CHAPTER 04………………………………………………….
“Ahh…”
Chohee groaned as she opened her eyes, her whole body aching as if it had been beaten with a club.
“Are you conscious?”
Gradually, her focus returned. The ringing in her ears cleared, and she heard the man’s voice.
“Are you alright? You fainted for a moment.”
As her blurry vision fully returned, Chohee realized she had been lying with her head resting on the man’s thigh.
“Luckily, your body seems unharmed.”
“Ugh…”
“Unharmed?” she groaned, arching her back. It hurts this much, and you say I’m unharmed?
The man helped her to sit up, but she brusquely pushed his hands away.
“What do you mean ‘unharmed’? Don’t you see my body? I feel like I’ve been butchered!”
“You did jump from a train, after all.”
[You really are the worst.]
Chohee restrained her urge to curse and spat coldly in English.
The man tilted his head, clearly not understanding.
“What did you say?”
[Shameless, reckless, and brazen.]
“What are you talking about?”
Chohee glared at him with cold eyes and shook her skirt as she stood.
“What language was that just now?”
“You don’t need to know.”
“Sounds like French to me.”
<If I speak in French, will he understand?>
Exasperated, she replied deliberately in French this time.
“Oh, is that another language?”
“Don’t pretend to know. You can’t even tell English from French.”
She couldn’t tell if he was ignorant or cunning. Seeing her face scrunch in disbelief, the man awkwardly smiled.
“I never learned foreign languages. But I see you’re an educated one.”
“And you seem to be a fighter and a shameless one.”
He had knocked out a police officer in an instant, jumped from a moving train, and even had a gun.
This man was undoubtedly a dangerous fighter—someone she should never get involved with.
The man, seeing her suspicious gaze, seemed to feel unjustly accused. He immediately tried to explain.
“Fighter? I’m just an ordinary businessman.”
“Businessman? You look like a shameless thug who can throw a punch.”
“Even so, isn’t it harsh to call someone shameless when they just saved your life?”
Chohee couldn’t help but laugh in disbelief.
“Saved my life? If it weren’t for you, I’d have reached Sinuiju on that train safely by now!”
“I apologize for that.”
Despite his words, his expression clearly showed no remorse. How shameless.
Chohee pondered how to respond. Should she fight again? No—better not to get involved with him at all.
As she said nothing, he brushed off his pants and approached her.
“The sun will set soon. Since I’m also headed to Sinuiju, why not travel together?”
“I don’t want to go with a thug.”
“Then go alone?”
She wanted to reply, of course, but realized she was standing alone in an empty plain.
Following the tracks might eventually lead to Sinuiju, but she wasn’t confident making this endless journey alone.
Yet going with a stranger like him might be even more dangerous.
Still, even a rotten rope might be better than nothing.
“Alright. Lead the way.”
Across the vast grasslands, the two walked endlessly, using the train tracks as a guide. The once-blue sky was now painted in multicolored shades of the sunset.
“Ah.”
The man walking ahead suddenly stopped as if noticing something.
Following his gaze, Chohee looked up. Far off, black smoke rose into the sunset above Sinuiju Station. She raised her hands in alarm.
“Smoke! There must be a fire!”
Yet the man showed no reaction.
Instead, he urged them to move faster.
As they neared the station, the smoke thickened, but something seemed off. Through the black smoke, a massive object blocked the train tracks.
“What is that?”
As the unfamiliar silhouette became clearer, Chohee’s eyes widened.
“Oh my, look! That’s the train we were on!”
Unconsciously, Chohee grabbed the man’s sleeve and shouted toward the train.
“The train must have exploded! Oh no!”
“….”
It was indeed the train she had been on. Had she not jumped, she might have been caught in the explosion.
She had narrowly survived—by mere luck.
Or… was it really luck?
“That means we don’t have time,” the man had said on the train. Time was short. Then he had broken the window and jumped.
Could it be… the man knew the train would explode?
Chohee squinted and quietly studied the man, who continued walking straight ahead.
If he was involved, she had to avoid him.
Instinctively, she stopped walking.
“Excuse me.”
The man halted. With the sun behind him, his face was cast in shadow, unreadable.
“Why?”
“We’ve almost reached the station. I’ll go on from here.”
“The sun’s setting. It may be dangerous; let me take you to your destination…”
“No!”
Before he finished, Chohee waved her hand urgently.
“I’m fine. Someone’s meeting me at the station.”
She wasn’t lying—she was meeting her older brother. She deliberately avoided his gaze.
“…Very well.”
“I’ll go then.”
He seemed about to speak but stopped. Taking advantage, Chohee hurried past him.
She felt as if he were watching her from behind but ignored it.
She wasn’t going to see him again anyway.
Chohee arrived by tram at Sinuiju’s old town. The sun had set, and darkness enveloped the streets. Sparse streetlights guided her steps.
Using the address from the note her brother gave her, she reached a five-story inn. Worn but tidy, it eased her tension slightly.
“So, this is where I’m supposed to wait?”
“Welcome.”
A teenage-looking girl greeted her. With long twin braids, she leaned on the counter.
“Alone?”
“Not exactly.”
“From Gyeongseong?”
Her wide-eyed reaction prompted Chohee to speak quickly.
“Yes. Did any man from Gyeongseong arrive? His name is Chihun Sung. He looks similar to me.”
The girl shook her head.
“No Gyeongseong man came today.”
“My brother told me to come here. Was there no message or telegram?”
The girl shook her head again.
Chohee swallowed her unease. Perhaps her brother had missed the next train. Or maybe the station exploded, causing delays.
She forced a sigh and took money from her pocket.
“Then I’ll wait. If someone from Gyeongseong arrives, please let me know.”
“Understood. Don’t worry.”
The girl, introducing herself as Bok-i, handed Chohee a key, and she went to her room. It was small, enough for only one person.
Only then did Chohee collapse onto the bed, catching her breath. The day had been overwhelming—from the police raid to the mysterious, shameless man on the train.
It all felt surreal.
“I’m exhausted…”
Exhaustion overtook her, and she fell into a deep sleep without even taking off her clothes.
The long day was finally over.
“…Very well.”
“I’ll go then.”
Dowoon almost asked the girl’s name but closed his mouth.
It didn’t matter—he’d only see her once.
He watched her disappearing figure for a long time, aware she was clearly lying but unable to stop her.
She had already been saved from the exploding train. That was enough. There was no need to get further involved with this stranger.
Yet his feet didn’t move. He stood like a stone until she vanished into the crowd. Then, finally, he walked away.
Taking a rickshaw, he arrived at his office overlooking Andong County, across the Yalu River.
Inside were already two people. They jumped up when he entered.
“Michael!”
Joseph rushed over, checking on him.
“You survived! We were so worried when you disappeared!”
“There was a Korean on first class.”
Unlike Joseph’s worried tone, Dowoon’s words were cold.
By plan, no Koreans on the train should have been harmed. But Joseph’s mid-plan change nearly killed an innocent Korean.
Dowoon’s lips pressed into a thin line as he recalled the woman dragged by the police.
“Our mission was to ensure no one gets hurt.”
“I suggested the plan change,” said the woman in the white hanbok.
“We couldn’t miss Priority Target One, Michael. Of course we did it.”
“Rita, that wasn’t our mission. Our job was only to blow up Sinuiju Station and temporarily block the route to Manchuria.”
“So we just let the target live? Stopping resource theft is good, but how can we let those orchestrating it remain alive?”
“Your rash decision almost got an innocent killed! Now the mission’s even harder.”
“If Priority Target One dies, that sacrifice is acceptable!”
“Rita, don’t you understand?”
Dowoon clenched his jaw. He barely restrained his anger and glared at her.
“People could die. The Japanese will hunt for the masterminds next. Information gathering will become impossible.”
Rita and Joseph paled. They hadn’t considered this consequence.
Information was the key to the independence movement. Their operations could be completely blocked.
“You couldn’t have… thought that far…”
“…The backlash will be severe.”
Dowoon strode to the window and struck the blinds with his fist.
Bang!
Through the blinds, the British concession was visible. Various British companies were there, and one of the buildings housed the branch of the Korean Provisional Government that had assigned them their mission.
