NIS Agents Tearing Up the Japanese Empire - Chapter 7



Only Krnovel

Ghosts live in Gyeongseong – 6

Even after the sun had completely set, Mr. Kim Sang-ok and I were still hiding in Go Bong-geun’s servants’ quarters.

“Is it okay for me to stay still like this?”

“?”

“The Waegyeongs must be searching Gyeongseong right now, trying to catch me. Why wouldn’t they come here too?”

“He’s not coming.”

“How can you be so sure?”

“Well, he won’t come.”

After the police in Jongro took away the bodies of the two dead police officers, the owner of the house, Koh Bong-geun, and his family.

So what I’m saying is that there’s nothing they can take from this house.

Moreover, the suspect who killed the police officer was currently wandering around Gyeongseong, so if he incited Koreans and the incident of 1919 happened again, it would be a big problem.

“What the Japanese Government-General of Korea, which experienced the nationwide independence movement the last time, is most wary of is something like that happening again.”

“Why?”

“If the independence movement breaks out again, people might be holding knives or guns instead of the Taegeukgi.”

“hmm!”

It will take time to interrogate the family members of Ko Bong-geun who were taken there a little while ago and obtain information.

“Hmm···.”

“Why are you doing that?”

“My sister was among those who were taken away a little while ago.”

Mr. Kim Sang-ok sighed with a slightly gloomy face.

“Whew… I didn’t do anything for you, big sister, and just made you suffer, and now I feel heavy-hearted that you’re going through this trouble again.”

“Don’t worry too much. They’re probably a little busy today and short on manpower, so the interrogation won’t be that intense.”

“Those are very comforting words.”

I told the teacher a story that gave him some comfort in his bitter expression.

“Then, let me say something truly comforting… If you just wait a little bit, your sister and her husband will return.”

“How do you know that?”

“There’s no information to be extracted from them anyway. And since they’re civilians, they’ll quickly reveal information even under light questioning.”

“······I wish that were so.”

The teacher seemed to be thinking a lot about something.

In times like this, it would be better to move on to another topic.

“It is for similar reasons that I stayed here.”

“What does that mean?”

“The spy who reported on the teacher will be the first of the family to be released and return home.”

“!!!”

“They will think that the teacher is wandering around Gyeongseong, so they will pack their bags and leave Gyeongseong out of fear of future troubles.”

“Heh heh… Did you think that far…?”

The teacher looked very surprised, but then he let out a sigh of relief, smiled bitterly, and stroked the gun in his hand.

“I would like to run to Jongno right away, but I have to endure it for the sake of the great undertaking.”

“If you want, go ahead. I’ll help you.”

“Huh, you speak well.”

“It’s not an empty promise.”

I was sincere.

If the teacher says he will storm Jongno-seo to save his family, I plan to follow him for now.

Of course, that doesn’t mean I’ll just follow along without thinking.

In his head, he was already planning a plan to rescue Go Bong-geun and his family.

“······Why are you helping me?”

“As I said earlier, I am from Miryang, Yaksan···.”

“······Comrade Commander sent me to help? Do you really think I would believe that?”

“hmm.”

Mr. Kim Sang-ok’s gun was pointed at me.

Well, even I thought it was a bit of a poor answer.

“What is your true identity? And what do you really want? I think you need to know this much if you want to move together.”

“okay.”

I turned my head slightly and saw the teacher’s gun pointed at my chest.

“You shouldn’t be aiming for each other’s chests at such a close distance that your noses are almost touching.”

“what?”

The teacher and I were sitting facing each other.

The servants’ quarters were a bit larger than the goshiwon I had seen before, so the distance between the teacher and me was also closer.

So, I was able to snatch the teacher’s gun away by slightly reaching out and grabbing his wrist.

“That’s what happens.”

“Hmm… What a mysterious sleight of hand.”

“This is normal.”

He spun the gun around and handed it back to the teacher.

“I fully understand your curiosity about my true identity. However, please understand that I am in a position where I cannot reveal it due to personal circumstances.”

“Then let me ask you just this one thing.”

“As much as you want.”

The teacher asked me with a slightly nervous expression.

“Are you working for the Japanese?”

I answered his question with a smile.

“I am a person who has pledged to sacrifice this body for my country and people. And let me add one thing: my homeland is not the Empire of Japan, but the Republic of Korea.”

“Republic of Korea… Is it the Provisional Government?”

“Well. If there is a connection, then there is, and if there isn’t, then there isn’t. It’s a complicated and subtle relationship.”

“Huh, that’s interesting.”

The teacher finally put his doubts aside.

“I am a person who works in the shade and seeks the sun. I will stop here.”

“Okay, that’s enough.”

Mr. Kim Sang-ok took back the gun I had handed him and spoke with a determined expression.

“My goal is to assassinate Governor-General Saito, who will be leaving for Japan from Gyeongseong Station in a few days.”

“My goal is to blow up the Government-General of Korea.”

“Then we’ll need a bomb.”

“I guess you’ll need the train schedule and station attendant uniform for Gyeongseong Station.”

“I happen to know a good bomb expert.”

“I think I might be able to get a train schedule, too.”

The deal was progressing smoothly.

If I help the teacher here, the teacher will finish the business and return to Shanghai to help me.

This was the deal between us.

“Wait a minute. I hear some noise.”

“Yes, judging by his light steps, he doesn’t seem like a grown man.”

Light and gentle footsteps.

These were the footsteps of a woman or a child.

But among those taken to Jongno-seo a little while ago, there were no children.

“A woman…. If there is a woman in this mansion….”

“It was the teacher’s sister and another unknown person who lived in the servants’ quarters.”

So the two of them nervously looked outside through the crack in the door.

Soon the sound of footsteps came closer, and the front door opened with a creaking sound.

And then a pair of brightly colored shoes entered the yard.

“Ugh···. I thought I was going to die···.”

And then a woman dressed in elegant hanbok came in.

He appeared to be in his late teens or early twenties, and there were no visible signs of violence such as bruises on his body, and he walked without any problems, so it seemed he had not been questioned.

“Brother… Why are you wasting your time when you said you’d get it out quickly!”

She walked into the servants’ quarters, grumbling.

It seemed like she was heading to her room next to ours.

I turned my head slightly to look at Mr. Kim Sang-ok, and he was looking outside with his eyes burning brightly and an expression like an evil spirit crawling out of hell.

“It’s not certain yet. So I’ll go out first and take a quick look.”

“······.”

“Until then, you’ll have to be patient. Okay?”

“······.”

“I understand that you understand···.”

The door was wide open.

Then, the girl in the yard saw me and fell backwards in surprise.

“Oh my!”

“A young woman returns to the scene of an incident in the dead of night.”

“Who, who are you?”

He took a step forward from the dark shadow under the eaves and showed her the white uniform that symbolized the Imperial Police.

“This is Sato Masao, the Chief of the Alert Department.”

“Oh, you’re new here···?”

The person who had been fiddling with the silver sword in his bosom with a wary expression on his face just a moment ago suddenly let his guard down.

“Huh? Who told you that?”

“My brother works as a police officer at Jongno Police Station···.”

“Oh, really? What’s your name?”

“This is Detective Jo Yong-su.”

“Quiet.”

As I thought back, I remembered someone who got really annoyed by his boss this morning.

“Then you were released first with the help of that police officer named Jo Yong-su.”

“yes!”

“hmm.”

A creaking sound was heard from inside the room.

It seemed like the teacher inside was preparing to shoot his gun at any moment.

There was still more than a little information to dig up, but since it was already something I couldn’t kill, I slightly changed my position and continued asking questions while blocking the teacher’s view.

“How about Jongro? It’s very busy, isn’t it?”

“Oh my… Don’t be ridiculous. Those people who were usually kind are so vicious and cruel… I told you I was going to get in trouble.”

As she spoke, she showed me the red handprint left on her pure white arm.

“Look at how viciously he grabbed my arm… It hurt so much I could hear him.”

“I see. Let me apologize for that.”

“No, what… I didn’t mean to hear an apology.”

“then?”

She glanced around, then slowly approached me and whispered quietly.

“By any chance… Do you need more information about the suspect? This is something that Jongno-seo didn’t mention.”

“Do you have any information?”

“Yes! I didn’t even tell my brother about this.”

“Hmm. That’s strange. Didn’t you say everything you know at Jongseo?”

She shook her head and smiled bashfully.

“Hey… no.”

“No?”

“That’s not a place you’re called to investigate, it’s a place that turns a person into a cripple. Why would someone like me go to such a dangerous place?”

“Still, it must have been difficult for him to escape since he was a member of the family living in the mansion where the suspect was.”

She continued to speak with a smile on her face the whole time, as if she was enjoying something so much.

“My brother and Inspector Miwa helped me get out of here.”

“Are you Miwa Kyungbu?”

“Oh, did you not hear that?”

“What do you mean?”

She smiled and hummed softly.

“I am the one who reported the evil spirit to the servants’ quarters.”

“Oh… I see.”

Now I feel like the puzzle is finally starting to fit together.

How could the guys who hadn’t been able to track down the suspect all this time have immediately identified the suspect and known where he was hiding?

“I was wondering who the source of information for Inspector Miwa was… I never imagined it would be this kind of person.”

“Hehe. I’m a little embarrassed.”

She blushed and turned her head away.

“You should be ashamed.”

“yes?”

The door to the servants’ quarters opened and someone walked out.

The woman recognized him, covered her mouth, and looked back at me.

“Uh, uh···?”

“Well, that’s what happened.”

“Ah···. Ahh?”

The woman turned around and tried to run away, but Mr. Kim Sang-ok was a little faster.

“Ugh···. Ugh···!”

“In the name of Uiyoldan, we will punish spies.”

“Ugh, ugh… Ugh…!”

Those were her last words.

It will never be known whether the last words shouted were a plea for help or an accusation that Kim Sang-ok was here.

“Are you dead?”

“He died all at once.”

“······This is horrible.”

When the teacher relaxed his arms, her body fell to the floor like a doll with its strings cut off.

“I think you should start taking a break.”

“Are you going with me?”

“No. I have to go back.”

“Return? Where are you talking about?”

“Where would you say Jongro-gu Station is?”

The teacher asked me with a stern face.

“Are you going to walk into the cave yourself right now?”

“Yes, if we go together like this, it won’t be beneficial to either of us.”

“Hmm. If you’re doing this because of what I said earlier, then you don’t have to worry about it…”

“Do I look like the kind of person who cares about other people’s personal affairs?”

Currently, Jongro is in a position to be the command tower that encompasses the four major police stations in Gyeongseong, including Dongdaemun, Namdaemun, and Jung-gu.

So I decided that it would be better to go back to Jongno-seo and extract all the information I could from there to help Mr. Kim Sang-ok.

I will also save Mr. Gyeomsa Gyeomsa’s family.

“I will get information from Jongno and give it to you. Then, won’t things go well for you?”

“That sounds a little dangerous.”

“Teacher, do you know me?”

“He’s someone connected to the provisional government.”

“What else?”

The teacher shook his head.

“Then you know more about me than the police.”

“!!!”

“Don’t worry about your family. I’ll take the opportunity to get you out.”

“······Please.”

“Then that’s it.”

The teacher grabbed my shoulder as I was about to leave and spoke to me with a serious face.

“When you return to Jongseo, how can I contact you?”

“Teacher, if you just tell me where you are going, I will go find you.”

“······You?”

The teacher looked like he couldn’t believe it.

“Even though I look like this, I’m good at finding people.”

“Um… Well, that’s what you say.”

The teacher said he was thinking of going over Namsan and taking refuge at his relative’s house in Suyu-ri.

“Is this Suyu-dong?”

“It’s Suyuri.”

“Oh, I confirmed it.”

Since it was a time when Seoul was called Gyeongseong, the place names were quite different from what I knew.

It seemed like I had to memorize the place names again.

“See you later.”

“Okay, see you later.”

The teacher jumped over the wall like a swift weasel, headed toward Namsan, and disappeared into the distance.

I headed in the opposite direction, towards Jongno Police Station.

“It’s time to get to work.”