Free Web NovelAt my words, Jang Songthaek’s face drained of all color.
After confirming his expression, I picked up a grape from the plate in front of me and popped it into my mouth, as if to cleanse my palate.
Contrary to my expectations, an unpleasant sweetness lingered in my mouth.
“......Chairman Kim Muhyuk. What exactly are you trying to do right now?”
Jang Songthaek asked in a trembling voice, as if forcing himself to restrain his emotions.
“Please don’t misunderstand. I did it to protect your daughter.”
“Protect her?”
“Yes. What would you do if your daughter fell into Kim Jongil’s hands, or into the hands of your political enemies?”
At my question, Jang Songthaek bit down hard on his lip.
“From what I know of you, Vice Chairman, I judged that you might even relinquish the power you’ve just seized for your daughter’s sake. That’s why, to protect your daughter in France, I mobilized Black Bear’s European branch to keep watch over her in secret.”
Both Jang Songthaek and I knew it.
There was the intent to protect—but there was also another intent, however small.
A chill swept through the dining room.
After a long silence, Jang Songthaek finally spoke.
“Chairman Kim Muhyuk. If you try to threaten me by using my daughter, I’ll stake everything I have and fight you.”
“Don’t worry. I mean exactly what I said—protection.”
Jang Geumsong was Jang Songthaek’s only blood relative.
Though his heart had already left Kim Kyonghui, his attachment to Jang Geumsong was deeper than to anyone else. fɾēewebnσveℓ.com
“She’s not a child who needs Chairman Kim’s protection. She’s been studying abroad while keeping her identity hidden all this time. There’s no need to do anything that might expose who she is—”
I shook my head firmly.
“That was before you took real power, Vice Chairman. Now, everyone will have their eyes lit with fire, trying to find your weakness. Don’t you think France already knows?”
Among EU countries, France maintained a relatively close relationship with North Korea.
Though they never established formal diplomatic ties, there had even been a summit back when Kim Il-sung was alive.
North Korea’s high-ranking officials frequently received medical treatment from French doctors.
Sometimes they traveled to France themselves, and when Kim Jongil or his family fell ill, France even dispatched medical teams.
‘Thanks to that, it’s also the place that holds more high-level intelligence on North Korea than anywhere else.’
When North Korean elites stayed at luxury hotels in France for medical treatment, French intelligence agencies wiretapped them—and gathered information in various other ways as well.
“There’s a reason why the children of North Korea’s high-ranking officials can move in and out of France so freely. France knows North Korea better than anyone. Do you truly think they wouldn’t know?”
“......Even if they do, what changes?”
Jang Songthaek muttered weakly.
So that was why Kim Jongil called him soft.
“Didn’t I tell you? Things are different now. The supreme leader of a nation—the leader of one of the most closed-off countries in the world. His only daughter is in France. What do you think that means? Someone with ill intent might try to use your daughter to move you.”
When I intervened in Afghanistan, the very first thing I did was send the children of the ruling class to study in the UK.
Ahmad Shah Massoud, who became Afghanistan’s leader, agreed with me and sent not only his own children but also those of other high-ranking officials abroad.
It gave them access to a good education—but at the same time, it was taking them hostage.
Once their children were hostages, the elites had no choice but to listen to Ahmad Shah Massoud.
Would North Korea be any different? No—if anything, it was worse.
“It’s to prevent any unfortunate incidents. If you make the wrong choice, Vice Chairman, it would put me in a difficult position.”
“If that’s what you’re worried about, we can dispatch a security team from our Republic.”
“That’s an amusing suggestion. Are you planning to advertise to the world that Jang Songthaek’s only daughter is studying in France? Right now, every intelligence agency in the world is watching Pyongyang’s movements with full force. Do you think you can move secretly through all of that?”
With a trembling hand, he lifted the glass in front of him and drained it in one go.
“You say it’s protection, but isn’t it no different from taking her hostage? My daughter, who knows nothing—”
It seemed that once his daughter was involved, he couldn’t see straight.
Nothing was more unpleasant to listen to than nonsense spoken by a smart man.
When I shot him a cold glare, Jang Songthaek flinched and stopped talking.
“If you don’t harbor other intentions, Vice Chairman, there’s no reason for your daughter to become a hostage. We’re partners. There’s no one who wishes for your safety—and your daughter’s safety—more than I do.”
“.......”
When I smiled gently, the tension in Jang Songthaek’s shoulders eased.
But only briefly. I wiped the smile from my face and continued.
“Or do you not trust me? Or... are you harboring other thoughts?”
Once Jang Songthaek took my hand, Jang Geumsong also became someone I had to protect.
“I don’t understand why you’re reacting so sensitively. If I truly intended to take your daughter hostage, I wouldn’t be talking about it like this. I’d simply keep watching, and if things went wrong, I’d reveal it then. Am I wrong?”
Instead of answering, Jang Songthaek closed his eyes.
He didn’t move at all, as if organizing his thoughts.
But giving him time would only give him room to escape.
So I decided to press him harder. frёewebnoѵēl.com
When I tapped the table lightly with my index finger, Jang Songthaek opened his eyes.
“Vice Chairman, let me tell you something we discovered after assigning protection to your daughter. Do you know how many watchers are currently monitoring Jang Geumsong?”
Jang Songthaek’s eyes widened. He stammered in shock.
“W-What do you mean?”
“Exactly what it sounds like. There were three surveillance teams around Jang Geumsong. They could belong to intelligence agencies, or perhaps to organizations intending to use her. Since there was no physical confrontation, we refrained from making any rash moves.”
Jang Songthaek slammed the table hard.
“How dare they! Who the hell would dare surveil my daughter? No—how would they even know she’s my daughter?”
“Didn’t I tell you it would be stranger if they didn’t know? Track the countries Jang Geumsong has moved through and the answer appears. And you were once caught entering Norway with a forged passport just to meet her. Word spreads.”
“Th-That......”
“Stop pretending not to know. You shook others by taking Kim Jongil’s family hostage—did you really think your own daughter could live safely as an ordinary civilian?”
Jang Songthaek lowered his head.
He must have known already, but wanted to look away.
That’s how a parent’s heart works.
I let out a small sigh and spoke.
“Vice Chairman. From now on, it’ll be like walking on thin ice. Some will dislike your reforms. Others will covet your position. Even Kim Jongil, who wielded absolute power, faced two coup attempts. Do you think you can sit comfortably in that seat?”
I could have kept this hidden, but I deliberately brought up Jang Geumsong.
He still hadn’t fully realized his position—and he needed a sense of crisis.
Why else would an ousted Kim Jongil ask me to help Jang Songthaek?
“You need to become ruthless. If you show weakness just to prove you’re different from Kim Jongil, the wolves will rush in to tear you apart. Look at the special economic zones. If Kim Jongil had proposed them, would anyone have dared oppose him? But when you proposed them, opposition appeared. If it were Kim Jongil, he would have purged the dissenters without mercy.”
This wasn’t the time to appear soft—not yet.
“Maybe later. But for now, you must act without mercy. Drive out those who oppose you and work with those who share your vision. That’s the fate of anyone who holds power in North Korea.”
At my cold words, Jang Songthaek’s eyes shook as if an earthquake had struck.
“Why else would Kim Jongil ask me to take good care of you? Mercy? Moderation? Fine, all of that is fine. Sparing Kim Jongil—I’ll let that pass. But the people who needed to die should have died. Later, even if you want to kill them, you won’t be able to without watching the international community’s eyes. Before that—clear everything up.”
He would need time to think. I pressed my hands against the table and stood.
“I plan to look around Nampo City tomorrow morning. Is that acceptable?”
There was no answer.
“I’ll take that as permission. Please send people tomorrow morning. I’ll be leaving now.”
I bowed and turned, but Jang Songthaek, lost in thought, didn’t stop me.
Ah—there was one last thing I should tell him.
“Oh, one last thing about your daughter.”
At the mention of Jang Geumsong, Jang Songthaek finally turned his gaze toward me.
“Your daughter has a French boyfriend. They seem to be quite close.”
“What?”
So he really didn’t know about her boyfriend yet.
“I don’t intend to meddle in another family’s affairs, but... leave the two of them alone. I understand your love with Kim Kyonghui wasn’t smooth either. So don’t reject him just because he’s a foreigner. I hope you’ll support your daughter.”
“......I’ll handle it myself.”
Another worry added to his shoulders.
But this was necessary advice. Jang Geumsong needed to live a long life—for it to be easier to keep Jang Songthaek in check.
“Vice Chairman, if you truly want your daughter to live an ordinary life, I recommend leaving her be. Well, consider it unsolicited meddling—you can let it go in one ear and out the other.”
“.......”
“Still, I hope you’ll make a wise decision. This isn’t the time to waver—it’s time to move forward.”
With that, I left the dining room.
Through the slowly closing door, I caught a glimpse of Jang Songthaek, deep in anguish.
* * *
Left alone, Jang Songthaek tilted his glass and sank into thought.
‘Chairman Kim Muhyuk isn’t wrong.’
He had already killed the two who moved troops against him.
They had mobilized forces and pointed their guns.
Without Kim Jongil’s authority, far more blood might have been shed.
‘Did I deliberately avoid killing to show I’m different from Chairman Kim?’
The fear that someone might use Jang Geumsong awakened the cruelty Jang Songthaek had buried deep inside.
‘......Yes. To consolidate power, I’ll have to stain my own hands with blood.’
Rising from his seat, Jang Songthaek headed for his office.
Once there, he picked up the receiver.
“This is Jang Songthaek.”
— Yes, Vice Chairman.
“Immediately place everyone I name under house arrest. Don’t let them step outside even once.”
One by one, Jang Songthaek recited the names of those who had opposed his policies.
After naming seven people in total, he spoke coldly.
“Carry it out at once. Understood?”
— Yes! We will follow your orders.
The man receiving the orders was Ri Cheolseung, who had temporarily taken charge of the State Security Department after Jang Songthaek.
“Move quickly—and quietly.”
— Yes! Understood.
“And...... if they resist, you may shoot them.”
— What?
“I said you may shoot them! Understood?”
— Ah! Yes, understood!
Killing intent filled Jang Songthaek’s eyes.
And that night, gunshots echoed through Pyongyang.
