National Intelligence Service.
Baek Donghyeon, Director of the Overseas Intelligence Bureau, sat on the sofa, watching Hwang Onyu leave.
His retreating figure grated on him more than usual.
He did not lower his head, and there was no lingering attachment in his eyes.
That look, as if he had some other scheme up his sleeve, displeased him.
‘Annoying.’
Baek Donghyeon gritted his teeth.
More importantly, how did he get his hands on that?
They had definitely said it didn’t exist.
He had checked twice, three times.
They had said it could never be recovered.
That was why he had felt reassured.
That was why he had been able to proceed with the operation.
And yet now, at this late stage, the development log had appeared.
His head throbbed.
He had no idea how to handle this.
But he couldn’t just keep sighing forever.
Annoyance was one thing.
Now he had to come up with countermeasures.
Baek Donghyeon rose from the sofa and quietly locked the director’s office door.
Then he checked the inside of the office once more with a bug detector.
No one would dare think of installing a listening device inside the NIS, but there was no harm in being careful.
He picked up the phone.
Standing, he made the call politely.
“Yes. It’s me.”
“They say there is a development log for Mangwol.”
A brief silence.
“I haven’t confirmed the physical item.”
“They say the actual item is with an informant.”
His voice was calm, but his body did not know what to do with itself.
“It is Team Leader Hwang Onyu’s informant.”
“We have not yet identified the informant.”
“I will look into it.”
He chose his words and slowly added,
“Yes. You need not worry.”
“No data will leave our side.”
Those words were a report to the person on the other end,
but they were also a vow to himself.
“Yes. Goodbye, sir.”
Click.
The call ended.
.
.
.
At the same time.
The man who had received Baek Donghyeon’s call.
Seo Gwangho set down the phone and closed his eyes for a moment.
After confirming the report, he was slightly startled.
They had definitely said it could not be obtained.
They had said it could never be restored.
In preparation for any unforeseen situation, they had even replaced the servers entirely.
Because he had not felt safe relying only on software that claimed to erase things perfectly.
To prevent physical access,
and to make forensic recovery impossible, they had replaced the servers.
Of course, replacing the servers of the Agency for Defense Development was no easy task.
There was only one reason it had been possible.
Because the Cheonghwa Association existed.
Cheonghwa Association (淸和會)
It was a gathering whose name meant “clear and harmonious weather.”
It had been created out of a wish for the world to always remain clear and stable.
Politicians, business executives, high-ranking military generals, civic organizations, academics, members of the press, and all sorts of other people were gathered there.
They provided scholarships to students from difficult backgrounds,
and sent them on overseas trips in the name of cultural exchange.
They held academic seminars and hosted festivals.
On the surface, it was a wholesome social club.
But behind the gathering was an entirely different purpose.
It was a gathering of people who cooperated with Japan and worked for Japan’s interests.
They spoke of diverse cultures and environments,
but most of their projects involved bringing Japanese culture over and settling it in Korea.
The members of the Cheonghwa Association sat in key positions throughout Korea,
thinking of Japan and acting for Japan.
When they joined forces, they could even replace the servers of the Agency for Defense Development.
The media continually mentioned the dangers of hacking,
academia brought in overseas case studies,
the National Assembly prepared the budget, and the administration immediately carried it out.
They moved in perfect order.
Behind it all was the Cheonghwa Association.
Seo Gwangho, the man who had received the report from Director Baek Donghyeon, served as the chairman of the Cheonghwa Association.
He was the chairman of the Cheonghwa Association and the practical coordinator of all these operations.
Seo Gwangho thought slowly.
Where on earth did that data come from?
No matter how much he thought about it, no answer came.
The servers had been replaced, there were no backups, and even the log records had been destroyed.
That was why he had been certain…
And yet the development log had popped out of nowhere.
Without even a hint.
There was no physical item,
and the data was hidden behind the name of an informant.
After thinking for a long while, Seo Gwangho’s eyes narrowed.
A thought suddenly occurred to him.
Was there really any data at all?
If they had data, it would be normal to bring it in.
They would verify the data and devise a plan.
But that was not what had happened.
There were many strange points.
Once he thought of it that way, there seemed to be many holes.
And before long,
the thought came to him that it might be a bluff.
He had a reasonable suspicion that perhaps there was no data and they were simply bluffing as if there were,
or that perhaps it had been hastily written after the fact.
Bait to shake Japan.
Once he thought that, the impatience weighing on him became a little lighter.
His tangled thoughts cleared somewhat.
That much would be easy to deal with.
Seo Gwangho rose from his seat and called out to the staff.
“Now. We prepare new countermeasures.”
“Investigate the possibility that Korea fabricated the data.”
“Prepare for the case that they bring forward a fake development log.”
“Create arguments to publicly refute Korea’s claims.”
“Mobilize academia, the media, even international standards.”
“Use every information route.”
“Scenario team, prepare scenarios.”
“We’ll go with the concept that Korea disgraced itself by making absurd claims in order to beat Japan.”
“Prepare Plans B, C, and D as well.”
At Seo Gwangho’s words, the Cheonghwa Association became busy.
******
“Dennis.”
- It’s been a while, Boss.
For the first time in a while, I spoke with Dennis on the phone.
Dennis was still getting by while dabbling in arms trafficking.
No, rather than dabbling, he had now become quite a respectable mid-sized trafficker.
The reason was simple.
He had originally not been a large trafficker,
but as he began handling goods coming over from China as well, more and more people sought him out.
There were many weapons coming in from China, so demand was fairly high.
His existing routes were still alive, and with Chinese-made products added to the lineup, more people came looking for him.
“Have you been well?”
- No. I haven’t been well because you haven’t been coming by, Boss. You almost never visit our side these days.
“That’s because you’re doing such a good job, Dennis.”
- Huh? Then if I make a mess of things, will you come? In that case, I can ruin everything very neatly.
“Kahaha. Sorry, sorry. That’s not what I meant. I’ve just been busy lately. I don’t even know what’s keeping me so busy.”
- Not at all. I know you’re busy, Boss. I just complained once because I wanted to see you.
“Still, it’s reassuring to have you, Dennis. I don’t have to worry about the weapons side.”
- All I have to do is sell what you worked so hard to get, Boss. If I can’t even do that, that would be unacceptable.
“Anyway, I called because I was wondering if you could get me something.”
- Just tell me, and I’ll have it ready right away.
Dennis spoke with confidence.
But when I actually told him what I needed,
a troubled voice came from the other end of the phone.
- I’m afraid that will be difficult.
“Why, is it expensive?”
- Price isn’t the issue. The item simply doesn’t exist. I’ve worked in this field for a long time, but I’ve never seen one.
“So you can’t get it?”
- I think it would be difficult.
“Can’t be helped.”
It would have been fun if he had it. What a shame.
But if he said he couldn’t get it, what could I do?
- I’ll look into it a bit more and contact you. I’ll search every route again.
“Yeah. I’ll leave it to you. And I’ll come visit sometime soon.”
- Your words alone are more than enough. I’ll be waiting.
“Yeah. See you soon.”
********
“No… That… What…”
After hearing Team Leader Hwang Onyu’s words, the officials from the Agency for Defense Development and the Ministry of National Defense could not close their mouths.
The response Hwang had proposed was far more shocking than they had expected.
“So, Team Leader Hwang, what you’re saying is that we should open up the protest Japan sent us to the whole world?”
A Ministry of National Defense official confirmed the contents in a trembling voice.
It was such an extraordinary proposal that he had to confirm it once more.
At that, Hwang Onyu lightly shook his head.
With an expression that said they had misunderstood, he spoke even more lightly.
“Not exactly open it up. We would simply inform defense officials from other countries of the precise facts. There is an opinion that Mangwol, the radar we developed, infringes on Japanese technology. Until the truth is revealed, please delay any decision if possible. It will not be too late to purchase after the facts are clarified. Something like that?”
Only after hearing Hwang Onyu’s explanation did the people nod.
This was the best move Hwang Onyu had come up with.
To convey the fact of Japan’s protest exactly as it was.
Without attaching any excuses to it.
This is unfair.
We did not steal it.
It is 100% our technology.
Japan is making absurd claims.
There were no such words.
Only this.
Since such a dispute is currently in progress,
if you are considering signing a radar contract, please wait a little.
Defense contracts are not matters handled emotionally.
Once purchased, they determine the defense of a nation.
That was why the basics required extremely thorough scrutiny.
If there was related technology, it was only natural to verify it,
and if there were suspicions, it was essential to clear them away.
Hwang Onyu had struck precisely at that point.
They would not make excuses.
They would not pass judgment either.
They would simply deliver information.
They would show the situation exactly as it was.
In that moment, Korea would gain trust.
‘Korea tells us even things like this.’
‘Korea doesn’t hide anything.’
And as a result,
Japan would be unable to sell its radar during that period.
What Japan wanted was simple.
While Korea was responding to and agonizing over the suspicions, Japan would finish signing the radar contracts.
But the suspicions Japan had thrown out had instead caught Japan by the ankle.
Because of the suspicions Japan had raised, Japanese and Korean technology had now become the same technology.
Korean technology and Japanese technology both had to be verified.
However, a researcher from the Agency for Defense Development, who still had not properly understood the situation, spoke in displeasure.
“Then aren’t we basically announcing to the whole world, with our own mouths, the problem Japan raised? If a problem has arisen, we should explain ourselves. Aren’t we kicking away even the chance to explain ourselves?”
The researcher seemed full of dissatisfaction.
The item ADD had worked so hard to create was under attack, and rather than blocking that attack from the front,
it seemed to him as if they were taking a step back without even offering an excuse, which he did not like.
Seeing that, Hwang Onyu felt like laughing.
‘He’s getting angry over just this?’
If he had seen the atmosphere inside the NIS, he would have collapsed in shock.
There were nothing but sons of bitches there.
Hwang Onyu controlled his expression and answered.
“That’s right. We do not make excuses, and we do not judge. The buyers will be the ones to judge, won’t they?”
At those words, the people wondered what this was supposed to mean.
Huh? Something feels strange, they thought.
Someone said quietly,
“Then that means Japan will be the one forced to explain.”
Hwang Onyu nodded.
“That’s right. Since they claimed technological infringement, they have to explain which parts are similar and how. Now it’s Japan’s turn.”
At those words, an Agency for Defense Development researcher who knew the level of Japan’s radar snickered.
Japan’s radar and Mangwol were not even in the same league.
They had completely different mechanisms.
And yet Japan had protested that its technology had been infringed.
Under ordinary circumstances, they would have kept it among themselves, struggling to find a response in secret,
but Hwang was saying they should make it public.
He had let the attack pass right through.
He had treated a variety-show gag like a documentary.
You say we infringed? Where, and how?
In the meantime, Japan’s radar contracts would also be tied down.
Thinking of that situation made him laugh so much.
The ADD researcher kept laughing.
The Ministry of National Defense official’s position was different.
He asked,
“Has this been discussed with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs?”
“No. Why would we discuss this with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs? This is not a diplomatic issue. Isn’t it just a matter of selling goods?”
At Hwang Onyu’s seemingly forced logic, the Ministry of National Defense official looked flustered.
“Pardon?”
“It’s just a matter of selling radar, isn’t it? Since they say there is a problem with our radar, isn’t it only natural that we inform our customers? There is a problem with the radar we have. Is that a problem? I actually think it’s honest. What diplomatic issue is there in this?”
Hearing that, the Ministry of National Defense official grinned.
It seemed an escape route had appeared.
“That’s right. This is just business. It’s only selling goods.”
“Exactly.”
The people gathered there laughed at those words.
.
.
.
[At present, a third country has raised an issue concerning the technology used in Korea’s next-generation radar, “Mangwol.” We request that you temporarily suspend evaluation and procurement procedures until the facts have been confirmed.]
An official letter arrived in the name of the Ministry of National Defense of the Republic of Korea.
The countries that received the letter were bewildered.
In truth, they already knew the situation.
They knew that Japan had lodged an informal objection with Korea.
In a situation like this, they had expected Japan to step forward and say, “Korea’s Mangwol technology? That’s ours.” Instead, Korea struck first.
With a request to suspend contracts until the facts were verified.
At this point, it was clear there was something hidden beneath the surface.
The countries that received the official letter began looking for popcorn.
.
.
.
The vice minister of the Ministry of National Defense was furious to the tips of his hair.
First thing in the morning, he had received a call from Chairman Seo Gwang-ho of the Cheonghwa Association.
“How on earth are you managing things for an official letter like that to be sent all over the world!”
“I did not put you in that position so you could do this.”
Chairman Seo Gwang-ho was livid.
He berated him one-sidedly.
He was the vice minister of national defense,
but in front of Chairman Seo Gwang-ho, all he could do was lower his head.
Enraged, the vice minister first summoned the person in charge.
He intended to make him apologize and order him to recall everything.
“What the hell do you think you’re doing? You think you can send out an important official letter like that on your own?”
“Pardon? What’s the problem?”
But the person in charge was completely unfazed.
Usually, people tucked their tails between their legs with just a little growling.
Today was strange.
“You’re asking because you don’t know?”
“Yes. I truly don’t know.”
“What do you think you’re doing sending something like this without even properly confirming the facts?”
“There are no facts there to confirm, though. A third country raised suspicions with us, and we merely asked them to wait a little until the facts became clear. We didn’t even say it was Japan. This is a seller’s natural duty. Even when you buy something worth 3,000 won on the internet, they notify you if a problem comes up. If we’re selling radar, of course we have to inform them.”
The vice minister was left speechless by the man’s confidence.
“That’s not what I mean…”
“Vice Minister, if you tell me what the problem is, I’ll correct it.”
The vice minister was frustrated.
It was awkward to say anything.
The person in charge had done nothing wrong.
He hadn’t said it was Japan,
nor had he gone around shouting that Japan had attacked them.
He had merely said there was an issue and asked them to wait until the facts came to light.
There was no problem with the wording itself.
They had simply tried to slide by on nuance, only to be struck with facts.
That was what angered the vice minister.
No one had said it, but everyone knew.
Japan had struck Korea,
and Korea had deftly let the blow slide past.
And that blow was now heading back toward Japan.
Their plan to finalize the radar contracts while Korea was mired in suspicion and explanations had gone up in smoke.
Because every country had put all contracts on hold until this matter was resolved.