Chapter 165
12/2016
Incheon.
“…That’s how it happened. I’ll leave the rest to your imagination.”
–Hey, Sweeper! You can’t just stop there!
“What, what were you expecting?”
–You have to explain the process in detail.
“That’s too risqué. Huh? Dating app hyung. It’s not good for a young person’s mental health. Anyway, I’ll send the report and count on you again. Amen.”
–Hey, hey! Hey!!
Sweeper finished his status report and turned away briskly. The grumbling from the other end of the line didn’t bother him.
He’d secured the target and finished the job—there was no need to report every detail of the process.
Results were what mattered, not the process. Explaining things in detail was just annoying.
Click. Sweeper pressed the power button on the clunky old phone.
The design was sigh-inducing. In this day and age, who still used such an old-fashioned phone?
Of course, this was a mission phone issued by headquarters for anti-tapping and surveillance prevention.
He didn’t know exactly how it worked, but it connected to only one number: the overseas mission relay center.
Sweeper strolled out from the cleaned-up scene. One person had died a violent death, but there was no evidence or witness left behind.
After all, the target was an international criminal who’d entered via Incheon Port. There wouldn’t be any trace. Not even a trace of blood. Among the dispatched agents, Sweeper was especially known for his discreet work.
He whistled between his lips. With the mission done, he’d have some free time for a while…
–Riiing.
Or not.
He’d barely hung up when the mission phone rang again.
No matter how many times he saw it, the design was awful.
“This is Sweeper.”
–Oh, it’s me. The report job’s been processed. You’ll get paid soon.
“Ah, thank you. Good work.”
–When are you coming back?
“Well, since I’m back home after so long, maybe I’ll rest a bit. There aren’t any other jobs in Korea, right?”
–None. There’s not much in all of Northeast Asia. Headquarters is checking, so you can relax and wait.
“Alright. Guess I’ll spend time dating some pretty Korean ladies before heading back.”
–Don’t cause trouble.
“What do you take me for?”
–That Guangzhou incident.
“Ah, sorry. I’ll behave.”
He had nothing to say when Guangzhou was brought up. That mess he made in Guangzhou was… proof gambling was bad.
Sweeper scratched his head and changed the subject.
“When are you replacing this pager? Just send my missions through KakaoTalk. Modern tech is good, you know.”
–You’re a pro at changing the subject. The new model’s coming soon, so just behave until then.
“Roger.”
His handler warned him repeatedly before hanging up.
Come on, do they see me as some accident-prone kid?
Sweeper felt wronged. Sure, he had a record, but still.
“Nice weather.”
Winter was coming, but today the weather was mild. After several chilly days, it had warmed up again.
The sky was clear, and the afternoon streets were quiet.
Sweeper strolled through the peaceful afternoon. He considered drinking, but knew he’d just blow his pay if he partied on payday.
He moved as far from the scene as possible, heading east.
After about an hour on foot, he’d reach his hidden bicycle. He avoided public transportation, private cars, or taxis whenever possible to leave no trace.
Of course, his Korean identity was perfect. He had the title of freelance insurance sales consultant, even if his sales had been zero for months.
Riding his bike toward the Incheon-Bucheon border, Sweeper stopped at a restaurant near an apartment complex to elegantly slice a 9,000-won hamburger steak, then sat on the Starbucks terrace for dessert.
“Hmm, hmm.”
He checked his well-groomed hippie perm in the terrace’s reflection, fiddled with his hair, and stroked his chin. He liked his new style. He wouldn’t say handsome, but at least it was cool.
He picked off a barely visible fleck of dried blood from his hair and sipped his coffee. He planned to kill time until the mission payment arrived.
“Um…”
Sweeper noticed a young woman approaching. Her shy, hesitant manner screamed she was about to ask for his number.
Sweeper sighed.
See, I’ve still got it.
What a sinful man I am.
He lifted his chin slightly and looked at her. Not quite his type, but the way she hesitated was cute.
He was bored anyway, so maybe he’d play along.
“Yes?”
“Excuse me,”
“It’s fine, my phone—”
“You have good energy, do you believe in the Way?”
Sweeper’s expression went blank, but he recovered quickly.
“Pardon?”
* * *
“Hahaha, so you pretended to be a foreigner?”
“Yeah, didn’t expect her to be good at English too, though.”
Sweeper was now near the Grangcia Apartments, drinking coffee with a young woman he’d successfully picked up after a few tries.
He didn’t have ulterior motives. He just wanted to pass the time, didn’t know anyone, and disliked hanging out with other guys.
They chatted idly until sunset. Night brought more bustle to the street. He glanced around, figuring it was just because of the food street, and then turned his attention back.
His date fiddled with her smartphone. Maybe time to move on.
“Noona, what are you looking at?”
“Ah. YouTube. There’s a trending live video—look at this.”
She handed him a heavy phone. How do you even carry this around? Sweeper looked at the screen. As he watched, she added,
“Looks like there’s a mess in Seoul, kinda weird. Almost like a movie shoot.”
“Just uploaded. Zombies?”
“Yeah. Special effects, maybe?”
Hmm, Sweeper stroked his chin.
To be honest, it didn’t look like special effects. With his job, he could tell real blood from makeup.
Just then, a stranger shuffled up behind them. He sensed something off, glanced, then turned his attention back to the woman.
“Looks more like CG than special effects. Impressive tech.”
“Ugh. On days like this, it’s scary being alone. Must be because I saw something so gruesome.”
She smiled sweetly. It was a signal.
Well, well. Saucy. Maybe I’ll play along.
Sweeper caught the signal and grinned back.
“Noona, you live alone, right?”
“Huh? Yeah.”
“I’ve got nowhere to stay tonight.”
“You’re so blunt!”
“With this face, can’t I be a little blunt?”
“Nope. Go home.”
“…Huh, that’s not it.”
She giggled again, waving him off, but the mood was good.
At that moment, the man behind them changed direction and approached. Sweeper noticed first and frowned.
Something’s off, he thought as the woman turned to follow his gaze. The man suddenly lunged at her.
She gave a short scream, but as the man’s teeth sank into her neck, her cry turned into a horrible shriek.
“Aaaaagh!”
The man bit deep enough for a fountain of blood to spurt. Sweeper leapt up. The woman struggled up, stumbling toward him.
For a split second, Sweeper caught sight of the man.
Up close, something was wrong. His face was bloodless, his eyes bright red, and his skin was ash-gray. In that moment, one word flashed in his mind.
‘Zombie?’
The thought didn’t last. The woman, now bitten, came at him.
Instinctively, Sweeper kicked her in the stomach.
“Sorry, noona.”
He immediately struck the man’s temple, knocking him away from her. She staggered, clutching her neck and screaming, as panic and screams erupted all around.
The man Sweeper struck quickly regained his balance and attacked again. Sweeper frowned.
‘I hit pretty hard.’
The man growled with an inhuman, beast-like sound, as if something gurgled in his throat.
Sweeper easily dodged the man’s flailing.
‘Huh, my body…’
He felt light.
Strangely light. He’d always been quick, but today he was even lighter on his feet.
Sweeper karate-chopped the man’s neck as hard as he could. With a dull smack, the man rolled across the ground. He’d hit hard enough to knock him out for a while.
“Noona, are you okay?”
He approached the trembling woman. Just then, he heard movement behind him. The man he’d just floored was up again, charging.
“Damn it, what’s this?”
He kicked the man away again and elbowed him in the temple. It could’ve killed him, but the threat was real. Yet again, and again, the man kept rising.
‘What the hell…’
Finally, Sweeper grabbed a terrace chair and smashed it over the man. The man crashed to the ground with too much force—Sweeper’s face went pale.
He might really be dead. Sweeper glanced around, seeing customers inside the shop watching in terror, hands over their mouths.
‘Damn. I did it again.’
He’d meant to keep quiet, but now he’d really drawn attention.
Self-reproaching, he approached the trembling woman.
He tried calling 119. All lines were busy. Same for 112.
“What’s going on?”
Then, sirens and loudspeakers blared somewhere: orders to evacuate immediately.
Man, the world’s gone crazy.
“Sorry, noona. Wait here. I’ll go to the hospital.”
He sat her in a chair and sprinted for the nearest hospital. The zombie video he’d seen flashed through his mind—he was too uneasy to carry her.
(T/N: Oooohhh. This feels nice. So Sweeper was a secret agent before or something. That explains how well he is in combat. His name also fits his job description. This is nice. I’m excited about the others backgrounds too!)