Chapter 201
Chapter 201
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 201
Chapter Title: In Israel (2)
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Letterhead adorned with an ornate silver candlestick.
The Israeli Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary who had invited me in a tone that felt half like a threat.
Was the god of fate pulling some prank?
The Embassy of Israel in Korea was located in a high-rise building right across the Cheonggyecheon Stream from the Ammunition Group headquarters.
“I just can’t figure out what this is about. Any ideas coming to mind?”
“Well, who knows. But if I had to guess... it’s probably about those two Jews meant for sacrifice, right?”
Kim Won-cheol walking out of the headquarters with me, crossing the stone bridge over the Cheonggyecheon.
The notice I received from the Israeli Embassy did indeed mention the aftermath of the [Garden of the Lord] incident, just as he said.
The problem was.
“But if it were coming through the Korean Foreign Ministry channels, that’d be one thing. It doesn’t make sense for them to come straight to our Chairman like this.”
“I thought that was odd too. Why go directly to the Ammunition Group from the Israeli government? Or more precisely.”
Government to government. Individual to individual.
In principle, the Israeli government should request cooperation through the Korean government.
However... from what I’d looked into separately, Israel hadn’t made any special demands to the Korean prosecution or police beyond formalities.
That made the subtle oddity feel all the more concrete. And that was.
“Pinpointing an individual named Han Seo-jun for a meeting—that’s the strangest part. Especially from one of their core high-ranking officials with the Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary title.”
“Exactly. And there’s nothing else it could be.”
The tail end of summer, edging toward autumn.
I crossed the stone bridge, the slightly cooler yet still humid breeze brushing my cheeks.
As I approached the entrance to the Israeli Embassy building, Kim Won-cheol suddenly veered off toward another path.
“This is a real tough one. Well, take care. See you later.”
“Hey, weren’t you coming with me? Whatever happened to that unbeatable aura of facing the world together?”
“Heh heh heh. I was just gonna hit the bakery on the first floor. Their red bean buns are killer.”
“What the—.”
Kim Won-cheol smacked the back of my head with a hearty laugh.
The guy really bought a red bean bun from the nearby bakery and handed me a bag with one inside as he spoke.
“Even if I went, they probably wouldn’t let me in. Whether as an aide or whatever.”
“Hmm...”
“Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary. The letter specifically named only our Chairman, so some guy without decision-making power would just sit there with his mouth shut.”
A low growl rumbled as the sky began to haze over with gray. The Cheonggyecheon’s waters rose, swelling unnoticed until now.
Feeling an eerie chill wrap around my body, I looked up at the gray sky and muttered.
“Looks like rain? I’ll have Yoo Se-na grab an umbrella later.”
No sooner had I finished speaking than the downpour began. I brushed the dampness from my shoulders and stepped inside the Israeli Embassy.
There, a foreign woman approached me in front of the elevator.
“Welcome. We’ve been waiting.”
“Yes...?”
With features blending Western Europe and the Middle East in equal measure, she guided me to a discreet elevator on the side.
“You’re Chairman Han Seo-jun, correct? Everything’s prepared. Just take this elevator.”
After escorting me, she vanished as suddenly as she’d appeared.
Staring at the rising numbers in the elevator, I muttered anxiously to myself.
“They’ve got my full profile and are handling this with such precision.”
She clearly wasn’t regular embassy staff.
Through the glass elevator walls, the outside view showed the Cheonggyecheon swollen and raging like gray clouds.
“This feels way too ominous... the weather, and whatever’s going on inside this embassy.”
* * * *
The room was practically a sealed chamber.
Past double steel doors, into a stark space without a single window.
Inside that gray room sat a lone Israeli man on the sofa.
Even staring right at him, his face oddly refused to stick in my memory. He extended a hand for a shake.
“Pleased to meet you. I’m the Israeli Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary.”
“I’m Han Seo-jun. First time meeting.”
We exchanged business cards.
But what was this? The bland, unremarkable man’s card had no personal information beyond his title and phone number.
Not even a name.
“Uh, there’s no name here...?”
“Ah, you understand. We can’t disclose my exact identity.”
The Ambassador flashed a friendly smile, trying to brush it off.
Seeing my confusion, he added.
“Of course, if we needed to play at formal pleasantries, I could give a plausible name. But this isn’t the time for that.”
“Sounds like today’s topic won’t be pleasant.”
I cut him off mid-sentence.
No need for me to play nice with this level of uncooperativeness.
Leaning forward, meeting his impassive gaze, I fired a direct question.
“Let’s cut to the chase. Why does the Israeli Embassy—why does someone with the Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary title—want to see me?”
I slapped a document onto the table.
The notice stamped with the Israeli Embassy seal, the one that summoned me here. In a lower voice, I pressed him.
“Especially wrapping this [Garden of the Lord] issue in such neat packaging.”
The Ambassador tilted the teapot with a clink.
He poured tea without aroma into a glass cup, avoiding my eyes, leaving only a curt reply.
Just six characters, but with impact enough.
“Mortors Eyes.”
“……!”
“The acquisition’s in its final stages, right? Unfortunately, Israeli government approval will be revoked.”
“What the hell...!”
“And those two Israeli citizens nearly sacrificed by that cult? They’ll make convenient wrapping paper.”
Silence filled the room after his words.
How many ticks of the wall clock pendulum echoed?
Caught off guard by this unforeseen issue, I couldn’t get a read.
Stay calm. Untangle this sudden knot step by step.
I decided to probe him carefully.
“…What’s your angle?”
“Ah, Chairman Han Seo-jun. It’s not your fault. Not the Ammunition Group’s, nor an issue of diplomatic friction between Korea and Israel.”
“Then why...!”
“Can’t say for security reasons.”
The Ambassador stood.
He approached a painting on the wall, fiddling with the frame’s edge, then turned to me.
“It’s a bigger picture than meets the eye... this girl’s expression in particular is bothersome.”
An oil painting of what seemed a medieval noble’s chamber, brimming with antique charm.
Amid the opulence and austerity, a girl in the right corner beamed brightly.
Utterly out of sync with the mood, almost jarringly so.
“She’s beautiful and innocent—nice to look at—but it just doesn’t fit the context.”
Leaving only that cryptic hint, the Ambassador headed out.
His forgettable face still etched no image as he bid me a one-sided farewell with more enigmatic words.
“This is all I can offer. I have to head to another country now. Until next time.”
* * * *
His attitude bordered on rude, utterly incomprehensible.
For a typical businessman... well, businessmen don’t act like that anyway, but one could understand.
But an Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary? That’s a government official. A high-ranking one at that.
“Whew, our diplomatic heavyweight Chairman Han’s introducin’ me to folks like this—makes my day, I tell ya.”
Professor Kim bloomed into a grin, oblivious to others’ moods.
Who’d have thought this connection from the Japanese special envoy would last? And not because of him, but my own needs.
“Saudi royal right-hand man! Guardian of Thai democracy! Japanese people’s power ranger! And... Vatican’s angel, Chairman Han Seo-jun!”
“Professor Kim, please.”
His strawberry nose already red, the professor revved up his drunken antics.
He turned to another third party present, unleashing his thick dialect.
“Ah, I just said the plain facts, didn’t I? Right, Mr. Vice Minister? Ah, now it’s the benevolent Vice Minister. Or should I say, our fine Minister!”
“Ha ha ha, Professor Kim’s already tipsy. You’ll have to down ‘em steady till it’s time to go.”
When the anti-Korean issue with the Japanese special envoy resolved early, the Foreign Ministry Vice Minister rushed to Japan.
I’d done the heavy lifting, but he got the promotion. So the new Foreign Minister treated me with notable goodwill.
“Ahem, for a presidential parachute, he’s not a bad guy, but get him drinking and this happens.”
“I understand completely, Minister.”
We cleared away Professor Kim, now passed out in the corner, and the new Foreign Minister refilled my glass as he asked.
“Anyway, you had something to ask me?”
“It’s a bit... complicated situation.”
Scratching just the right itch, the Minister. As the main topic arose, I unpacked my story bit by bit.
The Israeli Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary who sought me out urgently—blatantly suspicious. And the sudden derailment of the Motors Eyes acquisition.
After listening intently, the Foreign Minister nodded and spoke.
“Hmm, so the Israeli Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary’s taking that line.”
“I can’t understand why the Israeli executive branch is doing this. No reason given.”
The situation tangled beyond suspicion.
His seasoned diplomat instincts intact, he threaded the scattered beads with a single needle and handed it to me.
“First off, one key point’s off.”
“Yes?”
“Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary. Probably didn’t give a name, but the organization he belongs to isn’t the Israeli executive branch.”
Not executive branch?
The Foreign Minister continued cautiously.
“Mossad. Affiliated with the Prime Minister’s office, their intelligence agency. That explains it.”
“Mossad...!”
Mossad.
Israel’s equivalent of the NIS, infamous for espionage.
In simple terms... for some reason, I—and the Ammunition Group—had been targeted by this Mossad.
Refilling my glass, the Foreign Minister grew more serious as he advised.
“Looks like... Chairman Han, you’ve gotten caught in shifting currents at a pivotal moment. Intentional or not.”