It took about two hours by car from Seoul to Cheorwon, Gangwon Province.

  As they drove, the scenery gradually shifted. The dense forest of city skyscrapers soon vanished,

  and the northern landscape, characterized by low mountains and open fields, unfolded outside the car window.

  The route they chose was not a simple one.

  They had made the decision to go north by directly crossing the Demilitarized Zone, the DMZ.

  The DMZ is an area where the South and North are each deployed 2 kilometers away from the Military Demarcation Line (MDL).

  Between them, a buffer zone spanning a total of 4 kilometers is formed. On a map, it looks like a thin line, but in reality,

  it was a tense space where layers of barbed wire, landmines, guard posts, and boundary lines were intricately intertwined.

  However, not all sections were the same. Depending on the area, there were places where the guard posts of the South and North were installed much closer to the MDL.

  In some sections, they monitored each other from a distance of just over 1 kilometer.

  The route Junho was taking to the North had already been quietly agreed upon between the South and the North.

  No special procedures were necessary.

  All that mattered was for Junho to appear at the promised time and the promised place.

  However, there was a different problem.

  This movement plan had not been reported to the U.S. side. That fact alone made the situation far more precarious.

  In the sky, eyes of surveillance were always open pecifically, the U.S. reconnaissance satellites looking down at the ground at all times and from everywhere.

  Naturally, the time for movement was set accordingly.

  Dawn.

  The hour when the sky is at its darkest and the world below has not yet fully awakened.

  They planned to move by taking advantage of that very gap. However, they also had to evade the thermal imaging cameras that monitor the DMZ around the clock.

  Everything had to proceed quietly and in a manner that left as few traces as possible.

  Of course, since this was a scheme co-planned by South Korea’s National Intelligence Service (NIS) and North Korea’s Ministry of State Security,

  there were, in fact, no obstructors. All he had to do was quietly cross the Military Demarcation Line (MDL) of the DMZ without stepping into a minefield.

  Junho, accompanied by an NIS agent, headed toward a DMZ border unit located north of Cheorwon City.

  Small, platoon-sized units guarding the DMZ had their quarters stationed at regular intervals.

  These soldiers checked the condition of the DMZ fence day and night. At key points,

  there were guard posts where two soldiers would enter to observe North Korea by eye, and the North operated similar posts as well.

  Junho and the agent wore military uniforms with officer insignia,

  as the military intelligence agency had already been notified in advance about the operation taking place at dawn.

  Junho and the agent decided to wait at the barracks of the DMZ border guard unit starting at 6:00 PM.

  At this time, four military intelligence agents were assigned to escort Junho until he was handed over to the North.

  Thus, the operation was devised for a total of six people four military intelligence agents, one NIS agent,

  and Junho to cross the DMZ and hand Junho over to North Korean agents.

  Although Junho possessed the ability to go to North Korea without such complex methods,

  he had no desire to do so. Since this was a national-level operation that required formal procedures,

  Junho made up his mind to move according to the plan established by the NIS.

  The operation was scheduled to pass through the DMZ fence at 1:00 AM.

  To pass through the fence, one must open a gate in the wire known as the 'Tongmun' (passage gate), and they had to pass through that specific gate.

  Junho arrived at the DMZ border unit barracks at 6:00 PM. Inside the barracks,

  soldiers were preparing for dinner, holding their meal trays.

  The soldiers had the youthful, fresh faces of those in their early twenties.

  Junho and his party also headed to the mess hall along with the other soldiers.

  At the end of a long line, they each picked up a meal tray and moved forward slowly.

  The sound of ladles clinking against metal trays and the low murmurs of soldiers filled the dining hall. The menu that evening was Dak-bokkeum-tang (spicy braised chicken).

  Large chunks of chicken, potatoes, and carrots were submerged in a steaming red broth.

  The spicy aroma wafted through the air.

  Junho and his companions sat in silence and began their meal slowly.

  Around them, soldiers laughed and chatted about their guard duties or training exercises, but Junho hardly spoke a word.

  A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

  Only the quiet sound of spoons hitting the metal trays continued.

  After finishing his meal, Junho took a final sip of water and stood up.

  After placing his tray on the return rack, he left the mess hall without a word.

  As he stepped out of the barracks, the cold evening air brushed against his face.

  The sky was already growing dim, and beyond the distant fence line, a deep darkness had settled in.

  Junho gazed in that direction for a moment.

  DMZ. The thought suddenly occurred to him that he wanted to see it up close,

  at least once. He moved his feet slowly, walking further out past the barracks.

  With the permission of the junior officer in charge of the sector,

  he left the barracks and turned his steps toward the DMZ fence.

  Junho walked slowly up the hill. The incline was about 15 degrees, but the night air was so cold that his breathing soon settled into a steady rhythm.

  After walking for about ten minutes, his view began to open up.

  It was then.

  A tall guard post revealed itself from within the distant darkness.

  Centered around that post atop the hill, the fence line stretched out endlessly to the left and right,

  vanishing into the dark. At regular intervals along the fence, other surveillance posts were stationed,

  constantly monitoring the movements of the North Korean military.

  Junho paused for a moment and took in the scene.

  The fence was not just a single layer. It was a triple-layered fence, consisting of three rows.

  The southernmost fence appeared to be relatively recent.

  The metal still looked clean and the structure was well-ordered, giving it a brand-new feel.

  The second fence inside looked much more complex.

  It was equipped with various sensors and fiber optic sensors designed to send an immediate signal to military authorities the moment someone touched the fence.

  In effect, an invisible surveillance web was enveloping the entire structure.

  In the past, soldiers had to patrol directly along the fence and monitor it with their own eyes.

  It had been a grueling task, walking along the perimeter at night with binoculars and searchlights.

  But now, the situation had changed significantly. With the installation of intelligent CCTV and Thermal Observation Devices (TOD),

  the burden on soldiers to monitor the area manually had been greatly reduced.

  This was because the systems could detect human movement by sensing body heat even in total darkness.

  And that was not all.

  In the skies above the DMZ, various unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) were constantly hovering, monitoring the entire region.

  It was a dense surveillance network spanning the sky, the ground, and the fence line itself. Gazing at the scene,

  Junho thought to himself: this defense system was likely one of the most meticulous surveillance networks in the world.

  However, Junho’s gaze did not linger on the fence.

  His eyes were fixed on what lay beyond.

  Beyond the barbed wire stretched an endless expanse of land—the DMZ itself.

  A forbidden zone that had remained almost untouched by human feet since the Korean War in 1950.

  Ironically, this land, left undisturbed for so long, preserved its natural state.

  Though it was a space created by war and division, within it, nature breathed as if time had stood still.

  The view of the DMZ from atop the hill was entirely different from what he had expected.

  The vast plains and gentle rolling hills beyond the fence faintly revealed their silhouettes even in the dark.

  With almost no man-made structures, the land looked like a vast sea of nature.

  The view was wide open. It was a refreshing sight that felt as though it were clearing his chest.

  Junho gazed at the scene in silence. It felt strange to him that this place,

  known as the symbol of division, remained such a quiet and vast expanse of nature.

  A moment later, the large streetlights lined up along the fence began to flicker to life one by one.

  Starting in scattered spots, the rows of lights soon burst into a collective glow. In an instant,

  the fence line that had been submerged in darkness revealed itself like a massive band of light.

  Junho held his breath as he watched the spectacle.

  The powerful lights along the perimeter brightly illuminated the inner reaches of the DMZ.

  The sprawling land emerged dimly from the night's shadows. It was a view entirely different from the daytime.

  It was, quite simply, magnificent.

  The bright light poured from the south toward the north. Yet beyond where that light reached,

  the North Korean side remained shrouded in deep darkness.

  It looked as if light and shadow had drawn a distinct line between them.

  Junho looked back toward the interior of the DMZ.

  There weren't as many trees as he had expected.

  Wide plains and low brush stretched out, and dense forests tall enough to block one's view were rare.

  He knew the reason why.

  The North was always mindful of the possibility of enemy infiltration.

  Thus, they often conducted "fire-attack" operations within the DMZ to burn away the vegetation.

  They intentionally set fires to eliminate forests and create flatlands.

  This was done to secure a clear line of sight and monitor movement more easily.

  At this boundary of division, even nature had become a part of military strategy.

  For a while, Junho stood in a daze, staring at the DMZ.

  The boundary between darkness and light stretching beyond the fence, and the vast land lying in between, held a strange grip on his heart.

  However, he soon gave his head a light shake. Now was not the time to be lost in such sentiment.

  There was a task that had to be executed this dawn one where even a tiny mistake could ruin everything.

  Junho slowly steadied his breathing and focused his mind.

  In his hand was a silver sphere.

  It was a smooth sphere, about the size of a palm.

  Not a single seam could be seen on its coldly shining metal surface.

  To the naked eye, it appeared to be nothing more than a lump of metal. Junho tossed it into the air.

  To Junho, it was no mere object.

  Without that silver sphere, he was nothing more than an ordinary old man.

  A frail body with neither strength nor power just an elderly man you might see anywhere.

  Junho did not linger on the hill any longer.

  After one last look at the darkness beyond the fence, he quietly turned away.

  He began his slow walk back down toward the barracks.

  He needed to rest his body now. He had to catch even a few moments of sleep,

  for he would have to move immediately once dawn arrived.

  Returning to the barracks, Junho sat on his cot and sank into thought. Tonight or more precisely,

  at dawn he had to cross the fence. Of course, he couldn't just cross anywhere. In the middle of the fence, there was a special passage gate used by the military.

  Usually kept firmly locked, it was a gate that opened only for specific operations or inspections.

  Once through that gate, he would step directly into the inner DMZ.

  And there, another problem awaited.

  The minefields.

  An area where mines, installed and reinforced over decades, lay buried everywhere.

  It was a treacherous zone where a single wrong step could mean the end.

  Naturally, there was a path to avoid the mines. However, as a precaution against the unexpected,

  he let the silver sphere hover around him.

  The sphere was no simple device. It could precisely detect the location of objects hidden beneath the ground.

  The locations of the mines were no exception.

  Junho quietly lay down on his cot.

  Though his eyes were closed, the movements of the coming dawn were already being mapped out, one by one, in his mind.