Chapter 338
Chapter 338
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: crow
Chapter Title: Chapter 338 - 준비 (1)
-----------------------------------------------------------------
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: crow
Chapter 338
Preparation (1)
-----------------------------------------------------------------
The new year of 1978 could truly be called Baek Sung-jun's year.
I had been promoted to Grade 1 Administrator and simultaneously appointed as Director of the 2nd Bureau, the heart of the Agency for National Security Planning.
“Congratulations on your promotion, Director!”
“Congratulations.”
The Agency's 2nd Bureau oversaw the management of all safehouse facilities and was a top position that could even be responsible for the president's safety in emergencies.
“Thank you, everyone.”
When I took up the post as Director of the 2nd Bureau, I didn't bring a single one of my trusted aides with me.
I planned to let my confidants continue building their influence within the Agency while I cultivated a separate power base of my own.
“It'll be tough to recruit people from within the 2nd Bureau, so bringing in outsiders is the way to go.”
Through my Agency connections, I had them scout several retired field-grade officers known for their upright character.
From the list they came up with, I selected one whose circumstances were particularly dire.
And it turned out this man was from the same hometown as me.
“Retired Colonel Ki Myung-su, huh. His resume looks solid.”
I summoned him to my office in the 2nd Bureau for an interview.
“Loyalty. Retired Marine Corps Colonel Ki Myung-su reporting.”
Colonel Ki treated me not with disdain for my youth, but with a rigidly disciplined expression.
Which was only natural.
No one with the guts to act arrogant in front of a Grade 1 Agency Director—who could make birds fall from the sky—would have ever pinned on a colonel's eagles.
That said, I had no intention of treating Ki Myung-su like a complete subordinate.
No matter the hierarchy, Korean society placed great importance on age.
Mutual respect was the rational approach.
I offered him a seat in a polite tone.
“Thank you, Director.”
“From what I hear, Colonel Ki, you're from my hometown.”
“Oh, you're from the same area, Director?”
Only then did Ki Myung-su's expression brighten a bit.
When people find a connection, their hearts naturally soften.
“Feel free to call me 'senior.' That okay with you?”
“Oh, that's too generous a title.”
Of course, it wasn't a displeased look.
Once the 'senior' talk came up, the atmosphere relaxed even more.
I flipped through Ki Myung-su's file.
“My senior, you've done all sorts of jobs since leaving the military.”
“Ah, yes.”
“Mostly in the private sector rather than public office. Mind if I ask why?”
I could guess the reason without him saying it.
A man as upright and rigid as him probably hadn't been offered any cushy government posts.
High-ranking officers around colonel level usually landed public sector jobs.
Ki Myung-su looked embarrassed.
“Truth be told, no one called me up, so I took a job at a modern restaurant my junior introduced me to.”
“That's nothing to be ashamed of. It's honest money earned through hard work.”
“True, but it wasn't suited to my temperament.”
I set down Ki Myung-su's file.
“I sometimes feel this job isn't suited to my temperament either.”
I decided to wrap up the small talk there.
I got down to business.
“So, senior, the fact that you've come here means I can take it you're open to working for the Agency?”
“Yes.”
“Good.”
I handed Colonel Ki Myung-su a document I'd prepared in advance.
“Senior, take a look at the details and decide.”
I lit a cigarette.
While I smoked one, Ki Myung-su silently read the document I'd given him.
He seemed lost in thought for a moment before speaking to me.
“Director.”
“Go ahead.”
“I understand the Protocol Section Chief position and duties well enough. But the actual tasks involved...”
Ki Myung-su hesitated before continuing.
“Frankly, this kind of work makes me a bit uneasy.”
I stubbed out my cigarette and stood up.
I'd judged him right after all.
This was a man worth recruiting.
“Senior.”
“Yes, Director.”
“As I said before, no one can live doing only what they want. Sometimes you have to take on jobs you don't like.”
“Well...”
“You have a family, don't you, senior?”
“Yes. I do.”
“Your daughters are of marriageable age now, too.”
Ki Myung-su let out a heavy sigh.
“Senior, even if the Protocol Section Chief job doesn't sit right with you, think of your family. Like it or not, they're all counting on you.”
It took a while, but Ki Myung-su finally replied.
“You're right, Director. I've been speaking from a full belly. Entrust it to me, and I'll give the Protocol Section Chief role my all.”
Done.
The right man had rolled into my hands at the perfect time.
A rebel who harbored resentment toward his duties.
With doubts about his work, it would be easy to pull him into the plot when the moment came.
Starting with recruiting Ki Myung-su as Protocol Section Chief of the 2nd Bureau, I was introduced to Colonel Han Nam-dong—a direct junior of Colonel Park Heung-sik—and brought him on as Safehouse Security Section Chief.
Han Nam-dong was in tough financial straits with his family, too.
Just like with Park Heung-sik, I used family as the key and bought him off with money, simply enough.
Of course, this buyout was possible only because of the pre-gathered intel on the man and his background.
As these figures under my influence began popping up one by one around me, the 'Baek Sung-jun faction' within the Agency took clear shape.
Of course, even this Baek Sung-jun faction had its categories.
At the very top, the sacred bone: Section Chief Oh, with whom I shared all information.
Section Chief Oh deserved the highest treatment as a comrade ready to join a coup at any moment.
Next, the true bone: the confidants I'd personally recruited.
Listing them out:
Colonel Park Heung-sik, 1st Section Chief of the Media Operations Room.
Section Chief Eom Ji-won of the Anti-Communist Investigation Office and 3 others.
Six men under Safehouse Security Section Chief Han Nam-dong.
Below them: those I was preparing to recruit as confidants.
Protocol Section Chief Ki Myung-su of the 2nd Bureau, Intelligence Section Chief of the 2nd Bureau, and 4 others.
This was the core of the faction as I saw it.
Everyone outside that was just for show, to flaunt my power.
'People are endless, no matter how many you gather.'
Thinking back to the 1930s, when I could easily amass supporters based on ideology, the changed times felt frustrating.
'But what can you do? Build step by step.'
I focused on building goodwill within the 2nd Bureau.
My main targets were the guards managing the 2nd Bureau safehouses.
I instructed the Protocol Section Chief and Security Section Chief to treat them especially well.
“Director, what brings you here?”
“Oh, I was thinking of our hardworking 2nd Bureau family and brought something over.”
Whenever there was a banquet, I'd bring food from out of town and share it with the guards and such.
A high-ranking Agency executive always treating them warmly and personally—it made the guards like me.
Of course, human kindness alone couldn't make them move at my whim.
What moved people in critical moments was the chain of command.
'Though human kindness does make decisions easier.'
That's why I went to the trouble of having the Security Section Chief bring watermelons and such, showing them I was looking out for them.
As I slowly took control of the 2nd Bureau, I refined the scenario needed for the coup plot once more.
First, I confirmed the routes.
I mapped out in my head how to mobilize people and neutralize the Presidential Security Service.
The answer was a surprise attack.
That meant fully securing the guards in advance.
I was confident on that front.
The problem came after.
I had to consider the chance of the surprise failing.
Situations could crumble to unforeseen variables.
For that, I came up with a contingency.
'What if we use poison?'
Administering poison discreetly wasn't hard.
Even pufferfish, a common delicacy, carried the deadly tetrodotoxin.
'I'll have to put pufferfish soup on the menu often.'
Then, on the day of the uprising, serve them pufferfish soup with the tetrodotoxin intact.
If issues arose from the soup, they'd blame the pufferfish, not suspect a deliberate attack.
With the Presidential Security Service's strength halved, victory wouldn't be hard.
'To pull this off, the chef who prepared the soup would have to be suicided.'
Harsh, but unavoidable.
Any witnesses or evidence left would jeopardize the entire uprising.
Best for everything to pass as accidents.
While plotting in the 2nd Bureau, I also met with the president's entourage from time to time.
The president stayed at the safehouse about four times a month on average.
Around a dozen Presidential Security Service agents came and went.
Not a huge number.
Considering the safehouse had only about twenty guards, it was actually more than enough.
With so much contact with the Presidential Security Service, I got familiar with them, too.
Presidential Security Service Chief Chae In-seop was one of them.
“Director Baek, hard work today as always.”
“No, no, Chief.”
Chae In-seop was a rarity among the power players of a dictatorship—genuinely decent.
Humble, quiet-tempered, always polite with honorifics.
If we hadn't been on opposite sides, I'd have really liked him.
But we were enemies.
I never forgot that.
I always smiled when talking with Chae In-seop, but it was just a mask.
Behind the mask, I remained constantly wary of him.
Just as I was, the Security Service Chief might be hiding a blade beneath his humble, gentle facade.
It'd be nice to probe his true feelings, but I never got the chance.
The Security Service Chief always moved with the president.
But no matter what kind of man he was, one fact remained unchanged.
His title: Presidential Security Service Chief.
That alone made Chae In-seop a man who had to die.
I watched Chae In-seop's retreating back with a cold gaze.