Genius Grandson Of The Loan Shark King

When Bush appeared, Rumsfeld stepped back a pace. Eric also bowed his head slightly and moved aside.

“You look quite different from the photos. Much younger, too. Let’s go inside. Enough of this pointless power struggle, Charlie.”

Bush gave me a genial smile as he looked me over. The tense atmosphere in the hallway softened immediately with his arrival.

Since the President of the United States himself said this much, there was no need to be stubborn. I stepped out of the elevator and walked toward Bush.

“Nice to meet you, Bush.”

“My aides made a spectacle out of concern for me. Please forgive them. Now, let’s go inside.”

Following Bush, who at least offered a formal apology, I reentered the ➤ NоvеⅠight ➤ (Read more on our source) office.

Unlike Rumsfeld who had rushed out, Dick Cheney still sat with the same displeased look he had worn when I left.

“Dick.”

Bush called in a low voice, and Cheney rose from his seat.

“I know what you’re thinking. But mind your manners. These are the people who supported me when no one believed I’d win.”

Cheney nodded, then extended his hand to me.

“Dick Cheney.”

But I ignored the offered hand and spoke directly to Bush.

“Bush, I want a private meeting with you.”

Cheney’s hand floundered in the air. Being ignored, his face hardened, but I paid him no mind.

“A private meeting?”

“Yes, I want to talk one-on-one.”

“Hmm······.”

Bush looked conflicted. Cheney lowered his hand and shook his head.

“Even the President of South Korea doesn’t get a private meeting with Bush. Don’t be absurd.”

Cheney’s firm words made Bush rub his chin and look around. Another sigh escaped his lips.

“I agree with Dick. It’s inappropriate for the President of the United States to meet privately with just an investor.”

Rumsfeld too sided with Cheney. With both his aides in agreement, Bush turned to me.

“Is it really necessary to talk alone?”

“It’s an important matter. You can tell your aides later, but I want to hear your own thoughts directly. Not anyone else’s, yours.”

“Hmm······. All right. Let’s do it.”

“Bush!”

Both Cheney and Rumsfeld called him at once, but he waved his hand firmly.

“Exceptions for sponsors end today. I was curious about this Charlie anyway.”

With that, Bush led me into a separate office prepared for him.

Cheney and Rumsfeld stayed behind with stiff faces, but they respected his decision.

Inside Bush’s office there was only a desk, a large sofa, and a table. It was almost modest for a man in his position.

“Sit.”

Bush naturally took the upper seat, crossed his legs, and gestured for me to sit. Once I had, he spoke first.

“There isn’t much time. Let’s get straight to the point. Tell me why you asked for a private meeting.”

Direct as he was, I adjusted my posture as well.

“I just returned from Pyongyang.”

“I already know. You visited with President Kim Hakgwon. And I heard you met Kim Jongil privately.”

He must have already gained access to information reserved for presidents-elect.

I recalled what the U.S. ambassador to China had said when I met Jang Songthaek. Since I was earning money in America, I was never free of their eyes.

“That’s right. I met Kim Jongil privately, and he gave me full authority to push forward a peace treaty with the United States. What do you think, Bush? Are you willing to negotiate with the Kim Jongil regime?”

For a moment, surprise flickered across his otherwise calm face.

“That’s not what I expected. I thought you’d just ask for some business favors.”

“My support for you was just goodwill. I didn’t do it to gain anything.”

Bush nodded, though a shadow of mistrust lingered on his face.

“Well, I’ll believe you. Can I at least hear Kim Jongil’s conditions first?”

“He wants regime security and economic aid. He asked for recognition of his government by the President of the United States.”

Bush shifted, his eyes sharpening as they locked with mine.

“And what will he give in return?”

“Complete abandonment of nuclear weapons.”

“Not just a freeze, but total abandonment?”

“Yes.”

Bush rubbed his chin again. It seemed to be a habit.

Silence settled over the room for quite some time before Bush finally shook his head.

“There’s no benefit to a peace treaty with North Korea. It doesn’t pay off. And Kim Jongil can’t be trusted. Let’s pretend I didn’t hear this.”

After all that consideration, his answer was negative. His gaze drifted toward the door.

“Even if I wanted to pursue a peace treaty, every one of my aides outside would oppose it.”

“But if the President insists, it can be done.”

Bush nodded.

“Yes, it can. But what benefit is there for me—or for America? It goes against Republican policy. There’s no reason to continue Clinton’s line.”

Under Clinton’s tacit approval, President Kim Hakgwon had fostered a warm mood with North Korea.

But Bush’s administration clearly had no will to continue it.

“Does the Republican Party really need to maintain tension for its own sake? If you keep suffocating Kim Jongil, no one can predict how he’ll lash out.”

At that, Bush suddenly burst out laughing.

“Charlie, do you really think America fears the likes of North Korea? We leave them be because they’re useful for keeping tension in East Asia.”

“What if they really have nukes?”

Bush only shrugged as if nothing would change.

“Nukes. Doesn’t Russia have them? Doesn’t China? Why would countries with nukes fear America?”

Hearing his confident words, I sighed inwardly. Not only his aides, but Bush himself was a neocon.

Any lingering hope I had evaporated.

“And you, Charlie—why are you speaking for Kim Jongil when you’re South Korean? And I hear you’re friends with Putin too. Yet you also supported me. Just what are you thinking?”

“My thoughts?”

His question carried a sharp edge. I simply smiled.

“I’m an investor. I invest in people. I only want to walk together as a friend, as a partner.”

“I have no intention of being your friend.”

Bush’s tone was firm. I nodded.

“I became friends with Putin long before he gained power. That’s why it was possible. But if I tried now, would it be possible?”

The moment someone seizes power, friendship becomes an illusion.

Around the sweet honey of power, countless people swarm, eager for even a drop.

That’s why it’s nearly impossible to form genuine friendships with those who already hold power.

“It’s impossible. And I’m not asking you to let me into your circle of friends. I’m only asking that you take seriously the words of someone who supported you.”

“It isn’t hard to listen to a supporter. But I won’t hear it when it comes to North Korea.”

Of course, a peace treaty couldn’t be bought with just a few tens of millions in donations.

I’d guessed it, but it was proving harder than I expected. I sighed softly and asked him.

“Then what would Kim Jongil have to promise for you to consider a peace treaty?”

“Democracy! And the adoption of a free-market economy. Nuclear abandonment, of course.”

That was something Kim Jongil could never accept. I shook my head.

“If I return empty-handed, Kim Jongil will resume nuclear development.”

“See? What’s the point of agreements with someone who breaks Geneva Accords so easily? North Korea has already lost all credibility.”

Because of that Geneva Agreement, the situation inside North Korea was a mess.

Kim Jongil wasn’t the unshakable absolute ruler everyone thought him to be.

“Kim Jongil might actually be the lesser evil. If the military seizes power, war could break out again on the peninsula.”

“Are you saying a coup in the North is possible? In a place where Kim Jongil has firm control of the military?”

“The Pyongyang I saw didn’t look that way. It wouldn’t surprise me if a coup happened any day.”

Mentioning North Korea’s internal atmosphere finally caught Bush’s interest.

“Tell me more.”

“Of course Kim Jongil’s power is solid. But I heard there have been multiple assassination attempts. He himself doesn’t know whether it was the military or some other force behind them.”

“That happened?”

That was something even the U.S. didn’t know.

Indeed, if I hadn’t heard it directly from him, I wouldn’t have known either.

“Yes, Kim Jongil told me himself.”

“My intelligence reports said his position was practically religious in its strength.”

“Through years of brainwashing-like education, the people revere him. But that’s only the common people. The elite each have their own thoughts.”

I laid out everything I knew in detail, hoping Bush might change his mind. But he didn’t.

“Thank you. That’s interesting information. Still, there will be no peace treaty. If Kim Jongil agrees to the conditions I stated, then I’ll consider talks.”

“······So be it.”

Further persuasion was pointless.

“Enough about North Korea. That’s not why I asked you here. I wanted to meet the owner of Dreamhigh. To thank you for your support to James. And since you insisted on meeting, I was glad.”

Bush shifted the subject naturally, turning to me.

“The sudden rise of Dreamhigh Investment shocked both Wall Street and us. And its owner turns out to be a Korean businessman······.”

Trailing off, Bush looked at me with interest.

“But Charlie, you’ve made too many enemies. I heard Eva was attacked in Japan.”

“How did you······? Do you know who was behind it?”

“Something that happened in Japan? Of course America would know.”

Bush’s tone suggested he knew. I sat straighter, clasped my hands, and looked at him.

“Then tell me—who was behind it?”

“Well, nothing certain. Just reports that the Cabinet Intelligence and Research Office was involved.”

“The Cabinet Intelligence and Research Office?”

Was the Japanese government involved after all? Remembering my call with Eva, I felt my face harden.

“Of course, the Prime Minister didn’t know. That much I can guarantee.”

“The Cabinet Intelligence Office reports only to the Prime Minister. And you say he didn’t know?”

“Yes. I spoke with him yesterday.”

If Bush had personally spoken with the Japanese Prime Minister, it was likely true—assuming the Prime Minister wasn’t lying.

“Then who was it?”

“Well, one of the deputy directors involved disappeared. Likely a cover-up.”

A deputy director disappearing—unexpected information that tangled my thoughts further.

I hadn’t even solved the North Korea issue. One mountain after another.

“What’s the Japanese government’s stance?”

“They’d rather it quietly go away.”

“That’s impossible.”

Bush smirked, amused.

“Then what? You’ll fight the Japanese government? Charlie, you’re just one man.”

“If I have to, I will.”

Bush raised his brows, then burst into laughter, his face full of interest. His reaction irritated me.

“Show some respect, Bush.”

“If I offended you, I apologize. I just found it amusing. A private individual declaring war on the Japanese government.”

“There won’t be a second time. I’ll take my leave.”

That was no way for a President to act. Insulted beyond measure, I decided to end the meeting.

As I rose, a chilling voice came from behind me.

“Even the President of South Korea doesn’t behave that way before me. We’re not finished. Sit.”

When I turned, the smile had vanished from Bush’s face.

“I’m not Clinton. I called you here to give you a warning in return for your support.”

At the word “warning,” I thought of someone and fixed my gaze on him. I had heard that word recently.

“A warning?” fгeewebnovёl.com

“Don’t act against our will.”

With that, heavy silence filled the office. Bush and I locked eyes, neither of us looking away.