Free Web NovelAt Koizumi’s words, one name immediately came to mind.
If Japan launched a military provocation, that would strengthen the military’s influence.
And in that gap, they would move the army, stage a coup, and declare martial law.
It sounded like something out of a movie—something that could never actually happen. I clenched my trembling hand tightly and asked,
“Answer me. Is the person involved former President Choi Sun-man?”
When I saw the deep smile spreading across Koizumi’s face, unease surged through me.
A sharp pain throbbed behind my temples. I pressed my fingers to my forehead, massaging slowly as I waited for his reply.
“Yes. Former President Choi Sun-man is involved.”
“That crazy bastard! He’s completely insane! There’s a limit to how far madness should go!”
The moment I heard that Choi Sun-man was involved, I shot up from my seat, shouting curses.
Even though I’d spoken in Korean, Koizumi seemed to understand roughly what I meant—his brows knit in discomfort. But even that couldn’t calm my fury.
Startled by the sudden commotion, Manager Ma and Koizumi’s aide rushed into the room.
What they saw was me standing in a rage while Koizumi sat calmly, unflinching.
While Koizumi’s aide hesitated, Manager Ma immediately stepped toward ~Nоvеl𝕚ght~ me.
“Boss, are you all right?”
“...I’m fine. Step outside again.”
Barely managing to suppress my emotions, I nodded.
Manager Ma retreated with a worried look, and Koizumi also nodded for his aide to leave.
Taking a deep breath, I sat back down. My insides were still boiling, but I couldn’t afford to make a spectacle of myself.
“So, what you’re saying is that lunatics from Korea and Japan have joined hands and are throwing a tantrum together. Is that why you asked to meet me—to ask for my help?”
“Yes. After all, this whole situation started from the Russian military provocation that you triggered, Mr. Kim.”
“That was because your people provoked us first—”
Koizumi raised a hand leisurely, cutting me off.
“That’s not what’s important. The point is, if this really happens, I’ll have to step down as Prime Minister, and the outcome won’t be good for you either.”
He spoke with a voice full of self-assurance, as if he had seized the initiative.
His tone grated on me. I looked at Koizumi with a cold, sharp gaze.
‘Right, he’s still a Japanese bastard. I shouldn’t expect him to be any different.’
I quickly gathered myself and replied in an even tone.
“Well, I could just emigrate to the U.S. or Russia. That’d be the end of it.”
Of course, I had no such intention. I kept a perfect poker face as I went on.
“And even if I don’t, why should I get involved in something like this? I don’t have the ability to stop it anyway.”
But Koizumi wasn’t someone who had risen to Japan’s highest office without power.
Unfooled by my deflection, he maintained his smile as he said,
“I don’t think so. I believe you’ve worked all this time to seize Korea in the palm of your hand. But perhaps I was mistaken. If you truly feel that way, then let’s end this talk. That leaves me with only one option—to join hands with Daedonghoe.”
That sly snake. I stared coldly at him, and Koizumi merely shrugged.
“Don’t glare at me like that. If I want to stay in office, I have no choice but to crawl at their feet.”
“You’re saying you’re content to become a puppet Prime Minister?”
“I already am one. Nothing will change. All I have to do is obey their orders. But tell me, Mr. Kim—would that outcome benefit you?”
His voice was calm, but beneath it I could sense a faint anger.
I could tell who that anger was truly directed at. I didn’t respond immediately; I sank into thought.
The Koizumi I remembered was not the type to yield power easily.
He was a man so stubborn that he had once dissolved the House of Representatives just to push through his reforms.
No bluff would work on him. I decided to speak plainly.
“Fine. Let’s stop this pointless power play.”
At my words, Koizumi raised both hands lightly in a gesture of agreement.
“You have no intention of letting Daedonghoe pull your strings, and I also believe another military coup must never happen. If we share that goal, then we can work together.”
“That’s why I came to see you.”
“But there’s still something I don’t understand. Why me instead of the President? Do you actually think I can stop them?”
Looking him straight in the eye, I asked. Koizumi burst into laughter.
“Mr. Kim, once you sit in this seat, you begin to see things that were invisible before. You’re not the same man I first met. You’ve become... something else entirely.”
“...”
“What can President Kim Hak-gwon do, with his term nearly over? A man who only cares about holding onto his seat—do you think he could stop this even if he knew? No. He can’t. That’s why it’s meaningless to go to him.”
He wasn’t wrong. Still, hearing him speak so disdainfully about the President of my country—of Korea—didn’t sit well with me.
Naturally, my words came out sharper than intended. free𝑤ebnovel.com
“So, you think I can stop it.”
“Even if the U.S. knows in advance, would they stop it? No. If I were President Bush, I’d just watch. He’s that kind of man—one who only intervenes afterward to profit from the chaos. You know that too, don’t you?”
Koizumi avoided my question and instead put America on the table.
“The roots of Daedonghoe trace back to the war criminals who survived the Tokyo Trials. Their founder was Kishi Nobusuke.”
“Kishi Nobusuke?”
“Yes. The ‘Monster of the Shōwa Era,’ Tojo Hideki’s friend, an A-class war criminal—yet never tried, merely released. He was the one who crippled Article 9 of the peace constitution, which prohibited Japan from maintaining armed forces. And you think the U.S. didn’t know about the group he founded?”
If Kishi Nobusuke was the founder, there was no way America didn’t know.
He was a classic pro-American politician who had gone unpunished, serving as Japan’s Prime Minister after the war.
“They knew. And Daedonghoe has always been inseparable from Korea’s military regimes—more precisely, from the connection between Kishi Nobusuke and the man who led that regime. That man may be dead now, but his will lives on through former President Choi Sun-man. And Kishi Nobusuke’s will lives on through Daedonghoe. You think the U.S. doesn’t know that?”
Of course, America knew.
Even if they didn’t know about the coming military action, they certainly knew about the link between Daedonghoe and Choi Sun-man.
“I understand the general picture. But that still doesn’t answer my question. I asked whether I could stop it.”
A faint smile curved on Koizumi’s lips.
“Do you know? Wall Street hedge funds are playing tricks with the yen again.”
“Yes, I know.”
I nodded slightly. There was no way I could be unaware of what would later connect to the Irunpo Incident.
Han Kyungyeong had suggested we jump in too, but I’d refused.
The wars in Afghanistan and Iraq had shaken the U.S. economy, and the dollar’s value had visibly declined.
As a result, global capital had begun flocking to the yen—the next safest asset after the dollar.
The hedge funds across Wall Street and beyond still remembered the Asian Financial Crisis from only a few years earlier.
Turning their eyes toward Japan, they poured vast sums into its foreign exchange market, intent on stripping it bare once more.
“We’re in the middle of a currency war now. The Ministry of Finance and the Bank of Japan are throwing everything they have at the hedge funds. It’s almost funny.”
The smile on his lips deepened—cold, even chilling.
“Compared to what you did to Japan, Mr. Kim, these attacks are child’s play. You took losses, but they can’t afford to lose.”
I had never underestimated Japan’s resilience.
But I’d won my war because I had been willing to take losses.
It had only been possible because of the unique circumstances following the Asian crisis.
After my assault, Japan had fortified its currency defenses to make sure such humiliation never happened again.
When the hedge funds bought yen, Japan bought dollars in return.
In this tense standoff, the side that flinched first would suffer enormous damage.
A taut rubber band—whoever let go first would feel the snap.
And I already knew who the victor would be.
To challenge Japan—the world’s largest holder of U.S. Treasury bonds—was a fatal mistake for the hedge funds.
“We’ve already warned them,” Koizumi said. “No more tricks. If it happens again, we won’t stay quiet.”
I had seen the press conference myself.
A long statement, but it boiled down to this:
— Don’t do it. If you do, you’re the ones who’ll get screwed.
Japan had been polite enough to warn them, but of course, the financial hyenas of the world wouldn’t back down just because of that.
They had prepared trillions of dollars in capital and had already begun buying yen like mad.
Using leverage, they bought even more.
Japan, having already secured a non-intervention promise from the U.S., officially declared war on the hedge funds.
“It’s all thanks to your precedent, Mr. Kim. We took thorough precautions after that. Only then did I realize I had misjudged you. To risk your wealth for your goals—to have both the ruthlessness and the talent to build such a network... No ordinary man could do that.”
Koizumi’s praise was so excessive it almost sounded like flattery.
But I didn’t take any of it at face value. He was still a politician—and a Japanese one.
Rather than reflecting on the humiliation he’d once suffered at my hands, he was likely justifying it by glorifying me.
“The influence you have in Russia and the U.S. is unmatched in East Asia. With your wealth, I believe you could stop this from happening.”
“All right. Suppose I could stop it. What do I get out of it?”
“I think the fall of those who threaten you in Korea would be a fair reward.”
I let out a short laugh. Trying to swindle me, was he?
“That doesn’t add up. That’s not compensation for stopping this. That’s something I’ll take myself anyway. I’m talking about what you—or more precisely, Prime Minister Koizumi—stand to gain from this deal.”
“If we’re both acting out of mutual interest, why demand compensation? Isn’t it enough that we each do our part?”
I rubbed my chin casually. Koizumi was indeed a seasoned politician, but as he’d said himself, his mistake was underestimating me.
“As I said before, I can leave for America, Europe, or even Russia. Sure, I’ve invested a lot in Korea, but losing it won’t kill me. If I just give up my citizenship, you can imagine how much I’d profit instantly. So tell me, if I moved Dreamhigh into this yen war—could you still win?”
Koizumi’s lips parted slightly. Unlike his usual sharpness, he now looked startled—taken aback by my calm but explosive words.
He should be. The content was a bomb, even if the tone was serene.
“As you said, I’m willing to take losses. Chicken games are my specialty. So tell me, what can you offer me in return? Greed leads to ruin, Prime Minister.”
“Mr. Kim...”
Koizumi’s face hardened. He knew that if I intervened, victory could no longer be guaranteed.
Ignoring his attempt to speak, I continued.
“Or, I could always join hands with Daedonghoe. The matter of Dokdo’s sovereignty? What does that have to do with me? I’m not a politician. If they promise to sever ties with Choi Sun-man, that would be enough, wouldn’t it? I could wait until I eliminate Choi Sun-man myself—cut off his limbs in the meantime.”
“...”
“Tell me I’m wrong. I can work with anyone. Daedonghoe hasn’t harmed me directly, after all.”
It was, of course, a complete bluff.
Koizumi wouldn’t have fallen for it under normal circumstances. But after the bomb I’d just dropped, he was off balance—so I decided to take the gamble.
I had no intention of allying with a festering relic like Daedonghoe, nor of abandoning my nationality.
Our goals could never align; they dreamed of reviving a new Japanese empire.
But there was no need for Koizumi to know that.
“Now then, Prime Minister Koizumi. Tell me what I get. Only then can this conversation end with something meaningful.”
My voice, demanding a rightful price, sounded cold—even to my own ears.
