Chapter 346
Chapter 346
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: crow
Chapter 346
Chapter Title: Plausibility
-----------------------------------------------------------------
In March 1980, even as the warm spring arrived, the world remained in turmoil.
“Jang Dong-yoon must resign! Resign!”
The crowds leading the protests still lingered in the streets,
“Bae, it’s white powder!”
and the aftermath brought by the charcoal truck continued to throw Korea into chaos.
This made it the perfect time to stage a coup.
The political situation was chaotic, a delicate moment when anything could happen.
I launched an operation to divert the attention of the regime and intelligence agencies.
“Section Chief Oh. It’s about time we got to work.”
“Yes, Director.”
I had Section Chief Oh make the homeless men we’d recruited call public phones.
The locations had all been scouted in advance—places confirmed to be sparsely populated.
The homeless men read verbatim from the scripts we’d given them.
“The president will be eliminated soon. Make thorough preparations in the military to match the operation start date.”
“We’ll prepare meticulously.”
It was a conversation that would look suspicious to anyone, but the homeless men didn’t find it odd.
We’d told them beforehand it was a script for a movie shoot.
“What kind of movie is it? I’ll go see it once I’ve got some money.”
“Pyongyang Spring.”
The content of the calls made by the homeless men was immediately picked up by the KCIA’s wiretaps.
It didn’t matter if it was a public phone or a home line.
All wired and wireless communications—phone lines, telegraphs, antennas—were under KCIA surveillance.
These were the guys who’d use lasers to eavesdrop on places without bugs; tapping phones was child’s play for them.
The moment the KCIA heard keywords like “president,” “assassination,” and “military,” they flagged it as a major threat and launched an analysis.
The KCIA shared this analyzed intel with us as well.
“The KCIA bastards really do listen to and read everything in the world.”
It was straight out of George Orwell’s 1984.
Helpfully, the KCIA even marked the areas where the communications originated and suggested we start investigating there.
“Do as the KCIA says.”
I instructed the ANSP’s Public Security Bureau to track down the homeless men, then kicked off the coup plan.
Time wasn’t on our side—if they caught the homeless men, it could lead back to us.
“When should we set the operation start date?”
“Jang Dong-yoon’s birthday is March 24th, so let’s make it that day.”
The one day he was sure to visit the safehouse.
That would be D-Day.
As time flew by breathlessly, I fine-tuned the final stage of the operation.
The last hurdle of this coup was getting my hands on the intelligence and military heavyweights.
On March 23rd, I called Joint Chiefs Chairman Lee Seung-hwan, the field marshal.
Lee Seung-hwan was a young general favored by Lee Seong-jun.
It felt strangely poignant to be speaking with someone like that.
“Hello, Chairman. This is Acting ANSP Director Bae Seong-jun.”
“Director, what brings your call?”
Even though my title included “acting,” the Joint Chiefs Chairman didn’t treat me as his junior.
Even if the chairman received ministerial-level treatment, he couldn’t outrank me as acting deputy prime minister.
He was older, but in actual rank, I was above him.
That’s why I spoke to the Joint Chiefs Chairman fairly casually.
“It’s nothing major. With the current unrest, I was hoping to meet with you and discuss the situation if you’re free. What do you think, Chairman?”
“I’d be happy to.”
“Then please come to the safehouse in Dabang-dong by 6 p.m. tomorrow.”
“See you then.”
Next up after the Joint Chiefs Chairman was Intelligence Deputy Director Shin Seung-hee.
Since he was my subordinate, a command would suffice—no need for chit-chat.
“Deputy Director Shin?”
“Yes, Director.”
“Come to the Dabang-dong safehouse by 6 p.m. tomorrow.”
I didn’t even explain why.
“Understood.”
I’d summoned the two men who controlled domestic intelligence and could become martial law commander in a crisis: the Intelligence Deputy Director and the Joint Chiefs Chairman.
Once my subordinates saw me holding them in my grip, they’d have no choice but to follow.
Of course they would.
I’d painted a picture where victory was obvious—who wouldn’t want to be on the winning side?
I didn’t worry about KCIA wiretaps during the calls.
ANSP directors meeting people wasn’t unusual; no reason to fear surveillance.
After finishing the calls, I summoned two of my trusted aides.
Eom Ji-won from the blood-soaked Public Security Bureau and Colonel Park Heung-sik from the media operations room—my inner circle.
“Tomorrow, forget other duties and report to the Dabang-dong safehouse.”
“Director, do you have any specific instructions?”
“I’ll brief you then—just keep that in mind.”
“We’ll comply.”
Preparations for the eve of the operation were complete.
D-Day, the day of the operation.
From my office, I called the Security Office Chief.
It was mainly to make final adjustments regarding the safehouse.
“Chief Chae. It’s me.”
“Ah, Director Bae. What’s up?”
“Nothing much—just calling about today’s safehouse event.”
“Oh, right, that’s today.”
There was an event at the Dabang-dong safehouse today.
The Security Office Chief listed the VIP attendees.
I nodded at the names of the chief secretary, the minister of political affairs, and the senior economic secretary, but I flinched when he mentioned the Capital Defense Command commander.
This was too heavy a lineup to take them all out at once.
For Chae In-seop’s sudden coup to make sense, it needed to play out as an accident striking in a quiet atmosphere.
“Director?”
“Oh, it’s nothing.”
I hung up and sank into thought.
Pushing ahead today would be too risky.
“Section Chief Oh. Let’s postpone the operation by a week.”
Good thing I hadn’t leaked details to the subordinates beforehand.
If I’d informed them and then delayed, someone might have gotten cold feet.
That could have ended the coup plot before it even started.
My caution for contingencies shone in this crisis.
I hurriedly made calls.
“Chairman?”
“Yes, Director.”
“I’m sorry, but could we push the meeting back a week?”
“Did something come up?”
“Nothing urgent—too many VIPs attending today, so I have to play host.”
“Ah, no choice then.”
“I’ll make it up to you big-time in a week.”
“Then, let’s meet in a week.”
After hanging up with the Joint Chiefs Chairman, I called the Intelligence Deputy Director right after.
I wondered how the KCIA would interpret me canceling after talking to the Security Office Chief.
It didn’t paint a great picture.
No point giving them more fodder for suspicion.
I sat in my office, lighting a cigarette.
Section Chief Oh noticed my grave expression and spoke up.
“Director.”
“Yeah.”
“How about we refine the scenario a bit, since this happened?”
“How so?”
“We create some plausibility for Chief Chae staging a coup.”
“In just a week?”
“Yes.”
Was there a way?
I exhaled a plume of grayish smoke and pondered.
Create plausibility for the coup.
A thought struck me.
What if we signaled that Chief Chae’s position was unstable?
That would provide ample motive for him to attempt a coup.
Section Chief Oh nodded at my idea.
“The key is how to make his position unstable.”
“I’ve got one in mind.”
We’d fabricate a scandal.
A really sordid one.
“How about a homosexuality scandal?”
In the past, Nazi Germany had framed a high-ranking general named Werner von Fritsch as a homosexual to force him out.
What about Korea?
No different.
In Korea’s political circles, a homosexuality label meant instant downfall.
I planned to spread rumors of Chae In-seop’s homosexuality.
“But we don’t have evidence to prove the suspicion.”
Even faked, to implicate a Security Office Chief, we’d need photos of him in bed with a man or kissing one.
But my operation didn’t need evidence.
“Section Chief. After it’s all over, who’s going to demand proof?”
Exactly.
Once the coup succeeded, who would care about evidence of Chae In-seop’s homosexuality?
They’d just think, “Ah, he got exposed as gay, position shaken,” and move on.
Section Chief Oh’s face lit up with realization.
“It’s a fight where we don’t need evidence from the start.”
Section Chief Oh immediately began operation prep.
Soon, strange rumors began circulating.
“Chief Chae’s a homosexual?”
“Yeah, that’s the talk. Word is he might get axed.”
Absurd nonsense.
But gossip about high officials had always been popular across history and cultures.
Not even five days after we started the rumors, tales of Chae In-seop being outed as gay had spread even to the Pyongyang market streets.
Chae In-seop didn’t sit idle.
He unleashed the police and mobilized the KCIA.
They tracked down the rumor-spreaders, but it only led to the homeless men Section Chief Oh had hired.
Of course, digging a few steps further would reach Section Chief Oh, but Chae In-seop didn’t have the time.
It was almost time.
Before Chae In-seop’s blade reached our throats, our blade would strike him first.
“Less than 48 hours left.”
Now it was time to reap the reward for the tears and sweat of the past few years—with Jang Dong-yoon’s head.
