The Perfect Shelter and the Russian Connection
Once Jun-ho finished his final inspection, satisfied that everything would be perfect, the shelter was over 90 percent complete. Government officials arrived to conduct various inspections and site visits, most of which were handled by Baek Ha-il. First, representatives from KEPCO and the Electrical Safety Corporation came to inspect the solar power facilities. Since the power wasn't being sold commercially but was entirely for self-consumption at the pension, there were no issues. Above all, since the KEPCO employees were already under the influence of Lee Dong-cheol’s connections, they, like the environmental officials who inspected the sewage treatment facilities, simply marveled at the pension's electrical systems before leaving. The fire department also left glowing reviews, as the shelter’s fire suppression systems were not just perfect—they were, in some respects, excessive.
The shelter had separate parking areas for internal combustion vehicles and electric vehicles. Specifically, the electric vehicle parking zone was equipped with a high-tech automatic fire suppression system: if a fire was detected in a vehicle, a fire-suppression blanket equipped with sprinklers would descend from the ceiling to smother the flames and prevent the fire from spreading. The officials from the architecture and health departments were equally impressed. It was clear that Lee Dong-cheol’s network had played a significant role in this, so Jun-ho met with him separately to provide an additional bonus and agreed to pay him an annual retainer of 100 million KRW as official legal counsel starting next April.
“...Since you’ve been working with me for a while now, Lawyer, I think you’ve come to understand my style.”
After finishing a meeting that doubled as a meal in their usual private room at the hotel lounge, Jun-ho brought up the topic while they were enjoying some high-end wine.
“Of course. Is there something else you would like to discuss?”
Lee Dong-cheol asked back with the utmost politeness. Jun-ho put on a feigned look of concern.
“Ah, well, you see. Since this is a space used by VIPs, shouldn't we have a medical system in place to prepare for any unforeseen circumstances?”
“That would certainly be the case.”
As if he had already guessed what was coming, Lee Dong-cheol’s eyes behind his glasses sharpened.
“Even if I manage to mobilize my connections to secure medical staff, the medical equipment and pharmaceuticals... especially prescription drugs... even the medical staff were telling me that part is a bit difficult.”
“Ah... I see. It is indeed difficult to handle those things without being licensed as an official medical facility.”
“Yes. And it’s not like we’re going to turn our pension into a hospital... so I’m a bit troubled.”
Like the capable hunting dog he was, Lee Dong-cheol immediately grasped the subtext of Jun-ho’s words. Without a moment’s hesitation, he spoke.
“President Lee. That problem... I might be able to solve it for you.”
“You, Lawyer?”
“Yes. Please don’t misunderstand and just listen. There was a hospital that was investigated for corruption during the pandemic, and the people involved were reported and issued corrective orders, so they decided to just close down.”
He explained that they were selling off the real estate and exporting the medical equipment in bulk to foreign countries. He suggested that they could disguise the equipment as being exported to a third country and bring it into ‘our pension’ instead.
“...I can handle the export invoices, shipping documents, Bills of Lading, and even the logistics tracking numbers perfectly. As for the physical goods, you just need to send the containers to our pension.”
“Is that so? But, hmm... I feel like that might cause some problems...”
“No, you don’t have to worry about a thing. We’ll disguise it as a donation-based export, and once it clears customs, no one will check which port it was unloaded at.”
“Hmm.”
Jun-ho nodded, as if telling him to continue. Lee Dong-cheol lowered his voice even further.
“Besides, what if the destination port is in Myanmar or Iraq? Those are regions where arrival confirmation is already difficult, and with the pandemic and civil wars... no one can check. Or rather, they can’t. Even if they do, we can just process it as a loss.”
“Hmm. I see. The export itself will be through official channels, right?”
“Of course. The export itself will go through electronic customs. I know a paper company. We’ll report it as a donation-purpose export, and as long as we arrange it so the hospital side understands it that way, there won’t be any issues.”
“Hmm...”
Jun-ho still looked hesitant, though tempted. Lee Dong-cheol pressed on.
“The medical equipment is in good condition, and the surgical tools are a full set. If you’re interested, President Lee, 120 million won should be enough to get it up to an emergency room level.”
Judging by the slight hesitation when he mentioned the price, it probably cost about 100 million won. The 20 million was his cut. If Jun-ho were just an ordinary wealthy person, he might have been fooled or even delighted, but Jun-ho was different. He knew exactly how to handle Lee Dong-cheol, a ‘born son of a bitch.’
Jun-ho wore a meaningful smile, as if he knew exactly what was going on in the lawyer's mind, and spoke with a relaxed air.
“Let’s make it 150 million. You can handle the rest after deducting the equipment costs, Lawyer.”
“......!”
Lee Dong-cheol’s eyes widened for a split second. Jun-ho returned to a cold, professional tone.
“However, make sure everything is greased properly, and there shouldn't be a single hair’s breadth of trouble.”
Lee Dong-cheol swallowed hard before nodding.
“Of course. As always, there will be no problems.”
“Yes, I trust you. I know your capabilities well enough by now, Lawyer.”
“Thank you.”
Jun-ho’s face relaxed again, and Lee Dong-cheol smiled back. Jun-ho clinked his glass with him and asked again.
“What about the pharmaceuticals? Is that difficult?”
“Ah, that... could I look into it a bit more and get back to you?”
“Please do. But I’d prefer it if we didn’t go past this year.”
“I’ll contact you by next week at the earliest, or within two weeks at the latest.”
“Yes. I look forward to your continued hard work.”
After a few more drinks, Jun-ho parted ways with Lee Dong-cheol. As he watched Lee Dong-cheol’s back through the rearview mirror as he returned to the hotel lobby after politely seeing off Jun-ho, who had called for a designated driver, Jun-ho chuckled.
‘He’s definitely going to contact the Volcano Group.’
One of the main sources of income for the Volcano Group, the most powerful Russian mafia in Busan, was smuggling. Viktor Volk Choi had once said that while they didn’t touch hard drugs like meth or fentanyl, they did smuggle other pharmaceuticals manufactured in Eastern Europe or Russia into Korea and Japan. Since Lee Dong-cheol provided legal advice to the front companies operated by the Busan branch of the Volcano Group, that was the only place he could get professional-grade pharmaceuticals.
‘Medical equipment is one thing, but pharmaceuticals are a different problem. He’ll likely try to connect me directly.’
If not, Jun-ho could just say he wanted to meet them himself. Actually, it was more likely that the Volcano Group would insist on meeting a new ‘client.’ Unlike medical equipment, which could be used for a long time once acquired, pharmaceuticals required frequent repurchasing. No mafia would be stupid enough to take on a customer they didn’t know, just by trusting a lawyer’s word.
‘Volk... I’ll finally be able to see him.’
Jun-ho smiled, thinking of the Koryo-saram mixed-race mafia member with the impressive blue eyes and the rugged, masculine face—a man who had, in a way, saved each other’s lives.
While Baek Ha-il was dealing with the various officials visiting the shelter, Jun-ho began contacting factories to produce the items needed for the shelter after resolving the medical equipment and pharmaceutical issues with Lee Dong-cheol.
The first place he contacted was a factory that produced airtight containers to store the food and daily necessities that would be kept in the shelter’s general warehouse, cold storage, and ultra-low-temperature freezer. While standard airtight containers were fine for the general and cold storage areas, the ultra-low-temperature freezer required special airtight containers made of materials that wouldn't crack at minus 40 degrees Celsius and could maintain an airtight seal. He ordered multi-layered airtight containers made of polycarbonate or high-density polyethylene (HDPE) for the body, coated on the inside with ethylene vinyl alcohol copolymer (EVOH), and using silicone-packed lids.
It sounded grand, but it wasn't a difficult item to manufacture, so Jun-ho placed an initial order for 2,000 20-liter special airtight containers at 2,500 KRW each. He ordered only 2,000 first because he intended to test them for about a year. After purchasing the special containers, Jun-ho toured supermarkets and bought large quantities of food items with near-expendable shelf lives, regardless of the type. Of course, even though it was a ‘large quantity,’ the total cost wasn’t that high.
Jun-ho loaded them into a contracted refrigerated truck, took them to a vacuum-packing company, and requested they be packed in 10-kilogram units after sanitary processing. Then, he added oxygen absorbers and moisture removers in the appropriate amounts, sealed them in the special airtight containers, and stored them in the shelter’s cold storage and ultra-low-temperature freezer, which had now begun full-scale operation. In June and December of 2023, he would take them out twice to check their components and taste-test them; if there were no issues, the shelter’s food storage system would be complete. And in March 2024, with the 20 billion KRW secured by liquidating his Nvidia stock, he would purchase and store large quantities of all items that could be kept long-term at minus 40 degrees—food, seeds, fertilizer, feed, and so on... and his worries about food for at least 30 years would completely disappear.
“Ugh, this is exhausting. Hyung, can’t we hire someone next time? You said the amount would be several times larger than this next time.”
Jun-hyeok, who had been suffering through the ordeal of touring supermarkets with Jun-ho for over a week, buying food, packing it into containers, and moving it to the warehouse, groaned. It didn't sound like just whining, as Jun-ho himself felt his body aching, so he had no choice but to nod.
“Let’s do that. Let’s find a suitable empty warehouse, hire people to do the work there, and we’ll just move it to the shelter. If we keep this up, we might die of overwork before the apocalypse even arrives. But isn’t it rewarding, though?”
“That’s true. By the way, this is seriously delicious. The expiration date passed a long time ago, but it’s perfectly fine.”
The brothers were finally eating the food they had stored in the freezer last autumn using the vacuum-packing, oxygen absorber, moisture remover, and airtight container method. The ramen was over 10 months past its expiration date, and the frozen dumplings were over half a year past, but the dumpling ramen they were eating now had absolutely no strange smell or taste.
“If it had gone rancid, the smell would have hit us the moment we opened the bag. But this was perfectly fine, right? It probably would have been fine even if we’d eaten it a few months later.”
“This is truly amazing.”
Enjoying the power of proven modern science through the dumpling ramen he was eating with his younger brother, Jun-ho was certain. If the food stored in a standard home freezer was this fine, the food he would store in the shelter’s cold storage and ultra-low-temperature freezer under strict conditions would be absolutely perfect.