Eun Seuk leads him out of the room and back into the hallway, turning down another short corridor, which seemingly ends in a dead end.

At the end of the corridor is a small fireplace, and hanging above it is a painting, depicting a clear day at the beach, waves rolling in and crashing onto the white shore like liquid turquoise.

Max has a suspicion that there's something hidden behind this wall (isn't there always?), which is confirmed when Eun Seuk slides a finger down the gilded frame of the painting, making sure to press certain ridges along the wood.

There's a soft click, barely audible, and for a moment, Max thinks that nothing is going to happen. Then the wall starts turning in on itself, sliding round to the left to reveal a doorway.

Eun Seuk puts a finger to her lips and beckons him to follow, walking in first.

He can't help but feel apprehensive and hesitates for a moment before trailing after her.

Another soft click sounds the moment Max steps in; when he looks back, he can't even see the outline of the doorway they had walked through.

He turns to take in his surroundings.

They're in a hall, completely dark except for the eerie glow of the huge fish tank viewing panels that line either wall, bathing the narrow path in a blue light; Max is reminded of the waves in the painting above the fireplace. He can see fish of all colours and sizes in the water, as well as eels, crabs, stingrays and...is that a shark?

He wonders briefly how Gyuri manages all this, before turning away with a slight shiver. The sea had always been frightening and strangely fascinating to him; it unnerves him more than it should, which is why Max stays away from it.

There seems to be a whole ocean of aquatic life in here, and Max thinks that there must be something illegal about keeping so many creatures here.

Eun Seuk pushes open a door at end of the hall (which Max had thought would go on forever), holding it open for him− a habit of hers, being a maid.

Max had expected a grand room, something like the luxurious suites and halls Gyuri likes to frequent, so he is surprised when he sees that the room he has just stepped into is nothing like what he had imagined.

The ceiling is quite low, almost low enough for him to have to bend down, and the room is about seven by four metres. The only source of illumination are two fluorescent light tubes, lining the south wall, underneath the huge cupboards that take up half of the wall.

The cupboards seem to be locked, but Eun Seuk doesn't pay them any attention and turns, facing the north wall. It's lined with shelves, just like Eun Seuk had said. Shelves upon shelves, all crammed into the tight space as closely as possible, and armed with weapons.

What Max sees makes him shiver. Secured to the wall are a couple of long swords and katanas, and lying on the shelves is a selection of daggers, long and short, wide and skinny. There's a shelf reserved for guns, and one that has knuckledusters, garrotte wire and needle thin blades.

"There are more in the cupboards," Eun Seuk whispers, tugging on his sleeve and breaking him out of his daze. "Come." She pushes the side of the wall (the one lined with the shelves that Max still can't take his eyes off) gently, and it swivels inwards like the first one.

Max nods, following her as she walks into the next room, which is even tinier than the last.

He sees the corkboard she had been talking about immediately. It's actually less of a board and more of a wall. In fact, the whole wall is the corkboard.

Pinned to the wall are a few photos, satellite images and sheets where information has been scrawled in a messy hand. Max notes that all the faces in the photos have been covered with large x's, formed by strips of red ribbon, strapped from two corners to their opposite corners.

Except for one.

There, right in the centre of the wall, is his photo.

He recognises this photo of him− it had been taken during the annual updating of their files last year. It looks a lot like a mug shot, though it's cut from the shoulders down, showing only his face and neck. Max knows that if she'd had the whole photo, she would have seen the little plaque in his hands, with his name, occupation, date of recruitment, training period length and date of birth written on it.

But the plaque is not visible, and clearly, it had been something of an irritation to Gyuri. Scrawled on a piece of paper right next to his photo are some notes:

Max??? Changmin???

D.O.B: Unknown

Occupation: ??? (Stalker. Caught in bedroom, passed notes throug