Last Stop: Pyongyang

A life-changing revelation

With a weary sigh, Yu-ja dropped the magazine she had just leafed through. She was sitting in the café with Daniel and enjoying her breakfast, but one thing was bothering her immensely. She was still struggling with herself - should she tell Daniel about the attack on her in spring?

Her boyfriend noticed her gloomy expression. "What are you thinking about?" he asked and gently stroked her cheek. Yu-ja looked up. "I am so angry. These guys weren’t even properly questioned, because they have a policeman and a lawyer for a father!"

The fact that Yu-ja partly blamed herself for the events didn’t make things any better. Carola had changed a lot in the months before her death. Should she have done something? Talked to her parents, after Carola kept avoiding her? And would she ever get justice? All these questions bothered Yu-jas agitated mind.

Nevertheless, today was a special day. Yu-ja and Daniel finally wanted to enlighten Yu-ja's parents about their relationship. Tak and the Nguyens already knew, so it shouldn't be too difficult – or so they hoped.

***

After spending the whole day with his girlfriend, Daniel pulled into the Chos' driveway and admired the beautiful Christmas decorations. Colorful stars made of straw and transparent paper, crafted by Min-ju, adorned the ground floor windows. One more week, and it was Christmas Eve!

When they arrived at the house, Yu-ja unlocked the door. However, there was no Christmas spirit. Instead, the couple was greeted by a heated argument. Since the sliding door to the living room was open, Yu-ja and Daniel could hear every single word. Slowly, they approached. The atmosphere was so tense that none of the Chos noticed their presence.

"Isn‘t it bad enough that our children are constantly being dragged into all this s**t," Min-ju yelled at a volume that was completely uncharacteristic of her. She gestured angrily in the air as she continued to rant. Daniel was confused – he had never seen Yu-ja's mother so angry. What was going on?

"These three monsters pose a danger to everyone. They are psychopaths! Sickos! And Frederik is a devil! Tak did exactly the right thing and saved Daniel and Philip, while you old procrastinator would probably have waited until they were dead!" Min-ju accused her husband.

Yu-ja and Daniel were frozen to the spot. They could hardly believe what they were hearing.

"That's not true!" Sang-wan defended himself no less heatedly. "If I hadn't hacked the Greifers’ surveillance system, we wouldn't know that the three are to blame for Carola's death! Something like this could have happened to Yu-ja, too! After all, she was Carola‘s friend! At least, we know that we have to keep our children away from them!"

"Then I suggest you finally hack their cell phones! Do something! We need to know what they're up to!" Min-ju reprimanded her husband harshly.

The argument went on. Tak, who had just been pacing back and forth in the room nervously, joined in. "I've told you a hundred times - we're not in North Korea anymore. They can't harm us. Let's report these filthy pigs, damn it!" A frown had formed on his forehead, and his eyes were glowing.

Daniel turned pale. North Korea? He looked at his girlfriend questioningly. Yu-ja had not yet fully recovered from the shock that her family knew Carola’s murderer... Her fearful look confirmed to Daniel that it was true – the Chos came from North Korea. "Why..." he started.

The Chos turned around. Frozen to the spot and in utter disbelief, they stared at Yu-ja and Daniel, who were standing in the hallway and looking through the door into the brightly lit living room. Before any of the three could speak, Yu-ja entered. She struggled to process what she had just heard.

"Tak fought off Daniel's attackers? You know who killed Carola? And you hacked the lawyer? You have proof of those killers‘ guilt? When were you going to tell me?" Yu-ja's voice had become very quiet.

Min-ju was the first one to break out of her state of shock. She approached her daughter and took her by the arm. "I think we have to explain a few things to you. You can start right away, Yu-ja, by telling Daniel about the attack on you." With these words, she pushed the stunned Daniel into the living room and closed the sliding door behind him. She proceeded straight to the kitchen.

Daniel didn't think he could be more shocked. Unsure of himself, he looked at his girlfriend. "What attack?"

Yu-ja sat down on the sofa with Daniel and sighed. In the following minutes, she told him in detail about that fateful spring evening, when she was attacked by Markus, Frederik and Armin on her way home. She omitted nothing and even mentioned her father's martial arts lessons.

"So Armin's howls were true, that you overpowered him and his friends. Nobody believed him." Daniel rested his elbows on his knees and buried his face in his hands. He kept shaking his head.

"Why didn't you tell me when Carola left without you?" he asked blankly. "I would have driven you home!"

"Well, I thought walking through the forest was safe," Yu-ja admitted contritely. Daniel groaned.

"I'm sorry. My brain has to process this first. That's a lot to take in, all at once." Absent-mindedly, Daniel looked at the flames crackling in the fireplace. Yu-ja gently stroked her boyfriend's back and ran her hand through his hair. She didn't even notice her father's astonished looks.

Sang-wan's mouth fell open. What was going on? Were Yu-ja and Daniel together? He looked over at Tak and wondered why his son didn't seem surprised at all.

Daniel also looked up at Tak, who was pacing up and down the room again. "And you were the guy with the mask? The one who saved my life? Why didn't you say anything?"

"I'd like to know that, too," Yu-ja interrupted.

Tak paused. He opened his mouth to say something, but at the same moment the sliding door opened. Min-ju came in with a tray full of teacups. Tak took one of them and sat down in one of the armchairs. He looked Daniel straight in the eye. "I didn't know how to explain. And the more time passed, the more difficult it got."

Daniel nodded silently. Tak had saved his life, and his brother‘s. He felt infinitely grateful for that. Everything else was secondary. And now, he had finally gotten to know who had attacked him. At least he didn't have to worry about that anymore! Ever since the attack, Daniel had been scrutinizing people, wondering who had done this to him and Philip. A latent feeling of insecurity kept accompanying him.

Daniel felt relieved to see that Yu-ja hadn't known either. If she had kept such secrets from him right from the beginning, things would inevitably get difficult soon... overwhelmed, he leaned back.

His girlfriend, however, was sitting bolt upright on the sofa. She was thinking hard.

"What about the hacking?" Yu-ja asked her father. Sang-wan explained as simply as possible that he had studied the subject during his training in North Korea. His knowledge was applicable to various systems. Once the - often low – initial security barriers were overcome, one could gain unrestricted access to the targeted system.

"In North Korea..." Daniel whispered. He didn't dare look at Sang-wan, so he stared into the fire instead. "So how did you get here? Are you spying...?"

"Not anymore," Min-ju interrupted quickly. "We got deployed to South Korea as agents. When we were told to return to the North, we decided not to and fled."

Daniel nodded without a word. He could relate to this feeling. He didn't know much about North Korea, but the little he had read about the country seemed extremely uninviting to him.

"And you..." Uncertainly, Daniel looked at Yu-ja. She looked him straight in the eye. "I was born in Seongnam. That's a city located in the greater Seoul area. I've never seen North Korea in my life and don't even remember South Korea very well. When we came to Germany, I was only five years old."

Daniel put his arm around her. "I feel like I’ve accidentally stumbled into a thriller. I can hardly believe it." Sang-wan and Min-ju looked at each other. With a silent nod, they agreed to conceal the fact that Min-ju's real name was Jae-hui - and that she was a distant cousin of the incumbent president.

That evening, they sat together for a long time and talked. When Daniel said goodbye, it was already past midnight. He had promised solemnly not to tell anyone about the things that had been revealed to him. In all likelihood, no one was going to believe this adventurous story anyway...

Yu-ja, who had accompanied her boyfriend to his car, kissed him goodbye. Snowflakes glittered in her silky hair. She looked up at him uncertainly. "Are we still meeting tomorrow?" Her voice was barely audible. They had actually planned to go on a snow hike in the mountains, followed by a visit to the spa. However, she felt afraid that Daniel might see things differently now.

She had worried for no reason. Daniel still wanted to go on the trip. "I'll pick you up at ten. And don't forget your bathing suit!" He kissed Yu-ja gently.

Still agitated, Daniel got in the car and drove off. Smiling, Yu-ja waved goodbye to her boyfriend. She took a deep breath. That had been a completely different kind of outing... and totally unplanned. She hoped that Daniel would not change his mind, given the magnitude of today’s events.