Waving the Taegukgi, 1
At Song Hak-su’s order, the rebel command staff sprang into motion.
The 17th and 60th Divisions had already joined the self-proclaimed emperor, but in terms of sheer force, they were no match for him.
The true core of the capital’s defense was the 1st Guard Brigade.
And on top of that, there were armored units detached from the two divisions responsible for controlling Seoul.
If they sortied from here, they could bring the enemy’s head back within an hour.
So what if they refused to retreat? There wasn’t a single soul here who would be moved by that sort of grandstanding.
They’d already seen idiots who knew nothing except charging straight ahead.
“It’d be nice if he’d ride in on a white horse and charge with a longsword, like our late Crown Prince.”
“······We should’ve shot him then.”
The imperial relatives of this country were no different. A bunch of pathetic wretches whose names only ever turned up in strange files.
What could possibly come of such stock?
“Tell the men under you not to hesitate if they’re given orders to engage.”
The brigade commander opened his mouth.
“It’s war.”
Before I knew it, the studio’s on-air lamp had gone dark.
The lamp on the camera lens had gone dark too, as if it were holding its breath.
The broadcast was over.
What woke my mind was a voice that was gentle, yet possessed a certain strength.
“Your Majesty.”
When I turned my head, Seo Yu-jin was standing there upright and immaculate, as if she’d always been in the room.
“You’ve truly endured a great deal.”
“At least I didn’t trip over my lines.”
I flopped back into the studio chair and said as much.
“You were more······ skillful than I expected. Have you given speeches before?”
“Not really.”
I answered carelessly because I was tired, but Seo Yu-jin seemed to interpret even that as the burden of an emperor’s solitude. She lowered her head in silence.
“Let’s go.”
The ice-cold silence lasted only a moment longer.
When I opened the studio door and stepped out, the inside of the broadcasting station was nothing short of chaos.
─Riiing!!
“Director! The switchboard’s down!”
“The Air Force hotline’s calling in too!”
“Foreign media are requesting the English transcript of the live broadcast by fax, right now!”
“What are the reporting guidelines in this situation······?”
I could see the news director, who’d been waiting outside, sprinting around with his face drenched in sweat.
Seo Yu-jin walked beside me as she spoke.
“Since that statement was aired, calls have been pouring into the station. Government offices and related organizations nationwide, having confirmed that the imperial family is still alive, are rapidly moving to our side.”
“That’s a relief.”
At least if you just said the royal family was alive, you still couldn’t tell whether it was true or which side you were supposed to stand on.
I didn’t know what kind of imperial relative Lee Jin had been before, but now that I’d come into the IBS broadcast station with the military and delivered a statement, my accession was effectively official.
“Starting tomorrow, the nationwide unions will launch a general strike. They’ve declared that if the situation isn’t resolved, they’ll move to an all-out strike at 6:00 a.m.”
“A general strike.”
“Their stated cause is condemning Song Hak-su’s rebel forces for destroying the constitutional order, and expressing support for Your Majesty, the lawful heir. The logistics, rail, port, and communications unions have all resolved to refuse any and all cooperation with the rebels.”
I looked down at the resolutions from the labor movement, which were being faxed in, one after another, in a relentless stream.
“And the army is coming down from Pyongyang.”
“They were slow on the draw, but they’re moving early enough.”
I clicked my tongue.
The rebellion had broken out in the afternoon, and they were only moving now?
They must’ve been playing some endless guessing game over how things were unfolding in Seoul, and the second they realized I was alive and had even gone on air, they decided it was time to line up behind the winning side.
“I won’t deny that there’s political calculation behind it. Even so, to smash the capital-defense command’s armored units and anti-air network head-on, Pyongyang needs a large-scale regular army force.
Marshal Song Hak-su is likely the one who fears that fact most of all.”
At the very least, we were no longer trapped in a complete isolation.
The army from the north was coming down in obedience to the imperial order.
Of course, the good news always had a darker side beneath it.
It was obvious what those rebel bastards had been doing in Seoul all this time.
“Logically speaking, if you’re going to stage a coup, the first thing you do is impose martial law and force the National Assembly to convene, even at gunpoint, to lend some legitimacy to your actions.”
But they hadn’t done that.
At my point, Seo Yu-jin nodded and replied.
“They fundamentally distrust the National Assembly and despise politicians. The premise of this coup, after all, was to ‘end the corrupt old era,’ wasn’t it?
To them, the imperial household and the National Assembly are both just rotten flesh that needs to be cut out. They likely never even considered calling the Assembly to have their actions ratified.”
Unless they had intended to dissolve it altogether.
“They’re trying to complete the coup entirely according to the logic of the military.”
Seize the government buildings in Seoul by force, take control of the administrative network, then immediately attempt military rule.
Broadcast a declaration to the public that was less an appeal than a notice, make it a foregone conclusion that they now held the government in full, and then prioritize back-channel negotiations with the various military units that had fallen into a wait-and-see posture.
“And I ruined all of that.”
I leaned back against the sofa and closed my eyes.
When the emperor—the center that held everything together—seemed to have vanished, the units that were merely watching had no choice but to come over to this side the moment I made my accession official and issued commands.
The Pyongyang forces, who had been busy rolling their eyes and watching through the unprecedented disaster of the imperial family going up in flames, were one example of that.
“Then the rebel forces’ next move is obvious.”
I pointed toward the direction of Seoul, beyond the broadcasting station.
“They’ll try to erase the center again by capturing and killing me, and then they’ll try to make their so-called foregone conclusion stick from the beginning.”
I jumped to my feet.
“We’re in Ilsan, aren’t we? How long would it take to get here from Seoul?”
“If they take the Bukseodae-ro, even a mobile unit could cover it in under forty minutes.”
I nodded and said, “Call Captain Gwak.”
In the forecourt of Ilsan IBS 2nd Broadcasting Station, Captain Gwak Ji-hun opened his eyes with a beastlike groan.
“Uuugh···.”
His head felt like it was about to split open. It was a vicious headache, as if someone had scooped out his brain, thrown it in a blender, and stuffed it back in again. A hangover.
“Ah, my head···. Damn it, did I drink way too much last night?”
Gwak Ji-hun muttered under his breath, instinctively pressing at his temples.
Right, the booze. The imported liquor. He and Hyung-nim Jin had been knocking back expensive bottles at the samgyeopsal place in town. One shot with one bite of meat, two shots with two bites···.
Then all of a sudden, Deoksugung exploded on TV with a boom, and they’d gotten emergency orders to return to their unit, and he’d run like a man possessed.
“Right, I remember that much···.”
He stared blankly up at the armored vehicle’s ceiling.
“Wow, I really did have one hell of a fucked-up dream.”
The dream he’d had was spectacular beyond belief.
His acquaintance somehow became emperor out of nowhere, and instead of water, he chugged the expensive liquor he’d stored in his canteen, thinking they were deployed for war.
In the end, he even drove an armored vehicle straight into the river, crossing the Han by force, and when he got back on land, he’d shouted at the Army bastards blocking the road, “We’re escorting the royal carriage!”
It was a blockbuster-grade nightmare, spectacular in the worst possible way.
No matter how he looked at it, military life was just too stressful.
I actually dreamed about calling Jin Hyung-nim Your Majesty. Jesus Christ, what the hell.
Gwak Ji-hun let out a snort and pushed himself upright.
Then he rubbed his eyes, staring at the broadcasting station before him and the defensive position set up around it.
And at the company men, too, all of them barely able to hide their excitement and tension.
“Company Commander! Are you awake enough to shake off the sleep!”
“I still can’t believe it! That resolve when you led the crossing at the Han just now! That overwhelming presence! Tonight will go down in Marine Corps history forever!”
“······What?”
Gwak Ji-hun’s brain froze solid.
“His Majesty the Emperor must have been deeply moved by your loyal devotion as well! You’ve just finished your accession address on a live nationwide broadcast, so our 2nd Marine Division must be the heroic force that saved the imperial house! Victory!”
“······.”
His gaze slowly dropped downward.
The empty canteen rolling around on the floor of the armored vehicle.
His battle fatigues, wrinkled from all the running around.
And beyond the hatch, the glittering sign of IBS 2nd Broadcasting Station.
This. Wasn’t. A dream.
“I’m screwed,” Gwak Ji-hun said flatly.
And when he was summoned by Lee Jin, he cursed himself for not simply staying drunk.
* * *
“The headquarters of the 60th and 17th Divisions say they’ll detach each division’s tank battalion and rush them here, but the highest priority has to be Your Majesty’s safety.”
“Hyung···. No, Your Majesty. The secretary is right. You need to move to the underground parking garage immediately and get in a vehicle. We’ll find a route to circle around through Paju and link up with the Northern Front Army.”
Seo Yu-jin and Captain Gwak both urged immediate evacuation.
But I didn’t move.
“Given the time, it won’t be easy for me to slip out alone, and if you pull out major units just to escort me, what happens to the remaining troops?”
“······.”
I didn’t think the bastards who’d gone so far as to blow up the palace would exactly treat those men gently.
Especially not the troops of the 1st Guard Brigade, who had actually been the starting point of the coup. Unlike the capital defense soldiers, many of whom had probably been dragged into the mess unintentionally, those men would not be able to avoid combat so easily now.
I grabbed the emperor’s ceremonial robes draped over my body.
Rrrrip, tug!
“Your Majesty? What are you doing?”
Seo Yu-jin asked in a horrified voice.
I stripped off the outer ceremonial robe and flung it onto a nearby desk.
It felt like I could breathe again.
I called over the broadcasting station’s PD.
“Can you launch a drone?”
“A drone? Y-yes··· We’re in emergency coverage, so not only ENG cameras but also the broadcast helicopter cam are on standby.”
“Then launch it now and livestream the situation starting from right in front of this station. Don’t miss a single shot, and make sure it’s broadcast nationwide.”
I looked to Seo Yu-jin and said, “And Secretary Seo.”
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
“Is there another set of clothes at the station? Let’s change once more.”
At my sudden question, Seo Yu-jin blinked in confusion and asked back.
“······Pardon?”
“I just said I wouldn’t back down and that I’d defend this country, and now if I run away, what the hell happens to my dignity?”
I rolled up my sleeves and stared directly at Gwak Ji-hun.
“Rummage through the station props room or the unit, wherever. Search anywhere,”
I gave the two of them a crisp order.
“Bring me my military uniform.”
Bukseodae-ro.
The ten-lane road running between Seoul and Ilsan, normally packed with commuters.
But not today. Today, only the brutal grind of treads chewing up the asphalt could be heard as armored columns surged forward.
“Front right! Apartment building, 7th floor at twelve o’clock!”
The scouting officer in the lead vehicle, who had his upper hatch open and was scanning ahead, barked into the radio in a panic.
“A window’s opened! Unidentified person spotted! Might be a sniper or anti-tank weapon!”
The command net erupted into noise in an instant. The turret of the lead tank swung hard toward the apartment block with a grinding mechanical shriek.
“Do we fire?”
“Not yet. Don’t overreact! Get the scope on it and confirm for sure! There was a direct order from the Supreme Commander that we must not harm innocent civilians!”
Not long after the brigade commander gave the order, the answer came back.
“···Confirmation complete. Just a civilian. Looks like he came out to smoke.”
The window had indeed been opened by an ordinary middle-aged man. He’d hung something outside and rushed back in.
Flutter.
Something billowed in the cold wind.
It was a Taegukgi.
“······A Taegukgi?”
The adjutant standing beside him muttered in bewilderment.
That was the moment.
A window on the floor above opened. Another Taegukgi was hung there.
A window in the neighboring apartment building opened. Yet another Taegukgi unfurled.
One, two.
Ten. A hundred. A thousand.
The walls of the vast apartment complexes that had been sunk in silence were instantly swallowed by a tide of red, white, blue, and black.
As if a suppressed fire were spreading.
“B-Brigade Commander. What on earth is that······?”
“Shut up! Don’t pay attention and keep moving! Don’t slow down!”
The brigade commander strained to suppress his emotions as the veins stood out in his neck.
But it was the moment the armored column fully entered the heart of the city.
Ki-kikikikik─!!
The lead tanks slammed on their brakes with a deafening screech.
And the column behind them stopped like a line of falling dominoes.
“What the hell! Why are we stopping!”
The brigade commander snatched up his radio with a sharp curse.
“Lead vehicle! What’s going on? Did the enemy appear or something!”
[T-that is······ Brigade Commander. I think you need to see this yourself.]
The voice from the lead was visibly shaken.
“Damn it. Move your ass and report properly.”
The brigade commander yanked open the hatch and leapt out of the command vehicle.
He strode forward, boots pounding the pavement, until he reached the very front of the column.
“What are you doing! Why aren’t you pushing forward right n······!”
The brigade commander’s furious shout vanished into the air.
His feet would not leave the asphalt.
His mouth had fallen open, but no sound came out.
The Bukseodae-ro exit stretched before him, filling his entire field of vision.
All the apartments, all the commercial buildings, all the villas and houses lined up on either side.
And beyond them, all the way to that distant horizon at the end of the road they were supposed to advance along.
Without a single exception, every window held a Taegukgi.
Half-mast, as if in mourning.
“···Ah.”
The winter wind blew.
Tens of thousands, hundreds of thousands of Taegukgi banners fluttered at once.
It was as if a furious tide were surging toward them.