Free Web NovelI left Russia with Medvedev seeing me off.
When I arrived at Incheon Airport, Director Ma was waiting for me.
“Boss. Welcome back.”
“It’s been a while.”
Director Ma bowed as he always did.
Seeing that familiar gesture, I felt glad to see him again and lightly patted his shoulder with a smile.
“I’m sorry.”
“It wasn’t your fault, Director. It’s fine. No one could have predicted that. I never imagined they’d mobilize the military against me. That was my misjudgment.”
“No. I should have detected the movement in advance and warned you, Boss. And no matter what happened, I should have followed you.”
Director Ma spoke with his head still bowed, his voice full of self-reproach and regret.
“If we’re going to talk like that, then it’s all my fault. I trusted you and gave you that responsibility in the first place. Stop blaming yourself. I’ll be more careful too so something like this never happens again. Excessive worry only creates bigger problems. Let’s leave it at that. For now, let’s go to Pyeongchang-dong.”
I reassured Director Ma and got into the car as we headed for Pyeongchang-dong.
When I returned there after so long, the place welcomed me just as it always had.
Inside my study, Director Ma began reporting everything that had happened.
“What happened to the opposition inside Chunha Group?”
“All management-level personnel above department head who sided with Yang Wooguk have been dealt with. We didn’t kill them. We plan to send them to an uninhabited island in the West Sea and have them perform forced labor for the rest of their lives.”
They had all risen to executive positions long ago, so it had probably been quite some time since they had done physical labor.
I smirked and nodded.
“At their age, working on a deserted island won’t be easy. Well done.”
Yang Wooguk and several of his key associates were probably fish food at the bottom of the sea by now.
I deliberately didn’t bring that up.
“So Im Hwasu has completely taken control of Chunha Group?”
“The general meeting officially decided on Im Hwasu’s appointment as chairman, and the inauguration ceremony will be held next week.”
If the inauguration was next week, it might not be a bad idea for me to attend.
After thinking for a moment, I looked at Director Ma.
“Director. I’m thinking of making time to attend next week. What do you think?”
“I think it’s a good idea. It will be an opportunity to show everyone attending the ceremony who the real owner of Chunha Group is. Most of the executives now know how frightening you are, Boss, but many of the lower-level employees don’t even know who you are.”
It seemed he had cleaned everything up perfectly.
Since Director Ma agreed, I made my decision.
“Then let’s attend the inauguration ceremony and meet Chairman Im Hwasu there.”
Originally I had planned to summon Im Hwasu separately, but there was no reason to do the same thing twice.
“Yes. I’ll arrange the schedule accordingly.”
“Choosing to entrust things to you was the right decision, Director. You worked hard. I’m glad you weren’t hurt.”
When I praised him sincerely, Director Ma immediately shook his head.
He must have been thinking about what happened to me in North Korea.
“It was nothing.”
“You did well, and that’s that. If you hadn’t moved personally, I might have abandoned Chunha Group altogether. I already have enough headaches from other matters. I don’t want Chunha Group of all things holding me back and complicating what I’m doing.”
The moment I heard that internal conflict had broken out, I had even considered abandoning Chunha Group.
When a business carries too much risk, it’s better to cut it off cleanly.
But now that Director Ma had handled everything perfectly, the chance of something like this happening again had dropped significantly.
Just then, there was a knock on the study door, followed by a familiar voice.
“Boss. Can I come in?”
“Come in.”
It was Eva, who had returned to Korea on my orders and was now overseeing the Hong Kong and broader Asian markets.
She opened the door and stepped into the study after receiving my permission.
“Boss!”
Eva walked toward me with a bright smile. She looked much healthier than the last time I saw her, having gained a bit of weight.
“Did you enjoy your vacation?”
“Of course. Don’t you think I’ve gotten prettier?”
Eva winked playfully.
“You’ve gotten pretty tan. Did you tan on purpose?”
“No. I got this tan in the Middle East.”
“I heard you were working in the Middle East even though I told you to rest.”
When I lightly scolded her, Eva pouted.
“How can I properly rest when the boss I serve is a workaholic? Still, I traveled around Europe and enjoyed my vacation plenty.”
“That’s why I was planning to give you a sabbatical this year. Sorry. Things moved too urgently, and I needed someone I could trust.”
Han Kyungyeong handled the U.S. and Europe, but Eva managed all of Asia.
And the center of this whole situation was Asia.
So I had no choice but to call her back.
Hearing my words, Eva looked touched and opened her arms.
“You trusting me actually makes me happier.”
I stood up, hugged her lightly, and told her to sit.
Director Ma stood up.
“Boss. I’ll take my leave.”
“Alright. Arrange the schedule... and ah, I think I’ll be having dinner at the Blue House tonight.”
“Yes. We’ve already been contacted. I’ll prepare that as well.”
After I nodded, Director Ma bowed and left.
The moment he stepped out, Eva moved closer to me and spoke in a worried voice.
“Boss. Are you okay? I heard it was dangerous.”
“It was dangerous. But I got lucky and survived.”
“If something had happened to you...”
Eva couldn’t finish her sentence and looked at me with worried eyes.
“Don’t worry. Something like that won’t happen again. What about Hong Kong and Japan? Any movements there?”
“Hm... actually, the strange thing is that nothing noticeable has happened.”
Eva began reporting everything she had ◆ Nоvеlіgһt ◆ (Only on Nоvеlіgһt) discovered since returning.
“If something that big happened in China, the Hong Kong market should have reacted first. But there’s no movement at all. Even when I checked European banks, there were no major changes.”
“Really? That is strange.”
According to Han Kyungyeong’s report, forces on Wall Street that had obtained information in advance had already made massive short option contracts.
Yet Hong Kong and Shanghai showed no movement.
Even though if a sudden crisis erupted in China, the Hong Kong stock market would inevitably collapse.
“Start gradually withdrawing the funds invested in the Hong Kong and Shanghai markets.”
It was time to recover the funds I had scattered everywhere anyway, in preparation for an event that would occur several years later.
I had intended to observe the situation a little longer, but since the market’s movement was deviating from what I remembered, I needed to minimize risk.
“Withdraw them?”
“Reduce the weight slowly so it doesn’t shock the market. At the latest, by the end of next year.”
“Sounds like there’s some kind of event coming. Got it. I’ll reduce the position little by little like you said. But you know it’ll be hard to liquidate everything, right?”
“I know. Just recover as much capital as possible.”
Eva nodded while tapping on her tablet.
Then she tilted her pen thoughtfully and asked another question.
“Okay, so the funds invested in the stock market... but what about the investments in Chinese companies? Should we pull those out too?”
I shook my head.
“Leave them. Actually, I’m planning to invest more.”
In the economic crisis that would occur in a few years, the stock market might shake.
But companies that had not yet gone public would continue to grow, and their value would keep rising.
“When China’s political situation stabilizes, we’ll invest even more. Prepare for that.”
“Are you sure that’s okay? After this incident, I trust China even less as a country.”
Eva spoke with concern.
To be honest, I didn’t trust China either.
But refusing to invest in a country expected to experience such explosive growth would be foolish.
After talking with Eva for a while longer, I stood up.
“Let’s eat before you go. I have to go to the Blue House, so I can’t spare much more time.”
Over lunch, Eva told me stories about what had happened in the Middle East.
Seeing her again after so long, she seemed much brighter than before.
* * *
Late at night.
I had a quiet dinner and drinks with Yoon Changho at his residence.
“When the U.S. embassy informed me that you had been attacked, I was shocked.”
He filled my glass with alcohol as he spoke in a voice full of concern.
“Even before your survival was confirmed, I issued an emergency order to the military. Despite strong opposition.”
Smiling, I took the bottle from him and filled his glass.
“I heard about that from Myungsoo. You went too far. If the military had moved at that time, China would have had no choice but to mobilize its forces as well.”
“I didn’t have time to think about that. My mind went completely blank. The U.S. president even contacted me directly to stop me.”
Yoon Changho sighed deeply, clearly still frustrated when thinking about it.
“You received a call from President Bush?”
“Yes. He said an attack on the North could never be permitted.”
“Well, the U.S. government had no choice. Still, I heard information sharing went smoothly.”
In an unusual move, the U.S. government had immediately shared intelligence with the Korean government through the embassy.
Thanks to that, the Blue House had been able to grasp the situation quickly.
“But I couldn’t help feeling uneasy. If something happened to you, everything we’ve started could collapse.” freewebnøvel.com
Relations with North Korea.
Business with Russia.
Negotiations with the Japanese government.
All of those achievements had been led by me.
Of course, because I valued practical benefits over fame, all the credit would be recorded as achievements of Yoon Changho’s administration.
What he feared losing was likely not my safety—but the achievements that had been packaged as his.
“That’s probably true.”
Even if I disappeared, everything wouldn’t collapse immediately.
But during Yoon Changho’s term, the results would never fully materialize.
“When I heard you had safely crossed the Russian border, I was greatly relieved. I also conveyed our gratitude to the Russian government. Though I don’t like the fact that Russia, not us, saved one of our citizens.”
“The ones who rescued me directly were mercenaries. I requested them myself, and with help from the Russian government, we crossed the North Korean border quickly.”
For Russia, even if the rescue mission had failed, there wouldn’t have been major diplomatic consequences.
Actually... maybe there would have been.
If the mission had failed, the Russian military would have moved.
“I did mention that if the rescue operation failed, the owner of the Kremlin might deploy the military. I’m glad it succeeded. I’m tired of diplomatic disputes.”
“Hahaha. That man and I think the same way.”
Yoon Changho laughed loudly, pleased to hear someone shared his thoughts.
“Let’s have another drink.”
We emptied our glasses together.
After setting his glass down, Yoon Changho looked at me and asked quietly,
“So... is everything roughly settled now?”
“Yes. For the most part, I’ve done everything I could. North Korea has completely suppressed the coup, and I hear only formal procedures remain.”
I explained North Korea’s situation to him in detail.
This was information that no country other than Jang Songthaek and me knew.
Several times during my explanation, Yoon Changho’s eyes widened.
Clearly shocked, he emptied glass after glass while listening.
“Incredible. Truly incredible. Then we can say Jang Songthaek has completely seized control of North Korea.”
“That’s right. This could actually become an opportunity. My safety was severely threatened, but relations with North Korea during your presidency will likely improve rather than worsen.”
Yoon Changho nodded and reached for the bottle.
I took it first and filled his glass again before continuing.
“It seems Hu Jintao will launch a counterattack in China. If he wins this struggle, relations with Korea will probably recover.”
“...I still can’t believe people around me were passing information to China.”
There was nothing I could say to that.
This was something Yoon Changho had to bear himself.
“Well, at least we managed to catch them all now.”
He forced a bitter smile.
Using this incident as an opportunity, he had conducted a full investigation of everyone working at the Blue House.
Spies had been discovered not only for China, but also for Japan and even the United States.
“Think of it as a blessing in disguise.”
In the long run, discovering all the moles in the Blue House was not a bad outcome.
“And I heard Chunha Group was quite chaotic as well.”
“It seems their origins couldn’t be helped. I heard they went through a purge this time.”
“Sounds like it was resolved well.”
“Yes. The new chairman’s inauguration ceremony will be next week. I’m planning to attend personally.”
We continued talking and exchanging drinks for a long time.
Eventually, the night grew late, and it was time to leave for the sake of tomorrow’s schedule.
Before I left the residence, Yoon Changho spoke.
“President Kim. From now on, be more careful about your safety.”
There seemed to be no calculation behind those words.
Just pure concern.
I could tell from the expression on Yoon Changho’s face under the moonlight.
I looked at him quietly for a moment, promised to be careful, and then left the Blue House.
