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justinewt · 2 years ago

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London, Punk Capital - MONEY HEIST: KOREA Chapter One

[MONEY HEIST: KOREA MASTERLIST]

Next Chapter (SOON)

Summary: When Jin-sol, a promising young sportswoman decides to send her whole life away, going as far as faking her suicide to get under the radar, and crosses paths with the Professor, she finds herself involved in the plan of an ambitious heist that reveals her true colors. The target: the Mint of the Joint Economic Area.

Words: 5k

Warnings: Money Heist: Korea season 1 (episode 1), 1st person pov, mention of suicide: FAKE suicide (no blood etc), loss, backstory, screams, hostage-taking, tauting, guns

DECEMBER 2023

At only 18, the path I was going to take was already mapped out. Plans to major in Sports studies and have a brilliant career as a combat sports athlete. I practiced Taekwondo since I was 6 years old, and it was my dream to become a professional in this sport. My dream, to represent South Korea at the Olympics one day. If I had been born in North Korea and lived in poverty, like my mom did, I wouldn’t have had so many opportunities and options but ultimately, I chose to throw away one of the only things I was good at and end it all and give up the life of freedom she risked hers for. Years ago, my mother, a hardworking but private woman, died of overwork and left me in the care of my uncle. I was 10 years old. Nobody had ever told me anything about my biological father, even though she had known him quite well and my uncle was the closest thing I had to a dad anyway so after I found myself orphaned, he adopted me and I started to call him dad because I wanted to feel like my peers, who had their parents. But he died too, and not that long ago. He was a college professor and taught in the department of business and economics at the Seoul National University. This smart and caring man was the last family I had. Losing everyone just made me realise an honest life wasn’t always worth it.

The wind was blowing that night. I let my bag fall on the floor of the Mapo bridge sidewalk and took off my jacket, making sure my identity papers and suicide note were in the pockets. It was actually not my plan to take my own life. My only wish was to completely disappear from the radar screens and let life surprise me with whatever it could come up. I heard my grandfather died in a robbing, in the 90s. Maybe I could do that too, without the dying part obviously. This new life choice was a complete turnaround, but it was my choice. Living an underground life in the guise of a dead person wasn't just anything. I was calm as I tied my hair in a bun above my neck, staring into the distance. Cars drove by but no one pulled over to come and stop me and that was for the best. The bridge was notorious for suicides and dozens of telephones and signs to deter people from commiting were set up along both sides. Glancing around, I leaned on the railing, lifted my leg and tipped my body over to the other side, resting my feet on the ledge. I didn't even really want to kill myself; it was just to give the illusion of it, and despite the fact that it was good that no one was bothering me, I wanted someone to witness my fall so that they could then confirm to the authorities that I was the person who jumped. I was not yet such a famous sportswoman, few people would be sad to hear the news, maybe my old friends from middle and high school but that was all. Everyone would forget me, ultimately.

I tried taking deep breaths. Despite the bright lights all over the bridge, the water looked dark beneath my feet. After a minute of staring down at the Han River, I heard someone calling out to me. This was my cue. I didn’t even look at the person trying to talk me out of it, closed my eyes, held my breath and let go of the railing. My body fell forward, and I plunged into the water. For a brief moment, I forgot my plan and let the water carry me away but eventually, I swam. I swam all night long and hid under another bridge, far from the one I jumped off of. The police would check the bag and jacket I left, get a testimony from the witness and quickly rule it out as a suicide. They would try to find my body but after a few days of being unsuccessful at doing so and with no one stepping forward, like a family member or something, they would stop searching and I would be fine. I just needed to lay low for a bit. I hid in seedy hotels and dyed my hair red. On my ID, I had bangs and black shoulder-length hair. It was now quite different, and it changed my appearance a lot. I left Seoul and went where the wind took me. And the wind took me to Mungyeong where I joined an illegal fighting ring. I ran into some cool guy who became like a brother to me. You’ll meet him eventually. He is not especially sharp-witted but he's fun, I'm sure you'll like him. Just so you know, I’ll refer to him as 오빠 “oppa” most of the time. It’s Korean for brother.

We would fight at every illegal fight club we could find and never lost. He eventually beat up the gamblers who had bet on us and we left. He had told me his father was constantly in and out of prison and he was the last person we expected to see. Gamblers had lost lot of money because of the both of us and had sent their dogs after us. He played with them while I tried to fight them off. So much so I always had to urge him to keep moving. I was way younger but the most serious of the pair. We had slipped between two buildings, which roofs we were running on just a moment before, trying to escape them but we got stuck. These guys were above and below us. A few cursings came out of our lips as the wall exploded. We protected our faces and looked to the side. A man was sticking his head out of the hole made by the explosion. It was his dad. He helped us get out of there and we ran away. That’s when we were introduced to a man calling himself the Professeur, 규슈 “guyshu”. When I met him, the first thought that went through my head was that he reminded me of my uncle, but it wasn’t what this meeting was about. He needed us to join his plan, which was to rob the Mint in the Joint Economic Area. We were in. He had assembled a whole team of people like us, and he brought us together to where our hideout was. The place where we would learn all about his plan until the D-day came around.

I had no idea how he found this place. A whole hotel complex, abandoned. Perfect for us. As we walked down a tree-lined path to reach the disused resort, I looked at the faces around me. We were 10 in total. For the first day, we settled in the hotel swimming pool. The professor had set up a whiteboard and we sat around it, in an arc. I sat on a cube with the number 6 on one side and next to me was a stern man in a suit. I wasn’t in such fancy clothing, just wearing a black short-sleeved T-shirt with BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER in red writings, a faux leather skirt, a pair of pantyhose and combat boots. There was this little thing I hadn’t left behind when I faked my own suicide, and it was a gold ring that my mom gifted me. It was a ring she had herself been gifted, by her older sister for her 18th birthday. She had written in the letter she left me, that when triplets are born in North Korea, boys get silver daggers and girls get gold rings, as a gift from the government. Until I read this, I had no idea my mother actually had three older siblings. The 50-year-old ring hung from a thin cord tied around my neck.

“Before we start, I wanna make this clear.” The professor started speaking. “From now on, regardless of age or where you’re from, we’ll all speak informally. We’ll use code names to call each other instead of using real names.”

“I can do code names, but what about respect?” Oppa’s dad raised his hand. “What’s the reason for that?”

“It’s safer that no one knows. It’s out of serious precaution for each other’s identity. How about we use city names?” He walked over to a small table and grabbed a globe from it. “It can be a city you wanna live in once the job’s over or a name that you like the sound of. It’s up to you, so pick one.”

Gyushu sat down and the first of us that stood up was the other youngest of the group. W ewere called the “maknae”, literally meaning the youngest. He turned the globe and put his finger on the city of Rio de Janeiro, sketching an excited smile, chuckled and moved his body like he was dancing the samba. That guy who looks like your typical K-pop idol is Rio. He’s a horrible dancer, but apparently, he’s an amazing hacker. Then came oppa’s turn. I already told you, his story.

“Denver. I’mma go with that one since it’s near the Rocky Mountains. You guys know Rocky. It’s, uh… It’s my favorite movie of all time.” He punched the air, making the sound effect to accompany his gestures. Faced with his little show, his father seemed quite embarrassed.

“Just so you know, that movie is set in Philadelphia.” The professor's intervention caused Denver to stop, and he awkwardly brushed the hair from his face.

“Oh- oh, really? Philadelphia. Phil… That’s a bit long. Denver sounds a lot stronger, right?” His father then picked Moscow as his alias. I did say he was in and out of prison in the years prior to this day but he also used to work in the mines, so naturally he’s a digging expert. That’s why he’s here. And where was here? The dead-end that was his life.

“Has anyone here ever been to Africa before? The cradle of civilization. Words can only try to describe. Did you know the area’s famous for diamonds?” This woman who introduced us to her ass as she chose her alias was Nairobi. A pathological liar. A forgery master, claiming to have been a part of every major crime, but I didn’t take her word for it. She was probably nothing more than a con artist. She went back to her seat and two fellows walked towards the globe, squabbling over its use, pushing each other around. That jolly pair was Helsinki and Olso. Fixers from Yanbian. Word had it that they wiped their entire gang and left. Next was the man in the fancy suit sat in the chair next to me. He went up to the globe, his hands in his back and picked it to take a look at it. Berlin. He had this gift for making people nervous, but he didn’t intimidate or scare me. He was from the Kaechon camp in the North, where only the dead are free. How he got here is a mystery that made him the most wanted man in the history of North Korea. I hopped on my feet before he even came back to his seat and crossed his gaze when he handed me the globe, stepping away. His eyes lingered on me as I turned the globe and put my finger.

“London.”

“It fits you.” I nodded, giving the professor a smile as I returned to my seat. The last to take an alias was Tokyo. She had come down here from the North after being discharged from the army.

“Out of all the places, why pick Tokyo?” Denver enquired.

“Because we’ll be doing bad things.” Some of us chuckled at the remark. I sketched a smirk.

“Yo, that’s really smart.”

“She’s right.” The professor stood up and she walked past him to go back to her seat. I leaned on my knees, listening to him. “We will be doing bad things. We are going to pull off the single largest heist in history. The North opened up its economy, and every Korean was promised that they’d benefit from this, but in reality, only the rich got richer. It’s time for us, the ones left with nothing to claim what’s ours. This is why we’ve formed this team. I’m going to make this clear. Not a single person will get hurt. Our goal is to steal four trillion won and then we’ll disappear. We’re giving the public the best show they’ve ever seen, live and in their faces. And they’ll have no choice but to root for us all.”

“There’s no way that’s possible.” Rio said.

“Okay, let’s say it is possible. Where are we gonna find that much money?” Nairobi wondered.

“The target for our heist… is gonna be…” He marched to a table covered with a red fabric behind us and pulled it off. The others stood up to see while Berlin and I just pivoted in our seats. “… The Mint.”

FIVE MONTHS LATER

We all had to stick to our roles to make this plan work. I was one of the only ones to have no real decision-making power, but I was fine with it. It had been decided that Berlin would be the on-the-ground chief of operations, so I had to follow his orders and those of the professor to the letter, but my job did not end there. I didn't have a mere supporting role in the heist. What I had to do was a lot more vicious. We knew that there would be We knew that the hostages would not only be Mint employees, but also students from Myeongseong Foreign Language High School, where the US Ambassador's daughter was studying. She would be our key hostage. The most valuable of all. And what I was to do, prior to the heist, was get close to her and in order to do so, the Professor had provided me with a whole new identity to join this school, and more specifically the class she was in. I assumed a new name and wore a realistic wig that really gave the illusion that I had bleached my hair, but not to the point that it was white or platinum, but kind of straw blonde, with blunt bangs falling right above my eyebrows. It really changed my face. I wasn’t really into the whole going back to school thing, but I had to do it. At first, I was in school for about 90 percent of the time but once the professor brought us all together and we started working on the plan for the heist, I didn't go there as often anymore. One obvious excuse was that of the so-called chronic disease from which I suffered, or rather from which the student I played suffered and that I had to go abroad for a long time.

At the same time as preparing for the robbery, I was doing homework remotely and chatting with the classmates I had “befriended” to keep up appearances. I must have been very convincing in this role since I had totally succeeded in my mission and Anne Kim really seemed to consider me a friend. She was one of the people who texted me the most, often asking how I was doing and if I would be back in time to come with them to visit the Mint.

“It’s great you’re doing better.” Anne said as she was taking selfies in front of the Mint. I looked to the side and watched the students getting off the bus and nodded with a soft smile.

“It was hell having to stay in the hospital.” A group of girls then came running towards us, disrupting our quiet conversation and one of them grabbed my shoulder to bring me closer to them and take a picture of us. Right after the camera click shuttered, they ran back to the group of students. I stared at them. I couldn’t wait to take off that wig and stupid school uniform and take my place among the robbers. This little role-playing game had gone on long enough.

“Um, later can you send me the photos?” Anne and I turned our heads as we heard a classmate's voice rise near us. I hadn't even noticed he was there while we were taking the group photo. “You have insta, right?”

“I don’t.” Anne looked him up and down and took my arm to bring me with her to our classmates, standing two by two in line in front of the entrance to the Mint building. I was really getting tired of having to act like a 17-year-old teenager, but I played along and stood with her as the teacher invited us to follow her inside. With a quiet sigh, I looked behind us and saw two women standing by a tree. Nairobi wore a purple wig and was smoking, and Tokyo wore a light blonde wig. As I climbed the stairs, I held her gaze before walking into the hall and looking ahead. They now knew that Anne Kim and I entered the building, and surely told the rest of the team.

“Please stay in line as you follow me.” A lady greeted us at the entrance and guided us into the Mint, walking us down the monetary exhibition hall, telling us about the story of South and North Korean’s currencies. I wasn’t exactly paying attention to everything she was saying but rather waiting impatiently for when I would finally be able to swap roles. For now, I kept that jaded expression on my face and walked beside Anne. She stopped in her tracks to take a photo of a politician with a Snapchat filter on. The teacher reminded her not to take pictures and wait until the tour was over. We continued to follow the group and I saw Anne take a turn in the direction of the toilets. Glancing at our comrades, I slipped away, wanting to keep an eye on this precious hostage. I quietly opened the door to the restrooms and heard Anne speaking in English in one of the stalls. She was on the phone with someone, complaining about school, her uniform and her dad. Rolling my eyes in annoyance I turned around and the moment I let go of the door, I heard gunshots ring out. I was taken aback and jumped but quickly, a smirk appeared on my face, and I walked with a determined step while everyone ran and screamed around me. Nobody paid attention to my behavior, far too poised for such a situation. My fellow robbers were finally there, threatening the students and employees with their guns. When I found myself among the students, I started acting scared and let out a few screams of terror. I saw Tokyo arrive, she took off her wig and looked around. She held her gun against her shoulder, the barrel pointed in the air. When she met my gaze, she grabbed my arm and dragged me away. I cried out.

“Where’s the girl?” She spoke in a scolding manner, raising her voice and I did my part.

“In- In the restroom.” My body was shaking so much that I struggled to line up those three words and my voice broke into a sob as I answered. Tokyo looked at me with great surprise, eyes widened. She tightened her grip on my arm and looked me down, trying to hide that she had been unsettled by how intense but realistic my acting was. she let go of me, pushing me away unceremoniously before going to get Anne Kim. I lost my balance and the teacher caught me and brought me back to her and the students, asking me if everything was okay but I didn't answer, pretending to be so shaken that I couldn't answer, but on the contrary, her fear was very real. The robbers, dressed in red boiler suits and masks inspired by traditional Hahoe masks. Only Nairobi, with her purple wig, had yet to put the outfit on. As agreed, Berlin was leading the group. Despite the masks, I also knew very quickly which one was Denver since I saw him out of the corner of my eye wanting to approach me when he saw this distress on my face, and I also saw his hair tied in a bun. He had let himself be deceived by these artifices, but Berlin had prevented him from approaching me while they put blindfolds around the eyes of the hostages, lined up in two groups facing each other.

I was the last to be blindfolded and Berlin stopped in front of me, without a sound. I couldn't quite look him in the eye, but I stared at him anyway and all that fear I was faking was gone. His fingers lingered on the thread of my necklace and after holding the ring between his thumb and index finger for a hot second, he slowly lowered the blindfold over my eyes. They could have left my sight, but Tokyo had not yet returned with Anne, and it was important that the illusion remain intact for a little while longer, until the real moment of the reveal. Only then would they raise the curtain on the fact that I was one of them, and not a hostage. The latter were also shaking with fear and beyond this noise pollution, I heard footsteps coming towards us and I immediately thought of Tokyo. I didn’t need to see to have the confirmation that she had brought Anne. I heard the latter grunt when Tokyo pushed her after blindfolding the teenager. Berlin’s voice then rose as he took a few steps.

“Hello, everyone. I’m the one in charge here. I apologize for the invconvenience, but you are our hostages.” They whimpered, holding hands, shaking, but I stood still and listened to Berlin as he walked in front the hostages. “We each go through all sorts of moments in life, both good and bad. During the bad moments, it feels like the sky is falling down, but after some time, you’ll realize it was nothing. Each of you will have that experience, as long as you follow our orders. Many years from now, this will be an exciting adventure story that you can wow your grandchildren with. But in case any of you are thinking of causing trouble, let me tell you just one thing. I truly love when that happens.”

“Empty your pockets.” Moscow then ordered. The two hostaged that were holding my hands let go and I let out a sigh while they gave their access cards and cell phones, which were being put away in a box when suddenly, one of them rang, or so I thought but I quickly realized it wasn't a cell phone ringtone. I lifted the bottom of the blindfold and saw a landline phone on the reception counter. It was this phone that was ringing so loudly. I could also see that my fellw robbers had taken off their masks and Berlin was looking at all of them when the director of the Mint raised a shuddering hand.

“What is it?”

“That could be from headquarters.” He told him, trembling. “If we don’t pick up, th-th-they’ll know something’s going on.” The woman standing next to him gave him a shy blow with her hand. Berlin must have seen it but chose to act as if it was not the case.

“You know, I like your face. I feel like I’ll grow to like you. Answer the phone.” His voice suddenly grew harsher, and he grabbed the woman’s hand. She whimpered as he led her to the phone and was panting. He got her to calm down and take a deep breath and put her hand on the phone.

“This… This is the Minting Bureau.” Berlin and Denver exchanged a look. “We’re experiencing network difficulties." The woman's voice rose, taking on an aggravated tone. She told them off before hanging up abruptly. Berlin sketched a smirk as he properly replaced the phone on its base and took her hand.

“So, was it important?”

“It’s, um… it was nothing.” He looked at her and nodded with a large, drawn smile. His hand on her shoulder, he led her back to her place among the hostages.

“It wasn’t important. We won’t have any problems now, will we?” The woman and the Mint’s director nodded nervously. Berlin clapped the latter on the shoulder, and he whimpered, sticking to his secretary in fear. He then walked away from them and gave me a look as he passed in front of me. The blindfold he had put over my eyes was now up on my forehead, but obviously, since I wasn’t an actual hostage, he didn’t really care and waved at me to follow him. I smiled, knowing that I was going to leave this high school uniform. When they would remove their blindfold, Anne Kim would probably start to panic when she saw that I had disappeared, and she wouldn't recognize me behind my mask. She had no idea I had been wearing a wig for several months and that I was this red-haired robber. We would leave her the surprise and the pleasure that her good friend never actually existed. As we moved away from the hostages, Denver, Moscow, and Rio left the lobby and headed for the Mint vault. I watched them as I took off my blonde wig and let go of it into the bag from which I had retrieved the red suit, boots and Hahoe mask I was going to wear and walked to the nearest restroom. I had taken an earpiece as well.

It would probably take a few minutes for the three others to take care of getting the vault open. I quickened my pace as I walked down the hallway and pushed open the bathroom door and dropped the stuff on the floor before taking off my skirt and blazer. Once the suit was on, I pulled up the zipper to the waist, put on the combat boots and tied my hair in a low bun before washing my face. Without this light makeup, I looked more mature already. In front of the bathroom mirror, my eyes fell on the ring hanging from my neck, the one that had caught Berlin's eye as I stood among the hostages. I stared at the reflection holding it between my fingers and after a few seconds, I sighed, put my arms through the sleeves of the suit and put the mask on my face. I then shoved the uniform into the trash can and grabbed the bag to tie it before heading back into the hall. Berlin watched the room from the central stairs and glanced at me as I returned. I grabbed a gun and slung the handle over my shoulder, finally taking on my role as one of the robbers. The hostages were shaking like leaves as the rest of my peers walked across the room carrying bags filled with banknotes retrieved from the vault opened by Denver, Moscow and Rio while I was gone off to the restroom to change. Berlin pressed his earpiece, and I heard him in mine speaking to the professor.

“Professor, we’re going out now.” Behind my mask I watched him slowly descend the stairs. Moscow and I walked beside him. An alarm went off and the thud of the main door opening echoed all the way to us. Seeing the director lifting his blindfold and sneaking a peek around him, we came to a halt and upon realizing that we had seen him, he jumped and looked down. This man was such a coward but what happened was a perfect example as to why I had to keep my mask on for now. To keep the element of surprise. Berlin smiled and looked at Moscow and I and while he slowly walked up to him, I looked at Anne Kim. She was just a couple feet away. I didn’t feel bad for lying to her all those months, but I was well aware that somewhere deep inside me, she had become my friend and I hadn't had one in a long time. I did an immediate head turn when I heard him rip the blindfold off the director's head. The latter was shuddering. He leaned forward and whimpered, squinting his eyes really hard.

“I didn’t see anything. I swear.”

“You can look. Mmh? It’s okay, mm? I said open your eyes.” Berlin grabbed the man’s head and held him in place. “Do you wanna know what we’re up to? Is that it, huh?”

“No. I swear!” He whined, keeping his eyes shut in fear. I was watching him with a jaded expression on my face. I found him to be of a really irritating and annoying character. One time, he acts as if he thinks he's master of the world and there he is, shaking and yelping like a wounded dog. “I know absolutely nothing, and I don’t wanna know anything—”

“No, no. I like you, my friend, so let me tell you exactly what we’re doing right now.” He patted him on the shoulder and took a step back, pulling out his handgun and aimed at his head. “We’re going to have a gunfight with the police, and people are going to die, like in movies.” The director opened his eyes and looked at the weapon, scared for his life. “BANG!”

He fell to his knees, yelping and whimpering and the other hostages clamored at the loud noise made by Berlin, while he chuckled. I would have laughed with him if I didn't have to make sure that Anne Kim wouldn't hear and recognize my voice, but the situation was, from my point of view, very funny. This moment of Berlin having fun terrorizing the hostages was really setting the tone for the whole heist, and I couldn't wait to see what was next. Everything had been carefully planned, down to the smallest detail. The Professor was prepared to any eventuality. He had emphasized from the beginning that it was important no one gets hurt or dies. Killing or hurting people wasn’t the plan. We tackled the subject during one of those study session in the swimming pool of the abandoned hotel complex where we had established our headquarters. As always, we were seated around him, in front of the whiteboard covered with maps, a model of the Mint on a small table next to it. Arms and legs crossed, seated between Rio and Berlin, I was slumped in my chair, fiddling with the ring around my neck as I watched and listened attentively to the Professor.

“When the police arrive, act as if you’ve been caught while trying to flee, and shoot at them, and retreat back into the building to hide…” He moved his hand towards the model of the Mint. “…like a rat caught in a trap.”

“But why exactly do you want us to fire into the air?” Denver wondered.

“I told you. Our plan is to not kill or hurt anyone.”

“But it’s not like anyone plans to die.” Nairobi stated, followed by Rio, backing up her words. My eyes went from one to the other without really turning my head.

“She’s right. Who knows what’s gonna happen? Couldn’t we just kill a few if the situation calls for it?”

“Absolutely not. This is crucial for our plan to work.” I heard Berlin laugh behind me.

“Our plan? Sounds like your morals are getting in the way.”

“What’s with all the comments?” Tokyo spoke, and he didn't seem so amused anymore, staring at her. She looked at everyone and let her gaze fall back to Berlin, raising her eyebrows. “Our job here is to execute the Professor’s plan. If you can’t, then leave.”

And I agreed with her. Which is why, like the brothers and Moscow, I was among the few to not say anything during the lesson. I was not to question the Professor's words and orders. I had promised. Because it didn’t matter the reason, when the Professor told us to jump, we asked how high. From the hall, where only Berlin, Moscow and I had remained with the hostages, we heard police sirens in the distance, a brief silence and then gunshots. The hostages gasped and screamed, as usual. The police were firing back at them and we heard from our earpieces that something had happened in Rio but we couldn’t see what was going on. In the following seconds, they must have pulled back inside the building since the closing of the door was engaged. Now that news of an armed robbery over the Mint would spread, the real heist could begin. Officials from the North and the South would scratch their brains really hard to find the best way to resolve the situation. The Korean Peninsula, the only divided country on earth, was soon to be unified after all. An unprecedented situation was unfolding inside a unique zone called the JEA. Short for Joint Economic Area. Korea’s neighbors weren’t the only ones paying attention… the whole world was watching.

Bags full of red suits and masks were lined up on the floor. The rest of the team was back in the room after the exchange of gunfire with the police a couple of minutes ago. I stood next to the two brothers, near the bags. I was slightly behind, my face still hidden. The surprise would soon be revealed to my dear school friends.

“My dear hostages, please take off your blindfolds.”

“Come on, everyone. You can take ‘em off.” Denver raised his voice, urging them to do so while Berlin walked in front of them. They eventually took them off, hands shaking. My eyes were on Anne Kim who was just taking notice of her surroundings after removing her blindfold. She would quickly notice my disappearance, and most likely comment on it.

“It’s so good to finally speak with you all face-to-face. There’s no need to be afraid. We are all trapped inside the same building together, which means we have to work together, hmm?” He sketched a large smile and nodded at us to bring the bags. Standing beside Moscow in front of the stairs, he watched the others proceed to give red jumpsuits to the hostages. Anne Kim was looking around her, frowning.

“Where is Park Ho-Yeon? What did you do with her?” She demanded answers. Berlin smirked and turned to her, glancing at me out of the corner of his eye. Back to them, I continued to give suits to hostages right in front of her.

“Who?” Berlin asked her, acting as if he didn’t know what she was talking about which he wasn’t supposed to so she must have mistaken his tone for mockery regarding her concern for her friend. He was, in a way, actually mocking and taunting her like he did with the director. Faced with his intimidating gaze which she held, she repeated herself.

“Where is my friend? The one with the blond—”

“What friend?” When she heard my voice, she went silent, probably not knowing what to think anymore. Time stopped for a few seconds. As I swiveled towards her, I slid my mask over my head and discovered the look of profound stupor on her face. She was shocked. Mouth open, she couldn't hide her shock. I took a few steps towards her.

“Ho-Yeon, you’re… with them?”

“My name’s not Ho-Yeon.” Berlin walked up to us, laughing and patted my shoulder, looking at Anne Kim, with a broad, amused grin on his face. This look of betrayal I saw in her eyes followed me as I walked towards the stairs with him.

“We have no intention of hurting any of you, trust me.” He then declared; hands clasped. He spoke with a smile. “Each and every one of you will return home without a single scratch, as long as you fully cooperate with us. I give you my word. Let’s just have some fun.”

Soon, the first day of this unprecedented robbery came to an end and night fell. We had been occupying the Mint for over 11 hours already and the whole world was kept in suspense, looking at us, wondering what was going to happen next. But people weren't the only ones racking their brains to figure out our next move. Even the task force was most likely confused. The one with the true upper hand was not the North or the South. It was the Professor. He developed plans and factored in everything. Like I said, he had planned everything, down to the smallest detail. The Professor came up with solutions for every possible situation and then a backup plan for each of those possibilities. I found it all very impressive and to be apart of it was beyond great and exciting. It had all just started earlier this day and I was already having a blast. All those months invested in preparing for this heist had been worth it. I was sure of that.

“They’ll be there very soon. Proceed as planned.” We were warned by the professor over the phone, that a military raid was coming to get us. We talked about this situation during our classes, which would happen if the North took over in the Task Force and they would never agree to negotiate with us. They would try to suppress us no matter what, and they would try to do so in secret.

“There is a total of five entry points. The main gate, the rooftop, the underground garage, the emergency exit on the side, and last but not least, the loading dock. If you remove the main gate and the rooftop where they’re likely to be seen, they’ll use the other three to enter.” Berlin raised his hand.

“Okay so let’s say we know when they’ll enter, thanks to the information from that woman.” I might have forgotten to mention it but yeah, the woman in question was the negociator, Seon Woojin. When I said the North took over amid the Task Force, I omitted that it would happen if she was sidelined. “How do we stop the Special Operations Unit when they have so many points of entry?”

“Well, that’s a good question.” He had this calm and collected look on his face, like he had it all figured out, which he had. I remember he asked us what we thought was the best strategy when we’re surrounded by enemies. We were only 9 robbers, but we had plenty of people at hand to repel the soldiers, without even having to fight. We outnumbered them, thanks to the hostages disguised as robbers. What they would see, no matter where they tried to get in from, would be masked people in red jumper suits holding guns towards them. With Rio in the office, watching the cameras, we were all with different groups of hostages turned into robbers for the subterfuge and the soldiers would never be able to tell a real robber with a gun from a hostage with a fake one. They would be forced to retreat. And it’s exactly how it happened. We handled the situation exactly how the professor told us to and everything went like clockwork. Everyone was then led back to the main room where there was a heavy silence among the hostages. Berlin, towering above us from the top of the stairs, broke the silence. I stood with my peers, on the other end of the room, right across the stairs.

“Now, my dear comrades, take off your masks.” He smiled as he watched them do as he said but quickly regained his seriousness. “Thanks to your cooperation, the police completely aborted their mission to raid the building.”

“Yes!” Moscow cheered and Denver and I chuckled.

“I want to applaud you all for being courageous and for your exceptional teamwork. We could not have done this without you.” He sketched another broad smile and slowly clapped his hands as he descended the stairs, and we joined in, walking in front of the hostages, mocking them with our smirks. We clapped strongly and eventually, one after the other, the hostages clapped along, and I laughed, meeting Berlin's gaze. We were both all smiles. The hostages didn’t look as happy as we did, obviously but how they felt went flying over my head. You can call me insensitive and self-centered, which I don’t think I was, but that still was the last thing I cared about. I did what I was asked to do, follow the Professor’s orders. I did my part and was satisfied. We had successfully prevented the raid, and the Task Force would be forced to recall their negotiator and forget about the use of force to enter. And with one of the hostages happening to be the daughter of the US Ambassador to Korea, that was no longer a possibility at all.

[To be continued…]

Next Chapter (SOON)

Published (03/25/2023) by Andrea

Taglist: @cathrin2405 @kika64

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justinewt · 2 years ago

Text

Meet London - MONEY HEIST: KOREA Rewrite

[MONEY HEIST: KOREA-MASTERLIST]

Do not use my character without my consent thanks <3

warning: any arts and pictures you’ll see are not mine (I found them on pinterest) and to portray my oc I chose Hoyeon Jung. London is a character 100% created by me, Justine but the style of the bio has been inspired by Money heist wiki and bios made by director Guillermo Del Toro <3

And PLEASE, you are all very beautiful as you are, DO NOT feel bad about my character’s body/weight/height/measurements or anything !! And you are all beautiful humans <3

N.B: All ages stated in FAMILY HISTORY and EARLY LIFE are the international ages of the characters, if korean ages are stated it's specified.

words: 4.2k

송진솔 bio by me

INFORMATIONS

FULL NAME: Song Jin-sol (she calls herself with her father’s name even tho she has worn her mother’s name since birth, which is Lee // 이 )

ALIAS: London

DATE OF BIRTH: around April 2005

AGE: 13yo (creation of the Joint Economic Area - April 2018) // 14yo (korean age)

21yo (time of the robbery - 2026) // 22-23yo (korean age)

GENDER: Female

STATUS: Alive (officially tho, Lee Jin-sol has been dead since december 2023. She was just 19yo // 20yo in korean age)

NATIONALITY: South Korean

ORIGINS: North korea

OCCUPATION: Robber

SKILLS: Fighting // Self defence

Taekwondo 3rd degree black belt

HOBBY: Sports in general // Taekwondo

AFFILIATIONS: The Professor // Berlin

The Mint’s robbery

FAMILY

PARENTS: She is the daughter of Song Jung-Ho (송정호), better known by his code name Berlin and a North Korean defector, Lee Da-Eun (이다은) who died when Jin-sol was young.

RELATIVES: Song Sun-ho, 송선호 (uncle)

Seon Woo-jin (aunt)

Song Min-hyeok, paternal grandfather (deceased)

Unnamed maternal grandparents (supposedly deceased)

FRIENDS: Denver (he’s the only one out of the whole group whom she really considers a friend, and calls him oppa // 오빠, leading some hostages to believe they were siblings -which wasn’t true at all but some of them told this to the police, believing it.); unnamed high school classmates

SPOILER FOR BERLIN’S BACKGROUND STORY

FAMILY HISTORY (TIMELINE): In 1976, the Lee family welcomed triplets, one girl and two boys. The girl received a gold ring and the boys silver daggers. Their mother was called a maternal heroine by the government and they started receiving some money - which would stop once the children graduated elementary school, at 11-years-old but the family of five still lived in poverty in the North Korean countryside.

In 1982, Lee Da-Eun was born.

In 1983, Song Sun-ho was born and a year and a half later, in 1984, his brother, Song Jung-ho was born. (Jung-ho being 41 in 2026, I though these birth years made sense)

In 1985, the meager income given to the Lee family was cut off. Da-Eun was only 5. By the time the triplets were 15, in 1989, they were taken out of school to help their parents full-time on the farm. Unlike Jung-ho and Sun-ho’s family, they were much much poorer and “unsignificant” people. By the time he was 7, Jung-ho started showing signs of a disease. He actually suffered from juvenile huntington disease but they had no resources for it in North Korea.

In 1993, the Song family tried to escape the country by swimming across the Amrok river between China and North Korea at night. Jung-ho was 9 and Sun-ho was 10. Sun-ho and their father made it to the other side but his brother and mother were spotted and she was shot in the water by soldiers. Jung-ho was taken to a prison camp, where he was subjected to forced labour and physical abuse.The same year, Da-Eun’s two older brothers were drafted and joined the army to serve their 10 years of compulsory military service. Their sister remained at the farm to help their parents. Da-Eun had just graduated elementary school.

In 1994, Sun-ho and their father, Song Min-hyeok made it to South Korea and became citizens.

In 1997, Da-Eun was taken out of school to work full-time on her parents farm. She started thinking of joining the army to escape poverty and have meals every day.

In 1996, Song Min-hyeok was shot dead by the police after a robbery. He wanted to get enough money to try and get Jung-ho out of the North Korean prison camp he was imprisoned in. Sun-ho was just 13-years-old and was placed in the foster care system since he became an orphan.

In 1999, Lee Da-Eun’s sister gifted her the gold ring she was given at birth to bring good luck to her as she enlisted in the army. She would hide it in her bra in order to make sure she wouldn’t lose it. For two months she went through military training, actually training for only 40% of the time, and the remaining 60% was spent on Kimilsungist-Kimjongilist ideology.

In 2001, Sun-ho graduated high-school and went off to college to study business and economics. He had taken it into his head to one day find his brother and carry out their father's heist plan.

After 3 years of service -during which she never once had her period, mainly because of how much they trained and how much stress and pressure there was on them-, in 2002, Da-Eun went to work at prison camp 13. She was reduced to cooking and cleaning and mainly worked as a medic at the prison. She was happy as long as she kept a low profile and didn’t get her superior’s attention. One day she was to tend to a prisoner who had just been tortured and had had a seizure. She learned he had Huntington disease and was terminally ill. She had no idea what it was but she knew the prisoner’s name, Song Jung-ho. She asked about him and learned he was barely 18-years-old and had been imprisoned here as a child. She was touched by his story. After this she would make it her job to take care of him every time he was sent to the infirmary and the two somehow grew to like each other. By the end of the year, they had fallen in love and started having an affair.

She worked at the prison for 2 more years and in 2004, she wondered why she hadn’t had her period for a couple months (since she worked at the prison, because the daily life wasn’t as intense, she was having them tho very light) and realized she was pregnant with Jung-ho’s child. She managed to be alone with him at the prison infirmary and told him. She knew she would have to give herself an abortion before any of her superiors found out but she wanted to keep the baby. Jung-ho was taken aback and shocked by the news. He knew she had to get out of there. He was someone who would hide his feelings and not communicate or show them but it was a real heartbreak. She had three options, try to cross the river to china, go to Russia and hope no one there would find her and forcibly send her back or somehow be sent to work at the DMZ and make it to the other side, that last option was by far the most dangerous but the crossing of the river would be too long and exhausting for a pregnant woman. Her only choice was to go work at the DMZ and escape through there.

In autumn 2004, she was working at the DMZ, again reduced to doing cleaning and cooking and she hid her growing belly with her belt. She was actively working on a plan to cross when one day, a soldier came up to her and straight up told her he knew she was pregnant. She was scared of what he was going to do to her but ended up telling her he was going to escape and asked her if she wanted to come with him. She jumped on the occasion. The soldier was shot and injured by their own military as they crossed to the South Korean side of the Joint Security Area (JSA) in the village of Panmunjom. North Korean troops shot at them over 40 times, and he was hit five times and she was hit once in the thigh but they made it across and were found under a pile of leaves, bleeding out. They were rushed to a hospital and doctors found out Da-Eun was also pregnant. After resting for a while, she was interviewed by the NIS and she told them everything. She was pregnant with the child of a prisoner, Song Jung-ho, when she worked at prison camp 13. She asked if they knew of a boy named Song Sun-ho and his father, Song Min-hyeok who had made it to South Korea in the 90s and they told her they would look into it. She was then taken to Hanawon, a re-education facility where she stayed for three months. She was taught how to adjust to life in South Korea. They taught her, and other refugees, basic skills such as riding the subway, using an elevator, paying bills, and using a remote control.

She got out of the facility in january 2005 and was now in the third trimester. South Korea provided basic living expenses, subsidies, and housing for 5 years. It was tough to adjust to her new life and get used to the South Korean accent. The first time she used internet was in a library, she looked up Song Min-hyeok and found articles about the late North Korean and a robbery. She learned he died in 1996 after he became a South Korean citizen just two years earlier. She didn’t hear back from the NIS for a few months but one day, after she had given birth to a babygirl in April - she named her Lee Jin-sol-, she received a call and was told they had found documents attesting to the entry into the territory of a child named Song Sun-ho and his father in 1994 and the story given by the latter about their flight from the country coincided with what Jung-ho told Da-Eun. She learned the man she was looking for was currently a student in business and economics. She asked them to put her in touch with Sun-ho and was told it was done but didn’t hear from anyone for a whole month and one day, he called her. They met in a café in Séoul and she brought Jin-sol. He didn’t remember his brother much as it had been 11 years already but he immidietaly saw him in the newborn. He had been alone for so long, now he had a family again.

In 2006, Sun-ho was 23-years-old and completed his master’s degree. He got a job as a lecturer and Da-Eun moved closer to his apartment. She found a few small jobs in Seoul. Meanwhile, Jung-ho had gained a following over the years. Under his orders, prisoners rioted and took over the prison. A guard was murdered, setting Berlin free, after 25 years in the prison camp. He had no idea if Da-Eun had made it to South Korea and if their baby was born and he preferred to assume they were both dead so as not to think about it constantly and therefore protect his heart. Being cold and distant with his own emotions was his way of coping with everything. By then, he was terminally ill already. He got Seoul, the prison camp’s director step daughter, out and she went with him and the prisoners to Vladivostock where they got themselves a hideout in a shady bar and became a feared rebel/mercenaries group.

PERSONALITY: Jin-sol was a quite happy and smiling child until she was 10 and lost her mother to depression and overwork. Before it happened, she was already determined but starting Taekwondo made her even more strong-willed and competitive. Hard-working, she was successful at school and at the dojang and made her mother and uncle very proud but when she lost her mom, she lost some of that sparkle that used to light up her eyes. She was still driven but way less enthuastic and rarely smiled for anything, mostly caring about winning every fight and be the best at whatever she did. Becoming a professional Taekwondoin and one of her dreams was to compete at the olympics. This was her goal and sole motivation in life. When she had the chance to participate in the ASIAN JUNIOR TAEKWONDO CHAMPIONSHIP in 2017, Sun-ho couldn’t say no to her because seeing her so excited about something wasn’t a common sight. On the outside she appears very calm, collected and quiet, and she is, but it’s mainly because she’d rather look around and observe than really speak her mind. She is very loyal and follows the rules dictated by her uncle but is not so obedient with everyone. She will still show respect to people, especially people who are older than her, even if she dislikes them whole-heartedly.

When she met her father for the first time, she was rather impassive and a bit jaded, just staring at him because she didn’t know who this tall man was. She would glance at her uncle every now and then, not really knowing what to do but once she started talking, she was straight-forward, asking him who he was. This moment quickly became emotional as she eventually hugged him.

APPEARANCE: Jin-sol grew to be rather tall, standing at 5′7″ (170cm) while her mother, Lee Da-Eun was around 5′1″. She is quite thin and slender but has a very athletic body considering that she practiced Taekwondo from the age of 6 until she was 18 years old and participated in many championships. She doesn’t look much like her father, apart from her high cheekbones and square jaw, but she has a much smaller face and shares a striking resemblance to her late mother, which explains why Jong-ho was so taken aback when he first saw her in person. Thanks to their lack of resemblance, no one in the group ever suspected their real connection.

Jin-sol likes to dye her hair. When she was 16-years-old, she decided to bleach her hair but because she hadn’t decided on a color to put all over her head afterwards, she kept her hair blond for a while but after joining her uncle’s heist project, and faking their deaths, she dyed her entire head red. She wanted to do one last “bold” thing before her new life as a robber. She has a rather casual style, and can go from wearing a bright orange hoodie and a pair of faded jeans, or plain balck clothes, usually paired with a long and dark trench-coat. She never really dresses up, unless she wears traditional korean clothing like a hanbok or until after the robbery, where she is seen in a small Austrian village with her uncle, wearing a fancy, black and beige coat with sequins on the front pockets.

SPOILERS BELOW

EARLY LIFE (up to the robbery): In 2011, Sun-ho became a professor in the department of business and economics at the Seoul National University. Jin-sol was now 6. The little girl started expressing interest in sports and was enrolled in a taekwondo club.

In 2015, when 10-year-old Jin-sol didn’t have school and Sun-ho wasn’t working that day, they spent the day in town together. He bought her an ice cream, got her a stuffed animal and they even went to the theater. When he brought her home later in the afternoon, they found Da-Eun collapsed on the floor. She was rushed to the hospital and doctors told Sun-ho she suffered a severe stroke. She was kept at the hospital for a few days but ultimately died. Sun-ho was shaken by this but it was nothing compared to how devastated Jin-sol felt. She cried profusely but after seeing how concerned her uncle was, she told him she didn’t want him to worry and that she wouldn’t cry ever again and be strong. After becoming her legual guardian, he applied to adopt her. One day, Jin-sol asked him if she could call him 아빠 (appa // dad) because she saw all her classmates with their dads and she didn’t even have her mom anymore and she knew nothing of her biological dad cause the only man that had ever been in her life was him. He of course said yes and from then on she always called him daddy.

In 2016, Jin-sol earned her first-degree black belt. She started wanting to get more seriously into competition and her coach encouraged Sun-ho to let him enroll Jin-sol in the 2017 Asian Junior Taekwondo championship, which would take place in April of next year. She was very excited about it and Sun-ho hadn’t seen her like this in such a long time so he said yes.

In 2017, Jin-sol joined her school’s sports club. April came and Sun-ho had managed to take a week off to accompany her to Kazakhstan where the competition was taking place. It forced him to briefly halt his search for his brother but it was really refreshing to see Jin-sol so happy. She was extremely determined and ambitious and competed in junior female -44kg for the KOREA ASIAN JUNIOR TAEKWONDO NATIONAL TEAM. Iran won the championship but Jin-sol was cheered on by her team after she won them the most gold medals out of all the korean juniors athletes. In mid-2017, Sun-ho was approached by National Assembly Member Kim Sangman to talk about the economic reunification of the two Koreas. He was giving a lecture about this very subject that day and 13-year-old Jin-sol attended because she wanted to see what he was doing at work. She could have listened her uncle talk about anything for 2 hours and even though she didn’t understand everything, she found it very interesting because he was so passionate about his subject. At the end of the lesson, Kim Sangman approached Jin-sol, taking a sweet voice -she showed him respect, as he was much older than her but she didn’t buy his nice act and just stared back at him- and asked her how old she was and what she was doing at this lecture. She replied that the professor was her dad and she had asked him to see what he did at work. Sun-ho had seen the man talk to his niece from afar. When Sangman asked him to come somewhere with him, he said he had to drop his daughter at home first and Jin-sol ended up coming in the car with her uncle and the other man and they dropped her in front of their house before leaving. That day was the day he agreed to develop the economic cooperation plan.

In April 2018, the same month Jin-sol turned 13, the creation of the Joint Economic Area was announced to the general public. The child got her third degree black belt in Taekwondo. He intensified his search for his brother and found a group of mercenaries in Vladivostock. Somehow, the name of Song Jung-ho resurfaced. He was the boss of this group.

In 2019, Sun-ho planned a short trip to Russia after he found his brother. He plainly told Jin-sol about it and she didn’t really know how to react to the news. He left for a few days, having brought with him a file with his own father’s heist plan and a few pictures of Jin-sol, one was her and her mother when she was 6 and started taekwondo, she was wearing her Taekwondo dobok, her mother kneeling beside her, smiling and holding her by the shoulders. Another was her at the asian championship with a gold medal, her uncle holding her shoulders. He wanted to ask his brother to continue their father’s plan, and tell him all about his long lost daughter. Jung-ho was saddened by the news of his father and Da-Eun’s deaths and staredat the photos of his daughter for a long time without saying anything, remembering when Da-Eun told him she was pregnant and then fled the country. To leave her and her child's survival to chance and now to hear that she had died of overwork was a second heartbreak. He wasn’t sure if meeting his child was the right thing to do and he didn’t know how he felt about it but Sun-ho told him she already knew that he had found him. Sun-ho then came back later that year, he brought 14 year old Jin-sol to Vladivostock. She wasn’t sure how to feel when she met him and they stared at each other for a few seconds. Because she didn’t know what Jung-ho looked like, she didn’t know who was the man in front of him and straight up asked him who he was. He kneeled so he would be closer to her height, looking into her eyes and seeing so much of him and Da-Eun and he was taken by surprise when she hugged him. It took a couple seconds before he wrapped his arms around her as well but he did and held her tightly.

In 2020, she entered high school. She knew she wanted to major in sports and was already looking for the college she would go to. She rarely saw her father but she was pleasantly surprised with him coming to attend some small taekwondo competitions she participated in, and won gold every time. The first picture she ever took with him was after one of those. Meanwhile, she had no idea what her uncle did every time he flew to Russia to see his brother.

In June 2023, she graduated high school and her father came to the ceremony. In december 2023, Sun-ho orchestrated the death of him and his niece and the two then assumed false identities in preparation for the heist. Lee Jin-sol was dead and Song Jin-sol and Park Sun-ho were born. She was just 18 but really wanted to follow in her uncle and father's footsteps and she was mainly determined to join their plans because she knew it would allow her to spend a lot of time with her dad so she threw all her other projects away, giving up on majoring in sports. She didn't care that he wasn't the most loving or demonstrative.

In 2024, because she came of age and turned 19, Sun-ho gave her a package that her mother had prepared for her. For now, they were only the three of them, the professor had yet to recrut the others. In the package, there was a couple letters and a folded uniform and hat. It was her mother’s old military uniform. There was still the hole made by the bullet that hit her thigh and dry blood all around it. Half the skirt was soaked so it showed how much she had bled out when shot. Inside a pocket in the uniform, she found a gold ring hanging from a chain. She vaguely remembered her mother wearing that necklace and learned in the letter addressed to her that it was her sister’s. That’s when she learned her mother had triplets siblings. The second letter was addressed to Berlin specifically. He hid it but wanted to cry as he read it and briefly closed his eyes when he felt the tears coming. Jung-ho and Jin-sol then talked together where he finally really opened up to her and told her about his relationship with her mother. This was the first time she cried after telling her uncle she wouldn’t cry ever again, 9 years prior.

In 2025, The professor found Tokyo and the rest of the group. They all went to an abandoned hotel complex where they hid for the rest of the year in preparation for the heist. The first day, they took turns spinning a globe and chose their pseudonyms, naming themselves after cities around the world. Song Jung-ho became Berlin and Jin-sol became London while Sun-ho was the Professor. Afterwards, the Professor started the real “lessons” and classes to prepare the group. Nobody knew the three were related so when London would walk out of Berlin or the Professor’s room, having seemingly no reason to be in there, and was seen a few times by Nairobi, it led the later to wonder if the young 20-year-old had something going on with the two men. As she was closest to Denver, who was for her like a big brother and good friend, Nairobi asked him about it. Obviously he didn’t know anything about it but when London said it wasn’t true, he took her word for it. She was quite uncomfortablewith the fact that Nairobi thought she was having affairs with them, but ultimately didn’t care cause if she started explaining herself, she would have to speak about their actual relationships. She kept going to see her father and uncle every now and then, especially her father because she sometimes wanted to help him and when one day he said he could do it on his own and that she didn’t have to take care of him like that, she said she wanted to because she had not been able to take care of her mother and because she used to take care of him. He didn’t say anything but there was so much of her mother in every thing she did, especially tend to him. It was her main way of telling him she loved him very much and letting her be by his side and show that he was proud of her was his. Before the operations started, Jin-sol was given a single rule by the Professor. She was the youngest of the whole group so obviously she wouldn’t have the power to take initiatives and things like that and she had to follow the orders and everything he said to the group and if something happened, she was to obey Berlin and do as he said no matter what.

In 2026, the d-day of the robbery of the mint arrived. It was to happen just before this year’s Inter-Korean summit.

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