NIS Agents Tearing Up the Japanese Empire - Chapter 27



Only Krnovel

Shanghai Romance – 5

At that time, I sent the provisional government officials home with a thick envelope in their hands and was about to start working on a new plan for the future in earnest.

Someone knocked on our front door.

I was about to open the front door, wondering if the provisional government officials had left something behind in the house, but something felt strange.

‘The shadow···?’

There were more than one or two shadows visible under the gate.

It looked like there were at least fifteen people crowded together.

Yet no sound was heard beyond the gate.

‘Are they Japanese spies?’

He quietly took out the gun from his waistband and pretended not to know anything and shouted.

“Who’s out there?”

“Is this the home of this teacher from Gyeongseong?”

It was a voice that seemed frivolous yet somehow deep from beyond the door.

I searched through the depths of my memory, but it was a voice I had never heard before.

I was a little curious, but how could I trust those guys who were swarming around and knocking on someone else’s door at this late hour and open it?

I pretended to be a servant of this house and tried to drive them out.

“It’s late at night now, so the teacher has gone to bed early. If possible, you should come and see me tomorrow morning.”

“Then, would you please go and tell the teacher that a friend from Miryang came to visit?”

“Friend?”

I tilted my head at the word friend.

That’s understandable. In modern times, I’m so busy working all over the world that I’ve ended up in a place where I have no connections, so I don’t have anyone I can call a friend.

Most of the people I associate with are either enemies or collaborators for work-related reasons.

How can someone like me be your friend?

‘A friend came to visit from Miryang?’

The other person probably thought I would understand what he was saying, but I actually had no idea what he was saying.

‘Miryang… Is there anyone from Miryang right now who I can get involved with?’

Several independence activists from Miryang came to mind.

Representative examples include Kim Won-bong and Yun Se-ju. Among them, Yun Se-ju was arrested after infiltrating Joseon in an attempt to inflict damage on the Japanese Government-General of Korea, and is currently imprisoned in Seodaemun Prison.

Then, only one person is left.

“Are you Mr. Kim Won-bong of Yaksan?”

“······So you are this teacher.”

As I opened the door, I saw Kim Won-bong and the members of Uiyoldan shivering in the cold wind blowing from the river.

Everyone looked cold at first glance, wearing only a black coat over a thin suit instead of thick winter clothes even in this cold winter.

“It’s cold, so everyone should go inside. I’ve lit a fire in advance, so you’ll be warm.”

“Then excuse me.”

Everyone must have been so cold that they all rushed into the house without even looking back.

“Wow···.”

“The house is nice···.”

“Yeah, if you’re a man, you should live in a fancy house like this.”

The members warmed up a bit at home and then looked around the house, admiring it.

It seemed as if they had put a lot of effort into their appearance; the things they were wearing were all luxurious items, and their clothes were also very neat.

On the surface, he looked like an enlightened gentleman rather than a terrorist threatening the Japanese.

-Gulp.

“Haha… I was wandering around here and there looking for this house and I ended up missing meal time. What happened?”

“······.”

“Since we have met like this, it is fate. Could you treat me to a meal?”

When I saw them walking around without even being able to eat properly, I couldn’t help but sigh.

I roughly organized the food I had received as a housewarming gift and gave it to them, and they started inhaling the food like they had starved for three days.

“I knew that this teacher was very talented, but I didn’t know that he was also good at cooking.”

“If you want more, please let me know.”

“The broth is thick and there’s a lot of meat in it, so it’s delicious!”

“Thank you, Mr. Lee!”

“Wow… The food in this place is amazing!”

Everyone was somewhat full and began to laugh and chat happily among themselves.

Kim Won-bong looked around at the laughing and chatting members and spoke to me.

“Thank you for helping Sangok in Gyeongseong and sending support funds to Uiyoldan.”

“Considering that you readily donated a considerable amount of money, you are very late in expressing your gratitude.”

Kim Won-bong nodded his head and laughed heartily.

“Haha… I apologize for that, but I haven’t been playing around all this time.”

“Of course you would.”

Seeing that he had been quiet all this time even after knowing that I had arrived in Shanghai, and then suddenly barged in today, I could see what Kim Won-bong was thinking.

“So where do you plan on throwing the bomb this time? I destroyed the Jongno Police Station, so it won’t work… The Government-General of Korea? The Oriental Development Company? The Gyeongseong Ilbo?”

Kim Won-bong smiled faintly.

“Everything. I plan on blowing it all up.”

“All of them?”

He was hotter than I thought.

“The current situation in Gyeongseong is no different from a beehive being poked. It’s a bit embarrassing for me to say this myself, but I’ve poured a bunch of shit on the faces of the Governor-General and the Gyeongseong police with my own hands, so everyone must be very angry.”

During the few weeks I was in Gyeongseong, I killed, injured, and crippled several police officers, and even destroyed the Jongno Police Station.

There, I even kidnapped the Chief of Police of the Government-General, who was said to have brought down a bird, and cut off his hand.

In the end, I killed all the Black Dragons who had been following my trail… Everyone must have rolled their eyes.

If we compare it to modern-day South Korea, a terrorist suddenly appeared in South Korea, killed or injured police officers, blew up the Gangnam Police Station, kidnapped the police chief, and cut off his wrists.

There, a South Korean citizen was brutally murdered by a terrorist, even though he was a gangster.

That was the situation in Gyeongseong right now.

“I heard that the security forces’ checks and searches have been strengthened, and everyone is openly armed with guns and swords on the streets.”

“I heard that too.”

“Are you saying that someone who knows that is going to attack public institutions in Gyeongseong right now?”

Kim Won-bong ate everything from the bottom of his rice bowl to the end and then put his spoon down.

“Ke-eok. As you said, now is not a good time to do something. But now that all eyes are on Gyeongseong, wouldn’t it be a good time to move our things to Joseon?”

“Are you moving things?”

Surely, Kim Sang-ok did not say that he was moving goods to deliver kimchi to his hometown.

It is clear that what he is trying to move will be mainly dangerous items that the Japanese must not know about.

for example···.

“It would be something like a bomb or a gun.”

“That’s right.”

“But even if the security of other regions outside of Gyeongseong is weakened, there will still be considerable difficulties in bringing such items into Joseon.”

The Japanese police have shown me how to treat them time and time again, but that was possible because I worked alone and never leaked information.

Uiyoldan had been active before I came here and was a top target of surveillance by the Japanese.

Naturally, their every move would have been reported to the Japanese Empire through spies within the Uiyoldan or by outside observers.

“There is someone among the Gyeonggi-do Imperial Police who is cooperating with us.”

“?!”

This was the first time I heard this story.

We often hear stories about the Japanese Government-General of Korea planting spies among independence activists, but how can it be that independence activists planted spies for the Japanese?

I was a little intrigued.

“A spy… At best, he’s a police officer.”

“If I were just a policeman, I wouldn’t have bragged to you about it.”

Kim Won-bong said that, looked around a couple of times, and then waved his hand as if telling the other members to stay a little further away.

And as the members moved away, he stuck his head out and spoke to me in a voice so faint that only I could hear it.

“A few years ago, one of our members, Kim Si-hyeon, succeeded in getting Superintendent Hwang Ok, a high-ranking detective belonging to the Gyeonggi Provincial Police Agency, to switch to our side.”

“Jade. I’ve heard that name before.”

The name of the most mysterious figure in the history of the independence movement came out of Kim Won-bong’s mouth.

“Do you know him?”

“I remember seeing it among the materials smuggled from Jongno Police Station.”

“This is information smuggled from Jongro… It’s quite an interesting piece of stuff. Could you show it to me?”

“If you’d like, I can give you a copy.”

“Thank you, Mr. Lee.”

Kim Won-bong smiled happily, but I did not.

Instead, she asked him with a more serious face than before.

“A person named Hwangok… can you trust him?”

“You may not know this, but he is a member of Uiyoldan who has helped us in many ways, both materially and spiritually.”

“Yesterday’s comrades become tomorrow’s spies. How can we trust the Japanese police?”

“If he were the high-ranking detective, Inspector Hwang Ok, then yes, he is Hwang Ok of the Uiyoldan.”

Kim Won-bong’s faith was very strong.

Does that mean that Hwangok is a trustworthy person?

I still didn’t know what kind of person Kim Won-bong was, and what kind of person Hwang Ok was.

Because of the lack of information, it was difficult to even estimate how likely this undertaking would be to succeed.

‘Originally, Hwang-ok was transporting a bomb with members of Uiyoldan, but was captured by a spy and brought to trial.’

Was he really a spy loyal to the Japanese? Or was he a spy who belatedly repented his mistakes and devoted himself to the independence movement?

If not, is he a person who stands with one foot on each side and goes back and forth between the two to look after his own interests?

He was a person who aroused curiosity in many ways.

“I’m in Tianjin now.”

“Who is it?”

“topaz.”

Kim Won-bong looked at me like that and smiled.

He seemed to notice that I was interested in him.

“Would you like to meet up sometime?”

“No. I don’t like it. I’ve been having a blast in Gyeongseong, so I’m thinking of stepping away from the field work for the time being and supporting others.”

“Hmm. It would be a great help if you could help me···.”

“As you know, I want to start a new business here. There are many things to prepare for in order to start a business, so I don’t think it would be easy to worry about such things.”

“I see.”

For now, it was more urgent to establish a business foundation and complete a system to legally and efficiently create and distribute counterfeit currency.

There, unlike the original history, the police in Gyeongseong now are out of their minds because I stirred them up so much.

If Hwang-ok was truly trustworthy, then Uiyoldan’s uprising would succeed.

‘If not, it will fail···.’

It doesn’t matter though.

If any members of Uiyoldan are caught, I will go to Gyeongseong and destroy the Seodaemun Prison, even if it means getting them all out.

Kim Won-bong’s face showed a look of regret, but since he had already received more than one or two things from me, I didn’t offer it to him twice.

Just before I left, I left a few last strings behind.

“If you change your mind, you can find Jeong Chae-san at the guest house in Tianjin.”

“Yes, take a look.”

“Yeah, you ate well and are leaving. I hope to see you often in the future, Mr. Lee!”

Kim Won-bong left in a hurry, leading his men just as he had when he first came here.

As I watched their backs walking down the cold winter night streets, I felt a sense of desolation.

“Use it.”

And for some reason, I felt a sense of uneasiness as if I had left my child at the water’s edge, but soon I shook my head and turned away.

“······Oh my, who cares about whom?”

He was unable to immediately deal with the issues that had arisen in Gyeongseong, so he fled to Shanghai as if being chased.

So, for now, it would be best to hunker down as much as possible and slowly build up your strength···.

“Who is this? Isn’t this our ardent supporter, Mr. Lee?”

“Haha, it looks like this teacher knew we were coming and was waiting barefoot.”

“Teacher Lee! Nice to meet you!”

“······?”

When the provisional government left, Uiyoldan, and when Uiyoldan left, new people flocked in.

“Uh···. So···?”

“Haha, it’s me, Kim Dong-sam! You’re not saying you’ve forgotten already, are you, Mr. Lee?”

“Hahaha! You guy! Do you think this teacher would forget you because he couldn’t remember the name he gave you?”

“······.”

This time, the Manchurian independence army came.

Somehow, as the days went by, it felt like our house was becoming a meeting place.