Chapter 1 Prologue - Undercurrents

PingCheng - Yunsan Residence

The night wind of December 1, 2039, in the dead of winter, whipped through the off-white facade of the Yunsan Residence, wreathed in grains of snow. The concrete fortress lay dormant in silence on the northern outskirts of Pyongsong, and the searchlights of the sentries stirred up a few chilly crows as they swept over the barbed wire fences of the perimeter walls.

In the secret room on the third basement level, Kim Jung-hoon's body fell on its back on the woolen carpet. His round eyes still reflect the gilt chandelier on the ceiling, and his medal-adorned uniform is soaked with cold sweat. Kim Min-joo and Lee Su-na (Kim Jung-hoon's wife) lay on their sides, crying. Two other military doctors knelt aside, their fingertips trembling - a sudden myocardial infarction, catalyzed by excessive obesity and alcohol, with a time of death of just ten minutes. But no one dared put pen to paper on the diagnosis.

"The chairman of the commissioner needs a dignified death from an illness." The voice of State Councilor Choi Hae-pyong came from the shadows. The general's star on his shoulder badge glowed coldly in the dim light,"Notify Ms. Kim Jung-sook to follow the preliminaries."

The news quickly reached Kim Jung Sook's ears, and Kim Jung Sook immediately arrived in the basement of the Yunsan residence.

The sound of Kim Jung Sook's high heeled shoes echoed in the closed underground corridor like an ice pick piercing through the stagnant air. As soon as she pushed open the door to the secret room, her gaze first swept over Kim Minjoo's trembling shoulders, then skimmed over Lee Soo Na's ghastly white face, and finally nailed down on Choi Hae Pyung's unmoving uniform.

"Overweight? Myocardial infarction?" She grabbed the diagnosis and slammed it at the military doctor, the pages grazing the other's ears and hitting the wall,

"Last month's medical report also said that the commissioner's liver was healthy enough to live to ninety!"

Choi Hae-pyong raised his hand to signal the military doctor to step back, the corners of his mouth twitching slightly in the shadows,"Comrade Jung-sook, it is imperative that the people be convinced of the leader's passing-, it is time for us to take care of the aftermath, and in order to keep the Baeksan lineage alive forever, Kim Min-joo should be elected as the next chairman of the committee."

Choi Hae-pyong's voice trembled in the humid air of the chamber, the words 'Baeksan bloodline' deliberately emphasized at the end.

Kim Jung Sook replied,"For now, let's not have the media publicize the news of the death of our great chairman of the committee - Comrade Kim Jung Hoon - after his illness, and let's not let foreign journalists know about it, so we'll conduct Kim Jung Hoon's funeral in secret. The chairman of the committee of the People's Republic of Handong we'll temporarily hand over to Kim Minjoo, and I'll assist her in accomplishing more." Kim Jung Sook's voice echoed in the chamber like an ice pick piercing through coagulated plasma. She pressed Kim Minjoo's shoulder toward Kim Jung-hoon's remains, her fingertips almost embedding themselves into her niece's collarbone,"Dry your tears, Minjoo. From this moment on, every tear you shed will have to be replaced with a bullet."

Kim Jong-sook, just after calming her niece, turned to Choi Hae-pyong and whispered,"Chairman Choi, I'd like to trouble you to personally supervise Pyongyang TV's broadcasting of the archived images of the'Chairman's Inspection of the Winter Farmlands' on a loop until the end of the funeral. If a single frame leaks the leader's latest news ... you should remember how my aunt died, right?"

Choi Hae-pyong's knuckles made a small creaking sound under the cuffs of his uniform. The chamber's overhead light stretched his shadow over Kim Jung-hoon's remains, as if a dormant jackal were gnawing at the medal's luster. He took a half-step forward, the heel of his boot crushing over the roll of diagnostic papers torn up by Kim Jong-sook, and the knots in his throat rolled as he squeezed out a reply,"There's still footage of the chairman's inspection of the Sinpyeongju nuclear power plant last year in the archived tapes on Pyongyang TV - do you need to intersperse them?"

"That's very thoughtful of you." Kim Jong-sook replied,"Just do it! Remember my instructions, or our howitzers are no slouches."

The air suddenly froze. Choi Hae-pyong's pupils contracted - of course he remembered how Kim Jung-hoon's aunt had died that day.

Kim Jung Sook added,"Let's start now, and take care of Kim Jung Hoon's aftermath in secret. O Kim Minjoo, come with me."

Choi Hae-pyong's back teeth were almost clenched, but he just raised his hand to hold his military cap in place. The hem of Kim Jung Sook's skirt swept over Kim Jung Hoon's stiffened fingertips, and the crunch of her high heels faded to the end of the corridor. The chamber's overhead light suddenly dimmed for a split second, and he caught a glimpse of the flash of a monitor exposed in the medic's sleeve.

"Send the remains into the Hall of Eternal Life." he gestured to the shadows, and two guards immediately backed toward the dark door, dragging the medic with them,"Preserve it in liquid nitrogen - tell the Academy of Sciences that the Leader needs the illusion of'long-term treatment.'"

On the other side of the corridor, Kim Jung-sook pushed Kim Min-joo into the bulletproof elevator. The mirrors reflected the young girl's red, swollen eyes as the electronic screen showed they were ascending to the east wing of the residence."Had enough crying?" she suddenly pinched her niece's chin,"Remember, you have to shed your tears for three minutes during the live broadcast later, one second more is weakness, one second less looks cold-blooded."