Codename-Anastasia Chapter 4: 1.4 New Mission: Set foot in Russia

What's more useless than asking a child about his future aspirations? From being president to becoming a lawyer, doctor, astronaut or entertainer overnight, majors and careers also change countless tis.

Kwon Taek Joo's childhood was the sa. Even when he entered the university

exam room, he never thought he would beco an agent of the National

Intelligence Agency.

His brother is different. From the beginning he spoke seriously, and his dream remained the sa. That is to beco a soldier like dad. His mother comforted him when his brother chose a book at his first birthday, then often lanted, "Who would have thought it was a military theory book.

The mother always hoped her two sons would not beco soldiers or anything like that. His maternal grandfather, who prioritized family affairs over housework, and her military husband, whom she t early on through his introduction. That's why his mother often said that her whole life she had no mory of sleeping with her legs stretched out. On days when my father went on a business trip, my mother often hugged my two brothers and stayed up all night. She did not want to pass that difficulty on to her children.

But people still say that no child does what their parents want. The older brother eventually ignored his mother's expectations and volunteered to join the Navy only to die in combat. It happened about 10 years ago. Since then, the mother has beco almost obsessed with Kwon T aek Joo, her only remaining son. As soon as she took care of her eldest son's funeral, she hugged Kwon T aek Joo

and repeatedly begged him not to be like her brother. But even he could not fulfill

his mother's wish. According to the National Intelligence Agency's job regulations, an employee's

identity must be kept secret even from family mbers, including parents. Even if

it weren't for that reason, Kwon Taek Joo still couldn't be honest with his mother. She is the one who lost her father, husband and eldest son for the sake of her country. His mother wouldn't be able to bear it any longer if she knew that even the last drop of blood would hold a gun more than chopsticks. She always thought that Kwon T aek Joo was just a low-level civil servant in a small provincial town. His mother would never have expected that Kwon T aek Joo was coming to Moscow as a Japanese citizen.

He closed his eyes, rembering the past, then suddenly took out his phone.

Mom's ssage appeared as expected.

"Son, have a delicious lunch. Do your best today too!"

That inquiry always cos around noon every day. If there is no response, she

will contact you right after work hours, so it seems like Kwon T aek Joo will have to send a reply as soon as she lands. It's Monday and there are a lot of civil complaints so I've been very busy, that should be enough of an excuse. Now he has the experience to strengthen his mother's trust.

Kwon Taek Joo checked the ti while resetting his phone. It's been nine hours since he boarded the plane. Looking at the remaining distance on the screen, it would take about another hour to get there. Maybe you should check the mask on your face again. Kwon T aek Joo imdiately stood up.

Just in ti the toilet was empty. He was about to open the door and step in when he heard a noise from sowhere in the economy class seat. Kwon T aek Joo opened the curtain to look at the situation on the other side. A passenger and a flight attendant are arguing. It seems this custor thought the alcohol was free so he drank a lot. Kwon T aek Joo quickly lost interest and went to the bathroom. He locked the door and the overhead light turned on.

He looked at an unfamiliar face reflected in the mirror. The current Kwon Taek

Joo is Hiro Sakamoto. Even the ears are modeled after him, only the jet black eyes are Kwon T aek Joo's.

He turned his head back and forth and rubbed the skin on his face, the feeling of the artificial skin was exactly like his own. Kwon T aek Joo smoothed his hair, washed his hands and dried them with a paper towel. As he was about to step out, sothing suddenly hit the back of the door.

It hit so hard that all the lights on the ceiling flickered. Soon it beca even

noisier outside. The voice of a flight attendant asked,

"Are you okay?" The soundof footsteps rushing towards him and the screams of a man who had absolutely

no idea what he was saying mixed together.

Kwon T aek Joo unlocked the lock and pulled hard to open the door. The man

leaning against the door from the outside fell down inside.

"Fuck...Damn it, what the hell?"

A typical Russian man is extrely drunk, still holding an empty bottle of vodka

in his hand. It seems that he drank all the alcohol he bought at the airport

duty-free shop on the plane. Kwon T aek Joo wondered who would be so

shaless as to drink free alcohol until he got drunk, but the truth was even

harsher than that

He looked down at the struggling man for a mont without saying a word. Only

the flight attendants were confused and didn't know what to do.

"Dear guests, please sit up. I will help you.

"What? Dare you touch sothing? Let it go! Ah, let it go!"

"Ah!"

The obnoxious drunk pushed the flight attendant who was trying to help him up. Not only did the crew mber fall, but all other crew mbers looked confused. It seems like no one can subdue the big Russian at the mont. An upright passenger should also help the crew, but it's troubleso to directly interfere in this incident. While Kwon T aek Joo was thinking, a flight attendant hurriedly

contacted the cockpit.

Normally when these situations occur, the plane will temporarily land at a nearby

airport. In that case, the drunk man and all the passengers had to get off the plane. In addition, everything from baggage check to boarding procedures has been re-done. Then there's the hour-long wait until the plane is re-arranged or an alternative flight is arranged which is essentially what happens. Interfering in other people's affairs is not advisable. Kwon T aek Joo doesn't want

to do anything to attract attention. But he also felt uncomfortable because his original plan was ruined by a shaless person and he had to bear the trouble

himself.

Kwon Taek Joo grabbed the drunk man's back who was still leaning against his

leg.

"Stand up a bit.

"Eh!"

The man was forced to stand up and dragged to the bathroom. He was pushed

hard, hit his butt against the toilet and fell forward. As the fallen man's arm stuck

out the door. soft screams rang out from the passengers outside. The peoplesitting in the front seats quickly stood up to watch a good movie. The flight

attendant repeatedly asked them to sit down but no one did. Finally, calls started

pouring in from all over.

The man staggered to his feet with a cruel look on his face. He smirked with a

red face and used the back of his hand to wipe the saliva from his mouth.

"Oh ho... Try it, like this, right?"

Kwon Taek Joo just waved his finger at the drunk man who was wheezing. The

man muttered sothing then suddenly rushed towards him like an excited

bison.

Kwon T aek Joo imdiately wrapped himself around the neck of the man who

was trying to attack him and pinned him to his hip. The drunk man was suddenly

grabbed by the neck, used both hands to squeeze Kwon T aek Joo's legs and then quickly lifted him up with the intention of smashing him straight into the

ceiling of the plane.

The crew mbers who were watching closed their eves tightly. But the

surrounding suddenly beca quiet. So ti passed and the predicted crash

was still not heard. The passengers who backed away blinked in the distance. And the expected sound rang out a mont later.

But the person who fell was not Kwon T aek Joo but the person as big as a cow.

The man who had just been suddenly attacked at his weak point was still lying down, clutching his neck. Kwon T aek Joo completely controlled him before releasing his tightly clenched arm. He then kicked the unconscious big drunk in the shoulder and pushed him out of the bathroom. Screams that had been suppressed for a while now rang out from the passengers. Kwon T aek Joo

leisurely walked out while straightening his wrinkled jacket.

"What's up?"

At that mont, the co-pilot, after being inford of the situation, appeared. He

alternated looking back and forth between the body lying on the ground and

Kwon Taek Joo and then turned his eves to the flight attendants. Kwon T aek Joo returned to his seat as if nothing happened. Click. The sound of seat belts being tightened announced the end of the commotion.

The flight attendants, who were busy dealing with the drunk passenger, were

now busy placating other passengers who were complaining and protesting. The

vice captain's situation is not much different.

Sorry custors.

You must have been very surprised? I'll bring a glass of warm water right away.

It's safe now. Please do not worry.Sorry, everyone.

Kwon T aek Joo kept hearing those words from the other side of the closed

curtain. A series of apologies for the disturbance were also issued.

He was trying to ignore it and close his eyes, but the co-pilot and the manager

approached, it seed like they were trying to express their gratitude for his

help. He must have just defeated a serious opponent. "Can we arrive on ti?"

"Ah, unfortunately the incident has already been reported to the control center so

we have to wait in the sky until the airport gives permission to land. The arrival

ti is expected to be delayed by about an hour.

"I

It finally turned out like this. Kwon T aek Joo frowned and nodded dejectedly, then

he imdiately put on his headphones. Even though they were refused a

roundabout conversation, the two still sent their sincere thanks before returning to their positions.

Passengers who had been complaining until that point also beca docile as the

plane shook due to turbulence. They quickly sat down, fastened their seat belts

and held their breath to keep their backs straight even before the flight attendant could ask them to. Soone even muttered a prayer.

Thanks to that, Kwon T aek Joo was able to spend about an hour in peace. His

ears were ringing and he couldn't close his eyes. While he was still killing ti, an announcent on the flight rang out again.

[In a few minutes our plane will arrive at Moscow Domodedovo Airport. Local

ti is 16:11. The weather was cloudy and the outdoor temperature was -13 degrees Celsius. We sincerely apologize for any inconvenience caused to you

due to unwanted noise during the flight. Thank you for using Japan Airlines and we look forward to serving you again soon. Thank you and see you again.] However, even after the broadcast, the plane still hovered in the sky for a long ti. By the ti we landed on the ground, it was already past 5pm. Kwon Taek Joo followed the crowd to the immigration checkpoint. He was not

very stressed because disguising himself as soone else to go abroad was familiar to him to the point of boredom.

The inspection was over in a flash. The employee just glanced at Kwon T aek Joo

without asking any questions. Everything went smoothly until he picked up his luggage and exited immigration.

Outside the exit was crowded with people coming to welco guests, family and

relatives. Although he ca at the invitation of Russia, Kwon T aek Joo enteredthe country a day before.

So it is expected that he will go to the hotel by himself

without his own transportation

But out of nowhere, a piece of paper with 'Hiro Sakamoto' written on it caught his

eye. Even when Kwon T aek Joo took off his sunglasses and looked again, the

na written on them once in Japanese and again in English was still correct

Hiro Sakamoto'

. The bottom also thoughtfully includes the company na "Itochu

Corporation.

As soon as he stopped walking, the man holding the paper smiled brightly. "Mr. Sakamoto?"

"That's right. But...

Kwon T aek Joo hesitantly responded. A cheerful smile appeared on the man's

face.

"Hello! My na is Vasily Alexandrovich and I work at Gazprom's public relations

office. I heard that you will enter the country first today, so I ca to greet you.

He suddenly asked for a handshake. Kwon T aek Joo looked at the hand held out

in front of him and tilted his head.

"I didn't receive any information like that...

"

"Didn't you receive the information? How could that happen? Obviously, we

already inford your company this morning. Your company also said that you

would inform Mr. Sakamoto of the news.

Vasily is confident that there were no mistakes at all.

"I understand, please wait a

mont.

"Kwon T aek Joo quickly checked his work phone. He thought that the

ssages that were continuously being sent from now on were roaming ssages or announcents from the Embassy, but Chief Lim's ssages were

also mixed in there. As Vasily confird, it is true that Gazprom will co to pick

him up.

"Ah... That's right.

"There was a mistake. right? After all, I had a hard ti traveling a long way. But

it's much later than expected, isn't it?"

"There was a small commotion in the plane.

"Are there any drunk people causing trouble again?"

..That, how do you know?"

"Well, that happens quite often with Russian n who are as hot as vodka. You

must be surprised. Is that all the luggage? Let help you, okay?"

"It's okay. I can hold it myself.

"Ah, yes. So please co this way.

"Even when his goodwill was rejected, he was not embarrassed. On the contrary,

this man nad Vasily just happily led the way as if sothing good was happening. Kwon T aek Joo slowly followed behind. I don't know how and when everything started to get ssy, but thinking back, the current situation is quite obvious, because whether coming to Russia alone or with a group. Hiro Sakamoto is the guest of honor. still nothing has changed. For that reason, no

matter how tired or headache Kwon T aek Joo is, he has to act as Hiro Sakamoto until he gets back to the hotel.

He and Vasily walked to a waiting black sedan (a car with a trunk in the back). A

man stepped out from the driver's seat and nodded in greeting, then took Kwon Taek Joo's bag and put it in the trunk. Vasily also personally opened the backseat door. He nodded wryly at the warm hospitality and got into the car. When Vasily

sat in the passenger seat and closed the door, the sedan left the airport as if it had been waiting.

Kwon Taek Joo's whole body was tired from the long flight. He sat deeply back in

the chair and closed his eyes for a mont. That's a sign to be quiet and not

make unnecessary conversation. But Vasily had already half-turned from the

front row.

"Are you very tired?"

"Because of the ti difference, it's a bit.

When Kwon T aek Joo reluctantly answered, he continued to ask how the al on

the plane was, if the seats were comfortable, and if the flight attendants were

nice. Vasily even gushed about his experiences on the plane. Kwon T aek Joo just listened indifferently and then turned his head out the window. Dense darkness covered the road, but it was not impossible to feel the atmosphere in Moscow. No matter where he looked, he always saw Lada cars.

Indeed, it can be called Russia's new national car. The combination of the Emblem and Kiril characters of the Starbucks located in the city center caught his attention. So passersby wore long or short shafts. Their necks were cramped and their noses, red from the cold, protruded outward. I don't know if it was

because of the freezing weather or not, but everyone's faces were stiff, revealing an unapproachable look.

"Is it that cold these days?"

Vasily, who was chattering about his trip to Japan, suddenly stopped talking in

response to an unexpected question. He grinned without being disappointed that

his story was interrupted."It's been pretty good lately. Even though it's winter, the temperature is only

about

minus 15 degrees Celsius. It's really worth living.

His shoulders suddenly shrank. Kwon T aek Joo really hates the cold. But

anyway, Vasily was excited to talk about a new topic.

"Sotis there are so idiots who say that Moscow is unbearably cold, but that's because they've never been to a really cold place. In Irkutsk and Verkhoyansk the temperature ranges from -20 degrees to -45 degrees Celsius.

Compared to there, isn't Moscow a paradise on earth? Of course it won't be like Tokyo, right? I heard the temperature is always above 0 degrees there, is that

true? If it falls down, If sothing like that happened in Russia, the neighbor's dog would laugh at it.

Extre weather sotis down to -40 degrees Celsius? Just hearing the

story is enough to make Kwon T aek Joo shiver. Vasily then babbled nonstop but nothin ca of it.

Kwon T aek Joo looked out the window and then suddenly looked around. The

speed seed to decrease and the car ca to a complete stop. It just goes like that, runs for a while then stops again.

He raised his head and looked forward. The cars were lined up so long like a

parade that it was impossible to know where it would end. Looks like your car is stuck during rush hour.

If the plane had arrived on ti, this would not have happened. It's all that damn

drunk Eve's fault. Kwon T aek Joo should have hit him a little harder. Vasily turned

to exchange a few words with the man sitting in the driver's seat, then turned to

Kwon Taek Joo and asked permission.

"If this continues like this I don't think we'll be able to move at all, so how about

taking a shortcut? This guy knows all the streets in Moscow. It's late at night so

Mr. Sakamoto is probably very hungry. One way or another, don't you just want to rest after a long flight?"

That's good news worth hearing. Kwon T aek Joo wanted to eat sothing quickly

and lie down on the bed imdiately. He nodded several tis to Vasily, who was asking him "Is that okay?"

As soon as he was given permission, the driver left the long line of cars and went

onto a nearby side road. It's a narrow street with no distinction between the roadway and the sidewalk, and it's hard to find a decent streetlight here. The car drove into the darkness with headlights. A stray cat rummaging through the trash

was startled by the light and ran away.The driver said he knew the route well, and as expected, he drove

endlessly

through alleys that a car could hardly pass through. The distance in a straight line

is probably short, but if you don't get lost, this route seems to be fast.

That was the mont when Kwon T aek Joo optimistically sat leaning in the

backseat.

He quickly turned his head to the window. There seed to be a strange object

floating sowhere in his vision. He quickly turned his head to look back at the road he had just passed, but there was nothing noteworthy. It seed he saw sothing resembling a human shape. Is it just an illusion? It's hard to be sure because the surroundings are so dark. But Kwon T aek Joo still felt an uncomfortable feeling that couldn't be shaken off right away. He tilted his head

then slowly turned around and leaned against the back of the chair. When Vasily

asked what was going on, he replied that it was nothing. He absentmindedly looked outside and suddenly realized sothing. The car is

still going on the sa road it was on. The buildings were all the sa and the

alley was so dark it was impossible to tell what was ahead, but there was no

mistaking it. Kwon T aek Joo muttered while looking at the trash can that just

passed by.

"I guess we're lost.

"I

"There's no such thing. We're on the right path.

"No. This is clearly the road from before. The trash can on the left is the sa as

the trash can we saw not long ago, the location of the stains on it, the trash

overflowing and even the lid of the trash can is fine.

"I

'closed just like before.

There was also the building behind it. The cracks in the outside wall, the color of

the bricks and the shape of the window fras, even the laundry and flower pots

hanging all over it. It's no different from what I just saw earlier.

Kwon Taek Joo compares and confirms the details of the scene outside the

window with past mories. Vasily listened silently and then laughed.

... Your eyes are so good.

The fishy tone seed ironic in place of the goodwill and excessive generosity

that had completely disappeared. Such a rapid change in attitude is usually never a good thing.

Kwon T aek Joo felt that strange sign and took out the Colt without hesitation. The

sound of reloading was heard and the trigger was pulled halfway. He made eye

contact with the man sitting in the driver's seat through the rearview mirror.

"Stop.