A profound silence filled the private plane bound for Iran.
No one dared to move a finger, nor even whisper a single word.
Everything was eerily quiet.
Through the dark window, Zhenya's pale reflection stared back at him.
His face was like a seductive work of art, as if each of his features had been carefully sculpted, yet it was utterly
devoid of expression or warmth.
He looked more like a wax figure than a man.
Sleep had eluded him, his mind consumed by one single thought.
"They said… they found a body that matches sunbae in Tehran."
Kwon Taekjoo was gone.
He no longer existed in this world.
Zhenya would never see or touch him again.
His mind resisted processing that single thought.
He simply could not accept the first real loss he had ever known.
Zhenya's brow suddenly furrowed, and a nauseating sensation washed over him.
He had never felt anything so repulsive.
The NIS had made an exception for Yoon Jongwoo, sending him to Tehran to confirm whether the body in question was indeed Kwon Taekjoo.
Naturally, everything was off the
record.
Director Kwak had set a strict limit…
Yoon Jongwoo would receive no support or protection beyond permission to identify the body.
He had left the country on a personal trip, not as an NIS agent.
Without Zhenya's private jet, they wouldn't have even been able to leave
for Iran so quickly.
Yoon Jongwoo had barely stepped out of Director Kwak's office before breaking down into bitter sobs once again.
"Uugh… Sunbae… Sunbaaaee… I should have stopped him from leaving. He was going to quit his job anyway once he got back. I should have told him to quit right then and there,"
he cried, his voice thick with regret.
Zhenya couldn't understand his words, as Yoon Jongwoo was speaking in Korean and his voice was distorted by tears.
But he knew that "Sunbae" likely referred to Kwon Taekjoo.
Without a word, Zhenya grabbed Yoon Jongwoo by the back of his neck and stared him straight in the eyes.
Under his piercing gaze, Yoon Jongwoo swallowed his sobs and struggled to speak.
"Sunbae told me he felt he was being too harsh with his mother because of his own ambitions. He thought that, even if it wasn't an issue now… it would be later on, that his life was a mess as it was, and that he could leave the NIS without regrets… He said he just wanted to live his own life now. This was supposed to be his last mission."
Zhenya couldn't believe it.
According to Yoon Jongwoo, Kwon Taekjoo had been planning to leave the NIS once his current mission was over.
The only thing they had ever argued and
fought over was his job, and Kwon Taekjoo was someone who had always prioritized his sense of duty above his own mother and his lover.
What had suddenly led him to change his mind?
"Is there something you want from me?"
"Apart from wanting you to stay still? Honestly, no."
"What I'm saying is you shouldn't put yourself at risk because of me."
"Put myself at risk? Me?"
The conversation they'd had not long ago suddenly surfaced in his mind.
Kwon Taekjoo had always insisted that Zhenya not get involved in his work.
Zhenya had never understood why.
After all, if he helped Kwon Taekjoo, then Kwon Taekjoo would finish faster, and it would make things easier for him as well.
So… why?
"Do you really think I don't know what your relationship with your family is like? Look, I'm not going to tell you how to treat them or pressure you to make peace with them. That's your business, not mine. But I can't keep watching you cause more conflict with them just for my
sake."
"Taekjoo, you're misunderstanding something. Even if you weren't in the picture, my relationship with them is beyond repair. They're insignificant people who wouldn't dare interfere with my life."
"Even so, your roots are with them."
Ever since he had returned from Cuba, Kwon Taekjoo seemed distracted and lost in thought.
Sometimes, he would just stare at Zhenya, his expression conflicted.
Whenever he voiced his concern about pulling Zhenya away from his own family, Zhenya felt surprised and, oddly, a little touched.
Most likely, Kwon Taekjoo had volunteered for the Tehran mission for the same reason… to atone for his mistakes in Vladivostok.
Knowing his nature, he would have wanted to make amends and tie up all the loose ends.
And once everything was done, he would have come back to Zhenya once again.
If Kwon Taekjoo left the NIS, and Zhenya abandoned his national obligations, they wouldn't have to keep being enemies.
Had Kwon Taekjoo really planned to spend the rest of his life with Zhenya, just like that?
"I've made up my mind. When I return, I'll tell you everything, including all the things I haven't been able to say before. So, don't try to follow or get involved. Just wait for me in silence."
Was this decision to leave the NIS and abandon everything he had dedicated his life to?
And all because he didn't want to see Zhenya as an enemy?
"As soon as I'm done, I'll come back to you, alright? Zhenya."
He had made him that promise, only to vanish into thin air after tying Zhenya's hands and feet, leaving him unable to follow.
Now, he was gone forever, to a place Zhenya could never reach… but no, that couldn't be true.
Until he saw the body himself, Zhenya refused to believe it.
He clenched his fists, blood trickling from where his nails dug into his skin.
Yet he felt no pain.
All his senses had been dulled from the moment he'd learned of Kwon Taekjoo's
possible death.
Instead, his nerves were so tightly wound that each slight sound or movement in the air made them tense even more.
He reached for a bottle of painkillers, something he'd never thought he'd use, and recklessly poured as many as would fit into his hand.
He no longer remembered how many he'd taken.
Maybe they weren't working, because his head felt like it was about to explode from the pain, and the crushing pressure in his chest refused to ease.
Everything felt strange, unfamiliar, and he didn't know how to face it.
Soon, the private plane began its descent toward Tehran's military airport.
As soon as the plane landed, Zhenya grabbed Yoon Jongwoo by his clothing and pulled him mercilessly.
Yoon Jongwoo stumbled behind him, unable even to walk on his own.
Despite the heightened security after the terrorist attack, with restrictions on civilian flights and visitor entries, none of this affected Zhenya.
He was not only a Russian diplomat but also the brother of Bazim, a key figure in the Russian delegation attending the summit.
Thanks to this, Yoon Jongwoo's entry into Iran had been smooth and uneventful.
They climbed into the waiting car and sped toward the morgue located on the city's outskirts, where all unidentified victims of the attack were reportedly being kept.
All Zhenya could think about was seeing Kwon Taekjoo as soon as possible.
Impatiently, he pressed the pedal to the floor.
From the moment the engine had started, he hadn't rested for a second, tearing down the road at a reckless speed.
In the midst of his taut nerves, the faint
sound of quiet sobbing from the passenger seat grated on him.
Yoon Jongwoo had been crying non-stop since he'd heard the news about Kwon Taekjoo.
The way he acted as if the world had already ended, even though nothing had been confirmed, irritated Zhenya beyond
measure.
Unable to tolerate it any longer, Zhenya warned him in a low, cold voice,
"You'd better shut up before I throw you out."
Yoon Jongwoo only clutched his bag tighter, burying his face in it.
His muffled whimpers continued as he tried to suppress his sobs.
Even that sound annoyed Zhenya, though he held back from saying anything else.
The car soon arrived at the morgue.
It was past midnight.
Whether it was because of the late hour or Yoon Jongwoo's preconception of morgues, the surroundings felt eerily silent and unsettling.
An attendant was waiting outside and greeted them as soon as they arrived.
Since they were there on an "unofficial" visit, their contact had been arranged through an intermediary rather than through an official request by the South Korean government to the Iranian authorities.
They therefore had no choice but to be cautious about the possibility of being discovered.
"This way. We've been expecting you. But who is…?"
The morgue attendant cast a puzzled look at Zhenya.
They must have been informed by the
intermediary that a Korean visitor was coming, so seeing a tall Westerner beside Yoon Jongwoo had caught them off guard.
Concerned that the arrangement might fall through, Yoon Jongwoo quickly jumped in with a convincing excuse.
"Oh, he's here on behalf of the deceased's family since none of them could come at the moment. We've already cleared it with our superiors, so there's no need to worry."
"I see. Please, follow me."
The attendant's suspicions quickly faded as he led them inside.
They entered the morgue through a side door by the crematorium in the back courtyard, passing through nearly a dozen security checkpoints.
It might have seemed excessive to guard the bodies so strictly, as if they were protecting a treasure.
But under the circumstances, it made sense.
A catastrophic terrorist attack had taken
place, paralyzing the country itself.
The fact that "unidentified individuals" had been recovered from the scene implied that these people probably had no reason to be there in the first place.
They could very well be suspects linked to the attack.
Someone like Kwon Taekjoo, who had hidden his identity to enter the country, would have even more difficulty
avoiding suspicion.
If they hadn't personally contacted the morgue, they wouldn't have had the chance to identify his body in person.
The morgue had two underground levels and four above-ground floors.
Zhenya and Yoon Jongwoo were escorted to the second basement level.
Even after descending the stairs, they
had to walk quite a distance into the building.
Yoon Jongwoo could swear the temperature kept dropping the farther they went, though it might just have been his imagination.
"There are still many incomplete or damaged bodies in this section,"
the attendant explained.
The bodies they'd barely managed to recover weren't even complete?
Yoon Jongwoo beganto sob again and stumbled over his own feet.
Instantly, Zhenya reached out, grabbing him by the back of the neck and lifting him upright.
Yoon Jongwoo hung limply from his grip,
whimpering miserably.
With an irritated glare, Zhenya shoved him forward.
"This way."
Soon, they were standing in front of the farthest room down the hall.
The attendant opened the door and switched on the dusty lights, which flickered weakly.
The walls were coated with mold and strange stains, and cobwebs filled every corner.
The heavy stench of charred and decaying flesh hung in the air.
"This is the body we need you to confirm."
The attendant slid one of the compartments out.
With a loud metallic noise, a body wrapped in a bag emerged from the drawer, reeking of ashes and rotting flesh.
Yoon Jongwoo couldn't help but cover his mouth and nose, turning his face away.
He barely managed to calm his nausea and looked back at the bag with a hesitant gaze.
It seemed far too small to hold someone like Kwon Taekjoo.
"Wh-why is it only…?"
"As I mentioned before, this body is severely disfigured. Are you sure you still wish to proceed with the identification?"
The attendant's tone implied he wouldn't recommend it.
With eyes full of tears, Yoon Jongwoo glanced back at Zhenya.
Zhenya hadn't taken his gaze off the body bag for even a second.
Without hesitation, he unzipped it.
Before Yoon Jongwoo could brace himself, the image of a mangled corpse came into view.
The intense burning had melted the face beyond recognition, making it impossible to distinguish the eyes, nose, or mouth.
Everything below the knees was missing, either burned away or lost.
The remaining pieces looked ready to crumble at the slightest touch, as if they
were nothing but fragile chunks of charcoal.
"Ugh…!"
Finally, Yoon Jongwoo ended up vomiting on the floor, his face wet with tears.
No matter how hard he tried to contain himself, his stomach churned, forcing him to empty its acidic contents.
Zhenya stood motionless, his feet rooted to the ground.
Likewise, his gaze never left the body.
Each second felt like an eternity.
How long had they been standing there?
Suddenly, Zhenya grabbed the corpse's head.
The attendant, who'd been watching from the side, was startled by the movement and rushed forward to stop him.
"What are you doing?! You can't touch the corpse directly!"
Zhenya swatted the approaching attendant away.
The man's body collided with the wall, and his head struck hard against the surface, knocking him out instantly.
Without pause, Zhenya leaned closer to the corpse, bringing his nose directly to its head.
The stench of burned flesh should have drowned out any trace of body scent, but he kept sniffing, determined.
"Mr. Yevgeny… Ugh… Erghrk…"
Yoon Jongwoo tried to stop him but ended up expelling more yellow-stained vomit.
His legs gave out, and he collapsed to the floor, weakly crawling on all fours, retching again.
He wanted the nausea to stop, but his body wouldn't obey him.
Hot tears streamed uncontrollably down his face.
Zhenya's pale hands quickly became coated in ash, pus, and blood, but he didn't care, methodically working over the corpse, examining each remaining finger and the fragments of its nails.
Was this Kwon Taekjoo?
This?
Perhaps because he wished to deny the truth, but no matter how much he examined the body, he couldn't find anything to confirm that this was Kwon Taekjoo, even though he was certain
he'd recognize him immediately.
Zhenya's intense gaze remained fixed on the corpse, charred to the point of ashes.
Suddenly, he leaned in to inspect the inner thigh of the corpse.
Most of the skin had burned away from
the intense heat, but the skin on the inner thighs, shielded from the flames, was less damaged.
Though a bit wrinkled, it held its shape better than the rest of the body.
Zhenya brushed away the soot with his fingers.
But the mark he expected to find there wasn't.
The tattoo etched on Kwon Taekjoo's inner thigh was nowhere to be seen.
"...This isn't Taekjoo,"
he murmured quietly.
Zhenya spoke in Russian, so Yoon Jongwoo didn't understand his words.
He merely looked at him with a bewildered expression.
Zhenya repeated,
"This isn't Taekjoo,"
before abruptly leaving the morgue.
Yoon Jongwoo, still clueless, stumbled to his feet and rushed to follow him.
"Mr. Yevgeny! Ah, Mr. Yevgeny! Where are you going?!"
Zhenya climbed into his vehicle without a word.
Yoon Jongwoo ran after him and barely managed to jump inside before the car took off at full speed.
A second later, the car veered off the road.
Zhenya's foot pressed down on the accelerator, his eyes blazing with a fierce, unyielding determination.