Episode 54

On the same day in Jeju Island, the cherry blossoms that had been in full bloom were now falling, and the yellow rapeseed flowers were gradually withering. A sturdy man with a slow pace was climbing up one of Jeju’s hills.

“So, I’m alive, but it doesn’t feel like a past life…”

He continued to mumble to himself, trying to sort out his thoughts as he walked slowly. This man was none other than Han Hae-woon, the investigator who had collapsed on the day Ryu Yeon-woo won the Rookie of the Year award.

Hae-woon had come to Jeju Island to take some time off, attaching his accumulated leave to his sick days because the new memories that had surfaced that day were so perplexing.

“I died a year ago…”

It felt as though different people’s memories were entering his mind in fragmented pieces. What Hae-woon remembered was the memory of a National Intelligence Service agent named Baek Yoo-hyun. The most vivid memory that came to mind was the moment of his death. It was the day he had died from a cerebral hemorrhage but miraculously came back to life.

On that day, Yoo-hyun had been assisting his superior, ‘Team Leader Jeon Su-hwan’, in collecting information inside a safe house in the Middle East. The sound of gunfire and explosions echoed through his headphones.

“Team Leader! Team Leader!”

Despite calling repeatedly through the radio, there was no response from Jeon Su-hwan. Sensing that something was terribly wrong, Yoo-hyun hastily disposed of the materials he had been investigating and opened the safe house’s door to make his escape. That was the last thing he remembered.

Although it is not Hae-woon memory, but he assumed that Yoo-hyun must have been targeted by a waiting sniper. His vivid recollections made Hae-woon feel that Baek Yoo-hyun was another version of himself.

The other fragments of memories were too disjointed for him to make any clear guesses about the operations he had been involved in or the relationships he had with the people who appeared in his memories.

One clear connection he could determine was that the ‘Jeong Hye-min’ he had been investigating during his vacation was the wife of the deceased Baek Yoo-hyun.

“For now, the only definite link I can investigate is still ‘Jeon Su-hwan’.”

During his vacation, Hae-woon risked everything by accessing the National Intelligence Service’s systems using Baek Yoo-hyun’s access code. Luckily, the access code was still valid.

He tried to collect clues about Jeon Su-hwan and Baek Yoo-hyun, but even within the National Intelligence Service, there were almost no accessible documents classified as confidential. Desperately searching for any leads, he found a report requesting approval.

The content of the report revealed that the request had been denied for some reason and never made it to the higher-ups. It mentioned a public phone call in Daejeon, a request for investigation, and the results of CCTV analysis, an estimated man in his 70s, and his whereabouts were unknown. That was all that was available in the report. However, Hae-woon was sure of one thing.

“Team Leader Jeon Su-hwan, he’s been reborn in someone else’s body.”

Just like me.

Baek Yoo-hyun knows that there’s only one ‘A’ grade agent in the National Intelligence Service, and that’s Jeon Su-hwan. ‘A’ grade agents, often referred to in the media as ‘Black Agents’, are the highest-ranking Humint (Human Intelligence) officers, responsible for spies and covert operatives.

The omission of a report with an ‘A’ grade agent’s clearance code was unheard of. This document was undoubtedly a request for confirmation of the report received from an agent who had been confirmed dead.

Hae-woon accessed the information, and as soon as he got what he needed, he threw the laptop he used to access the data into the sea beneath the Jeju Island cliffs.

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After finishing the scene with Park Kang-woo, Director Park Chan-hong approached the actors who were gazing at the sunset.

“Everyone, let’s wrap it up.”

To film the final scene of the movie, the extras responsible for driving, Han So-hyeon, Ma Seok-do, and Ryu Yeon-woo boarded motorboats, while the crew members joined two boats and set sail into the sea.

As they sailed away from the harbor, the director’s voice came through a loudspeaker on an adjacent boat.

“Are you all ready?”

“Yes!”

“Ready for the last scene, action!”

With the director’s cue, the cameras started rolling.

Men who had descended via ladders boarded the motorboats prepared at the rear of the ship.

Jennifer, who had been waiting on the boat, spoke through a megaphone from the neighboring boat.

“Why did it take you so long? Your skin will get damaged from too much exposure to the sea breeze.”

“It didn’t take that long. We’re done now.”

Pierre shrugged his shoulders and responded to Jennifer’s complaining.

“Is this worth it?”

At that moment, Gwak Ji-cheol raised a switch and asked Pierre.

“No, it’s not. We can’t let them have all the fun.”

He grabbed the switch and raised it high before pressing it.

Kaboom!

The explosives set up by ‘Junk Dealer’ team detonated, making the deserted bridge burst into flames.

“Ugh!”

People on the boat simultaneously ducked their heads from the sound and heat. Of course, the explosion scene was performed later with CGI. Simultaneously, there would be a scene of Park Kang-woo crouching down, which had been filmed just a moment ago.

“Wow, the firepower is fantastic.”

“Where’s ‘Junk Dealer’? Is he an amateur? Always so clear.”

The boat set sail into the sea.

“Brother, where should I drop you off?”

Pierre Choi asked while looking at Gwak Ji-cheol.

Gwak Ji-cheol responded with an uncertain expression.

“Hmm.”

Seeing this, Jennifer laughed.

“Ahaha. Well, I knew it would turn out like this. Did you enjoy the operation, mister?”

She nudged Gwak Ji-cheol’s side with her elbow, as if she already knew everything.

Pierre, observing this, chuckled softly.

“You can get off when you want to. Nobody’s forcing you to stay.”

The ship left a lasting impression as it sailed towards the sunset.

Tick.

A voice came through the director Park Chan-hong’s walkie-talkie on Yeon-woo’s boat.

“Okay, cut! The end of the ‘Master Plan’ shoot!”

*

Busan, Hae-woon’s house.

‘I’ve confirmed he’s alive, but how can I find a hidden Black Agent?’

It’s just a speculation, but Hae-woon thinks Jeon Su-hwan is alive.

However, he couldn’t find any leads after that.

Then, a TV commercial caught Hae-woon’s attention due to the silence.

‘The musical ‘Dyanador,’ which resonated around the world, will soon meet you in its upcoming performance.’

“Dyanador?”

Hae-woon reflexively looked at the TV screen.

It was a word he distinctly heard in conversations with Team Leader Jeon Su-hwan, whom he dreams about lately.

Team Leader Jeon, who usually didn’t say much, showed interest in stories like movies or musicals, especially the musical ‘Dyanador,’ which he mentioned watching whenever he had the opportunity.

Hae-woon concentrated as much as possible to recall the elusive details from his dreams.

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“So, Team Leader, are you a first-time audience?”

“Nth time? Do people still use that term nowadays?”

Baek Yoo-hyun engaged in conversation with Jeon Su-hwan, who seemed bored.

“What’s the appeal of that musical?”

“The appeal, huh…”

Jeon Su-hwan hesitated for a moment. It was probably one of the longest sentences Baek Yoo-hyun had ever heard from him.

“In ‘Dyanador,’ the female lead stabs herself with a knife, giving up on her love, and her face reflects every emotion a human experiences at that moment. It’s magnificent when you watch it from the terrace on the right, the highest one.”

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“The right terrace!”

Hae-woon turned on his laptop and accessed the ticketing website.

“If Team Leader Jeon saw it, he must have attended the premiere.”

he thought to himself as he hurriedly tried to book tickets.

During his vacation, Hae-woon spent most of his time at home, focusing on searching for Jeon Su-hwan, except when he had to go to work to handle cases.

Hae-woon believed that on the day he and Jeon Su-hwan died, and on the day he was reborn, Jeon Su-hwan must have also been reborn in someone else’s body. This led him to investigate that direction.

However, the nationwide search was too vast, so he started from Daejeon, where the report had come from.

“Maybe I got it wrong.”

he muttered. Perhaps he should have started his search from a different city since Daejeon was known for its transport links.

Over a month later, Hae-woon went to the National Theater to watch the musical ‘Dyanador,’ not because he wanted to see the musical but to find Jeon Su-hwan.

He arrived at the theater 30 minutes earlier than the show’s start time, deliberately.

“Let me help you with the ticket verification.”

“Sure, here’s the ticket.”

As Hae-woon handed the ticket to the staff, they checked it and nodded.

“Enjoy the show.”

Hae-woon headed straight for the highest terrace seat on the third floor, B section, where Jeon Su-hwan had mentioned.

The terrace was still empty. Hae-woon sighed, wondering if this was all in vain.

After about ten minutes, a middle-aged woman entered the terrace.

There were seats for five people on the terrace. Hae-woon observed the woman discreetly, thinking, ‘There’s no rule that says he had to be reborn as a man.’

She wore fairly elegant clothing but appeared to be an ordinary middle-aged woman.

“Mom.”

A young woman entered next, and she asked her mother.

“Did you park well?”

“Yeah, the parking lot is spacious.”

Following her was a middle-aged man, whose age was similar to that of the woman who had entered first. ‘Could he be her father?’ Hae-woon wondered, as they seemed to be of the same generation.

However, the group members passed by without sitting with Hae-woon. Instead, they sat beside him. Judging by the empty seat between the middle-aged woman and Hae-woon, it appeared that this viewer had come alone.

‘Could this person be the one I’m looking for? They seem older than the original Team Leader Jeon, though.’

Hae-woon himself had been reborn at a similar age, but there was no guarantee that Jeon Su-hwan had experienced the same.

As the performance time approached, more people filled the first and second-floor seats in the theater, and the lights inside the theater gradually dimmed.

‘Besides me, there are only three others? The most likely candidate is the middle-aged man sitting next to me.’

There was no other choice. Hae-woon had to take the risk.

As the theater darkened and the audience’s attention turned toward the stage for the upcoming musical, it grew quiet. Then, a person in the 3rd-floor terrace, who could be heard by everyone, began speaking loudly.

“Team Leader Jeon Su-hwan, do you remember when the GPS went haywire near the desert, not far from Yazd?”

It was about an incident where their mission near the city of Yazd in the central desert of Iran had gone awry. Their off-road vehicle had overturned, the GPS had malfunctioned, and they were stranded in the desert.

“Ahem!”

Suddenly, the middle-aged man sitting beside Hae-woon harrumphed loudly, reminding Hae-woon to keep his manners. The man next to him cleared his throat and glared at Hae-woon, as if expressing his disapproval of Hae-woon’s loud talking.

“Please be quiet. The musical is about to start.”

Both the father and daughter gave Hae-woon disapproving looks, one as if to say, ‘What nonsense is he blabbering about?’ and the other as if to convey that they had seen some strange person.

‘…I must have been mistaken.’

Just as Hae-woon was about to apologize, a cold and hard object touched his neck.