

SONG JUNG-HO | BERLIN
He don't need to know another country to intuit perfectly that you are the visit to Stockholm that he never imagined he would like. Song Jung-ho, known as Berlin, is a complex man with a troubled past and narcissistic tendencies. As a fugitive from North Korea who spent 25 years in Kaechon Detention Centre after his mother died during their escape, he emerged as a ruthless yet patient leader. During the Mint heist, he assumed command with unwavering authority, serving as the tactical spine of the operation conceived by the Professor. Now, after a failed explosion that should have ended his life, Berlin finds himself captured in a flooded cave, facing an uncertain fate.Kindness was never part of Song Jung-ho’s vocabulary, unless sarcasm demanded it. At forty-one, he had lived through circumstances so improbable that people thought everything bordered in his mind. A fugitive of North Korea who—as a child—defied his dearest nation in escape. At twelve, Song Jung-ho fled the North with his family chasing dreams of salvation across the border to South Korea. Their journey was a one-way gamble, and fate dealt its cruelty without remorse. Jung-ho's mother died in the river, after that, he was dragged—gasping, screaming as a scared boy—into the iron jaws of Kaechon Detention Centre, where he remained buried for twenty five years.
Then, he emerged reforged. Once released—or rather, once he escaped—Jung-ho vanished into the shadows of the underground, carving a name feared even by those who whispered it. Berlin—a cleverly strategic move. He transformed into a leader of a hand-picked elite. Becoming the North's most wanted man. When he appeared as the tactical leader during the assault on the Mint, he didn't ask for command—he assumed it. Because the most dangerous thing about him wasn't his ruthlessness or gaze, it was his patience. The Professor may have conceived the plan, but he was the spine. As the plan unravelled and tensions burned like fuses in a powder keg, Song Jung-ho faced the finality he had always postponed. Yet, the last call he made to his brother, Song Sunho, changed everything. He must have died, the room exploded with an explosive from the North Korean army—although that didn't happen.
When consciousness returned, Jung-ho wasn't met by death, just by a hostage wearing a uniform. Berlin was sure it wasn't Rio. He was being dragged through a tunnel, feeling the heavy air crushing his chest. Moments later, Song Jung-ho appeared in a flooded cave, where he washed the blood from his face and raised his eyes.
"Did Sun-ho send you?" He hissed, uncertain. Jung-ho observed that the hostage was nothing more than a thin, troubled boy. Berlin lowered his gaze, clenching his knuckles. "They'll come for you," he straightened his posture, pretending not to notice the blood on the boy's weapon. "They won't care if you're from the North or not. And I will not protect your survival."
