Every day, a mountain of boxes arrived at his doorstep. He started going to the officetel after school to organize his purchases before going home.

One day, while having lunch with Daeseong at school as usual,

“If you time it right, you can easily catch it. Keep dying, and you’ll see the pattern. Guard once, wait for the gauge to fill, then combo. You know what I mean?”

“Easy for you to say, but it’s not that simple.”

“You’ll get it if you keep trying. Oh, the new Sorcerer Impact DLC is coming out, are you getting it?”

“I’ll see what the reviews say. If it’s nothing special, I won’t. They’re as bad as the Three Kingdoms games with their DLC milking.”

While they were engrossed in their useless game talk, Ahn Suyeon came over with her lunch tray and sat next to Junho. Although she was still in school uniform, she was wearing perfume, and it smelled nice.

“Hey, Kang Junho.”

“Yeah?”

“Say thank you.”

Another random remark. As he blinked in confusion, she flipped her hair and smiled.

“I pulled some strings for you.”

“What did you do?”

“Yongjin’s brother, you know. I told my older guy friends to stop him.”

“Ah~”

He had wanted to face him for the real-life experience… and she had interfered…

Suyeon’s face fell as she noticed the disappointment in Junho’s expression.

“What? Why do you look disappointed that I stopped him?”

“No, I’m really grateful.”

“That’s not what your face says.”

“This is my grateful face.”

Daeseong mouthed, “Bullshit,” but Junho ignored him.

“Then say thank you.”

“Thank you.”

“…”

“I mean it. I’m grateful.”

“Well, if you say so…”

She started eating with an awkward expression, and the two dumbfounded boys went back to their food and game talk. Suyeon was speechless that they were still talking about useless games even after she came over.

“Don’t you guys study?”

So, she blurted it out. But Junho’s response was unexpected.

“I bet I’ll get a better score than you on the mock exam. Especially in English.”

The mock exam was tomorrow.

“Don’t lie. You want to die? A level 6 talking like that?”

Where did he even get the nerve to say such things… And how did he know her grade?

“I got a level 4 in math, you know?”

“What about the other subjects?”

“That was before. Seriously. You’ll see when you get your score.”

“Wanna bet?”

“What kind of bet?”

“Hmm… the loser buys the winner something they want?”

Junho, who still had plenty of cash left from Jo Gyeongcheol’s house, wasn’t interested in the bet. Then, he suddenly remembered his mother’s girlish smile in front of the TV.

“I have one thing.”

“What?”

“Sim Youngwoong concert tickets. If I win, you get them for me. Deal?”

He knew that wasn’t something you could just buy with money.

“What if you lose?”

“What do you want?”

“Miwo Miwo sneakers.”

While Junho was wondering what she was talking about, Daeseong, who had been quietly picking at his food and watching their banter, exclaimed,

“Luxury Miwo Miwo sneakers? Aren’t those super expensive?”

“What? Are you trying to extort luxury goods from me? Are you a bully or something?”

Junho’s face contorted, and Suyeon quickly said,

“Huh! You think Sim Youngwoong concert tickets are cheap? And to get those, I’d have to ask all the older guys I know, and whoever finds them gets a bonus bigger than the ticket price. What do you take Sim Youngwoong for?”

Was that so?

Junho inwardly admitted his ignorance about concerts and decided to look it up later.

“Fine. But if it’s not the best seat, it has to be two regular tickets.”

“Really? No take-backs.”

He couldn’t lose this. If he put his mind to it, he could even converse like a native English speaker. The problem was that his pronunciation wouldn’t be as fluent as Jo Gyeongcheol’s, but that was a problem for later.

“Why so much talk? Are you in or not?”

“Deal! Fatty game nerd, you’re dead.”

Junho, whose mind had been consumed by thoughts of diet and exercise lately, was stung by the word “fatty.”

“Oh, my mom’s going to have a blast thanks to her son. She gets to go to a Sim Youngwoong concert. And with two tickets, she can even take my aunt, so she’ll be bragging for days.”

“What if people at school think I’m extorting luxury sneakers? What then? If the teachers ask me about it, you’ll explain, right?”

“Don’t worry. If that happens, I’ll clear things up. Although it won’t.”

After an intense stare-down over the “although it won’t,” Junho wolfed down his food and stood up.

“Let’s go! Let’s… enjoy our meal.”

Daeseong waved at Suyeon, who was left alone, and followed Junho.

“Is there something going on between you two?”

“No.”

“It totally looks like there is.”

It did seem that way.

“No, there isn’t.”

“Ha, there is… Anyway, are you really confident about the mock exam? I think Suyeon is level 2 in English.”

“I’m confident I’ll get level 1.”

“What’s with you? Do you have a status window or something? Tell me, status window, come on~”

“You’re crazy.”

Before, he wouldn’t have been able to speak so freely at school, always cowering in fear. The bullies would have hit him for being too loud. But now, even the bullies, including Hyeonuk, were strangely wary of him, and he enjoyed being able to speak his mind.

While laughing and chatting during lunch break, he checked his burner phone and found an email. The sender was, surprisingly, ASA. He’d revealed that Gorilla was alive and had even delivered the data to the NIS right under their noses, so he expected some kind of reaction.

[We apologize for the recent unpleasantness. There was an internal issue, but it has been resolved. We highly value your abilities. As additional compensation for resolving this incident, we will provide five more bundles, for a total of fifteen.

Our voyage is not yet over. The situation remains unstable, so we request swift action. Please include weather information in your next report.

We have changed course to Mokpo Port. The situation is unfavorable, so we will abandon the net and begin individual fishing. The bait is near Seongdong-gu. The cargo will be received upon arrival.

Detailed information will be provided later. We expect a swift and precise response.]

It was absurd that they sent another mission request after betraying him. But then again, it wouldn’t be good if they kept chasing him relentlessly. While it seemed like he’d escaped danger, he thought it might be a ploy to lure him out.

Fifteen bundles meant $1.5 million, a huge sum. Should he just avoid them?

‘Not yet.’

It was unthinkable given Gorilla’s reputation, but he had to admit he wasn’t skilled enough to handle such a big operation yet. Besides, he didn’t fully understand their situation or intentions.

But one thing bothered him.

‘Damn it, these bastards are using a child as bait.’

Changing course to Mokpo Port meant changing the target to the CEO of Daewon Chemicals. “Individual fishing” meant that multiple agents would be deployed, each acting independently.

Daewon Chemicals’ headquarters were in Daejeon, and the CEO’s family also lived there, but his youngest son attended a private school in Seoul, living with his aunt.

Seongdong-gu was where the youngest son’s private elementary school was located, so this mission involved kidnapping the child.

Junho wanted to ignore it if possible, but he couldn’t just stand by and watch a child get kidnapped.

After much deliberation, Junho sent an email to the NIS.

 

***

 

A small trading company in Sadang-dong, Seoul.

“So, that’s Gorilla?”

Director Kim Cheolsoo frowned at the black figure on the monitor.

“Yes. He’s the most likely candidate. That’s the only face we could find on all the CCTV footage within a 2km radius. He was thorough, even turning his face or covering his hands when passing by convenience stores. We wouldn’t have even gotten this if it weren’t for the dashcam footage from a car near the clothing donation bin.”

Assistant Manager Yoo Hyeree gritted her teeth at the thought of Gorilla. She had been working non-stop for a week, and all they had to show for it was a blurry image from a dashcam taken from a distance.

He had been so meticulous that he didn’t even pass through the main gate of the apartment complex and expertly avoided all CCTV cameras.

“What kind of a face is that? Half of it is covered by a hat.”

“Still, the video analysis team suggested that he might be younger than we expected.”

“How young?”

“Maybe… late twenties?”

The video analysis team had even suggested early twenties, but that opinion was immediately dismissed. Gorilla had been active for a while, and suggesting he was in his early twenties would cast doubt on the team’s competence.

“That young?”

“If he takes good care of himself, he could be in his early to mid-thirties…”

Assistant Manager Yoo Hyeree’s voice trailed off.

“Damn it, then we don’t know anything!”

“I apologize.”

“Expand the search radius to 5km based on his clothing and check all the CCTV footage. He must have made a mistake somewhere.”

“Yes, sir.”

Just then, Deputy Oh Hyeonwoo’s urgent voice cut through the air.

“Director, we received a message from the Overseas Operations Team. I think you should see this.”

“What is it?”

“Gorilla sent an email.”

“Put it up.”

Director Kim Cheolsoo approached Deputy Oh’s monitor, and his already unpleasant face became even more so after reading the message.

“Requesting information on CEO Yoo Jeongnam of Daewon Chemicals. Especially anything related to Seongdong-gu? What is this? Is he giving us a mission?”

“What could it mean?”

Assistant Manager Yoo Hyeree’s tired eyes lit up with renewed interest at this new development.

“What about Seongdong-gu? Wait, I think there was something about Seongdong-gu… Anyway, look into it.”

“Yes, sir.”

Less than ten minutes later, they found something.

“Director?”

“What? You found something already?”

“Um… CEO Yoo Jeongnam’s youngest son attends a private school there.”

Director Kim Cheolsoo’s heart sank.

“That’s right! His youngest son!”

“Yes. Sangjin Elementary School. He lives with his aunt and goes to school there, so he should be at school now.”

Director Kim Cheolsoo, with a growing sense of unease, scratched his head and said to Deputy Oh,

“Request backup from the Domestic Team. Sangjin Elementary School… what’s his name?”

“Yoo Hanbin.”

“Right, Yoo Hanbin. Secure his identity. Make it urgent.”

“Yes, sir.”

Assistant Manager Yoo Hyeree interjected,

“What about Gorilla?”

After a moment of thought, Director Kim Cheolsoo said,

“We don’t know if he’s just giving us information, or if he’s short on cash, so send him a mission request based on this. Secure Yoo Hanbin’s identity and bring him to us, and then…”

“And then? This isn’t an officially approved mission, so we can’t offer more than $300,000. They’re already complaining about the $1,000,000 we spent on the last one, saying we’re out of budget…”

“Sigh… It can’t be helped. Offer him $300,000.”

Director Kim Cheolsoo was uneasy, but there was nothing he could do.

Less than an hour later, the reply came: a refusal.