AGENT 20

“…”

Crazy.

The curse words he couldn’t spit out because he was so startled remained right inside Yongnae’s mouth. A gun in South Korea. Of course, he had used a K2 during his time in the military, but the unit Yongnae was in was a non-combat unit, so they rarely did target practice. Thus, Yongnae had less immunity to guns than the average discharged soldier, and since a handgun—the kind he had only seen in movies, not a K2—was being thrust before his eyes, he couldn’t do anything for a moment.

Furthermore, the handgun Weizhen was aiming looked to have considerable weight, as if the weight of the bullets and the steel was being conveyed directly, enough for him to realize at once that the handguns he had seen in the media were all fake. There was a reason why the historical research in movies or dramas included scenes where one is knocked unconscious instantly by being struck on the head with a gun. Thanks to that historical research, now that it was more certain that it was a real gun, the color gradually drained from Yongnae’s face.

“Hey, Weizhen! Put the gun down!”

And Lee Suji, who was next to him, also seemed flustered, as he jumped up and told Weizhen to put the gun down, but Weizhen’s gaze looked firm, as if he hadn’t aimed the gun as a joke.

“Where is the research center.”

“…”

“Mr. Researcher.”

“…”

“Where is the research center located.”

Yongnae, who was making direct eye contact with him,

“Im…”

At the same time as he opened his mouth to tell him the location of the research center, he felt his vision flip to black.

Like water-soluble gas being collected in an absorbing liquid and mixed on a stirrer, Yongnae’s two eyes snapped open at the feeling of his body swaying and jolting.

The scene he saw immediately was a sight he had seen many times as a child when going on trips with his family. To be precise, it was the sight he saw when returning from a trip, having fallen asleep tangled here and there with his older brothers in the back seat, and then waking up just as they nearly reached the house parking lot. The back view of the driver’s seat.

“Oh, the Teacher is awake.”

“…”

“Teacher. The research center is in Imsil, right?”

Before Yongnae could even finish grasping the situation of where he was currently being transported, the bald man sitting in the passenger seat looked back and informed him of this car’s destination.

It seemed they had truly moved immediately after telling him to guide them right away. Yongnae nodded at the bald man’s question and sat up. He thought he had fainted, and since it was his first experience fainting in his life, Yongnae’s head felt dazed.

“Mr. Researcher.”

At that moment, Weizhen’s voice calling Yongnae was heard from the driver’s seat. Since Weizhen aiming a gun at him was his last memory, Yongnae flinched and trembled for a moment, but he soon answered calmly.

“…Yes.”

“I am sorry about earlier.”

“…Yes, well.”

Try saying you’re sorry even after pulling the trigger, why don’t you. Because he felt a sudden surge of irritation at the type of fear he had encountered for the first time, Yongnae turned his head toward the window and answered vaguely.

“Since this matter is dragging on, Susu’s mood seems to be unpleasant, so I did that out of a desire to resolve it quickly.”

Then, at the name flowing out of Weizhen’s mouth, Yongnae’s head turned back again. Susu? Susu’s mood is unpleasant? That man who looked so generous?

To think that Weizhen, who seemed much more rational and calm compared to Lee Suji, felt such urgency that he even aimed a gun at him, was Susu’s personality perhaps fiery? No… He looked considerably relaxed and merciful…

“…That person looked merciful, though.”

Yongnae, wondering if that Susu was indeed that Susu, or if he was talking about a different Susu, opened his mouth to feel them out.

“Susu? Susu is merciful?”

Tsk—

At that, Lee Suji clicked his tongue and looked back at Yongnae while stroking his own hairless, bald head.

“You’ve been completely bewitched by Susu’s beauty. Bewitched.”

Seeing him mention beauty, it seemed that Susu was indeed that Susu.

“Mr. Researcher. Susu is lenient, but he is not merciful.”

At Weizhen’s words, Yongnae’s brow furrowed slightly. Can leniency and mercifulness move in different directions? An expression of complete lack of understanding appeared on Yongnae’s face.

Weizhen, who glanced at Yongnae’s face through the rearview mirror, opened his mouth to tell a story to lighten the mood, perhaps feeling sorry toward Yongnae for the incident earlier.

“There is a dumpling shop in Hong Kong.”

“Joe’s Dumpling! The best dumpling house in Hong Kong.”

“Susu likes that restaurant, so he goes there quite often. Enough that he goes at least once a week. Since Joe’s never has a day where it closes its doors. However, one day, Joe’s restaurant closed for as long as two weeks.”

One could consider Joe’s Dumpling to be open 366 days out of 365, as it opened every single day without exception. Susu, who had eaten dumplings at Joe’s restaurant for a very long time, didn’t show it for two weeks, but they say he cared enough to pass by the shop once every two days.

“And when Joe opened the doors again after two weeks, Susu spoke to Joe first for the first time. Asking why he hadn’t opened the doors.”

They say Joe was considerably flustered because Susu, who always just ate dumplings quietly and left, spoke first. Then he soon laughed awkwardly and said. His son was walking down the street when he was subjected to an unprovoked assault by a gang of three thugs, and his fingers were so severely injured that he couldn’t do anything alone, so he was late because he was nursing him by his side. That he had come to open the restaurant doors again now because he had gotten better.

“Susu just listened to Joe’s words and silently ate dumplings as usual. I also just thought ‘Is that so’ by his side. However…”

After coming out of Joe’s Dumpling and getting into the car, they say Susu told them to catch the gang of thugs who assaulted Joe’s son. At that, Weizhen said he asked once more for the first time, wondering if he had misheard.

‘Pardon?’

‘I’m terrified that I might not be able to eat dumplings again.’

Was the shock of not being able to eat dumplings for two weeks that great? Weizhen said he caught that gang with a light heart, even thinking that such a side of Susu was cute.

“I thought he would end it with a light warning even if we brought them, but Susu immediately broke all of their fingers.”

And they say he spoke like this.

‘I hope you won’t interfere with Joe making dumplings.’

“He is very lenient, but has no mercy, right?”

The words “very lenient but has no mercy” were exactly it. Even going as far as to break all the fingers of three thugs for the owner of his regular dumpling shop.

The man Yongnae had seen looked lenient and merciful, but to think he had such a cruel side. It was to the point of being flustered. But on the other hand, he felt a strange fluttering at such a new side of the man.

“…”

Yongnae’s cheekbones twitched and rose upward. Fearing someone might see that face, he quickly turned his head toward the window.

The fact that the man said “I’m terrified that I might not be able to eat dumplings again” and “I hope you won’t interfere” felt so fascinating and cute to him. It wasn’t like he was making a threat that he would kill them if they messed with the dumpling shop owner—though, of course, breaking fingers is scarier than a verbal threat.

At any rate, he felt good because the things he was coming to know about the man were increasing. Having a child-like side, being somewhat cruel, and even liking dumplings.

“Ah— but the Teacher would probably have felt that Susu is merciful.”

At the words spoken by Lee Suji, who was snickering as if agreeing with Weizhen’s words while clapping his hands, Yongnae’s gaze turned toward the front seat again.

“Because Susu is often merciful to unrelated ordinary people—.”

Yongnae’s cheekbones, which had risen up, returned to their place with frightening speed. Then, he felt his stomach tightening as if he had sudden indigestion at those words.

Unrelated ordinary people.

Lee Suji’s words were correct. To the man, he must have been just an unrelated ordinary person used momentarily to deceive the situation.

“…”

He felt as if he were suddenly throwing a tantrum like a child who had been robbed of their ice cream. Feeling that the air inside the car was stifling, Yongnae rolled down the back seat window a little and inhaled the cool air.

Glance—

And a pair of eyes reflected in the rearview mirror scanned such a Yongnae for a moment and passed by.