21st century Goguryeo

Chapter 68

February 10, 2020, 14:40

Tong-il People’s Hall Conference Room in Paju, Gyeonggi Province.

When Party Secretary Kim Young-chul entered the conference hall, the South Korean guards who were in the hallway, waiting for his arrival, tensed. The party secretary had four North Korean guards accompanying him in the front, and four aides and four additional guards following him in the back. He was also flanked on the left and right by two guards.

The South Korean guards used their dark sunglasses, which were in the inverter vision mode, to check each one of the North Korean guards. An Yeon-wu, the manager of NIS Counter-terrorism Investigation Unit 1, was also there in order to support the security mission for these talks. He called in the agents from the Security Guard Team 1, who were outside the building, and checked the information each team had scanned and collected from the North Korean delegates.

“Team 1. Report what you confirmed.”

– 1-1 Vehicles all clear. Outside guards all clear.

Next, he called in the agents who were standing on guard in the hallway.

“Team 2. Report what you confirmed.”

– 2-1 Kim Young-chul, his aides, and his close bodyguards all clear.

Shortly after arriving at the conference room, Kim Young-chul, his entourage, and Minister Oh Seung-tae sat down at the conference table. They each had a cup of tea before formally starting the fifth working-level inter-Korean talks. Inside the conference room, there were Kim Young-chul and his four aides and four bodyguards—all from the North—and then there were Minister Oh Seung-tae and his three aides and four guards, including An Yeon-wu—all from the South.

“Now that we’ve had a cup of tea, shall we begin?” Party Secretary Kim Young-chul said, putting down his tea cup.

“Sure. Let’s start.”

Though An Yeong-wu was told by Team 1 and Team 2 that all was clear, he pressed the button on his sunglasses to switch to the inverter vision mode and started scanning the North delegates again. He began with Party Secretary Kim Young-chul but didn’t find anything suspicious under his clothes. He then moved on to slowly scan Kim’s four aides, as well as the black briefcase that one of the aides had brought in. He didn’t find any sign of flammables or gunpowder inside the briefcase, but there was a security phone, whose intended use seemed to be for communication with those in North Korea in case of emergency. Lastly, he scanned the bodyguards who were standing on guard at the back wall. Each had a pistol kept in a holster under his armpit. While scanning a short-haired guard, he noticed something suspicious. Unlike other bodyguards, this one was carrying two pistols under both armpits, and one of the pistols had a longer muzzle than the other.

‘What the hell? Is he carrying two pistols because he’s the head bodyguard?’

Finding this suspicious, An Yeon-wu quietly radioed the security guard in charge of the inside of the conference room,

“Pay attention to the short-haired guard in the North’s bodyguard team across the room. “He’s on the far right, and he’s carrying two pistols.”

– 3-2 Roger that.

– 3-3 Roger that.

– 3-4 Roger that.

It was under these circumstances that the two working-level South and North government officials began to share their opinions on their respective policies and cooperation plans. The conversation was as amicable as usual, but

the atmosphere in the conference room was heavy with invisible tension.

* * *

February 10, 2020, 16:00.

In front of the U.S. Embassy, Sejong-ro, Jongno-gu, Seoul.

“Hey! Stop! Stop!”

A man was quickly running toward the main gate of the U.S. Embassy in Seoul despite the embassy guard’s order to stop. Just as the guard was about to take immediate action to stop the trespasser, who was ignoring the warning to stop and attempting to enter the building through the main gate, there came a massive explosion, followed by a rear blast.

BOOM!

After the sound of a massive explosion, the area near the front gate of the U.S. Embassy in Seoul literally turned into chaos. Six guards who were guarding the front gate were swept up in flames and blasted away by the bomb without a trace, and all the windows of the U.S. Embassy building were shattered. Bomb shrapnel flew into the air, striking vehicles and wounding passers-by as far as fifty meters away from the blast. All that was left at the site where the front gate used to be was a giant hole engulfed in dark red flames and smoke.

It was only after the blast subsided that US soldiers and agents rushed out from inside the building, each carrying a personal fire extinguisher, and took a position around the perimeter in preparation for possible additional bomb threats. In the distance, the sirens of fire engines and emergency vehicles blared as they rushed to the U.S. Embassy in Seoul.

* * *

February 10, 2020, 16:05

The Presidential Meeting Room in the Blue House, Jongno-gu, Seoul.

National Security Director Oh Jang-su delivered the news to the President as soon as the report came in from his secretary. “I received the report that the talks have begun and are in progress, Mr. President,” he said.

“I really hope it will proceed without any incident,” the president said.

“Don’t worry about it, Mr. President. The security agents from the NIS and the Blue House are there, and they’re fully prepared for any possible situation. You can rest assured everything will be just fine, sir,” National Security Director Oh Jang-su answered composedly, probably trying to reassure the nervous president.

“Of course. All we can do at the moment is trust them and wait.” With his chin on his right hand, the president asked Defense Minister Kang Hyun-soo, who was sitting on his left, “What’s the status of the front line units?”

“A Jindo Dog II was issued to all front line units so that we would be fully prepared for anything that could or might happen, Mr. President.”

“I see.”

All the national security-related government officials, including the president, were gathered at the Blue House meeting room so that they would be ready to take immediate action if there was any terrorist activity at the inter-Korean working-level talks.

Ring-Ring.

NIS Secretary Na Bong-il’s phone rang.

“This is Na Bong-il. What? What’s the current situation? All right. Please report again when you have additional information.”

Na Bong-il hung up the phone and looked at the president, his face deadly pale. The air in the meeting room quickly turned cold.

“What is it? Did something happen where the talks are being held?”

“Not at the venue of the talks, Mr. President.”

“No? Then what is it?”

“There was a suicide bombing at the U.S. Embassy.”

“What? What did you say? A bombing at the U.S. Embassy? Do you mean the terrorist attack we’d predicted was wrong?”

“At the present moment, it’s hard to tell, but we can’t rule out the possibility of multiple terrorist attacks.”

Everyone in the meeting room was speechless, unable to respond after hearing such shocking news come from the NIS secretary, Na Bong-il, when the Minister Kang Hyun-soo received another phone call.

“Hello. Yes, I got it. Please be prepared for further terrorist attacks and use all available resources needed to handle the situation.”

After finishing the brief phone conversation, Minister Kang Hyun-soo reported what the call was about with composure and without losing his calm, as expected of a former soldier.

“Report just came that the Special Forces 707 and Capital Defense Command Special Guard have been dispatched to the U.S. Embassy.”

In light of the terrorists attacks occurring at a location they hadn’t anticipated, the president made a stern order to suspend the inter-Korean working-level talks in Paju.

“Director Oh, there’s no other option. Stop the talks immediately.”

“Yes, Mr. President. I’ll deliver the order right away.”

* * *

February 10, 2020, 16:10

Tong-il People’s Hall Conference Room in Paju, Gyeonggi Province.

It was about an hour after the inter-Korean working-level talks began that the order was delivered to Manager An Yeon-wu through a wireless communication device he was wearing on his ear.

“Emergency No. 11 has occurred. Suspend the talks.”

– What’s the reason for the No. 11?

“A suicide bombing at the U.S. Embassy.”

– Roger that.

As soon as the communication was over, An Yeon-wu approached Minister Oh Seung-tae and whispered a report of the situation into his ear. Minister Oh was stunned to find out that a terrorist attack had happened at the U.S. Embassy, but his surprise was only temporary. He quickly pulled himself together and, smiling slightly, told the news to Party Secretary Kim Young-chul.

“Mr. Party Secretary Kim Young-chul,” he said.

“Yes? What is it?”

“There seems to be a little incident in Seoul right now, so I was wondering if you would suspend our talks until the situation is under control. What do you say?”

“Incident? What happened in Seoul, Comrade Oh Seung-tae?”

“We are investigating it now and will find out soon. But for now, how about we move to the lounge and take a little break?”

At this moment, the phone rang inside the black briefcase. An aide opened the bag, answered the phone, and immediately whispered to Party Secretary Kim Young-chul.

“I see. I got it. We’ll take a break.”

An Yeon-wu wondered what the phone call was about. Was it possible that the North had already found out about the U.S. Embassy bombing attack that happened just ten minutes ago? If not, what could the phone call have been about? He had many questions.

“Then, shall we go there together?”

“Sure. Let’s go.”

All three were just about to stand up from their chairs when the short-haired North Korean guard stepped in and stopped An Yeon-wu. He then turned to the Party Secretary and said, “Mr. Party Secretary Kim Young-chul, because I’m in charge of your security detail, you must follow my instructions in an emergency such as this. Please, let me escort you out.”

“Is that really necessary?”

“I’d appreciate it if you’d follow the rules, Mr. Party Secretary Kim Young-chul.”

Kim Young-chul noticeably frowned. Then, realizing he had no other choice but to follow the guard, he waved his hand and said, “Do you have to be so darn strict about rules? Fine. Do what you need to do.”

With the approval of Party Secretary Kim Young-chul, the short-haired leader of the North Korean guards turned his eyes to Manager An Yeon-wu and said, “Because this is an emergency situation, we want to remain separated from you until the situation is under control. Would you arrange a room for us?”

Minister Oh Seung-tae nodded slightly at An Yeon-wu, who then guided them to the reception room across the hallway from the conference room.

The South Korean delegates, including Minister Oh Seung-tae, took the lounge that was to the right of the conference room, while the North Korean delegates, including Party Secretary Kim Young-chul, took the reception room to the left. They all took a break, waiting for more details about the situation to surface.

“How could such an attack happen at the U.S. Embassy in South Korea?” Party Secretary Kim Young-chul mumbled as if talking to himself, recalling the urgent phone call that had come from Pyongyang.

“The situation could escalate, Mr. Party Secretary.”

“By the way, why did it have to happen on the day of our talks?”

After exchanging a few words with one of his aides, Party Secretary Kim Young-chul kicked back and sank into the sofa, crossed his legs, and then took out a smoke and lit it. Meanwhile, An Yeon-wu, along with Oh Gi-suk, who was there to support An’s security mission, were standing around the corner of the hallway, carefully observing the reception room. The door to the reception room was guarded by four security guards, but with the help of his sunglasses, which he’d switched to inverter vision mode, Manager An Yeon-wu avoided the eyes of the security guards and looked through the walls of the reception room.

“I think the person sitting cross-legged is Kim Young-chul, and the other four on the other side of the room are his aides,” he thought. “The ones standing around him are his guards. The more I think about it, the more I’m impressed with this device.”

The inverter mode performed so well that he was able to identify who the people inside the reception room were. He was observing the situation inside the room when all of a sudden, the guard behind Party Secretary Kim Young-chul pulled out a gun and, with the silencer turned on, shot the other three guards in the head, blowing their brains out. Then, he pointed the gun at the other aides.

WHIZZ – WHIZZ – WHIZZ – WHIZZ

Shocked by the sudden shooting, Manager An Yeon-wu was dumbfound for a short while, but he soon pulled himself together and reported the situation through a wireless communication device. “Situation No.1 has occurred. Third floor reception room.”

He then ran straight toward the entrance to the reception room while shouting to Chief Oh Gi-suk, “Mr. Oh! Cover me, please.”

The four guards at the entrance to the reception room were startled when Manager An Yeon-wu suddenly lunged toward them, but because they were professionals, they soon came back to their senses. They pulled out pistols from inside their jackets and took a shooting position. A laser beam and two gun shots soon followed.

WHIZZ-WHIZZ-BANG! WHIZZ-WHIZZ-BANG!

Four laser beams passed by Manager An Yeon-wu as he ran. The beams hit the guards in their chests, while the two bullets fired by the guards hit Manager An’s chest and thigh. An was slightly stunned, but he felt no pain from the gunshot wounds.

Bang! Bang!

An Yeon-wu jumped over the dead bodies of the fallen guards, arrived at the door to the reception room, and was just about to open the door when he heard four more bullets firing inside the reception room. They were fired from a gun with a silencer.

Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!

“D*mn it!”

Fearing that he was too late, Manager An Yeon-wu thrust himself toward the room and rolled onto the floor with the debris from the crumbling door. He saw that the guard was just about to fire at Party Secretary Kim Young-chul, who had already fallen to the ground.

WHIZZZZ – BANG!

Then came the sound of a KS5 laser beam and a muted gunshot firing simultaneously.