He Who Needs It Digs the Well
"Vice Chairman, surely you could say something. This man isn't even a company executive—he's a mere department manager—and he's refusing an invitation to a presidential banquet. Does that make any sense? This is a presidential dinner that even the chairmen of the major conglomerates would kill to attend."
"Well, I believe that's a matter for him to decide... Manager Jung Jinwoo. If at all possible, I do hope you'll attend the banquet."
Ko Yoon-seok offered the suggestion with a sidelong glance at Jung Jinwoo. Jinwoo, however, was already thoroughly sick of the pair's arrogance.
A mere department manager?
These government types think they're the masters of the universe? They collect taxes and do a job—doesn't that make them the servants?
And they want to play lord and master in front of the actual owner?
"Excuse me—if at all possible? If at all possible? Do you think a presidential banquet is some neighborhood bazaar? People are lining up in droves for this seat. It's a place they'd kill to get into and still couldn't."
"Perfect. Then you can just invite those people in my place."
Ham Chang-ho could only manage a hollow laugh. Beside him, Secretary Yoo Jae-doo's face had gone beet-red, as if he couldn't believe what he was hearing.
At that moment, Senior Secretary Ham Chang-ho's phone began to ring.
"Ah—yes, Chief of Staff... well, the thing is... yes... the most important guest? We have to bring him no matter what? He says he has pressing business, though... Ah! Yes! Yes! Of course. I'll make sure we bring him."
It seemed the call had come from his superior at the Presidential Office. When Ham Chang-ho hung up, his face had gone the color of dirt.
"What is it? What did the Chief of Staff say?"
"They said Mr. Jung Jinwoo is the most important guest, and we have to bring him no matter what. Chairman Nail Nehru personally asked that he be invited."
"What? Chairman Nail Nehru? That notoriously difficult man...?"
For the three days of Nail Nehru's visit to Korea, everyone from the President on down to the chaebol had been falling over themselves to court him. In fact, tonight's banquet itself had been arranged by the President as one last attempt to work him over before he flew home tomorrow. They had all grown thoroughly sick of those Indian-style summit meetings—Nail Nehru nodding along as if he would grant them anything they asked, while in practice they walked away with nothing.
And now that same Nail Nehru had personally demanded a meeting with Jung Jinwoo. The gates to a colossal Indian market of 1.4 billion people, surging like a tidal wave, were about to swing open.
"Um... Manager Jung Jinwoo..."
Ham Chang-ho straightened his back and composed himself.
"Yes?"
"I am the Senior Secretary to the President for Economic Affairs. Ordinarily, I do not personally step forward to invite anyone. A single phone call usually does it—and they come running without even stopping to put on their shoes. The fact that I came in person means... that Mr. Jung Jinwoo is important enough for me to do so."
"That's not how it looked. You were staring at me like I was some stray dog."
Jinwoo knew well enough that the Senior Secretary for Economic Affairs did genuinely important work for the country. The man assisted the President in setting the direction of the national economy, after all.
"A stray dog, was it?"
"Didn't someone just complain about having to do this kind of work?"
At that, Ham Chang-ho turned a withering glare on Yoo Jae-doo.
"Did I not tell you to watch your mouth? A man who eats at the nation's table, running it like that... How many times do I have to warn you?"
"I-I'm sorry."
Secretary Yoo Jae-doo stood there flustered, his face burning red.
"Look... you two can sort that out yourselves. What do you think you're doing, coming into someone else's company and putting on a show?"
"I beg your pardon? Hup—hup..."
If they wanted to scold and lecture each other, they could do it on their own time.
"I truly am sorry about earlier. Please allow me to offer a sincere apology."
"Ah, no need for apologies. You don't have to do that."
"No. I really am sorry."
At Ham Chang-ho's words, Jung Jinwoo glanced over at Ko Yoon-seok. The Vice Chairman gave a small nod. It was enough.
"Manager Jung... a high-ranking official of the nation has come all this way in person. Perhaps you might show him a little consideration."
Vice Chairman Ko Yoon-seok's voice was gentle, and Jung Jinwoo nodded as if to say he understood.
"Hah... Very well. If the Vice Chairman puts it that way... I'm extremely busy, but I'll drop by for a short while."
The words had barely left Jinwoo's mouth before Yoo Jae-doo, even more frantic than Ham Chang-ho, ducked his head in a deep bow.
"Th-thank you. Thank you so much."
"Please wait here for a moment."
They seated Jung Jinwoo in a VIP room inside the Presidential Office and then both men left. The space was excessively vast, dominated by a long conference table and its accompanying chairs. This was the kind of room used when foreign heads of state came to call—aides seated along the sides while the principals held their summit.
A short while later, the door opened, and two men approached with document folders tucked under their arms.
"Good evening, Mr. Jung Jinwoo. Hwang Byung-kwan, Director of the National Intelligence Service."
"Good evening. Wi Chang-jae, First Deputy Director of the NIS."
"Ah, hello. Jung Jinwoo, IT Department Manager at Kiseong."
The two men stepped forward and offered their business cards with formal courtesy, so Jinwoo produced his own and dipped his head in return.
"Please don't let the NIS name put you on edge. Haha... We simply wanted a brief word."
"Ah... of course."
How was he supposed to stay calm with the Director of the NIS and the First Deputy Director standing right in front of him? The First Deputy Director handled overseas operations, if he remembered correctly.
"We didn't come to interrogate you about anything in particular. We simply wanted to introduce ourselves—and to let you know that if you ever need our help, you only have to say the word."
"I see..."
"No need for us professionals to talk in circles. You understand, don't you? Hahaha."
The NIS Director had a pleasantly warm smile—and eyes as sharp as a blade. Beside him, First Deputy Director Wi Chang-jae was smiling too, but his pupils didn't so much as flicker. Jinwoo couldn't be certain of everything they were driving at, but they were almost certainly referring to his activities of late.
"I'll be direct, then. Jerome Musso has visited twice, and Prince Aziz once. Is that right?"
That much they could have learned from immigration records alone. If a VVIP of that caliber entered the country and met with someone, of course they would have confirmed it. Jung Jinwoo nodded instead of answering.
"We don't know the details, but we have a general picture. At the very least, we know it isn't anything that would harm Korea."
How much they actually knew, he couldn't say—but he had discussed this with Ko Yoon-seok before. Look too closely at someone, and that someone starts looking back. Their information networks would already be watching each other.
"What do you intend to do about Nail Nehru?"
"We'll see."
"This is a matter to which His Excellency the President has devoted a great deal of effort. Through Nail Nehru, he hopes to open an export route into India for Korea's major corporations. Would you consider helping us with that?"
"I'll hear what he has to say first. That said..."
Jung Jinwoo let out a short, dry laugh and went on.
"I think I'll take this opportunity to teach him some manners."
"Mr. Jung Jinwoo... Nail Nehru is a man of immense power in India. For the sake of our President... no, for the sake of our country and our people, could you not endure it, just this once?"
"I am going to correct his manners—for the sake of our country and our people. Why do you assume my methods will produce a bad result?"
At Jung Jinwoo's answer, Director Hwang Byung-kwan and Deputy Director Wi Chang-jae exchanged a glance, then nodded.
"I understand what you're saying. The truth is, we have been keeping Mr. Jung Jinwoo's existence confidential until now... but given this situation, we have no choice but to report on you to the President. I hope you'll understand. His Excellency is quite bewildered at the moment. He's been asking us who you really are. We won't tell him everything we know, of course."
"I haven't committed any crimes. You can tell him everything, if you like."
"How could we? Keeping Mr. Jung Jinwoo out of the public eye is in the national interest..."
"Oh-ho."
Jung Jinwoo looked at First Deputy Director Wi Chang-jae in genuine surprise. Wi Chang-jae was smiling.
If Jinwoo's identity became public, the world would learn that he was the chairman of JW Corporation, and every move he made would be exposed to the public gaze. Everything he was working on would inevitably be constrained. Gold Coin, in particular, could whip up a frenzy—and more than a few countries would grow deeply wary of both Gold Coin and the JW Dive In venture. Right now, they were preparing to sweep through like a massive tsunami, and nobody was supposed to see it coming.
"While you're here, would you like to meet the President as well?"
"No, that won't be necessary. Is there any particular reason I should?"
"Once the President learns who you really are, I suspect he'll be rather disappointed he missed you."
There would have to be something in it for him first. The NIS Director and the First Deputy Director might actually prove useful down the line, somewhere. But the President himself was a creature of the spotlight—and a man prone to the occasional slip of the tongue. There was no telling where he might decide to drag Jung Jinwoo's name into the open.
"And the banquet? What will you do about that?"
"I'd rather avoid it, if I can."
"Meeting Chairman Nail Nehru is a matter of considerable importance."
"As for him—would it be possible to see him here, rather than at the banquet?"
What could you actually discuss in a crowded hall full of people milling about? You showed your face and that was it. Jung Jinwoo had never cared for that sort of thing.
"Here... Hmm. Let me ask. Where is he now?"
"He arrived a short while ago. He's waiting."
"Ah, so he's already here. Thirty minutes until the banquet starts... Deputy Director Wi! Go convey our VIP's wishes to Chairman Nail Nehru's people."
"Understood. Please call whenever it's convenient. It was a pleasure to meet you."
"Likewise."
Wi Chang-jae extended his hand, and Jung Jinwoo shook it lightly.
"I should excuse myself as well, so the two of you can speak freely. Until next time, then."
Jinwoo shook hands with Director Hwang Byung-kwan as well. Watching the two men walk away, he found himself in a strange mood. Very few people knew who he really was... and being recognized like this felt, in its way, both welcome and oddly touching. He had no idea how much they actually knew, but Wi Chang-jae's remark—that keeping him out of the public eye was in the national interest—left him feeling rather proud.
It's nice to be seen.
Barely a minute had passed.
The door opened, and a man who looked to be in his mid-thirties, dressed in traditional Indian attire, came walking toward Jung Jinwoo. Jinwoo sat with his arms crossed, regarding Nail Nehru with a distinctly ungracious stare.
"Not even going to welcome me?"
The man drew close and spoke as if he were hurt. So this was Nail Nehru.
"I got dragged to a place I never asked to be. Your Korean is quite good, though."
At Jinwoo's words, the man let out a short laugh.
"Did you know that Korean and Indian Tamil share roughly a thousand of the same words? Both languages originate from Sanskrit. Or perhaps, as the Korean legend has it, it's because an Indian princess married into Silla and spread the language there."
Who does he think he is, spinning this nonsense? He comes to someone else's country and claims their language originated from his?
"Sit down. You're Nail Nehru?"
"Yes. I am Nail Nehru. This is the first time I've been received this way in Korea. Everyone else has been treating me like the god Vishnu..."
He had said it because Jung Jinwoo's manner was so thoroughly cold.
"Depends on the situation. When you get dragged somewhere you never asked to be, it's hard to look at it kindly."
"Ah. So that's what it was."
Nail Nehru—scion of a political dynasty, and chairman of the Anandi Group, which held the Indian economy in an iron grip. Jinwoo had a fair idea of who he was now. He would be one of the four new members recently admitted to the 20-Person Council. He would have gathered the information somehow, and he would know that Jerome and Aziz had already met with Jung Jinwoo.
"All right, I'm busy, so let's keep this light. What is it you want?"
Jung Jinwoo said it while staring Nail Nehru down.
"I asked to see you as a courtesy. A greeting."
"Get to the point."
"You're being rather cold. I was under the impression that Koreans were a warm-hearted people..."
"I'll ask one more time. I don't like talking to people who operate on a different tempo than I do. What is it you want from me?"
A genius of negotiation? The man of a thousand faces? Give me a break.
It's the one who needs it who digs the well.
As Jung Jinwoo stared at him, Nail Nehru stared right back. For the briefest instant, a savage light flared in Nail Nehru's eyes—then, just as suddenly, that light died.
"Gold Coin! And JW Dive In... would you allow our India to take part in those as well?"
Jinwoo had expected as much. The man who needed something ought to have come bowing and scraping, and instead he had been summoning people as if he owned the place.
Jung Jinwoo rose to his feet.
"If you've got something to say... come to JW Corporation alone, quietly, tomorrow at dawn. In secret. Nobody else."
"A-alone? I'm departing the country at dawn tomorrow..."
Jung Jinwoo said it with a look that could have frozen blood, his eyes boring into Nail Nehru as if he were genuinely furious.
"Y-yes. I understand."
The words left Nail Nehru's mouth reflexively, without passing through any conscious thought.
"Well then... enjoy your evening."
Jung Jinwoo tossed the remark over his shoulder and walked toward the door, his footsteps unhurried and even.
What... what just happened?
Nail Nehru could not comprehend why he was being treated this way. In all the years since his birth, he had never received such treatment. A single word from him, and people had always dropped to their knees as if he were royalty.
And wasn't Korea supposed to respect their elders? The man was five or six years younger, and here he was talking down to him like that.
He turned, a swell of indignation rising in his chest—but Jung Jinwoo had already left the summit hall.