This is just plain madness, Taekjoo kept telling himself. It was early morning, and he stood by the snowy lakeside. The weather was far from great. Everywhere he looked, the world was buried in snow, yet here he was, forced to ride a bicycle before even having his coffee. Every now and then, he would misstep and sink into the knee-deep snow. Maybe skiing would have been a better option. At least then he wouldn’t look completely insane to others.
Still grumbling, Taekjoo found a huge hill looming ahead. He had to reach the top. It was the only vantage point to see the mansion where Hong Yeowook was staying. With renewed determination, Taekjoo pushed forward, pedaling the stiff bicycle. He fought through every turn of the pedal, climbing the steep hills as if his survival were at stake. The wheels slipped and slid a few times before he finally reached the summit. Taekjoo checked the mansion, taking a moment to catch his breath. There was no sign of anyone coming or going. Or if there had been, it was likely buried beneath the fresh snow.
Taekjoo tugged once on the temple of his goggles, and with a mechanical beep, a 3D view of the establishment appeared before him. The goggles were a special device designed to see through buildings and structures, and the temples were the controller. He tugged on the other temple to zoom in as far as possible.
The mansion resembled a fortress. Instead of extending upward to the roof, the chimney was routed to the basement, where it released steam through the ground. There were many windows, all too small for a person to squeeze through. All the pipes were built along the cliff as well. To get in through the pipes, one would have to face the roaring wind while climbing up the treacherous drop of the cliff. It was a death wish. In the end, the only way in was through the main gates.
Taekjoo took out a cigarette from his pocket. He hadn’t lit it yet, but simply having it between his lips gave him the illusion of smoking. Soon, the goggles provided Taekjoo with real-time data about his location—including the direction and speed of the wind, broken down by year, quarter, month, and day. An idea struck him, but he quickly deemed it impossible. Indeed, the goggles confirmed it for him. A helicopter or parachute entry was out of the question—the blasting wind made it impossible.
Every method he considered proved useless, but that didn’t mean his surveillance was in vain. The old mansion was a fortress, turning Taekjoo’s suspicion into a confirmation. That place was hiding something. What was so important that it needed that level of defense?
A confident smile spread across Kwon Taekjoo’s face. The more something is hidden, the more valuable it tends to be. He studied the mansion a little longer before heading swiftly down the slope.