AGENT 4

That equipment was the same model used in Imsil. It was the latest equipment, yet to think there was only one person at the Seoul Research Institute who knew how to handle it. Everyone in Imsil knew how to use it. Looking at this, it seemed that just because a place is a “developed site” doesn’t mean the people there are all developed.

“Then you can just lend them a different one.”

“The others are broken right now.”

“Then shouldn’t they wait until Mr. Choongsung returns?”

“They should, but they are causing an uproar demanding to borrow it right this second. Something about having discovered the drug base.”

“If they discovered the base, they can just raid it immediately, can’t they?”

Even if they were right in front of the Police Agency, shouldn’t important words like having discovered a base be spoken in a confined space or inside the institute?

“It seems the base is being stubborn, saying they can’t enter until a warrant is issued. But the judge won’t issue a warrant either. They say they’ll issue it once the air is collected and definitely tests positive or something like that.”

It seemed quite problematic to discuss this in a restaurant with so many people. Especially since he, who was not a member of the Seoul Research Institute, was present. Yongnae scanned the restaurant once, feeling self-conscious for no reason. Fortunately, no one seemed to be paying attention to them.

“Still, shouldn’t the party that’s desperate be the one to wait? It’s not like we can do anything about it right now…”

“I’d like to say that too. But as luck would have it, on the day that expensive device was brought in, everyone except Mr. Choongsung went to eat cauldron-lid grilled pork belly together. If they ask why we don’t know how to handle the device and why only Mr. Choongsung attended the training that day, it becomes a real headache.”

“Ah… That day was that day?”

“Yes. Sigh… They say Mr. Choongsung is in Malaysia, Kota Ricabalu? He’s there, so I can’t exactly tell him to come back immediately. He’s no help.”

The Seoul Research Institute was truly “developed” only in its location; there seemed to be many problems with the researchers. To think they all went to eat pork belly without attending mandatory training except for one person. They say if you don’t know who the pushover is in a company, you’re the pushover, and Mr. Choongsung likely didn’t know who the pushover was. He felt a sense of pity. There were no pushovers at the Imsil Research Institute. If Yongnae had been the research official in charge of the Seoul Research Institute, they would all be subject to disciplinary action.

“The police are asking to borrow it first thing tomorrow morning, I’m going crazy.”

Even so, since they were people living together, Yongnae, deciding he should help rather than just point out faults and stand by, opened his mouth.

“It is not Kota Ricabalu, it is Kota Kinabalu.”

“Excuse me? Ah, yes. Kota Kinabalu…”

“Yes. And I will teach you the operating method for the ASC—2000 tomorrow morning.”

“Oh, really? If you could do that…!”

“However, I will record the details of this in the field trip log.”

“Pardon…?”

To think he was sitting there giving training to researchers from a developed site. It was a very ironic situation, but he figured it was for the best. Yongnae thought he would have a lot to report to Dawon when he went down to Imsil.

But what on earth was this situation?

“We are short on time, so let’s move for now.”

“Um, Researcher Yongnae. The detectives say they are out of time, so it would be good if you could train the detectives directly. We will explain everything well to the Jeollabuk-do Provincial Office.”

The next morning, Yongnae, who had intended to teach the Seoul researchers how to use the equipment, ended up boarding a black van along with the equipment before even stepping foot into the research institute.

“What does that, yes? No, wait…”

The research official in charge pushed Yongnae’s back with a face asking for understanding, and the detectives, saying it was urgent, practically kidnapped Yongnae and put him in the car.

Yongnae was extremely flustered and angry that something completely unexpected and unplanned had suddenly occurred. This was wrong, very wrong.

Since Yongnae did not belong to the Seoul Research Institute, the fact that Yongnae was going to the Police Agency had to be discussed with the Jeollabuk-do Provincial Office. Forcing him to cooperate in such a reckless manner was something that shouldn’t happen in this day and age, and Yongnae was dumbfounded by their barbaric behavior of ignoring procedures just because they were somewhat desperate.

“Sigh…”

He hadn’t even imagined something like this would happen when he first arrived in Seoul, but it looked like he was going to see the Seoul Police Agency, a place he never expected to visit in his life. Still, it wasn’t bad. How many times in a lifetime would one get to go to the Seoul Police Agency? Though he was flustered, he decided to think of this as a good experience as well.

“………”

“Hey, Detective Park. You’re inside now, right? What about the vent?”

“………”

“Good job. We’re on our way. It’ll take about 15 minutes.”

However, something was strange. 15 minutes? The Police Agency was an 8-minute walk from the institute. So even if there was traffic, it should take 5 minutes by car, but even though a lot of time had passed since they left, it was going to take 15 minutes? Yongnae instinctively felt something was off. So as soon as the detective hung up the phone, he asked a question immediately.

“Are we not going to the Police Agency?”

“Yes. We are going to the Yantree now.”

“Yes? Where is that?”

It wasn’t even a tour of the Police Agency. Yongnae was confused, his eyes darting back and forth at the name of a place he was hearing for the first time in his life. No, they should have told him where it was before moving; where were they suddenly going?

“It’s a hotel. A hotel suspected of being a drug manufacturing site right now.”

“A hotel…?”

“Researcher, you just need to take this equipment carrier and go into room 1203. Detective Park is inside, and you can collect samples from the next room through the bathroom vent.”

In other words, what the detective was saying now was for him to go into the room next to where drugs were being manufactured and collect air in real-time through the bathroom ventilation fan.

“I refuse.”

“Pardon?”

Even if a detective were to do the collection themselves, it was a dangerous job that should be stopped, yet they were telling him, who was no different from a civilian, to do it directly.

“Even if you send an official cooperation letter to the Jeollabuk-do Provincial Office, I have the right not to cooperate. But to recklessly tell me, a civilian, to sneak into the room next to where drugs are being manufactured and collect samples… I refuse.”

Without even taking a breath, Yongnae formally stated his refusal to the detective sitting across from him. He didn’t know what kind of people were manufacturing the drugs, but if they were doing it so boldly in a hotel room, they were clearly very dangerous individuals.

“No, look here, Researcher. We know this is wrong, and we know you’ll be scared. But if not now, there is no opportunity. If it’s not today, we’ll miss all these guys…!”

“…But it should not be done this way.”

“Of course, the pursuit is our job. But this is truly the opportunity. If drug components show up in the collected air, we can get a warrant, and if that happens, we can catch and lock them all up before they leave the hotel.”

He understood the detective’s desperation. The country was already in a state of unrest, so they probably wanted to catch even these new drug criminals to secure the citizens’ safety just a little bit more. However, what is wrong is wrong.

“Even if the collection is done today, it takes at least a day once I bring it back and connect it to the analysis equipment. What if those drug criminals leave today? Then even if a warrant is issued, it’ll be useless, won’t it?”

Because of that, Yongnae also tried to persuade the detective by offering his own diligent counterarguments.

“Once drug manufacturing begins, those guys stay stuck inside that hotel room for at least 72 hours. And right now, 40 hours have passed since manufacturing began. If we collect today and the results come out tomorrow, a warrant will be issued immediately.”

“I didn’t mean to overhear, but I heard the base side—that is, the hotel side—has stubbornly refused to cooperate with the investigation. But can a warrant be issued with evidence obtained illegally from the next room like this? Will it be valid later on?”

“At any rate, as long as a positive reaction shows up in the air, evidence is created, and we just have to go in and arrest them. After that, we can make up as many reasons as we want. Isn’t catching these bad guys the first priority right now? I don’t know how many times we’ve missed these guys. Please, Researcher. I beg you.”

However, the other side’s situation did seem desperate. Since a detective old enough to be his uncle was pleading so earnestly, he couldn’t help but feel his heart soften.

Also, there is a saying in the Myeongsim Bogam:

‘When you see a good deed, do not hesitate as if seeing water when thirsty; when you hear of something evil, act as if you are deaf.’

It was something that went against the rules and he himself could be in danger, but this clearly belonged to the category of a good deed.

“…You said it was room 1203.”