chapter 109
Awards ceremony preparation
‘It’s funny.’
Yeon-woo thought for a moment and smiled.
When ordinary people come across the words spy or spy, it is natural to think that they completely hide each other’s identities and risk their lives like scavengers to dig up or protect information.
But that’s only seen in movies, and the real world of espionage is a little different.
The same is true of Yeonwoo in her previous life, and the intelligence agents dispatched from each country are all human.
Just like everyone else, I worry about what to eat for dinner tonight, and I worry about not being woken up by my boss tomorrow.
Due to the nature of constantly making achievements and reporting consolation, intelligence agents from different countries exchanged information without realizing it.
Then, from time to time, a broker appeared and sold information for money, or, conversely, purchased useful information.
‘I’ve never used it before…’
Most of the information needed by the NIS is information on North Korean movements, so there was no need to buy information from other intelligence agencies.
As I walked towards my destination, thinking about various things, I arrived quickly.
Yeon-woo gets off the subway and moves quickly.
‘If you want to have lunch with the staff, you have to hurry up and go back to the hotel in the morning.’
Dealing with an informant in a dark district is not a way to go into a shady bar in a back alley and tell the bartender a nonsensical slogan such as ‘The owl cries at the moon,’ as if in a movie or a novel.
Agents from countries who are extremely reluctant to reveal their identities did not buy and sell information face-to-face in that way.
“Liechtenberg Library. Long time no see.”
Looking at the magnificent ivory building in front of him, Yeonwoo went inside.
As soon as I entered the library, I could smell the peculiar smell of books.
As Yeon-woo entered the library, she entered the square-shaped lobby on the first floor with a central ceiling and looked up.
With the open ceiling, you could see the corridors leading to all the corridors on each floor up to the 4th floor and the entrance to the reading room at a glance.
But the surveillance camera is nowhere to be seen.
‘It’s ironic.’
In the German civil revolution that began in 1968, it was the library that always protected the protesters.
The tradition of not recording visitors in order to hide the identity of the protesters continued, making it a rare building without a surveillance camera in modern society, but now it is being used by agents of the intelligence service of state agencies.
Yeon-woo shook his head and slowly climbed the stairs and entered the reading room on the 4th floor.
I walked around for a while, looking at the books slowly.
‘found.’
– See the establishment of Eisenach in Thuringia.
It’s a book no one will ever read.
It is not a book that actually exists other than here, nor is it even registered in this library.
Yeon-woo took out the book and sat down in the corner to open it, but meaningless words and names were listed.
Soon after, he took out a paper and pen from his jacket pocket, looked at the book, and began to list the numbers.
These are the number of the page and the number indicating the position of the desired letter.
For example, if the thirty-seventh letter of the sixth page is the letter A I want, I would write 6-37.
In this way, I wrote down a bunch of numbers that fit the message on a piece of paper.
– Information about a group or individual called ‘Baeksol’ in Korea.
I put a piece of paper with a bunch of numbers written on it that would mean something like that when deciphered and a disposable card key from a locker in the basement of Berlin Station in the middle of the book and closed it.
I put the book back in its original place and took the bookmark out.
If the bookmark is out, it means you want to sell or buy the information.
‘I don’t know how much information they have about ‘Baeksol’…’
It is speculated that ‘Baeksol’ is behind the recent drug-related incidents.
And the tail Haeun recently discovered.
Agent Ha Joo-ran disguised as ‘Chan-suk Jeong’, assistant secretary of the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism.
Judging from the fact that she was in charge of southern China, Myanmar and Laos, it was very likely that she was involved in the overseas drug trade.
‘Then it is highly likely that the information merchants here also have some information.’
It was worth trying once, apart from the investigation conducted by Haneun in Korea.
After putting the book down, Yeon-woo quietly disappeared from the library, erasing its presence.
***
“Actor, where did you go out in the morning?”
While having lunch with the staff, Minsu Kim in front asked Yeonwoo.
In the morning, Kim Min-soo went to Yeon-woo’s room, but I was worried because I couldn’t hear the popularity inside and the call could not be connected.
“I came here for a bit of jogging in the park in front of you.”
“Then call me. What if I go out alone and a dangerous situation arises?”
It started with money laundering trafficking early in the morning and has just returned from a commission to a broker who works against agents of spy agencies.
Yeon-woo looked at Kim Min-soo and smiled brightly because he wanted to know what could be dangerous in his daily life, but knowing his worries.
“Yeah, let’s run together from now on.”
In fact, there was nothing dangerous about it.
All I had to do was take a walk in Tiergarten Park, see the scenery from the roof of the building, and read some books from the library.
At that time, Seo Ji-eun put down her fork and opened her mouth without eating.
“Hey, it’s dinner tonight. I’m so nervous.”
“There is something to be nervous about. You have to enjoy it. To win a prize in a competition is to receive either the Golden Bear or the Silver Bear.”
The Berlin International Film Festival awards several awards to films invited to compete in the competition. The best film is given a Golden Bear, and the Silver Bear is awarded in various categories such as the Grand Jury Prize, Director’s Award, and Screenplay Award.
Therefore, once the award has been confirmed, it means at least receiving the Silver Bear Award.
“Still, to win an award at such a big film festival, I still feel like my feet are tickled.”
Yeon-woo looked at Seo Ji-eun and smiled and looked at director Park Chan-hong.
“Are you nervous too, the director?”
“No, I’m very comfortable.”
Director Park Chan-hong talks with a casual smile, but the cut of the steak with a knife was crooked.
Unnaturally, he lowered one hand under the table and watched him eat, and his hands seemed to tremble from tension.
After lunch, I didn’t know whether it was going through my mouth or my nose, and time flew by so quickly that it was about two hours before the start of the awards ceremony.
– Ding-dong!
Before the awards ceremony, I had been doing a lot of work since dawn, so I was lying down and resting, when the doorbell rang in the hotel room.
“Um? There’s still time.”
When Yeon-woo got up and opened the door, there was a very unexpected person standing outside.
“Whoah! Dudung is here!”
“···Huh? Yeeun noona?”
Outside the door, stylist Lee Ye-eun and Kim Min-soo were standing with a large suitcase and smiling.
Team leader Jeong-hyuk waving next to him.
“Me too. Yeonwoo.”
“No, how the hell?”
Team leader Jeong and Lee Ye-eun smile as if they had succeeded as they looked at Yeon-woo, who was really surprised.
“In case we got any news of the award, we booked flight tickets and Yeeun and I were on standby. Manager Minsu Kim, of course, is reliable, but we need additional manpower.”
“…it must have taken a long time to get there because there are no direct flights. Please come in first.”
Lee Ye-eun and Jeong-hyeok, team leader, come in while dragging a carrier at Yeon-woo’s words.
“I’m glad I made a reservation so that it really matched well, but I barely made it on time. If I had known this would happen, I would have followed from the beginning!”
Yeeun Lee unfolds her suitcase while voicing her complaints.
Inside, I took out a prefabricated steam iron and a bunch of clothes stacked in plastic.
The men in the room admired Lee Ye-eun, who skillfully assembling equipment with very fast hand movements.
‘I think it’s faster than the speed of disassembling and combining rifles with all power…?’
Soon after, I finished assembling and started cleaning clothes at a fast pace.
“Just stand here. Let’s go quickly. I have to do makeup.”
Ye-eun’s charisma, which I feel strong today, seems to have captured Yeon-woo’s body and stood in front of her.
Yeeun Lee puts clothes on Yeonwoo’s body and puts them together.
“Hmm, okay. Let’s go with this navy suit and black shirt. Golden or silver bears will shine.”
Indeed, when thinking about fashion, it was professional not only to look at Yeonwoo, but also to match the outfit by thinking about the award-winning situation and what was to be captured on camera.
‘Um, if you win, the director will be on stage…’
Yeon-woo swallows back words thinking about Ye-eun Lee’s passion.
After changing clothes, Yeon-woo was wearing make-up with great hand movements, and found unopened clothes in the suitcase.
“Sister. What’s that thing in the suitcase?”
“Oh, that one?”
Yeeun smiled softly as she looked at Yeonwoo.
“It’s the clothes Ji-eun will wear. Since the agency is small, there must be no human resources support, but I brought it. She’s an actress.”
***
“Eh? Huh? Really? Ugh…”
Seo Ji-eun, who opened the door at the sound of the doorbell, froze.
“Oh! No! Ji-eun-san, put those tears in unconditionally! It’s too late to put on makeup again now.”
Lee Ye-eun hurriedly entered Seo Ji-eun’s room with a dress in one hand, blocking the tears of the crybaby Seo Ji-eun.
“···Thank you so much. I never imagined it.”
“I’m a stylist for actor Ryu Yeon-woo, but I didn’t get paid for it. I didn’t have to coordinate for a while because I was filming a historical drama, but as soon as the work is over, this time it’s an independent movie, so I have to wear my own clothes for reality…”
Lee Ye-eun grinned as she quickly untied her dress on Seo Ji-eun’s bed.
“And I’m also a cast member of this movie. Are you going to come out five times as an extra at the airport? Anyway, I don’t have much time, so come quickly, Ji-eun, and sit down.”
Like Yeonwoo, Seo Ji-eun walks to her seat as if possessed.
Originally, Seo Ji-eun, who always styled and made-up by herself, prepared quite well, but as a professional touched her, she became more and more radiant.
Yeonwoo and Seo Ji-eun come down to the hotel lobby when it’s time to finish dressing up like that.
Director Park Chan-hong, who had come down early and was waiting, smiled warmly.
“It’s been a long time, Hyuk. Is it the last time to hire Ryu for the Master Plan?”
“Yes. Director. It’s nice to see you in another country with a good job. Congratulations. Haha.”
Director Park Chan-hong shook hands with team leader Jeong-hyeok and spoke again.
“I’m not familiar with things like fashion, but I’m sure it’s a professional touch.”
Manager Kim Min-soo, who had nothing to do while decorating, informed Director Park Chan-hong in advance, so I was not surprised to see Team Leader Jeong-hyuk and Lee Ye-eun.
“But doesn’t this old man decorate anything?”
“Yes? Ah…. The director looks great even without makeup! Maybe even a quick skin tone?”
Director Park Chan-hong smiled while looking at Ye-eun Lee, who was bewildered.
“It’s just a joke. What would an old man do with it?”
Watching director Park Chan-hong like that, team leader Jeong-hyeok approached Yeon-woo and whispered.
“Director Park’s personality is very harmful. It’s the first time I’ve ever seen him joking. He’s like a tiger.”
When Yeon-woo went to audition for “Master Plan,” I remembered that team leader Jeong-hyeok repeatedly emphasized Park Chan-hong’s personality.
And Yeonwoo tilts her head.
“A tiger? You’re a kind and fun person.”
Team leader Jeong Hyuk shook his head as he recalled the infamous reputation of director Park Chan-hong, who made many actors cry with his fiery personality.
“Everyone, when you’re ready, I’ll leave.”
A local employee, assigned by the secretariat, came to the hotel lobby and led the group.
“Come on, let’s go. Now it’s the awards ceremony of the Berlin International Film Festival.”
At the words of director Park Chan-hong, Yeon-woo and his companions all stood up.
***
“This site! Mom and Dad! I found it.”
When So-hyun Ryu shouted from the room, Cheol-woong Ryu and Seon-ok Lee ran into the room.
“I found it?”
“Yeah. I think this site broadcasts it.”
“Why don’t we talk about broadcasting in Korea?”
Yeon-woo’s father, Ryu Cheol-woong, answered his wife’s words as he came from the living room with two chairs.
“It’s because I didn’t get a broadcast right. My country will broadcast about the Academy Awards.”
A family of three looking at a computer monitor while sitting on a chair.
“Huh? Here you are. Isn’t this your brother?”
When the full shot was reflected for a moment, Sohyun pointed to the corner of the monitor and said, both parents tilted their heads.
“Well. It’s too dark and small. Dad should bring some magnifying glasses.”
Meanwhile, Yeonwoo’s family was not the only one watching the awards ceremony of the Berlin International Film Festival on the Internet.
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Not only the acquaintances who supported Yeon-woo, but also many Korean film officials were watching with their breath.