A few days later, Oh Gap-su and Jo Cheol-jung entered Hanawon.
Its official name was the ‘North Korean Defector Settlement Support Office’, a place that provided three months of social adaptation training to defectors who had entered South Korea.
It was a closed, live-in training facility where going out, staying out overnight, and even having visitors were strictly prohibited.
Unlike the others who had only lived in rigid North Korea, Oh Gap-su and Jo Cheol-jung had come from living in Macau, a place even freer than South Korea.
As soon as he saw Son Gil-seop, who came to visit after a week, Oh Gap-su burst into anger.
“Hyung-nim, are we prisoners?”
“Brother, why are you acting like this again?”
“Where is the justice in locking us up like this when we came here seeking freedom?”
“Those are the regulations, so there’s nothing I can do.
Just endure it for three months.”
“I can’t even endure three more hours, let alone three months.
If you don’t get us out of here right now, we’re escaping tonight.”
“Oh, man.
Brother.
Please don’t do that.”
Just as Park Chan-mun had warned, the defectors assigned to Son Gil-seop after his transfer to Department 5 included Oh Gap-su and Jo Cheol-jung.
If they caused any trouble, he would be the one held responsible.
Looking at the pleading Son Gil-seop, Oh Gap-su said.
“Since you’re begging like that, I’ll hold back, but in return, you need to do us a favor, Hyung-nim.”
“Tell me whatever it is.
As long as it’s not escaping, I’ll listen to it all.”
“Let us go out and stay overnight on the weekends.”
“That’s…”
“You know what we’re capable of, don’t you, Hyung-nim?
If you don’t grant this, we’ll walk out on our own two feet.”
“Alright.
Alright.
I’ll do my best to make sure you can go out next week, so please just hold on until then.”
“Good.
I’ll trust you and wait, Hyung-nim.”
“Thank you.”
As Son Gil-seop left after bowing to them in a reversal of roles, Jo Cheol-jung spoke.
“I expected you to throw a fit demanding he let us out of here immediately, Hyung-nim.
I didn’t think you’d back down this easily.”
“If we’re going to live here anyway, I have some things to prepare too.
We should be thankful they’re feeding and housing us for free.”
Son Gil-seop kept his promise, returning on the weekend to take them outside.
Officially, it was recorded that he had taken them out for an investigation.
After blowing off steam outside once a week, Oh Gap-su kept busy, either glued to a computer or holed up in the library doing who knows what.
The one who was bored out of his mind was Jo Cheol-jung.
The other trainees kept their distance from them.
Because Oh Gap-su and Jo Cheol-jung looked like a different breed at a glance, the others didn’t even come close.
On top of that, seeing the preferential treatment the two received, unfailingly going out every weekend while the rest remained locked up, led to the misunderstanding that they were National Intelligence Service agents planted to monitor them.