The Tributary Can Be Diverted (1)
"Your maternal grandfather... you mean Brigadier General Colson?"
"That's right. I'm thinking of asking him to visit you for a visitation soon. Would that be possible?"
Choi Cheol-jae nodded as if there were no need to even deliberate. "I should certainly help with something like that. But how should I understand our relationship? To you, he's your grandfather, but to me, he's practically a stranger."
"It's nothing complicated. Just say that since you've loved singing since you were young, and my grandfather also enjoyed listening to your songs, you two naturally became close."
Choi Cheol-jae seemed to organize the information for a moment before nodding. "Got it. So, when are you planning to have him come for the visit?"
"He'll be here within two weeks."
"Understood. I don't need to make it too obvious, right?"
"Exactly. Just like ordinary relatives, but not awkward. That will be enough."
Watching Choi Cheol-jae nod as if he understood, Yoon-gi thought to himself, 'It's good that he doesn't have excessive greed.'
Realizing why his second uncle maintained a moderate relationship with his fourth uncle, Yoon-gi headed out to the living room.
Early September.
Yoon-gi was in a Mercedes with Brigadier General Colson, heading toward JSD's official residence.
"You chose Microsoft in the States, so is JSD the blue-chip stock in Korea?" Curiosity filled Brigadier General Colson's face.
"To be precise, it's not JSD, but JD who is the blue-chip."
"Then why approach JSD? If you wanted, I could have built a bridge to JD for you. Well, since he's the de facto number one of the New Hana-hoe, I'd have to exert quite a bit of influence, but it wouldn't be impossible."
Yoon-gi bowed his head at his grandfather's consideration, but a moment later, he shook his head.
"That might be a faster method, but I don't want such an awkward meeting. Even though I'm still young, I think it's best for connections to be made naturally. Don't you think so, Grandfather?"
"Well, I suppose. The only reason I ended up here with your in-law is because we were comrades who went through hell together. If we had just met through connections, you wouldn't exist in my life."
As his grandfather stroked his hair, Yoon-gi smiled, feeling good.
"I really love it when you stroke my hair, even though I'm getting older."
"Don't worry. I'll still be stroking it even when you're in your twenties."
"You'll have to stroke my children's hair later, too."
"Of course! Shouldn't I at least see my great-grandchildren going to college?"
Colson, who had been showing such confidence, continued with his earlier question.
"But if you're talking about a natural approach, do you think JSD is the best way to naturally approach JD?"
"That's right. I looked into it through Secretary Ryu, and JSD is highly likely to become JD's closest aide. I heard that when JSD was recuperating from an injury during the Vietnam War, JD visited him in the hospital. He wouldn't have visited for no reason, would he? For now, he's just a 'subordinate he pays attention to,' but I'm investing in the potential."
It was one of the few actual relationships between JSD and JD that Yoon-gi knew of, but it was more than enough to persuade Brigadier General Colson.
"True, the person who visits when you're sick is the most grateful. Especially if it's a superior. Then, if getting close to JSD is the method to naturally approach JD, why did you choose JD? That must mean he's worth that much."
Yoon-gi glanced briefly at the soundproof partition installed between the driver's seat and the back seat of the vehicle, then lowered his voice slightly.
"I looked into it, and when P took power, JD led the street protests supporting P's seizure of power."
"Ah, now that I think about it, that did happen."
"Ever since then, P has been heavily backing JD within the New Hana-hoe. Grandfather, you just said JD is the number one, didn't you? If P gets older and a successor emerges later, it's highly likely to be JD."
"P should have a son, right? I don't remember his name, but he definitely had one."
Certainly, if a successor were to emerge in a dictatorship, it would most likely be the son. However, Yoon-gi shook his head.
"He's too young for that. P's son is only 22 years old right now. In about eight years, it would be fine to start building a relationship with P's son. But not now. Rather than spreading my connections like an octopus in too many places, I think one stable one is better for now."
Since Colson had already verified Microsoft's 1978 revenue and the first half of 1979's revenue, he didn't have any particular doubts about his grandson's prediction.
'If Yoon-gi succeeds this time too, his in-law will be able to rest easy.' Thinking of Choi Ki-hyun, another thought occurred to Colson, and he spoke again.
"Come to think of it, why didn't you tell Ki-hyun to build a connection with JD?"
"Grandfather already has a slight connection to P's side, and he has you, Grandfather. And if I'm the one building a line to JD, even if it goes wrong later, it can just end as a child's infatuation. But if Grandfather chooses and fails, the end result would be the bankruptcy of Samwoo."
It was half-fabricated, but this, too, was more than persuasive enough.
"If my in-law heard you say that, he'd be very proud."
"Hey, my paternal grandfather is still alive, you know?"
"Yes, that's right. Hahahaha!"
With Brigadier General Colson's hearty laughter, the Mercedes passed through the unit gate without braking.
"SALUTE!!!"
As JSD's volume rang out, echoing through the official residence, Brigadier General Colson looked satisfied.
"This is why I like the Korean military. It's not that the US military doesn't have a salute slogan, but there's no common one, so it's a bit bland."
As Brigadier General Colson lowered his hand, JSD also lowered his and bowed his waist.
"Welcome. I have been waiting."
"Yes, could you give me a cup of tea?"
"Of course. But how will you handle the visitation...?"
At JSD's cautious question, Brigadier General Colson burst into laughter again.
"Hahahaha! You've allowed the visitation at the official residence, surely there's time to drink a cup of coffee? Besides, my grandson has been singing the praises of a man who is the pride of the Korean military, so I thought I'd take a look."
Brigadier General Colson's fluent words struck a chord with JSD, and at the same time, a bright smile spread across JSD's face.
'He praised me like that at home...? I'm so grateful...'
The look in JSD's eyes as he gazed at Yoon-gi was filled with nothing but pure favor.
"Honey, bring the coffee, the 'special one'."
"Yes."
Originally, this was work that should have been done by the official residence soldier, Choi Cheol-jae, but currently, Choi Cheol-jae was waiting in his room under JSD's orders, and he was being treated with consideration to be completely excluded from official residence duties, even without Brigadier General Colson's intervention. All of this was thanks to Yoon-gi, and because Yoon-gi was worth that much, Im Gyeong-ja was also smiling and handling the official residence work herself. Just like right now.
"This is my first time brewing this, so I'm not sure if I did it well."
Brigadier General Colson bowed his head toward Im Gyeong-ja, who had carefully set down the coffee, and slowly lifted the cup to take a sip.
"Ho-ho, this seems like a very good coffee. Did Korea have coffee like this?"
Watching Brigadier General Colson's admiration, both JSD and Im Gyeong-ja breathed a sigh of relief inwardly.
"There's no way such high-quality coffee would exist in Korea yet. It's 'Luwak' that we hurriedly prepared after hearing you were coming today."
"Ho-ho, is this that Luwak? Anyway, I only came for a visit, but to be treated with such hospitality, I don't know what to do with myself."
At Brigadier General Colson's obvious delight, JSD felt like he wanted to dance. 'I'm the one who waited for today. I thought it would take at least another year, but for the meeting to happen this quickly...!'