Chapter 23
Chapter 23
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 23
Chapter Title: A Moving Target
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“Welcome. Have you eaten?”
Mrs. Kim Hye-won’s first greeting today was, once again, about food.
The strange thing was that when those simple words came from her lips, they felt uniquely meaningful.
She certainly had a remarkable ability to imbue her words with sincerity.
“Have you eaten, Mother?”
Mrs. Kim flinched at the words I’d blurted out.
When I tilted my head in confusion, she looked straight at me with trembling eyes.
“That’s the first time.”
“What is?”
“The first time you’ve called me Mom, Hyun-seung.”
“…”
“Oh, where is my mind? You should wash your hands first, shouldn’t you?”
She quickly changed the subject as if she had said something she shouldn’t have.
Was I mistaken, or did I catch a glimpse of a blissful smile on her face as she turned away?
“How are things looking?”
As soon as I entered the living room, Chairman Jin immediately asked about the development progress of the smart artillery shells.
There was no way he hadn't heard that parts supply had begun; it felt more like a perfunctory question before getting to the main point.
“We should be able to conduct a prototype test for military officials soon. Surely you didn’t call me here just to ask about that?”
“Not exactly…”
Chairman Jin hesitated.
What could he possibly want to say that required such a long pause?
As I stared at him in silence, he let out a dry cough and pulled a document from a drawer.
“Take a look.”
“What is this?”
“It’s a deed of gift. A certificate stating that I’ve gifted you four percent of my shares in Thales. It’ll be publicly announced on the stock exchange tomorrow, but I thought it best to let you know beforehand.”
“…”
This was completely unexpected.
My mind went blank, the train of thought snapping.
It was clearly something to be happy about, yet for a while, a sense of emptiness washed over a corner of my heart.
“Why the long face?”
“Ah… I’m just a little surprised. But why did you make this decision?”
It was only natural for me to not understand.
Given my circumstances, I had thought it was my destiny to solve everything on my own, aside from what I had already been given.
But I suppose blood is thicker than water.
It seems I had momentarily overlooked that important fact.
“What’s there to be surprised about? I told you before, I haven’t decided who will be the master of Thales yet. The starting lines shouldn’t be different, should they?”
He wasn’t wrong.
If it was to be a fair competition, then naturally, the share percentages should be the same.
But if things unfolded this way, the fairness he desired would essentially be out the window.
“You have a point, but you should know that in this case, my brother will be at a disadvantage from now on.”
“What do you mean?”
“The truth is, I’ve been looking for an opportunity to purchase shares. Wouldn’t that naturally change the starting line?”
“Purchase shares? Where would you get the surplus funds for that, when you’re always pouring money into the institute like it’s a bottomless pit?”
Chairman Jin asked, blinking.
Seeing is believing, as they say.
I opened the account statement for the stock purchase funds I had deposited with the brokerage firm, and he stared with wide eyes.
“One hundred billion won?”
“Yes. Even if the stock price rises after this project succeeds, it’s enough to acquire nearly two percent. Of course, if I tried to buy them right now, I could secure more, but that can’t be helped. An increase in a major shareholder’s stake right before a key event would certainly be problematic.”
“…”
He was silent for a long time.
What was he thinking?
Just as I was wondering, Chairman Han's name suddenly came from his lips.
“Rumor has it that Chairman Han Myung-ho recently became your guardian. It seems you’ve learned how to make money in the meantime.”
His tone suggested he had no intention of blaming me.
In fact, a faint smile even touched his lips.
Just in case, I cautiously tested the waters.
“Are you not going to try and stop me?”
“Why would I stop you from associating with a man like Chairman Han? Others are desperate to form a connection with him.”
“No, I mean about me acquiring additional Thales shares.”
“…”
Chairman Jin faltered for a moment at that.
But then his lips curved into a smile, and he nonchalantly handed my account statement back to me.
“My role ended with setting up a fair stage. What happens after that is up to each of you.”
He spoke indifferently and rose from the sofa.
In the kitchen, Mrs. Kim had already finished preparing dinner and was waving us over.
Since I had his approval to acquire more shares, I had nothing more to say to him.
No, there was still one thing I was curious about.
“Is it true that my brother is moving to Aerospace?”
Chairman Jin, who had been walking ahead, turned back at my words.
His expression seemed to ask how I knew.
Then, as if remembering something, his eyes narrowed.
“Tsk, I’ll have to tighten security in the secretary’s office.”
“Scolding them will be useless. Information about personnel changes is something everyone in the group is on edge about, so no matter how you try to block it, rumors will spread on their own.”
“…”
“But why? The rumors say he volunteered. Is there a special reason?”
“Well, he said he wanted to try developing our own fighter jet engine.”
It was just as I had expected.
What was strange was why a man like Chairman Jin, who knew the full extent of Jaewoo’s technological level, would allow it.
As if sensing my expression, he continued.
“I know what you want to say. Yes, developing our own engine is a pipe dream for us.”
“Then why…”
“He said he would acquire Motor Sich. It seems he plans to absorb their technology.”
Motor Sich was a Ukrainian aircraft manufacturer.
During the Soviet era, it had managed to get by on military demand, but after the dissolution of the Union, it had been suffering from severe financial difficulties.
Recent news suggested its deficit was so large that it could be acquired for just a few hundred billion won.
I had never dreamed that Jin Hyun-cheol would covet that company.
“What do you think? Does it seem possible?”
The problem was that it wouldn't be easy.
Frankly, hadn't I had the same thought?
If we could get our hands on Motor Sich, we could enter not only the fighter jet engine market but also the large aircraft market.
Despite that, the reason I had decisively given up and decided to pursue our own development later was solely because of the United States.
They would never allow it, as they guarded the aircraft market with fiery eyes.
No, forget the U.S., Russia wouldn't stand by idly either.
“We’ll have to hope he succeeds.”
That was my honest feeling.
If my prediction was wrong and it was possible, we could jump into the large commercial aircraft market in one fell swoop.
No, not just commercial aircraft; we could also obtain Motor Sich’s fighter jet engine technology, which would be the icing on the cake.
But was it really possible?
As someone who knew America’s ambitions better than anyone, I found it hard to be hopeful.
***
[An announcement for our distinguished guests. The performance test for the smart self-propelled artillery shell GX-1 and the 5-inch naval gun shell SX-1 will begin shortly at 2:00 PM. We ask all guests to please proceed to Tactical Training Ground 2.]
Ten days later, the performance test for the smart artillery shells was finally held at the Marine Corps Tactical Training Ground in Incheon.
A prototype of the K-9 self-propelled howitzer, recently under development by Samjung Techwin, was brought in as the delivery system for the test, and thanks to that, Chairman Lee Yong-moon was also invited as an observer.
“What’s that screen?”
Chairman Lee Yong-moon, who had attended despite his busy schedule, showed interest in the massive screen set up on one side of the training ground.
“Ooh!”
It wasn't just him; most of the people gathered in the area wore puzzled expressions at the sudden appearance of the giant screen.
As if to answer their questions, a video began to play on the screen, and the crowd let out a collective gasp at the sight of the wide-open sea.
“Where is that?”
“It’s the sea off the coast of Jinhae. We are currently live-streaming from the naval base there and an uninhabited island in Ganghwa simultaneously.”
“Ganghwa Island makes sense as the impact point for the howitzer shell, but why Jinhae?”
“Immediately after the performance test for the smart howitzer shell, we plan to test the 127mm smart naval gun shell as well.”
“You’re conducting the tests at the same time?”
Chairman Lee Yong-moon asked back in surprise.
“Since development for both finished at the same time, we saw no reason to hold two separate events.”
“That’s a good idea. It is rather rude to call busy people out multiple times. By the way, I don’t think I’ve seen that destroyer before.”
“That is the DDH-972 Eulji Mundeok. It’s a destroyer that was commissioned about two months ago, so it’s still undergoing sea adaptation training.”
“You mobilized a newly commissioned destroyer for a demonstration?”
“Actually, the navy is in the middle of maritime training exercises right now. Because of that, it was difficult to find a destroyer equipped with a 5-inch gun. Fortunately, Deputy Commander Lee Dong-wook of the Combined Forces Command, who is here with us, was able to arrange it.”
General Lee Dong-wook, who was listening to the conversation nearby, remained perfectly still.
As if he didn't want to take credit for his contribution.
Perhaps finding this unexpected, Chairman Lee Yong-moon’s eyes sparkled as he looked at him.
“It’s been a while, Mr. Jin.”
Lieutenant General Michael from the U.S. Department of Defense was also invited to today’s performance test.
Considering that the primary purpose of the smart shell’s development was for export to the U.S. rather than our own military, it was a natural outcome.
What was surprising was his reaction; he flew to Korea just three days after being notified of the event and had been waiting at the USFK base for another three days.
Simply put, it meant that Jaewoo Thales's standing within the U.S. Department of Defense had improved that much.
“I didn’t expect you to decide to attend so quickly, General Michael.”
“Don’t say that… If it’s a weapon Mr. Jin has poured his heart and soul into, of course I have to take an interest.”
Michael said, his eyes filled with curiosity.
He would have already grasped the shell’s specifications and performance from the catalog I had sent him beforehand.
For him to show such a look meant he was expecting something else.
“One thing you should note is that the shells used in today's test are equipped with commercial-grade GPS. This means the circular error probable is much larger than with military-grade GPS.”
“I’ll take that into account, so you don’t need to worry about it.”
Michael nodded at my excuse-like statement.
In the meantime, the self-propelled howitzer mobilized for the demonstration entered the parade ground. Soon, its barrel lifted and turned to face west.
“Where is the impact point again?”
“It’s an uninhabited island in the West Sea, about 100 kilometers from here. The actual maximum range is 80 kilometers, but we’ve extended the test distance to account for extreme situations.”
“What will you do if it fails? Forget us, it could give the Republic of Korea’s Ministry of National Defense a bad impression.”
“We’re attempting it because we are that confident.”
No sooner had I finished speaking than an island appeared on the screen.
A place with a particularly long, white sandy beach.
A moment later, the screen zoomed in to show a small passenger car parked in the middle of the beach.
“That vehicle is the target?”
Michael looked flustered.
When I nodded instead of answering, he blinked and looked at me.
“You said it was commercial GPS. Are you saying you can hit such a small target with just that? Then what is the margin of error when you attach military-grade GPS…?”
“The current circular error probable is around six meters. So with a military-grade unit, you can assume it would be less than half that.”
“…Six meters, even with a commercial unit?”
From the way his jaw dropped, he seemed quite astonished.
But it was too early for that kind of reaction.
I gave a hand signal to a staff member who was on standby. A moment later, a military truck on the beach began to connect a long chain to the passenger car.
“What are you trying to do?”
Startled, Michael immediately looked at me.
This was what I really wanted to show him.
After giving another signal to the waiting staff, I looked him straight in the eye.
“We have to move the target, of course.”
“Move the target? Why?”
“For the test, obviously. Actually, today’s performance test isn’t against a stationary target, but a moving one.”
“What! You’re going to hit a moving target with a mere 155mm shell? So this product wasn’t developed just for extended range and precision strikes?”
Of course not.
If the goal had been merely to destroy a stationary target, I wouldn't have gone through that hellish development process in the first place.
In a little while, he too would realize what true cost-effectiveness was.