Afghanistan.
Igor traced a line with his finger across the mountain range near the Pashtun tribal region bordering Pakistan.
His eyes glead coldly.
“So that bastard’s holed up there?”
“Yes, sir. He’s set up a camp there and is said to be training terrorists.”
“That son of a bitch... I’ll personally take revenge for my comrades. We start the operation at midnight. Have everyone ready. I’ll contact the Aricans myself.”
After sending out his subordinate, Igor muttered in a low, vicious voice.
“Today’s the day you die.”
As the sun set, Igor gathered his n.
Standing proudly before his unit, he shouted,
“Today! We finally avenge our fallen brothers. Anyone afraid?”
“No, sir!”
The rcenaries’ roaring response made Igor’s lips curl upward.
“Then move out.”
He climbed into a jeep and took the lead. Dozens of vehicles and armored carriers loaded with rcenaries rolled out behind him.
They drove a long way over rough terrain, with no real roads, until at last they arrived near Gulbuddin’s camp.
Before dawn, the dark camp lay silent beneath them. Igor spoke in a hard tone.
“Everyone, to your positions.”
The rcenaries scattered.
Igor raised his sniper rifle and aid toward the camp.
Monts later, reports crackled through his radio — confirmation from each team.
Through the scope, Igor spotted a sentry scanning the area from a watchtower.
He squeezed the trigger. A flash burst from the muzzle, and the sentry collapsed at once.
That was the signal. Igor’s rcenaries stord the camp.
An armored vehicle fired, toppling the tower as the camp’s alarm blared to life.
Beeeeeeep!
Igor’s rcenaries were ruthless. Heavy fire poured in from every direction.
Dozens of rockets streaked across the air, turning the ard n erging from the camp into corpses before they could react.
But the chaos was short-lived. Gulbuddin’s mujahideen were experienced fighters.
They recovered command quickly and began to counterattack, but it wasn’t enough.
Igor’s n had already surrounded the camp completely.
He never lifted his eye from the scope. Each shot landed true. Every pull of the trigger dropped another enemy.
The one-sided battle raged through the night.
When the morning sun rose over the ridge, Igor finally stood up.
“Ti to go catch that bastard.”
The chill wind brushed past him, cooling the sweat on his skin.
* * *
Hong Junseong was dying of curiosity, and it made everyone else in the room smile faintly.
“Ha...”
He furrowed his brow. Being left out wasn’t sitting well with him.
He downed two shots of liquor in a row and spoke.
“What do I have to do for you to tell ?”
“Who knows.”
“What if I give you a piece of inside intel?”
“Inside intel? I doubt you know anything I don’t.”
Hong scoffed, confident.
“Co on, don’t be like that. It’s fresh info, just in. It’s connected to Chairman Yoon Changho — I’m sure that’ll pique your interest.”
“You’re not about to tell that Assemblyman Jung Seokjin is running in the primaries, are you?”
“...”
I’d spoken first, and Hong’s mouth just opened and closed silently.
See? Told you I’d already know.
“There was a wave of support inside the Centrist Party for Chairman Yoon, but suddenly a bloc of forr Conservative Party lawmakers banded together to push Jung Seokjin instead.”
“...So you already know.”
“Do you know who’s behind it?”
“Behind Assemblyman Jung? Who could possibly be pulling strings behind soone like him?”
Of course he didn’t know. I smiled slightly and took a sip.
“Ah, you’re killing here. Just tell .”
“And if I do, what do I get?”
“Ugh, unbelievable.”
Beating his chest in frustration, Hong gulped down a glass of water.
He took a deep breath, then slamd the glass down and asked,
“What the hell do you want from ?”
Hyunwoo was chuckling quietly to himself, and Jeong Taehun kept glancing between us nervously.
From our brief exchange, I’d already gauged Hong’s nature. He couldn’t stand not knowing.
“Tell the real reason you followed .”
“...I told you. I saw you co in here and followed.”
He hesitated slightly but managed to keep a straight face.
“Fine. So you recognized and ca in. But did you really find while chasing Chairman Yoon Changho?”
“...”
“Let’s be honest. If it’s not Hwaseung, then isn’t Sesin Daily preparing a story about ?”
At the word story, Hong’s eyes widened slightly — he even exhaled sharply. The alcohol was making his reactions faster.
Most newspapers in Korea wouldn’t dare publish anything about .
If they did — even a single line — every corporation connected to would pull their ads overnight.
And nearly every major conglorate, in one way or another, did business with .
No mainstream outlet would risk losing that for a story.
But Sesin Daily was different — it was run entirely with funding from Heaven’s Church.
They built their base by handing out lavish prizes and gifts, spreading a pro-church narrative through their paper.
If Choi Seonman wanted to attack , he needed to expose my background first.
Sesin Daily must’ve been digging into my history relentlessly, seething for a chance.
“Enough word gas. Tell what’s going on inside Sesin Daily. You don’t look particularly loyal to Heaven’s Church anyway, do you?”
“...”
“Or don’t. Makes no difference to .”
The casual tone worked. Hong spoke up quickly.
“Fine, yes. It’s true. Seeing you today was a coincidence. But it’s also true that Sesin Daily is preparing an article about you.”
I only smiled faintly.
“I don’t know the details. Only the editors at the top do. I don’t even know what angle they’re planning.”
I poured myself another drink and studied him.
He waved his hands nervously.
“I’m serious. The CEO gave direct orders to the editors — collect everything on Kim Muhyuk, and when the ti cos, publish a multi-day special feature.”
“Is that so? Then how do you know? You just said only the editors knew. Doesn’t add up.”
Pressed, Hong spoke in an indignant tone.
“I overheard one of the editors giving instructions to another reporter. I swear that’s all.”
“So this is all just coincidence, then?”
He nodded vigorously.
“When did they start digging into ?”
“It’s been a while. At least two months since I heard about it. They’re working off materials soone handed them.”
No doubt it was Choi Seonman who’d passed along data from Military Intelligence.
Sesin Daily alone couldn’t have gathered much on .
But with that information in hand, publishing sothing was easy.
Sensational headline, a bit of conjecture — done. I nodded slightly.
“Mr. Hong, would it bother you to quit Sesin Daily?”
“What do you an?”
“I’m asking if you’d consider moving to Goryeo Daily. To any departnt you want.”
“What?”
“As you can see, I have so pull. I could get soone like you placed there easily. Just say which section you want.”
He blinked, startled, biting his lip.
“Goryeo Daily, huh... It’d be nice, sure. But with my no-na college background? I’d get eaten alive. If you didn’t graduate from Korea National, Goryeo Daily treats you like dirt.”
He wasn’t wrong. Most of the top dia outlets were packed with Korea National alumni.
His words reminded of what one presidential candidate had once said:
— You went to that school and still beca a reporter?
That’s how elitist those mainstream outlets were — even top-three universities outside Korea National were looked down upon.
“Since you’ve worked at Sesin Daily, you’ve got experience. It won’t be a problem.”
“Ha... You really don’t know how this industry works. Outside the top ten dailies, experience barely counts.”
“Then I’ll place you under Chief Editor Jeon Seokwon.”
Hong repeated the na blankly.
“...Chief Editor Jeon Seokwon?”
“Yes. I’m quite close with him. He won’t refuse . You know his influence at Goryeo Daily. If he personally brings you in, no one there will dare look down on you.”
“...”
Chief Editor Jeon Seokwon — one of Goryeo Daily’s core power figures.
Officially, soone else owned the paper, but in truth, Jeon ran it.
His pen alone could sway the direction of the entire press.
If he wanted, he could flip the paper’s editorial stance overnight.
“What do you want from ?”
Hong straightened in his seat.
I smiled faintly, raising one corner of my mouth.
“It’s simple. Go to Goryeo Daily and write about Heaven’s Church. The story’s content and editorial direction — Chief Jeon will handle that.”
“...”
“A forr Sesin Daily reporter from a Heaven’s Church-owned paper exposing their cris after moving to Goryeo Daily. How’s that sound?”
For sothing improvised, it wasn’t a bad plan.
At first, I’d only been curious because he was from Sesin Daily.
But after talking with him, I saw he had no real faith in Heaven’s Church — and plenty of ambition.
Used right, he could paint quite the picture.
“It’s the perfect chance to prove yourself as a journalist. Seems like a great opportunity for you too.”
There was no reason for him to refuse.
“...You’ll really get into Goryeo Daily?”
“Of course. Resign from Sesin Daily this week. Start at Goryeo Daily next week. Chief Jeon will contact you.”
“I’ll do it. Absolutely.”
Sesin Daily or Goryeo Daily — the choice was obvious.
A chance like this only ca once.
“Then let’s talk about what you’ll be doing.”
“You think this’ll work?”
Leaving the high-end bar owned by Cheonha Group, Hong Junseong and Jeong Taehun departed in the sa car.
Once they were gone, Hyunwoo asked casually,
“What?”
“Hong. Jeong Taehun might not betray you — his ambition will keep him loyal. But Hong’s different. He’s no upright reporter.”
“Isn’t that what makes it fun?”
“Fun, sure. But isn’t he a risk?”
There were already plenty of risks in play. One more wouldn’t change much.
“He doesn’t have any other choice. Since he saw us together, killing him would’ve been wasteful. Better to turn him. If he’s too stupid to understand what it ans to move from Sesin Daily to work under Chief Jeon, that’s his problem. I told him to quit anyway, so there’s nothing to worry about.”
Hyunwoo [N O V E L I G H T] nodded slowly.
“If you say so. Want to grab another drink?”
I laughed quietly and shook my head. I really would need to host a proper gathering soon.
“No thanks. Don’t need Minkyung scolding again. Once this whole thing’s wrapped up, we’ll all drink together.”
I raised a hand to call Manager Ma.
“Yes, boss.”
“Call soone to drive. And you, hand over your keys.”
Hyunwoo handed them over without hesitation.
A few minutes later, one of the n brought his car around.
“Go on, head ho. I’ll call you later.”
“Alright. See you.”
After Hyunwoo’s car drove off, I got into mine.
Staring out the window, I murmured,
“Heaven’s Church — that’s settled. Japan’s finally taking the bait...”
Next week, I’d be eting that person. Before that, I’d have all the groundwork laid.
“Manager, tell Chairman Yoo to co by the Myeongdong office tomorrow. I need an update on how the Japan operation is progressing.”
“Yes, boss.”
Whether it understood my thoughts or not, the sleepless city outside shone brilliantly under the night lights.
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