Free Web NovelThe day the special envoy delegation was scheduled to visit Pyongyang arrived.
To the media, the government announced that the purpose of the visit was preliminary negotiations for reunions of separated families.
Politicians, of course, wouldn’t believe that at face value—but the public rallied behind the government at the mention of family reunions.
‘Well, it’s not like politicians actually know the truth either.......’
Even the people boarding the buses right now didn’t know exactly why they were going to Pyongyang.
They truly believed they were there to negotiate reunions for separated families.
The only ones who knew the real purpose of this visit were me and Myungsoo, sitting beside me.
This time, not a single reporter was brought along. Only the special envoy delegation would be visiting Pyongyang.
“Hey...... Muhyuk.”
There was tension in Myungsoo’s voice. Why was he this nervous?
I turned my head and looked at his face.
“What?”
“This isn’t dangerous, right?”
“Oh. This is your first time going to North Korea.”
I’d been to Pyongyang several times, but this was Myungsoo’s first visit.
It was only natural for him to be nervous.
“People live there too. As long as you follow the controls properly, nothing will happen.”
“You’re serious, right? You’re responsible if anything happens.”
Myungsoo poked me in the side as he spoke.
When he’s this tense, it just makes me want to tease him.
Looking at his stiff expression, I grinned.
“Of course. But if a gun barrel is pressed to your temple, you can’t act scared like you are now. You have to act like a man. Don’t look at the person aiming the gun—only look at your negotiation counterpart. If you lose the battle of wills, that gun will fire.”
“What!”
Myungsoo yelped in shock, shouting loud enough that nearby eyes turned toward us.
“Good lungs you’ve got. Lower your voice. Everyone’s staring.”
“Is that really the important part right now? What are you even saying? Is that true?”
I shrugged.
“Have you ever seen me lie? Of course it’s something I experienced myself. Don’t you remember Manager Ma getting hurt?”
The moment I mentioned Manager Ma, Myungsoo’s face went pale.
“Damn it. Did I make a mistake agreeing to go......?”
If I teased him any more, he’d start hating me. I glanced back, then patted Myungsoo’s shoulder as he looked around nervously.
“I’m kidding, kidding. You’re going as a special envoy representing the South Korean government. The moment anything happens to you, it’s war. So don’t worry. My case was special...... And back then, that madman Kim Jongil was in power. Now it’s Jang Songthaek. Nothing like that will happen.”
When I spoke gently, Myungsoo swatted my arm away with a sulky expression.
Only now realizing I’d been messing with him, he spoke in a grumpy tone.
“You really felt like joking with a friend who followed you all the way here trusting you? You’re awful, Kim Muhyuk. Since I’m going to Pyongyang because of you, you’re absolutely responsible for my safety. I’m not dealing with this.”
“Yeah, yeah. Got it. Of course I am. Now get on the bus. Everyone’s waiting.”
“Yeah. You’re moving separately, right?”
Instead of answering, I nodded.
I planned to ride in a vehicle following behind the bus.
Only one attendant had been approved—Manager Ma. Jang Songthaek really was a suspicious man.
After confirming that Myungsoo got on the bus, I walked over and got into the prepared vehicle.
Manager Ma was seated in the driver’s seat.
The car slowly began moving toward Pyongyang.
As we crossed the armistice line and headed north, I looked out the window.
The road conditions were terrible.
‘I thought this last time too, but the roads really need to be fixed first.’
They were paved, but poorly maintained, with potholes visible everywhere.
Since these roads would be used often in the future, they’d need proper care.
Thinking about how to transform North Korea, I slowly closed my eyes.
No matter how good the car was, the roads were so bad that it rattled nonstop.
I couldn’t sleep, but at least it wasn’t enough to interrupt my thoughts.
Things improved a bit once we entered the Kaesong–Pyongyang highway, but even then, the condition was far from good.
The closer we got to Pyongyang, the better the roads became—but they still didn’t satisfy me.
And it wasn’t just the roads.
“There isn’t a single car.”
Aside from Pyongyang itself, there were hardly any proper vehicles to be seen.
North Korea’s situation seemed more serious than I’d expected. I couldn’t help clicking my tongue.
After driving for some time, we finally entered Pyongyang proper. freēwēbnovel.com
We moved toward the city center to reach our accommodation, the Koryo Hotel.
Perhaps due to traffic control, there wasn’t a single car on the road.
Soon after, we arrived at the Koryo Hotel and the vehicle came to a stop.
I stayed in the car, waiting as the South Korean delegation got off the bus and entered the hotel.
Once the entire delegation was inside, armed People’s Army soldiers sealed off the entrance.
At that moment, a man in a suit approached the vehicle I was riding in.
Knock, knock.
When he tapped on the window, Manager Ma lowered it slightly.
“Is this the vehicle carrying Chairman Kim Muhyuk?”
Manager Ma nodded. The man gave a brief nod in return and continued.
“Please step out of the vehicle for now.”
Manager Ma and I complied without resistance.
“We’ll be transferring you to a vehicle we’ve prepared.”
“Where are we going?”
When I asked, he glanced at me and replied.
“You’ll find out when you get there. I was only instructed to bring you. I don’t know the details. Please follow me.”
We followed him and got into the prepared car. It was a Maybach, less than a year old.
To think this was already in Pyongyang...... It really showed how extravagant Kim Jongil had been.
“Then we’ll depart.”
The moment the car started moving, vehicles surrounded us from the front, rear, and both sides like an escort.
In the distance, the Ryugyong Hotel came into view—Pyongyang’s eyesore, its concrete exterior still exposed, unpainted.
That thing wouldn’t be completed until after 2010.
‘Should I move that timeline up in this life? If I’m investing, I might as well do it properly.’
Leaving that thought behind, the car kept going.
They said I’d know when I got there—but the destination wasn’t Kim Jongil’s old office I’d visited before.
After getting out of the car, we were guided inside by the same man.
The marble-adorned interior looked like a luxury hotel. We climbed the central staircase and reached the second floor.
In front of a large door at the center of the second floor, the ★ 𝐍𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 ★ man knocked.
“Vice Chairman Comrade. Chairman Kim Muhyuk has arrived.”
“Let him in.”
“Yes!”
The men standing by the door pulled it open from both sides.
Inside was a large office, decorated much like Kim Jongil’s old workspace.
Jang Songthaek rose from behind his desk and walked toward me.
He didn’t forget to issue an order to the man as he did.
“No one is to approach this office.”
“Yes, Vice Chairman Comrade.”
The man who had escorted us out left, and the door closed.
Only then did Jang Songthaek relax his expression and greet me, grasping my hand.
“Chairman Kim Muhyuk. It’s good to see you alive like this.”
“It’s good to see you as well, Vice Chairman.”
After greeting me, Jang Songthaek smiled at Manager Ma.
“Was it Ma Seokdae? That man always seems to be by your side, Chairman Kim Muhyuk.”
“He’s the person I trust the most. Someone who always stands firmly at my side.”
“Now that I’m sitting in this position, I understand how valuable that is. Please, have a seat.”
Jang Songthaek led us to the table at the center of the room.
I took my seat, and Manager Ma stood behind me.
Jang Songthaek observed the scene with interest, then sat facing me.
Seeing him leave the seat of honor empty, it seemed he’d taken my previous warning to heart.
“It’s good to meet you here in Pyongyang.”
I smiled as he greeted me again, then looked around the office as I spoke.
“This place resembles Kim Jongil’s office I saw before. Was there another facility like this?”
“It was an existing building that we renovated. I can’t use Chairman Kim Jongil’s office, after all.”
Kim Jongil himself hadn’t used Kim Ilsung’s old office—he’d built his own and handled everything there.
The very office I’d visited during my earlier trips to Pyongyang.
“Does this place have underground passages as well? Last time, Kim Jongil’s office had separate underground routes.” fɾeeweɓnѳveɭ.com
“Not yet. We’re currently digging them. Once completed, they’ll connect the Chairman’s office, the Workers’ Party headquarters, and my residence.”
“I see. Impressive that you decided to build a new office even amid an economic crisis. I thought you’d simply use Kim Jongil’s office.”
It was a deliberately provocative question. I was curious how he’d react.
But Jang Songthaek handled it with ease.
“The Republic must maintain authority. Otherwise, people start getting ideas. So even though it’s not my personal taste, I made the office this grand. To you, Chairman Kim Muhyuk, it might look like wasted money—but it was an unavoidable choice.”
The anxious Jang Songthaek from before was gone.
Confidence filled his face and gestures.
Now this is more like it. I curled one corner of my lips upward and asked,
“Authority...... Does a place create authority?”
“Isn’t it the same in the South? Everyone who’s been to the Blue House calls it a palace within palaces. You’ve been there too, Chairman Kim Muhyuk, so you know.”
South Korea had indeed built the Blue House lavishly.
Presidents who seized power through military coups compensated for their lack of legitimacy by flaunting authority through their residences.
Dictators were especially prone to that tendency.
You could see it in Africa or the Middle East—countries with the weakest economies, yet presidential palaces built like royal courts, where rulers lived like kings.
“That’s true. But the economic gap between South and North Korea is enormous, isn’t it?”
“When the Blue House was built, the Republic’s economy actually surpassed that of the South. The disparity only grew large later.”
The economic gap hadn’t widened that long ago.
And Jang Songthaek pointed straight at that fact.
It reminded me once again what he intended to use as a tool of governance.
“You’re right. You’ll do well, Vice Chairman. By the way, where is Kim Jongil now? Is he staying at his Pyongyang residence?”
Jang Songthaek shook his head.
“No. He’s being kept at a villa. We couldn’t leave him in Pyongyang. Of course, the area is under strict guard. He can’t leave without my permission. That said, his lifestyle remains much the same.”
“Have you gathered all of Kim Jongil’s family there?”
“Yes. I also ordered Kim Pyongil, who was abroad, to return to Pyongyang. And I instructed Kim Jongil’s people overseas to come back as well.”
Having finally achieved what he’d dreamed of for so long, Jang Songthaek was securing every loose end.
“So you’ve seized all real power?”
“Yes. Kim Jongil’s name still stands at the front, but all real authority rests with me. I plan to convene a party congress soon and transition to a collective leadership system.”
“Collective leadership...... Are you sure that’s wise? You’d be sharing power.”
I pointed out the flaw of collective leadership—sharing power inevitably breeds factions.
Jang Songthaek obviously knew this as well.
“I don’t intend to allow factionalism like in China. But transitioning to a collective system is necessary to completely erase Kim Jongil’s name.”
“And after that? What then?”
“As long as he lives, I’ll let him remain a symbol of the Republic. The people’s idolization hasn’t faded yet.”
“So you’re ultimately letting him live. I understand. Shall we talk about our business now?”
For the first time, I saw Jang Songthaek flinch slightly.
I smiled calmly, interlaced my fingers, and rested them on the wooden table.
Then I leaned forward, closing the distance between us.
“So—will you give me Nampo City?”
