CHAPTER 03
“What’s going on?”
Chohee forced a smile and slowly stood as the police officer’s gaze lingered on her shabby suit.
“…You a Joseon person?”
“Yes… what’s the matter?”
“Where’s your train ticket?”
Chohee took out the ticket Chihun had given her and handed it over, barely controlling her trembling hands.
The officer snatched the ticket and examined it closely.
It felt strange. Normally, train tickets weren’t inspected by police—ticket inspectors usually handled that. Why was he checking it personally?
Could it be…
“Sister, there’s no time to explain. Policemen raided our house; you must leave here immediately.”
Had the officers who raided her home come looking for her? What if her older brother had already been captured?
A dark premonition gripped her. Biting her lip, Chohee tried to calm her quivering hands.
Fortunately, the officer handed her ticket back, though when she reached for it, he held it tightly and didn’t let go.
“…But tell me, why are you traveling without any luggage?”
Being abruptly brought onto the train by her brother, she had no luggage. She only carried the small handbag she always kept with her.
She needed to answer correctly, or the officer would suspect her.
Think fast, please.
“My husband has it.”
Before the silence stretched, Chohee blurted a plausible lie.
“Husband?”
“He was just here a moment ago. He stepped out to fetch something.”
“Fetch something?”
She thought quickly. Didn’t that shameless man have something in his pocket earlier?
“…Cigarettes.”
The officer stared at her face for a long moment, then raised a finger, gesturing her to follow.
“Wait… follow me.”
“Why? Why me?”
“If I say follow, you follow.”
The officer grabbed her wrist roughly and dragged her out of the compartment.
“Wait! Let go!”
“Quiet, Joseon! Follow quietly!”
“Please, let go!”
She struggled, but there was nothing she could do against a grown man’s strength.
“Help me!”
No one opened the doors to assist her. The passengers inside, seeing the officer in uniform, returned to their seats as if nothing had happened.
In first class, filled only with Japanese passengers, no one could help her.
“Let go!”
“Get in!”
The officer shoved her into a door at the very end of first class, which led to a lavish VIP carriage, even more luxurious than first class.
Unfortunately, it was empty.
Chohee glanced at the only possible exit. A Japanese officer stood blocking it.
“Please… my husband will come back soon—”
“Husband? What is your purpose on this train?”
“My husband will come to find me, please—”
Thinking that claiming someone was looking for her might save her, she pleaded.
It was useless. The officer let out a sinister laugh.
“We received a report of a subversive boarding the train. A woman traveling alone without luggage—how obvious is that?”
“No! That’s not it!”
“You’re lucky I’m a gentleman. But once I’m done, you’ll live. For now.”
The officer leered at her body and wrapped his arms around her waist.
Chohee screamed and swung her fists, but his right hand grabbed both of her wrists firmly.
“Stay still!”
“Let go!”
He pulled at her dress, the thin fabric threatening to tear under his grip.
Was this the end of her ordeal on the train? Fear surged, and tears welled up in her eyes.
Then, suddenly—
Thunk!
A stone hit the officer, and he collapsed sideways. Someone had struck him from behind.
“See you again.”
A familiar voice spoke as the man kicked the fallen officer aside.
“Not the afterlife yet, though.”
Tear-streaked and disheveled, Chohee looked up at the man standing before her.
Tall, broad-shouldered, and straight-backed—among all the passengers, only one man matched this massive physique.
“The shameless…?”
Dowoon, who had taken temporary cover in first class, leisurely returned to the general seating.
Sinuiju Station was near—it was time to resume the mission.
Reaching the general seating, he saw a completely different scene than before.
Despite the sweltering heat, Korean passengers crammed tightly together, some even sitting on the floor where no seats were available.
In the distance, a woman in a white hanbok noticed him and sniffed.
Dowoon pressed his fedora down and leaned against the front row door. A man sitting there peeked up—it was Joseph.
“Michael, there’s a slight change in the plan.”
“A change?”
Dowoon raised his head. This was the first time he had heard of any plan change.
“We’ll blow up first class too.”
Joseph continued in a low voice.
Their mission: use the train from Gyeongseong to Sinuiju to blow up Sinuiju Station. Explosives were already set in the VIP compartment near the engine. The plan had been to separate first class and detonate the station.
Now, the plan had changed. Joseph’s words meant they would separate general seating, causing the explosion to include first class as well.
“Why?”
“There’s a priority target there. Couldn’t pass up such a good opportunity. Anyway, it’s only Japanese passengers, so no problem.”
Dowoon frowned. He disliked sudden mid-mission changes—it introduced unpredictable variables.
The “priority target” was usually someone who had betrayed Korea.
It was a prime opportunity to eliminate them, but other people were also in first class.
“No matter if it’s only Japanese passengers, it’s too dangerous. And, ah—”
A certain woman flashed in his mind, and he trailed off.
“Damn it.”
Not all first-class passengers were Japanese.
That woman. The one who hit him earlier, she was on first class.
Dowoon muttered a curse and hurriedly opened the general seating door.
“Michael, what are you doing?”
“Go first!”
Ignoring the confused Joseph, Dowoon dashed toward first class.
“Shameless… how did you—?”
Chohee murmured, mouth slightly open. The man ignored her and kicked the fallen officer aside, then continued in an exaggerated, aggrieved tone.
“Since I helped you, can we stop calling me shameless?”
“Th-That’s…”
“You call someone shameless after rushing to save a woman being dragged by a police officer in first class?”
Chohee bit her lip. Yes, the man’s earlier behavior had been brazen, but he had saved her now.
Sweat beaded on his forehead—it looked like he had given everything running here.
She had no choice but to whisper softly:
“Thank you.”
“What did you say? Too quiet for me to hear.”
He furrowed his brows theatrically. Chohee sighed, then spoke clearly:
“I said thank you for helping me!”
“I haven’t received an apology yet, but I’ll accept thanks first.”
Hearing her forced “thank you,” he smiled satisfied. Her icy glare seemed not to matter.
He bent down and checked the officer’s eyes, then began feeling his clothes.
“What are you doing?”
“Wait a moment… aha.”
He produced a pistol from inside the fallen man’s jacket. A small smile crept up as he muttered:
“Jackpot.”
He naturally tucked the gun into his back pocket and glanced around.
“We must leave here.”
“What about him?”
Chohee pointed to the unconscious officer. The man remained indifferent.
“Someone will come looking for him.”
Then, the field outside vanished, replaced by darkness.
The carriage was filled with a low, vibrating roar.
A tunnel.
“Damn it.”
The man muttered under his breath.
“What’s happening?”
“It’s a tunnel.”
“And?”
“That means we don’t have much time.”
“Time?”
Before she could process the cryptic words, she was suddenly yanked forward. The man had grabbed her.
“Let go!”
“This time, stay still!”
As he spoke, light poured through the window, then a deafening crash shook the train as if it might overturn.
“Ahhh!”
She screamed involuntarily. The man caught her in his arms. His scent hit her. Chohee looked up at him.
His casual smile was gone, replaced with a serious expression as he held the gun.
“You’ll want to cover your ears instead of screaming.”
“What are you going to do?”
“I’ll make a way out.”
Before she could question him, he fired at the window.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Glass shattered. The wind howled through the VIP carriage, nearly ripping at her ears. Chohee covered her head with her hands.
The fierce wind hit the carriage, tangling her hair and flinging her skirt.
“Are you crazy?!”
She shouted, covering her ears, but her voice was drowned out by the roaring train.
The man also covered his ears and shouted, but neither could hear each other. Chohee tried to read his lips, but it was impossible.
“I can’t hear! What did you say?”
He shook his head in frustration and held her tightly.
He wasn’t short, but not very tall either. Yet in his embrace, she felt small and frail. His shoulders were broad and solid.
Chohee unconsciously leaned against his chest, protected from the wind.
Unexpectedly, beneath his clothing, there was a faint citrus scent, not the sour sweat she had imagined.
“Close your eyes.”
Close her eyes? Confused, she soon understood.
“It will hurt a little.”
He held her firmly as he threw himself and her through the broken window.
The blue sky and yellow fields spun in front of her.
“Ahhh!”
Her scream and the wind blended into one.
