Genius Grandson Of The Loan Shark King

The warm sunlight streaming through the window woke me.

I sat up in bed, drank a glass of water from the table beside me, then pressed the bell to summon a servant.

“Bring me a cup of hot coffee and some simple bread.”

The servant bowed and left. After taking a quick shower and changing clothes, I stepped out of the bedroom.

Igor and Manager Kim, who had been waiting outside, approached.

“Boss. Did you sleep well?”

Manager Kim spoke first.

“Did you get some rest too, Manager Kim?”

“Yes. I slept well.”

“That’s good to hear. Any calls from Korea?”

“I spoke with Manager Ma. He said he would contact us again in an hour.”

I nodded and turned to Igor beside him.

“Any contact from the Kremlin?”

“Mr. Medvedev’s office asked us to call again once he wakes up.”

“Then let’s move to the study for now.”

I entered the study with the two of them.

The servant followed us in, placed the food I had requested on the table, then quietly left again.

I looked at the two of them as if asking whether they would join me, but both replied that they had already eaten.

After taking a sip of coffee, I tore off a piece of bread and put it into my mouth.

“Igor. Report.”

I finished my meal while listening to Igor’s long report.

“It sounds like things are becoming quite urgent on the Chinese side. It seems Zeng Qinghong managed to persuade Hu Jintao.”

If Zeng Qinghong, Jiang Zemin’s strategist, moved to Hu Jintao’s side, then Jiang Zemin would have to fight the political struggle with both hands tied.

No matter how powerful Jiang Zemin was, if he had to fight after losing his chariots and cannons, victory would be far from certain.

Jiang Zemin was a setting sun, while Hu Jintao was a rising one.

I silently hoped that Hu Jintao had awakened after the recent assassination attempt and wiped my hands. ƒrēewebnovel.com

“You two can leave now.”

After sending Igor and Manager Kim away, I pulled out my phone.

The first person I called was Medvedev.

— President Kim.

“Medvedev. Are you able to talk?”

— One moment. I’ll move somewhere else.

After a brief pause, Medvedev’s voice came through the receiver again.

— Go ahead, President Kim.

“Any new developments regarding North Korea?”

— Yes. Kim Jongil has reportedly been detained at a villa. Also, the status of Choi Ryunghae is still unconfirmed.

“At least they secured Kim Jongil, then. Have you been able to contact Jang Songthaek?”

— No. We have not been able to reach him.

“Hmm. He must know I crossed into Russia...”

If Russia couldn’t reach him, then even if I tried, there was a good chance he wouldn’t answer.

He was probably too busy suppressing the coup and cleaning up the aftermath.

I pushed those thoughts out of my head and asked Medvedev about the schedule.

“What about today’s meeting with the President?”

— He said he would like to have dinner together after finishing his schedule. I’ll send a car.

“Alright. I’ll be waiting.”

After ending the call with Medvedev, I slowly began organizing my thoughts.

‘I need to persuade Jang Songthaek and use this opportunity to clean up North Korea once and for all.’

Partly for stabilizing North Korea.

But also for myself.

I never wanted to go through something like this again.

“Boss. Manager Ma is calling.”

At that moment, Manager Kim’s voice came through the door along with a knock.

“Come in.”

Manager Kim entered and handed me the phone.

I cleared my throat lightly to signal that I had taken the call, and Manager Ma spoke immediately.

— Boss. Are you alright?

“I’m not bad. What about you? Is everything going well in Korea?”

I briefly mentioned why I had not brought Manager Ma with me to North Korea.

— ...Things might get a little noisy.

“Really? What could possibly be difficult about that?”

— Small and large clashes keep happening while we prepare for the general meeting. So I’m calling to ask permission to use some... harsher methods.

“Hmm... small and large clashes.”

I guess you can’t erase someone’s roots after all. Even if they wear fancy suits, they’re still back-alley gangsters inside.

“They’re refusing to accept the side we’re backing?”

— Chairman Yoo Seongjin didn’t directly designate a successor, so internally things are quite chaotic.

“How loud do you think things will get?”

Manager Ma’s voice came through the receiver, cold and sharp.

— I plan to show them real power this time. That way they’ll never dare to crawl back again. I’ll make sure they never even think about it in the future.

“Understood. Talk to the police and prosecutors first, then clean everything up.”

— Yes, Boss. When do you plan to return to Korea?

“I’m not sure yet. I’m thinking sometime this week.”

— Then come back after everything is settled. For now, it’s probably safest for you to remain in Russia.

So the situation was quite serious. For Manager Ma to ask me to delay returning to Korea...

I couldn’t help asking in ◆ Nоvеlіgһt ◆ (Only on Nоvеlіgһt) a more serious voice.

“Is it that bad?”

— No, it’s not that. I’m just worried you might get dragged into it unnecessarily.

“I see. Alright then, let’s do that.”

It seemed he said that because he was worried about me after everything that had happened this time.

Delaying my return to Korea wasn’t difficult anyway.

“Wrap things up as quickly as possible. I’m counting on you.”

— Yes, Boss. This time I’ll make them clearly understand who you are and what kind of man you are.

Manager Ma spoke with firm determination.

Judging from the way his old tone had returned, he seemed quite angry.

“Don’t push yourself too hard.”

After giving him that warning, I ended the call.

I handed the phone back to Manager Kim.

“It sounds like Chunha Group is pretty chaotic. Look into it and report back.”

“Yes, Boss.”

Manager Kim left as well, leaving me alone in the study.

I fiddled with my phone for a moment, thinking, then pressed the call button again.

— Hey, Muhyuk. I heard there’s chaos in North Korea. Are you alright?

Han Kyungyeong answered before the ringing had even finished and immediately asked about my safety.

“I’m alright... and not alright.”

— What kind of answer is that?

At his bewildered question, I briefly explained what had happened to me.

— That’s really a relief. You can’t bring mercenaries into North Korea, so you’ll have to be even more careful about security.

After hearing everything, Han Kyungyeong let out a deep sigh and started lecturing me about tightening my security.

Since I had caused him worry, I just listened quietly for a while.

“Alright. I’ll be careful. By the way, how’s the mood in Washington and on Wall Street?”

The place that reacted fastest to the sudden upheaval in North Korea was none other than Wall Street.

— It looks like they’re still trying to figure out the situation. No major moves yet.

“That’s good. I’ll be staying in Russia for a while. If anything unusual happens, contact me immediately.”

After instructing Han Kyungyeong to keep a close watch on Wall Street, I ended the call.

Just by making a few calls here and there, I had grasped the overall situation.

I tapped the wooden desk lightly while organizing my future plans in my head.

Late afternoon.

The car Medvedev had sent arrived.

I headed toward the Kremlin with only Igor.

The car separated the driver’s seat from the rear seats, but it was obvious that whatever we said would still reach his ears.

“Igor. It looks like we’ll have to stay in Moscow for quite some time.”

“Yes, Boss. I’ll make the preparations.”

While we spoke, we arrived at the Kremlin.

“Welcome, President Kim. He’s waiting inside.”

Medvedev greeted me.

Following his lead, I entered the Kremlin.

When we stopped in front of the President’s office, Medvedev gave me a look.

“Igor can wait here.”

I ordered Igor to wait nearby and entered the office.

“Welcome, Muhyuk.”

The President, who had been speaking with someone, raised his hand with a smile.

“Mr. President. It’s been a while.”

I bowed my head slightly in greeting and looked at the man he had been speaking with.

“This is the Chinese ambassador.”

The President introduced him first.

The ambassador stood up and walked toward me.

“President Kim Muhyuk. It’s a pleasure to meet you.”

“Yes. I’m Kim Muhyuk. Nice to meet you, Ambassador.”

“That’s enough greetings. Sit down.”

At the President’s gesture, we all sat down. Naturally, he was the absolute authority in this room.

“I thought this was supposed to be a dinner meeting.”

“That was the plan. But the Chinese ambassador insisted on seeing me. And when I thought about it, it seemed related to you as well, Muhyuk.”

I nodded and looked at the Chinese ambassador.

Without any pleasantries, he immediately stated his business.

“We would like construction of the suspended China–Russia gas pipeline to resume.” freewebnoveℓ.com

The President listened with an interested expression, while Medvedev beside me simply smiled.

“This is a national project agreed upon by both China and Russia. Halting it unilaterally without reason cannot possibly have a positive effect on the friendly relations between our two countries.”

“Unilateral, you say...”

The President murmured the word.

Medvedev spoke on his behalf.

“China moved its troops without informing us. In response, our government halted construction as a form of protest.”

“It was a routine military exercise. There was no reason to inform Russia.”

The Chinese ambassador and Medvedev exchanged rather sharp remarks.

“Withdraw the Chinese troops currently conducting exercises. Then we will reconsider resuming construction.”

“If that’s the logic, didn’t Russia also decide to build a naval base in North Korea without consulting us?”

“Is Rason City Chinese territory? Why should we discuss that with the Chinese government? We already discussed it with the North Korean government and reached a full agreement.”

Medvedev’s firm rebuttal made the Chinese ambassador hesitate for a moment.

“Still... the port of Rason is practically the lifeline of our northeastern region. If a Russian naval base appears nearby, from our perspective...”

“We never said we would block China from using the port, did we?”

As the two continued their argument, the President raised his hand.

It was only a small gesture, but the tension between them instantly became apparent.

“Medvedev.”

At the call of his name, Medvedev fell silent.

“Ambassador, that’s enough. Whether construction resumes or not isn’t my decision. The man sitting here is the one who must decide.”

“....”

I suppressed a laugh internally at the President’s tone. He had arranged this meeting, yet now he was shifting the responsibility onto me.

“As long as the Chinese government continues making unreasonable attacks against me, construction will not resume.”

“President Kim Muhyuk.”

“As you know, I have invested a considerable amount of money in China. But what I received in return was extralegal tax investigations into the companies I invested in, along with pressure on their executives to stop accepting my investments.”

“That is a misunderstanding.”

The same tired excuse.

I raised one eyebrow.

“I don’t think so. Former Chairman Jiang Zemin personally told me that on the phone.”

“...What?”

“He told me to surrender. If I did, he promised to stop all attacks. Your side threw the first stone, so why should I just stand there and take the hits? That’s why I requested the Russian government to halt construction. Since I oversee this project entirely, I believed I had the authority to do that.”

It seemed the ambassador hadn’t known about this. As I continued speaking, his face gradually turned pale.

“You asked me to withdraw from China, yet you expected me to leave behind things that benefit the Chinese government?”

“That...”

“I have no intention of yielding first. If China wants construction to resume, then your government must show sincerity first.”

“....”

The Chinese ambassador could not say a word.

I watched him for a moment before turning to the President.

“Mr. President. This meeting makes me uncomfortable.”

“Does it? If Muhyuk feels uncomfortable, then...”

The President nodded and spoke to the ambassador.

“Ambassador, you may leave now. We will arrange another meeting later.”

“...Mr. President.”

“To me, this young man is more important than you. So deliver this message to the Chinese government. Tell them why I was willing to risk even a diplomatic dispute with China to make that decision. You may go.”

It was clearly another dismissal.

The Chinese ambassador reluctantly stood up.

“I will return tomorrow.”

Still unwilling to give up until the end, the ambassador bowed and left.

“I’ve always thought this, but the Chinese are strange people. They act however they want, and when things don’t go their way, they start being stubborn. Don’t you think so, Muhyuk?”

“They never reflect on what they did themselves. They only blame others.”

My answer made the President burst into loud laughter.

“Hahahaha! That’s right. Those fools simply don’t know you well enough, Muhyuk. You’re not the type to get hit and just sit quietly.”

The President stopped laughing and patted my shoulder.

“By the way, I heard you went through quite a bit. Are you injured anywhere?”

“No. Thanks to your help, I was able to escape North Korea safely.”

“That was nothing difficult. If Medvedev hadn’t stopped me, I would have sent the military myself.”

“...Thank you.”

I really need to make sure something like this never happens again. When this man speaks, even casual remarks sound completely serious.

“Well then, since the unpleasant guest is gone, let’s move somewhere else and continue talking over dinner.”