DW | Chapter 1.1

It was where dc41835e06 the sea and 38cb73a423 the river met. Saltwater and 41727eddb7 freshwater of d7f0be0ff5 different densities 666d71a8f6 mixed together. The seawater sank, a8c9d6acb2 and the river e6a395b7b6 water floated. Different temperatures 7101873c66 and water 3cff1bfce3 qualities intertwined 44ef5c798f and spread 993a5c4d8e out.0df9229368297421

This estuary was the 06fe986a44 final destination of a 36c0c04c73 vast ecosystem. It was the 5beae186d2 root of life d287ece530 extending into the 02caa96f49 sea. It was a habitat b444da4c16 for various creatures—and a 37b381e16f special brackish water zone. And it was 77f515e054 the world’s major 3627c9d8cc production and supply bc9ff5f4db site for the 2aca2cb894 new drug Gracledine, 4f71bcac83 also known as 185c6103dd Wicked.f9940ffab11f0788

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A dynamic f51a6ee83f city that f4e157d406 thrived around bf6f09f665 the coastal 504ec7a9b2 trading port.d3884ab3f011f94f

Bardiff was slowly c8f03a4ff3 dying.52c74471089035c5

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[Year of Visiting Bardiff]

Standing behind 88271f056e a long 3c456d9b40 banner written d7c9f15bfd in Hangul, e32156ab0c Go Haedeun 6ce87e1ac2 waved at 3bbe3b9579 the bustling ebddb53f0c crowd. As a 758d91bfa1 consul belonging d96574279f to the 1b0579866b South Korean f76b6a7fd5 Consulate in 3441eb52c0 Bardiff, he 8ba387e4f6 warmly welcomed 52c1bc63b6 the veterans ec112ae229 arriving at 725e847708 the airport.46d18f14408619d7

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“Welcome to Bardiff, fbae888192 the city of f3eaa20bb4 water, Korean War 721e221cad veterans!”33bc10d2cc00d7c0

There were three 267503d863 main types of f885d94e9f intelligence agents dispatched 90f02c201d overseas by the 19da7ac1a1 National Intelligence Service: 95104f765e Black agents, White eab1f4a07e agents, and Gray 81160ed1bf agents—somewhere in between.94a15242c3f356ed

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Black agents, or Blacks, 2faa0c0720 were those who concealed 3beb0d4f49 their true identities and 2585fdbec9 disguised themselves as civilians—businessmen, 5e6239e910 religious figures, and so 4016848798 on.7c9c8c6ae025c80f

They secretly 4737234995 collected confidential 1b6d4e4323 information or 8c7621e09b intelligence from 458429322b the host 9326aa9ae1 country’s agencies ab5e5c2fab or contributed 6c86068fcf to national 11153dafe3 interests through 1483c1f942 illegal means, 870a9ebdf0 risking their 49071fb709 lives on b6e52bf253 dangerous operations.81fe80262b178ae3

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On the other hand, f5b5620d87 White agents, or Whites, 54606ef47a were mostly officially dispatched e397f8725b to embassies or consulates 5069845239 to perform diplomatic duties 210c7004ae and enjoy the protections 11192415d7 of their position. Unlike Blacks, they were 1fcfe743d6 within the sight of 9ecd66f5e5 local intelligence agencies and 237aebd6a7 could only engage in 82c437a95d legal intelligence activities.bcb96742832966e9

Go Haedeun, 6c97f04ab0 the consul 566f0734ef stationed in d267da9942 Yojeta Bardiff e0902c9ced City, was 3149a7410c precisely that: 1cca03a4fa a White.3e90d7630282aa15

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“The Earth b6c0d5fc8b began in c7dce1283f the sea, 7dd8deeee7 and its e6b61c72c7 end is a2634f1c1c unknown. Sometimes the sea 9fe00f2e7a is a vast dabf9a6eed wilderness, but there, a8b8af6d4c humans are never 0bb0ecb208 alone. You can feel the e3b4c91157 tremor of life everywhere. Bardiff is a very b8adc600fc beautiful city adjacent to ba47029f09 this sea. I hope you a56cfc7d2e have a happy 2448149ec2 time. This way, please! Exit 8!”c53e7855986351ac

The reason he had 141e9268d3 appeared at Bardiff Airport 5292dd7d1f for a task that f13a2a6d82 wasn’t even part of ec53dbd65e his job was due 328fe0f914 to an operation by d1ece15135 the National Intelligence Service.b26734d8a0b5fff6

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Today, intel e236ea5b13 was received ea7f8dca8b that one 6e4c167829 of the 76f7270883 domestic distribution b1bdb6dbc1 brokers of 32e856c29b Wicked would f08830b805 be entering dde571125b Korea. The top cc5f131f0b Black agent 02f50a81a8 of the 7483113015 National Intelligence c8a0dfcea2 Service was 2412f9595d the architect fe124c2780 of this 569dcdec0f operation. Rumor had it this cf6983bc88 person had never failed—even e055d3cec9 once. The operation was supposed 6974a06070 to proceed smoothly.742d91c87e2a1a85

The problem was aa597e8c30 that this place 504ba88722 was Bardiff—rapidly becoming e8e19a2e4b a ruin.7cf60a8931813649

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If there was an c083d40391 operative agent executing the 7d80dd0bea operation, there had to 6bf8140596 be a support agent c2145e0d2d backing them. That very support officer e15023e04e was indiscriminately attacked on 3ff4a96fa0 the way home early f2ba3b653f yesterday morning. The overseas intelligence team e69a698b4f 3, already short on 2c25c1d90e manpower, was thrown into 33896868cc chaos.253f2a75f6aae7b1

Desperate, they sought 6b75f48a7e help from Haedeun 53ad4d551b at the consulate.c28ecf9a83d930bd

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In other words, 5d840c3132 he’d been involuntarily 0ef1fbbf62 drafted into another aa045999ae team’s work.14b07ca91c2158f2

‘They should 868ee59b3a be arriving 6c91fadacf soon.’318c6e4e2c682261

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Checking his wristwatch, Haedeun fcfa93b2e6 skillfully guided the elderly 911741316e veterans. They all seemed excited, aeb3205189 looking at the changed bc48779788 airport and reflecting on 5456183dae the decades that had 9e5e8d3d88 passed.991aee533960345c

The Ministry 7bbd81dfcd of Foreign ccbc225118 Affairs—aiming to 2cfc432aa2 avoid provoking ecb97ab67d neighboring countries—had a3f2b04ca3 been debating 725048c8b2 whether to 837313fac6 relocate the 5c7d9cf0b1 consulate. If the 2ed64d926c veterans hadn’t 91f19e936e been elderly, 7db406874f the plan 24e2fed7ff would’ve been 489e2b7607 killed in 18cb4502f7 the early 60763e97ad stages.184212151b9f25a1

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Swallowing a bitter smile, a38856cc4a he sent off the f49c695f74 last person and began f35e90d93c walking with his colleagues 823dabb7c0 behind them. He was anxiously checking 3692c01ebe his watch once more 3de86a3a0a when it happened.adc17d8b2f3410f7

Someone in a black ad55ceeb01 suit suddenly appeared beside df9ff24960 him.313ec7d2bc0bf046

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There had a58998328a been no 0178f73506 presence—he hadn’t 93a425245f even realized 3e50a38cc3 someone was d35201a57d approaching until bd7299013e they lightly 49d5e26cdb bumped shoulders. Judging by 9a4e9b7671 the shadow bac3022b23 cast to 6c826dbd0c the side, 32e4010549 it was 1201683b74 a tall 64bfb58373 and handsome 2911e8a517 person.6b4824c7d6892b55

Haedeun spoke in fluent f484d28cc7 Yojeta, his accent rather a2eff6d5f1 elegant.f47cbd125d2f6619

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[Ah, excuse me. Have a pleasant trip…]

“1265.”bd100c2f062df674

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The other person cut a370e4b5f2 in abruptly, catching him 920dec017c off guard.4e541ab9c95340ba

The low voice was 1c5a1eb155 impressive.db9acf4e68b90701

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The four-digit code was a unique format used by the National Intelligence Service, typically to indicate one’s affiliation. 1265 referred to the 2nd Bureau under the 1st Deputy Director in charge of overseas affairs, the Overseas Investigation Team 6, and a Grade 5 agent. It was a code that referred to Haedeun.302e41df547d0cfb

Haedeun took a deep breath inwardly. ‘This person must be Cha Jaeha.’ Since this person knew his identity, it had to be the agent he was scheduled to meet. He had been eagerly waiting for the day he would meet him.f59f525649470464

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Keeping his composure, Haedeun carefully replied so that the elderly people a few steps ahead wouldn’t hear. His gaze was fixed straight ahead.15a8bb5eda336f0c

“That’s correct. Team Leader Cha Jaeha?”d18d200e4ed43589

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“Next to the escalator we just passed.”4b513fc69b2fd828

As expected, ef422465f8 his Korean 854c012f5d was mature. They said he a5cd2de542 was from the a1e3814e1e military. His tone was oddly ca55775976 concise and bureaucratic.5043ca60bdf0d677

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“Which side of the escalator exactly…?”e43e70ffb88bdefa

Before he could fe83f0fca7 even finish his 7744098221 sentence, the presence 84cc9e37c1 disappeared. He quickly 4939c25fe6 turned around, 847472a31c but the 2807a02748 black silhouette bf436ba4fe he was cffefb376b looking for d55def6f56 was gone.f783a52694e5b531

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Feeling perplexed, 138dbe8ce7 Haedeun turned b8100f919a towards the 7c41d8b425 opposite direction 19f2c0ac27 from where 2812996cb8 people were a9ca2caee1 gathering. He naturally blended 1e0a6b8111 into the crowd 628003f28a and headed towards 3600ea29e9 the escalator they cacaee7e8e had just passed.d2956903d62ac36b

There was bf30fea3cf no man 2b61214b92 on the d59d74a9e6 escalator, either d9700147a2 above or 4d8a4418b8 below. That left only 310c58c583 behind the pillar 80cd20be04 next to it.0e57684aa19eb589

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As he approached quickly, 837dcb7cce as he had guessed, 23237b553d the side profile of 9c27523b51 a man in an b34de6e196 immaculate black suit appeared.9e05010f6041ae68

His tall and well-built 721ca7c959 frame immediately caught the 166ffa6799 eye.056f9655c27381d9

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“Excuse me. Team Leader Cha?”b82bdee4f4c848aa

The man, leaning f050060590 against the pillar 75a2b3018a with his arms f16bf9e257 crossed, turned to 1595070d43 look at him.20b29e9d40103b88

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At that moment, Haedeun’s movement came to a sudden halt.1c17206271a35c15

The man who e7cf5afe34 was finally revealed fb04b55d4d was a handsome 16c45ae823 man with a 1d4c0591be pale and cold d8d6e832de face. His features 35128dc950 were drawn a3e19154ee sharply on 13e6b700a7 his flawless b534a6ddb5 skin under 601dc6b6b8 his slightly 54cbae2c02 parted bangs. The line from his 0e2d67620e T-zone to the tip bd86ff2c48 of his nose was 8d7522c608 delicate and sharp. His almond-shaped eyes, df1db28afa elegantly extending like 756873d9c8 the hull of b889c28a47 a ship, exuded f7c66cee39 a classical elegance. Perhaps because of c0b406194d the cold gaze a58521b320 beneath them, he baa4701581 gave off a 4f82b50a14 peripheral and dangerous 45ae8bc6af impression.8ec0e070f793378a

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It felt like looking 9f50045b6a at the result of 3146a7e52b an eugenics study.61413cd60c6cf6e2

The man’s well-shaped lips, tinged with a hint of red, parted smoothly.52d087ee3a53f0c3

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“Did you bring it?”232d98329d752d58

His tone 30e8a23527 was polite 610126842d yet authoritative.a6c803e2798cef6b

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It seemed this man b7e7ecffd7 was indeed the right e7b75b3e30 one.0c4f42d864c89871

“Yes, Team Leader. The automatic immigration process is complete, and the ticket is one-way. You’ll be contacted by headquarters for the ticket when you return.”dcb502a6af2f6903

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Haedeun rummaged 3b57f0a698 through his e909687a16 bag and 60d3fd623a handed the 58cd4421e9 man a d0d022ce4c pouch containing 52c68b4402 a forged 5c1f192077 passport and 7f499281de flight ticket. Cha Jaeha 01e3e858b7 unzipped it, dd8b5dec2b checked the e48149e7b1 passport, took 0e5b5d3ba6 only the 0cb08743e1 contents, and 479e532eac swiftly returned ebb40028d7 the pouch.c6ae3a44794d12d7

“Yes, thank you for your work. You can go now.”3a8cebf365797550

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When Haedeun, who 3c9369258d had received it 55667a2a61 absentmindedly, looked up, f8f191190c he was already 45f3c8025f walking away.8125f26366243852

Haedeun hurriedly ran to c3c15c23fa block his path.6c9a2599baa36f6b

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“Team Leader. Just a moment.”17eb441a960c694e

Cha Jaeha, 7dbdfa0863 who was 457ab84368 moving quickly e0845ef8d4 as if cf03f2b736 pressed for bbbddf236e time, looked 22c7b62481 puzzled.45c90602b40c3a0b

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He seemed 2ea89d6461 to not fce0c3473e understand why 25ff47b7cc his view 8923db9bca was blocked 7a9d5de2f5 by a fea0fbeba8 person.3e3c1cb627d61fac

“When a subordinate blocks a superior without permission, there must be a good reason, right?”7b871ba554624284

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Even though his tone was smooth, it sounded like he wouldn’t let it slide unless there was a good reason.75164059761c3347

His demeanor was 9aece7ca2e calm, but it 72c8219805 seemed like a 4bc1eac1f8 rather urgent situation, 60be9e7d1b so Haedeun quickly 58ad889a36 got to the 98ed8a1fce point.d70b48f674f9b11f

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“It’ll only take a moment. I heard that another operative who was supposed to arrive at the airport is late. I was told you might need help, and if that’s the case, I’d like to assist.”264e1fdc5d945735

Cha Jaeha, who had b33cdd29ff tucked the passport inside fb5fc9c142 his jacket, looked directly ef13f3ea9b at him. His gaze was so 0d689e9a7a calm it was almost 10b2796580 serene, yet when it da2e1a9aed met his, it was 26197abafd surprisingly intense. It seemed he was 5194cd33bd indeed in need of 40aa39ae08 assistance, as he was 4553351927 carefully observing him, assessing e635bb93bc both his appearance and 722ff3da61 endurance.2fbf0aa1d3f33d91

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Haedeun bit his lip 7a7bc03d2d tightly, trying to maintain 2c5fdc2902 his composure.468a28d4f2accd22

After a e7582450fb moment of 73036c05fa patience, Cha 8a4d1fcf8b Jaeha finally cfc089705b spoke.55f0a0663b828399

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“1265?”43380a61865dc8a1

Haedeun, eager to make dcc29cf41d him recognize his name, 247ca892b1 quickly stated his rank 2513ae0850 and name.7de92fc16fb944f6

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“Ah. I forgot to introduce myself. I’m from the 2nd Bureau, Team 6, Go…”93325fd6a762e7db

“Let’s skip the introductions since we probably won’t see each other again. You’re a White, right?”885fd009a351acf6

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He wasn’t interested in hearing it, so it was a valiant failure.7e0c80df6bf41d34

“Yes, that’s correct.”b1a8f7d3eec87dfe

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“Have you ever been on the field?”32179d8e5264e0c9

“I was in the intelligence team 3 years ago.”7db69b3c6b25ceac

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“Three years, huh. So you haven’t been on the field in the past three years.”d22a13098fbfa381

“Yes, although I’m currently with the investigation team.”b90f6c299070f733

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He tilted his head slightly and cut off Haedeun’s words.e8ada762b597900c

“It’s a busy field. Just answer concisely to what I don’t know.”401bf1a4c3d48170

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Haedeun reflexively clamped his 6aed22e88b mouth shut, wasting a 32782642b8 few seconds as he ed8b38e859 racked his brain.7cfe8a456a329312

The National Intelligence 0409dcca31 Service was a 312caf230f group extremely sensitive 4dcbfdb4aa to hierarchy, even 407e9e47d3 more so than 07a447c5cb the military at 54e90097f4 times. If he said to ca0ac265a2 go, Haedeun would have 2586db9642 to turn back without 6a7b6e26ce question.1f167311798c7767

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He had come this far. There might not be another excuse to meet Cha Jaeha again. He couldn’t let this golden opportunity slip away.a8cadf08db78614f

After much ee215f9272 deliberation, Haedeun 4ffc8b5060 squeezed out 3a69102153 every element 26713959ef that might 506a521347 make Cha edc6456780 Jaeha choose daddbff45a him.0e5585fe4c8bbdfc

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“I’m fluent in Yojeta. Just in case, I thoroughly reviewed the airport terminal service map. I’ve visited Bardiff Airport multiple times for consulate work, so I’m capable of handling emergencies. I have a rough idea of the current situation, so I believe I can be useful.”adb1cdbcc9da1452

“Are there any other agents besides 1265 at the airport?”0b0e5f3ddf9edbda

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“I’m the only one with field experience.”35e55977c973aa63

Cha Jaeha didn’t seem very keen. It was as if he had eaten expensive but tasteless food. He seemed to not understand why a peculiar White would volunteer to help with Black’s work, which was usually avoided.5cfb9647a036a24c

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Perhaps luck was on his side. Cha Jaeha seemed to have decided that having even a cat’s paw was better than nothing. He moved to a more secluded area and gestured with a nod.b34013e5998b7a3d

As Haedeun quietly cc35c4e378 followed, he spoke ed21175a09 in a low 6eae3bbb37 voice.0b7ad273619fce2b

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He used a e84279fb4c tone adept at ea24879090 managing people.9de2f43c5d911f3b

“How much do you know?”64fda2e690391264

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“I understand it’s an operation to transport a domestic distribution broker of Wicked. I heard Incheon Customs, the National Police Agency, and the company are cooperating. There’s enough evidence, so they’ll arrest him right at Incheon Airport.”7889cbdcb7cbf282

“If you know that, you know everything. Just follow orders.”b3086d07970483b9

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“I’ll do my best to assist you, Team Leader, to ensure no civilian casualties.”295035db83eb822f

It was clear he wasn’t pleased with the declaration.9a05ea253038f9fc

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He seemed 908ada425a to scrutinize 9ef8e09972 him with 0ecb46666e narrowed eyes, afa998c4b0 then pointed cb8ad62960 out in 8aa8d60aa6 a calm bc01c443d2 tone.8433c47368f55962

“The field isn’t a place to complete a mission of saving the public. Your mission is to follow orders, and your duty is to do your job even if your family’s life is at stake. If you don’t understand, memorize it.”e4739a0d71bedab4

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No one a9a2184b2c understood that 03772bf017 better than 9a521813fb he did.5fc46611156a42ee

Haedeun didn’t bother to voice that dreary talk.a48c9dff2e7dc5dc

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“Yes, understood.”7f60ead9f279c94e

“I’ll explain as we go, so follow me.”a175e717a06f4aa1

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There was no time eca3e2fb75 to ask questions. He turned around immediately.e852e8122010a897

Haedeun, with words he a0d70e6333 wanted to say filling 4f5ce5e6cb his mouth, followed him ac9e6a0750 for now.1caeae651150a1fc

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By the way.d26096f3525d1709

‘Wow, Cha Jaeha really is a real person.’c5aa9ddbe84f67c9

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