East

Chapter 7

Chapter Seven

 March 16 | 19:45

 Over the next week Sora started to develop a routine, spending some time with Ye-Jin at the studio working with the cameras and lighting equipment, and switching with Rae-Won as he introduced her to his work, another area that she was having fun with.

Ye-Jin had insisted on sharing the NIS money equally between the three of them. Sora and Rae-Won had protested that she had done the work, but Ye-Jin pointed out that they had accepted the risk equally. Which was, as far as they knew, still ongoing. But nothing had happened and they all seemed to be feeling a little better about it each day. Secretly Sora wasn't convinced that the something they dreaded might be getting closer rather than farther away, but the other two seemed optimistic. And in Sora's opinion, they had far more experience than she did of these kind of things.

Seven days after their pay-day Sora was out with Rae-Won while he worked a case. A medium-sized corporation had hired him to get some answers about an employee who they thought might be leaking information. Rae-Won had been following the target for three days whenever he left his office. The target had done nothing unusual. Lunch with colleagues one day, a company dinner the next night. On the third night he had visited a shop and purchased lingerie.

Rae-Won and Sora were looking at a map together when the man came out of the store, bags in-hand. Rae-Won nodded to Sora and she started to follow him as he walked away. Rae-Won followed Sora, carefully keeping a distance between them. A few minutes later the target had left the busy street and entered an alley. He entered a bar and Sora stopped at the door. Rae-Won appeared a few moments later.

"He went inside. Are you going to go inside too?" she asked.

Rae-Won nodded. "Wait out here, somewhere close. I'll call you if anything happens," he said, indicating the phone he had given her. He entered the bar and left Sora outside. She walked a short distance from the bar back toward the street and began her impression of a girl waiting for someone. With her phone plugged in to her ears she looked to everyone as though she were listening to music as she waited.

Inside the bar, Rae-Won had mentally noted the time for his client report and looked around for the target. Occasionally glancing at his watch, he also looked like someone trying to find a friend. He located the target and sat at the bar where he could see both the target and the door with a minimum of head movement. The pretty girl behind the bar came over to him, dropping her towel on the counter on the way. She smiled genuinely at Rae-Won and he leaned forward to order a drink. He looked around. The target was sitting alone at a table, bags on the floor, as a beer was placed in front of him. He picked it up and took a drink. There was only one drink so Rae-Won didn't think he was going to meet anyone here. He seemed quite thirsty though as he finished the first beer and ordered another. Was he drinking for courage, Rae-Won wondered.

The second beer was nursed longer than the first and twenty minutes later the target collected his belongings and left the bar without looking back. Rae-Won had started to text Sora as soon as saw what was happening. She responded quickly.

Heading back to the road, she texted, taking a taxi.

By this time Rae-Won was nearly at her location and could see her standing in a shadow. He saw the target get in to a taxi.

Sora had moved to the roadside and was stopping  another taxi. As the first left, he hurried over and jumped in with her. He pushed some money at the driver.

"We'd like to follow our friend in that taxi," he said calmly, indicating the other car. "It's a game we play with each other."

The driver looked at the money, took it, and without saying a word started following in one fluid movement, as though everyone played this game. Rae-Won and Sora sat in silence as the two cars threaded their way through the traffic. Their driver followed with ease and without making it obvious to the other car. Rae-Won noticed that Sora was paying close attention to the technique and smiled to himself. He was impressed with his protégé.