DAY ONE — 22:18 KST
SEOUL — BUNDANG HIGHWAY EXIT
The car sped down the near-empty highway, headlights cutting through mist and smog. Tae Kyung kept one hand on the wheel, the other near the trigger of his concealed pistol. In the passenger seat, Seo Yuna tapped her laptop anxiously, tethered to a portable signal jammer.
"You're being tracked," she said flatly. "Blue House code agents pinged your location twice. Whoever's running this isn't just watching—they're hunting."
"Then they know I've seen the President's message." Tae Kyung's jaw clenched. "We don't have much time."
"You're not going to like this," Yuna added. "I found a reference to Artemis Wind inside an old Phoenix protocol archive. It's not a person… it's an operation. More specifically, an assassination clause."
Tae Kyung's grip tightened on the wheel.
"They activated Artemis Wind… on the President?"
"Looks that way."
The truth hit like a gut punch. Tae Kyung had sworn an oath to protect the Commander-in-Chief. But now, the government he served had branded the President an internal threat. Which meant Tae Kyung wasn't just disobeying orders—he was an enemy of the state.
And worse, he was alone.
---
DAY TWO — 01:07 KST
CHEONGJU, PRIVATE VILLA — SECRET INTELLIGENCE VAULT
The villa had once belonged to a war-era general, later converted into an off-grid safehouse by intelligence operatives. Tae Kyung stepped into the main hall, flashlight sweeping across dusty portraits and steel file drawers.
He pulled open one drawer after another until he found a red-sealed file stamped: PHOENIX // ARTEMIS WIND — OPERATIONAL MEMO.
Inside were transcripts of high-level meetings between Prime Minister Kwon Jin Woo, Defense Minister Choi Sang Min, and a man Tae Kyung hadn't expected to see—
Im Jae Seok.
His mentor.
His boss.
The same man who told him to "stand down."
One file was especially disturbing: an intercepted message from President Lee to an unnamed foreign contact—possibly American intelligence—offering to expose systemic corruption inside South Korea's defense industry. Billions laundered. Weapons deals faked. Elections influenced.
Treason to some.
Heroism to others.
If the leak went public, half the National Assembly would burn.
And Prime Minister Kwon Jin Woo? He'd fall first.
---
DAY TWO — 03:03 KST
DAEGU — SECRET RAILWAY SIDING
Lights flashed in the distance. The diplomatic train was real.
Tae Kyung and Yuna crouched behind an abandoned loading crate, watching as two men in black military gear hauled a large, sealed container into the final car. No guards. No manifest. No sound.
Yuna's eyes widened. "That container… it's lead-lined. Shielded. It's used for transporting bio-sensitive assets—or bodies."
Tae Kyung's breathing slowed.
"Or Presidents."
Suddenly, a soft click behind them. Tae Kyung froze.
"I told you to stand down."
It was Im Jae Seok—pistol raised, flanked by two elite agents.
But it wasn't anger on his face.
It was sadness.
"You should've let it go, Tae Kyung."
"I could've," Tae Kyung replied, slowly turning.
"But then you fired the fourth shot."
And just as the agents moved in, Tae Kyung dropped a small metal sphere at his feet.
Flashbang.
The world exploded in light and sound.
And Tae Kyung ran straight into the night—into the next phase of a war he didn't start but had no choice but to finish.