After securing managent rights of Ilseong Trading, Eva pushed through a sweeping personnel reshuffle to take full control.
She also took part in shareholders’ etings, deliberately opposing every agenda pushed by Ilseong Group to shake their grip.
It was then that a call ca.
Not from Japan. From the United States.
— Charlie. Do you take our words as a joke?
“What do you an?”
— We told you to let this pass quietly. Yet you launched an attack on Japan. Even dragging Russia into it.
“I never agreed to that. And Russia is not mine to command. That’s simply a conflict between Russia and Japan.”
Rumsfeld’s voice rose.
— Charlie. In a month, Bush will be President of the United States. Do you think such wordplay will work on ?
“All I asked was that those behind Eva’s attack be handed over. Japan refused. I did what I could.”
Over a month of unrelenting attacks on Japan’s economy had left them reeling. But I was not unscathed either.
Still, I had no thought of stopping.
Even if it ant losing everything I had.
— Charlie, your obstinacy is dragging the whole of Northeast Asia into economic crisis.
“My obstinacy? I rely laid the board. I am bleeding losses, yet Aricans on Wall Street are the ones reaping enormous profits.”
Of course the hyenas on Wall Street, and wolves around the world, would not pass up such a strong scent of money.
That was why I dared plunge into war with Japan, counting on their greed.
— We warned you. You ignored us. Prepare yourself.
A warning from Arica’s neocons...
“Why insist on Japan’s side only? I have funded more political contributions than Japan has.”
— An individual is not a state. Japan is the cornerstone of U.S. policy in Northeast Asia. If Japan falls, the shock will hit Arica as well.
“This ti, I have no intention of yielding.”
— Do not regret it.
Rumsfeld cut the line unilaterally.
I set down the phone and rose from my seat.
Leaving the study, I entered Han Kyungyeong’s room. He was stretching, then stopped and looked at .
“Tired?”
He dropped his arms and smirked.
“This much? Just another day.”
“How’s it going?”
His face was lit with a grin.
“At this point, Japan has no way out. Their only move is to raise interest rates. But they can’t do that without U.S. permission. They’re cornered.”
“So that’s why Arica called.”
“Arica contacted you?”
His surprised look made laugh.
“Yeah. Rumsfeld himself.”
“Ah, so Russia moving its navy must have ruffled the Republicans. No way they don’t know you were behind it.”
Han’s face quickly turned grave. He folded his arms slowly.
“They can’t move yet. We’ll have to tighten the reins further. The U.S. is lowering rates ❖ Nоvеl𝚒ght ❖ (Exclusive on Nоvеl𝚒ght) after the Nasdaq crash—how can Japan alone raise them? Impossible.”
“True... unless the U.S. decides to back them.”
“But think. Who has actually lost in this attack? Only us and Japan. U.S. investors, Wall Street banks—they’re feasting.”
No sane man would risk his own fortune just to shake Korea’s economy.
Yes, there had been tis when profit-seekers drove a nation into collapse.
But no one had dragged others into the pit saying, “If I die, you die with .”
Not in the Asian Financial Crisis. Not in Russia. Not in South Arica.
Wall Street and global forex dealers had always fattened their purses.
And now, Japan—such a fat prey—lay exposed.
The U.S. governnt, champion of free markets, could hardly step in to block profit.
“We don’t know the Bush administration’s full stance yet. We have to wring Japan’s surrender before the inauguration.”
“Hm...”
Han frowned, turning to check the account screens on his computer.
After a mont he said,
“The losses are astronomical already.”
“It doesn’t matter. Once we force Japan’s surrender, once we learn who ordered Eva’s attack, I can earn it all back anyti. So don’t regret.”
He sighed deeply.
“Alright. I’ll pull the reins tighter.”
We talked a while longer about the plan.
“Thanks. Once this is done, let’s travel for a while.”
“Oh! Looking forward to it.”
* * *
In Japan, the Pri Minister and key cabinet mbers convened to deal with the ongoing currency assault.
But no matter how they racked their brains, there was no solution.
If it had only been Kim Muhyuk, they might have managed.
But with his money poured in, Japan had beco the playground of the world’s forex dealers.
And currency attacks were only the beginning.
On top of that, massive dumps of Japanese governnt bonds hit the international market, and the Nikkei—already strained defending against Nasdaq’s crash—was being pounded by short sellers.
The governnt injected astronomical sums to prevent a chain of defaults by firms tied to futures contracts with Future Investnt.
Yet now other banks were faltering too.
Japan was in total crisis, just as Korea had been three years earlier.
The opposition denounced the LDP cabinet daily. Even within the party, rival factions attacked.
The small ball Muhyuk had tossed had beco a snowball, driving Japan’s economy, politics, and society into chaos.
“Why not grant their demand? What good is this pride if it brings us here?”
“Is that what you call a solution?”
The cabinet room itself had beco a battlefield of factions, no unity possible.
“Enough! Enough!”
The Pri Minister slamd his desk and shouted.
The uproar died down.
“I did not call you here to trade bla. I want asures! asures!”
Though faces remained sullen, they held their tongues.
His authority as Pri Minister was still imnse.
“What does Arica say?”
“They forbid us from raising rates.”
“Ha...”
The Foreign Minister’s words drew a deep sigh.
“They hinted, though, that maybe we should yield a little. The Republicans contacted Dreamhigh but were told there would be no compromise.”
The Pri Minister, long at odds with the Clinton administration, had cultivated ties with Republicans. The LDP rejoiced at Bush’s victory.
But now, neither Democrats nor Republicans would help.
Aricans first—always.
With Nasdaq collapsing, the U.S. was cutting rates. They would never permit Japan to raise them.
The Pri Minister’s temples throbbed with stress.
The new Finance Minister, appointed after his predecessor was sacked, spoke cautiously.
“At this pace, we’ll face true ruin. Our foreign reserves in dollars are dwindling. Soon we’ll suffer a crisis like Korea did.”
“Many financial institutions are already on the brink. There is one way: as Hong Kong once did, a sharp, short-term rate hike.”
“But Arica forbids it.”
“If we keep bowing to Arica, we’ll collapse first. If Japan falls, everything ends.”
The Pri Minister’s heart sank with humiliation.
To be brought so low by a single Korean investor.
The Japanese economy, once thought invincible, was crumbling like a sandcastle before waves.
“If we don’t stabilize quickly, the scars will surpass even the bubble collapse a decade ago. This is survival, not pride.”
Every day, the yen swung wildly by ten units. Investors were fleeing.
Any rational investor avoided such volatility.
“Our mistake was simple. We trusted our economy too much. We dismissed Dreamhigh’s resolve. Never imagined they’d fight even at a loss.”
Most still didn’t grasp the full picture. They only thought speculators had targeted the yen, and chaos followed.
The Pri Minister, sighing heavily, suddenly barked,
“Everyone out! Only the Chief Cabinet Secretary stays.”
All others were dismissed, leaving only his closest aide.
The office grew quiet.
“Chief Cabinet Secretary.”
“Yes, Pri Minister.”
“We’ll have to surrender, won’t we?”
“Pri Minister...”
“There’s no way. We can’t let Japan fall again just to protect yakuza trash. Half a century since the Pacific War’s disgrace, and now this.”
1945 had scarred Japan with utter humiliation.
Now, they faced defeat again—not by arms, but by money.
“We underestimated President Kim Muhyuk’s power. And the speculators, drawn by blood scent, gathered in Japan.”
With his head bowed, covering his brow, the Pri Minister asked quietly,
“Do you still think I was wrong to yield to Russia?”
“Yes. If Eva had been in our hands, we could have used her for extre negotiation. But now? Nothing left but surrender.”
The Pri Minister’s face sank deep with sorrow.
“...It could have sparked war.”
“No, sir. War was never going to happen. Neither Arica nor Russia intended that.”
He sighed again. But the weight in his chest only grew heavier.
“The die is cast. You’ve secured all involved in Eva’s attack?”
“Yes. The Vice Director of Cabinet Intelligence Bureau, and all related yakuza, are in custody.”
He closed his eyes tightly.
“...Contact Korea.”
“Pri Minister...”
“When this is over, I will dissolve the cabinet, dissolve the Diet, and call new elections. Prepare for that.”
Among all his powers, the Pri Minister’s greatest was the right to dissolve Parliant.
Sensing his own era was over, he readied his final struggle.
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