LIGHTNOVELSTORY Episode 174 - Recruiting Field Agents
– That level of stage setup is simple. I’ll commission it to a company. But back in our day, there weren’t any companies for that. We had to cut the plywood ourselves, saw it, hammer nails…
Yeon-woo half-listened to Jung Cheol-min’s nostalgic story, letting it go in one ear and out the other.
After waiting for a while, it seemed like the story about the past was coming to an end.
– …We cut each piece one by one and that’s how we completed the stage. I really thought I was going to die in that scorching sun.
“You must have had a really hard time. It’s fortunate that there are companies for this nowadays. These people need to make a living too.”
– Hmm, that’s true. Anyway, I’ll let you know about the stage once the portfolio comes out. There might be some things that need to be modified.
“Okay. I understand. Thank you.”
Yeon-woo, who had commissioned the small theater stage set production through a company Jung Cheol-min knew, looked at his friends.
“Alright, now we’ve got the set, and the necessary supporting actors will be here next week. You guys are practicing properly, right?”
“Well, we are practicing…”
Yeon-woo went down to sit in the audience seats and said to his friends.
“Let’s take a look. We should start assigning roles soon too.”
Until now, they hadn’t assigned roles other than Yeon-woo and Jin Yu-han in order to familiarize themselves with the overall content, but now it was time to get serious.
At Yeon-woo’s words, his friends went up on stage.
There are a total of 10 characters appearing in the play.
Among them, excluding the leads Ryu Yeon-woo and Jin Yu-han, there are eight supporting roles.
Of course, since all ten people couldn’t be on stage in a small theater troupe, it was inevitable that some would have to play double roles.
Most of the roles didn’t have long lines, so it wouldn’t be a problem if they changed makeup quickly.
“Is there any role you want to do first?”
At that, Woo Seong-sik immediately raised his hand.
“Me! The captain!”
“Ah…”
“I was going to do that!”
Yeon-woo chuckled at his friends’ reactions.
The captain was killed first, so he had no lines.
“Really? The captain might be tough, you know? Okay. Since you volunteered first, Seong-sik will do it.”
Woo Seong-sik’s eyes widened at Yeon-woo’s response.
“Huh, is it difficult?”
“Of course. Playing a corpse is incredibly hard. Lying still without moving a muscle is really tough.”
While Woo Seong-sik was wondering if he had made the wrong choice, Kim Junsoo raised his hand.
“I’ll do Fisherman 1 and Sailor 2.”
Yeon-woo flipped through the script at Kim Junsoo’s words.
“Hmm, that works. The two don’t appear on stage at the same time, and there’s enough time to change clothes in between.”
Then Kim Ju-hyeong checked the script and counted the remaining roles.
“Then I guess I’ll do Fisherman 2 and the gangster. I can’t exactly play the island auntie or the female passenger.”
“Great. Now that the roles are assigned, shall we really get started?”
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“Hmm. I’m a bit tired after playing futsal yesterday morning and then practicing for the play until late at night.”
While doing some light stretching and bodyweight exercises after waking up, Yeon-woo’s smartphone rang.
When he answered the call, Han Hae-woon’s voice came through the receiver.
– Team leader. The final list has been completed.
Upon hearing Han Hae-woon’s words, Yeon-woo sat down on the living room sofa.
He was referring to the list that had been requested in order to recruit field agents to establish some operational capability.
While on the call, he opened his laptop and checked the secure messenger. There was a message from Han Hae-woon with the list attached.
The list contained a total of six names.
“Good work. Hmm. There are fewer people deemed suitable than I expected.”
– We selected as tightly as possible. The people on this list can be considered to have zero probability of being connected to Baek Sol.
Yeon-woo nodded at Han Hae-woon’s words. It was an excellent choice.
From the office’s perspective, the most important thing for field agents isn’t their ability to perform tasks.
The most crucial factor is ‘reliability’.
“Well done. When do you plan to start making contact?”
– All the equipment is ready, and we have the fake identities you provided, so we can start right away if needed.
At Han Hae-woon’s words, Yeon-woo stroked his chin and checked the calendar.
“Today’s our only full day off, but since it’s come up, let’s start right away.”
– I think we can manage about three people today. I’ll prepare and contact you again.
After ending the call, Yeon-woo also went up to the second floor and opened the door to a locked room.
As the door opened, a desk with complex equipment came into view.
Yeon-woo sat down in front of it and activated the equipment.
“Well, I never thought I’d become an office agent.”
Having lived his entire life as a field agent actively working on the ground, it felt strange to sit in a quiet room, watch the transmitted screen, and give instructions.
Beep—.
As his smartphone rang, Yeon-woo checked the screen.
– Han Hae-woon: We’re ready. We plan to proceed with the first target
After confirming Han Hae-woon’s message and completing a final equipment check, Yeon-woo sent a message.
Ding—.
– Proceed.
As soon as the message was sent, Han Hae-woon began transmitting video, and Yeon-woo put on his headset and spoke.
“Can you hear me clearly?”
– Reception is good.
“Confirmed.”
In the video, Han Hae-woon started driving through the city in a rental car borrowed under his cover identity.
“Which identity did you use?”
– I’m disguised as Yang Hyeong-kwon. The beard I’ve put on after so long feels itchy.
Yang Hyeong-kwon is the identity of a marine engineer working on an ocean-going vessel that Yeon-woo had given to Han Hae-woon.
“You said you’re contacting Sergeant Kim Su-hyeok first, right?”
– Yes, that’s correct.
“Kim Su-hyeok is an extremely cautious individual. He’s also highly capable, though.”
– I’ll keep that in mind.
Kim Su-hyeok was a special forces member who had first carried out an operation with Yeon-woo when he was deployed to Lebanon.
At that time, when a member of the Lebanon Peacekeeping Force was kidnapped by an illegal armed group in the Tyre region of southern Lebanon, Yeon-woo was dispatched as the rescue mission commander, and Kim Su-hyeok was someone he had personally selected on-site.
After driving for a while, Han Hae-woon’s car entered an old, dilapidated apartment complex.
– Is this scheduled for redevelopment? It seems there aren’t many residents.
“He probably chose a place like this on purpose. If the building structure is complex and there are few residents, it’s easier to defend against external attacks.”
Hearing Yeon-woo’s words, Han Hae-woon tilted his head.
– He’s already completed his service, so why go to such lengths?
“Well, according to the report you gave me, it says he worked with the counter-terrorism unit after returning to Korea. He probably thinks he still has many enemies.”
Han Hae-woon parked the car in a suitable spot.
– I’ll refrain from speaking after I get out. If there are no instructions, I’ll act on my own judgment, and if you give orders, I’ll follow them immediately.
“Understood.”
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Han Hae-woon got out of the car and entered the apartment building listed as Kim Su-hyeok’s address.
After entering the first floor, Han Hae-woon looked around for something and let out a small sigh.
– There’s no elevator. This is going to be a bit of a hassle.
Yeon-woo’s voice came through his earpiece.
It wasn’t that high of a floor, so it wasn’t really much of a hassle.
Han Hae-woon climbed the stairs and stopped at the 8th floor, turning towards the corridor.
The apartment corridor, shaped like a ㄷ, felt gloomy with many more empty units than occupied ones.
As Kim Su-hyeok lived in the last unit, Han Hae-woon turned the corner to enter the corridor but stopped as if he had discovered something.
A thin, transparent thread was visible on the floor.
He whispered quietly.
“There’s a thin thread at ankle height. It looks like it might break if I just walk through. Should I try to step over it without touching it?”
– No. Just raise both your hands and walk forward naturally. They’ve probably been watching since the car entered the apartment complex anyway.
After hearing Yeon-woo’s voice, Han Hae-woon nodded and walked on with both hands raised.
Han Hae-woon reached the end of the corridor and knocked on the steel door of the last unit.
Then, a voice came through the window of a small room connected to the corridor.
“…Who is it?”
– Answer ‘Alpha Beta’.
After hearing Yeon-woo’s instruction, Han Hae-woon spoke in a low voice.
“It’s Alpha Beta (αβ).”
Upon hearing this, Kim Su-hyeok could be felt flinching slightly behind the window screen.
Then he cautiously asked again.
“Do you mean the Alpha Beta from Lebanon?”
“That’s right.”
After a moment of silence, the voice was heard again.
“Please state the operation code.”
– Sierra, Quebec, Tango…
Hearing Yeon-woo’s voice, Han Hae-woon nodded and relayed it exactly.
“Sierra, Quebec, Tango, Oscar, India, Foxtrot.”
“Do you remember what color pants I was wearing that day?”
Though he didn’t understand the purpose of this odd question, Han Hae-woon waited silently.
Then Yeon-woo’s voice came through his earpiece.
– Tell him yellow. The guy was a sniper who couldn’t move from his position on a white roof for two days, so he had no choice but to urinate in his white pants and let them dry repeatedly.
“……”
After a moment of silence upon hearing Yeon-woo’s words, Han Hae-woon spoke.
“They were yellow. I’d rather not explain why.”
With that, Kim Su-hyeok dropped his guard, approached the entrance, and opened the door. A well-trained, sturdy man emerged.
He saluted Han Hae-woon with precision.
“Have you been well, Commander?”
“It’s been a while, Kim Su-hyeok.”
Han Hae-woon entered the house, naturally acting as Jeon Su-hwan, Yeon-woo’s previous life.
Of course, Kim Su-hyeok didn’t know about Jeon Su-hwan’s existence; he only knew him as the legendary field commander Alpha Beta (αβ).
Looking around the house, modest furnishings were visible. It exuded the feeling of a former soldier living alone.
Soon after, Han Hae-woon briefly explained to Kim Su-hyeok the reason for his visit.
Of course, he couldn’t reveal everything about Baek Sol from the start, so he explained it as a mission regarding spies operating domestically.
In fact, that was true in a sense.
After all, Baek Sol had been a spy hiding within the National Intelligence Service for decades, eating away at the country.
“For that reason, since we don’t know how much internal information the spy has obtained, we’re planning to operate a private company to avoid government eyes. The main activities will include VIP protection, target surveillance, and information gathering.”
“In other words, domestic black ops, right?”
Han Hae-woon nodded at Kim Su-hyeok’s words.
Black ops, or Black operation, refers to covert operations.
Originally, covert operations meant dispatching NOCs (Non-Official Cover) like Jeon Su-hwan or Baek Yoo-hyun from their previous lives to collect confidential information or carry out special warfare missions to avoid diplomatic friction.
However, in this case, the stage was domestic rather than foreign.
“I have one question I’d like to ask.”
“What is it?”
Kim Su-hyeok looked straight into Han Hae-woon’s eyes.
“Is this operation aimed at making our country a better place?”
Han Hae-woon nodded with confident eyes.
“Of course.”
He could say with certainty that Baek Sol’s existence was eating away at the country, as he had bet his life on it, or rather, had already sacrificed his life to find out.
Reading that look in his eyes, Kim Su-hyeok nodded.
“I’ve been training for this day even after being discharged. It’s an honor to be part of an operation with you again, Commander.”
Hearing Kim Su-hyeok’s words, Yeon-woo’s voice, sitting in a corner of a room on the second floor of his house, came through the frequency to Han Hae-woon’s ear.
– The honor is mine as well.