The warm sunlight streaming through the window woke .
I sat up in bed, drank a glass of water from the table beside , then pressed the bell to summon a servant.
“Bring a cup of hot coffee and so 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 so 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. dvedev’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 , 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 al 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.
“You two can leave now.”
After sending Igor and Manager Kim away, I pulled out my phone.
The first person I called was dvedev.
— President Kim.
“dvedev. Are you able to talk?”
— One mont. I’ll move sowhere else.
After a brief pause, dvedev’s voice ca through the receiver again.
— Go ahead, President Kim.
“Any new developnts regarding North Korea?”
— Yes. Kim Jongil has reportedly been detained at a villa. Also, the status of Choi Ryunghae is still unconfird.
“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 dvedev about the schedule.
“What about today’s eting 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 dvedev, 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 sothing like this again.
“Boss. Manager Ma is calling.”
At that mont, Manager Kim’s voice ca through the door along with a knock.
“Co in.”
Manager Kim entered and handed the phone.
I cleared my throat lightly to signal that I had taken the call, and Manager Ma spoke imdiately.
— Boss. Are you alright?
“I’m not bad. What about you? Is everything going well in Korea?”
I briefly ntioned why I had not brought Manager Ma with 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 eting. So I’m calling to ask permission to use so... harsher thods.
“Hmm... small and large clashes.”
I guess you can’t erase soone’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 ca through the receiver, cold and sharp.
— I plan to show them real power this ti. 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 soti this week.”
— Then co 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 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 seed he said that because he was worried about after everything that had happened this ti.
Delaying my return to Korea wasn’t difficult anyway.
“Wrap things up as quickly as possible. I’m counting on you.”
— Yes, Boss. This ti 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 seed 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 alone in the study.
I fiddled with my phone for a mont, 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 imdiately 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 .
— That’s really a relief. You can’t bring rcenaries 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 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 imdiately.”
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 dvedev 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 so ti.”
“Yes, Boss. I’ll make the preparations.”
While we spoke, we arrived at the Kremlin.
“Welco, President Kim. He’s waiting inside.”
dvedev greeted .
Following his lead, I entered the Kremlin.
When we stopped in front of the President’s office, dvedev gave a look.
“Igor can wait here.”
I ordered Igor to wait nearby and entered the office.
“Welco, Muhyuk.”
The President, who had been speaking with soone, 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 .
“President Kim Muhyuk. It’s a pleasure to et you.”
“Yes. I’m Kim Muhyuk. Nice to et 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 eting.”
“That was the plan. But the Chinese ambassador insisted on seeing . And when I thought about it, it seed related to you as well, Muhyuk.”
I nodded and looked at the Chinese ambassador.
Without any pleasantries, he imdiately stated his business.
“We would like construction of the suspended China–Russia gas pipeline to resu.”
The President listened with an interested expression, while dvedev beside 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.
dvedev spoke on his behalf.
“China moved its troops without informing us. In response, our governnt halted construction as a form of protest.”
“It was a routine military exercise. There was no reason to inform Russia.”
The Chinese ambassador and dvedev 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 governnt? We already discussed it with the North Korean governnt and reached a full agreent.”
dvedev’s firm rebuttal made the Chinese ambassador hesitate for a mont.
“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 argunt, the President raised his hand.
It was only a small gesture, but the tension between them instantly beca apparent.
“dvedev.”
At the call of his na, dvedev fell silent.
“Ambassador, that’s enough. Whether construction resus 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 eting, yet now he was shifting the responsibility onto .
“As long as the Chinese governnt continues making unreasonable attacks against , construction will not resu.”
“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 investnts.”
“That is a misunderstanding.”
The sa tired excuse.
I raised one eyebrow.
“I don’t think so. Forr Chairman Jiang Zemin personally told that on the phone.”
“...What?”
“He told 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 governnt to halt construction. Since I oversee this project entirely, I believed I had the authority to do that.”
It seed the ambassador hadn’t known about this. As I continued speaking, his face gradually turned pale.
“You asked to withdraw from China, yet you expected to leave behind things that benefit the Chinese governnt?”
“That...”
“I have no intention of yielding first. If China wants construction to resu, then your governnt must show sincerity first.”
“....”
The Chinese ambassador could not say a word.
I watched him for a mont before turning to the President.
“Mr. President. This eting makes 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 eting later.”
“...Mr. President.”
“To , this young man is more important than you. So deliver this ssage to the Chinese governnt. 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 bla 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 dvedev hadn’t stopped , I would have sent the military myself.”
“...Thank you.”
I really need to make sure sothing 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 sowhere else and continue talking over dinner.”
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