104. Five on Sixty Nine
Two months later, in December 2000.
The Office of Audit and Inspection at CIA Headquarters in Virginia, USA.
“(So I was ordered under the name of Robert, and I spent a whopping $750,000 in activity funds in August and September, right?)”
At the question of the Director of Audit, Senior Agent Jeffery Stratford opened his mouth.
“(Yes, that’s right.)”
“(By the way… you spent all this money on the cargo ship information?)”
“(I just did what I was told.)”
“(You did what I ordered? Hmm—!)”
“(Yes, according to the report I submitted. It was an order to collect information about the cargo ship that had sank by all means.)”
“(What kind of cargo ship?)”
“(This is a ship that sank off the coast of the Korean Peninsula during World War II.)”
“(What was in the cargo ship?)”
Agent Stratford shook his head with a determined expression.
“(As you know, that’s SCI (Sensitive Compartmented Information) class secret. I can’t tell you.)”
The director of the audit department said with a short sigh.
“(Then when did you receive the order?)”
“(August 4, 2000 02:00 local time. Here it is 13:00 EST on August 3rd.)”
“(By the way, looking at the records here, no such order has ever been issued.)”
“(As stated in the report, it was an SCI-level password-locked order.)”
Some of the SCI-class records contain information not accessible to the CIA, as Agent Stratford points out.
At his words, the director of the audit department shook his head and said.
“(Even if it’s an SCI-class secret. If I had known that it was an order that ignored the entire chain of command… I would have been suspicious of it.)”
“(….)”
“(Especially, no emergency order has been issued since June 1994 on the Korean Peninsula. Such an emergency order will never be issued unless it is in the case of a mega-scale war like the Korean War.)”
“(The field agent does not ask if the order given is appropriate for the situation. This is the basic principle of espionage.)”
Silence fell in the interrogation room, after which Agent Stratford spoke.
“(Then… Maybe the encryption system has been hacked?)”
At his question, the director of the audit department smiled and said:
“(SCI-level directives cannot be hacked.)”
“(At that time, I heard that the U.S. Army and the CIA were hacked at the same time. Is there any possibility related to that incident?)”
“(So we’re investigating now. We’ve also asked the FBI for help. But it’s very unlikely. 4096-bit RSA ciphers aren’t hackable.)”
The director of the audit department said, checking the documents on the table.
“(The place that received the order and sent the collected data…. Leah Kim? The account is [email protected], is this correct?)”
“(Yes, that’s right. Did you find out more about that account?)”
“(I requested data from Yahoo Japan through the embassy in Japan… If it was a record four months ago, it probably won’t remain. Yahoo Japan might give you the information.)”
Agent Stratford opened his mouth cautiously.
“(By the way… there is one strange thing.)”
“(what…?)”
“(Isn’t there a Japanese-American spy case I reported in October?)”
“(Case of the Secretary of State’s aide?)”
“(Yes, it was Leah Kim who then sent the order to track down the Japanese and Macau bank accounts of Assistant Kimberly Katsran.)”
“(Oh yeah?)”
“(and….)”
Agent Stratford shut his mouth to speak.
In early September, I made contact with a North Korean agent, and in the process of contacting me, thanks to the information I received from Leah Kim, I was on the verge of death.
“(and something else?)”
“(No, just… I wondered if Leah Kim was a private agent for the State Department or the White House.)”
“(…!)”
Silence fell again in the examination room, and after a long silence, the director of the audit department spoke to the large mirror located on the left wall of the examination room.
“(Agent Smith.)”
Soon, a woman’s voice came from the speaker in the investigation room.
“(Yes, Chief.)”
“(Stop recording, delete what has been recorded so far.)”
“(all right.)”
“(From now on, I will also block the microphone.)”
drop! An answer came back from the speaker with a sound.
“(Yes, I blocked it.)”
The Inspector General picked up the report submitted by Agent Stratford from a file lying on the table.
The director of the audit department said with a brief sigh, tearing up the report.
“(I need a reason to end the internal investigation. Can you tell me what material you sent to Leakim?)”
In response to the Director General’s question, Agent Stratford spoke in a low voice.
“(April 29, 1942, a cargo ship belonging to the Japanese Navy departed from Incheon Port on the Korean Peninsula. The ship was named Shigemitsu. It was a small cargo ship weighing 250 tons, and the expected destination was Osaka, Japan.)”
“(If it’s 250 ton class… it’s a bit misleading to call it a military cargo ship, isn’t it?)”
“(Yes, but despite the fact that it was a small cargo ship, it was recorded that the armed forces were on board, and the Navy also prepared to disembark at Osaka Port.)”
“(Yes? Is that the information Agent Stratford found?)”
“(No, this is information provided by Leah Kim.)”
The director of the audit department nodded and said.
“(Where did the cargo ship sink?)”
At the Director General’s question, Agent Stratford shook his head.
“(I only know the fact that it is near the West and South Seas of the Korean Peninsula.)”
“(What caused the sinking?)”
“(According to the records left in China, it appears that a member of the Korean Provisional Government in Chongqing named Deoksan infiltrated the ship and detonated an explosive.)”
“(Really? What the hell was there?)”
“(There are a total of 17 types of goods shipped from Incheon Port, all of which are recorded with serial numbers, so we do not know exactly what they are.)”
“(You can’t know exactly…. Does that mean there are guesses?)”
“( Judging from the word used in the serial number… some of the items are probably gold bars made of pure gold.)”
“(A gold bar!?)”
“(Yes, and I’m not sure about this too, but if the numbers in the serial number refer to the weight and number of gold bars….)”
Agent Stratford lowered his voice even further.
“(Estimated to be around 39 tons of pure gold.)”
* * *
“Ugh—! You are talking like gold bars.”
At my words, Incheol said with a serious expression.
“hey! Lower your voice man! Because it’s not really a joke! 39 tons of gold is 400 billion won, 400 billion won! With this money… Even if I spend 20 million won every day without a day off, I can’t spend it until I die! This is life-changing!”
I said while wiping my combat boots.
“Life is reversed, I don’t need any of that.”
“Jungho, this is a real request. If you go on vacation tomorrow, you will go to Korea University at least once, right? If you go there, check it out just once, okay?”
“under—! Private Choi In-cheol, this is my first vacation. I’m not idle enough to go on vacation and look for something like that.”
“OMG—! Jung-ho, please don’t do that! You just need to find the document I just mentioned in the library of Korea University and scan it once, huh? please—!”
I suddenly remembered a story told by Team Leader Kim Jung-soo.
It is said that even if a lucky person falls, he will fall over a bundle of money.
“under—! this child… You’re really persistent. Then we divide it five to five.”
“what? Do you want to share it in half?”
“If you don’t like it, don’t.”
“Hmm… then… 6 to 4?”
At Incheol’s words, I laughed and said.
“OK! 6 to 4, call!”
“If I go on vacation tomorrow, I’ll be sure to ask you a favor. Understand? There are 17 serial numbers, of which… .”
“I can’t talk again, ma’am. I’ve already memorized everything.”
next day.
The place I found after leaving the recruits on vacation for 100 days was not in Namseo-dong, Namseo Apartments, 101-504, but… It was Sangsu’s house.
During the four months I was in the army, my mother and Uncle Sangsoo joined the household.
“Sangsu, stop cooking now and come and eat together.”
Uncle rummaged through the bulgogi in the frying pan.
“Aww—! Don’t worry about me, and loosen some of the gray foam that has accumulated between the mother and child.”
“By the way, Uncle Sangsu! The bulgogi is really good.”
At my words, my uncle smiled wildly and said:
“Ahahaha—! Because Jungho is delicious, I am so proud of my heart! To be honest, the day you enlist… The bulgogi I bought in Nonsan was so tasteless, I was really sorry back then.”
At my uncle’s words, my mother told me.
“When I heard that Sang-soo was going on vacation, I prepared a bulgogi recipe a week ago.”
I said to my uncle.
“Wow! Really? For some reason, the taste of beef bulgogi was strange.”
“Is it delicious? haha–! How is that strange?”
“this… What? The beef bulgogi doesn’t have a greasy taste at all, but rather has a cool taste. How did you cook this?”
“haha—! That’s a secret… Actually, when I prepared the bulgogi seasoning, I added a little bit of mint leaves.”
“Mint?”
“yes. This time our company has a book about herbal tea. I learned it from the author of that book.”
Uncle put a plate full of bulgogi on the table, sat down and continued talking.
“It is said that adding mint tea leaves to beef dishes will bring out the greasy taste as you said. ruler–! So, shall I taste it now?”
The mother picked up lettuce and perilla leaves one by one and handed them to the uncle and said.
“Sangsu, we eat here with vegetables.”
“ah! thanks.”
I opened my mouth to my uncle.
“By the way… Uncle Sangsu.”
“yes?”
“When you and your mother are alone, does my mother call you Sangsoo?”
At my question, my uncle smiled and said.
“Of course not.”
My mother said to me with a slightly red face in response to the uncle’s answer.
“Why are you asking such a useless thing?”
At his mother’s words, Uncle Sangsoo said to his mother.
“why? Your son might be wondering about that! But Sujeong-nim, shall we just use our usual titles today?”
Mother said while pinching Uncle Sangsoo’s forearm.
“Ugh–! Sangsu-san, why are you so arrogant today because you can’t pay for your night?”
“haha–! Isn’t that a main book? Today, when Sujeong-sister shows her happy side, Jeong-ho also has strength to serve in the military.”
Uncle spoke to me.
“Is not it? Am I right, Jeong-ho?”
“Yes, yes!”
A mother who sheds her eyes one after another towards me and Uncle Sangsu.
I could feel at a glance that my mother was loved by Uncle Sangsoo.
Compared to 4 months ago… .
My mother looks 10 years younger today.
Hmm… To be precise, you are 8 years and 6 months younger.
By the way… Has your mother ever had a happy face like today?
It seems to be the first time since the day my mother’s second TOEIC score came out six years ago.
I felt grateful once again to Myungsoo hyung who gave me advice to enlist in the military as soon as possible.
I have lunch with Myungsoo hyung tomorrow, and I plan to prepare a small present on the way to the data field.
Ding dong—!
“yes? Who is it? Anyone coming?”
I shook my head at Uncle Sang-soo’s question, and he got up from the table and headed for the front door.
After a while, I heard the old man’s voice calling me.
“Jeong-ho, do you think I should come out here for a moment?”
I got up and went out to the front door.
it was young
“me… I can’t wait until 5 o’clock… .”
Young-mi’s face showing a welcoming smile towards me.
When I returned to Korea from the United States in the past life, the faces of Yeong-mi, who came to me after reading a newspaper article, overlapped.
read at noblemtl.com
Namseocheon Park.
“really? Did you want to come here like that?”
I nodded my head in response to Youngmi’s question.
“yes. I don’t know how many times I dreamed of walking along Namseocheon with you every night like this.”
At my words, Yeong-mi smiled bitterly and hugged my folded arms tightly.
So we walked along Namseocheon without saying a word, and after a while, Yeongmi opened her mouth in a low voice.
“Jeong-ho, tonight… Can’t we be together?”
I stopped walking and looked at Youngmi.
At that moment, Yeongmi’s warm hand came into my pocket, and Youngmi’s slender fingers settled between my fingers.
Youngmi said, holding my hand tightly.
“I don’t want to be away from you today.”