Genius Grandson of the Loan Shark King

I have no intention of giving in first.

I opened my eyes to the warm sunlight streaming in through the window.

I got out of bed, drank a glass of water from the bottle next to me, and rang the bell to call the servant.

"Prepare me a cup of warm coffee and some bread to eat."

The servant said goodbye and left. I took a quick shower, changed my clothes, and left the bedroom.

Igor and Manager Kim, who had been waiting outside the bedroom, approached.

"Boss. Did you sleep well?"

The first person to speak was Manager Kim.

"Manager Kim, did you get some rest too?"

"Yes. I slept well."

"That's good. Have you not heard from Korea?"

"I spoke to Director Ma. He said he would get back to me in an hour."

He nodded and asked Igor next to him.

"Have you heard from the Kremlin?"

"He asked me to contact him when Medvedev's chief of staff wakes up."

"Then let's go to the study first."

I went into the study with two people.

The servant followed us in, placed the food we had asked for on the table, and then went out again.

As we looked at each other as if to ask if we wanted to eat together, we heard back that both of them had already finished eating.

I took a sip of coffee, then tore the bread in front of me and put it in my mouth.

"Igor. Report."

We finished our meal while listening to Igor's long report.

"The situation in China is quite urgent. It seems that Zeng Qinghong has done a good job of persuading Hu Jintao."

If Zhang Zifang's close friend Zeng Qinghong sided with Hu Jintao, Jiang Zemin would have to fight the political battle with both hands tied.

No matter how much power Jiang Zemin has, if he fights with both cars and guns, it is impossible to predict victory.

Jiang Zemin was the setting sun, but Hu Jintao was the rising sun.

I wiped my hands, hoping that Hu Jintao would wake up from this assassination attempt.

"Both of you, go out."

After sending Igor and Manager Kim away, he took his cell phone out of his pocket.

The first thing I called was Medvedev.

- Mr. Kim.

"Medvedev. Can I speak to you?"

- Excuse me. I'll move seats.

Advertisements

A moment later, Medvedev's voice came over the phone again.

- Go ahead, Mr. Kim.

"Is there any new news from North Korea?"

- Yes. It is said that Kim Jong-il is currently detained in a villa. Also, the life or death of Choe Ryong-hae has not been confirmed.

"At least Kim Jong-il has been secured. Have you been in contact with Jang Song-taek?"

- No. I can't reach you.

"Hmm. You know I crossed the Russian border······."

If they couldn't reach me in Russia, there was a good chance they wouldn't pick up even if I did.

It seems like they're too busy suppressing the coup and cleaning up the mess.

I tried to clear my mind of distracting thoughts and asked Medvedev about his schedule.

"What is your schedule for meeting with the President today?"

― After completing all the schedules, he asked me to have dinner with him. I will send a car.

"Okay. Then I'll wait."

After finishing the call with Medvedev, I began to gather my thoughts carefully.

'We must persuade Jang Song-taek and use this opportunity to clean up North Korea.'

It was partly to stabilize North Korea, but it was also for my own good.

I never wanted to go through something like this again.

"Boss. This is a call from Director Ma."

At that moment, there was a knock on the door and Manager Kim's voice was heard.

"Come in."

Manager Kim opened the door and came in and handed me his cell phone.

As soon as I cleared my throat and made it seem like I had taken over the phone, Director Ma started talking.

- Boss. Are you feeling okay?

"Not bad. What about Director Ma? Are things going well in Korea?"

He mentioned the reason why he did not allow Director Ma to accompany him on this trip to North Korea.

―······It seems like it's going to get a little noisy.

"Really? What could be difficult?"

― There have been a lot of conflicts, big and small, as we prepare for the general meeting. That's why I'm contacting you to try a somewhat drastic approach.

"Hmm······. Big and small conflicts."

It seems that the roots can't be erased. Even if he wears a fancy suit, inside he's a back-alley gangster.

"Are you saying that we can't accept the side that we are pushing?"

― Since Chairman Yoo Seong-jin did not directly designate a successor, there is quite a bit of confusion internally.

"How loud do you think it will be?"

In response to my question, I heard the cool voice of Director Ma over the phone.

― I intend to show you my strength properly. That way, you won't be able to climb back up again. I will make sure you won't have that thought again in the future.

Advertisements

"Okay, talk to the police and prosecutors and sort everything out."

- Yes, boss. When do you plan to come to Korea?

"I don't know yet. I'm thinking of going in this week."

- Then, once everything is sorted out, please come in. For now, it seems safest to stay in Russia.

This situation seems to be quite serious. Director Ma is asking for a delay in entry.

I asked in a serious voice without realizing it.

"Are things really that bad?"

- That's not it. I just said it because I was worried that the boss might get involved for no reason.

"Well, okay. Then let's do that."

I think he said that because he was worried about me after going through something big recently.

It's not difficult to delay your entry into Korea, so I think it's okay to listen.

"Please sort it out as quickly as possible. I will be counting on you."

- Yes. This time, I will make sure they know who the boss is and what kind of person he is.

Director Ma said in a firm voice.

I could tell he was quite angry because his old speech was coming out.

"Don't push yourself too hard."

After giving a favor to Director Ma, I hung up the phone.

I handed the phone over to Manager Kim and asked.

"It seems like Cheonha Group is in quite a mess. Please look into it and report back."

"Yes, boss."

Manager Kim also left and I was left alone in the study.

After fiddling with my phone for a moment and thinking about what to do, I pressed the call button again.

- Hey, Moo-hyuk. I heard there was chaos in North Korea. Are you okay?

Han Kyung-young, who picked up the phone before the dial tone rang a few times, was worried about me first.

"It's okay, but it's not okay."

- What does that mean?

In response to the seemingly absurd question, I briefly told him about my experience.

― That's really a blessing. We can't take mercenaries to North Korea, so we have to be more careful.

As the story ended, Han Kyung-young let out a deep sigh and nagged me to pay more attention to my security.

I felt bad for worrying you, so I just listened for a while.

"Okay, I'll be careful. By the way, how's the mood in Washington and Wall Street?"

The first place to react quickly to the sudden changes in North Korea was none other than Wall Street.

- It seems like they've figured out the mood. There's no particular movement.

"That's good. I plan to stay in Russia for the time being. If there's any special movement, please contact me immediately."

He ended the call after instructing Han Kyung-young to keep an eye on Wall Street's movements.

Advertisements

Just by making phone calls here and there, I was able to get a general idea of the situation.

I tapped my wooden desk as I mentally planned out my future plans.

Late afternoon.

The vehicle sent by Medvedev has arrived.

I took Igor with me and headed towards the Kremlin.

Even though the car had separate driver's seat and back seat, it was obvious that the conversation we were having would leak out to that person.

"Igor. I think I'll be staying in Moscow for quite some time."

"Yes, boss. I'll prepare it."

While we were talking, we arrived at the Kremlin.

"Welcome, Mr. Kim. He's waiting inside."

Medvedev greeted me.

I entered the Kremlin under Medvedev's guidance.

As I stood in front of the President's office, Medvedev looked at me.

"Igor is waiting."

After ordering Igor to wait nearby, he went into the office.

"Welcome, Moo-hyuk."

The president, who was talking to someone, smiled and raised his hand.

"Mr. President. It's been a while."

After bowing slightly to say hello, he looked at the man he was talking to.

"This is the Chinese ambassador."

The president introduced the man first.

The Chinese ambassador stood up, walked toward me and greeted me.

"President Kim Mu-hyeok. Nice to meet you."

"Yes. This is Kim Moo-hyuk. Nice to meet you, Ambassador."

"That's enough greetings. Everyone, sit down."

At the president's gesture, everyone sat down. It was a natural reaction, since he was the absolute ruler of this place at the moment.

"I thought it was a place to eat or something."

"I was going to do that. But the Chinese ambassador said he absolutely had to meet me. Thinking about it, I thought it might be relevant to Moo-hyeok, so I called him."

I nodded and looked at the Chinese ambassador. He got straight to the point without even greeting me.

"I hope the construction of the suspended gas pipeline between China and Russia will resume."

The President was listening with interest, and Medvedev, who was next to me, just smiled.

"It is a national project between our country and Russia. Unilaterally stopping it without any reason will not have a positive effect on the friendly relations between the two countries."

"It's one-sided······."

The president muttered something about being unilateral.

Medvedev spoke on behalf of the president.

Advertisements

"China moved its military without notifying us. In response, our government halted construction in protest."

"It was a normal military exercise by the authorities. There is no reason to report it to Russia."

The Chinese ambassador and Medvedev had a rather sharp exchange of words.

"Return the Chinese troops who are training, and we will reconsider resuming construction."

"If that's the logic, then wasn't there no discussion between us and Russia about building a naval base in North Korea?"

"Is Nasen City Chinese territory? Why are you discussing it with the Chinese government? We have already discussed it with the North Korean government and reached an agreement."

The Chinese ambassador hesitated for a moment at Medvedev's firm rebuttal.

"But······. Naseon Port is a lifeline port for our northeastern region. If a Russian naval base is built nearby, for us······."

"It's not like we're going to block China from using our ports, right?"

As the two's story became longer, the president raised his hand.

It was a small movement, but I could feel the tension in both of them.

"Medvedev."

Medvedev closed his mouth when the president called his name.

"Enough with the ambassador. The decision to resume construction is not mine, but the people here who must make the decision."

"······."

I laughed inwardly at the President's behavior of passing the buck to me, even though he was the one who made the seat.

"As long as the Chinese government continues to launch unreasonable attacks on me, construction will never resume."

"President Kim Mu-hyeok."

"As you know, I invested a lot of money in China. What I got in return was extra-legal tax investigations into the companies I invested in and pressure on the management to stop accepting my investments."

"That is a misunderstanding."

The cliche excuse came back. I said, wiggling one eyebrow.

"That's impossible. Former President Jiang Zemin personally called me and said that."

"yes?"

"They told me to surrender and that they would stop all attacks. They were the ones who threw the stones first, so why should I just sit back and let them hit me? That's why I asked the Russian government to stop the construction. I thought I could do this much since I was in charge of the entire project."

The Chinese ambassador seemed unaware of the matter. As I continued to speak, his face became increasingly gloomy.

"When you ask us to get out of China, do you really think we'll leave something that's advantageous to the Chinese government behind?"

"that······."

"I have no intention of making any concessions first. So if you want to resume construction, the Chinese government should take the initiative first."

"······."

The Chinese ambassador was speechless. I watched him for a moment, then said to the president:

"Mr. President, this seat is uncomfortable."

"Really? If it makes Moo-hyuk uncomfortable."

The President nodded and spoke to the Chinese ambassador.

"Ambassador, please go back. I will make room for you next time."

"······Mr. President."

Advertisements

"This friend is more important to me than the ambassador. So tell the Chinese government why I made that decision, even risking a diplomatic conflict with the Chinese government. You can go back now."

Once again the order to evacuate was given, and the Chinese ambassador reluctantly rose from his seat.

"I'll see you again tomorrow."

The Chinese ambassador, who could not give up his foolishness until the end, bowed his head and turned away.

"I've felt this way for a long time, but Chinese people are really strange. They do things as they please and when things don't go their way, they become stubborn. Isn't that right, Muhyuk?"

"Because they are a group of people who don't think about their own actions and just blame others."

The president laughed out loud at my answer, wondering what was so good about it.

"Hahahaha! That's right. That's because they don't know Moo-hyeok well. He's not the type of guy to just sit back and do nothing when he gets hit."

The president, who had soon stopped laughing, patted my shoulder and said:

"By the way, I heard you had a hard time. Are you hurt anywhere?"

"Yes. Thanks to your help, I was able to escape North Korea safely."

"What's so difficult about that? If Medvedev hadn't stopped me, I would have sent the troops myself."

"······thank you."

I must be careful not to let something like this happen again. When this guy speaks, even empty words sound true.

"Okay, now that the guy I don't like is gone, let's move to a different place and have a meal and chat."

< I have no intention of giving in first > End