Free Web NovelWhat is destined to happen will happen eventually—just in a different way.
When I interfered deeply, the future did change, but incidents still broke out regardless, just taking a different form.
In Iraq, I had done everything I could to ensure the safety of Koreans.
That was because I remembered there being a kidnapping incident involving a Korean.
Since it could affect my business, I decided to get ahead of it.
I pulled the company where the kidnapped employee worked out of Iraq and replaced it with another firm.
I thought that would be the end of it.
But the butterfly flapped its wings diligently, and in the end, it stirred up a massive storm that dragged me into the incident anyway.
After touring the Eunmi Apartments redevelopment site, I’d been swamped with work.
I was in my study, reviewing documents related to redevelopment, when my grandmother called.
“Hey, Grandma. What’s going on?”
I felt a bit puzzled. She almost never called me during my working hours.
It was our daily routine for me to call her every evening and chat about mundane things.
— Mu, Muhyuk...
Her voice over the receiver sounded urgent.
“Grandma. What’s wrong? Why do you sound like that?”
My voice rose without me realizing it. Her anxiety seemed to seep straight into me.
— You know Mu-gil, right? Kim Mugil.
“Kim Mugil? Who’s that?”
— You know, that man. The bicycle shop owner at the market who gave you a bike to ride. His kid—that’s Mugil. Don’t you remember?
At her explanation, a vague, half-forgotten memory surfaced.
I still couldn’t remember who Kim Mugil was, but the bicycle shop owner did stick in my mind.
He was a man at the market who had handed me a used bicycle when I was little and envied other kids who could ride.
I pictured the man smiling warmly as he taught me how to ride.
“Mr. Byeonggeun?”
— Yes, yes. That man. You remember now, right?
“Of course I do. He even came to your seventieth birthday party last time. But why his son, all of a sudden?”
— That Mugil kid... they say he got kidnapped or something in Iraq. What do we do?
“What? Iraq? Why would Mr. Byeonggeun’s son be in Iraq? And kidnapped?”
I’d paid so much attention to the safety of Koreans in Iraq—how could a Korean be kidnapped?
No, before that, why was Mr. Byeonggeun’s son even in Iraq?
It felt like a string of completely unrelated words, making my head spin.
— I don’t know. There’s all kinds of scary rumors going around, the market’s in [N O V E L I G H T] an uproar. That man came to me and Myungsoo’s father, crying and begging us to look into it.
“Mr. Byeonggeun must be beside himself. Alright. I’ll check and call you back.”
At the mention of rumors, I let out a quiet sigh and calmed her down.
At least it wasn’t a problem directly involving her. Still, since it was someone she knew, I could easily imagine how worried she must be.
After hanging up with her, I immediately called Myungsoo.
— Hey, Muhyuk. You got a call too, didn’t you?
The moment he picked up, he spoke as if he’d already guessed why I was calling.
“Grandma called me. You too?”
— My dad. He went on and on—how the state’s supposed to protect its citizens, how it’s not even a war zone, how could someone get kidnapped, how the country’s a mess... I thought my ears were going to bleed.
“What’s going on exactly? There’s nothing in the news.”
I start every morning by reading all the papers and watching the news.
Yet there hadn’t been a single line about it anywhere.
— It’s still under embargo. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs is negotiating behind the scenes, but apparently those bastards are making outrageous demands.
“If it hasn’t been reported, how does Mr. Byeonggeun know?”
Myungsoo let out a deep, frustrated sigh.
— Don’t even ask. They let him contact his family. How does something get tangled up this badly?
“How long has he been kidnapped? And why did he even go to Iraq in the first place?”
— He worked for a U.S. military supply company in Changwon. Seems like he entered Iraq for work. After visiting a U.S. military camp with the contractor, he was kidnapped on the way back to Baghdad. We don’t know all the details yet, but from what we’ve gathered, it’s been about three days.
“Three days already? How’s our government responding?”
There was a long pause before Myungsoo answered, his voice tight with frustration.
— Four Americans were kidnapped with him, so we’re coordinating with the U.S. But the Americans have made it clear—no negotiations with terrorists.
The words “butterfly effect” wouldn’t leave my head.
I’d tried so hard to prevent it, yet something so similar to what happened in my previous life still occurred.
The difference was that this time, the victim was someone I actually knew.
“The U.S. has always been firm about never negotiating with terrorists. So what about our government?”
— Since this happened while we’re deployed there, failing to resolve it properly could deal a huge blow to the administration. It’s an emergency. And aside from that... I don’t know, Muhyuk. The hostage is Mr. Byeonggeun’s son. They say he’s about ten years older than us. freeweɓnøvel.com
“Really? I only know Mr. Byeonggeun. I don’t know his son.”
— Same here. Anyway, my dad’s raising hell, telling me to do whatever it takes to fix this.
Myungsoo sighed heavily again.
I suddenly remembered that after the kidnapping, the kidnappers had contacted the company the hostages worked for and demanded money.
“Did they ask for a ransom?”
— No. If it were money, honestly, I’d feel a lot better. But they didn’t want money. They demanded the withdrawal of companies—and even the military. That’s a condition we can never accept.
So the demands had changed.
As I remembered it, they’d originally demanded money, and when that wasn’t met, they sold the hostages to a terrorist organization.
— What do we do? I haven’t seen my dad this angry in ages. At this rate, I might never be able to go back to Busan.
Myungsoo was already a National Assembly member—his face was well known in Busan.
If this wasn’t resolved, it was obvious what kind of treatment he’d face in that tight-knit local society.
“Alright. Keep me updated if you hear anything new. I’ll contact the American side and see what I can find out.”
— Yeah. Look into it. Honestly, I trust you more than the Ministry of Foreign Affairs with stuff like this.
After hanging up with Myungsoo, I sat there, lost in thought.
Once I’d organized the chaos in my head, I called for Director Ma, who was waiting outside.
“Director, who’s currently the top person in charge of Black Bear in Iraq?”
“Black Bear in Iraq... That would be Yuri, one of Igor’s former subordinates.”
“How are things over there?”
“Most of it’s been wrapped up. From what I hear, only sporadic fighting remains.”
The Black Bear units hired from Korea were deployed in active combat zones.
Meanwhile, Korean troops were stationed in the relatively safer southern regions.
It was a balanced approach by the Korean government, securing both safety and practical interests.
“So there’s still fighting going on.”
“Mostly guerrilla warfare, not full-scale battles.”
With Hussein already captured by U.S. forces, guerrilla warfare was all that remained.
His regime had collapsed long ago, and Iraq was under military administration by the U.S. and the UN.
But perhaps because of the Middle East’s unique circumstances, things didn’t stabilize like they did elsewhere.
Religion and politics were inseparable there, and Shiites and Sunnis fought each other with murderous intensity.
Afghanistan had stabilized surprisingly quickly thanks to a strong leader—but Iraq was different.
With the powerful dictator Hussein gone, countless factions were springing up and disappearing like weeds.
“What about casualties on our side?”
“Fortunately, there haven’t been any deaths yet, but there are quite a few wounded. I’ll submit a detailed report separately.”
It wasn’t exactly reassuring. I nodded, tapping the table lightly with my finger.
Can I really solve this?
Even I wasn’t confident.
These were lunatics who would fly planes into a superpower.
“Boss, is something wrong?”
When I stayed silent for too long, lost in thought, Director Ma asked cautiously.
“Oh. I heard a Korean was kidnapped in Iraq. Turns out he’s from my neighborhood. My grandma called me personally, asking me to look into it. It’s a bit of a headache.”
“Even if your grandmother asked, is there a reason for you to step in? This is something the Korean government should handle through negotiations.”
“I know. I do, but...”
The Korean government would never be able to save that man.
Withdrawing troops stationed in Iraq was a condition the government could never accept.
A citizen’s life was precious, of course—but if the government complied with terrorist demands, kidnappings targeting Korean nationals would only increase.
That was why the U.S. never negotiated with terrorists or hostage-takers.
At the same time, it was difficult for Korea to negotiate independently.
If that fact ever came to light, they’d be criticized by the U.S. and other nations.
That was why, in my previous life as well, the government had rejected the terrorists’ demands.
“...Is it really right to let someone who could be saved die?”
Even thinking that felt hypocritical.
If my grandmother hadn’t called, I would’ve let it be too.
“Do you think the negotiations will fail?”
“They’re demanding the withdrawal of all Korean troops and businesses currently in Iraq.”
“That’s an impossible demand. A state must never set a precedent of negotiating with terrorists.”
Director Ma answered firmly. I knew he was right.
“Exactly. That’s why I’m torn. If the government can’t step in, maybe I should. I’m just an individual—the burden’s lighter.”
But the question of whether stepping in would actually benefit me still remained.
“I’ll need to think about it more. Director, contact our people in Iraq and get a clearer picture of the situation.”
“Yes, Boss. I’ll do that right away.”
After Director Ma left, I picked up my phone. Before the ring could even sound a few times, the other side answered.
— Charlie.
Jessica’s voice greeted me with unusual warmth.
I returned the greeting and got straight to the point.
“Jessica. You know about the kidnapping in Iraq—four Americans and one Korean, right?”
— Of course. It’s an emergency for us too.
“America’s stance is still no negotiations, I assume?”
— Naturally. We never negotiate with terrorists. Even if the president himself were kidnapped.
At that hardline response, I couldn’t help shaking my head.
Right. That was America.
“Have you identified the kidnappers?”
— ...The group that carried out the initial abduction was just a minor outfit. They demanded ransom from KBR and a Korean company, but when that was refused, they sold the hostages to another terrorist organization for money.
“They demanded money? The Korean government doesn’t seem to know that. Is that true?”
They’d demanded money?
That contradicted what Myungsoo had told me—but there was no reason for him to lie.
Which meant the Ministry of Foreign Affairs hadn’t even fully grasped the situation yet.
— Of course. We received the report a week ago and have been working on countermeasures. But our government’s position is that we won’t give terrorists a single dollar.
A week already. That was strange too.
Korea’s intelligence agencies weren’t that incompetent.
Unless someone was deliberately interfering, information disruption like this wouldn’t happen.
“...Has this information not been shared with the Korean government yet?”
At my question, Jessica sounded genuinely surprised.
— What? Korea really doesn’t know?
“When I spoke with them earlier, they said there hadn’t even been a ransom demand.”
— Hmm... KBR contacted our government immediately. If the Korean government doesn’t know, then the Korean company must not have reported it.
Damn it. My head throbbed at the thought that the right timing had been missed.
They’d taken something that could’ve been resolved with money and made it far more complicated.
“Who’s the terrorist group holding the hostages now?”
— Tawhid wal-Jihad. ‘Monotheism and Jihad.’
“Wasn’t that the group whose leaders were all arrested after I passed you their information?”
The organization Jessica named was one I knew well.
The predecessor of ISIS—the group that would later plunge the world into terror.
I had given Jessica the location of Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, who would later become their leader.
I’d heard they’d all been captured and thought the group was wiped out...
— That’s right. They were arrested as the perpetrators of the UN Iraq office bombing. But it seems some members were still left. We caught the leader, but we didn’t get every last remnant.
I’d tried to nip it in the bud—but nothing had changed.
Even with their leader captured, they survived like cockroaches and carried on the same atrocities.
Once I’d grasped the situation, I told Jessica why I’d called.
“Jessica. If I step in and conduct negotiations myself... what does the U.S. think?”
