Chapter 8
Chapter 8
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 8
Chapter Title: Shall I Build You a Nuclear Weapon?
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A few days later, as scheduled, Lieutenant General Michael of the U.S. Army arrived in Korea to finalize the contract.
Given that the visitor was a key figure in the U.S. military, not only our own military personnel but also every reporter who got wind of the news had flocked to Seongnam Air Base.
Having not anticipated such an atmosphere, I found the downpour of gazes overwhelming.
“Is that young guy the development team leader for Jaewoo Thales?”
“That’s right. Jin Hyun-seung, the one most responsible for this new armor-piercing round export deal.”
“He looks more put-together than I expected. My impression of him wasn't great, with all those nasty rumors that used to follow him around.”
“I thought so too at first, but when I met him last time, he was completely different from the rumors.”
The murmurs of the waiting reporters reached my ears unfiltered.
When I casually glanced their way, a few reporters I knew were waving at me enthusiastically.
“Who’s he looking at?”
My polite nod of acknowledgment sent their group into a tizzy.
It was as if they were trying to determine who among them had captured my attention.
A moment later, one reporter with noticeably thinning hair puffed out his chest and waved at me again, and he was immediately bombarded with questions from the others.
“What’s this? Reporter Kim, you’re close with Jin Hyun-seung?”
“Ahem, if you must know, you could say we’re close. I wrote a very flattering article for him when the issue with our military’s order quantity for the armor-piercing rounds blew up.”
“Oh! Then you should try to butter him up for a source. Damn it, we need to know the details of what’s happening to write a story. Let us get in on this too.”
*Heh.*
It seemed a hierarchy had already formed among the reporters.
Those who knew me and those who didn't.
Considering I would need their help more in the future, the thought of maintaining a decent relationship with them suddenly crossed my mind as not such a bad idea.
“It’s been a while, Reporter Han Ji-yeon.”
My eyes landed on a young female reporter.
I figured I’d rather deal with someone who wasn’t so tainted, though in truth, reporters are all cut from the same cloth.
The only difference was that, in this era, there were still a few conscientious ones left.
“Whoa! Han Ji-yeon! Since when did a rookie like you get connections with Jaewoo Group?”
Instantly, the jealous glares of the other reporters fell upon her.
Flustered, she waved her hands dismissively at her colleagues, her face flushing, and cautiously approached me.
“Hello, Team Leader Jin Hyun-seung. I see you’re handling the contract signing yourself today?”
“Yes, it just turned out that way. Thank you for your last article. It helped smooth things over.”
“Oh, it was nothing. I was just a reporter stating the facts.”
“There’s nothing more difficult than reporting the facts as they are. In any case, as a token of my gratitude, I’d like to contact you first as soon as this contract is finalized. Your phone number hasn’t changed, has it?”
“You’re giving me an exclusive?”
Han Ji-yeon’s eyes sparkled as she glanced around.
Anyone watching would think I’d just asked her on a date.
As I smiled and turned to leave, the crowd of reporters grew noisy again.
“Hey, Han Ji-yeon! What did Jin Hyun-seung say?”
“He didn’t say anything. Just thanked me for the last article… Oh! I think they’ve arrived!”
At her last words, all the reporters’ eyes turned in unison toward the runway.
A massive U.S. military transport plane was landing with a deafening roar.
The moment had come for Lieutenant General Michael to set foot on Korean soil.
[Welcome.]
[We welcome you.]
The first to greet him was, of course, the Commander of U.S. Forces Korea, General Hummer.
Following him, a line of our military officials, including the ROK-U.S. Combined Forces Command Deputy Commander, General Lee Dong-wook, approached to welcome him.
[It’s been a while, sir. Well, look at this! Deputy Commander Lee Dong-wook, you came out as well.]
While exchanging greetings with the welcoming party, Michael scanned his surroundings.
It seemed he was looking for me.
I wanted to approach him immediately, but so many people had swarmed him that advancing a mere few meters was a struggle.
“Follow me, Team Leader.”
At times like this, there was truly no one better than Secretary Yang.
With his large frame, he was so adept at pushing people aside that anyone he brushed past was sent staggering back a few steps.
[Oh! You must be Mr. Jin.]
Just as I felt I was getting close, Michael spotted me, his face lighting up.
He had a small frame for a Westerner and thick glasses.
My first impression of him was more of a bureaucrat than a soldier.
[You recognized me at a glance. It’s a pleasure to meet you. I’m Jin Hyun-seung, the Development Team Leader at Jaewoo Group.]
[You look so much like your picture, it would be stranger not to recognize you. In any case, it’s far too crowded here.]
Michael, who had grasped my hand with a smile, suddenly whispered something to Deputy Commander Lee Dong-wook beside him.
Lee Dong-wook nodded readily and immediately gestured to the nearby military police. A moment later, a vehicle bearing four stars on its license plate slowly approached from the distance.
“Hmm, I believe this is our first time meeting. A pleasure. I’m Lee Dong-wook, Deputy Commander of the ROK-U.S. Combined Forces Command.”
General Lee Dong-wook, who had been watching the vehicle approach with me, suddenly extended a large hand and introduced himself.
To be honest, I didn’t know much about him.
The position of CFC Deputy Commander rarely intersected with the defense industry, but that didn’t mean he was someone to be taken lightly.
“I apologize for only greeting you now.”
“Don’t mention it. If we had a deep connection, that would be more suspicious.”
His words had a bite to them.
It was as if he were implying he was different from the other generals tainted by corruption.
Come to think of it, the presence he exuded seemed incomparable to that of other generals, especially someone like the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Han Dong-hoon.
“Anyway, Lieutenant General Michael would like to conduct the signing at Yongsan Garrison. It seems it will be difficult to get out of here with all the reporters, so it would be best to use my car to get to the base.”
So that was why a general’s car was approaching.
I had no reason to refuse such a kind offer. I gave a brief nod and was about to get into the car when he placed his hand on my shoulder again.
“I’m sorry to ask, but could you spare some time for me soon?”
“…”
“Actually, I’ve heard about you from the 7th Maneuver Corps Commander, Kim Tae-ik, but I’d like to have a separate conversation. It looks like you’re too busy right now, so please don’t forget to contact me when you have a moment.”
He probably wasn’t suggesting a meeting with ill intentions.
Not when he mentioned a man like Lieutenant General Kim Tae-ik, who was dedicated to the true advancement of the military.
He was an intriguing figure, so I saw no reason to refuse.
“I will contact you soon.”
“Thank you.”
General Lee Dong-wook offered me his hand with a bright smile.
Just as I shook it and was about to get into the car again, he uttered a meaningful sentence.
“I heard you told Lieutenant General Kim Tae-ik that it's time for our military to change. I happen to agree with that sentiment.”
“…”
***
[We'd like to increase the order to 700,000 rounds.]
As soon as the meeting began, Michael abruptly requested an increase in production.
A full 200,000 rounds more than the original order.
Regardless of whether it was possible, I was curious about the reason.
[Why the sudden increase in the required quantity?]
[The truth is, the U.S. Army consumes a significant number of armor-piercing rounds in training each year. Furthermore, the Pentagon believes that 500,000 rounds are insufficient for our policy-mandated reserve stockpile. Of course, there is another reason, but it’s an internal secret, so I’d rather not disclose it here.]
There was no need to press for a reason he couldn’t disclose, and the other reasons were understandable enough.
For the U.S. Army, which deploys ground troops all over the world, replacing their entire stockpile of uranium rounds with just 500,000 was indeed unrealistic.
My only concern was our production capacity. A sudden demand for increased production left us with no options.
“Wait…”
Or maybe it wasn't entirely impossible?
I could just convert the dummy round production line, just like I did for our own military.
Since there were no more plans for large-scale production of dummy rounds, there was no need to maintain that line anyway.
[There is a way.]
[Oh!]
Michael looked as if a great weight had been lifted from his shoulders.
But what to do about this?
The condition attached was not so easy to accept.
[However, it would require a sacrifice on the part of the U.S. military, which makes this a bit… ]
[Tell me what it is. If it’s something we can accommodate, we will review it as positively as possible.]
[We can convert the high-explosive round production facility, just as we did to secure the volume for our army. However, in that case, the U.S. military would have to cover the cost of retooling the line.]
As expected, he showed a hint of conflict.
A sense of relief at the possibility of securing the quantity.
And the conflict that came with incurring additional costs. Something like that.
But I could say with certainty that relief would soon triumph over conflict.
No matter how you racked your brain, that was the only solution in this situation.
[Let’s do that.]
In the end, my proposal was accepted.
So how much would the total export value increase?
An additional 200,000 rounds would mean at least another 400 billion won in sales.
Ultimately, the contract would be worth a staggering 1.4 trillion won.
Considering that a 30 percent profit margin was possible for these specialized munitions, this was a massive jackpot.
[We will begin retooling the line as soon as the contract is signed.]
After that, we went over the more detailed terms of the contract.
From deciding the exact delivery quantities and dates to confirming the payment method and due dates for the goods.
This was the truly critical part, so I had to stay sharp.
[A penalty of 5 percent will be imposed for any failure to meet the delivery deadline. Do you agree?]
[I agree. However, you are aware that if we are dedicating a production line, the entire payment for the goods must be made upfront, correct?]
When a production line is contracted out, it must exclusively produce goods for that contractor.
This meant that even if the contractor delayed payment, we couldn't repurpose the line at our discretion.
For that reason, receiving payment in advance was standard practice. But my real reason for insisting on it was something else entirely.
The exchange rate, which had soared to 2,150 won, was now rapidly returning to normal.
If I agreed to a post-delivery payment method, we could suffer enormous foreign exchange losses.
[Of course, I’m aware. The Pentagon has already made an emergency request to Congress for this reason, so once the contract is signed, the payment should be wired within a month at the latest.]
That was a huge relief.
With no suitable means of currency hedging available right now, I would have had to simply walk away if he refused.
It wasn't like I could ask him to wait until the forward exchange market was established next year to sign the contract.
But why?
No matter how urgent the situation, for him to readily agree to pay the entire 1.4 trillion won upfront was a rather surprising outcome.
[However, there is a condition.]
Of course there was.
[What is it?]
[In five years, for any additional orders, we ask for the rights to license-produce them in the United States. In other words, from that point on, Jaewoo Thales would export only the components, and a U.S. defense contractor would handle the assembly.]
[What’s the reason?]
[To quell the backlash from our domestic contractors, which is already simmering.]
I understood immediately.
Once this export deal went through, the U.S. defense contractors who had monopolized the market until now would inevitably find themselves in a difficult position.
They couldn’t just watch the companies go bankrupt, so they intended to keep their facilities running by having them handle the assembly later on.
[Alright.]
It was no loss for me.
Although the overall pie would shrink due to the loss of assembly costs, we could still export the components.
Moreover, around that time, production volume would drop sharply, causing costs to rise. Rather than maintaining the line and absorbing those costs, it was better to export the components.
By the way, with 1.4 trillion won in sales, how much would my royalty be?
Four percent of 1.4 trillion won is…
56 billion won?
[Thank you for your understanding.]
After finalizing all the key points, Michael signed the contract and pushed it toward me.
It was just a few sheets of paper, but the thought that it was worth 1.4 trillion won made me break into a smile.
[It was a good deal.]
[I should be the one saying that. Thanks to you, Mr. Jin, we’ve solved a long-standing problem. I’m just throwing this out there, but have you considered selling the technology itself? We would pay top dollar if you did.]
[I’m afraid that’s not possible. There’s no need to kill the goose that lays the golden eggs.]
Michael showed a hint of disappointment.
I smiled faintly and was about to accept the contract when he suddenly looked me straight in the eye and said.
[Somehow, I have a strong feeling that our dealings won’t end here, Mr. Jin.]
*Heh.*
They probably wouldn’t.
I still have plenty more to sell you.
The reason I went out of my way to meet the USFK Commander, the reason I worked to establish a direct relationship with the Pentagon’s top weapons procurement officer—it was all with that in mind.
[I certainly hope so.]