Threshing the Grain
Marine Lieutenant Colonel Gwak Ji-hun.
Not so long ago, he had been seriously wondering whether he should just quit the army altogether. But over the last few days, the political maelstrom had twisted his future into something he never could have imagined.
...Huh?
He hadn’t gone to Seoul because he was some puppy trailing after a friend; he’d marched there after the man he knew as his hyung. And before he knew it, he’d become a man of great merit.
“Captain Gwak Ji-hun, promoted by two ranks!”
One rank for escorting the Emperor. Another for his role in putting down the rebellion. Thanks to the higher-ups slicing his promotions into neat little pieces while working their brains to the bone, he had rocketed from captain to major, then from major to lieutenant colonel in the span of a few hours.
On top of that, the enormous duty of guarding the Emperor in place of the Guard Brigade and the Capital Defense Command, both of which were now in the middle of a sweeping reorganization, had landed squarely on his shoulders.
Well, to be fair, the only troops the man he called hyung trusted these days were the marines who had followed him from the beginning.
So yes, it was merit—but there was no denying that invisible political balancing had played a huge part in pushing him all the way to lieutenant colonel at such a young age.
Even the sky-high Marine Corps commander had praised him until his throat went dry, saying he had “done a truly great thing for the protection of the state’s ancestral shrine.”
He probably hadn’t imagined that the commander, who even made coffee for him personally, had been just as tense as he was. Or maybe that was just his imagination.
People said power made the position, but for Gwak Ji-hun, who had only recently climbed into this one, it was hard not to feel dazed.
Even so, he had enough sense not to show it.
That was why he’d been able to state his purpose without trembling, even in front of the black-suited men from JD Group.
I was actually thinking about getting a job here after I retired.
He had even looked into whether there were any hiring notices for former officers. JD Group was that kind of conglomerate—one even Gwak Ji-hun had envied.
...Though he’d never dreamed he’d be storming into the company headquarters itself.
After all, it was the only force available to deal with JD Group, that offshoot of the Kim family, without showing a shred of mercy—more precisely, the only force they could trust completely.
And since there was now the pretext that the Emperor himself would oversee the investigation, the Joint Investigation Headquarters had asked the escort unit for cooperation without hesitation.
In that case, the unit had to live up to the expectation, at least.
“What’s all this noise this early in the morning? Who the hell are you people!”
Especially now, when an exalted guest had come calling.
“You damn soldiers who crawled out from god knows where, barging into someone else’s company and kicking up dust? Do you even know where you’ve come crawling into?”
Kim Hyeong-cheol, executive director of strategic planning at JD Group.
“How dare you block the path in front of me when I carry the blood of the Kim family? Call your superior right now. No—get the head of the Joint Investigation Headquarters in front of me this instant!”
The security men, who had been shuffling backward, flinched—and at the shout, began forming up again.
“This is the Joint Investigation Headquarters. Get a grip. If you don’t cooperate right now—”
“You bastards! Are you fucking with me right now?”
They were trying to form a scrum and seal the place off by force.
The soldiers were about to crash through them and suppress the obstruction.
Gwak Ji-hun drew the pistol at his hip and lifted it skyward.
Then he fired a warning shot into the ceiling.
Bang!
At the violent report, every head in the room snapped in his direction.
While everyone stared in shock, dust pattered down from the ceiling where the bullet had lodged.
Hm.
Was that a live round?
Another mistake.
So the first shot hadn’t been a blank. Well, it was the first pistol he’d ever received after his promotion to field-grade officer, so how was he supposed to know?
Still, the effect was excellent.
Everyone here was looking at him as though he were insane.
Even Kim Hyeong-cheol, who had been shouting himself hoarse a moment ago, had gone paper-white.
Gwak Ji-hun decided to brazen it out.
“Arrest them all! Anyone refusing to cooperate with the investigation can be hauled in for obstruction of official duty!”
“As expected of the unit commander!”
“That’s the commander’s order! Wipe them out!”
Perhaps infected by Gwak Ji-hun’s audacity, the soldiers began beating down everyone who stood in their way.
As soon as the order dropped, the marines charged the security staff like tigers.
“Y-you crazy bastards!”
“Aaaagh!”
It wasn’t even a fight to begin with. No matter how sturdy the company security guards might have been, they were no match for armed soldiers.
In an instant, the lobby turned into a rough-and-tumble brawl, and Kim Hyeong-cheol was no exception.
“Investigator-nim, this bastard counts as a target too, right?”
“Yes, that is correct.”
Gwak Ji-hun grabbed Kim Hyeong-cheol by the nape as he was being thrashed into submission.
The man had probably never been hit in his life, some privileged bastard from a collateral branch of a noble family, and that was why he’d dared to stand in their way.
From Gwak Ji-hun’s perspective, though, he was just wondering what kind of nerve the man had.
“Drag him along.”
He flung Kim Hyeong-cheol to the floor as casually as if he were tossing out an insect.
And when they reached the chairman’s office on the top floor with the investigators in tow, Kim A-ra was already waiting there with her arms folded.
Two investigators stepped up to her.
“Chairwoman Kim A-ra. We’ll need you to accompany us on charges of supporting a criminal organization, violating the Political Funds Act, and bribery under the Special Crimes Act, among others.”
“Understood. I’ll cooperate faithfully.”
She extended both hands without a hint of agitation, and the executive standing beside her turned ashen and shouted, horrified.
“Chairwoman! You need to contact the main family at once! You mustn’t let them take you like this!”
“Don’t be ugly about it, Executive Director Park.”
Kim A-ra’s cold gaze drove into him like a blade.
“If you’re innocent, then all you have to do is go along with the investigation and come back out. Isn’t that right?”
“C-Chairwoman!”
“Let’s all calm down, shall we, sir?”
Executive Director Park, still thrashing in protest, had his arms pinned like baggage by the other investigators.
With Kim A-ra already handcuffed, she strode out with regal composure.
The marines then lifted the stunned Executive Director Park as if he were cargo and loaded him into the van.
* * *
“Your Excellency. The search and seizure operation at JD Group headquarters has just concluded. Miss... Chairwoman Kim A-ra and the conglomerate’s entire core executive team have been transported to the Joint Investigation Headquarters.”
And there was more: several members of the gentry families connected to Song Hak-su’s testimony had also been urgently arrested at home.
Kim Yang-han’s face did not so much as twitch.
In the end, the only ones they could entangle were the small fry.
No matter how hard they shook down JD Group, no matter whose names might come spilling out of Song Hak-su’s mouth, that shallow little fire would never reach him.
That was all the Joint Investigation Headquarters could possibly rope in.
But there was something else that irritated Kim Yang-han.
Why?
Kim A-ra had entered the palace and met the Emperor alone.
And the moment she left, JD Group headquarters was raided and she herself was dragged off to the Joint Investigation Headquarters.
It was as if he had been summoned by the Emperor to discuss state affairs, tacitly received a hint about a prime ministerial nomination, and then immediately slapped across the face through a public address to the nation.
Kim Yang-han narrowed his eyes.
Her movements were impossible to predict.
...Is he just a madman who doesn’t care about anything except stabbing people in the back?
Apparently live ammunition had even been used to break into JD Group.
Granted, this was a state of emergency—but conglomerates and prosecutors, or conglomerates and the National Tax Service, clashing was nothing unusual.
Was there really any need to go that far?
Or had a man who was that bold—or reckless—been able to defeat Song Hak-su and the rebel army precisely because of it?
That only made things more complicated inside Kim Yang-han’s head.
Either way, he was dealing with an opponent whose calculations refused to settle.
At this rate, he had no choice but to hear Kim A-ra out.
He didn’t even need to think about how he would hear the details from someone who had been taken by the Joint Investigation Headquarters. It was obvious Kim A-ra wouldn’t stay there long.
Just as he had used Kim A-ra as a pawn, Kim A-ra also had plenty of people willing to take the fall for her.
A short while later.
Kim A-ra, who had been undergoing an intense interrogation by the Joint Investigation Headquarters, was released. On paper, the reason was something like “no risk of flight or destruction of evidence.”
The moment she was freed, Kim A-ra headed straight for Jangdong.
“You’ve had a hard time.”
Seated in the chair of honor, Kim Yang-han welcomed his daughter with a gentle voice.
At least on the surface, he looked like nothing more than a kindly old father.
“Father. I’m sorry for causing you concern.”
Kim A-ra knelt on the floor and lowered her head.
She looked visibly worn down from several days of questioning, and Kim Yang-han spoke with a mild expression.
“What fault could possibly be yours? You were just caught in the crossfire of a madman’s dance with a blade.”
There had once been a time when he had fooled her with that look.
A time when she had believed her father loved her.
But Kim A-ra, who had climbed this high, knew better now.
To Kim Yang-han at this point, nothing mattered except his own power.
And the one thing he wanted to confirm, without even giving her time to rest after all she had endured, was only this: had she betrayed him, and where exactly did the Emperor’s intentions lie?
“I’ve spent the entire time while you were detained wondering why His Majesty would be so enraged.”
He had already heard what she and the Emperor had discussed. They supposedly exchanged polite conversation and then spoke of ways to “cooperate” in support of His Majesty’s flourishing reign.
He couldn’t dismiss that as a complete lie.
In fact, even after speaking in a friendly manner with him, the Emperor had flipped his words over like a piece of parchment and turned on a dime.
Among the Gyeonghwa noble families, there were even some fools murmuring that Kim Yang-han must have said something to provoke the Emperor into pulling a stunt like this.
But Kim Yang-han was not the sort to be taken in by such a transparent attempt at sowing discord.
That didn’t mean he trusted Kim A-ra one hundred percent, either.
Kim A-ra finally spoke.
“I believe it was a performance designed to show the public His Majesty’s declared drive to purge corruption. Nothing is more sensational—or more certain—than smashing JD Group as the target.”
“And?”
Kim Yang-han asked, stroking his chin.
“To bind the mouth and limbs of the Kim family... that is what I suspect. His Majesty is also wary of JD’s power in media and public opinion warfare. Before I could use JD Group to sway public sentiment, he must have wanted to strike first and cripple the group itself.”
It was JD’s power that had allowed the political tide to be forcefully pushed toward a prime ministerial nomination—specifically, toward Kim Yang-han’s elevation.
It wasn’t strange that the Emperor, who had already been hit hard by that influence and forced to overturn the board in a brutally clumsy manner, would be wary of it.
That was also the reason Kim Yang-han had already guessed.
But—was that really all?
If that was all, it was shallow chatter. Before long, the furious Kim family and JD Group would launch a fierce counterattack.
The JD executives who had been swept up by the Joint Investigation Headquarters were being held indefinitely, but the Kim family had more than enough people to replace them, so that part was not much of a problem.
It was merely that filling the empty seats would take tedious procedures and time.
Until then, JD Group would have to be left in the hands of the released Kim A-ra...
Kim Yang-han’s expression vanished.
...
But only for a moment.
Kim Yang-han smiled again, kindly as ever.
“Yes, you must have suffered greatly. Still, the company is in difficulty, and your responsibilities are heavy.”
“Yes, Father. I’ll keep that in mind.”
Kim A-ra sat demurely, waiting for his orders.
Watching her, Kim Yang-han began to speak.
“Is this not a time when the livelihood of the people matters more than ever?”
The hero who had crushed the rebellion. The reform monarch cutting out corruption by the roots.
The masses were cheering right now, thrilled by the sight of conglomerates and noble families being hauled away in handcuffs before their very eyes.
But public enthusiasm was like a pot on the boil.
Corruption crackdowns were nothing more than a luxury item for times when bellies were full and backs were warm.
The focus had to shift to the economy.
And under Kim Yang-han’s direction, capital would move.
It was the exact same play he had used when pressing the Emperor over a prime ministerial nomination. The only difference was that this time, it would actually happen.
Foreign capital flight. A runaway exchange rate. The stock market collapsing.
Once the real economy began to shake and ordinary people’s bank balances started drying up, public fury would turn in an instant.
The people’s gaze, once diverted away from day-to-day hardship, would be redirected back to the Emperor with compound interest. That was the fatal weakness of an administration ruled from the center.
Whether he could still stand so magnificently in front of everyone when that time came remained to be seen.
And also.
Once his orders were given, he would be able to confirm exactly whose leash that hunting dog was still on.
* * *
“I’ve received a call from Chairman Kim.”
Seo Yu-jin reported in a cool voice.
“The most valuable materials from JD Group have already been stripped clean, and most of the executives are in custody. Kim Yang-han won’t be able to exercise much influence for the time being.”
More precisely, Kim Yang-han’s influence over JD now flowed through a single channel: Kim A-ra.
“Good work, Secretary Seo.”
Lee Jin nodded, but Seo Yu-jin remained where she was, not moving an inch. Her sharp gaze was fixed on him.
“Your Majesty. May I ask you something?”
“What is it?”
“Do you truly trust Chairwoman Kim A-ra?”
That was a direct hit. Seo Yu-jin still looked unconvinced.
“What about you, Secretary Seo?”
“I do not trust that woman. Even if I think back to the days when she was still the former crown prince’s fiancée, and even when she entered the palace recently...”
“Ahem, cough!”
At the Emperor’s sudden choking fit, Seo Yu-jin gave him a puzzled look, but she went on anyway.
“Kim Yang-han had intended Prince Yechin, born of the Empress, as his successor.”
“I know.”
“And Chairman Kim, on the other hand, wanted to become His Highness the Crown Prince’s consort.”
But both of them had been blown apart by the rebel army, and the one who ended up on the throne was the wildly unexpected collateral relative, Lee Jin.
“Whether it was Kim Yang-han’s scheme or Chairwoman Kim’s ambition to rise in status, it can only be seen as proof that neither has given up on the desire to seize and manipulate the Imperial Family yet.”
Even so, that had become a full-frontal charge that even the crown prince had never received, so perhaps Kim A-ra had really been driven into a corner.
Seo Yu-jin’s analysis was entirely logical.
Lee Jin couldn’t exactly say, for the sake of imperial dignity, that she’s just dumb and misunderstood things.
He cleared his throat and hurriedly changed the subject.
“Your concern is valid, Secretary Seo. I don’t trust her completely either. We’re merely using each other because our interests happen to align.”
Lee Jin went on, “There was something Kim A-ra told me. No matter how thoroughly the Joint Investigation Headquarters cuts down Kim Yang-han’s limbs, it would only be temporary.”
“That is true. The empty spaces will simply be filled by others.”
Under the current charges, Kim Yang-han himself could not be toppled.
To destroy a snake with seven heads, you didn’t aim for the neck—you aimed for the heart, the source.
Kim Yang-han’s power.
“The exchange rate is skyrocketing, isn’t it?”
Just as Kim A-ra had reported, it looked as though Kim Yang-han had begun his little game.
And for Lee Jin, that was exactly what he’d been hoping for.
You fight the economy with the economy.