Choi Yeon-Ha's gaze silently chased after the masked elderly gentleman's back. She had several reasons for doing so.
The first reason was that the gentleman was a super VIP. Combining what she heard with how this situation was playing out... That man must be urgently traveling to Korea, obviously without alerting the relevant people well ahead of time, too.
As proof, the airport didn't say that a VIP would be using the gate around the same time as Choi Yeon-Ha when Han Eun-Sol confirmed with them yesterday.
Even though the elderly gentleman arrived without any heads-up, the airport staff still extended their utmost courtesy toward him and his entourage. Choi Yeon-Ha could even spot beads of sweat on the foreheads of the airport officials speaking to the gentleman. That alone was enough to tell her how nervous they were.
'Who is he, though?'
Choi Yeon-Ha couldn't help but get curious. Although her knowledge of current affairs wasn't more up-to-date than an average person's, she could safely say she did not remember seeing a face like that elderly gentleman's before.
'No, hang on. That's not quite right, now is it?'
After all, that gentleman's face was covered by a mask!
'But is that even allowed?'
What a bizarre sight this was.
That man might be a super-duper VIP, but wasn't this the airport's customs and immigration checkpoint?
What was the point of going through such a checkpoint? Wasn't it to confirm the identity of the person entering the country? And to ensure that no contraband was being smuggled into the country?
So, for a person wearing a mask to go through customs and immigration? What an inconceivable development this was.
If this had been a... more "normal" situation, that elderly gentleman would've been arrested by the airport security even before reaching the checkpoint. And then, a quick-as-lightning process later, he'd get booted out of the country altogether!
The only piece of Korean soil he'd have touched would have been the airport floor.
That was how the situation should have unfolded, so what was up with this strange spectacle?
Even Choi Yeon-Ha could tell that the airport security was deliberately doing a sloppy job. The luggage wasn't even fed through the x-ray machine and got handed to the airport personnel directly.
This sight made no logical sense, but Choi Yeon-Ha saw the expressions on the faces of the airport staff and decided that now might not be the best time to discuss how they should do their job.
Hell, Choi Yeon-Ha was even beginning to feel sorry for those people!
Those staff members were expressing their thoughts of, "This gentleman wasn't supposed to pass through here, so why did he have to do this and put us through this wringer?" with their whole bodies.
After looking at their panic- and flabbergast-filled faces, even she was tempted to agree that procedures and whatnot could be skipped altogether. Tormenting them further by reminding them of their duties would be akin to finding a drowning dog and shoving it even deeper into the water, now wouldn't it!
In a way, this was like watching a President of another country coming for a visit. Not just any country, but a powerful global player, no less! And the faces of everyone here...
When such a President chose not to follow the protocol and acted like a regular civilian by waltzing through a normal checkpoint, wouldn't the people needing to handle this situation make those kinds of faces?
'If only he wasn't wearing that mask, things would've been less weird, you know!'
Strangely enough, everyone here seemed to have filters applied to their eyes or something. Because they all pretended to not notice that mask on the elderly gentleman's face. Their desperation not to glance at the mask or even talk about it was so palpable that Choi Yeon-Ha could feel it on her skin!
All these factors helped Choi Yeon-Ha with making an educated guess.
'Those people also have no idea who this masked gentleman is.'
Choi Yeon-Ha's intuition was extraordinary.
So extraordinary was her intuition that it helped her pull through the grueling filming schedule in a foreign country without any incidents to speak of! Well, almost. ℟�
According to her ultra-sharp intuition, none of the people handling the elderly gentleman's entry procedure had a clue about his identity. Not only did the way they addressed him seem fairly standard to Choi Yeon-Ha, but she also noticed that they reflexively looked around for help whenever the elderly gentleman said something.
It was as if they were not confident about their response being suitable for this situation.
Maybe the airport staff were told only minutes before his arrival that this elderly gent was a super VIP and that they better be at their A-game. And that order probably came down straight from the top.
What a bizarre spectacle this was, indeed.
Here was an old man with a funny get-up. And the airport staff were clearly sweating bullets while flailing about in their attempts to accommodate him. Considering that these people were basically government employees in all but name, it was easy enough to guess, at least indirectly, how sky-high that gentleman's position in society was.
Choi Yeon-Ha wasn't sure how long the airport staff would've made her wait had it not been for the elderly gentleman's offer to go through the entry procedure together.
Han Eun-Sol tapped on Choi Yeon-Ha's shoulder. "Noona?"
"Yeah?"
"They said they also don't know who that is."
"Figured as much," Choi Yeon-Ha subtly nodded.
"Even if it's difficult, you must absolutely forget."
"What if I can't?"
"Then, we will help you forget."
"..." Choi Yeon-Ha clamped her mouth shut. Did this man really say... they would help her forget?
What he meant seemed simple enough to figure out. After all, there was only one realistic way to help people "forget" something if they couldn't do it on their own!
"Miss Choi Yeon-Ha," the man addressed her again, this time without a smirk on his face. "We're not asking anything unreasonable from you. You only have to avoid mentioning today's event publicly, that's all. As long as you can do that... We won't ask anything else from you."
Choi Yeon-Ha coldly stared at the man, but the sunglasses ensured she couldn't read much off his eyes. After a brief bout of silence...
"...Very well. I will."
The man nodded briefly. "Thank you for your cooperation."
"I'm not sure you are in a position to thank me, though. And I didn't know public servants, such as yourself, were allowed to walk around saying stuff like that in this day and age."
"Miss, the world might have changed, but the country's goals have not. I hope you don't view this encounter in a negative light. After all, it is all for the benefit of our country and its people."
"Oh, really?" Choi Yeon-Ha cocked an eyebrow. "Don't you know what people feel when you and your pals bring up stuff like benefiting the country?"
"Believe me, we know. And that's exactly how we want you to feel."
That was clearly a threat. And Choi Yeon-Ha responded by staring expressionlessly at the man's face. The sunglasses-wearing man had begun smiling again, but his oily expression only roused even more disgust in her heart.
"Hmph." Choi Yeon-Ha snorted while turning her head away. The man from the NIS also stopped trying to pressure her then. Without wasting any more of her breath, Choi Yeon-Ha coolly walked away.
Han Eun-Sol called out to her. "N-noona!"
"Please wait," said the man from the NIS as he suddenly stopped Han Eun-Sol from chasing after Choi Yeon-Ha. "You are Miss Choi's manager, I assume?"
"Sorry? Oh, uh... Yes, I am her manager."
"Then, I hope you manage your talent well."
"...Sorry?"
"Let me reiterate this again. This event concerns our national security. If we discover any unnecessary chatter about today's event doing the rounds in the grapevine, we'll be forced to use 'special' measures to find the source of the leak and plug it up. And no, this is not a threat."
"H-huh? What do you mean it's not a threat? Because it definitely sounded like..."
"It's not a threat because it will happen for real."
Han Eun-Sol hurriedly clamped his mouth shut.
"We apologize for the inconvenience caused by the sudden whims of our VIP. However, by cooperating with us on this matter, we promise you that not only you won't be inconvenienced by us anymore, but we will also offer you some level of support from the government.
"So, let me reiterate once more... Please forget what you saw and heard today. Nothing happened in this place. Do you agree?"
"...Yes, I agree."
"Good. As long as you remember that, we won't have any problems."
Threats weren't exclusively made with words.
From each of this NIS agent's gestures, his expressionless face, and even the sharp glare coming from his eyes hidden behind the sunglasses' darkened lenses, Han Eun-Sol instinctively realized that this threat wouldn't just end as a threat!
After gulping nervously, Han Eun-Sol nodded. "I'll keep a tight lid on her."
"Good. I'm happy that you're quick to catch on," the NIS agent smiled refreshingly, then patted Han Eun-Sol on the shoulder. "What I said just now is not a lie, by the way. Stick to your word, and you will receive some kind of a... reward later. Whether that will come in the form of monetary compensation or some other type of consideration...
"That much I do not know. Even so, please do look forward to it. Then, later."
The NIS agent turned around and walked away, allowing Han Eun-Sol to finally groan deeply under his breath.
'Well, sure. I'll do my best to keep a lid on her, but...'
The problem was that Choi Yeon-Ha was not the type to let a lid stay on top of her!
While massaging his aching temples, Han Eun-Sol hurriedly chased after Choi Yeon-Ha in the distance.
1. the National Intelligence Service, commonly abbreviated to NIS, is South Korea's intelligence-gathering entity. Kinda like the CIA and NSA combined, I guess? ☜