Dilettante - chapter 4

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Jun 22, 09:17:28.

Arrived in Phnom Penh, Cambodia earlier than the scheduled time.

Before getting off the plane, Hana put on her hat and rearranged her gym bag. She was the only first-class passenger bound for Cambodia. The fight attendants waited until Hana was ready, and showed a worried expression, telling her to be careful as her safety was not good.

As a result of traveling around the world, there are few countries have as good security as Korea. In particular, it was better to be nervous in the first place when attending Southeast Asian countries.

"Have a nice trip. I hope to see you again when you return home."

Once you set foot here, you will never go back alone. Hana thought as she took a step.

She boarded a flight to Cambodia without any information orr hypothesis. What she did on the plane was learn a simple Khmer language and look at the map. And it was to combine what Duyi was going to say last morning and make a few sentences.

'Noona... I can't... say... Not now... That's why.... I'm telling you... be careful... that b*stard... is not dead... Don't come... I am never going to die.'

No matter how you think about it, it was strange. No , the more I doubted it, the more I saw strange things.

Duyi did not contact me to inform me of his location. Quite the opposite. Hearing the news of his death, he knew that i would go out to find him and tried to stop him.

Why?

How did Duyi know that his colleagues would treat him dead?

'Duyi... .Did you really do something you shouldn't have done'

So are you trying to figure it out n your own?

My mind is about to weaken. It was because so many hypotheses were in my head.

Hana shook his head. She rubbed her stiff neck and inhaled the terribly hot air.

Even Choi TaeJoon, a close friend and a life-line grabber, doesn't know that Duyi is alive.

Duyi did not inform TaeJoon of his survival, and warned me to be careful.

'Then, whose name was it?'

I couldn't hear it exactly because the signal was not good, but it was definitely a foreigner's name.

That's two people.

Hana even finished applying for a visa among group tourists. I'd rather not stand out, so I smiled while making eye contact with people I didn't know.

Then, the immigration officer who gave me this passport and issuance card greets with a bright smile and waves his hand.

"Have an unforgettable trip"

It's an unforgettable trip... .

Hana turned around, feeling like she was about to sigh.

Finally, Cambodia.

Hana arrived at Duyi's place.

***

In front of Gate 2 of Phnom Penh International Airport.

Hana's expression of checking the time hardens. It was half past nine and five minutes passed.

Inside the airport was crowded with travelers trying to leave Siem Reap, where Angkor Wat is located. Although Korean was often heard, they were ordinary travelers and no one seemed to be an employee of the National Intelligence Service.

Hana looked in turn at the sky and the road beyond the large front window.

The atmosphere is not much different from other Southeast asian countries. Perhaps because of the typical tropical monsoon climate, the air-conditioning wind felt soggy.

I must have too comfortable in Korea for a while. I can't believe I think this is uncomfortable.

"Hana, Lee hana!"

Turning to the direction of the sound calling her, I could see Choi Taejoon, who was wearing a checkered shirt, shorts and sandals, panting.

"Sorry, I'm late, Wow, it's hot. I had a collision with a motorcycle on the way here. But is this all you have?"

Hana glared at Choi TaeJoon's hand and pulled the bag herself.

"What about the car?"

He's so calm. Until a few hours ago, he was waving his hands and talking happily, unlike a person who cried a lot.

"Let's get on the Tuk Tuk. I don't have a car because I am off duty today."

TaeJoon, who put his hand in his pocket, turns around and smiled faintly.

Unlike a while ago , I could feel the scars and sadness in my bitter smile.

TaeJoon skillfully bargained with the driver and loaded her luggage onto the Tuk Tuk.

"I didn't know you'd really come....." Are you surprised?'

Instead of answering, hana took out her tablet and turned on Google Maps as soon as she got in the car.

"Where is the coordinate? Duyi... the last place you saw him."

It was before the Tuk Tuk left. TaeJoon, who clicked his tongue, zoomed out on her map in the tablet she held out.

"75km north from here. It is towards Siem Reap. It was an ordinary residential area."

The Tuk Tuk stars moving. It was a bit windy, but the heat was the same.

Hana left a mark on the map and raised her head in the opposite direction of Choi TaeJoon.

TaeJoon put his elbows on his knees, lowered his head and mumbled with his hands together.

"Hana, I know it's hard to accept... . You can't do this."

"What do i do?"

"You are trying to find out about Duyi"s death. Don't do that, you are going to get into trouble, okay?"

"Where are you going?"

Hana changed the subject. Then, TaeJoon washed his face dry, took a cigarette out of his pocket and smoke it.

"Where Duyi lived, I thought you might want to go there."

Hana closed her eyes, taking a breath instead of answering. She kept thinking about the flip phone she  put in my bag. As a result of checking while waiting for TaeJoon, the flip phone was a modified version with an automatic roaming device added. So if Hana get a call, they can talk a little longer this time.

She clenched her fist so that it wouldn't be obvious and nodded.

High humidity, high temperature. It's terrible weather over 38 degrees. It wass this much in  the morning, so it was likelyto rise more than 40 degrees in the middle of the day.

"We're almost there. Be careful of your motorcycle, I don't want to see a pickpocket get your wrist flying."

TaeJoon said jokingly. Hana sighed and shook her head.

"What did I ask you to prepare?"

"Oh?"

"I asked you to prepare materials related to Duyi."

"Lee Hana."

"From the last mission to the opponent, the type of dr*gs Duyi stole, the clothes or shoes he was wearing at the time of the suicide b0mbing, and even the means of transportation. Without missing a single one. Are you ready?"

Choi Taejoon gets off the Tuk Tuk, messing his already shaped hair. Hana, who followed, naturally looked around.

The driver who took five dollars from TaeJoon grinned, showing his white teeth. Then, with an expressionless expression, he started the Tuk Tuk again.

"Let's go in for now. It's too hot to talk outside."

Hana raised her head and looked up at the six-floor building.

It was a small apartment common in Cambodia with a stale roof. A building resembling an apartment building built in the 1960s that can be seen in small towns in Korea.

Hana followed TaeJoon into the building. The distinctive smell of spices filled the entire building.

Duyi's house was on the second floor.

Even though she knew he was still alive, I was saddened by the picture of the two people as soon as ii opened the door. Hana stood in front of the frame on the shoe rack.

It was a picture taken together on a ship. Duyi was wearing a naval conquest and she was wearing an army conquest.

She don't  know how often this one picture has been on the internet. People talked about the appearance of the two soldiers' sibling and called them blessed genes, but the two hated that word the most.

TaeJoon looked back at Han standing in the front door with a grim expression and pulled back the curtains. Then, in an instant, a bright light flooded in. Frowning her face, she finally entered the house and looked around the neatly arranged surroundings.

"It's like Duyi... "

"That child had mysophobia. He lived without any dust."

TaeJoon put the key in Hana"s hand. It was Duyi"s house key.

"Stay here for a while. You'll have to sort things out and your mind... . Would that be better?"

Hana put the house key in her pocket and calmly went to the kitchen to open the refrigerator.

The refrigerator was full of drinks, including beer and carbonated water, which Duyi liked, and makgeolli and soju, which he must have had a hard time finding.

'It's really like Duyi.'

If you told me that he had an accident while on duty, I might have believed it. But Duyi betrayed the organization and got the job done?

Nothing has been revealed yet, but the fact that Duyi is alive was a truth they did not know.

Hana stared at the refrigerator and looked back at TaeJoon, who was sitting on the sofa.

He buried his face in his hands as if to blame himself. At least it idn't seem like TaeJoon was lying to me. Maybe he really believes Duyi is dead.

"Choi TaeJoon... . You said Duyi had a suicide b*mber wrapped around his body."

Hana pulled out a barley drink with a Korean label.

"... It was. I saw it with my own eyes."

TaeJoon put both hands together and put his chin on the ends. Then he looked up at her and tightened his eyes. Taejoon's explanation continued.

"I was chasing a new dr*g, KA-947A. It's definitely different from the usual hallucinogenic substances. I was keeping an eye on it because there was a high possibility that it would turn into medical dr*gs if something went wrong. But I saw Duyi at the contact point I obtained."

Hana leaned against the refrigerator and shook her head to continue.

" I asked him what he was doing. Why are you moving alone? I thought he started an independent investigation. But... It wasn't an investigation, he was colluding."

Having said that, TaeJoon sighed again, and his voice began to tremble.

"i didn't want to believe it. i tried to convince him somehow, and I thought Duyi had come to his senses. He's a good and a hard-working guy. But I think it triggered them. They put a b0mb around Duyi's body and let the people out of the building. Even before the support arrived, it exploded."

TaeJoon looked distressed as he recalled the time.

To sum up his words, he did not witness the death itself. TaeJoon was certain of the death under the circumstances.

Hana gulped down the drink and put the luggage she brought on the table.

"All right. I believe you. Then give me the data. Date, time , investigation records, everything I said earlier."

TaeJoon, who pursed his lips, jumped up.

"It's a state secret document! It's not something I can do!"

"I'm the bereaved family, I have the right to know about the death."

"Ha, that's crazy. But it still won't work. I didn't get permission from the top. It's still a classified document!"

Hana opened the bag and took out the clothes inside with a smile. She then pluged her laptop into an outlet and found the internet cable Duyi was using.

TaeJoon put on an expression of amazement at one action.

"Lee hana... . You don't believe Duyi"s death."

Hana hesitated before taking out the files that had been laid at the bottom of the bag.

Duyi did not want anyone to know about his survival. If he was calling for help, he would have contacted the headquarter.

It's not clear. If there is a hell of disbelief, it was here.

"TaeJoon, I believe you. But I will confirm it with my own eyes that Duyi is dead. So bring me the data. Or should I go to IDC:A myself?"

"Do you think the organization is so easygoing? Even if it's you, you can't do it!"

Taejoon, who wass contemplating, shouted.

Hana closed the bag instead of taking out the file. Hatred permeated into her eyes as she stares at the photos on the wall, memos, and miniature maps on the walls.

"Do you really think so? Choi TaeJoon... . I've received calls from the organization you're talking about for over two years. But do you know why I turned down the position? Duyi wanted to do it."

"What?"

"They contacted me a month ago. IDC:A will give me a position I want if I joined. What doo you say? Do you want me to go into the organization myself and sit ver your head? Do you still need time to think about what will happen? I think you'll understand the situation right away, don't you?"

"Oh, really! Lee Hana!"

TaeJoon patted his chest and stamped his feet as if he was frustrated.

If she join the organization, Choi TaeJoon will not be promoted for the next three years. Also, he will be pointed out as the person responsible for this case and be reprimanded.

In the battle of power and power, Choi TaeJoon could never win.

"So move if you don't want to be screwed, Choi TaeJoon. I will say it for the third time. I will check it with my eyes to see if Duyi"s dead or alive. That's why I'm here."

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