As she finished her makeup, she realized she was thirsty. She had been running around an American base all day. She got up and started walking to the other side of the building, which housed the kitchenette for their floor. The office seemed to be lifeless — only a few people were left. This was also because of the fact that Mr. Park and his small team of analysts left in a hurry over the weekend. She thought it was odd, but not completely strange. Mr. Park traveled often and sometimes he needed analysts with him. What was abnormal about it this time was that he seemed to run off in such a hurry and nobody knew anything about it until Monday morning. It made sense as she thought about it — losing 1414 was a catastrophe for the group. Each illegal they had in the North was unique. The group found out Mr. Park was in Washington to help them prepare for this soon-to-come infiltration into the North. But why did he need those analysts? Jiyeon did not like to put things out of place. She did not like to push people’s buttons. Asking about exactly what Mr. Park was doing in Washington would have been too much for someone as sensitive as her. She preferred to remain silent rather than ask every question on her mind. She knew people around her thought she was shy because of that.
One of the only people in the office was Mr. Kim. He was older than Jiyeon and a more senior analyst. He had worked for Mr. Park for a long time. He always sat in his office quietly and alone. Jiyeon could not believe that nobody knew whether he had a family or even any friends. He just came to work and worked. He never spoke about anything in the outside world. In fact, Jiyeon noticed that he never participated in small talk. He worked late and came in early. Jiyeon tried craning her neck to see what he was doing in his office, without making it appear that she was looking inside. He was reading something. He never looked up.
As she walked into the kitchenette, she was surprised to see Sung-Ho and Min-Ho. They were two analysts but in a different group within NIS. They worked on a different floor. They came down to the kitchenette on her floor because it had a better coffee machine and better snacks in the vending machine. Sung-Ho was not tall and did not have any distinctive features. He wore glasses. Sometimes Jiyeon would see him in the kitchen and he would ask her how she was enjoying her work and whether she was busy. Jiyeon enjoyed the warmth he radiated when speaking. Last week, she remembered being at the office late, seeing him in the kitchen, and getting into a conversation with him that raised her mood for the whole weekend. She did not recall what they spoke about, but she liked speaking to polite people.
Min-Ho had a different personality. He could be overwhelming. Jiyeon liked confident men, but he took it a bit too far, to the point where he overvalued himself. He went out to the clubs often, but liked to talk about it even more often. He also seemed to sincerely believe that every girl, including Jiyeon, had every reason to want to date him. That alone put her off. But she still made sure to be pleasant whenever she saw him.
“Hi guys, working late tonight?” Jiyeon initiated.
“Not really. We might go out later if you want to join.” Of course it was the first thing Min-Ho asked, Jiyeon thought.
“Sorry I can’t.”
“You must be busy with work,” Sung-Ho said with understanding eyes.
Jiyeon felt that she could read people well. Sung-ho, she had analyzed, was meticulous about his appearance. He always dressed well and made sure he had the right gadgets — like his cell phone and watch. But what Jiyeon appreciated was that he was not constantly pushing it in front of her face or talking about it. His understated nature gave him extra charm, she thought. Jiyeon had heard he came from a quietly wealthy family.
“The office down here seems to be pretty quiet” Sung-Ho said. “Are you the only one working hard?”
“Not really. It’s just one of those days where everybody has something on his or her schedule. You know?” She was not supposed to give any details of what her group was working on, even to analysts in other groups within the NIS. She could not say that Mr. Park had left with a team of analysts. Every piece of information needed to be kept in a silo. Only senior people had a full picture. She knew this was common — the CIA and MI6 worked this way too.
“You should take advantage of it and come out with us,” Min-Ho added.
“No, sorry guys. I already have plans for tonight.”
With that Jiyeon took a water bottle and went back to her desk. Tom was going to be waiting in the restaurant if she did not leave soon.
CHAPTER 12
Tom and Jiyeon sat at a table at Korean barbeque restaurant popular that night. In between them a griddle sat sizzling with pork and beef cooking in the Korean style. The smell of the spicy sauces and marinades was alluring. It floated through the room and stuck to one’s clothes, which in Tom’s case was a slim, grey Hickey Freeman suit, white shirt, and no tie. The top two buttons of his shirt were unbuttoned.
Looking into Jiyeon’s examining eyes, he felt that somehow they had been connected for a long time, despite having just met. Even though they were separated by oceans, cultures, and backgrounds, as she spoke, he felt he was making a rediscovery, rather than learning about someone new. The room was dark but she gave it light. She had put her hair up and touched up her makeup. Her eyes had more shadow and seemed to draw him in.
“How long have you worked at the NIS?” Tom asked. They had finished with the initial pleasantries and were in that mode where two interested souls were learning about each other.
“I joined about 10 years ago right after college.” She was no longer looking down like she was at the briefing.
“Were you an analyst in the deep cover program from the start?”
“No, I started in the foreign affairs analysis group and then they moved me into the deep cover program after two years. So I’ve been doing this for eight years. You know, I come from a pretty traditional family, and my parents did not want me to work in the government.”
“Really?”
“But I really wanted to go out there and do something. So I came here to Seoul on my own and started working for the NIS.”
“Why did you want to do that?”
“You know, maybe I could have married and lived quietly. But Tom, I really didn’t want to do that yet. I can always settle down later.”
“So you have a taste for adventure?”
“I wanted to understand the world. It was unexplored. I’m still exploring it.”