PAHO 80

Na Taebeom, who had been drinking water without much thought, choked and let out a cough. After barely calming himself, he looked back at Gil Useong.

“Nam Gyeonhwa?”

“Yes. That was the name written for the suspect.”

If it were the error-prone Gwon Jongdae, it might be a different story, but Gil Useong was the most cautious among Na Taebeom’s closest aides and handled even trivial matters meticulously. It was unthinkable that such a person would hastily report a mere name incorrectly, making the news all the more unbelievable.

“Besides the name? Is there anything else?”

“Unfortunately, that was all the information I could confirm. The trial record document itself is encrypted, and it’s doubly secured so that it can only be accessed through judicial approval. Usually, trial records are treated as public property and there are often no restrictions on access, but they say it’s extremely rare for not just the investigation records but the trial content itself to be made private.”

After catching his breath once, he continued.

“The head of the intelligence department judged that it’s possible to view the document on our own, but it would not only take a considerable amount of time but also be highly risky.”

“Well, in my opinion, it’s not a good idea to push it that far. After all, getting on the bad side of the National Intelligence Service would be a headache.”

Na Taebeom smacked his lips and slowly swung his body, which was leaning against the ropes, back and forth. Looking at the name Nam Gyeonhwa alone, it could be a case of a different person with the same name, as there was no definitive information to judge the circumstances, even though the name was somewhat unusual. However, considering that most civilian mercenary groups were concentrated near the border due to the Chinese civil war and the remnants of the North Korean army, the speculation that the suspect Nam Gyeonhwa who attacked Im Gitaek and the Nam Gyeonhwa Na Taebeom knew were the same person was quite plausible.

If, by any chance, the Nam Gyeonhwa in the trial record was indeed the same person, why on earth did he try to attack Division Commander Im Gitaek? It wasn’t just an officer, but a general, and a crime committed against the commander of a border guard division at that. He wasn’t well-versed in military law, but he had heard that in a border area, committing a crime against a general-grade commander usually did not escape the death penalty. Therefore, if Nam Gyeonhwa was the same person, it was a miracle that he was still alive, and it was strange that he hadn’t been deported.

Come to think of it, wasn’t the last name of the priest from the Yanggang parish Nam? Nam Gi-jun, Nam Haejin, and Nam Gyeonhwa. The three names that had been slowly drifting through his mind were neatly arranged. There were probably tens of thousands of people with the last name Nam in the country, but as far as Na Taebeom knew, these three were the only ones who had a common denominator.

“The more I know, the more interesting it gets.”

Na Taebeom, who let out a small laugh, pushed his hair back and straightened up. He had wondered why it was so unusually difficult to find his identity, and it turned out there was a story behind it—he was a former convict, a reason he hid his past even from the younger brother he was so inseparable from. And not just a petty criminal like a thief, but attempted murder against a high-ranking official in the national army. No wonder he had an unnecessarily bold side to him, like on the day they first met. Gil Useong, who had been watching silently, opened his mouth.

“If you permit me, I will take more time to confirm the facts before and after.”

“It’s fine. Commander Gil is busy enough as it is. I’ll just ask him the rest myself.”

“Directly, you mean?”

“The picture’s pretty clear, isn’t it? On the premise that he’s not a different person with the same name, it seems he’s related to Father Nam Gi-jun, judging by the same last name. Digging into it one by one would be a waste of time. Now that I have a general idea of the situation, it’s faster to ask him while gently coaxing him.”

“That is true, but I believe there is a high possibility that squad member Nam Gyeonhwa will try to remain silent.”

“Well, I don’t know. Our mutt seems to have softened up a bit lately, maybe because he’s gotten used to my touch. This time too, when I questioned him about buying a phone behind my back, he answered on his own. It’s rewarding to have been cute to him.”

Na Taebeom grinned. Judging from Nam Gyeonhwa’s recent attitude, both at the medical center and otherwise, it seemed he could get the answers he wanted if he just coaxed him gently. Of course, he could continue to trace his past through Gil Useong, but wouldn’t it be more interesting to uncover and grasp the personal information about Nam Gyeonhwa himself? To know a past that even the young brother he lived so closely with didn’t know. What kind of expression would he make if he asked him about it casually? He would surely be flustered. Just imagining his bewildered face made him laugh.

“Still, keep looking into the Im Gitaek matter. With what Choi Seok-dae is doing this time, something smells really fishy.”

Na Taebeom, who jumped down from the ring, picked up a black jersey and put it on. As he was straightening the crumpled collar, he let out a light exclamation as if he had just remembered something.

“Ah, and the list of decoys being put in this time, is it finalized?”

“The registration closes the day after tomorrow, so the list will be finalized next week.”

At the appropriate answer, Na Taebeom nodded his head in satisfaction. Everything was going smoothly, just as he had wished.

Putting down the phone, Nam Gyeonhwa took a long breath. His ear, pressed against the receiver for a not-so-short time, was hot.

After returning home late the other day, Nam Gyeonhwa had asked Choi Ji-yoo for a favor and got a new cell phone. The phone, which offered everything from a security feature that connected location information to the nearest contact in an emergency to various children’s learning content, was expensive, befitting its flashy description, and had just as many uses. He could have saved money by buying a phone with only call and text functions, but Nam Gyeonhwa bought the one with the added learning content feature without much hesitation.

Gwon Seong-a’s casual remark from before had been a big shock to Nam Gyeonhwa. He had vaguely kept it in mind, but since he was busy just trying to make a living, Nam Haejin’s education was always put on the back burner. He had vaguely thought that if he just became a citizen of Seoul, he could live a life of luxury with the free education and medical benefits provided. But now that he had to do preparatory learning just to adapt to public school, another worry had arisen for him.

The results of the review were said to be announced as early as this winter. As soon as he was registered as a citizen of Seoul, Nam Haejin would be placed with one of the families in Seoul wishing to adopt. With the continued low birth rate and infertility issues due to environmental hormones and the climate crisis, an atmosphere encouraging adoption had long been formed even within the well-established classes of Seoul. In the case of children under 13, as long as there were no excessive disqualifying factors, they were usually registered as citizens of Seoul, and it was even said that this was thanks to the influence of high-ranking professional couples who had no children of their own.

However, until he was formally adopted into a good family, it was entirely the responsibility of his current guardian, Nam Gyeonhwa, to support his younger brother who would be living in Seoul. Moreover, Nam Haejin was a patient with a rare disease. No matter how much they provided free medical care, he could be at a relative disadvantage in terms of adoption conditions among the hundreds of children who came in every year.

Therefore, as long as he had the capacity, he had to earn even a single penny more of spare money. He was saving a few tens of thousands of won by doing night loading/unloading or manual labor two or three times a week, but that was far from enough. According to his original plan, as soon as Nam Haejin’s citizenship review was completed, Nam Gyeonhwa was going to go to a civil war zone and donate the life allowance given in exchange for mercenary activities to Nam Haejin. However, given the current trend, he couldn’t gauge how long he would be staying in Nakdo. The pursuit from Samwon was also lukewarm, and Won Hyeon-seong still showed no movement. It was to the point where he wondered if, contrary to Na Taebeom’s expectations, Samwon wasn’t paying much attention to Nam Gyeonhwa.

The restaurant in the main building of the Special Guard headquarters was bustling during lunchtime. He, who had bought soy milk and a small triangular kimbap from the commissary, suddenly cast his gaze to one side of the restaurant wall. On the bulletin board, where all sorts of posters were up ahead of the Autumn Grand Tournament, one particularly large announcement caught his eye. The moment he read the words ‘Wiyeonggwan Autumn Grand Tournament Participation Application Guide’, someone tapped him on the back.

“Squad member Nam.”

Ma Jae-wan, who spoke with a bright smile, pointed to the soy milk and triangular kimbap in Nam Gyeonhwa’s hand.

“Are you having a snack already?”

“…No, it’s lunch.”

“Yes? Lunch? This?”

At his quite flustered face, Nam Gyeonhwa nodded with a silent expression. The cafeteria at the Special Guard headquarters was cheap, but even that was a waste of money to eat every time. He had the card he received from Na Taebeom before, but since it wasn’t his own money, he only used it in minimal situations. Above all, he didn’t particularly like eating until he was full, and since it all ended up in the stomach anyway, wasn’t it more convenient to just eat something simple and get it over with?

“Are you not going to the afternoon training separately?”

“Ah, no. I’m going to the training. The Director told me to be on standby until this week.”

And yet he was going to participate in high-intensity training after eating just one pack of soy milk and a kimbap half the size of his fist? Ma Jae-wan, who was contemplating, suddenly grabbed Nam Gyeonhwa’s arm and led him away.

“I have to eat lunch too, so this is perfect. I’ll buy it for you.”

“Thank you for the offer, but I’m fine.”

“Come to think of it, squad member Nam Gyeonhwa is practically a newcomer to the Special Guard. It’s an unspoken culture within the Special Guard for seniors to buy meals for newcomers.”

Before he could refuse, he bought a meal ticket from the ticket machine and held one out. At his earnest gaze, which pleaded for him to accept it quickly, Nam Gyeonhwa carefully took the meal ticket from his hand. Ma Jae-wan, with a pleased expression, picked up a tray and got in line.

“They have galbi today. You know it’s a total loss if you don’t eat on a day like this, right?”

He, who had piled a large amount of meat with tongs, also pushed a large chunk onto Nam Gyeonhwa’s tray. After filling his tray with soup and rice, he made his way through the members who were busy eating and took a seat at a quiet table.

“…Thank you for the meal. I will eat well.”

Nam Gyeonhwa also followed him and picked up a spoon and chopsticks. He, who was staring intently at him eating, suddenly coughed the moment their eyes met.

“Squad member Nam Gyeonhwa, you come to the training ground often. The Director must be busy these days.”

“Yes, it seems so.”

“I, heard you came in on a recommendation for special security detail. So, will you continue to be in the Special Guard even after the special detail?”

At the unexpected question, Nam Gyeonhwa repeatedly opened and closed his chopsticks. Remaining in the Special Guard meant staying under Na Taebeom. Setting Na Taebeom aside and considering only the environment of the Special Guard, there were no better working conditions. In exchange for never being able to leave the ground until discharge, good pay and medical expense support were guaranteed. In fact, apart from the upper class who enjoyed entertainment like gambling and drugs, a considerable number of young people came to Nakdo to enlist in the Special Guard.

Just then, several of his colleagues who were walking from the opposite corridor saw Ma Jae-wan and waved as they approached. They had toothbrushes in their hands, as if they had just finished their meal and were going to brush their teeth.

“I was wondering why our muscle pig was skipping a meal, and this is why.”

One of them said playfully, looking at the heaping tray. Ma Jae-wan scowled.

“Stop being a fool and go brush your teeth.”

“I bought some really good toothpaste online this time, want me to lend you some? The smell is amazing. To the point where you’d totally want to plant a kiss on someone…”

“Hey.”

Lest the pointless talk drag on, Ma Jae-wan shot him a sharp look. He, who let out a laugh at the unspoken threat to shut up, pointed to the announcement posted on the bulletin board across from them.

“You applied for that too, right? They said the interviews will be held sequentially from the afternoon. Don’t forget again like last time.”

“You’re the one who should be careful not to forget.”

Ma Jae-wan, who glared at his departing colleague, let out a sigh. He had gone to the trouble of creating an opportunity to build some rapport, but they seemed determined to ruin it, so he couldn’t relax for a moment. The silent Nam Gyeonhwa glanced at the bulletin board and said.

“It seems that Special Guard members can also participate in the Autumn Grand Tournament.”

“Ah, that. It’s not an official participation, it’s like a capper.”

“A capper…?”

“A shill. You know, like the people at auctions who intentionally stir up competition. The purpose is to raise the dividends on the main participants who have sponsors, but sometimes, guys like stray dogs get lucky and make it to the main tournament, muddying the waters. It’s also a role to weed those out, and the bonus they give is quite handsome.”