111. Six on seven
three days later.
I got off the bus and walked towards Southwest Middle School.
The weather is really nice today.
Small pieces of clouds floating in the blue sky, azaleas planted along the road, and even the spring breeze that brushes the face of the mountains… .
The outside world is always warm and beautiful.
I went into the shopping street opposite Namseo Middle School and went down the stairs.
B-113 underground.
This is the office where I will work for a month.
As I was opening the office door, someone spoke to me.
“Are you a new warehouse manager?”
He was the store manager here.
Yesterday, the first day of dispatch, I went to work at the regional office of the National Intelligence Service located on the top floor of a building in Hapjeong-dong, Mapo-gu, and it was the person in the file I checked there.
My name is Kim ㅁㅁ.
Born in 61, he is the head of the shopping district.
I’m not a picky person, but it’s best not to make trouble with him, and when he asks about KJ Pharmaceuticals, I was told to answer that he’s still an intern, so he doesn’t know.
By the way… I think they just called this place a warehouse… ?
a… no way… .
I said hello to him.
“hello. My name is Chae Jeong-ho, an intern at KJ Pharmaceuticals.”
“Yeah, nice to meet you. But is this employee going to last a little longer?”
“yes? What do you mean… ?”
“How can an employee quit after two months each time… I mean, I’m worried.”
“haha–! is that so?”
“Anyway, the management fee is until the 25th, so please pay it on time.”
“all right.”
I greeted him and entered the office.
The left side of the office was full of boxes, and the right side had a desk and chair.
under—-! this is kinda… .
I let out a low sigh without realizing it.
Did I just say that I work in the Hapjeong-dong office?
Hmm… Still, it’s not bad because I can work without interruption, and above all, I can meet Youngmi right away after work.
Before starting work, I started by cleaning the warehouse.
This is because team leader Kim Jung-soo said that he would stop by here for a while around 11 am.
11 am.
When the door was opened at the sound of a knock, team leader Kim Jeong-soo and a gray-haired old man were standing in front of the door.
“Long time no see.”
“Captain, how have you been? Come on in.”
The old man entered the warehouse first, and team leader Kim Jeong-soo closed the warehouse door behind him and said to the old man.
“Sir, this is that child.”
The old man nodded and looked at me. Contrary to the age of over seventy, I could feel the strength in his eyes, but without realizing it, I felt a little nauseous.
The old man reached out his hand towards me and opened his mouth.
“My name is Il-gu Lee. I’ve heard it’s my lifesaver.”
I said holding the old man’s hand.
“First, please speak down. My name is Chae Jeong-ho. But it’s a life saver… What does that mean?”
Team leader Kim Jung-soo smiled at my bewildered expression.
“This is the 19th target.”
“Yes?!”
I continued with a confused look.
“then… The article in the newspaper… .”
At my words, Team Leader Kim Jeong-soo nodded and said.
“Yeah, right. It’s a camouflaged knight.”
“ah… !”
I said with a sigh of relief.
“What a relief. To live like this… I’m really happy.”
Tears welled up without me knowing, and seeing myself like that, the old man said to Team Leader Kim Jeong-soo.
“Didn’t you tell this friend that I’m okay?”
“ah… ! I had something to deal with in a hurry these days, so I forgot. haha—!”
“Twitter—! With that person… .”
When I asked to move to the cafe on the first floor of the shopping mall, team leader Kim Jeong-soo shook his head and said.
“It’s still good to be careful.”
“ah… !”
It was only then that I realized that the old man’s thick horn-rimmed spectacle lenses had no power.
The three of us sat together in front of a small table in the middle of the warehouse, and the old man held my hand and said.
“Did you say your name is Chae Jeong-ho?”
“yes.”
“Thank you so much. I don’t know how to say thank you for this. haha–!”
“no. Thank you for being so healthy.”
“haha—! a young man… Oh yeah… .”
The old man took off his glasses and put them on the table, looking at me with a smile and continued talking.
“I didn’t know because I had never lived this long, but the time of old age felt so precious. So, I thought that it would be great if I could only live 10 more years, but that wish seems to have come true. Heh heh heh—!”
huh?
You’ve never lived this long?
What do you mean?
Is it a North Korean expression?
At the old man’s words, Team Leader Kim Jung-soo interrupted and said.
“Sir, isn’t the person who even served as a standing member of the Politburo of the Workers’ Party of Korea too easygoing?”
“haha–! is it?”
The old man continued, stroking his chin as if recalling the past.
“But when you get to that level in the North, you have to always be mentally prepared. You never know when you’ll be purged. haha–! I lived only today without tomorrow.”
The old man smiled bitterly and continued.
“Doom Loquimur Fugeri-Tinby Daechas. Carpe Diem. Quam Minimum Credullah Postero.”
“Sir, what else does that mean?”
In response to Team Leader Kim Jung-soo’s question, the old man said to me.
“The young guy here seems to know what he’s talking about.”
It is the last verse of the 11th Psalm of the Roman poet Horace, and that is where the famous expression ‘Carpe diem’ comes from.
The old man recites the original Latin text as it is, and the translation of the original text is as follows.
＜Life goes on even at this moment when I say this. Don’t believe in tomorrow, seize today.>
The old man used Horace’s ode to his life as a high-ranking North Korean official who never knew when his throat would be blown away.
I opened my mouth carefully.
“Then why didn’t you come here earlier?”
According to a newspaper article, he escaped from North Korea in 1995, six years ago.
I asked this because I thought that if he really hated life in North Korea, he would have escaped sooner.
The old man smiled slightly at my question and said,
“At the time, I had work to do in 1994. It’s too late to finish it. haha—!”
“It’s something I have to do… What’s going on?”
“Well, back then, it was very complicated with a lot of things… As people remember, it was the visit of former US President Carter to North Korea.”
On June 15, 1994, former US President Carter visited North Korea through Panmunjom and is known to have met with President Kim Il-sung to ease tensions between North Korea and the United States, which had escalated to extremes at the time.
However, there are parts of the old man’s words that I do not understand.
I opened my mouth with a puzzled expression.
“So, President Carter’s visit to North Korea… Does that mean that’s what your grandfather had to do back then?”
The old man nodded, and I continued with my head tilted.
“then… Are you saying that you knew it in advance and waited until 1994?”
Instead of answering my question, the old man looked at Team Leader Kim Jung-soo, and the team leader shook his head slightly.
For a moment, the old man smiled broadly and said:
“Heh heh heh—-! I mean, it was just that. Heh heh heh—!”
When the conversation was over, the old man got up and handed me a small note.
A phone number was written on the note, and below it was written ‘Il-Gu Lee’.
“I’ll call you later when I finish my military service. We should have dinner together… .”
The old man smiled and continued.
“As long as I’m alive by then.”
* * *
A heavily tinted car parked in front of a shopping mall.
Manager Kim Jung-su started the car and said to the old man in the back seat.
“Sir, by the way, aren’t you giving your name too loosely?”
“Originally, a name is given by someone else. Since it was the 19th target, the name ‘Ilgu’ fits perfectly, well.”
Manager Kim Jeong-soo smiled, and the old man continued.
“Honestly, I really liked the name ‘Choi Isu’… . Isu (二水), there are two waters… . are you really good? Isn’t it? haha–!”
“Yes, it is.”
Manager Kim Jung-soo, who was driving, opened his mouth while checking the rearview mirror.
“Inspiration.”
“why?”
“I have one question, may I ask?”
“haha–! Do you have a question for someone like you?”
“just now… The story of June 1994.”
“… .”
“at that time… What happened?”
The gentle smile on the old man’s face disappeared, and Manager Jeongsu Kim continued.
“I have a guess, but… I’m curious as to what exactly happened.”
“Hey, how many times… Did you say he was dead?”
“I don’t know for sure how many times. one… About twenty times?”
“Then I’ll be ignorant of it, yes… .”
“Who attacked first? Are you from America?”
The old man nodded and said.
“The US did hit the Yongbyon research lab, but that didn’t trigger an all-out war.”
“… ?”
“At that time, with the blow of the United States, the theory of the main battle simmered, and Ri Yong-guk’s voice grew louder.”
“If it’s Lyong-guk… Is it the director of the General Political Bureau who was purged by Kim Jong-il last year?”
“I know you well, yes. Originally, Ri Yong-guk and Kim Jong-il did not have a good relationship with each other.”
The old man continued with a bitter smile.
“Then, Kim Il-sung suddenly died of a heart attack, and Ri Yong-guk took control of the military first in a situation where the theory of Kangseong Jujeon prevailed.”
“Then what happened to Kim Jong-il?”
“I told you… . They don’t get along well with each other.”
“Then, was Kim Jong-il purged by Ri Yong-guk at that time?”
“right. But that was a mistake. I don’t think it’s rude to touch the white-headed bloodline.”
The old man smiled and continued.
“After Kim Jong-il was purged, opposition movements began in the party leadership. Ri Yong-guk had a tight grip on the military, but the party did not.”
“It seems that there were opposing forces among the Politburo Standing Committee members.”
The old man nodded his head at the question of team leader Kim Jeong-soo and said.
“Since the atmosphere inside the party began to change rapidly, Ri Yong-guk took control of the Mansudae Shrine with the 11th Corps and dissolved the Supreme People’s Assembly.”
“… .”
“Amidst this chaos… There was one assassination attempt with an explosion in the tin palace, and Ri Yong-guk issued an emergency order to the entire army.”
“Perhaps… Did you order war?”
“right. In the situation at that time, the only option left for Lyong-guk was war.”
“… … . therefore… result… How did it go?”
The old man let out a long sigh.
“The war started and 1.9 million people died in just one hour.”
“How did that happen… ! no way… nuclear… Did you use it?”
“Even though Ri Yong-guk was a strong fighter, he wasn’t crazy enough to use a nuclear weapon.”
“Then how can 2 million people in an hour… … .”
“The US bombers poured carpet bombings along the ceasefire line. They killed everyone without distinction.”
“therefore… How did it go?”
“According to the armistice agreement, China automatically intervened, and the day after the war broke out, the Chinese Communist forces took over Pyongyang.”
“So fast… !”
“Actually, the distance from Dandong to Pyongyang is closer than from Seoul to Pyongyang.”
The old man continued with a long sigh.
“And since that day, the north of the ceasefire line… … . It has become Chinese land… .”
“Is that really true? The United States and Russia cannot stand still, can they?”
“The United States did not want a war with China, and Russia would not have been able to respond quickly to the Korean Peninsula issue due to the Chechen issue.”
“Then what about Korea?”
“South Korea could not afford to fight China. Didn’t I say… . It is said that 2 million people all died along the truce line, regardless of the victim.”
After the old man finished speaking, there was a heavy silence in the car.
After a while, the old man put on his horn-rimmed glasses and said:
“I’ll drop you off at the next intersection. The weather is very nice today. It’s been a while since I’ve followed Yangjaecheon, and I need to do some flower viewing.”
After a while, the car stopped, and while the old man was preparing to get off, Manager Kim Jung-su said.
“Sir, what are you planning to do in the future?”
“ah… ! I forgot to talk about that. Perhaps… Can you give me a seat towards the museum?”
“A museum?”
“Yeah, during the Japanese colonial era, there were quite a few cultural assets that they stole, and I wanted to find out how they got out. perhaps… I think it will be helpful in my next life… .”
“Then we will prepare for that.”
“And to say thank you to Hee-Rak… Please tell me.”
“Yes, I will.”
As the old man got out of the car, Manager Jeongsu Kim picked up his cell phone and called.
– Yes, Manager! I got a call from Jo Young-seok.
“Is Hee-Rak there?”
– I’ve been away for a while.
“Then tell me when Hee-Rak comes. Regarding customer number 11, we need to make a seat in the research room of the National Museum of Korea, so send a letter of cooperation to the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, and prepare some necessary history records.”