“President Choi Sun-man gave the order.”
When Heo Geun-yong uttered Choi Sun-man’s na, I was honestly a little surprised.
Choi Sun-man and Seo Jae-hoon, huh...
Two n who could not be more incompatible had joined hands. Things were getting interesting.
I looked at Heo, who had just downed another glass of whiskey.
“Alright. Now tell everything you know.”
Resting my chin on my hand, I watched him with faint amusent.
“I... if I tell you everything...”
I could already guess what he was trying to say, so I raised a hand and cut him off.
“As I said before, I’ll send you back in one piece. I keep my promises.”
Only then did Heo start speaking, slowly.
“President Choi contacted out of the blue.”
I didn’t interrupt; I simply listened.
“That’s... all I know.”
“Hmm... so the point is, you don’t know a damn thing?”
He went on for quite a while after that, but there was nothing new.
Choi Sun-man had given the order, and Heo had approved it. That was it.
“That’s really all?”
Heo gave a small nod, and I couldn’t help frowning.
“So, you’re saying you approved it just because Choi told you to, without a single explanation?”
“You don’t understand that man. He has devoted his entire life to the Republic of Korea. That’s why people follow him without question.”
“What a load of bullshit.”
Those words coming from him of all people— laughable. I looked at Heo like he was sothing crawling on the floor.
“You, Governor, were part of the student and democratization movents in your youth. You stood against the military regi. And yet now you say he devoted his life to the Republic? Are you insane? That man never did anything for this country. Everything he’s done was for his own power. Stop spouting nonsense.”
Heo’s face twisted.
“You...”
“People like you make sick. Pretending to be righteous and clean while you wallow in filth behind closed doors. Don’t you dare call yourself a man of democracy. You insult those who threw away their lives to fight tyranny. Do you understand ?”
Maybe the man in front of had once been pure. But politics corrupts— it always does.
He bit his lip, perhaps out of sha.
To , though, he just looked like a bloated pig.
“I don’t even expect you to stay pure. People change— that’s life. But you should at least feel sorry for the ones who bled for democracy. That’s the bare minimum of being human.”
Heo said nothing.
“If you were going to switch sides, you could’ve at least made it worthwhile.”
I clicked my tongue and stared at him with open contempt.
“You’re nothing more than a pawn to Choi Sun-man. You don’t even know what’s going on, and you just do as you’re told. After all those decades in the Assembly, that’s the best you can manage?”
“No... he and I...”
“So you do know the reason for that loan to Ilseong, then? You said you didn’t. So what, you don’t?”
He understood exactly what I ant. Of course he must’ve asked— but Choi Sun-man wouldn’t have answered.
Which ant Heo had been nothing more than a disposable piece from the start.
“Go ho. And tomorrow, you’ll resign from your post as governor. Stay out of politics for good.”
“...”
He didn’t answer. His lips tightened in silence.
“Answer . Resign tomorrow. Otherwise— you’ll be seeing again.”
His eyes bloodshot with fury and humiliation, Heo finally forced out a hoarse voice.
“Don’t you break your promise!”
“I’m sending you back, aren’t I? Did you think you could stay in that seat forever? Even if I said nothing, MOFIA will do everything in their power to drag you down. From the mont you ignored them and listened to Choi Sun-man, your fall was already decided. If you want to keep even a shred of dignity, step down on your own.”
Shock spread across Heo’s face. Guess he hadn’t seen that coming.
Pathetic fool. I didn’t even bother to hide my disdain as I glared at him.
“Go beg Choi Sun-man to save you, then. Not that he’ll even take your call now.”
That said, I pressed the bell again to summon Manager Ma.
“Take him ho.”
Heo called out urgently as he was being led away.
“Mr. Kim!”
“I said by tomorrow.”
My tone was cold as I nodded to Ma. My n entered and escorted him out.
When the door shut, Ma turned to .
“You’re just letting him go?”
“Of course.”
“You’re not going to kill him?”
“No. What would be the point of killing a card that’s already been played and thrown away? He’s as good as dead anyway. But I can’t leave him completely alone. Send all the drug records to the U.S., and notify the GK side about his daughter.”
Heo’s daughter was engaged to the youngest son of GK Group— a conglorate ranked around thirtieth in Korea.
“Just deliver the information. Let GK decide what to do with it.”
“Yes, boss.”
When Ma left, I leaned back on the sofa and looked up at the ceiling.
“Seo Jae-hoon and Choi Sun-man... they can hold hands all they want. I’m going to wipe them both out anyway.”
Both n were already marked for removal. Their alliance changed nothing.
It only introduced a small variable— one that could be adjusted.
The real issue was that Choi Sun-man’s faction was far stronger than I had anticipated.
Many collaborators from the old military regi still lingered in high places, and worse yet, the military itself was the real concern.
If they actually decided to move, things would get complicated fast.
“I’ll have to stir up Japan first.”
I needed to make sure the military had no excuse to act.
Once the World Cup was over— when the world’s attention turned elsewhere— that’s when I’d move.
With Arica and Russia focused on Iraq and Chechnya, this was the perfect window.
Ever since I’d turned my focus toward Korea, events had been coming one after another— I couldn’t help letting out a deep sigh.
* * *
Heo Geun-yong resigned from his position as Industrial Bank governor.
His son was arrested in the U.S. for possession and use of illegal drugs.
His daughter’s engagent was called off right before the wedding.
In an instant, everything Heo had built crumbled to dust. Yet Choi Sun-man showed no reaction whatsoever.
“So he really was a throwaway piece.”
“Seems that way, boss.”
I had entertained a faint hope that Choi might make a move for Heo’s sake— which would’ve helped reveal the hidden structure of his network.
But as expected, he didn’t.
The loan had already been disbursed, and Ilseong Card managed to weather the storm.
“How’s Chairman Seo Yong-geon’s condition?”
“No improvent, sir.”
“Pity. It would’ve been interesting if he’d woken up.”
I wondered how Seo would’ve reacted to the current situation.
Would he have grabbed his own neck in rage? Or gone berserk? Either way, the man was finished, and that was mildly disappointing.
“The Defense Security Command has stopped their misinformation operations, correct?”
“Yes. They seem to have realized we caught on. They’re no longer trying to interfere or feed us false intel.”
“At least they know when to stop.”
“Are you considering recruiting them?”
I shook my head firmly.
“No. Once Yoon Chang-ho takes power, all of them will be stripped of their uniforms.”
“...”
“Keep monitoring the military. The chance of action is low, but those people have done it once before. There’s no law saying they won’t try again.”
“Yes, boss.”
First, I needed to make sure the Japanese Self-Defense Forces didn’t cross into Dokdo.
“If the SDF doesn’t move, the army won’t have any justification to declare martial law. Their deployable forces are limited. I plan to use Japan to give them an excuse— but if we block that, the military can’t move at all.”
“Should we inform Kim Hakgwon?”
At Ma’s question, I shook my head. The waddling duck had outlived his usefulness.
“Even if he knows, nothing will change. The man just wants to finish his term quietly. If he wanted a fight, he wouldn’t have granted that pardon. Don’t worry too much.”
“I’ll make preparations anyway.”
He was worried not about a coup, but about my safety.
“Do as you see fit.”
“Yes, boss.”
Only after I said that did Ma finally relax. I smiled faintly watching him.
Then ca the day of the semifinal against Germany.
The public was abuzz with anticipation— everyone was waiting to see what kind of advertisent would appear in the newspapers that day.
Well, it wasn’t strange. After all, every ad had correctly predicted the match results so far.
And this ti, the sponsors’ nas made it even more intriguing.
[Joongwoo Group and Taesan Bank stand together with the Korean national football team and the people of the Republic of Korea.]
It wasn’t another match prediction, but an ad featuring Joongwoo Group and Taesan Bank— sparking countless speculations.
But the results were spectacular.
All the previous World Cup events we had tied to the campaign were now being revisited and praised.
Joongwoo Group had provided free water, cheering gear, and blankets for street supporters.
Taesan Bank had launched a savings product with interest rates increasing as the national team advanced.
As a result, we’d managed to outshine Daehyeon Motors— the official FIFA sponsor.
“Truly remarkable, sir.”
Joongwoo Group’s Chairman Kim Byung-woo looked at with sothing between awe and unease.
“Every prediction you made ca true. The supplies we prepared reached countless people, and today’s ad, with Joongwoo’s na on it, brought us an incredible boost.”
“That was the point.”
“From now on, I won’t doubt a single one of your instructions, Mr. Kim. Ha-ha!”
I gave a faint, awkward smile at his overblown praise.
“It’s always been like that. Back then, I didn’t know why you were telling to do sothing, but once ti passed— everything turned out exactly the way you said.”
As Kim Byung-woo kept showering with gold-plated complints, I changed the subject.
“By the way, what ❀ Nоvеlігht ❀ (Don’t copy, read here) happened with the aid shipnt to Afghanistan?”
“Ah, Moolsan is handling it. Fortunately, there’s a small dostic company certified by the Islamic Halal Standards Authority. We placed an order for canned goods with them.”
Apparently, Korea did have so Halal-certified companies after all.
“Really? That’s good to hear.”
“They said the supplies will arrive in Afghanistan within three months.”
“And the dicine?”
“That’s all ready to go. It’ll be sent together once the food is loaded.”
I nodded, satisfied.
“As expected, Moolsan does good work.”
“Ha-ha, Joongwoo Moolsan’s employees are second to none.”
“This won’t be the last ti. Keep supporting that Halal food company so they can expand production.”
“You an, invest in them?”
“Yes. Halal-certified products will be in high demand. The CEO must have gone through a complicated certification process because he saw the future. That kind of person is worth investing in.”
“Then what about acquiring the company outright?”
Buying it wouldn’t be a bad idea, but there was no need to make things complicated.
“No need to go that far. Just make sure our orders always take priority.”
“Understood. I’ll deliver that ssage.”
Satisfied that the business talk was wrapped up, I turned on the TV.
“By the way, sir,” Kim Byung-woo said.
“Yes?”
“How do you think today’s match will go? Do you think we’ll make it to the finals?”
I simply smiled in response.
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