Chapter 39
Chapter 39
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 39
Chapter Title: Friends from the Past
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“I'm here to transport the coffin that arrived on flight 826.”
The process of taking possession of the coffin was quite complicated.
The biggest headache was that I had no familial relationship with Kim Jun.
Thanks to that, there were dozens of documents to file, and for the parts where I hit a wall, I had no choice but to use the power of my position.
“If you go to the second cargo hold, someone will be waiting for you.”
After a full three hours, I finally took possession of the coffin, which was in surprisingly good condition.
A local funeral home had been hired to transfer the body to a new coffin, and perhaps due to cultural differences, its size and weight were truly immense.
[Mr. Jin?]
The moment I finished signing the handover documents, I heard a familiar voice.
For a moment, I thought, *It can't be.*
As I turned, a shock like a lightning bolt coursed through my entire body.
[I'm Ryan, a friend of Jun's. Are you Mr. Jin, by any chance?]
I flinched.
It was definitely Ryan.
A friend I had been incredibly close to during my time studying at MIT.
Damn it, but how is he alive and well?
He was supposed to have died in a major car accident in front of the school back in 1997.
The memory of tossing dirt on his grave was still so vivid...
[That's right, I'm Jin Hyun-seung.]
[I finally get to meet Mr. Jin. It's a pleasure.]
I only managed to come to my senses after he was right in front of me.
No matter how I looked at him, it was undeniably my friend Ryan.
If I had lost my composure for another second, I might have reached out and touched his face just to be sure.
[Ah, yes... But why are you here...?]
[I'd heard the news that Jun's grave was being moved. I've been keeping an ear out, so when I heard the day had come, I flew over with her.]
Putting aside the fact that I didn't understand the situation...
I almost burst into tears.
How many people in the world would fly to a distant foreign country just because the grave of a friend they'd known for a few years was being moved?
Then again, he was always the most loyal guy I knew, so it wasn't entirely surprising.
But... why the hell are you alive?
[I don't know how to thank you.]
[I'm the one who should be thanking you. Bringing a friend back to his homeland through such a complicated process couldn't have been easy. I don't know if you're aware, but Jun talked about you a lot when he was studying abroad.]
Ryan extended his hand with the same friendly smile.
How long had it been since I'd shaken this hand?
Warmth spread from his still-large, rough hand.
He really is alive.
[So, you're having him cremated?]
[Yes, we plan to place his ashes in a columbarium in Seongnam.]
[I see. If it's not too much trouble, may I accompany you?]
[Of course.]
When I readily nodded, Ryan smiled.
He then made a call, and after talking for a while, he waved at someone standing in the distance.
[Did someone come with you?]
I asked, curious.
Just then, a blonde woman approached.
In that instant, the words of the director from the information brokerage I'd hired flashed through my mind like lightning.
Could it be... the woman who lived with me—no, with the Kim Jun of this era—in America?
[This is Kate. She was Jun's partner.]
Ryan turned back to me, confirming my suspicion.
I hadn't expected a situation like this at all.
As I stared blankly in bewilderment, the woman suddenly pulled me into a tight hug.
[Thank you, for making it possible for Jun to come home...]
[Ah, yes...]
I responded awkwardly.
After she pulled away, I looked at her quietly, but I couldn't find anything about her that I would have been drawn to.
Skin full of freckles.
An ordinary face and rough hands.
[Let's get in the car first.]
I opened the door of the approaching car and gestured for her to get in.
She responded with a faint smile and got into the car.
Suddenly, she stumbled and grabbed onto me.
‘What's this? Is she sick or something?’
******
On the way to the crematorium.
Ryan and Kate, riding in the same car as me, wore somber expressions the entire time.
Their hearts must have been aching at the fate of their friend and lover, who would soon be reduced to a handful of ashes.
“Jun...”
The same was true for Kim Hee-won; he was sobbing the whole way.
[How did you and Jun meet?]
The question was directed at Kate.
After all, I knew better than anyone how I first met Ryan, but I knew nothing about her.
She seemed flustered by the sudden question and hesitated for a moment, but then her expression brightened as she began to speak.
[I worked at a restaurant Jun used to frequent. We were both lonely at the time, so...]
I didn't need to hear the rest to understand.
What was rather surprising was the fact that I had started seeing another woman simply because I couldn't bear the loneliness.
For some reason, I couldn't quite wrap my head around that part.
[I see. Ah, that reminds me, I remember something about Ryan now. I recall Jun lamenting that one of the few friends he made in America had been in a terrible accident.]
I then turned my gaze to Ryan and casually mentioned the accident.
He, who had just been looking out the window, tilted his head as if I'd said something completely out of the blue.
[An accident?]
[...]
This confirmed one thing for certain.
For some reason, history had changed.
It was fortunate for Ryan, and I was glad not to have experienced the death of a close friend. But something about it felt unsettling.
[Yes, this is Ryan.]
While I was lost in thought, Ryan suddenly answered a call, his expression hardening.
Wondering if something bad had happened, I watched as he continued speaking, agitated.
[Ah, that's an issue you need to discuss directly with Senator Megan, not me. No, that matter won't be easily resolved, no matter how much money you throw at it.]
Ryan ended the short call and looked out the window again.
A senator. And money.
Why were those words coming out of his mouth?
Puzzled, I spoke to him again.
[Didn't you say you and Jun were classmates at MIT?]
[That's right.]
[But the content of your call doesn't seem to fit someone with an engineering background. Ah! My apologies if I've offended you.]
[Why would I be offended? The truth is, I ended up in a field completely unrelated to my major. I realized my limitations, and my father was pressuring me to take over the family business. Our family has been renowned as lobbyists for generations, you see.]
Hearing that, a memory surfaced.
The days when we used to frequent pubs and curse American politics.
An incident where Ryan had shocked me by saying his own father had contributed to America's dirty political climate.
That's right, he'd definitely said his father was a famous lobbyist in American politics back then.
[So, are you working as a lobbyist now, too?]
[I am. My father's influence is so significant that my success rate is quite high.]
He probably wasn't saying that to brag.
It wasn't in his nature to show off his power like that.
Just a way of clearly explaining his situation, perhaps?
In any case, for me, this was incredibly welcome news.
Someone who could exert influence in American politics.
It was exactly what I desperately needed right now.
[If your schedule isn't tight, why don't you stay for a few days? Now that I've met a friend of Jun's, I'd feel bad just sending you back right away.]
[I was planning to, actually. To be honest, I was very curious to see what Jun's hometown was like.]
I felt a sense of relief at his words.
I offered my thanks several times to the me who was being carried in the limousine following behind us.
‘Thank you, other Kim Jun. And... I'm sorry.’
********
[Haha! I never knew Jun had that side to him.]
During the few days Ryan was in Korea, we grew remarkably close.
For me, who already knew everything from his habits and personality to his interests, and even the way he slept, it was an inevitable outcome.
Thanks to that, we had many conversations, which even allowed us to have a serious discussion about what had happened between Jaewoo and Nokid.
[You must have gone through a lot. Then again, with a company like Nokid, that's to be expected. Ah! Did you know about this? A French company, Palermo, was also targeted by them and eventually collapsed.]
[Palermo? They were one of Nokid's parts suppliers, just like Jaewoo Aerospace.]
[That's right, and a fairly major one at that. The problem was they suddenly joined Europe's independent fighter jet development project. Nokid, Boeing, and their other allies spent a staggering ten billion dollars just to bring that one company down.]
[Ten billion dollars?]
[And that's not all. It wasn't just their financial power; their methods were relentlessly persistent. They bled them dry over several years.]
[And then?]
[In that situation, with their domestic competitors also pouncing on them, how could they possibly survive? In the end, the French government, fearing a leak of national technology, managed to prevent the company from being sold to another country, but they couldn't stop it from changing hands.]
[Hmm...]
[Anyway, in that sense, you could say Jaewoo got out of it relatively unscathed.]
[I suppose you could see it that way.]
I replied with an awkward laugh.
Just as we were about to clink our glasses, he suddenly tilted his head and looked at me.
[You know, I have a feeling Nokid made a mistake this time.]
[...]
[Come to think of it, if Jaewoo pulls out, the one who'll be happiest is China. They're already desperate to improve their aerospace technology. That would be a headache for the U.S. government, so I doubt they'll look kindly on Nokid.]
[You're right. In fact, that's exactly what I was hoping for.]
[...What do you mean?]
He asked again, a puzzled look on his face.
I took a sip of my drink and looked at him steadily.
[Just as you said, China will come running soon. When they do, what do you think the U.S. government's next move will be?]
[They'll probably sound out Western companies to see if they're interested in an acquisition. Or they'll pressure American aerospace firms to take over. That's better than letting China get it.]
[But the problem is that for Western companies, Motor Sich is a white elephant. The acquisition cost isn't small, and it's a company with inferior technology. Besides, if the West gets involved, Russia won't just stand by. So, will anyone really step up to buy it?]
[...]
[What do you think? In that scenario, what choice do you think the U.S. government will make?]
[Well... You don't mean...]
[Frankly, now that we've cut ties with Nokid, there's no reason we can't try to acquire it again. But if we jump back in without a plan, we'll become the target of not just Nokid, but the entire U.S. aerospace defense industry.]
[That's true.]
[But what if China gets involved, and the U.S. government, wary of that, personally encourages us to make the acquisition?]
[...]
[Of course, we haven't confirmed a re-acquisition yet. We'll have to see how that plays out. But anyway. To do business with the U.S. in the future, what I'll need most is a lobbyist. Would you be willing to help me with that?]
[...Of course.]
Ryan's eyes gleamed as he answered.
Perhaps it was the alcohol, but after letting out a hearty laugh, he suddenly glanced at the next room and his expression turned somber again.
[She's such a pitiful woman, by the way.]
[Who? Kate?]
[Yeah. From what I know, it had only been six months since she and Jun started living together when he died. The shock was so great she hasn't been able to work properly since.]
[How has she been getting by?]
[I've been helping her out. She refused at first, of course, but she started asking for help again a little while ago. Only after she found out she has an incurable disease growing inside her.]
[What kind of illness does she have?]
[Pancreatic cancer.]
[...]
The image of her stumbling as she got into the car flashed through my mind.
The problem was that she had made the journey all the way here in that condition.
I felt a corner of my heart melt with sorrow.
[Is there any way I can help?]
[Financially, perhaps. But medically, there's nothing to be done. The doctor said she has six months at most. That's why I wondered if she wanted to come to Korea to be buried next to Jun. But it turns out she wants to face death in her mother's arms. Hey... but. Do you think you could help arrange for her to be buried next to Jun later on?]
[Of course.]
Suppressing the surging emotions, I raised my glass.
For some reason, this expensive liquor tasted like poison today.