Free Web NovelWhen I rejected him firmly, Bo Yibo’s brows creased.
“For your own business, wouldn’t it be better if Kim Jongil were removed?”
“That’s correct. As long as Kim Jongil exists, I will not conduct any business with North Korea. But I also do not want China or the United States to intervene and overthrow the regime. If that happens, the other side will try to assert the same level of influence. Isn’t that so? The moment the U.S. carries out a decapitation strike against Kim Jongil, China will move its troops to the border.”
Of course, it would not escalate into a full-scale war.
But if the person who replaces Kim Jongil appears through the instigation of one of them, whether it’s the U.S. or China, the other side will inevitably feel threatened.
And then the same pattern as before would repeat.
If that happened, it would only become harder for me to accomplish what I envisioned.
“In the end, nothing will change from the past.”
“What exactly are you trying to say? That we should just let it collapse naturally? I have no intention of that. This will be the final task of my life.”
Not once had I considered the possibility that China might directly try to topple Kim Jongil’s regime.
In the future I knew, China always defended North Korea.
Of course, that wasn’t because they liked Kim Jongil or Kim Jongun, who would later take power.
It was purely political—because it benefited them.
But in this life, everything had been overturned because of my involvement.
Just like now, with Bo Yibo trying to oust Kim Jongil. This never happened in the previous timeline.
“Artificial intervention cannot bring real change to North Korea. As I said, the United States will continue the tension as long as North Korea refuses to abandon nuclear weapons. That is not good for China either. Allow the regime to collapse naturally, and let them choose their own path afterwards. That is the best course.”
“Nonsense! North Korea has always been under our influence. What can America do? Nukes? They will abandon them if we tell them to. We simply have to protect them.”
Bo Yibo looked as if his mind was already set. I shook my head, taking on a tone as though stepping back.
“If that is your conclusion, then proceed as you wish. I will not intervene. I don’t understand why you’re even proposing this to me.”
Of course, I did understand.
Instead of the Chinese government directly taking action and absorbing the cost, using me would make things easier.
If I stepped forward, I could block Russian and American interference. That was why they were trying these cheap tricks.
“Then we will not vote in favor of the sanctions.”
Bo Yibo spoke with finality. If I yielded here, I would lose the initiative forever.
“Is that so? Do the rest of you feel the same way?”
I looked around at the others, not at Bo Yibo.
But no answer came back.
The moment he framed it as the ‘final task’ of his life, no one dared oppose him.
I glanced at Wen Jiabao, with whom I had already discussed matters to a certain degree, but he avoided my eyes.
If he spoke now, even Wen Jiabao could lose his position. I understood that well enough.
‘I should withdraw for now.’
I rose from my seat without hesitation.
“If everyone here feels that way, then there is nothing more to discuss. Whether you oppose the sanctions, support them, or kill Kim Jongil, act as you please. I will consider everything said today as unheard.”
A deep look of confusion crossed Bo Yibo’s face.
“President Kim. This would benefit you as well. Why oppose it so strongly?”
“There is no benefit in artificially manipulating something that would naturally resolve itself. If you fail, or if you’re exposed, who knows what Kim Jongil will do? He is already unpredictable. He might really attack South Korea. Therefore, I will remove myself from this.”
“.......”
Bo Yibo didn’t answer, only glaring at me. I met his eyes without backing down.
His expression twisted even more, displeased.
“A shame, but I’ll take my leave. It was an honor to meet the distinguished elders here. It would’ve been better if we reached a good conclusion.”
I inclined my head slightly and turned to leave.
“Mr. Kim Muhyuk!”
Jiang Zemin called out loudly behind me, but I didn’t stop walking.
When I opened the door, the men who had searched me earlier were standing in front of it, blocking my way.
Hearing the raised voices from inside, they had moved to stop me.
Judging by their hardened expressions, they wouldn’t move without a direct order. I turned my head toward Hu Jintao.
“President Hu Jintao? What exactly is this supposed to be?”
Hu Jintao looked troubled as he scanned the room. Then he issued a command to the men.
“Step aside.”
Only then did they move out of the way.
I lightly pushed past them and walked out.
“Are you leaving now?”
The elderly guide approached and asked. He glanced worriedly at the room behind me, then quickly closed the door.
“Yes. It’s time for me to go.”
He nodded and spoke to a guard.
“Bring back the phone we stored earlier.”
I retrieved the phone I had surrendered, then followed the old man out.
A moment later, Manager Ma joined us and we left the villa.
“We will escort you straight to the hotel. Until next time.”
I took the same car back to Beijing.
As soon as I entered my hotel room, I called Manager Ma.
“Manager.”
With a nod, he quickly opened a bag containing scanning equipment. He moved through the suite, searching for listening devices.
It didn’t take long for him to find five bugs.
“Destroy them.”
He crushed every device. Since I suspected they’d tampered with my phone too, we destroyed that as well.
“They really don’t know when to stop.”
It was always like this. Every time I visited China, finding bugs in my accommodation was part of the routine.
You’d think they would give up after failing so many times, but they were persistent.
Manager Ma pulled out another case and activated a laser-based anti-listening system. With this, no surveillance from outside could pick up our conversation.
And then I spoke in earnest. Manager Ma and I discussed countermeasures late into the night.
By now, those men back at the villa were probably locked in heated debate as well.
Even though I stormed out of the meeting, I couldn’t give up on this matter either.
If the sanctions vote failed, a real war might break out.
Even if Yoon Changho said during his U.S. visit that war must never happen, the neocon hardliners would push Bush until he agreed to it.
The United States, victorious in Afghanistan and Iraq, felt fear of nothing.
“For now, let’s wait and see. Their heads must be spinning too.”
No matter how many angles we examined, no perfect solution emerged.
We talked for a long time, and only at dawn did I finally fall asleep.
I woke to my phone ringing early in ~Nоvеl𝕚ght~ the morning.
“......Hello.”
— Hey, hey! Muhyuk!
Myungsoo’s urgent voice jolted me awake completely.
“What is it? What happened this time?”
— North Korea launched another missile.
“What? Again?”
The interval between North Korea’s provocations was shrinking.
I began to wonder if Kim Jongil was truly losing control.
“Myungsoo, hold on.”
Having slept at dawn and waking suddenly, my head felt slow and heavy.
I stepped out of the bedroom and into the living room.
“Manager, coffee please.”
I sat down on the sofa as Manager Ma went to prepare it.
“Tell me again. When did they launch it?”
— Thirty minutes ago. Into the East Sea. It’s on TV as breaking news.
“You’re still in Washington, right?”
— Yeah.
“Check the atmosphere there and call me back. I’ll check China’s reaction.”
— Okay. But is Kim Jongil senile now? How long has it been since the nuclear test? And he’s already launching more missiles?
“Sigh... I don’t know either. Let me look into it.”
After hanging up, I pushed back my messy hair.
Right then, Manager Ma handed me a warm cup of coffee.
“Manager, turn on the TV.”
He switched it on. The wide screen showed breaking news of the missile launch.
I watched silently. Even Chinese media hadn’t grasped the full picture yet—they were speaking vaguely without details.
I sighed and turned the TV off. Manager Ma sat down carefully.
“What are they thinking?”
“They must be that desperate. America already believes the nuclear test failed.”
“Even so, the UN hasn’t convened yet... If they keep provoking now, they’re only cutting their own throat. No one will help them. The fact that they’re making this choice must mean something serious is happening inside North Korea. I need to look into it properly.”
If it wasn’t internal division, then Kim Jongil really had gone mad.
Either way, not knowing the internal situation was frustrating. freewebnovёl.ƈom
“At this rate, he might actually fire a missile at South Korea. Damn it.”
It was maddening—logic did not work with that country.
For a moment, I even wondered if I should accept Bo Yibo’s proposal and have Kim Jongil removed quickly.
As I was organizing my thoughts, the doorbell rang. Manager Ma went to the door.
“Who is it?”
“President Hu Jintao sent me.”
Manager Ma looked back at me. I nodded slightly.
The door opened and a man stepped in, bowing.
“President Hu Jintao requests that you come to his office.”
“He has more to say?”
“I know nothing. I was simply ordered to escort you.”
I nodded.
“Wait a moment.”
“Yes. I’ll wait in the lobby.”
After he left, I turned to Manager Ma.
“Get ready.”
“Yes.”
A short while later—
We arrived at Qinzheng Hall inside Beijing’s Zhongnanhai.
The most secretive place in China.
The offices of the Politburo Standing Committee were all located here.
I followed the aide into the innermost office—President Hu Jintao’s.
“Oh! President Kim, welcome.”
“Yes, sir.”
Only Hu Jintao and Wen Jiabao were waiting for me.
“Please, sit.”
I sat across from Wen Jiabao. After exchanging a brief glance, Hu Jintao began.
“You are aware that Kim Jongil launched another missile?”
“Yes. I received word from the U.S. before coming.”
“Yes. And just before the launch, he notified our government again.”
I nodded. If they’d known yesterday, they wouldn’t have reacted the way they did.
“Furthermore, it turns out the launch wasn’t planned at all. This is essentially a declaration of challenge against us.”
“Perhaps. ‘Do not provoke us. If you do, we will respond even stronger.’ This might be his desperation strategy. No one expected him to provoke again before the UN Security Council even convened.”
Hu Jintao let out a heavy sigh.
“We didn’t expect it either. Ever since the nuclear test, we have been watching Pyongyang closely, but this happened abruptly. This is a challenge to us. We cannot overlook it.”
“I see. But why call me again? Wasn’t yesterday’s discussion finished?”
“President Kim Muhyuk.”
Hu Jintao spoke in a solemn tone.
“China will actively support passing the sanctions.”
“Hmm.”
“You only need to keep your promise from yesterday. Proceed with constructing the oil pipeline between Russia and China.”
At last, the answer I wanted.
But now, such a promise alone was no longer enough.
