Chapter 27
Chapter 27
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 27
Chapter Title: Unwelcome Encounters
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[To everyone in the hall. The event will begin in 20 minutes.]
An announcement came over the speakers just as my thoughts were spiraling.
The Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, who had tapped my shoulder again, turned away with a meaningful smile. I stood there for a while, mentally reviewing our conversation.
‘I never thought the development of the AESA radar would start like this...’
The timing I had in mind for AESA development wasn't now.
Of course, the threat from the North's missiles was real, but simply having the means to detect them wouldn't solve the problem when we lacked the means to intercept them.
But the HVP system changed everything, and if I played my cards right, it opened up opportunities to profit in many more areas.
From Aegis destroyers' radar to fighter jets and long-range air-to-air missiles.
The development path would vary slightly depending on the application, of course, but the potential uses for AESA—Active Electronically Scanned Array radar—were immense.
‘Even if it passes the review and the project actually starts, it will take at least a year. But to shorten the development time, I need to start preparing step by step now... What's this?’
As I was lost in thought, I noticed a man who looked to be in his mid-thirties smiling at me from a distance.
Wondering if he was an acquaintance of Hyun-seung, I offered an awkward smile in return. The man immediately started walking straight toward me.
“Mr. Jin Hyun-seung? Congratulations.”
I searched my memory, but his face didn't ring a bell.
My blank expression must have thrown him off, as a flicker of awkwardness crossed his face.
“Oh. We met at the year-end party at the Ritz Hotel a few years ago. You must not remember. I'm Moon Ji-hoon, Managing Director at S&U.”
In other words, we were hardly acquainted.
A fleeting encounter like that wouldn't have left a lasting impression.
What was unsettling was that the man was an executive at S&U. Setting aside the fact that they were a competitor, I had an instinctive aversion to the company.
The K2, South Korea's next-generation tank.
They were the ones who had repeatedly failed in their attempt to develop the power pack's transmission, wasting a significant amount of the nation's resources.
“Ah...”
Of course, failures can happen in weapons development due to technical limitations.
Besides, there were rumors that the Defense Acquisition Program Administration's performance requirements for the K2's power pack transmission were too stringent.
But a tank's instantaneous mobility is directly linked to its survival.
To prevent casualties, stringent requirements were a given. And for a military accustomed to the superior performance of German power pack transmissions, a subpar product would never be acceptable.
“Hmm...”
Nevertheless, my disdain for S&U stemmed from their attitude.
Instead of admitting their own incompetence, they used the media to blame the military's supposedly inconsistent standards.
In reality, the government had lowered the standards out of necessity, as domestic production of the power pack was essential for exports. But they twisted it to look like inconsistent military policy to save face.
“I hope you enjoy the party.”
I intended to end the brief conversation and turn away.
Perhaps feeling slighted, the man suddenly uttered a provocative remark.
“Are you aware that thanks to you, S&U has suffered immense losses?”
“...What are you talking about?”
I turned back and looked him straight in the eye.
His expression was now completely different from before.
This must be his true face.
“I'm telling you that because the U.S. granted Jaewoo exclusive rights to the F-16's weapons integration, the development of our intelligent joint direct attack munition has become meaningless.”
His words perfectly matched the news articles that had been attacking me.
In other words, he was the mastermind behind that smear campaign.
My vague suspicion that S&U was behind it was now confirmed.
“There's a flaw in your logic. I secured that deal through legitimate negotiations. If S&U really needs it, they should negotiate with the U.S. to get approval themselves. Oh, wait, would that be too difficult? Then again, if everything you make ends up with a complaint...”
*Grit!*
The man clenched his jaw so hard it seemed his teeth might break.
Fortunately, we had been speaking quietly, so those around us were oblivious to the tense atmosphere.
I twisted my lips into a smirk and was about to turn away again when another familiar face blocked my path.
“It's been a while, Hyun-seung.”
“...”
My heart sank.
I never dreamed I would run into Hyun-seung's ex-girlfriend here of all places.
Back in school, the shy Hyun-seung used to drag me along every time he met her, so she was a familiar face to me as well.
“What's with that look? Aren't you happy to see me?”
The initial shock quickly subsided.
It occurred to me that I wasn't Hyun-seung, but Kim Jun.
Luckily, she didn't seem to notice my expression and was still looking at me with a bright smile.
“Oh Hyun-ji, what are you doing here?”
“What do you mean? I was invited, of course. Did you forget my dad's in the military?”
Come to think of it, I remembered her saying something like that before.
At the ramen shop she, Hyun-seung, and I used to frequent.
Back then, her father was serving as a deputy division commander somewhere on the central front, so she was living on her own, I believe.
He was a brigadier general at the time, so if he was competent, he could have been promoted to lieutenant general by now.
“Oh, right, you two have met before, haven't you? I introduced you at the year-end party four years ago.”
As she spoke, Oh Hyun-ji's hand subtly wrapped around the arm of the man I had just been talking to—Managing Director Moon Ji-hoon.
The man, who had been glaring at me, instantly changed his expression, flashing a smile as if nothing had happened.
“Now I get it.”
The reason Hyun-seung gave up on her in the past.
Back then, he used to complain to me about her complicated relationships with men, and one day he told me they had broken up. It seemed Moon Ji-hoon was one of the men in her orbit.
“You don't remember?”
“Well, it was a long time ago. I'm busy, so if you'll excuse me.”
“Huh? Where are you going all of a sudden?”
Oh Hyun-ji called out to me in a bewildered tone as I quickly turned to leave.
I ignored her and quickened my pace, but she caught up and grabbed my sleeve.
“What do you think you're doing?”
*Flinch!*
She flinched at my sharp glare.
But she didn't let go.
Just as I shook my sleeve free, she blurted out something unexpected.
“That's strange.”
“What is?”
“That expression and tone of voice just now... it was just like the old Kim Jun. Oh, speaking of which, what's Kim Jun up to these days? I remember telling him he'd have a hard time in the real world with that prickly personality of his. Surely he hasn't stayed the same, has he?”
“Stop with the nonsense and get to the point if you have one. The event is starting soon.”
“Don't be so harsh. I just came to ask a favor. My dad wanted to know if he could have a word with you.”
In that moment, I understood her motive.
The season for military personnel changes was just around the corner.
But becoming a four-star general was no easy feat.
With his term nearing its end, her father must have been worried about his future.
“Shouldn't you be asking your boyfriend for that kind of favor?”
“Boyfriend? Who? You don't mean Ji-hoon, do you? You must have misunderstood. Ji-hoon and I are just close friends.”
*Pfft.*
She frowned at my open scoff.
To think that Hyun-seung, naive as he was back then, had fallen for someone like her.
Then again, I was just as poor a judge of character back then, so I couldn't really blame him.
“Did you just say I resemble that guy Jun?”
“...Why?”
“Because now that I think about it, I really am like him. Not just the way I talk and look, but also that shitty personality.”
“...”
“Don't you get it? I'm telling you to get lost before I say something worse.”
“...”
Her face instantly paled.
She was too stunned to speak, clearly shocked.
Just then, Secretary Kim spotted us from a distance and rushed over.
“What are you doing here, Mr. Hyun-seung?”
“...”
Flustered, Oh Hyun-ji stared at Secretary Kim with wide eyes.
Putting on a haughty expression, Secretary Kim gave Oh Hyun-ji a quick once-over.
“Your father will be arriving shortly. We should get going.”
Oh Hyun-ji's eyes widened even further at her words.
Just as I thought her eyes might pop out of her head, Secretary Kim glanced back at her and delivered the final blow.
“By the way, who is this?”
Nice one, Secretary Kim!
*******
“I apologize, Department Head. The atmosphere back there seemed strange, so...”
Secretary Kim said quietly on our way back after the event.
She must have been worried about my silence.
But I'm afraid I wasn't thinking about that situation.
“Not at all. You were a formidable shield.”
“But why haven't you said anything...?”
“I have some things to think about. I'll be mulling them over during the ride, so please understand if I'm quiet.”
At that, Secretary Kim let out a sigh of relief.
A small smile crept onto my face as I watched her being careful not to disturb my thoughts.
—*Are you aware? Thanks to Jaewoo Thales, we...*
Moon Ji-hoon's words kept replaying in my mind.
As did the fact that he was behind the articles attacking me.
Honestly, now that I had established a solid relationship with the military, there was no reason for me to worry about a company like S&U.
The problem was that since he had shown his hostility, this unpleasant connection was likely to continue for some time.
‘Tsk, they can't even build a proper engine transmission... I don't understand why the military didn't just give Hyunwoo Rotem the sole development rights.’
That part was actually a bit surprising.
Since the capable Hyunwoo Rotem had already been selected as the lead for the K2 development project, why on earth did they outsource the power pack separately?
The official reason was limitations in transmission technology, but S&U's monumental screw-up ended up costing several times the original budget.
‘The fortunate thing is that we're still before the developer has been selected.’
Historically, the full-scale development of the K2 tank doesn't begin until 2003.
Of course, preliminary research started in 1995, but they changed the development direction after being shocked by the incredible performance of the Russian T-80U tanks acquired through the first Brown Bear project.
This means there are plenty of opportunities to prevent S&U from becoming the power pack developer, but I feel conflicted.
Should I let history run its course?
Or... should I just take it for myself?
A project of that scale is certainly tempting enough.
“Anyway, some people have ambitions far beyond their abilities... They just gobble up whatever they can, and of course, they get sick.”
*Cough!*
Suddenly, Secretary Kim, who was beside me, let out a dry cough as if she were choking.
I glanced over in confusion and saw her stuffing a piece of cake into her mouth, which she'd gotten from who knows where.
“...”