2. New Mission #9
He seemed to drag out his words as he ended the call. Taekjoo could tell that the gaze had turned more intense as the man scrutinized him. Now that the call had ended, only the two of them existed in complete silence.
Taekjoo kept washing his hands while keeping his guard up. His eyes were fixed on his hands, and he pretended not to have noticed who the man was. The air around them suddenly felt heavy and suffocating. The minutes dragged on.
After a long while, the man started moving again and stood by the sink right next to Taekjoo.
It was followed by the sound of tap water.
He started rubbing his hands together under the stream.
That subtle motion was enough to stir the air, thickening the scent of Cohiba Behike around him.
At the same time, Taekjoo remembered the first time he had a whiff of the scent.
Kwon Taekjoo played it cool. He pretended not to be aware of the man as he turned the tap and wiped his hands on the towel provided.
Taekjoo couldn’t understand what a killing monster was doing here, at this hour. What a damn coincidence. To be fair, judging from his lifestyle, it wouldn’t be a surprise for him to be here. The only problem was that Taekjoo was alone in a closed space with him.
Taekjoo had to avoid him. His entire being was determined to escape. There was no way Taekjoo was gonna stay with a murderer like him. Taekjoo could feel the pressure building up in his brain from how nervous he was.
He tossed the wet hand towel to a basket meant for used ones and hurried to leave the scene. But at that moment, the man’s words held him back.
“So, you’re not gonna say hi? We’ve seen each other, haven’t we?”
And I don’t recall a single Japanese being that rude—he added.
Taekjoo didn’t look back. Nor could he turn the knob in his hand.
One wrong move, and no one knew what could happen.
The man could kill Taekjoo—or he could break every bone in Taekjoo’s body.
Anything could happen to Taekjoo at this moment, and no one would know who had done it.
His body would be found long after he was dead, whatever the cause.
“Is that what you call samurai manners?” the man added as Taekjoo hesitated. The tone was easy and laid-back, but somehow, it was unnerving to hear.
The man said nothing after that. Taekjoo, who’d been focused entirely on the man behind him, finally left the restroom without saying anything.
As soon as the door closed behind him, Taekjoo let out a breath of relief.
His heart was pounding. It might have been racing for a while, but he had only just noticed it now.
He couldn’t even remember the last time he was that nervous.
Taekjoo had to get away from here as far as he could. He was just about to follow his instincts when he felt a vibration from inside his jacket. Sakamoto Hiro’s phone was in the outer pocket, which meant that this call was from headquarters.
Taekjoo recalled that they were supposed to send a picture of his temporary local partner. He put his hand inside his jacket and fished out his phone. Indeed, there was a message from Lim.
Taekjoo checked it out straight away. It took about two to three seconds for the device to load the picture without being traced. One, two, and three. Download Completed popped up, and the picture Taekjoo had been waiting for filled the screen.
“Oh, look. It’s me.”
Taekjoo heard a voice from his back all of a sudden and almost dropped his phone.
He moved his eyes slowly and looked at the floor. He saw a shadow stretching over him from behind. Taekjoo didn’t need to turn around to know whose shadow it was. He could smell that scent—so strong it almost numbed his senses—the intense, overpowering scent of trees.
The president of Gazprom didn’t show up until the end.
Only those who were waiting at the banquet had lunch.
They had a brief chat before going their separate ways.
The Japanese visitors, tired from their long flight, also went to their respective rooms.
Thanks to all of this, Taekjoo was able to finish his day’s agenda earlier than expected—though the real part was just beginning
Taekjoo paced back and forth in front of his room for a while before finally going in.
“...”
The first thing he saw was the table by the window.
There were perfectly good chairs, but the murder machine ignored them and chose to sit atop the table while looking out the window.
He seemed to find that more comfortable, given how tall he was.
Taekjoo could sense the aura the man was giving off.
It came from his broad shoulders and back, intimidating Taekjoo.
The man seemed to notice Taekjoo’s presence and turned to look at him.
The sunlight was pouring from behind him, and Taekjoo could see that the man’s hair color was somewhere between white and blonde.
His eyebrows were light in shade, but the shape was long and high, showing his charisma.
His jade-colored eyes gleamed with sharp reasoning.
The shape of his gaze, half-hidden behind a long set of lashes, created a mysterious harmony.
His high-bridged nose formed a sharp line that dropped straight down, guiding the eye toward his lips.
And despite the man’s smile, Taekjoo didn’t feel comfortable—not in the least.
Eyes don’t lie. The smile, curving his lips upward, must have been the fake one.
Overall, it was a pretty face, but Taekjoo didn’t like it. When his eyes met the man’s, it felt as though every molecule around them had frozen. The eyes moved quietly like they were scanning their prey. They didn’t seem like a pair that belonged to a human.
The man kindly invited Taekjoo in.
“Please, come in.”
The roles were reversed. Taekjoo shook his head, then took off his jacket. But his head snapped back as the scent of the cigar began to creep over him. The scent was repulsive, so much so that Taekjoo found it outright disgusting. It could be because of his first impression.
The man, however, didn’t seem to notice or care about Taekjoo’s hostility as he extended his arm, offering a handshake.
“It’s Zhenya.”
Kwon Taekjoo stared at the hand in silence. Was it this hand, the one that popped human eyeballs? Taekjoo was thinking when the very hand suddenly reached out to him. Before he knew it, Taekjoo flinched and leaned back.
The white hand stopped right before Taekjoo’s left chest.
His lungs tightened momentarily, making it hard for him to breathe.
And the fingers started swaying as if teasing Taekjoo.
Taekjoo let his guard down. The tension was gone, leaving him limp from being so vigilant.
His face was filled with annoyance. Zhenya pulled his hand back, chuckling.
“You don’t look so good.”
“Why would I? But maybe I’ll feel better if I beat you up.”
Taekjoo ground his teeth, clenching his jaw. Zhenya must have taken it as a joke, seeing how he moved on to his question with a laugh.
“And your name is?” asked Zhenya.
“You already know.”
“I find it hard to pronounce. Don’t you have something else I could call you?”
“If it’s hard to say, then don’t say my name at all.”
“...”
Zhenya stared at Taekjoo as he gave his rude response. His lips were still smiling, but his eyes were strangely sparkling, a kind of flash. Silence filled the room for a short while. Zhenya simply scanned and observed Taekjoo, which started bothering him.
“I heard you were at a police station,” said Zhenya, breaking the silence.
He also put on an audacious smile as though he couldn’t remember what had happened.
Taekjoo didn’t respond. He simply returned the stare.
It was more about staying careful and cautious.
He had a feeling he shouldn’t let his guard down in front of this monster, no matter what.
Meanwhile, Zhenya didn’t mind Taekjoo at all as he headed straight for the minibar. He scanned all the little bottles stacked in it and picked up a bottle of whiskey. He took a sip, then shrugged.
“No need to be so scared of me, is there? I simply helped out a colleague in danger.”
He talked about something abnormal like it was normal. Taekjoo kept watching Zhenya as he responded.
“Since when have you been tailing me?”
“What do you mean since when? Of course, from the moment you landed.”
It meant he was in the airport from the beginning. Did he mean that he’d been looking for the right time to say hi to Taekjoo, but ended up following and rescuing him instead? Then why didn’t he reveal his identity to Taekjoo?
Zhenya smirked, seemingly having figured out what Taekjoo was thinking.
“Headquarters say that I should stay out and wait until today. There would have been no reason for me to step in that day if you hadn’t been in such trouble.
Zhenya’s whiskey-glossed lips curled as he spoke mockingly. The humiliation Taekjoo had been pushing down reared its head. His strength was beyond human capability, and Taekjoo was sure he was something else entirely. But to discover that this monster was his fellow agent—it hurt his pride.
“What a great first impression, showing me popping human eyeballs.”
Taekjoo retorted, clicking his tongue. Now that he knew Zhenya was his partner, there was no reason for him to be cautious. We’re on the same side, after all. That simple fact was enough to reassure Taekjoo. Zhenya smirked at the unexpected remark and matched the tone.
“Well, look who’s suddenly a pacifist.”
“I prefer tidiness, leaving nothing to clean up after.”
“Tidiness? You mean with guns? Or bombs? Oh my, but that’s too harsh and impersonal, wouldn’t you say?”
Zhenya shook his head, his expression a mask of fake friendliness. Then, he raised a finger and tapped his temple.
“Think it over carefully. Every human being wants to be special. So much so that they even want their final moments to be remarkable. Imagine that someone’s death would be announced in a meaningless news article about another incident of gun violence. How tragic that must be—for the dead.
Having his eye sockets emptied out would give him at least one more line in the article. Everyone walks away happy, am I right?”
It was nonsense. A psychopath’s nonsensical argument to justify his wrongdoing. Taekjoo mocked him even more.