Secret Reunion

Ji-won, a North Korean undercover spy living as a South Korean citizen, is ordered to assassinate Kim Jong Il's second cousin, an author whose book Pyongyang condemns as betrayal. The mission is complicated by a betrayer in the ranks, Tae-soon, who switches allegiance to the South and makes Ji-won a target for both sides. The assignment sets off a high-stakes cat-and-mouse game that shadows his every move.

Lee Han-kyu, an NIS agent, uses insider information and tries to foil the assassination without alerting his superiors, pulling his team closer to avert catastrophe. He keeps his plan in the shadows, hoping to save lives on both sides. The tension between loyalty and duty gnaws at him as events unfold.

Despite Lee's efforts, the assassination unfolds and several agents are killed in a gunfight. The operation's failure makes Lee the sole scapegoat, and he is discharged from the National Intelligence Service. He begins a lonely new chapter apart from the agency.

Six years pass. Lee works as a private investigator and bounty hunter, while Ji-won toils in construction, each trying to leave espionage behind. Their separate lives set the stage for a chance collision that will pull them back into a web of secrets.

By chance, Lee saves Ji-won from a mob, and the two recognize each other instantly but keep their recognition hidden. The reunion unsettles both men, reminding them of past loyalties while forcing them to question what their futures hold.

Han-gyu invites Ji-won to work with him and share living quarters, a move designed to keep his past close and monitor the former agent. Ji-won agrees, partly to spy on Han-gyu and see whether his loyalties still lie with the homeland.

The arrangement grows tense as Ji-won’s suspicions about Shadow deepen, and his own mission becomes entangled with a broader conspiracy. The uneasy dynamic between mentor and spy threads through every decision, blurring lines between loyalty and survival.

Tae-soon reappears with his own motives, and Ji-won slowly uncovers deeper reasons behind his betrayal, including suspicions about Shadow. Shadow is revealed to be linked to a network of powerful figures manipulating events from behind the scenes.

The North Korean pastor Rev. Lee becomes a crucial informant, guiding Ji-won toward safety for his wider family and revealing that Ji-won has relatives back in the North. This revelation broadens the stakes beyond his own life.

The information from Rev. Lee, and the fact that Ji-won has not seen his wife and daughter for seven years heighten the stakes as borders tighten after a nuclear incident. The looming crisis increases the pressure on all players to choose loyalties wisely.

North Korean professor Kim Sung-hak betrays their ranks by leaking secrets to the NIS, complicating trust. A watch fitted with GPS becomes a focal point as Lee urges Ji-won to ditch the device before it can be used to track him.

Shadow offers one last chance to prove loyalty to the motherland, a gambit that leads to a brutal confrontation. Ji-won must decide where his true loyalties lie as the web of deceit tightens around him.

Han-gyu arrives to intervene, removes Ji-won’s watch, and is stabbed in the clash as Shadow's true nature is revealed. Ji-won confronts the reality that the traitor has been manipulating events all along.

Shadow is killed by Han-gyu, and the NIS gratitude comes with a heavy price as Han-gyu rejects a return to agency life and remains a private investigator. This victory is bittersweet, marking the end of official ties and a solitary future.

In the final act, Han-gyu responds to Ji-won's letter urging him to reunite with his family in England, and he unexpectedly finds Ji-won and his family on the same flight. The moment hints at a hard-won closure and the possibility of a life beyond espionage, even as the past continues to echo in every choice.