Chapter 177
Chapter 177
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 177
Chapter Title: LOVE & PEACE(2)
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The effect of shouting "LOVE & PEACE" in front of the Korean embassy was tremendous.
The moment I returned to the hotel, the first thing I saw was Professor Kim, pacing back and forth in front of my locked door, reeking of last night's booze.
"Aigoo, Chairman Han! Publicly dating at a time like this, of all things! And with the Emperor's daughter, no less! What in the world has gotten into you?"
I slipped quietly into my room, pretending not to notice. Professor Kim followed me in, wailing at the top of his lungs.
This slightly weepy old man thrust a steaming pile of internet gossip articles right in my face, his voice practically breaking with sobs.
"I'm done for. I can't go on. Can't you see how wrecked Korea-Japan relations are right now? Why go and draw all this attention like that?"
-[Tokyo Hot Journal] Ammunition Group Chairman Han Seo-jun ♥ Princess Hina. Official Lovefest Announced in Front of Korean Embassy! Let's Dig into Princess Hina's Premarital Pregnancy Rumors.
-[Japan Fact Check] LOVE & PEACE from a Troubled Duo Tossing a Boulder onto Thin Ice in Korea-Japan Relations! Could This Be... Korea's Government Scheming for Imperial Succession Rights?
Gossip rags stuffed full of absurd nonsense like premarital pregnancy and imperial succession plots.
Yellow journalism hacks really have creativity in spades, that's for sure.
"This is just..."
"It's not just online, either! The TV stations are already yapping about it too. Aigoo, ancestors help us. Aigoo..."
At least the proper TV news channels weren't spewing this level of drivel. The whole Japanese archipelago was just buzzing with excitement over this black hole of a dating scandal that had swallowed every other issue.
I turned off the blaring TV and sat on the sofa, calming Professor Kim down from his half-funeral vibe.
"Why call on the ancestors over something this trivial? It's just a bit of boy-meets-girl."
"Just boy-meets-girl? Have you no idea what mess you've kicked up? Korea-Japan relations are in the toilet, I tell you!"
"Isn't that exactly why I'm doing this—to slap a quick fix on those crumbling relations?"
"Huh? What... what're you talking about?"
Professor Kim looked clueless, no grasp of the full picture.
No matter that he had a presidential envoy badge pinned on him, spilling everything to this guy I couldn't quite trust didn't seem wise.
So, no point dragging this out with him.
"I don't need anything from you, Professor Kim, so please lay off the booze. And stop causing scenes with the Foreign Ministry bureaucrats."
"Ahem, well... that's all just greasing the wheels for diplomatic wins, you know."
Professor Kim offered his own defense of his recent drinking and carousing.
He went on about wining and dining with the Foreign Ministry vice minister, hitting the golf course, even the sauna. But honestly, it meant squat.
The rudder steering these soured Korea-Japan relations?
The Foreign Ministry wasn't holding the wheel. It was the LDP—specifically, the Prime Minister's faction.
"For now, just stay put, Professor Kim. I've got a mountain of my own puzzles to sort out."
Puzzles to solve.
First off... the fake dating rumor with Princess Hina had definitely sent a shockwave through the anti-Korean mood.
But dribbling that spark into a massive blaze? That was a whole different ballgame.
In the end, I needed a direct line to the Prime Minister.
"Everything's lined up perfectly, if only..."
I tuned out Professor Kim's nagging from the sidelines, lost in thought.
But that brooding didn't last long.
In a way, you could call it infuriatingly sharp—the Prime Minister knew exactly the optimal play in this shifted board.
"Ch-Chairman...!"
Yoo Se-na, my aide, burst in without even knocking, desperate to reach me.
She must've come straight from a call, phone screen still lit, which she shoved toward me as she spoke.
"The Prime Minister... The Prime Minister wants to see you right now."
* * * *
"Ha! Unbelievable. I cozy up to the LDP with the anti-Korean issue, and now this Korean chaebol's handing me a goldmine."
Kanyama Hayato let out a hearty guffaw, slapping the floor with his gold-plated fan.
His recently acquired media outlets—already money pits—had done nothing but bleed cash while spreading anti-Korean bile.
Until they got ringside seats to Princess Hina's public romance stunt right in front of the embassy.
"Timing's perfect, nose-deep in it too, Boss. A jackpot exploding right next to an anti-Korean protest beat? Unreal."
His underling yakuza rubbed his palms, grinning obsequiously before his boss on this rare good day, sucking up like a human bidet.
"And while the other press hemmed and hawed over Emperor's family taboos, our boys dropped the exclusive first thing."
"Damn right. Our reporters moved fastest."
Out of the press pack at the embassy, two outlets shone brightest: [Tokyo Hot Journal] and [Japan Fact Check].
Their clicks and name recognition had skyrocketed on premarital pregnancy and succession bait.
"Exactly, Boss. You said ignore taboos and sacred cows—even touch the Emperor—and our guys could finally run wild."
"Heh heh heh... You're right on the money. Gotta make bold calls when the iron's hot."
Feeling pumped, Kanyama yanked a real sword from the display case.
Staring at the razor edge, he dove into near-delusional fantasies.
Keep this up... and a media empire's within reach.
"Strangle bureaucrats with celeb sex tapes, keep feeding politicians cash... Yeah, sky's the limit!"
Kanyama laughed, drunk on confidence.
But this dream-chasing yakuza had no clue. The massive butterfly effect he'd unleashed as a backdrop would bring him the worst possible end.
"Don't slack—pump out follow-ups. Gotta see this through when opportunity knocks."
"Yes, Boss!"
* * * *
The Prime Minister's official residence sat smack in Tokyo's priciest dirt.
The garden embodied neatness and serenity: black pebbles, a few bamboo stalks.
How far along the corridor between tiled roofs? At the sliding door, the guide bowed and spoke.
"Your Excellency, the LDP Whip has arrived."
"Send him in."
The door slid open slowly, revealing the Prime Minister's face.
He looked the part of a mild-mannered professor. You could tell his taste shaped the garden's precision.
"...My apologies, Prime Minister."
"Feeling apologetic proves you're not a complete imbecile, Whip."
"Your Excellency..."
But beneath that dignified exterior lurked thorny barbs.
The Prime Minister smiled coldly, stepping before the Whip kneeling on tatami, casting a chill shadow over his head.
"The anti-Korean issue has run its course. Thanks to Princess Hina's fooling around with that Han Seo-jun. The problem is..."
He crouched, gripping the Whip's shoulders hard.
The smiling mask on his face began to crack.
"That fooling around turned into a wildfire because of Kanyama—that rootless yakuza trash."
"Your Excellency..."
"And Kanyama Hayato? You're the one supposed to control him, Whip. Isn't that right?"
"I'll take responsibility and step down..."
"If you're incompetent, at least play smart. The election frame's shattered—your resignation fix that?"
Election frame.
The Prime Minister's tactic: hype Dokdo and anti-Korean issues to cling to power.
But now it was crumbling. All because of two people's fake romance, reducing bilateral tensions to mere backdrop.
"......"
The Whip, suddenly saddled with blame.
His instinct—honed by savvy alone to rise this far—screamed: This won't end with just resigning. To survive, cough up a fix.
"Um... Prime Minister."
"Still got words left in you?"
And now.
The wily politician's survival instinct fired up his brain.
"If I may be so bold... perhaps Princess Hina's romance isn't mere child's play."
"Not child's play?"
"The location of the message, the timing, what it implies. Too perfect for coincidence. It's almost like..."
The reasoning chained together.
Peeling layers revealed raw truth beneath.
"A blatant overturn by the decision-makers. To gain something."
"Overturn the board..."
The Prime Minister stroked his stubbly beard.
His mind flashed to hours earlier, at the Imperial Palace.
'I trust Your Majesty isn't meddling in realpolitik.'
'What? No, absolutely not. You know Hina's not right in the head, Prime Minister.'
The Emperor's vehement denial, palms out, seemed guileless.
Even volunteering unasked proof of innocence.
'And... I don't see it lasting long.'
'What do you mean...?'
'Hina gets that look when she's obsessed. Intense, fanatical dive. But not this time. More like.'
Pausing, the Emperor found the words, offering fatherly insight piercing it all.
'Han Seo-jun? Their link looks business partners, not lovers.'
And now.
The Prime Minister mulled the Emperor's words.
Tap, tap. He drummed fingers on tatami, pondering.
"Business comrades, not lovers. Could it be...!"
"Prime Minister?"
Eyes widening as insight hit.
Dots connected into lines, unveiling the big picture.
So he needed confirmation.
If the painter of this vague sketch was the man he suspected.
"Han Seo-jun. Summon him here at once. No need for the rest of the envoy—just him alone."