Free Web NovelIf you asked people in the Republic of Korea to choose between becoming a conglomerate owner or becoming president, wouldn’t most of them choose the conglomerate?
If someone has lofty ideals, they might enter politics and dream of the presidency. But otherwise, they’d dream of becoming a chaebol and living large.
They say flowers don’t stay red for ten days, and power doesn’t last ten years, but in our country especially, presidents tend to meet unfortunate ends.
Chaebol, on the other hand, passed through the era of iron-fisted military rule and into the age of civilian governments, yet within their own small kingdoms they continue to wield power no different from kings.
The business world was where power endured and flowers never withered.
“Is my guess wrong?”
“...It’s not the whole reason, but it’s one of them.”
“So you’re a man with ambition after all.”
When I murmured my admiration, Hong Jinwoo’s face stiffened slightly, as if he’d taken it as sarcasm.
“But wealth and power can’t run on the same track. The people won’t tolerate that. You have to choose one or the other.”
“Hoseok Construction wouldn’t exactly qualify as a chaebol, would it?”
Well, calling it a chaebol would be a bit embarrassing.
That said, Hoseok Construction was by no means a small company either. In some ways, a company like Hoseok Construction might even be better than an average large conglomerate.
It was unlisted, so there was no need to cater to shareholders’ whims, and most of the construction projects carried out in Honam were handled by Hoseok Construction.
That was partly because major Seoul-based construction firms had no desire to come all the way down to Honam to build apartments—but even if they did, it was hard to say whether they could defeat Hoseok Construction, the regional hegemon.
“It’s an unlisted company. I’ve already transferred all the shares I had to my older brother. So how exactly do you plan to take it?”
Seizing management control from an unlisted company was difficult.
Most of Hoseok Construction’s shares were held by Hong Jinwoo’s father—Chairman Hong Jeongpil.
Hong Jeongpil alone would decide who became the next chairman.
An old man well past eighty would naturally prioritize primogeniture. Even if that eldest son was an incompetent leech.
By any measure of ability, Hong Jinwoo was the better choice, but what could be done? If that was his father’s will, then that was that.
Knowing this, Hong Jinwoo seemed to have cleanly given up, at least on the surface. Once succession was finalized, he would lose everything anyway.
Was that why he had been all the more hostile toward Hoseok Construction—because he intended to tear it down regardless?
“Power can do anything.”
Power can do anything.
Those words carried a chilling edge.
Only now was I starting to see his true nature.
“That concludes all my questions.”
“So now you’ll save my son?”
Trying to get something for nothing, are you? I shook my head.
“While you’re in politics, Assemblyman, I will make three requests. If you promise to grant them, I’ll roll up my sleeves and help save your son.”
“Three requests...”
“As long as you don’t oppose me, I don’t care what kind of politics you practice. Don’t oppose what I intend to do, and don’t attack me directly. I already have enough on my plate—wasting time on trivial matters irritates me.”
This whole troublesome process was about crushing in advance someone who might someday interfere with me.
Reading the undisguised irritation in my tone, he nodded and asked,
“When do you intend to make these requests?”
“There’s no way to know. I might never make them at all. It depends on whether you even reach a position where you can fulfill them. But when I do ask, you comply. No exceptions.”
Faced with my vague demand, Hong Jinwoo hesitated for a long time before finally speaking.
“Is it... possible to refuse a request?”
I ◈ Nоvеlіgһт ◈ (Continue reading) thought he was agonizing over something profound. That was nonsense.
A hollow laugh escaped me, and Hong Jinwoo’s face reddened in embarrassment.
“Assemblyman. We’re making a deal right now. I’m resolving your immediate problem by betting on your future—and you’re talking about refusal? Do you really think that’s an option?”
“How can I agree so readily without knowing what kind of request it will be?”
“I don’t know either. It might even go against your convictions. And yet, you still have to accept it. The one in a hurry here is you, Assemblyman. Whether you accept this deal or storm out is your choice. I’m only making an offer. The decision is yours—and of course, so is the responsibility.”
“...Understood. Let’s do it.”
In the end, he chose to save his son.
When I nodded and sent a look to Manager Ma, he made a phone call to someone.
A moment later, once the call connected, Manager Ma placed the phone in front of me. ƒrēewebnovel.com
I pressed the speaker button so everyone could hear and said,
“Jessica. This is Charlie. I’m on speaker, and Assemblyman Hong Jinwoo is listening as well.”
— Charlie!
“I’m calling about the Hong Seokgeun case.”
— I was expecting your call, Charlie. It’s getting hard to keep a lid on it. People upstairs already know, so it’ll probably hit the media soon.
At Jessica’s reply, the blood drained from Hong Jinwoo’s face.
If this got out, Hong Jinwoo’s political career would be over.
No—setting his political career aside, Hong Seokgeun’s life would be completely finished.
“N-no...”
Hong Jinwoo tried to say something, but I quickly raised my hand to stop him.
“Jessica. Can’t this be covered up?”
— ...Charlie. Do you realize how dangerous what you’re asking is? You’re asking me to risk my life.
“In exchange, I’ll grant one request from you—no matter what it is. You know I always keep my promises, Jessica. Once I give my word, I never break it.”
— Why are you going this far? Is Assemblyman Hong really that important to you?
I glanced once at Hong Jinwoo’s paper-white face and replied,
“I haven’t decided whether he’s important or not yet. You have to keep someone alive first before you can make that judgment, don’t you?”
— Haa... No matter how much it’s your request, Charlie, it’s hard to just make this disappear like nothing happened. If it were a simple drug case, I might find a way to bury it, but this is drugs suspected of being a funding source for Al Qaeda. I can’t just close that at my discretion...
Listening further would only mean hearing the same thing repeated. I cut her off.
“Jessica. That’s why I’m asking—asking, not making a deal. When have you ever seen me ask instead of negotiate? I always deal. I’m fully aware of how unreasonable this is. That’s precisely why I’m asking.”
— Mm... Charlie, this is really...
“What’s the problem? It hasn’t reached the media yet, and the only one up top who knows is your superior, isn’t that right? At this stage, it should be possible to bury it. And the Al Qaeda connection isn’t even confirmed yet.”
— All the evidence and testimony point to Mr. Hong. If this goes to court, a guilty verdict is guaranteed.
As my conversation with Jessica continued, Hong Jinwoo grew increasingly restless.
Understandable—he’d just heard that a guilty verdict was guaranteed.
“Is there really no way? What do you want?”
— ...You really mean you’ll do anything? You don’t even know what I’m going to ask.
“When have I ever lied to you?”
— You’re serious, Charlie. All right. Can I call you back in a bit? I need to contact my superiors. Given that it’s your proposal, they probably won’t push back too hard. The issue is that this could turn out to be bigger than you’re expecting.
“How long will it take?”
— I’ll call you within thirty minutes.
With that, the call with Jessica ended.
“What do you think will happen?”
Hong Jinwoo asked the moment the call ended.
“We’ll know once we wait. I said I’d do anything, so it won’t be easy for the higher-ups to dismiss my request.”
“...That much?”
He asked again, clearly unable to believe it.
“Just because you said you’d do anything, President Kim, the upper ranks of the Department of Homeland Security will cover up a case like this?”
It was natural not to believe it. This had already been discussed to a certain extent.
Under normal circumstances, it would’ve been impossible—but this operation was only feasible because Jessica had already laid some groundwork with her superiors beforehand.
If that hadn’t been the case, even I would’ve struggled.
“The most difficult field I’ve encountered while involved in politics is diplomacy. No one is willing to concede anything for the sake of another country’s interests. The Department of Homeland Security was created to fight the war on terror and protect the U.S. homeland. Do you really think they’d comply with a mere request from President Kim?”
When I didn’t respond, Hong Jinwoo kept pressing. His agitation was painfully obvious.
“My promise to do anything is bigger than you think. It’s like a blank check with nothing written on it. From their perspective, there’s no reason to refuse—if they can make use of me.”
“...How is that even possible?”
There was a trace of fear in Hong Jinwoo’s voice.
Anyone would react this way when witnessing a situation so far beyond imagination.
“It’s a combination of money, information, and various special factors. Of course, I can’t make requests like this many times. You should understand that both I and the Department of Homeland Security are taking on a huge burden. As someone who’s been in politics for a long time, you know this isn’t a normal situation—and certainly not an easy one. Especially in the United States.”
“I understand.”
“Good. Be aware that I’m pushing myself to the limit here. And don’t even think about refusing my request later on. We can cover things up, but we can’t make them as if they never existed.”
After delivering that final warning—making it clear who held the reins—I waited for Jessica’s call.
Hong Jinwoo, perhaps trying to collect his thoughts, remained silent as well.
The sudden ringing of my phone shattered the heavy silence.
Hong Jinwoo’s gaze snapped to my phone.
I picked it up and brought it to my ear.
— Charlie. It’s Jessica.
“What happened? What did the higher-ups say?”
— Things got complicated.
I frowned.
Everything had already been discussed—how had it suddenly gotten complicated now?
“What do you mean, complicated?”
Unable to hear Jessica’s voice, Hong Jinwoo reacted to every word I said.
— The DEA stepped in and demanded that the case be handed over to them.
“What the hell does that mean...?”
— We looked into it, and the drugs turned out to be cocaine coming in from Mexico. It seems they want to take this opportunity to take down the cartel using that smuggling route.
I glanced at Hong Jinwoo before replying. I’d invoked drugs to really tie him down, but this was turning into a headache.
“How did things end up like this?”
If the DEA decided to push, there was no countermeasure.
Despite being a law enforcement agency, they were infamous for launching operations and covert actions without warrants as long as internal authorization was granted.
— Sigh... I’m sorry.
“So that means it’s impossible?”
— What about helping the DEA with their work?
“Helping the DEA?”
— Yes. How about acting as a link regarding the Mexican drug cartels?
That was ridiculous. My voice rose before I could stop it.
“You want me to get involved in something that dangerous?”
There were few criminal organizations more dangerous than drug cartels.
Mexican drug cartels in particular had influence strong enough to control governments—and were utterly reckless.
“I have no intention of getting entangled with Mexican drug cartels.”
At the words Mexican drug cartel, Hong Jinwoo’s eyes went wide.
I’d rather blow this whole thing up than get mixed up with them.
— Charlie, calm down. It’s not about getting directly involved with the cartels.
“Didn’t you just say I should act as a link? What exactly are you expecting me to do?”
— Nothing concrete has been decided yet. But it won’t be dangerous. Pushing you into danger would be a loss for us as well.
“What happens if I refuse?”
— We can probably cover up the Al Qaeda issue, but the drug-related charges will be out of our hands.
“Ha...”
So if I refused, not only would it hit the media, but Hong Seokgeun going to prison would be guaranteed. When things go wrong, they really go wrong.
I lowered the phone for a moment and let out a deep sigh. Startled, Hong Jinwoo asked anxiously,
“Did things go badly?”
“For now, it looks like we can cover up the Al Qaeda-related issue.”
Hong Jinwoo brightened immediately.
“Is that really true?”
I nodded as I spoke. It was too early to celebrate.
“But things have gotten complicated. The DEA wants the drug case transferred to them.”
“What happens if the case goes to them?”
“The DEA isn’t an agency you can deal with through lobbying. Even on a simple possession charge, he’d probably be doing several years.”
The color that had briefly returned to his face drained away again.
Hong Jinwoo moved his lips as if to speak, but finishing the call with Jessica took priority.
I raised a hand to ask for patience, then lifted the phone again.
“Please wrap things up for now. Tell them I’ll help as much as possible as long as the DEA doesn’t make unreasonable demands. But above all, my own safety comes first. Make sure they understand that I have no intention of getting directly involved with drug cartels.”
— Of course. You’re a major asset to us in the U.S., Charlie. We won’t let you get involved in anything dangerous. Not even the DEA can ignore us.
At Jessica’s gentle words, the corner of my mouth twisted on its own.
Give me a break. The kind of people who’d discard me without hesitation the moment I stopped being useful.
