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Rodo, 2022

Not Quite a Bond Girl – Chapter 4

On the inside, Choi Ryu sighed. What did it take for Ju In Ah to develop a sense of self-preservation? But another part of him felt warmed by her refusal to stay away from him. He had never met anybody like that; it had always been he who felt drawn to Myeong Wol, who didn’t even notice his feelings. On the outside, however, he maintained the carefully schooled façade that had protected him since childhood. Only when they were clear of Lee Shin, the final guard at the stairs, he stopped and turned around.

“What are you doing? Didn’t you listen to me?”

In Ah did not seem surprised and shot him a cool look. “I,” she stressed, “am trying to find out what is going on here because you won’t tell me.”

“I told you –”

“– that this is something spy related you can’t talk about, I remember. So? What harm will telling me actually do? I might even be able to help.”

Ryu suppressed another sigh. How to explain that state secrets were secrets for a reason and that knowing them would only put her at risk? “You can’t. You weren’t trained for this.”

She pouted now and stood, arms crossed, a few steps above him. “No, I wasn’t. But I know how to snoop around and that is what I will do this evening when I am meeting Mister Lee for dinner.”

“Don’t …” he started, but she just levelled a look at him. “You don’t even know what to look for.”

That hadn’t occurred to her yet, so her pout deepened, but Ryu ignored it and walked past her to the door of her suite. In Ah followed him reluctantly and let the last few steps linger. “I won’t give up,” she stated, staring at the door. “I won’t let you vanish again, you stupid fool.”

She disappeared behind the door before he had a chance to say goodbye, which was for the better. Using her as an excuse to stay away from the target a bit longer he decided to report the progress of the last few days to Agent Yu, who would no doubt have something to say on the topic of rich heiresses that he did not wish to hear.

As it turned out, she did. “She is right, you know,” she pondered through the phone. “She can help.”

“You can’t possibly mean that,” Ryu answered with too much fervour. Agent Yu’s knowing silence caused him to grit his teeth. He could practically hear her smirk.

“Not like you think,” she admitted. “But as you said, she is going to meet up with Lee this evening anyway. Which means that he will be distracted enough for you to slip away and search his room. This is the best chance we have at finding the chip before he sells it to the Chinese and you know it.”

As much as it pained him, she had a point. However, something in his gut told him that things should not go this way, though he couldn’t pinpoint exactly why.

*

As he was the one who had escorted her back to her room, it fell to Ryu to fetch her for her dinner appointment. Lee had insisted. He seemed quite taken with In Ah, although if he saw her as a romantic prospect or a fellow business executive Ryu couldn’t tell. The uneasy feeling in his gut had only increased during the day and it did not abate when In Ah opened the door wearing a violet dress that made her look a bit like Audrey Hepburn.

“I did say I could go alone,” she huffed. He had obviously not been forgiven yet.

“I have to talk to you,” he said, which got her attention. “You can help,” he whispered so quietly he could barely hear himself. But In Ah must have heard it, because her face lit up with a smile. “Distract him. Don’t do anything else. Leave the rest to me.”

“What rest?” she grilled him.

“Nothing. I just have to look for something, that’s all. He has it hidden somewhere and I haven’t been able to find it yet.”

The prospect of helping him spy seemed to make her happier than even that of dating Kang Woo had when they first met. But then she suddenly stopped in her tracks. “Umm, who do you work for anyway? I mean really, not …” she gestured in a way that meant absolutely nothing to him. “What with the ‘accident’ and all … this isn’t going to be bad for South Korea, is it?”

Ryu had not expected that question, and so he just shook his head slowly before he could find the right words. “No. I can swear to it.”

A relieved sigh escaped her lips and the smile spread again. She practically flew down the stairs while Ryu followed her at a more sedate pace.

In the dining area of the suite, a table for two had been prepared and a nervous waiter stood next to a tray containing the dinner, while two bodyguards, Ryu included, made sure that nothing happened. Lee’s paranoia was based on reality, but the NIS had not sent the assassin he expected, which made Ryu’s job easier than it should be.

He watched as Lee greeted In Ah and the two chatted for a bit while the waiter served the soup and wine. So far, everything was going smoothly, but it was not yet time, so he listened with half an ear to the conversation.

“You are the daughter of Ju Hui Jang, are you not?” Lee asked suddenly. The memory of the last time he saw the man came to Ryu’s mind, although what he remembered most was how In Ah had thrown herself in front of him to protect him. Her grandfather hadn’t tried to get her out of harm’s way.

“No,” In Ah answered, “his granddaughter.”

“Really? I used to work with your grandfather a couple of times, you know? Of course, that was years ago, before he became embroiled in all that.”

Ryu watched as In Ah’s smile froze and she paused a moment, but then she caught herself and relaxed. “My grandfather worked with every businessman in Korea, it seems sometimes. They all know him and compare me to him.”

The conversation continued, the soup was placed on the tray, the wine glasses emptied and the waiter served the steak with trepidation before he was finally dismissed with the wave of a hand. He seemed anxious to leave, more anxious than he should be. Ryu ached to follow him to find out more, but that would rob him of his chance to search the room.

The other bodyguard didn’t seem to have noticed and yawned before he set out to patrol the hallway, leaving the safety of Lee to Ryu, who acknowledged it with a nod. He had barely closed the door when Ryu slowly inched closer to the bedroom door, where Lee spent most of his time alone, and which none of them were permitted to enter. He felt In Ah’s eyes on him and hoped she was being subtle, but Lee simply prattled on while Ryu slowly opened the door, slid through and pulled it almost close.

He had only seen glimpses of it so far. Lee kept it scrupulously in order, which meant he had to be careful when he moved something. He started with the desk in the corner, the most obvious place for a metal case with a chip, but the drawers were empty. Next, he went over to the wardrobe and searched the suitcases. Lee travelled with three of them, containing various suits and shirts – now on the hangers – and some notebooks, none of which served as a disguise for the chip casing. He found a concealed gun when he looked for a secret compartment, but nothing else.

Ryu was about to start on the drawers when a sudden noise interrupted. Someone had opened the door to the suite, and he could hear agitated murmurs through the slit in the door. He recognized the voice of one of the other guards – Lee Shin. His heart beat faster and he wondered if In Ah was alright.

“I caught him one floor down.” Ryu strained to understand the muffled voice. “He was talking on his phone and saying something about planting a bug.”

Chair legs moved over floor tiles, followed by Lee Gang Min’s sharp voice: “Is that so?”

A man begged, pleaded his innocence, then the door opened again and a couple of people walked through. Ryu opened the bedroom door a fraction more and could see the other bodyguards crowding around the waiter, who was sporting a bloody lip and a fresh bruise on his forehead.

“Found it,” Lee Shin declared triumphantly. Ryu could not see him, nor could he see Lee as he ordered: “Excellent. Why don’t you escort this man downstairs where he can wait for the police? Choi can take your post.”

Deafening silence echoed through the suite as Ryu realised he had been caught.

“Where is Choi?” asked Lee tersely, but nobody answered. “Did you see anything?”

The question was evidently meant for In Ah, as it was she who answered: “No, I didn’t pay any attention to him at all.” Her voice sounded flat and shook with fear.

“Bring this one downstairs, Lee. The rest of you: look for Choi; he must be around here somewhere.”

A mad shuffling began as the waiter was led out by Lee Shin and the others busied themselves looking for him. He hoped they would clear the room but just as Lee Gang Min started to apologize to In Ah, someone said: “The bedroom.”

The door was wrenched open. Ryu grabbed the first person he could and scored a well placed punch in the temple. The man crumpled to the floor, but before he could take out another one someone said, “Not another step,” and Ryu found himself face to face with the barrel of a gun.

While he slowly raised his hands he surveyed the room. The dining table looked less neat, Lee stared at him with open hatred and the other three guards carefully spread out evenly around him. In Ah watched all this with horror in her wide eyes from the other side of the table.

“Now what is this?” Lee Gang Min sneered. “One of my own men betraying me? I suppose it is a lucky coincidence someone tried to plant a bug this evening. Take him out!” he barked.

Seconds later his arms were grabbed by two of the guards while the other still held the gun. “And find out who he works for,” Lee added, before he vanished in the bedroom. What happened then Ryu couldn’t see because the two men dragged him towards the door, while the third followed with the gun aimed at his back. Ryu frantically searched for an opening that would allow him to be break free, but the men were well trained and knew who they were dealing with.

“No funny business,” one of them growled into his ear. The statement was punctuated by a stab with the gun.

From the bedroom, the sharp sound of something shattering echoed through the suite, followed by a hollow thud. This was his opening. On instinct Ryu rammed his shoulder into one of his captors and robbed him of his balance, while his newly freed arm grabbed for the gun. Two shots went off before he fully freed it of the second guard’s grip, but none of them hit him, so Ryu didn’t care. He swirled around and fired twice in the direction of the last man who still held onto him.

The third guard dropped to the floor, so he must have hit, but the other two were trying for his legs. One hit the back of his knee and Ryu fell. He brought his other hand to the gun and rolled onto his back, shooting the first man he saw. The last guard scrambled out of range, holding up his hands as if to protect himself from bullets. Ryu had won. He hit the last man in the head with the butt of the gun and breathed shakily.

His body was shivering with adrenaline, he was sweating and his heart would not calm until he had assured himself that the guards were no longer a threat. Then he looked up and saw In Ah standing in the doorway to the bedroom, looking ashen and holding a metal case the size of a book.

“Found it,” she choked out feebly, while Ryu struggled to his feet.

“How?” he croaked, despite that being the last thing he cared about.

“He walked to the bedroom and looked for something under the mattress. When he found it, I just grabbed the clock on the bedside table and hit him over the head with it. They forgot all about me,” In Ah told him in an amazed tone. She didn’t seem to believe a word of what she was saying.

“The mattress …” he murmured.

The next thing he knew, In Ah ran into his arms and clung to him with a strength he didn’t know she possessed. He almost lost his balance, but she didn’t notice. She was sobbing now and he felt her tears through his shirt. His arms encircled her before he knew what he was doing. He knew he should keep her at a distance, for her own sake, but in this moment he couldn’t even imagine letting go.

*

Ryu ended up carrying her out of Lee Gang Min’s suite. In Ah was still holding the case with the chip, but she had calmed down considerably and kept dangling her feet. When he dropped her on her sofa she sighed and curled up. He hated to leave her like this, but he had to check in, so he walked out onto the balcony and took out his phone.

“I’ve got it,” he said when Agent Yu picked up the phone. “But there was a complication.”

“Complication?”

“Another party tried to plant a bug and I was caught in the process. Two bodyguards dead, another two injured, and Lee as well.”

Yu paused. “We’ll send someone for the merchandise, take care,” she muttered tiredly, and hung up.

Relieved, Ryu took a deep breath and looked at the skyline of Singapore. The lights twinkled in the water under a dark blue sky and you couldn’t tell where land ended and the sea began. It felt peaceful.

“Is your boss happy?”

Ryu turned around and saw that In Ah had joined him. She still shivered and walked barefoot. The violet dress looked as good on her as it had half a lifetime ago. He nodded.

“Good. Because I am never doing anything like that ever again. And I’ll make sure to stay away from that man.” In Ah nodded emphatically. A grin tugged at his lips. She walked up to him and he noticed her hair was moving slightly in the nightly breeze. “We met here for the first time, remember?”

Ryu did. He hadn’t noticed her at all back then. It had probably been fate. She took his hand and he let it happen. They stood there for a long time, watching life going on beneath them. And for the first time, Ryu didn’t feel like he was alone when in the company of others. He mourned the loss of her warmth when she released his hand, but then she surprised him by laying the other on his cheek. She turned his head just far enough to press her lips against his for a fleeting moment.

“Don’t ever vanish again,” she whispered against his ear before she kissed him again.

Fin