Chapter 47
Chapter 47
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Translator : M.N 1391
Chapter: 47
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[Mass arrests of terrorist organization recruiters operating covertly in Korea!]
[The great America will never tolerate terrorism!]
[Tracking down the leadership of terrorist recruitment networks!]
It was news widely covered in the United States. Since terrorism is a major issue that draws the public’s attention and because authorities had achieved excellent results, journalists as well as news outlets focused heavily on the story.
Even though Gaengwan had returned to Korea and was locked up again in solitary confinement, the consideration shown by the prison guards allowed him occasional access to the internet. Seeing the news that was being sensationalized by the American media, he quietly began to look forward to when his next “business trip(?)” would be.
He recalled the fiery gift that Team C’s leader, David, had given him. He’d known the man was intense, but he hadn’t expected that intense of a gift. Still, a pleasant jolt to escape the boredom of daily life was a pretty good coping mechanism, and perhaps that was why the world seemed so absurdly entertaining at times.
As he waited for the next trip, Gaengwan passed time by meditating. From time to time, as lifers were brought in, he would repeatedly teach them the lesson that a life sentence wasn’t the bottom of life. Because of that, the time he spent in solitary confinement continued to increase.
At this point it wouldn’t have been strange for Warden Hong to officially designate Gaengwan for permanent solitary confinement, but having figured out Gaengwan to some extent, the warden knew it would be nothing more than a formality anyway.
That bastard was clearly planning to spend the rest of his life in prison.
“So, how was your trip to America?”
In the meeting with Warden Hong, Gaengwan answered flatly.
“What’s the point of asking that now?”
It had already been half a month since he’d returned from the U.S.
He already guessed that Warden Hong was laying groundwork to make some difficult request.
And sure enough, the warden cleared his throat loudly, “Kuh-hum!”, before speaking.
“We received another directive from above.”
“From the Ministry of Justice? Another dispatch?”
“Yes.”
“But is there any need to tell me this in advance?”
They could just inform him of the date he’d be sent to America. Why bother with all this?
At that question, Warden Hong hesitated briefly.
“Well… apparently the higher-ups aren’t very pleased about this dispatch… or whatever you want to call it.”
“And?”
“So they thought that if you voluntarily refused the dispatch, everything could be wrapped up neatly.”
“So the higher-ups are pressuring you, Warden Hong?”
“Kuh-hum! Pressure? It’s a suggestion.”
Calling it pressure would sound bad, so the warden tried to soften the wording by calling it a suggestion, but if it had truly been a suggestion, he wouldn’t be talking to Gaengwan in such a pleading tone.
“Hm…”
After thinking for a moment, Gaengwan nodded.
“Alright, let’s do that.”
“Really? Truly?”
Hontoni?
Warden Hong’s eyes widened. Even though Gaengwan was a criminal and a Korean citizen, the United States’ interests were involved. And knowing Gaengwan’s personality, there was no way he’d give up a chance to go outside just to appease some annoyed bigwig.
What kind of idiot easily gives up an opportunity to wander around outside just because he’s a prisoner?
But Gaengwan did. The warden had only tried bringing up the pressure from above, but he’d never imagined Gaengwan would accept so easily.
Seeing Hong’s astonishment, Gaengwan nodded again.
“I’ve owed you and the guards a lot. Might as well repay you like this. You know how they are, if things don’t go their way, they’ll throw a tantrum. I can just fly off to America, but you, Warden Hong, and everyone left behind? You’ll be the ones suffering.”
Think of the pathetic politician who once phoned 119 saying “I’m such-and-such governor,” then got scolded by the firefighter for abusing the emergency line. Infuriated, he had that firefighter demoted, only for the incident to hit the media, causing public outrage. Then he quietly reinstated the firefighter and submitted a photo to the press showing them smiling together, claiming they had “reconciled.” It was the epitome of petty behavior.
One look at the firefighter’s flushed face and forced smile, and you’d think, Wow. This country’s working dads really have it tough.
“Phew…”
Hearing Gaengwan’s words, Warden Hong sighed and shook his head as if exhausted.
He had seen many things while climbing to the rank of warden. Among them, the petty behavior of those who held power was so absurd that sometimes he thought it’d be better to put some unemployed guy at home in their seat instead.
“Anyway, thank you for agreeing. I’ll use my authority to get you some chicken and beer.”
“Once a week at minimum, please.”
“…Fine.”
The warden hesitated at Gaengwan’s bold demand but eventually nodded. After all, Gaengwan had given up the chance to go outside; the least the warden could do was that.
“But you know…”
“Yes?”
“What’s the name of the member of the National Assembly who gave that… pressure, I mean suggestion?”
“…What are you going to do with that?”
“So he was a member of the National Assembly.”
Seeing how quickly the warden took the bait, Hong’s eyes darted around as he shut his mouth.
“...I can’t say.”
“Well, isn’t it obvious? One of those who couldn’t lick up the scraps after that bastard Yang Seungtae got taken down, someone with enough pull to throw their weight around.”
They just wanted Gaengwan to stay quietly locked away forever, but seeing him active enough to travel to America made them uneasy.
The Wang Daehan trillion-won Ponzi scam and the 40-billion-won Creative Capital case were still unresolved, and the so-called high-ranking figures simply wanted public attention to die down. The last thing they wanted was for the name “Lee Gaengwan” to appear in the media again. Lee Gaengwan → Yang Seungtae → Kim Omin → Wang Daehan… everything connected like a chain.
Gaengwan’s case had left a deep mark on Korean society. The shock and impression he left on the public was no less intense than the infamous “Please handle politics more grandly, bang bang bang!”
“...Heh… heheheh.”
Warden Hong wiped the cold sweat forming on his forehead as he laughed awkwardly at Gaengwan’s sharp insight.
Watching the warden, Gaengwan decided to offer some advice. After all, even if the warden wasn’t the owner of this “big house,” he was still responsible for managing it. Being on good terms with front-line workers made everything easier in any field.
“Warden, I think something is going to happen soon. Wouldn’t it be wise to prepare yourself mentally?”
“What kind of something?”
Having experienced Gaengwan’s sharp intuition firsthand, the warden’s face froze. And Gaengwan was not the type to joke about something like this.
With a smile, Gaengwan said:
“When that time comes, don’t forget that I accepted your request to help you out.”
His inexplicable words and that smile felt ominous to the warden.
= = = = =
“He refused to come to the United States… what happened? Did he not like the gift the team leader gave him?”
Upon hearing that Gaengwan had refused to travel to America, Kim Jun flew all the way to Korea to meet him.
Gaengwan glanced toward the guard behind Kim Jun, then replied.
“Seems like some of the high-ranking folks don’t like how much I’m being active.”
“Your basis?”
“As you know, I’m the most famous member-of-the-National-Assembly terrorist in this country, and the things tied to my name are… uncomfortable for some people in high places, right?”
Understanding what he meant, Kim Jun scratched his head irritably.
This wasn’t a diplomatic issue. It was purely domestic politics.
“Haa… I need to report this to our superiors first.”
“You should.”
“So Mr. Lee isn’t going to America because of them?”
“Of course not. If America raises its voice just a little and says they want me, those guys will shut up instantly.”
“If that’s the case, why on earth did I have to fly all the way here?”
Exactly. If Gaengwan hadn’t suddenly said he wouldn’t leave Korea, Kim Jun wouldn’t have had to fly 14 hours to confirm his intentions.
“Aren’t they pathetic? They’re the ones who did shady things, but afraid of being exposed, they try to hush everything up and pressure people who are simply doing their jobs properly.”
“Hm…”
Kim Jun guessed that Gaengwan was talking about the prison.
Gaengwan continued.
“When things don’t go their way, they vent on the wrong people.”
“You mean they’ll do something to the prison?”
“They’re the type who put their own safety and privileges before national interest, even if America stands to gain by sending me. They might create trouble here just to screw me over. Maybe even take it out on the warden and the guards.”
Hard to believe this could happen in the 21st century… but it absolutely could. What? You think it’s impossible? Lift your head and rewatch the ‘I’m ○○ Governor’ fiasco. And no, he wasn’t talking about Dogecoin.
Noticing that Gaengwan seemed oddly sympathetic toward the prison, Kim Jun asked with curiosity:
“Have you grown attached to this place?”
Gaengwan replied with something seemingly unrelated.
“They say generosity comes from a full granary, right?”
“So I’ve heard.”
“You need inner room to be kind to others. Think about it, if those bastards start making life miserable for the warden and the guards just to vent their anger, do you think that won’t affect me too?”
In society, normal people turn into disasters the moment they join the military. The reason is simple: the military is shitty.
Is it strange that people become shitty when trapped in a shitty environment? This applies not just to the military.
Look at journalists who, during the Japanese occupation, praised the emperor; during the coup, worshipped the coup leader as a national savior; and when North Korean forces occupied Seoul, proclaimed Kim Il-sung a great general. These people, living in corrupted media environments, had turned into the very caricature of “press trash.”
Does it really matter whether someone eats black-bean noodles or spicy seafood noodles? If they didn’t view the public as pigs and dogs, would they produce such worthless “major news”?
Kim Jun nodded. He had assumed Gaengwan was worried out of some emotional attachment to the guards, but it turned out to be for purely self-centered reasons.
But he didn’t judge him. It was better than ruining everything for the sake of personal gain. From an individualistic American viewpoint, this was downright considerate.
“Understood. I’ll report your situation and stance to our superiors.”
A few days later, Gaengwan headed back to America. On the day the Ministry of Justice issued a special temporary release permit signed by the Minister himself, Warden Hong called Gaengwan in and let out a wide grin.
“You knew this would happen, didn’t you?”
“It’s America, isn’t it?”
That single sentence summed up everything. America was a nation relentlessly devoted to its own interests.
With a living lie detector, one far more accurate and faster than any existing lie detector, America could swiftly root out terrorist cells. Giving that up because of a petty tantrum from a corrupt foreign politician? That was not something America could tolerate.