Free Web Novel“A good father? Does that look good to you?”
Seo Jaehoon’s eyes gleamed. Then he burst out laughing.
“Cut the bullshit. Do you even know how I grew up? A good father?”
Seo Jaehoon, who had been laughing like a madman, twisted his face like a demon.
“That man isn’t doing this because my life matters. He needs a puppet to inherit the empire called Ilseong after him.”
After he finished speaking, Seo Jaehoon bit down hard on his lip. He bit so hard blood burst and trickled down.
“Kill me. It’s better to die here.”
It sounded almost solemn, but I shook my head.
The fact that he had lived a hard life had nothing to do with me.
“I already promised Chairman Seo Yonggeon to let you live. If I kill you here, that only does you a favor. Do you really want to die? Then go back and hang yourself or whatever. That would be good for you and for Ilseong.”
When I spoke coolly, Seo Jaehoon’s eyes rolled and gave off a chilly light.
Judging by the way he acted, if he made up his mind to die, he looked like he could end his life at any time.
But Seo Jaehoon did not die.
“But you won’t do that. You don’t want to die, right?”
Seo Jaehoon, who had been acting like a lunatic, clamped his mouth shut. Until the people Chairman Seo Yonggeon sent arrived, we just looked at each other in silence.
Soon the people sent by Chairman Seo Yonggeon arrived, and Seo Jaehoon left the Pyeongchang-dong residence with them.
After Seo Jaehoon left, I gave an order to Manager Ma.
“Starting today, we put Seo Jaehoon under close surveillance. Wiretapping or whatever—do everything we can.”
I had said I would not bother with him, but you cannot leave a bomb that could go off in any direction unattended.
All the more so when that bomb holds power.
I looked at the front gate through which Seo Jaehoon had exited and let out a sigh.
* * *
Slap!
As soon as he returned home from the hospital after receiving treatment, Seo Yonggeon slapped Seo Jaehoon across the face.
“You bastard...”
Even after being slapped, Seo Jaehoon only kept smiling.
“Why did you do it? What the hell were you thinking?”
“What do you mean, Chairman?”
“In Japan! Why did you act that way, huh? Is it true? Did you really hire the Yakuza to carry out a terrorist attack on Representative Eva?”
Seo Yonggeon asked, his body trembling. He could not hide his fury; it spilled out completely.
“Yes, it’s true. What’s the problem? I only did what I learned from you, Chairman.”
“What?”
“When someone gets in your way, you use whatever means necessary to get rid of them. That’s what you do. So I did the same.”
Seo Yonggeon froze for a moment, as if struck speechless by Seo Jaehoon’s brazen answer.
“Besides, shouldn’t the blame be on the failure, not the act itself? You’ve always told me to just bring results. You said the process doesn’t matter if the result is good.”
“...”
“I never thought I’d fail. I made full preparations and drove her like I was on a hunt, but who would have expected her to run into the Russian embassy? Not me, not the Japanese side either. That’s the only reason I failed.”
When Seo Jaehoon finished speaking, a look of devastation spread across Seo Yonggeon’s face.
As if drained of energy, he slumped into a chair and jerked his chin.
“Sit down.” freewёbnoνel.com
Once Seo Jaehoon sat, Seo Yonggeon rubbed his face roughly and let out a deep sigh.
“The problem isn’t the failure. This was something you should never have even tried.”
“...”
Seo Jaehoon gave no reply.
After glaring for a long while, Seo Yonggeon finally noticed his son’s bandaged hand. Pointing at it, he asked,
“What did the doctors say? Is it alright?”
Lifting his hand, Seo Jaehoon smiled.
“Well, they said it won’t affect daily life.”
There was something chilling about the obviously forced smile, but Seo Yonggeon pretended not to notice.
“That’s a relief. I hope you learned a lesson from this. One day you’ll inherit Ilseong from me. Small mistakes like this can pile up and strangle you later.”
“Yes, Chairman.”
“Good. But killing Representative Eva wouldn’t have reset everything. Why did you think it would?”
In Seo Yonggeon’s judgment, eliminating Eva would not solve the problem.
Yet Seo Jaehoon had gone ahead with the attack. He wanted to know the reason.
“Just... because I didn’t like her.”
“...I see. That can happen.”
Seo Yonggeon bit his lip at his son’s flat response, then sighed and gave a small nod.
“Anyway, the damage from this incident is enormous. We have to hand over the presidential campaign fund files to Kim Hakgwon, and give Kim Muhyuk Ilseong Electronics’ semiconductor technology.”
“...”
“Everything is tangled beyond repair. I don’t even know where it all went wrong.”
Seo Yonggeon felt nothing but frustration.
Not only had Ilseong Trading already slipped away, but just recently he had received word from a lawmaker in the Centrist Party.
A revised bill was about to be introduced—containing financial holding separation and governance reform.
He had ordered them to stop it by any means necessary, but he already knew it was impossible.
And right in the middle of trying to find countermeasures, Seo Jaehoon had caused a massive disaster.
“The succession work for management rights is going to take longer than expected. So don’t cause any more trouble. Focus only on company matters.”
“Understood.”
After saying that, Seo Yonggeon closed his eyes for a moment.
Seo Jaehoon looked at him, his gaze devoid of any emotion.
* * *
A few days later, just as Koizumi had predicted, Japan’s political scene turned chaotic.
The snowball that had begun with the attack on Eva in Tokyo quickly rolled into a full-blown internal scandal.
When the attack first happened, not a single line of news had been reported... but now it looked like the power struggle inside the LDP had begun in earnest.
“Did you liquidate everything?”
On the private jet flying toward Washington, I asked Han Kyungyeong. He looked up from his laptop.
“Yeah... damn it, my hands were shaking as I was selling. Do you know how much we lost?”
The losses from the spot market were heavy, but the amount blown in futures was far greater.
I had expected this. The bigger the prey, the more hyenas would rush in to devour it—there was no avoiding it.
“It couldn’t be helped. Still, we got out earlier than expected, so we got away with just this much damage. Japan’s economy will probably stabilize quickly. The aftereffects will remain, though. Maybe not as bad as Korea, but still.”
Han Kyungyeong lifted the wine glass at his side. His fingers were still trembling.
“Even if, as you say, things stabilize, the large-scale restructuring of Japanese banks is inevitable. That means plenty of companies will be put on the market. If I see something worthwhile, I’m thinking of acquiring it, packaging it nicely, and reselling. What do you think?”
“Do as you like. That’s what you’re good at.”
Even if companies came up for sale because of short-term financial pressure, Japanese corporations were known worldwide for their excellence.
If we wanted to offset some of our losses, the best way was to let Han Kyungyeong handle it on his own.
“Alright, I’ll take care of that.”
“Get some rest. Stop staring at the laptop. We’ve got plenty of time before we arrive.”
Shrugging, Han Kyungyeong shut the laptop. I rose from my seat and moved toward my office inside the jet.
The office had every convenience facility prepared.
“Manager, I’ll get some sleep. Wake me when we’re about to land.”
“Yes, Boss.”
There would be plenty to take care of once we arrived in America. I needed to store up my strength in advance.
I closed the office door and forced myself to sleep.
By the time we landed at Dulles Airport, the morning sun was rising.
“We’ll have to leave straight away.”
The inauguration ceremony began at 11 a.m. As soon as we got off the plane, we climbed into the waiting limousine and headed directly there.
By the time we reached Washington D.C., traffic control was already in place.
It was too difficult to move by car, so we got out near the Capitol and began walking.
Despite the cold weather, countless people were walking toward the Capitol to attend the inauguration.
At the Capitol, we were guided by the White House security team to our designated seats.
To the left of the platform were the former presidents and politicians. To the right were foreign dignitaries and other invited guests.
“The weather’s foul today.”
On inauguration day, the weather was anything but pleasant. Holding out my hand, I caught a few sleet flakes and murmured.
“Still, it’s surprising that Bush is treating us as honored guests, Boss.”
At Eric’s words, I nodded.
Our seats were in the very first row on the right side.
Sharing that row were the foreign ministers from Britain, France, and ◆ Nоvеlіgһt ◆ (Only on Nоvеlіgһt) Germany.
The Japanese foreign minister had been seated in the second row, and the Korean minister in the third.
It was a clear gesture that the Bush administration was paying attention not only to me but also to Han Kyungyeong and Eric.
Of course, they had no choice but to. Eric was the practical head of Black Bear, with deep ties to American generals.
Han Kyungyeong wielded major influence in New York and had donated vast sums in political funds.
As I was glancing around, the president stepped onto the platform, and the inauguration ceremony began.
The oath, blessed by both a Protestant pastor and a Catholic cardinal, was followed by Vice President Dick Cheney. Finally, it was Bush’s turn to swear in.
Placing his hand on Lincoln’s Bible, held by the First Lady, Bush recited:
— I, George Walker Bush, do solemnly swear that I will faithfully execute the office of President of the United States, and will to the best of my ability, preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States. So help me God!
At the conclusion of the oath, the military honor guard fired a 21-gun salute. The fervor of the inauguration intensified.
The U.S. Marine Band finished playing “Hail to the Chief,” and President Bush began his inaugural address.
— President Clinton, distinguished guests, and my fellow citizens...
Bush’s speech ended with a short, powerful closing line.
— May God bless you all, and may God bless America.
As his speech ended, thunderous applause broke out from the crowd.
After stepping down from the platform, President Bush finally approached former President Clinton and embraced him.
There were so many people around them that it looked impossible to have a proper conversation.
“Let’s head out for now. We can talk later at the inauguration party tonight.”
I rose from my seat first and spoke to Eric and Han Kyungyeong.
But the moment I stood up, the atmosphere at the ceremony suddenly shifted in a strange way.
Reporters photographing Bush and aides surrounding him began moving frantically.
The Chief of Staff approached Bush and started whispering in his ear.
With each word spoken, the smile on Bush’s face froze little by little.
‘What’s this?’
While I looked around in confusion, Han Kyungyeong pulled a cell phone from his suit pocket.
“Who is it?”
“The company. I told them not to call since I was attending the inauguration... What’s going on?”
Grumbling, Han Kyungyeong answered the call.
“I told you not to call, so why the hell—”
But he didn’t finish. His face hardened instantly at the urgent voice on the other end of the line.
I couldn’t make out what was being said, but judging from his expression, it was definitely not good news.
“Something happened at the World Trade Center... What, a plane? No, calm down and report it clearly.”
His muttered words, half in disbelief, made something click in my mind.
World Trade Center. Plane. Instinctively, I thought of 9/11.
“A plane suddenly crashed into the World Trade Center?”
Was 9/11 happening now? On the very day of the presidential inauguration?
It was eight months earlier than it should have been.
What had changed? My thoughts tangled like a knotted thread.
“Hey, Muhyuk.”
Han Kyungyeong’s voice brought me back to myself.
“They’re saying a plane suddenly flew into the World Trade Center.”
“...”
“Apparently all of New York has fallen into chaos...”
My legs gave out, and I sank back into my seat.
Han Kyungyeong sat down beside me and continued. fгee𝑤ebɳoveɭ.cøm
“The stock market and bond market are going to go crazy soon. What should we do? Should we dump all our stocks and bonds right now?”
His question jolted me back to focus.
“No. Absolutely not. Don’t even think about taking a single grain of profit from this.”
Seeing my face so rigid, Han Kyungyeong looked puzzled.
We must not profit from this. Absolutely not.
This was the first direct attack on American soil in 88 years.
The rage this incident would ignite in America was beyond imagination, and no one would be able to stand in its way.
“Don’t do it. Don’t give them a single reason to have leverage against us.”
Han Kyungyeong, who didn’t know the future, kept asking why.
But I couldn’t give him the answer.
