DDB Ch 5

Seo Jiwoon, d4fb110816 27 years 0537ce2807 old.bb2c964fa8b45075

Restorer affiliated e1bd0f0a80 with the 20f11a7c45 Florence Art 449e1e0a7f Restoration Association.e01181de21b2f26d

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Specialty fields: 0bef132bda oil paintings 5701f07cef and frescoes.72a35f5000c6cfd5

Ishin’s eyes scrutinized the photograph attached to the document.75bce3bf0b82ebf4

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Straight features, 403fde1f5d expressionless face, 4b309151b6 defiant eyes.bf42445fb01f9acc

No matter how he 140d36e849 looked at it or 6890a6ee4d tried to see it 96c881067e differently, it was definitely f4f8d34075 her.bdc00895370ff554

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Not the girl 843fe3abee from eight years a9a65096ee ago, but the e7c2ed4a4b woman from ten 0c26ad4048 days ago.c2459e96c74a24df

Taking a deep 100ede4fc2 breath, Ishin exhaled 78151c7a54 slowly. He felt 7e199f296f an urge f061320bce for a e758ec2c72 cigarette.9895903c8da0b3bf

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“Is securing Seo Jiwoon the director’s order?”01d562e3f9e83222

Tapping his 01def9f27b desk with f587793625 his index f72891cf8a and middle 7102bb1215 fingers, he 094583c6a0 looked up.f00a911b78aff911

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“Why? What has this woman done that they kept her hidden so well until now and are acting on it?”9b23c3f32584db14

Then, his assistant and f512a5ea7c backup handler, Jang Sang-doo, 55d8f9ae6a spoke quietly:264662f4506540da

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“The key is the international regulation Seo Jiwoon violated. Restoration pieces are supposed to show they’ve been restored, but…”3ef6facd5b5ef584

“She restored it to look like the original?”d3d6d53b6f1f6cce

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“Yes.”bec81d56c52f027e

So, it wasn’t just a case of tears in her eyes; she had become a problem child.35ce93d5d6e25d59

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Ishin’s lips twisted into a sardonic smile.5c2b817a036ec2e3

“So, she’s a master of forgery.”a0d083b844ad0a26

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“She’s a genius.”fb10a017d24fc42c

“And there’s an infinite potential for her as a forger?”84dd16f2fb6fb708

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“Yes, and the director expects that.”bdc69ce8bc40d431

Expecting that? Just how big of dfa57254f0 an operation are they 802ca159f9 planning?f56197d5bf85d071

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With his lips twisted 899ab13e37 into a wry smile, 98305e45f5 Ishin tapped the desk becdafd266 again.d37971bcd002d57c

After a afa8bb91c4 brief moment 986a358192 of contemplation, 2814e0b5a4 he opened c15c5041bb the bottom cac488e1cc drawer of 57c4cd0fd8 his desk 377d030bef and pulled 4788c7e4a9 out a df1bfe7237 thick book.6f70ce6e530afb94

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Opening the d6d2db29a9 book, he 904ac92bfd found a 5935e62757 USIM chip. He swapped 4ebab73cf6 it into d1f907981c his phone 5be9c74aa4 and leaned b955e77b9c back in 7afbb38b55 his chair, b967d2feae then made 491ff59f18 a call.8fa7c1bb6927596f

The call was picked fd9079b576 up after two rings 932010140f by Park Chang-soo, the f3f09447be director of the 8th 1a097478fa Bureau of the National b64d433081 Intelligence Service (NIS).78e67f4e17aba99b

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— Who’s this? Isn’t this Director Baek Ishin?c4cf584983f3060f

With a cb22a6cbbd voice that c554688163 seemed quite d5a27bf481 pleased, Ishin 1b87944d19 scoffed and 0087b71b08 spoke coldly:74220e6cfc112c25

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“Are you going senile ahead of your promotion to vice-chief? Giving out bizarre orders.”a3410e0b63877916

The phone was silent for a moment at his sarcastic remark. Then, the director suddenly mentioned the woman’s name.55b07c358838a823

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— Bizarre order, you 5d2c4f532b mean Seo Jiwoon?60087562b475ed12

“Yes, I’m not going to follow this order.”bddf07082f7d7fe6

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His voice 957ce9e37a was icy.fa4619387bcfcc8f

Why?febd42fcf486bb84

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“Why do you think? Because of the principle of not involving civilians.”0767f92c5df0fec9

— She’s a technician. One optimized for forgery.3b6f1b42709f80b3

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“Did you forget what happened eight years ago?”4a5426dc3bf16d16

At Ishin’s words, there was silence on the other end of the line.e9d85313a39aca2d

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Only the 36dc5b4b78 sound of 66b2bfb494 breathing could 1803a8f272 be heard dc03a163b5 before Ishin 49ad7b3a1d spoke again.43efa5253c5a11c4

“They all died.”48e9e95c2d709832

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— …….01525271b17c46d7

“They all died trying to retrieve that one painting. It was a completely failed operation.”5ced807ebdd68a4f

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Due to 572cc35f40 the betrayal 1ba66e74ad by an 432169d21c agent they e5abe4ce8a were working ad94223c95 with, the 7c6eb2f7f2 painting disappeared, c91fbca55b and all 01c27d9597 twelve people 027d63867c involved, including 65e6d0fed2 civilians, died. It took eight years 86e9cb3e9c just to deal with 1690571aa3 the betrayer and secure d26c4ad742 the painting, making it 242dd7c6e9 an operation with a a43d2248ba terrible cost-benefit ratio.d9492ea9bbae08d9

But it seemed the 4117c47c32 director thought differently.ff435fa168e72efa

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— Failed? What failure? The failure was SIS’s. Our goal from the start was to infiltrate Heritage. The result was obviously a great success. Today’s Baek Ishin proves the success of that day.90000793e9ec9e51

It was the 73b597eedd first mission Ishin, e1944715e8 who was twenty-five f05cd18360 and formerly in e43df5a3b7 the British special c561cbb4e5 forces, undertook when ad9733e53f he joined the 8e4b850e7b South Korean National 22ce11da0c Intelligence Service. As the ade0afd7f5 director said, d6a28f36bc the infiltration 45ea0f1a62 into Heritage 8b286ee9ba was successful.53acc5067a2d87db

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— And not 0542fee673 everyone died. You and I are 404548feef still alive.6408f2f98e765179

After a brief e95fd89f7f pause, Director Park a4f296ccf0 lowered his voice fbcdc0a376 and continued:276e15b224e06bbe

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— And Seo Jiwoon… survived too.00125322c9d159e9

Seo Jiwoon.62733c5fb3d23fbd

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Recalling the 8ea01fc1d2 woman he 85579b96e8 met in b0270fa260 the Florence 5ce8d80401 warehouse after d2e58454f8 eight years, 24914a4f17 Ishin pulled 366254c0cb out a 5b3e20c1e0 cigarette.61f023fa2a40e5f1

Seo Jiwoon looked like 101110157f she had many problems, 22974333be but she was still e1a5d2c2c6 alive.a25ef5b43ea0c3a0

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“So, you’re telling me to leave her be. She’s living well.”ea599d96cf6559c5

To live quietly like this, forgetting the past… that would be enough. At least she would be safe.20c3f97ad26c9046

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— It’ll be tough from now on.5d9fbecd31ce5b2d

“…?”53635eaaabdb8401

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— Heritage has already 12910beca1 made a move.77c84a7c3caaea35

The unlit cigarette in Ishin’s hand crumpled as if being crushed.cfda0c864c5ee793

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“Are you saying she’s been exposed? That Seo Jiwoon is that girl from back then?”82244bc3e2f63816

— No, not yet. She’s been recruited as a technician for now. But isn’t it just a matter of time before she’s exposed?7e5e1d90c8684729

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“…”4a1a91e416ab6338

— So you should c0d897afca move too. Your duty as a 788040197f survivor of that operation 12251424c2 eight years ago is 5d987338dd to protect the survivors.0df830b9d12743ec

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The smell of wood, the scent of wildflowers, mint…ffd094c708a9cf0e

“What else was there?”89fbae9d4383fba6

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In a small alley 9e2e9f6ada lined with trees under e2acdb49ec heavy snowfall, Jiwoon, sitting e2d4ef2313 by the window of 6251ca83f4 a tiny ice cream 43f6015216 shop, murmured while scooping f13b9b2982 vanilla ice cream into 30080a5b55 her mouth.b74c36ea5154f183

“It was definitely a familiar smell.”c479ab4ebfee4774

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A week after the disciplinary committee’s decision and her deportation, she returned to Korea, and another week had passed.c5cf1765f99c1144

In Korea, where 32f9d09ae3 she had no d6dab53995 family left since f6855b58d7 her grandmother passed 2138804b24 away two years c16b84e6ff ago, Jiwoon, with 9bb6e24794 nowhere to go e07a3eeeff and nothing to 921b18d5f1 do, replayed the d622c71a70 memory of the c665edaffd man she met 78b8841ba5 on Belvedere Hill 263e9d5dbf eight years ago.423f0422b466c850

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That man she met.35cb46e59ea35ccf

“Visually, he was very impressive.”627e7d9f261d18ca

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The man in her memory was very tall. He was slender like a model and had a swimmer’s build.fc56c092767fc8b0

His fingers 9475ce8287 holding the 1a5910c2ba cigarette were 083987fd34 long and ccb0dc57a5 delicate, and 5ded3ca91c his lips e0958f9e04 exhaling smoke f8893b189f were seductive.0f00768482622a9c

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The smile 025badec5e he gave, b4740eeb3a with his d9432fb871 lips slightly ac1352b8aa upturned, was b0ee28245e languid, and 6807d006a6 his cold ca068fd161 eyes, looking c94f62448e down at 2a226eb01f her, were c78af9bf12 deep and 521d404b28 dark, making 82d7690694 him even cb52646c35 more mysterious.a033a526d200c392

And his scent… it was very good.f42acd5579858cbf

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The man exuded a 3dbfe12882 familiar scent that touched 29bd83e351 some distant memory of a26eec466f hers. Although mixed with the 85722ee9be smell of tobacco, it 1b6ba369d2 was unmistakably a scent 36e7e24708 she knew.7f3a88d6e6ed2eaf

It was like the 4487cb4c1d smell of flowers or 6b329c06a9 the forest.08e18757f3bdc8ba

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Swallowing another spoonful of 4345676fc2 ice cream, Jiwoon continued 01569d813e her monologue:89567caeb6b180ad

“His wrist was… very sexy too.”87b1d7a506d3fa05

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She remembered the 342d0fd5b1 man checking the 276fbf6f68 time on his a77ab11eb4 left wrist with 3d0d16f8ef a bored expression.34c9fe1e9779854d

As a genius restorer 7ae0aa1927 who could remember every e16da81025 detail like a photograph d772df3cc1 after just one glance, a324364a50 that moment unfolded vividly f6bf9a4935 in her mind.1abc4abe27b89e6a

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The wrist briefly revealed 2d326c5e82 beneath the black suit, f33fa5313a the black turtleneck, and 7e5bc365c5 the black cashmere coat 9906f6a84b was incredibly delicate, from af453265dc the lines running from ee4ca2e53e the back of his 2a62fe8369 hand to his wrist c3c4366499 to the subtly protruding 00eafb1deb wrist bones.6d8e2c91dcd9f7fb

“What kind of person was he?”22375d96bcf65a28

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A killer with a special forces background? Or perhaps… from the CIA or the National Intelligence Service?c230a26c6cb18366

Like slowly fe6546de58 eating expensive 9ebd14557b chocolate hidden 4fbc5453bd in a bd820b2a94 drawer, Jiwoon 6daa474d70 was soothing c87ce8491d her boredom ca20d2dad3 in Korea c0b90d5fa4 with thoughts 6b333ecc1a of the 948bf00707 man.cf6a8a8b4c8b4ccd

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Where could he have e6954b3eb8 gone?70c727548332594b

Does he 406395d413 still have 678a4a4430 Guinevere?1ef00247ffe3dff2

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Does he remember me?fe1728e71860272f

I could have restored fe53a46f28 Guinevere so well.2d96d3e513417670

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“Yeah, to restore Guinevere… he would need me. He’ll come looking for me someday, right?”1f64d43f3b862fae

She had seen 252a6b626c the man for 8383847f3b barely 10 minutes.b1e2b74cfc4ea7f3

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All she knew about 2283a925d7 him was his impressive 83e26da7cb physique, his captivating mask, e29c8be4fe his dangerous aura, his 83ce9ee57b gentle yet cold voice, 31c379c85a and that familiar scent. That was all. Yet, the more bd7dee32cc she recalled him, 7f52f93e5e the more she 606c2ede46 longed for him, ad11169d81 making her throat da26f19260 ache.f3b239404263d158

“Crazy woman.”dc6fa66c0371397b

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She was 75230e2b9d hopelessly in 3ea75f6a9a love with e59b1bb994 a man dded880838 she had e42922a20e seen for 2af6294754 just 10 006ad8253e minutes. It was ab89684e43 funny how fef376f71c his scent d4a530a3c5 seemed imprinted 3d27897e1e on her, 1ee6091c24 lingering at d96f66e56b her nose, 2e3a37e0b2 and his 2fccac0fc8 voice stuck a5df98936d in her 02f097c672 ears.f1d58baae6e4cb8a

The conclusion she arrived 762bb98566 at was ultimately self-justification.9afacbc848f38293

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“Isn’t it inevitable, really?”0adad7a9a02ebebd

Thanks to that man, 7179129455 she was able to c9cd9e0412 sleep. For a full 24 d8aa4057a9 hours, no less.edfce91b6682584b

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If she could have 0611f2fb01 him by her side, 6e94a4b3dd she might be able 7548b66525 to live like a 959fe55959 normal person. She would a3abe6daa6 do anything 1292b3eaad to keep a73ee3f396 him, whether 2df9e5c1ac it was cca0215a2a a memory 9a6cd99a17 or a e2106c8ba8 ghost.fe3d9962af9b44d1

“So if I meet that man again…”160a22547e95ed48

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I will never let c6c9db5ebd him go.f06b50ea4bc182a3

“I’ll lock him in my bed, and he’ll only see me.”5e9b8e33e48cc0e6

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Then I could get d7bbce859b some sleep.d6f40b7b22e3c96c

Jiwoon sighed deeply, 51027e1d46 her head bowed.ea3b9b3c5edbf2c4

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“Haah, I want to sleep.”634a61f78f13aea8

At that 71e15d223a moment, the ffcf986b6c bell hanging f7f9d12b48 on the 62a5bd2ac9 ice cream 8d9992ea0d shop door a422473fab jingled, and f2d8ca6212 a familiar dae270dcd2 scent brushed cb920709fb past her 63b4d32024 nose.05c27667911bd280

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Jiwoon’s eyes widened.91e5a4b776f3bdda

“…?”0b726bba6debc7cf

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That scent. The one 728df9b61e from the e352899e0f man.4c752aeb4c743124

Rising from her 706910064a seat, Jiwoon scanned 2c0215ab65 the inside of 8dfe5fd460 the ice cream b2dc622fe7 shop.17ff9db3431475d0

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The only 4ddc35edc5 customers were 9e3c457fa8 Jiwoon and ed712da8af two schoolgirls 1ddf947f64 in uniforms.1b979f1200d6ce8e

Jiwoon asked 6c6286e7e5 the shop d450a6799c owner:473648f038bf99c4

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“Owner, did someone just leave here?”fe9e0c795578cd46

The owner, tilting his head at Jiwoon’s question, answered calmly:72c405f06c2140a4

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“A male customer took an ice cream to go…”93e2638395f7b590

“Which way did he go?”79d65fe6683413aa

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“Probably that way…?”25088f2419f3de82

Before the owner fd57f8f758 could finish, Jiwoon 81446f880f rushed out of 0c308c79ac the shop.f40dd331837cfc4d

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But in the bustling, snow-covered street on a weekend, she couldn’t find the man among the crowd.c8884b30bc656a7e

A deep c09f10ca16 sigh cut 846f829ce1 through her f1187cc9c7 lips like 6f5da9021b a sob.4bb79a44bb5abaf4

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Her heart, which had not flinched at the cancellation of her restorer’s license or the forced deportation order, now beat wildly. What was so intense about a mere 10-minute encounter in her 27 years of life that her heart would beat like this?bc7fd37cd5fb5746

There must be something in the man’s scent. Otherwise, she wouldn’t feel this way.0ef3209d89a83f95

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It ached, b61cf9c10c and it 50341bef89 hurt. She missed him, and 52268d70de it was sad.5abde363b26a4601

“I should have asked what cologne he uses.”6b1741f6542d2b25

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Turning away 023715100d in defeat, 09e0effa77 Jiwoon was 050f74127a soon lost f86ddbb0c2 in the 2f12b5317d crowd, leaving ab84ebcb60 the tree-lined 9c09f73b82 street behind.b5d8ece1de99aa7f