Late at night, he slowly got up. He climbed down the ladder, careful not to wake Zhenya. He seemed to be deeply asleep, not moving once. Taekjoo watched Zhenya’s face just to be sure. His closed eyelids didn’t so much as twitch. His breathing was calm and consistent. Only after confirming several times that Zhenya was sound asleep did Taekjoo leave the room.
He softened his footsteps as he walked down the dark hallway. Taekjoo stopped in front of the innkeeper’s room, his intended destination. Since it was late, Taekjoo knocked first. He heard some rustling inside, and soon, the door opened. The innkeeper, her face heavy with sleep, poked her head out through the barely open door. Taekjoo nodded and greeted her with an apology.
“I’m sorry to bother you at such late hours, but I was wondering if I could use the landline to make an international call.”
Taekjoo promptly gave his excuse, that he had dropped his phone in the toilet. Of course, it was a lie. He also added that it was the birthday of his mother, his only family back in Korea. This, too, was a lie.
Looking annoyed and bothered, the innkeeper finally let Taekjoo into her room. She brought him the telephone and explained how to make international calls using the landline. After explaining everything he needed to know, including the per-minute rate, the innkeeper left the room.
As soon as the door was closed, Taekjoo picked up the receiver. He almost never called this person for personal reasons. During missions, they spoke via radio, and otherwise used an NIS chat app. So it took Taekjoo a while to recall this particular phone number.
The phone kept ringing for a while. Maybe he had gone to bed early. Whatever the reason, no one answered. Eventually, Taekjoo had to listen to the message saying the person could not be reached. Still, he didn’t give up. He dialed the number again, and the line rang once more. Just as Taekjoo was about to hang up, the voice he had been waiting for came through.
- Hello?
“Yun Jongwoo.”
- S-Sunbae?[5]
Jongwoo immediately recognized Kwon Taekjoo’s voice. Is there something wrong? Jongwoo asked. He didn’t sound happy to hear from Taekjoo, nor like he missed him. He was probably doing the exact opposite—pulling his hair out, regretting picking up the phone—and no one would know.
“I need a favor.”
- F-favor? Out of nowhere? Where are you right now anyway? And what’s up with the number you’re using to make this call?
“That’s not important. Just listen.”
Taekjoo couldn’t tell anything to Jongwoo. It was forbidden to share information on an agent’s ongoing mission, even if the listener was a member of the same organization. It was also the reason why Yun Jongwoo had no idea where Kwon Taekjoo was and what he was up to. So Taekjoo spoke as ambiguously as he could. It wasn’t really a favor. It was more like a command.
“I sent you a picture to your email. Dig up everything you can on him and send it to me.”
- Who is it?
“Sure, I know him intimately. Why else would I call you in the middle of the night?” Taekjoo said, his voice dripping with sarcasm.
- Oh, right. You’re asking me to do it because you don’t know.
Jongwoo chuckled awkwardly. Moments earlier, Taekjoo had emailed Jongwoo a picture of Zhenya, vaguely explaining that he’d somehow ended up in the company of this Russian man. Taekjoo also gave his hubae[6] general directions to help him dig up information on Zhenya. Taekjoo was confident that Yun Jongwoo would be able to pull up not only public information about Zhenya but also private, off-the-record one.
Glancing around to make sure no one was nearby, Taekjoo spoke again, firmly.
“Make it quick and call me back on this number,” Taekjoo said, then read out his current number to Jongwoo.
- Did you get a new phone?
“Things happened.”
In Taekjoo’s mind, everything that had happened since he lost his phone played out like a movie. Each scene was a climax on its own, and every moment was a close brush with death. He felt around the back of his head for the injury, which was now almost healed. Once again, it felt like a miracle that he was still alive. But more than anything, talking to Yun Jongwoo on the phone at that moment felt unreal.
Jongwoo hung up with the message that he’d find out as much information as quickly as possible. Take away his genius-level hacking skills, and Jongwoo was just a clumsy, socially awkward hubae. But right now, Taekjoo missed him and everything he was capable of. People are foolish and selfish, he thought to himself, incapable of appreciating what they have until they’re forced to endure something far worse.
Taekjoo finished the call and left the room. He was walking down the hallway when he saw that the kitchen was lit. He could also hear the innkeeper’s voice. It sounded like she was having a conversation with a guest who couldn’t sleep. Taekjoo felt bad about leaving without saying anything to the innkeeper, especially after disturbing her sleep.
“Thank you. I was able to talk to—”
Taekjoo stopped in the middle of thanking the woman. As soon as he stepped into the kitchen, he saw a familiar-looking figure with his back to him. The man turned around, proving Taekjoo right—it was Zhenya, with a bottle of vodka and a glass in front of him. The innkeeper must have been talking with him. Taekjoo felt a pang of guilt, as if he had been caught doing something wrong.
Zhenya asked in a lazy tone as if he already knew the answer.
“Who did you call?”
“My mother.”
“Aha.”
Taekjoo expected Zhenya to make fun of him, but this time, Zhenya didn’t look interested. Did he notice something? Taekjoo decided to leave before things got any more awkward. He thanked the innkeeper and bade her good night. Then, he turned to Zhenya.
“Aren’t you going back to sleep?”
“Later.”
Zhenya gave the vodka bottle a shake. It was still more than half full. Luckily, he didn’t ask Taekjoo to come drink with him. Taekjoo shrugged and left the kitchen, feeling Zhenya’s gaze follow him. He chose to ignore it. He also tried to ignore this ominous feeling settling in his gut.
Taekjoo closed the door and climbed up the ladder to his bed. He pulled the blanket all the way up to his neck. His mind was cluttered with too many thoughts. Taekjoo worried he might have a nervous breakdown at this rate. He was already mentally drained, and from tomorrow onward, he’d be physically drained too. And nothing recharged him better than a good night’s sleep. Taekjoo forced himself to fall asleep.
As his restlessness faded, the world grew still. Snow was falling again outside the window. He could hear a bit of noise from the kitchen. At first, the distant noise bothered him, but soon it became white noise, lulling Taekjoo to sleep like a lullaby. His whole body relaxed, and his eyelids began feeling heavier. Facing the wall, Taekjoo slowly fell asleep.
The snow piled up, swirled in the wind, then settled again. The cycle continued for a long time, and as the darkest hours faded, the sun was about to rise.
The door, closed all this time, slowly creaked open. Zhenya walked in and headed straight for the bunk bed. He had downed an entire bottle of vodka alone and should have passed out—but he didn’t. Instead, he reached out and gripped the rail of the top bunk.
“...”
Zhenya was a tall man, and his eyes were level with the top bunk. The back of Taekjoo’s head was right in front of him. Taekjoo’s straight back rose and fell as he breathed in and out. For a while, Zhenya just watched the peaceful scene. The jade eyes flashed with something strange, but only for a second.
Zhenya kept watching Taekjoo sleep, so absorbed he even forgot to blink. Only when he’d taken in enough did he crouch and slip into bed. His movement stirred the still air, but it soon calmed again. Silence returned, and the room stilled once more.
But then, right after, something stirred.
“...”
Taekjoo’s tightly shut eyes opened. He stared at the wall in the dark, thoughts churning.