Chapter 01 – Ending & Beginning
In a rented house on the outskirts of a bustling metropolitan city, a middle-aged man lay exhausted on his bed, contemplating his next move. Should he return to his home country, or keep pushing forward with the dream project he had poured so much into?
As he lay there, memories from the past crept in:
He recalled the day he walked into the towering headquarters of a company, clutching a neatly prepared file. Approaching the front desk, he asked politely,
"Ma'am, has the director arrived yet?"
The receptionist glanced up and replied,
"Oh, he left about an hour ago for a meeting."
Confused, the man furrowed his brow and looked at the watch on his left wrist.
"But... wasn't the meeting scheduled for now? How could he have already left?"
The receptionist then responded,
"Oh... he told me there was a change in his schedule yesterday. Didn't you get the message?"
Hearing that, the man's expression darkened.
"No," he said quietly.
Then, reaching into his coat pocket, he discreetly pulled out an envelope and placed it on the reception desk. With a low voice, he said,
"Listen, ma'am… can you help me out with this?"
The receptionist glanced at the envelope, then quickly slid it into her pocket without hesitation. She leaned forward slightly and whispered, "You can go to … "
Knock knock knock.
"Who is it? What's going on?" said a middle-aged man, half-dressed, his clothes scattered across the floor.
From behind the slightly opened door, a voice responded,
"Boss, he's here…"
Realizing who it was, the man clicked his tongue and muttered,
"Tch... annoying."
He turned to the woman beside him and said,
"You head out for a bit. Just a quick interruption—five minutes, tops."
He gave her a kiss before pulling on his shirt.
After breaking the kiss, the woman who had just been kissed said,
"Okay, honey... we'll continue later, alright?"
as she walked out of the room, which was still a mess with clothes scattered all over.
Not long after the woman left, the middle-aged man entered and immediately said,
"Director, this is a project that—"
without paying much attention to the messy state of the room.
But before he could finish his sentence, the director cut him off,
"You have five minutes to explain... After that, I'll take a look at the documents later,"
he said with a cold gaze, as if other people were nothing more than insects in his eyes.
Hearing those words, the middle-aged man just sighed and said, "Okay…" as he began explaining the presentation he had prepared.
Six minutes later, the director spoke up.
"Alright, your five minutes are up. You can go."
The middle-aged man froze for a moment, clearly taken aback. Panicking, he stammered, "At least, five minutes…" He was about to plead for "five more minutes" while handing over the proposal document he had prepared, but his words were cut off by the director's stern response.
"No, and go away… your time is up," the director said firmly, his eyes fixed on the watch on his wrist.
Hearing "go" for the second time, the man let out a deep sigh and, in resignation, muttered, "Okay," before turning and leaving the room.
As he was walking out, the director called out to him,
"Don't forget to hand the documents to my assistant."
Hearing that, the man's expression sank, but he simply replied, "Yes, sir," and walked away.
After the man left, another man in a lab coat entered through the back door and took a seat across from the director. A seductive woman followed close behind, immediately sitting beside the director and wrapping her arms around him, starting to make out.
Amid the kisses, the director said casually,
"Take a look at the document. Is it useful?"
The man in the lab coat opened the file and examined it carefully.
After a few minutes of silent analysis, he finally spoke,
"Genius work… but unfortunately, he's an unstable variable."
When he heard that response, the director spoke casually, as if ordering coffee,
"Just eliminate the guy. The document's proven accurate, isn't it?"
The man in the lab coat hesitated, shifting uncomfortably in his seat.
"But Director…"
Noticing the hesitation and uninterested in hearing excuses, the director cut him off,
"Well, if you're having doubts, I'll take care of it myself."
He reached down, picked up his fallen phone, and made a call without missing a beat.
The man in the lab coat simply responded,
"Yes, sir."
Once the call connected, the director leaned back and said coolly,
"Hey… I've got a job for you."
The next day, as he was about to arrange his schedule, he received a call from the receptionist he had spoken with yesterday.
"Sorry, sir," she said, "it seems the director felt your proposal was too heavy and has decided to reject it."
Upon hearing this, his face immediately drained of color. He replied,
"Okay, ma'am. Thank you for letting me know."
After the brief exchange, the receptionist added,
"Good luck, sir," before hanging up.
He sat still for a moment, staring at the business card he had kept. The rejection stung, but he quickly regained composure.
With a deep sigh, he stood up and made his way to the next company on his list.
After meeting with the director and presenting his proposal, the director of the company simply said,
"Sorry, this is too much for us…"
Day after day passed, and with the 12th company, the director of this company again said,
"Sorry, this amount... we can't take it."
Now, exhausted and defeated, he lay on his bed. His eyes drifted to the framed plaques hanging on the wall, each one a reminder of past achievements, but also of the uncertainty that now clouded his future.
PhD in Aerospace Engineering, PhD in Physics, PhD in Chemistry, PhD in Computer Science, PhD in Computer Engineering.
He still wanted to pursue his project, but limited funds made him reconsider everything. Maybe it was time to give up and go home.
An hour passed before he finally muttered, "I give up..." He picked up his phone and booked a plane ticket back to his country through an app.
In an intelligence office, a boss was sorting through his files when his phone rang. It was one of his subordinates.
He answered, "Yes..."
"Boss, he's leaving. He booked the plane ticket an hour ago."
"Who?"
"The 1337th project..."
The boss quickly searched his computer. Finding the relevant file, he smirked. "Oh... the unlucky slave. Delete everything—make sure there's no trace, no suspicion."
"Roger," the subordinate replied before ending the call.
The boss stared at the screen for a moment longer. "A smart one, but unlucky. If he gets loose, he'll be a threat... What a shame." Then he closed the file.
At the Airport
"Gate 8, Gate 8... Oh, here it is."
A female officer at the counter smiled. "Ticket, please."
"Here..."
She glanced at it. "B-20. Go to the right, sir."
"Okay, thanks..."
As he walked toward his seat, he accidentally bumped into someone. "Ah, sorry, sir," the man said.
"It's fine," he replied, unaware that in that brief contact, he had been injected with a nearly imperceptible anesthetic.
Five minutes later, he fell asleep.
Meanwhile, the man who had injected him walked toward the cockpit. Approaching the pilot, he simply said, "Sir, CIA." At the same time, 10 other passengers exited the plane.
One Hour Later
He woke up to an eerie silence. The plane was still in flight, but the passengers were gone.
"You're awake..." a voice said.
The man who had spoken earlier emerged from the cockpit, wearing a parachute and holding a gun.
"Who are you?" he asked, his voice shaky.
"CIA," the man answered.
He was still confused. "So..."
The agent continued, "At 15:00, you booked a flight ticket home. The moment you did that, you became a threat to us. You understand, right?"
His face paled. "But... I just wanted to go home..."
"That's not my problem." The agent walked to the door and pulled it open, the wind roaring through the cabin.
"Good luck. Have a nice flight." With those final words, he jumped from the plane.
The man sat frozen, processing what had just happened. Then, realization dawned on him, and he whispered, "Damn... I was betrayed..."
Those were his last words before everything went dark.