Free Web NovelWhat Choi Sunman was holding was a picture of his granddaughter.
Was she about eight years old? A small child running and laughing with the bodyguards.
The photo had been taken from a very close distance, and Choi Sunman’s face hardened instantly.
“You tried to hide them, but it’s pointless. If I so wish, I can have every member of the President’s family killed.”
The hand holding the photo trembled violently.
“Do you think I came into the enemy’s den unprepared? To meet the President who has bathed in so much blood to sit on that throne?”
“...Don’t make clumsy threats.”
“Threats... Mr. President, do you know what the difference between you and me is?”
I formed a gun with my fingers and aimed it playfully at Choi Sunman.
“Unlike you, I’ve never once backed down. So stop with the half-hearted intimidation.”
“Do you think I’ll just stand by? You also have a grandmother...”
“If you want to die miserably at the end of your life, go ahead. My grandmother is my leash. But if that leash is cut—tell me, who do you think the rabid dog will bite first?”
The moment he mentioned Grandma, I wiped the smile off my face.
Just hearing her name from that filthy mouth disgusted me.
Our gazes collided fiercely in midair.
How long did that silence last? Eventually, Choi Sunman averted his eyes first and raised a hand.
“Hyeok-ah, put the gun down.”
“Mr. President.”
“Put it down. This one’s the real deal.”
“I can take care of him right now—”
“Hyeok-ah!”
Choi Sunman cut off Jang Minhyuk’s words with a shout that sounded like a scream.
“Understood, Mr. President.”
Biting his lip, Jang Minhyuk lowered his gun. Once he holstered it, Choi gestured with his chin.
“Leave us. I’ll call you back when this talk is done.”
What a joke. I blocked him from sending Jang Minhyuk out.
“You should listen too, Chief Jang. Tricks like that don’t work on me.”
If he left, he’d start making calls everywhere, checking on his family’s safety.
Do filthy men always grow foolish with age?
“Mr. President, let’s not waste strength uselessly.”
“...Fine. Let’s stop this. I’ll step away from the upcoming election.”
He made it look like he was backing down.
Anyone can say words like that. I never believed this man for a second.
He was obviously pretending to retreat while plotting something behind the scenes.
I had to make sure he was crushed completely this time.
“Do you think it’ll all end if you just get through this moment?”
“What do you mean by that?”
“As soon as your family’s safety is secured, you’ll start scheming again.”
Choi Sunman ground his teeth as he replied.
“You already know everything. What else could I possibly do? You know every card I have. I’ll withdraw from this election.”
“This isn’t the end, is it?”
“...”
How little he must think of me, to still «N.o.v.e.l.i.g.h.t» try lying.
If he’d just been honest, he wouldn’t have sunk this low.
So I decided to play his hidden card first.
“Even so, asking Japan for help was too much. You were actually planning to move the Self-Defense Forces? Were you not afraid of how people would see that? Let’s see... wasn’t the ghost of Imperial Japan that you made a deal with called Daedonghoe?”
His eyes widened. So he really had put faith in them.
I smiled faintly and went on.
“I never imagined the Daedonghoe would survive and become Japan’s secret shadow organization. Do you still trust those people?”
“You even know about Daedonghoe? Impressive. Anything else you’d like to shock me with? Go on, tell me—how much do you know?”
If he was curious, I’d tell him. I shrugged.
“Only the scenario you planned, Mr. President. The Self-Defense Forces seize Dokdo by force, the Korean military goes into emergency mode, all eyes turn east, and while everyone’s distracted, the army moves. They seize key facilities like the Blue House and the National Assembly, then declare martial law. I may not know every detail of what follows, but I know most of it.”
“...”
At my words, Choi Sunman looked at Jang Minhyuk. The two exchanged blank stares, blinking as if dazed.
“How could you even think of giving up Dokdo, no matter how much you crave power?”
I let out an exaggerated sigh and glanced at both men.
A soldier and a politician, lusting for authority instead of protecting their nation—it was pathetic.
“Do you really have to crave power that desperately? I can’t understand it.”
When this comes to light, who will take responsibility?
Certainly not Choi Sunman, the mastermind.
“There are no eternal secrets in this world. Did you really think this would stay buried forever? Do you think they’d be satisfied with just Dokdo?”
He glared at me and spat his words like venom.
“Things are different now. As long as America holds its position, once we give them Dokdo, we can stand with them.”
“Ha...”
I sighed deeply, but he went on, his voice shaking with rage.
“You don’t understand! If they choose to, Japan can make Korea move any way they want. They’ll reach for Asia again, just like before. We can’t defeat their power, their capital, their influence. I joined hands with them for my country’s sake. It’s the only way to save it...”
Such pitiful excuses—tedious, really.
I cut him off before my ears got dirtier.
“That’s self-justification. Selling out your nation like a traitor—how could that ever be for your country? That’s treason, pure and simple.” ƒree𝑤ebnσvel.com
At the word traitor, Choi Sunman’s voice rose. The veins bulged on his forehead; his furious face was almost impressive.
“How dare you judge me! Long before you were even born, I shed blood for this country in Vietnam. As President, I worked endlessly for economic growth. If you’d lived through those times, you wouldn’t dare say such things to me!”
That still doesn’t erase the fact that you tried to sell out your nation.
Maybe he felt his entire life was being denied—his whole body shook.
He no longer looked like a charismatic former President, just a stubborn old man drunk on pride.
“Well, I don’t deny you completely, Mr. President. You’re still part of history. But this time, you’ve crossed the line.”
“This country has no future as it is! Kim Jongil killed our soldiers, and yet everyone was too obsessed with football to care! Is this a country?”
He truly didn’t understand what he’d done wrong.
“Do you know how furious I was at the memorial service for the fallen? No one remembered them. Everyone just watched Kim Jongil’s moods. Kim Hakgwon created that so-called Four Engagement Principles and sent them to their deaths!”
“I don’t know why the conversation’s going that way. Their deaths were tragic, but that doesn’t justify what you did. You’d already joined hands with Japan long before that.”
I answered firmly, and Choi Sunman slammed the table again.
“Do you know why I couldn’t trust Kim Hakgwon, why I couldn’t trust the Progressive government? Even after six young naval officers died, they clung to their peace policy! We bled for this country, and now they’re destroying it! I couldn’t just sit and watch!”
His scream-like excuses drew only a cold smile from me.
So talkative when cornered.
“Mr. President, do you realize your words are getting unnecessarily long?”
“...”
“Let’s be honest now. Just say you wanted power. Say you couldn’t let go of it. I’d at least understand that—it’s human nature, isn’t it?”
Seeing the faint sneer on my face, he gave a hollow laugh.
“And how are you any different? You’re doing all this for power too, aren’t you? Don’t pretend you’re clean. Don’t you dare... don’t you dare smile like that in front of me!”
“Well. You gave up nuclear weapons for America’s approval, and now you’ve bowed to Japan for another term. No, more precisely—you surrendered.”
His clenched fist trembled.
“Twice, in fact. There’s no excuse left. For the sake of the country? If you truly want to serve it, then do nothing. The times have changed, Mr. President. The ghosts of the old era must now disappear. You asked what makes me different, didn’t you?”
I met his bloodshot eyes head-on.
“I never bow to anyone. Not America, not Russia, not Japan. I have never bent my head to any great power.”
“You really think some loan-shark scum can do that? What can that petty money of yours possibly do? Without power, everything you have will be taken by those who do!”
Is there anything money can’t buy? If there is, then you simply don’t have enough of it.
I bought power with money. Not just power—authority, people, everything.
“A mere loan shark, you say? That ‘mere loan shark’ brought the Japanese government to its knees. I am Putin’s friend—and the partner of Hu Jintao, the next President of China.”
“So I’ve heard. You go around claiming to be Putin’s friend? Ridiculous.”
“Oh, you already know? Then maybe it’s not that you doubt it—it’s that you can’t accept it.”
I answered casually, and Choi Sunman ground his teeth.
“Unlike you, Mr. President, I’ve never lived watching America’s face. I owe them nothing, so I don’t have to care what they think. You spent your life under their thumb. I do as I wish. If anyone stands in my way, I’ll crush them—whoever they are.”
I checked my watch. It was almost time to strike Daigo Tadashige’s mansion.
“Do you know the name of the Daedonghoe leader you joined hands with? Daigo Tadashige.”
“How do you know that man?”
“That man? Ha!”
A former President, calling not Japan’s Prime Minister but some underworld figure that man with reverence.
“You denied it, yet you call yourself their pawn. But that’s irrelevant now. His time ends tonight.”
Choi Sunman frowned, confused.
“What do you mean, the Daedonghoe leader’s time ends?”
“The gang war that broke out in Japan—do you think that was a coincidence? Or the Prime Minister’s sudden declaration to deploy the Self-Defense Forces? You think that was just chance?”
He opened and closed his mouth, speechless.
“All of it—coincidence? Don’t you think the timing is strange? Why now? If deployment was all it took, why replace the chiefs of staff?”
“You’re saying you orchestrated it all? That’s insanity—a full-blown delusion!”
He didn’t believe it. His eyes flickered between doubt and fear as I poured the cooled tea into my cup.
“I heard all the Yakuza bosses are gathering at Daigo Tadashige’s house. And coincidentally, the Russian mafia and the Chinese triads he’s at war with have learned the location. What do you think will happen?”
I lifted the teacup to my lips.
Even cold, the aroma was exquisite.
“...No way.”
“A stray bullet from the crossfire might just find its way into Daigo Tadashige’s skull. Of course, that’s just my imagination—if you believe that.”
“...”
“And since they’ll all be gathered, his successor may die with him. I wonder if a decapitated Daedonghoe can survive.”
“You... what on earth are you doing! Do you plan to start a war?”
A war, he says. Seems the real delusional one is on that side. I set the cup down and smiled faintly.
“I did nothing. I merely drew out their greed. They chose to gather; that was their decision.”
“The Japanese government won’t let you live. This is terrorism!”
“Well, that depends. If Prime Minister Koizumi knows, things are different. He’s the one who most desperately wants Daedonghoe erased.”
It was time to wrap this up. I silently looked at Choi Sunman, who could only glare at me now.
“Mr. President, do nothing. Spend the rest of your days as if you’re already dead. If you ever step forward again, it won’t end with words next time. If you want to lose everything you have, then go ahead—act.”
