Chapter 309
Chapter 309
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Translator: crow
Chapter Title: The True Successor: Part 1 Epilogue
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The morning of the retirement ceremony dawned.
Click, click.
In the presence of countless dignitaries from home and abroad, I stared straight into the camera and began my prepared speech.
Unlike usual, I kept my tone soft.
There was no need to maintain the image of a strong leader until the very end.
"Respected citizens. As Prime Minister Lee Sung-jun promised you all, he is stepping down from power and returning to private life."
I had announced my retirement in 1970 and designated a successor, so there was no murmuring in the audience.
"Some of you might even applaud now that I'm stepping down. Haven't I stayed in this position long enough to bore everyone?"
A light joke drew laughter from some of the guests.
Of course, my rule wasn't a joke.
"It has truly been a long time. Counting from December 1937, when I first took power, it amounts to a full 33 years of governance."
I reflected on my long tenure as I read from the script.
Lee Sung-jun's reign had been long enough to don the masks of military dictator, Yushin ruler, and democratic prime minister.
Each time, I changed masks to gradually transform this country.
I hadn't achieved all my goals, but I could take pride in having made it better than the original militaristic Daehan.
I had no desire to gild my own face, but this much had to be said.
"If there's one thing Lee Sung-jun did well during those long years at the helm, it was saving this country from 'militarism.'"
Without me, Daehan would have been doomed to destruction.
By the demon of militarism that had infested the entire nation.
I had driven that demon out of Daehan.
Using a mix of violence and education.
Things no democratic leader would dare attempt.
Only I could do it.
Only military dictator Lee Sung-jun could.
It was a story they'd heard in school curricula, but the audience listened intently.
As I read from the script, I called out to a comedian sitting among the crowd.
Of course, it wasn't impromptu.
The comedian had been pre-arranged as the 'emcee.'
Comedian Yoo Jae-jin smoothly took my place and greeted the audience.
"Hello, I'm comedian Yoo Jae-jin. As His Excellency said in his address, it must have been tough sitting through such a boring speech."
Only then did the audience relax their serious expressions and burst into laughter.
"What does that make me if you say it like that?"
I deliberately steered the retirement ceremony toward a lighthearted atmosphere.
There was a purpose to this staging.
'I hope Daehan becomes a country that shows wit even in formal settings.'
I'd always envied the witty demeanor of American politicians.
That's why I staged this unconventional act.
Yoo Jae-jin, true to his success as a comedian, had a sharp tongue.
"Your Excellency, wasn't this supposed to be the place where you declare your candidacy alongside the constitutional amendment to a presidential system?"
"I hadn't planned to, but now that you mention it, it's tempting."
"His Excellency is running for president. Does anyone object?"
Of course, it was all in jest.
Yoo Jae-jin wittily recounted my achievements and shared harmless anecdotes with the public.
"You even sent a letter to Hitler?"
"I did tell him not to drag it out and to make a manly decision."
Each time, I chimed in to confirm the facts.
My retirement speech ended in an atmosphere where everyone was smiling.
When I returned to my seat, Kim Jung-gil said with a grin.
"I didn't expect you to go out with such flair right to the end."
"If you have ideas, give it a try. It's surprisingly comfortable and fun."
"I'm not as adept as you, Your Excellency, so it'd be tough for me."
"You're such a humorless guy at times like this. Even if you think you can't, at least say you'll consider it."
"Fine, I'll consider it."
He replied with a serious face, leaving me unsure if he meant it.
Aside from a singer I personally hired with my own money to perform for my wife, the ceremony wrapped up modestly.
Squandering tax money on my own retirement wasn't Lee Sung-jun's style.
Once the event ended, I exchanged goodbyes with the secretary office staff.
"Your Excellency, thank you for your tireless service to the nation."
"You all worked hard too."
Some, overcome with emotion, even hugged me.
After the farewells, we left the official residence amid send-offs from the staff.
"Salute to Prime Minister His Excellency."
"Unity!"
The military police and security detail, there for the ceremonial escort, saluted in unison.
"Unity!"
EA's official slogan was unity, not loyalty.
It reflected Lee Sung-jun's desire for solidarity.
I scanned the people once, then boarded the ceremonial carriage.
With my family all aboard, the military police detachment assigned to the escort took up orderly positions front and rear.
I'd requested a reduced scale—just one company—but even so, a full cavalry company fore and aft made for an impressive sight.
We set off from the official residence in the carriage, heading to the private villa.
The route to the villa was packed with crowds who had come out knowing about the retirement ceremony.
The moment they spotted the carriage, they began chanting "Lee Sung-jun!" toward us.
My wife and daughter, accustomed to official events, sat primly, but my son Jae-jun could not contain himself.
"Your Excellency! Look this way!"
"Prime Minister! Prime Minister Lee Sung-jun!"
Jae-jun waved enthusiastically back at the cheering crowds several times.
"Uncle Young-sik looked over here."
"No, he was looking at the horizon, not you."
I leaned back in my seat and closed my eyes.
That evening, upon arriving at the villa, the TV was filled with coverage of my retirement ceremony and the carriage procession to the villa.
"The private villa where Prime Minister His Excellency Lee Sung-jun will reside is a 300-pyeong mansion, built without a single penny of government tax money. However, for security, one company of military police will be stationed there permanently, with half the cost covered by Prime Minister Lee Sung-jun himself."
The evening papers were the same.
From page one to page ten, they were filled with the three characters for Lee Sung-jun.
It was as if Lee Sung-jun was the only person in the world.
Even at the villa, I had to keep taking calls.
I'd thought foreign leaders wouldn't call much after retirement, but they trickled in sporadically.
'Do they think I'm planning to rule from behind the scenes?'
Such suspicion wasn't unwarranted.
Deputy Prime Minister and successor Kim Jung-gil was my closest of close aides.
A man who would do anything at my word.
To anyone, it looked perfect for me to pull the strings from the shadows while keeping him in the seat.
'That's a misconception. If I'm going to rule more, I'll do it openly—why bother with a messy puppet show from behind?'
I found their misconception irritating but didn't correct their misguided view.
'Might as well let the misunderstanding continue.'
As long as they believed Lee Sung-jun's influence endured, no one would dare treat Daehan lightly.
One week after retirement.
The world was still living in the Lee Sung-jun era.
"If Kim Jung-gil is the top power now, they should at least report on that guy's movements—this world's all wrong."
Was that why?
Voices petitioning for my return echoed day and night outside the villa.
"Your Excellency! Daehan still needs your leadership. How can you retreat to the second line, leaving a nation as precarious as a child standing in the marketplace?"
"Your Excellency, Daehan has been upheld solely by the three words 'Lee Sung-jun.' How can a Daehan without you be Daehan? For the sake of Daehan, please return to the throne."
The number of fervent Lee Sung-jun supporters petitioning for my return was not small.
Over 10,000 had speakers blaring in front of the house alone.
They were paralyzing local traffic.
And that was just the start.
Protest camps were constantly set up in front of government offices, the prime minister's residence, and Revolution Square.
I issued statements and sent personal letters to calm them, but it was futile.
They wanted only one answer: that Lee Sung-jun would return.
'I absolutely can't grant that.'
The power transition was long complete.
Coming back for power now would turn the country into a total mess.
Did they think I was some power-mad Mao Zedong?
I wasn't the lunatic who couldn't distinguish front from back and shat on his own achievements.
"Shall I call the prime minister if the protesters are inconveniencing you?"
"No need."
I didn't think it necessary.
"A month-long overseas trip should sort it out."
My wife's eyes widened.
"An overseas trip?"
"I've only worked all this time—we deserve a break too."
She couldn't hide her joy at my travel proposal.
In thirty years of marriage, we'd hardly gone on any real overseas trips.
The few times we did were combined with summits.
'Come to think of it, did I ever have a vacation?'
No.
Lee Sung-jun's daily life had no vacations except during summit travels.
'And even those ended around World War II.'
It had been a harsh life of nothing but work.
No time even for the luxuries dictators are said to indulge in.
Did I regret a life of pure work?
Not at all.
Enriching and strengthening Daehan had been the joy of my life.
How?
Because to me, Daehan was no mere nation.
Daehan was the masterpiece I'd staked my life on creating.
The time and effort poured into it surpassed even my blood family.
The one being I trusted and relied on utterly.
Daehan was the 'true successor' to whom Lee Sung-jun could entrust everything.
I looked into my wife's eyes as she chattered about where to travel, but my gaze chased the Taegukgi fluttering in my thoughts.
Perhaps that gaze would never change, even at the moment of death.
I flashed my eyes toward the fluttering Taegukgi.