Free Web NovelKim Jongil ordered that everyone listed be contacted and told to come immediately.
“Good enough?”
“Chairman Comrade······.”
Jang Songthaek couldn’t bring himself to continue.
“If you’re going to do it, do it properly.”
“Thank you. I will burn this one body of mine for the Republic.”
“For the Republic, huh······. Once you sit in my seat, you’ll understand why I had no choice but to act like this. This won’t be the end. My brother-in-law toppled me and seized power. Do you think the other bastards won’t harbor the same thoughts? My brother-in-law will end up just like me.”
“······.”
Kim Jongil let out a snort at the sight of Jang Songthaek silently staring at him.
“Don’t think so? You little shit. You think you’re different. That you won’t be like me. That’s what you’re thinking inside, isn’t it?”
Exposed, Jang Songthaek forced an awkward smile.
Seeing that, the corners of Kim Jongil’s mouth curled even higher.
“Fine. We’ll see. I need some rest. You may leave.”
At Kim Jongil’s dismissal, Jang Songthaek rose, bowed, and went outside.
The moment he stepped out, Jang Songthaek looked for Igor.
“Chairman Kim Jongil has agreed to help me.”
He explained the plan to Igor. After hearing everything, Igor gave a small nod.
“Hmm. It certainly is the easiest method.”
“Exactly. So gather all the mercenaries inside this special residence. That way they won’t grow suspicious.”
“Understood.”
Agreeing readily, Igor raised his radio.
He then summoned everyone except Team Five, which was stationed at sniper points keeping watch over the area.
After issuing the orders, Igor tucked the radio back against his chest and issued a warning.
“Do not attempt anything foolish. If I give the order, this building will disappear without a trace. Along with everyone inside it.”
“······Aren’t we comrades on the same boat?”
“Think whatever makes you comfortable. As long as you’re holding hands with the boss, I’ll listen to what you say.”
“Much appreciated. With President Kim Muhyuk watching with both eyes open, do you really think I’d harbor other thoughts?”
Igor didn’t answer. He simply looked quietly into Jang Songthaek’s eyes and thought.
‘The boss told me never to trust Jang Songthaek.’
But unaware of that, Jang Songthaek took Igor’s silence as consent and continued.
“Ah, later on, the arrest operation will need to be handled by the mercenaries.”
Igor nodded and replied without hesitation.
“We’ll do it.”
Jang Songthaek headed toward Kim Jongil’s study on the first floor.
* * *
“Hmm.”
Waking up, I picked up the clock on the table and checked the time.
“I slept a lot.”
Shaking myself awake, I poured water into the cup beside me. The cold water cleared my head a little.
When I finally stepped outside, Manager Ma was already waiting.
“Boss, did you sleep well?”
“Yes. I’m hungry. It’s a bit much for a full meal, so prepare some coffee and a piece of toast and bring it to the study. Let’s talk there.”
“Yes. I’ll do that.”
I went straight into the study.
A short while later, Manager Ma entered with coffee, toast, and some snacks.
Lifting the coffee cup, I asked,
“Any calls while I was resting?”
Manager Ma handed me my phone and explained who had contacted me.
Nodding, I checked the call log and first dialed Han Kyungyeong.
— Hey! Kim Muhyuk!
The moment he answered, Han Kyungyeong raised his voice.
“You’re going to burst my eardrums.”
— So how did it go? Did it work out?
“The first button’s been fastened properly. From here on, it’s Jang Songthaek’s job. If he fails to seize power, then Kim Jongil will have to die.”
— ······So you’re saying it worked, at least for now?
“Yes.”
— Holy shit. This actually worked.
I took a sip of coffee, set the cup down, and picked up the toast.
“By the way, how much North Korean debt have you gathered?”
I had secretly ordered him to buy up North Korean government bonds scattered all over the place.
I’d also stressed that he should handle it personally and not entrust it to anyone else.
North Korea had declared default in the 1980s and announced it would not repay its debts. freeweɓnovel.cѳm
From that point on, the price of North Korean bonds had collapsed on the bond market. Collapse was almost too generous a word.
Normally, even defaulted bonds were valued at around 5% at best.
And that was only when there was at least some chance of recovery.
But strangely enough, North Korean bonds were trading at around 10% of face value.
It was because of the hope that if the two Koreas unified, South Korea would repay North Korea’s debts.
— About four billion dollars at face value.
“How much did it cost?”
— Surprisingly little. Governments everywhere were tripping over themselves to sell. Probably because of the current blockade on North Korea. We picked most of them up between five and ten percent of face value. They kept asking why we were buying them, though.
“Haha, of course they would. It’s not just anyone—it’s you buying North Korean bonds. It’d be strange not to ask.”
— Still, like you said, I didn’t even bring it up with China or Russia.
More than half of North Korea’s debt was owed to the Chinese and Russian governments.
“So we’ve basically acquired most of the bonds held by other governments and banks?”
— Yeah. At this point, even if we wanted to buy more, we can’t. And in the middle of all this, someone else is buying North Korean bonds too.
“Really?”
An odd sense of déjà vu washed over me. I set the toast down.
Are they following us and buying them up as well? Or is it something else······.
— I focused more on the bonds held by governments than on the market. But not long after we started negotiations, someone showed up on the bond market buying North Korean bonds.
“You don’t know who?”
The North Korean bonds traded on the market weren’t issued directly by North Korea.
A French bank had bought up the debt owed to over a hundred banks across more than thirty countries, then used it to create zero-interest derivative bonds.
It was a trick designed to cleverly skirt UN-led economic sanctions.
And now someone was buying those.
At the same time Han Kyungyeong was traveling around negotiating with governments.
— Yeah. I didn’t have the mental bandwidth to dig into that. Do you know how many countries I’ve been hopping between in a single month?
“Only a handful of people inside Dreamhigh know about this, right?”
— That’s right. Fewer than ten.
“Run an audit on them. Contact Black Bear too and tear everything apart.”
Han Kyungyeong fell silent for a moment. Then he asked carefully,
— Are you suspecting them?
“I hope not······. But it’d be good to clean house while we have the chance.”
— Got it. I’ll proceed that way. But the reason you’re buying the bonds is because you’re confident you can collect on them, right?
“Exactly. Otherwise there’d be no reason to buy them.”
With suspicion creeping into his voice, Han Kyungyeong muttered,
— You think you can collect the full face value?
“Haha. We’ll make it happen. Not just the principal—every last bit of the overdue interest too. Let’s talk later.”
After ending the call, I finished the cold toast and coffee.
After the light meal, I sank briefly into thought.
There were several reasons for buying other countries’ North Korean debt at dirt-cheap prices.
First, to prevent those countries from using the bonds as leverage in negotiations with North Korea.
Second, to /N_o_v_e_l_i_g_h_t/ secure a stake in North Korea’s development on equal footing with China and Russia.
Third, because handing over bonds and receiving receipts would be less burdensome for Jang Songthaek than presenting an empty invoice.
Things are going to get even busier. Once I sorted through the tangled thoughts in my head, a smile escaped me.
* * *
The United States, Russia, China, and even Japan—every country surrounding the Korean Peninsula—were exchanging information beneath the surface, keenly watching the flow of the situation.
But unlike me, who could hear the internal details directly, they had limited information to work with.
“So Kim Jongil made an unexpected choice?”
Listening to Igor’s explanation, I let out a sigh of admiration.
— I had no choice but to nod when Jang Songthaek first told me as well. It’s the easiest method.
It certainly was easy.
But could Kim Jongil’s cooperation really be trusted so completely?
And would people really come without suspicion just because of Kim Jongil’s order?
There were too many variables.
“So how many have arrived?”
— About half. We’ve detained those who came.
“Half? Kim Jongil personally ordered them to come, and only half showed up?”
— I heard he deliberately instructed them to arrive at different times. He thought it would seem suspicious if everyone arrived at once.
Even so, the number gathered was far too small.
Kim Jongil had issued the order in his own voice.
In North Korea, disobeying that was treason.
After a moment’s thought, I asked Igor for the list of those successfully detained.
Igor asked me to wait. A short while later, he read the names out one by one.
Cho Myongrok, Director of the General Political Bureau.
Kim Youngchun, Chief of the General Staff of the Korean People’s Army.
Kim Ilsung, Minister of the People’s Armed Forces.
Hyeon Cheolhae, Deputy Director of the General Political Bureau.
In addition, numerous high-ranking North Korean figures had been captured.
Most of them were men who had loyally served the Kim family and the Republic from the days of Kim Ilsung through Kim Jongil.
But the most important name was missing.
“What about Ri Ulsol? Has he not arrived yet?”
— No. He’s not on the list.
Considering Ri Ulsol’s influence within the military, he should have been summoned before even Cho Myongrok.
Yet he still hadn’t arrived. This feels like things are getting tangled.
“What about Jang Songthaek?”
— He’s speaking with the detainees now. He says he’ll persuade them to join his side.
“What? Persuade them? Are these people who would listen? No—at best they’ll shake hands in front of him now, but later they’ll stab him in the back······.”
I couldn’t understand Jang Songthaek’s actions.
Was he trying to act differently from Kim Jongil, or did he truly believe he could persuade them and make them his people?
If he didn’t purge them, nothing would change—only the head would switch from Kim Jongil to Jang Songthaek.
“Call Jang Songthaek. Right now.”
— Yes. Please wait a moment.
A short while later, Jang Songthaek’s voice came through.
— President Kim Muhyuk. You called for me?
“What do you think you’re doing right now? Do you intend to keep them alive? Do you truly believe they’ll follow you?”
— Killing them all isn’t possible. They are figures who, in our Republic······.
What nonsense. I raised my voice.
“Director Jang. Is the Republic you dream of merely a country where the throne changes from Kim Jongil to you? Were all those words you spoke to me about serving the people just empty talk?”
— Of course not. I joined hands with you, President Kim Muhyuk, to carry out this operation for the sake of the people.
“Then your actions right now say otherwise. Can I trust you?”
As I pressed him, Jang Songthaek replied in a slightly heated tone.
— Are you telling me to kill them all?
“Kill them, exile them, or lock them away in prison for life—handle that however you want. New wine must be poured into new bottles. What kind of change do you think you can achieve by keeping them around?”
— ······.
There was no answer.
“Director Jang. Kim Jongil knows your soft-hearted nature. Did you think that if he prevented open conflict in advance and had them arrested, you’d definitely try to persuade them?”
— ······That can’t be. The Chairman has already given up everything. He begged only for his and his family’s lives to be spared.
I clicked my tongue without realizing it. Truly living in a fantasy.
No wonder he ended up getting his head cut off by his own nephew like a fool.
“Let’s stick to the plan. Kill those who need to be killed and fill their places with new people. Director Jang Songthaek! Do you understand?”
— President Kim Muhyuk. I am not your subordinate. Do not issue orders. I will handle it myself.
Jang Songthaek snapped back curtly, clearly offended.
“Is that so? You’ll handle it yourself? Then I’ll treat you strictly as a business partner. You have no objections, do you?”
As I pondered whether I should let go of the hand I’d clasped with this man, the door to the study flew open.
Without knocking, Manager Ma rushed in and spoke urgently.
“There’s been suspicious movement detected among troops near Pyongyang. The ROK–U.S. Combined Forces Command has just issued an all-forces emergency alert.”
What kind of bullshit is this now?!
