Chapter 55
Chapter 55
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 55
Chapter Title: Conditions and Suspicions
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Two days had passed since my meeting with Prince Mohammed.
The UAE delegation, having signed the agreement, departed for home in the morning, and the group began discussing the matter in greater depth.
“The market potential in the UAE is limitless.”
Most of the directors were in favor of expanding our exchanges with the UAE.
I felt the same.
If we could leverage this opportunity to attract as much of their overflowing oil money as possible, it would be an immense boon to the group's growth, so I was constantly mulling over how to do it.
*Ring!*
Just as the meeting was wrapping up, the phone in my pocket rang.
The complete replacement of the phones in my home and office was still underway, so the NIS director had provided this one as a stopgap measure to put out the most urgent fires.
“Who could it be?”
Judging by the pattern of the number on the screen, it looked like an international call.
Wondering if it might be Ryan, I pressed the call button, only to hear a woman's voice on the other end.
-Good day, Chairman Jin. This is Catherine Arthur, the United States Secretary of State.
Instantly, my recent conversation with Ryan flashed through my mind.
The part about Senator Michael finding some useful leverage.
Could this be about Motor Sich?
Suddenly, my heart began to pound.
[Hello, Madam Secretary. This is Jin Hyun-seung.]
-I just received a call from Vice Chairman Jansen of Whitney. I understand your two companies have signed a technology cooperation agreement. On that note, I'm calling to inform you that the matter has just been approved by Congress.
It wasn't what I'd expected, but it was certainly welcome news.
As I unknowingly clenched my fist, she continued.
-Oh, and something related to Jaewoo came up during a White House meeting yesterday. I wanted to pass along the news, if you have a moment.
[…Of course.]
The tension that had briefly subsided came rushing back.
This had to be about Motor Sich.
Although she framed it as just passing along some news, this was likely the real reason for her call.
-President Clinton is greatly concerned about China taking control of Motor Sich. As it happens, an ally, South Korea—or more specifically, Jaewoo Thales—has a history of attempting to acquire it. Therefore, our administration is wondering if Jaewoo Thales would be interested in attempting another acquisition.
Mitsubishi was conveniently left out of her lengthy explanation.
Then again, if the matter had already been decided in my favor, there was no reason for the U.S. to bring up Mitsubishi.
I played along, feigning ignorance.
[If the White House is receptive, then of course we are willing to attempt another acquisition.]
-I thought as much. However, there is one condition. Would that be acceptable?
[Please, go ahead.]
-Even if Jaewoo acquires Motor Sich, we would ask that you refrain from entering the commercial aircraft market for the next ten years.
That was likely a measure to protect Boeing.
And for me, it was a meaningless condition.
In truth, trying to enter the commercial airline market, currently dominated by Boeing, with Motor Sich's level of technology was not only absurd, but something I had no intention of doing anyway.
[You have my word on that.]
-That's a relief. You were silent for a moment, and I worried you were about to unnerve me with some startling remark like last time.
[I admit my emotions got the better of me then. I’d like to take this opportunity to apologize.]
-No, Mr. Jin, you were only saying what needed to be said from your perspective. You needn't worry about it. However, there is one thing you should know for the future.
[…]
I responded with a moment of silence.
Her last words seemed to have a thorny edge to them.
As expected, a sigh came from the other end of the line, followed by her voice.
-A presidential aide resigned over this incident.
[…]
-That said, in the future, I would recommend you contact us directly if any issues arise.
That was her roundabout way of saying she knew I was the one behind the fierce lobbying war over the Motor Sich affair.
After all, with the outcome so clearly benefiting me, it would be impossible not to know.
What was strange was that her reaction wasn't as harsh as I'd expected. The answer to that came with her next words.
-To be honest, it was quite a shock for us as well. How could an administration's national security advisor do such a thing… Thankfully, the Republican side agreed to conclude this matter with only the relevant advisor's resignation.
[…]
-I actually suspected that was your idea. Am I wrong?
[Ah, well…]
I was taken aback.
What power did I have to dictate Republican party policy?
If I had to guess, it was Ryan, but I had no idea what he was thinking, reining in the Republicans like that.
Especially when they had every intention of using the leverage they’d found again and again.
[In any case, I wanted to say that I'm glad it stopped at a reasonable point. With the President's impeachment issue having been resolved only recently, we would have been in quite a predicament if this had escalated further.]
Hearing that, I thought I understood Ryan’s intentions.
If the Republicans had continued to escalate the advisor's misconduct, what would have happened to my position?
If nothing else, the Democratic party would have undoubtedly held a grudge against the name Jaewoo.
But by preventing that, the result was this situation, where I’d effectively slapped them across the face and was now receiving their thanks.
Not that there wouldn't be some lingering resentment, of course. But ultimately, he had prevented the Democratic party from completely turning against us.
‘What a brilliant friend.’
If he were here right now, I would have hugged him on the spot.
Then a thought occurred to me: what power did he use to stop the Republicans from running wild?
No matter how I thought about it, there was only one conclusion.
‘Just how much money did this guy pour into this?’
******
“Well, I’ll be off then.”
Fifteen days later, Director Yoon of Jaewoo Aerospace boarded a plane to proceed with the acquisition of Motor Sich.
The total acquisition price was around 800 billion won.
However, additional funds were needed to appease the Ukrainian government and public sentiment, bringing the total cost of the acquisition to 1.3 trillion won.
Tsk, this was a classic case of the tail wagging the dog.
But what could I do?
The U.S. was merely a controller in this; the truly important party was Ukraine.
Speaking of which, Ryan had told me not to worry about the money, but he had taken it to an extreme.
-See, what did I tell you? The power of money is a scary thing.
During our call the previous day, Ryan had told me he’d poured a whopping 40 million dollars into the Republican party.
He claimed that considering the destructive potential of the issue, that was a small price to pay.
He had a point. Forcing them to give up a weapon that could have potentially overturned the administration—40 million didn't seem so much in that context.
-One thing's for sure: the Republicans haven't thrown that weapon away. It’ll probably resurface with some extra seasoning come election time.
It didn't matter to me what happened then.
The next administration would be Republican anyway.
But of course.
Why would they simply abandon a weapon with such destructive power just for my sake?
It seemed their plan was to reap the immediate benefits and then stir up something big later. Politicians, no matter the country, were all cut from the same cloth.
“We should prepare for departure soon, Chairman.”
Director Yoon wasn't the only one traveling on business today.
I was on my way to accept an invitation from Putin, who had recently been appointed Prime Minister of Russia. To be precise, I was going to discuss a technology exchange. Secretary Kim and I were waiting at the airport, and we were set to depart as soon as Deputy Chief Im arrived.
“Sorry I’m late.”
Deputy Chief Im was to act as a sort of manager for the project's progress.
Even though this was led by a private company, it was still a matter that required state oversight.
It was only natural for government ministries to be involved.
“Are you two coming as well?”
Deputy Chief Im was accompanied by two NIS agents.
It made sense; the NIS wouldn't send just one deputy chief on an overseas trip.
But both agents were faces I recognized.
“We will serve you without any mistakes this time.”
The first to speak was Agent Im Hyuk-soo.
He was the one who had been guarding the locker room when the phone tapping incident occurred.
Rumor had it he'd been severely reprimanded by the director for failing his duty that day. Perhaps because of that, he was now ramrod straight and disciplined.
“How could you have stopped someone who was so determined? Don’t take what happened back then to heart.”
“No, sir. If only I hadn't left my post to go to the restroom...”
“...The restroom?”
His words sparked a thought, and I stared at Im Hyuk-soo quietly.
Perhaps feeling burdened by my gaze, he quickly changed the subject.
“Oh, and before arriving here, we finished replacing the phones at your residence and office. We also left a portable detector, so please check your surroundings frequently.”
“I’ll do that. By the way, did you go to my house alone?”
"Yes, it wasn't a job that required multiple people."
"...I see."
I turned away after that short reply.
Just then, an announcement for our flight came over the speakers, and our party hurried toward the boarding gate.
[Passengers for flight 816 to Moscow, please proceed to…]
“First-class passengers, please come this way.”
For security, our group had booked the entire first-class cabin.
As a result, most of the people lining up first were with us.
We began to board following the flight attendant's instructions.
*Thud!*
“Excuse me, but I believe you’re in the wrong line.”
Just as I was passing through the gate, I heard my head of security warning someone behind me.
Puzzled, I turned to see a man in a suit being blocked by my security chief.
“What’s going on?”
“My apologies for the disturbance. It seems this gentleman is mistaken about the line…”
At his words, I looked at the man in question.
Perhaps conscious of the stares, the man gave an awkward smile and stepped back.
“My apologies. I seem to have mistaken the line.”
His speech was somehow awkward.
It was as if it had the distinct, imprecise pronunciation of a Japanese speaker.
Come to think of it, his actions were also a bit clumsy.
His eyes darted about restlessly.
And his demeanor suggested he was trying hard to avoid eye contact.
“What is it?”
Just then, Deputy Chief Im and the agents, having heard the commotion, rushed over.
After quickly assessing the situation, he whispered something to Agent Im Hyuk-soo. Agent Im nodded, then immediately peeled off from our group and blended into the queue where the suspicious man was now waiting.
“I’ve put him under surveillance, so you don’t need to worry too much.”
Deputy Chief Im patted my arm reassuringly as he noticed me still watching the man, then walked ahead.
If nothing had happened recently, I might have been reassured, but after the recent wiretapping incident, his words offered little comfort.
“All clear.”
When we reached first class, Im Hyuk-soo's colleague was in the middle of a thorough inspection of the cabin.
It seemed the bugging incident had left its mark. Thanks to that, even the innocent flight attendants were on edge.
“Are you sleeping?”
I had closed my eyes, intending to sleep through the long flight, when Deputy Chief Im approached and spoke to me.
The drowsiness that had been creeping in vanished instantly. I straightened up in my seat as he continued.
“About that man from earlier. The one I had my agent tail. He said there’s definitely something strange about him.”
“In what way?”
“As soon as he sat down, he spread out some documents and pretended to be busy with work, but it seems to be an act, highly conscious of us.”
“Hmm… You may not have heard it, Deputy Chief, but his accent didn’t sound Korean. Did you happen to confirm that?”
“According to Agent Im Hyuk-soo, he seems to be Chinese.”
“Chinese? Are you sure?”
Something felt off.
The man's accent I'd heard was distinctly Japanese.
So why suddenly Chinese?
‘Well, well, well.’
In that instant, countless thoughts raced through my mind.
The scattered puzzle pieces in my head began to click into place, and my vision cleared as if a flower had bloomed.
*Smirk.*
“What is it?”
“Ah, it’s nothing. By the way, please be sure to tell Agent Im Hyuk-soo… that I appreciate all his… hard work.”
“It’s his job, no need for thanks. Anyway, I just wanted to let you know we’re on his tail, so you don’t need to worry.”
With that, Deputy Chief Im returned to his seat and closed his eyes.
No matter how I thought about it, the chances of his involvement were zero.
That left only one answer.
‘Now I see what’s going on.’