Chapter 146 – (Episode 146) 22. Determination
(Episode 146)
“I’m back, chief.”
Regina Rodriguez greets her as she walks into her private office with her colleague Jennifer Thompson, who is greeted by a burly white man in his early and mid-40s.
“Welcome, you’ve worked hard.”
The name plate on the desk of the man who rose from his seat and approached was engraved “Director William Gordon.”
“Did you see the report I posted before the test?”
To Regina’s question, Commissioner William Gordon offered a seat at the reception table instead of answering.
“Let’s sit down and talk, would you like coffee?”
“No, thanks.”
This time, Jennifer gave a cold voice, but William grinned as if he understood.
“I know how much you suffered, so I hope you feel better.”
“Agent Thompson is doing it because he is offended by the prosecutor.”
When Regina kindly offered an excuse for her, Jennifer grudgingly smiled.
“Aside from what you wrote in the report, what was your first impression of Han Myeong-sik personally?”
“Can’t we use a report instead?”
Regina, not William, persuaded Jennifer, who responded with an uncomfortable expression.
“The director isn’t asking out of curiosity.”
“When, where, what, and how were all detailed in the report.”
William raised his hand to stop the two from arguing.
“Ah, if you feel uncomfortable, I will listen to you through a counselor.”
“A counselor, are you saying that the examination alone is not enough?”
When Regina, not Jennifer this time, showed her displeasure, William shrugged his shoulders.
“It’s not because I’m lacking, but because I’m a man, I just prepared separately because I didn’t want you guys to be in trouble.”
The test they are talking about is a question-and-answer type psychological test that agents must undergo before and after participating in an operation.
The purpose is to detect anomalies by skillfully inserting personal keywords into ordinary, everyday questions that have nothing to do with mission or work.
It is an important procedure for the safety of agents who have to deal with psychics and the security of the organization, but it is inevitably unpleasant for field agents who value trust among colleagues above all else.
“Are you saying it’s not an essential procedure?”
“Haha no, I’m dying of being an annoying and inconvenient prosecutor, so why don’t you know how you guys feel?”
Jennifer asked in surprise at the director’s informal reply.
“Does the director get tested too?”
“Of course, I get it every day when I go to work.”
“Ah… !”
Regina’s heart skipped a beat as she remembered the time they had spent together last night when she saw Jennifer reflecting on her behavior, which had been rebellious for a moment.
“Then… Can you tell me your first impression of Myeong-sik Han?”
“Are you curious about how you feel as a woman, or as an agent?”
At Regina’s question, William nodded her head.
“Everything you need for work is in the report, so if you have something to tell me, it doesn’t matter.”
“Then let me tell you. As you might have guessed from the report, he ah… ! I… My first impression of Mr. Han over there was that it exceeded my expectations.”
“You mean in appearance?”
“Yes, the montage we created was quite accurate, but the real power was great.”
“Was it love at first sight?”
Regina took a moment to catch her breath and exchanged her gaze with Jennifer before giving her a nod.
“Yes, but please consider that I have a crush on K-pop and Korean idols instead.
“Hmm… , I don’t know why I’m so crazy about Korean idols who are just as pretty as women.”
Jennifer covered her mouth with her hand and burst into laughter at the reaction of the director, who is a typical American white man from the South.
“Huh, Mr. Han is more like a man than an idol, so if you meet him in person, he will change his mind.”
“Haha I’m looking forward to it, what was your impression of Agent Thompson?”
“I had an ex-boyfriend, so I didn’t have much interest in the opposite sex.”
“A friend who is active in Tier One, right?”
“Yes, so I was able to look at it from a relatively objective perspective at first.”
“Your opinion will be more helpful than Agent Rodriguez’s.”
The atmosphere became softer and more comfortable thanks to the idol story and William’s jokes.
“Maybe it’s because I met him after fully familiarizing myself with the material, but the first impression alone didn’t soften the feeling that I was a prostitute.”
“Is there a decisive reason for your change of heart, the one you wrote in the report… Not the situation.”
“For me, that is… Acting as a decision…”
“Didn’t you evaluate that there was a cynical side?”
Regina responded to this point.
“You may not believe it, but I think it was intentional.”
“You mean it was a test?”
“If you think that Mr. Han is not a psychic, he can be seen as trying to figure out our intentions.”
“Then doesn’t that mean Han Myeong-shik doesn’t have the ability to read minds?”
Even if you hide it, it turns out to be a test that uses artificial intelligence, so Jennifer gave her honest opinion.
“I’m not sure, but I have doubts, a woman’s heart over there…”
“Ah… If you’re in trouble, let’s move on, because I’m only guessing from the report.”
For her colleague, who has yet to end her relationship with her boyfriend, Regina answered instead.
“Because we know a woman’s heart too well is why we doubt it.”
“If a man lives with 36 people, wouldn’t he be an expert on women?”
“I’ll replace it with the answer that the 36th man in a relationship knows a woman better than having 36 of them.”
Regina’s argument was accepted by William without objection.
“I have already been married for 15 years, so I know what you mean.”
“But she’s obviously on a different level from the average guy, seeing as she pretended to be a high school student and got close to Claire Lopez.”
As Regina nodded in agreement with Jennifer’s opinion, William asked an additional question.
“Does that mean that we shouldn’t be too sure that Han Myeong-sik has mind-reading skills?
“I felt like I didn’t want to reveal it, so I was as careful as possible.”
To Regina’s answer, Jennifer added her explanation.
“As instructed, I deliberately restrained myself to focus only on earning Mr. Han’s trust and building a good relationship as much as possible.”
“Well done, this is honestly more than expected. Isn’t Han Myeong-sik a great income just to come and meet me in person?”
“I agree with you, Director.”
William stood up without hesitation at the end of the necessary conversation and thanked the two agents as they left the office.
“Agent Rodriguez, Agent Thompson. I salute you on behalf of the federal government for your dedication.”
✽✽✽✽✽
It was largely thanks to the persuasion of Director William Gordon and the superiors of the original agency and the promise of a huge reward from the federal government.
Until he was entrusted with the task of mobilizing his feminine charm to enslave Myeong-shik Han, who uses his psychic powers to turn 36 women into sex slaves.
Regina and Jennifer needed to be prepared to risk their lives before worrying about their privacy.
And when I was asked to engage in sexual activity, I regretted that I had taken on her mission for nothing, fearing that I might lose my self by being manipulated.
“How are you feeling, Jennifer?”
Regina’s friendly question as we walked out of the director’s office and headed to the American-style bathroom called the Pantry, Jennifer gave her a mug and grinned.
“It’s like you.”
“How do I feel?”
“The joy of enjoying the most thrilling moment in your life, the joy of completing your mission, and the reward of being recognized for your hard work in going to heaven?”
“Whoop whoop”
The two received a cup of coffee and took a sip, dyeing their faces red with emotions beyond camaraderie.
“Regina.”
“Huh?”
“What do you plan to do next?”
“What?”
“Mr. Myungsik.”
“How do you do it, do you have a choice?”
“There is.”
“If we fall out of here, there is no guarantee that Myeong-shik will continue to help, so do you think headquarters will let us go?”
“The promise ends here, our role is over.”
At Jennifer’s insistence, Regina shook her head.
“I don’t know what choice Mr. Myung-sik will make after meeting with the director, but I’m sure he will continue to use us as bait to use Mr. Myung-sik.”
“Do you know how ordinary we are compared to Myungsik’s women?”
At Jennifer’s point, Regina let out a wry smile as she remembered Lee Mi-ri, who was with Han Myung-sik when they first met.
“If we had known that surprising fact, we would not have been selected, or there would have been no alternative.”
“Shouldn’t I have told the director that my self-esteem fell to the ground as soon as I met Mr. Myung-shik?”
“You didn’t do it, so it’s not a lie, is it?”
“If the whooping mission had failed, I would have made excuses for that reason.”
“Right, haha”
She can laugh lightly and pass it off now, but unlike Han Myeong-sik, who was fully prepared, Lee Mi-ri’s first impression was truly shocking as a woman.
Regina stopped laughing and tilted her head at her serious expression.
“Come to think of it, why are you doing that with us, leaving a woman who is several times prettier and sexier?”
“I thought that too while writing the report…”
“Did you find out why?”
“I’m not sure.”
“Tell me, you can trust the opinion of the CIA’s chief intelligence analyst.”
“Whoops, not the best.”
“I know very well how good our Agent Jennifer is, so please tell me!”
Jennifer took another sip of her coffee and he made a cute frown on her pretty face.
“Here’s the coffee… , It tastes different from the one I drank at Myeong-shik’s house.”
“I almost threw up after drinking, so I told you to hurry up.”
“When I looked at the analysis data of 36 people, except for mothers and volleyball players, there was a standard that could define Myung-shik’s taste.”
“What is that?”
“Job.”
“Job… ? Ah… !”
At Regina’s immediate reaction, Jennifer grinned as she pulled out a sugar-free soda instead of coffee from her refrigerator.
“If we were ordinary college students or waitresses, wouldn’t we be rather indifferent?”
“I think your analysis is correct, Mr. Myung-shik, don’t all women have different majors and specialties? Except for Koreans, they have different nationalities and races.”
“That’s right, so even if we withdraw, there is a possibility that Myung-shik can still remain as a woman.”
Slightly shaken by Jennifer’s persuasive comment, Regina shook her head.
“No, I don’t want to.”
“I didn’t mean to say that either.”
“It happened before we were selected, but I can’t turn a blind eye to the deaths of my colleagues to satisfy my greed.”
“I agree with you, if it weren’t for the damage, the plan to ask for help from Myeong-shik wouldn’t have been made in the first place…”
“I don’t think we even had a chance to meet Mr. Myung-shik.”
The conversation between the two was the reason why the organization was formed as a countermeasure headquarters, and the reason why William Gordon, an assistant secretary (SES Level IV) equivalent to a “High-ranking official” In Korea, was appointed.
“Nice to meet you, my name is William Gordon, who is in charge of this place.”
“Hello, this is Myeongsik Han.”
It was the first time they met, and the two men shaking hands were not unfamiliar at all.
It is thanks to William reading and re-reading to the extent that he memorizes the detailed reports of Regina and Jennifer as well as the data he researched and analyzed by mobilizing all of the organization’s assets.
It was thanks to Han Myeong-sik, who turned on the status window before meeting and looked at everything from the building where the headquarters is located to the employees of each department.
“As you’ve heard from Agent Rodriguez and Agent Thompson, I’m going to ask you outright, help us.”
“Okay, let me help you.”
“Ah! Thank you, thank you very much!”
I could tell how desperate the situation was just by holding hands and getting up from my seat and being genuinely happy.
“Instead, there are conditions.”
Of course, La William nodded his head, not caring about the order that would follow.
“I’ll promise anything my headquarters and the US federal government can afford!”
(Continued on next episode 147)
