Chapter 104
Chapter 104
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 104
Chapter Title: Something to Divert the Military's Gaze (1)
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“Phew, it's finally over.”
“Huh? You're a bad guy who tramples on a girl's pure heart and only chases corporate profits.”
A dreary rainy day.
The late afternoon after the Han-ASEAN student camp had just wrapped up. Without any real time to rest, I'd rushed straight to the headquarters building.
But what was this?
The moment I opened the door to the Chairman's office, all that greeted me was Kim Won-cheol's deflated voice.
“What's with that unfair gripe? My head's already a mess as it is.”
“Heh heh heh. If ordinary college student Han Won-cheol oppa suddenly turned out to be the Chairman of Ammunition Group, she'd be shocked. Especially since you jumped straight into business talk.”
We'd already shared a brief rundown on yesterday's events.
I tossed my coat haphazardly onto the rack and flopped down on the sofa. Right away, Kim Won-cheol's voice rang in my ears.
“Maybe Minnie even hates Han Won-cheol oppa now.”
“Ha, that Han Won-cheol name too... No, I shouldn't keep harping on it. Let's put Minnie aside for now.”
Rustle. I peeled open a chocolate wrapper from the woven basket and shoved them into my mouth indiscriminately.
Once the sweet sugar hit, my mind finally started clearing up again.
“There were more gains than expected. Enough to turn vague guesses into certainties.”
“Let's hear the details first. So, what exactly are you planning to do?”
* * * *
Tap, tap.
Using the raindrops drumming on the glass window like a metronome, my story bundle began to unravel smoothly.
The Thai coup d'état coming right after summer started. I'd woven together various clues and presented the finished fabric to Kim Won-cheol.
“A Thai coup, huh... Whether it really blows up soon is something even God doesn't know, but the internal situation there is a total mess, right?”
“The Prime Minister's daughter coming all the way to Korea herself to seek civilian control over the military cases says it all, doesn't it?”
Last night.
The rabid hounds itching to run wild in a frenzy. I'd confidently claimed to have a way to rein them in.
In the forwardmost field ringed by tight barbed wire, Minnie listened to my proposal, then lowered her eyes and pondered for a moment.
‘For now... I want to sort out the situation a bit.’
She'd hesitated for a long time.
Only when the sunset dipped beyond the western mountains and shadows darkened the hillsides did Minnie cautiously open her mouth.
The red business card clutched in her hand had become slightly crumpled without her realizing.
‘Won-cheol... no, Seo-jun. You and Ammunition Group can control the military, you said? What kind of method is that?’
‘I can't say right now. There's a complicated web of stakes on our end too. But what I can say for sure is...’
Minnie watched my lips tensely, waiting for me to speak.
Gazing steadily at her with conviction and sincerity, I slowly drew out the words I needed to say.
‘That the Thai government under Prime Minister Ingtak and my interests as Chairman of Ammunition Group align perfectly. That's one thing I can state with certainty.’
Minnie shattered the shell of hesitation and nodded.
My proposal, undeniable and thus impossible to refuse, had worked.
Our two hands clasped together over the darkening grass. Now... all the preliminary work was done.
All that remained was deciding our moves in the real game at the upcoming ASEAN summit.
“So, you'll focus the ASEAN leaders' summit on Thailand?”
Having heard me out, Kim Won-cheol set down the fountain pen he was holding.
There were apparently several things to consider. A scrap of paper densely scribbled with notes lay on the desk.
“I'm going to sell the Hawk Eye system to Prime Minister Ingtak. A surveillance asset that lets you monitor military movements in real-time, right in the palm of your hand.”
“Hmm...”
Kim Won-cheol's face soured, like it didn't sit well.
Slurp. He sucked the last of his mango juice through the straw, then flipped the scribbled scrap over and started writing fresh notes on the blank side.
“Hmm... See, the plan our Chairman just laid out has two problems. Fatal ones, at that.”
Scribble, scribble. Along with the sound of the metal nib scraping the wood grain across the paper, words slowly formed.
His wildly scrawled handwriting laid out the two fatal issues at a glance.
-① Thai Military Backlash
-② Korean President's Dissatisfaction
“First, number ①. The Hawk Eye system, in plain terms, strips the military bare—supply lines, troop movements, the works.”
“That's why nothing beats it for preventing a coup.”
“Exactly why the Thai military won't sit still. It's like waving a sign saying 'come get me,' so they'll strike the back of your head first.”
Kim Won-cheol promptly slashed a big X next to ①. Beside the X, he doodled a cute tank symbolizing the coup.
The fountain pen's platinum nib pointed downward. My gaze followed to ②.
“And ②. Sneakily—no, blatantly petty and calculating, our President.”
“Oh, spot-on description.”
I couldn't help snickering at the sharp jab of "petty and calculating."
Right away, he sketched a caricature of the President's skinny frame on the white paper.
“I mentioned it once before, but this political hustler won't be satisfied with just selling the Hawk Eye system to Thailand.”
“Unless we sell it to the whole ASEAN bloc in Southeast Asia, Thailand alone won't cut it.”
“He knows Ammunition Group elevating national prestige will boost his approval ratings, right? So, not to badmouth, but...”
The cute tank and President caricature. Kim Won-cheol connected them with a line, then looked at me with a hint of regret.
“The plan our Chairman mentioned earlier? It's just not enough. Maybe as a stepping stone...”
Valid point.
A woefully inadequate plan.
No way the Thai military or the Korean President—or anyone—would buy into something as flimsy as just selling Hawk Eye to Thailand to stop a coup.
That's why... a sly little smile crept onto my face.
“Whoa! Whoa! Gotcha!”
A plan that was merely a stepping stone to cross the twin streams of military coup fears and presidential satisfaction.
But the existence of a stepping stone implied... a massive bridge waiting just beyond to leap across next.
I'd barely waded ankle-deep into the shallows, but Kim Won-cheol had already glimpsed the faint bridge behind me.
He leaned forward immediately.
“Heh heh heh. What's next? I can tell just by your face. You got caught red-handed.”
“You're a real ghost now. Reading minds or something?”
“Live half a lifetime with a scary lady like our Park Ja-ok, and you awaken to it all. That's why I came down from the mountain.”
Kim Won-cheol, who had descended the lofty peak of marriage fully enlightened.
No clue what he'd actually realized, but anyway, he started urging me on, eager for a quick answer.
“You know I'm holding it in to not run to the bathroom right now? Spill it quick.”
“Ha, you could've gone and come back to hear it.”
No wonder he'd been chugging drinks—his legs were starting to press together.
No need to cause an unnecessary disaster in the office.
I moistened my throat with a sip of black tea and dove straight into the heart of the matter.
“By any chance... have you heard of the Kra Canal?”
* * * *
-Ladies and gentlemen, this flight will soon be landing at Incheon International Airport in Korea. Please take your seats and fasten your seatbelts.
Through the small airplane window, the distant sight of Incheon's coastal waters and Yeongjong Island came into view.
Click. Prime Minister Ingtak of Thailand fastened the metal seatbelt buckle around his waist as per the captain's announcement. His face was flushed a bit redder than usual.
“Prime Minister, are you alright? Did you perhaps overdo the drinks on the plane earlier...?”
“I'm fine, I'm fine.”
Shaking his head, Prime Minister Ingtak responded to his aide.
He demonstratively downed the remaining golden liquid from the glass on the table.
“Just a few whiskeys to ease the stuffiness in my chest. No problem at all.”
“...Understood.”
The noose of the military coup threat tightening around him like a garrote.
Prime Minister Ingtak's insides were burning black beyond mere stuffiness. No matter how much harsh liquor he tried to wash it away with, only indelible stains remained.
“Got it. Now, you sit down too. We're starting to descend.”
The plane, floating buoyantly, began to feel a pull downward.
The speed of the drop accelerated as if urged on, syncing with the pounding of his heart.
“I wish we could just keep plummeting forever like this. Though... that would make my daughter sad, wouldn't it?”
His daughter Minnie, who had recently returned from a camp for students from ASEAN countries in Korea.
Suddenly, Prime Minister Ingtak recalled the single business card his daughter had handed him right before departure.
A red business card, slightly crumpled as if gripped tightly in his palm.
‘This person here. He might be able to solve Dad's current troubles.’
Even when he'd pressed her on what that meant, she hadn't given a straight answer.
Prime Minister Ingtak pulled the card from his inner breast pocket. Donning reading glasses due to presbyopia, he focused his eyes and examined the writing closely.
“Let me see. Ammunition Group Chairman, Seo-jun Han. No matter how I look at it, just a Korean defense industry conglomerate...”
According to his staff on the plane, this company had nothing special beyond its young chairman's somewhat aggressive moves, and it evoked the military.
If anything, its defense ties bred vague wariness and rejection.
Eyes closed amid the growing engine roar, Prime Minister Ingtak felt the plane's nose tilting toward the ground with his whole body and murmured like a prayer.
“Minnie, that clever girl must've scrounged this up through her connections, thinking of her father.”
The red business card slipped into his pants pocket.
Thud. Prime Minister Ingtak absorbed the impact as the plane's tires hit the solid concrete runway.
The plane slid forward unsteadily, yet with a strangely exhilarating speed.
Entrusting his uncontrollable fate to that motion, he muttered one final phrase.
“Still... if this young chairman turns out to be my savior as Minnie said, I couldn't ask for more.”