December 1, 2030

  The weather had turned to December, with the first snow falling. Jang Cheol-dae looked up at the sky, shielding his eyes from the sunlight. “…Ugh, global warming’s delaying the snow. At this rate, it’ll be hard to see snow in our country soon.” Baek Hyung-jin glanced at him. “…Sir, is developing the digestion engine really a good idea? It’ll use not just grass but trees and seaweed as fuel, pumping methane into the air.” Jang Cheol-dae stroked his chin and nodded. “This machine will turn every plant on Earth into human food. That’ll cause a lot of changes. Deserts, Siberian tundras, and rainforests—uninhabitable wastelands—will be developed, and the wildlife there will go extinct. Methane emissions will skyrocket too.”

  Baek Hyung-jin tilted his head. “…That’s what Gamamusa told you, right?” Jang Cheol-dae scratched his head sheepishly. “…Yeah. But those downsides didn’t make Gamamusa give up.” He pointed toward Cheongju’s sprawling cityscape beyond the abandoned house. “…Look over there. Thousands of years ago, that place was full of trees and grass. Now it’s all cleared out and turned into human settlements. Isn’t that impressive?” Baek Hyung-jin shrugged. Jang Cheol-dae’s expression softened. “…About 180 years ago, the vast cornfields of the American Midwest were covered in grasslands. Native Americans hunted animals and gathered berries there. Then Americans came and changed everything. Norwegian laborers cut down centuries-old trees by the thousands. They burned the land filled with grass and stumps, and German farmers started planting corn.”

  Jang Cheol-dae gave a cryptic smile. “Now, the U.S. opposes Brazil cutting down rainforests to make pastures for cattle. But if the digestion engine is invented, those trees will be felled, and the land will turn into fields—fields for growing grass. When that happens, Americans won’t be able to criticize anymore. There’ll be no forests left to ‘protect.’” He looked at Baek Hyung-jin. “Methane will seem like a problem at first, but eventually, we’ll develop ways to capture and use it as energy, just like we liquefied gas from oil drilling. Humanity will finally conquer the entire planet, Hyung-jin.”

  Baek Hyung-jin smirked. “…You told me before, didn’t you? When Gamamusa first proposed the surgery, you accepted because you wanted to ‘make all of humanity prosperous.’” Jang Cheol-dae nodded silently. “…Everyone involved in this has their reasons. You included.” Baek Hyung-jin nodded. “I get why you want to make humanity prosperous. You grew up poor. That’s why you took money from Kim Dae-hyun’s father to cover your son’s tuition.” Jang Cheol-dae said nothing. He took a deep breath, exhaled, and turned to Baek Hyung-jin. “…The deal with Kim Sung-chul was purely my mistake. No matter how desperate I was, I shouldn’t have tried to pull Kim Dae-hyun out of the military. That’s something I need to fix.” He looked at Baek Hyung-jin meaningfully. “Your reason was to save humanity from violence, right? Because of the beatings you took from Kim Dae-hyun?”

  Baek Hyung-jin stayed silent. His phone buzzed in his pocket, and he quickly grabbed it. Listening to the call for a moment, he turned to Jang Cheol-dae. “…Ko A-young’s back. I’ll go pick up the package.” Jang Cheol-dae watched Baek Hyung-jin trudge through the snow toward the abandoned house. Soon, Ko A-young arrived on a large delivery motorcycle. She took a package from the bike and handed it to Baek Hyung-jin. He hesitated, then whispered something in her ear. Ko A-young’s face flushed; she turned away, put on her helmet, and rode off. “…Young love,” Jang Cheol-dae muttered, scratching his head as he walked toward the backyard shed.

  …

  Jung Min-ju sat quietly in the reception room, head lowered, rubbing her hands nervously. She glanced around, unable to stay still. Two men were in the room. One was Suzumura Hideki from the Cabinet Intelligence and Research Office; the other was a stranger. He had tanned skin and muscular forearms, looking like someone suited for manual labor. Suzumura, on a call, glanced at Jung Min-ju and the man, excused himself, and left the room.

  Jung Min-ju felt awkward alone with the stranger. “…Ahem… Hello? I’m Jung Min-ju. Where are you from, sir?” The man turned sharply to her, his expression as uneasy as hers. “…Hello… Are you also chasing Gamamusa?” Jung Min-ju was surprised by his fluent Korean. On closer inspection, he didn’t look Japanese. “…Are you Korean? Where are you from? I’m with the NIS…” The man trembled, growing more anxious. “…What? An agent from South Korea? I… I’m from the North…”