The pent-up anger exploded. The man stood looking and then shrugged. Kwon Taek Joo was madly angry. The ice on his head was half loose, the injection solution dangling from the rack fell down, even the pillows and blankets on the bed slipped to the floor. As if that didn't reduce his anger, he stomped his hand for a while.
"Calm down. I didn't even get a P of polonium-210 that I was worried about. It was just a simple anaesthetic but it was so strong that I couldn't wake up even when I was in shock."
The man who dissuaded Kwon Taek Joo with a confused look. He lowered his head and took a quick breath. His hair bounced over his eyes, so he couldn't see Kwon Taek Joo's expression. 't wasn't until a while later that he opened his mouth and asked the man "What is he doing?".
"What?"
"Yevgeni, that bastard... what the hell is he doing?"
Kwon Taek Joo raised his head, his already sharp eyes burning with anger. The man shrugged, "Have you heard of the FSB?" Kwon Taek Joo nodded instead of answering.
'FSB' is the Federal Security Service of Russia. Its predecessor was the KGB, the organisation known to the scandal 'once you enter, you can't come back alive' in the former Soviet Union. They can investigate multiple organisations without an order and often gather the necessary information by sending spies abroad or setting up shell companies. They even enjoy the privilege of not being monitored by other agencies. Official operations include counterintelligence and counterterrorism missions such as the National Intelligence Agency, but unofficial rumours of kidnapping and assassination of enemies were also widespread.
'FSB'? Although a bit in a hurry, Kwon Taek Joo has an almost certain hunch. If Zegna belongs to that place, as he said, he is a 'state servant'. He really doubted the national prestige of a country that would entrust work to such a madman.
*Zhenya described to Taek Joo about the Bogdanov family: 'The second son is very close to the president, and the third son (Zhenya), he is actually just a state civil servant.'
Kwon Taek Joo's face suddenly darkens. The man didn't care, continuing to explain.
"There are two special forces under the FSB. Spetsgurpa Alpha and Vimpel. Among them, Spetsgurpa Alpha, commonly known as Alpha, is said to be composed of the most elite agents. Most of their troops are stationed in Moscow. It's a unit, but a group that is independent enough to have its own investigative rights. They are made up of five subunits, each with at least 150 to 250 members. The important thing is what's next: 1 in those 5 units has only one member."
The gathering of only elite agents into each unit proves that the work has to be handled very hard and complicated. But can someone handle the work alone that should have been shared by a lot of human resources?
No way. When Kwon Taek Joo was still selling sceptically, the man confirmed for sure.
"It's him."
*Zhenya is an agent of the Alpha unit of the Russian security service. And instead of a team of about 150 - 250 people doing the same task, the crocodile weighs all the tasks alone.
Kwon Taek Joo laughed loudly. Is that possible? Isn't he saying ridiculous words to tease you anymore? But it is true that it takes that level to deserve to be called 'Psych Bogdanov'. However, it is still beyond his understanding.
Does the Russian government or 'FSB' accept such a human resource arrangement? The man removes Kwon Taek Joo's doubts again with a simple question.
"If I were you, would you like to be on the same team as him?"
Never. Kwon Taek Joo didn't like Zhenya in the first place. If that damn headquarters hadn't sent you the wrong photo, you wouldn't have touched him. Even if he expected him to face him, he would still thoroughly follow his instincts and avoid him far away. Kwon Taek Joo doesn't remember sleeping comfortably one day since meeting Zhenya.
"It's not natural that the word 'nuclear' is associated with him. It's like it will explode at any time even with a small mistake. I heard that if someone messes around with him, even his ally he will strangle them."
"And he will declare that it is a legitimate Defence."
Kwon Taek Joo joins the story in a tone that he is too familiar with. The man waved his hand and said that it was.
By now, Kwon Taek Joo has understood a little more. The reason why Zhenya saved him on the day he disguised himself as Hiro Sakamoto came to this country. The reason why he met him again at the hotel where he had lunch with Russian representatives. At the time, Zhenya was on the phone with someone.
"…No. I've already arrived but it must be boring."(Zhenya on the phone in manhwa chapter 9)
His voice seemed to justify, maybe he was in the process of spying on the opponent. On the way to the toilet, Kwon Taek Joo saw a Gazprom employee playing around with his phone. Did the person say that the agent did not show up at the luncheon?
'Say it clearly. If it's support, the last time is enough.' (Zhenya on the phone in manhwa chapter 9)
Zhenya said the same.
In the end, because he was the third son of the Bogdanov family, he saved Kwon Taek Joo, or actually Hiro Sakamoto. He went to the hotel to 'represent' at the request of his father or brother at Gazprom, and then met Kwon Taek Joo right there.
Kwon Taek Joo feels like he's been pushed out to accidentally discover unexpected interesting things. He looked at his own photo on Hiro Sakamoto's phone meaningfully. Since he was a member of 'FSB', he must have realised that it was not a normal situation. That's also why Gazprom's representatives didn't show up at the luncheon that day.
*Zhenya was asked by brother 2 to pick up Hiro Sakamoto (is Taek Joo in disguise), and save Hiro Sakamoto from kidnapping (manhwa chapter 7). Then at the hotel, Zhenya was asked by Mr. 2 to come on behalf of his family's company (Gazprom company) to attend a luncheon. But in the end, the crocodile did not enter for lunch, but only met Teak Joo privately after seeing his photo on Kwon Taek Joo's phone (manhwa chapter 10).
The pieces that rarely fit together have come to the right place. All the odd behaviours of Zhenya are also explained. As that bastard said, Kwon Taek Joo himself is completely lucky to be alive. There have been countless moments when his life was threatened by him.
Kwon Taek Joo organised his thoughts and then suddenly sighed. Looking up to face the man, he regained his original calm.
"So what's your name?"
"What does it meaning to say it now?"
"I'm Kwon Taek Joo.l
He didn't care about the man's scolding and asked for a handshake. The man patted Kwon Taek Joo's hand with a displeased expression.
"Salman. Salman Basayev."
When Kwon Taek Joo turned a little to shake hands, the muscles in his whole body screamed, especially the lower waist that hurt so much that he couldn't stand it. Salman frowned and shook his head.
What does he expect from a patient who has just woken up from imminent death? Salman got up and was about to leave. Kwon Taek Joo looked puzzled.
"Are you going to go?"
"Can't I go?"
"From now on we have to plan for the next steps."
Salman made a funny face and burst out laughing. Kwon Taek Joo offers to discuss the plan when he looks no different from a zombie. Even if his health is at its best, nothing has changed. Have you ever thought about giving up as soon as you have just saved your life from Psych Bogdanov? Or has there been any concussion at the head that made you unconscious?
Salman clicked his tongue.
"Don't you know yet? This mission has failed."
"No....?"
"You probably want to deny and save the mistake, but we don't have a chance anymore. Head office support will also be stopped when treatment is over. So to be properly treated, go back to your country."
Kwon Taek Joo immediately tried to protest, but Salman raised his hand as if he didn't want to hear any more and limped towards the door. He opened the door and stopped for a moment. As if thinking of something, Salman turned to Kwon Taek Joo to talk meaningfully.
"I guess he likes your ass very much, right? But it seems to have been torn."
What?
Before Kwon Taek Joo could ask, the door was closed. He stared at the closed door. Apparently it was a smile mixed with teasing and mocking. But where the hell is 'torn'?
Kwon Taek Joo thought about Salman's words over and over again. He was tired and drooped pale in the blink of an eye. Shameful forgotten memories quickly return. He slapped his hand on the bed but still didn't feel better. A momentary roar resounded throughout the hospital.
"Crazy bastard, I'll kill you..."
"Why?"
Vladimir Vissarionovich raised his eyes to inquire. Gazprom's next boss visited FSB headquarters early in the morning to meet a loved one as an annual event. The main character, just like his name, is calmly picking his ears.
"It seems that someone is talking about me."
No matter what he said, he didn't listen to him and began to say bland words, Vladimir rubbing his head hurt like a hammer. Eyebrows that are already wrinkled are even tighter.
"Dad was very disappointed."
"Isn't it just a day or two?"
He mumbled childishly as if he didn't know he was being scolded. Moreover, that is not wrong either. How many years has the family had to overcome the consequences that Zhenya has caused?
Vladimir thought that after puberty things would get better, one day Zhenya would grow up, for more than ten years he has always been so optimistic and patient. It doesn't matter what crazy things he did outside, as long as he doesn't drag the matter into the house. But Zhenya is limitless.
Vladimir clearly remembers the first time Zhenya laughed. It's been quite a while. The white peacock that the youngest sister cherished suddenly disappeared. It's a carefully nurtured bird by creating an artificial habitat in the garden. It was not long before the poor bird was found in the corner of the garden. Its feathers have been plucked. Next to the staggering peacock and collapsing is Zhenya, wrapped in white fur.
"Look at me, brother. It (the peacock) pretends to be elegant but it's ugly."
That's when he was less than ten years old. Zhenya smiled brightly as if he was so happy that he couldn't stand it. If he finds anything interesting, he will put in the effort to destroy it. After it is completely ruined, he will quickly keep an eye on something else.
When Zhenya's destructive instinct manifests itself in humans, Vladimir's father makes a decision.
He booked a place in the FSB and put him in there. There, Zhenya's violent tendencies are not a big deal. The problem is that sometimes the work doesn't cover him up.
The same is the case this time. When Gazprom became the biggest beneficiary of the contract between Russia and Japan, disgruntled forces emerged. Vladimir was worried that it would harm even the VIPs on the Japanese side. It was for this reason that he sent his direct secretary to pick up Japanese staff entering the country a day before the visiting delegation.
It was only when he arrived at the hotel that he learned that the escort man had been bribed by a disturbing force. Vladimir immediately asked Zhenya to arrive at the airport. It was a mistake. But it was done anyway, and he shouldn't have called Zhenya to the luncheon. Unfortunately, that morning, Vissarion collapsed from a chronic illness and things got complicated.
Vladimir tried to persuade him to go, but Zhenya did not attend the luncheonge and played a spy game with a Korean intelligence officer. He openly took him to a place where only important people were invited and he even revealed secret information about 'SS-29'. That's all? There was a gunfight and hostage taking right at the party.
Just thinking back gave Vladimir a dizzying headache. He sighed.
"Baram's stance became very awkward because of the commotion you caused. What to do at the place where both the president and the ministers gather? What are you thinking after all? The person was kidnapped by me that night and died..."
*The man in the car was shot dead by Zhenya in a riot at the Bogdanov mansion (manhwa probably chapter 17-18)
"Ah, come to think of it, how did you deal with him?"
"...That Korean agent took advantage of you and him as hostages to run away and kill him."
Zhenya suddenly laughed. "Who took who hostage?"He asked Vladimir who was confused.
Anyone who knows Zhenya will not be able to believe such a brazen lie. However it is only a countermeasure. Russia today is a society where money is power and power is law. The existence that proves that is the Bogdanov family.
"Why don't you get rid of that Korean agent as soon since you know he's a spy?"
Vladimir reluctantly asked. He was also personally curious. An existence that Zhenya can hunt for pleasure has fallen into his hands, so why does he keep it alive? Even if spy Kwon Taek Joo is found with a body without a piece of cloth covering his body, no one can say anything. Even in Korea, where he was dispatched, it is impossible to raise the issue. It is the fate of spies, and the practice of many intelligence agencies.
Zhenya shrugged indifferently.
"I thought if I should or not, but he believed in me so much, so it's not bad to play together for a while."
"That's all? you caused something too serious..."
"It's fun to watch him struggle just to survive, so it's a waste to just kill him so easily. It's boring to do that."
"...Okay, let's say so. He discovered that he is now being treated at a small hospital in Irkutsk. If you have played enough, you have to clean up neatly. Why let him live?"
"I didn't mean to let him live. If he had been found out a little late, he would have died."
"Anyway, when I let him go, he was still breathing. Don't you show your brand by cutting their fingers or their bodies and throwing it away? There has never been an exception."
Zhenya smiled strangely at Vladimir.
"So what are you worried about in the end? Are you worried that a person who is breathing will counterattack? Never mind. He can't act so lovingly."
Zhenya definitively. Vladimir was about to say something more, but he closed his mouth. It's over, even if there is an argument like this or that, nothing will change. Some secrets may have been leaked to the South Korean side but their operation was not possible. They will not know that vigilance has become tighter.
Zhenya showed a depressed face and said, "Did you just come to say that?". In fact, there are several reasons for Vladimir to want to see him. As the eldest son of the Bogdanov family, trying to advise his third brother who specialises in causing trouble in the family is a headache. But he had a different purpose.
"Anastasia is not finished yet?"
Zhenya grinned at the outspoken question. A mocking look was evident in his arched eyes. Originally, the relationship between the two was like this. Although they haven't seen each other for a long time, they are still more curious about their work progress than about each other's health, which is not surprising.
Zhenya did not answer the question, but asked the opposite.
"Who's curious about that? Father? President? Or other big shots?"
Vladimir did not answer. It's true that everyone is curious about the 'Second Anastasia' created based on the blueprint of 'Failed Anastasia'.
Months ago, North Korea and Russia agreed to destroy all evidence related to Anastasia's research. The blueprints created by leading weapons developers over the years are a top priority to be discarded. All officials were massacred, weapons, arsenals and blueprints under development have all been blown up. Of course only the Bogdanov family survived the brutal destruction of evidence. That's the price to pay to keep silent forever about all that.
Rumours spread that, just as the Bogdanov family has not been purged, the blueprint is still somewhere. The Bogdanov clan was silent but ironically, their ambiguous stance added to the fear of the outside world.
Vladimir was also curious in his heart, instead of seeing if the design existed, the issue he cared about was whether they could reorganise it to create the real Anastasia. The only person who knows the answer is Zhenya. Because the current Anastasia blueprint exists in a form that only he can understand.
Whenever given the opportunity, Vladimir asked Zhenya when the complete 'Anastasia' would be announced. Zhenya was reserved to say that he would think about it when he felt like it. Vladimir recalled the conversation at the time and reaffirmed Zhenya's intentions.
"Are you still not satisfied with it?"
"I think I'll play with it as soon as this job is over."
"However?"
"Looking back today, it seems better to leave it alone like that, doesn't it? It's nice to see everyone around like an oestrus dog. Not long ago, there was a person who said he would avenge his father and ran to me. He didn't even know that his limbs would be torn to pieces and kept barking and killing me... I wish you had seen it too."
Zhenya showed real interest. Vladimir turned his head towards him and sighed and pressed on the sides of the throbbing temple.
"…So did you kill Hong Yeo Wook?"
*The North Korean engineer that Zhenya and Taek Joo followed came to Sergei's villa.
Zhenya did not answer. He just showed a vague smile with cold eyes and an excited expression. I don't understand why he felt like the clothes he was wearing were stripped one by one, it felt like all the curtains around the man named Vladimir were being exposed. It's annoying.
Vladimir stroking the collar. Zhenya leisurely observed and asked, "Do you regret it?"
"What?"
"Do you regret sending me there?"
The question is vague but not difficult to answer.
"I regret trusting you. I regret being optimistic that you will be obedient to do only what you are asked to do. So are you and so is Dad."
Despite the family expressing disappointment and doingness, the laughter continued.
"Just regret it and don't look at other people's things and drool anymore. Now it's mine. I don't intend to use it for the benefit of others. I'll keep it until I'm bored and then I'll destroy it myself. Until now, I still think about brotherhood, but if that's the case, I can't sit still."
Vladimir looked at Zhenya silently. Insensitive eyes flashed between the two brothers. The silent space covers.
How long has it been? Vladimir's phone rang. Another vibration was also heard. Vladimir was about to answer the phone, hesitant to look around. Zhenya's trembling phone caught his eye. Unfortunately, he glued his eyes to the phone and pressed the call button. As a joke, both phones became silent at the same time.
Vladimir definitely walked to Zhenya's table and snatched the phone in his hand. The phone he hasn't even touched is on a call. The caller ID is shown on the screen the same as the ID on his phone.
"Are you still following the whole family now?"
It's silly. Zhenya makes no justification at all. Vladimir got up from his seat and casually opened the door.
"Watch out for it!"
Vladimir left the office after threatening to sue Zhenya if he didn't stop hacking his phone. He walked out and slammed the door.
Peace finally came after noise pollution disappeared. Zhenya came to the window and watched Vladimir angrily climb into the car. The smile full of the joke quickly disappeared.
Zhenya slowly turned to look around the empty office. The clock on the wall is not over yet.
"So boring, so bored."
He muttered to himself. Strangely, time seems to pass slowly.